Monday, August 11, 2008

Green gremlin attacks!

Why Nokia is a happy phone-maker; thanks to environmental issues

“Nokia’s market share has dipped from the previous quarter to 39.1% in first quarter 2008...” is how Dirk Hayden Lewis, Gartner explains the volatile global market share predicament for Nokia. However, this is not the real worry for the Finnish giant as its market share figure has actually improved from 35.5% a year back (during Q1 FY07). So what’s bothering it now? Well, Greenpeace (an NGO which ranks electronics companies primarily based on toxic chemicals use and e-waste regulations) has ranked Nokia a shameful 9th for the year 2007 after a glorious 1st in 2006. So is the giant speechlessly stumped?

If you knew what Nokia is capable of digging out, you’d not be surprised to discover that there’s more to this Finn that just being a master-basker in the glory of being hailed as the ‘prime authority’ in mobile manufacturing? And it has an answer to the problem at hand – Green phones (what?!?)! The company has announced a roll-out of about 40 new green mobile phone models this year in India (its first in the world). The ‘green’ mobile will be composed of biodegradable materials like polylactic acid plastics which are easily recyclable (instead of toxic & environment polluting materials like lithium and cadmium). The main objective of this recycling process is to demonstrate the company’s dedication to saving the environment and therefore reduce usage of environmentally harmful raw materials during production. The company also declared that all its forthcoming will be composed of biodegradable covers and recyclable battery designs and that it would reduce power consumption of mobile handset chargers by upto 50% by 2010 – some effort to rise up the ‘environmentally sensitive’ ranks! And if you thought these were mere promises, Nokia has already launched its first bio-degradable and eco-friendly ‘Green Mobile’ phone, the Nokia 3110 which is 65% recyclable.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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Friday, August 08, 2008

A global versus a local ?

There is a huge legacy behind that ‘S’ logo you see on the grill of that omnipresent Swift. This is the same piece de resistance adorning the bulging, yet classy tank of that elusive Hayabusa GSX R1300, one of the most powerful street bikes ever! The ‘S’ sign is a symbol of raw power, virility, waiting to be unleashed at a throttle’s notice and is indeed coveted. With such a potent definition, this explosive logo has a brand image which is hard to match when it comes to the ‘must have list for men’; and evidently, Suzuki is proud of its testosterone inducing moniker.

Interestingly, the same logo finds itself globally on Suzuki’s cars as well (which, however, are not perceived in the same league as the bikes); but not in India! Maruti, which is Suzuki’s Indian four wheeler operation and arguably the largest, until recently, had quite resiliently used its own version of Suzuki’s logo. Though the dual-winged logo was the centre piece on the Marutis of yore, now the sign of ‘S’ is back with a vengeance. With a 54% controlling stake, Suzuki now wants its coveted logo to do the honours on Maruti’s vehicles in India; and this is highly visible now. “All questions relating to branding and logos depend on brand image and how you want to use it. Different brands are used for different markets. The company in India has always been branded as Maruti Suzuki, and here, it has become a very strong brand,” said R.C. Bhargava, Chairman Maruti Suzuki, to 4Ps B&M while speaking on the topic of the ‘S’igns. Considering the growing ‘eminence grise’, as a company, Maruti is indeed changing, and the Japanese way of things is more than evident.

Considering cost benefits and unsurpassed market knowledge, Suzuki understands its paragon position in India and like any other effective strategy, would like to leverage this to full potential. But critically, Suzuki should realise that Maruti Suzuki will be under heavy shelling from the competition, whether it likes it or not. And it’s not just projects like Tata’s 1-lakh car that we’re talking about; even companies like Renault/Nissan and Bajaj already have their small car planned (the highly secretive ULC project)! Maruti’s small cars will suddenly find themselves competing against above of 1,000,000 units unleashed into the market against them (combined capacity of the mini cars of these new players). The only solution, according to industry experts, is capacity utilisation and if need be, ‘export oriented’ expansion.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
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IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
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domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

