Stress management at workplace

This case study is a peculiar example of organisational psychopharmacology, a science dealing with the stress management of employees. Rajul was efficient in his job and was close to the top management. As a senior he was also answerable to the management. He was being paid well, yet he did not have job satisfaction as he thought the work was monotonous and probably he did not find growth opportunities. Functional tension is a must in employees in order to make them work at optimal level of efficacy and effectiveness. However, dysfunctional tension causes an employee burn out in the long run. The following reasons can be identified for Rajul’s dysfunctional tension:-

Personal reasons: A popular concept in management is, “One should pick up a job which one likes or pick up any job and develop liking for it.” Rajul had been, by and large, doing well as marketing manager. But still, he saw no career development opportunity in GT. He carries this tension home and fights with his wife and shouts at his children. Happiness is a decision and not a dependency. Perhaps Rajul has to learn to be happy and like his job.

Organisational reasons: The chairman, Goldy, being a short tempered lady made Rajul tense while asking for last year’s annual financial report. Remaining cool and not offending the employees is essential for effective functioning of an organisation. Also in weekly conference, when Kaushal and Rajul had heated arguments, Gaurav should have intervened to remove their misunderstanding. Should any organisation recruit employees on recommendations of senior managers, without checking their suitability? Top management of GT has indulged in favouritism by allowing Rajul to be closer to them, which seems to have created professional jealousy. Click here to read more..

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The Battle for Survival!

All lost some, some lost all. Everybody evolved (Hopefully). Change in the air now, with new strategies being adopted by retailers to enable them to better manage the dynamics of this business. But can this misery-inspired ingenuity help organised indian retail produce the numbers that have eluded it so far

The changing contours of the Indian retail industry during and post the slowdown draw interesting parallels with the entire build up to the Commonwealth Games, 2010. Of course, this is ignoring the fact that we are talking about an industry here and not an event. But the fact is that the retail sector has also had its fair share of heartbreaks, controversies, working capital and cash flow problems; and obviously lessons galore. And just like all the ‘misses’ and ‘mis-hits’ at the Commonwealth Games will continue to torment India as a nation for some time to come, the retail sector also continues to face the scars of the slowdown even after we have seen six odd months of revival now.

Rising rentals, store rationalization, working capital management and cost optimisation (rather minimization) are top of mind issues for players of the industry that contributes 12% of India’s GDP. And in the process of coping with such issues post-slowdown, we are evincing a gradual shift from core-focus areas and erstwhile core competencies. And this portends the emergence of a new picture on the Indian retail landscape.

For instance, till the first quarter of FY 2010-11, Spencer from the stable of RPG had shut down 100 stores, which even meant moving away from cities like Delhi, which were unprofitable. Rationalisation of capital expenditure by focusing on core geographic areas that offered low rent premises started becoming – and will continue to be – the short-term focus of Spencer. In conjunction, almost all retailers are frequently changing their strategies to keep their show on – some flailing around attempting to pin the donkey blindfolded, some strategically. But will the mixture of these strategies help organised retail become the next boom industry, which it was slated to be for so long? To that effect, B&E met up with CEOs and leaders within India’s retail industry and in this cover story, provides a quick commentary on the current state of retail affairs. Store rationalisation through adequate working capital management and cost optimisation has been a hitherto hidden penchant, which departmental stores like Spencers, Shoppers Stop (from the Rahejas), Westside and several of their ilk have developed. And to optimize costs, a lesson learned during slowdown is to reduce inventory costs by liquidating slow moving goods (through discounts, et al). According to the KPMG report, ‘Indian Retail: Time to Change Lanes,’ slowing sales were resulting in lower inventory turnovers and increasing working capital requirements. The report also shows that till 2009, sales grew by mere 8% (34% in 2007) and this prevailed till July 2010. This tantamount to the fact that the organized retail penetration, which is currently at 5%, may be able to reach only around 10.4% by 2012 (against the earlier expectation of 16%).

So what happened to those figures thrown up to media by industry bodies; claiming a sunny road ahead for Indian retail? In 2008, CII claimed that till 2013, retail will attract an astonishing $25 billion investment but in reality, we haven’t seen even 50% of that. This was also echoed in the findings of McKinsey, which claimed that the Indian retail industry will grow at 25% till 2013.

In fact, sector analysts claim that the Indian retail market is still facing a slowdown. But the positive side is that it has taught players not to take the route to perdition like Subhiksha & Vishal MegaMart. “In the current context, perhaps the key lesson learned during the slowdown is to never invest too much; rather one should focus more on store rationalisation,” says Sanjay Gupta – VP-General Merchandise, Spencer’s Retail Ltd. So it is quiet logical that the group is not over investing in non-profitable areas like Delhi and Rajasthan and is consolidating its operations in virgin Tier III cities (where no retailers have entered) and core geographic areas like southern India. Players like Subhiksha, Vishal Mega-Mart & Planet Retail miserably failed to handle the liquidity crunch created by the economic meltdown due to over-investment and poor conversion ratio of investments to revenues. On the other hand, the big boys like Spencers are somehow not only learning, but also in some cases mastering the issue of liquidity crunch.

Govind Shrikhande – Customer Care Associate & MD of Shoppers Stop Ltd. admits, “During the slowdown, we have seen the increasing working capital requirements fuel growth, which resulted in liquidity pressures for many retailers and the need of the hour is working capital management.” To manage working capital, the group is managing its rental expenses by opening stores on a revenue sharing basis with mall owners and is managing store operating costs by cutting down 30% of its electricity costs through installing recyclable electronic and air-conditioning systems. Ventures like Arcilia from the group, which have not been generating footfalls, have been shut down. The result was the company, which reported a loss of `650 million in 2008-09, bounced back to record a profit of `192.1 million in the third quarter of 2009-10. Post-slowdown, retailers across the world are shutting down stores that are not generating major footfalls, rather than playing the waiting game. Changing market trends demand that the retail industry expand its reach to more customer touch points to drive them to stores in new areas. For instance, French hypermarket brand Carrefour has shut down 10 stores till July this year in its home market to reduce its reliance on sluggish footfalls. The group is now rolling out stores in new emerging consumer markets such as China and Brazil. This lesson has also been learned by luxury retailers. In the Indian market, you will see that luxury retailers like LVMH, Prada and Hugo Boss are now opening smaller stores rather than large ones. Tag Heuer (from the stable of LVMH) has recently shut shop from one of India’s two luxury malls – DLF Emporio – and is keeping its new stores comparatively smaller in size. “Emporio was not getting the required footfalls. During the slowdown, we have observed that gigantic stores work in China to impress customers; but in India, I think people are not really hooked with the size of your store,” feels Manishi Sanwal, GM – Indian Sub-continent of LVMH – Watch & Jewellery.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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PVR CINEMAS: STRATEGY

He joined the company in 2001 when it was poised for the typical big leap. Today, PVR Cinemas is one of the largest cinema chains in India, yet not the largest. Nitin Sood, CFO, PVR Cinemas tells B&E, what it took to reach here and what it would be like ten years later by Amir Moin

B&E: How has the exhibition business evolved in the past ten years or so?
NS: The single most important and the most revolutionary evolution has been the introduction of the multiplex. About 8-10 years ago, there were in general only single screen cinemas. If you look globally, 75% of all cinemas are multiplexes; in India, the number is completely opposite. We have only 10-15% multiplexes compared to 85-90% single screen cinemas. So the industry is evolving in such a manner that people are gradually realising that single screen is a dead model to operate with. Multiplex offers a variety of choice therefore further evolution that takes place will also be the ‘multiplex-isation’ of single screen cinemas.

B&E: There are issues in every industry that hinder growth. What are the challenges for your industry?
NS: I think the biggest challenge has been the regulatory issue. The industry is being plagued by different state tax laws. Different state governments have a different take on how they want to promote cinema and entertainment. That I think is the biggest challenge. The recent amendments that have been introduced on transfer of copyrights is also another challenge. According to this amendment, service tax would be levied on transfer of copyrights. This already comes under the purview of state level VAT laws. Now, the central government is saying that state governments will levy VAT and service tax on the same transaction. However, if the GST gets implemented, we would be able to work on a much more uniform structure. That, I think is the biggest change that this industry should foresee.

