Deaths behind bars

Rise in custodial deaths besmirches India's human rights record

It is sometimes hard to digest the fact that a peace-loving nation like India can be so unkind and cruel to its own prison population. It is indeed hypocritical for a nation to espouse the virtues of being kind and forgiving and yet mete out the exact opposite qualities to those spending time in its prison cells. Statistics bear out this grim reality. In the decade during 2000-2010, more than 14,000 deaths in police custody and in prisons have been reported, according to the National Human Rights Commission. The NHRC records further reveal of 417 casualties in police custody and 4,285 casualties in judicial custody over the last 3 years. Also, the NHRC has recorded endless cases of torture and sexual harassment – 1,899 torture and sexual harassment cases in police custody and 75 alleged cases of rape by police personnel over the past 3 years. Among Indian states, Assam tops the list of being home to such alleged mishandlings and custodial deaths, a fact that has been admitted even by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its official statement.

The shielding of errant policemen by their political masters is one of the reasons encouraging this trend of rising police atrocity towards prisoners. To prevent this malignancy from spreading further India should not only ratify the UN convention against torture it should also become a signatory to the treaty. Being clubbed with the violent autocratic states of sub-Saharan Africa, like Comoros and Guinea-Bissau, which too have not ratified the UN convention, damages India's reputation of being a nation that cherishes the civic freedom of its citizens. The reason for India's recalcitrance in signing the convention is hard to comprehend, but it's probably due to the reservation of state governments, especially in strife torn areas, that has inhibited India from giving its assent.

But the lack of a substantial anti-torture law allows the misuse of state machinery and violates the rights of victims. A strong reform against human rights violation, complying with UN guidelines, must oversee government functioning over prisons.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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

ExecutiveMBA

Some Like It...Chilled!!

Monojit Lahiri examines the reason behind Bollywood’s – and audiences – new fascination for the Horror Film!
MONOJIT LAHIRI | Issue Dated: June 21, 2013, New Delhi
Tags : Bollywood | Horror films | Bees Saal Baad | Gumnaan | Ramsay Brothers | Raaz | Darna Zaroori Hai |


Close your eyes and go back to your childhood – a winter night securely tucked in bed with cuddly warm blankets, one small bed lamp and your favourite grandmom narrating a ghost story that sent shivers of excitement and fear of the unknown that still stays with you! Why? What is it about the ghost story, the paranormal and the horror tale that is so seductive, enticing and thrillingly scary that its an all-consuming virus?  Irrespective of age, gender or social strata, this brand remains a matchless, unbeatable must-hear/read/watch!

In Bollywood, the horror film has mostly been a sub-brand/genre, receiving neither the attention nor the respect given to other mainstream fare.  It was a niche category for a niche audience, sometimes cutting loose to register a big success.  Film historians believe that the 1949 Ashok Kumar-Madhubala starrer Mahal was the first really scary movie emerging from Bollywood.  Other super-duper successes between the 40’s and the 60’s include Bees Saal Baad, Gumnaam and Bhoot Bangla.  In the 70’s Ramsay Brothers – who were to own this space – unleashed Do Guz Zameen Ke Neeche.  Raj Kumar Kohli swooped in, blending horror with fantasy with Nagin and later Jaani Dushman. Darwaza, Jaadu Tona, Aur Kaun, Saboot, Gehraiyee, Red Rose, Guest House followed.  The 80’s came with their own horror stories – Ramsay Brothers’ Puraana, Saamri, Veerana, Tahkhana, Dak Bangla, Puraani Haveli, Shaitan Ilaaka, Bandh Darwaza.  Interestingly the products of the 80’s relied less on ghosts and more on titillating/sex scenes.

In Hollywood, Psycho, The Omen, The Exorcist, The Shining were big-time chiller-thrillers along with hit TV American shows like The Vampire Dairies, True Blood, Fear Files and Haunted Nights, categorically proving that there is a huge vacant spot in our psyche that is reserved for cinematic encounters of the spooky kind!  In other words, paying money to be terrified is the name of the game!

What do these movies – and genre – offer that is so special and unique?  Psychologists insist that it has to do largely with the aphrodisiac called fear!  They believe it is about making forays into our curiosity about the unknown which has always been a territory where trespassers can enter only at their own risk.  This fear makes them uneasy and on the edge and this sparks the excitement!  Its like a roller-coaster ride, a terrifying scream-fest that you wouldn’t miss for anything, right?  Its like that indescribable anticipatory build-up to that ‘bang’ moment that you are so desperate to experience, when buying the ticket to the film.  Iconic storyteller of this genre, Stephen King, believes that “horror movies provide psychic relief because outright madness is extended so rarely to us.”  Closer home, psychiatrist Dr. Harish Shetty reckons “the grotesque fantasy of a human being is entwined with his vicarious pleasures and then the visuals and sound effects all put together results in a heart-pounding suspense that is irresistible – be it a TV show or movie.”

In year 2013, while we are continents away from the Ramsay brand – dilapidated, haunted mansions, creaking doors, spider webs and eerie background score –sophisticated and new-age updates in this genre keep haunting us!  Some recent examples are Ragini MMS (inspired by the 2007 American supernatural horror film Paranormal Activity) which went down so well with audiences that it reportedly recovered its costs within two days of its release!  Haunted (a 3D horror film), Ram Gopal Verma’s Bhoot, Kaal, 13B, Bipasha-starrer Raaz, Verma’s Darna Zaroori Hai and later Darling followed.  Very recently, the Nitin Mukesh-Sonal Chauhan starrer 3G, Bipasha-Nawaz Siddiqui starrer Aatma and Ek Thi Daayan have joined the list.

When you pull back and see the big picture, you realise that this genre is definitely an idea whose time has come. Bollywood is forever looking for new buttons to push, cash cows to milk and themes to invade that get the moolah. 

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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

ExecutiveMBA

Does watching phoren serials instead of desi ones make you feel superior

Monojit Lahiri probes this seldom-discussed English–Vinglish issue.

“Angrez gaye lekin lakhon chamche chodh gaye!” lamented a colleague’s wife recently. When pressed to elaborate on this broadside, she responded with disturbing enthusiasm.  “Bhai, aisa hai, despite the Brits leaving India over six decades ago, uska imperial and feudal impact abtak raha. Fair n’ lovely rules through the assertion of the angrezi language in business, industry, trade and commerce and Corporate India, and the fascination for phoren/phirang models is clearly visible in every area of influence. We can keep yelling about how the ‘phir bhi dil hai Hindustani’ template has never been stronger, but fact is, in places where it counts, English and the phoren influence definitely counts. Ek (how do I explain) subliminal, unspoken but easily transmitted signal of superiority is flashed”. Our blank faces prompted her to focus on the specific reference to context.  “Take TV serials. Today the Hindi serials – Balika Vadhu, Uttaran, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, Madhubala, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha are hugely popular across all strata of viewers, especially womenfolk.  However, there remains a distinct group of people – my college going kids included – who may not blatantly laugh or mock this content, but definitely consider it vernace, low-brow, populist and un-cool. ‘Oh god, Mom, how can you bear this crap, with its corny, gharelu melodramatic twists and turns and those over-dressed behenji-types going on and on and on’ is what my daughter  - once  in half amused / exasperated tones – blurted out. I had no answer but to weakly smile… and continue watching.”

The lady’s comment touched a chord and struck a spark. Wasn’t this true of everything connected with one class of people in India?  Bollywood and Hinglish advertising booming is all very well as is the pride and assertion of your national language and mother tongue, but somewhere, the angrez chhaap still does hold its own, six decades after the phirangs were handed their hats and walking sticks and shown the door, right? “Absolutely true! I completely understand the lady’s predicament simply because my nephews and nieces are always making fun of me watching those ghatia Hindi and Bengali serials”, admits 40-year-old, Kolkata-based housewife Alpana Sen. Sen goes on to say that since she lives in a joint family in North Kolkata, she vastly enjoys the world that these serials flesh out in the company of her mom-in-law, army of sisters-in-law and servants. The timings of these serials – in terms of day and schedule – are sacrosanct and nothing and nobody can come between her and those characters during those magic hours! “My nephews and nieces watch those weird English programmes like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, Dexter… and beg me to join them. I tried but, frankly, couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying while these kids were doubling up with laughter! Am I a desi ganwaar or are these kids totally westernised and disconnected from basic Indian reality?”  20-year-old Varun Khanna, however, doesn’t agree. The Mumbai-based college kid reckons it’s a clear question of choices. “I come from a middle class Punjabi home. My dad works in a multi-national bank while my mom is a housewife. My paternal grandparents stay with us, so we are pretty grounded and traditional … and hey, despite being a Mumbaikar, my Punjabi is not bad.  However, these TV serials really get me! I don’t know what my mom and grandmom (poor Dadaji is also often forced to join them) see in those crazy programmes.  So corny, unreal and regressive! The ones my pals and I love, like Friends and Two and a Half Men are really ‘wow’!”  Varun is quite cool (although not overtly crazy) about Bollywood stuff, but prefers angrezi fare anyday.  “It’s not about snobbery or feeling superior, but tastes and liking, I guess. I can’t bear to sit through that stuff that mom and dadi so thoroughly enjoy for more than, like, two minutes.”

Fact is, it’s not value-judgment, but many things that are at play here. For one segment, the angrezi chhaap does spell superiority, whether you like it or not. Be honest… in a social gathering, office meeting, club, party or even your home, doesn’t a firang’s presence make a difference? When he/she places a hand on your shoulders, converses with warmth and interest, embraces or shakes your hand before leaving (or is Mmmuaah!) with promises of meeting again – doesn’t it make you feel real good and special?  Also (touch your heart before admitting), doesn’t it psychologically make you feel superior and don’t your friends suddenly look at you with envy and admiration?  Chill, because it’s natural. To most middle-aged (forty plus) middle-class Indians, this social intercourse will be special because of the neo-colonial mindset and conditioning as also the rarity of these interactions. After all it’s not like meeting a Chaddha, Singh, Subramanian, Chatterjee, Khan, Kapoor, Khanna, Saxena or Mahapatra, is it?  To women, it’s likely to have a greater impact. “My NGO activities connect me with lots of foreigners, many of whom come across for a meal or coffee.  My kitty party friends can’t make up their minds between being bitchy and catty or doubly cute to grab an opportunity of an intro to them. Complex to hundred percent hai! explains Delhi-based Parul Agnihotri, aged 42. For the Friends/Raymond new-age gen, children of a globalised, liberated and consumer-driven India, however, there is little awe but lots of immediate and appreciative connect. They embrace this new age with no baggage and hence are free from the shackles of complex, intimidation or pressure. Siliguri or Sydney, Jamshedpur or Joburg, Madurai or Manhattan, Lucknow or London, kids appear to be more open and cool to a globalised space and subsequently less hung-up or obsessed with things desi. A direct result of this is their close connect with things phoren and distancing from the world of Indian TV serials. Explains Social Commentator Deep Sanghvi with superb analytical insight, “It’s not about for or against a certain kind of content and nor is it about superiority and inferiority. It’s simply a generational thing, born out of the milieu and environment one grew up in. Research has indicated that the remote of the TV in Indian households is invariably glued to the hands of the (housewife, ma-in-law, aunt) women.  Now, since most need to chill once the chores are done, what better than enter the world of the multi-layered serial, which is cleverly and strategically programmed to play to the gallery.  Do they give a damn about the snooty brown saabs who pooh-poohs their programmes?  Not one bit because zillions (in whichever part of the world these serials play) wait with breathless expectations each day/night as the amazing, viewer-friendly stories, characters and situations unfold as only they can! As for the other lot – the vocal, anglicised minority – two things happen. For the older lot, it is usually an affectation, a fake posturing to indicate their affinity to the West, be indulgent and patronizing to local stuff and hope that this projects them in a slightly different or hatke superior way than the hoi polloi. Mostly it falls flat because phonies are usually caught out soon enough!  The Gen Next have never expressed their superiority angle while staying away from their mom’s beloved weepies. They have only indicated – with varying degrees of emphasis – their complete disconnect and dislike of the material.  That’s it!”

