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A Hollywood Sojourn

2011-07-20T13:03:00.006+05:30

To celebrate 100 years of Hollywood, Ganjam along with Tasveer and Magnum hosted a rare photographs collection of yesteryears’ stars like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Clark Gable and Elizabeth Taylor. The pictures displayed were captured by some of the world’s ace photographers like Robert Capa, Dennis Stock, Eve Arnold, Phillipe Halsman, Burt Glinn, Martine Franck , David Hurn, Marc Riboud etc. The event was marked by the presence of Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore, who is also the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification. In all, the event was received considerably well by art enthusiasts as many of the photographs exhibited creditably qualified on the heritage factor too.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

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

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BIG OCEANS ARE RULED BY BIG FISHES

2010-07-01T14:02:00.002+05:30

Independent agencies have always remained but it is the multinats that have the scale to train talent and reorient clients for tomorrow

For the last couple of years independent agencies have been in the news. More than half of these have been started by creative people who left bigger agencies to start operations. Suddenly everybody is wondering what this development means from a the long-term perspective. In my opinion, the course of independents gets decided by the vision of the bigger agencies. They are the ones with a window to where the world of communications is headed.

In their early days of going global, many multinationals in many markets made the mistake of parachuting large numbers of ex-pats to duplicate their creative magic at the other end of the world. This left a huge gap for the rise of independent agencies that understood local cultures and made intuitive connections with local consumers. Wiser with their experiences elsewhere, in India, multinationals have nurtured local talent over decades. The result is that the creative work from multinationals has not only grown, but also has a distinct Indian flavour. Indian arms of Leo Burnett and O&M have been Agency of the Year across global networks. So even as more small fish swim by, the big fish in India have evolved.

As far as independent agencies go, they will continue to crop up and win some businesses. Many of these wins will be based on the illustrious past life of their creative founders while working for multinational agencies; and specifically on personal client relationships. But independents that want to grow beyond a clutch of accounts and achieve scale will have to go in for tie-ups. As client base grows, an agency needs the best creative pool working with it. Multinationals stand a better chance of attracting and retaining fresh talent with better pay scales, opportunities and training. At the end of the day, it’s a big ocean out there. And big oceans are ruled by big fishes.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

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That, in short, summarises the branding conundrum of VLCC!

2009-10-05T16:29:00.000+05:30

The brand, that has been a certified Superbrand, is more known for Vandana Luthra than for the various businesses her beauty enterprise spawns. Can Vandana change this paradox? But hey, is it really an issue? Angushman Paul takes up the weighty issue...

On another front, to perhaps counter Shahnaz Hussein’s worldwide ‘Customer Relationship Management’ system, Vandana has appointed one of the world’s largest specialized below-the-line marketing services agencies, 141 Sercon, a contract to manage the VLCC call centre operations. Aegis Communication (from the well-known Essar Group) is the BPO providing primary services for the venture. Interestingly, Marico with its brand ‘Kaya’ is also planning to start a similar call center model through KPO.

Analysts claims that in the beauty and healthcare business, its essential to give a personal touch in services and therefore, the CRM system and call centers help. But that spawns a critical debate. Why has Vandana taken so much time to undertake these strategies, despite being one of the first movers in this segment? And why now, at a time of economic slowdown when competition in the beauty and wellness business is thickening up like anything? Aren’t her finances being run extremely dry because of such plans?

Vandana is unperturbed on such an argument, “Our USP is totally different from any other brand and our target audience is also different – we cater to many institutional buyers with our various services.” Institutional buyers are one big focus, more due to the recent change in the attitude of corporations that have become more focused on the wellness and health maintenance of its top managers.

But how important does she consider the creation of a sustainable brand, our primary question? “My mother ran a dancing school and she was very popular among her students, but she never though of branding her school, and today, nobody knows about her school. So, from personal experience, I knew that for long run sustainability, one needs to create a brand,” accepts Vandana. And she’s added corporate transparency to that promise, with Ernst & Young being the official auditor for VLCC (which is the only company in the industry undertaking such measures), a learning she obtained from her father’s work experiences at Siemens.

But strategically, does VLCC really have it in itself to one day become a glorious Fortune 500 company? Many decades ago, in 1946, a young woman called Josephine Esther Mentzer asked the same question for her company that offered four simple beauty and care solutions. She realised that the key to success was purely brand building. Today her company, named after her husband, is the world’s largest purely beauty care and cosmetics company, selling a mind numbing $7 billion worth products to women and men globally. Ranked 352 in the Fortune 500 list of 2009, Estée Lauder is known for the quality of its brand universally. Vandana, if she can, so can you... but all in good time...

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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TORPIG

2009-09-09T11:13:00.000+05:30

Torpig, also known as Sinowal or Anserin (mainly spread together with Mebroot rootkit), is a type of botnet spread by a variety of Trojan horses which can affect computers that use Microsoft Windows. Torpig circumvents anti-virus applications through the use of ‘rootkit’ technology and data mines the infected system for credentials, accounts and passwords as well as potentially allowing attackers full access to the computer. As of November 2008 it has been responsible for stealing the details of about 500,000 online bank accounts and credit and debit cards and is described as “one of the most advanced pieces of crimeware ever created”. According to RSA, the company which helps to secure networks in Fortune 500 companies, more than 270,000 banking accounts and 240,000 credit and debit cards have been breached from financial institutions. The botnet is really one of the most advanced pieces of crimeware ever created.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Pizzas topped with cheese & happiness

2009-08-21T12:33:00.000+05:30

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Brand : Domino’s

Khushiyon ki Home Delivery depicted the bond between Pizza delivery and happiness. Domino’s needed this to alter its functional proposition of convenience and great taste and the campaign was created to act as an emotional discriminator from rivals. The campaign, supported by their ‘easy on the pocket’ Pizzas and 30 minute delivery promise helped Domino’s to garner a market share of 45% by the end of 2008. “We wanted to highlight The happiness factor and especially when other players are increasing prices. We very clearly conveyed that Domino’s can bring happiness in your life with pizza at just Rs.35. The campaign succeeded in conquering the market,” affirms Ajay Kaul, CEO, Domino’s Pizza India Ltd. Need more happiness?

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

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Marrying health and emotions = sales

2009-08-03T13:34:00.000+05:30

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Brand: Saffola Gold
Agency: McCann Erickson

If brand-building is the art of identifying and then occupying a hitherto vacant perch in the conumer’s lifestyle... then Saffola Gold’s Kal Se campaign really lays the oil! Marico showed ingenuity by coming up with the concept of a cholesterol lowering edible oil, while the agency demonstrated a smart way to cash in. Using the insight of procrastination of health needs by the consumer, the campaign talked of protecting your heart from TODAY. The campaign resulted in instantaneous volume growth for Saffola Gold and margin-growth for Marico. In a survey, consumers voted Saffola Gold as the Most Trusted Brand in the cooking oil category...

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

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Now that’s a ‘Lucky Gold’star

2009-07-22T13:02:00.000+05:30

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In June 2006, LG India became a part of a completely new global marketing strategy of the consumer electronics company. Apart from readying itself to become an export hub for some of the foreign markets and entering new segments, it came out with a brand new communication for its entire home appliance range, breaking away from its health platform, conceptualised in 1997. The campaign for new “Health Plus” for the home appliances range focused on intelligent and futuristic technology under the “Intello” umbrella. But then, did it really paid off? “The thing which has worked wonders for LG is their marketing muscle which allows it to flex across categories. Moreover by shifting its target positioning LG has provided an opportunity of cross shopping to its customers,” answers Sumit Arora, Senior Director, Synovate India. What’s more? The electronics giant has just shifted its technological advancement to masses products also. Wonder at the time when many companies are re-working on their prices, LG believes in playing across all segments. Now that’s called a real winner!

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

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McDonald’s means scrumptious burgers and golden arches to most. Few think of this food retailer as a conglomerate.

2009-06-22T14:27:00.000+05:30

But McDonald’s growth story amidst the bloodbath on Wall Street has made people sit up and take note of the steely corporate behind the romantic, red and yellow sheen. And if the US recession has left these hamburger people unscathed, guess a slowdown in the Indian economy is cause for celebration? 4Ps B&M’s Angshuman Paul dives into the ketchup :-)

Ronald McDonald is sitting calmly in the war-room of his headquarters at Oakbrook, a suburb west of Chicago. While his rivals are reeling under the impact of the recession that is taking a toll on most of Wall Street, the clown is thanking the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser for writing his bestseller Fast Food Nation a few years ago, which had hit McDonald’s where it had hurt the most – no, not their waistline, but the bottomline! Schlosser’s arguments against McDonaldization of America and the rest of the world (among other things he wrote that “wherever America’s fast food chains go, waistlines inevitably start expanding”) had caught the imagination of the public then, which until then had thought of burgers and fries as their manna from heaven. The hamburger chain’s profits dropped drastically between 2002-2003.

But that was then when they never got anything right! Today, it seems that they can do no wrong. Fast Food Nation and the damage it inflicted on their financials gave McD’s the fodder to change – their menu, image and more importantly their thinking – which is serving them well in these bad times. In the intervening years, not only did the burger company do away with super size burgers and include healthy meals to their menu, they also improved efficiencies, added the McCafe and McTreat chains to their portfolio and launched the I’m lovin’ It campaign. And they are still lovin’ it! When its contemporaries are taking a hit on their bottomlines, Mc’Ds is riding the wave with strong results for the third quarter and the year. Its sales in the US increased by 5% (not to mention a double digit growth in their operating income), even as Domino’s sales fell by 3% and Yum Brands started calling the Pizza Hut chain as one of its biggest challenges. The Pizza chain’s complaints: cash-strapped consumers are eating at home more often. Jim Skinner, the Global Chief Executive of McDonald’s, is not complaining though. After all, in the year ended 2008, McDonald’s recorded a revenue of $23,230 million as compared to rival Yum! Brand’s mere $10,416 million for the same period. Shares of McDonald’s gained nearly 6% last year, making the company one of only two in the Dow Jones industrial average whose share price rose in 2008 (when the stock market lost a third of its value). The other was Wal-Mart!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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You Got Male!

2009-05-06T15:37:00.000+05:30

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Is the new Indian woman looking 'differently' at the male? Is the new Indian male looking 'differently' at himself? Is voyeurism suddenly going unisex? Monojit Lahiri probes the new-age phenomenon firing up ad-world!

Actually, Salman Khan started it all. Declaring a flamboyant fatwa against shirts, he converted flaunting his bare-chested, well-toned machismo into a sexual statement that drove a zillion female fans wild while earning envious looks from the guys. Today its come to a situation where (like the gasp-pant Zeenie baby of the seventies) many can’t recognise ‘Sallubhai’, fully clothed! Presently John Abraham’s red-hot number in Dostana, is giving both hotties Shilpa and Piggy Chops a run for money! The way his languorous moves have been choreographed and the passionate love-affair the camera seems to conduct with Johnny-boy … man, ‘you got male’!

Beyond Sallu, John, and SRK’s sexy 6-pack abs flash, Ranbir’s (oooops!) wardrobe dysfunction in Saawariya and Aamir’s new, killer body in Ghajini, lies a slew of ads saluting the male form – with women, actively co-opted as enthusiastic participants! Be it the Euro Brief slugs where the young dude gets ‘assaulted’ (with lipstick marks!) the AXE effect TVCs, Moods’ condom ads (where the babe nibbles her guy’s ears) and the latest Akshay Kumar’s lethal unbuttoned ad, the male, suddenly, is taking centre stage and women seem delighted to play avid, rah-rah audience!
As the song says, what’s goin’ on?

Gushes the Delhi-based ad veteran Esha Guha, “As the ad says, why should boys have all the fun? For centuries, women have played dedicated objects of desire to men’s hungry eyes. Isn’t it time to hit the role-reversal button?” The ‘unputdownable’ Guha argues that in today’s world where women go eyeball-to-eyeball with men in the professional, financial and social zone, why should they suddenly play cute n’ shy away from the delicious sport called male-gazing!

