Pizza Royale 007 --- 167,544 INR

So you thought fast food was cheap? Banish the thought; Chef Domenico Crolla has created, for a fundraiser, a pizza topped with caviar dipped in champagne, edible gold, sunblush tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon and more! Timing it with James Bond’s Casino Royale at the theatres, it's being touted as the ideal 007 grub. But with a price tag like that for the calorie buster, Mr. Bond might need to do some fund raising for the bill itself!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Professor Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

In an age where science and technology rule the roost and contemporary living rings synonymous with flourishing urban metropolises

The protagonists of this real-life medical thriller are Dr. John Snow, a physician firm in his resolve of proving that there was ‘something in the water’ culpable for the mayhem, making him a solitary crusader of sorts with the majority of the medical fraternity espousing the miasma theory as it was, and Henry Whitehead, an affable and benevolent assistant priest who didn’t quite think Snow’s waterborne theory held much water and instead decided to debunk it for certain through his own interactions with the community’s casualties. Little were sceptics to realize that this confluence would culminate in a definitive and groundbreaking revelation for the entire medical universe. Meticulously plotting a graphical representation of those afflicted by the disease and correlating it to water resources in each area – the ghost map, the nomenclature it was accorded – Snow deployed his scientific acumen to the exhaustive extent of information derived from young Whitehead’s networking with households in the region. The outcome was a vindication of Snow’s initial hypothesis, an overhaul of London’s drainage mechanism that booted cholera out for good, and a blessing for the planet at large towards prevention of the ailment.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Professor Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Definitely, creating tomorrow today…

From a very modest family business of jute trading to an infrastructure conglomerate worth Rs.25 billion (asset base), the Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) group led by Chairman G. M. Rao has certainly come a long way in its corporate journey. Today, the group activities are dominated by the infrastructure business, but very few would know that GMR was one of the first groups to enter the power sector. But, in the absence of a firm power project policy, the group chose to enter the infrastructure business as a safer option. Over the years, the group has successfully managed to leverage the public-private partnership model effectively to develop and manage infrastructure projects.

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Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata

Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata is one of the most prominent business pioneers, memorable for the way he sought economic self-dependence under the British Raj, and negotiated for favourable policies for Indian businesses with the highly skeptical Lord Curzon. Ironically, his endeavours bore fruit only after he died, in particular Tata’s first steel plant in Jamshedpur. Others like Jamnalal Bajaj and Ghanshyam Das Birla also provided extensive support to Mahatma Gandhi and to the cause of Indian industries. Birla in fact did not agree with quite a few ideologies of Gandhiji, but still had immense respect for him. The relationships between these pioneers and the Indian National Congress were further nurtured by subsequent generations.

It was thanks largely to the endeavours of these pioneers that India had developed quite a few indigenous industries like steel, textiles, automobiles, aviation, sugar & paper by the time it freed itself from the yoke of the British. Without the contributions of these visionaries, India’s independence would have had no meaning.

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The Presidential elections of USA have today become the biggest showcase of political marketing

Yes, just like potential consumers, today political parties are keeping track of their potential voters and doing everything to woo them! The Presidential elections of USA have today become the biggest showcase of political marketing. The candidates are marketed in almost the same way as a shampoo or a face cream. The voters are pursued like consumers. The advertising campaigns are as glossy and slick. After all, we live in a fast food nation and our target is the Pepsi Generation. It’s about youth and fun and whatever your age, everyone is young. So if you want them to come and vote, you have to follow the advice of the marketing gurus who know this clientele very well.

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MRF Radials

BRAND : MRF Radials
AGENCY : Lowe
BASELINE : The big daddy of Radials

DESCRIPTION: Off the field, the legendary West Indian Brian Lara coming out from the hotel, asks the announcer to call for his car. Responding to Brian Lara, the announcer requests Lara to tell him the car’s number and driver’s name, but Brian Lara fails to remember. He snatches the microphone and announces for a ‘white car’ with MRF
tyres when loads of white cars with MRF tyres are lined out of the hotel.

4Ps TAKE: The clear-cut strategy to take Brian Lara for the Indian market, instead of Sachin Tendulkar, as the brand ambassador to promote their brand is to show the strong hold of MRF tyres used by Indian vehicles. The punch line, ‘the big daddy of Radials’ shows the market share of MRF in India and their number one choice. Surely, the Big B of cricket, Brian Lara will make this brand bigger in India too!

With Bernanke’s decision to hike interest rates, off-loading bonds make sense

Indeed, while median home prices in the US were in July at 1.4% higher than a year ago, they had declined by almost 10% over the last three months, which is one of the steepest declines since 1990.