hot n’ heavy

They could – indeed are – taking cues from the west where adwallahs are doing sharp numbers with this crowd. Revlon, recently, launched a brand called Vital Radiance targetting, hot n’ heavy, the plus-50 women. American car-makers too have started focusing on (baby-boomers) the 50-plus men because this group “accounts for half the US spending,” leading them to confidently believe, the older Gen Grey of today get, the deeper, their pockets become! Renowned and respected Behavioral Scientist, Ashish Nandy agrees. “I am 70 and sometimes feel my age but people associating with me, don’t seem to share this feeling!” They can’t really be blamed because, active as hell, Nandy is perpetually on the move – in the capacity of a much-in-demand speaker at Seminars, Symposiums and other forays – at home and abroad. Did his father, remotely do anything similar? He smiles. “He started feeling old the day he hit sixty!” Nandy believes its really a generational thing and perceptively points out to the two dramatic aspects that has driven this change – mindset and consumption pattern. “In my youth, one couldn’t dream of a 50-plus gentleman wearing shorts, tees or jeans, unless he was hugely anglicised, fashion-conscious and came from rich, upper class stock. Today, it is fairly common to see Gen Grey moving around in these, without the slightest trace of self-consciousness. I guess this has motivated marketers to include them in their target group.”

Suddenly the Gen Grey guy is not the over-the-hill, bored, broke, depressed bozo imagined but an active member of MOFS (Male Over Fifty Spenders). Sure kids understand brand and technology, but when it comes to spending big bucks … and by the way it is reported that 18.8% of India is 50-plus, so we really are talking monster numbers, here!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Implementing its strategic focus

So how has Emami gone about implementing its strategic focus on bringing in openness, a sense of family bonding and trust among Emami’s employees? “We prefer to listen to employees and learn by working together. It helps employees feel secure and gives them the comfort edge. Amazingly, we’ve never had even a single man day loss; and not even in our factories,” Ratna is quite assertive in her statement. Is that because of the rewards and recognition system in Emami? Partly accepting, Ratna throws a side punch at me, when she says that the one thing that is very hard to find in this world is an employee who is satisfied with his salary and does not seek rewards and recognition. And today, when attrition rates are skyrocketing, one needs to pay proper attention to this particular function too.


Creditably, Emami’s ‘Reward & Recognition Program’ acts as a “catalyst” in the system and is of utmost importance for Emami. Though I knew the answer, I still was curious: How important is ‘money’ in this whole process of recognition in Emami? “Recognition can be surely done via other methods too. Today, people are anyway earning ‘fat’ salaries and hence ‘non-monetary recognition’, apart from monetary incentives, is a ready welcome. Emami, like other companies, is thinking of many innovative ways,” debates Ratna. And the innovative list includes ‘Congratulatory’ and ‘Appreciation’ letters from the top management, gifts, spot awards and promotions, apart from giving higher responsibility to the employee. Interestingly, Emami also has a very fashionable glam-award event on the Emami family day, where they award the titles of ‘Mr. Elegant’ and ‘Ms. Elegant’, obvious references to the well dressed Emami employees.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Monday, August 04, 2008

Today’s globalised India

High profile head honcho of PNC, Pritish Nandy however scoffs at any mention of advertising being associated with truth or reality. “To me, advertising is nothing more than a 30 second recreational capsule designed to provide a breather from the brutalities of India’s newscape. Into this, of course, is insidiously built-in the profit motive.” Warmed up, he offers his views on advertising’s depiction of woman. “It’s very interesting. They throw up two stereotypes, neither of which is anchored in reality! The first is the “firang” model, the sassy and sexy international (Kate Moss?) import who sashays across up-market glossies, Sunday supplements as also our TV screens. The creators of this persona believe that teaming with the brand owners, they can successfully hawk style, attitude and looks because, after all, what you see is where the action is! This leads to the conviction that consumers will surely buy into this image because in today’s globalised India, the Western look, style & pizazz is the flavour of the moment.” This tragi-comical colonisation of their mind, Nandy believes is, mercifully, not shared by the Indian consumer and reflects the ad fraternity’s total disconnect with reality. It brilliantly symbolises what today’s India is NOT!

“The second is the homegrown Kanta Bai / Lalitaji model. This representation attempts to propagate old-fashioned values of thrift and choices. The models also are (consciously) unglamourous, plain, non-threatening, cosy and cutesy hitting the security zone and evoking visions of the virginal, innocent, blissful past. Pity is, that it symbolises India of yesterday, not today! It is a corny and romanticised version that just doesn’t resonate with today’s life and times.”

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Read More Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs