Way to go, Wipro!
It’s not quite there yet, but the goal is certainly within reach. One of India’s largest IT solutions providers, Wipro Technologies, is taking on the likes of IBM and Accenture in its effort to be included among the largest and most successful technology services companies in the world. Restructuring Wipro was considered the most important step in becoming a global giant, driven by the goal towards improved customer orientation. During the past few months, Wipro separated itself into several subsidiaries by product line: telecommunications, engineering, financial services, etc. Each subsidiary brings in about $300 million in annual earnings and is self-sufficient with their own accounting books, personnel and administrative functions. Wipro shifted from a centralised to decentralised management system. All responsibilities for growth lay with the management of each entity. “We tried to de-layer the organisation and empower our business leaders with a much higher degree of growth responsibility,” said Premji. “We removed an entire layer [of executives]”.
Wipro’s restructuring helped it compete globally with companies like IBM and Accenture mainly because it:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Adopted a decentralised and customer-focused management model
Option (1) Focused on increasing product prices — Incorrect. The passage says nothing about prices.
Option (2) Adopted a decentralised and customer-focused management model — Correct. Wipro shifted from a centralised to a decentralised system and split itself into units by product line. Decentralisation means passing the authority to take decisions down to the lower levels. The head of each unit could then decide quickly for his own customers. The whole change was driven by the goal of better customer orientation, and that is how Wipro hoped to stand beside IBM and Accenture.
Option (3) Reduced the number of subsidiaries — Incorrect. Wipro did the opposite. It separated itself into several subsidiaries.
Option (4) Centralised all global operations — Incorrect. Wipro moved away from centralisation, not towards it.
Note: The passage is the NCERT case study ‘Way To Go, Wipro!’, which has been reproduced by NTA in the exam. NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Restructuring Wipro was considered the most important step in becoming a global giant, driven by the goal towards improved customer-orientation. During the past few months, Wipro separated itself into several subsidiaries by product line: telecommunications, engineering, financial services, etc. Each subsidiary brings in about $300 million in annual earnings and is self-sufficient with their own accounting books, personnel and administrative functions. Wipro shifted from a centralised to decentralised management system. …” “Decentralisation In many organisations the top management plays an active role in taking all decisions while there are others in which this power is given to even the lower levels of management. Those organisations in which decision making authority lies with the top management are termed as centralised organisations whereas those in which such authority is shared with lower levels are decentralised organisations.” |