Mattel, the largest toy company based on revenues, was the manufacturer of Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars and board games. Barbie dolls were introduced in 1959. With these dolls attracting kids, different varieties of Barbie dolls were released into the toy market. Mattel dominated the toy market till the late 1990s. But in 2001, when Bratz dolls were introduced, the realistic look of these dolls attracted kids and they started abandoning Barbie dolls. Between 2001 and 2004, Barbie sales fell by 27.5% due to stiff competition from Bratz.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Business News
- Berger announces succession plan
- Bhel-NTPC JV firm’s CMD Singh quits
- Rai Nayak named CEO of Colors
Thought of the day
“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”
~ Buddha
What to wear to office?
The best rule while dressing up for work is to blend in
Perhaps you heard about the 43-page dress code at Swiss bank UBS AG. Yes, 43 pages.
The human resource community was all atwitter about the code's excruciating depth, exposed on the internet.
The human resource community was all atwitter about the code's excruciating depth, exposed on the internet.
Jewellery and metal eyeglass frames should match. Jacket shoulders should have “natura”l proportions. Jacket pockets mustn't bulge with stuff.
And one of the biggest doozies: Underwear should be flesh-coloured. Pity the boss assigned to check that.
After worldwide derision, the Swiss bank backpedalled from the code and said guidelines were under revision.
Meanwhile, in comments posted to a LegalWorkplace.com blog, someone suggested a far simpler dress code: “If you can see up it, down it or through it, don't wear it”.
Brilliant!
But that may not be enough guidance for those who stumble in matters of taste, propriety and suitability. So guidelines are handy.
Others simply want to fit in -whether having a job interview, starting a new job or trying to advance in the ranks.
The best advice in those cases: Look around.
Notice what the people who do the job you want to do are wearing. Usually, it behoves you to blend in.
IT Glossary
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access, a third generation digital wireless technology. CDMA allows multiple users/transmitters to use the same channel at the same time without (or with minimal) interference.
Clustering
Connecting many computers together so that they appear (for many purposes) as a single machine. Clustering computers together in this way is normally done to provide greater reliability and performance
Compression
To reduce in size. The amount of storage space required to store data can be reduced if the data is compressed. Compression can be achieved either without loss of information (called "lossless") or may result in some loss of information (called "lossy").
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Case Study
21st Century, the management of the human side of change is the real key to maximizing the value in of a deal which was neglected earlier. The uncertainty during Merger and Acquisition activity divert the focus of employees from productive work issues like job security, career path, working in new departments, working with the new teams, integration of corporate cultures, retention level of compensation, payroll benefits and reward strategy etc. As in new Millennium, M&A activity continuous to step up globally, companies involved in these transactions have the increased involvement & responsibility of HR professionals. In implementing an M&A, most of managers focus on financials. But success depends on how you deal with people issues and cultural integration. It depends on the people who drive the business, their ability to execute, Creativity and innovation. It is of utmost importance to involve HR professionals in M&A discussion as it has an impact on key people issues. By doing so, they will achieve a much better outcome and increase the chance that the overall deal is a total success. The role of HR is to identify key human assets in the target company, development of preliminary organizational designs and identification of the top three levels of management creating development plans for people to prepare them to achieve the anticipated corporate growth.
Business News
- Maruti plans to set up seventh plant
- GOvt rejects GMR’s SEZ request
- Dabur enters hand sanitizer market
Finance Glossary
Accessibility: The degree to which the resulting segments can be effectively reached and served.
Adopter Categories: A classification of customers based on the relative speed at which they adopt new ideas or products.
AIDA: Sales process acronym that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Get the prospect's Attention, gain their Interest, create Desire and encourage them to Act by moving forward with the purchase."
Management joke
Lesson 1:
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
Lesson 2:
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally, after a forenight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.
Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.
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