IIPM B School: IIPM New Delhi

Showing posts with label IIPM New Delhi. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

“Infrastructure needs more attention than FDI”

B&E: For long now there has been a debate on whether foreign carriers should be allowed to invest in the ailing Indian aviation space or not. We actually stand at a juncture where this might become a possibility. As an industry insider, how do you view this development?

Pritam Bhavnani (PB): I think it is good news for all airlines in the domestic circuit. Besides the fact that the money that will be invested will come at a lower rate of interest, of course, for the foreign airlines as the rate of borrowing in India for the airlines is very high, the bigger advantage will be in terms of Indian carriers gaining on operational ground. Their operations will become disciplined and their efficiencies will improve if foreign carriers buy strategic stakes in domestic carriers. Also, if a foreign airline gets management control, you could be looking at crew exchange programmes, which could serve both the foreign airline and the associated Indian airline as well. So during a peak festival, high-travel season in India, crew and pilots of the foreign carrier can be transferred to the Indian carrier. The same is true the other way.

B&E: But the government had allowed investments in Indian carriers by non-airline foreign investors, including VCs, long back. At an FDI limit of 49%, we did not see much interest generated amongst these non-airline investors. So how do you expect the outcome to be different if airline companies are allowed to invest?

PB: In the case of allowing foreign airlines, you are talking about giving an investment opportunity to companies that are already in the business and understand what they are getting into. With VCs, it is not really a strategic or an operational investment, it’s just a financial investment which is rather short term. With a carrier buying into an Indian airline, the Indian carrier can derive operational synergies out of the arrangement, in addition to other benefits. The same is true for the foreign airline. It will view this as a long term investment and draw various benefits out of the arrangement. Therefore, given an opportunity to foreign carriers, I think we should see a better response if the FDI norms are relaxed on that front.

B&E: But why would a foreign carrier want to invest in a sector, where the top three carriers carry a debt of more than Rs.600 billion and a domestic traffic just in excess of 50 million passengers a year is primarily an outcome of the fare-wars that is on in the domestic circuit? In terms of profitability, Indian carriers are not very attractive propositions don’t you think?

PB: They do appear worthy. Yes, there are certain FSCs which are losing money at the moment. But there are others too, the LCCs, which are certainly making money even at those low fares. It is less about whether you are buying into an already profitable airline in India, than it is about how efficient you can make this particular Indian carrier and how you can take advantage of the assets the target has. As for the loss-making domestic carriers, if they can improve their efficiencies with the help of the strategic foreign carrier, they will make profits. We have two choice – either start with a notion that nothing good can happen in this sector, or look at the possibility of positive outcomes.

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

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Niranjan Hiranandani

In This Exclusive Interaction with Virat Bahri and Mona Mehta, Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder & MD, Hiranandani Constructions Private Ltd. Speaks on The Company’s Expansion Plans and The General Scenario in The Real Estate Market

B&E: Hiranandani Constructions has created a strong foothold in Mumbai, and your Powai township created new benchmarks before the township concept gained ground. What has been your distinct philosophy towards realty development?
Niranjan Hiranandani (NH): Concepts are very simple actually. In realty, what you really provide is a great quality of life, and our approach has been to benchmark our concepts not with what’s constructed in India, but with what’s constructed elsewhere in the world. We build buildings before Powai also, but we were never satisfied because we couldn’t build the environment; for instance, with the Beach Classic building in Versova. We developed 11 buildings there in Lokhandwala complex, but couldn’t develop the environment. Moreover, I was a small builder at that time and did not have that much say as I would have liked to have. Powai was one of the ideas to create a canvas, which was large. At that time, it was cheap and far away from the madding crowd. We created the first mixed use township in India of its size here – residential, commercial, IT and retail integrated into one from day one.

B&E: As a market, real estate in India looks very regional in nature so far. What are your plans with respect to going national?
NH: The regional nature is a world wide phenomenon. Even in the US, you have people working in the West Coast who are not working in the East Coast, and so on. It’s about land, local cultures, connectivity with the government, approval systems, et al. In our case, we are already in Chennai, Bangalore & Hyderabad, and we are going to be in Ahmedabad, Pune Nasik, et al. In Dubai, we have built the tallest residential tower in the world, which will soon be the second tallest. When we select a market, there are two angles. The first is who you are and where you come from. We are obviously biased towards West and South, since we occupy this space and understand it since birth. We look at other opportunities also, but we look at them one step at a time. Secondly, it is about what appeals to you at a particular point in time.

B&E: Expansion options in Mumbai are a little constrained. What role can the government play?
NH: Issues of land are always a constraint. And in Mumbai, there is a more serious constraint, since it is hedged by the sea on three sides. Infrastructure is a very big concern. We are looking forward to the government helping in producing better infrastructure for projects. We do see some good beginnings. But they are too little, too far apart. There is a lot of competition for the few opportunities available, so obviously the pricing has been a source of concern in terms of land. Also, costs of cement, steel, materials and labour are all rising. It is becoming almost unaffordable to produce affordable houses. Moreover, around 36% of the price of the house is in the form of taxes. I think the government has to first give quick permissions, do a higher FAR (Floor Area Ratio) or FSI (Floor Space Index) and actually focus on infrastructure.

Read more....

Monday, March 4, 2013

DELL INDIA: CHANGING FORTUNES

As a report indicates, Dell has moved from being just about an also ran to a leading position in the Indian PC space; and an internecine tussle with HP for the top slot is now in order. B&E analyses the current and future dynamics of this competition. by Virat Bahri

A key iconic moment was IBM giving in their papers. Biswapriya Bhattacharjee, Group Business Director, IMRB International (eTech) points out to B&E, “In the corporate segment, when IBM sold off its PC division to Lenovo, a lot of IBM’s corporate customers defected. Dell was able to garner a larger share of these customers.” Lenovo was Chinese. Dell was American. In the Indian corporate segment, Dell’s model suddenly appeared to have undiminished value.

And then, things took a double jump when Dell decided to tweak its distribution model and finally went on to the multi-channel front. The company launched its channel programme in February 2008, when it had a market share of just around 5%. In just two months, Dell thundered up to 8% in the consumer notebook space; in the consumer desktop category, the jump was from 2% to 4%. While the jumps may seem small, one has to realize that for Dell, the evident shift was ground breaking.

HP at the same time refused to play the price war in India – it could well afford to, being the global leader with its differentiated offerings. Dell didn’t stop in the on-ground sales model; it adopted a Partner Direct model, where it appointed Master Sales Affiliates, who brought in more Sales Affiliates. These Sales Affiliates, took orders from customers, which were serviced by Dell directly, hence minimising inventory risks for the resellers.

Dell topped this with an extremely aggressive pricing strategy to compete with the likes of Acer and even intensified focus on above the line promotions. Experts mention to B&E that Dell’s advertising budget in the past two years has in fact been matching or exceeding the budgets of other top brands combined. Would all that and playing on price be enough to beat HP, which has a formidable brand recall? Apparently yes! Pankaj Arora, MD, Protiviti Consulting says to B&E, “According to IDC, over the last few years, notebook prices in India have been dropping by about 10% a year, primarily because of technological advancements, changes in the customs duty structure & growing volumes.” Significantly, nearly 40% of household sales for notebooks in India came from SEC B & C, sections which are the most price elastic.

And the growth in this sector is well established. In H2-2009-10 (Sep 09-March 10), netbooks grew by 66% and crossed the 1-lakh mark for the first time, and 3/4th of sales came from households (MAIT). Small form factor products like all-in-one PCs are expected to be a significant market by 2013, contributing around 38% of desktop sales. Wireless broadband & 3G roll outs are also key factors that will drive growth.

Read more....

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Voyages to lands of milk & honey

Steering the expansion drive by way of inorganic growth opportunities seems to be the latest obsession amongst home-grown FMCG companies. But is it a viable strategy? Savreen Gadhoke finds out

“And the sea will grant each man new hope . . . his sleep brings dreams of home,” said the master of exploration, Christopher Columbus about the joys of going beyond borders in search of new pastures.

After years of exploring products and markets (including rural) within home territoy, Indian FMCG players seemed to have inculcated a ‘Columbus’ spirit of late. They are now expanding their reach to overseas markets through inorganic expansion. And this acquisition drive has gained momentum in the last one year.

Consider this: In July 2009, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) acquired a 49% stake in Godrej Sara Lee for Rs.2.14 billion. Marico recently acquired Malaysia’s third largest hair-styling brand, Colgate-Palmolive’s Code 10 for Rs.250 million and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (FMCG arm of Wipro) acquired the Yardley business from UK-based Lornamead Group for Rs.2.14 billion. Even other domestic FMCG players like Dabur, Emami, et al, are vying for overseas acquisitions. For instance, Dabur India has set aside a sum of $250-500 million for its foreign buy-outs, and Emami Ltd. is planning to spend Rs.8 billion for an acquisition in US. GCPL, too, has announced plans to raise a whopping Rs.30 billion (both through debt and equity) to acquire large & small firms in both local & international markets.