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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

ExecutiveMBA

Book Review: Ghana Must Go

‘Afropolitan’ triumph

If one looks at the trends in the last few years, Taiye Selasi probably had the biggest hype surrounding a new unpublished author. Biggest, if you discount the brief debacle that happened with Kaavya Viswanathan and her How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life.

Some time in 2005, this British born, half-Ghanian half-Nigerian caught the attention of American literature circles when she came out with her stunning essay, “What Is An Afropolitan?”. Not now, but in years to come, this essay of hers that breaks the stereotype of African immigrants and breaks open a hitherto less known world of educated, sophisticated and upwardly mobile Africans, will be considered a definitive piece of writing on the topic. She followed this with an equally impressive short fiction, The Sex Lives of African Girls, that made it to The Best American Short Stories last year.

Considering this, it was not surprising that Selasi managed to bag the kind of hype that she got. Mentored by none other than Toni Morrison herself, she also managed to get an advance approval by Salman Rushdie and cover blurbs by Teju Cole and Penelope Lively. Add to this the overlaying themes of immigration, sexual awakening, death and bigotry. Therefore, when the novel actually came for review, there was a certain level of expectation that preceded it. And let me add here that debut writers often get crushed by such expectations. But not Selasi.

Named after the Nigerian rhetoric directed at Ghanaian refugees during the upheaval years of the 80s, Ghana Must Go is the story of an American doctor of Ghanian origin and his family. Or rather, the disintegration of his family.

The book opens with readers suddenly thrown into the scene where gifted surgeon Kweku Sai drops dead in his lawn in Accra. What we know at this point of time is that Kweku Sai is married twice and is living with his second wife when he drops dead. We also know that the house inside which he drops dead has been designed by him after he left America in shame. Everything else has been left open. And that’s quite a wholesome.

The major portion of the narrative is shaped up through the preparations for Kweku’s funeral. One by one, his progeny, four of them and all grown-up, receive the news of his death and so does his first wife, his love. The family is exceptionally talented but almost dysfunctional with kids spread over both the sides of the Atlantic and hardly talking to each other. However, for once, they decide to gather in Accra for the surgeon’s funeral. After this, the novel works in a flashback where every character is revealed through its strengths and vulnerabilities. It is at this point that different themes come into play.

Selasi successfully plays with the sense organs and uses vivid imagery to arrest the readers. It leaves a stunning impact initially but starts to drag halfway through the novel. Too much time is spent on every character and its thought process. That is not to suggest that the characters are weak. But beyond a point, it starts to appear a tad stretched. Alliteration has been used liberally. The style was apt for poetry, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century. But its use in prose has remained limited and at the sidelines. The readers here will have a taxing time going through this. Especially when one starts feeling that the narrative has suddenly dried up somewhere. The story not only lose coherence but does so rather badly.

But it is at this point that Selasi regains her composure and so do the readers. In an intervention that appears sudden yet not jarring, Selasi uses the gift of her skills to bring the story back to track. And by the time the story ends, the readers inadvertently make themselves part of that dysfunctional family. And the best part is, Selasi does not use cheap stunts to achieve this. There is no jarring climax. No revelation that shakes things up. Years of restricted emotions flow freely. But it has been handled tactfully, and more importantly tastefully. 

In fact, it is the final 30 pages of Ghana Must Go that firmly separate this novel from the usual mom-daddy-cousin kinds of novel that debutant Indian writers, mostly of the Ivy League make, come up with these days. Selasi’s story is also about a family. But it is in her treatment of the content that the strength of this novel lies.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

BBA Management Education

Where are 'organised' helps?

Housemaids should come under an organised workforce

Housemaids are in demand everywhere. Supply has also grown at a fast clip, keeping up with rapid urbanisation and migration. However, despite domestic help service being a vital part of ‘home-economics’, no much heed has been paid to organise this sector and safeguard the interests of workers.

Countries in Latin America, the Caribbeans and Africa have included domestic workers under ‘general workers’ category. This way they have brought them under legislation that promises equal rights, bonuses, weekly-offs, and minimum wage rates. For instance, in Brazil, domestic workers are hired through registered contracts and enjoy minimum wages, paid-leaves, weekly offs and come under the purview of legislation meant for conventional workers. However, such a move is still due in India. They are still not considered as ‘waged workers’; in fact, they are degraded as mere servants (read: slaves). In Hong Kong, Fei Yeung is the term used to represent this particular class of workers.

