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

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

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

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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Springtel’s age bother!

Sprint Nextel has decided to cough up $57 million as a settlement towards an age discrimination case. The case had been filed against the wireless company by its laid off workers. It stated Sprint Nextel had first shift ed all the employees above 40 years to certain positions, which were later scrapped in lieu of downsizing. As per the settlement, the company would pay the eleven lead plaintiff s an average of $155,000 each. The attorneys of the plaintiff s would get $19.4 million as fees and also $1.65 million as coverage expenses for settlement confirmation. The remaining $34.3 million would be divided between the remaining 1,686 plaintiffs.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2006

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