Showing posts with label IIPM Think Tank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM Think Tank. Show all posts

Monday, April 08, 2013

Asian bond market report

Capital flows into emerging East Asian bond markets remained strong as investors chased yields during the first half of the year. Relatively strong economic fundamentals, interest rate differentials, and the potential appreciation of regional currencies acted as the key pull factors for these countries to offer higher yield on relatively longer tenure bonds.

Indices heading south again

Unresolved sovereign debt issues in the United States and the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis has jolted investors’ confidence on global asset markets. Rising risk aversion has sharply dragged down global equity markets, particularly in the aftermath of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgrade of US sovereign debt. However, considering the baseline scenario, MSCI indices show that the Emerging Europe stock markets have been the worst affected lot since the 2008 financial crisis. And the scenario has been further aggravated by the sovereign debt crises in mature markets and the potential impact on the wider economy. This has led investors to re-think their definitions of risk-free and risky assets and prompted safe haven flows into gold, the bonds of higher rated corporates.

Us stands tall at the top spot

As suggested by an Asian Development Bank report, demand for local currency (LCY) government bonds picked up in the middle of 2010 and remained strong throughout the first half of 2011. Overall, there has been a bullish flattening of yield curves in most markets; in many cases there has been a downward shift of the entire yield curve. Total LCY bonds outstanding in emerging East Asia grew 2.4% on a quarterly basis in 2Q11 to reach $5.5 trillion, with growth driven more by the region’s corporate markets rather than its larger government markets. The most rapidly growing corporate bond markets in 2Q11 were Indonesia (8.9%), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (6.3%), Malaysia (4.9%), and Singapore (4.7%).


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

“It’s a Problem if firms cannot Grow without The Founder”

As an Academician who was also on The Corporate side, Dr. Michel Kalika, Dean, EM Strasbourg Business School, has seen The Best & Worst of both worlds. In This Exclusive interview, he discusses Contemporary Business Issues and Compares Indian Students to those overseas

In a career span of over 26 years, he has been a professor, a corporate professional, a researcher and now the Dean of EM Strasbourg Business School, University of Strasbourg, based in France. Dr. Michel Kalika resumed his new job in 2008 and under his supervision, the school has grown from 1400 to 2300 students and has become one of best B-schools in France and the second best in R&D. He has co-authored twenty books and approximately a hundred other publications. In an exclusive interview with B&E’s Bhuvnesh Talwar, Dr. Kalika talks about his affinity for Indian students and the international scenario on education and careers.

B&E: How should the academic mix be at B-schools? Specifically, how do you intermingle industry inputs and theory in your business school?
Michel Kalika (MK): In France, you have two great systems: you have the elite Grande Ecole programmes, and you have the traditional university system. While universities accept everybody, the Grande Ecole programmes – like the one at our business school – are competitive courses. In these, it’s not just about classroom teaching and creating book bugs. Industry interface comes only with enough practical teachings in the classroom. This is what happens at Strasbourg. Managerial practice and theoretical knowledge go together, because we have a strong support from the chamber of commerce. For instance, we have 170 companies who are supporting the B-school, and we have 104 faculties. Around 300 practitioners are coming and teaching during the courses. We are well known for the creation of case studies. Each week at the business school, we have one or two conferences on different topics. Practitioners are very often invited to speak at the B-school. They come and often offer the students jobs and internships. That is why our students find jobs very easily. Three to four months after the programme, 80% of the students are working. Around 40% of our students find jobs outside France.

B&E: In this era where B-schools teach their students to be founding entrepreneurs, what are the advantages and disadvantages of having the company’s founder as the CEO?
MK: The competencies of a founder are not the competencies of a CEO. When you are a founder, you focus on entrepreneurship. You are creative, imaginative, and want to grow the company. But, I feel very often, founders need the help of professional managers. It is very difficult for a founder to keep control on the company, when the company is growing more and more. So, I will say that the two functions are complementary; there’s a synergy between the two. What I say to my students is that if you start as a founder of a company, please be careful. You need to be able to understand when you will need the help of the manager. And I say to the professional managers that you must understand how the founder is thinking to be able to help him maintain the control on his company.

