Wednesday, October 31, 2012

POST-CYCLONE: PROBLEMS

The ongoing plight of fishermen

The circumstances are further complicated by the fact that the fishermen do not have ownership papers of these lakes, debarring them from formal bank loans. Therefore, they were/are left with no choice but to borrow money from local moneylenders, with mind-boggling huge interest rates.

Kultali had a population of around 160,000, out of which 60,000 were dependant on fishing. Almost all of them have lost their livelihoods. In the Sunderban area as a whole, 100,000 have lost their source of income. The state’s irrigation department has claimed to have spent Rs.115 crore on repairing the embankments. Sadly, whatever advantage this spend might have in the future, would go to private parties now trying to officially buy up the discarded lake properties. What should the government do? Literally everything; as the government, despite the Rs. 115 crore claim, is woefully absent. Immediate food, finance, support... everything!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012. An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….

IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links  
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Same family, same fate?

Both public and private banks are facing a similar predicament today – the lying mirror! manish k. pandey discusses the dangers ahead, and how strong numbers during the past quarter were simply, just numbers...

There’s an old nursery rhyme – the wise man built his house upon a rock, while the foolish man built his house upon sand... and one house came tumbling down – which one? If Indian banks could answer even this ragamuffin of a question correctly, one suspects they wouldn’t have been blinded by the illusory numbers that are plumped by them as their quarterly results. Indian banks still haven’t realised the difference between reality and reverie. This commentary is a treatise on how Indian banks are living a most dangerous path by believing that the ‘good’ financial results of the last quarter were because of their strategies... they definitely were not!

No doubt, banks, both private and public sector, reported strong earnings growth ranging between 20-50% during the first quarter of FY2010. But when we analysed the earnings breakup, we saw that the meat of these earnings came mostly from one-off trading profits (which was nearly 30-60% of the total profit before tax) and not from their core net interest margins (NIMs). In truth, the NIMs were lower than even those expected. A CARE report mentions, “Higher cost of funds and lower lending rates brought down the NIMs of the top 12 banks (including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Syndicate Bank, which cover 61% of all credits in India) in the April-June quarter due to a subdued growth in the net interest income (NII).” It may sound surprising, but the truth is that the NII comprised less than 10% of the total income reported by a majority of banks. Raison d’ĂȘtre: The unprecedented surge in bank deposits coupled with a reluctance in issuing fresh loans (due to the threat of rising defaults playing in the bankers’ heads). This certainly has led to a problem of ‘plenty’ for many banks that have made a record by pooling large sums of monies with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under reverse repo.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


Monday, October 29, 2012

ONGC was a virtual monopoly

For decades, ONGC was a virtual monopoly when it came to oil and gas in India. Now, CMD R.S Sharma finds that players like Reliance and Cairn can outsmart and outrun it. ratan lal bhagat analyses his dilemma.

The quiet gurgling told me two things: first, that oil and gas will remain the source of massive profits, massive lobbying, bitter corporate feuds and much more for decades to come. Second, I couldn’t but help empathise with CMD Sharma who knows he has a tough job at hand. In his simple and sober sixth floor office in Jeevan Bharti building in the heart of Delhi, Sharma was quite philosophical when he said, “ E&P remains the most challenging business where inputs are deterministic and outputs are probabilistic”. It took me a while to figure out that Mr Sharma was basically saying that you can put all the money you want into exploring for oil and gas; but it will always remain a gamble.

About 1,500 kilometres away from his 6th floor office, the drilling and separator sites of ONGC tell the same story in a quiet and understated manner. And I can’t help wonder: Is Mr Sharma worrying about the fate that befell his predecessor Subir Raha who started publicly asking questions from the masters about the functional autonomy for the company? Or is he more worried about the spectre of Reliance Industries led by Mukesh Ambani dislodging ONGC as the number one oil and gas company of the country? Not to mention the giant oil fields discovered by Cairn in Rajasthan that promise to produce as much as 20% of the total oil output of India? Incidentally, ONGC is a 30% partner in the Rajasthan oil field and is now wondering how it will benefit. Particularly, if the government treats it like a step child. In one of his more candid moments during an exclusive interview, this is what A.K Hazarika, the Director, Onshore of ONGC had to tell B&E, “Though the discovery has been made by Cairn, the licensee is ONGC. And as per the policy, the royalty for this has to be borne by the licensee. Today, ONGC owns 30% of the blocks and has to pay royalty for the rest 70% also. This is going to badly impact the financial standings and profitability of ONGC. The government has promised to reimburse the amount but we have got nothing but sympathy so far”.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Sunday, October 28, 2012

“To help employees, we pay part of the variable pay in advance...”

