Showing posts with label iipm-press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iipm-press. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

“Returns from innovation take a very long time”

Dr. Abhijit Barve, President – R&D, Biocon Ltd. shares how collaborations within the ecosystem can be leveraged to deliver better results

B&E: Could you cite some innovation ecosystem challenges which Biocon particularly faced during various drug discovery processes?
Dr. Abhijit Barve (AB): Biocon has a state of the art R&D centre, but yet we have faced challenges of not having every sophisticated instrument available that may be required for certain research experiments. In such cases, we have drawn from the external ecosystem and gone ahead with our quest for innovation & were able to tap into resources that were available in the Bangalore area. We have some world-class institutions in the city and we leveraged their services or partnered with them. For Indian companies like us, leveraging what is available in the country and developing competencies internally would be best. And Kiran has been very serious about forging partnerships with a variety of scientific leaders and institutions in the biotech field to place India on the global biotech map.

B&E: How can the stakeholders work towards building an ecosystem for biotech in India?
AB: It’s important to understand that the returns from innovation take a very long time. Even for biosimilars or novel molecules, the gestation period from the time you actually conceive an idea to commercial introduction is a long development cycle. It is a high risk and reward proposition requiring the right mindset supported by large investments. So, unless you have a huge risk appetite, you wouldn’t want to play in this area.

In the Indian biopharma and pharma industry, VCs and PEs don’t want to invest much because of many reasons. First, they perhaps don’t understand the field too well. Second, because they prefer investing in industries that offer secured returns with relatively low risks. Thirdly, there are limited investment opportunities in these sectors, so their basket of investments cannot be diversified and derisked across multiple technologies. Some VCs have invested in our domain. When there are a couple of success stories in terms of ROI, others will follow.


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

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Decoding India’s innovation DNA

Companies hail the importance of the Indian market, and there is a pleasing buzz around the concept of reverse innovation from the country. But unless the ecosystem as a whole becomes more enabling for innovation, the country will continue to seriously undermine its potential

The most unique aspect of the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) project is its scale. It’s all about innovatively applying existing technologies to a grand social goal whose value for its intended audience can hardly be questioned. With a target of over 600 million people by 2014, this is slated to be the largest biometric database of individuals on earth. The total estimated cost is pegged at around Rs.180 billion, but is linked to some Rs.3 trillion in welfare payments in India, at least half of which are estimated to be lost due to leakages and graft.

However, the project has faced considerable challenges, & a major proportion of them have little to do with the technology itself. They include lack of machines at centres, inadequate and unskilled staff, awareness issues, data collection issues, difficulty in finding competent vendors and lack of sufficient cooperation at the state level. Off late, the problems have become more complicated, as the home ministry led by P. Chidambaram feels that the UID is a security risk as it really does not demarcate citizens and residents, and that the National Popular Register (NPR) scheme is much better. On the other hand, the Standing Committee on Finance led by Yashwant Sinha has rejected the National Identification Authority of India 2010 bill in its present form citing a number of issues including the question on whether the bill itself was introduced with any clarity of purpose, since it was supposedly destined for BPL families and has now been extended to all residents of India. The Left, on the other hand, is joined by a number of activists in calling it a breach of individual privacy.

Now let us discuss one landmark innovation that came from the Indian automotive sector and was hailed as a symbol of what Indian innovation could promise the world – the Tata Nano – a unique and valuable proposition for the middle class in theory, but a terrible road to market in practice. It all began when they ran afoul of farmers who owned the land where the Singur plant was set up. They assumed that the support of the West Bengal government would be enough to ensure that all was well. Once it spiraled into a political issue, the company was compelled to pull out of its $292 million factory and relocate to Sanand, Gujarat. This created serious supply issues besides enormous relocation costs, as some suppliers reportedly complained of inadequate compensation. Moreover, the promise of the Rs.1 lakh car became unsustainable very soon as input prices started rising; and the car was eventually caught in a devastating positioning trap, with the perception of a cheap car conflicting with the new price points. The burning Nano incidents made it worse and brought quality issues with suppliers to the fore. Rightfully so, Ratan Tata called it a “wasted opportunity” recently, and the company is looking at removing the ‘poor man’s car’ tag.

