Interview: Rahul & Madhur Bajaj C. K. Prahalad @ Great Lakes Sucheta Dalal on Ethics Issue 4, April 2007

Global Mindset. Indian Roots.

Global Mindset, Indian Roots.

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For Private Circulation Only What drives Printed & Published by Prof. S. Sriram on behalf of Great Lakes Institute of Management, 24, South Mada Street, Srinagar Colony, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015. your Editor: Prof. S. Sriram, Great Lakes Institute of Management. Business Y T I V Y A T R I G V

A F R O

G Team The

T I M R I A P E of

Spirit S T Gravity E H

Gravity T

Gravity is ubiquitous and has been in existence for ever. However, it took a Newton's ingenuity 'to ask why' resulting in the discovery of gravity. On hindsight, the discovery looks very simple and 'common sensical', yet for so many centuries in the past, no one had looked at it the way Newton did.

The managers from Great Lakes emulate this Newtonian attitude. (from L to R: Saishree Srinath, Kartika Natrajan , Koushik Srinivas, Great Lakers are a bunch of individuals who have learnt to look at SrividhyaV., Sachin Kumar B. , Priyamvada S. , Prasanna V., Karthikeyan V., Sriharsha B.V.) things differently, to ask why and to innovate, continuously!

A manifestation of this Great Lakes culture is 'Gravity'.

Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks to : And fellow GreatLakers : Dr. Bala V. Balachandran Ashwin Sunderkumar Prof. S. Sriram Ashis Behera Dr. Rakesh Singh Amit Bhalla Dr. Venkat R. Krishnan Indranil Das Mr. V. Sankaran Souparna Giri Ms. Malathi Ramkumar Ramchandran C. V. Mr. Subhaash Praveen Pantula Mr. Venkit Subramanian Sheetal E. Vikranth Vasireddy

Our special thanks to Ms. Shrada Mohan and Ms. Sheetal E. for designing the cover

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O From R F the Editor's Foreword Desk Dr. Jagdish Sheth

Dear Readers, As we move forward into the most exciting part of the 21st century yet, we are fortunate to be both Chief Editor Performance management, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder. However, companies the world witnesses and proponents of change that will shape the future of the world. We are at an interesting Dr. Jagdish Sheth is a renowned Priyamvada S. over are attempting to look within and are consciously seeking to unravel the elusive 'business mantra' in juncture where the decisions we take today will have an impact on the way we operate tomorrow more scholar and world authority in an attempt to understand what it is that makes a business tick. More often than not, people who are than ever before. It is to understand these changes better and respond successfully that one needs to ask the field of marketing. His Editors exceptionally good in business aren't so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to the pertinent question 'What drives my business?' insights on global competition, Karthikeyan Vadamalairaaj know more. Markets evolve over long periods of intense competition. And countries evolve over long periods of strategic thinking and customer Kartika Natrajan The drivers of a business can depend on myriad factors and can mean different things to different people. 'Globalization'. Intense competition in free markets leads to consolidation within the industry. And long relationship management are Koushik Srinivas Both at the macro and micro level, there are different critical success factors that are essential to the periods of globalization will lead to a realignment of forces that shape the globe's economic and considered revolutionary. He is geopolitical future. Throughout history, we have seen the emergence and dominance of power centers Sriharsha B.V. performance of any given business. As our previous edition focused on “Marketing Brand India” as a the Charles H. Kellstadt Chair theme, we at Gravity believed that the time was appropriate to look inward and try to unearth some of the that have assumed economic dominance at different points in time. The future would see of Marketing in the Goizueta The Team deeper reasons as to what makes an enterprise tick. It is for this precise reason that we at Gravity zeroed in 'Regionalization' replacing 'Globalization' and the emergence of three huge economic and political Business School at Emory unions the EU, the Americas and Asia. Prasanna V. on 'What drives your business?' as a central theme for this issue. Using this issue as a platform, we University. Prior to this, he was would like to present varied perspectives on how different forces come together to make an organization Consolidation within the industry and the redrawn economic map of the world would require massive Sachin Kumar Bhagwata a distinguished faculty member profitable. We have brought together a veritable who's who of luminaries from the academic world, reorganization efforts on the part of corporations to be able to survive the shifts. Unless the drivers of a at the University of Southern Saishree Srinath including strategy guru Dr. C.K. Prahalad and Dr. Jagdish Sheth. To bring forth a practitioner's business enterprise are known and understood properly, corporations may not be able to survive in the California, the University of Srividhya V. viewpoint, this issue also covers some of the leading lights from the corporate world including Rahul long run. This edition of Gravity attempts to compile together perspectives from some of the best Illinois, Columbia University Bajaj and Madhur Bajaj in an attempt to uncover the quintessential nuances that go into making a academicians and business heads on what drives businesses. and the Massachussetts business venture successful. A plethora of topics have been covered that include insights on what makes I have been closely following the progress of Great Lakes since its inception three years ago. The institute Institute of Technology. an entrepreneurial venture click, a new product a hit, an innovative idea a rage, a process cost-effective to has evolved from strength to strength and is on its way to becoming one of the top management institutes Professor Sheth has published name a few drivers. in India. I am pleased to be associated with this institution as a member of the Academic Advisory more than 200 books and As mentioned, the drivers of a business are contextual. These drivers are multifarious and can range from Council and wish Great Lakes and its fraternity all the best as they stride on to make their mark as a research papers in different product innovation to operational excellence. History is fraught with examples of companies within the world-class management institute with its roots in India. areas of marketing and business same industry that chose to trace different paths and yet emerged successful. Apart from the usual drivers strategy. of business as propounded by Tracy and Wiersema in the 'Discipline of Market Leaders', business paradigms have rapidly evolved and this has brought about the emergence of new intangible drivers of Dr. Jagdish Sheth business such as corporate governance. As witnessed in the Enron saga, not following a strict code of Charles H. Kellstadt Chair of Marketing corporate governance can cause irreparable damage to a company's reputation, potentially leading to Goizueta Business School, Emory University even bankruptcy. Throwing light on this germane issue is Sucheta Dalal, a journalist of great repute and Member of the Academic Advisory Council, Great Lakes Institute of Management the whistleblower in the Harshad Mehta scam. In addition to the central theme, this edition of Gravity also features the various happenings at Great Lakes during the calendar year, right from our hugely successful B-School fest, L'Atitude 13°05' to the landmark placement season that concluded this February. As usual, we look forward to your candid comments and feedback at [email protected].

Till then, Happy Reading!

Priyamvada S. FOUNDER'S MESSAGE Business to havesuchaperson asoneofitsadvisorsand IamsurethatMs.Nooyi,voted the#1MostPowerful Research Conference thathappenedinChennai inthemonthofDecember the Business It givesmegreatpleasuretoannounce thatIndraNooyi,President&CEOofPepsiCoisnow Indra NooyijoinsBusiness every GreatLakerbeingplaced before 5 was highlysatisfiedwiththetalentpool.Overall,placement seasonwasagrandsuccesswitheachand Computer SciencesCorporation,visitingab-schoolforthefirst timeinIndiamadeadozenof the country Petroleum madefourof salary shotupbyahealthytwenty-fivepercenttoRs.9.03 lacs perannum.CompanieslikeBritish of The placementseasoncouldnothavegonebetterthisyearasGreat Lakersrompedhomewiththebestof Placements 2007 manufacturing totechnologyandsoon.Iwouldlikeallmystudentskeepupthegoodwork. what mostb-schoolscanonlydreamof. Oracle, Microsoftetc. best projectsthatfocusedoncompanieslike reports ontheIT Profitability Managementcourseputinespeciallycomingupwithstellar or nineties andthequicknesswithwhichmanagersgrasptheirbusinessdriversoftenmakesorbreaksan business?” astheirtheme. Also whileonthetopicofIT permeates downtothefuturegenerationsofGreatLakersaswell! interviews. KudostotheGravityteam,andIhopewishthattheirzestforknowledgeperfection mean feattobringouttwomagazineswithinthecourseofayearfilledwithtests,assignments,classesand new insightsfromthedoyensofacademiaandbusinessworld. was remindedofthisveryquotewhentheGravity year…equivalent tosevenyearsinaregularperson'slife.Inotherwords,it'sevolvingfasterand V inton Cerf,Google'sChiefInternetEvangelistoncesaid“A fers fromthebestofcompanies.Onceagain,GreatLakeshasbeen abletoachieveinonlyitsthirdyear ganization. Iamgladthatthefourtheditionof W . Infosys,forthefirsttimeinIndia,recruitedaGreatLakerinto itscovetedglobalprogram. oman in 2006wouldinspire manyaGreat Lakertofollow inherfootsteps. Advisory Council ofGreatLakes. industry The industryfocusshallshiftwitheverypassingyearfromsaybankingtoretail, fers, whichisabouthalfthenumberof . Ihavedecidedtopublishan'Industry T oday almosteverybusinessislikewhattheInternetwasinlate Advisory Council and , Itrulyappreciatetheef Dean's Founder A th February2007. totalofsixtyeightcompaniesvisitedthecampusasaverage Honorary TCS, Infosys, As youallknow Gravity T eam informedmethattheyhadchosen“What

has chosenthisthemeandbroughtininteresting fort andworktheCrusadersinS Message yearintheInternetbusinessislikeadog W , Ms.Nooyiwas atthe fers theymaketoMBA ipro, Sathyam,HCL,IBM, Advisory Guide'bycompiling As Ihavealwaysmentioned,itisno -2006. GreatLakes ishonored , comprehensiveandincisive Y graduatesacross ale-Great Lakes Accenture, ficially on fers and trategic allthe drives .” I Kotler himselfblessedtheschoolduringhisvisitinJuly2006,andseveralotherinfluentialmarketersacademicianshavepl numbers, butalsointhequalityofstudentswetake. W Junior Crusader caution themthatitwouldnotbeeasyatasktoemulatethefeatreachedbytheirillustriousseniors.Ihope One ofthelongtermgoalsGreatLakesistobecomebestB-schoolinworldfieldMarketing. A tougher As musthappenwitheveryB-schoollookingtobecomethebestinworld,admissionsproceduresatGreatLakeshave become A world, onefilledwithopportunities,funandglory As Ihavealwayssaid,theGreatLakesexperiencedoesnotendinoneyear marketing professorsfromaroundtheglobewillsharetheirideasandunveilmantrasoffuture. their supporttoachievethisgoal. W JaiHind!GreatLakesandGodblessyouall! exceed allexpectations! attaining this,the'Kotler mother andherchild. Crusaders -Our also hopetobringinmarketinggurusfromtheindustryandgiveapracticalanglemarketing. several leadingmembersofthemarketingacademiaincludingDr Founder &HonoraryDean,GreatLakesInstituteofManagement, J.L.Kellogg DistinguishedProfessorof Bala V for theumbilicalcordtobesevered, building abrandnameforGreatLakesbyor NotetoJuniorCrusaders ConfluenceofMarketingIdeas ith ourglobalmindsetandIndianroots,propelledwithknowledgesteeredbyethicalvalues,Iamconfidentthatyouwill all ith Love, . , withmoreapplicantscompetingforeveryseatwhencomparedtothepreviousyear Balachandran the verybest. next The Crusaders, Ambassadors -Srinivasan ResearchCentreforMarketing'wasestablishedin2006. As thenextlogicalstep,GreatLakeswillor the Classof2007,hasuntilnowexceededexpectationsbyperformingwellacademicallyand Accounting andInformationSystems Crusaders ganizing eventsthatmadetheold-timerssitupandtakenotice.Nowtimehascome . MayGodbewithyou! will facethetestoftime.MayGodbewith The Junior Crusaders . SeenuSrinivasan,Dr Chennai batch of2007-08willbeinauguratedshortly . Itisarelationshipsimilartoonethatsharedbetween ganize aMarketingConferenceinDecember2007,where . PaulPrabhakerandseveralotherreputed . Butwedonottakecomfortonlyin The FatherofMarketing,Dr m whiletheytraversethebusiness nd wishoneandevery The conferencewill As afirststepin , andIneedto .Philip edged

FOUNDER'S MESSAGE P P I I H H S S R R A E E B D D M A A E E E L L

N N O Attitude towards O O'Toole (1995, “Leading change: The argument for values-based leadership,” p. 37) said: “Contrary to received wisdom, when leaders Human Beings: fail to bring about change, the fault seldom lies in a mistaken choice of how-to manuals. Our review of the Rushmorean approach to leadership prepares us for a different conclusion: leaders fail when they have an inappropriate attitude and philosophy about the Key to Business Success relationship between themselves and their followers. Those who do not respect and trust their followers cannot lead them. Conversely, Dr. Venkat R. Krishnan those who succeed at bringing about effective and moral change believe in and act on the inherent dignity of those they leadin particular, in their natural, human capacity to reason.”

Burns claimed that moral leadership emerges from, and always returns to, the fundamental wants and needs, aspirations and values, of the followers. It is a kind of leadership that can produce social change that will satisfy the followers' authentic needs. Such leadership is not to be confused with the too common practice of pandering to the base wishes of the lowest common denominatorpromising Human resources are a special kind of resource for any organization, and they cannot be meaningfully whatever the masses think they want, even if that might be inherently evil. Instead, leaders must discern the followers' true interests Dr. Venkat R. Krishnan compared with other resources. When human beings are considered to be just like any other resource, the from their stated desires and learn to address the underlying needs that the followers are unable to articulate. An effective leader must (http://www.rkvenkat.org) is a tendency is to use the human resources as a means to achieve business goals. Nothing could be more refine the followers' views in a way that transcends the surface noise of pettiness and contradiction. All values-based leaders illuminate professor of organizational destructive of long-term business success than treating human beings as a means to be used. Human their followers' better sides, thereby revealing what is good in them. In the end, the leader's vision becomes their vision because it is built behavior at Great Lakes beings are not pawns in the game of corporate chess, but they are beings whose dignity is to be respected. on the foundation of their needs and aspirations. Leaders appeal to the minds and hearts of their followers and the leadership goal is to Institute of Management, change the beliefs and behavior of the followers to make them better human beings. Chennai. He is also the Using other human beings to achieve our goals, in any manner whatsoever, is Machiavellian and is the Director of the 'Yale - Great exact opposite of authentic leadership. Leading change does not depend on circumstances, but rather it depends on the attitudes and values of the leaders. In complex settings, Lakes center for Management The primary difference between power and leadership is that power-holders treat other human beings as effective leadership will entail the dimensions of vision, trust, listening, authenticity, integrity, hope, and especially, addressing the true Research'. things or inanimate objects and use them to achieve their own goals, while leaders treat followers as needs of the followers. Without these factors, the likelihood of overcoming the ever-present resistance to change is minimal. If this is human beings and aim at achieving followers' goals besides achieving their own goals. Leadership over correct, what is required to guide effective change is not contingency theory but, rather, a new philosophy of leadership that is always human beings is exercised when persons with certain motives and purposes mobilize resources to arouse, and at all times focused on enlisting the hearts and minds of followers through inclusion and participation. Such a philosophy must be engage, and satisfy the motives of followers. This is done in order to realize goals mutually held by both rooted in the most fundamental of moral principlesrespect for people. In this realm of morality, there are no contingencies. Values-based leaders and followers. Leadership is inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values, leadership, by definition, cannot be situational or contingent.

wants, needs, aspirations, and expectations of both leaders and followers. Moreover, the genius of Evidence indicates that leaders who understand why change is resisted and are willing to make the personal investment required to leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their followers' values and overcome that resistance are likely to achieve the goals they seek. Leaders overcome the chronic and inevitable pattern of resistance in motivations. To control things is an act of power, not leadership, for things have no motives. Power only one-wayby building an alternative system of belief and allowing others to adopt it as their own. That is the essence of values-based wielders may treat people as things. Leaders may not (Burns, 1978, “Leadership,” pp. 18-19). leadership. Value-based leadership is an attitude about people, philosophy, and process. To overcome the resistance to change, one must It is often argued that organizational goals are higher in priority and that individual goals should be be willing, for starters, to change oneself.

