Deserted in war

Desertion-symptom of malaise
Army desertion is not a new phenomenon but, overtime, has become a real cause of concern to the United States. More than 8,000 members of the US military have deserted since the Iraq war. Official records show that desertions represent 0.24% of the 1.4 million US forces. The prosecutions of desertion in the US Army have risen sharply resulting in thousands more discharges and imprisonment of junior soldiers, especially in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. From 2002 to 2006, the average annual rate of prosecutions of desertion tripled as compared with the period from 1997 to 2001 (roughly 6%). And the worst – studies reveal that about 70% of deserters left during their first year of duty and majority claiming “failure to adapt’’ problem. The most common and obvious reason for this type of act is psychiatric reasons, as the army says.

The US army might incarcerate all that deserts its ranks but the real crisis lies elsewhere. After all fighting and dying in distant land for a cause that is at best whimsical doesn’t attract too many Americans. It’s better for Bush to understand that before engaging Iran.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Fight the Koreans: A 'durable' strategy

After a three-year rendezvous with India, Chinese consumer durables company, TCL, now wants to infuse new life into its India operations. The white goods major has already launched a range of attractively- priced colour television sets and air conditioners which have been manufactured keeping in mind the voltage fluctuations in the country. On cards is doubling the dealer network and after sales centres by 2010, along with strengthening the southern presence through more launches. According to company officials, for TCL, India is the second most important market after China.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Going broke... Literally!

That’s stock broking for you – online!
Online stock broking is one sector that has made much reverberations of late. Though the sector is relatively very nascent at this stage, the kind of moneys that even common men have made in the recent past, (as the Sensex more than quadrupled since 2001) has tempted some big international as well as Indian players to chalk aggressive plans for the future in this industry

The action in the online broking business kick-started when investment banking giant JM Morgan Stanley decided to split businesses in February this year; and JM Financial confirmed that it was looking for a buyout in the brokerage business. This was followed by the Zurich based research powerhouse Credit Suisse, which opened its securities brokerage operations in March, 2007. Anand Rathi Securities, Geojit Financial services, Indiabulls, Edelweiss, Motilal Oswal securities are some of the brokerage houses, which have raised money in the last few months or so, through PE or foreign investors, to fuel their growth plans.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Hear & speak no evil... See it all!!!

The health of an organisation can be determined by the level of transparency

Q: In an environment that is both increasingly competitive unforgiving toward secretive organisations, how do leaders identify the level of transparency that balances good public relations with strategic privacy?
– Nicolas Rodriguez, Lima, Peru

A: When it comes to transparency, leaders don’t need to pull off a balancing act as much as they need to stick to four rules. Two of these rules are easy. One should be easy but constantly gets messed-up, while the fourth one is just plain hard truth. No picking and choosing though. In today’s “unforgiving” environment, to use your apt term, you need to do them all. The first rule: When it comes to communicating about financial information with the external world of investors, analysts and the media, public companies just can’t be transparent enough. Every piece of disclosed data increases the market’s insight, and, ultimately, builds trust. That dynamic is a no-brainer. Despite the overheated carping of shareholder activists, most companies get it right.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Long-term association

The focus here is more on establishing a long-term association and connection with its people. Being associated with Johnson & Johnson for over ten years now, and moving up to become the VP, Shirodkar himself is a grand example of the culture of commitment that Johnson & Johnson imbibes in every employee and this is the key feature which has taken them far above this problem of managing talent and fighting attrition. But does this mean that there is absolutely no attrition at Johnson & Johnson? Most certainly not! People do tend to leave and try to negotiate salary for a better offer. Elaborates Shirodkar, “Compensation is a very transactional thing and there is no room for counter offers even if it is at the cost of losing a resource. Yes, people do leave, but many also come back, and when they do, we take them back at the salary and designation they had left the company at.” So then, what makes Johnson & Johnson a sought after employer despite its reputation of not being the ‘best pay master’?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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