What these two isolated examples highlight in particular is that when organisations are looking at innovation, especially path-breaking innovation, and even if they are convinced about the potential of that particular innovation in the market, their due diligence is far from over. They have to look at the entire innovation chain from their suppliers to all the partners and to even a wider gamut of stakeholders who may or may not have a direct stake in the value proposition of the innovation in question.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
 
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Tuesday, April 02, 2013

“There’s Need for a Trust Based Taxation Regime”

Nishith Desai, International Tax & Corporate Lawyer

‘Trust’ seems to have become a rare commodity today. While the developments surrounding the Lok Pal Bill and corruption have created quite a stir nationwide, the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill also provokes one to contemplate on the declining standards of trust in the world’s largest democracy. The DTC, proposed to be implemented from April 1, 2012, is currently being scrutinised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee chaired by Yashwant Sinha. Once enacted by Parliament, it would completely replace India’s existing direct taxes framework.

Before delving into some of the provisions of the proposed DTC, it is necessary to first understand the relevance and importance of trust. Trust is a valuable social asset and forms the basis of democracy. The theory of trusteeship espoused by Mahatma Gandhi has application in all facets of governance, whether in corporate management or the tax administration system. Trust demands respect for the inherent value and rights of a human being. Policy framers and decision makers are regarded as trustees of the power vested upon them by the people and are bound by the strictest norms of transparency and accountability in the exercise of such powers. Such accountability emanates from India’s constitutional fabric which imposes numerous checks and balances on the functioning of the three organs of governance – executive, legislature and the judiciary.

A number of proposals in the DTC are antithetical to a trust based regime. Of these, the proposed General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) are likely to have the most critical impact on not only the sophisticated taxpayer, but the common man as well. GAAR provides wide discretionary powers to the Commissioner of Income Tax to tax impermissible avoidance arrangements lacking commercial substance. While some developed countries have introduced some form of a GAAR to curb tax evasion, the GAAR framework proposed in the DTC is vague and does not have sufficient checks to check abuse of power. Unfettered discretion may result in harassment of the average taxpayer. In fact, the proposed GAAR regime marks a shift from the long standing principle that taxpayers are allowed to legitimately minimise taxes within the four corners of law.

Contrary to principles of natural justice, the taxpayer is required to bear the primary burden of proving that he has not undertaken an impermissible avoidance arrangement. There seems to be an unfair presumption that a taxpayer is guilty of tax avoidance, which has been equated to evasion. The DTC also does not impose any time limit within which the tax authorities may invoke their sweeping powers under GAAR. The GAAR provisions also override India’s tax treaties, which is against the Government’s constitutional commitments and is not in sync with principles of international law. The application of GAAR is thus bound to give rise to unnecessary litigation and would create high uncertainty and hardship for taxpayers.

The lack of trust is also reflected in the proposed regime for imposition of penalties. Today, a taxpayer may be subject to penalties if he has concealed or filed inaccurate particulars his income. It is an established position that penalties are attracted only if the taxpayer has made a conscious attempt at evading tax. However, in circumstances where the actions of the taxpayer are bonafide or where there was reasonable cause, penalties cannot be imposed. However, the language in the proposed DTC suggests that penalties may be imposed automatically as long as the income assessed by the tax authorities is higher than what is disclosed by the taxpayer. It seems that factors such as the taxpayer’s true intention and bonafides may only have limited relevance.


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 01, 2013

Following some basic principles can help

Recession tests companies to the hilt, but following some basic principles can help

It was just a few months ago that I met the hallowed Ram Charan (Fortune considers him one of their favourite management gurus), over lunch. And it was only two months ago that he wrote the classic ‘Investor’s Special for the Recession Economy’ in Fortune, where he gives four simple and broad principles for CEOs to crack the recession conundrum, which are: (1) Keep Building: “Do not consider product development, innovation, and brand building optional. Sacrificing your future for a slightly more comfortable present is not worth it.” (2) Communicate Intensively: “It’s counter-intuitive but true that when the economy slows down, the pace of decision-making has to speed up. The companies that are readiest to act on solid information are primed to shoot ahead of the business cycle.” (3) Evaluate Your Customers: “In good times, companies manage the P&L; in bad times, cash and receivables matter more. Therefore, you need to identify your higher-risk, cash-poor customers. You could decide to simply not supply them anymore.” (4) Just Say No To Across-The-Board Cuts: “By all means, cut costs if it makes sense to do so, but make sure there is purpose in how you do it.”

Jay Leno, the king of stand up acts, gave a classic perspective of the US economy in one of his shows: “Some good news for the economy. President Bush went on a month-long vacation.” Companies, like I mentioned before, wouldn’t necessarily find the blame game as easy as Jay wishes it to be. Harvard Business School, in its most recent April 2008 posting, gives a tempered, but well researched, response with its paper, ‘4 Steps to Growth During a Recession’. First, “Invest heavily in research and development” – Your competitors may in general cut R&D investments; ergo, your investment increase would yield a “strong product advantage” in the future. Steve Jobs quoted a few days back, “In the last recession, we were going to up our R&D budget so that we would be ahead of our competitors when the downturn was over… And it worked! That’s exactly what we’ll do this time!” Second, “Spend some time learning about the customers of your weakest competitors” – Instead of focusing on bagging your strongest competitors’ largest clients, choose these times to add attractive customers of your weakest competitors, who would not have the wherewithal to withstand your attack. Third, “Identify your most critical suppliers and distributors” – Find out ways you could help them. HBS quotes, “Even the smallest gesture can sometimes build an enduring loyalty that will pay off for years to come.”


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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Monday, January 07, 2013

Saam, Daam... a little more Daam

The legal environment reflects the larger shame of Indian venality

Were you feeling proud lately on how India’s banking system could teach US banks a thing or two about asset management? Well, the India growth story now also has lessons for the World Bank, but not in the manner you would be imagining. The World Bank initiated India Detailed Implementation Review (DIR) has exposed corruption in Indian health projects and has learned how to better tackle corruption in public procurement. Five out of five projects it studied in India (2006) were deemed to be extremely vulnerable to fraud. No wonder then that India ranks 103 out of 201 countries in the World Bank’s ‘control of corruption’ indicator for 2008.

Quite unfortunately, the malaise has spread wide and deep. Take, for instance, the entire arena of law enforcement. The country’s domestic investigating and law enforcing agencies are often accused of being sleazy, negligent, and flat inefficient.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

OIL BONDS: COMPANIES

RBI's moves with respect to bonds for oil companies are only a temporary solution to the problem

The bonds did solve some of the cash requirements but that was only for the short-term. The bonds can in no way help bridge the global and Indian retail oil price gap, which is the real problem for these companies. "Issuance of bonds is not a solution to the cash starving oil companies; rather this would further burden the companies and the economy as a whole,” Ashok Jainani, VP, Khandwala Securities Limited had said to B&E. Secondly, the government should not have closed the special window, not at least for now. India is sitting on a huge pile of forex reserve ($297.3 billion for week ended August 15, 2008). In such a case, the RBI could, and should have continue with its special window for some more time. This would not only provide support to oil companies but would also help in curbing the devaluating rupee.

RBI is also planning to issue further bonds of Rs.946 billion. But Jainani feels that is not the only remedy we should be looking at. According to him, "remedies like reduction of duties on oil and sale of strategic interest in PSUs to meet revenue loss, hike in tax rates for corporates, and widen the net to cover hitherto exempted sectors and imposition of oil cess are better options for the government." But then, the government seems to be too focussed on continuing with its ''divine'' intervention policy, which seems to be anything but a blessing.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Monday, November 19, 2012

Seven effective habits of highly lousy CEOs!

From the Editor’s desk, comes to you seven rocking ways in which global CEOs have destroyed their companies...
 7 effective habits of highly lousy CEOs! In other words (and with due apologies to Stephen Covey), ‘How To Be A Lousy CEO; and Get Paid For It Too’! It’s a question that has hounded management experts for the longest of time. How do you avoid ending up being a lousy CEO and how do you avoid destroying your company? Relax, help is at hand; just know what the worst CEOs do, and don’t do that! Simple, isn’t it? So speed on and read on...

Lousy CEO Habit #1: Hanging on to pop’s business

Research from Harvard (Belen Villalonga, 2004) to Wharton (Raphael Amit, 2004) has proved that owner-family CEOs ‘always end up destroying a company’s value. Amusingly, research from Hiller (Leeds) and McColgan (Aberdeen) documents positive stock price increases to the “announcement of the sudden death of a company’s founder executive!” So if you’re hanging on dearly to your Dad’s company’s reins, you’re my

Lousy CEO #1.