Since early July, the situation has, however, changed. There is now a widespread belief that the US housing market is dead and that the economy will slow down, and that, therefore, bonds will continue to rally because the Fed will shortly begin to cut interest rates. I may add that the media is also full of negative stories about the housing industry. Therefore, with presently so much bearish consensus about the economy, as a contrarian, I think that the upside for long-term bonds is now extremely limited.

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Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) & Awami League

In the upcoming elections, it would be foolhardy for the BNP to expect a re-run of previous results. Especially with 10 of its key members breaking away fromthe party to fl oat a new party under the stewardship of the former Bangladesh President Badruddoza Choudhary and BNP leader Oli Ahmed.

External factors contributed to her victory in 2001. However, this time, she would have to the answer killing questions related to her mis-rule, which could well ensure her speedy exit. Is there a solution for her? Well, yes. Rigging!

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Barack Obama‘08 – Can US do it!

He is billed as the most charismatic leader to have emerged in the United States of America since John F. Kennedy. His youthful exuberance and fresh ideas swept the people off their feet. And his intention to contest for Presidency in 2008, has sent alarms ringing among the front-runners in the Republicans as well as Democratic camps.

Meet the 45-year old African American, Barack Obama. Born in Hawaii, he studied in Indonesia before moving to California. If he manages to make it to the White House, he will be the first black president of the United States.

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MARKET STRUCTURES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Most product markets comprise four distinct tiers: A global customer segment that wants products of global quality and with global features – that is, offerings with the same quality and attributes that goods in developed countries have – and is willing to pay global prices for them; a “glocal” segment that demands products of global quality but with local features (and local soul) at less-than-global prices; a local segment that wants local products with local features at local prices; and a bottom-of-the-pyramid segment, as Michigan University’s C.K. Prahalad calls it, that can afford to buy only the most inexpensive products.

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Latin American economies have proved more open to foreign investments than Asia

On the brighter side of things again, Latin American economies have proved more open to foreign investments than Asia. Since the 1950s, foreign multinationals have controlled far larger shares of industrial production in Latin America than in the East Asian success stories, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The World Bank reported that foreign investment and privatization have tended to substitute for other capital flows in Latin America, transferring control and sending profits abroad, unlike East Asia.

Meanwhile new socio-economic programs under way in Latin America are reversing patterns that trace back to the Spanish conquests – with Latin American elites and economies linked to the imperial powers but not to one another. Of course this shift is highly unwelcome in Washington, for the traditional reasons: The United States has expected to rely on Latin America as a secure base for resources, markets and investment opportunities. And as planners have long emphasized, if this hemisphere is out of control, how can the United States hope to resist defiance elsewhere?

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It is high time for the policy makers

Despite having only one percent of the world’s vehicles, India accounts for nearly 10% of its fatalities. The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 has yet not been revised; the draft National Road Safety policy and draft National Road Transport policy are lying on paper only; and there is no legislation that regulates the pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles. As India progresses economically, it cannot afford to lose precious human lives as they form a very important constituent of the country’s assets. It gets even worse if those who die in road related accidents belong to 15-40 year age group as they form the most productive group in an any economy’s human resources.

It is high time for the policy makers to think out of the box and find out a comprehensive solution for this complex problem, if they are at all serious about transforming Indian cities into world class cities.

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What happens on the roads is a key indicator of the state of a nation’s health

It is estimated that every year 1.2 million people lose their life in road accidents across the world. Shockingly, this figure is almost 10 times more than those who perish in natural disasters, over which man has little or almost no control. Yet over the years, the policy makers of India have not had much response to the rising casualty rates in road accidents in the country. That is the reason why, even today, Indian roads oft en turn out to be the worst cases of traffic and road safety management. Consider this: In 2004, nearly 92,500 Indian’s perished in road accidents. This is still 9 times more than the total death toll in the tragic tsunami of December 2004, which left 10,744 dead (official figures) and caused damage to $1.6 billion (according to Citigroup) worth of public property. But the irony is that while concern is being expressed on safety against another tsunami, hardly anybody seems to be moved by the fact that the total losses arising out of road accidents in India average almost $12 billion per year, notwithstanding tremendous financial losses to the economy.

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We beg... we implore... for a few dollars more

Conventional wisdom teaches us that a fool and his money are soon parted. How effective a firm is in generating gains from its total assets is an important indicator of efficiency. RoA gives an idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. Calculated by dividing a company’s annual earnings by its total assets, RoA taken for arriving at the B&E Power 100 is an absolute value. If one were to interpret that ratio, it tells what earnings are generated from invested capital (assets). RoA for companies can vary substantially and will be highly dependent on the industry. The RoA figure gives investors an idea of how effectively the company is converting the money it has invested in assets into net income.

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“Zee has created history by changing television viewing in India. The challenge that a trailblazer faces is to live up to its own high precedents.”