V. Mohandas Pai on how Infosys manages pressing issues related to its huge and diverse work force

Almost all the business heads we talked to identified managing the hugely diversified workforce as one of the most critical challenges for Infosys. V. Mohandas Pai, Director and Head, Finacle, Admin, Human Resources, Infosys Leadership Institute and Education and Research discusses with B&E how Infosys continues to be ‘future ready’ from an HR viewpoint:

B&E: There have been reports in the media regarding Indian IT companies having laid off people unethically in the midst of recession. How have you handled laying off people to ensure that the pain they face is minimal?

VMP:
There have been no ‘layoffs’ at Infosys so far. The employee separations have actually been on account of performance and re-structuring.

B&E: During recession, Infosys increased the variable component in pay. How did you manage the same?

VMP:
Variable pay is dependent on the company’s performance and is paid out after the results have been declared. There has been no cut in variable pay at Infosys. What Infosys had been doing is, for the sake of helping employees with their cash flows, it pays a part of the variable pay for the quarter in advance. This was done with the understanding that the final amount would be calculated after the results and any difference adjusted. The amount of payment is decided at the beginning of the quarter.
 
B&E: As growth hits a bump, will Infosys back up its hiring commitments?

VMP:
Infosys is meeting all its hiring commitments and is honoring the offers it has made at campuses.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Friday, October 26, 2012

Maruti Suzuki posted mind-boggling numbers

the indian Automotive sector as a whole faced tremendous slowdown in demand but market leader Maruti Suzuki posted mind-boggling numbers. B&E Pawan chabra finds out what the company did differently in the last fiscal to achieve this feat
 
Not many people know that there is a separate department in the sales and marketing team of Maruti Suzuki dedicated to take care of its rural strategy. There are around 2,500 rural dealerships sales executives currently working in the company out of the total 15,000 sales executives working in the company and “we will be hiring in rural areas very aggressively in this fiscal,” asserts Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager (Marketing), Maruti Suzuki India. The company is aiming at a 15% contribution to the total revenues by the end of this fiscal coming from the rural sales. There is no denying the fact that requirements in the rural part of the country are very different from that of the urban market and hence the company is selling entry level vehicles – Alto, WagonR & Zen Estillo – the most in these areas. Clearly, the company is playing a volume driven game rather than showing unnecessary audacity by offering high end products like a Vitara or a SX4. But Srivastava took no time to mention “that the company is still very much open to meeting any kind of demand that comes from the rural areas.”

Going forward, experts believe other players will also aggressively target the rural market. However, going by past results and the milestones achieved by the company, one cannot show its back to the fact that Maruti will not leave any stone unturned to capture the top rank in the automobile sales in the rural market too.

In absolute sales, at 3.6% the company sold lesser than expected in the last fiscal, but analysts believe the growth to be decent keeping in mind the hit that the sector has taken in recent times. In fact, industry watchers claim that its parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan has been able to avoid any losses for the Jan-Mar 2009 quarter simply on the back of the boost given by sales figures of its Indian subsidiary. Hyundai & Tata Motors are also strategising to make a beeline for the high-growth hinterlands, but as always Maruti’s first mover advantage will help them rule the strategy war room.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

OBAMA: RACIAL PROFILING

Obama’s concern over his remarks & speeches came true...

Talking about health, blacks experience disproportionate burden of health diseases, injury and death. Researches show that in 2002, non-Hispanic blacks who died from HIV were approximately 11 times as many age-adjusted years of potential life lost before age 75 years per 100,000 population as non-Hispanic whites. National Urban League’s 2006 annual report revealed that out of 5,80,000 black who are serving sentence in prison, mere 40,000 males complete a bachelor’s degree. Nearly 70% blacks in prison never completed their schooling. Likewise in a 1994 Department of Justice survey of felony, it was found that blacks were more likely to receive prison sentences than whites. As per federal death penalty data released by the Department of Justice between 1995-2000, out of those 682 defendants (for death penalty), the defendants were black in 48% of the cases, Hispanic in 29% of the cases, and white in only 20% of the cases. Following the trend, a study by Wake County, North Carolina found that African Americans had bail set 18% higher than whites charged with similar crimes.