Leave aside providing these workers with legislation that would make their life easier and recognise the value of their work in National Accounting, domestic workers are not even covered for prevention of exploitation of migrant workers and under the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010! However, a few states (like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu) have framed policies to address the grievances of housemaids, but no such laws are available at the national level. Some other states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan have enacted the Minimum Wage Act For Domestic Workers to protect their rights for a minimum pay and for maintaining their dignity.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

BBA Management Education

Book Review: Island Of A Thousand Mirrors

The detritus of conflict

It is said that the only good byproduct that any conflict brings is good literature. In fact the relationship between conflict and art goes back to the days of antiquity. Who could have imagined  ‘The Persians’ had Xerxes not attacked Greece, or ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ without the Trojan War. In the near past, and way closer, Pakistani writers made their mark in the literary landscape when everything else was going wrong inside their country. Under the circumstances, one always wondered why Sri Lanka, which saw its own share of blood and carnage for close to three decades, did not come up with quality work in English language. There were a few attempts here and there but a majority of them were written more for the purpose of furthering the “cause”, both among Sinhalese and Tamils, than offering readers a window into the world of common Sri Lankans and their miseries. Nayomi Munaweera’s debut novel, Island of a Thousand Mirrors, does that and then some.

Set in Sri Lanka and spanning almost three generations, Island of a Thousand Mirrors tells the story of two Sinhalese girls and their family’s struggle to remain afloat amidst upheaval. In the parallel runs the story of another girl, a Tamil, whose fate gets entwined with that of the Sinhalese girls in more ways than one.

Written in the style of a bildungsroman, the book traces the journey of Sinhalese sisters Yasodhara and Lanka and in the process weaves a saga of love, betrayal, self-exile and redemption. The story starts with the births of girls’ parents just around the time British decided to leave the island for good. The respective families could not have been more different. While their father, son of a low-caste Ayurveda doctor who successfully changed his surname to bag an upper-caste girl, raised the status of his family by sheer hard work; the family on their mother’s side, a typical aristocrat Brown Sahib household, had fallen on bad times after the sudden demise of the patriarch. And hence the matrimony that could not have even been thought of a couple of years ago, actually materialized.

And while they are at it, the churning in the North begins. The rise of LTTE, the digging in of heels by the Sinhalese dominated government and the meddling by a larger, bullying neighbor in the North had already prepared the concoction of death and destruction. On a more micro level, the unraveling of the fabric is explained through the situation of their Tamil tenants, members of which become the love interest of the Sinhalese girls across the generations. When violence knocks on their door, rather literally, the girls’ family migrates to the United States leaving behind the mayhem, and memories in the process.

Years later, when betrayal and infidelity bring the girls back to where it all started, they also pick up the thread of the Tamil family that was left during the sudden flight.

On the other hand, the story of Saraswathi, a violated Tamil teenager who joins the Tigers, helps readers take a peep inside life in the north and east of the Island. At the end, when their fate entwines, one is left stunned in more ways than one.
      
Like any great state-of-the-nation novel, one of the strengths of this book lies in the way it seamlessly deals with myriad themes that run parallel to the dominant theme of conflict. In the process, readers not only get a loose idea of how the history of the island has shaped up since the British left it in 1948, but also how a conflict that could have been resolved easily in the initial years, was allowed to fester in order to massage the majority Sinhalese ego. 

However, the biggest strength of this book lies in the way the author rises above ethnic biases to present a picture of conflict that is not burdened by the efforts to look good and unblemished. Nayomi Munaweera is clearly from that painfully small school of intellectuals who believe that any long-lasting process of reconciliation must first start with the admission of complicity in crime. There is no tacit, sly effort to sound politically correct. No compulsion to “balance” the narrative of the conflict in a David versus Goliath mismatch. But that not to say that David here is let off the hook. He is also brought to question. But nothing is disproportionate.

Island of a Thousand Mirrors is an inherently honest attempt to put things in the perspective. Having covered the conflict myself and witnessed how divisive and full of visceral hatred the narrative is, I have no doubt that Ms Munaweera will receive more brickbats than bouquets. Especially from the rabid non-residents from both ethnic groups who have successfully hijacked the narrative. But if Ms Munaweera calculated that and yet decided to write this; she sure as hell is prepared for a long haul.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

BBA Management Education

Skimming the surface

In 2009, all hell broke loose with a simple confession from Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman of Satyam Computers, the fourth largest IT company in India with over 50,000 employees and business in more than 66 countries. He admitted that the company’s balancesheet carried inflated cash and bank balances of Rs 5,040 crore and non-existent interest income of Rs 376 crore as on September, 30, 2008.  Raju also admitted that there was an understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of money that he himself had arranged.

It was a nightmare not only for Satyamites but the entire nation. It was the biggest corporate fraud India had known so far. One difference between this fraud and others was that the Satyam scandal was disclosed by its founder while other scams were busted.

The author of The Resurgence of Satyam Zafar Anjum raises key questions. Why would an iconic entrepreneur like Ramalinga Raju do something like this, and then admit his crime? What forced him into confessing at that particular time or was it to hide something even bigger? Despite close contacts with top corporate honchos in Satyam, Anjum has no answer.

Heavily drawing on the vast existing literature by Indian media, blogs as well as a book produced by Business Standard, The Satyam Saga, Anjum tries to reconstruct a narrative.

