Thought of the Day

“May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
the foresight to know where you’re going,
and the insight to know when you’re going too far.”

Tobin Tax

Named after Nobel-winning US economist James Tobin who proposed it in 1971, this tax on short-term cross-border currency transactions is levied to discourage such flows and help stabilize exchange rates by curbing speculation. Since speculative currency trades occur on smaller margins, Tobin Tax reduces or eliminates incentive for speculation. Mr Tobin argued that national economies and governments are not capable of adjusting to massive movements of funds across borders, without sacrificing the effectiveness of national economic policy with respect to employment, output, and inflation

The global financial crisis reopened the debate on the relevance of Tobin tax. The proponents of the tax argue that ill-effects and risks of volatility are inherent to all financial markets and measures should be in place to curb flows. Many countries such as Brazil, Thailand, Columbia, Chile and Malaysia have similar taxes in place. Economists say globally co-ordinate action will enhance the effectiveness of the policies at the national level.

 In 2001, James Tobin said the rate could be close to 0.5%. Economists have proposed financial transaction tax rates ranging between 0.05% and 1%. Even a 0.5% tax applied per transaction in the currency market could discourage trades, as the spreads in the many of these transactions are as low as 0.005%.

BILL GATES

(Born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington)

William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American Business Magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former (CEO) and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the second wealthiest person. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.

Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution . Gates has been  criticized for his business tactics,  which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,  established in 2000. 

Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work, and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates's last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman.

Business Quiz

1.      Paul Jacobs is the CEO of which of the following companies?

 a.       Microsoft

b.      Sun

c.       Nokia

d.      Qualcomm

2.      Which newspaper says ‘You needn’t read us to understand us’?

a.       Times of India

b.      The Hindu

c.       Indian Express

d.      Malayalam Manorama

3.      As per the Ernst & Young’s quarterly Rapid Growth Markets Forecast (RGMF), India is likely to grow at what per cent in calendar year (CY) 2012?

1. 7%
2. 7.5%
3. 6.1%
4. 6.6%

4.      Name the Nobel Peace Prize winner who was named the winner of one of the world's leading religion prizes, Templeton Prize for 2012 by the John Templeton Foundation on 29 March 2012.

1. The Dalai Lama
2. Tawakkol Karman
3. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
4. Baba Ram Dev

5.      Volkswagen launched the new IPL edition of Vento and Polo. Volkswagen is a carmaker headquartered in_ _ _ _ __ _ _.

1. South Korea
2. Italy
3. Japan
4. Germany

Thought of the Day

“Why you?
Because there’s no one better.
Why now?
Because tomorrow isn’t soon enough.”

Pfizer Expected to Sell Baby-Food Line to Nestlé

Pfizer Inc. is expected to announce on Monday it has reached a deal to sell its baby food business to Nestlé SA for more than $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Swiss food giant beat rival Groupe Danone SA BN.FR -3.55% for the Pfizer unit after a months-long auction. Pfizer said in July it would divest the infant-nutrition business as well as an animal-health unit, seeking to focus on its core drugs business.

Nestlé is the leading seller of milk formula for babies, with a 17% share of the $27 billion world-wide market in 2010, followed by Mead Johnson with 15% and Danone with 13%, according to the most recent data from Euromonitor International, a market-research firm. For Nestlé, the purchase of Pfizer's infant formula business is a way to build its presence in China, one of the largest markets for such products, a person familiar with the matter said.

China is one of the few major markets where Nestlé doesn't have a leading share. In 2010, Nestlé had the eighth-largest share, with 2.3% of China's $7.5 billion baby formula market, according to Euromonitor International. By contrast, Pfizer had a 7.4% share, No. 5 in China. Together, the companies would be No. 3 in the market, behind Mead Johnson with a 11.7% share and Danone with a 9.8% share.

Marketing Glossary

Brand Architecture :-  Brand architecture is how a company structures and names its brands and how all the brand names relate to each other. Architecture is a critical component for establishing strategic relationships, and there are three types: monolithic, where the corporate name is used on all products and services offered by the company; endorsed, where all sub-brands are linked to the corporate brand by either a verbal or visual endorsement; and freestanding, where the corporate brand operates merely as a holding company, and each product or service is individually branded for its target market. There are multiple variations of these three primary structures. The key requirement is that any architecture be devised with the customer as primary focus, rather than by internal influences such as accounting, people organization, or history.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM):-Standard measurement for determining the cost effectiveness for advertising, by comparing the cost to impressions for a target audience.

Marketing Metrics:- Measurements that help with the quantification of marketing performance, such as market share, advertising spend, and response rates elicited by advertising and direct marketing.

Peer to Peer (P2P) Marketing:-Technique of encouraging customers to promote a product person-to-person (peer-to-peer) on the Internet.

Force of Colours in Marketing Strategies

What colors have you chosen for your marketing materials? What were your reasons for making that particular choice? Was it because you liked those particular colors, or did you have a particular marketing message in mind? While visual appeal is an important consideration, your color choices could be sending a specific message to the people who view them. Are you sure you know what that message is?