Take for example its DTH service Dish TV, launched in 2003, which already has about 1.4 million subscribers in three years, while others like Star, Reliance & Sun TV are still in the pipeline. Zee’s Siti Cable is the largest cable operator in India with an estimated reach of 6.5 million homes. Also, the group launched itself into the print media by investing Rs.1 billion in Mumbai daily newspaper DNA.

And as the industry gaze is shifting towards regional markets now, Zee’s bouquets of regional channels clocked in revenues of Rs.2.01 billion during the financial year 2005-2006. Moreover, Zee also has presence in Bollywood and the music industry. And as the next step, Subhash Chandra plans to restructure Zee Tele films into four separate entities.

Zee Tele films Ltd earned total revenues of Rs.10.51 billion with operating profits of Rs.2.41 billion in FY 2006. There’s lot on Zee’s plate as of now. As Kaul sums it up, “Zee Network is in the process of unlocking the value of many businesses that were hidden so far.” So, what’s next, Mr. Chandra?

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Airtel - ‘Best Wireless Service Provider’?

Then there is the strategic tie-up with Microsoft on August 21, 2006, which makes life easier for its corporate customers through delivery of powerful business applications. The $100 million deal with IBM on August 3, 2006, for upgradation of its telephony services further proves its towering resolve. It now enjoys a presence across 23 circles, while its private GSM rivals (Hutchison and Idea Cellular) still lie flat at just 8!

With capacious vision statements shooting from its hip, with brimming competitive advantages flying out of its coffers and with a hulking diversification plan, the three musketeers fight on!

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Amaron Battery:- India’s most powerful battery

BRAND: Amaron Battery
AGENCY: O&M
BASELINE: India’s most powerful battery.

DESCRIPTION: This one’s an animated ad. A vintage car is driven out to a full public junction; cut to an ambassador, from which a netaji (along with his paraphernelia of loudspeakers) emerges and launches into a speech; cut to a limousine, which spreads out a ramp and a model walks out of the swanky car... another car lighting up the whole cricket stadium... and so on. The ad ends with a VO: ‘If you want so much from the car, get the power of the Amaron... lasts long, really long!’

4Ps TAKE: Yet again, Amaron batteries comes out with an ‘animated’ ad. A lot of over the top stuff, but effective communication nonetheless. The power idea is clear: to project the long-lasting value of Amaron batteries. And the product positioning is bang on: it is a multi-utility product. So enjoy much more than a smooth ride with Amaron.

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How do you differentiate from the other players?

Our USP is fast delivery in pizzas and this is even accepted by the customer. Today when you think of home delivery pizzas, the first thing that comes in your mind is Domino’s. To deliver faster our delivery boys are now given bikes instead of scooters. So, fast delivery and freshness, are our twin differentiators.

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What’s in a name? Everything! Ask cellular handset makers in India

Says Keith Pardy, Marketing Head (Global), Nokia, “What you will see coming from us in the future is not just a numbering system, you are going to start seeing names that carry a meaning and are important to consumers.” Call it piggy-backing on the innovative branding moves of their competitors or simply being copy-cats, the company has certainly realized that customers all around the world identify themselves with and respond well to product names that carry some connotation.

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A penny for ‘inner spaces’

This is big news for the ‘in-store’ label concept. American department stores chain – JC Penny – that created billion-dollar store brands like Arizona and St. John’s Bay went on to prove that department stores could manage very well without ‘established’ brands, thank you very much. Now, the chain is going one step higher – or shall we say inside???!!! By the first quarter of next year, it will be launching its very own innerwear (read: Lingerie) private store brand, Ambrielle, a range of 4,000 intimate apparel products.

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when you compare your product with the competitor’s, both get a share of the limelight

Many ostensibly classic comparative ads fell flat when the advertisers realised that not only was the competing brand getting more publicity, but also was in reality better. That’s the killing part of the story. Firstly, when you compare your product with the competitor’s, both get a share of the limelight – the other brand gets a free piggy-ride on your back. But secondly, and most importantly, your arguments have to be strong for the spotlight to remain on you. If you are not 100% sure of your product, it’s strongly advisable not to go for comparative advertising.

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FDI is flowing in, but India has to work towards getting much more

A sector-wise bifurcation of the FDI reveals that manufacturing continues to maintain its lead, followed by computer services. Manufacturing bagged $1.25 billion of equity capital and computer services $770 million in FY 2006. Finance, insurance, real estate and business services in total attracted $452 million. Mauritius tops the chart in country-wise FDI inflow followed by US. Thanks to the double taxation avoidance agreement, Mauritius poured in a whopping $1.36 billion in 2005-06, while the United States poured in another $346 million. FDI inflows from UK and Singapore increased the most to $261 million and $166 million in FY 2006.