Scattered references to Satyamites who put up stiff resistance after the scam broke finds a mention in the book. Anjum quotes Mirzan Faizan, a Satyam engineer who had earlier worked in DRDO, as saying: “When one man created Satyam as an organisation of 53,000 people, why can’t 53,000 committed people rebuild one Satyam?” Had Anjum narrated more stories of such courage and defiance, the book would have been a better read.
However, for posterity, Anjum does record how Satyam recovered from the crisis. It narrates how people  in Satyam, the government and regulatory bodies reacted to the fraud and took measures to salvage not only the company but also India Inc’s image. But it would have been more realistic if author had engaged people at the bottom of the ladder.

In the epilogue, Ramalinga Raju is mentioned as being a shrewd man who knew by confessing to a crime he would escape harsher punishment. Raju leads a normal life in Hyderabad after spending two years and eight months in jail. Charges had not been filed against the co-accused.

As much as everyone, the author too wonders about the persona of Raju and seeks answers in management guru, Tom Peters. “Successful performers, for good and sometimes for ill, know how to play a role. They don a persona – a mask of leadership that command others to follow,” Peters is quoted from The Little Big Things.
Peters gives three examples: George Washington, Barack Obama and Bernard Madoff – who weaved the mother of all frauds in modern financial history. “I think Raju’s case is similar to that of Madoff’s,” sums up Anjum.
On Madoff, Peters says, “It was a product of a very carefully concocted persona acted out without let-up or slip-up for decades.” It sounds true in Raju’s case too.

However, The Resurgence of Satyam brings out the communication strategy devised by its team to keep afloat and  rise from the ashes and how the team was engaged in segregating and classifying news in the media as truth, half truth and rumours.

The other important issue is that one would have expected Anjum to question how the Mahindras went on to acquire a stake in a company that was opaque and fraught with fraud,  listed on Nasdaq and was facing class-action suits in the US?

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

BBA Management Education

Shifting your focus to match customer needs

It is critical for organisations to adopt a scientific approach to understanding how they can meet customer needs, and to firmly ingrain a customer-focused culture throughout the organisation

We have often heard the phrase, “Customer is king”. While it is self-evident that higher satisfaction levels give a company an edge over sales, company growth and reputation, what it really does in the long term is to ensure that existing customers stay happy, resulting in better relationships and happier employees. Customer-focused companies are more attuned to the market and better able to stay ahead.

I refer to Harley-Davidson’s customer focused culture as one of the best in the world. It is the longest, continuous manufacturer of motorcycles in the US and has outlived nearly all of its competitors. In the twenty short years since Harley-Davidson started its Owners Group programs, it has grown to over 500,000 members & each of them own at least one motorcycle. The question to ask is: Is there any other consumer product in the world that will prompt customers to travel over several continents to be part of a group experience? Customers and employees alike take great pride in their affiliation with the company and this continues to make Harley-Davidson one of the great success stories of our time.

There is simply nothing – nothing – more important than getting to know the needs of your customer in a detailed and scientific manner. In the words of Michael Dell, “By spending time with your customers where they do business, you can learn more than by bringing them to where you do business”.

80% of companies believe they deliver a superior customer experience; however, only 8% of their customers agree. Why? Your customers are looking for maximum value when spending their hard-earned cash, particularly in this economy. The customer experience requires the active participation of everyone in your organization. This is where the word “Satisfy” comes into play. What it means is that your company is providing nothing more or less than what the customer expects. Creating a customer-focused culture is a proven strategy for both short-term success and long-term growth.

Going by the industry’s best practices, let me share with you some key insights into what will really work for you or your company.

1. Make a list of the values you’d like your company to exemplify. Then, examine your current culture, and ask yourself if those values are apparent in your company and driving your everyday efforts. 2. Before you can convince your company’s end customers of your focus on satisfaction and service, you need to convince an even more important customer audience – your internal customers – the employees who represent your company to the world. Talk with all your employees about corporate values and ask for input and suggestions. 3. Customer focused companies constantly seek and document feedback. They have a system to analyze and feed this information back into the loop so that response is immediate and not an annual feat 4. A strong customer orientation also demands that the company treats customer complaints positively. They not only make toll-free numbers and helpdesks available, but also staff it with knowledgeable people to work on them. 5. This means that they get back to these customers within an acceptable time frame So how does one tell if the customer is truly on your side? Most companies survey their customers in some way, shape or form – formally or informally. After decades of forms, interviews and focus groups, studies have shown that in gauging a particular customer’s overall satisfaction, a single question is needed to provide a fairly accurate answer: “Would you recommend us to your family, friends and colleagues?” If the answer is “Yes,” you are meeting or exceeding that customer’s expectations; if it’s “No”, it’s time to get to work.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

There’s much to fix between the piers

A raft of infrastructure issues is affecting the growth and prospects of our ports. In the face of capacity constraints, lack of connectivity and inadequate mechanization, ports are burdened with excess traffic they can’t handle

India’s vast coastline, stretching around 7,500 kms, is home to 13 major ports and around 200 non-major ports. These are spread across the nine maritime states that stretch along the country’s western and eastern corridors. Considering that about 95% by volume and 70% by value of the country’s international trade is carried on through maritime transport, ports in India are expected to demonstrate efficiencies to sustain the demands of growing international trade. Even otherwise, modern seaports the world over play the role of logistic hubs in the global transport system, integrating the supply chain and offering a competitive edge to exporters and importers.

Historically, ports were measured on their ability to accommodate ships and other modes of transport effectively and efficiently. Contemporary developments in transportation, however, dictate that emphasis shift to the ability of ports to fulfill new roles in the logistics era in the context of operating within integrated global supply chain systems. Ports are therefore expected to demonstrate efficiencies that help to cut total logistic costs and improve the overall competitiveness of exported and imported products.

Unfortunately, even in the wake of India’s growing maritime trade in the world market and the unprecedented growth in bulk commodities and containerized trade, major ports in India have failed to expand capacity and develop facilities commensurate with the growth in trade. In FY2011-12, Indian exports accounted for $303.7 billion, logging an annual growth of 21%. Meanwhile, imports grew to $488.6 billion, a 32.1% growth. This rapid growth in trade can be sustained only if the port infrastructure keeps pace with the increasing volumes of cargo. Indian ports, over the past decade, have seen a sharp surge in traffic, which has almost grown four-fold to 9.7 million TEU (One TEU represents the cargo capacity of a standard intermodal container, 20 ft. long and 8 ft. wide) in 2011, from 2.4 million TEU in 2001 - a growth of 395%. But our port-handling capacity is way short when compared to the throughput of major ports globally. Even the 9.7 million TEU handled by Indian ports last year represents just 8% of the global benchmark ratio for economic output and one-twelfth of global container traffic averages. Given that the Indian economy grew 7.8% for fiscal 2012, ports in India are in urgent need of capacity augmentation in order to meet the country’s growing economic needs and also to grow our share of international trade.

Over the last decade, our average annual growth rate of port cargo volume has been about 10% and container traffic is projected to grow to 40 million TEU by 2025. But India’s ports are ill-equipped to meet this surge in demand as they have not been able to significantly ramp up their capacity and efficiency. As a result, our ports are congested and lack cutting-edge facilities. Till date, no Indian port is capable enough of handling large container vessels. Thus, most of international cargoes are off-loaded at Colombo or nearby ports and then transported to India in bits and pieces. This very incapability robs Rs.10 billion from traders. Even the custom clearance at ports increases the transport time by an average of 84 hours. Not surprising that the World Bank has ranked India’s port infrastructure at 3.86 in 2010, where 1 stands for extremely underdeveloped and 7 for well developed.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

29 suitors, 1 tuxedo

RBI should have 29 different interest rates for 29 different states based on their growth patterns and the globally-practised Taylor’s law

The RBI’s interest rate fixing in India is a scattershot approach, which assumes that the country is uniform, which is not the case in reality. A uniform interest rate, therefore, is a wasteful proposition in a country that varies from the prosperity of Punjab to the utter neglect and backwardness of Tripura – both economically and socially. Progressive states like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have high per capita income, low level of hunger, better infrastructure and low poverty rate, thus inspiring confidence in the minds of investors. On the other hand, states like Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar, et al find it difficult to attract investment. In this light, the current system of blanket interest rate/lending rate is clearly out of sync.

Instead of implementing a uniform pan-India interest rate, the RBI must impose higher interest rates in states that offer business opportunities to investors on a platter and offer discounted rates for investors opting to invest in regions that are still not progressive. Gujarat is another manufacturing power house, but unlike Punjab, it is an industrialized economy with a very high growth rate and should attract higher interest rate from RBI. If we focus on the growth trend line among these states, we figure out that between 2006-07 and 2011-12, Haryana (growth rate between 17.1% and 21.66%), Tamil Nadu (growth rate between 12.98% and 20.44%), and Maharashtra (growth rate between 11.39% and 20.38%) are among the forerunners of the country’s growth trajectory. Thus, RBI should push up the lending rates in proportion to the growth pattern in these states.

On the other side are middle income states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh is mainly driven by agriculture (even though there is a considerable concentration of IT and manufacturing units in and around Hyderabad), Kerala is driven by agriculture and tourism, while West Bengal is languishing with hundreds of sick manufacturing units. These states are mainly agriculture-based, where high interest rates can further exacerbate the problems that they face. Even though Andhra Pradesh and Kerala had a decent run in growth with 2011-12 growth rates being 14.82% and 17.94% respectively, they have some distance to go to catch up with more advanced states. West Bengal, on the other hand, has had a middle-of-the-road growth projection between 13.65% and 18.6% in the last 6 years.

The laggards are the BIMARU states and North East with low per capita SDP and low growth rate. The longer this impasse endures, the harder it will be to recover. Bihar (which is at the bottom of the table), however, has started a recovery of sorts, clocking 20.39% growth in 2011-12. However, it is on small base that can wither away as the base expands. Orissa, with 8.49% growth (2011-12), Jharkhand with 11.89% and North East with a consistently depressed growth rate of below 10% are consistent bugbears for our policy makers. Needless to add, interest rates must be lowest in these zones that badly need a breath of fresh air on structural reforms.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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

ExecutiveMBA

“Let us do something big first!”

He makes an energy drink named ‘Five Hour Energy’, and his company Living Essentials has a current annual turnover of around US $1.3 billion. Forbes magazine has named him amongst the richest Indian billionaires in the US. In this interaction with B&E’s Onkareshwar Pandey, Manoj Bhargava talks about Indian and US politics and his decision to donate most of his wealth to charity.

B&E: You basically hail from Lucknow. Tell us more about your life’s journey from Lucknow to the US?
Manoj Bhargava (MB): I would prefer to say little because I have had little attachment to my personal life. I was born in Lucknow and studied at the Mayanagar School till class 6. After that, my father decided to send me abroad. So for preparations, I spent three years in Mussoorie, while my Dad went there in 1967 only. My father had a big publishing business there. It was called Upper India Publishing House, which published books taught in various colleges. My father had written many books under the Bhargava De name. But with time, everything went downhill, though he was still among the top people in Lucknow. Our grandfather was a leader from the Awadh region. He used to get many hand-written letters from Mahatma Gandhi, who had also sought the help of our grandfather in those days. Even after out grandfather’s demise, many leaders from various political parties used to come home. Even Chief Ministers and Ministers used to frequent our house before and after being sworn in for support. That’s all more or less how it was. Afterwards, we moved to Philadelphia in the US, and I finished my education from there.