Young copy-writer Payal Sinha is delighted (“Wow, Some Lady”!) at this response from someone who represents a generation who, (mostly) would reach for smelling salts before attempting to coherently articulate their (Shock? Disgust?) opinion. “I think our generation looks at the very concept of sexuality differently – the urban, middle-class, educated community, that is. There is neither the hush-hush, behind closed-doors factor, the sex-is-sin belief, nor the shy, feminine, mega blush-flush at the very mention of the S word.” Payal elaborates by saying that the new-age woman is pretty savvy and clued-in and with the huge exposure in the public domain – TV, movies, radio, Internet – as well as everyday life and living, the male body is (normally) not totally alien country!

Creative Director Moon-Moon Dhar joins the party with unbridled ecstasy! “This stuff was long overdue and I have no hesitation in saying that I went to Dostana just to ogle! Johnny-boy was truly an eye-candy!” Toning the pitch down a bit, the bindaas mother of two believes that today’s men too are less self-conscious about flashing-flesh or getting paranoid if their partners drool. “My hubby is, by turn, amused or threatening to get those 6-pack abs, very soon. It’s cool.”

Home-maker Vidya Baluja feels like throwing up! “My god, its blatant sexism, male-style … and it’s so much more yucky!” She believes that there are certain areas of life, which indeed exist but should be celebrated only in the private space. “All this dramabazi exhibitionism is so vulgar! Sure there will always be a lunatic fringe that will wow the toned and chiseled male form but generally speaking, most sane, balanced, intelligent women will view this new-age disrobing of inhibitions in a startled, amused and embarrassed way.”

Journo Bina Khanna adds her spin to it. “I really think too much is being made of this male-gazing – thanks to the Dostana factor – and it’s more media-generated than real!” Khanna believes that the recent hungama is because traditionally, its always been the politically correct thing for men to drool, salivate and play the raging-hormone voyeur. Suddenly (Globalisation? Gladrags?), there has been a change in the mindset among a segment of society that have woken up to this role-reversal and embraced it with unholy glee! This has toppled the apple-cart and brought something hugely private and hush-hush tumbling out of the closet into the streets…

Khanna could well have hit the nail on the head. The new-age woman is different from her mother-in-law in many ways, mindset, heading the list. She is socially, intellectually, financially and professionally up there with men and suffers no complex about it. Individual liberation through sexuality is emerging as a major tool to break feudalism in society. Also, in an age of suppressed libido, celebration of the male body by women is liberating, balancing the man-woman equation and making commodification of culture a two-way street. Besides, in a time and age when women are breaking every mould in life and rewriting the rules of the game, it’s time to celebrate choices, stop living in a man’s-idea-of-woman world, go with the flow and coin a whole, new and exciting word – DIRECT MALE!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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20 murders a month and counting: Bangalore's new face

2009-02-24T14:52:00.000+05:30

Surprisingly, 20 murders even before the first month of 2009 is over does not rattle the Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar M Bidari. “This is not a new thing. Bangalore usually witnesses over 20 murders every January and there is no need to create hue and cry over it. Moreover, if we compare it with last year’s statistics, there were more murders last year,” said Bidari.

For the Commissioner sahib, 20 murders in a month is not a serious matter, especially in a city with a population of 75 lakh and which has seen 22 and 19 murders in January 2008 and January 2007 respectively. Moreover, since police cannot guarantee security to each and every individual living in the city, the citizens themselves have to make sure they stay out of harm’s way, Bidari advised. Though the Police Commissioner has assured to start the investigations soon, the promise holds little hope. The file containing a 12-year-old murder case of an elderly couple in Jayanagar is still gathering dust in the police station. Though the police have already launched their investigation in the recent double and triple murder cases in Jayanagar, they give little assurance of safety and security to the residents.

“A peaceful sleep is all we ask for. Who will provide us security to enjoy that?” Raghavendra’s million dollar question hangs in the air. ....Continue

“If I have done wrong, hang me!”

2009-02-19T11:47:00.000+05:30

Your popularity is going up among people all over the country. A Marxist MP from Kerala was punished for praising your work. Are you aware that you have fans in all parties?
I am aware of this. Even people who publicly criticise me have noticed my work. But I am really surprised that the Kerala MP was punished.

Looking at Gujarat, many feel that you could do wonders for the nation if you were made the PM.

I have studied political science and know how such talks have ruined many top leaders in the past. I will not fall into this trap. I am content with what I am doing.

So, you do not wish to think beyond Gujarat?
I feel that by serving Gujarat I am serving the entire nation as well.

If ever you are made the PM, what would be your priority?
First of all there is no ‘if’ and ‘or’ in politics.

But you must have thought about something for the nation?
I think of the responsibilities I have, which is Gujarat, and I think of various plans for the betterment of Gujarat.

Any single economic policy which you would like to bring or introduce in India?
In Gujarat, development work is moving in the right direction. I want balanced growth, which means 30 per cent growth for all sectors: industrial, agricultural as well as service. The logic is, if there is famine, the other two sectors can contribute. During recession, the agricultural and service sectors can shore up the economy.

Somewhere you had mentioned that security-related personnel should go through forensic examination to enable the government to know if the candidate has chosen this career to serve the country or not.
I did not say such a thing. I said forensic science labs should do commercial activities. Nowadays, corporate houses study psychological profiles of potential CEOs, because people are constantly switching jobs. So, I suggested that forensic science labs can do this to grow their business.....Continue

Save the last dance

2009-02-11T13:57:00.000+05:30

“Since the colonial times, our forefathers have been Kalandars. We too earned a decent living through bear and monkey dance performances. But about three to four years back some private organisations started harassing us. They said that we cannot pursue this work unless we have a license. We went to Lucknow to get ourselves registered and obtain licenses for our work. For some time we could peacefully pursue our work, but soon the same social organisations started taking the bears and their cubs away from us. Close to 2500 bears have been taken away from us and for some, we haven’t even been paid any money. We were also promised alternate sources of income by them, but nothing materialised. They took our bears away and gave us false hopes of a government job and opening shops or buying auto rickshaws. At that time whoever refused this bargain, was beaten up by the cops. Some of our old folks were even beaten to death!

I wouldn’t say that we haven’t got any money at all, but paying the school fees for six or seven months every two years or giving us five thousand rupees for a wedding isn’t sufficient. We haven’t been given any job yet. Around twenty-five men in our family are unemployed and I don’t know how many more are there in the entire Mathura zone. We really don’t know what to do... We sometimes set up small shops (pheri) or take the monkeys around for dance shows but this doesn’t fetch us enough money to run the house. It is not even close to what we can earn from the bears. We kept our bears like family members. Some of our bears survived for as long as twenty years. The animal was feeding our family and we never kept it unhappy. Whenever they had infections or fell ill, we gave them herbal treatment and even took professional medical help. In fact, I want to know about the 2500 bears they took from us. The two centers of this organisation don’t have as many bears. So where are they? People say that they trade their parts to international markets for good money.....Continue

Ehud's Error

2009-02-02T12:00:00.000+05:30

Gaza offensive has cost Israel West's unconditional support

If at all one needs to find reason in insanity, then so be it. While the world expresses anger and frustration over Israel’s invasion of Gaza strip; by doing so, one man is happy that he redeemed his pride: Ehud Olmert.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s political career finished, for all practical purposes, several months before his Gaza adventure. However, his tenure will be recalled for most of his misadventures – chain of discomforting corruption accusations and the messed up 2006 campaign against Hezbollah. Clearly, through Gaza he wants to show the Israelis that he is as much capable of finishing wars as starting them, and thus reinstating Israel’s military deterrence. But watch closely and you’ll understand that he has messed it up again. By attacking Gaza and inflicting civilian causalities, Israel wanted to isolate Hamas among Palestinians by proving that it is Hamas that has brought doom on them. However, by doing so, Olmert also proved his total lack of understanding as to how Arabs think. His adventure has made Hamas hero and martyr and Palestinians are huddling around it more than ever. Moderate secular voices such as Fatah and PLO will find it impossible now to win public’s approval to strike a peace deal with Israelis.

“It is counter-productive. You cannot have peace with Fatah and Palestinian Authority alone. This is collateral damage,” said Robert Malley, head of the International Crisis Group's Middle East programme, while talking to TSI from Brussels. So, in fact, Olmert has once again sucked Israel into unrealistic expectations and a conflict it cannot win. Also, some of its acts in this strife have heavily dented Israel’s otherwise unconditional support in the west. Its attack on UN school – although it had coordinates – and use of artillery shells, with the incendiary agent white phosphorus, on civilian population has led to protests all over the world, including in countries like Norway, Denmark and, yes, Germany.

As the conflict entered its third week, the death toll has touched close to 900, most of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, have been killedin retaliatory attacks. And while Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, claims to be running “day and night” to bring in an armistice, it is pretty apparent that the Bush administration has provided Israel broad latitude to crush Hamas on the cost of civilian lives....Continue

Gag Disorder!

2009-01-22T12:16:00.000+05:30

Who said comedies need a script and great punches? If you ask Rohit Shetty, the director of Golmaal Returns, he would tell you to just spoof some already unfunny movies, go to the internet and pick up some age-old one-liners and if it is a sequel, then pay a tribute to the original, and the movie is ready! It seems as if No Entry, Golmaal, Hungama and Welcome amalgamated to produce the disaster called Golmaal Returns.

The story is of K-serial obsessed Kareena Kapoor who suspects her husband when he spends one whole night on a yacht and cooks up a story to save his skin. Add to that a murder mystery, some villains and a dollop of confusion and you have the hotchpotch of a plot ready.

Even if you overlook some technical errors like the dead guy visibly blinking and the hideous and done-to-death scenes, you cannot discount great actors like Arshad Warsi (he laughs even before delivering the dialogues) and Ajay Devgan (he just looks bored) goofing up. Kareena Kapoor is back to her Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai days and overacts to the hilt. Shreyas Talpade does a decent job but one tends to miss the presence of Sharman Joshi who was brilliant the first time around. But the man who steals the show is Tusshar Kapoor in what is probably the role of a lifetime for him where he has been amazingly consistent in both movies.

The movie has nothing original, lacks wit, chemistry and innovative gags. Even if you left your brains at home, you might have a lopsided smile but nothing more than that. And to think that they are coming up with a third sequel… Aarghhh!!!.....Continue

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“Be aware!”

2009-01-13T10:34:00.000+05:30

“Be aware!”, echoed both masters. Here, it would be pertinent to note that both have been responsible for giving extensive close quarter combat (CQC) training to various law enforcement agencies, the military and some of its elite units. It seemed a generic directive, but as the South Africans proved, it was the one trait – being aware of one’s environment (moving away from glass areas, fire, checking for exits, and finding resources for barricading an area) that saved more than a 100 lives.

“Secondly, you should always stay low – you might escape both bullets and heavy smoke”, urged Vicky Kapoor. “Krav Maga (used by the Israeli Defence units) was designed to counter hostage situations”, he elaborated, as he showed us how he would’ve handled armed hostage takers even if handcuffed “and while most Israelis would’ve made difficult hostages because they’ve served in the army and trained in CQC, most of us Indians are neither trained nor aware. Even if you can’t get army training, every school, RWA and organisation should run programmes that run basic first aid. Doctors trapped in one of the hotels saved the lives of a wounded few with basic first aid techniques. Perhaps many others could’ve been saved. Teach people what to do incase of a fire or an earth quake. Offices have fire extinguishers but who knows how to use them? In case of a fire or explosion, more might die in a stampede. Simple evacuation drills could save lives. Martial skills could be infinitely useful, but the rest is basic and should be mandatory training for each and every Indian. Wake up, and take charge of your lives. No one else would do it for you”, he concluded. Incidentally, Vicky Kapoor has been training security teams in some prominent hotel chains in the aftermath of 26/11. Kanishka echoed the same thoughts. “We’re usually too busy walking like zombies to notice our surroundings. Why is that man so nervous? Whose bag is that? Where are the exits? Which is the closest hospital? I’m not saying you should be in a state of paranoia 24/7, but be aware of your surroundings. And be careful before you start a self defense course to prepare yourself for hostage situations. They work…” he said as he demonstrated how even an unarmed hostage could, at the right moment, “with the right training”, disarm an armed assailant and get out alive “… but you must understand that combat martial styles, like Kali (a martial art used by the Filipino Marines) begin where most martial sports (Tae kwon do and sport Karate are sports which’ve banned lethal techniques, focusing instead on scoring points) end. Their aim is to train to finish the opponent (even if armed), not score points and this distinction is very important when you choose a martial art for self defense. Presence of mind, common sense and even the ability to engage hostage takers in a conversation, a negotiation, could save your life. If that fails, train the mind and the body with self defense skills and you might still come out alive.”