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Syria has been helping Iran in its quest for regional hegemony

The two issues have long been connected, but the main link is now President Bashar Al-Assad’s Syria. Isolated, desperate for allies, Syria has been helping Iran in its quest for regional hegemony. Since Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution evicted Syria last year, the Syrians have sought to haul Lebanon back within their sphere of influence. They back Hezbollah – and help Iran send it weapons – because Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah’s shock troops keep the government in Beirut weak. The Syrians also like to present themselves as the last real Arab defenders of the Palestinian cause. In short, Syria, with its geographical position, its Iranian links and weapons, and its brutal Ba’athist regime, has become the lynchpin of developments between the Mediterranean and the Gulf. To secure Lebanon, and to bring Hamas to the bargaining table with Israel, it is Syria that Israel and the US must deal with, one way or another.

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Will their future be as bad, or worse?

These factors, together with failings of many Middle Eastern governments, have fuelled a surge of fundamentalism in Muslims, American Christians and some Israeli Jews that has now boiled over to rampant extremism, terror and messianic visions of good versus evil. Many warmongers in Washington, including apparently some in the White House, seek to expand their endless military campaign to Iran & Syria. Indeed, the daily demonizing of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah is the same as the morbid demonisation of Saddam before the Iraq War. Political operatives may also judge that an increased sense of danger and insecurity will tilt votes to the Republicans in the US congressional elections in November.

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Apple burns while Sony moans

After Dell, it’s Apple that has rung the alarm bells on defective laptop batteries. Following Dell’s recall of 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries made by Sony for its laptops, Apple has also started recalling 1.1 million batteries sold in the US and another 700,000 batteries from across the world. Just like in the case of Dell, these batteries have also been made by Sony Corp. Although, Sony has assured its assistance to Apple in the entire recall process, the episode will surely dampen Apple’s efforts of soon introducing a new range of products supported by Intel Microprocessors.


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“Canon is definitely planning promotional activities and special schemes for the coming festival season”

what is out there on offer this time? “We have not focussed on discounts (for consumers)... discounts erode your brand value in the long run, but you can expect offers like scratch and win, every 10th customer wins a prize and even offers for the traders, which could include free holiday packages, and discounts for partners,” divulges Lenovo’s Rahul Agarwal. “Canon is definitely planning promotional activities and special schemes for the coming festival season,” chips in Canon’s Bharadwaj refusing more dope, but does reveal that in the past the company “has been on the forefront as far as the marketing innovations are concerned... and remains committed in ensuring that their partners are duly recognised and rewarded...” But the IT products are far more cerebral to be bought in a rush. HP relies heavily on its brand positioning that has made it so popular in the home segment. Krishnakumar of HP shares, “Like every year, we are going to have excitement... we will remind the consumers that the computer is not only for entertainment, but his child’s education, for his wife; the offers are there to help him to buy.” HP is also off erring incentives for dealers based on quantity of PCs sold, as well as the way of selling.

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Microsoft's GUI Windows

Of course, Steve Jobs came back in the picture, and how so! The former technician at game company Atari, Jobs released Apple Macintosh. The Mac gleefully boasted of the first graphical user interface (GUI) replete with drag-and-drop features and a mouse! Modelled on Douglas Engelbart’s “mouse” concepts at Stanford, and the work of Alan Kay at Xerox Parc where the mouse was first tested, the concept really took off the following year when Microsoft came out with their GUI – Windows.

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Indra’s record of transforming PepsiCo speaks for itself

Having served at global giants like Boston Consulting Group, Johnson & Johnson, Asea Brown Boveri Inc. and Motorola Inc., Nooyi, no doubt, has the pedigree to improve upon Reinumund’s legacy. Reinmund asserted, “Indra’s record of transforming PepsiCo speaks for itself, she’s been an invaluable partner and ally throughout my time as CEO. I am convinced she’s more than qualified and clearly ready for her new role.”

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The sweet war of Lipitor

The latest in the drama has been Pfizer losing the patent infringement case it had filed against Ranbaxy’s calcium salt ‘Atorvastatin’ – a generic adaptation of ‘Lipitor’. It is no doubt a sweet victory for Ranbaxy, as R. Deshmukh, Senior VP, Global Intellectual Property, Ranbaxy, Sweetly says, “We are pleased by the court’s decision.” Ranbaxy has been allowed to continue selling the salt (though for six more months only), but its real victory has been that Lipitor’s patent protection period, which was to expire in June 2011, has now been reduced to March 2010.

For once, it is an Indian company in the pharmaceutical sector that is giving American multinationals a run for their pennies, and in their home markets!

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Of Marketing, Relationships and Relationship Marketing!

In the new millennium, it began with the Hrithik-Esha starrer Na Tum Jaano Na Hum and the eminently huggable tote stuffed toy ‘Tutu’, and while the film washed out before you could say ‘Tutu!’, Tutu did not; more than 80,000 units were lapped up by moony-eyed teenagers! Good-spirited affection rose to the fore again, with bands of friendship cementing bonds of love with the Yash Raj production Mujhse Dosti Karoge; whose fresh division Yash Raj Films Merchandise is solely meant to focus on this aspect.

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Maximum city

The rankings were decided on the basis of the cost of a shopping basket consisting of 95 goods and 27 services. This basket costs $ 38.5 in Mumbai and $ 42.8 in Delhi. Compare that to $ 121.5 in Oslo and more than $ 100 in London, Copenhagen, Zurich, Tokyo, Geneva and New York! The net hourly pay in Delhi is pegged at $ 1.2 and $ 1.4 in Mumbai, as against $ 19.5 in Zurich and upwards of $15 in London and New York. Finally, what’s urban life without that most vital ingredient – yes, right, we are talking about vacations! People in Delhi work 2,121 hours and are entitled to 15 paid vacations per year while in Mumbai, people work 2,205 hours and get 17 days off in a year. The global average is 1,844 working hours and 20 vacations. Seoul tops the list with 50.2 hours a week.

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Balance of payments: Deficits

Poland outlook

Polish international investment position has improved from last year. Current account deficit fell from $10 billion in 2004 to $4.3 billion in 2005. As percentage of GDP, it declined to 1.4% in 2005. Income balance continuous to remain in the red territory and slipped to a negative of $10.5 billion in 2005, as compared to a deficit of $11.5 billion last year. Reserve assets jumped to $8 billion in 2005 from
$790 million in 2004.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam chaudhuri

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Companies offering broadband are in for good times, provided they balance their margins & volumes

Things have changed for the better since those days when having an internet connection proved to be a costly affair and connections, if eventually effected, proved sluggish enough to put a three toed sloth to shame! The impending growth of broadband services is a harbinger of good times for the Indian IT sector. Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for IT & Telecommunications, has asserted, “The Government is making concerted efforts with a clear emphasis on the importance of affordable broadband for the advancement of society and for the benefit of Indians, especially in rural and remote areas.”

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

FLINT, LET’S DRIVE A CYCLE HOME!

Most definitely, Raju’s much debated decision in November 2005 to sell off Satyam’s entire stake in Sify to Infinity Capital Ventures (a deal that fetched Satyam $117 million in aggregate over time, a gain of over $110 million compared to the initial $5 million cost) proved to the world his steely resolve in sticking to Flint’s “keep it simple” strategy. According to Raju, the deal “was aimed at unlocking the value of the investment.” The truth is, Raju is forcefully committing to core businesses, or what he now addresses as “Pure Play IT Services & Solutions.”

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam chaudhuri

Balance of payments: Surplus

How long will the Black Gold last?

Saudi Arabia outlook

Saudi Arabia’s international investment position is very impressive, thanks to the rising crude oil prices. Current account surplus for 2005 stood at a whopping $90.66 billion, as compared to $51.92 billion in 2004. Current account as percentage of GDP was at 28.3 in 2005, as against 20.6 in 2004. Reserves in terms of number of months of import cover totaled 21.20 in 2005, which declined from 25.50 in 2004.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

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The self proclaimed citadel of democracy walks the street of greed

Of the numerous such instances of atrocities and human rights violation perpetrated by the war, the facts are appalling. The US Defense Department, testifying before the Congress, stated that it paid $19 million to the Iraqis for around 600 separate incidents. With the commonly reported dole of $2,500 per victim, the admitted killings by Americans then mount up to 7,600! It was also reported that recently that the US had ‘bettered’ on their compensation and paid $38,000 for Haditha victims’ family members – averaging to a beggarly $1,600 per person ‘killed’ (read: raped and slaughtered).


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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006.

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

“It would be sacrilege to say that any visit to Vienna is complete!”

Famed for being a bastion of grandiose palaces, Julian excitedly exhorted me to pay a visit to Schönbrunn without which, as he stated, “It would be sacrilege to say that any visit to Vienna is complete!” Home to the Hapsburgs – the ruling family of Austria for innumerable generations – the sprawling, verdant gardens of Schönbrunn have never ceased to hold captive the collective imagination of tourists. The UNESCO, too, has been swift in its appraisal of the gravitas this edifice harbours, declaring it an integral jewel emblazoning the World Heritage List of cultural spaces.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

Bomb-blasts scare Indians...

