India

Napoli was shocked when he saw the transfer prices on the standard elevators were 30% above the costs he had used to prepare his plans as costs had increased. The import duties were increased sharplyby the Indian government.

Napoli decided on an outsourcing strategy to keep overheads low with neither in-house manufacturing nor a logistics infrastructure. This would help maintain low costs asthe import duties had also been increased. He believed he could set up a local manufacturing network that would preserve Schindler’s quality reputation.

Inter-company collaboration to the newlow-cost subsidiary was sporadic, delays in parts lists, design specifications and engineering support. This added to the woes of the local manufacturers.

Managing a team in India

Napoli was known tobe a “strong-headed and single-minded manager. He wants everything done yesterday. And in India things don’t get done yesterday”. Napoli acknowledged that “To survive in India you have to be halfmonk and half warrior; I was more inclined to the warrior side”. When he left Switzerland for India Luc Bonnard, Vice Chairman Schindler Holdings advised “You will have to work on your monk part.”

Assaid by an Indian executive “Silvio was clearly the driver and the boss but MK was great in helping Silvio understand the Indian environment.” Out of this interaction emerged a company culture thatwas ‘informal, open, responsive and proactive’.

Napoli’s new management team questioned him on the feasibility of his plan of selling only standard elevators. They also worried about the outsourcingstrategy.

When Napoli had traveled to Italy for urgent family reasons he was informed that the company had accepted an order for an expensive glass pod elevator that was to be imported from Europe.His reaction – ‘I was first just surprised and then pretty angry, since it clearly was a violation of the strategy we had agreed on’. He could not stop it as it was too late – the project was...