I know what you’re thinking? What good are martial skills in the face of a bullet. Well, if someone wants to shoot you, he will and there’s nothing you can do about it. But in a hostage situation, escape if you can. And if you can’t, wait. There might be a moment when the terrorist comes close enough for you to act. I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, you might as well be prepared… See you in the dojo then… PS Mr CEO(s), do remember to organize fire safety, first aid and evacuation drills in the office. It might save more than just one life…....Continue

Star Cruise !

2009-01-08T13:17:00.000+05:30

The routes of these ships keep on changing and there are a lot of cruises one can choose from, like Blues Cruise, Star Cruises, Royal Caribbean etc and the cruise packages also vary. The one I journeyed on, stopped at the Langkawi Islands and Phuket Islands for half a day each and I got down at Phuket Islands, the best and the cheapest place to shop. The beaches at Phuket were beautiful and I couldn’t resist trying out para-sailing, where I was perhaps the only one who was made to brush through the sea water for at least half a minute – perhaps the best moment of my life! I also tried driving a motorboat and later, after a Thai massage, I made my way back to the cruise.

Evenings can occupy one with a variety of activities. The ‘games room’ hosts talk shows, game shows and dance classes. A staircase from there leads to the Captain’s Bridge Viewing Gallery where passengers can watch the Captain toil over the complicated consoles. Then there is a ‘picture house’ that screens movies. The cruise liner also has a discotheque and an Africa-themed karaoke bar. So not only did my days pass by in a jiffy, but my nights were just as much fun. However, as they say, there are no free lunches in the world; most of the activities came with a price tag!

The last night was really special as the Captain and the crew joined the party with the passengers. There was music, dance and dinner... It could not have ended on a better note, leaving me with a lot of memories to be cherished... until I set sail, yet again.....Continue

SECURITY DISASTER

2009-01-03T16:23:00.000+05:30

A Defence Ministry report of March 2007 stated that there is real danger from sea. Quoting from the report, Defence minister, A.K.Anthony, informed the Lok Sabha that ``there are reports about terrorists of various tanzeems being imparted training and likelihood of their infiltration through sea routes..." When further queried by a MP whether "maritime terrorism, gun-running, drug-trafficking and piracy are major threats that India is facing from the sea borders of the country?", Anthony’s reply was a categorical `Yes, sir.’

At the Fourth Regional Security Summit in December, 2007, at Manama, National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan – now in the eye of the storm – told those assembled that "there are now certain new schools that are being established on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which specialise in the training of an international brigade of terrorists to fight in many climes...According to our information, recruits from 14 to 15 countries have been identified as trainees there... —``.

This is no ordinary threat either. The Ministry maintained that ``studies had been conducted about important targets, with regard to vulnerability, accessibility, poor security, absence of proper counter-terrorism measures, etc. The sea route, in particular, is becoming the chosen route for carrying out many attacks, even on land. ''

Despite overwhelming evidence and warnings, no lessons have been learnt. In 2000, in the aftermath of the Kargil war, four task forces were set up. Of them, one was dedicated to border management. Defence doyen K.Subramaniam, who authored that report warned that "the long coastline with its inadequate policing makes it easy to land arms and explosives at isolated spots on the coast." He recalled that this was the route taken to smuggle explosives into Maharashtra in 1993 before the Mumbai blasts. "The situation, if anything, has worsened over the years with activities of the ISI becoming more widespread along the coast…Such coastal areas must be particularly kept under surveillance." That, sadly, is the last thing that the security establishment did. ....Continue

Oh, brother!

2009-01-02T13:44:00.000+05:30

For a limited cast of only five characters, “Sorry Bhai” is a markedly refreshing departure from standard Bollywood fare. The movie plays around with a simple theme of sibling equations as influenced by the catalyst called the elder sibling’s fiancée. The script is a typical take on the ‘dysfunctional-family-comes-together-for-a-cause’ mould. Harsh (Sanjay Suri) has been away (in Mauritius of all places!) from his family, while his younger brother Sid (Sharman Joshi) tries for a research grant for his latest hypothesis (a cranky idea involving a wooden dog!). When Harsh decides to get married to Aaliyah (Chitrangada Singh), he pleads his younger brother to get his parents, especially his mom for the wedding. The fun in dysfunctional is put in by the antics of the parents, played with superb chemistry by Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi.

Sharman Joshi does a pretty good job keeping up his boyish yet mature image while Chitrangada Singh essays a role that perhaps doesn’t present her as much of a challenge as her debut one did. For an actress of her potential, this is just about par for the course and she is underutilised. On the brighter side, the scenes shared by her and Shabana Azmi deserve special mention. Sanjay Suri exudes quiet confidence as usual and it fits his big brother persona perfectly. The slow narrative (you sort of expect that with a limited cast of characters) is a dampener though the locales of Mauritius do provide a picturesque background for the well shot scenes.

“Sorry Bhai” deserves a watch, at least for being far better off than the apology of a movie that other comedies have become.....Continue

The Mumbai attack could not have happened without assistance from the locals

2008-12-22T13:29:00.000+05:30

A close scrutiny of the terrorist operation will tell you that this was certainly not the result of some momentary emotional impulse. The killers had clearly done their homework well and were both well trained and deeply indoctrinated. It is quite obvious why they targeted Mumbai -- because as India’s financial capital an attack on it would draw the maximum publicity worldwide. The terrorists’ aim this time was to discourage overseas investments in India. That is why they took on foreigners. What they want is to bleed India financially – to hit us hard. The attack has already send shivers down the English cricket team, as a result of which all tournaments have been cancelled.

The attack has exposed the numerous chinks in the Indian Intelligence armour. For consider: none of our agencies was able to come up with a single clue even after so many people had been killed. And the sad thing is that this is not a one-off incident. Our intelligence agencies almost never wake up in time so that such attacks are pre-empted. They come on the scene after the incidents have already occurred. If we are really serious about stopping such attacks on India we will need to strengthen our intelligence agencies manifold. We will need to modernise it so that it becomes possible to develop foolproof intelligence mechanisms at the local level. Then only will we be able to spot suspicious activities before this kind of mayhem is unleashed.....Continue

Call of nature

2008-12-18T14:46:00.000+05:30

When one wants to answer the call of nature, one goes to the bathroom. But according to scientists, the kitchen garden may be a better place. Why? Studies have discovered that urine helps plants like cabbages to grow more. Researchers in Sweden used urine (stored for six months) to fertilise a plot of cabbages and compared the results with a similar plot where conventional fertilisers were used. The findings, cabbages watered with urine grew to be not only bigger but healthier than most other conventionally treated plants. And yes, they tasted the same!...Continue

who will win? Ajai Bhambhi

2008-12-13T16:27:00.000+05:30

Chaotic Centre, BJP to lose states

Venus, the planet of luxury and wellness has been a major factor in India’s fate for the past 20 years. This is amply reflected in the great strides India has taken over that period. However, at present, Ketu will play a spook: its temperament does not dine together with Venus. From November 4, 2009, Ketu sub dasha will play a major role in the main mahadasha of Venus. Result: chaos. The 2009 general elections’ result will have no single party form the government at the Centre, and which party comes, it will not complete its term.

Congress: Presently with Venus in the 11th house along with Jupiter is good. In astrology 11th house indicates huge gains by friends, well-wishers etc. Congress will not win as many seats it had won in the last election but it shall be in a position to call the shots due to its alliances. However, a precise prediction can only be made after the poll dates are announced.

BJP: In this party’s case, since it has a Venus-Mercury combination - which is good - we still believe that the party will do well in this election but to get a mandate will not be an easy task.

Delhi: The charts of VK Malhotra and Sheila Dixit are not too different, but going by all considerations, there can be no better time or opportunity than now for the former.

Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje might manage to manipulate MLAs and come back, but chances are she will go down fighting. Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chauhan, with his Moon chart showing Jupiter leaving Sagittarius on December 9, 2008, is a sure loser! Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh beware: Saturn’s sadey saati in operation, so the least said the better!...Continue

An island in the ocean

2008-12-11T11:09:00.000+05:30

“Why do you do yoga all the time? You want to live to be 150, isn’t it? Why? What would you do at 150… all alone while your friends, your loved ones, perhaps even your children and grand children have all gone? Not worth it!” Thus spake Kakoo (uncle) – let’s call him Dr Kakoo…
Dr Kakoo happens to be my favourite uncle in the neighbourhood and he’s seen me grow from the toddler who chased after a butterfly (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with being gay; I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Sir David Attenborough and Steve Irwin do pretty much the same thing on TV) into a professional gadfly. And ever since the time he suggested I might want to reconsider my decision of running away and joining the circus as a four-year-old, I’ve always found his advice timely and pertinent.

But this time, I begged to differ...
I was sitting in his living room, following up on an after dinner chat, while a replica of the Mona Lisa stared down at us from luminous white walls. He insisted that life was worth living only till about 80 (Kakoo’s in his 70s) or so and beyond that, it is but a listless wait for the end to come. And since reaching that limit, going by current gerontological standards, was a more likely statistical possibility than not amongst middle-class Indians, why bother with the mind-numbing stress of a workout for a few more years of life?...Continue

Repeated violence rubbishes claims of 'island of peace'

2008-12-05T11:43:00.000+05:30

Though the police initially claimed that the Maoists had been responsible, the latter, uncharacteristically, made no such claim. And one top retired IPS officer said that had the Maoists been responsible, they would have made a claim. Besides, said the officer, it was not a land mine, for that would have blown up the car into smithereens, but only some splinters had smashed the windshield of the police car.

Kuldip Singh, Inspector General of Police (Western range), admitted on November 4 that the four kilometre stretch had not been under surveillance as the police had no information it could be under Maoist influence, and in fact, it was a CPI(M) controlled area. But this is not a one-off incident. Recently, Maoists blew up an ambulance, killing a doctor and a nurse travelling in it at Belpahari, near Salboni. Interestingly, they did so because in these areas, the state police, scared witless of being attacked, use not their vehicles but ambulances for patrolling. The Maoists later admitted the mistake.....Continue

Iskander-M leaves Poland and Czech vulnerable to Russian attack

2008-12-01T14:44:00.000+05:30

IIPM Publication
The location of deployment and choice of the missile both say much about Russia’s position on this current tussle. During the cold war, Kaliningrad was perceived as the first line of defence against an aggression from the west. Russia condensed its strategic presence in the region post Cold War, but it still has tens of thousands of troops and quite a few key bases there, counting the Chernyakhovsk naval air base as well as the Baltic Fleet's headquarters at Baltiysk.

Named after the greatest conquer of all time, Alexander of Macedon, Iskander-M missile system, or SS-26 as NATO would like to call it, will be Russia’s new armoury in the region. “The deployment of Iskander that has a range of more than 300 miles would equip Russia to mark the entire territory of Poland and also parts of the Czech Republic,” said Anatoly Tsyganok, a military expert at Military Forecast Centre, while talking to TSI from Moscow. Iskander launchers are mounted on an eight-wheeled truck, making them extremely manoeuvrable. The missile’s “variable flight trajectory” means it is tricky to knock down. However, it has not been made clear on the Russian part whether the Iskanders to be deployed in Kaliningrad will have a nuclear payload or not....Continue

Public service system led to poor’s food into private business

2008-10-30T13:37:00.000+05:30

The first symptom of current ration disquiet surfaced on September 16, 2007, when a CPI(M) rally was attacked by a mob. Next day, a ration dealer’s residence was attacked. The riot started in Bankura district, very soon engulfed Birbhum, 24 Parganas, Bardhaman, Murshidabad & Hoogli. State government suspended 117 dealers, and thousands others are absconding. A report of Supreme Court appointed Special Commission on Food Security, called it ‘double burden of privatisation’ of Public Distribution System. It further states, not only the Fair Price Shops are run by private parties; the entire distribution of foodgrains is controlled by politically supported private parties, leading to corruption. Owing to double burden of corrupt and privatised PDS, 34.9% of PDS rice and 86.6% of PDS wheat, got diverted. Worse still, 83% of the wheat meant for Below Poverty Line people and 60% of rice, got stolen....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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My father’s business...