subordinated to organizational goals. It is sometimes even claimed, perhaps ignorantly, that when The following are some characteristics of values-based leadership: individuals join organizations, they accept the organizational goals as their goals. But, no one works for another person's goals. Striving towards achieving one's goals is part of one's motivational process. 1. Integrity. Leadership requires integrity. Integrity has two aspects. Firstly, it is synonymous with truth telling or honesty. A true Hence, goals of human beings are always personal goals only. Goals of individuals in organizations leader must behave with integrity in this sense by being an honest individual, someone whose words and deeds are consistent. could comprise of money, status, meaningful work, enjoyable social relationships, providing good Secondly, the leader needs that related type of integrity that has to do with the integration of one's personality. Integrity in this sense education for their children, etc. Achieving organizational goals could be a means for achieving one's refers to the much-admired trait of wholeness or completeness that is achieved by people who have healthy self-confidence and personal goals, but human beings strive towards only their personal goals. Superior leadership requires self-esteem. People with integrity know who they are. Their self-esteem allows them to esteem and respect others. Such leaders' addressing the followers' personal goals as well as the leader's own goals or organizational goals, both as ease with themselves allows others to esteem and respect them. In spite of odds, they never lose sight of their goals or compromise equally important ends in themselves. If there is a forced trade-off between the followers' goals and on their principles. They are simultaneously principled and pragmatic. The long-term courses they adopt are based on what is organizational goals, the followers' goals should get a higher priority. Human beings cannot be used as a morally right. They are pragmatic- they maybe willing to lose out on some immediate issue but would not be distracted from the means, no matter what. Some degree of farsightedness may be needed to comprehend this though. As ultimate objective. Successful completion of one's short-term mission is not the clearest sign of effective leadership, but lifelong Swami Vivekananda said (Complete Works, Volume 1, p. 32), “Unselfishness is more paying, only consistency of high moral purpose is. people have not the patience to practice it.” 2. Vision. Values-based leadership is based on an inspiring vision. The only course for the leader is to build a vision that followers are S E G P I D I H R S B R

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N Who Will Work the O

able to adopt as their own because it is their own. In the end, the leader's vision becomes the vision of the followers because it is built on their needs and aspirations. Seed Farms of 3. Trust. Values-based leaders inspire trust and hope in their followers, who in turn become encouraged to serve, sacrifice, persevere, Knowledge? and lead change. They win the loyalty of their followers through deeds and by example. The trust in the leaders also grows if the leaders' manifest integrity, willingness to serve, and respect for followers. Dr. Shyam Sunder

4. Listening. Values-based leaders listen to their followers because they respect them and because they honestly believe that the welfare of followers is the end of leadership. While values-based leaders listen to the opinion of the people they serve, they are not prisoners of others' opinions.

5. Respect for followers. The sine qua non of morality is respect for people. Effective leadership of change usually begins with A farmer saves some of his best grain as seed to plant the next crop. While eating an extra mouthful is commitment by leaders to the moral principle of respect for followers. Those who succeed in bringing about effective and moral satisfying today, it is not worth the risk of having nothing on the table next year. What is true of Dr. Shyam Sunder is the James change believe in and act on the inherent dignity of those they leadin particular, in their natural, human capacity to reason. In agriculture is also true of society and education, except education requires us to think of much longer L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics and bringing about change, these leaders include the people affected in the change process. All human beings have certain inalienable generational cycles, not just annual crop cycles. rights; particularly everyone is entitled to be treated with respect and as ends and not means. Finance at the School of To teach its children in schools and universities, to create knowledge, and innovate, a society must attract Management, Professor of 6. Clear thinking. The leaders are clear about their own beliefs. They have thought through their assumptions about human nature. a fair share of its best young minds to education and scholarship. Is the number and quality of people Economics in the Department They listen to the needs, ideas, and aspirations of their followers, and then, within the context of their well-developed systems of attracted to teaching and research sufficient to support India's dreams be a brain bank or technological of Economics and Professor (Adjunct) in the Law School, at belief, respond to these appropriately. superpower? Yale University. He is also the 7. Inclusion. Values-based leadership requires full inclusion of followers. Inclusive leaders enable others to lead by sharing Can India have the kind of future it dreams of if she fails to attract the highest level of talent into Director of the Yale Center for information, by fostering a sense of community, and by creating a consistent system of rewards, structure, process, and universities to teach, and think of new ideas in science, technology, social science, arts and the Corporate Governance and Performance and the communication. They are committed to a principle of opportunity, giving all followers the chance to contribute to the organization humanities? President-Elect of the (O'Toole, pp. 9-34). To find your own answer, look around the room or street you are standing in. Count the number of things American Accounting Values-based leadership is the best prescription for long-term business success. Values-based leaders believe in the principles of you see which were invented in India. Watch, car, television, computer, bicycle, phone, electricity, Association. The views liberty, equality, and natural justice. They bring about change by pursuing moral ends that their followers would ultimately adopt as synthetic fabric, ballpoint pen, pencil, or mobile phone? Learning to make others' inventions is not the expressed here are his own. their own, ends that are derived from the real needs of followers. The standard of excellence for a values-based leader is to lead change same thing as being the first in the world to think and to make them. The distance we have to travel to both morally and effectively. Values-based leadership is founded on an inviolable moral principlethat followers are human beings who stand among the countries which lead the world in brain power becomes immediately obvious. are not to be used as means, but whose dignity is to be respected. Next ask: what were the characteristics of the people who made the inventions that have transformed our lives. If these were the people with high brain power, surely India has plenty of those. Again, look around you in the Great Lakes class. Now ask: how many of them are, or will be, devoted to invention and scholarship? It might be easier to answer the question: how many of our brightest friends are NOT pursuing MBA or software engineering. In India, the answer can sometimes be disappointing.

India cannot aspire to the future as an advanced society without original thinkers to inspire the new generations of students, new ideas, original scientific research, development of technology, and producing fine arts and literatures that great minds create and appreciate.

How do we make sure that India's institutions of higher learning attract a fair share of the best minds of each generation into teaching and research careers? As a member of the extraordinarily talented group of India's young generation, each student of the Great Lakes Institute, and the readers of this magazine, are candidates for such careers. India is a free country. How many of us choose to toil in the seed farms of knowledge, instead of consuming the fruits of the knowledge created by others, is for each person to decide. What is your answer? S S T T N N E E T T N N O O C Contents C

Cover Story

Perspectives In conversation with Rahul Bajaj and Madhur Bajaj 1 e v ti ec sp "What makes an airplane work - the engine or the wings?" 22 er Beyond Conventional Wisdom P Ramachandran C.V Dr. C.K. Prahalad's talk at Great Lakes 3 e v ti ec sp "Marketing - For, By & To the Employee : An HR Perspective" er P Praveen Pantula & Amit Bhalla 25 Service May Begin with as Smile, but Doesn't End with it Dr. Suresh Ramanathan 4 Alumni Speak e v ti ec sp On Lifestage Marketing er Build a Strategic Dashboard And Fast-Forward Business Performance P Madan Menon 27 Dr. Paul Prabhaker 6 Events

What Drives your Business? The BIG Bash! 29 Mr. Arjun Chakraverti 9

Successful Women In Management The Battle Begins-L'Attitude 13005' Kartika Natarajan 31 Corporate ethics or self-righteousness? Ms. Sucheta Dalal 12 The EMBA Pioneer Batch Graduates Divya Singaravelu 32

The 3 Gears of Innovation Ms. Radhika Chadha & Mr. Parmit Chadha 14 Placement Report 2007 Chinese Connection Placement Committee 33

'CHINDIA'- A new buzzword Mr. Santha Ram 16 SWIM 2007- 'The New Emerging Identities of Women' 34 Nandini T. Reddy Events Accolades

President Carter's Goodwill visit to India. "Not a Hand-Out but a Hand Up" Dr. Bala V. Balachandran 18 Students' Accolades 35

EMBA Perspective The Year That Was

My EMBA Journey Ms. Sharada Ramani 20 Memories of the past year, a pictorial retreat! 37 Y market and we would eventually be there. We exported 250,000 would be difficult to do CSR. Corporate governance would Y R R

O vehicles worth Rs. 900 crores in 2004 and in 2006 we are involve accountability, transparency and disclosure. This is not a O

T exporting 400,000 vehicles worth Rs. 1400 crores. We are also T

S voluntary choice, but a necessary one. We have already talked S

R increasing our capacities. We have also started our own plants in about it in the Budget Session and in Clause 49 of the SEBI act. R E Jakarta and Nigeria. We also sold 40,000 vehicles in Latin These are requirements. Fifteen years ago, corporate governance E V V

O America(in Columbia). However, China does not allow for 100% was not present. Right now it is a buzz word because it is required O C FDIs in the Automotive sector. I will enter the day when it by law, especially after Enron and WorldCom. So all over the C In conversation with becomes a proper market economy. India is WTO compliant, but world, there is an increased level of awareness today. After that, China is not. So we would not enter that market until this happens. there is CSR. Doing CSR will help shareholder value in the long Rahul Bajaj and M.B. : The European market has got certain issues to be dealt with term if not in the short term. It will help the environment. This but we will enter it in the future. Right now our thrust is on Latin could include employee welfare, for example. This is not America, Sri Lanka etc., where the markets have a lot of required by law. Whether it is HIV/AIDS awareness, employee commonality with the Indian market. While we will continue our welfare or anything else, this is what CSR is. The third part is Madhur Bajaj thrust in neighboring countries, we are looking at emerging charity. We do not expect returns for charity. So these are the markets because that is where our vehicles are more suited for. three categories. Maybe when you see it with this framework, maybe we are better than America. When it comes to charity, we Do you believe in inorganic growth? Or would you prefer to are better. Lots of companies engage in philanthropic activities. add your own capacities and believe in organic growth? M.B.: Currently what is now called Car.B on credit points is R.B.: We are for both organic and inorganic growth. But we aren't being increasingly earned by India. We are very concerned about in an industry which does not have too many companies. There are the environmental issues and you would be surprised to know very few small companies that are not taken over. For example, that India has the most stringent emission norms as far as 2 In the 1970's & 1980's, Bajaj scooters had a model that would sell well. A young team was there is Ducati, a small company by size, but a large one by image. wheelers are concerned. As far as cars are concerned we are Mr. Rahul Bajaj is the waiting time of 10-years. However, today working on that. From 2003 onwards, the So we are keeping all our options open. Chairman Bajaj Auto and anyone can walk into a Probiking show room turnaround started. And when the PULSAR got getting there and trying to fast catch up and remove the gaps. Also M.B.: We could probably be looking for Joint Ventures with auto the Auto Industry that we represent is not considered in the Mr. Madhur Bajaj is the Vice and drive out with a Pulsar 180 DTSi. How did the bike of the year award, the media went gaga! ancillary companies. If a suitable company is available we would polluting industry category and the problems with chemical Chairman of the Board of this change occur? How has the supply chain M.B.: As R.B. rightly said no company can go for it. However, in our industry, we would have to grow by effluents have also been rectified. We have taken a very long term Directors of Bajaj Auto. evolved? survive with a strategy that is 10 years old. The expanding. In a two-wheeler industry inorganic growth is not a view and the auto industry came out with the Auto Vision Plan R.B.: No company will survive in 2006 if they market has evolved rapidly and customers want very viable option currently. 2006-2016 to chart out a course to see that the environment is perform the same way as they did in 1996. This more choices all the time. People want delivery of protected. problem was due to socialism. We could not work their vehicles within days and expect dealers to As a businessman, what are the two things that you would like as fast as we wanted to. Every scooter had a deliver prompt service. It is only natural that Bajaj to change about governmental policy? What are the two Any particular reason why Bajaj is pursuing corporate waiting period that was higher than ours. Today has evolved to cater to the demands of its things you would like to improve to enable 'India Inc' grow knowledge partnerships in exploring technical and market quality is something totally different from that of customers. faster? options in third world countries like Nigeria etc. Also what 1996. The comparison would not be appropriate. R.B.: I would say infrastructure and a flexible labor policy. These are your export projections for this year? During the 1990's, Bajaj hardly had two motor There was a time change. are the two main things, but there could be other areas too. But cycle models. However, at the 1999 Auto Expo, M.B.: When the whole world was in India we went out to the But the credit goes to Rajiv Bajaj and his team. these are the most important right now. Bajaj displayed 17 new models. How was Bajaj world and made sure that 10-15% of our entire sales were from They were able to convert the Scooter Company able to achieve this technological feat? M.B.: I think better focus on the practical part of education would exports. Now we are the largest 2 and 3 wheeler exporters from into a two wheeler and three wheeler company. be one area to improve on. The other would be the quality and India. We have also started a plant in Indonesia and will be M.B.: Right from the beginning in the 60's we But we lost out in scooters, where we gained in efficiency of our infrastructure agencies. starting another one soon in Nigeria. We feel that the world has to were a scooter company. Then in the mid eighties motor cycles. However, 2000 was a disaster for be our stage and do not want to limit ourselves to India alone. the Kawasakis' and the Yamahas' started entering us. But still we made a 200 crore profit in that Could you tell us about Bajaj's CSR activities? And we expect our exports to cross about 400,000 vehicles this the market. For a long time it was the KB 100 and year, and there are companies that still don't make R.B.: We give four awards a year through the JB Foundation. But year. that kind of profit. So, in the year 2000, we lost the two stroke and four stroke variants that apart from this, we aren't involved in CSR. The initiatives are R.B.: We wanted to leave our footprints across the globe and the our number one position to Hero Honda. Hero dominated the market. But from the 60's right present, but we would always be increasing this. most logical step was to focus on developing countries like Honda had an 85% market share. But in 1999, the until 1996 we have been the leaders in the scooter Nigeria and Indonesia. The main reason for a global outlook was displays at the Auto Expo had been worked on for industry. In 1996, we still did not have much M.B.: We have focused on the safety aspect of our vehicles and to ensure that Bajaj has more avenues to explore and capitalize on many years. The beginning was in 1997. We also competition. In 1997, the scooter market gave have taken necessary steps to ensure that we produce more and in the future. Another angle would be the risk mitigation that introduced variants. They were not 16 distinct way to the motor cycle market and things started more safe vehicles in the years to come. There are a number of becomes possible once you expand your market. So all in all it models. Nobody in the world can do that, anyway. changing very fast. We never anticipated stakeholders as far as safety is concerned and the industry as such looked like a very good option to explore market options in third But we were intelligent in introducing variants. anything. But clearly Hero Honda had an has announced various training programs for drivers and we at world countries. We promised to deliver in eighteen months and advantage. They made only motor cycles. So their Bajaj have taken an initiative to show a film highlighting the growth was very good. But we started responding safety aspects of driving to all the three-wheelers' drivers in Pune. we did. Now we are number one in the lower and We have Dr. Abdul Kalam, Dr. Manmohan Singh & Dr. P. upper segments. Splendour is the leader in the to change like anybody else. This has helped a lot in improving the image and driving aspects of the three wheeler drivers there. Chidambaram at the helm of affairs in our country. As a mid-segment or executive segment. We have businessman, is this the most conducive team that you have Discoverer and the Platina there. But they still are Bajaj has offices at Central America and Latin Do you think 'India Inc' is doing enough on the CSR front? come across? Can they deliver what they promise? clearly the leaders. They took three years to America - are you looking to enter the become number one. And the media blamed us, European market? On a different note does R.B.: Somebody will say we are doing enough and somebody will R.B. : There can't be better reformers than the names you have but the fact was that we had failed in seeing the Bajaj plan to enter into the Chinese market? say that we aren't doing enough. Not everybody understands CSR taken. However, the left will always prevent them from competition forefront. But the great thing was R.B.: We don't plan to enter China. However, we well. The company's activities are threefold: The first important implementing their decisions properly. 1 that we were able to come up with a motorcycle would like to go global. But China is a huge thing for a company is corporate governance. Without this, it - As told to Team Gravity 2 Y Y R R O O T T S S

