Harvard School includes India's Mumbai terror attacks as case study

Harvard Business School has included the heroic response of Taj Mahal hotel staff during the 26/11 terror attacks in the western Indian financial capital of Mumbai as part of a case study, according to a hotel spokesperson.

We are honored to be a part of the Harvard Business School case study in which the spirit, loyalty and resilience of our employees during the crisis has been recognized as an exemplary display of leadership, the spokesperson said in a statement.

The multimedia case study by professor Rohit Deshpande of the school documents the bravery and resourcefulness shown by the hotel staff during the attack in 2008.

The hotel spokesperson said Deshpande had felt during one of his engagements that the terror attack story provided a great opportunity to showcase unique leadership in crisis management and that he saw the potential of a case study coming out from one of the new emerging economies.

The details were shared with Harvard Business School to form a multimedia case study and the case was first presented in the fall of 2010 where senior management from Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces were invited to be present for an interactive session with the students,” the spokesperson said.

The case study 'Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership' turns the spotlight on the hotel staff and how they stayed put at their positions, saving lives of the guests who stayed in the hotels while jeopardizing their own safety and with some even sacrificing their lives.

The hotel’s general manager Karambir Singh was one example who led from the front exhibiting resilience by continuing to supervise rescue operations and helping several guests even after losing his wife and two sons in the attack.

The case study also showed how loyalty and dedication cannot be replicated elsewhere.

At least 166 people were killed in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 after 10 Pakistani terrorists attacked hotel guests and employees. As many as 12 employees of the hotel were killed in the attack although the exact figures were not revealed.