2008-10-21T15:41:00.000+05:30

It takes 1 hour and 15 minutes by flight from Barcelona to Madrid while the duration for a train journey for the same by AVE train takes 2 hours 40 minutes. In India, a Kolkata to Delhi flight takes an hour and forty five minutes while the same by the fastest Indian train takes nothing less than 17 hours. That narrates part of the story, the rest follows.

When the Boston Consulting Group had introduced the concept of BCG Matrix consisting of the four types of companies that a group can have (i.e. cash cows, stars, question mark and dogs), never had it thought that the concept of cash cows would be used with so much impunity by a government of a country which has otherwise been loathe to carry on the concept of structural reforms. For long, the Indian Railways (IR) have been nothing but a typical cash cow for the government to propagate a messiah image; and for long, elected members of the Parliament have fought at large to grab this portfolio. The common saying goes that the best way to benchmark the performance of the Railway Minister is find out how many of his community and constituency have made it to Rail department. Nowadays, it’s an unofficial norm and doesn’t even elicit surprise among the media and mass. No wonder that Indian Railways have 14 lakh employees. One wonders if that many are essentially required or if there’s another instance of a company being mentored by so many. Incidentally, the Indian Army has lesser number of personnel.....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Fitness foreplay

2008-10-11T14:39:00.000+05:30

Looking to bust that stress or simply want to try out something refreshing, sign up for a Pilates routine, or take refuge in a spa and rejuvenate yourself with the experience

Pilates anyone?

Founded by one Joseph H. Pilates, Pilates (Pi-lah-teez) is catching up in India. It revolves around a series of controlled movements on a mat (or a machine) focusing on the torso, toning the body by building up flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination without adding bulk to the muscles. Pilates helps improving posture, makes one less prone to injury and results in overall good health.

Pilates is the ‘In-thing’ and classes are springing up everywhere. Growing popularity and the big names attached with it, just makes this pleasurable exercise routine even more interesting. Says model and actress Gul Panag, “Choc-a-block shooting schedules and erratic working hours stress me, so it’s important to take time off to rejuvenate my body. I follow Pilates thrice a week on the desired areas which give me visible results.”...Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Why Saxons hate Porsche!

2008-10-07T15:41:00.000+05:30

Piëch would find the Saxon barrier quite unfathomable

As Stuttgart-based Porsche fires all cylinders to gain majority control over Volkswagen (VW) AG, Chairman Ferdinand Piëch of VW finds himself in a funny situation. Being the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the legendary designer of the Beatle and the founder of sports car major Porsche, he surely has his emotional reasons to try and allow Porsche to take controlling stake of VW, Europe’s largest auto group that owns nine separate brands – including Audi, Bentley and the likes – and made close to $1.5 billion in sales during the first quarter this year.

Porsche already owns a 31% stake in Volkswagen and wants to have a majority stake in VW in order to have access to its liquidity and to secure an uninterrupted supply of parts. Also, as per Christian Breitsprecher of Sal Oppenheim comments to B&E, “Porsche is interested in Volkswagen because it wants to have access to the latter’s scales and volumes.”...Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Let’s just kill the Nano!

2008-10-03T13:40:00.000+05:30

With new entry compacts, Hyundai & Maruti are out to prove they are ready to fight the Rs.1 lakh car

Maruti Suzuki’s A-Star debut at this year’s Auto Expo was met with skepticism after the initial hoopla. Analysts who had earlier anticipated that progressive consumerism would shrink the entry level segment further; were aghast by the audacity with which Maruti made this bold move. According to market reports, the stylish car will be a sub Rs.3 lakh product, offering entry level customers a wider product range. As a repercussion to the impending Tata Nano (the Rs.1 lakh car), volume players are on a scramble to provide the customer with an alternative that is not basic (unlike the Nano) but is highly affordable nonetheless.

Taking the bait of even higher volumes, expected to be generated by the ‘high attention’ entry segment, India’s number two player, Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) has unleashed its plans as well. Reportedly, the South Korea major is developing an entry level small car, albeit one that is not directly competing with the Nano. Comments HS Lheem, MD, HMIL, “Hyundai does not have any plans to enter in to this segment immediately. What Hyundai might look into, in the near future, is the possibility of a car a notch lower than the existing Santro, keeping in mind parameters like technology, safety and regulatory norms.”...Contine

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

Who dares to be CEO?

2008-09-22T15:48:00.000+05:30

Lampert must move himself out of a hands on role in Sears
When investor Edward Lampert acquired Sears via merger of K-Mart in 2005 and became the Chairman, he thought of ruling the retail world. However, recent developments at Sears Holding Corp. suggest how poorly he misread the whole scenario. At the moment, the retail giant is facing the brunt from both internal & external factors. Apart from economic slowdown, its army of 3,800 stores is dilapidating with every passing day due to rising complaints related to its stores and customer service. Edward announced massive re-organisation plan on January 22, 2008 (new organisational structure composing of five business units – operating businesses, support, brands, online and real estate).

Surprisingly, just a week after the re-structuring announcement, Edward ousted CEO Allwyn Lewis, who he had only institutionalised at the helm two years back from a restaurant company – Yum Brands. He has appointed W. Bruce Johnson as interim CEO. Howard Davidowitz, Chairman, Davidowitz & Associates, pointed out, “It doesn’t make sense to kick start re-organisation without a full time CEO.” Another analyst on condition of anonymity said, “There hasn’t been clear reasoning from the management on why Lewis is being ousted… ”

Lampert is hardly short of ideas, but recently, quite a few have fallen flat, for instance, his ploy to focus less on market share and more on profits. As per company data, net income for the quarter ended November 2, 2007, was a measly $2 million, compared to $196 million for the quarter ending October 3, 2006 (which included $101 million of pre-tax gains). Lampert then admitted, “We are very disappointed with our performance for the third quarter. We cannot blame our results entirely on the retail and macro-economic environments. We have much on which to improve...”

Lampert must now realise that he may have to oust himself now from a hands on role in the company, as his time is fast running out. Bringing in a new CEO is the easiest advise to present, but presents a huge execution challenge. Without that, Sear’s ploy for a more dynamic organisational structure in order to unleash growth may all be in vain.

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

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Playful networker

2008-09-20T15:21:00.000+05:30

With a unique convergence strategy, RCOM now means much more to Indians than a mere price leader. By shashank shekhar
To match the cost of a call to a subsidised government postcard was pioneering enough. Such ideas, often hailed as proprietary of a few gifted people, predictably came from the patriarch, thereby establishing Reliance Communications (RCOM), a telecom major credited with skipping and climbing the golden ladder that leads to the world’s second fastest growing cellular market. That drew in the hordes flaunting white LG phones with blue-lit screens, which could literally be had by just walking into one of those Reliance stores better known as R-World cafes. Of course, detractors were quick to speculate that Reliance Communications would be all about price leadership and nothing more.

Unfortunately for them, nothing could be further from the truth, Reliance Communications is creating waves in the telecom circles in more ways than one, be it with Anil Ambani’s exemplary network expansion drive, his foray to be a dual service provider (CDMA & GSM) or his most innovative convergence plans that transcend the entire gamut of digital media. In particular, RCOM’s endeavour to build a powerful portfolio of VAS services from the grassroots, is a feat arguably unparallaled in the telecom arena. No wonder, Anil enthusiastically commented while announcing the Q3 results, “The Indian telecom sector is poised at the threshold of a significant growth opportunity and RCOM, as a fully-integrated and converged service provider, is best-positioned to capture this growth.” What makes RCOM so different with respect to its approach to VAS?

“Fortunately at RCOM, VAS is treated as fundamental to our telecom business. Starting from handsets, we ensure that each piece is WAP enabled,” comments Krishna Durbha, Head – VAS, Business & Marketing Applications and Solutions. With commoditisation of voice, as is being witnessed by the industry, telcos have but little choice to tap into the services’ revenue stream that attracts a premium in today’s scenario. But most remain skeptical of introducing new products in the backdrop of thousands of ‘ring tones’ or ‘caller tunes’ and are also appalled by prospects of piracy. A point at which Durbha – salt & pepper haired with serious demeanour – lets out a contained chuckle for, according to him, VAS applications from a Reliance mobile phone can’t be pirated as phones are locked from the factory.

Over due course of time, RCOM has successfully tried out innovative services and to say that it is amongst the world’s foremost VAS providers and that too, to over 10 million subscribers won’t require much authentication. “The number of games downloads that we do everyday creates history on a daily basis,” puts in Durbha. Amongst other models, to penetrate into a larger market, Reliance has introduced a unique concept of sachetisation of game downloads, which Durbha calls as its second innovation, the first being introducing multi-player games on handsets. “We’ve introduced sachetisation as we’re very clear of the fact that in a market that is essentially pre-paid, people would not prefer downloading games for Rs.50.” And thus emerged the concept of “pay per play” that is usually about 2-3 rupees. On the content end, the company has encouraged a large amount of content development on mobile, since RCOM initiated its own Reliance Developer program on the lines of Microsoft. Social networking, the latest from the RCOM stable is creating waves too. Already, networking website Big Adda has been a phenomenon with some 1.5 million users within 6 months of inception.

Another point of focus in RCom’s agenda is to provide more regional content in its offerings. “The more local content you give, the more people will consume,” is the mantra on VAS. While at present, entertainment runs through its very veins, the shift towards utility services in near future is seen as a potential driver for growth. “We’ve gone wide. Now we need to grow deeper,” adds Durbha. Indeed, usage has only gone up with increasing regional content, as people are more comfortable in their native language, especially in case of voice based services.

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

What an attitude!

2008-08-25T13:03:00.000+05:30

Motorola has to move beyond ‘just’ handsets if it has to treat its plummetting share prices & market share issues

“Motorola has an attitude problem. It thinks it is an amazing company with amazing products. The only problem is that its customers don’t agree,” asserts a confident Jeff Kagan, Telecom Anaylst & Expert. Well, we don’t want to agree outrightly, but beg to add – even investors don’t! Look at its share price on NYSE. ‘Accelerating downhill’ is perhaps the only words you’d use to explain its movement; currently at $16.30 (as on December 10, 2007) – and simply sad days with its share price hitting the lowest levels in 7 years! And this was also confirmed by Gartner Inc on November 27, 2007 when it disclosed how Motorola’s mobile handset global market share had slipped to 13.1% during Q3 2007 from 20.7% during the previous year. The Gartner revelation was followed by Edward Zander’s announcement of an exit on November 30. 2007, alongwith Padmasree Warrior, the CTO – two chiefs who had led Motorola’s revival in the past.

So has the Moto boat hit the rough seas? As per a telecom analyst, “Motorola has once again lost its way. This happened in the 1990’s when the networks switched to digital. That’s when Nokia took the lead.” And what does its financials reveal? Sadly, nothing different! With revenues earned during Q3 2007 touching just $88.11 billion, representing a y-o-y decline of 16.9% and with a lack of a “must have” product felt, Motorola surely has a tough job up its sleeve as Jeff agrees, “Motorola has to break some new ground. We have not seen anything along those lines yet.” Evidently, there’s some ray of hope at the end of the tunnel with Motorola’s announcement on December 6, 2007 that its forecast for Q4 2007 earnings still remain positive as Tom Meredith, CFO, Motorola Inc. declared: “a continuing operational earnings forecast of $0.12-0.14 cents per share”. Surely, Motorola has to move beyond just delivering a killer handset. It has to necessarily focus on its other more successful arms like home and networks mobility and enterprise mobility (its 2nd and 3rd largest units), which allow the company to fall back on other sources of revenue. Clearly, for now, Motorola needs to get ‘stuck’ things ‘rolling’...

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)
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Annapolis – where them desperate souls meet!

2008-08-20T14:01:00.000+05:30

The Annapolis conference won t create miracles, but can provide the right impetus

The Palestinians are the cause of exiting and ex-presidents. There’s no real electoral payback anticipated in supporting them. Jews and Israel-loving evangelicals dwarf any Arab lobby to the extent that it’s not even funny. President Bush is now on the exit track. And it’s time to rectify the fundamental error he had made in allowing the war-on-terror rhetoric to wrongly discredit the Palestinian national movement.

His best hope in Annapolis may be the Texas connection. If Bush gets behind Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister who attended the University of Texas, things may finally move on this front. But for that to happen, he has to stick with him. Fayyad, 55, is the can-do face of the Palestinian movement. Just like his people, he’s long been in the wilderness. Unlike many of them, he hasn’t succumbed to the culture of the victim. “One year,” he said in an hour-long conversation, “is more than adequate to come to a peace treaty and end this conflict.”