Lousy CEO Habit #2: Believing age, and not youth, is the most important HR asset Dun & Bradstreet, Ropert Starch, Spencer Stuart (Route To The Top; CEO Survey 2006), et al have shown that not only is the average age of a CEO falling, but the most successful CEOs are those who believe in the power of employing young and brilliantly talented individuals (and paying them the sky) than blindly opting for old experienced people.

Lousy CEO Habit #3: Changing jobs & companies regularly

Lousy CEOs change jobs. Excellent ones don’t! A mind numbing 81% CEOs of the top 100 US firms have never worked anywhere else (or maximum, changed just one job in their life). Forbes quotes how a monumental 75% CEOs of leading non-US firms have spent 35 years or more with the same company they lead. 

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Thursday, November 08, 2012

Weeding out corruption

Helping communities is an inherent part of its business strategy; so is weeding out corruption. By naresh minocha
 
There are many companies, which look at the entire issue of corporate – social responsibility (CSR) as an effort, as something they have to do to either to cater to legal compulsions, or to add incrementally to corporate image and credibility. But most of these firms don’t believe in the concept. Then there are a few business families – like the Tatas – who have traditionally invested in philanthropy; for them, it is a part of business values that have been ingrained over decades.

The city gas networks directly touch the common man by bringing the cheapest fuel, compressed natural gas (CNG), for public transport and piped gas (which is cheaper than LPG) to the kitchen. The toughest challenge for GAIL would arise when it gets an opportunity to facilitate rural gas distribution network that would supply affordable gas to households and village artisans and micro enterprises.

The company’s business is not to just keep propping up its topline and bottomline, but to also enable the aam adami, corporates, and the national exchequer to multiply wealth. And the beneficiary companies can’t suppress their glee at the laying of a pipeline and supply of gas. Take the case of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation (DFPC) that operated its fertilisers-cum-petrochemical complex at Taloja near Mumbai as a lame duck operation over the past few years due to shortage of gas, and now seems to coming back to real action.

The first highlight of the DFPC’s latest quarterly results stated: “The DUPL (Dehej-Uran Pipeline of GAIL) has now been commissioned and the supplies of LNG (regassified, imported liquefied natural gas) to the company have been received.” This has enabled the company to bounce back. But even as blue-chip companies grope for ways of embedding CSR into their strategic business models, GAIL has made CSR an integral part of its business right from its incorporation in 1984.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


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Saturday, October 27, 2012

“Marketing was critical...”

UDAY BALDOTA, VP - INVESTOR RELATIONS, SUN PHARMA

B&E: The pharma industry was hit badly during the slowdown. Sun seemed to have escaped. What was prescribed strategically?

Uday Baldota (UB): We created sustainable revenues streams, with greater differentiation and speed to market. We also focused on cost leadership through vertical integration. There was also a focus on optimising operational costs and making acquisitions which yielded high ROI… Marketing was critical too!

B&E: But recession always hits profit margins...

UB: Surprisingly, our margins have actually gone up from 70% in 2005-06 to 80% in 2008-09. So even during recession, our margins have not been affected. This simply means that focus on costs has remained a top priority for us even in good times.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Friday, August 10, 2012

NARENDRA MODI, CM, GUJARAT

“Support from Delhi, what’s that?”

Priyanka Rai speaks to the TSI - C-VOTER survey topper, Chief Minister, Narendra Modi and finds a man angry at the Centre’s treatment of Gujarat

According to a C-VOTER survey drawn on 20,000-plus respondents across India, Narendra Modi is the best chief minister of the country. Gujarat is number one in governance.

I am obliged and thankful to all those who participated in this survey. I have been in the top five in every poll for the last six years. I believe that when people vote you the best, they do it because they expect you to do more and always do the best. I am grateful that people have such high expectations of me.

Delhi's Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, thinks you are a good administrator but being an autocrat, not the best CM. According to her, a CM should be good in totality. She thinks Nitish Kumar is doing a much better job.

I am grateful to Sheilaji for calling me a good administrator. She is senior to me and I would not like to comment on this. You seem to be obsessed with 'Gujarat Gaurav.'

Why don’t you ever talk about the entire country's gaurav?