R R E E V V O O C Beyond Service May Begin with a C Conventional Smile, but Doesn't Wisdom End with it Dr. C.K. Prahalad's talk at Dr. Suresh Ramanathan Great Lakes

The author of the famous “The Fortune at the Bottom and other guests in the audience on the dangers of Pick any company where you may have had an company so special is the fact that every Dr. C.K. Prahalad is the Paul of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits” giving less that world class quality to people just occasion to interact with its customer service, employee goes through continuous training Dr. Suresh Ramanathan is the and Ruth McCracken Dr. C.K.Prahalad, the Paul and Ruth McCracken because they were poor. either in person or over the phone. Chances are where he/she is exposed to the trials and Associate Professor of Distinguished Professor at the Distinguished Professor of Corporate Strategy, Speaking of Great Lakes he emphasized on the that you waited a while before an obsequious tribulations faced by their customers from eating marketing at the University of Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, addressed the students of importance of learning Chinese as part of the employee uttered a series of banal “Yes Sirs” or MRE (ready to eat meals that are the staple for the Chicago Graduate School of University of Michigan. He is a Great Lakes Institute of Management as part of the business curriculum keeping in mind the fact that the “Yes Madams” in dealing with your issue. troops) to strapping on 65 lb backpacks and flak Business. He graduated from globally known figure and has “Business Prophet” lecture series organized by the Chinese populace across the globe was a whooping Chances are that the problem did get solved jackets to reading real letters from soldiers to their the Indian Institute of consulted with the top school. The welcome address was delivered by the 1.8 million. “Every business school should teach by ultimately after jumping through a few hoops. families. The idea is to build empathy and Technology, Delhi and is an management of many of the Founder and Honorary Dean of Great Lakes Institute force one additional foreign language to make global Someone then asks you, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how understanding for customers and to be able to alumnus of the Indian world's foremost companies. of Management and J.L. Kellogg Distinguished managers,” he said. satisfied were you about how we resolved your better anticipate what they might need. At No. 14 Institute of Management, He has written many Professor of Accounting and Information Systems As for the dismal conditions prevailing in the issue?” Not wanting to be too mean, you answer is a bank that revels in how different it is from all Calcutta. He has a Ph.D. in bestsellers including Dr. Bala V. Balachandran. The event was presided agricultural industry, Dr. Prahalad spoke of how “4.” That number determines a key metric the others. At Washington Mutual's branches, marketing from New York Competing for the Future and over by Mr. Lakshminarayan, the then CEO, agriculture could be reformed with the use of customer satisfaction. Imagine now that 1000 there are no tellers sitting behind tall counters University. His areas of The fortune at the Bottom of Cognizant Technologies Ltd. logistics. He spoke of the huge inequalities that were people like you also answered the same way, and (and certainly not any who sit and drink a cup of research revolve round the the Pyramid. Dr. Prahalad has Dr. Prahalad spoke on the various business challenges inherent in India with one end of the spectrum having the company you interacted with has a pretty tea and chat with fellow employees while 'Dynamics of affective and a Ph.D. from Harvard in the current global environment and spoke on ways many children die year after year of malnutrition and good satisfaction score. Managers pat themselves customers fret and fume, but that is another goal-driven processes', 'Non- University. of overcoming the impediments that lay before India. on the other end having children who suffered from a on their backs, and everyone is happy with the matter) and no long lines. Instead, employees are conscious decision processes', He laid stress on the importance of challenging and different sort of malnourishment- acute obesity at a state of affairs. Unfortunately, this reflects a stationed throughout the bank and can be freely 'Impulsive behavior' and questioning the old ways of creating value. The very young age and of the many who live oblivious of mentality, where customer service is seen to be approached by customers. These are but two 'Health-related marketing'. creator of the famous 'co-creation of value' concept, the growing shanty towns. To put things in nothing more than the back end of a transactional examples of companies that listen to their He was previously the Media Dr. Prahalad said, “We should get rid of perspective he spoke of the cell phone diffusion in relationship, limited to interactions immediately customers, empathize with their concerns, and Research Director, McCann- India, which has seen 5 to 6 million consumers per distinguishing between the services business, before the sale and soon after the sale. resolve those concerns by creating systems and Erickson. month. He lauded the efforts taken by ITC and software business and manufacturing and instead use structures to deal with them. sensors, connectivity, database, deliverable analytics E-Choupal for the work done by them to empower Organizations that are truly customer-oriented do and intelligence so as to create values.” the rural poor. not merely hire employees, who are trained to How can companies in the new vibrant Indian The key drivers of value he said, were experience, “The three priorities that India should look at are smile and answer questions politely. While economy benefit from these lessons? India is co-creation, thematic communities and networking. focusing on intelligent products (software intensity), courtesy is an important determinant of how blessed with a young workforce and a strong Speaking on what India should focus on and about a consortium for nano-technology and an eco system happy customers feel about the experience, it is service orientation. It is relatively easy to get very India's critical skills, Dr. Prahalad added, for innovation,” he stressed. Dr. Prahalad concluded not the sine qua non of customer satisfaction. good people to man the customer service “Collaborative capacity, innovative business models his speech by leaving the audience with the Customer-oriented organizations recognize the positions. They are smart, well-educated and and integrative capacity should be used as a substitute revolutionary thought of combining the automotive goals and motivations of their customers and competent. What is missing, at least in many for investment capacity”. He also spoke of how one industry and software industry, which were located identify dimensions along which true value can companies that I know of, is the desire to could tap into the myriad new opportunities that exist in the same geographic clusters on the premise of be delivered. Business Week recently listed 25 understand what their customers really want. At for the Indian manufacturing sector by creating making better profits. On the whole the audience companies which were at the top of the heap in the heart of this is a transactional mindset, intelligent products and services, having a global consisting of both students and business executives customer service. Listed at No. 1 is an insurance wherein everything is geared towards the sale and supply chain, energy efficiency and price were richer from the experience. company called USAA, which caters exclusively everyone gets the same plain vanilla treatment. - Priyamvada S., PGPM Class of 2007 3 performance. He cautioned the corporates, students to employees of the US military. What makes this Instead, it is important to define relationship 4 5 COVER STORY interaction. them andmanagesthepointsofpleasurepainduring responds totheirneedsorproblems,butproacti out therewhoexpecttointeractwithacompanythatnotjust entrainment. Inotherwords,thereisalar relationship basedonprinciplesofempathyandmutual than atransactionalrelationship,othersrequireanemotional customers mayundoubtedlynotbelookingforanythingmore priorities fordif opera fanandhasaskedaconcier hotels inthechainaretrackedcontinuously customer's requestsandpreferencesduringastayatanyofthe customer whenshe/hechecksin.Harrah's,theworld'slar oftentimes, ticketstoanewshowwillbewaitingforthe occasion, theinformationisavailableonsystemand casino chain,tracksplaysonareal-timeba 2. or Caesar'sPalace. other casinosthatarepartoftheHarrah'sgroup across allproperties,notjustinHarrah'sowncasinosbutalso on theirplayingpatterns. promotions andcompensationsforindividualcustomersbased elaborate database,wherebehavioralortr industry today CRM andindeed,isprobablythemost-usedbuzzwordin high qualityCRMsystems.Manycompanieshaveinvestedin that acompanyiscustomer stored. MerelyhavingaCRMsysteminplacedoesnotmean 1. the following: In ordertobecustomer putting thecartbeforehorse. wish todeveloparelationshipwiththecompanyisakin thinking aboutthespecificneedsofcustomersandhowthey Listen tocustomers tounderstandwhattheyvalue the Ef customers' metandunmet needs. most. resources andinHRtraining. also meansef tightly withtherestofor or customer advocate. Customer Of recognized fortheirqualityofservicehaveaChief every partofmanagement.Companiesthatare ganization, itispossibletointegrate thisrolemore fect or The Ritz-Carltonhotelisonesuchexample.Every A . However varietyoftools areavailabletoresearch ganizational changestoensurebuy-infrom -centricity onthepartofothers withinthe ferent groupsofcustomers. While thatmightleadtoabdicationof What makesallthispossibleisinvestmentin fecting changesininformationtechnology ficer whoseroleistobeacustomer -oriented, or , mostcompaniesviewCRMasan -oriented. InvestinginCRMwithout Again, thisinformationistracked ge forticketsatsomeprevious ganization. Importantly ganizations needtoensure ge groupofcustomers While some ofthese . Ifacustomerisan ansactional datais sis anddesigns vely anticipates suchasBally's While some , this gest the Indianeconomyevolvesand emer service. actively anticipate thosechangesanddel themselves not just toadaptchangingcustomer needsbutto socialist thinking,forward-thinking companieswillre-invent These arethedriversofatruly customer 4. 5. 3. Systematically mapoutpointsofpleasureandpain Establish bettermeasuresofsatisfactionandcustomer Empower employeessothattheycangothe“extramile.” business. the dealrightthen.Needlesstosay an empoweredemployeewouldhavebeenabletoclose process wasexpectedtotakemorethanaweek.Instead, about theinteractionisthereforeveryimportant. experience. Knowingwhatpeoplelikeanddon't during theexperience,andfeelingatendof they recalltwokeymoments do notremembereverythingaboutanexperience,but during everyinteractionandattouch-point.People an activeadvocateforthecompany emotionally engagedcustomerwhoismorelikelytobe because oflackchoice,itisbettertohavean “loyal” customerwhoisjustahostagetothecompany customer iswiththecompany important tolookathowemotionallyinvestedthe performance alongspecificdimensions,itisalso engagement. approved bysomenamelessentitythere. to besenttheirheadof account tobeopened.Shesaidthattheformswouldneed hands ontheissueofhowlongitwouldtakefor manager wasextremelycourteous,butthrewupher India, IwashopingtoopenanNRIaccount. this fact.Lookingtotransfersomeforeigncurrency can comeinthewayofacustomerrelationship. experience withalar sources ofinformation. surveys (recentlywon/lostcustomers)areallpotential benchmark studiesagainstcompetitorsandswitching surveys (e.g.,amongcustomerswhoreturnaproduct), need morecarefulandin-depthresearch.Criticalincident measures, othersarerelativelynon-consciousandmay needs canbearticulatedandavailablethroughself-report T oo often,bureaucraticwranglesandexcessiveredtape Apart fromobjectivefactorsthatmeasure ge privatebankinIndiaunderscored fice inMumbai,verifiedand thepeakpleasure/pain . Ratherthanhavinga ges fromitscocoonof -oriented company . iver trulyworld-class , thebanklostmy The entire The bank A recent . As Intr goals thatfirmalsoneedstomonitor analogous tothatof T capabilities canbemultipliedmanytimesover limited value;withvision,thevalueofhuman without vision,greathumancapabilitieshave The conceptofa of theappropriatebusinessmetrics. predicated ontimelyandaccuratemeasurement redesign ofbusinessprocessesareboth formulation ofnewbusinessstrategiesand redesign itsbusinessprocesses.Ef constantly monitor strategic directionofafirm. serve as“dashboardgauges”inguidingthe Business metricsandperformancemeasures Advantage Business MetricsaKeytoCompetitive environment. particular competitiveandcustomer to haveinplaceasetofmetricsappropriatefor sustained success,abusinessor strategies. directional trendsandtar indicating thecurrentperformance,baselines, consists ofappropriategauges(metrics) close monitoring ofthis link,viathe useof or strategies weretocontinue unchanged. indicate whereabusinessisheaded ifthecurrent firm. competing in,will af change intheenvironment which thefirmi o achievesustainedsuccessafirmmust ganizational goals isever oduction

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trategic estimating thefuturegrowth ofafirm. evaluating thegeneral qualityofaprovideror in shareholders, customers, vendorsorcreditors in accountability measures thatareused by There areotherbusinessmetrics like,the the stakeholdersaregenerallyinternal tothefirm. business processreengineering. metrics couldbeusedforquality improvementor the basisforanor stakeholders. Somebusinessmetricsareusedas Dif worth ofabusinesstoallinterestedparties. measures areusedforcommunicatingtheproper ef purposes. Somemeasuresareusedforthe metrics foror accountability purposesandotherbusiness general, therearebusinessmetricsfor Dif T measur however management ofanor firm insustainingbusinesssuccess.Suchtight firm's businessstrategiesisakeyissueforany strategies. leading tochangesinthefirm'sbusiness These measureswouldthenbethepivotalspark deployed. (metrics), aslongpropermetricsarebeing captured, asmeasurements,bythegauges changing performanceofthefirmshouldthenbe sustained businesssuccess. appropriate businessmetrics,isessentialfor Dr ypology ofBusinessMetrics ficient strategicsteeringofafirm.Other ferent metricsservetheinterestsofdif ferent metricsservedif . PaulPrabhaker ement oftheappr , is possibleonlybytheknowledgeand