B&E: What is your thought on optimal timing for the exit of a founder CEO, and what factors should be counted?
MK: I don’t have a general answer. Sometimes a founder needs a strong help of the manager, after I would say 5-7 years. But, the founder can stay in the company. It would depend on the relationship between the manager and the founder. When you have served in the development of a company, you have steps. The steps are in the form of 5 year and 7 year plans. So, there is the first step after 5-7 years, and then another step after 11-12 years. It thus depends on the rate of growth of the company. If the company is only in domestic markets and another competitor is developing internationally, then you need a professional manager very soon. The founder is not always very good in understanding the culture of a different country. As the founder is focussed on his business, he may have difficulty in understanding another country’s business practices and culture.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

B&E This Fortnight

INTERNATIONAL

ECONOMY & BUSINESS STRATEGY
Time Inc.’s CEO – Fired!

After six months on the job, Jack Griffin, who took charge as CEO of the world’s largest magazine publisher Time Inc. last August, has been shown the door. Meanwhile, the division will be temporarily run by an interim management committee comprising three Time Inc. executives – Editor-in-chief John Huey, General Counsel Maurice Edelson and CFO Howard Averill – until a new CEO is hired. This is what Jeffrey Bewkes, CEO of Time Inc.’s parent company (Time Warner) conveyed to Time Inc.’s employees through an email. Griffin’s short tenure and untimely departure comes as a shock to most, including the sacked CEO. Despite his reputation of being an extremely accomplished veteran in the industry, the company claims that his leadership style and approach at work did not gel well with the culture in place. There are rumours doing the rounds that Griffin was axed because Edelson and Averill wanted him out for personal reasons (they were apparently unhappy of having been left out of an executive summit planned for March 2011), it is no secret that this former President of Meredith Corp.’s national media group, had failed to gain the trust of his employees and the top management at Time Inc. in the many months that he had spent at the company. Therefore, his exit was perhaps necessary to prevent other key executives from leaving the company.

AMAZON’s free deal?
Amazon, in an open war with Netfix (which offers online streaming service) unveiled its “free”, instant movie and TV show streaming option for those who are willing to pay (or are already paying) for its $79 Amazon Prime service. The company announced this on February 22, 2011. When news of this became public, shares of its competitor – Netflix, dropped by nearly 6%. Interestingly, even investors of the Amazon stock did not find the news too amusing as its shares fell by 3.2%. The move puts Amazon on a collision course with Netflix, which aims to dominate the online streaming market. The giant has claimed that it will make 5,000 films and TV shows available for “free”, just 25% in count of that offered by Netflix. Also, Amazon’s claims are not finding many buyers as its “free” selection is only a mere proportion of the 90,000 titles and shows that are mentioned in its catalog. Sample this: Actually, Amazon currently offers five of this year’s 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees, but none are included in the free offer. So, if you want to watch The Social Network, it will still cost you $3.99 for a 24-hour rental or $14.99 to buy permanent viewing rights, whether you are subscribed to its Prime service or not.

Sanofi’s $20 bn bet
French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis announced on February 16, 2011, that it is all set to buy the $4.5 billion-a-year profit-making Genzyme in an all-cash deal worth $20.1 billion. This represents a premium of 4.4% on the share price of the target (as on October 4, 2010, the first day of offer). This second biggest deal in the biotech space will give Sanofi a foothold in the market of diseases with small patient populations. Genzyme, which produces expensive medicines for disorders such as Fabry, Gaucher, and Pompe diseases, will help Sanofi compensate for declining revenue from drugs that it is set to lose patent rights.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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Saturday, February 09, 2013

The most recent BP Oil spill holocaust

John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director, Greenpeace USA, talks to B&E’s steven philip warner about the damage done and the consequences thereof of the most recent BP Oil spill holocaust

 B&E: There has been a lot of talk, especially with Obama promising a lot with green technologies. But nothing has happened that can be called a sweeping influence to the fuel consuming masses. Are we there yet?
JH: President Obama has said that we need to end our addiction to oil, and to develop renewable energy sources like wind and solar. While this is a laudable goal, it is meaningless without action to back it up. Decisions are being made now which will have lasting impacts. But there are matters much more serious and threatening to consider using the thinking cap. For example, plans are still moving ahead to allow drilling in the Arctic in 2011. If we cannot even handle a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, where we are probably better prepared than anywhere else on earth, how can we deal with a spill in the remote, pristine waters of the Arctic, where the Coast Guard acknowledges they have no capacity to respond? Policies only make sense on ground. And if they are kept limited to just the coffee table, there is little that can help avert a second BP-like crisis or crises.

B&E: So what immediate step do you recommend to save the ecology?
JH: We need an immediate ban on offshore drilling, and we must improve the safety of and ultimately begin phasing out existing wells.

