IIPM ARTICLE AND PUBLICATION: 2008

Monday, October 20, 2008

‘C’, the new ‘F’

Cyber crime is the new ‘F’ word
The Internet revolution has helped the world in many ways,

but as studies now confirm, it has supported the spread of hatred globally. A study released by the Jewish human rights group, Simon Wiesenthal Centre, exemplified that the abuse of sites, social networks, blogs and video sharing has spread more hatred and violence in the world in the recent years. The study found a 30% increase of sites (now running over 3000) that spread hatred. The recent Latvian documentary, ‘The Soviet Story’, which compared communism with fascism, agitated the Kremlin government; thousands of ‘suicide bomber’ games in America, which show the generic bearded ‘Muslim’ enemy, have been enraging Muslims globally; border petrol games, which aim to kill innocent Mexican immigrants migrating to America, are plucking their patience, and so on so forth.

Even hacking hasn’t been left to individuals. American intelligence since long has kept on blaming the Chinese government for nurturing nationalist hackers or promoting contests between Turks vs Armenians, Serbs vs. Albanians. China’s anti-cnn.com movement is another case for example. Global governments must curb the anonymity that the net provides through enforceable regulations that will create accountability, failing which, the menace can only turn rampant.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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Friday, October 17, 2008

The no-brainer auto issue

The second struct

ural defect afflicting hybrids is their pricing. It could well turn out that unless auto companies ensure that the pricing levels of offered hybrids are in tune with mass market expectations – especially in markets like India and China, expected to be the world’s top two in the next five to ten years – they might well start failing. Hybrids are simply not cost effective, and will not be in the next seven to ten years, if at all then. A hybrid, to be rampantly successful, has to be priced in such a range that enables the consumer to perceive its ‘long term’ cost effectiveness over the ‘short term’, thus engaging his buying intent. Confusing? For better clarity, read what Deputy Editor Virat Bahri writes later on in the cover section: “Doubts are often raised about how cost effective hybrids really turn out to be. NuWire Investor’s Cali Zimmerman compared the [price of the] Toyota Camry hybrid with the normal version, and statistically proved that the cost difference cannot be recovered before 13.8 years!!! Even the first hybrid to be introduced in, say, a poor country like India – the Honda Civic – costs a huge Rs.18-22 lakhs.” How does one expect consumers in a poverty-ridden country like India (with per capita GDP just around $1000) to buy such a costly car? Isn’t it then quite a no-brainer issue to say that a hybrid, by its very definition, loses its USP once it is priced higher than even normal cars? Amusingly, not when you look at it from the perspective of billion dollar corporations who refuse to wink when drunk.

The no-brainer auto issue #3

Alternate fuel! In their blind quest for finding out god’s gift of a substitute for petrol, automobile companies are attempting to move the damned mountain when all they had to do was to change the course of the river. With hybrids getting beaten in hype only by this third dimwit of a concept called alternate fuel, car companies are only taking themselves and of course the customers for a royal ride attempting to create cars that run on grandiose non-market-tested ‘alternate’ fuel. Let me give you a primer on the alternate fuels available in the market and their ridiculous inconsistency. (a) Biomass: Fuel from plant matter or even waste material. Famous biomass fuels: methanol and ethanol. Unsolvable issues (for the next ten years) remain on how much arable land will be used (wasted) to host plant matter to produce required ‘cost effective’ ethanol. Pollution issues in ethanol production cycle are totally unresolved. Worse, methanol as fuel is not even efficient! (b) Hydrogen: Talk to me after 20 years and I’ll show you an affordable price-effective fuel cell that can logically power a car on the road. Currently, DuPont can fix one up for you in your car for the price of a mini-satellite. (c) Photo-voltaic energy from the sun; solar powered cars: Keep the windows open and make sure you don’t get embarrassed driving a car with no passenger seat at 10 miles an hour. (d) Battery operated hybrids: Been there, done that! (e) A cost-effective nuclear powered engine: Thirty years!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe!