The valuations of international FMCG companies have gone down in the last two years, thanks to the financial tsunami, making them vulnerable to take-over attempts. Overseas buyouts do lead to faster and positive growth, drive shareholder’s value, establish presence in foreign markets, increase size of the customer base and enhance the product portfolio. But at the same time, these acquisitions may also put a strain on the balance sheets of domestic FMCG companies, as ROIs may not give desired results. So is an aggressive approach to such acquisitions apt?

Read more.....

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Will he? Won’t he? Should he?

A compilation of various statements, political think and perspectives on the situation that Barack Hussein Obama is going to face in his tenure as the American President

Promod haque,

managing partner, norwest venture partners

“It is dangerous and irresponsible to leave even the impression the United States would needlessly and publicly provoke a nuclear power. Now that he is elected, things will cool down for sure.”

Blake hounshell,

strategic expert, foreign policy magazine

“There doesn’t appear to be any genuine counterinsurgency strategy in place to do what General Petraeus did in Iraq – protecting the local population from Taliban and other militant groups and seeking to win the hearts and minds of the Pashtun people. I understand the political appeal of getting bin Laden.

Read more.....

Monday, January 14, 2013

How the good became the greatest

ONGC has to still find a way to beat the oil volatility cycle without the help of subsidies, says ratan bhagat

To be number one on the B&E Power 100 list brings with it a crown of thorns embedded with huge responsibilities, high expectations, unexpected challenges, and continuous scrutiny, with a generous gift on the negative, from all stakeholders. And ONGC, this year’s leader on our list – with a profit of Rs.161.26 billion for the financial year 08-09 – is gifted with all the above embellishments that come with the throne.

But how did a company, which was pretty good previously, become the greatest in India, a jump that requires more than well implemented strategic intent? R.S. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC doesn’t play to the gallery and points to a straightforward fact, “ONGC’s story actually reflects the success of our well thought out strategy to focus on strengthening our core activity – Exploration and Production (E&P) of oil and gas.” In that order, we should say. The fact is that ONGC, in the past few years, has gone fanatically towards exploring newer positive fields in a manner never before seen in its history. The proof of the pudding comes in the fact that the figure of 28 fields discovered in the financial year ‘09 has never ever been achieved in the past. Moreover, by securing an in-place accretion of 284.81 MTOE (million tonnes of oil equivalent), an ultimate reserve accretion of 68.90 MTOE (both being the highest in almost two decades) and with a reserve replacement ratio of more than one for five consecutive years, ONGC has gone aggressive in a benchmark fashion.

But the truth is, the growth story of this PSU has had its fair share of luck – what with the crude oil price volatility from a never before high of $147 to its lowest at $37 per barrel, the ongoing economic downturn, the inflated subsidy burden of Rs.282.25 billion for the current fiscal and persistent bureaucratic interference playing their part in pulling ONGC down.

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)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

PROFILE: CRAIG BARRETT

Barrett led Intel from the front, but little did we realise, he was the masthead for the entire industry...
He is also the brains behind Intel’s “copy exactly” process which Intel adopted full scale in 1996, and which was responsible for uniformity in facilities setup, increased economies of scale through viable output, more efficient logistics and improved yields. “Craig has had a very distinguished career at Intel.

Under his leadership, he turned Intel’s manufacturing operations in the best semiconductor manufacturer in the world,” explains Chuck Mulloy, an Intel Spokesperson. During his tenure as CEO, he oversaw a period of unprecedented growth, steered the company through two recessions, while ensuring that investments remain alive!

Ironically though, Barrett’s career closure may lack the shimmer as for the first time after 21 years of profitability, the company (and investors) are readying themselves for a loss in the last quarter of FY2008. [According to industry sources, a memo from CEO Paul Otellini to Intel employees supposedly noted that after 87 quarters of profit, 2009’s first quarter is “too close to call”.] Many regard Barrett as a statesman for the industry and as proof, he currently chairs the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development. 35 years is a real long time, and all at Intel acknowledge that he was the man who led Intel’s growth into the largest semiconductor chip making entity! We’re not sure whether his earning peanuts ($0!) in bonus during 2006 & 2007 makes his exit less glorious, but one thing’s for sure – every time a computer will be switched on, there will be a smile on his face; for this man stood for the industry as a whole, a revolutionary in his own right! Fare thee well!

