Indra Nooyi: An Inspiring Female Leader

PepsiCo, Inc., is regarded as the second largest food and beverage business in the world, and a large part of its success can be attributed to its leader. Indra Nooyi, who served as the chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo, is an inspiring and visionary leader for many reasons. She wasnot only the first female CEO of PepsiCo but had also featured in Forbes' list of the 100 mostinfluential women in the world for over a decade. In addition, she exceled as a relationship- oriented leader, using innovative strategies to inspire and forge the way forward for women across the world.

Attentive to the needs and preferences of customers, Nooyi constantly engaged in understanding and responding to the rapidly changing trends in the industry. For example, during a business trip

to China, she spent 10 days touring different cities in the region, studying the strategic market for PepsiCo. In an interview with Bloomberg's David Rubenstein, her attention to customer preferences was evident through her story about surveying her friends' kitchens during parties tosee what products they used every day (and hoping to find some PepsiCo items in the mix).

Nooyi was also someone who provided direction. In 2012, she decided to have a design team to refresh the brand image, rethink the Pepsi packaging, and redesign its vending machines. Formerhead of 3M, Mauro Porcini became PepsiCo's first Chief Design Officer overseeing design-ledinnovation across all the company's brands. A pioneering decision at the time, this is now a strategy that many companies employ. This decision was successful and improved PepsiCo's top and bottom line. It also increased the company's customer appeal. For example, PepsiCo'sDesign & Innovation team created a new fountain machine, allowing customers to select one flavor from more than 1,000 combinations.

As a female executive who had broken the highest glass ceiling in a global company, Nooyi is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion at all organizational levels. In 2010, the company launched a survey, focusing on female managers, to understand the reasons for the underrepresentation of women at executive levels. The findings showed that women lacked self- confidence and believed that men were more capable of networking and pushing forward. Inresponse, PepsiCo launched a leadership development program for women called "Strategies for Success," aimed to help women boost their confidence and help them effectively reach leadership roles in the organization. Within two years, the female representation in senior positions in the operations team increased from 0 to 33 percent.

BusinessWeekdescribes her "prescient business sense" as behind many of the firm'sstrategic and successful moves, including the spin-off of its fast food businesses Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, a merger with Quaker Oats, and the purchase of Tropicana. Through it all Nooyi has maintained a style and presence that allows her personality to shine.

As mentioned in the case, Nooyi is committed topromoting diversity and inclusion at all

organizational levels.

1.Discuss the steps that Nooyi needs to take in human resources management to accomplish this goal. Provide relevant examples.

2.Use ONE contemporary theories of motivation to explain the employee motivation Nooyi may apply in this case.

3.Suggest ways to motivate diverse employees, such as women managers.

4.Elaborate the communication approach you would suggest Nooyi to use to effectively

reach her employees with a diversity message. Justify your answers.

5.What does Nooyi need to consider when undergoing organizational design process? Elaborate with examples.

6.How would you describe PepsiCo's corporate strategy under Nooyi's leadership?