With the variety on offer, customers have little to worry about issues like inflation. Life’s not so blissful for players though, and inflation is just the tip of the iceberg, says savreen gadhoke of B&E
Criminal seems to be the right word for it, when you look at

the state of affairs in the FMCG sector. It takes some of the country’s best marketing minds to research extensively on customer behaviour and prepare a ‘fool proof’ strategy to win in the market place. Millions are spent on advertisements, quite often with the ‘celebrity price tag attached’, managing distributor relationships, sponsorships, PR initiatives, et al. And when the product reaches the point of purchase, the time that the customer may take to bring this entire exercise to naught (by rejecting the product of course), could be not more than a fraction of a second. Like we said, criminal!

And when customer loyalty is already such an expensive commodity, unforeseen phenomena like the recent upsurge in inflation, which surpassed the 13-year high figure and touched 12.01% (for the week ended July 26, 2008), can make matters even worse. Current rising prices of raw materials, fuel, energy and essential commodities have hit the bottom lines of these FMCG companies. According to a report by ASSOCHAM Eco Pulse, the sector witnessed an increase of 16.2% in the prices of key input materials within the three months ending March 2008. As a result, net sales recorded a marginal increase and the sector witnessed a fall of 15.38% in net profits on q-o-q basis, thereby putting pressures on the volumes, which grew by a meager 5.76% during that period. Rakesh Kumar Sinha, COO, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) told B&E, “The challenges are rise in raw material and commodity costs that are disturbing the entire FMCG industry, specifically the personal care segment...”

But hold on! There is good news in the air this time around. For, in the quarter ending June, 2008, the picture has transformed quite dramatically. The FMCG sector has performed significantly well in terms of its profit and sales figures. While HUL recorded an increase of 13.20% in its net profits on a sequential y-o-y basis, Nestlé India achieved a record growth of 26.54% in its net PAT.

Other FMCG players like Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd., Dabur India Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd. too recorded an increase of 18.13%, 11.94% and 11.63% in their net profits respectively, despite the fact that the prices of key raw materials like palm oil, edible oil, milk, et al, rose by an average of 15-20% during the period. Beverage companies were even luckier, as a Coca-Cola India spokesperson revealed to B&E, “Economic bureau has attached an economic weight of 0.1 on soft drinks, so the beverages market was not impacted much...”

A spokesperson from Dabur tells B&E, “Intelligent buying of raw materials is among the various initiatives undertaken by Dabur to increase efficiency and reduce cost of operations.” The company has benefitted from doing its purchasing on futures exchanges. Tushar Bhattacharya, a FMCG analyst at FICCI states, “New product launches, modernised packaging, introduction of low-unit packs (LUPs) and increase in volumes are few strategies that the FMCG companies in general have adopted to fight inflation.”

Another tactic employed was price hikes wherever possible. HUL and GCPL amongst others raised their prices by 2-20% to come out of the situations arising out of increasing raw material prices. As prices of milk marked an increase of 15-20%, Amul reacted in a similar manner. R. S. Sodhi, Chief General Manager, GCMMF (parent company of Amul India) told B&E, “Despite increase in inflation, there was no reduction in demand for our milk products. Subsequent to the rise in the prices of milk, Amul raised the prices of its products in the range of 5-15%.” Dabur India also hiked prices by around 5% of some products in key categories like hair care and oral care.

And those who did not increase their prices (to retain customers) resorted to another smart game plan. Instead of increasing prices, few of the companies reduced the weight of their products and sold it at the same selling price. Anand Shah, FMCG analyst with Angel Broking calls this phenomenon as pack rationalisation and states that “it is a kind of price hike only but directed by quantity.”

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Bridge on the Palk Straits

Will the government take Ram Setu to ASI and show its hand?
Is the government’s policy on Ram Setu about to be put to test?

There is a good chance it will be after the Supreme Court asks the UPA government to consider holding an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) investigation to ascertain whether Ram Setu is indeed an “ancient monument”. A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan asked the government to explore “the possibility of carrying out the project through any other channels (alignments).”