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.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

How is Mallya even sustaining the unbelievable losses quarter after quarter?

As if the problems with global fuel prices weren’t enough, Kingfisher has gone ahead and undertaken strategies that only seem a do ‘and’ die effort. How is Mallya even sustaining the unbelievable losses quarter after quarter? B&E’s Shashank Tripathi and Angshuman Paul meet Vijay Mallya and other top Kingfisher executives and investigate...

And one cannot forget that Mallya had spent a huge Rs.975 crore approximately of his invaluable cash to purchase 46% stake in Air Deccan in FY 07-08! All airlines in India, for that matter, are in losses and are bleeding bad. Where Jet has been facing a daily loss of almost over Rs.9 crore, Air India is expected to post well over Rs.4,000 crore losses in the current fiscal year as compared to net losses of Rs.2,144 crore in FY08.

All this has badly affected in-flight services and airlines are now even planning to charge for the water they serve on board. Would such process moves help Kingfisher? We found the question pretty hilarious. The per passenger loss for the combined entity of Kingfisher and Deccan is a confounding Rs.2,400! What help can charging for one bottle of water or even a meal help? So why can’t Kingfisher simply increase ticket prices? That’s the Devil and the Deep Sea conundrum. Competition ensures that the highly price sensitive consumer today has minimal loyalty to any airline [and is even ready to switch to the Indian Railways: read 4Ps B&M cover story, June 20-July 3, 2008, ‘Laloo has the last laugh’]. The initial 3Gs are no big help in increasing switching cost of the customer, neither are promo tactics like frequent flyer or advertising various quality awards.

The worst part is that the Kingfisher combine has seen passenger market share grow to close to 30%.That is simply fabulous! But if fabulous gets fabulous losses, then any self-respecting CEO should close down the business model. Air India has cancelled around 30 flights, Jet Airways 20 flights, SpiceJet over 17 while even Deccan has cancelled 50 flights due to mounting losses. To their credit, Kingfisher, which used to operate 218 flights on 38 destinations, pruned 10 percent of its flights and also sent 47 expatriate engineers back home to cut the operating cost.

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.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Chapter I, Minority Report

Banning Hindraf is akin to killing human rights in Malaysia

Wars and segregations in name of religion have put a question mark on the very existence of humanity and social values. Human rights find no place in the new setup and are severely butchered even in democracies. The hollow democratic setup in Malaysia is the latest addition.

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which comprises of 30 Hindu NGOs in Malaysia and gives voice to two million plus ethnic Indians, majority being Tamil Hindus, was banned by the government on grounds that it is a threat to Malaysia’s internal security and peace under the country’s draconian Internal Security Act. Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar clarified the stand by saying, “Hindraf is clearly using religion as a tool to create disharmony between religions and between races..." This clearly means that the voice of the minority Indians in Malaysia is being gagged and being further pushed into socio-economic disparity to curb the interests of dominating Malays community.

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.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Why religion will always be trafficked religiously!

The nature of the beast is clearly hypocritical, given the way the State ‘deals’ with ‘secularism’

A casual walk near my house in Delhi the other day triggered memories of a dilemma I had faced as a youngster long ago in 1986. I saw a bunch of people sticking posters on walls. Curious, I went up to read the words and was shocked into nostalgia. The posters talked about the Amarnath Yatra and how Hindus were being denied the right to worship in their own homeland. The posters exhorted Hindus to rise to save their religion. More shocking, I actually saw fellow citizens read the posters and nod in tacit agreement. Way back in 1986, I would frequently encounter fiery young people who were out to save Hinduism. In those days, it was the great ‘Shah Bano’ betrayal that prompted the self appointed guardians of Hinduism to proclaim that Hindus had become second class citizens in their own country.

Both then, and now, angry ‘Hindu’ activists are accusing the State of adopting a policy regime that is partial towards one religion and discriminates against the other. In 1986, the Indian Parliament passed a Bill that basically overturned a Supreme Court verdict that granted alimony to Muslim women. Most sober analysts trace the rise of the BJP and that even of the extremist fringe outfits like VHP and Bajrang Dal to that one day of infamy in Parliament. In 2008, the Jammu & Kashmir government initially allotted forest land for the construction of temporary shelters for Amarnath pilgrims. In the face of massive protests in the Valley, the allotment has been withdrawn. And now, VHP activists are claiming that once again, Hindu rights are being trampled upon.

