Is the ‘Insider’ in?

He is second only to Nerurkar in the company. Moreover, his years of experience in different divisions make him a very likely choice

When in doubt, the best person to trust for a key position in your organisation is one who has been closely associated with you for years. And with tremendous speculation and uncertainty doing the rounds regarding the potential successor of B. Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel, an insider would definitely be a good contender for the profile. H. M. Nerurkar, the current Chief Operating Officer (COO), with his nearly 40 years (joined Tata Steel in 1971, now that’s long!) of experience with Tata Steel, does seem to fit the bill.

Nerurkar, has risen through the ranks ever since and has held a plethora of portfolios. He has worked as Chief Metallurgist, Senior DM (LD-2 Projects), DGM (Steel & Primary Mills), General Manager (Marketing), Senior GM (Supply Chain), Vice President (Flat Products), Vice President (Kalinganagar Project, Orissa & Technology), and Chief Operating Officer (Steel), before reaching his current position of Chief Operating Officer of Tata Steel. “Succession planning in Tata Steel is a continuous and a well defined process and is done meticulously for every level of executives as a part of talent review exercise every year,” explains Binay Kumar Singh, Vice President – Orissa Project, Tata Steel Limited to B&E. Adding to his advantage is the fact that Nerurkar has also officiated in various overseas ventures like Tata Steel Public Company Limited, Thailand (Vice-Chairman), and ISL Dubai (Director), NatSteel Asia Private Limited., Singapore, Tata BlueScope Steel Limited et al. His phenomenal rise from strength to strength is testimony to his ability to perform varied roles successfully. Moreover, his all-around experience in project execution, manufacturing, Quality Control, Supply Chain and Marketing in the steel industry would be a great asset.

Read more.......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Every ‘Bloc’ has...

Economic integration has led to the formation of some of the strongest economic groups in the world, called ‘Blocs’. STEVEN PHILIP WARNER compares

21.4%

Bhutan (SAARC) was the fastest growing economy for the year 2008. It is of course another story that its GDP (real exchange rate) is only $1.4 billion and the Indian government finances nearly three-fifths of Bhutan’s budget expenditures (as per CIA)

16%

Iceland (OECD) tops all nations amongst the five blocs when it comes to least unemployment (%). The figure at 1.6% however is only the 14th best in the world, with names like Andorra, Guernsey, Faroe Islands, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein bettering it

46.0%

Nepal (SAARC) is the ‘leisure’ centre of the five blocs, occupying the 191st slot in the world in terms of least unemployment, only better than Senegal, Zambia, Djibouti, Cocos Islands, Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Liberia and Nauru

Read more.....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Alpha (decay) male

Alpha males that we all are, none of us believes a nuke attack will ever happen in our lifetimes – so we write this treatise to the alpha female

With around 2000 nuclear weapons on high alert and ready for launch, the nuclear Armageddon is just waiting for its reincarnation. We provide some ‘what if’ details.

There are currently more than 30,000 nuclear weapons of which 8,000 are currently operational. In 1977, the US Department of Defense predicted 265 million casualties from a full-scale US-Soviet nuclear war. United Nations Disarmament Committee states there are more than 16,000 strategic and tactical nuclear weapons ready for deployment and another 14,000 in storage. With regional tension intensifying, especially among nuclear-rich countries, the probability of nuclear war can’t be denied.

Around 50 nuclear weapons are reportedly deployed against each other by India and Pakistan, targeting their megacities. An incident involving Israel and a neighbour (particularly Syria and Lebanon and to some extent the Palestinian areas) may stimulate the Arab nations to fight. Even the nuclear tensions in Iran and North Korea are increasing. Iran’s nuclear program and North Korea’s nuclear testing spree adds to the complexity. Factoring in nuclear terrorism creates a creepy new dimension with enhanced risk. A nuclear country with a terrorist presence could trigger a nuclear war easily. After the US attempt to push Russia’s neighbours into NATO and the EU, the probability of a US-Russia flash war, though feeble, still can’t be done away with. NATO has stationed around 500 nuclear weapons in Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Turkey. When it comes to the mightiest, the US and Russia keep hundreds of missiles armed with thousands of nuclear warheads on high-alert, 24 hours a day, that reach their targets in less than 30 minutes.