In seven years in office, Bush has been, in fact, quite uninterested in such an ending. He has hallucinated about roads from Baghdad to Jerusalem. He also talked about two states and later lost interest in the initiative. The American Middle East policy has, in fact, been quite distracted and unbalanced on the whole. Now, overcoming his Clinton angst, Bush has summoned the parties to Annapolis, Md. But clearly, it’s happening too late in the day. The rising Middle Eastern power, Iran, has not been invited to the conference. Nor has the Hamas. What’s instead present, and that too in abundance, is desperation. Bush must use it.

The Palestinians, on one hand, are desperate because they are now looking at a dead end. They’ve been the losers over six decades of strife, through ineptitude, corruption & Arab hypocrisy, apart from their susceptibility to victims’ hollow consolations. As Fayyad had earlier noted, “Last year more than 50,000 Palestinians emigrated. How is that consistent with ending the occupation?”

The Israeli desperation, on the other hand, is relatively quieter. The economy has indeed blossomed, but not the Israeli soul. Four decades of occupation since the 1967 war have been a scourge for the country. Jewish precariousness still persists. The diaspora Jew did not go to Zion to build the Jew among nations.

Bush faces Palestinian weakness and compromised Israeli strength. He must offset the weakness by standing with the Palestinians on core demands. He must insist on Israeli sacrifice – territorial and ideological – in the name of US-guaranteed security. “Without peace,” Bush should tell the Israelis, “the Arab birth rate and the jihadist tide will eventually wash over you.”

Fayyad told me he’s coming into the conference Tuesday “disappointed that more progress has not been made.” On core issues – Jerusalem, borders, settlements – the impasse has prevailed. Annapolis can solve nothing actually; all it can do, realistically speaking, is to jump-start an intense process.

That process then needs essentially three elements, Fayyad told me. First, there should be an explicit framing within the context of UN Security Council resolutions, including 242, that makes clear Israel’s obligation to, in Fayyad’s words, “end the occupation that began in 1967.” Second, the Annapolis conference must result in an Israeli commitment to freeze the West Bank settlements and to remove illegal settler outposts, which will be paralleled by Palestinian commitments to “institution building and fighting terrorism.” Third, “we must get a reference to a timeline, a conclusion of final status peace within the Bush presidency.” Fayyad is right. A return to the 1967 lines, plus or minus agreed swaps, is the only plausible basis for a two-state accord. An Israeli settlement freeze is the first step to a Palestinian buy-in. A time table is the anchor all the talking needs. I asked Fayyad how he’d reassure Israel about security. He became animated. “Political pluralism is fine, but I can’t tolerate security pluralism. There’s no such thing as militias running around taking decisions! That has led to catastrophe. Law and order is basic. I said in a speech the other day that Nablus is more important than Annapolis! It is. The people of Nablus need security, just like Israelis.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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Wikipedia lists

2008-08-13T16:10:00.000+05:30

Get onto a website called www.massively.com, which chronicles happenings in MMORPGs and you will realize how many of these are actually out there. For it’s not just Second Life, but more like There (www.there.com), World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa et al creating the buzz. In fact, Wikipedia lists at least fifty of them on its MMORPGs page. At the last count, there were over 10 million people across the world registered with some MMORPG. And this number is doubling every year. The addiction is allegedly far worse than drugs or junk food. So what is this attraction based on? Well, first, an online 3D virtual world allows you to hide behind the screen and be just about anybody. You can make your deepest desires come true in a virtual world. This is the single most important driving factor behind this revolution.

I may be a lowly clerk pushing paper in a government office by day; but once online, I can be a super-hero who is always surrounded by beautiful women. Technology has made it as simple as using the mouse and keyboard to make the transition. And society, as we know it, will undergo a change never seen before. There are now people in Second Life who have already quit their day jobs and are making a healthy living in-world. They are earning more money than they did in their real world jobs. People could get married without ever meeting each other in real life and disgruntled wives could be suing their husbands for having affairs with the queen of Gunthor who has a perfect ten figure and the voice of a nightingale. Divorce law could well change to include virtual cheating. Government bodies may end up creating policies – and law enforcement agencies could come up – just to control crime in virtual worlds. Police personnel, who don’t use actual guns or handcuffs, will be patrolling the streets of a digital space that exists only in wires and cables. And avatars (your online being) will go to jail for stealing virtual works of art from a virtual museum. What I am trying to say is that sooner or later, they will pull out the ‘G’ from MMORPG; and it will imitate life itself.

But before we look into the future of these virtual worlds, let us understand how the underlying framework of Virtual Reality (VR) technology is changing over time. Virtual Reality is not a computer, but a technology that uses computerized clothing to synthesize reality. It has been around for more than two decades now mostly in the military and university laboratories.

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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
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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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IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
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Great insecurity among end consumers

2008-08-11T16:41:00.000+05:30

As a result, there is great insecurity among end consumers, who have found their money incomes depleted with respect to purchasing power. As per a survey by National Association of Convenience Stores, 45% of American consumers reported a decline in spending power due to rising petrol prices. While 19% wanted to buy more fuel efficient cars, an astonishing 13% had already reduced their driving on the back of $3/ gallon gasoline prices! As a result of earlier oil shocks, consumers have increasingly adapted an ‘aftermath attitude’ and eventual demands for automobiles have sagged significantly through out the world. A total of 38,214 hybrids were sold in the American market alone in March 2008, proof that these cars are now being perceived as a value proposition that’s beyond ‘fashion’.

Oil prices are very sensitively balanced as incremental spare capacity (according to some sources) is limited and there is a general perception toward a future oil deficit. To rein in this monster, one needs to first answer the question as to who is the culprit?

If you think rising consumption is to blame, hold your horses. According to OPEC estimates, the organisation’s proven reserves are expected to be somewhere close to 900 billion barrels and conventional sources are secure. Contributing close to 77% of all reserves, OPEC is the primary body controlling the world’s major oil sites.

Major members are Middle Eastern sates such as Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. Various other regions are also represented in the organisation; countries like Venezuela, Indonesia and Nigeria are among major members as well. Thus, as a holistic approach towards understanding the oil crises spread across the planet, it is important to understand the composition of OPEC first. According to OPEC facts & figures, “The world’s Ultimately Recoverable Reserves (URR) is to continue to increase in the near future.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

Sambit Mohanty (30), Leo Burnett

2008-08-07T14:10:00.000+05:30

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Sambit Mohanty (30), Leo Burnett. He’s won a New York silver and a Abby gold. He’s been a finalist at the Cannes too. A student of journalism and advertising, he is of the opinion that creativity never happens to anybody by intention. It is mostly by accident. But for him, it was actually a mixture of both. He had no clue what creativity was, when he came to Delhi to prepare for his civil services exams. And before he knew, he landed up at IIMC, where he found his true calling. “That time I figured that there is something called creativity. I was completely oblivious of the term earlier,” he says. After starting his career at McCann Erickson, he’s had stints at Lowe, Publicis and Vyas Giannetti. Sambit has worked for a range of products like Dettol, Mortein, Cherry Blossom and India Today. He’s had a busy few months recently, with the launch campaign for the introduction of Chevy Spark, the Minute Maid ad campaign (Where’s the pulp), and lastly the fiery Thums Up-Akshay Kumar ad. But the real high in his life was when after seeing the Cherry Blossom ad, ad guru Alyque Padamsee himself called up the McCann office to congratulate him.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
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Components requirements

2008-08-05T14:10:00.000+05:30

There is another pressure on the new aspirants, their foreign touch aggravating their troubles. Ashok Jainani, Head (Research), KSL India critically divulges, “Of all the information available, Bajaj wouldn’t be able to compete with Nano, for lack of expertise and components requirements. Moreover, payment of royalties to foreign collaborators puts Bajaj and Hero Group on the backfoot; something that Tata need not bother about.” To add to the chaos, Bajaj will also face pressure from auto-component suppliers. Recently, Minda and Sona which are scheduled to supply parts for Nano production lately cried hoarse over costing pressures and asked Tata to increase the price of Nano, to give them better margins.

If the two are successful, India will have its first two companies that have a presence in both two wheelers and four wheelers – a lethal combination. A complete metamorphosis into four wheels-making however is not to be expected as Jainani forecasts, “At the moment, I don’t see them getting completely into four wheelers as there will always be a new set of target audience for the two wheeler industry.” Surely, for the moment, Bajaj and Hero Group are not bidding goodbye to Street Hawk; Knight Rider is just a part of their on-road strategy.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Citigroup is claiming its international operations

2008-08-04T16:47:00.000+05:30

While the Citigroup is claiming that its international operations are running smoothly, one must go through the Indian example before believing the same. The scene in India is not at all enticing. Though most banks have raised their minimum annual income criteria for a credit card to Rs.1,20,000 from Rs.80,000 and the know-your-customer (KYC) norms have become more stringent, the total amount under credit cards default stands close to Rs.200 billion, data from Credit Information Bureau of India reveals. Probably such kind of data might have scared the officials at Citigroup. As during March 2008, speculations were rife that Citigroup may sell-off CitiFinancial, a NBFC, which belongs to the group. Once considered to be the most aggressive sub-prime lender in India the NBFC was forced to change its norms and issue only collateral backed loans. On the other hand Citibank has also tightened its norms for issuing credit cards and now-a-days is focussing more on financing consumer durables and two-wheelers through credit cards. In rest of the markets Citigroup is now taking a cautious approach.

However, it’s a fact that the company might have suffered huge losses in its investment banking arm, but substantial measures have been adopted to improve the company’s financial health. “Citigroup’s capital position improved noticeably in the past seven months because the company has issued over $30 billion in regulatory capital”, reveals a report published by Moodys, a leading credit rating agency.

But still one question remains to be answered. Will this huge credit card default lead to another financial crisis or it can still be avoided? If one believes Tim Westrich it can actually be avoided. As per him, “Implement a credit card safety rating system that can give consumers better information about their credit cards and thus help them make better decisions. In addition to a credit card safety rating system government should go further to mandate a higher level of fairness in credit card terms.” Or else, well...umm... get ready.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Highest bid possible

2008-08-01T14:38:00.000+05:30

The M&A folks of any business are always supposed to solicit the highest bid possible. Plus, with companies like Google, as well as aggressive PE groups, there is always that theoretical chance that something more desirable for Yahoo! would emerge. It may be more an issue of Yahoo!’s management really believing that there is great upside potential if the company remains independent and not wanting to transfer that potential to Microsoft regardless of price. “If it were ever put to a shareholder vote, however, I imagine shareholders would look at the situation much differently and line up in overwhelming numbers in support of a sale to Microsoft”, feels Richard.

At the end of it all, Microsoft is in too strong a position and Yahoo! in too weak a position for the latter to fend off Microsoft’s overtures indefinitely. “Microsoft may have to increase its bid by a dollar or two per share to get the deal done, but I suspect that it will ultimately prevail in this takeover battle,” concludes Richard. A Google-Yahoo! merger has way too much antitrust risk to even consider absent major divestitures, and an independent Yahoo! has been losing a several year battle to both Google and Microsoft. “Ultimately, I believe a lot of this will come down to antitrust issues - would regulators approve Microsoft-Yahoo! merger, and how should those two parties allocate the risk in case regulators either do not approve the deal or require significant divestiture,” says Marc.

To sum up, if Yahoo! posts better Q1 results, it may be able to put up a better case in front of its shareholders for now; but the key consideration is whether the company is ready for plan B, that is standing on its own if need be, since that could very much be a possibility now.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

people challenges

2008-07-31T17:02:00.000+05:30

Like any other company, Nucleus Software has its own set of people challenges and has its own style of handling these challenges. For Nucleus the major challenge has always been hiring and retention. “I don’t talk about retention in terms of compensation. The major challenge is how we manage the people.” Further adding, he says, “Normally on a project we’ve 7-8 members from project managers to project leaders. The biggest challenge is that apart from the leaders the rest are fresh pass outs with just 1-2 years of experience, so development of these project managers is of utmost importance.”

