IIPM: October 2008

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

MICHAEL WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE ANSWER

If one thinks about icons that led to the evolution of the IT industry, two prominent names that immediately flash into mind are Bill Gates and Michael Dell. They both started their entrepreneurial ventures at the early age of 19, both were academic drop outs and both managed

to create mammoth wealth for themselves and their compaies.

Guess their string of similarities ends at that though. While Gates, who is the software giant known for his ‘soft’ heart (philanthropy work) and his graceful exit from the day to day working of Microsoft this year, Michael Dell, who ruled the hardware industry for more than a decade, is known for his tough talking and ‘hard-core’ managerial skills, as well as his need to retain an iron fist over the company he created. Michael is currently pegged at just $16.4 billion in net worth (Forbes, March 2008) as compared to Bill Gates at $60 billion. We proceed to analyse the ‘Dell’ road and why, despite being an exceptional genius in his own right, Michael could take some notes from the Microsoft man....Continue

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

Read also :-

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Invest in e-bonds!

With e-marriages you now get to choose your guy or gal just as you’d choose some gadget... list out the specifications you need, click and you get what you want!

Jerome P. Crabb had once said, “Getting married is like permanently grafting your hand to the cookie jar. No matter how sweet those cookies may taste, you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if you’d chosen some other dessert – brownies, for instance, or frozen yogurt, or maybe

chocolate strudel.” And while some keep wondering about their choice, there are a lot more who get their hands into the cookie jar without even knowing whether they are interested in the sweets. For them convenience matters more than the end choice that they make, a choice that leads to marriag–that calls for life-long commitment. Marriages, till date are quite a family affair. So, while the debate on arranged marriage vs love marriage is still going strong, and will probably go on forever, the latest craze happens to be self-arranged: e-marriages.

For laggards, self-arranged e-marriages are about the ‘wannabe’ brides and grooms, who log onto web portals where they shortlist a match for themselves based on criterion like religion, caste, personality traits, pay packages, family details and photographs. With more and more marriage portals like Shaadi.com and Bharatmatrimony.com, e-marriages are in vogue and have given a new meaning to the concept of arranged marriage.....Continue

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

Read also :-

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Godrej’s success in FMCG will depend a lot on its push strategy

Guess what Adi Godrej (Chairman of the Rs.75 billion Godrej Group) is eying these days? The Rs.450 billion Indian FMCG industry. This was visible when he revealed his plan on April 26, 2008 to garner Rs.80

billion from the FMCG sector by 2012. So what’s his contention? “Last year, food was driving the FMCG sector, but this year there will be growth in all segments of FMCG, the highest among all the other sectors,” reasons Adi. With an aggressive profit growth target of 25-30% ahead of him, he’s coupling a brand makeover exercise with a plan to roll-out oodles of products from Godrej’s stable. Sources from the company also confirm that Godrej has set its eyes on foreign acquisitions during 2008. The multi- billion dollar question is: will just portfolio expansion & M&As make the day for Godrej?

There is a rough patch on its path, though, as analysts argue that as compared to others, Godrej has missed out on supporting its new launches with 360 degree promotion in the past. However, with a budget of Rs.1 billion per year for ‘big’ promotional activities hereon (like a logo change), Godrej wants to make up for years lost.....Continue

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

Read also :-

Friday, October 03, 2008

Lighting up a new flame?

On several fronts, Venu Srinivasan of TVS has decided to take on Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto. It’s the former’s bid to emerge as the No. 2 player in the two-wheeler segment. By karan mehrishi

When M.K. Stalin, the son of DMK leader, M. Karunanidhi, and a few other paragons of politics visit a corporate event, it becomes

an emotional affair in Tamil Nadu. As we arrived at the Chennai Trade Centre, the venue of TVS Motor press conference, we realised that this wasn’t the usual glitzy event. This special event on March 9, 2008, had ‘unanticipated’ special invitees, which included hundreds of auto rickshaw drivers and their families. And it seemed more unexpected, when Stalin and Venu Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Motor Company, sat in an auto rickshaw and posed for the press photographers.

The event not only invited the auto rickshaw fraternity, referred to as ‘the chauffeurs of middle-class Indians’, but also doubled as an exaltation ceremony for honouring their bravery and selfless service towards society. There were special schemes and insurance programmes announced by TVS for these unsung heroes, a cause which has not been addressed yet......Continue

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

Read also :-