In a series of blasts in crowded trains in Mumbai, more than 160 people were killed and about 463 were wounded. No instant accountability was taken up by any group but principal suspects remain the Muslim militants, once more associated to disputed Kashmir. Pakistan too sprang onto the scene and denied Indian allegation of implicit support to the militants. Additional precautions were taken with more security personnel brought in across India; both to thwart any more attacks and to safeguard against counter-attacks on the minority Muslims. Everybody including the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice came forward with condemnation of the attacks and expressed their support to India.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri





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RECOGNIZING YOUR MOTIVES

David McClelland, the late Harvard psychologist, identified three internal drivers that explain how we behave: Achievement (meeting or exceeding a standard of excellence), affiliation (maintaining close personal relationships) and power (influencing or having an impact on others).

For an overachiever seeking to broaden his or her range, the first step is to become aware of how motives influence leadership style. You can get a good sense of which drive is dominant in you simply by examining the activities you like to indulge in and why.


· People with high achievement drives tend to like challenging projects that allow them to accomplish something new. They also like to outperform people who represent a high standard of excellence and tend to be utilitarian in their communication – oft en brief and to the point.
· Those high in affiliation are energized by personal relationships. They make heavy use of the phone and e-mail just to stay connected.
· People mainly motivated by personalized power (those who draw strength from controlling others) tend to be driven by status and image.
· Individuals mainly driven by socialized power (those whose strength comes from empowering people) get satisfaction from helping people feel more capable. Th ey like to advise and assist, whether or not the advice is wanted or needed.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

About IIPM ! IIPM Programmes ! IIPM Placement ! IIPM Alumni ! IIPM Alliances ! IIPM Ranking ! IIPM Director's Desk ! IIPM Dean's Message ! History of IIPM ! IIPM Mission ! IIPM Curriculum ! IIPM Project Based Learning ! IIPM GOTA ! IIPM Dual Specialisation ! IIPM Faculty ! IIPM GOP ! IIPM Campus Resources ! IIPM Campus Events ! IIPM Sports Club ! IIPM Support Services ! IIPM Campus ! IIPM Libraries ! IIPM Cafeteria ! IIPM Academic Centres ! IIPM Wilton Park Reports ! IIPM Feedback ! IIPM Links ! IIPM Sitemap ! Contact IIPM !

Tyre-prices advance faster than the tyres!

Owing to steep increase in input costs, Indian tyre major Ceat has increased its product prices by 2-10%. This price increase spans throughout the product range, with light truck tyres recording the maximum of 6-10% hike. The car radial prices will witness a marginal increase of 3-6%, which works out to about Rs.100 per pair. The price hike was inevitable, as the raw materials accounting for nearly 70% of the manufacturing costs, have shown an upward price trend for the past few months. In the last one year itself, the manufacturing costs have gone up by 10-12% due to the rising input costs. Though, passenger car tyre prices may not be an issue of concern, the Rs.1,000 hike in truck tyre prices is likely to cause resentment among truck owners.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006,

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

‘Wait & destroy’

Segment E, the premium car market: Honda holds a mammoth 54% market share (April ’05-March ’06 sales stood at 3,324 units, phenomenal when the total segment size is just 6223 units divided among six players). Segment C, the mid-size car market: With a threatening 20% market share, Honda is painfully biting the heels of the legacy leader Tata Motors, which has market share of 21%. And that is the art of war the Samurai Honda would love to practise. But of late, with the early entry of various competitors in other profitable segments, the killing question arises whether Honda’s traditional ‘wait & destroy’ strategy will backfire, what with quasi-monopolies like Suzuki ruling the market like nobody’s business. Will Honda’s tried and tested strategies work? Or will Honda have to eat humble pie? Market figures give an astounding insight!

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006,

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

“Hiring hunters, building fences, animal bait, all in vain...”

“Hiring hunters, building fences, animal bait, all in vain...” said a crestfallen Patterson to his companion, his resolve giving way to despair in the private con- fines of his tent. Everything was collapsing on Patterson with, on one hand, orders of pacing up the construction and on the other, withdrawal of the frightened workers from work. The fear of death looming large every single day, it was a spine-chilling episode where, as Patterson recalls, the noises of ravenous orgy at the devils’ meal-times – sometimes very close to their camps – would overwhelm him with misery and helplessness.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri

NEAR AND DEAR NREGA

What Jean Dreze, a Belgian economist from the Delhi School of Economics had put on paper, Manmohan Singh put into real life in 2005. The historic National Rural Employment Guarantee Act became enforceable across 200 districts in India, costing Rs. 400 billion. The scheme aims at reducing unemployment in rural India and is designed to provide 100 days of employment to every household within the selected districts at minimum wages fixed by the state governments. Both the center and state would have shares in the financing of the scheme. The only worry: if the current system reeking of corruption continues, there is not much hope of the unemployed getting their due, since contractors, bureaucrats and politicians would steal as usual.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

And now, selling India for nuts FIIs

“There is hardly any big registrar like Karvy, and processing of lakhs of application for shares is not easy.” However, if one goes down in past, penal action taken by SEBI – if at all – has always been limited to the brokerages house, and has always been so delayed, as to be ridiculous (Harshad Mehta dying before being adjudged is just one of the hundreds of amusing SEBI tales).

