IIPM Business School: January 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

All roads lead to perdition...

UPA government’s record in augmenting its infrastructural needs can at best be described as pathetic, feels Sharad Gupta

India is part of the elite group of countries that have nuclear weapons. It has already sent a mission to the moon and is making big forays into space. Its military might matches any developed country. Yet, it doesn’t have proper roads, modern airports and enough port capacity. Its villages and towns are perpetually in dark while cities face a regular load-shedding. A quarter of its villages don’t have access to basic necessities like clean drinking water and sanitation.

UPA government’s record in augmenting its infrastructural needs can at best be described as pathetic. The national highway projects launched during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure and accelerated during Atal Behari Vajpayee’s tenure, almost came to a grinding halt during the last five years – from 81% during 2004 to 19% in the first quarter of 2009.

Though Hyderabad and Bangalore airports were modernised during UPA regime, they had been planned and initiated before UPA came to power. It is another matter though that Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel ran against the time – laying 2-3 foundation stones for building new airports or upgrading the existing ones – 15 days before Election Commission’s Code of Conduct came into force in February.

The story was slightly better on the power front as India signed the Indo-US nuclear deal last year, ensuring uninterrupted supply for uranium to generate civil nuclear energy. But it would take a long time for the first of such reactors to be imported and made operational.

Out of a total installed generation capacity of about 145,000 MW of electricity in the country, 70% comes from thermal fuel. While 20% is generated as hydro energy, nuclear energy contributes just 3%. The remaining capacities come from non-conventional energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and tidal waves. However, government plans to add at least 40,000 MW from nuclear sources by 2020. Though the government planned a number of ultra mega power projects with a capacity of 4,000 MW, during the past five years, power transmission and distribution have not made much progress. Financial losses in the power sector are to the tune of Rs.300 billion per year and subsidy bills have been consistently rising. The Electricity Act, 2003, which set into motion the rapid development of the power sector, was also formulated during the NDA regime. Much of the action that followed, such as the National Electricity Policy, also predates UPA government.

Read more....

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Friday, January 25, 2013

Bestselling blockbusters

Reading the future of books and movies...

Salman Rushdie presented the world his magnum opus – Midnight’s Children – in 1981 and more than 25 years later, people are still bewitched by this tale. Not only did it bag the ‘Booker’ of Bookers last year, but now Deepa Mehta is planning to bring it to life on the silver screen. Filmmakers have often looked to books for inspiration, but Midnight’s Children is understandably no ordinary book. Deepa, along with Imran Khan as her lead star, and Salman Rushdie himself by her side, paying extraordinary attention to the making of the film, might just be able to succeed in recreating this intricate, magical story; though it’s no menial task. Yet complex scripts haven’t deterred filmmakers as yet! Innumerous books have been made into films, and as the trend keeps growing, one wonders if writing books, while keeping films in mind is their ticket to money and fame?

With over 1,000 films churned out of our country alone, it’s no surprise that books are often made into movies, and when it’s one like Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Devdas – just one film is so not enough to do the book justice! After Shahrukh Khan’s much-lauded performance as Devdas just 6-7 years ago, the new talented kid on the block, Abhay Deol, is now out to paint the character in a more modern but equally inebriated hues in Dev D. While Vidhu Vinod Chopra had masterfully recreated another of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s book – Parineeta – he is now betting his money on the story Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. Titled 3 Idiots, the film has Aamir Khan in the lead role. Another of Bhagat’s book – One Night @ the Call Center – was made into the very forgettable film Hello. Vishal Bharadwaj brought Shakespeare’s stories to the common people in India through his films Maqbool and Omkara. And the film which has finally got our countrymen seriously into the race for the Oscars – Slumdog Millionaire – is also based on a book – Q & A by Vikas Swarup.

Read more......