So what if a ‘mild’ nuclear bomb detonates, say in the subcontinent (ten times the power of Little Boy)? In the 30 million subsequent deaths, NRDC (Natural Resources Defence Council) calculated that almost 22.1 million people (in India and Pakistan) would be exposed to lethal radiation doses of 600 rem (units that measure the effects of ionizing radiation on humans) in the first two days after the attack.

Read more......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Cash flows in a flat world

Recession has thrown up crazy results in the poorest nations of the world; they’ve become richer!

According to the World Bank, Congo, Liberia and Burundi are the three poorest nations of the world on the basis of their per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) ranking. While the whole world suffered from the effects and aftereffects of recession, much was written about how developed nations, first world countries, and even developing economies could come out of the economic slowdown – perhaps rightly so, as without those commentaries and debates, and without immediate changes in the top countries, the world might never have proceeded to the path of recovery.

Forgotten and completely ignored among the solution list were the world’s poorest nations, who got the worst of both worlds as one, they never mattered (or will matter) to the global economic output, and two, it doesn’t quite make good readership for the Krugmans and the Friedmans to commentate regularly on the caustic continent. Thus, it was expected that these nations will collapse in one domino wave. The ides couldn’t have gotten this forecast wronger. The poorest countries actually became richer in recession!

Congo is the world’s poorest nation. In 2000, GDP was $4.31 billion (per capita gross national income – GNI, ppp – of $210). The 2005 GDP figures were $7.24 billion; 2008 GDP figures stand at $11.59 billion (a solid growth of 168% over 2000 figures; and a per capita GNI of $290). Yes, recession seems to have been severe in employment – forestry and mining sectors lost over 2,00,000 jobs over two to three years – but that has clearly not stopped Congo’s growth, leave alone getting wiped out. Congo has shown an average GDP growth hovering around 6.5% in the last three years.

Read more......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

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’être: 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.

Read more......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Battered Taliban on the retreat

Swat militants’ request for help was declined by the Afghan Taliban, claiming non-interference policies

The Taliban in Pakistan are on the retreat. They suffered heavy losses and now reportedly sought support from Afghan Taliban to carry on their battle against the Pakistan army.

In an article published last week in Pakistan’s national English daily The News, it was reported that Afghan Taliban declined a request for help from the militants in Swat “by reminding them of their policy of non-interference in Pakistan’s affairs.”

“A senior Afghan Taliban official, requesting anonymity, contacted The News from an undisclosed location to confirm that they were approached by the Swat militants for help in their fight against Pakistan’s armed forces,” Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist who has written extensively on Taliban reported.

“We told them that the Afghan Taliban have a standard policy of not interfering in Pakistan’s affairs. We reiterated our policy and requested the Swat Taliban not to involve us in Pakistan’s internal matters,” the Afghan Taliban official is reported to have said. While the claim that Afghan Taliban’s “standard policy” not to interfere in Pakistan’s internal matters is ridiculous since Afghan Taliban have been continuously interfering in Pakistan through porous Pak-Afghan borders, it does indicate that militants in Pakistan are on the retreat and the operation launched by the Pakistan army against them is now bearing fruit.

Security forces on September 6 killed 33 militants, destroyed six vehicles and two terrorist training camps and seven hideouts through helicopter gunship in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency. Most of the attacks were reportedly carried out in Naree Baba and Tharkho Kas areas where the banned Lashkar-e-Islam group is believed to have set up private jails and training camps.

An international media house quoted a Frontier Constabulary statement as saying “security forces today targeted Tharkho Kas camp (and) Naree Baba Markaz.

Read more.....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Running is not sufficient anymore!

Only running is not sufficient anymore! There’s more you have to do to make up for what you made technology do for you!

 Of course, it goes without saying that all these benefits would fetch us a healthier life in the long run.For those who want to get acquainted with barefoot running, here are some tricks. (The rest just wait for a better bait in the latter half of the article!) First, to run barefoot, one must run on the forefoot without heel-striking. Secondly, let the body land first. One must land directly under it. The knees should never be straightened fully, either in front or behind the body. And lastly, go slow in your pursuit of barefoot athletics! It can be more damaging than beneficial if you aim to run like the South African athlete Zola Budd (who always trained and raced barefooted!) in just a week or a month!