B&E: But do you think this will go well with the oil companies?
JH: Which right policy does? There will surely be objections.

B&E: You are quite known as a lover of ocean life. You must be keeping track of what the recent BP disaster has caused. How about an experience that you’d want to share?
JH : I was at Grand Isle, Louisiana, one of the growing number of places unlucky enough to win a “heavily oiled” classification on the government maps tracking the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite BP’s efforts to keep it under wraps, we’re went there to document the impacts of the spill. Walking through Grand Isle State Park, we came across a tidal flat that was littered with tens of thousands of dead hermit crabs. It was a depressing scene, and took me all the way back to my first visit to the beach, over 35 years ago, when discovering hermit crabs at Rocky Neck State Park in Connecticut helped inspire a life-long love of the ocean. Now, I realise it can seem a little odd to wax poetically about hermit crabs when we’re talking about the biggest environmental disaster in North American history. Today, entire communities along the Gulf Coast are reeling, and many species – sea birds, turtles, and even a population of sperm whales – are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The problem is that it’s all connected. Hermit crabs are a bellwether for the health of the Gulf of Mexico. When the sediment fills up with oil, so do the shells of the hermit crabs, and they suffocate. So if all the hermit crabs on a beach die, it’s pretty safe to say that the entire top layer of sand is full of oil – and no longer able to sustain life other than bacteria. The true cost of oil really doesn’t end at the gaspump! We have to realise that.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
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Friday, February 08, 2013

The legitimacy of the UNSC

West’s shifting of the goalpost on Iran and its disregard for the Turkey-Brazil brokered Nuclear Swap deal has jeopardised the legitimacy of the UNSC, says Saurabh Kumar Shahi

“Two confident and growing economic powers, from what the world once referred to as the ‘Third World’, have now asserted critical political sway on a prestigious global security question. Turkey and Brazil, thus, have signalled that Washington can no more unilaterally characterise conditions for managing such matters,” says Flynt Leverett, noted Washington based Iran analyst, while talking to B&E.

Therefore, the unfolding excitement of the deal and the knee-jerk reaction of the Obama regime to quickly move a draft sanctions resolution in the United Nations Security Council will have long-term consequences on the texture of international relations. For those who still question the viability or the possibility of the post-American world, the deal is a wake-up call. Also, by countering Brazil and Turkey’s astonishing diplomatic coup by an egotistical show of the Big-5’s power, the Obama regime has taken an itinerary that could not only inflict serious damage on America’s reputation but also on the legitimacy of the Security Council itself.

And as coming weeks will unfold, getting the P-5 to see a common ground on a considerably diluted and deficient draft resolution in UNSC is far easier than managing the mandatory nine assenting votes to pass it. In all probability, even though Washington is able to hammer in new rounds of sanctions through an extremely fractured and divided Security Council, the initiative will profoundly damage its credibility. By now, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has already started questioning the UNSC’s “credibility” to resolve Iranian impasse. And if the US torpedoes the TRR deal before giving it a chance, as it will do in all probability, expect Turkey and Brazil to dent UNSC’s legitimacy with a generous help from “non-aligned” nations. As it happens, NAM is not dead as of yet.

So, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the text of new draft of sanctions before even officially going through the nitty-gritty of the TRR deal reflects extensive disrespect, to say the least, for Brazilian and Turkish diplomatic pains. But what has the US achieved? Merely a watered down text.

To bring the Russians and the Chinese on the table, the US had to drop any idea of a prohibition on fresh ventures or other ideas that could have hampered Iran’s capability to generate and export hydrocarbons.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Monday, February 04, 2013

3 days is all it took...

...to sell-off a fortune to a rookie named Apple!

“How about earning $1 million worth of my company’s equity for 3 days in your garden (that’s where you basically do your research!)... Deal?” What if your competitor proposes this to you? Great deal, isn’t it? Well, not really... Cut to 1979, officials at Xerox Corp., learnt this lesson the hard way. Xerox, under David Kearnes then, had allowed engineers from Apple Inc. to learn the Graphical User Interface technology (GUI) during a 3-day learning session at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, for a consideration of $1 million in Apple’s pre-IPO stocks. What followed shocked Xerox. Apple’s engineers soon launched a GUI-clad personal computer named ‘Apple Lisa’, arguably the first hit product from Apple! Jobs’ foresightedness for the technology and Xerox’s myopia, gave Apple the much needed lead in this regard. “When a company is new and small, it doesn’t seem like a giant competitive threat, so doing deals with it is not important enough for anyone to pay attention to. These companies become large competitors and the deals that were done years ago, which made sense back then, don’t make sense anymore,” supports Jeff Kagan, a Tech analyst. Well, the GUI technology today forms a part & parcel of every major OS in the world.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Monday, January 14, 2013

“Consumers trust maruti”

Shinzo Nakanishi, MD, Maruti Suzuki

B&E: In your view, which all factors played a major role in empowering Maruti Suzuki to save the grace of its bottomline in the last fiscal when almost all the other automakers were on their knees?

