PERSONALITY ANALYSIS OF AN

INDIAN BUSINESS LEADER-

RAHUL BAJAJ
SUBMITTED BY- SHEFALI PANDEY
MBA J
1627756

INTRODUCTION
Mr. Rahul Bajaj (Born, June 10, 1938) is recognized as one of the most successful business
leaders of India. He heads the Bajaj Group of Companies which is a leader in a variety of
manufactured products and financial services in India and abroad including motorized 2 and
3-wheelers, home appliances, electric lamps, wind energy, special alloy and stainless steel,
cranes, forgings, infrastructure development, material handling equipment, travel, general and
life insurance and investment, consumer finance & asset management.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In 1975, he received the "Man of the Year" award from National Institute of Quality
Assurance
Business India honoured him as Businessman of the year 1985.
Bombay Management Association rewarded him for his service in the field of
Management, in 1990.
On behalf of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French Ambassador Mr.
Jerome Bonn font presented the honour of Knight in the Order of the Legion of
Honour to him.
He received the Alumni Achievement Award by the Harvard Business School (HBS)
from where he did his MBA in 1964
He was listed twentieth on the Forbes "Indias richest 40" list of people with a net
worth of US$1.1 Billion
For his contribution to Indian industry, he was awarded the nations third-highest
civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 2001.
He was elected to the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)(2006-10)
Economic Times and Ernst & Young bestowed their "lifetime achievement" awards on
him in November 2004.
Rani Durgavati University conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa)
in March 2005.

PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS
HERIDITY
"Given my family background, I knew I wanted to be a businessman by the time I was about
12" said Mr. Bajaj. His father and uncle were involved in the freedom struggle, and had also
been jailed briefly by the British Colonials for their patriotic fervor. His father served as a
three time Member of Parliament under the Congress government. This is the reason he is not
afraid of taking the risks. He is outspoken, confident and a man of his words. He is high on
ethics as it is evident from fact that he has never bribed any official or has stolen any of the
other companys projects.

BIG 5 PERSONALITY TEST

The Big Five factors are:
Openness (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
Conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless)
Extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
Agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. cold/unkind)
Neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident)
EXTRAVERSION
High- Open and friendly, Low- Quiet and private
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is high on extraversion as he is outgoing, talkative and sociable. We can see
this as he openly speaks about what is on his mind. For example, when Vijay Malaya asked
for government support when Kingfisher was going down, he openly spoke against it.
AGREEABLENESS
High- Empathetic friendly and helpful, low-- Manipulative and self-centered
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is moderate on agreeableness. He is very helpful as can be seen in the
numerous corporate social responsibly initiatives that Bajaj auto has taken and also. He is
always very concerned about his employees. But, even though he listens to his subordinates,
the final decision is always his.
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
High: Hardworking and reliable, Low: less goal oriented and laid-back
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is high on conscientiousness as it can be seen by the success of the company.
From just a scooter manufacturing company Rahul Bajaj has diversified the company into
automobiles, electrical, insurance, travel and finance. He took over the charge of Bajaj Group
in 1965, under his leadership Bajaj Auto has grown to new heights year after year. The
turnover of Bajaj Auto has risen from a mere Rs.72 million to Rs.46.16 billion
EMOTIONAL STABILITY
High- Level Headed and Calm, Low- Moody and Irritable
Mr. Bajaj has moderate emotional stability. Sometimes he gets very emotional looking at
peoples problems but other times, he does not move an inch. He lost control of his emotions
as shown in Karan Thapars interview in his show devils advocate.
OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE
High- Imaginative, sensitive, intellectual, Low- Incomprehensible
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is high on this factor as can be seen that when foreign companies came in
and the stock market collapsed in 2001, But without losing hope Rahul Bajaj with his
business expertise re- established the battered company. He established another factory in
Chakan, invested in R&D and came up with Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle. Bajaj Pulsar is
presently a leader in its sector.

PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES

Machiavellianism
Self-Monitoring
Risk Taking
Type A and Type B Personalities

MACHIAVELLANISM
Degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that
ends can justify means.
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is high on this factor. He made a rash decision to increase the production in
1967 when the government didnt allow him to increase it. Without giving a second thought
that he could be jailed.
SELF-MONITORING
A personality trait that measures an individuals ability to adjust behaviour to external
situations.
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is moderate on this factor. He strongly opposed FDI in 1991 because he
knew that it would bring in cheaper imports of raw materials and there might be chances that
his company wouldnt survive.
RISK TAKING
Refers to a persons willingness to take chances or risks
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is high on this factor as he took the risk of increasing the production even
though the government didnt permit it. He was decisive in nature as he took the decisions on
his own.
TYPE A PERSONALITY
People with Type A personalities are often high achieving "workaholics" who multi-task,
push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is a Type A personality as it is seen in his interviews that he measured his
success in terms of numbers. He is a workaholic, which is proved by the fact that he took a
break of merely 4 days between 1964-1984

ESTJ
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is an ESTJ. Which is Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking and Judging.
ESTJs are hardworking traditionalists, eager to take charge in organizing projects and people.
Orderly and rule abiding, ESTJs like to get things done, and tend to go about projects in a
systematic, methodical way. They value factual evidence over conjecture, and trust their
personal experience. ESTJs are the consummate organizers. They value predictability The
ESTJ wants to achieve efficient productivity. ESTJs are usually outgoing and excel at setting
goals, making decisions, and organizing resources to accomplish a task.

CONCLUSION
Mr. Rahul Bajaj is a leader who led from the front, with his actions proving so. His thinking
and taking decisions based on honesty has always paid off. E.g., after the workers strike in
1979, there has been no other strike at the Pune plant because they reached a consensus,
which was a win for both Bajaj and the workers. He has always stayed true to his words.
When he says something, he sticks by it. He is not fickle minded. He is honest and truthful.
Mr. Bajaj has never bribed anyone in his life. He did not give any bureaucrat a single penny
to secure licenses. Mr. Rahul Bajaj is also very hardworking and knows every part of the
company as at the beginning of his career, he worked in almost all departments of the Bajaj
business. Mr. Bajaj knows how to handle difficult situations in a good manner. When
liberalization happened and competitors like Honda came in, Rahul Bajaj increased his
advertising and his R&D expenditure to ensure that his products are not inferior to his
competition. Also, He made it through the parting with Firodias and Piaggio and is still a very
big name today. Mr. Bajaj also knew what was the right thing to do when. When he was not
getting licenses to produce more vehicles, even though there was a lot of demand, he did not
exploit the situation and charge a higher price. Instead, he found ways to produce more.
Lastly, it is the passion of Mr. Bajaj for his company that inspires us. He led a scooter
manufacturing company to where it is today and the fact that he lives in his factory grounds
even though he could afford a sprawling mansion proves how much he loves his work.