Professor Michael E. Porter Presents Porter Prize 2017 in Mumbai

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Business Events | May 30, 2017 | News

Taj Mahal Palace

Harvard Business School Professor and leading management thinker, Michael E. Porter presented Porter Prize 2017 to winning companies for their unique strategic acumen. The award is adjudged after a rigorous process of evaluation and selection. Participants are thoroughly analysed on vital parameters of competitiveness and a jury selects winners who do exceptionally well in their respective category. The event was organised by Institute for Competitiveness, India on May 24, 2017 at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai.

Porter Prize 2017 organized by Institute for Competitiveness, India on May 24, 2017 at The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai was a wonderful confluence of cutting edge ideation by various business leaders. The day was marked by two insightful keynotes from Michael E. Porter on strategy and shared value. There were two panel discussions on the same topics as well peppered with keynotes from other distinguished speakers.
 
In the morning, Amit Kapoor (Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness) welcomed Michael Porter and set the agenda for the day. Wilfried Aulbur (Chairman, India Council on Competitiveness & Managing Partner & CEO, Roland Berger) gave the opening keynote on his book with Prof. Kapoor, “Riding the Tiger”. He shared the observations that the book makes on the strategies that makes businesses succeed in India.

This was followed up with Professor Porter’s insightful keynote on the field of strategy. Professor Porter discussed what constitutes a good strategy and advised the gathering of industry leaders on how to undertake strategic planning for their organisations. He also warned the audience about the common mistakes that companies make in framing strategy. Michael Porter’s keynote was followed by his discussion with Sanjiv Puri (CEO, ITC) on strategy in the Indian context. Despite the challenges that India faces like jobless growth, Professor Porter firmly stated his belief in the Indian growth story.  

The next session was a panel discussion on “Strategy – The Idea of Efficiency, Tradeoff, Positioning and Fit”. The panel comprised of top executives from companies across various industries. Picking off from the learnings made from Professor Porter’s keynote, the panel shared the strategy and tradeoffs they practice in their business operations. There was also a discussion around the impact of recent legislations like GST and RERA on strategy and operations of companies in concerned industry. The panel agreed that following a consistent strategy eases compliance with such legislations.

Following this, Professor Porter delivered a keynote on the revolutionary idea of shared value. He shared his belief that businesses need to play a larger role in society, not through philanthropy or CSR, but by creating societal impact along with making economic gains. Societies are facing multiple challenges, but government and NGOs lack sufficient resources to fully meet them. Businesses are the only institution that can create wealth and prosperity and are unique in their capability to scale their operations. Professor Porter called out to the industry leaders gathered in the room to rethink their businesses along these lines. He also appealed India to do away with its “backward” 2% CSR law and progress towards the idea of shared value.

Porter’s keynote was, then, followed up with a panel discussion on “The Next Realm of Strategy: Creating Shared Value." The panel discussed the experiences their companies have had in adopting shared value practices.

Following these engagements, Michael E. Porter and Dr. Amit Kapoor (Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness) presented the citation to the Porter Prize winners. The winners of the Porter Prize 2017 are:

DS Group was presented the Taj Group Porter Prize for Creating Distinctive Value. Manipal Health Enterprises was presented ICICI Lombard Porter Prize for Value-Based Healthcare. ITC Ltd. and GSK shared the Porter Prize for Creating Shared Value. Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited was presented Porter Prize for Enabling Social Progress. ITC was presented Porter Prize for Excellence in Corporate Governance and Integration. SIDBI was presented the Porter Prize for Leveraging Unique Activities.