I never talk about just Gujarat. I say Gujarat's development is crucial for India's development.

Have you ever thought of expanding your territory in terms of going beyond Gujarat for a bigger role?

It is an era to stay slim and trim. Let me stay slim.

What is the secret behind Gujarat''s development and you remaining on the top of all surveys for years?

People of Gujarat are to be credited. Until and unless you get support from the people, you can not do any development work. It’s the people, it’s the team effort. I work with my people and take them along.

What was the biggest challenge you have ever faced?

The earthquake in 2001. It was the most devastating earthquake to strike India in recent history. Even after such a disaster, Gujarat recovered quickly and swiftly moved on to its natural routine within three years. A World Bank report says that it takes ages for countries to recover from such earthquakes. Well, I''ll say we did fairly better.

BJP is going down by the day. Don''t you think the party needs to reinvent itself? completely?

With 116 members in the Lok Sabha and 53 members in the Rajya Sabha, apart from ruling five states, how can you say that! It is not going down.

BJP''s National President, Nitin Gadkari, compared you to Mahatma Gandhi?

That is not correct. He never compared me to Mahatma Gandhi. If you listen to his speech, you would understand what he really meant. He said he wants to do good work like Mahatma Gandhi. For example, if I admire Swami Vivekananda and follow his ideology, that doesn’t mean I am comparing myself to him. This is the hand-job of mischief mongers. They love to spread false rumours.

The other day, you made fun of the Union government by saying you will write letters to them in Italian.

You must listen to the speech again. The UPA government had promised in their manifesto that they would bring down the rising prices of food items within 100 days. It’s more than 200 days now. I have written number of letters to the Centre on this issue of price rise. I didn’t get any response. It seemed that either they are not willing to take steps to control the situation or can’t understand the language of my letters.


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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Introducing World Class Retail Technology and Practices

Some Nifty Retail Strategies, Putting in Place a Superior Customer Relationship Programme and Introducing World Class Retail Technology and Practices, all have helped The Department Store Chain to be on top of The Retail Game.

However, when it comes to retail penetration, Shoppers Stop has been following a selective strategy. Until 2001, the company had just seven stores, whereas Westside from Tatas, which also followed a selective retail strategy within the first 10 years of its operation, had 14 stores. But Shrikhande points to a more aggressive retail penetration strategy in recent years. “In the last 10 years, we opened another 31 stores. In the next three years we plan to open another 31 stores. This is phenomenal growth vis-à-vis what we have achieved over the last 20 years. Maintaining our focus on delivering happiness to customers while growing at a fast pace will be the key challenge,” he avers. The chain’s cautious approach to expansion has had an up-side and paid off well during the bad times. When retailers such as Pantaloon and Woodland have had to close down 10 stores during the slowdown to combat rising rental cost, Shoppers Stop didn’t have to shutter any of its stores.

Today, even as it is pulling out all stops to position itself as a global retailer by bringing the world’s best retail technology and practices to its customers, the chain is looking to add more stores and has lined up investments worth Rs 450 crore over the next four years. The company has eight Hypercity stores and 36 Shoppers Stop stores across the country at present. But right now the biggest challenge for the group is to foray into tier I cities where Pantaloon, Lifestyle and other players have already entered much earlier. Pantaloon, with its comparatively easy-on-the-pocket portfolio of private labels mints 50% of its turnover from tier I and tier II cities. But unlike Pantaloon and Westside, both of whom have been thriving on private labels, Shoppers Stop has been banking on its power brands to grow, which are expensive than the private labels. The group has more than 400 international brand in its portfolio and that’s what makes Shrikhande confident about taking on the competition. However, its bridge-to-luxury positioning might not work in tier I cities. So positioning Shoppers Stop in tier I cities remains a challenge. Concurs Shrikhande: “Understanding different kinds of customers in smaller cities is a big challenge. Ramping up the supply chain, developing quality teams in the smallest of stores, maintaining the values of the company, developing multi channel capabilities, delivering shareholder returns, etc. would be the other challenges.” And with Westside planning to open 30 stores by this fiscal year in tier II cities and Pantaloon, too, sounding the battle cry, the competition in the retail space will only get tougher in the coming years. That will prove to be the real test for Shoppers Stop.