Monday, January 21, 2013

If Japan can, so can we

INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES & VIETNAM WERE FAMED TO BE FOLLOWING THE JAPANESE GROWTH PATH... THEY TOOK THE COMPARISON TOO SERIOUSLY WE GUESS. BY VIRAT BAHRI

Looking for vulnerable economies post the devastating global crisis of 2008? You can safely look forward to pay dirt in Southeast Asia. Memories of the 1997 crisis, and how the group of 6 – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & South Korea – suffered in its wake – are still fresh in the minds of people. Before 1997, these were the new beacons of capitalism and free markets. Within two years, they became the most embarrassing symbols of what could go terribly wrong with the ‘American way’.

Structural weaknesses in these economies remain, particularly with their financial systems; and with what Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman had referred to as the myth of the East Asian miracle. He made the argument prior to the East Asian crisis, when he said that their growth was growth in factor productivity (labour and capital) and not led by technical innovation. Thanks to the seasonal nature of rice farming, the people of these countries quickly adapted to assembly line manufacturing, but the services and distribution sectors remained weak. This was aptly illustrated in Indonesia, for instance, where there were some 850 banks before the 1997-98 crisis and 800 collapsed during the crisis! And as China became a fiercely competitive manufacturing giant, these economies saw themselves in trouble; also because they had developed little expertise in trading and financial services.

With respect to the current situation, three economies from Southeast Asia qualify as the red flag economies – Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. Prof. Edward Lincoln, Clinical Professor of Economics, NYU Stern, does point out that these economies “have come through the current recession with positive economic growth.” But the internal risks are still on a high pedestal.

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Gay blood, bad blood?

After the fight for acceptance, homosexuals embark on a new fight...

Raghav (named changed) was a regular blood donor since his college days, and had once also donated blood to help his dad recover from a critical health situation. But one day his application form for blood donation was rejected because it had a tick marked on the question which asked if the donor has had sexual relations with a person of the same sex after 1977. Disappointed on being refused on grounds of being gay, Raghu decided not to donate blood anymore.

After legalising homosexual relationships in India, the various other laws attached to it are in a state of flux, and one of it is the ban on bisexuals or gay men from donating their blood. This prohibition was first introduced in 1977 by the Food and Drug Association, USA, to combat the HIV pandemic, which was rampant at that time. The first signs of AIDS were observed in gay men in the early 1980s, which led to researches that concluded that unprotected anal sex was a major factor intensifying this epidemic. This had led the FDA to impose a ban on homosexuals from donating blood.

Addressing this issue in context to the Indian scenario, Dr. Anju of Rotary Blood Bank says, “Till now, we have been following the rules that exist in most countries. We have a clause according to which we can’t take blood from those involved with multiple partners, that includes both homosexuals and heterosexuals.” On questioning if people in India reveal such intimate details, she said, “Well, we haven’t encountered many such cases and I’m sure that there are many who don’t reveal such details while donating blood. So, all we can do is take as much precaution as we can from our end. But we do not take blood from homosexuals because the probability of them carrying HIV and being involved with multiple partners is much more. So that’s a precautionary measure we follow.”

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Friday, January 18, 2013

That’s what made all the difference!

B&E’s Pallavi Srivastava catches up with management graduates who looked beyond the traditional corporate career and took up non-conventional jobs... and that’s what made all the difference!

Unlike Sarath – who found his calling relatively late – actress Manjari Phadnis knew very well from the beginning that a corporate career is not what her true calling is. Manjari is currently pursuing an MBA from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM). As an actress, she got a lot of accolades for her role as ‘Meghna’ in Imran Khan’s debut movie Jaane Tu Yaa Jane Na! The pretty lass started her career as an actress when she was just out of school. Her first movie was Planman Motion Pictures’ Rok Sako To Rok Lo. She has also starred in Anjan Dutta’s critically acclaimed National Award winning movie Faltu. “Acting has always been my first priority, but I have always made it a point to complete my formal education alongside. MBA is something that I am doing because I really enjoy it. Also, being an MBA teaches you how to deal with people well,” says Manjari. The actress strongly feels that the entertainment industry is where she belongs and that is her true calling. Her MBA, however, will help her to be a better manager and a better marketer which nevertheless will be an added advantage in the tinsel town. “On the screen or behind the scenes, entertainment industry is where I belong and that is what I will keep doing,” she concludes.