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R R E E V V O O C C

Limitations of Traditional Metrics The notion that traditional financial metrics less and less reflect ! Good performance metrics need to reflect progress against a maturity stage. The strategic focus here is on standardization and current strategies has been argued extensively in the research plan. This property allows a metric to go beyond being just a securing mass-segment customers. The metric driving the Traditionally, businesses have used financial performance literature. A study conducted by Ernst & Young LLP's cennter measure. Metrics with this property are vehicles for strategies is overall market-share and cost-minimization while measures as their mainstays in (a) tracking their gains and losses, for Business Innovation concludes that two-thirds of the organizations to clarify, communicate and manage strategy. the key anti-metric to be suppressed is customer satisfaction. (b) formulating business strategies, (c) communicating market allocation decisions financial analysts make are based on non- The decline stage is considered the final one in a product-life- value to shareholders, and (d) analyzing competitors' strengths ! Good metrics should closely reflect long-term financial metrics!! Specifically, the three non-financial metrics cycle. Marketing strategies that are usually advocated at this and weaknesses. organizational success and not just short-term financial that mattered the most were (a) quality of product, (b) quality of phase are segment-of-one marketing mass-customization. The gains. A survey of 420 practitioners suggests that analysts go management, and (c)market position of firm. A key conclusion metric driving these strategies is profits and the anti-metric to be well beyond traditional financial measures and use a broad in this study is that “the market evaluates a company based on the wary of here is design changes. range of strategic leading indicators to assess long-term perception of its non-financials. To realize full value for your organizational success. Thus, it makes sense that TRACKING company, you have to communicate non-financial information”. Conclusion FORMULATING organizations use the type of metrics analysts use to evaluate GAINS & LOSSES Unless a construct is defined and measured it cannot be BUSINESS them. The theme of this article is to highlight the requirement for near STRATEGIES communicated. Your strategic dashboard has to provide your real-time visibility into the strategy-performance dynamic. ! Any good metric should be part of an integrated business with the right vision to steer strategy effectively. Poorly conceived or inappropriate metrics result in performance measuring system. Metrics, no matter how BUSINESS Furthermore, the inadequacy of traditional metrics is clear when organizational insensitivity to changes in firm performance. As well defined they are, if interpreted in isolation, can lead to METRICS it comes to measuring the performance of different Lewis (1996) puts it, regarding business metrics, “use it well and problems. It is best to construct metrics by fragmenting the organizational functions , for example there is a need to develop performance will improve. Use it poorly and only the measure measurement system. COMMUNICATING non-financial measurements to evaluate the performance in will improve”. The gauges may show higher customer MARKET VALUE TO ANALYZING functions like sales & marketing, manufacturing, information ! Good performance metrics should be properly aligned with satisfaction, but the profits may not have increased. Thus, the SHAREHOLDERS COMPETITORS systems, purchasing, R&D, or any other organizational function. business strategy. It is not uncommon to find an organization critical need for a strategic dashboard. redoing its business strategy but without concurrently In the next section we will discuss the inadequacy of traditional A firm can only manage what it “sees”. But, by the same token, redefining it's metrics. As discussed earlier, changing metrics from functional point of view and how new metrics are that firm should also “see” only what it wants to manage. A business strategy, without updating the metric, can lead to helpful in such functions. business organization that continually monitors and effectively serious problem in measuring the strategy performance While the traditional metrics have served adequately for the adopts the use of a strategic dashboard would have discovered a link. contexts they were designed for, they increasingly fall short of Properties of Strategic Dashboards fundamentally unique source of competitive advantage. reflecting today's business environment, as discussed in earlier In coming up with new metrics, it is best to specify the properties Anti-Metrics sections. one desires in that metric and then define the metric. As an Examples of shortcomings of such metrics evaluated in light of illustration, consider the link between strategy and performance Beware of accounting indicators that come disguised as today's powerful business drivers, are: of a business. The metrics in use will ultimately reflect the strategic direction-finders !! strength of the strategy performance linkage. Different metrics ! In software companies, the real assets include the people, Consider the metrics normally utilized by business in managing will invariably reflect different levels of this linkage. In studying software and R&D. Traditional accounting methods do not products across their PLC. It is well known that product the impact of total quality management (TQM) programs, record these “off-balance-sheet” assets. Hence, traditional marketing strategies vary depending on the stage of the life-cycle different metrics may reflect different effects. A study metrics do not reflect these assets. the product is in. At every stage of a technology-life-cycle there comparing quality award winners with other control firms shows are key metrics that need to be leveraged and key anti-metrics ! In automotive companies, sales revenue and customer that as quality increases (a) operating-income increases, (b) that should be de-emphasized in forming strategies. satisfaction are not always correlated. Within the industry, sales-growth increases, but (c) costs do not decrease. Depending one of the most important metrics that signals future sales on which of the three metrics are being used, the impact of the The marketing mix strategies are aggressive and driven by key growth and market-share formation is “customers' intent to TQM program could be measured differently. Thus, based on the metrics, which are market acceptance of the product and purchase”. This is a non-traditional metric and is never metric being used, one could end up with a biased conclusion customer satisfaction. The key anti-metric here, the one that revealed in traditional accounting information. This metric regarding the efficacy of that strategy. could lead to a premature market failure, is product profits. In the is measured and reported by organizations such as growth stage of the product-life-cycle, the preferred marketing J.D.Power based on customer surveys. In examining the current research, there are some specific strategy is to focus on market penetration, with the goal of properties that good metrics need to possess: ! In food companies the metric “brand equity” reflects the quickly establishing a dominating presence in a niche. The key degree to which a product has differentiated itself from the ! Metrics, designed for purposes of accountability, should be anti-metrics in this case are segment-share and time-to-segment- competitors' products. This again is a non-traditional constantly reviewed based on the changing standards of dominance. The anti-metric to be actively avoided in this stage is metric. It is not reflected in traditional financial statements. accountability. total revenue. The third stage in a product-life-cycle is the 7 8 Y Y R R O O T T S S

R R E E V V O O C What C Drives your expressed, is put down to ingratitude and lack of appreciation of at the time. He was required to fly to Mumbai for an important the finer aspects of governance. conference. After checking in at the airport, it suddenly struck We thus see that 'Asset Protection' can be a two-edged sword him that he had left his laptop at home and without it, it was Business? enabling the Government to harass and even torment us, all in the pointless traveling. The only option available was to go home and name of protecting our assets!!! pick up the laptop but this would have meant missing the flight. Mr. Arjun Chakraverti There was another flight an hour later but that was not a Jet It is not as though companies in the private sector are immune to Airways flight and he did not have a ticket. The Jet Airways this approach. 'Asset Protection' is a potent mantra that is executive at the counter not only cancelled his ticket with full regularly invoked by companies to be less than helpful to their refund but told him to go home and get his laptop while in the customers. The trend is more pronounced in companies that have meantime he (the Jet Airways executive) used his good offices to been in existence for long, particularly so in those that either hold organize a ticket and check-in on the Modi Luft flight an hour monopoly status or else held such status till recently. We can intuitively arrive at a set of stakeholders reasonably expect to be determined by the later. Jet Airways had not just lost revenue on a ticket but actively who may conceivably drive a business. These expectations of these customers. Mr. Arjun Chakraverti, Do these companies stand to benefit? Clearly, they believe they helped a competitor earn some revenue. In an 'Asset Protection' Principal Consultant, include customers, shareholders, employees, However, in actual fact we see that that action by do. That is why the practice continues. Perhaps, the presumed oriented organization such an act would never have been Indusage, is an alumnus of suppliers, the Government and society in general, the Government has only a tenuous link with benefit outweighs the cost in such cases. But are the costs permitted. However what they did earn was the undying loyalty IIM Calcutta. Mr. Chakraverti among others. Clearly, every single one of these customer expectations. On the contrary, properly enumerated? of my colleague. He remains loyal to Jet Airways to this day and has worked with companies has an influence on the direction that an government officials at all levels are actually seen also never tires of selling Jet as a brand to others. such as Motorola, US West and Speaking for myself, I know that I tend to shy away from organization takes. The question is whether any to harass those that may normally be described as British American Tobacco in a purchasing insurance because of my doubts that the company Of all the private airlines operating in India at the time (1997), one of these stakeholders has a prime role in their customers. Little or no heed is paid to their glittering 20 year career. Since concerned will ever pay me if the disaster insured against (and these included Modi Luft, East West, Damania, NEPC determining the direction that the business takes. needs or expectations. One could be tempted into 2001, he has been a full-time actually occurs. This perception has been created in my mind by among others), Jet Airways has been the only one to survive...and Management Consultant, The dictionary definition of 'business' allows for a believing that rather than service, a huge some acute harassment by insurance companies in the past. I'm thrive! Coincidence? I don't really think so. advising corporations on range of activities by an individual or an extortion racket is at play. sure the harassment was not intended as such. Their obsessive matters pertaining to Strategy, Trust is one of the important intangibles that a business organization, some for profit, some for other Yet, in reality, if one were to ignore the odd suspicion was really indicative of their desire to protect their Marketing and Integration reasons. If one proceeds by a process of organization offers. But trust is only one part of a larger issues. He is also a visiting instances of extortion and dishonesty in the company's assets. But in the process they have probably elimination, it is easy to conceive of businesses customer-centric agenda. In the example just cited, Jet Airways faculty at Great Lakes, where Government, much of the harassment that the alienated a lot of prospective customers and done their business a quite clearly placed the customer above any petty revenue he teaches a course on which have no employees, no shareholders, or citizen is subjected to is not driven by venality or serious disservice. operated in environments where the Government assurance agenda it could have had. And won out in the long Technology Marketing. questionable morals. Instead, we find that the real By way of another example, a well-known chain of hotels has the or even society has little role to play. However, it driving force is the illusory sacred cow of 'Public term! rather unfortunate tendency of telling guests checking in after 10 is difficult in the extreme to conceive of a Interest'. What is this 'public interest' and what pm (sometimes, even guests with reservations), that no rooms are However, a culture like this presupposes considerable freedom 'business' which has no customer in mind. in it is so important that it drives millions to available. They are really doing this probably to conserve scarce on the part of management to operate unfettered by influence extreme measures, some to suicide, each year? If We may thus infer that the distinguishing rooms for customers important to them, especially these days, from other stakeholders. Business climate has always had one studies the phenomenon carefully, it soon characteristic of a business (as opposed to other when hotels run full. The executive at the front office will claim a pressure from other stakeholders for the verifiable pursuit of their becomes clear that 'public interest', for the best forms of human activity), is the existence of a lack of authority to ameliorate your situation. The matter will get agenda, narrow as it may be. Shareholders would like to know part, translates into an obsessive preoccupation customer. One would, therefore, normally escalated to the next level and you will get your room. The image that their investments are being protected. In the Jet Airways with the protection of public assets. Mistakes are assume that the customer would play a you will carry away will be strongly negative. You may ask what example given, what they might see is irresponsible profligacy, strongly discouraged, not just from within the disproportionately large role in the mind of the the hotel achieves through this and whether it wouldn't be not customer-centricity. If Jet Airways had been under the control Government but from outside too, especially the person running the business. preferable to give the room in the first place. In reply, you will of a powerful hands-on shareholder or shareholder group, their media. This retards initiative and encourages probably hear that the executive is simply following the SOP idea of corporate governance and associated controls may well In actual fact, we find that this is not so in many centralization within the Government. Even the (Standard Operating Procedure) prescribed for such situations. have precluded any possibility of the customer-centric behavior cases, perhaps even in a majority of cases. smallest and most trivial decisions get propelled Under the SOP, a front-office executive cannot release rooms but of the Jet Airways executive. The most striking example in India is that of up the hierarchy by officials in customer-facing his immediate superior can. 'Asset Protection' being invoked Jet Airways also acquired fairly early a reputation for punctuality governments (of all types) in India. Under normal positions. Far from the frontline, the urgency to again? and quick service. One element in this has been the hard work and circumstances, one could be forgiven for address customer issues evaporates. commitment put in by employees, unfettered by the kind of believing that any Government is a part of the Understanding of the problem is also poor at these In contrast, I have found a strong customer-centricity in some unionism that you see in other airlines. 'service industry', so to speak. Their prime rarefied heights and so, if at all the issue is companies, even in India. An example pertaining to Jet Airways, customer would be expected to be the ordinary addressed; it is done in a manner that leaves the going back some ten years, may help illustrate the point. The The business environment in India has over the past ten years, customer dissatisfied. His dissatisfaction, if 9 citizen and action by the Government could person recounting the story was a colleague located in Bangalore seen a drop in the influence of unions, whose obstructive 10 11 COVER STORY behavior inearlieryearswasagaindone their members' customer loyalty revenue wouldhavebeenverifiable,thepositiveimpactof be verifiable.IntheJet These normsoftenrequiretheimpactofmanagementpolicyto governance normsintroducedbyzealousshareholdergroups. against thecompany'sinterestsbecauseofcorporate T influence. more thancompensatedforintheincreaseofshareholder the companiesshutdown)butthislossininfluencehasbeen usually lesscognizantofthebusinessnuancest they ownthanmanagerswithinthecompany accepting customer allow themselvestobetyrannizedbyshareholdersinto stakeholders inthecompanysuf everyone, customers,shareholders,managersandallother realistic toaim for ateamwithmemberswh will findindividuals withallthelistedtraits soitismore some morefriendly thanothers.Itishighlyunlikely thatyou meticulous thanothers,some more patientthanothersand are morehelpfulbynaturethan others,somewhoaremore the stageofmanpowerselection. The creationofacustomerfriendly workculturestartsrightat conflict withcustomerinterestsbutverifiability Here againweobservethatwhatshareholdersseekisnot section of desiredtraits. verifiable measures. freedom toaddresscustomerintereststhroughdocumentedand for theirremoval,companieswoulddowiselytonegotiate shareholder groupsdoalsohelpthecompanysoratherthanask corporate governancerelatednormsandpoliciesinstitutedby · · So tobetrulycustomer customer delightislinkedtospontaneousaction. oday managementsoftendothingsthattheyknowtobe Create acultureofcustomer greatest possibleextent. Introduce processesthatempowerthefrontendto • • The moreverifiablethisis,thelessother This empowermenthastobeusedforthebenefitof stakeholders willresist. feedback systemstomeasurethis. the customersoitmaybeagoodideatohave (never mindthatmostwereonthestreetswhen , ratherlessso. -unfriendly rules(whichoftenhappens), This iseasiersaidthandoneasalotof -centric, acompanyhasto:- Airways examplecited,thelossof Y et, in practice, wefind that fer -friendliness. Inaddition,shareholdersare . There aresomepeoplewho 'in thebestinterest o coverthecross- . Ifmanagements he companies . Other s of have inthecourseofmycareer have qualificationsandevenexperienceincustomercare.I profile. Itisonethingtobenaturallyhelpful,quiteanother the latterbeingmeasuredinyearsspentconcernedjob recruitment isdonebasedonqualificationsandexperience, customer practices. Iftheinternalcultureissurlyandunhelpfula friendliness istheinternalworkculturethator The otheraspecttocreationofaculturecustomer qualified peopletobetheleasthelpful. your business. business, thestakeholderthat,morethananyo customer is,indeed,themostimportantstakeholderinyour But thefirststeponroadisacknowledgementthat deriving, forthebestpart,fromcommonsense. have focusedonarethestepsthateasiesttoimplement, While thereismuchmoretobeingcustomercentric,whatwe too willbetreatedextremelywell. 'work asfun'andemotionalsupportisonewherethecustomer to thecustomer can restassuredthatheorshewillalsobesurlyandunhelpful of ten, isn'talwayseasilyforthcoming. -facing employeeisregularlyexposedtothis,you And thisacknowledgement,asweseealltoo . Onthecontrary , aworkculturethatpromotes , foundseveralofthemost ne else,drives ganization Patricia Dunn(FormerHP records. Significantly discovering the hackingofhisownphone Committee resignedinprotest, especiallyon the DirectorheadingitsCorporate Governance HPs actionsbecamepublicwhen use oftracersoftware. texting (impersonationorfalse claims)andthe methods includedphysicalsurveillance,pre- information tothepress.HP'scontroversial down whichoftheirdirectorswasleaking board directorsandsomeemployeestotrack investigation coveringninejournalists,several I hadpreviouslywrittenaboutHP'sparanoid are abandonedtosavethecompany righteousness, orhowswiftlygovernancerules case studyoncorporateethicsversusself- the rulessofastthatitcouldhaveeasilybeena Hewlett Packard(HP)hadbeenreinterpreting At almostthesametimeinUS,IT the 'ethicalbar'. creation', changingcorporatecultureandraising usual talkabout'governancebeingequaltotrust with stakeholders. messages downthelineandsharinginformation understanding ofcorporategovernance issues ofcompliance,transparency from thearithmeticofboardcompositionto Damodaran governance, capitalmarketregulatorM. In business profit shareholder valueinabidtodriveones corporate ethicsincreatinganddelivering Ms. Suchet yetanother'summit'oncorporate self-righteousness? a Dalalt saidthedebateneedstomoveaway ably Corporate . The summitthrewupthe alks ontheimport , Perkinshad advised chairperson) against T . om Perkins, , better ance of major or ethics CEO Mark Hurd,whose ownroleinthe issueis Ms.Dunn made acordialexit,especiallywith getting Dunnto resignearlierthanplanned. HP then HP'ssubsequentactionsare notjustifiable. If thewitch-huntwasonlyamatter ofprinciple, had harmedHP whether theinformation'leaked' bythedirector worse tofollow window atthefirstsignoftroubleandtherewas scanner when ninejournalistshadbeenunderHP's to snowballintoamegacontroversy Once theHP saved someshareholder'smoney part oftheindependentDirectorsmayhave Global ethical grounds. such anactionevenwhentheyhavequiton record ofindependentDirectorsinIndiataking followed. Itispertinenttonotethatthereno Exchange Commission(SEC). and thenreporttheissuetoSecurities confirmation fromthetelecomprovider exit. did nothonestlyreportthereasonforPerkins' HP's actionsbegantoevaporate.Forstarters,it At thisstageallthesmugself-satisfactionof was clearhetooinvestigated. that stage.InsteadanangryPerkinsquitwhenit Keyworth wasaskedtoresign,butrefusedat 'the leak'. which identifiedDirectorGeor and laterpresentedthefindingstoboard, such aninvestigation;butshewentaheadwithit Ms. SuchetaDalal probablyhopedtostaunch troubleby This promptedPerkinstowriteseeking . Goodgovernancewentoutofthe T rust Bank,wherealittlespineonthe stingbecamepublic,itwasbound atall. . An infamousexampleisthatof What isnotcleartilldate * ge Keyworthas . An inquiry , especially A T&T

