Showing posts with label The Sunday Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Sunday Indian. Show all posts

Friday, January 11, 2013

Managerial attitudes and it's implications

Goldy Toys:
Goldy Toys (GT) is in the business of producing and selling toys of different categories. The company is owned by Mr. Gaurav Gupta along with his wife Ms. Goldy. Ms. Goldy holds masters in child psychology and Mr. Gupta holds the masters in Commerce. After his masters, he pursued the family business management course from EDI, Ahmedabad. The company was primarily initiated in order to get Ms. Goldy engaged with challenging activities, as Mr Gupta was busy with his textile whole-sale business in Ahmedabad that was running since 15 years.

Mr. Rajul Kumar, manager – marketing was in service with GT since its inception. Rajul remained a good performer and a smart leader, working as a doers’ manager. All the members of marketing team were happy with his interpersonal skills and his pragmatic approach towards the work. And this had also resulted in his better relations with the company owners, Gaurav and Goldy. But this was not the case with Mr. Kaushal, manager of production and Mr. Ravi, manager of finance. Mr. Rajul, Mr. Ravi and Mr. Kaushal are three senior employees of the company, whose total employee strength was 45. Click here to read more..

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Despite talk about American decline, the world is not prepared for a post-American era

The point was driven home at the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing this autumn, where European and Asian leaders explored ideas for a new global financial structure. For much of the past 60 years, it would have been impossible to hold such a fundamental dialogue without US participation. Today, it is almost becoming a new global norm that neither the international committee nor the US is prepared for.

Despite talk about American decline, the world is not prepared for a post-American era. As irksome as some of its actions have been, particularly over the past eight years, the US remains the world’s most critical champion of the progressive values that have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of abject poverty and political repression. If the US were to play a relatively smaller role in world affairs, and no other system was created to pick up the slack, these values could be at risk.


Although many states now hide behind an alleged universal principle of inviolable state sovereignty, for example, would the international community go back to the old model where states did whatever they wanted to their citizens within their own borders? Do countries around the world believe that they will be better off if the global trade system breaks down or international shipping lanes become less secure? Are countries like China willing to step up and pay their fair share of dues to keep the UN running (China currently pays 2.1 per cent of UN dues, compared to more than 25 per cent for the US), or to capitalise revised international financial institutions or the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria? Unless other countries step forward for the common good, a post-American world could quickly become a far more frightening environment than what it would replace.....Continue

Friday, January 09, 2009

“I am just a party worker”

Who do you think was responsible for the party's success in Rajasthan?

I attribute the party's victory to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Congress workers and the good work done by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre. It is also the victory of the people of Rajasthan. A befitting reply to the grave mistakes committed by BJP.

Will the Congress, which is short of a majority, be able to form a government in Rajasthan?

Yes, Congress will form the government here. We are not short of a majority…some of the independents are in touch with us and as it is, we are much above the required figure needed to form a government.

What do you think were the reasons behind BJP's debacle?

I am not the one to comment on other parties. All I know is that the people have given their verdict. The voters have voted against poor governance. All-round failure and corruption had become the hallmark of the Vasundhara Raje government during its five-year regime. There was a difference between what the BJP said and what it did in the state. In almost 27 incidents of police firing, 91 farmers were killed, the Meenas and the Gujjars felt agitated and cheated.

Who would be the next chief minister of the Congress in the state?

In Congress, a leader is chosen democratically and the party would announce the name at an appropriate time....Continue

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Has national security gone to the dogs? If not, then it must…

Training is imparted in obedience, action, refusal of food given by strangers, scent discrimination, tracking, explosive detection, property guarding, spotting and attacking. The first phase of the 9-month training gives stress on basic skills, obedience drill and agility exercises. The second phase is tougher with explosives and narcotics detection, anti-smuggling operation, guarding and searching and causality detection. Every dog is assessed at the end of the training. Three retired BSF personnel impart training to the dogs at the Academy. Training for the first batch, consisting of high pedigree dogs including five German Shepherds and seven Labradors, and their 24 handlers, began in January 23, 2008. The next batch of 18 dogs is ready for training. “The selection of high pedigree dogs is done with meticulous care. Usually, the price of dog varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000, depending on its pedigree. The price for Labradors with six pure generations may go up to around Rs 80,000,’’ says Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and Academy In-Charge, Alexander Jacob.

It is in fact the cost factor that is one of the main deterrents in the optimum deployment of dogs, apart from their own physical limitations. Says J A Khan, IG, Operations, Border Security Force, “The contribution of a dog to the detection of bombs and IEDs is 60%, and that of machines and equipments is 25%, while human success at it can be only quantified at 8%. But there’s a huge cost factor involved. The right pedigree had got to be usually imported, then trained for a year. If not properly used, the dog could die in 2-3 years. In fact, the life of a dog is reduced as much as we use her/him to sniff. Then there is required a personnel solely dedicated to the handling of dogs. There thus results a serious mismatch in requirement and availability. But that is not to deny that if used in a judicious manner, they can be a huge support. Loyalty, as you know, is an unquestionable trait with them.”....Continue

Saturday, January 03, 2009

People hate the dirty face of partisan politics, says Priyanka Rai

The muck started flying from the time the first bullet sang. The Sangh Parivar went into a celebratory mood, as it felt sure that now the Congress had had it… clean sweep for the saffron, they partied. Congress leaders were going through the last motions of the Delhi polls, and pundits in both 24 Akbar Road as well as 9 Ashoka Road went into huddles, working out intangible election mathematics. And in the end, Congress felt that the solid, uncompromising hit back by the country got it the edge and Sheila Dikshit could, just could, win.

After his Mumbai visit, Advani said in his Rajasthan campaign, “Despite the Supreme Court verdict, Afzal has not been hanged. I often feel if Afzal were named Anand Mohan or Anand Singh, he would have been hanged a long time ago." Incumbent Vasundhara Raje, in a tight battle, said: "Though the terrorists got into Taj and Oberois hotels in Mumbai, we have seen how this government has failed to check terrorism." Interestingly, Narendra Modi had described Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare as antinational a week back. But today, Karkare is a martyr for whom Modi has offered a crore of rupees in compensation. It is precisely this kind of filth that got the public’s goat.

And there seems to be a reason for this sort of politics. What the public is saying – though may be not in so many words – is that none of the national parties have a national agenda: they just stick top their partisan interests. That's the real tragedy of democratic India. Each party seems so insecure that for them national security is a non-issue. By hook or by crook, they want the votes, come to the power and stick to it.

The people today do not believe Shivraj Patil’s ‘owning moral responsibility’ and resigning. Sonia Gandhi’s ubiquitous hands were obviously turning the strings that ran the puppets to stem a Congress slide during the coming polls. Media coverage of Patil changing three suits in a span of a few hours of the serial blasts in Delhi had enraged the masses, but there was no expression. BJP points out to the more than 200 blasts during the UPA regime. Home Ministry’s official statistic says it has come down quite a bit from the blasts during the BJP-led NDA regime. Then why resign now? ....Continue

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Om Mathur, an RSS pracharak drafted in the party for more than 25 years, has been made the BJP chief in Rajasthan since January this year.

There are reports that the Chief Minister neglected the organisation during the past five years, refusing to meet even her own ministers. And there is dissension, so how are you managing the cadre?
Such things happen only due to lack of communication. I came here in January this year and tried to remove the discrepancies. I organised regular meetings between the party organisation and the government. Ever since, all government decisions are being taken in consultation with the party.

How true are reports of Vasundhara Raje’s corruption?
They are absolutely false. Why didn’t the opposition raise these issues inside the Assembly during the past five years of BJP rule? Why are such things being raked up only during the past 20 days through newspaper advertisements? In any case, people living in glasshouses do not have a right to throw stones at others.

Vasundhara is also being accused of being too arrogant, even more arrogant than Narendra Modi. How do you explain that?
Every person has a distinct personality and working style. Those seeing her from a distance may call her arrogant, but those who know her closely know how sensitive and magnanimous she is. Vasundhara is a lady of action, vision and quick decisionmaking.

What impact would the BSP have in these elections?
Rajasthan has traditionally been a state with only two parties. There was never scope for a third party. Election results would bear me out on December 8....Continue

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sun,sea and span

Inhaling the fresh ocean breeze while a cool subtle wind blew my hair away from my face, ignoring the 6 lanes of cars zipping by and the numerous diverse people walking and conversing by me, I was lost in my own world enjoying one of the beauties of California. Standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, bundled up with a light layer of clothing, I began my 2.2 mile walk across the bridge on one of my frequent visits to San Francisco (SF).

However, what made this trip unique was that I had decided to see SF from a tourist point of view, like I had in 1989, during my first visit.

The highlights of San Francisco-day-life are just as exciting and varied as the infamous SF nightlife. From a walk or drive down the world’s most crooked street, Lombard Street, to a cruise to Alcatraz Island, the infamous escape-proof prison meant for the most dangerous criminals until June 11, 1962, when two prisoners broke out and yet died while swimming in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay. Originally built and used as a lighthouse, the ‘Rock’ (as it is locally referred to) has now become a favourite tourist destination, for which daily ferry rides from Pier 33 take place every 30 minutes to allow visitors to experience the ocean and also give them a guided tour of the prison and its history. Alcatraz is known to have held famous prisoners such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud and Alvin Karpis.....Continue

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Abbas-hamas head-on again

The Palestinian Authority's central council has designated to appoint Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president. It is largely a figurative office, as a Palestinian state is yet to be formed. The position has been vacant since Yasser Arafat's death in 2004.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas ­– who is facing a mounting challenge from Hamas to the authority of his rule – threatened that unless the Palestinian resistance group decides to reconcile with his Fatah movement, he is going to annouce fresh elections. Abbas threatened to issue a diktat early next year that will make both Presidential and Parliamentary polls mandatory. His term in office ends on 9 January. Hamas hurriedly discarded the bid, saying the thought itself was “unconstitutional".

“It's a symbol indicating the political problem that Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and his group are facing while he is going to lose his official position as the (president) of the Palestinian Authority,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a key political figure in Hamas......Continue

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Who is Lt. Col. Srikant Prasad Purohit?

Well neither did it appear to anyone else until investigations of the Malegaon blasts after the arrest of Hindu activist, Pragya Singh, led the trail of the deadly explosions to Purohit and a retired Major, Ramesh Upadhaya, amongst others.

According to insiders in the army, Purohit was given the critical responsibility of raising 41 Rashtriya Rifles, a dedicated counter-terrorism force that operates out of Kupwara, in northern Kashmir. Kupwara remains one of the main points of infiltration of terrorists from across the Line of Control. His tenure in Jammu and Kashmir ended in January, 2005, while serving in the Awantipora-based 31-Counter Intelligence Unit of the MI. Well informed sources say that Purohit’s involvement in the cloak and dagger game dates back to his days in the crucial MI in a Kashmir valley defined by civil war conditions - days where for a military intelligence officer, it would often become very difficult to differentiate between foe and friend. Like all sensitive intelligence assignments, the job demanded establishing contacts with jehadis, a task considered vital for reading the rival’s mind. The purpose: to pick up and collate information and tactical intelligence.


According to the ATS, during one of the raids, the army seized 60 kg of RDX which, later Purohit informed his colleagues, had been dutifully dumped into the Jhelum river. In reality, it was smuggled into Maharashtra by the army officer and his accomplices and subsequently used in the explosions. Military sources told TSI that Purohit was later moved to Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh for pursuing a Chinese language course at the Army Education Corps College – his parent cadre - from where he was arrested by the ATS.....Continue


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It's not just America that is celebrating the historic Obama victory. The entire world is in raptures, reports Solana Larsen in this special despatch

Obama said he depended on the national citizen movement that made him President to end the devastating economic crisis the country suffered in the eight years under President George W Bush. "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there," he said amid cheers. This was indisputably one of the most hotly contested elections in US history. Voters stood in record-busting lines that snaked around city blocks, and dared to hope what had seemed impossible two years ago when a first-term African-American senator from Illinois announced that he was running for President.

The jubilation was equally unprecedented. On election-eve 28-year-old Indian blogger Aditi Nadkarni felt impelled to record, "I couldn't vote for Obama. But I wrote him." The young cancer researcher from India who lives in Rochester, Minnesota has been sharing her thoughts on the presidential elections on the South Asian group blog Desicritics.com. Here, she has recounted her personal experiences as an immigrant in the United States and raged against some supporters of John McCain for highlighting Barack Obama's middle name "Hussein" as a disqualifying trait. Indeed for weeks the campaign led by McCain and Palin had been attacking Obama for his alleged association with "a domestic terrorist" from the 1970s. And for some these false alarms actually worked — leading them to drum up wholly unwarranted fears about Obama's religion and ethnic heritage. Was Obama a Muslim? Was he an Arab! That was how it had gone!....Continue


Thursday, December 04, 2008

Urgent provisions needed to rescue the poor and destitute

Haris Gazdar, an economist associated with Collective for Social Science Research based in Karachi agrees that at least five per cent additional population has been pushed below the poverty line in recent months. He said it was high time that the government introduce an employment guarantee scheme on the lines provided by India to combat poverty. "In fact, the Pakistan People's Party manifesto has such a provision, but it has not been implemented as yet," he said. Also he added that the poorest sections of the populace should be provided social security and a cash support programme, while their children should be ensured food support at schools.

Bengali who has been the National Coordinator Benazir Income SupportProgram (BISP) and Member National Finance Commission, believes the extent of economic crisis in Pakistan today is structural. He points out that it was in the making for 30 years but was aggravated during the last eight years. "Without the policies followed in the last eight years, we would have lasted a few more years but we were heading for a doom," he told The News on November 2.....Continue

Monday, December 01, 2008

Revive economy: key challenge for the new PM elect

IIPM Publication
At a time when the global financial meltdown has had a dreadful impact on a host of countries, to which the New Zealand and her 4.2 million denizens are no exception, the key challenges before Key remain: slump in the housing prices, 25 per cent drop in currency’s value, 33 per cent fall in the stock markets, and above all, the worst recession in almost a decade due to which the $130 billion New Zealand economy contracted in the first half of 2008. In fact, the economic health of the country is so bad that its central bank has already slashed the interest rates by 1.75 percentage points since July.

To address all these challenges and unemployment in the country, which is at a five-year high, John Key has already proposed to cut income taxes and redirect spending to roads and a high-speed Internet network to help create jobs. He also has plans to instruct the head of various departments to undertake a line-by-line review of their spending so that money can be saved. Moreover, Key is even targeting to attend Asia Pacific Economic Forum in Peru to get external help. But until then, the trader-turned-politician will have to go through tough times to manage the country. ....Continue


Monday, September 22, 2008

The ‘flu’ that grounded a state

After battling with massacres and riots, WB’s cup of woe still runneth over with the attack of the killer virus!
The legendary town of Hamelin infested with rats (sans the rescuer Pied Piper) comes to mind as soon as one hears of the Bird Flu menace in West Bengal that has engulfed nearly the entire state by infecting 13 districts and 42 blocks with the pestilent H5N1 virus. The city of Kolkata is under siege by the deadly virus. And, before the death knell sounds for the metropolis, government bigwigs in the Writers’ Building have taken all possible actions to circumvent the spread of the virus into the city, such as, banning entry of all the poultry products in the city. The posh Salt Lake City (satellite town of Kolkata) in fact, has not only banned the entry but also sale of chickens & ducks. However, according to a police officer, the fool proof implementation of such a plan is next to impossible. For instance, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has allowed entry of products from 14 authorised poultry farms.

The state has incurred colossal losses worth Rs.500 crores in poultry business and above three lakh people have lost their source of livelihood since the virus was first detected in Margram in Birbhum district 12 days back. Making a choice between human life over chickens by worldly standards of rationality, the culling process continues, albeit slowly. By far 200,000 chickens have been culled (as on 29th Jan’06), while 300,000 chickens will be culled in the next few days. The cost of losing one’s source of livelihood (indemnity) as announced by the State Finance Minister, Asim Dasgupta is a meagre Rs.500 per affected family. While he claims of giving the compensation money on the spot during the culling operation, the B&E team’s findings from a primary source deduce otherwise.

In spite of the world despising the ‘sick’ birds that are relished when in the pink of their health, the heart of their owners reaches out for them, every time it is about killing them in the name of culling.

It was recently that about 45 chickens were found dead in the Nolpur village of Howrah district. “We took the initiative and sent the blood samples for testing,” said Sunil Bagh, a member of the Gram Panchayat in a concerned voice. Three days later, reports confirmed that the chickens were indeed infected with Bird Flu. As a result, the district magistrate arranged for culling within 10 kms radius of Nolpur (that included seven Gram Panchayats). “More than 2,000 chickens have been culled as of 26th January (in the undergoing operation) with an estimated loss of Rs.70,000”, said Mr. Bagh. Amidst the culling of infected birds, while several poultry owners grieved at the loss of money, several like Kiran Naskar who owned close to 300 birds fretted, “My chickens were not even infected, therefore culling of all chickens wasn’t right.” To most, it is about the industry and trade loss, while to many who own the birds as pets, it is like losing a loved one. Thirty-two year old, Shaikh Ludh Rahman, who owned six chickens and four ducks, handed them over, on his own, half-heartedly, to the culling team. So did Younous Mallick who had 12 chickens and repeatedly said, “We weren’t into the business, we loved them.”

Another newly infected area, the historical city of Budge Budge had a relatively different atmosphere. The vibes were more of fear and concern for well-being of the people than trade and business. Forget about, pitying the poor little souls under ‘operation culling’ that are going through the highly contagious bird disease, said to rarely infect humans. The panic at the sudden outbreak of Bird Flu in the area was clearly visible in everybody’s eyes, right from the rickshaw-puller to the gram Panchayat members. To add to the woes, the process of culling the infected birds couldn’t begin in Goborjhuri village where 100 birds were found dead in a single day, since the confirmation reports in this certain case were pending. Anxiety was at peak when the Panchayat Pradhan, Mokhuri Doloi haggled with the authorities and urged them to “Please solve the matter quickly for us”.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Recent liberalisation will boost investments

“Policies were aimed to provide healthy competition, and level-playing field”
In a high growth sector, there is no need to trim staff. With the sector booming, every one can be accommodated, Union Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, tells B&E’s Ranjit Bhushan in an interview. The minister, who is credited with turning around the civil aviation ministry in his four-year-stint, adds that far-reaching changes are going to be brought in its FDI policy to encourage private investments.

Your tenure has marked a definite turnaround in the prospects of the civil aviation sector. What do you attribute this upturn to?

The aviation sector has evolved over the past few years. The change in mindset in both the public and the private sectors has led to more competition, competitive and affordable fares, and more passengers. The reasons are clear and strong policies of the government have been aimed at providing healthy competition and level playing field to both the public and private players. The government has played a great role as being a facilitator in this sector. Your speech at the US-India Aviation Summit last year was impressive.

What are the gains that you see accruing from the deal? Also, technologically, the US aviation industry is light-years ahead of us. Which are the areas of common interest between the two countries?

The purpose of the US India Aviation Cooperation Programme is to improve coordination of US assistance to the Indian civil aviation industry, including the identification of aviation training and technical assistance meets, communication meets, and improving coordination with the US Government entities including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), US Trade and Development Agency (USPDA) and the US Department of Commerce.

The programme will be funded with the assistance of USTDA and would enhance safety, operational efficiency and system capacity of the aviation sector. The Union government has also approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the US in the civil aviation sector, which will provide the framework for seeking assistance of the Federal Aviation Authority in developing civil aviation infrastructure in managerial, operational and technical areas, as and when required.

You talked about attracting FDI, about more US involvement in Indian aviation. Is that going to be a reality?

The Union government on 30 January, 2008 liberalised and enhanced the FDI policy in the civil aviation sector. This is expected to greatly boost investments by not only American, but also other foreign companies in Indian aviation.

The market share of national carriers has gone down with more private competition coming in. And a lot of it has happened during your tenure as the minister. Do you see a situation wherein the national carriers could become minor players in the company of many private operators, big and small? Although the number of passengers carried by the national carriers has increased considerably, registering a growth of almost 25%, the market share has been impacted due to the entry of private airlines, availability of low cost carriers, decline in capacity share, and delay in acquisition of new and latest technology aircraft. However, a number of initiatives have been undertaken like acquisition of new aircraft, merger of Indian and Air India, aggressive marketing and sales initiatives, which has resulted in marked improvements in market share.

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 :-
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The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Silence – hardly a golden virtue!

Microsoft’s Sync redefines the in-car-entertainment system

How about talking to you iPod or your mobile phone for that matter? Imagine if you could actually command these gadgets to perform different functions. And what if you could do all that while driving your car?

Well, this might sound like an excerpt from a 2020-based Sci-Fi movie but this has actually been made possible by Microsoft, which has developed Sync, which is a fully integrated and voice activated in-car-entertainment system, for the Ford motor Company . “Sync offers hands-free phone operation and iPod or any other MP3 player connectivity. It’s built on a software platform that is upgradeable and will allow us to offer new features by simply upgrading the software” says Derrick Kuzak, Group VP, at Ford.

In fact, with Sync, an individual actually gets to master the complete in-car entertainment and communication system. All you need to do is connect your Bluetooth enabled device with Sync and its innovative voice command feature will follow your commands and will enable you to make calls from your mobile, read aloud your text messages and play your favorite music, without disturbing you while driving.

While on one hand, Sync is completely transforming the in-car-entertainment market, which earlier just constituted of a good audio system and may be an additional GPS device, tech companies are already gearing up to the consumer expectations of “seamless connectivity while on drive”. One such product is SIRIUS Travel Link, which will provide people with the required data while they are still driving. “This service from SIRIUS feeds important data right into our vehicles. It is easy to access and always available”, says Jim Buczkowski, Director of Electrical Systems Engineering at Ford.

With the technology companies infusing revolutionary features like Sync and Sirius Travel Link to the dashboards, one thing’s for sure – boring, and silent long drives would soon be deemed a thing of the past.

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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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Taking stock

Are there lessons for all from assassination of Benazir?
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has been perhaps one of the most tragic incident in recent history. This incident not only has weakened the cause of democracy but has also thrown Pakistan far into a zone of no return. While many have been trying to play down the entire incident as just the continuation of the Pakistani legacy of military coups and assassinations, this episode of the same has put the future of South Asia at a real crossroad. Now that the dust is settling down and things are relatively coming back to normalcy, are there important lessons and observations to be drawn from this tragic happening? Well, to start with, Benazir’s assassination once again brings forth an increasingly menacing trend of this era, i.e. nations are subject to more risk from within, than from outside.

For rest of the world, nothing could have been better than to see the gradual restoration of faith in democracy in hearts and minds of the average Pakistani and releasing him/her steadily from clutches of fundamentalism. It’s some elements within Pakistan, aided by global fundamentalism, which have given a death knell to restoration of democracy in Pakistan. In the same league, for an LTTE, it makes more sense to continue with mayhem than to find reasonable political solutions for the cause of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minorities and thereby putting Sri Lanka at risk more from within than outside.

The same is the case of Bangladesh which through its ascension as well as assertion of fundamentalism is increasingly proving that, once, it was rightly called East Pakistan. Today Bangladesh, and Nepal too has more threats from within than without. A wider scrutiny of Asia at large and even of Europe would vindicate that the same malaise is plaguing them too, be it IRA is UK, ETA in Spain or PKK in Turkey. For the whole of 20th century, nations put more resources to mitigate external threats. And in their quest to securing external boundaries, they literally undermined the problems germinating within. As a result internal security was always considered less of a priority than external security.

The trend is continuing even now with billions of dollars of budget being put to buy weapons for conventional wars whose probability is decreasing by the day while most nations are thoroughly ill-equipped to deal with an omnipresent virtual enemy. India in this case is no exception either. In fact the level of internal distrust that is prevailing in Pakistan is evident from the fact that the Musharraf regime had to involve the Scotland Yard to demonstrate its commitment for a fair investigation.

The other striking observation from the entire Benazir death saga has been the reaction in India. There was perhaps not a single soul in India which was not in grief and which didn’t share solidarity with the beleaguered Pakistan. The wrong-doings of Pakistan in the past didn’t come in the way of expressing shock and shedding tears for someone who, for an average Indian, was a little more than just another politician of a rogue Pakistan. There was an attachment much beyond that. Perhaps the virtual bondage of the umbilical chord cut in a hurry still having its presence felt. And it is perhaps because of this that it is not just a need but a necessity for India to see that Pakistan doesn’t collapse. In that case, when history would be written half a century from now, it would not be Pakistan but India’s brethren that collapsed, would be sculpted in history books.

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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Monday, August 25, 2008

Apart from consumers

“Whilst we continue to grow, our mantra to hire people with the right kind of attitude and then training them has served us well in building an extensive learning and development proposition to empower our people with the domain knowledge,” reveals Das. The work environment in ICICI Prudential Life is committed to creating a learning environment and a performance driven culture, which is reinforced through effective performance management of the employees.

The first step in the performance management comes in by linking individual performance objectives to business objectives and evaluating the performances consistently. Asserts Das, “We’ve pioneered the frontline capability development through a strong performance management system that has enabled us to provide our employees with an accelerated career path from the very first day.” The HR think tank of the organisation has also put in place a robust career acceleration program that links training & certification of frontline employees and a strong talent management program for employees in middle & senior management cadres to identify their strengths & development areas and then groom them for leadership roles later.

Going by management guru Jack Welch’s prescription, ICICI Prudential Life too strives to provide a high performance meritocratic work environment with differentiated rewards and recognition opportunities for its top talent. Das adds, “As one of the key players in the high growth sector we also use ESOPs as an effective tool in value creation for the middle and senior management, which helps in creating ownership within the organisation”. Most financial companies have been struggling with a nerve-wracking problem called ‘attrition’. To tackle this problem in an effective manner, ICICI Prudential Life has devised an attrition dashboard that helps track attrition for each function and location. Looks like the program has worked, as 80% of the senior management have been with the organisation for over five years now.

For ICICI Prudential Life, the “Jeetey Raho,” philosophy not only works for the consumers but also for its vast workforce. And for this vast employee network, ICICI Prudential Life’s mantra is to ‘stay and grow with us’ and this is what keeps this organisation ticking.

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 ...
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Real-estate industry work

So how does the real-estate industry work in SL? As I said earlier, you start with 512 square meters (16 by 32 meters). You could buy more from Linden Labs (in real world currency) for an additional fee that they call Tier. This could range from $5 a month up to $295 a month for an entire island which would be 65,536 square meters. You could also pay a one time flat tier of $1,675 instead of a monthly thing. Also, just like the real world, you could book your favourite plot of land for $30 if you don’t have the money and pay later. But interestingly, it does not end there. Just like our housing societies, you need to pay a monthly maintenance charge to Linden Labs. This is calculated on the amount you own. The more land you own, the more you pay. So, based on the current tier system, your starter 512 square meters would cost an additional $5 per month, 65,536 square meters of mainland will cost $195 and an island would cost $295 per month. You could also buy land from another resident or purchase it at a Land Auction. Pretty much like an eBay auction, land auctions are extremely popular in SL. What starts with $40 ends up selling at $2000 at the end of a week. In-world sources say that over 15 million square meters of land has been sold in Q1 2007. If I may draw a real world analogy, we are talking about a property boom very similar to what’s happening in India right now.

And just like the real world, this property phenomenon has created a new breed of virtual real estate moguls in SL. The biggest example is Anshe Chung (Chinese-born language teacher Ailin Graef living near Frankfurt, Germany in the real world) who is the first online individual to become a millionaire from profits earned entirely in a virtual world. Dubbed as the virtual Rockefeller and featured on the cover of Businessweek, She owns 36 square kilometers of land and a few million Linden Dollars in cash not to mention shopping malls, store chains, virtual brands in SL. Liz Bartlett’s Livingston Properties (www.khyri.com/livingstonproperties) sells prefabricated housing in SL for as low as 900 Linden dollars along with agent and building services. And the most interesting one: popular american real estate brokerage firm Coldwell Banker (www.coldwellbanker.com) has set up shop in SL selling and renting its own tracts of land in areas like Ranchero, Crowfoot, Elboya, Gorbash and Scurfield.

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 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
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Waterhead region

The place I appeared once I logged in for the first time is the Orientation and Help Island. This is where you learn the basics of SL. This is where SL teaches you about Avatars, transport, mouse movements & communication. The first place I saw after that is called the Welcome area. It is the starting point for all newbie residents in the SL world. Originally, the Welcome area was in Natoma in 2002 which moved to an area called Ritch in 2003. Currently, SL has three welcome areas: the Ahern/Morris region, another in Lime/Plum and a newer one in the Waterhead region. Arriving at the Welcome area can be a bit disconcerting. You will see humans no doubt but also aliens, devils, vampires, furries, animals, insects, robots. You may even see a dragon. Usually there is a Linden or two patrolling the welcome area, available for advice. I learnt the hard way not to accept advice from strangers. Some folks will come and try to sell you strange items. Sell? How am I supposed to buy stuff in a virtual land? Well, this is where I learned that SL has its own currency called Linden dollars (L$). Premium accounts receive a weekly stipend (paid in Linden dollars). That’s one of the special features. And since the real world payment can be tendered in L$, there is an actual currency exchange rate of around L$ 270 to one US dollar. In-world currency exchanges and ATMs allow residents to change real world currencies to L$. It took me some time to come to terms with this fact – a virtual currency that has real value!

Stay in the welcome area for as long as you take to familiarise yourself with this new environment. Only when you decide to set up a home for yourself should you venture out. This brings us to the other special feature of premium membership and of SL itself. Premium membership comes with 512 square meters of land. This is actual virtual land that you own in SL. And this is where the fun begins. You can do anything you want on this land. Using the tools provided in SL, you can build your dream home or build a store to start your business. Build some strange but interesting structure that everyone will come and see. Buy an island and create your tropical paradise, modify the landscape, expand it, maybe build your own continent. And if you lack imagination, you could just sell it to someone willing to buy it from you in Linden dollars – the in-world currency. Why would you want to sell your land? Well, you could buy some more land with it. Or use the money to fund your virtual bookstore. For the last three years, thousands of residents have bought land to build their houses, offices, nightclubs, spas and resorts.

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