The UPA government’s policy of vacillating in the extreme on Ram Setu (not knowing whether it would lead to appeasement or alienation) has led to the Court to demand more consistency on issues such as Ram Setu, even while acknowledging that it is nearly impossible to lay down guidelines of any kind in a democracy.

Not surprisingly, the court’s order has been welcomed by all those who are opposed to the dismantling of Ram Setu. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, a petitioner in the case, said the government could not ignore the directive in light of the recent Madras High Court order. The next hearing is on July 22. In the interregnum, the Bench said the Centre could consider both these aspects, just as the High Court directed on June 19 of last year. Appearing for the Centre, senior advocate Fali S. Nariman agreed with the court’s current stand.

Arguing against the demolition, senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan and others involved contended that there was a possibility of going ahead with the project through alternative alignments if and when needed.

Interestingly though Sri Lankan authorities could drag India to the International Court of Justice on the plea that the entire project is an environmental threat to both countries involved.Let's see if this gap can be ‘bridged’?!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Friday, October 10, 2008

Lucky Sudan...

Alright, it’s not that lucky either!
The largest country in the heart of Southern Africa and the

third largest oil producer in the region, yet busted by the ruthless MNCs – that’s Sudan for you! Be it for economic exploitation or for geo-political importance, ‘infamous’ Sudan has always been in the news. Most developed countries had held this country under subjection for their selfish interests. But what does anyone do about it except of course, slamm on its face a ‘demeaning’ Human Rights Violation Report or (at best) exploit its resources (thanks to the likes of MNCs from India, China, Malaysia et al). The Darfur conflict in Sudan has triggered a genocide of sorts, wherein 2,00,000 people died in the conflict and 9,000 people were killed. What’s worse, other countries are taking advantage of this surreal situation!

While many western entities which are apprehensive of operating in such a political fiasco have pulled out of the region (like Talisman Inc. of Canada & OMV of Austria) and are just sitting tight and showering their usual “by the way” opinions, the ones in the East (like India & China) are utilising the incompetitive industrial environment in Sudan to set up petroleum infrastructure with organisations like PetroChina and ONGC. And ‘exploited’ Sudan sits quiet, guilty for having commited crimes & violated human rights it never knew!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Monday, September 29, 2008

Welcome to the United States of Europe!

EU must ensure quick accession of Western Balkan nations for its own interests
Kosovo’s declaration of independence has put stability in the Western

Balkans back on EU’s agenda. Unless EU acts quickly, the whole region could slide backwards, with dire social, economic & security consequences. The EU needs a comprehensive regional approach, focusing on the remaining steps that would lead each country towards membership.

The Western Balkans - a term used only since 1999 - comprises Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro, Serbia & Kosovo, with a combined population of roughly 22 million. Economic developments are promising, with almost all these economies posting high growth fueled by increasing industrial output and exports. Inward investment is steadily rising; business seems to believe that the remaining political & security challenges – the possible negative effects of post-independence Kosovo & Bosnia’s malaise – will be overcome sooner rather than later.

Much work has already been done. The EU-led Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe has, since 1999, successfully stimulated regional cross-border cooperation, for the first time since breakdown of Yugoslavia. Energy, transport infrastructure – roads, railways, & waterways – and crime prevention have benefited. This pact has now re-emerged as the Sarajevo-based Regional Cooperation Council to develop regional & multilateral standards for members. The recently revived Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is meant to be the main regional engine for trade and business generally, and will adhere both to WTO rules and the parties’ obligations towards EU. Similarly, the South-East European Cooperation Process is one of the relatively new regional organizations that contribute to candidate & potential candidate countries’ preparations for EU membership. But these bodies must not be seen as substitutes for the far more comprehensive accession process, which only EU can initiate. Certainly, the pace of candidate countries’ approach to EU depends on the speed of their reforms.

And Europe, with the vital support of US, worked hard to stop the carnage of the 1990’s and subsequently to help rebuild the Balkan countries. But EU has so far failed to prepare the Western Balkans for accession, in line with its leaders’ promise at their Thessaloniki summit in 2003. That promise was not a matter of charity; the Balkans would add value to the EU. To be sure, the EU’s lengthy internal crisis over the proposed constitution was a major distraction, and damaged its reputation. Let’s hope the new Reform Treaty will help pave the way for a new, more robust phase of integration.