Ms. Suchet Meht scam thatinvolvedHarshad breaking ofthe1992securities famous amongthembeingthe investigative pieces,most 2006. Sheiswellknownforher including thePadmaShriin won manyprestigiousawards business journalistandhas had anout Indian Expressgroup.Shehas the consultingeditorfor a. st a Dalaliscurrently anding careerasa

12 SWIM 13 SWIM security firmhiredfortheinvestigation. deflect theentireblameonhersayingshehadinteractedwith still underashadow Then, attheUSCongressionalhearingson28September righteousness, theblamegamewasturningludicrous. leaks”. Foraninvestigationthatbeganinaburstofself- The formerChairmanandCEOinitiatedthefirstinquiryinto the leakinvestigationstartedbeforeDunnbecameChairman. her lawyerissuedawrittenstatementsaying,the“firstphaseof For instance,whileDunnhasvehementlydefendedheractions, haze ofconfusion. process shehasfiredseveralcurioussalvosandonlyaddedtothe her ownlawyerstodefendandclarifysideoftheissue.In and Dunntookacompletelydiver admission orapologyifitwereprof directors aboutwhowastalkingtothemediaandacceptan Governance committeeChairman'ssuggestiontosimplyaskthe would besurveillanceinvolvedwhensheignoredtheCorporate investigators wouldgettheinformation?Surelysheknewthere obvious questiontothisishowonearthdidshethinkher about theuseofillegalmethodsinobtaininginformation. Ms.Dunn, ontheotherhandcontinuedtodenyanyknowledge our ownprinciplesandvalues”. HPs actionshadturnedintoa“rogueinvestigationthatviolated good guyandwasprofuselyapologetic.Heacknowledgedthat ef defended heractions,butalsour At theCongressionalCommitteehearings,Ms.Dunnnotonly golden parachute of$3.6million,whichsuggest incriminating oneself). Itisreportedthatshewalked awaywitha sanction forcompaniestoencroachontheS suggestion wouldbethatMs.Dunnnowwantslegislative property andconfidentiality to pursuetheir“responsibilitiesprotectintellectual She alsowanted“legitimateandsanctione leaks”. not reallycondemn heractionsorlapses. the Fifth day oftheCongressionalhearings andrefusedtotestifyinvoking Counsel, whodirectedthesting operationresignedonthevery behaviour continuedtobeshadowy While Ms.Dunnmadethis preposterousdemand,HP's launching theirowninvestigationagainstrealorimaginedleaks. with the highmoralstance inlaunchingthe investigation. fective legalframeworktoprotectcompanieslikeHP Amendment (whichof . Butassoonshewasout,HP .” A ged theCongresstocreate“an simpleinterpretationofthis fered. gent stand.Hurdplayedthe . Forinstance,itsGeneral fers protectionagainst This causedDunntohire This ishardlyconsistent d ways”forcompanies s thatHP tate's turfby soughtto , Hurd from does The * Excerptedfrom"CorporateEthicsorSelf-righteousness?", against theirinterest. financial muscletolaunchawitch-huntwhentheleaksare media leaksorchestratedbythemselves,orasinHPscase,use debated inthiscontext,ascompaniesconvenientlyhidebehind information confidential.Corporategovernancerulesneedtobe make apressannouncementandthecompany'sneedtokeep journalist totryandbreaknewsbeforethecompanyisready HP's actionalsocreatesabasicconflictbetweentheroleof published byIndianExpressonOctober02,2006. business overtime. characterizing theperformanceofaproductor which takesitsnamefromthecurvedshape Every managerisfamiliarwiththe'S'curve, gently followed byarapidtake-of new businesscreatesitsspaceinthemarketplace, later it uptodatewithcompetition,etc.Butsooneror some extentbyrejuvenatingtheproduct,keeping part ofthegrowthprocess.Itcanbearrestedto decline istobeexpected,indeed,antici Accepting thiscycleisimportant:plateauingand irrelevant inthenewworld. as theoldsuccessformulabecomesincreasingly inevitably plateau. the 'S'curveofaproductorbusinesswill traction. whispers insidiously“whyinnovate?”, needed. competitive factors. customer preferences,societaltrends,or into perpetuity assumption thatthecurrentgrowthwillcontinue illustrates thefateoferstwhilemarketl rewrote therulesofgame.Interestingly products andservices,orbusinessmodelsthat who fellbehindascompetitorscameinwithnew in theirheyday of themarketleaderswereconsidered innovative somewhere alongtheway companies areableto sustainthegrowth that which indicates thatlessthan10percent of research on1,435 companiesoverthirtyyears, sustained growth. Solution') highlightthedif Christensen andRaynor(in 'The Innovator's , anewproduct,orbusinesswillbe , reflectingtheinitialslowgrowthas All goodthingsmustcometoanend,and The dangerinlisteningtoavoicethat . Itwon't.Businesshistoryclearly , buttooktheireyesof This couldbeduetochanging They pointto Jim Collins'

A The 'S'curvefirstslopes sharpdeclinethenfollows . Innovation ficulty ofachieving f astheideagains Gears f innovation liesinits pated, as The eaders , most whole, torisethischallenge. to deliverandtheabilityofor what theindividualmanagerexpectsinnovation dichotomy here,betweenthedissatisfactionwith and theydon'tknowhowtofixit. their or innovation isimportant,theyaren'thappywith the innovativeimperative:theybelieve focus thedilemmathatmostmanagersfacewith challenges facedbythem,broughtintosharp Indian managersontheinnovationissuesand kind inIndia,anin-depthsurveyofover100 The ParadigmInnovationSurvey Innovation isnoteasy! on. new products,processes,businessmodels,andso needs theor and acquisitionsfailtodelivervalue,growth reaccelerate. Giventhatnearly70%ofmer growth hadstalled,only4%couldsuccessfully 1995 indicatesthat,ofthecompanieswhose had beenpartoftheFortune50between1955and Corporate S regaining momentumisdif the spectreofdeclininggrowth,itappearsthat more thanafewyears.Further creates above-averageshareholderreturnsfor Sour & Mr Ms. RadhikaChadha Clearly · · results. what isexpected ofinnovation,andtheactual 3 outcomes wereas,orbetterthan,expected. innovation iskeytocompetitiveadvantage. Only 36percentbelievethattheir innovation 95 percentofIndianmanagers believe ce: Paradigm InnovationSurvey 2006 of ganization's experiencewithinnovation, , thereiswidespreaddissonancebetween . ParmitChadha trategy Boardof172companiesthat ganic route,throughinnovationin * ficult. , forthosewhoface ganization, asa , thefirstofits There isaclear A studybythe gers course onS Lakes, wheresheteachesa visiting facultyatGreat Ahmedabad. Sheisalsoa alumnus ofI.I.M. innovation. specializing ingrowthand boutique consultingfirm Principal ofParadigm,a Ms. RadhikaChadhaisthe is the Innovation. ParmitChadha S Karategy Business Line,called column intheHindu and alsohaveafortnightly book, “IntelligentInvesting” Radhika haveco-authoreda Ahmedabad. Parmitand an alumnusofIIM consulting firm. California-based strategy trategic DecisionsGroup,a Associate Directorof . Sheisan Heisalso trategic

14 SWIM 15 SWIM creating value.Itisdif on seamlessexecution thatpropelstheseideas forwardto business-unusual, notbusiness-as-usual,anda relentlessthrust brain andtheleft brain,thebubblingupof ideasthatdrive impact. Successfulinnovation isabalancebetweentheright despite astreamofcreativeideas, theyfailtoseeanappropriate of dissatisfactionwiththeirreturn oninnovationinvestment: this couldbeasignificantreason whyCEOshaveavaguefeeling achieving theoverarchingor be anoutpouringofideasthatcouldcreativeyetuseless in the or Further successfully tocreatevalue. If anor model innovationcouldaltercompetitivedynamicsinitsfavour problem, engineeringasolution,andfinally entire gamutofactivitiesstartingfromconceptualizing a end), innovationoccupiesawidercanvas,incorporatingthe as synonymouswithanidea(thebeginning),oroutcome emphatic answerto'What'sinitforme?'.Ratherthanbetreated improve market-shareinexistingmarkets; performance. what reallycountsishowtheinnovationimprovesitsown From thepointofviewinnovatingor Making innovationeffective staf of strategy It dependsontheor unpredictability many dif variability inthesefactors,andthefactthattheyinteractso strategic, cultural,economic,andinfrastructuralfactors.Itisthe alchemy ofmanycomplex,interlinkedvariables,including In ourview there ismuchmoretoinnovation. innovation continuum.Eachoftheseisindeedimportant,but such asstage-gate,orsomeotherindividualelementonthe development andpatents,ornewproductdevel or synonymous witheitherindividualcreativity and uni-dimensionalfashion.Innovationistreatedasbeing levels broughthometheveryrealdanger Our interviewswithmanagersacrossdif on onlyoneelement. appears tohavesomanyfacetsthatviewersriskgettingfocused distorts reality deceptively complex',thefilmillustrateshowperspective plausible accountsofit.Describedas'surprisinglysimpleand observers ofaneventgivesubstantiallydif Rashomon Ef managers), isthatthemanagementofinnovationsuf both extensiveliteraturesurveyandtalkingtoscoresof One cleartakeawayfromourresearchintoinnovation(including ganizations areguiltyofthis)viewinginnovationinalinear fing itandsometimes,evengeographicallocation. ganization towardsitsobjectives.Otherwise,theresultwill ganization istotakeinnovationseriously , innovationneedstohaveadiscernibleimpactonmoving ferent andcomplexways,thatlendsinnovatio , itssizeandmaturity , successfulinnovationisanoutcomeofahappy A . Inmuchthesameway fect. In productinnovationcouldcreatenewmarketsor . The reactionisdif ganization's businessenvironment,itschoice ficult to saywhichismore important. Akira Kurosawa'sfilm,Rashomon, ganizational goals. , itsculture,thetypeofpeople ferent foreachor , theconceptofinnovation ferent sectorsandacross a processorbusiness ganization, though, ferent butequally opment processes , orresearchand , ithastofindan W , exploitingit , (andmany e believethat fers fromthe ganization. n its A .

great ideaisuselessifitnevergetsof W make onlyamar hand, aperfectlyimplementedbutinconsequentialideawill Instead, werecommendthateachor point intimeandshapeitsinnovationstrategyaccordingly should introspectdeeplyaboutwhatmakessenseforitatthat approach tosuccessininnovation:instead,eachor gears: goals-cum-strategy innovation system,whichcanbeviewedasthreeinterlocking what typeofideaisrightfortheor competencies. S Then, ideasneedtobegeneratedandthrownup a strategicfitshouldbechosen.Finally or Y The CEO'sr chosen ideas. competencies needtobeinplaceensuretheexecutionof athlete, anor T so thatitcandeliverwhenaskedto. vision andleadershipcantheor growth shouldbetheresponsibilityofCEO:on strategic directiontodriveitsinnovationef important, hisbackingensuresthatthingswil agenda. why itiscriticalthatinnovationcomesontotheCEO'spersonal the CEOandhistopmanagementteam. profitability throughinnovationliessquarelyontheshouldersof functional activitybutasasystemaf CEO's rolebecomesapparentonceinnovationisseennotasa In or or other hand,inor an aftermathoffailedproductsanddestroyedmorale.Onthe sucks resourcesandener foresight andpoorexecutionallcombineinanegativevortexthat systemic breakdown:inadequateideation,weakstrategic creating sustainablecompetitiveadvantage,thereisevidence of dif supervision, thatgeneratesa innovation, webelievethatistheCEO'svision,leadershipand One definitivestatementcanbe made:bytakingchar value-creating reaction. * Excerptedfrom "InnovativeIndia:Insight component ofthe geneticcode. value-creation throughinnovation becomesanintegral CEO cantransformhisor execution, byinfusingpositive ener innovative agenda,througha combinationofadvocacyand Manager", tobepublished byPenguin IndiainJune2007. o dothis,steeringinnovationandcreatingnewenginesof et, innovationcannotbeproducedondemand ganization cultureplaysanimportantrole.Onlyideasthathave ganization. e stronglybelievethatthereshouldbenocookie-cutter ferent interactingelementsreinforceandrecombineina ganizations whereinnovationhasfailedtofulfillitsrolein W e submitthattheresponsibilityofrealizinggrowthand ganization hastokeepitselffightingfitallthetime ole ginal dif trategy providesthebackgroundtounderstand ganizations thathaveahistoryofsuccessful ference tothetoplineorbottomline. gy outofthesystem,leavinginitswake ganization intoalivingentity where , culture,andprocesses-cum- ganization derivethecultureand virtuousspiralinwhichthe ganization atthatpointintime. ganization evolveitsspecial gy intherightelements,a f theground.Onother The importanceofthe fecting theentire l happen. s fortheThinking , processesand thisiswherethe likeachampion forts. Equally ly fromhis ganization ge ofthe Which is . power of pole totheUSandEU. The globaleconomicpowerisslowlyunder and Indiatogetheringeneraltheireco is aportmanteauneologismthatreferstoChina come. FirstcoinedbyJairamRamesh, become aforcetoreckonwithintheyears a paradigmshiftwith in particular 'American Century that commentatorsrefertothe1900sas the CIA,analystsconcluded,“Insameway by theNationalIntelligenceCouncil,adivisionof history to concludethattheworldisatatippingpointin pursuing capital-friendlypolicieshaveledmany humanity huge domesticmarketsencompassingathirdof as thetimewhen politics oftheday antagonism betweenbothcountriesduetothe However in ancienttimesbetweenthetwocountries. bit ofperspective. Going backtothehistorybooksmightgiveusa comes intoitsown.” nuclear policyandsupporttothe are mutualmisgivingsontheborder disputes,our Chinese hasonlygrownfromthe1960sandthere these dif However which historic dif cooperate andcompete peacefully CHINDIA good ofbothcountries.If propheciesof . In ferences beingsetasideforthe greater , inpost-colonialtimestherewasalotof , therehasbeenatrendinrecent timesof , highlyskilledlabourandgovernments CHINDIA aretobefulfilled, bothnationshaveto Mapping theGlobalFuture . The . India'sdistrustandfearofthe CHINDIA Asia, ledbyChinaandIndia, ,' the21stcenturymaybeseen ferences arenowbeing put There wasconsiderabletrade issomethingthatgoingto Asia emer Morespecifically region'spotentialof ‘CHINDIA buzzword ging asathird . T The extentto ibetan cause. CHINDIA , areport nomies going - A , the

productive agegroup of 15-64.In the retail about with 620millionpeopleinthehighly international majors worththeirsaltaretalking India's demographicsplitup is somethingall population willbeintheage groupof15-49. estimated thatabout50% of expect toreap.Overthenext fiveyears,iti salivating attheprospectofhefty profitsthey market. Nowonderglobalretailmajorsare nearly 700millionin goods settosoar industrial/ agriculturalinputsandconsumer disposable income, af current levelsof10-30%.Drivenbyrising 16-50% ofglobalconsumptionby2020upfrom of basiccommoditiesisexpectedtoaccountfor barrel, stubbornlyhigh. these two to alar Copper Commodities pricesareat is lookedat. combine willchangethewayglobaleconomy combination. Economicpowerunleashedbyth the worldpopulation)isaformidable A cycle. Indian relationshiphasgonethroughthefull present thawinthebilateralcooperation,Sino- camaraderie tomidsixtiesconflictandthe billion twoyearslater rise to$20-billionby2008andshootup$30- by therisingtradefigures. aside bygrowingeconomiclinkscanbejudged Mr new combinedpopulationof2.3billion(onethird fluence andtheconcomitantincreasein . SanthaRam ge extentbeeninfluencedbytheappetiteof , Aluminum, Nickel,IronOreandthishas Asian giants.OilissellingatUS$62per W e arealreadywitnessingupheavals. * . The consumingpopulationof ’ CHINDIA's