You'd be wise to consider the psychology of color when designing your marketing materials. Be it business card, brochure, web site, posters or other material, you'll be making color choices. Colors not only enhance the appearance of the item -- they also influence our behavior. You will do well to consider the impact that the colors you use will have on your target audience.

For instance, have you noticed that most fast food restaurants are decorated with vivid reds and oranges? It's no accident that these colors show up so frequently. Studies have shown that reds and oranges encourage diners to eat quickly and leave -- and that's exactly what fast food outlets want you to do.

It's also no accident that you see a lot of reds and blacks on adult web sites. These colors are thought to have sexual connotations.

Ever notice that toys, books and children's web sites usually contain large blocks of bright, primary colors? Young children prefer these colors and respond more positively than they do to pastels or muted blends.

Market researchers have had a field day identifying the colors and the likely effect they have upon us.

However, the effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials.

For example, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signified sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. In North America, green is typically associated with jealousy. People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors; people from northern climates prefer the cooler colors.

Business Quiz

1.      Which leadership guru coined the term “transformational leadership”?

a.       Pradeep Sindu

b.      Philip Kotler

c.       Samuel A Dippiaza

d.      James McGregor Burns

2.      Which air conditioning company has the slogan “Inspire the next”?

a.       Bluestar

b.      Hitcabhi

c.       Carrier

d.      LG

3.      Citi Bank cobrands with which oil company?

a.       HP

b.      IOCL

c.       BPCL

d.      IBP

4.      What is series of showrooms set up by Reliance to sell mobile phones called?

a.       IndiaWorld

b.      WebWorld

c.       Dhirubhai Phones

d.      Ambani Dream Center

5.      What is e governance project of Andhra Pradesh Government called?

a.       HARIS

b.      I-SETU

c.       Eseva

d.      ELCOT

6.      Nestle is a company based in which country

a.       USA

b.      UK

c.       South Africa

d.      India

7.      Which bank offers a virtual temporary credit card for online purchases called Netsafe?

a.       ICICI

b.      HSBC

c.       HDFC

d.      SBI

8.      Which of the popular micro processor major went for a major rebranding exercise in 2006 after few decades of staying with the old logo?

a.       AMD

b.      Intel

c.       Nokia

d.      Qualcomm

Thought of the Day

“Every exit
is an entry somewhere.”

Capital account convertibility

There is no formal definition of capital account convertibility (CAC). However, the Tarapore committee set up by RBI to go into the question of CAC in 1997 defined it as the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice versa at market determined rates of exchange. Simply put, CAC allows anyone to freely move from local currency into foreign currency and back. 

Current account convertibility allows free inflows and outflows for all purposes other than for capital purposes such as making investment and loans. It allows residents to make and receive trade-related payments—receives dollars (or any other foreign currency) for export of goods and services and pay dollars for import of goods and services make sundry remittances, access foreign currency for travel, studies abroad, medical treatment, etc. In India, current account convertibility was established with the acceptance of obligations under Article VIII of IMF’s Articles of Agreement in 1994.

Contrary to general belief, CAC can coexist with restrictions other than on external payments. For instance it does not preclude the imposition of policy restrictions on foreign holding in any sector. The US,, for example, restricts how much foreigners can own in the airlines industry even though the dollar is fully convertible on capital account. 

CAC is widely regarded as one of the hallmarks of a developed economy. It is also seen as a major comfort factor for overseas investors since they know that at anytime they will be able to re-convert local currency back into foreign currency and take out their money.

Finance Glossary

Hedge Funds: hedge funds are investment funds actively managed for a limited number of investors and institutions, using a wide range of investment strategies, methods and tools, such as short selling, derivatives, swaps and arbitrage. Hedge funds usually require a rather high minimum investment, and are managed by professionals charging management and performance-based fees.

Overweight: being overweight means that an investor’s portfolio holds more of a particular type of stock compared to the weight of that type of stock, in the relevant index. For instance, if an investor’s portfolio is comprised of 30% Growth stocks, and that Growth stocks represent 20% of the associated index, the portfolio is referred to as ’10% overweight’ in Growth stocks.

US cautions India on proposed changes to tax laws, likely impact on investment

The recent amendment of the Income Tax Act, which allows India to tax foreign takeovers retroactively to 1962, has raised concerns in the US corporate sector. US is of the view that such steps dampen enthusiasm about India's investment climate. The US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has reportedly told his Indian counterpart that US businesses have become worried about changes in India's tax regime for foreign companies. Also Washington is examining India's proposed tax provisions to determine how they will impact on the US-India bilateral income tax treaty and overall economic relations.

Timothy has reportedly encouraged Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to reassure foreign investors that India will continue to welcome foreign capital. The Finance Minister in this year’s Union Budget came up with a proposal to amend the IT Act with retrospective effect to bring into the tax net Vodafone-type merger and acquisition deals involving assets in India. The UK-based Vodafone, which in 2007 bought Hong Kong-based Hutchison’s telecom business that included Indian assets for around $11 billion, has attracted tax of Rs 11,000 crore.