Even in terms of earnings, researches show that in 1964, African Americans’ income was 58% of white people’s income. In 1991, African Americans’ income was just 57% of Whites’ income. Moreover, there is sheer discrimination at the top level in the US army as well. As per the recent data, while 62.7% are Whites in the US army, blacks consist of around 20%. But in the commissioned officer level, merely 12.4% Blacks are holding positions while 73% are occupied by whites. More strikingly, racism was witnessed in America more clearly during the 2008 presidential election. Obama won the support of 95% black voters. When it came to white voters, 43% voted for him while 55% voted for McCain.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Thursday, October 25, 2012

“We started with fewer products”

B&E: McDonald’s has had a significantly better run as compared to most multinational QSRs in the India What have been your main recipes for success in the Indian market?

AJ:
The foundation of McDonald’s is Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value, that means we focus on providing our customers with high quality products, served quickly with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment and at affordable prices. With a brand philosophy of ‘Forever Young,’ McDonald’s India has always modified its strategy to cater to the contemporary market requirements. We have always worked towards establishing an emotional connect with the consumers. We have also strived to provide convenience to our customers by evolving business models like McDonald’s Delivery and Drive Thru.

B&E: When it comes to retail penetration, McDonald’s is still lacking behind in terms of number of stores set up in India. Don’t you feel that you could be seriously undermining your potential as compared to competition?

AJ:
We don’t believe in opening new stores or going to a new city, unless our research and supply chain support us to take such an initiative.



B&E: How do you think easy on the pocket and Indianising the menu has helped McDonald’s?

AJ:
McDonald’s success worldwide can be definitely attributed to the “Think Global, Act Local and Sell like a Retailer” philosophy. McDonald’s has customised its pricing and menu in India and this has yielded great returns for the brand in India.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

RED FORTRESS CRUMBLING

he recent mass upsurge against the CPI(M)’s anti- people policies in Lalgarh & other places has caught on in a big way in West Bengal. More trouble lies ahead...

In the last Lok Sabha elections the Communists were left with merely 24 seats –down from their previous tally of 61. In West Bengal – once the Red Citadel – the CPI(M)’s share of MPs dropped vertically, from 27 to just 9. It lagged behind the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress in over 200 of the 294 assembly segments. Indeed the outlook is so bleak that in the 13th West Bengal Legislative Assembly polls in 2011, even the CPI (M)’s friends expect the once impregnable fortress to collapse as the Berlin Wall did in 1989!

Yes, it is true. The party seems pretty nearly over. The CPI(M) is tottering everywhere – far beyond the Bengal-Bihar-Orissa borders: a fact that went uncommented till the 15th Lok Sabha polls. And now we need no comment. It’s staring us right in our faces. In Khejuri (East Midnapore district) – ever since the people’s revolt started on June 8 – arms are being recovered almost every day.

The CPI(M) had once called Khejuri – till the mid twentieth century a stronghold of the Gandhians– Bengal’s Leningrad. Former Union minister and freedom fighter Abha Maiti hailed from this block. But post the 1990’s the place came to be referred as the communists’ ‘Liberated Zone’, leaving space for no other political party. Indeed, even LF allies were not allowed to function there.

During the Nandigram agitation it was from Khejuri that the CPI(M)’s armed militia randomly sprayed bullets at innocent agitators. The infamous Janani brick kiln, the bunker of the CPI(M)’s armed militia and hired killers, still exists. The CBI arrested ten armed CPI(M) cadres from there three days after the Nandigram massacre on March 14, 2007 – coincidentally Karl Marx’s 124th death anniversary.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Sunday, October 21, 2012

“Water market is a big threat to India”

The man who has been fighting to save water in India speaks out on his passion and vision...
 

Rajendra Singh, better known as ‘Waterman’ is a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner for Community Leadership. He has undertaken extensive water conservation efforts in drought-prone eastern Rajasthan. Rajendra Singh runs a non-governmental organisation named ‘Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS)’ since 1985, which has built more than 4,500 earthen check dams to collect rainwater in Rajasthan. Talking with B. S. Narayana Swamy, he told that de-centralisation in the village is a good answer for water problems.