Well, those who can’t imagine letting go of a surface between their foot and the ground, could try out shoes that are made using the Masai Barefoot Technology. As the name suggests, the technology used has been derived after noticing the gait, stamina and strong legs of the Masai tribals (one of the tribes that has also inspired the barefoot trend). Though many of them still walk barefoot, it is ironical that even most of the Masai have designed footwear made from tyres to provide the bare minimum comfort and yet stay almost barefoot! In fact, Nike Free technology seems to have been inspired by such minimum comfort formula…

Some ancient philosophies suggest that the life-force energy called Chi (also called Prana) is absorbed through the soles of our feet. That’s one edge that no pair of shoes can match. Well for that, if not the sole of our foot, what about energy transaction through the soul? Doesn’t that fit the bill of the uber ‘going back to the basic’ style statement even more?

Read more......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

The godot factor

hyundai did humble the market leader in 1998. but leadership in the passenger car segment is still a far cry for this korean giant

“Would you like to advertise with us Mr. Khan?” It was a seemingly simple question that was asked by Hyundai’s Korean chief Y. S. Kim to India’s superstar Shahrukh Khan way back in 1998. But the results were spectacular.

As Indians watched this first advertisement and the series of advertisements that followed (in which Kim was shown telling Shahrukh about Hyundai the company and its stature), they began to develop a certain affinity for a brand that they had never even heard of, and from a country that they hadn’t really associated with car manufacturing till then (barring Daewoo). But thanks to the success of the advertising campaign and the inherent strengths of the Santro (like tall boy design, more leg room, boot space, et al, which market leader Maruti’s Zen sorely lacked), the Indian audience got enthralled and responded with a flood of bookings. Successful inroads had been made, both for the grumpy looking Santro and for Hyundai. And it awoke Maruti from its slumber as well.

There is no denying that the Indian passenger car market is the world’s 11th largest market today and is well poised to grab the seventh spot by the year 2016. But making a mark here is far from a cake walk. Ask Fiat, Daewoo or Ford for that matter. After 1991 (when the automobile industry was allowed a 100% FDI), many new players made their way into the Indian market, but Hyundai Motors India Pvt. Ltd. was one of the few who successfully broke the clutter. Today, thanks to the momentum it built from the outset, Hyundai holds a healthy 20% market share in the Indian passenger car market.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

“We started with fewer products”

B&E: You have the highest retail presence and often in the same market you have more than one store. Doesn’t it end up in cannibalizing the sales of your products?

SS: No, I don’t think so, we have huge portfolio to offer and we design two stores in the same locality in different ways. Say for instance, in one store the first floor has lifestyle products and second floor, sports goods. In the second store, the first floor has women’s apparel and the second floor, men’s; It might sound very simplistic, but this is indeed the strategy that helped us to run our stores in same locality, phenomenally.

B&E: What understanding of the Indian market did you have when you entered and what strategies did you adopt at the initial stage?

AJ: When we entered, we saw that the sports market in India, unlike any other country was largely male dominated and so we thought that it’s not suggestible to launch our entire portfolio. We launched only those products which pertained to the choice of the male customer and we also kept our offerings limited only to cricket and athletics.

B&E: Tell us more about your future plans in the Indian market?

AJ: We have entered the kids apparel segment and we would be entering into several other segments also, but not compromising with the brand equity of Reebok. Our vision is to establish Reebok as a most loved fashion and sports brand in India and we would be offering whatever a consumer requires to dress up for all possible occasions.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

At long last, a budget that has clearly placed first the agenda of people who have no lobbies!

Not that it has done everything that had to be done for those who have been deliberately marginalised by the society now for decades and ignored just to fill the coffers of rich industrialists of India. But kudos that it has reached here at least. I, personally, and our media house have both been severely critical of budgets year after year. After presenting alternative budgets for nine years on the trot, I finally see a government that has at least had the courage to come out in the open and present a budget which hardly has any sops worth talking about for the industry. Yes, the advantages that a few industrial houses will derive haven’t gone unnoticed. But as I had written – with a lot of sarcasm and desperation – in our last issue: Let this budget be a ‘Khao Aur Khilao’ budget. And I won’t look at vested interests which got served here and there. I will only look at the good that has happened. After more than four years post the launch of Business & Economy and our media house, here is a budget for which I have first class marks! It surely deserves a 6 to 6.5 out of ten. Just for its vision and boldness to announce only social measures one after the other at the cost of getting the middle class upset. At the cost of stock markets registering their heaviest falls. At the cost of industrialists quietly having had to gulp down their disappointment and give TV bytes praising the budget – not because they realise the reasons why the budget is good, but really because they knew there was nothing to logically criticize it on.

