Thursday, October 25, 2012

One Missed Call

Ever imagined, that what was and probably still is considered as an easy way out of saving money on mobile bills by many in India, could turn out to be a lucrative business idea one day! Yes, we are talking about the ubiquitous ‘missed call’ and weaving a business idea around that is Ms. Valerie Rozycki, who went on to start Zipdial, a mobile engagement platform.

Hailing from California, Valerie was smitten by the idea of merging technology companies and emerging markets right from her formative years. After completing her studies from Stanford University, she worked in the Silicon Valley for some time, being associated with a couple of start-ups - Ning and Say Now, and later with eBay. But soon, she shifted to Bengaluru, having met Mr. Sanjay Swamy, the then CEO of mChek and joined the organization. It was after working with mChek for a couple of years that she decided to start something of her own. She teamed up with Mr. Swamy and Mr. Amiya Pathak, from Zapak.com and started Zipdial. Click here to read more....

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Negotiation & Leadership

In the competitive field of business, people want to be sure that the magnitude of Negotiation and Leadership in business is not only strained within the company they own or work for, but also want to stress on the exceptional and crucial value it plays. The importance of Negotiation and Leadership in business can truly be the difference between companies that thrive and those that soon wane and often go out of business. In today’s business stage, professionals in positions of authority or aspiring for such roles can strengthen their ability to exercise leadership and negotiate effectively.

Understanding one’s leadership style is very crucial for negotiation and despite being leaders, many people fail to understand their own styles. Prof. Liersch conducted the workshop, which was divided into three sessions, with the finesse of a true business leader. The first session talked about the basics of leadership and negotiation, where the best practices were discussed and shared. The discussion also included ways of controlling negotiation and bargaining situations. Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft) was quoted as a true leader who has ad infinitum modified himself since the inception of Microsoft. The second session discussed the art of value and integrative bargaining along with the ways of effective negotiation within organisations. The last session discussed as to how organisational change can be effectively led and negotiated. Click here to read more..

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Friday, October 12, 2012

B. Muthuraman (Vice Chairman, Tata Steel) shares insights with Shipra Sharma on growth prospects for the indian economy

The experience at XLRI is one he treasures. He was most influenced by the “wholesome education” and the social purpose. “XLRI is not just about imparting management education; it makes one a better human being,” he says. Father Tom, his Communications professor, was his favourite, who taught him the subject beyond body language and eye contact, and focussed on keeping the audience engaged. This learning, and more, have led to his consistent rise at Tata Steel. At the same time, he has his dreams for the company, which he shares with us, “In the next 10 years, I see it becoming much larger, much more efficient, more global, and of course, continue its tradition for CSR. Thus, the fundamental nature of Tata Steel will not change.” Another part of the Tata DNA is employee empowerment. The Group believes that individuals can realise their potential only when given the opportunity to think and act differently. “When our employees undertake a responsibility, the complete onus for leading it to success lies on them,” he explains. On this note, Mr. Muthuraman confesses that while the management of human resources is the most important, it is also the most difficult. “Every human being is different, with their own strengths and weaknesses, thus the ways to motivate them also differ accordingly,” says he about this complex art. One needs to be genuine, caring, and just to make a difference to the employees. Each employee should be aligned with the company’s vision, for their continous leadership development. Such an initiative will help them “envision the future of the company, and energise and empower the people they work with.” Click here to Continue....

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Have a Meeting ? Make It Productive !

In my seminars on management development and leadership, I usually include a segment on how to conduct productive meetings. I have always been of the opinion that most official and obligatory meetings requiring the presence of three or more people are much like lawsuits and general surgery. Both should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

After teaching this subject to over 2,500 middle and senior level managers, I have been impressed by the commonality of complaints about poorly-run meetings. I have been equally impressed with the commonality of praises regarding well-run meetings. Here are some complaints that managers have stated: 1.The meeting was too long; 2. Subject matter irrelevant to me;
3. Someone monopolised the discussion with minutiae;
4. Nothing was accomplished;
5. Too much time was spent on unimportant business;
6. here was no logical reason to have this meeting other than because we always have this meeting at the same time every day/week/month;
7. Most subjects discussed could have been handled without a meeting;
8. There were no doughnuts or coffee.

On the other side, here are some positive comments the managers had about some meetings they had attended:
1.The chairman and the participants were well prepared;
2. The chairman stuck to the agenda;
3. It was short and to the point;
4. The meeting had a specific purpose and its objective was achieved;
5. Only topics of interest and relevance to the participants were discussed;
6. The meeting was called only when something had to be discussed;
7. There were plenty of doughnuts, coffee and soda available.

With such uncommon amount of agreement among the participants, it became relatively easy to offer some solutions for conducting more productive meetings, if you must have them. It only requires a chair who does not see this meeting as an ego boost or to meet just for the sake of meeting. Read More

Monday, October 08, 2012

A piece on Israeli grandmothers!

And on why mothers and grandmothers of this great nation play a critical role in the Israeli-Russia spar

Since August 28, 2008, almost all western media in some or the other form, are criticising Russia’s decision of recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia [once considered part of Georgian influence] by considering it Russian-occupied territories. Not only have both Fortune and Economist featured Russia’s growing influence on their cover stories in the last few weeks, even global leaders have suddenly started recognising that Russia still exists. In sarcastic criticism, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expectably showed her support to Georgia and warned Russia, “In contrast to Georgia’s position, Russia’s international standing is worse now than at any time since 1991...” How interesting dear Ms. Rice that you use that year as an example, for we believe that for the first time since 1991, Russia is finally regaining its rightful position on the world platform. And please Ms. Rice, neither you nor your favourite ‘Kiss Army’, of whom you are a self-confessed die-hard fan, are even an iota interested in what happens in Georgia, are you ma’am?

But what we wish to impetuously implicate out here, and what has been missed out by a majority of media in the process has been the emergence of a strange spar between Israel and Russia over the Georgian war! Analysts and experts in both Israel and Russia are bombarding each other with anti-Russian and anti-Israel statements respectively. Even in the media, while on one hand, Israeli press is accusing Russia of increasing its arm trade with the Middle East, on the other hand, the Russian media is leaving no stone unturned to prove the presence of arms and Israeli training hubs in Georgian land. And now, gravely serious political leaders allege that Russia’s nuclear fuel supply to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant is an initiative against Israel and Georgia. The question is, why is Israel suddenly getting into the benign act of protecting Georgia?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


 

Saturday, October 06, 2012

“In HP we look at Two Dimen-Sions, Reach and Richness”

Philip Mckinney, VP & CTO, Personal Systems Group, HP Reveals to Neha Saraiya the Reasons for Choosing India as the Launchpad for HP’s Latest Offering – HP Dreamscreen and its Future Roadmap

B&E: You come from a telecom background. Considering that telecom is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, how do you think that the sector’s scenario has changed across the globe over the past 2 decades?
Philip McKinney (PM):
I was associated with the telecom industry for almost 20 years in my previous job. Regarding my contribution to Indian telecom industry, I had actually built the first GSM operator in Kolkata back in 90s. But, the scenario has changed tremendously since then. From a standpoint, what used to be a novelty has now become a key aspect of infrastructure for the countries and societies to be competitive. Thus, delivering to the mass has become really important and necessary.

B&E: But this growth in telecom has brought in a huge change in the personal systems segment. Your opinion.
PM:
I think the reality at present is that all the devices are connected. 5 years ago, there would be some data services on the phone that were hardly used. But now it is amazing to look at the social networking sites and the way they have shaped up. Actually, it’s quite funny. If you consider the laptops 5 years back, the mobility was only from table to the bed. But over time, it has completely changed. As a result size, weight, battery... everything has become critical as everyone wants to be online always. It’s almost like an addiction. Here, being offline has become a state where people don’t know how to operate. And it’s all because of the mobile products.

B&E: In the Indian context, 90s was the phase when computers came into the country. Then, they were replaced by laptops, notebooks, netbooks and now tablets are making an entry. So where do you see this profile heading?
PM:
In HP we look at it in 2 dimensions. One is ‘reach’ and the other is ‘richness’, be it any product created by us. What has happened in the past 24 months is a journey in order to bridge the gap between a mobile phone and the PC. Like some people came in the market with a 7 inch netbook stating that a small netbook is better. So the question is how the segment will look like in coming times. What we predict is that sleeks (notebooks, netbooks, tablets, e-reads et al) will see an explosion in the number of devices. But the reality is that every consumer has a different need. So, rather than forcing the consumers to do a trade-off, the ultimate objective should be to build those devices that are suiting consumer needs. Like, I can’t put a 50 inch screen inside my pocket. I need a smaller one for that but at the same time I don’t want to compromise with the features. So technically speaking, we have to decompose the computers in a way so that they open up a whole range of new possibilities.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Friday, October 05, 2012

Revving It Up On The New Normal

The Superbike Segment in India is beginning to open up as Incumbents and New Entrants fill up gaps in The Market. B&E’s Sanchit Verma does a Quick Stopgap Review before the Number Game Begins

Outrageous is what defines these mean machines – be it their pricing, their power quotient, their cool factor, or even their target customer. Superbikes have always enjoyed a cult position across the world among those who have them, and never have failed to get noticed by those who don’t. And India has been no exception. Bikes like Yamaha R1, Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki Ninja have been painstakingly beckoning the creed of rich young and style conscious Indians of late. And they are not exactly getting disappointed, despite being high on the price factor, due in part to the high import duties. Otherwise, it is more of a smooth ride over the rough Indian landscape, since Indian home-grown manufacturers like Hero, Bajaj and TVS are still to manufacture a genuine superbike.

The market for superbikes in India was conspicuous by its absence till the earlier part of this decade. The era changed with rising urbanization and with the two wheeler sports segment, whose share in the total motorcycle market has grown to 17% in 2009-10 (from 14% in the previous financial year). Yamaha initially disappointed bikers with its products, which somehow didn’t give the owners the ‘Yamaha’ global brand experience. But bygones became bygones with the launch of the R15, which helped Yamaha rebuild its sporty image. Interestingly, when Yamaha brought to India their global favourites R1 and V-Max for a test sale to the Indian customers, they sold a surprisingly high 50 units in 3 months. Soon, other global players realised that the Indian market has matured enough to take on these high-end machines. Players like European major Aprilla have already announced big plans to re-enter the market with their motorcycles and scooter line up. Ducati opened its second showroom last year in Gurgaon with bikes ranging from Rs.1 million to 4.5 million in the portfolio. “We have received a positive response from all bike enthusiasts and it’s good to know they are excited about the Ducati brand. We feel honoured to be part of the evolving motorcycle industry in India,” said Mirko Bordiga, CEO, Ducati, APAC.

Bajaj also has understood the importance of a luxury bike in the portfolio. They have tied up with European major KTM Motors, and their product might hit Indian roads in 2011. Kawasaki also brought in the famous Ninja, which has received an enthusiastic response. Suzuki introduced the Hayabusa with proper service and spares parts availability. Never too late Harley-Davidson announced its much awaited cruiser bike entry by launching 12 bikes in the portfolio ranging from Rs.6.75 lakh to Rs.3.5 million. In fact, their recent plans to open up the CKD plant in Haryana showcases the rising demand in the industry.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face