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

An exit poll survey reveals the true scenario of Assembly Elections

But is that a gospel that everyone should swallow without a pinch of salt? Startlingly, an independent pre and post poll survey conducted by B&E indicates something dramatically different. The independent survey clearly indicates that far from a sweep, the Left Front will struggle to get a majority in the current elections. Of course, the odds are that it will still form a government and Buddhadeb Bhattacharya will still be the Chief Minister.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

VOICE study

LIC is no longer the only choice in the life insurance sector, but the VOICE study revealed that even today, LIC still commands impressive brand equity. People have faith in the brand and product because it has been around the insurance block for decades. Of the total life insurance market, LIC’s has a whopping 80% and it also enjoys the overwhelming benefit of government support.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

IIPM Article

DaimlerChrysler has been the only one of the big three in Detroit to have made profits from automobiles in the US market this quarter (ending September 2005); Zetsche’s emotional and irrational attachment to Smart could well change that, and his fortunes too...


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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

IIPM News

Dr. Henk Dykmans, former director sales & marketing, Micro Compact Car, Mercedes, confirms, “DaimlerChrysler (actually) has three possibilities – sell Smart, close down the division or reorganize its activity.” But the irony is that Zetsche has already earmarked $1.4 billion to turnaround the Smart business and even expects that it will break even by 2007. In reality, Zetsche should actually be investing money in the Commercial Vehicles unit, which registered a stupendous 29% growth in the first half (ending September 2005), but is crying out loud for more investments.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

IIPM News

Dr. Henk Dykmans, former director sales & marketing, Micro Compact Car, Mercedes, confirms, “DaimlerChrysler (actually) has three possibilities – sell Smart, close down the division or reorganize its activity.” But the irony is that Zetsche has already earmarked $1.4 billion to turnaround the Smart business and even expects that it will break even by 2007. In reality, Zetsche should actually be investing money in the Commercial Vehicles unit, which registered a stupendous 29% growth in the first half (ending September 2005), but is crying out loud for more investments.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

IIPM News

Dr. Henk Dykmans, former director sales & marketing, Micro Compact Car, Mercedes, confirms, “DaimlerChrysler (actually) has three possibilities – sell Smart, close down the division or reorganize its activity.” But the irony is that Zetsche has already earmarked $1.4 billion to turnaround the Smart business and even expects that it will break even by 2007. In reality, Zetsche should actually be investing money in the Commercial Vehicles unit, which registered a stupendous 29% growth in the first half (ending September 2005), but is crying out loud for more investments.

For complete IIPM click here

Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

IIPM News

Dr. Henk Dykmans, former director sales & marketing, Micro Compact Car, Mercedes, confirms, “DaimlerChrysler (actually) has three possibilities – sell Smart, close down the division or reorganize its activity.” But the irony is that Zetsche has already earmarked $1.4 billion to turnaround the Smart business and even expects that it will break even by 2007. In reality, Zetsche should actually be investing money in the Commercial Vehicles unit, which registered a stupendous 29% growth in the first half (ending September 2005), but is crying out loud for more investments.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Biggest argument against Boeing

But the biggest argument against Boeing remains that despite higher order bookings, all this while, Airbus is the one that has been reporting higher deliveries than Boeing for the past three years. Even this year (till October 31), Airbus has already delivered 304 aircrafts, with Boeing lagging behind at 240. Boeing is far from achieving its earlier target of 320 deliveries; this raises fears of a re-run of 1997, when production was raised to record levels but led to massive assembly line breakdowns. McNerney has gone on record to say, “Boeing does not want a repeat of what happened in 1997 and is taking an ‘orderly’ approach.”

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

South American Community of Nations - IIPM News

In December, 2004, Latin American countries took a first tentative step in that direction by announcing the formation of South American Community of Nations in Peru. The new bloc has a combined population of about 380 million, a combined GDP of almost $1 trillion and total exports worth $185 billion. Member nations have pledged to work towards removing all trade and tariff barriers and eventually settle for a borderless Latin America with a common currency like the euro for the EU. Sceptics in the western world have already written off these lofty goals as unrealistic and insist that member countries have too many differences with each other to forge a coherent entity that can represent Latin America. Yet, the sceptics only need to look at the manner in which EU emerged from the debris of the Second World War. It took Europe 40 years to be integrated, and the process is still on. Why not Latin America then?