B&E: Do you think global companies would be setting base in India?
NS: That would be happening but the size and scale of the Indian movie exhibition industry is too small for global giants right now.

B&E: Does this business have potential to give you a Fortune 500 status?
NS: It definitely has the potential, but the size and scale to reach a Fortune 500 status will take a lot of time. From that perspective, India and exhibition alone would not make a Fortune 500 recipe. It is a very capital intensive business. 

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
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Theory“I” talks about how Global Management concepts

Theory“I” talks about how Global Management concepts are now getting Influenced Significantly by lessons from The Indian Context, both Culturally and Professionally. With more and more Indians taking up Global Leadership roles across the World in Varied Areas of Society,polity and Industry,is The World getting Enmeshed with and finally Accepting The Indian style of Management? By Arindam Chaudhuri

Of course, there’s the opposing argument – and quite convincing for that matter – that an Indian who has lived in America for two to three decades perhaps has become completely disconnected with what is being Indian and would have completely forgotten the ‘life lessons’ which I’ve purported above. To sweep away this argument would take less than a moment. Just walk into the home of any Indian family that has spent this argumentative two to three decades in the United States, spend a few hours with this family, and you get to understand the logic of what I’m putting forth. They might be Americans in terms of their citizenry – and I have no issues with that – but the legacy of their Indianness goes much beyond simply the name, and much deeper than the religion connection that also plays a heavy card. And that’s where the Indian-style-of-management hypothesis, the Theory I of it all, comes back in one big wave. Since the 1950s, management theory and practice has been heavily influenced by the likes of Alfred Chandler, Igor Ansoff, Peter Drucker, Herzberg, Fayol et al. Their theories and those of their peers defined how CEOs and institutional leaders ran their companies and managed their people. McClelland, Skinner, Maslow while building on Elton Mayo’s work became iconic proponents and definers of human behaviour in the 1960s-80s periods. Blake and Mouton added to their celebrity quotient by inventing the Managerial Grid. Hershey and Blanchard went many steps ahead and beseeched the ‘leader’ bunch to become situational leaders – in other words, to moderate their leadership skills depending upon their followers. Giving them glittering company were Levitt, Kotler, who redefined marketing in ways nobody else could, and more contemporarily, Ries and Trout. And then Michael Porter happened to the strategy world, where cost leadership, product differentiation, competitive advantage became terms as common as the morning weather forecast for every CEO. Yes, the list is exemplary and par excellence – more because what these people said, worked. But somehow, somewhere along the line, the Americanness of it all went completely unnoticed for many decades. There were no questions asked on whether management and leadership philosophies from other parts of the world could perhaps work better. How often has one heard of an American organisation adopting the Japanese management style to surge ahead? Perhaps never. And how often has one heard of the reverse? Probably never again. However, I do remember reading somewhere that when IBM in America was making losses while IBM in Japan was making profits, IBM-USA tried to adopt the Japanese management style to turnaround. Well, the result...increased losses!

Predictable? Should be. It is most likely that a style that is successful in Japan would not be as successful in US; and vice versa too. People are different, cultures are different and so is the life-style. That is the reason why Japan has developed its own management style and the US its own. If we take a deep look into the American management style, we realise that it is absolutely fine-tuned to the American culture and way of living. The people in the West grow up, mostly, with very less emotional security due to factors like high divorce rates, single parent families et al. As they grow up, they do tend to find a sense of stability in this seemingly unstable and insecure atmosphere. Thus, when they enter into their job lives and see a management culture prevalent, which is contractual in nature with the hire and fire style of management, they don’t get disturbed. In fact, this motivates them to work harder; and a typical American might metaphorically say, “We are tough guys and as long as we are good, the company keeps us, else we go out”. The bottom line is that the fine tuning between the culture at home and at job works wonders and enhances productivity & motivation. Looking at the Japanese set of companies, one finds concepts of life time employment working wonders out there. A Japanese finds a bonded culture in his organisation, unlike the American contract culture. If we look into the Japanese lifestyle and culture, we would find the importance of bonds being very high. The Japanese have strong family ties and a strong sense of community. From such an upbringing, they feel at home when they see a bonded style of management on the job. The typical Japanese would say, “I am a Honda man (and not that I work for Honda)”, displaying the bond that he shares with his company. The point that gets highlighted again is that a management style, which flows out of your own culture and roots, would any day motivate your people much more than one which is adopted from somewhere else. I am actually attempting to disprove my Indian style of management hypothesis much before I’ve even proved it. But seriously, it doesn’t take a post doctorate to understand that nationally bound management and leadership concepts should be able to succeed only in those geographies and demographies for which they were originally intended. Therefore while America is the world’s largest economy, Japan the second largest and China racing down their necks, all three have brilliantly different management styles – and all three have similarly different cultures; therefore, the match between their cultures and management styles is perfect. Then why should an Indian style of management succeed (say in the West) where almost all others have failed on the portability parameter? The answer to that lies in the genesis of the Indian style of management. This genesis that I am alluding to is what can be encapsulated quintessentially by the term ‘Indian culture’, with one significant facet of it being the wondrous quality of not trying to impose its own character, but in trying to modulate the character of individuals and entities around to the benefit of the larger good. If that sounded over the top, let me simplify it by the term, Theory I.    Read more... 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. IIPM Best B School India Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society.... IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Building great brands make agencies top of mind

With most of the work that media agencies do getting commoditised, building differentiation is the big challenge today. In the competitive and cutthroat world of advertising, Building great brands is the name of the game.

When it comes to any creative field where talent and skill is the criterion for shining, it matters not whether you are a man or a woman. A star will shine. Priti Nair, co-founder of advertising agency Curry-Nation, is one such star. Her passion for advertising is palpable and her excitement infectious. She literary breathes advertising and wants to evoke the feel of Indian culture in all the work that Curry-Nation does. In an exclusive interaction with 4Ps B&M, Nair, who has been an advertising professional for the past 20 years, shares her views and insights of the ad world.

With competition intensifying, what is it that acts as a big differentiator for advertising agencies today?
I think that advertising agencies are now distinctly being driven by brand building through enormously engaging communication. It’s no longer just about picking up awards or no longer just about bagging business. Getting recognition for the work you do and building truly memorable brands is what makes agencies top of mind.

Still, most work done by media agencies remain commoditised. Is there a way out?
Media touch points have changed. But I feel media planning has not yet taken that parallel leap. It is still quantitatively driven. But with so much media hitting the consumers from all sides and a fight for a share of voice, agencies are turning innovative and taking a more qualitative approach to addressing the needs of clients.

So what will it take and how long will it take for the change to become rooted and established?
I think the momentum for change needs to come from the clients. As long as the whole business is about bigger and bigger bargains, it will remain a numbers game. It is a mispreception to think on the part of clients that driving a hard bargain with agencies is optimizing on a fixed budget. Stretching the buck is no longer about just how many spots the TVC is about and where and when and how they appear. There can be greater brand recall even if the spots appear lesser number of times.

Consolidation seems to be the new buzzword in the industry and Omnicom’s majority stake in Mudra is the latest example of this trend.How do you think will it affect the dynamics of the industry?
I think that consolidation will lead to media agencies getting better deals and squeezing more efficiencies out of their operations. However, there’s also the possibility of the qualitative aspect getting relegated. The fallout of consolidation has led to media agencies and creative agencies getting separated. That may not work out to the advantage of the industry because in today’s world integration is what we hugely need in order to find new and innovative ways of delivering communication. Thanks to the information available today, it is becoming easier for agencies to stitch and integrate a media plan into communication at the initial stage itself. Something magical can come out when the two entities work hand in glove.

Do you think that the challenge for faster execution for media planners is taking the attention away from ROI and leading to wasteful spending?
The challenge in not just for media agencies, it’s equally challenging for creative agencies to come up with communication that breaks the information overload barrier. It’s becoming more and more difficult to gauge your ROI with the bombardment of media on the consumer from all sides.

How different is online branding from the viewpoint of a creative person as compared to working with a conventional medium?
Online is a very different world. And it is the medium increasingly taking hold of the world. It’s open, impatient and active. You need to breathe the medium to know what makes it tick. It depends on technology to back ideas but when you know what technology is available it can truly get you some breakthrough stuff. The thing with that medium is a new technology or a new app gets launched almost everyday somewhere in the world that surprises you at what is possible. One needs to be experimental and open to taking the risk. Unlike conventional mediums, where you keep telling consumers you need me (i.e your product and its benefits), good online or digital branding comes from understanding what the consumer really needs and wants.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Advertising - Hotspots and Rankings - The Idiot Box

There are ads, and then there are those 10 that have personified the concept of how branding can be made to work for the product most efficiently and effectively. From creativity to brand recall, from concept to execution, these 10 advertisements have got our attention; thanks to the commitment of the teams that created them. We present you with our review of the top three ads.

Indulge at you own risk!
Advertiser: Cadbury
Baseline: Jo khaaye, kho jaaye
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather

4Ps B&M take: Over the years, it has become all the more evident that there is a lot of scope for creativity when it comes to confectionery brands. Last time, when Cadbury came up with the Ramesh-Suresh duo (remember those guys riding dummy horses in the middle of the road?) for the TVC of their 5 Star brand, we were disappointed. So much so that we featured it as one of the worst commercials of the fortnight and concluded that such creatives would not work for the chocolate brand. Come November and we’re humbly taking back our words after seeing the latest from the stable of Cadbury conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather. Ramesh and Suresh, in trademark 1970s attire, walk into a traditional tailor shop. They hand over a pair of trousers to the tailor (who is talking on the phone) as Ramesh exclaims, “Masterji, Pitaji ki patloon ek blan choti kardijiye” (Please cut short our father’s trousers by a hand’s length). As instructed, Master Ji cuts the trousers and gives it to his assistant to stitch. Both brothers have one bite of the 5 star and forget everything, making the request again. This iteration repeats itself till the trousers are left to a pair of shorts. And yet, the brothers make one final request after a bite of their 5 Star. The VO talks about the chocolate, caramel and nougat in every bit of five star that can lead to this blissful amnesia. The message is the same, but this one’s far more entertaining and most importantly, it doesn’t get on your nerves.

Why don’t you believe me?!

Advertiser: Volkswagen
Baseline: Das Auto
Agency: DDB Mudra

4Ps B&M Take: Competitors would be quick to say that they are going over the top too soon, but Volkswagen does manage to raise a din with each of its campaigns. Somewhere, somehow, the agency and the brand seem to be clicking very well. This ad was conceptualised by DDB Mudra in a bid to promote the ‘Breeze’ variants of Polo and Vento recently launched by the automobile major. The TVC opens inside a Volkswagen showroom where a customer care executive is diligently completing paperwork for a car which he probably just sold. Just then, the camera shifts to girl err... guy disguised as a girl (well you too did get confused at first sight, right?) who is sitting in front of the executive. As he enquires, “So, what do I get with the Polo and the Vento. Oh, and what comes with the Breeze models?” the executive gives a look which tells us that he’s had enough of this guy as he patiently answers, “Sir I’ve told you this many times before, but for some reason you don’t believe me.” The guy takes off the wig (as it turns out, he came earlier and got the same answer from the salesman) and retorts angrily, “You’re still pulling my leg aren’t you!” VO: Unbelievable but true. Get Rs.40,000 worth of benefits and features with the Polo and Vento Breeze models. The ad ends with the same guy disguising himself as a Gorilla and asking the same question. When it comes to pitching a sales promotion, companies usually do not experiment much with creativity and tend to simply tell things as they are as far as possible. Volkswagen crosses that line and successfully too.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

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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