For a company that finds retention & hiring as a big challenge, then what is it that Nucleus does to be an employer of choice. Verma gushes, “We have to ensure that our employees are well equipped with the technologies and domain knowledge and only then we can be one of the best employers in the country.” The company undertakes many initiatives including the ‘Toyota Way’ which according to Verma is “nothing but a book, which the employees refer to. We have also understood (after reading) that the matter in the book can be implemented not only in the automobile & manufacturing sector, but it can also be done in the IT sector.” The Toyota Way is enabling Nucleus employees to learn quicker and on their own. And who knows by following the book and its learnings to the tee, Nucleus could well be the next Toyota of the IT sector.

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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

Search Engines

2008-07-29T15:04:00.000+05:30

Though search engines like Google boast of being able to calculate the actual ROI per online marketing campaign, a majority of marketers in India are still questioning the validity of reaping ‘payback’ benefits from this much hyped medium. ROI simply depends on the definition of ‘success events.’ A case in point being the banking sector. Banks have defined success event as ‘lead generation’ (because they possibly see Internet only as a ‘sales tool’). But advocates of online advertising believe that such an assessment is stifling to the vast potential that the medium offers. They prefer to define success events as ‘time spent with content, number of pages viewed, number of repeat visits, number of users who visited as a result of exposure, number of conversations generated as a result of advertising, number of voluntary participations as a result of exposure’. Asserts Rahul Nanda, COO of Web Chutney, “The medium allows you to measure and track reach, it also allows you to be in control of your budgets real-time and target your audience with more focus.”

All said and done, for the present and even in the near future, online advertising in India will just remain an add-on medium or as Titus Upputuru, Creative Director, O&M, puts it, “For marketers it will always be ‘achcha kuch online bhi soch lete hain’.” And even then, for most marketers, Internet advertising simply means banner ads. The more adventurous ones adopt the ‘pay per click’ model. But even here, faultlines creep in as the risk of false clicks is very high and marketers end up paying huge amounts for false clicks. Savvy marketers are therefore increasingly using consumer profiling, demographics and proper media planning to overcome such obstacles. Adds Nanda, “Understanding user behaviour is the first step in the online advertising process. Any online campaign seeks to engage the user with carefully targeted ads based on their browsing behaviour, time spent on different web properties, matching the ad content with the website content and other relevant parameters. The next step is ‘Behavioural Targeting,’ but India is still some time away from it.” Foolproof consumer profiling techniques are also reducing privacy intrusion of surfers tremendously. Intrusive banner formats today, are moving towards a scenario where users are given the choice of making them non-intrusive. Many formats today ask users if they want to play the ad whereas all the formats give the user an immediate option to close the ad. Advertisers also limit the exposure of the ad to the same user these days (example – person sees the ad only once a day) so that there is minimal irritation. The usage of ‘pop-ups’ specifically as a format is largely done by transaction-oriented companies (banks, money transfer etc.) who want an immediate response/action from the user in the form of a lead. This definitely can be an irritant factor, which can disrupt the user experience but this again, is slowly changing to formats which are less intrusive. such as pop-unders

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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
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

The real question is: will an eye for an eye work?

2008-07-28T16:36:00.000+05:30

Well-seasoned by his 16 years of work-ex in an eye care company, he thought of taking that next step, of creating something new using his knowledge. With eye-care hospitals still at a nascent stage in India, a chain of super-speciality hospitals fitted the bill perfectly. Affirms Rajat, “I wanted to create an eye-care hospital in areas where specialised eye-care is not possible. So I started testing the option in January 2007.” Roping in five ex-batchmates in June 2007, he created the brand Eye Q. Today he spearheads the organisation in the role of CEO & MD.

The first two hospitals were started in the remote areas of Gurgaon & Rewari. The strategy was simple – make maximum of the first mover advantage in these areas. It clicked and within three months of its start-up, the Rewari hospital broke-even. The success of these two hospitals propelled them to open four more hospitals, while the initial target was just three in the first year! Adds Rajat, “What became important was to have the latest technology in eye care and we started tying up with other players.” Not a hollow boast as the company today has tie-up with players like Bausch & Lomb, Zeiss and is expanding its arms into places like Ganganagar (Rajasthan) and Haldwani (Uttrakhand), where no other player has dared to go. “We have tie-ups with the providers of latest technologies in eye-care and we are going where it’s actually required. We will never focus on the metros and our promotional activities would always rotate around the availability of high-standard eye care in towns,” elaborates Rajat.

Banking on such innovative strategies he’s planning to open 100 more hospitals by 2012 with a total turnover of over Rs.200 crore. Surely, this ‘Eye’ looks all sharp and focused in doing what many could have never imagined. And the time has even come when its promoters can today think of taking the private champion public. In all probability, its will also become the apple of the public eye soon… not forgetting the huge revenues of course!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Protectionism

2008-07-22T13:32:00.001+05:30

This ‘P’ of marketing had given Indian (Airlines) a competitive edge over others. But with the opening up of Indian skies, the state-owned airline had to change track

Indian has been “protected” by being deployed on certain routes as an exclusive airline where consumers have no option but to use it. So it’s out of compulsion and not choice that consumers choose it. The government aid has also helped, for cost benefit of such routes for a private player are adverse. The logic to protect Indian is to have a stable stronghold in a strategic sector where the rest of the players are private. This is a remnant of our socialist policy. Not surprising, since this ‘P’ does make companies complacent. However, when the Indian skies were thrown open to private players, the state-owned airline wasn’t able to hold its own in terms of market share, which kept sliding in favour of new private entrants like Jet & Kingfisher. Today, competition is forcing Indian to concentrate on activities like brand building, customer satisfaction, et al. Thus partial protection in a consumerist economy actually works to the detriment of the protected entity.

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

Sinewy Mark, accosts ‘Hurd’les!

2008-07-21T12:58:00.000+05:30

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

He salvaged HP from the Fiorina storm, but will he be able to braze out weaker PC market and strong competition from the likes of Dell?

The day NCR put out a release about Mark Hurd’s quitting circa 2005, NCR’s stocks dipped southwards by 17%. It was that kind of respect that this man drew at the Wall Street before accepting to be HP’s knight in shining armour post a debacle known as Carleton S. Fiorina, the brain behind HP’s Compaq takeover.

And Hurd continues to be the board’s favourite man since his era began. A contrast to flamboyant Fiorina, Mark Hurd is a man who’d pass a crowded metro station without anybody noticing him. But in Hurd is also a man who’d like to roll up his sleeves and get on with the job rather than elaborating on a futuristic vision of a typical ‘visionary’ CEO.

Hurd moved to HP at a time when shareholders were screaming in his ears for that rarity called profits. And he got on with the job hands on. Being an operations man certainly has its pros and cons. Hurd chose the pros first. Throwing a slew of cost cutting measures, Hurd cut down costs that rang a bell on Wall Street when an increase of 17% in profits was announced last year to the tune of $7.3 billion. And revenues rose 14% to $104 billion.

“The story really for us has been in the past two years, we have been able to keep our costs flat. However, if you were just to look at a simple piece of paper, it would say, costs are the same at HP in 2007 that they were in 2005. Difference is $18 billion dollars more revenue on the top line….,” had said Hurd at a keynote address last year.

Now to the ‘cons’. While year 2008 has got on to a good start with first quarter net revenue up at 13%, or $3.4 billion, from a year earlier to $28.5 billion, speculations on a grim PC markets is all it takes to put a question mark on HP’s future prospects. Moreover, considering the fact that Dell will soon be reaping the benefits of its retail strategy (as it decided to sell through the indirect route from last year), it will be difficult for Hurd to maintain HP’s dominant position in the global PC market. While one really cannot doubt Hurd’s style of running this giant, his job now is to sell more rather than clean internally.

From a 25% increase last year, PC sales of HP is bound to take a hit in wake of a worldwide crunch in hardware sales and is hence expected to grow by only 5.4%. To cater to the situation, Hurd has already outlined his aggressive intents by announcing promising new products in the printer, PC and the enterprise markets for the year 2008. However, industry watchers are doubting whether this move be enough to maintain HP’s momentum in the long run.

Mark Hurd has done the rescue act before but HP’s shareholders expect nothing less from him this time as well. That’s exactly what happens when you save the Titanic from sinking. They expect you to do that again & again...

Edit bureau: Shashank Shekhar

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Patriotism

2008-07-18T14:33:00.000+05:30

The desh ki dhadkan campaigns have actually sold patriotism to an entire generation of Indian bikers

Our successful products like the CD Deluxe, Splendor and Passion describe the mood of the nation. Their branding is all about India’s high economic growth and the ample opportunities available here. Today you do not have to leave the country for work. We have done brand building on all fronts and that includes not only corporate branding but product branding as well. Additionally we continue to refresh our products and offer the latest technology to Indian customers. India is virtually a Hero Honda country and Hrithik Roshan conveys that empathetically through our recent ‘Hero Honda country’ ad campaign. Hero Honda’s emotional values are conveyed through key words such as bharosa, josh and vishwas. Truly patriotic!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Should ‘Reliance Fresh’ have had another moniker?

2008-07-12T12:53:00.000+05:30

Incidentally, for those wondering why stores like Big Bazaar, Foodworld, and Subhiksha, Nilgiris and Trinethra in the south (operational for quite some time) have been spared the rod by these traders and vendors’ agitations (although some of them have begun to come under fire in Reliance Retail’s wake), the answer is simple. For the same reason that Wal-Mart is targeted the most in western markets. Yes, you guessed it right. It’s the size that matters. Since the announcement of his retail aspiration late last year, Mukesh Ambani has ensured that many of his proposed nationwide chain of hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores, department stores, convenience and specialty stores are already operating in various cities across the country and expanding aggressively. “Their strategy is to open over 10-15 shops on a single day in a city and dominate the retail market of the city in a single stroke,” points out Kumar.of FDI Watch.

Small wonder that the joke going around in business circles these days is that Ambani should have named his retail venture by any other name except Reliance. “After all, the name does give the impression that the big ‘Dada’ has arrived on the scene , so others may please scoot,” sniggers a source.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

I am what I am…

2008-07-11T14:14:00.000+05:30

... is now ‘I am more.’ Watch out rivals
With the spectacular triumph of Indian cricket team at Twenty 20 World Cup, the world of international sports wear has turned turtle. If September 24, 2007 was a memorable day in the nation’s cricketing history, the triumph of Team India also came as no less a bonanza for leading sportswear brand, Reebok.

Time was when archrival Nike had roped in the biggest dad of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and other heavyweights like Zaheer Khan. Then Reebok was left with the then lesser knowns like Yuvraj Singh and R.P. Singh to endorse its brand. Now with the World Cup success at T20, the lesser knowns have turned into titans. The cricket success has come as a blessing in disguise for this sports accessories maker as nearly all the Twenty 20 heroes are brand ambassadors of Reebok.

In a cricket-crazy nation, the perfect way to establish yourself as a sports brand is by associating with this game and this way of branding was realised by Reebok, much before Nike, which associated itself with cricket as late as in 2006. Now Reebok’s stock has rocketed. It is the market leader with an exorbitant 40% market share, whereas Nike lags at a mere 15% of the total market share.

To strengthen its leadership position, Reebok is now aggressively eying one of the lucrative segments of the Rs.11 billion Indian sports footwear and prêt-a-porter market. Women’s sportswear segment too is brimming with double digit growth and to cash in on this sizzling hot market, Reebok is banking on the oomph of Sagarika Ghatge of ‘Chak De’ fame. In addition, Reebok has also rolled out a new brand campaign to beckon the eves titled ‘I am more’.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

The New Blue Boy

2008-07-10T16:57:00.000+05:30

Many would only know about TCS currently holding the record for bagging the largest domestic contract worth $1.2 billion; but few would bear the fact in their intellect that Tech Mahindra was the first ever Indian IT company to bag a contract worth $1 billion. It was one of the biggest moments in the entire history of the company as it propelled Tech Mahindra into the coveted blue book of Indian IT. Currently, the company is standing tall with annual revenues worth Rs. 29.36 billion, which has been a staggering increase of 130% as compared to 2006. If one considers the list, it’s interesting to find that Tech Mahindra has the highest revenue growth amongst the top 20.