If not, one would have to ask what happened to the European spirit of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain, which had just emerged from dictatorship and civil unrest, were welcomed into their fold. Political decisions taken then were relatively riskier, and the Greek and Iberian success stories justified that courage. What about today? The most recent EU members, Bulgaria and Romania, are both in the Balkans & both are countries with special needs. While the EU at first took their accession negotiations a bit too casually, it subsequently continued monitoring them even after accession to ensure that they develop effective administrative and judicial systems as required.

The EU must learn from this experience to develop an accession strategy for the Western Balkans. Their special needs should be taken into account in any new EU approach. A reinvigorated accession process would contribute to the EU’s consolidation, both territorially & politically, & strengthen its role in its wider neighborhood – the Mediterranean, the Middle East & around the Black Sea.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Global ironing

With steel as the lynchpin of his global plans, Ratan Tata ensured a dramatic transformation of Tata Steel. By a. paul, s. nahata

Not being a historian and giving a commentary about any event that occurred in the year 1907 would have qui

te a tardy and drudging exercise, had it not been for a small little company called Tata Steel that was founded in that year. Come to think of it, for a better part of the century, this company remained in the shadows, lacking both hype and lustre, but still retaining its unique identity of being one of the most ethical and people-friendly companies the world had ever seen. But that, as Alice would have wonderously realised, was then... A 101 years later, the same company wins the B&E Most Global Indian Company Award! And the key credit for the same goes indisputably to India’s most global visionary, Ratan Naval Tata!

1962 was the year when this raring-to-go trainee joined the Tata Group! Through the subsequent years, he was shuffled between various companies within the group with the sole objective of making him completely conversant with the group’s operations. But it was perhaps the year 1971, which was the turning point in the history of Tatas, when the 34-year-old Ratan Tata was made the Director-in-Charge of Nelco, a top Tata group company. Exactly twenty years later, in 1991, he was made Chairman in the main holding company, Tata Sons Ltd., and in the other main group companies, namely Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Teleservices, Tata Power, Indian Hotels and of course, the protagonist of our award, Tata Steel.

Ratan Tata’s visionary thought process has never been below outstanding benchmarks. Even competitors talk high of this head honcho. Aditya Mittal, CFO, Arcelor-Mittal, conversing exclusively with B&E, divulged, “I have great admiration for Mr. Tata. He is an entrepreneur with great vision.” But truly speaking, though Tata Steel has been exporting steel for many of those years (they formed their first structured global export cell way back in 1986), it was only in the past four years that the corporation’s global endeavours have attained noteworthy proportions.

Alison Richard, Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge told B&E, “Whenever a company decides to go global, it has to start from the thought process of the leader. Very small details can play a major issue in playing globally.” It was in the year 2004 that the Ratan Tata led Tata Steel – which had at that time a steel producing capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) – took the most praiseworthy giant stride for any Indian steel corporation when it gobbled up the considerably significant Singapore based NatSteel Asia, a 2 MTPA steel producer, for $343 million. Ratan Tata’s shrewdest focus was on transforming the steel value chain dramatically. His tactic was to supply low cost steel produced in India to NatSteel, which would then churn out a high-value finished product to cater to quality-intensive global industries like aerospace, automobiles, construction etc. In 2005, the target for was the 1.7 MTPA Thailand based Millennium Steel, which Ratan Tata successfully negotiated for $130 million! In the same year, he also acquired a significant 5% stake in Australian Coal Mines.