CHINDIA CHINDIA's . Frommidfifties

T ahistorichigh,beit rade isprojectedto consumptionof isanalluring consumption CHINDIA's is s

investment promotion. interest Commerce, HongKong.His Indian Chamberof Executive Directorofthe Mr . SanthaRamisthe s lieinglobaltradeand

16 CHINESE CONNECTION 17 CHINESE CONNECTION been ahugeincreaseintrade,ithasnotonesided. be swampedwithChineseproducts.However unable tostandthemightofChinesemanufacturingandwould were undertheassumptionthatIndianindustrywouldbe information technology electric appliances,pharmaceuticals,printingink,textilesand mostly inthemanufacturingsector There isasteadystreamofIndiancompaniesenteringChina, companies makingqualityproductshavecontinuedtothrive. electronic gadgetsandtoysbutwehaveseenthatmostIndian Chinese productspracticallydominatece W to finetuneitsstrategyforinvitingforeig a bigwayandothersfollowingintheirfootsteps.Indiaistrying Carrefour (75stores)and industry advantage oftheglobalmarkets. Indian companiesthathaveestablishedshopinIndiatotake critical sectoroftheeconomy Motors, veritable who'swhoofIndiancorporatesincludingSundaram China. Reasonsareaplenty India isnotasencouragingthelevelofIndianinvestmentsin However Chinese companiesoperatinginorseriouslylookingatIndia. bar thereby losingoutontheirmanufacturingexpertiseinthe makers areoftenwaryofgivingtoomuchtotheChinese, sworn enemiescanbecomefriends.Indianleadersandpolicy that doesnotwanttoacceptwithchangingtimes,even major criticismoftheIndianpsycheisthatthereamindblock Electronics, Zhongxing From theChineseside,Huawei Bank, andmanymore. Consultancy Services,RelianceIndustries,IspatS Congress, onarecent triptoIndia,“W The Chineseopennesstolearn from theIndiansasfarIT been allowedtoexpandasfreely astheywouldhavelikedto. met withroadblocksandthelikesofHuaweiHaierhavenot the Indianmasters”. Sadly statement ofLi and Softwareservicessectoris concernedisreflectedinthe some legitimate political reasonstobe wary been demonstrated ontheIndianside. ith theopeningupoftradeandglobalizati gain. ChineseattemptstoinvestinIndiahaveperennially , Chinahastakenaleapforwardwithglobalgia W , thelevelofinvestmentChinesecompaniesin ockhardt Pharmaceuticals,Infosys,Satyam, Y uanchao, ChairpersonoftheJiangsu People's . Ranbaxywasthefirstinalonglistof T W , thesamewillingness tolearnhasnot elecom andChalcoaresomeofthe , bothpoliticalandeconomical.One almart (55stores)settingupshopin .

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while Indiaisstronginservicesandinformationtechnology strong manufacturingbaseandasoundinfrastructuresetup countries areextremelycomplementaryinnature-Chinahasa As discussedinthisarticle,theeconomicstrengthsofthesetwo long run. manufacturing prowess,therebybenefitingthecountryin ahead ofthemtremendousopportunitiestole Indian policymakersawakenthemselvestothefactthattherelay financial markets. China isstrongerinphysicalmarketswhileIndia China isstrongerinhardwarewhileIndiasoftware. trade ontheSilkroutearefamousexamples.B interactions -thespreadofBuddhismfromIndiatoChinaand * of syner occasion forthetwocountriestousecollaborationandpower and with'peopletopeople'contactaswell. strengthen theirtiesnotonlyintermsofbusiness,butculturally should cometogetherandmakeuseofthisopportunityintimeto belongs to to bea“rebalancingoftheglobaleconomy”. global economy of theworld'sworkingagepopulationand18percent fast astherestofworld,andtheynowaccountfor40percent For twodecades,theireconomieshavebeengrowi China andIndiawillrewritetheglobaleconomyinthiscentury stage. In thewordsofMor commodities. number ofinvestors,producersandusersener the twowillbecomebiggestconsumermarkets,withavast software andcircuitrydesignedinIndia. able togettheirhardwaremadeinChinaandpoweritwith have morethantheJapanese.Internationalcompanieswillbe than their basis, China'sconsumersaregoingtohavemorebuyingpower W ith input gies tohelpmakeeachotherbiggerplayersontheworld American counterpartsinadecadeandtheIndianswill Asia andmoreparticularlyto s from , onthebasisofpurchasingpowerparity Ashwin Sunderkumar The countriesalsosharecertainhistorical gan S tanley's S tephan Roach,thereisgoing CHINDIA , PGPMClassof2007 There's nodoubtthat This wouldbeagreat arn fromChina's The 21 . oth countries gy andother ng twiceas st century . Onthis . . to Lonovala inMaharashtra fortheEarthquake Jimmy CarterIndia BuildProgramandthuswent gave myvoluntary servicestothenoblecause of tradition ofthe"GreatLakesCares" philosophy accepted andfollowingthe timehonoured be allowedtopartakeintheactivities. that GreatLakesstudentswho lovetovolunteer visit Chennaiandhelpthe noble causeontheconditionthatJimmyCarter Advisory Committee",Igladlyacceptedthis the U.S.Chapterof“JimmyCarterIndiaBuild responsibility ofbeingtheHonoraryChairman Mulvey andMs.KarenHaycoxtotakeonthe When IwasinitiallyapproachedbyMr af mission ofbuilding'simple,decentand villagers. stepped inandof one oftheworstaf tiny fishinghamletofHanumanthaikuppamwa India (HFHI)'.Locatedontheeastcoastroad, Project' or homes byvolunteersofthe'JimmyCarter One suchtinystepwasthebuildingofthirteen and puttingcommunitiesbackontheirfeet. have workedtirelesslyinrehabilitatingpeople proportion. SincethisfatefuldaymanyNGOs unprecedented globalcatastropheofgar towards theendof2004wasindeedan people of The tsunamithatstruckterrorintheheartsof fordable' Their helpwouldbeinlinewiththeir Thailand, Indonesiaand ganized by'HabitatforHumanity houses. fered ahelpinghandtothese fected

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appreciative oftheirstupendous ef HFHI's causefor severalyearsIhavealwaysbeen handling themedia. Havingbeeninvolvedwith the beachfronttofillingpot holes onroadsto worked onagamutoftasksranging fromcleaning on theEastcoastroadnearPondicherry warming ceremony Jimmy Carterwouldbeattendingthehouse than theformerUSPresidentandNobleLaureate houses builtofbrickandmortarnoneother auspicious daywhentheywouldgetbrandnew remembered bythevillagersasoneofhope,an 31, 2006. of houseswerereadytobeoccupiedbyOctober W Braving therainsandchilly winds,volunte witness theevent. the opportunitytovolunteerforHabitatand Great LakesInstituteofManagementwouldhave for the stepped uptotheoccasionandlentahelpinghand their timeinspiteofinternshipreq over 25GreatLakes Meenambalkam toHanumanthaPuramwhere home ofGreatLakesatChennaianddrovefrom Following thisIleftwithPresidentCartertothe which is"NotaHand-out,butHandup''. were volunteerstoworkonhousingforthepoor Of course,ourGreatlakesstudentsand 28th October2006for5days. V Dr ictims inavillagenearbycalledManavlifrom ith theworkgoingoninfullswing,firstsets . Bala T sunami And thisdaywouldforeverbe V . Balachandran V ictims 200kmsfromChennai . Also afewstudentsfromthe V olunteers whocouldspare ” forts. But it . uirements

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18 EVENTS 19 EVENTS involved therebuildingandtransformation involved thebuildingofhousesandatatranscendentallevel Overall, theexperiencewasblissful-onethatonanormalplane af families, celebritiesandstudentsworkingsidebytohelp management students,“TheyenterMBA As oneoftheCrusaders,MaheshwrotetoSwatiCA unprecedented responsesthatKofi from bothIndiaandabroad. houses hadbeenplannedwithovertwothousandvolu Malavli (Lonavala,Maharashtra),whereatotalofhundred The Carterentouragehadpreviouslyvisitedthevillageof paramount importance. commitment tothisentireprocessofrehabilitationis passionately ofhowthiswasjustthestartthingsandthat by theverypresenceofCarters.Carterthenspoke village leadersthankedhimandeverybodyelsewasdelighted to thevillage.ChildrendancedfamousSouthIndiantunes, Carters arrived,theywerewelcomedlikeoldfriendsreturning Come evening-thevillageboreafestivelook. together weallworkedharderandwithapurpose! occasions. from acrosstheglobeonthatdayandseveralother with Habitat.Carterhadstoodsidebyv that JimmyCarterhasshowninthetwentyyearshebeen was wonderfulandgratifyingtoseethepassionener fected familiesovercomeobstacles. This thoughtinvigoratedallthevolunteers;and This isdefinitelyoneofthose Annan talkedaboutwith institutesandleave oflives. When the olunteers 1 nteers about gy program inasmallway ample testimonytoourcommitment'TheBuil create happiness. impoverished andtheunder the futureofcountryisundeniable."Helping and handicappedgroupmightplayahugeroleinourfuture fact thatthisexposuretotheirstrugglesandourhelppoor knowledge ofthestrugglesfacedbymajorityinIndia. with hugepaypackets,whichleavesthembereftofany 1 Reference Crusaders of2007. I amproudandprivilegedtobepartoftheCrusadewithmy TheHinduBusinessLine,Monday These setofactionsbyGreatLakersprove . -privileged helpsbuildcharacterand , Jan15,2007,page13. d India' The enterprise), Ididlearnmeans andways ofdoinga was alreadyprivy to(havingrunmyown despite thefact that thereweremanyfacts I course helpedmepolishalot ofconceptsand MBA Just astherearetwosidestoevery coin,doingan monumental decision. taken intoconsiderationbeforemakingthi business, therewereotherfactorsthathadtobe However wonderful opportunitytofulfillmyambitions. believed thatGreatLakesprovidedmewitha was surethatanMBA terms ofprofessionalmanagementeducation.I have alwaysfelttherewassomethingmissingin always closetomyheart. very temptingoptionasdoinganMBA The EMBA idea, duringthecourseoflasttwoyears. typically thrownatmewhenIfirstmootedthe These weresomeofthequestionsthat better teacherthanamereacademiccurriculum? period? various issuesthatitfacedduringthiscritical and neededpersonalattentiontotacklethe away fromabusinessthatwasinitsgrowthphase Course? Howcouldonepossiblyspendtime prompted metopursueanExecutiveMBA Growing Business',youmightwonderwhat demonstrated myabilitytoruna'Successful President, Entr Having alreadyreceivedthe epr haditsshareofpositivesandnegatives. W eneur , beingtheheadofasuccessfulgrowing Dr asn't therealworldsupposedtobea programatGreatLakeslookedlikea . A. P

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peer group andthefaculty attheEMBA heartedly saythat Ihavelearntalotfrombothmy fun thatone can imagineandIwhole classroom overthepasttwoyears hasbeenmore be feltandseentobelieved. Going backtothe had. expertise andhighexpectations thatourbatch work experiencecredentials, professional a challengetomostprofessorsowingthestellar professions. truly establishedperformersintheirchosen industries handlingdif experience. experience wasmorethan10yearsofmanagerial the batchwascloseto35andaverage sponsored bytheircompanies. Our classhad30students-mostofthemwere Dr Pioneer batch. yes, IamreferringtothestartingofEMBA however this another During December2006,the Mor millions ofpeople. coast of would havescaledevenMountEverest course acoupleofyearsback,mycompany emails toDr EMBA manner lot ofthingsinamoreef Ms. SharadaRamani .Bala's visionandforesight. e onEMBA The syner course. . This wasmyprimarytakeawayfromthe T T sunami whichaf amil Naducreatinggreathavocfor

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20 EMBA PERSPECTIVE 21 EMBA PERSPECTIVE professionals totakeonbiggerchallenges. with theemphasisbeingonequippingfuturetopmanagement The entireconceptualframeworkofthecoursewasexcellent Looking atthePedagogy namely EMBA vision ofthetaskwithrespecttoonescurrentr that goesbeyondthepracticeofhavinganarrowandtunnel involved takinga360degreeviewoftheor recommended textbooksonthesubject. lectures byfaculty case studiesandsupplementingthesamebylisteningto management-'Classic BookCollection'wasalso Emphasis ismoreonwhyratherthanhowtodothings to buildonthebestofmanagementtheoriesandpractices. expertise andobserveabsorbtheef enabled ustounderstandtheconceptsinourownareaof concepts intothebusinessdirectly The GreatLakesfacultyhailedfrombothpre business, “S Bala himselftakingclassonthemostimportantaspectof repute. international universitiesandIndianUniversitiesofgreat W experience andweregreatpractitionersintheirchosenfield. academicians withadif pressing businessissue.Hatsof stayed awakethroughthenightwithustosolveacaseor FromaS Computers International,anIT How theexperiencebenefited“Me”- to dointuitivelyisnowanalyzedfromdif on thecorestrategyofdevelopingbusiness. my nature. anything, ithasmademethink deeplywhichisanathemato and anextremelyworkabledecision istaken.Morethan This coursehas alsohelpedmemarketmyor and myexecution stylehasrisentohigherlevels. cleverer andmoreef can feelthedif my company'sbusinessgrowth. Overall,everyonearoundme e wereluckytohavededicatedlecturerswhoso followsathreeprongedapproachintheclassroom , casestudyanalysis,understandingtheconceptsfrom W e hadthehonorofhavinggreatteacherslikeUncle trategy perspective,thiscoursehasmademe There isaclearfocusandaggression inhandling trategic Profitability”. ference inmystandardofthinking postEMBA . ficient manner thanbefore. This isfollowedupbyreadingthe ference. f tothesegreatteachers! companyinChennai . They hadrichconsulting The Professorswere fects ofapplyingthese ferent viewpoints esponsibilities. The challenges The Headof ganization-one ganization ina What weused The eternal The various giventous metimes stigious focus . This

This neatlysumsitallupforofus. than everbefor girl. Muchbetterpr decision Ihavetaken…apartfr As mybatchmate,Hari,soeloquentlyputit shortest timeframe. status asanSMBcompanytoalar growth strategyforscalingupmycompanyfromitspastday More thananything,thiscoursebecameasteppingstonetoour S small &immediatelyimplementableonestohighend In all,therewasanentiregamutoftakeawaysthatrangedfrom and strategizeourCo-opetitionModel. breaking downcosts. Based Costingwhichhelpedmeunderstandtheimportanceof My biggesttakeawaysonthefinancefrontwere succeed. enable youtoturnthesedreamsintorealitymuchfaster make othersdreamyourandthiscollectivepitchwill during thiscourse. having I havealsorealizedthathoweversmallyourobjectivemaybe, of thingsbeforetakinganydecision. personally comealongwayandtodayItakebird'seye stones blindlyandhopingthatmangoeswillfall,Ihave doing thingsinablindmanner employees orourcompanyandthentakethingsupratherthan from theviewpointofvariousstakeholders have nowstartedtolookatthe“Whatisinitforme”question my Enterprisefrombothamacroandmicroperspective.I diverse classhasenabledmetoviewtheMarketing high acclaimandthesharedwisdomexperiencesofa basic tenetsofmarketingthatwereimpartedbyprofessors cases thatwerediscussedaspartoftheEMBA trategic coursecorrectionofthebusinessmodeleven. SMAR