So while entertainment is Manjari’s true calling, 27-year-old Kaushalendra Kumar has his heart set on working for the upliftment of the farmers of Bihar. After completing his MBA, Kaushalendra is at present running an NGO, Kaushalya Foundation, that focuses on mobilising and organising the informal and fragmented vegetable sector of Bihar. And Kaushalendra is not alone in this cause. His friend O. P. Singh, who is also an MBA from IIM Ahemdabad, shares the vision of making Bihar the vegetable hub of the nation – the common motive for the two to start Kaushalya Foundation.

Coming from a farmer’s family from a village in Nalanda district of Bihar, Kaushalendra Kumar is very well familiar with the predicaments that a farmer faces in Bihar. He accepts, “I belong to a farmer family in Bihar. I have seen their troubles and also opportunities they missed out on because they were not guided.”

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Oh bummer!

Obama should close down TEAB

Obama’s ‘trusted’ Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB) is not only irrelevant, but continuing it any further could be a major source of embarrassment for Obama. That TEAB has grossly under-performed can be seen from direct indicators – TEAB has been able to spend just about half the recovery package of $787 billion; TEAB has not given concrete steps for stemming the growing unemployment, now at 9.8%, and job losses of 4 million alone in this year; TEAB’s huge lack of focus on controlling America’s humungous deficit of $1.4 trillion is legendary. Added to that is the clear conflict of interest that some of the 17 members of TEAB have in gaining from the stimulus that they themselves have promoted – for examples, Warren Buffet (had investments in Goldman Sachs and other firms that got huge stimulus support) and Robert Rubin (Chairman of Citigroup; got $45 billion government support).

And if Obama even dreams of getting his rote against outsourcing in action, a few TEAB members will be dancing to a different tune we guess – Robert Rubin created a collection and transaction process centre in 2000, having 12,000 employees now, which has been sold to Tata Consultancy Services.

Read more.....

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Olympian samba in ‘Lula’land

Brazil is on track to host the 2016 Olympics, but it must also focus on developing more world class athletes

Yes we créu!”, may sound like a cliché – especially to all those North Americans who have been pre-occupied with the razzmatazz of “Yes, we can”. But this was one occasion they couldn’t; make Chicago win the bid to host the 2016 Olympics, that is. And this happened despite Barack Obama himself staking his reputation behind Chicago’s bid.

Anyways, the more interesting development has been w.r.t. to the winner – Rio de Janeiro, a city famous for sun and sin, which got chosen ahead of Chicago and Tokyo. Even more shocking was Madrid’s lost of 32-66 in a direct contest between the two in the final round of voting. It’s for the first time that any Latin American country will be hosting Olympic games. The IOC’s choice of Rio de Janeiro makes the emergence of this “backyard of the United States” quite evident.

What came as an added advantage for Rio was the ongoing preparation for 2014 FIFA World Cup in the country. Brazil has always been over-enthusiastic about football. And this has acted as amajor shot in the arm for its bid for the Olympic games. Since most of Brazil’s infrastructure and games venues are under a major overhaul for the FIFA World Cup, the city seems pseudo-ready for Olympics.

But it seems that this “backyard of the United States” was also preparing itself quite well “behind the veil.” To win the 2016 games for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil spent almost $50 million. Rio will spend an estimated $11.1 billion to build the facilities and infrastructure for the Olympic venues. So much so that Brazilian president Lula da Silva spent two days in Copenhagen and also wrote personal letters to the 106 voting members. He had each letter hand-delivered by an ambassador. Obama’s effort was quite measured in comparison, as he made a special appearance at the last moment.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

ONGC was a virtual monopoly when it came to oil and gas in India

For decades, ONGC was a virtual monopoly when it came to oil and gas in India. Now, CMD R.S Sharma finds that players like Reliance and Cairn can outsmart and outrun it. ratan lal bhagat analyses his dilemma.

The quiet gurgling told me two things: first, that oil and gas will remain the source of massive profits, massive lobbying, bitter corporate feuds and much more for decades to come. Second, I couldn’t but help empathise with CMD Sharma who knows he has a tough job at hand. In his simple and sober sixth floor office in Jeevan Bharti building in the heart of Delhi, Sharma was quite philosophical when he said, “ E&P remains the most challenging business where inputs are deterministic and outputs are probabilistic”. It took me a while to figure out that Mr Sharma was basically saying that you can put all the money you want into exploring for oil and gas; but it will always remain a gamble.

