<iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-PHTV9K7" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden">
Loading
Skip to Main Content
Product cover image for Larsen & Toubro: Facing a Communication Crisis

Larsen & Toubro: Facing a Communication Crisis

Subba Lakshmi Prabha, Arup Majumdar

Product #:W42766
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Communications, Organizational Behaviour/Leadership
Setting:India, 2025
Details:Case (PDF) • 13 pages • 2025-06-16

Subjects:

Management communicationCrisis managementOrganizational cultureOrganizational behavior

Industries:

Construction and engineering

Geography:

IndiaAsia
Your Price:$10.54

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

  • Free Educator Copy
  • Free Teaching Notes
  • Build your coursepack
  • Discounted academic price

In early January 2025, the managing director and chair of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), one of India’s most respected business conglomerates, made controversial remarks during a town hall with employees related to working a 90-hour workweek. His remarks were caught on video, which quickly went viral. Public response to his remarks was quick and intense, drawing sharp criticism from professionals, unions, and corporate leaders, among others. The chair's comments ignited a broader national debate about employee well-being, corporate responsibility, and the cultural values that shaped India’s professional landscape. L&T had been dragged into a major controversy. What should the company and managing director do to defuse the situation and prevent such controversy in the future?

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for executive training programs, and for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on marketing and general management. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

  • Understand the importance of communication in transformational leadership.
  • Evaluate the impact a CEO’s communication can have on different audiences.
  • Understand the importance of PR training for a CEO before speaking to the media.
  • Evaluate the impact of the L&T managing director’s comments on the company’s brand reputation.
  • Develop a short-term company communication strategy to minimize the negative impact of damaging CEO communication.
  • Develop a long-term communication strategy to rebuild and strengthen the company reputation, including a CEO communication coaching strategy.
Loading
Case Study: Larsen & Toubro: Facing a Communication Crisis (English version) | Ivey Publishing