But the most brilliant of all moves Ratan Tata has ever made came in the year 2006, when this exemplar leader bid for Corus – a mammoth 18.3 MTPA UK based steel corporation. He closed the deal at a whopping $12.1 billion in January 2007. Though he became an immediate toast of the nation, random criticism for the overly priced deal by experts and analysts alike came in from all quarters. In fact, Standard & Poors immediately downgraded Tata Steel’s credit rating from BBB to BB, a grading that holds even today for the firm because of the massive debt servicing levels due to the Corus buyout. Even the share price of Tata Steel suffered massively at that time, going down from Rs.537 on October 5, 2006, to Rs.419 on March 6, 2007, what with shareholders on a selling spree. But the ever-confident Ratan Tata had then told his detractors that shareholders, who’re thinking in the short term, will rue their decision to sell Tata Steel’s shares. Prophetically, exactly one year after the deal, the share value rose thunderingly to Rs.988, settling to more sensible levels as on February 3, 2008, to Rs.776.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Product

One of the most innovative launches of 2007, ITC’s Bingo, is giving sleepless nights to rivals in the organised snack segment. That’s the power of a great product

Our plan for Bingo! was to offer a truly differentiated product, which had a unique combination of the familiar and the exotic. On the basis of research-driven consumer insights, we arrived at combinations, where either the product itself (Mad Angles, Live Wires) or the flavour (Chatkila Nimbu Achaar, Tandoori Paneer Tikka) were different from what was available in the market, but fundamentally familiar to the Indian palette in terms of flavours, texture & choice. This winning idea has completely redefined the snacking industry in the country and is helping build a steadily growing franchisee of Bingo! loyalists.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Friday, July 18, 2008

Personality

Big B stands way above others in Bollywood. From the angry young man of yesterday to the suave old man of cinema today, his persona has charmed generations

A generous, magnanimo

us and down-to-earth man, who believes in doing things silently, is what Amitji is. Although his dynamic persona can simply not be defined in a single word, still, if I have to describe him in one word it would be ‘Karmyogi’. Yes! He is a real ‘Karmyogi’, as he believes in doing things and not preaching others. In fact, the ideals and the sanskars that Amitji inherited from his parents, is what has made him what he is today. For the world Harivansh Rai ji and Teji ji may have passed away, but for him they are still alive, in his memories, prayers and in form of those sanskars. Moreover, he has passed on these sanskars to Abhishek. A person of his stature and repute can easily be driven away by the glamour but he has not. On one hand he frequently helps people, and on the other ensures that no one gets to know about it. Even those who are very close to him do not get to know about these things. In spite of being like a family member of his, I only get to know from others how true a Samaritan he is. His dedication and determination even at this age is worth appreciating. He is a strict disciplinarian and is never late for appointments.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Monday, July 14, 2008

Hindustan Unilever (then Hindustan Lever)

Similarly, by the early part of this century, Hindustan Unilever (then Hindustan Lever) didn’t know what was happening to its brands and their market shares. For years, the company’s topline grew by only a few percentage points and margins continued to take a beating. Its stock, considered a blue chip retirement scrip in the past, was discarded by most investors. Nothing seemed to be going right for it.

The problem lay with Unilever’s strategy in 1999 to only focus on power brands. It cut its number of brands from 110 to 30. The idea was to allow the management to spend more time and effort on the already-successful brands and boost their bottomline. But with fewer brands to play with, there were obvious pressures on volumes. In addition, the desired boost in margins didn’t happen as intense competition and higher raw material costs ate into them. In 2004, the company not only did away with the power brand policy, but revived those brands that were once discarded. This process is still on and the new focus is on sustainable volumes and growth-driven profits.

However, the best example of an Indian company that has managed change and, in fact, been able to predict the future, is that of Moser Baer. In less than 10 years, the company has already rejigged its strategy thrice. By 1998, it was a global player in floppy diskettes. But then, floppies became redundant to optical storage devices. Moser Baer was ready for the change and became one of the largest makers of CD-Rs with an annual production capacity of 30 million units in 1999.