Any Indian with common sense would know that the charge hurled by VHP activists – of pampering Muslims at the cost of Hindus – is utter hogwash. Be it government jobs, access to health and education, employment opportunities and what not, Muslims have a lot to be angry with policy makers in the country.

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.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Obama had a dream last night

Barack Obama has won the battle. Will he also be able to win the war?

Will Senator Barack Obama achieve what Martin Luther King dreamt of? Downing Hillary Clinton in America's mother of presidential battles, Obama has inspired Americans like few other Presidential hopefuls have, and is being put in the same league as the great Lincoln and Jefferson. His speeches, sharp, fresh, eloquent – and most importantly honest – have remarkably struck a deep chord in even sections that were earlier prone to partisan passions. After two disastrous Bush terms that saw America's popularity plummet to a record low, Obama's triumph is seen by all as the one thing this great country needs to stay together. With an economic slowdown besetting it along with so much else, the Americans and all those whom its well being impacts, now feel they have the man who can pull the country out of the current quagmire. Yet, all agree that Obama's choice of running mate will be crucial in the long haul. Texas-based analyst, Mike McIlvain, told B&E: "Obama will need strong support to help carry some areas, but former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war McCain has hurt himself by embracing Bush programmes and policies rather than be his own man. There is still a lot of hard work to be done by anyone involved in presidential politics between now and election day in November."

Being his own man has been the cause of Obama's super delegate winning spree, with delegate after delegate embracing his once obscure candidature.

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.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Yes, Dr. Singh! It’s a huge crisis that looms in front of us; yet, it’s an excellent opportunity to display great leadership and become a statesman!

It seems that the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is all set to gift away a comfortable victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the forthcoming Union elections, with the latter doing nothing much to earn it. Looking at the way things are happening, it is as if history is repeating itself. It was not very long ago that onions had taken away the sheen of whatever good work that the then National Democratic Alliance had done. The electorate had then ruthlessly stripped them of their power, showcasing the crude fact that the Indian electorate posses extremely short memories, particularly when it comes to elections. And this time, no one else is realising it more than the ruling UPA. They realise that gone is the euphoria they created by gifting the huge Rs.60,000 crore loan waiver for farmers in this year’s annual budget, and that too barely two months ago. And gone along with it is the positive sentiment that was created by the increase in the non-taxable income from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.1.5 lakh. Also gone is the populist Sixth Pay Commission, which was clearly to woo the Indian middle class.

In less than a few weeks’ time, all that the UPA (and not just the Congress) had tried to prove – as being the representative of the aam aadmi – has been withered away by a phenomenon that is taking catastrophic proportions not just within the nation, but globally. The inflation figure, which is hovering at around 7.33%, has been giving sleepless nights to most governments across the world, including the UPA. In fact, UPA should remember quite well how, around a decade back, BJP had to pay dearly by getting routed in three state assembly elections, simply because the prices of onions had skyrocketed. And this time, it is not just onions; prices have shot up across each and every basic commodity, making things extremely difficult for the Congress. And out of nowhere, a disorganised opposition led by BJP, has found a major poll plank to avenge its earlier defeat. And if the UPA fails to reign in the prices, then it is needless to state that it would all be over for them, at least in the forthcoming elections.

It is a fact that other than certain climatic disruptions, most of this crisis has been primarily driven by the US, with their policy of diverting corn towards extraction of ethanol for bio-fuel being a major reason too! In addition to this, there has also been a sustained increase in the consumption of food in many of the developing countries, especially India and China! Moreover, China’s insatiable demand for steel and other basic commodities has anyways led to an increase in the general price index all across the world. But then, the simple fact that price rise is a global phenomenon, need not be excuse enough for not taking positive actions in India; on the contrary, this is an opportunity for India and its leaders to lead from the front and augment credibility not only for themselves, but for the nation as a whole. Not only that, if it were an Indian problem alone, one could still afford to be relatively complacent (as the world would always be there to help during a real crisis). But this time, it’s a global problem; and if we get into a crisis, there would be very less help coming our way, as all countries would be busy saving their own economies. So it becomes nothing less than imperative for the government to take urgent and proactive measures to solve this crisis.