Thought of the Day

“Accept no ones definition of your life:
Define yourself.”

Henry Ford

Continuing from the GM saga, if there is any other name that epitomizes the American supremacy in the global automobile industry it is the Ford Motor Company- a brainchild of Henry Ford. An engineer by education but entrepreneur by passion, Ford established a colossus of a company and revolutionized the automobile industry. His excellence in management can be gauged from the fact that when the entire American economy was going through a gloom and every corporation endorsed wage cuts, retrenchment and long working hours, Ford took the opposite view. His greatest contribution was his consistent endeavor for product differentiation by means of product and process innovation. Having worked for numerous companies as an automotive design engineer, he ventured into business with the founding of the Detroit Automobile Company which failed on account of poor product quality and an inefficient pricing strategy due to high production costs. 

Goafest 2012: Ogilvy and Creativeland Asia walk away with a Grand Prix, each

The Creative Abby Awards at Goafest 2012 was once again dominated by Ogilvy, third year in a row. Creativeland Asia, Taproot and Leo Burnett followed closely.

Amidst much cheer and drum-rolling, the much awaited Creative Abby Awards were announced at the Goafest 2012 held at Zuri White Sands on April 22. Continuing its winning streak, this year, too, Ogilvy India walked away with all top metals.

Ogilvy won a Grand Prix this year as well, along with the maximum awards - 50 metals including 10 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze metals. Ogilvy won the Grand Prix in the Online Integrated category for Photographs Case campaign for Fox Crime. The agency's work for Fox Crime (Photographs Case campaign) earned the agency gold metals in five categories, including Direct, Director Response Digital and Direct (TV), and two gold metals in the Digital category (Brand Campaign Website/Microsite and Online Integrated Campaign). For 'Mentos Sour Marbles', it won three gold metals in Design, Print and Out of Home (OOH) categories.

The agency's 'Anniversary' campaign for Imperial Blue also earned a gold metal. It also won a gold metal in the Radio category for 'Poochne main kya jaata hain - sir?', and a gold metal in the Direct (Dimensional Mall) category for 'Legend of falling leaves' for ITC Maurya, New Delhi.

Storyboard of Cadbury Five Star

TVC opens with a tailor in his shop talking on his mobile.

 Two brothers, Ramesh and Suresh, walk in with arms on each others shoulders.

They spread their father's trousers on the table and ask the tailor to shorten it by about a foot.

Thought of the Day

“There is hope if people will begin to
awaken that spiritual part of themselves,
that heartfelt knowledge that
we are caretakers of this planet.”

The Shifting Balance of Power: When CRM becomes CMR

Many organizations aspire to be customer-centric, yet few have figured out the recipe for successfully transforming their business. It seems like it was just yesterday that companies were discovering the importance of implementing CRM technologies and strategies aimed at acquiring new customers, managing effectively customer interactions, selling more to current customers, analyzing the effectiveness of marketing activities and providing better customer service. All in the name of building stronger, longer lasting business relationships. Well, today is a new day, and the customers now decide who they do business with, as well as how and when they will do so.

"CMR" – or "Customer Managed Relationships" started to be spoken about 2 years ago but still gets little airplay despite Web 2.0 gaining increased traction as a full-fledged platform fostering collaboration, participation and community building. Companies will only achieve improved results in this “customer managed world” if marketers are quickly understanding and embracing this new concept, and are changing the way they define customer centricity accordingly. Implementing a CMR initiative means that the whole organization actually understand that the customer is in control and is the one managing the relationship.

CMR includes three things:

1. An ability to rethink and reshape your organization and its knowledge for increased customer engagement.

2. Internet enabled management tools for true customer empowerment.

3. An ability to react to the information being generated and used by customers for an improved management of online reputation.

If executed correctly CMR generates three major benefits over CRM:

1. It is easier to implement since the customer is usually the one doing the    complex stuff.

2. It creates lock in since customers having invested their data with your organization may not move easily.

3. It allows your company to move faster than competition since a trusted relationship is being built with the customer.

Even if the CMR concept is becoming widely talked about and accepted into the business community, it is time to recognize that empowered customers are increasingly interested in making their own choices in how they interact with companies that they do business with. Customers prefer to have a choice over how marketers reach them, what products or services are marketed to them, and who markets to them.

The concept of CMR takes all of this into consideration by allowing companies to engage and involve their customers in order to create a truly collaborative customer experience that makes the customers feel as though they are an essential element in the entire business relationship. This new marketing and customer interaction paradigm truly puts the customer into the driver's seat and marketers should recognize that the customer relationship encompasses information-seeking as well as information-contributing behavior.

CMR is indeed about the collaborative customer experience. It is the convergence and integration of multiple data points which leverage customer interactions and Web 2.0 applications & services. It is a philosophy and strategy for collaboration with customers through the provision of tools, technologies, processes, culture, products and services … with a focus on providing enhanced customer experiences that will create appropriate value for all parties involved. That means that not only does the company need to provide the goods and services, but also the tools and culture to make the experience of that customer one of paramount and unparalleled value to that customer and thus to the company in return.