The importanceofmanpowerwasalsostressedupon e”. T goalsisofutmostimportanceifyouwantto epar Ifyouwanttosucceedwithyourdream, This ideahelpedmetothinkdif ed tofaceleadershipr . om ofcoursefindingtheright Fromthepointofthrowing ger or ganization withinthe oles inthefutur beitclients, program,the “The Best Aspects of Activity . ferently view e Lt The followingisasmallfictionalstorythatt Guru V business throughtheeyesofpractitioners. place inacompanycalled yesterday 'Baloney' wasthewordthatcametomymind Chairman andMD company who havegivensomuchforthesuccessofthis took wouldaf Director). to come back.Moneywas neveraproblem forus could havedone thisrightintheUSbuthechose patent foranew processofmakingwidgets, he of my PhDfrom on Indiansoilfifteenyearsagoaftercompleting I stilldistinctlyrememberthedaysteppedback India backthenseemedacrazyidea.“W Guru startedthis companyfromscratch. was dif G jobs Iamsupposedtotakeawaynow! jobs tosomanypeopleifIcameback,thesame was allveryclear thinking!” saideveryonearoundme.Buttomeit Dir ener same school.Hehadalwaysbeen freshandfullof all ourdadsworkedtogetherand wewenttothe have knownhimfromthetimewewerekids,after I havenotseenGuruinsuchamoodeverbefore. . Sivaramakrishnan d. Thisstorytriestolookatwhatdrivesa ector HR right sizing gy . ferent; helookedtired,oldandharried. T . . o meheisstillthekidIknew Gurumoorthy whenIwasdiscussingthepossibility Bothofusknewthatthedecisionswe work -theengineor fect thelivesofsomanyfamilies America. . Iwouldhavethepowertogive the companywithSiva(HR What makesan S tarting acompanyin W idget s IndiaPvt. . Y esterday W wings? ith his ishful akes 'T Finance V T regretted mydecision. company up ajobinFMCGor biggovernment never succeedinIndia. career andthatacompanymakingwidgetswould among ustoldmethatIwouldbespoilingmy company wasmydestiny fresh MBA wins morehearts',hesaid. one whogetsmoreaccolades,butthe college tenyearsago.'Thetrueleaderisnotthe I stillrememberthespeechGurubhaigaveatour strongly believethatwewillturnitaround. though wearegoingthroughtoughtimes,I acting funnythisweek.Ilovecompanyand a customermeetingforthis.Gurubhaihasbeen helped meclosemanyadealinmycareer today I don'tknowwhywehavethissuddenmeeting V Gaurav Shah meeting. I expectsomebigannouncementstodayatthe forever as realitydictatesthegoodtimesdon'tlast would saytheyhadmadetherightdecision.But jobs andjoinayoungstartup.Lookingback,I had tomakepeopleleavetheir from thestart,gettingrightpeoplewas. ice Pr ice Pr . Shyamsunder ough decisions haveto bemadeinsuccessful . This betterbegoodbecauseIhadtocancel . Guruhasnottoldmehisdecisionyet,but esident - esident -MarketingandSales . Idecidedotherwise.have never then,Iclearlyknewthatjoiningthis airplane Accounting &S They advisedmetotake . The moreexperienced This simpletruthhas secur trategic e government . As a W e

22 PERSPECTIVES S S E E V V I I T T C C E E P P S S R R E E P P

companies', I tell Mr. Gurumurthy every time I meet him. He is a for everyone in this forum to come to the same level of these are real people that we are dealing with and not just good man, but then we are running a business here. understanding regarding all the activities in this company numbers. before we decide on a course for the future. I wanted everyone I joined this company six months ago. I am supposed to be their In the past our production has invariably been able to meet the turnaround man. I had studied the entire cost structure and to appreciate the purpose and direction taken of departments demands of the market on time. Our quality and reliability have pricing ability of the company's products and submitted a report other than theirs” really been the driving force in establishing our brand in the to Mr. Guru a week back. We desperately need to cut costs Gaurav Shah: “I believe a strong marketing strategy built market. If we are able to increase our sales by measures drastically if we ever hope to be competitive. I hope some useful around the needs of our customers is what has driven our suggested by Gaurav, we will be able to match that demand by decisions are made in today's meeting. business till now. All our competitors though have really caught moving to three shifts from the current two shifts (by increasing up with us on that. But where we really stand tall is the machine and manpower utilization rates). Ragahvendhar Rao customer's knowledge about us. They know our customers but Moreover, through a process improvement program, we can President - Operations our customers know us! improve the flexibility of our production. With that we will be I am hearing a lot about job cuts and this is really demoralizing able to churn out smaller batches of customized widgets exactly We are one of the most well known and trusted companies in the the workforce. I hope we don't take such drastic measures. Guru matching customer requirements. This would give us a better market and our competitors are constantly being benchmarked and his R&D team are almost ready with WidgetX. Guru tells me pricing ability compared to our competitors. All these against us. All we now need to do is to build a strategy to about how we will take off once the product hits the market. It's improvements will eventually augur well for the eventual launch leverage this mind share to get the market share. I suggest we do just a matter of time, a year or two utmost. of WidgetX as well. a comprehensive and integrated marketing campaign that tells I have been with Guru from the beginning. Siva, for lack of a the market why we are different. We can introduce a slew of Friends, we can improve on the cost front without going in for better word, had poached me from a big government organization schemes, promotions, warranties and tie-ups backed by lay-offs.” with a promise of more challenging work. And boy! has he kept targeted advertising. This strategy is what I believe will propel Gaurav Shah: “Good suggestion Mr.Rao. I can include a ” Gentlemen, his word! We have seen trailblazing growth in the past and I hope us forward till we take off with the introduction of Widget X. 'Widgets to order' program as part of my campaign.” today's meeting will set the direction to get us back on that track. Gentlemen, we do not have the lowest price in the market. So, G. Sivaramakrishnan: “Three shifts is a very good idea. This I present to let's be different.” gives a strong signal to the workforce that the management is not The Meeting going for a lay-off strategy. This will improve our attrition T. Shyamsunder: “Using our brand image to increase sales is figures. you Gurumoorthy: “Good Morning Gentlemen. For the past few fine but our current cost structure does not allow us to compete weeks, I have been having frequent discussions with most of you Moreover our employees are our wealth. The experience that our in the market. A detailed costing analysis has revealed that our regarding the current situation of the company. Most of you have employees have in the widget industry is way ahead of the other variable costs are more than the price we command leading to been, by this time, compiling data and taking an objective look at competitors. It's our people who have driven our business to the WidgetX.” negative contributions. We are bleeding gentlemen. Gaurav our sales, operations and financial performance. When I take a success and stature we enjoy today. We simply cannot afford to combined look at all the data I don't see a pretty picture. spoke about growth. I am here to talk about survival. Prudent lose them to our competition. We will then be handing over our financial management is what will help us survive and drive us We started manufacturing widgets in India and we are probably competitive advantage to them in a platter.” through these tough times. the most innovative company here currently, but as you can see Gurumoorthy: “Well said, Siva! It's definitely our people who we are neither the top company financially or in the marketplace. Our competitors are driving our pricing decisions, but what have taken us to such heights and it our turn to stand by them in I know that some of the major reasons for this have been the entry they cannot decide is our costs. That is the variable we have in times of distress. I am sure that we as a team will be able to turn of multinationals and big Indian conglomerates into this our hand. I strongly suggest we start a program to drastically cut around the company. business. This meeting though is not to discuss them. Neither is costs. Our current employee utilization rates are an abysmal this meeting a platform for discussing the causes of our plight. I thank you all for taking time to answer my question. You have sixty percent. We should immediately lay-off some employees all answered in earnest and I now clearly see what really drives I have called you gentlemen, to discuss something more to bring the numbers close to 90/95 percent. This single move our business. No, all businesses in general. It is passion fundamental. I want you to do some soul searching and tell me will reduce our costs by five percent. gentlemen. Passionate people like you make a business what according to you really drives our business and propels it?” I know this is a tough call, but right now we need to survive and successful. It gives me great pride to see just how passionate each I did not want them to start a blame game by asking them as to our survival depends on cutting costs.” one of you is about your respective domains. When put together I what went wrong. Instead I wanted them to ask themselves- am sure you all will be a force to reckon with. It is not the engine “what is it that when done right can rectify the 'wrongs'?”. Ragahvendhar Rao: “Downsizing is always the trump card, or the wings that make an airplane work, but man's passion to fly! we the management have, to pull ourselves out of tough spots. It is this passion that made me start this company. It is this passion Ragahvendhar Rao: “With all due respects sir, what makes an But, by doing so we are just pushing the real issues under the that will take this company to greater heights. airplane work the engine or the wings?” carpet. We also have to see the long term effects of such a - Ramachandran C.V decision and the morale of the surviving employees. Moreover Gentlemen, I present to you WidgetX.” PGPM Class of 2007 23 Gurumoorthy: “Point well taken Mr. Rao, but all I wanted was 24 S S E E V V I I T T C C E E P P S S R R E E P “Marketing - P § Retention of Employees but certain people who remain confidential are needed in order to provide feedback. This helps you in gauging the happiness For, By & To the Employee : Retention of employees demands that the corporate brand index.” value be imbibed into every employee and thereby create An HR Perspective” a pattern of behavior to pursue excellence and quality. The “You need to have both a fast track and a slow track in the company, having invested heavily on intellectual capital, organization. The company needs to deliver on the fast track by should view the exit of every employee as a failure on the watching its key people. Do you have a policy to counter offers part of the organization to deliver value promised by the by competitors? Some employees in the organization leave brand. without even discussing it, others will come to you and say that they are very happy but will also demand 50% hike in salary. You The distinguished Professor of Marketing at Kellogg, should look into the opportunity cost to the company.” Today's Organizations face a number of business associations and ex-employee clubs created Dr. Philip Kotler has commented on this subject. challenges. For them to meet these demands, the unusual and frank brand ambassadors for the On the role of a CMO in branding HR, he says, “Absolutely, In order to attract talent, the company must primarily be clear traditional approach to management would not organization. On a similar note, companies like because in service companies people are a part of product about its goal, mission, its own personality and what is unique suffice. Organizations need to streamline Google have helped employees create a brand delivery. If they are not living your brand, it will hurt you. within it. The systems and processes need to be effective enough themselves in order to understand the needs of new identity and lifestyle for themselves. In this The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) would have built the to identify and map the core values of the company with that of customers and differentiate themselves from case, the Organization itself becomes an organization as a customer centric one but he needs the human prospective employees. This can be achieved by completely competitors, based on capabilities that go beyond 'experience' and enthralls its first and foremost resource department to help make it a culture. People good in understanding the employee's aspirations and personal values. quality, delivery and services. Gone are the days audience, its employee! technical skills may not take equally good care of the customer. Adds Mr. Anuj Kumar, AVP HR of CSC, "Values are the guiding when customers purchased and used a product Joint planning of marketing and human resources will be very principles of our organization. Business interests take a back and forgot all about it. Today's customers look for Who delivers these experiences? useful in this case.” seat if organsiational values are compromised. This has been our experiences. Companies that provide these One thing common to suppliers, vendors and USP ". He further adds about the Head of HR becoming CEO, experiences would evolve as the quintessential customers is that they all have to use the nerve commenting that, “The Head of HR has a chance to be a CEO, if leaders. India, growing at a break-neck speed centre of the organization its employees. Hence, On the need for Marketing Specialists in HR, Dr. Kotler says, they are also very good in finance and have experience in line needs more of these organizations. experiences are delivered most effectively by “Marketing should be kept in the loop of the HR processes. functions. They manage hundreds of people in big companies by front line employees of the organization. Now it is Alignment between service providers and service receivers is Some of today's super brands like Starbucks, managing the budgets well. But they do not show profits, that's even more important that such employees essential. As far as marketing people within the HR department Google, Yahoo and Amazon have thrived on the the biggest disadvantage with the HR department.” are concerned, I think what we need is marketing thinking and 'delivery of experience' model and successfully understand the paradigm shift from a product and not marketing people as such. So, I'm not ready to say that an Finally, he advises on the Do's & Don'ts of managing employee stayed ahead of competition. Even companies service orientation to an experience based one. internal marketing person is required. However, in the case of perception by saying that, “The problem has always been one of that belong to the so called 'traditional' industries How to deliver these Experiences? large companies which have large recruitments it may be over promising and under delivery. In the case of under have started demonstrating such capabilities. required”. promotion the potential employee may not take the job. In the CEMEX, a cement company, allows its The employees or the 'delivery agents' and the opposite case, word of mouth may circulate so well that the customers to decide price based on value added human resource department have a very crucial On the marketing for recruitment of employees, he says, “The company might end up creating an impression that it does not by the product. The customer pays low prices for role in enabling an organization transform itself recruiters generally go to colleges to make presentations and deliver on its promises. Some level of agility, honesty, integrity company schedules and pays higher prices for on- from a product or service oriented one to an then competitors also go to the same colleges. So in that way a and trust is required to back up your words and promises. If you demand deliveries. The additional advantage of experience oriented one. Organizations face the good presentation is required to interest those people. Good say you will give certain help, you better deliver it. If they know such a model is that it enables quick price following challenges while delivering the posters and good relations with the professors to know who the that you do not deliver then a correction is required.” discovery. experiences. best students are. HR needs more organized thinking along with § While talking about the delivery of an experience, Attracting the right talent marketing.” logical flow would require that the experience be Attracting talent could be addressed by Continuing on those lines, he comments on HR & Sales saying -Praveen Pantula and Amit Bhalla first delivered to and understood by an creating a corporate brand and thereby that, “The first rule is to deliver on the promises. Second rule is PGPM Class of 2007 organization's internal customers (read: building a strong value proposition for to create an open office, so that concerns and complaints can be employees), who will then transfer the experience potential employees. The second step evaluated. Evaluation of the boss by the employee and to the company's external customers. Indian would be to communicate the created value evaluation of the employee by the boss, are both essential. The authors are thankful to Dr Philip Kotler for sharing his Organizations like WIPRO have through alumni proposition. Whistle blowers are not necessarily required in an organization 25 experience and thoughts on the subject. 26 K K A A E E P P S S