SN: In times of a slowdown, people do not want to take any risk. They prefer purchasing brands on which they have full trust; and in the automotive market Maruti Suzuki comes on the top on those grounds. Moreover, we saw the slowdown coming in the urban areas of the country and we moved rather aggressively into the rural and the semi-urban market, which helped a lot to cope up with the slowdown.

B&E: Your expectations from the ‘new’ government?

SN: The previous government helped a lot to deal with the dull phase in the automotive market, be it the excise cut or petrol price going down; the government surely helped many players to sustain in the second half of 2008. If the government can again provide more help, everyone will be more than happy.

B&E: Honda & Mahindra have tried their hands in hybrids, is Maruti Suzuki planning a hybrid for India?

SN: If Maruti Suzuki will bring a hybrid in India it will be through Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. The current hybrid that Suzuki has is a big car, but they are working on developing a small hybrid for the Indian market.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)
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Thursday, January 10, 2013

“We refresh our consumers...”

B&E: What are the strategies that you think have make Coca-Cola successful in India?

AJ: Brand Coca-Cola worldwide stands for positivity, upliftment of body, mind & spirit and universal connection. The same values define the brand in India. In addition, we are constantly looking for opportunities to reach out to our consumers and strengthen our connect with them. Innovations in advertising, 360 degree communication, strong distribution network and chilled availability of the product in different packages and at appropriate price points have had a role to play.

B&E: How did Thums Up fit in?

AJ: Thums Up today is India’s largest selling sparkling beverage brand. Born in 1977, Brand Thums Up was added to the Coca-Cola portfolio in 1993. During this period, it moved towards a more individualistic masculine positioning in ‘I want my Thunder’. In, 2002, Akshay Kumar was roped in as the brand ambassador and the brand continued to strengthen its position as a Male Iconic Brand through consistent positioning. To further enhance the appeal and connect with consumers, the Thums Up logo too has been contemporized. The sharper edges are added to the ‘Thumb’ in the Thums Up sign to bring out the core masculine values of brand Thums Up more prominently.

B&E: Please tell us about your future plans for the Indian market?

AJ: We have grown consecutively for the last twelve quarters with the quarter ending June 2009 registering a 33% growth over the same quarter previous year. This was the 12th straight quarter of growth, with 9 out of the 12 quarters delivering double digit growth We believe that this growth has been led by our continued focus on the route-to-market strategy and ongoing investments in technology, infrastructure and consumer marketing. At Coca-Cola India we follow an OBPPC model which is all about marketing the right brand, in the right pack at the right price, sold through the right channel and at the right occasion.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Wednesday, January 09, 2013

International Curry

Some international campaigns succeed in creating momentously historic landmarks in the global advertising playfield. 4Ps B&M brings to you a review of one such stellar campaign that was active during the month ending April 15, 2012.

Damn... it’s invisible!

Advertiser: Diamler AG
Ad Title: Mercedes: Invisible
Category: Ambient

4Ps B&M Take: Jung Von Matt/alster’s (an agency based in Germany) brilliant job for Mercedes-Benz is a global benchmark on how luxury brands can be promoted through on-ground activation, yet retain the brand’s uber essence. The brief given to the creative team at the agency was clear – to highlight the fact that Mercedes-Benz represents the most innovative drive technology in the world and is future ready. Jung Von Matt/alster decided to create an ambient campaign around the German car major’s F-CELL hydrogen fuel cell technology. Engines that run on hydrogen fuel cells produce zero emissions. This means such cars would be invisible to the environment. Select Mercedes-Benz models were covered with LEDs. Next, a camera was mounted on the other side of the car which would transmit the image to the LEDs. Once ready, the cars were taken to the street. With mounted LEDs, the vehicles appeared to be transparent to people on the street. Every few minutes, the LEDs displayed a message – Invisible to the environment. F-CELL with 0.0 emissions. Dubbed the F-CELL tour, the campaign was live across Germany for an entire week. The ambient campaign was a perfect recipe for mobilising attention and reinforcing the technological prowess of Mercedes-Benz. People on the streets would stop dead on their tracks when these cars would pass by. To increase engagement, some of the LED laden cars were simply parked on the road. Bottomline? The branding exercise executed by Jung Von Matt/alster was bang on target, generated buzz and reinforced Mercedes-Benz’s image as the future of automobile technology. The wonder of it is that if the German giant can do it in Germany, why can’t it replicate the same innovative streak in India, a market where it has now slipped to the third position in unit sales, beaten by BMW and Audi.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Friday, January 04, 2013