Companies are taking the first steps towards incorporating Web 2.0 applications into their marketing and CRM processes. Smart organizations start leveraging user groups, social networks, message boards, blogs and video sharing. They are engaging the customer via personal pages, RSS, social filters and making it on-demand through mobile web, mobile applications, SMS, pod casting, streaming video and so forth.

The decades-old CRM formulation of “People-Process-Technology to maximize relationships and provide seamless coordination between all customer-facing functions” is quickly being replaced by a strong focus around customer experience and the mapping of customer interactions. As customer marketing becomes more deeply involved in shaping customer experiences across multiple touch points, campaigns inherently become more sophisticated and complex. By implementing appropriate strategies and using best of breed CRM technologies as a foundation, marketers will be able to optimize virtually all these complex processes and interactions, enabling them to focus their resources on sales, understanding their customers, defining strategies, and delivering more creative customer approaches.

The organizing foundation of CMR is to build high value relationships via applications and services that promote an ongoing dialogue, both online and offline. These principles create personal relationships that drive advocacy and continuous communication improvement as customers start to take ownership of the relationship. Corporations also achieve continuous improvement by embracing collaboration between all members of its customer ecosystem. The result of doing so is an improvement in the quality of product and service delivery, an upgrade of the customer experience and new classification within the enterprise’s value proposition. By understanding how to craft the collaborative customer experience and better engage the customer, next generation businesses will be able to increase profits while improving their marketing efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Marketing Glossary

Brand Associations :-The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that consumers (customers) have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand positioning and the basis of differentiation.

Brand Commitment:- The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to re-purchase/re-use in the future. The level of commitment indicates the degree to which a brand's customer franchise is protected form competitors.

Brand Earnings :-The share of a brand-owning business's cash flow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

Popularization and Potential of Viral Marketing

Innovation in marketing and its techniques is what makes or breaks a brand. Marketers need to break the clutter and give the audience something they would want to watch, interact with and share. ‘Viral’ campaign helps you do the same, create an impact and reach out to a wider audience in the shortest possible time. And all of this at a fraction of cost as compared to traditional advertising.
Going the viral route allows a marketer to explore the social networking potential of his target audience which is witnessing a growth rate of almost 100% and is expected to reach 45 million users by 2012. Also, with the advent of smart phone technology and tablets, the internet usage on mobile devices has touched a new high. Marketers recognized this and it is the reason why they are keen on using social media platforms to leverage the viral content.Marketers need to move beyond the tried and tested formula and surprise their TG with innovative concepts. The key to a Social Media Viral campaign is the message that needs to be compelling and interesting enough for a viewer or participant to share it with a friend. MindShift Interactive analyzes the current Kolaveri Rage, the award winning campaign Indian Panga Leagueby Virgin Mobile and the Zoozoo’s Campaign by Vodafone to find out why these campaigns were unforgettable and lovable in their own ways:

A song created by a 21-year-old debutant music composer, written and sung by Tamil actor, Dhanush as a part of their upcoming movie, 3 and shot in the recording studio itself has received more than 7 million views in less than a week. The situation of the song is based on love failure and how a Tamilian boy expresses his emotions in a Tamil-English song. 

Thought of the Day

"A man is not hurt so much by what happens,

as by his opinion of what happens"

Dollar sales by exporters help rupee stem losses

The rupee weakened against the dollar to levels seen last in December, but dollar selling by exporters helped stem the losses.

There was no sign of intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, said dealers. But it is unlikely that the central bank will allow the rupee to depreciate sharply. The rupee weakened to 52.2 in early trade but gained later on to 51.96. It had closed at 52.15/16 on Thursday. According to a forex dealer, neither the domestic economic situation nor global scenario is giving any comfort for the rupee. But today’s closing price will give some indication for the rupee’s levels next week. “The rupee should hold at levels of 52.50. If it falls below that it could be worrying,’’ the dealer said.

Management Guru- Alfred. P. Sloan

Alfred. P. Sloan was the MD, chairman and CEO of the General Motors. An electrical engineer by education, he started his journey in the American automobile industry as an entrepreneur manufacturing rollers and ball bearings which were used by the automobile manufacturing companies. This company later merged with the General Motors. Sloan is remembered for the vociferous expansion of the company in the inter war period. He ran the company as a system that primarily focused on the customers, suppliers and distributors. Sloan is credited for introducing concepts like the annual model change, brand architecture, industrial design, planned obsolescence and the paradoxical if not subversive practice of carrying excess inventory. His perspective of viewing the organization as a system comprising of operations, design and packaging and sales divisions is widely criticized for over looking the employee and the society. While conventional inventory management states that excess inventory leads to the blockage of working capital, Sloan believed in and did just the opposite.

Thought of the DaY

“What matters what anybody thinks?‘It will be all the same a hundred years hence.”