Yet again, anticipating the changing market, Moser Baer diversified into the manufacturing of DVD-Rs. But in 2000, another predicament struck. The price of a CD plummeted from an average $7 per unit to just $1, while manufacturing costs remained at around $1.5 per unit. If things didn’t change, Moser Baer would have had to file for bankruptcy. The only way to bring down the cost-prices gap was to crank up volumes. It did, and today, the company is considered the champion of low-cost production and is the lowest-cost producer of optical storage devices in the world. Affirms Manoj, a consultant with Realization, “Change management helps an organisation to think and dream big. Once these dreams are followed up with action, admiration for the company is bound to increase.” As a study by Australia’s Pearson Education group points out: “The business world is not a stagnant one, and the process of globalisation and advancements in technology are two dimensions, which continuously force businesses to change.”

Elaborates Ashutosh Mishra, Founder Partner, Proact Management Consulting, “Change management helps initiate a change in the fundamental aspects of the organisation and thus prepares them to embrace challenges. Shareholders admire the company because the company is prepared to meet the challenges of future.”

Whether or not change management brings about a paradigm shift in an organisation depends on how well and smoothly the transition is implemented. And also on who initiated it – the market, competition, or internal understanding of future changes.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

Friday, July 11, 2008

New ‘zune’box

Is it a futile attempt?
The portable music industry is witnessing

increasing action by every passing day, as existing players challenge the almighty status of Apple iPod. Microsoft which has been silent for quite some time now is all set to get people into the groove with an upgraded version of its player Zune. Microsoft has unveiled three new models of Zune, which would be available in the US by mid-November. It consists of Zune 80GB hard-drive model, with a 3.2-inch screen, priced at $249.99. The other offerings are Zune 4GB space, (priced at $149.99) and Zune 8GB (priced at $199.99). Another addition in these new Zune devices is the touch-sensitive Zune Pad navigation button. A wireless sync has also been added that allows Zune devices to automatically sync over the device owner’s home wireless network when connected to an AC adaptor in a speaker dock accessory.

“Today we’re making big bets on games, music, video and connecting these entertainment experiences to help change the way people play,” says Bill Gates. Microsoft has also come up with a community website built around music that would provide information & chat topic about Zune players and also help music lovers exchange notes on the latest music that is creating waves. Another notable player in the portable music players space – Sony is already offering its patrons an opportunity to shake a leg with its latest offering which it calls the ‘Rolly’. Rolly can record movement in order to dance on the music that is being played on it.

Ipod to in order to maintain its top position has been equally aggressive in terms of getting innovative products in the market and marketing them equally hard. It would be interesting to see who would be the last man standing or shall we say singing in the race of portable players.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Thursday, July 10, 2008

On the crest of the technology curve!

Deepak Puri on challenges in the IT storage and peripherals industry and the road ahead...

We are living in an age where digitisation of information is happening at an exponential pace. And the year gone by was no exception. The information explosion continued without any respite and so does the demand for cost efficient storage.

As far as the global optical media industry is concerned, it steadily recovered and is driven by a confluence of factors - including continuing consolidation of capacity, growth in consumer demand and softening of input costs. Players further consolidated their positions. And no doubt, in India too, with continued growth in consumer demand for optical media, industry variables have improved and are reverting to normal levels. In such a scenario, efficient manufacturers with scale should benefit from the consolidation, which has followed the recent turbulent period in the industry. While the estimated global demand for blank optical media products was 19 billion units in 2006, representing a growth of 15% over 2005, the year also saw the commercial shipments of next generation formats like the HD DVD and Blu-ray. However, their shipments are still small but we expect these formats to be the key growth driver for the industry. But, this does not mean that demand for CDR/RW format will slow down. Consumer demand for the CDR/RW format will continue to grow in Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern markets. There are also certain emerging corporate applications and niche segments like printable media and LightScribe, which are seeing a rapid growth in the CDR/RW space. Moreover, shifting consumer preferences, increasing drive penetration and improving price-value proposition of DVDR/RW media is leading to a sharp growth for the format. We expect DVDR/RW shipments to clock a 43% growth in 2007.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

The guru delivers again

K. V. Shridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett took giant strides in 2007. Here he speaks about his most recent success...

