Taj staff heroism defies Harvard study

• Even though the employees "knew all the back exits" and could have easily fled the building, some stayed back to help the guests
• The study is on "why the Taj employees stayed at their posts, jeopardising their safety in order to save hotel guests" and how that level of loyalty and dedication can be replicated elsewhere.
• A documentary-style account of the events, the case includes video interviews with hotel staff and footage of the attack. It shows how leadership displayed by people from the bottom rank to the top levels in the organisational hierarchy helped in saving lives. It also focusses on the hotel's history, its approach to recruiting and training employees, the Indian philosophy of "guest is God," and how the hotel would recover after the attacks.
• Another key concept of the study is that in India and the rest of the developing world, "there is a much more paternalistic equation between employer and employee that creates a kinship."