B&E: Tell us more about your initial days in US. Were things smooth from the beginning?
MB: In those days, you could not take money abroad. We had nothing when we reached there, but we were very happy and made up our mind to work hard. A new beginning had to be made all over again. We started from zero again. Everyone finished their education there, and except me, everybody had a graduate degree. There too, illiteracy is not considered good. I think that there are two types of education. One is just to take a degree. And then begins the second type of study – the study of life. Bookish studies do not pay much, they act as only a base in life. Then you have to build your own house on that. If you study at Doon, IIT, and IIMs and still don’t know much about life, what is the use of such an education.

B&E: Today, you are the richest Indian in America. How did this success come about?
MB: We create an energy drink, which we call 5-Hour Energy. If you’re tired, you can take it and your exhaustion will disappear. It works for five hours, and after that you will return to your normal state. Last year, in the US, we sold 50 Million bottles of this drink. It costs $3 per bottle, or nearly Rs.165. I thought that if I am doing something, it has to be special. To make something new and special, you have to invest a lot of time and energy. So after talking to nearly two thousand people, we decided to start the business. Initially, the company manufactured the drink in big bottles. Later on, I thought that it’s a headache to buy the big bottles, so we created a smaller bottle. We kept on improving it. Today, the sixth generation of ‘5-Hour Energy’ is out in the market. The retail turnover of our business today is around a quarter of a billion dollars.

B&E: You came from a well to do family and there was no shortage of material possessions. Can handling this kind of wealth be difficult for people at times?
MB: I studied for nearly 12 years. After school I thought about the reasons why one needs to earn money. What should one do with it? That thought kept me occupied for a long time. Everyone has different kind of goals. I am not a show off and I do not have a thing for too many material possessions. There’s a saying in our land, that we don’t spend time, time spends us. We don’t indulge, indulgence indulges us. Still, if someone doesn’t learn and isn’t careful, he can’t be called intelligent.

B&E: Being a non-US trader, did you face any challenges there? If so, how did they impact your business?
MB: (Smiling) When you get down to wrestling, you have to do it with someone else. You can’t do it alone. I just thought that we have to do this and just started. We didn’t care about what will happen ahead.

Read more...

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

The alphabet of 2014

With the 2014 general elections looming large, the BJP has managed to quell an attempted revolt in the party ranks. But the collateral damage could have far-reaching repercussions

Let’s say she is a brilliant young political writer who thinks alliterations, symbols, analogies, synonyms, antonyms and metaphors are passé when it comes to analysing the far-in the-horizon Lok Sabha elections of 2014. What choice does she have? Let us say she decides to use English alphabets to forecast who would be the next PM in 2014. Let us hope that, unlike many political journalists today, she knows her alphabets.

She would have a tough time choosing between N and M. And she would, of course, know that there is another N that looms like a mythological warrior. She won’t be able to guess – despite her best efforts and lots of advice from television anchors – as to how another M would behave. People in WB have figured out that this M sometimes herself doesn’t know how she will act. She does know that another N who represents a state called O will not bother if M or N wins the race as long as he remains THE N in his state. And let us spare her and you the agony of other alphabets like J of TN, O of J&K, Y of AP and the original M of UP.

Confused? Actually, so are we. We – like you – know that voters like us are so mad at this so-called government being run by the UPA that we would love to vote against it in 2014. But which alphabet or set of alphabets do we vote for? The logical choice would be NDA, but the possible candidature of an N called Modi has already generated so many abusive and counter-abusive ‘expert opinions’ that we will let this N be; at least for now. That brings us back to that other N and that other M. If not Modi, N can only mean Nitish Kumar, CM of Bihar and the only true ‘secular warrior’ within the NDA fold. And if not Mamata/Mayawati, the M can only mean Mulayam Singh Yadav, the survivor who can teach a lesson or two to another cow belt chieftain called Lalu Yadav. There is a reason why M and N (Mulayam Singh & Nitish Kumar) have already started plotting their moves. Ask any Indian with even a little bit of common sense and it is doubtful if either would be their first choice as PM. But both M and N – like the one and only one heir apparent R – have history on their side. Our political journalist asks you with a wimpish smile – cross your hearts and admit it if you are old enough to remember. Did you, in your wildest dreams or never-ending nightmares, vote in 1996 for a prime minister called HDDG (software geeks, that is not hard drive... it is His Excellency HD Deve Gowda)? Even more bizarre, Indians actually did not vote for a do-gooder with a strange set of alphabets IKG. Our lady reporter was confused when she was told that IKG stands for a great pacifist called Inder Kumar Gujral, who was willing to sell India down the tube for the sake of peace with Pakistan. Did we hear Balle Balle? She was confused because sycophants who write about Congress told her that they had just played an alphabetic trick. First, they yanked the alphabet K from IKG and arrived at IG. They had to remove K because of someone called Sitaram “Kesari”. Then they realised that IG had long passed away. About a few million sycophants started looking for a simple replacement for I. They wanted something simple, which even political journalists could understand. So they settled on S and IG was replaced by SG. Of course, we must apologise on behalf of the lady reporter who appears a little overwhelmed with all these alphabets. We told her that SG has anointed another M. She promptly came back with some alphabets and epithets till we told her that this M is special because he is the only leader in the history of the world who leads without any ability or willingness to lead. Our reporter was thrilled and announced she is taking her poodle for a walk.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

Revisiting IT - beyond the street

Results of top Indian IT companies, with the exception of TCS, have sent shock waves across markets. But rather than worry about them, Indian IT companies must focus on structural reforms for long term advantage

There is a paradoxical advantage that Indian IT firms enjoy in the current situation due to their reliance on overseas (especially developed) markets rather than the domestic economy. They have been through one major crisis in 2008, when most of the domestic demand-dependent India Inc. was rejoicing in our economy’s prized ‘fundamentals’. This time, when the crisis shifts to the EU, one can expect that they are better prepared.