I I N N M M U U L L A A

On Lifestage Both methods have their uses and can be effective normal spending patterns, companies can increase their complementary tools. chance of successfully securing business. Many of these times will be when people enter new lifestages. Thus, careful Marketing Personalization identification of these stages might prove useful. By providing support and giving valuable advice over these periods, long- When consumers move between lifestages, they are entering Mr. Madan Menon term, trusting relationships can be built. unfamiliar territory. By increasing attention at these times, companies can help when it counts, thereby building strong, - Madan Menon profitable relationships. The result is a much more PGPM Class of 2005 personalized process which makes the consumer feel more Reference:

valued and more loyal. 1 Lifestage marketing has been a buzz term in that ran in early 2003 attempted to pitch the car as http://www.exchange4media.com/Brandspeak/brandspeak.asp?brand_id=37 recent years as a method of targeting consumers an “affordable” vehicle with great success. Technology, product and organisation cultural changes and characterizing consumer behavior. More and are necessary In April 2000, the Financial Services Authority more companies are realizing the importance of (FSA) published a report titled “Better informed Datamonitor's report found that centralized systems are vital positioning products not as products, but as consumers”. In this report, the FSA found that in to understand how a customer's need changes across all something that a consumer would require at a 16 per cent of cases, the primary driver for the products and how best to target them. Systems also require particular stage of their life. Typically, marketers consideration of a financial services product was sensitive and experienced handling. Investment in categorize consumers of fast moving consumer event/lifestage led and that it had an influence in technology is necessary to receive the long-term gains goods and consumer durables by social class, almost a third of all cases. It was also found that available from targeted marketing. income, age and gender. However, discovering consumers were unaware of what product would lifestage triggers help to identify who among The traditional product focus of financial service providers best meet their apparent need. This leaves a these is more likely to buy the product. has typically fuelled a very rigid product offering to tremendous opportunity for financial service customers. This design is not considerate of customer needs In lifestage marketing, consumers tend to go providers to help customers identify what they and does not reflect that people's needs are constantly through four distinct phases: Transition Stage, need at each lifestage and thus gain business. changing. As part of the process of becoming more customer Early Stage, Expansion Stage and Mature Stage. The very essence of lifestage marketing is: “there centric, products need to evolve and become more flexible, From a marketer's perspective, the key questions are events or moments in people's lives that with the ability to adapt as a customer moves from one will be: “what are the target lifestage groups?” trigger particular needs or desires.” The key is lifestage to another. and “Within each stage, what are the purchase to recognize these changing priorities as quickly triggers?” Internal cultural change is also required, to switch from a as possible and target customers, whether product focus towards a more customer-centric approach. When Maruti was pitching for the 800 model car, existing or potential, with the relevant products. Change involves not only becoming customer centric within their campaign started off with spreading the Lifestage marketing is a good way to attract departments but also requires increased co-operation message of “Reliable and trustworthy1”. This was attention to the product, as it relates specifically to between them. This is vital if lifestages are to be used in 1983, when the only competition was the old what is happening in the customer's life. When effectively. ambassador and the fiat, thereby the message done correctly and used in way that is consistent seemed apt. The company soon realized that the with the company's brand, this type of marketing In Conclusion M800 was the average middle income Indian's should form a highly successful acquisition and first car. The purchase decision was taken to move It is true that lifestages are becoming less predictable. retention tool. up from a two wheeler, to a four wheeler, and However, their use can give an indication of what people are hence affordability played a big role. The main Lifestage and lifestyle are two very different likely to want/do. The age bands where events typically criterion for this was lifestage. The customer, a things. Both allow a company to identify and happen are becoming more elastic and cultural changes are young family man, who needed to upgrade from a target consumers. While lifestage is event based leading to more lifestages. two wheeler to a car, with the many commitments and looks at where customers are in their lives, for People in general actively make decisions in a very short of running a family, put off purchase because of example divorce or about to have children, span of time. By being better equipped to predict these lifestyle concentrates on how they live them. 27 the “cost” of the vehicle. M800's 2599 campaign decision points, for example by picking up changes to 28 This year, Great Lakes' B-Fest L'Attitude 13o05' was back with a bang, with the CEO conclave on January 5

S and the management events on January 6. The event o S T T

N was graced by the likes of Mr. Ramadorai of TCS and 13 05' N E E

V Mr.Rahul Bajaj. The dynamic duo graciously released V E Management Fest E the third edition of Gravity amidst great fanfare as Mr. The Andrew Sherman, Chief Partner, Dickstein Shapiro, Mr. Sumanth Krishnamurthi, CEO, Grow Fast Grow Right and Mr. Balaraman - CEO, Adrenalin e Systems looked on. The premiere b-schools from India were BIG all present vying for some of the biggest prize monies in the country. The Event also had its share of fun what Bash! with the students throwing a huge party and conducting a lot of informal events. Overall this year L'attitude made its mark as an event to be reckoned with on the countries' b-school canvas.

29 30 S S

T The Battle Begins- T N N E E V V E L'Attitude 13º05' E The EMBA A great big bang and a shower of colorful confetti Managing Director, Orchid Chemicals, Mr. marked the inaugural at L'Attitude 13º05', Great Andrew Sherman, Chief Partner, Dickstein Pioneer Batch Lakes' premier management fest. The occasion Shapiro, Mr. Balaram, Adrenaline Systems and was graced by the presence of Mr. Jagdish Mr. A. Mahendran, Godrej Sara Lee. Graduates Ramamoorthi, CEO Allsec Technologies, Dr. Topics such as preservation of Chennai's Nalli Kupuswamy Chettiar, Proprieter Nalli traditional strengths to reinforce a modern Silks, Mr. Andrew Sherman, Chief Partner, workforce, development of world class Dickstein Shapiro and our very own founder infrastructure to leverage geographical Dr.Bala Balachandran, Professor of Accounting advantages and the roles of government, citizens at Kellogg. and corporates in branding Chennai were “What's your War Cry?” was the theme of discussed. Another important insight was that After two years of hard work, toil and relentless On the whole, the graduation ceremony of the 1st L'Attitude 2007, modeled on the concept of branding from within, as in what Chennaites juggling between classrooms, boardrooms and batch and the inauguration of the 3rd batch of legendary battles of the past. Excitement and perceive of themselves should be aligned to the family, the pioneers were finally ready to soar to EMBA students at the Great Lakes Institute of pride filled the air as students at Great Lakes branding from outside, in terms of what visitors new heights. The Taj Connemara Ball room, Management was beyond doubt very memorable. prepared to play host to one of the best B-School take away. witnessed them embark on a crusade to redefine - Divya Singaravelu fests in the country! the future and meet business objectives in a L'Attitude Day-2 was dedicated to a face off PGPM Class of 2007 competitive environment. They passed their Battle lines were clearly drawn as the Corporate amongst students from the best business schools batons to their juniors with the same momentum event kicked off with teams from Advent Net, vying for top spots in a series of events that and vigor as they had when they started. Sending Mindtree, Hexaware and Cognizant taking up the included 'Stalingrad' the Strategy Event, 'Schloss them off on their pursuit to corporate excellence fight on the topic of 'Chennai- Gateway of South Adler' the Marketing Event, 'Waterloo' the were Uncle Bala, who congratulated them on a East Asia'. The teams made spirited presentations Operations Event, 'Saigon' the Finance Event, job well done, along with the Great Lakes faculty and came up with innovative ideas, insights and 'Guantanamo' the HR Event, 'Vienna' the Paper comprising of Prof Sriram, Prof. Veeravalli, Prof. recommendations, to architect the rise of Chennai Presentation and 'OK-Corral' the Quiz. There was Venkat R. Krishnan, Prof. Sudhakar into a world class metropolis. The winning team a keen sense of competition and a lot of Balachandran and Prof. Sivakumar, amidst the from Cognizant suggested that the city should camaraderie as teams won and lost, partied and presence of the guests of honor, Dr. F.C. Kohli, develop synergies with the rest of South East Asia played and experienced the hospitality and Prof. Seenu Srinivasan and Mr. Anand and brand itself as a 'Hi-Technology Solutions' warmth of Great Lakers. Sudharsan, who handed the diplomas. provider to the world. Teams had the opportunity to size themselves up The Father of Indian I.T., Dr. F.C. Kohli, former The event was followed by talks by prominent against the competition, win some of the highest Deputy Chairman, TCS, delivered the personalities from Chennai like Krishnamachari cash prizes in the country and hone their convocation address, wherein he stressed on the Srikanth and business leaders like Andrew managerial skills. Participants were in for a importance of IT education in eliminating Sherman of Dickstein Shapiro, Mr. Balaram of special treat as Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman Bajaj poverty. His talk was followed by Prof. Seenu Adrenaline Systems, Mr. Raghavendra Rao of Auto, spoke to students about his dreams for Srinivasan, Adams Distinguished Professor of Orchid Chemicals and Mr. Ramadorai of TCS. India, corporate social responsibility and giving Management at Stanford Graduate School of

rd back to a nation that hopes for great things from Business, who delivered a special address on a The 3 edition of 'Gravity' that explored the theme its future managers and entrepreneurs. topic he is very passionate about - Market 'Marketing Brand India' was released by Mr. Research. He highlighted the emerging new Ramadorai, CEO of TCS, amidst much cheering As L'Attidude 2007 came to a close, Great Lakers market research techniques, such as Conjoint and enthusiasm by the student body.The star can look back at an event that provided a learning Analysis, which promises to deliver greater attraction of L'Attitude Day-1 was the prestigious experience in terms of managing and triumphing insights into 'consumer preferences'. The 'CEO's Conclave'. The topic of discussion was against all odds, lessons in creativity and team Presidential address was delivered by Mr. Anand 'Branding Chennai 2.0' and the thought leaders work and an occasion that brought the Great Sudharsan, Group President, Manipal Universal, included luminaries such as Mr. S. Ramadorai, Lakes family, closer than ever. who presented an inspirational speech adding to CEO, TCS, Mr. D.R. Karthikeyan, Former - Kartika Natarajan the ardor and zeal that the graduating batch Director, CBI, Mr. K. Raghavendra Rao, 31 PGPM Class of 2007 personified. 32 33 x EVENTS visited Great Lakesinthe past. Kotak Mahindra Bank Infosys, star studdedline upofcompaniessuchas Corporation Accentur SAB Miller this yearsuchas There wereahostofnewrecruitersoncampus consulting company well asanInternationalof their impressiveinternshipsandpastrecordsa Placement of Cognizant T of over theaverageCTClastyear Lakhs p.a The averageCTCwasanimpressive students atanaverageof In total,therewere worthy benefits wasevenmorecreditableandpraise desired profilesanddeservedcompensations was placedwiththechoicestofcompanies, record, thefactthateachandeveryGreatLaker eternity todo. other b-SchoolsacrossIndiamighthavetakenan Lakes hasachievedinashortspanoftimewhat 2007. recruitment seasonthatconcludedon5 Schools withahighlysuccessfulcampus becoming oneofIndia'sleadingBusiness continued itsimpressivechar The GreatLakesInstituteofManagement Rs. 17Lakhsp.a Inonlyitsthirdyearsinceinception,Great . e Cognizant, W ., representinganincreaseof T , Gr fers madetostudentsonthebasisof echnologies, Computer andmanymoreinadditionto the echnologies Apart froma100%placement ow HSBC , T Fr . wasmadetoastudentby alent, LanghamCapital, 244 ost &Sullivan and 1.51 ipr of . There , British Petr fer fromUSbased Placement o, TCS, fers madeto Genpact of . The highestof fers perstudent. were ge towards 2007 . Sciences thathave Godr Rs. 9.3 oleum, 27.3% 8 th Pre- Feb' 162 fer ej, s

Report go backemptyhanded. matter ofhours,andquiteafewrecruitershadto Lakers, theentirebatchwasplacedwithina W Schools. towards becomingoneofIndia'sbestBusiness represents agiantstepinitsimpressivejourney Lakes hasbeenyetanotherfeatherinitscap,and brand equity corporate worldhasputinGreatLakes'growing to theabilityofGreatLakersandfaith S of customized rolestostudentsthatwerenot British PetroleumandInfosysof growing institution.“ background ofthestudentpopulaceatthisfast a clearindicatorofthequalityanddiverse trategic PlanningandBusinessDevelopmenti fered atotherBSchoolsinnicheareaslike ith companiesclamouringtorecruitGreat . The factthatcompaniessuchas Placement This isacleartestimony - PlacementCommittee PGPM Classof2007 s 2007 ” atGreat fered s This wasfollowedbytheinauguralspeaker Rajshree Pathy our HonoraryDean,DrBala The eventcommencedwithavideomessagefrom views andchallengesfacedwiththeaudience. of lifewhosharedtheirvariousexperiences, together womenachieversfromdif was adaylongconferencewhichbrought day lead tohersuccess. professional experiencesthatwouldeventually International Management' (SWIM)bannerwasor The firsteventunderthe'Successful from herexperienceandalsosharedthought International. Sheprovidedinspiringinsight entrepreneur andFounderofComputers Ms SaradaRamani,anaward-winning The nextspeakerwasanalumnusofGreatLakes, releasing thefirstSWIMmagazine. with hershortbutpowerfulspeechbefore Ournextspeaker the topic“Ithink,thereforeIcan”. the audiencewithheranecdotesandviewson Rekha Shetty on thefutureofwomenasentrepreneurs.Ms with theaudienceasshenarrated herexperie back tothesociety on whatindividualsshoulddo inordertogive as theheadofanNGO-'CHES'. Hertalkfocused was thelastspeaker fortheday Dr persona andinspiring speechcaptured the . PritikaChary , Ms.Kanimozhi,enthralledthegathering ‘The Identities of , Founder W , whosharedherpersonaland omen's Day(8 , Neurologist, , Dr . The keynotespeakerforthe . Manoramastruckachord , 'Mindspower'enthralled New Emer SWIM 2007- th V March2007).It Apollo hospitals . Balachandran. . Hervivacious ferent walks ganized on W omen in , Ms nces s s W feature. college tomaketheSWIMeventayearly The successofthiseventhaspropelledthe women entrepreneurs. students fromvariouscollegesinthecityand The audienceincludedbothmaleandfemale industry bywomenandmenalike. challenges thatneedtobeaddressedintoday attention oftheaudience.Shespoke omen’ ging PGPM Classof2007 - NandiniT . Reddy 's

34 EVXEXNXTS S S E E D D A A

L Students' L

O Preethy Balasubramanian, presented a paper at Fourth AIMS Conference on Management, IIM O C Indore. C C C

A Accolades A

Ashis Behra and Sachin Kumar won the second prize in the prestigious 'Economic Times Manik Kinra and Sitashwa Srivastava were the finalists at the 'Case File Presentation' at IMT, Classroom Quiz'; the third prize in the 'Tata Crucible Quiz' and the third prize in the Quiz event held Nagpur. by IIPM.

Vinotharish and Ashis Behra won the second prize in Stock Trading Competition, at DOMS, IIT Pradeep L.V., Viswanath G.K. Akella and Vikranth V., won the second prize in the 'EUREKA Madras. Business Plan Competition', IIT, Bombay and were finalists at 'Conquest 2007' conducted by BITS Pilani.

Tamoghna Chatterjee, Manish Kumar & Hariprasad, won the second prize in the Cognizant Sandeep Khanna was a finalist in the 'Best Manager Competition' conducted by SIBM, Pune. Innovation event at IIM-K.

Hari Prasad and Manish Kumar secured the third place in the 'Imperium' event conducted by MDI Gurgaon and were one of the finalists at Samanvay, Trail Blazers, conducted by DOMS IIT, Srividhya and Shipra Singh were finalists at Saaransh, conducted by DOMS IIT, Madras. Madras.

Priyamvada Sivasubramanian was featured as a 'Young Achiever' in the March 2007 issue of Advanc'edge Mastering Business Acumen'(an IMS publication) and her paper on Bio-ethics and Corporate Governance was chosen to be presented at the UN conference held by 'IHEU- Appignani Manish Kumar, Adarsh Gupta and Hari Prasad were finalists at the Samanvay, Spin Doctors Humanist Center for Bioethics' in New York. She also presented a paper for the 'International event conducted by DOMS IIT, Madras. Rehabilitation Conference' for individuals with disabilities in the world of management at the Holy Christ College.

Tanvir Ahmad and Kapil Singhal presented a paper on 'Role of Nonverbal Communication in Effective Management Communication' at '6th Asia Pacific ABC conference on Management Parag Kulkarni and Ashwin Sedwal were finalists at the 'Business Plan Presentation', CCIM, Communication' at IIM, Ahmedabad. The paper has also been published in the book, 'Management Bangalore. Communication - Trends & Strategies'.

Praveen Pantula and Manan Sharma presented a report on 'Innovative Clauses in Wage Shankar G. secured the third place in the 'Business Plan Competition' at XIM Bhubaneshwar and Settlement' under the aegis of the FICCI HR Panel. was a semi-finalist at ' Conquest 2007', BITS Pilani

Sridhar Mosur, Vaishno Devi, Hardeep Lamba, Narendran K. and Shravan Kumar presented Divakar S., Gaurav Singhvi, Arun Nair and Vimal K. were semi-finalists at the ET, Wharton a case study on Marg Constructions which was selected for the Case Booklet collection of the Business Plan competition and semifinalists at the Business Plan Competition, IIT Mumbai. London Business School (Aditya V. Birla India Center).

35 36 yearThe thatwas

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