Long Lee Manor, Shamwari Game Reserve

If you are longing for an exotic experience amidst the wonders of nature and wildlife, don’t think twice and just land into the Shamwari Game Reserve at the Long Lee Manor, which offers a distinctive colonial experience. This exquisite Manor House offers its guests some enticing cuisine, refined comfort and unmatched hospitality. This ultimate African adventure stretches right up to the Garden Route meandering along the Bushman’s river.

The view: Right in the middle of flora and fauna, stretching up to the river and the ocean, unmatched scenic view and adventure all through is what rightly defines the Long Lee Manor. Archi type: The colonial style of this Manor House has been preserved ever since it was built in 1910. The interiors have been tastefully done and a lot of thought has been put in for guests’ comfort.

Bon appétit: Sumptuous meals can be savoured under the star-studded sky at the Palm Court or around the blazing fire in the barn. Around the corner: Long Lee Manor is situated at an hour’s distance from the main city of Port Elizabeth. Although it has a variety of facilities within the Shamwari Reserve, which easily extends up to 18,000 hectares. There are regular flights at short intervals, which keep shuttling between the city of Port Elizabeth and the reserve.

From under the carpet: For those who don’t appreciate nature much and aren’t comfortable with an overdose of adventure, this isn’t quite the ideal place. A better idea would be to soak in the sun at some beach resort at Port Elizabeth. In essence: Port Elizabeth and Long Lee Manor have a great deal to offer.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Wi ran outta ca$h, Oh! Jush like datt...

Bankruptcies in US companies have continued...

History is a great teacher, but we are among the poorest pupils, aren’t we? For if we were to learn, the biggest bankruptcy ever, wouldn’t have happened as recently as last year. Yes, we are talking about Lehman Brothers, the global financial services behemoth that tripped over the weight of its own mountain of toxic securities and had a massive, fatal fall. It seemed that all prudent thinking people in the company had been handed over pink slips, the way the bank kept extending loans to people with dubious credit reputations. What were some of the best financial brains of the world thinking when they kept riding the inflating housing bubble till it said ‘Pop’? Your guess is as good as ours.

And in our obsession with Lehman, let us not ignore the some other mammoth companies who seemed to have an esoteric obsession with ‘11’. Billionaire investor Donald Trump is as famous for his classy hotels and casinos as for his trysts with business and personal bankruptcy. This year itself, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. has filed for Chapter 11, and Trump has himself stepped down as Chairman after major disagreements with bond holders. The company’s major failing has again been extreme reliance on debt and failure to understand market dynamics. The gambling industry in Las Vegas is teethering on the edge; for people are visiting casinos less and less in the slowdown. It’s unfortunate, since the company only emerged from bankruptcy in 2005. They need to really give up on their ‘gambling’ habits!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.


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Monday, December 10, 2012

Raj of the satraps

The elections this year is seeing a trend' parties vying for larger pie shun pre-poll alliances

The eleventh Lok Sabha was a defining moment for Indian politics. Despite emerging as the single largest party with 161 seats in 1996, BJP could not prove its majority. Who can forget images of Pramod Mahajan talking simultaneously on two mobiles, claiming confidently of having the required numbers? They were all false claims, as BJP simply did not have allies that could help it reach the magic figure. During the next two years, the party worked hard on stitching alliances. That heralded the era of coalition politics, which necessitated pre-poll alliances.

BJP again forgot this lesson in 2004, when it entered the elections with only five allies. The Congress by then had learnt from its past mistakes. Party Chief, Sonia Gandhi, quietly buried her party’s Panchmarhi resolution to fight all elections on its own and have no alliances. She personally visited regional satraps like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan, and forfeited own seats to have pre-poll alliance with their parties.

Cut to 2009: Both NDA and UPA are devoid of partners. Barring NCP, DMK and JMM, all UPA constituents are contesting against 'big brother' Congress. They were apparently irked by Congress’s political posturing refusing a national alliance and restricting itself to state-level alliances only. That put paid to ambitions of allies like the NCP to grow outside Maharashtra and of Samajwadi Party to grow out of UP.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.