Don’t let his laid-back, gentle looks deceive you,

for K. V. Shridhar is one of the best brains at Leo Burnett who incessantly keeps rolling out great positioning ideas for brands and incredible ad campaigns to match. His unbeatable quality – to get the best out of every individual. The year 2007 saw the maverick ad guru deliver stunning campaigns for RCOM, Thums Up and many others. He’s one you’d really want to meet.

Dhoni is RCOM’s ambassador, but we don’t see him in the creative. Any reason?

Reliance Communication could not get Dhoni’s time. It is such a huge task to think of a cricket related ad without any cricket celebrity. It’s difficult to bring in the same level of energy and cut-through. The idea was perfect from the start.

What was the company brief?

We had to depict how Indians own cricket, especially during an India-Pakistan clash. The idea was to try and portray that cricket insight. As 20-20 was such a hit and so was Apun ka sapna, therefore we thought why don’t we use children to show the new insight. When we win, we go all ga-ga over the team with fireworks, but when we lose everyone has an opinion to offer. The idea was to portray the so called reality of cricket. It was to pour out the real emotions as people haven’t changed; in fact, they have become even more passionate about this game. Unlike sportsman spirit, where winning and losing is a part of the game, Indian public takes it more like a war.

So the power idea just struck out of the blue?

Reliance Comm is Nitesh Tiwari’s account; he works on it so he was the one who came up with the idea. The entire commercial has been done by him right from the script to the execution. We went through a couple of ideas though but we all agreed on something to do on the lines of Apun ka sapna as it was a hit, in fact fantastic. We portrayed the brutal reality of the Indian cricket fans in a metaphorical way, depicting the new found aggression in the fans through children in the form of rejoicing when the team performs well and abuse, humiliate when it doesn’t. These kids show no sympathy, they want the team to go, get it. These kids invented the new confidence in themselves and we perfected them. In fact, we just gave the kids an idea, they just acted naturally.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

The Wall can crumble

When he dislodged Saurav Ganguly as the Captain and won 16 consecutive one day matches for India, Dravid looked even more formidable than the Great Wall of China. But then the cookie crumbled sudenly and India under Dravid started looking like a bunch of hopeless losers. The ‘Wall’ quit captaincy after the England tour and also lost his form. Saurav made a spectacular come back. Does Dravid have it in him to stage an encore?

Ooh Aah India! Gaya India!

The much hyped and vaunted team India was feted, wooed and wowed before it left for the World Cup in West Indies. Pepsi, Britannia, ITC and many top brands even designed ads thinking that the Men in Blue will at least reach the finals. Unfortunately, a humiliating loss to minnows Bangladesh in the first round itself, meant a rapid exit for the Indian team. Well, at least, unlike Pakistan, Team India did not have a coach die mysteriously.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Monday, July 07, 2008

Tier-I cities are themselves so untapped

Clearly, when the Tier-I cities are themselves so untapped, why would MF houses invest in tapping the unexplored terrains (aka rural markets and Tier 2 towns and cities)?” To that effect, the insurance sector has done much better in tapping the rural riches and the sotermed uncharted territories, reasons enough to explain why its retail clientele is much higher than that of the mutual fund industry, despite the fact that it offers lower returns as compared to mutual fund. On another front, the step-motherly treatment of the government towards the MF industry in terms of regulation and taxation has also played its fair part in keeping certain retail investors at bay. For example, as a regulatory compliance, quoting PAN is imperative while investing in MFs [relatively, one doesn’t need to provide such documentation while initiating insurance policies]. The recent call by SEBI for a review of the twenty year old threetier structure of mutual fund houses (pyramid structure – sponsor, trustee body and AMC), will perhaps help rope in more retail investors and increase their investments. But till the time SEBI provides stricter regulatory guidelines forcing the MF lobby to reserve high-end quotas for retail investors, the retail participation in the MF industry would remain to the liking of the funds – that is, pathetically small.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Friday, July 04, 2008