Daimler to Debut India-Made Trucks by September

ORAGADAM, India – Daimler AG will start selling trucks from a €700 million factory in India by September, with plans to eventually make as many as 70,000 trucks a year as it attempts to get a bigger foothold in this growing market for commercial vehicles.

The plant, spread over 400 acres in Oragadam near the southern port city of Chennai, will start with a capacity of 36,000 vehicles a year and employ 1,400 workers, Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said. The factory is one of only three Daimler plants worldwide where trucks as well as their engines and transmissions will be produced at the same location.

The company plans to develop and manufacture as many as 17 truck models based on its Mercedes-Benz Axor and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.'s Fuso platforms. It will sell the trucks under its new India-specific Bharat Benz brand, it’s fifth globally.

The Stuttgart-based company, whose truck division is the world's largest maker of commercial vehicles by sales, sells trucks under the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Western Star and Fuso brands worldwide.

India has become a lucrative market for global auto makers looking for growth regions. The country's truck market is dominated by Tata Motors Ltd., but Daimler and other global companies such as Volvo AB, MAN AG and Navistar International Corp. are expanding their presence to capitalize on potential demand.

In Financial Crisis, Hedgies Betting Morgan Stanley 'First to Go'

If another financial crisis were to strike, like the one in 2008,Morgan Stanley [MS  17.66    -0.19  (-1.06%) ] will be the first to go --that's the conventional wisdom on Wall Street. So says, Charlie Bobrinskoy, vice-chairman of Ariel Investments in an interview on CNBC's Fast Money.
“That’s why whenever there’s trouble in Europe, Morgan seems to fall the most,” he says.
Hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci confirms the thesis; Scaramucci says it's the prevailing reason why so many hedgies have either shorted Morgan Stanley outright or paired it with a long position in Goldman Sachs [GS  115.33   -1.53  (-1.31%)  
“There is a theory that you always pick the next weakest link to go,” says Bobrinskoy as he echoes Scaramucci. "First Bear Stearns was weakest then Lehman Brothers was weakest. Now, the conventional wisdom is that if something bad happens the weakest sister would be Morgan Stanley.”

But that doesn’t mean Bobrinksoy advocates a short position. In fact he thinks shorting Morgan is probably misguided. 

Gold: As A Secure Investment

Economic crises can be a shock to many of us who can fall victims to the downturn. However, there are people who consider this long before anything can endanger their assets. These people are the ones who invest in the most solid form money can take. Gold is that solid investment which secures our future, analysts claim. The precious metal market has steadily increased over the years, and this market is doing well even during the current financial crisis around the world, and this makes investing in precious metals a smart investing decision.

This great investment is a smart step to a wise business. When hard times threaten our savings, we know its time we stored the values we own. We need to protect the assets we have worked for and buying gold bars is the best solution. Currency may lose its meaning in anxious periods and nobody will protect us from an economic decline or from inflation. The stock market has proven too many that they aren't ready to play roulette with their money. The investor who invested $10,000 in gold bullion in 2001, your initial investment would have grown to $43,330 by 12/31/11 – an amazing 333% percent increase. That same $10,000 investment in stocks of the S & P index would have gained $230. That’s only a 2.3% increase. Due to all of these factors, there has been resurgence in interest in investing in precious metals. Investors are a lot more skeptical than in the past and they are questioning whether it is the safest option.

Thought of the Day

“The pleasures of the senses pass quickly;those of the heart become sorrows,but those of the mind are ever with us,even to the end of our journey.”

Is It Time to Outsource Human Resources?

Most small-business owners know the frustration of spending more time than they want or should on non-revenue-generating activities. From payroll and human resource management to benefits and compensation, entrepreneurs can spend up to 40 percent of their precious day engaged in these necessary but time-sucking tasks.

The answer for many growing companies may be to hire one of the 700 professional employer organizations (PEOs) in the U.S. These companies become the legal employer of your staff and handle all the payroll, benefits and HR functions.

"Most small businesses are under 25 employees, and that means the owner is the most productive, is critical to the success of the business, and has to get out there and generate sales and products,". When small businesses outsource non-core activities, "they can focus on the business of their business," says Yager.

But when does it make sense to hire a PEO? While PEOs aren't for every company, those that do use them can often offer better benefit packages and thus hire better talent, says Ed Vargas, senior vice president of health and benefits at Aon Consulting. "We help them set up a Fortune 500 package of benefits," he says.

In assessing whether or not you should hire a PEO, there are several questions to consider before you make a decision:

• How big is your company? Expert opinion varies on how large a company should be before it hires a PEO. A general rule of thumb is "when administrative processes begin slowing down the productivity of the firm," says Dan Sheridan, president and chief operating officer of Extensis, a PEO. While it is different for every company, "this typically occurs when a business reaches 10 to 15 employees a week," says Sheridan.

HR Glossary

Critical incidents          

                        

A method of avoiding the subjective judgements which are the feature of most ranking and rating systems. It is the keeping, by management, of a record of on-job incidents or behaviours which may be examples of [in]effective behaviour and used as background information for subsequent discussions and performance appraisals. 

  

Disciplinary procedure

A procedure carried out in the workplace in the event of an employee committing some act contrary to terms of the employment agreement. If the act is regarded as Gross Misconduct this may lead to Summary Dismissal.

Emotional Intelligence

Describes the mental ability an individual possess enabling him/her to be sensitive and understanding to the emotions of others as well as being able to manage their own emotions and impulses.

General Motors

General Motors is the largest automaker by unit vehicle sales according to the data available for the financial year ended 2009. General Motors was for a long time the world’s largest corporation. Its rise and expansion is synonymous with the global dominance of American companies in the automobile industry. The phenomenal growth of the company may be attributed mainly to three business leaders of the organization namely – Alfred.P.Sloan, Charles.F. Ketttering and Henri Ford. Sloan is credited with the best application of the systems approach to management ever seen in the corporate world. Ford is credited with the innovation of the model of global sales leadership and Kettering is best known for his design of the copper cooled engine that revolutionized the automobile industry by means of product innovation and automotive design. The company is also credited with the feat of introducing business education for executives which later went on to become a university recognized part time degree program in management at the Sloan School of Management, MIT.

Thought of the Day

“Friendship is the melody

and fragrance of life.”

Patrika turns twice its size for a day

 The Hindi daily increased the size of its front page across editions, in order to claim its supremacy across its centres.

The front page of the Hindi daily Patrika turned double its usual size today, in order to reinforce the company claim of being the No. 1 in terms of circulation, across its various editions. The bigger-than-usual front page was done by turning the newspaper masthead sideways to make the newspaper look twice the regular size.

Talking about the innovation, Ajay Datta, head, brand communication, Patrika, says, "Innovation is used to cut the clutter in advertising. Our team had been thinking of creating a communication which could quite simply and strongly register the idea of Patrika being the biggest newspaper in the various markets of its circulation. The idea of making the newspaper visually big is designed to make a statement among our readers."

Apart from the change in the masthead, the innovation was supported by a 52 cm strip right below the masthead. In Jaipur, the masthead read 'Jaipur ka sabse bada akhbar (The biggest newspaper of Jaipur), to emphasise the reason behind the change. Similar to Jaipur, various other editions of the daily carried a line announcing the supremacy of Patrika in that city.

SC Johnson set to go All Out into rural markets

Household cleaning products company, SC Johnson, wants to muscle into India's large rural markets.

After seven years of consolidating its presence in urban Indian markets, the American family-owned company which owns brands such as Mr Muscle, Glade and All Out says it is ready with its strategy for the other India.

Mr Shumone Chatterjee, the newly appointed MD of SC Johnson says, “We have divided the country into India A and India B. India A comprises consumers who are exposed to global products and solutions. India B is about those consumers who want the kind of products and services available in India A. ''

The company intends to double its distribution from the current 1.2 million outlets to 2.4 million outlets in the next two years. A majority of these outlets will be in rural India.

“India is becoming seamless and consumption patterns across the country are not really different. We intend having ‘weighted' distribution which means that we reach out to only those outlets which contribute bulk of the consumption,'' explains Mr Chatterjee.

He says the company plans to step up “shopper based activities” at the new outlets in the rural markets to drive home the message about the efficacy of its products.

Quality

1. Introduction to Quality

Every manufacturing organization is concerned with the quality of its product. While it is important that quantity requirements be satisfied and production schedules met, it is equally important that the finished product meet established specifications. Because, customer's satisfaction is derived from quality products and services. Stiff competition at national and international level and consumer's awareness require production of quality goods and services for survival and growth of the company. Quality and productivity are more likely to bring prosperity into the country and improve quality of work life.
However, the management looks to achieve customer satisfaction by running its business at the desired economic level. Both these can be attained by properly integrating quality development, quality maintenance and quality improvement of die product. The integration of these three aspects of a product can be achieved through a sound quality control system.

Thought of the Day

“If we believe that tomorrow will be better,

we can bear a hardship today.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Retaining the Best People in Your Organization

In today’s world, retaining “A” players can be a big challenge for any organization. Employers need qualified and dedicated people who can contribute to long-term organizational goals. In order for employers to get the greatest returns from their human capital investments, efforts must be made to retain and reward the best of the best.

So, what are the Best Practices that lead to high retention of your top employees? By addressing the following areas and adopting strategic approaches and good employment methods, you are likely to improve employee morale, satisfaction and decrease attrition:

•  Meaningful work to maximize work efficiency – Employees should be provided with meaningful work and current tools (hardware, software, machines, etc.) to maximize their value and effectiveness. 

• Healthy Organizational Culture – The culture of the organization should be built using diverse perspectives to optimize organizational performance. A stimulating and attractive culture encourages employees to make decisions and take risks; and shows that trust, open communication and fairness are demonstrated by leaders and a part of daily operations. 

HR Glossary

Wage curve

Depicts pay rates currently being paid for each job within a pay grade in relation with the rankings awarded to each job during the job evaluation process.

Wage drift

The gap between the Collective Agreement rate and the rate actually paid. Evidence of geographical variations in wage levels.

Whistle blower

Whistle blower protection is contained in the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. The Act provides protection to employees against retaliation for reporting illegal acts of employers. An employer may not rightfully retaliate in any way, such as discharging, demoting, suspending or harassing the whistle blower. Employer retaliation of any kind may result in the whistle blower bringing a personal grievance against the employer.

Work-life Balance

Having a measure of control over when, where and how an individuals works, leading to their being able to enjoy an optimal quality of life. Work-life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society.

Importance of Employee Retention

An effective Employee Retention Program is a systematic effort to create and foster an environment that encourages employees to remain employed by having policies and practices in place that address their diverse needs.

A company's employees have always been a key asset but today, more and more companies are realizing that their people are by far their most important asset because in a world where technologies, processes, and products are quickly duplicated by competitors, and the pace of change and level of competition are constantly increasing, people are the key to the most reliable sources of advantage—better service, increased responsiveness, stronger customer relationships, and the creativity and innovation that keep a company one step ahead.

WHY EMPLOYEE RETENTION IS IMPORTANT

The process of retention will benefit an organization in the following ways:

1. The Cost of Turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundreds of thousands of money to a company's expenses. While it is difficult to fully calculate the cost of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs and productivity loss), industry experts often quote 25% of the average employee salary as a conservative estimate.

2. Loss of Company Knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes with him valuable knowledge about the company, customers, current projects and past history (sometimes to competitors). Often much time and money has been spent on the employee in expectation of a future return. When the employee leaves, the investment is not realized.

VINOD KHOSLA (Venture Capitalist)

Vinod Khosla is an Indian-born American venture capitalist and an influential personality in Silicon Valley.
Khosla was one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems, where he served as its first CEO and Chairman in the early 1980s. In 1986, he became a general partner of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where he remained through the early 2000s.
In 2004 Khosla formed his own firm, Khosla Ventures, which focused on venture investments in various technology sectors, most notably clean technology.
He is also known for his witty but controversial statements, for example: "If it doesn't scale, it doesn't matter. Most of what we talk about today—hybrid, biodiesel, ethanol, solar photovoltaics, geothermal—I believe are irrelevant to the scale of the problem."
Early life and education

Khosla's father was in the army and was posted at New Delhi, India. He read about the founding of Intel in Electronic Engineering Times at the age of fourteen and this inspired him to pursue technology as a career.
Khosla went on to receive degrees from the IIT Delhi, India (Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering), Carnegie Mellon University (Masters in Biomedical Engineering), and Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA).

Thought of the Day

“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic.
Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings,
different hopes, different dreams.”
                                                   
                                                                              - Jimmy Carter

Indian shoppers par with global, but malls still behind times

Indian malls are behind global standards by at least 10 years but the Indian consumer is on par with the global shopper.

This throws up quite a few challenges for shopping centres in terms of equipping talent in mall management, says Prof Chris Cloete, a South Africa-based shopping centre expert.

Prof Cloete has developed all the training courses of the South Africa Council of Shopping Centers for shopping centre managers. More than 5,000 professionals have been trained at his workshops.

Commenting on Indian shopping centres and mall development, he says internationalisation of brands have dissolved individual differences among shoppers making them more or less homogeneous.

“Teenagers all over the world shop in the same way, although there are some minor cultural differences.” With complexity of products being offered and globalisation of shopping habits, malls have to better equip staff with the latest trends in building management.

He puts location on top of the list of critical factors that determine the success of a mall. “It is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one. This should be accompanied by a good tenant mix and accessibility to the mall.”

Spencer's exits fast fashion business

RPG-owned Spencer's Specialty business has wound up two of its apparel ranges ‘Mark Ecko' and ‘Beverly Hill Polo Club' to focus on its café chain business Au Bon Pain.

The company had earlier exited another apparel brand ‘Lady Bird'. All three were part of its ‘fast fashion' portfolio of rapid turnaround apparel brands. The promise was having new lines on the shelves every two weeks or so.

“We did not see opportunity in the business. Though we did a pilot with Mark Ecko, the brand was too niche for the Indian market,” said Mr K. Dasaratharaman, President, Specialty Retail. He said the company had brought the brands to India in 2010 as a joint venture with Woolworths. But after Woolworths was bought over by Shop Direct, Spencer's discontinued the association.

INDIAN MARKET

Asked if fast fashion – a concept where designs seen on the catwalk are speedily brought to retail shelves - was ill-timed in India, Mr Dasaratharaman said, “There were pricing issues and the products were not suited for the India market”. Mr Purnendu Kumar, Senior Vice President Retail, Technopak, said, “Fast fashion as a concept is yet to pick up in India. Companies operating in the space still have to figure out the right positioning. Most brands in the category are priced in the premium price points.”

Clean energy economies: India in top list

 India is receiving USD 10.2 billion investments in clean energy, the country has emerged as one of the top performing clean energy economies in the 21st century, an eminent American non-profit organization said in a report. 

The Pew Charitable Trust, in its report, said India's clean energy sector continued to flourish in 2011, with private investment increasing 54 per cent to USD 10.2 billion, placing the country at number 6 spot among the G-20 nations. 

This was the second highest growth rate among the G-20 nations, The Pew Energy said in its research report released here yesterday. 

"On a number of measures, India has been one of the top performing clean energy economies in the 21st century, registering the fifth highest five-year rate of investment growth and eighth highest in installed renewable energy capacity," said Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew's Clean Energy Program. 

"The country holds great potential in the Asia/Oceana region and will continue to be a top destination for private investment this year," she said. 

Clean energy investment, excluding research and development, has grown by 600 per cent since 2004, on the basis of effective national policies that create market certainty, Cuttino added. 

India's "National Solar Mission", with a goal of 20 GW of solar power installed by 2020, helped drive the seven-fold jump in solar energy investments, to USD 4.2 billion, the report said, adding the country received USD 4.6 billion and an additional 2.8 GW of capacity was installed over the course of the year. 

India now has 22.4 gigawatts of installed clean energy generating capacity, it noted. 

"The clean energy sector received its trillionth dollar of private investment just before the end of 2011, demonstrating significant growth over the past eight years," said Michael Liebreich, CEO of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Pew's research partner. 

"Solar installations drove most of the activity last year as the falling price of photovoltaic modules, now 75 per cent lower than three years ago, more than compensated for weakening clean energy support mechanisms in a number of parts of the world," Liebreich said. 

Globally, investment grew to a record USD 263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 per cent increase over the previous year, the report said.

How to Create a Winning Employee Retention Strategyst title

Most business owners and managers think retention is based on compensation issues—wage and salary levels, incentives, and golden handcuffs--when in reality the drivers go much deeper into the human psyche to the actions and attitudes that make employees feel

successful, secure and appreciated. As a result, a sound retention strategy should focus on and tactically address four key elements--performance, communication, loyalty and competitive advantage.

1. Performance. The benefit of having measurable objectives for employees is fairly

obvious to most business owners and managers, but this perception usually stops short of

relating performance metrics to employee retention. Study after study confirms that people have a deep desire to feel they're succeeding and that their talents and capabilities are being used in a way that makes a difference to the business. When people sense their actions are fulfilling this desire, they begin to develop a sense of belonging and a feeling that your company is their company.Human beings are often the happiest when they're in the process of achieving a goal. Clear, achievable objectives that gauge personal, team and company performance provide the feedback employees need to confirm they're making valuable contributions and accomplishing desirable goals.

2. Communication. The second essential element in a retention strategy is communication, specifically a communications process that's structured to inform, emphasize and reaffirm to employees that their workplace contributions are having an impact. Since we're dealing very directly with how employees feel about their performance, the company and their work environment, the question becomes, "How do you know how they feel about these matters?" 

3. Loyalty. The third element in a successful employee retention strategy is employee

loyalty. True loyalty is not an enforced requirement but an earned response to the trust,

respect and commitment shown to the individuals in your company. When you demonstrate loyalty to your employees, they'll reciprocate with commitment and loyalty to your business.Remember that people don't begin their employment with you as loyal employees, but will develop loyalty over time as they're trusted, respected and appreciated by you.

4. Competitive advantage. The fourth and final element in your strategy to retain employees has to do with your competitive advantage. While that may seem odd at first, think about it. People want to work for a winner. What sets your company apart from your competition? How are you--and as a result, your employees--making a difference in your industry, in your community, and for your customers? Take the time to identify and inform your clients and your employees about your unique competitive advantage. If your product is similar to others in the marketplace, your service can be what distinguishes you (and probably should in any case). People want to be with a winner...and that includes employees.

Reference-: URL: http://www.Entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,320272,00.html

Thought of the Day

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous,

he will not bite you.

That is the principal difference between dogs and men.”

- Mark Twain

Looking for wealth in the recycle bin

As e-waste management becomes mandatory, a nascent industry in reverse logistics looks forward to big growth.

Recently, Chennai-based homemaker Priya Rao exchanged her 10-year-old fancy food processor for an ordinary but more powerful mixer grinder. She got Rs 1,000 off on it – she had paid almost Rs 9,000 for the old one. It was one of the many space-occupying lesions in her house she couldn't part with or didn't know how to dispose of – her irreparable coffee bean grinder from a company no longer in the market; a soda-maker purchased 15 years ago … the list went on and on.

A familiar situation? It must be, for many of you. But on the flip side, these old and unused goods are poised to become an important component of a currently fledgling business in India – reverse logistics (RL). RL is the movement of goods back from the consumer to the manufacturer. With the Government making e-waste retrieval and collection systems mandatory from May 1 this year, putting the onus on manufacturers, those in the RL business hope to see a more organised flow back.

Reverse Logistics Company (RLC), Attero Recycling and Future Supply Chain are some of the companies in the organised RL sector. The first two have big operations in consumer durables, the latter mostly in apparel and furniture.