Now let’s take a look at the details of the budget. Of all the rank bad budgets by the previous Congress terms – of course, with various kinds of external pressures – the only scheme that can be clearly considered their pet project that had Sonia, Manmohan and Rahul’s full support was the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme. And the best part of even this budget has been the huge 140 percent increase in NREGA allocations; and of course, the food guarantee scheme. The plan for providing direct subsidy to farmers is a very good move, coupled up with the concept of biometric unique identification cards. It’s a positive step towards removal of corruption.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

When rumours reigned and trust broke...

It was October 2008 when ICICI Bank stood accused of having overleveraged its exposure to the devastating sub-prime crisis, consequently endangering its very existence. Today, when the worst of the crisis is over, has the brand regained the hallowed position it held before the crisis? 4Ps B&M gleans out four critical crisis management lessons from the ICICI Bank fire-fighting case study

“Dear customer, your deposits with ICICI Bank are safe. Your bank is well capitalised with good liquidity. Please do not listen to baseless rumours.” India’s second largest lender (just behind State Bank of India) must have understood how deadly rumours could be when they were forced – on October 10, 2008 – to send this SMS to all its customers to save itself from a crash in terms of the market price of its shares, as well as liquidity. In fact, the day was no less than a ‘Black Friday’ for the bank as its stock price nose-dived by a mind boggling 28% (from Rs.453.50 on Oct. 8, 2008 to Rs.326.70 on Oct. 10, 2008) amid rumours of the bank’s potential exposure to the global financial turmoil, particularly to the collapsed global financial giant, Lehman Brothers.

The real damage, however, for the bank came in the form of a sharp fall in its brand value. Brand Finance Global Banking 500 report for the year 2009 indicated massive erosion in ICICI’s brand value as compared to 2008. As per the report, ICICI Bank’s brand value plummeted over 60% to $939 million in 2009 from $2.6 billion in 2008. Moreover, the bank’s ranking (in the list of top financial brands across the globe) went down from 64 to 108.

Today, when one can safely say that the worst part of the global financial turmoil is over, the moot question is whether ICICI Bank has been able to rebuild its brand value to past levels? Apparently, the answer is yes. As per Brand Finance Global Banking 500 report for year 2011, not only has ICICI Bank’s brand value reached a figure of $2.5 billion, it has also climbed up the ladder once again, from No.108 in 2009 to No.70 in 2011. What have been the strategic manoeuvres that ICICI Bank used to achieve this image makeover?

The answer is quite straightforward actually, straight out of the crisis management manuals and consists of four key lessons.

Lesson #1: Increase advertising investment
Professors Li Li Eng and Hean Tat Keh proved in their paper The Effects of Advertising and Brand Value on Future Operating and Market Performance how “spending on advertising results in better brand sales and brand profitability.” ICICI Bank followed the lesson to the rote. For one year post the crisis, ICICI Bank went ballistic in terms of advertising campaigns. Data available with AdEx shows that between November 2008 and October 2009, the bank’s ad volume recorded remarkable growth, with a higher focus on television media as compared to the industry average in the BFSI domain. In terms of TV ads, while the volume of the BFSI segment went down by 24%, the duration for which ICICI Bank’s ads met the audiences’ eyes was 64% higher than it was for the year ago period (Nov. 2007 and Oct. 2008). Similar was the case in print media. Although ICICI’s ad volume registered a 5% fall in print media, it was still better than the industry average, which witnessed a 14% fall. The trend continues till date. While the bank’s advertisement & publicity expenses were Rs.11.08 billion in FY2010, it expended over Rs.14.87 billion in promotional & branding activities in FY2011.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

“Bajaj aspires for a strong position on the global turf”

Bajaj auto’s lifelines are the discover and Pulsar brands. The man at the helm K Srinivas elucidates on current plans and future implications