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Saturday, December 08, 2012

Safexpress will need to proactively

Safexpress will need to proactively align with global best practices, says Pawan Chabra of B&E

If one goes by the numbers, the future of logistics in India certainly looks dazzling. In fact, according to a study done by Cushman & Wakefield, the Indian logistics industry is anticipated to grow at a healthy rate of 15-20% per annum (way above the average growth rate of 7-10% that the sector have had between 2002 and 2007) to reach a whopping $385 billion by 2015. According to a KPMG report, India’s spend on logistics activities is equivalent to 13% of its GDP, compared to less than 10% in almost all the developed nations. But then this necessarily doesn’t mean big business! The key reason for this astonishing big size is relatively higher level of inefficiencies in the system, with lower average transportaion speeds, higher turnaround times at ports and high costs of administrative delays. Players like Safexpress will need to take the lead in correcting this anomaly.

Moreover, the Indian logistics industry is dominated by unorganised players. Transporters with fleets smaller than five trucks account for over 75% of the total trucks owned and operated in India and make up 80% of revenues. Even the freight forwarding segment comprises thousands of small customs brokers and clearing & forwarding agents, who just cater to local cargo requirements. So, considering this, the biggest challenge for organised players like Safexpress will be to take the growth forward. In fact, “one can even see a major phase of consolidation in the sector in the coming times,” avers Pradhan.

No doubt Safexpress has generated a decent level of loyalty and trust towards the brand in the past few years, but with the sudden flurry of international behemoths like FedEx, DHL, TNT, et al, and considering their edge over domestic players, particularly because of their big pockets, players like Safexpress will definitely find it hard to retain clients.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Friday, December 07, 2012

BARCLAYS: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Questioning the ‘brilliant’ financial disclosure by Barclays...

Secondly, the increase in loans and advances of $175.99 billion also deserves credit for the growth in balance sheet growth. Worst, the true indicator of real earnings (Economic profit, which excludes opportunity costs) has fallen by a deplorable 23% as compared to the previous year to touch $2.51 billion.

Add to this the fact that even the cost to PBIT and the cost to PAT ratios have increased by 5% and 16% respectively, the issue of operational efficiency also casts a dark shadow upon Barclays’ performance. Thus, the underlying fact is that Barclays’ ‘happy’ revelation is all due to some unusual gains and earnings on certain ‘abnormal’ deals that won’t make their way into its books every year.

Agreeing to the thought, even an analyst at Brand Finance avers, “The bank has been criticised for not ‘marking down’ asset value and the investors are sceptical about banks like Barclays for declaring toxic assets!” Thus it is quite clear that the Barclays’ FY‘08 audited figures do not paint the real picture! Now for the ‘real’ asset – its shares on the NYSE have tumbled by 85.6% since December 31, 2007 to touch just $5.83 as on February 17, 2009; its Mcap falling by 80% during the same interval – all this despite the ‘extraordinary’ result announced?! Talking about the bank’s immediate agenda, an optimistic John Varley, CEO, Barclays explains, “Our immediate objective at Barclays is... manage the impact of the credit crisis...” Yes, we wish you all the best in your endeavours, but seriously Sir, sometimes even strong financials can have little impact on stock fortunes; and as for your shareholders, the ‘positive’ earnings may just have become a matter to mourn over!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Thursday, December 06, 2012

STARBUCKS: REDUCTION IN OUTLETS

Over-expansionary policy is responsible for Starbucks predicament

And as situation for consumers in US worsens, a preferential move away from premium coffee was a natural outcome, a fact revealed by a January 2009 Adage survey which reported that 90% of Americans have trimmed their consumption of expensive coffee during these recessionary times (43% of whom were loyal to Starbucks!).

Consumers are only too happy to switch from Starbucks’ premium coffee to McDonalds’ cheaper alternative, especially at a time when liquidity has become dearer to them, similar to the drift of shoppers from Target to Walmart stores. “We will continue our efforts to elevate the Starbucks Experience and stay true to our core value,” asserts Wendy Pang, Spokesperson for Starbucks when asked about Starbucks’ future strategy. Clearly, the company for now is ‘not’ considering any price reductions to counteract the reduction in customer base... It clearly should think along logical lines, and price changes to revive demand is what comes to the mind of the informed! What say, coffee lover?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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