Did they manage to take advantage of precedent? Or have they wasted a good crisis, as the saying goes? Let us first look into the final results of the three IT companies that are a part of the B&E Power 100. TCS, of course, is a clear winner with revenues of $10.17 billion (growth of 24% yoy) and net profits of $2.2 billion (growth of 16% yoy); which places it at 4 in the B&E Power 100 list compared to 7 last year. Infosys reported slower growth with revenues at $6.99 billion (a growth of 15.77% % yoy) and profits at $1.72 billion (a growth of 12.64% yoy; ranked 6 in the B&E Power 100 compared to 11 last year). Wipro’s results were even more modest, as it posted revenues of $5.92 billion (a growth of 13.4% yoy) and net profit of $1.1 billion (a growth of 5% yoy, rank dropped to 18 in the B&E Power 100 from 17 last year).

The real investor challenge these players face is the burden of expectations. Infosys, in particular, is facing the brunt, since its Q4 results showed revenues of $1.77 billion (yoy growth of 10.5%) and a decline of 2% qoq. Furthermore, it gave a very modest guidance of 8-10% revenue growth for the current fiscal, which would underperform

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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

‘Heins’ian economics at work...

Ever since moving into the corner office of the Waterloo based smartphone maker, Thorsten Heins has been struggling to undo the damage RIM suffered over the past few years. However, his two pronged strategy of consolidating the enterprise segment and leveraging emerging economies will take time to deliver results

It often happens that the ascent of most CEOs to the top is marked by public scrutiny, appreciation and sometimes outburst. However, Thorsten Heins, President & CEO, Research In Motion (RIM) has had a relatively subtle career as far as his media presence is concerned. When he was promoted to the top job in January 2012, analysts pointed out that “he’s not a well-known quantity.” A masters in science and physics from the University of Hannover in Germany, Heins started his career in 1984 straight out of college with Siemens AG where he was chief executive of various divisions including R&D, customer service, sales and product management. His last stint at the Munich-based multinational was that of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) before RIM recruited him as Senior Vice President of the handheld business unit in 2007. He quickly rose through the ranks and was made the Chief Operating Officer of Product and Sales in July 2011.

But ever since moving into the corner office of the Waterloo-based smartphone maker, Heins has undertaken an extensive strategic review of the business. And what he’s probably realised by now is that he has an awful lot on his plate. A case in point is RIM’s dwindling financial performance. From a high of $145 in 2008, RIM’s stock has tumbled down to $14 (a 90% fall). In 2011 alone, the stock lost around 80% of its value. What’s more – as per statistics compiled by IDC, BlackBerry devices held just 8.2% share of the global smartphone market at the end of Q4 2012 compared to 14% during the same quarter last year. In fact, despite the launch of multiple new BlackBerry 7 smartphone models, RIM’s revenue for Q4 2012 was $4.2 billion, down 19% from $5.2 billion in the previous quarter and down 25% from $5.6 billion in the same quarter of 2011.

Their problems are evident. Behind this heartbreaking free fall lies a blunder by RIM’s cofounders who despite launching great products failed to predict how the smartphone market would pan out in times to come. A look at RIM’s revenue pie makes it clear that the company’s business is divided into two major segments – enterprise solution and devices (smartphones and tablets). The enterprise segment makes up for 22% of the company’s revenue. The rest comes from smartphones and tablets. Given that RIM’s USP was its network infrastructure which made its enterprise solutions so lucrative to corporations, the company continued developing the kind of phones that would appeal to these clients. However, what they didn’t realise (or probably did but preferred to ignore) was that the sudden surge in sales of BlackBerry smartphones was not caused by companies signing up but because the mass market had started purchasing them. These were the consumers who were not looking for security but for appealing devices. The strategy worked well initially as there were hardly any smartphones in the market except RIM’s. But as soon as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system were launched in 2007, RIM’s devices started losing sheen. And before the company could realise what had happened, sales went for a toss.

The promoters who made these assumptions have left the company. And fortunately, Heins knows what went wrong. Therefore he now plans to bring back the company’s focus on the enterprise segment. During his first conference call, as CEO, with analysts last month, Heins said, “We believe BlackBerry cannot succeed if we try to be everybody’s darling and all things to all people.” At the end of 2011, over 90% of Fortune 500 companies had deployed the BlackBerry solution, with approximately 80% of these having an installed base of 500 or more devices. In concurrence with this strategy, RIM recently released the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – an expanded version of its server software which will now support phones made by competitors as well. In an exclusive conversation with B&E, Michael Holt, a Senior Stock Analyst with Morningstar, expresses his confidence on RIM’s hold on the enterprise segment. “The BlackBerry is still the gold standard in certain corporate markets where premium security is valued. We expect it to retain that position for some time,” says Holt. So, is this a bad strategy? Depends on how you look at it. While on one hand this might indicate further shrinkage of BlackBerry devices in offices, but on the other it gives RIM an opportunity to pursue smartphones as an independent business.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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