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Friday, July 02, 2010

Strike: loss is in the air

Air India strike shows a highly unprofessional attitude

A beautiful nation is not a gift; it is a result of good vision, continuous effort, strong political will and many more. But beyond this, perhaps small but more important factors are good governance, efficient bureaucracy and less corruption. Many of these are the factors which made Singapore, a tiny island nation an Asian country to qualify as the 'First world nation'. On my recent visit to Singapore (as a part of the IIPM GOTA programme), while in a conversation with a taxi driver, I came to know about Singapore efficient and corruption free culture. He told me numerous incidents where one was not allowed to contest election since he had committed a crime, perhaps a decade before.

But the worse was yet to come. On May 26, 2010, we (I along with 17 of my students) were running exhaustively at the airport after knowing that Air India employees are on a strike.There was news that the strike was pre-decided, if that is so, then Air India should not have issued tickets for those particular days and even if they have issued the tickets, the management should have some efficient mechanism to ensure that passengers would have alternative flights to reach respective destinations without hassle and harassment on time. Well, no such arrangement was on place. In fact, there was hardly any Air India employee to provide any kind of information and guide hundreds of clueless passengers at the airport. And more interestingly, this one or two days strike also gave another reason to show why the government undertaking entity is struggling to make profit. Each passengers paid to Air India about Rs.20,000, on an average for their journey. And Air India spent approximately Rs.81050 (about Rs.24,150 on accommodation and food, Rs.6900 on transport and about Rs.50,000 for alternative flights via Bangkok) on each of these passenger — who were in a few hundreds in number. Meanwhile, the Aviation ministry releases press brief that it’s not going to interfere over the issue, it will back the management’s decision completely. What was even more interesting was that our stay at Bangkok airport, for over six hours, never made us realise that we are in the same nation which is being torn apart through riots since years. The arrangement and flight procedures inside the airport was perfectly in place and it was made sure that the internal disturbance don't harm the business of airlines.

In a casual conversation I asked a receptionist of Hotel Mandarin Oriental Singapore, where we were staying as we were waiting for an alternative flight arrangement, that can employees of Asia’s one of the most successful airlines, Singapore Airlines, go on strike on similar context? He confidently said no though it doesn’t mean that their demands can’t be heard and met by respective authorities. Strike is illegal while employees have all the rights to raise their demands.

It’s high time for us to wake up, at least, for the sake of the nation. This small incident exemplifies the uncivilised manner we deal with issues. There is no logical reason harassing hundreds of commuters who have nothing to do with the strike's agendas (whether they are selfish or greedy in nature). Similarly, there is no point that Aviation Ministry should be so careless on such issues especially when no airlines, even public run airlines are making big money.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Ever wondered why the colour of money is usually green and workplaces are often painted blue and yellow?

Colours have an effect even on those people who don’t believe in them. What I do is purely scientific. It is no voodoo, it is science. Colour therapy is not restricted to emotional and physical pain, I have cured people of migraine, hepatitis and by combining it with pranic healing, I’ve brought back people from the last stage of cancer!”

On a table in front of me, she then laid eight cards, each of a different colour. I was to pick one card at a time, whichever I was attracted to, and then flip it over and continue the drill with the rest of the cards. Each card had a number written on the other side, which became Rochie’s reference number. This process was to be done twice.

So I flipped each card one by one. Orange attracted me the most, green, blue and pink followed, next was the very bright yellow, and brown, black and grey were the last in my list. The second time the sequence was slightly altered. My therapist then did some math while I finally decided to look at the menu.

“You are a very emotional person and right now you are sort of emotionally distressed...” she’d begun. And as she continued, I was dumbstruck by the accuracy in her judgement of my current situation. I felt as if I had been shown a mirror, and it had reflected thoughts, which had perhaps been buried deep within me, things I never had the courage to face. She told me that I wanted to break away from personal or professional ties as they were making me unhappy. If I continued pushing myself, she warned that it could become a much larger problem. I asked her for solutions and she gave me three simple things to do for 14 days. On the eighth day itself, I could feel the difference. Today, I am more sorted and I have my priorities right. No wonder when we are sad, browns and greys seem to hold the maximum appeal and in happier times we invariably end up picking reds, purples and pinks. Try wearing a bright colour when feeling gloomy, it might surprise you by bringing that smile back!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
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