B&E: Is privatisation of water supply, in any form, favourable for developing nations like India and its people?
RS:
Privatisation of water supply is nothing but controlling the community and there by controlling their life. The one who is really sensible shouldn’t even think about privatisation of essential natural resources like water. Having water is a basic right of a human being and any government should not deny that. We have a democratically elected government and fulfilling the need of drinking water is a constitutional duty of the government. Water is ‘jeev jal’ without which one cannot lead the life and selling the control of ‘jeev jal’ to private hands is really dangerous. Those who have money can purchase water but what about the 70% of our population, who is only hand to mouth? That’s why I warn that new water market is a big threat to India.

B&E: In states like Karnataka government is planning to introduce PPP (Public Private Partnership) for water supply and in fact in many cities it has implanted the pilot project of the same and claiming success. Is PPP best idea for better service?
RS:
Privatisation of water supply in any form is unacceptable. They are using a beautiful word called PPP, but it’s nothing but ‘Jhoota Khel’ (wrong play). They are selling the ownership of our natural resource to private industries in the name of PPP. If they monopolise with our resources then the common people would have no choice for their living. For private players, life is not a priority, their priority is money and they work for money only.

B&E: In mega cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai... demand for drinking water is increasing and governments are hardly trying to meet the demands. What are your suggestions for better management of water?
RS:
Communitisation is one good solution. Presently we have a system which is anti-community. So de-centralisation in the village model is a good answer to this so called water problem. If our leaders, who are adorning the seat of power, tried thinking sincerely for a good answer they may find many. But they always think about getting the power and retaining it for the next five years. They come to power by assuring the innocent people of providing them with 24 hours water supply; but once they come to the power they start thinking 24 hours only about how to retain their power. To reach the rising demand for water in mega cities like Delhi and Bangalore the leaders should have far sight; which is lacking in our politicians. Most of them are not eligible to run a government.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Folly in the Pacific

How a cornered Japan attacked the US

It was a Sunday morning of December 7, 1941 and the US marines at the US military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii were least prepared to counter an attack. Two waves of Japanese aerial attack nearly devastated the aircrafts and aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet of US Navy, resting on the base. ‘Pearl Harbor’ was a preemptive attack by Japan intended to repulse the US Navy from blocking its ‘Southern Area Resource’ (South East Asia) colonisation plan. America and the other western colonial powers were wary of Japan’s imperial ambitions in Asia. Japan’s move into the northern ‘Indo-China’ had resulted in freezing of Japanese assets in US and embargoing US oil exports to Japan. Pearl Harbor gave America the chance to shed the neutrality doctrine and to jump into the war fray.

After long and horrific battles the Axis powers signed the Instrument of Surrender one by one. Mussolini was killed in Italy on April 28,1945 and two days later Hitler committed suicide. The Potsdam declaration of Allied Forces warned Japan of ‘prompt and utter destruction’ if not surrender. But for the US, the design was for the post-war world hegemony over Soviet Union. Nuclear bombs were designed and built under Manhattan Project. Two nuclear bombs named ‘Fat Man’ and ‘Little Boy’ pounded upon the Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively on August 6 and 9.The US hegemony was visible for the world at the cost of thousands of lives and everlasting nuclear threat to the globe.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Thursday, October 18, 2012

‘G’effery ‘E’mmelt...

...atleast that name has GE written on it!

Here’s a quick test: Which amongst the following three (who were his top three generals) did Jack Welch choose to succeed him – Jeffery Immelt (GE’s CEO since 2001), Bob Nardelli (current CEO, Chrysler) and Alan Mulally (current CEO & Chairman, Ford)? Immelt, of course! That seemed obvious; and the brackets did help; but what about this one? Who has been the worst-performing CEO for GE in its history of over 100 years? Well, the answer’s simple again – Immelt! Alright, but here’s the biggest surprise, while Welch is arguably touted as the most successful CEO in the history of corporate America, he chose the worst performing CEO for GE, ever!