Padma Shri Naina Lal Kidwai

NAINA LAL KIDWAI...
CEO, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., India Adroit & astute: she’s a lethal combo
Padma Shri Naina Lal Kidwai. Yes! The first Indian women to graduate from the Harvard Business School, she is also one of the first buccaneer banker’s who would put those male pirates to shame. Country Head of HSBC Group Companies in India, her pioneering leadership has helped HSBC India record the highest growth in net profit – a whopping 64% in FY07 – among all major banks in the country. Small wonder that the lady was awarded the highest civilian honour, Padma Shri in 2007 for her exemplary work in the field of Trade and Industry. Reaching the pinnacle of success in her chosen field of International Business and Management, Kidwai has won many laurels, including being named in the “50 Women to Watch” report issued by the Wall Street Journal in 2006. Passionate as much about her profession, as for social work, Kidwai advocates many causes including education, environment and women issues. “It is imperative for corporate India to engage with rural women and to translate corporate skills to NGOs and vice versa,” believes Kidwai, whose stature as an understated yet effective leader, is gradually moving beyond just the financial world.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Latest Commercial is to showcase

The premise for the latest commercial is to showcase the relationship between a father and his son. The ad begins with a toddler coming out of his school. His driver has come to pick him up. Just as the two are about to head home, it starts raining. Energised, the little boy, breaks into an innocent dance and blissfully makes his way to the open lawns and greenery. Our little man then heads home—soaked to the skin. He calls daddy dearest who is seemingly away and busy in a meeting. The kid asks his dad to close his eyes and makes him hear the sounds of raindrops. The dad smiles indulgently at his son’s gesture. The ad ends with a voiceover that says: Kuch bandhan atoot hote hain, jaise Airtel ka network! “Since the earlier chess film had done extremely well, we wanted to follow it up with another film that would connect to consumers in a big way,” explains Chax, adding that the setting for the ad was decided due to the reigning monsoon season.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Monday, June 23, 2008

To err (while hiring) is human, to correct it is... a smart manager!

Rapid intervention is needed to solve a “wrong” hiring issue. Sooner, the better!
Q: How fast should you move when you’ve made a hiring mistake?
– Rafael Rodriguez, Santiago, Chile
A: In a w

ord, “very”! So fast, in fact, that if you’re moving at the right speed in taking care of a hiring mistake, it will probably feel that you are just moving a bit too fast. That’s OK. In every case, a rapid intervention is better for the organisation, your own career and even the person that you’re letting go as he would never be able to find a comfortable place in an organisation where he is considered a shameful “hiring error”! Look, hiring great people is brutally hard. New managers are lucky to get it right “half” the time. And even executives with decades of experience will tell you that they make the right calls only 75 percent of the time – and that too when they are at the very best of a hiring season. The problem is, though, that the stakes are so high right now. Never has it been considered so very important to field the team with the best players. Every smart idea matters. Every ounce of passion makes a difference. You cannot have a black hole in your organization where a star should be, can you? And don’t you think that if ever there should appear one, especially one who has just been hired, you should get rid of the same, at the earliest possible!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, June 06, 2008

WHISPER

For a brand to maintain its position, it has to remain relevant
Whisper has whispered itself into the hearts and

minds of Indian women, ever since it was introduced into Indian market by Procter & Gamble in 1989. The brand promised freedom to women and gave them wings to fly... it continues to do that even today. Whisper has been able to rule the charts as far as sanitary napkins are concerned only because from day one it has latched onto progressive communication. From the time the first ad hit TV screens, the entire level of communication in this product category underwent a sea change. Competitors Carefree and Stayfree tried to recapture market share with similar advertising communications, but the damage had been done. Even its logo talks about the liberated soul that modern women across age groups can identify with. Although once it was seen as an expensive brand, that is no longer a problem for Whisper. Now, it even wants to venture into the semi-urban and rural market, through its range of Whisper Choice brands, which is being promoted keeping in mind that target segment. K.V. Sridhar, Creative Head, Leo-Burnett, told 4Ps B&M: “The latest commercial of Whisper also encourages women to stand up for their rights. It is a great insight of what women go through and has been put across in a contemporary manner.” Here’s a dynamic brand that has moved with the times to give each woman what she wants...

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative