Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Is legislation the only way out?

There’s a silent epidemic of workplace bullying... Is legislation the only way out?

Not all measures need to be so drastic though, as Dr. Mallary Tytel, President of Healthy Workplaces, shares, “As an employee, you can document occurrences in detail with dates, times, places, what was said or done and who was present at the time, and then work with the employer or a trusted advocate to solve the problem. One must understand that bullying is about control and power, not performance.” Research by Nathanael Fast, Assistant Professor of Management & Organisation from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, affirms, “It was those individuals who had power and also felt incompetent who were most likely to treat others badly. It does appear that bullying could be a sign of inner weakness.” Thus he validates what many of us already suspected to be true – bullies are just insecure about themselves.

The job of senior management is to pluck out such elements from the system and ensure that the top leadership sets an example for others to follow. S.Y. Siddiqui, MEO – Administration (HR, IT & Finance) at Maruti Suzuki India, is a believer in the zero-tolerance policy, and says that a clear code of conduct needs to be set by the company. Garry Mathiason of the employment and labour law solutions firm Littler Mendelson seconds this view, stating that the best solution is to prohibit bullying as a company policy. He clarifies, “A ‘policy’ is very different from a ‘law’. View it as a yellow light highlighting conduct that the employer wishes to eliminate, as it violates employer policies, but is not yet illegal.”

It is not likely that such legislation will hit Indian shores soon, but this does serve as a reminder to companies operating here. Employers must demonstrate their commitment by equipping their employees with tools like awareness sessions, open-door policies, and speedy redressal of grievances to tackle such issues even without talk of a law. Prevention, really, is better than cure.


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Friday, August 24, 2012

Soaring popularity meter

In a recent exercise by Twitter authorities to ascertain personalities with maximum number of followers on the website, Genelia D’souza featured in the top 20, beating several celebrities from various walks of life. Though a curious feat, she is very happy about it and wishes to thank all responsible for it! Considering that Twitter is seen as a popularity barometer these days, our hearty congratulations to Genelia!


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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

ICICI BANK: INORGANIC GROWTH

First it was the Bank of Madura. Then, it was Bank of Sangli. And now, the Bank of Rajasthan. ICICI Bank is seemingly strengthening its presence in the Indian banking space by undertaking a slew of acquisitions much like its peer HDFC Bank did in the past. by Avneesh Singh

As seen by experts, the merger, which will increase ICICI’s branch count by 463 and ATM count by 111 (adding to the bank’s existing network of 2009 branches and 5,219 ATMs), will make ICICI Bank the undisputed no.2 in the Indian banking space and the no. 1 amongst those in the private sector. [This will increase the difference in number of branches between ICICI and HDFC from just 7 in 2008-09 to 747!]. But then, the question remains – is it such a wise move as it seems on the first go?

Well, experts are still divided in opinion. While some like Vaibhav Agarwal and Amit Rane of Angel Securities say that, “Based on the swap ratio (25:118), ICICI Bank has valued BoR at a premium of 89%, which is expensive, considering the poor profitability and the recent asset-quality pressures and corporate governance issues with the Bank of Rajasthan.” On the other hand, others like Hatim Broachwala, Banking Analyst, Khandwala Securities, says, “The deal is positive because of Bank of Rajasthan’s huge branch network in northern India. Also, the price paid per branch is not a huge amount considering ICICI Bank’s renewed strength.” Clearly, the proposed merger will help ICICI Bank make its presence felt in Rajasthan, in a manner similar to how CBoP helped HDFC Bank grow in Punjab and Haryana.

However, if you look at the Mcap per branch figure (of the acquired) involved in the ICICI Bank-BoR deal, it reads better than the HDFC-CBoP transaction. Based on the swap ratio announced, the figure works out to be Rs.66 million in the former case, a lot lesser than Rs.241 million paid in the latter. But one must also consider the fact that the existing capital adequacy of BoR is on the lower side and ICICI Bank would need to infuse more capital to bring them to the desired level. Translation – the deal would dry up funds from ICICI Bank’s lockers. Worse, the bank would need atleast two-three more years to scale-up productivity in BoR’s branches.

Certainly, there is no denying that inorganic growth strategy is good for a bank like ICICI Bank in a growing economy, but going by what expected synergies indicate, it appears to be more of an inorganic strategy out of compulsion. And that isn’t what’s called following the road to glory. The dynamism in the Indian banking industry is set to go through major changes in the near future, when the Reserve Bank will start issuing new banking licenses and the expected new cash-rich entrants of the likes of the Ambanis, the Tatas and the Birlas will take competition to a new level altogether. How many more such forced takeovers will we witness from ICICI Bank? The positive side is that if the BoR buyout works for ICICI, it will prove a preparation much before the real battle begins!

A pro-active step to scale up even before competitors starts biting at your heels or a purchase of the latest headache for ICICI Bank? Two more years, and we’ll know more...


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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Touch me not!

From healing touch to heeling touch… Women have an incredibly wider spectrum of influence than one could have ever anticipated!!

Have you men ever walked into a shop and felt incapacitated as a negotiator, and had to deal with the brunt of a raw deal that may have burnt a hole in your pocket? Isn’t it true that our female counterparts have an edge when it comes to negotiations and bargaining? Not only that; it has been observed that men accompanied by women folk may also feel much more confident and far more secure while closing deals or simply venturing out. A recent study in New York shows that the reassurance of a woman’s touch can influence decisions made by men. It finally stands to logic why women always get their way and it won’t be a surprise if another study showed that women are in fact always aware of the fact that men feel empowered when they are around! Now, the million dollar question that remains is why are they still given the tag of the ‘weaker sex’?

Women sure have accomplished almost everything that was earlier considered a man’s forte. And in some cases they have achieved even greater feats. Be it personal chores or strategising in a corporate forum, women are omnipresent. Although, some chauvinists and uninitiated introverts donning the garb of shyness, moving further into their cocoons (read wimps) might beg to differ and still vouch for male bosses and colleagues, just so the equations remains ‘simple’. It is a known fact that men would score way lesser than women as far as emotional quotient is concerned. This largely fuels the debate that claims women are better managers, because women colleagues and bosses have greater people management skills, and empathy tops the charts on their priority lists. One might have noticed that while being served in any of the airlines where air hostesses as well as flight stewards are on duty, a passenger might get agitated if a male steward falters, but a reassuring smile from the hostess pacifies even the most irate guest.


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