Of course, many wouldn’t agree to this hypothesis upfront, but how about this one? Welch himself criticised Immelt during a recent interview. These were his words: “Here’s the screw-up: you made a promise that you’d deliver this and you miss three weeks later. Jeff has a credibility issue.” Even in the most recently announced Q1, 2009 results (announced on April 11, 2009), GE disclosed a ghost-scaring 44.41% fall in its net income (that stood at $2.07 billion) as compared to Q1, FY2008. But wait! That’s not why Immelt makes it to the list of the top blunders in capitalism this century... The real reason is here – since Immelt took charge about eight years back, GE’s share price has fallen by a gut-wrenching 70.39% (from $40.83/share in June 2001 to $12.09/share as on April 28, 2009; NYSE) destroying about 95% of GE’s shareholder wealth. What’s worse, Immelt still feels that, “Amid a continued weak economy, we’re performing well and our backlog remains strong.” Now how does destroying shareholder value in the long term, and dangerous short-term double-digit decline in earnings indicate “performing well”? We fail to understand! Worse, to cover up the real ‘gloomy’ air floating around the GE campus, Immelt further announced a remorseless $12 million in bonus to reward performance.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Lot of work for the li’l kidos to do!

Summer holidays are no more about fun-filled capers and lazy afternoons... there is a whole lot of work for the li’l kidos to do!

The growing trend of organising fun for kids could be a result of parents having very little time to spend with their children and so are instead opting to spend big money on pampering them. “I started working again a couple of years back after my daughter started going to school. Now, during summer vacations, my husband and I can only take a break of maximum 10 days to either spend time with her at home or take her out for a holiday. But, beyond that we need a place where she can have fun and learn too,” says Deepika Hari, Media Planner with an ad agency. Though conventional wisdom advises one to keep up with the times, it is also advisable to allow children the space and time to make mistakes and learn on their own. After all, there is nothing quite like whiling time away, reading books, watching cartoons, spending time with grandparents or playing for hours with neighbourhood friends. For some of the most important lessons in life are those learnt at home.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Reaching out to the perfect audience in newer ways…

The chasm of connectivity between a filmmaker and his audience, unless the audience happens to be really mass, (when a festival movie first makes waves, theatres are unlikely to release it en masse depriving many of a viewing) may kill the critical ‘active window’ where the interest is high. And that’s where these new approaches help. The YouTube screening room could be the ‘Festival on Demand’ or the digital TV service provider could give these movies on demand. The filmmakers then can focus on a concerted campaign on these media.

Says Karnik, “I would certainly launch my movies through other mediums also because it depends on several things such as the budget of the movie and how much one can afford. It also depends on the target audience. By using all these different mediums, I am making sure that everyone can watch it.”

Call it the ‘Long Tail’ (in ‘The Long Tail’ Chris Anderson writes, ‘In the tyranny of physical space, an audience too thinly spread is the same as no audience at all.’) theory of movies, but as independent movies and their makers proliferate in a world full of choices, they’ll need to override the limitations of the physical space (like an audience under one roof in a theatre) and ‘distributed viewing’ could be the future. Quick, check your inbox or your mobile; your next favourite movie might be lying in there!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


The government has failed to play the role

India’s standing on most indicators of health has not improved, and the government has failed to play the role that was expected from it, says Vikas Kumar

Now the time has come, indeed, to do some serious introspection. Public spending on health was 0.9% of GDP. However, even after five years it is just 1% of national GDP. It is a data which puts us at the bottom, with only four countries to spare. The states are worse. Due to fiscal mismanagement, states have decreased their spending from 4.5% in 1999-2000 to 3.6% in 2008-09. One of the populist announcements of UPA was to increase the number of Primary Health Centres by 50% and then by upto 75%. However, the percentage of vacant doctor posts in the Primary Health Centres has also increased from 13.36% in 2001 to 18.04% in 2007. If this is not enough, as per the report of Ministry of Rural Health Statistics of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW), 50% of sub-centers, 24% of PHCs and 16% of CHCs function out of rented or temporary premises. Also, the Indian health sector is one of the most privatised in the world. Only 12 countries are ahead in terms of private spending on health.

The prevalence rate of underweight children below five years in India is 43%, even lower than 28% in sub-Saharan Africa. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, 46% of children below 3 years of age were under weight. Percentage of anemic children between 6-35 months increased to 79.2% in 2005-06, from 74.2% in 1996-97. The nutritional condition of children has remained static over the last past five years, which clearly shows that the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program aimed at promoting child health and nutrition is also not working.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face