Prof. Paresh Shah (Faculty IIPM, Ahmedabad) assesses the role of organisational structure as an instrument of change

When Suparshwa joined, the production manager (Ravi Barot), finance manager (Vaidya), and HR and administration manager (Nancy) used to report to Mrugesh, the chairman and managing director of the company. The production manager is supported by production supervisors, maintenance in-charge, and hardware and software engineers.Finance manager is supported by accounts manager and banking officer. For the taxation matter, the consultants’ services are used from time to time. Nancy was looking after the security arrangement, in addition to time-keeping and time-booking activities. Suparshwa had been given the independent status as marketing manager, and was being supported by sales manager and sales staff. Suparshwa used to directly report to the chairman.

The total strength of employees, including officers, was around 200. The head office was situated in Ahmedabad, where the chairman would spend nearly half his day. In the remaining time, he used to visit the plants. Nancy and Suparshwa were stationed at the head office. Ravi used to visit each plant alternate day in a week, and that way he would monitor the performance of all the three plants.

The crack in the structure of business began in 2004, on account of increase in the competition from domestic and overseas players in the Indian market. The competition era forced the MTC to widen the customer segment base, and to take over additionally a few dealership and agency position. As part of the strategy of long-term survival, MTC also tied up to undertake outsourcing work. Coordination between various functions and locations became very difficult leading to delays at every stage. Hence, Nancy proposed to introduce the concept and implementation of Management by Objectives (MBO) for officer and above cadre during 2007.

In 2008 end, Suparshwa got married to Nancy. Read more....

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Prof. Arvind Rajashekar (Faculty, IIPM Ahmedabad) brings out The Utility of Competency-Based Interviewing for Effective Selection and Retention of Employees

Continued...How can you make an accurate assessment of a candidate’s suitability? According to Anik Banerjea, Head Marketing, Ripple India, a leading manufacturer of fragrances, “It is difficult to assess commitment and attitude; they are often the differentiators between success and failure of an employee in an assignment. I have no foolproof way to identify this.”

The trouble is that no two individuals are exactly alike and they do not come with instruction manuals! This makes every selection decision one-of-a-kind. It needs to proceed based on the specific needs of the position to be filled, which requires a match of individual competencies with the need of the position.

For success in any job, individuals must have the right competencies for the role. These go beyond the basic skills and knowledge required. Competencies could include areas of attitude and culture fit and recruiters would need to identify these attributes in their candidates.

But how does one assess a candidate’s job-related competencies?

There are behavioural indicators that demonstrate these competencies. To identify competency-based behavioural indicators, you would need to plan your interview strategy. It would help to develop structured questions which can help you identify these qualities. Asking a candidate, for example: ‘Can you tell me how you have been able to address the problem of low sales in one of your territories?’ will give you insights into your candidate’s problem solving approach. Asking them to explain: ‘How did you complete your production target after the unexpected plant breakdown?’ can update you on their planning skills. Click here to read more...

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Tata Steel man

Ratan Tata himself is in favour of the successor being an insider rather than an outsider

Company officials are of the opinion that there are two strong contestants running the race for succeeding Muthuraman. These are the two Executive Directors (ED) – Dr. T. Mukherjee and H. M. Nerurkar. Dr. Mukherjee has been the force behind the operations of the Jamshedpur plant. Tata Steel sources reveal that Dr. Mukherjee is essentially ‘a person from the shop floor’. Nerurkar, the other person in the race for the top job at Tata Steel, joined the company in 1971 and has held various positions including Chief Metallurgist and Chief Operating Officer (Steel), till he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Tata Steel in November 2007.

The ultimate decision will be taken at the Bombay House board room in due course, sources said. Even as the succession plan is being carried out in hushed tones, an effective CEO succession strategy needs to take into account the different succession scenarios that a company could face in these difficult times and to ensure a smooth transition.

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.
 

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A winner on every pitch

'Diggi Raja' has attained an enviable political stature, and has kept his feet firmly on the ground

Once an opener and wicket-keeper in his college team, 'Diggi Raja' or Digvijay Singh can’t help but compare politics with cricket. In fact, he feels that both have uncanny resemblance in their characteristics. Diggi Raja was once heard saying that politics was like batting, where a batsman must learn to tackle beamers in order to score. Also, like batsman, politicians need immense patience to wait for the right occasion to strike and when the moment comes, make some quick decisions. We can’t agree more.

Digvijay Singh joined politics when he had barely crossed his teens. He ruled India’s then largest state, Madhya Pradesh for close to a decade – 1993 to 2003 – and when he lost the elections in 2003, he put on a very brave face, something so uncommon in Indian political class, and decided not to contest elections for the next 10 years. He was inducted in the core group of the party and assigned the post of General Secretary. His profile changed forever. Now, like his peer Ahmad Patel, he has become the eyes and ears of not only Rahul Gandhi, but of the party high-command itself. For example, in a recent meeting, he opined that the party should promote youngsters for seats that it considers “tough ones”. The idea struck a chord where it mattered the most: Rahul Gandhi.

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.
 

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Let us now tighten our ties...

...for tightening belts alone won’t work! Some of the world’s leading companies face testing times in 2009

Leaders are meant to set the pace and make others follow. But the way leaders (beyond usual suspects like the Detroit trio) in diverse global industries are faring in this economic ‘winter’, we are hoping that there aren’t too many followers in that sense! While 2008 was seemingly difficult for them; 2009 too hasn’t brought much relief. As the misery of these leaders continues, we take a look of what is (or rather should be) their resolution for 2009.

Sony Corp. is one of the leading sufferers, which is expected to report its first massive loss of a whopping $1.1 billion in the last 14 years! Richard Ptak, Managing Partner, Ptak, Noel & Associates, avers, “Strong Yen versus weak Euro and dollar made their products expensive and the meltdown in US and European markets further augmented the condition.” From the same land, Toyota Motor Corp. too slashed its net profit forecast for the year ending March 2009 to ¥550 billion (half its earlier projection of ¥1.25 trillion). It has also decided to halve its domestic production to 9,000 units per day, after it suspended 12 factories for 11 days in February & March to balance inventories.

Arcelor Mittal – world’s largest producer of steel, was forced to cuts its steel production by almost 30% due to falling steel prices, dampening steel demand in US, Europe and other emerging markets. What was once the world’s largest bank, Citigroup posted Q4 losses to the tune of $8.29 billion, twice as much as analysts’ expectations. Such is the predicament of Citi, which following the enormous loss, Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup is contemplating to split the multinational bank into two separate units. Blue-chip company Intel has also warned that its Q4 results will be $8.2 billion, below its guidance of $9 billion issued in November. The forecast was made on the basis of fall in end-consumer demand. Time Warner Inc. – New York-based media conglomerate, owing to credit crisis and fall in advertising revenues, will have to undergo impairment charges of $25 billion by writing down the value of its publishing, cable and Internet businesses.

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.
 

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Arjun’s back with a vengeance

For most of his term, he had his hands tied left, right and centre; Arjun’s back with a vengeance

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, transformation got replaced by ‘regulation’, a factor that now seems to be stifling higher education to a point of death. Analysts comment that it is only when this quasi license permit raj in education is dismantled by the UGC and AICTE, will the education sector take off and become world class. And both the UGC and AICTE have a credible supporter for reforms; Arjun Singh himself. “The new law will help us regulate foreign education providers while keeping out fly-by-night operators. We hope to introduce the bill in the coming session of Parliament,” Arjun confidently shared this viewpoint with the media once his meeting with the state education ministers got over. One doesn’t need ESP to understand that this time, Arjun is hitting Left, Right and Centre to ensure the Bill gets passed! And he just might succeed!

Just as the entry of foreign players in various sectors has vastly improved the quality of Indian companies, the entry of foreign players in education will lead to a dramatic improvements in the quality of education in the country. Way back in the 1980s, a man whom Arjun Singh admires a lot, Rajiv Gandhi, had strategically used a man called Sam Pitroda to kick-start the telecom revolution in India. The same man now heads the Knowledge Commission, a body mandated to transform the education sector in India. All Arjun Singh needs to do is emulate Rajiv Gandhi and back Sam Pitroda to the hilt.

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.
 