Bajaj Auto has posted strong growth figures over the past few years. What are the key moves or decisions that you attribute this resurgence to?
The key was the 2009 decision to bring back Discover in the 100cc segment. It was a runaway success primarily due to bringing premium features like DTS-i technology and electric start to a segment which had seen no product innovations for a decade. The success of Discover 100 was further consolidated with launch of Discover 150 which gave the consumer an opportunity to experience a powerful ride. The portfolio was completed with Discover 125 which gave an opportunity to the 1200cc customer to move to a powerful riding experience without missing out on mileage. Pulsar has also recorded strong growth over the past three years and leads in the sports segment. So a concerted strategy of product offerings in the Discover and Pulsar portfolio in line with the consumer needs has worked in our favour.

How has the strategy of promoting independent brands without the backing of mother brand Bajaj worked out for the company?
We adopted the independent brand strategy in 2009-10 following which the 3-year compounded growth rates for brands like Discover and Pulsar have been 85% and 27% respectively. Bajaj Auto has grown by 26% as compared to the industry growth of 20%. At a consolidated level including export, this dual brand strategy has worked out to sale of four million bikes a year for us. We roughly have 10% of global market share by volumes and our target is to take it to 20% which will double our size.

With HMSI stepping on the gas, will you be able to retain your #2 position in the Indian two-wheeler market?
We see ourselves as a motorcycle specialist – the world’s most profitable and world’s third largest motorcycle manufacturer. We are indifferent to someone else’s sale of scooter or mopeds as it is irrelevant to our business. We have exciting plans lined for this fiscal which should help to continue our superior performance.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

“Five times as many people read the headlines”

There are 7 Elements which, if followed effectively, can help create a successful marketing communication & differentiate it from a me-too

To develop a system for creating a successful marketing communication, a good starting place is to examine the ideas of great marketing masters, such as David Ogilvy and John Caples. Why? Rather than guessing or expressing opinions, they observed and catalogued what works and what doesn’t during their distinguished careers. The following structure for creating successful marketing communications is based on the collective wisdom of the great marketing masters that appear in such classic books as Ogilvy on Advertising and Tested Advertising Methods.

Headline. On an average, five times as many people (83.3%) read the headlines as the ones that read the body copy. Therefore the main points, expressed as benefits, should be in the headline. To help ensure that the target audience reads the headline and finds out where they can buy the product, the headline should also by “hook” or by crook grab the reader so that they do not turn the page, click the next link, or switch channels.

Body Text. The Body Text should provide more information and details for those that are interested to find out more about the product and company. Since only 16.7%, on average, get to this point, marketers should not rely on people who are reading the body text.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

 

MID TERM POLLS: ARGENTINA

To come to power and stay in it is what the Krichners’ and their competitors need to figure out

That means more bad news for the ruling couple as Buenos Aires is slowly slipping out of their hands (Buenos Aires consists of 38% of the total electorate in Argenitina).

Much of Krichner’s undoing has been because of the slowing down of the economy where unemployment rate has gone up considerably. However, the Krichners’ are still are in power and there is no threat to their current position, but that should not make them complacent.

Narvaez is spending huge amounts on his campaign. Being a businessman with resources, has left no stone unturned to reach out to the electorate as best as he could. He is to be found of internet, television and mass media, while rivals Krichners’ are facing stringent criticism.

The opposition too is not entirely prepared. Even if they manage to throw out the Krichners’, they would face a tough situation as they too are not expected to get a full majority when the 2011 elections take place there would be no single party or person to come in power on his own strength. 

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

INDIA: HUMAN WASTE

Open defecation is a crippling issue and has to be end at all costs

In this context, the efforts of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak for installing 6,50,000 toilets and 62 excreta-based biogas plants under the Sulabh Sanitation Movement are worth mentioning. The effort started from his home state, Bihar where scavenging human waste is not uncommon. Moreover, installation of portable toilets and community sanitation systems, especially in slums, will reap huge benefits. The same can be used for generation of biogas and even water.

As India adds millions to its population, the problem will only get compounded. Measures like rewards for cleanliness, recycling methods including conversion to fertilisers, methods that use less water (considering India’s water shortage problem), have to be continued with missionary zeal. We can’t allow this scourge to continue.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
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
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)