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.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

PEPSICO: ACQUISITION OF LEBEDYANSKY

While PepsiCo sees greater inroads into Russia, all that experts can see is a marriage going bad

Well, not really! The Russian hat which appealed heavily to PepsiCo also has a torn feather attached to it. And what’s the proof of it? Lately, Lebendyansky has been suffering from shrinking profits with a surge in its advertising and warehousing costs. Moreover, if we are looking at divisions which appear lucrative, it’s got to be either the baby food or its mineral water units, which are growing faster than its maturing juice business.

Of greater concern is the fact that many experts and research agencies, too, have forecasted that this deal would not reap any big fruit in the mid-to-long term. “Consistent measures of Pepsi system credit rating benchmarks are expected to remain unaffected with this deal,” explains an analyst at s&p. Another challenge lying ahead for the company is to perform in the face of high cost inflationary pressures, something which looks difficult to imagine at the moment.

This apparent counterattack on its rival Coca-Cola, which also owns a Russian juice-maker, Multon (which it bought in April 2005 and which then had a market share of 25%), does appear to be a risky proposition. And with bcg’s July 2007 report proving how M&As value beyond $1 billion destroy twice as much value, wonder – could PepsiCo have just perhaps overdone it a bit?

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.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Civilising anew

A benchmarked in education

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled”- as Plutarch had said. And the good news is that this piece of wisdom seems to have percolated down to the Indian Government…what else could explain the momentous pact that India signed with the ASEAN countries at the Fifth India-ASEAN Summit at Cebu, which was primarily aimed at strengthening the Student exchanges between India and the other ASEAN countries. Education has ceased to be a mundane classroom lecture and has risen from being mere bookish knowledge to an IQ based orientation. Indian premier Institutions like the IIMs, IITs, IIPMs, MDI and many more had already sowed the seeds of student exchange a long time back and this pact between India and ASEAN countries has further fortified such interactions and broadening of horizon. The fact that India was a host to about a hundred students from the ASEAN countries goes to prove beyond doubt that India is not just focusing on its horizontal growth through economic activities that has burgeoned by 30%, but also on its vertical growth by incorporating better education means.

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.

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, November 6, 2012

Building a naveen state

DHRUTIKAM MOHANTY feels that Orissa’s CM Naveen Patnaik can become the head of state for the third consecutive term

At the age of 50, Naveen Patnaik entered politics, contested the Lok Sabha by-election in 1997, necessitated by his father Biju Patnaik’s death, and was elected an MP. Soon after, he formed a new party, faced fresh polls and became a Cabinet Minister at the Centre and, later, the CM of Orissa, both in 2000 and 2004. On 26 December, 2007, his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) celebrated its 10th anniversary, which also marks Naveen’s completion of a decade in Orissa politics. His phenomenal rise is like a fairy tale. His journey from a writer to a wily politician is interesting. In 1985, his first book on Indian costumes, ‘A Second Paradise’ was launched and sold over 30,000 copies in America within a few days. In 2008, he is being called a truly ‘developmental’ CM.

He was adjudged one of the best CMs in various polls conducted by media houses and industry associations. Moreover, he took the initiative of taking Orissa towards industrial revolution. In the recent past, the state has bagged the biggest FDI project – the Posco steel project with a proposed investment of Rs.52,000 crore. Within four years, the state has signed 105 MoUs with both domestic and foreign firms with an entailed inflow of Rs.277,400 crore. Big names like L.N. Mittal, Ratan Tata, Anil Agarwal and Anil Ambani have announced plans to set up projects in Orissa. One of the state’s top bureaucrat explains, “Partly because we have a system where if the CM says something, it will be done, nobody can oppose him. But mostly, this is perhaps the only state where you can meet the CM and be sure that he won’t ask you for money.” When asked about his much-lauded incorruptibility, Patnaik says, “I am not married. I don’t have children. Who am I going to leave all the money to? I have never been interested in possessions. If you own too many things, they end up owning you.”

Still, Patnaik is not free from corruption charges. BJP’s national VP Jual Oram criticized the CM for his alleged involvement in a multi-crore kickback in the case of the MoU signed between Orissa and South Korean steel major Posco. He demanded a CBI probe into the matter. Further, opposition Congress members have blamed the CM for closing the doors of government offices for new entrants in the name of reforms. Sivananda Ray, VP of Congress says, “Actually, in last seven years, employment generation in the government sector was almost zero.”

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