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Another Lethal Blow for The ‘Celtic Tiger’

The Irish Policymakers Argue that the Country’s Economic Fundamentals are still better than That of Greece, Manish K. Pandey Analyses how Poor are they in Finalising the Rationale Behind Their Arguments

Ireland was the fastest growing OECD economy (averaging GDP per capita growth of 5%) since the mid-1990s until the recession hit its shores in 2007. While other OECD nations have at least managed to leave the strong recession winds behind, Ireland (thanks to its fragile banking system) is still at the midst of a deadly storm. What’s more? Ireland’s real GDP has contracted by more than 15% since the end of 2007 and is expected to shrink further. Even the yield on Irish 10-year government bonds has hit a record high of 8% so far this month, well above the 6.4% average reported in October 2010 and also above the 4% rate clocked just before recession in 2007.

Interestingly, Greek 10-year bonds had also traded around that rate before the recession, and then jumped by 780 basis points in the six months before the bailout in May 2010, after yields surpassed 12%. Though, yields on Irish bonds have risen by 370 basis points so far from their low in April, their continued strong upward movement is a clear sign of concern. It’s quite clear that the Emerald Isle economy was headed the Greece way (the first economy to tumble in Euro zone in May 2010) since quite sometime; and it’s quite unfortunate that the Irish policymakers waited till November 21, 2010 to wake up and apply post haste to EU’s European Financial Stability Facility and IMF for assistance. In two days, the international bodies approved a 90 billion pound package for Ireland, but under grilling austerity measures.

On the other hand, as Irish policymakers argue, the fundamentals of the Irish economy are much stronger than Greece’s at present as unlike Greece, the Irish government has enough cash in hand to fund operations through mid-2011. Moreover, the debt-to-GDP ratio of the Irish economy, which currently is 80%, perhaps seems more sustainable than the 130% ratio in Greece and in some sense, for the untrained eye, does not make a strong case for a bailout. As happened globally, even in Ireland’s case, the butler was to blame. The Irish banking system has almost but collapsed. The Economics Group of the US-based Wells Fargo Securities tells B&E through a communiqué, “The Irish banking system, which is being backstopped by the government, is essentially insolvent.” Ireland’s debt-crippled banks (which have already received a minimum of $61 billion from various government agencies) confirm that they are already in a dire situation. While AIB (Allied Irish Banks) admits that $16.39 billion – about 20% of its entire deposit base – has been withdrawn from the bank since June, 2010, BoI (Bank of Ireland) confesses that it had lost $13.66 billion in corporate deposits during August and September this year. In fact, one can understand the seriousness of the situation by the fact that Irish banks have lost a colossal $24.59 billion in deposits in September 2010 alone. Thus, unlike Greece, Ireland’s woes do not stem from government debt but from the government’s open-ended guarantee to cover the losses of the banking system out of taxpayers’ money, which sadly but inevitably will sink the economy whose fiscal deficit has already reached more than 30% of GDP.

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.
 

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The Zhe-Sa and Phal-Skad Issue!

Restriction on Tibetan Languages in Classrooms is Causing Protests

It’s rightly said that history repeats itself, but in this case, history repeated itself even before it comfortably established itself as history. Two weeks back, Tibetan students in Rebkong and Chabcha in Amdo (Qinghai province) and Tawu in Kham (Sichuan province) started protesting over restrictions on the use of Tibetan languages in classrooms. This protest has now spread and has also influenced Chinese students. In Beijing, over 500 Tibetan students from the Tibetan Studies department of Minzu University of China reportedly raised their voice over this issue. This is quite similar to the anti-government violent uprising that took place two years ago over Tibetan freedom.

The three notable Tibetan languages are Zhe-sa, Phal-skad and Chos-skad. There is a looming fear that the current bilingual system in Tibet will be scrapped by China in favour of using Mandarin Chinese alone. This move is seen by Tibetans to be a step to curb and contain the Tibetan culture. This also is clearly a deliberate move by the Chinese regime to motivate China’s ethnic Han majority to migrate to Tibet (as currently the language barrier is one of the prime issues against such migration and against non-Tibetans taking up jobs within Tibet), and thus, over time, ensure that the numerical percentage of ethnic Tibetans in Tibet starts reducing.

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