The company (renamed from Mahindra-British Telecom Ltd.) went public in August 2006. Since then, backed by some stupendous performances, Tech Mahindra’s share prices have appreciated by more than 100% (data as on November 2, 2007). This Anand Mahindra initiative is all set to go places!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

When India is the Hero

2008-07-09T13:05:00.000+05:30

No matter what competition does, Hero Honda is always ready with a winning strategy for two wheelers

When Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan walks through the by-lanes of an Indian city, what he sees is a country on the move. He sees people going about their personal businesses with only one thing in common – they all ride a Hero Honda. In a country where every second motorcycle is a Hero Honda product, it never gets more apparent than this. The advertisement has been one of the most successful campaigns of the year and has effectively put forward Hero Honda’s core values. In an exclusive chat with Anil Dua, Senior Vice President (Marketing & Sales), 4Ps B&M reveals the inside story behind this marketing initiative of Hero Honda.

What was the rationale behind the ‘Hero Honda Country’ ad campaign?

The basic idea behind ‘Hero Honda Country’ was our 20 millionth landmark and the fact that we are the fastest to reach that number. Hero Honda is omnipresent in all segments and there’s a very high visibility. Today, we hold about half of the market and we are celebrating our achievements. India is virtually a Hero Honda country and Hrithik conveys this empathtically through that ad campaign. Hero Honda’s emotional values are conveyed through key words such as bharosa, josh & vishwas.

What exactly has been the secret behind Hero Honda’s success?

The secret is our multi-pronged strategy. We do not ignore any segment. Furthermore, we always surprise the market. For instance during 2006-07, we had launched eight models and people were saying that it was too much but we surprised them by launching six more models soon! Hero Honda has always bucked the trend, even growing when the market was not. We will keep on surprising!

What is your current marketing strategy?

Successful products like the CD Deluxe and Passion describe the mood of the nation. Their branding is all about India’s high economic growth and the ample opportunities available here. We have done brand building on all fronts and that includes not only corporate branding but product branding as well. Additionally we continue to refresh our products and offer the latest technology.

What about Hero Honda’s focus on the premium segment since Bajaj is the market leader here?

We have literally started the premium segment with the CBZ in 1999. If you see the figures, the premium segment has grown 10-11% during the last three years. With our new models the segment now expands at 15-16%! We have doubled both our market share and volumes in the segment while expanding the market as well. There is a much evolved customer here and our branding has been in-line to this aspect. Our four products in the segment cater to four distinct sub segments that cater to different buyers.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Club One Air

2008-07-08T17:08:00.000+05:30

In its bid for careful expansion, Club One Air is now looking at the hub and spoke method with hubs being established in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, et al, and spokes in smaller cities like Chandigarh, Kanpur and Mysore. Some would call it a dilution of focus from carriage to MRO business, yet in this era of competitive bloodfights and rising air fuel costs, Manav’s focus is on earning additional revenues from every possible quarter. “We will take another 25 years to reach the levels where airlines in US have reached. They have 130,000 small planes there today. In India, we only have a tiny 250! In another 25 years US will have another 250,000 million, but we will be much closer then,” asserts Manav.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

It’s called camel mentality

2008-07-07T11:59:00.000+05:30

Some call it being horse-headed; that is, the attitude
of Mutual Funds to not focus on the retail investors... If numbers could speak, then they would provoke more questions than present answers about the state of the Indian Mutual Fund (MF) industry. The MF industry has current Assets Under Management (AUM) standing at a huge Rs.4.86 trillion (a little over $100 billion). Creditably, in the last year and a half, the AUM of MFs have actually doubled (AUM stood at Rs.2.30 billion in March 2006) due to factors including record New Fund Offers (NFOs; more than 60% of which have underperformed as compared to their benchmark indices) and the robust rally at the Dalal Street. Then why is it that M. Damodaran, Chairman of the market regulator SEBI, remarked sometime back that the MF industry “seems to be prematurely patting itself on the back.” Consider this statement in the light of findings of the ‘Invest India Incomes and Savings Survey 2007’ produced by IIMS Data works – a government think-tank – which has revealed some startling figures. Out of 321.38 million paid workers in India, only 5.3 million are mutual fund investors – a trifling 1.65%!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

The man of honour brews a strong cuppa

2008-07-04T16:12:00.000+05:30

VINITA BALI... MD, Britannia Industries Limited
If you could imagine a jungle full of biscuits, guess there’d be no tigers around! Wonder why...
The cookie in a man’s world, Vinita Bali, has been a stalwart in this FMCG space ever since the start of her career when she launched the No. 1 softdrink concentrate of India, Rasna. A Jamnalal Bajaj alumna, Vinita joined Britannia Industries in 2005 after having spent some years at biggies like Cadbury & Coca Cola at top management positions. Known to be an approachable & helpful leader, Vinita has proved her mettle in Indian corporate circles where there is a scarcity of ‘ladies on top’! Talking about her achievements, Aniruth Joshi, FMCG analyst, Anand Rathi said, “With the way Britannia has changed in the last 2-3 years, I think the credit goes to her. She has played a major role in the entire restructuring by adding variants.” Half a dozen new launches in the market & appreciation in revenues and profits (by 13% & 7% respectively) over last year – despite the dense organised and unorganised competitive forces – are enough to prove why she’s contemporary & why Britannia owes it all to her!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES

2008-05-22T12:19:00.000+05:30

Mukesh Ambani has his fingers in many pies, but presently they all taste yummy!

You can call him a ‘maverick’, for he strays too far away from conventional wisdom, but chances are that the larger-than-life Mukesh Ambani will simply ignore you, as he charts future successes for Reliance Industries. Be it his foray into the petrochemicals, exploration or organized retail, with every step Mukesh Ambani reiterates his ambition to dominate. “Our integrated and globally competitive portfolio continues to help RIL de-risk its business model and deliver superior operating performance,” avers the senior Ambani. Yet, market watchers have apprehensions regarding his bull run. Analyst Raj Gandhi of UTI warns: “The execution of these many projects might become a headache for Reliance in the long term.” Analysts may cry themselves hoarse, but with a record turnover of $25 billion for year ended March 31, 2007, Reliance Industries will be dictating the trends of the industry.

For complete IIPM article click here
Source:- IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof.Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

The Sunday Indian

Live it up & pen it down

2008-05-05T10:07:00.001+05:30

Pooja JAIN... is smart and sassy and she also knows how to make work fun!

While inheriting a readymade business may not be a tough nut to crack, the accomplishment of making Luxor the market leader in India is hers alone. As Executive Director, Luxor Writing Instruments since 2005, she has catapulted the Group to a Rs.300 crore entity, boasting world-class brands like Parker, Waterman, Paper Mate and Pilot. The Group is also the largest exporter in this segment, exporting to over 110 countries and has maintained its position for three consecutive years.

Other accomplishments for Pooja include setting up the Business-to- Business (B2B) division of the Luxor Group and launch of new products like Planet Sports. Pooja told 4Ps B&M: “Planet Happy is more than just a pen and I would rather put it as colouring, learning, fun product.” Crediting her passion and constant innovation for her success, Pooja’s next big plan is for her chain of designer stationery stores called ‘Signature’. Achievement for her goes way beyond awards and she is extremely proud of the acclamation that her products have got.

In addition to her responsibilities in the writing instruments business, Pooja is also leading the Group, under the guidance of her father, into other diversified businesses like hospitality, real estate and broadband. One advice that she would happily give to today’s working women is to, “Never Give Up!”

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

Thande ka dhanda...

2008-04-01T11:32:00.000+05:30

The sweltering month of May has spelt dhanda manda for the thandas. Sample this: sales of the major colas (Pepsi and Coke) in India were down by a good 15-17% in the month of April-May, against the same period last year. Is this a harbinger of the impending doom for fizzy colas or just a passing hiccup?

Whether the pesticide controversy, which created hell for the cola majors a few years ago warned off consumers, or just a fitness wave propelling them toward healthier drinks, the consumer verdict is definitely proving unhealthy for fizzy cola-makers. “Carbonated drinks fall under the social ostracism category, offering nothing on the nutrition platform. Consumers have become health conscious and are certainly going to shun carbonated drinks and shift to more nutritious options,” prophecies FMCG analyst Harish Bijur.

The trend in India is not too different from what is transpiring globally, where rising obesity levels are forcing consumers to shift preferences to non-fizzy healthy drinks. In fact, Coke – that wore the crown of being the world’s most valuable brand for years – was recently dethroned by Microsoft and Google. The beneficiaries of this transition, will of course be the energy drinks, packaged fruit juices, fruit based soft drinks and packaged water, areas where both Coca Cola and PepsiCo are trying to create a stranglehold. If PepsiCo already has fitness water drink Propel and sports drink Gatorade in its kitty, Coke also seems to be on track with its recent acquisition of Glaceau for $4.1 billion. Yet in India, fizzy drinks still remain the highest grosser for both cola majors. And if they want to continue cashing in on their flagship brands, they’ll have to find ways to keep consumer interest alive in the fizzy colas. Wake up ‘thanda’!

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

The Sunday Indian

Will he, won’t he?

2008-03-12T15:14:00.000+05:30

The story so far had been that News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch wants to take over the world’s biggest – and most prestigious – business daily, The Wall Street Journal, which is part of Dow Jones & Co. The problem? The Bancrofts family owns controlling share in the company, who were not keen on the offer. But recently, Murdoch met – for the first time – members of the Bancroft family, for five long hours in New York. And according to reports,Murdoch claimed that the meeting turned out to be constructive, wherein he promised the Bancrofts that he would create “an independent, autonomous editorial board” for Wall Street Journal. Will that assurance be good enough for the Bancrofts family? We’ll have to wait and watch – watch this space anyway!

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF

The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank

The Sunday Indian

“Correlation of gold is very low with equity markets; a gold ETF actually provides stability to the portfolio.”

2008-02-28T12:05:00.000+05:30

The factual answer is, as Kotak would vindicate, an obvious no! It’s quite clear that customers are not investing that avidly in gold ETFs. Is a fear of volatility, or the rising Sensex the reason? Benchmark’s Mehta disagreed, saying, “Correlation of gold is very low with equity markets; a gold ETF actually provides stability to the portfolio.” Jain of Kotak gave a supporting perspective, “Since the time we have launched our product, gold has reached $666 levels from $640 levels (upside of 3.5%) & correspondingly, Sensex has moved from 14,500 to 15,500 level (upside of 7%).” Considering the amazingly low risk attached with investing in gold, even a return that is half of that in equity markets is quite respectable.

Th e truth is, investors are simply not aware of gold ETF schemes. “The awareness of this type of investment vehicle is still low. Also, if the exchange traded funds have to reach the rural public & masses, things like, account opening procedures & documents should be kept simple,” says S.I. Kannan, analyst with Kotak Commodities.

Unless SEBI, AMFI & our Finance Ministry take proactive steps in educating investors about such a terrific investment vehicle, gold ETFs would remain dismally unknown.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF

The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank The Sunday Indian

Despite roadblocks, the much-debated subject of HR outsourcing is seeing heated action in india

2008-02-15T11:18:00.000+05:30

The cornerstone of success of RPO sector in India is its firm stronghold on permanent staffing arena. However, breaking this tradition, Ma Foi has attained clear leadership in temporary staffing area, with currently about 140,000 temporary staff on their payrolls and the company is pretty confident that, by 2007-end, this number would rise to about a million. Temporary staffing is a solution that companies are looking at to solve their short-term staffing problems. More retail & financial services sector companies are opting for temporary staffing, especially during festive seasons when business increases 10-15 folds & warehousing, shop floor et al needs call for more hands.

With 40 overseas clients & a host of domestic clients, Ma Foi recorded revenues of Rs.3.3 billion for FY06 – a growth of 74%. Adds Hastha, “In mature economies like the US & the UK, we have companies that have outsourced their entire HR function. India too is waking to this wave of outsourcing & we are hoping that in the coming three to four years, even India would be at par with other mature economies. Also, the Indian companies have now started realizing that by outsourcing they can have access to the quality people who can support them.”