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Publication and Research, IIPM

But sadly, the investment unfriendly play-safe nature of Indian banks is showing up as losses because a large chunk of bank holdings are maintained in government securities. The fact is that Indian banks need to shore up their efficiency norms to match up to Basel II norms by the year 2007. And the fact also is that these norms in fact support relevantly conservative investment orientations, as compared to the illogical conservatism being displayed by many banks, especially the larger ones.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Asian airlines - fastest growing in the world - IIPM News

With Asian airlines being the fastest growing in the world and placing the largest orders for commercial jet aircraft, Asia seems to be missing out on a $100 billion a year goldmine. As Asia Pacific emerges as the fulcrum of the global economy in the 21st century, aircraft deliveries to Asian airlines will overtake that to European and American airlines. Despite these obvious figures and projections, it seems to be strange why Asia has not come up with an answer to Boeing and Airbus. According to analysts, the primary reason behind this is two fold: First, America and Europe have ruthlessly exploited the mistrust between Asian nations to not allow a complex industry like aircraft design and manufacturing to emerge. It has taken the cooperative effort of researchers and engineers from all major European countries more than two decades to enable Airbus to emerge as a serious rival to Boeing. EU countries haven’t flinched from giving billions in dollars as subsidies to Airbus. The US government does the same with Boeing.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Export of Korea (IIPM Publication)

Exports increased to $253.84 billion in 2004 as compared to $193.82 billion in 2003 and the value of imports increased to $224.46 billion in the same year. The trade balance of goods was $38 billion. The main items of exports include electronic products, cars, machinery and equipment and chemicals. Imports comprise electronic products, crude petroleum, machinery & equipment and semi-conductors.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Political gamesmanship over India’s reservations policy could cast a shadow over India’s ambitions of emerg¬ing as a global economic power in the 21st

Since then, political parties, including the allies and other social organizations, have been insisting that the government introduce legislation that would seek to reserve jobs for backward classes in the private sector as well. The private sector, on its part, has cautioned through various industry forums that such a move could affect the high level of competence achieved by the private sector over the past many years.

Their concern seems justified if one looks at the level of incompetence that public sector companies suffer due to the indiscriminate use of reservations. Some economists have even held reservations responsible for Indian economy’s slow growth in the first three decades after independence. During the first six plan periods, when the State enjoyed Soviet style monopoly, its economy grew by around 3.5% (sardonically termed as the ‘Hindu rate’ of economic growth).

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Publication and Research, IIPM

Numerous studies conducted by Indian as well as global research outfits have shown that when the tax regime is too retrograde or repressive, the first reaction of tax payers is to evade taxes if they can. Since Indian tax officials are not saints, it is inevitable some will help tax payers avoid paying these complicated taxes. When the marginal rate of income tax was a fantastic 97%, tax avoidance too was the highest.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Publication and Research, IIPM

But it was Bharti TeleTech, with the Beetel branded telecom equipment, which first consolidated Bharti's presence in the telecom sector. Telecom Seychelles (providing Airtel telecom services in Seychelles), Bharti Telesoft (selling value added products and services), TeleTech Services (a JV with TeleTech USA offering customer management call center services) and Field Fresh Foods (a JV with the Rothschild Group to export agricultural products) are the other key Bharti group companies.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Publication and Research, IIPM

Other main industries include processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, transport equipment, chemicals, fish products and petroleum and natural gas. Main items of export are motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, and aluminum.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Publication and Research, IIPM

Come August and the plains of the Masai Mara, arguably the most famous national park in the world, reverberate with the sound of thundering hooves, over a million strong, interspersed with a murmuring wave that sounds a fair bit like an enormously overstaffed council of elders expressing their unanimous disapproval of some bright new idea: “Gnu!” “Gnu!” “Gnu!”

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Stop giving subsidies to the rich (Publication and Research, IIPM)

There seems to be no end to the stubbornness of the government when it comes to providing oil and gas subsidies to the rich. No doubt, a recent fare hike has led to a fall in the huge losses that were being generated by the oil PSUs. Yet, it is entirely possible that the total oil losses toted up by oil companies in fiscal 2005-06 would be at least Rs.200 billion.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2006

Power generation companies are being hit by a double whammy - IIPM Publication

Power generation companies are being hit by a double whammy. On the raw materials side, thermal power plants – the mainstay of India’s power sector – are being crippled by a shortage of coal supplies. It may be ironical, but though India is sitting on the second largest reserves of coal, it cannot produce enough to feed India’s thermal plants. This year, companies like NTPC will together end up importing 20 million tones of coal. Plants based on gas are in worse shape: there has been an almost four fold increase in the prices of gas.

Source:- IIPM Editorial

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Copyright: IIPM-2006