About 1,500 kilometres away from his 6th floor office, the drilling and separator sites of ONGC tell the same story in a quiet and understated manner. And I can’t help wonder: Is Mr Sharma worrying about the fate that befell his predecessor Subir Raha who started publicly asking questions from the masters about the functional autonomy for the company? Or is he more worried about the spectre of Reliance Industries led by Mukesh Ambani dislodging ONGC as the number one oil and gas company of the country? Not to mention the giant oil fields discovered by Cairn in Rajasthan that promise to produce as much as 20% of the total oil output of India? Incidentally, ONGC is a 30% partner in the Rajasthan oil field and is now wondering how it will benefit. Particularly, if the government treats it like a step child. In one of his more candid moments during an exclusive interview, this is what A.K Hazarika, the Director, Onshore of ONGC had to tell B&E, “Though the discovery has been made by Cairn, the licensee is ONGC. And as per the policy, the royalty for this has to be borne by the licensee. Today, ONGC owns 30% of the blocks and has to pay royalty for the rest 70% also. This is going to badly impact the financial standings and profitability of ONGC. The government has promised to reimburse the amount but we have got nothing but sympathy so far”.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Our ‘copy’right!

WTO finally pulls up errant China

China has had so many issues with patents that it could actually patent its expertise on restricting intellectual property and on giving nightmares to copyright owners! The dragon has lost yet another trade battle with the US in the World Trade Organisation in August 2009 – it’s third loss to the US since last year.

The gilded cage that China has created by restricting imports of DVDs, music, books, software is described by the panel as discriminatory and not in line with the policies of WTO. In 2007, 11.7 million Americans were employed in these copyright industries and foreign sales totalled $126 billion in 2007 – thus, the damage done to American businesses is significant. The international theft of all kinds of intellectual property has resulted in the loss of 750,000 American jobs. And because of its sheer size and lousy copyright laws, China has long been the focus of American and global concern.

China has also restrained the number of foreign films that can be released on her own soil to 20 each year. This policy has given birth to rampant piracy across the country, where movie or music DVDs are available at sums as paltry as $1.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Baltic Beach Hotel

Treat yourself to a short and sweet white sand getaway. For those desiring a classy but relaxed beach holiday, Baltic Beach Hotel is the ideal Baltic getaway. Enjoy some romantic candle-lit meals with your special someone and gaze at the sparkling stars while you sip on some exquisite old wine. If you feel up to it, then indulge in a sinful massage. Stay at the Baltic Beach Hotel is a memorable experience in itself when you have luxury, tradition and unparalleled hospitality on a platter.

The View: An oasis of peace and pleasure on the very sea shore – “Baltic Beach Hotel” – the leading hotel of the “Baltic Hotel Group” chain is located within only couple of minutes walk from the central street of Jurmala. The emerald sea waters and the wonderful scenery take your breath away. Don’t be surprised if the morning breeze greets you with the fresh aroma of pine trees.

Archi Type: Well known for its aesthetic sense and artistic streak, Baltic Beach Hotel, has the plushest interiors. The hotel has subtle pastel-coloured interiors and fine craftsmanship has been displayed in all corners of the hotel. Ranging from exquisite wooden furnishings to select decoration pieces, the hotel has been tastefully done up.

Bon appétit: The resort has the Caviar Club, which offers delicious European cuisine. Combining classical Italian cuisine with contemporary cooking, ‘il sole’, the Mediterranean restaurant offers traditional, as well as popular Italian dishes and true masterpieces of the culinary art. To begin your day with a soothing cup of tea, the Lobby Bar offers the most relaxing ambience. Kiss the sun goodbye while sipping on some champagne and lighting the cigar at the Kalian Bar.

Around the corner: Baltic Beach Hotel is perfectly situated in Jurmala in such a way that a walk alongside the beautiful Lielupe River and a safari in the Kemeri National Park is a must.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

What got you there, won’t get you (back) here

If there has to be a case made out for mistakes in identifying India as a target market, AT&T wouldn’t even find competitors in its ring. AT&T and Tata had picked up stake in Birla Communications in the year 2001 and rechristened it as Idea Cellular Ltd. Considering that the wireless market in India at that time was just picking up, there would have been immense opportunity for AT&T. However, due to the tussle amongst the partners and given that Idea Cellular only had limited circles to operate in India, AT&T – after just three years, in 2004 – amazingly announced its decision to call it quits.

Analysts say Cingular had taken over AT&T Wireless in the US and the new management wanted to concentrate on the American market that was becoming increasingly challenging. But how could one justify even that with exiting the Indian market (AT&T informed stakeholders in Idea that it does not consider its investments in India as ‘strategic priority investment’). In 2004, Birla and Tatas both bought over the stake of AT&T.

Once AT&T realised the mistake it had made, it tried to re-enter the Indian market in 2006, by tying up with it Mahindra Group to launch National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) calls. As a matter of fact, AT&T was the first company in the country to offer NLD and ILD facilities. But Portica substituting for Cleopatra? Get aside Caesar, no way! Although it was a significant step of AT&T to stay in the Indian wireless market, it was not the same as being a cellular service provider. When in 2008, the fresh spectrums were being issued, there were speculations that AT&T would partner with DLF/ Mahindra Group.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“India is critical to world’s progress”

In an exclusive interview to B&E’s pathikrit payne, Sir Richard Stagg, British High Commissioner to India speaks about India’s incredible future potential and the positive impact of its outsourcing business...

B&E: How do you look at the transformation of India from the time of Independence to now when it is an emerging powerhouse?

RS: We view it as an amazing achievement of India. The transformation especially in economy, society and the way in which the country worked in the last 60 years. India has an enormously important role to play in the world. India is a model of how democracy and development can go hand in hand as it has just been shown in the elections, which went off so well. So we view India as a country which has emerged on the world’s scene. It’s now the fourth biggest economy in the world by PPP. It’s critical to almost all critical issues that the world faces, be it trade rounds, development sphere, agreement on climate change, international sponsor to financial crisis. India has put itself in the centre of major issues, which reflects the success of its governance.

B&E: Is there paranoia in the UK about the economic resurgence of India and it becoming an outsourcing hub, as it leads to job losses in UK?

RS: In the case of India, there’s genuine welcome from almost every political group in UK. UK is very comfortable with the companies using outsourcing as one of the ways to make their business more successful. From our perspective, it makes no sense to constrain the competitiveness of our companies by limiting their ability to outsource. We will not succeed as an economy just by competing for relatively low skilled jobs, which can be done at a lower cost elsewhere. We have to accept that the only way we are going to succeed as a country and as an economy, is by moving up the value chain by doing higher value added tasks. So the government’s challenge is to ensure that as the low skilled jobs leave UK, we provide training and up-skilling to the people affected, so that they can do higher value work in the economy.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The new #1 Samsung

LG ruled the Indian consumer durables market for long. But since 2011, it has been struggling to play catch up with the new #1 Samsung. The road to regaining glory isn’t an easy one for LG

With LG at a crossroads, Kwon has enough reasons to worry about. Though this time around, the company doesn’t stand a chance of being put on life support system, it’s the love for the gold that gives him the wrinkles. The company has already lost the crown when it comes to overall revenues and profits. Now, with Samsung’s new strategy to go bullish on the mobile handset market in India (especially the smartphone market where it has already captured a 41% market share; CY2011), and with LG’s loosening grip on the same cash-cow of a product segment, more questions are being asked about whether hopefuls in the LG India boardroom really trust a turnaround in near future. This is LG’s core problem. Between 2010 and 2011, its share in the Indian handset market fell from 5% to 2%, while that of Samsung rose by 2.1% to 17.1%. To imagine that Samsung India earns 55% of its revenues from this category (Rs.10,500 crore), LG’s stance of ignoring the mobile handset market is nothing but suicidal.

There is another problem-in-the-making. We say in-the-making, because the effect of it hasn’t quite started showing on the chaebol’s health. It all started in 2007 when Moon Bum Shin, the-then MD of LG India, announced the company’s vision – that of LG being regarded as a premium brand. Supposedly, the decision was in line with the company’s global mandate. Since then, LG has been at it to reposition itself as a premium brand, and not one meant for the masses. LG was out in the market to try something new, a detour from the main road that helped it become the #1 in the market. Four years have gone by since then, and even today, your neighbour would vote for LG being a great ‘mass’ product! The company however is not one to give up. Even Shin’s successor Soon Kwon, MD of LG India, is working on repainting LG’s image with rich colours. Onlookers are not quite convinced that this will help LG work its way up the ladder again, by playing up on the aspirational value. If a Motorola tying up with Dolce & Gabanna (using its best selling product the MotoRAZR) couldn’t help catapult Motorola’s perception to that of a maker of premium phones, LG cannot on its own switch its identity to a high-end CD manufacturer. The company should take some lessons from the books of automakers or even some handset makers in this regard. The Skoda and Volkswagen brands are mass brands while Bentley and Audi are premium offerings from the same company - the Volkswagen group. Lexus is a high-priced product, while Toyota sells cars for the masses – again both belong to the same company. It’s the same story with Vertu and Nokia. If LG has to create an impact in the premium pockets, it has to walk ahead with a non-confused positioning strategy. Creation of sub-brands with identities unique or faintly linked with the parent LG brand is an option.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“Every fact about the consumer is consumer insight”

What are the key factors that you keep in mind while planning a successful campaign?

First and foremost, in any campaign, you need to understand what the marketing objectives of the client are and what the deliverables are from the expected campaign. Specific campaigns have specific deliverables. We need to be very clear while designing a campaign because it should be very clear what needs to be delivered for a specific campaign. What are the marketing objectives of the campaign? Based on that, we make a matrix of the campaign. Advertising is done to achieve marketing objectives. The first and foremost thing is a clear understanding between the media agency and the client. The client should have a clear idea on what they need out of a campaign. So, clarity of the campaign is aligned with marketing objectives and its very important.

The second most important thing is “an objective inquiry into the relevant consumer’s mind”. You need to understand whether your campaign is meant for an existing user of the brand or for a lapsed user or to expand the user base of the brand, et al. Depending on that, you will get an understanding about the consumer’s mindset. Every fact about the consumer is a consumer insight. Consumer insight is something, which has never been used before or something which was there in the consumer’s mind but was not unearthed so far. The things which are fresh and unused are what I believe to be consumer insights.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

It’s the true world wide ‘web’

Global coordinated action is a huge necessity to tackle cyber crimes

A young man called Jimmy, an Internet hacker, walks discreetly to a Cyber Café in Nigeria to demonstrate his skills of perfidy, fooling perfectly innocent people into his well crafted web of fraudulence. He sends tens of thousands of e-mails congratulating them for winning $6.4 million worth of a sham British lottery. Anybody falling into this trap would be asked to pay ‘fees’ and ‘taxes’ amounting to $5000, which would be pocketed by Jimmy, leaving the respondents in the lurch.

Jimmy is only a tiny fish in the huge ocean of cyber crimes. In UK, internet crime gangs are recruiting students from British universities to join them. Often, these syndicates have developed a cult following among young hackers who are lured by the promise of celebrity status. This kind of recruitment resembles the KGB style of doing things in the heydays of the Cold War. The online fraudulence includes Internet auctions, sweepstakes, lotteries, identity theft and prizes that have despoiled money worth $152 million in the US alone last year. Older people are more susceptible to these crimes; they have being defrauded to the tune of $43 million in 2005. Around 41% of complaints of fraudulence filed by people from the age group of above 50 and received by Federal Trade Commission of US are online crimes. The figure was only 33% in 2002; indicating an alarming increase. As if things were not bad enough for the US, top secret data from Pentagon has been hacked regularly by Russian, Chinese & French hackers, which has kick-started a cyber war with them. Now these hackers are a cause of concern across borders.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.