The sad twist to this tale, however, is that HR outsourcing is limited to a trickle effect as, even today, Indian companies are more comfortable outsourcing only non-value added services like the payroll processing or recruiting. Other major HR functions are still done in-house. However, things are fast changing on the Indian turf too. Hastha further points out, “Organisations such as ours are now being started to be seen as partners rather than vendors & I take it as a very positive development that is happening now in India.” Ma Foi functions as an extended arm to various organizations & also helps in building the brand while undertaking large-scale recruiting for some of their clients. Opines Hastha, “For instance, when we were doing recruiting for the BPO arm of HSBC, we were very aware of what HSBC as a brand means & what is important to them as an organisation, what are the hygiene factors & we educate all the people that get hired by the organisation. So when they enter into the organisation, they are full aware of what their responsibilities are and what is expected out of them.” An innovative initiative is the setting up of retail job shops, called Ma Foi Job Centre in Mumbai. States Hastha, “In a city like Mumbai, it was important for us to go to the customer rather than always have the customer come to us.”

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

The rice MSP saga is no different from the story of wheat procurement

2008-02-04T10:30:00.000+05:30

According to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) report titled Food Outlook, in the past two years, the global production of wheat has declined from 630 million tonnes to 600 million tonnes. If we look at India, in the past three years, on an average, the wheat production has remained static at 71 million tonnes, while the need is to produce 75 million tonnes for the 1.2 billion strong population in the country. Although low productivity is one of the major causes of farmers’ woes, the government’s apathy towards the farmer’s needs to meet the ever increasing productivity costs, is the biggest culprit. Consider this: In the last five years, the cost of fertilizers, seeds and electricity has gone up by 15%. For the last five years in a row, the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat has remained almost stagnant. Despite the prevailing drought, the MSP for wheat for the year 2005-06 had been fixed at Rs.650 per quintal as against the 2001- MSP of Rs.610 (an annualised increase of just around 1%, not even enough to cover inflation).

The rice MSP saga is no different from the story of wheat procurement. Despite all odds, farmers in the country did manage to produce 73 million tonnes of wheat. And what did our rather visionary government do – they picked up only 7.1 million tonnes of the produce, claiming farmers were demanding more than required. Good for farmers, as private firms are offering them money in the range of Rs.900-1,400 per quintal of wheat, whereas the governmentis adamantly holding on to Rs.850 per quintal.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

UFO Moviez has adopted one basic rule of survival

2008-01-23T11:30:00.000+05:30

A lot of this mind boggling expansion has to do with the UFO business model, which, as Kanwar explains, makes conversion for digital cinema operators quite risk free. The cost of digitising a single screen comes around Rs.1.5 million & this cost is borne by UFO Moviez. UFO Moviez takes the reel from the producer about 10 days before the movie is released, and they digitise, compress & encrypt it. At the time of release, they transfer the movie to the exhibitor via satellite. UFO Moviez is in a position to monitor every screening in every cinema hall. Put together, the exhibitor, the distributor & the producer pay a fee of Rs.500 per screen per show to UFO. As far as advantages go, there are many. The content is protected with 192- bit encryption, which is a very high level of encryption, which prevents piracy. The cost of keeping prints is saved. Theatres in the remotest corners of the country can see the First Day First Show. The exhibitor has choice & can change the movie to be screened relatively easily. Flop film reels, which are quite expensive (at about Rs.70,000 per reel), have to be oft en burnt, which harms the environment as well.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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All blames go to society, authority, & their idealistic execution...

2008-01-16T12:09:00.000+05:30

The condition is worse when it comes to Sub-Saharan Africa; one in every three children is a child worker. Developed countries are not free from this curse either; reports state that approximately 17.4 million (16%) children are labourers. India is blessed with 17 million child workers, highest in the world in a single country. ILO predicted child labourers in Sudan will touch 1.05 million by 2010 (23.5% of child population). Nigeria is another country where poverty has led 15 million children to work, irrespective of inhuman conditions. Pakistan may feel proud that 11 million child work force kept factories working.

No constitution in the world, no scripture in any religion has ever claimed or permitted child at work. But mankind for all its pretensions still make its progenies slog & be exploited, something no other species does on this planet. Even then he claims to be the best.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Home Campus Tour Contact Us Sitemap IIPM Think Tank IIPM National Brochure IIPM in Media India Today & Tomorrow
Strategic Alliance / Consulting / Intellectual Tic-up Partners Arindam chaudhuri GIDF Planman Consulting Business & Economy 4Ps Business & Marketing The Sunday Indian The Daily Indian Kkoooljobs.com

Coughing up $1 billion – Gates!

2008-01-09T10:46:00.001+05:30

After having left rival Sony’s Playstation 3 behind in the race, it is now the turn of Microsoft Xbox 360 to face the wrath of luck. Not only it is going to cost Bill Gates a whopping $1 billion to repair ‘an unacceptable number of repairs’ in the game console but also humiliation for not being able to meet the shipments target by 0.4 million units till June end. The innumerable complaints received about Xbox 360 are attributed to certain hardware failures in the console, like the three red flashing lights. To tackle the problem, Microsoft has decided warranty extension to three years now. Customers who have already spent on the repairs would be reimbursed. The total expense of Microsoft is somewhere in the range of $1.05-$1.15 billion excluding taxes.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Pratibha Patil

2007-12-26T11:16:00.000+05:30

Pratibha’s stint at the Centre began in mid-eighties. From 1985 to 1990, she was a Rajya Sabha member, where she acted as the Deputy Chairman for two years from 1986-88. During her Rajya Sabha days, she also headed Rajya Sabha Committee on Privileges and was a member of the Business Advisory Committee too. In 1991, she added another feather to her cap by getting elected to the 10th Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket. After her stint at the lower house, she quietly went into wilderness to lead a retired life. Destiny had so much more for her to achieve. In 2004, she was recalled by the Congress party to take over the Governorship of Rajasthan. She accepted the appointment with grace and performed the task with élan. A non-controversial, loyal-to the- core Congresswoman, Pratibha had another tryst with destiny, when she was chosen by the ruling party to be its nominee for the prestigious post of President. Neither Pratibha nor her family had ever expected this news to sink in so easily. She was planning her final retirement and was almost through with her political career, but things changed overnight.

Since the UPA has the numbers to ensconce Pratibha in Rashtrapati Bhavan, her victory seems well-nigh certain at this juncture. She has promised not to be a rubber stamp President. She may not be a star politician, but she is certainly a performing politician, a team-person and above all, she has displayed good leadership skills throughout her political career. Now she is most likely to be the first Indian woman Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Way to Go!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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Iran-Malaysia cooperation to checkmate US moves

2007-12-12T11:25:00.001+05:30

Kuala Lumpur intends to use the opportunity provided by anxiety over Iran’s eventual fate among global players to its advantage. The game is simple. Singapore, the staunch US ally in the region , is strategically placed close to the Malacca Strait (a shipping route through which oil reaches from Iran to the ports at South China Sea). In order to apply pressure on Iran, the US may use its existing strategic leverage in Singapore and choke the Iranian oil supplies. If this was to happen, China (which draws a lot of its burgeoning energy needs from Iranian oil fields) would feel the pinch. This politico military calculus is causing a lot of consternation, both in China as well as Iran. This anxiety is being used by Malaysia to strengthen its economic base. The solution they are now working upon is to help China and Iran by-pass the ‘Malacca dilemma’ by commissioning refineries and pipelines running from its west coast (Yan in Kedah state) up to Bachok, located on the eastern coast of Kelantan state. This would facilitate the Chinabound oil tankers from Gulf to off –load at Yan, thus obviating the need to cross narrow confines of the Malacca strait.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click here

Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM, Business College Ranking India BBA Institute India, IIPM IIPM - Nikhil Khade Online Welcome to 4Ps Business and Marketing The IIPM Think Tank IIPM New Delhi India Professor Arindam Chaudhuri, Renowned Management Guru & Economist IIPM Info Planning and Entrepreneurship Programme, IIPM New Delhi, India Business And Economy IIPM Placements New Delhi, India IIPM Business Management Institute India

...of the current state of India’s defence...and offence!

2007-12-04T13:15:00.000+05:30

We are essentially talking about India and Pakistan. While the chances of a nuclear holocaust have subsided much, still, the subcontinent is far from becoming a peace haven. And as if the envy of Pakistan hasn’t been enough, it has rather got a major booster from similar antipathy within many sections of Bangladesh. While the chances of much of the subcontinent becoming a hub of radical fundamentalism essentially remains above average, it can only go up as the increasing prosperity of the Indian economy creates more heartburn in the failing states of Bangladesh and Pakistan. And while an inclusive growth strategy for the subcontinent is of prime essence, in the short run, India is left with not much option but to increase its vigil, the reminiscences of 1948, 1965,1971 and 1999 still fresh in mind.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Is it fair that while the elite are safe in their protective cocoon, the common man fights the ‘War of Terror’?

2007-11-26T12:56:00.000+05:30

The Bushies, it seems, do not believe in paying any of the cost of the fights. They do not believe that they or their friends should face any personal or professional penalties for trivial sins like distorting intelligence to get America into an unnecessary war, or totally botching that war’s execution. Even Paul Wolfowitz, who managed the rare feat of messing up not one but two high-level jobs, has found refuge at the American Enterprise Institute.

Which brings us to the case of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Jr. The hysteria of the neocons over the prospect that Libby might actually do time for committing perjury was a sight to behold. In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal titled “Fallen Soldier,” Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins University cited the soldier’s creed: “I will never leave a fallen comrade.” He went on to declare that “Scooter Libby was a soldier in your – our – war in Iraq.”

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

United States heading for Collateral damage...!

2007-11-20T12:44:00.000+05:30

Given the likely scale of the problems in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market, the US stock market has held up well. In March 2007, we mentioned that the problems in the sub-prime lending industry would likely spread to brokerage companies and other financial institutions. Although the US stock market made new highs in June, brokerage stocks (with the exception of Goldman Sachs) were unable to better their January/February 2007 peak. Technically this is a negative sign for the entire stock market. Why? Because a very large chunk (about 45% of S&P 500 earnings) are financial earnings derived from financial intermediaries directly (market capitalization of financials is approximately 23% of the S&P 500) and financial profits from treasury and consumer lending operations of large industrial giants (GMAC, Ford Motor Credit, GE Capital etc).

It is probably fair to say that every multinational corporation has a hedge fund similar treasury department, whose objective it is to minimize borrowing costs & maximize the return on the treasury’s cash holdings. Hence, the stock market has begun to have second thoughts about future corporate profits.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

The Fine Print

2007-11-13T14:49:00.000+05:30

There are many more who are toeing the path to becoming conglomerates. Th e biggest media company of the country, Bennet & Coleman Co. has made its footprint in the TV space by launching Zoom and Times Now, it is going great guns in the radio industry too through its Radio Mirchi brand. While it is on a continuous prowl for new opportunities in the new media space apart from already having some popular properties like Indiatimes, it continues to be the leader in the print genre with the Times of India brand and many popular magazine titles under its firm grip. Meanwhile, Times of India group’s arch rival Hindustan Times launched the nation’s fifth financial daily ‘Mint’ in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. “A business paper was on HT’s radar for a very long time, and looking at India’s upbeat economy, we realised that there is a very glaring opportunity of being a strong number 2 in this category as 65% of the market share is under’s ET’s control and the rest is divided among the other three players,” says Ranjan Bhalla, Publisher of Mint. One of the country’s oldest media houses, Hindustan Times has also forayed into the radio medium (Fever 104 FM). Its foray into television called Home TV (a JV with BBC) failed in the 1990s and new plans are in the back burner.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Bush is violating constitutional norms & making US look ugly

2007-11-01T13:35:00.000+05:30

MCA, the brainchild of the Bush administration, is a part of the well-planned stratagem to subvert civil liberties. The title innocuously refers to Military Commissions (criminal courts run by the US military).“Under the MCA, any US citizen accused of terrorism, including critics of the administration, is subject to being labelled an ‘enemy combatant’ in the war on terror and held indefinitely by the US military, as well as be tortured and denied due process of law & trial by jury,” Jacob G. Hornberger, President of the US-based Future of Freedom Foundation told B & E. Trenchantly lambasting this Jim Crowesque law, which is ultravires of the US Constitution & Bill of Rights, Professor Noam Chomsky of MIT opined to B & E, “The MCA is one of the most depraved pieces of legislation ever passed in the US. If it survives judicial review, the US will be well on the way towards the executive dictatorship that is the goal of the Bush administration.” This draconian act has veritably destroyed the ideals of the founding fathers of the US. This black law undermines the ‘Great Writ’ of habeas corpus & the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in June 2006 in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, wherein it held: “military commissions to try an ‘enemy combatant’ are illegal and lacking the protections required under the Geneva Conventions & US Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative