M & A The Perfect Corporate Crime

CEOs have ripped apart shareholders’ wealth globally under the guise of M&As; Indian firms more so! B&E’s Manish K. Pandey, Deepak R. Patra and Karan Mehrishi undertake the most radical analysis of the recent past and destroy age-old perceptions!

The pity is, Indians never learn! You’ll get the drift by the time you end the introduction. First, the dirt! The year 2000 was the eve of the glorious new century, and a boon for the Big-6 M&A consulting firms. And why not! For these global consulting proponents, an example like the year 2000 Vodafone-Mannesmann merger was god’s gift multiplied many times over. It was proclaimed to be the single largest deal in history. Sir Christopher Gent, then CEO, Vodafone paid a smashing $190 billion for Germany’s Mannesmann AG, making Vodafone the biggest operator in Europe. The combined entity was valued at $365 billion, making it the world’s fourth largest company overnight. What better a gift could the M&A brayers ask for? Wasn’t this M&A deal enough proof that M&As were/are the only dynamic and rapid solution forward to mammoth growth and that all those who had criticised M&As for the past so many years were nothing but dimwits?

If Gent’s strategy cup ran full of suicidal moves, Arun Sarin – who was on the Vodafone board since June 1999 (and was equally, if not more, to blame) and who took over from Gent in April 2000 – redefined the standard of how much shareholder value could ever be destroyed from a company. Eight years since the deal, the value of Vodafone in terms of market capitalisation stands at $161.4 billion (as on July 24, 2008), down by a sickening $203.6 billion, a fall of 53%! Arun Sarin ensured that in the last eight years since the merger, Vodafone has become the biggest loss making company ever in the history of mankind! The loss: $86 billion! Both Arun Sarin (who exited in June 2008) and Christopher Gent, apart from the other top management, retired multi-millionaires, a far cry from thousands of Vodafone pauper shareholders.

If that sounded absurd, Gary Foresee took on the infamy mantle with ease. Gary joined Sprint as CEO in the year 2003. Signing bonus amount: $6 odd million! Subsequent years’ pay: Between $1.5-6 million! Gary’s claim to (in)fame was ensuring Sprint’s spectacular merger with Nextel in 2004-05. He sold the deal on the fact that the combined telecom giant would have a subscriber base of 53.8 million in the US! What he sweetly left out was the disaster the deal could be. At the time of the deal, the Sprint Nextel common stock was trading at $26.9; it’s at a sickening $8.30 today! While many shareholders got wiped out Mr. Gary Foresee was kicked out at the end of 2007. His severance package? $40 million!

Charles Prince is an equal, if not better peer for these heroes. He, as the Chief Administrative Officer, engineered the utterly disastrous $140 billion merger of Citibank with Travelers Group ten years back. Then he ensured the company jumped into the mortgage black hole. Till date, Citigroup has been forced to write off almost $41 billion because of Prince’s royal exigencies! He was “eased out” in November 2007! Apart from his wholly owned $94 million vested stock holdings in Citi, he got $28 million further stock options, (not forgetting the $53 million during his last four years as Group CEO), plus a pension of $1.74 million; and this apart from a $10.4 million “bonus” that shareholders were made to pay him. [Citi has now recruited Vikram Pandit as the CEO, paying him a cannon ball destroying never before seen signing bonus of $241 million! Since he has arrived, Citi stock prices have tumbled by 25%!].

December 31, 2007, saw Richard Parsons resigning as the greatest CEO of Time-Warner. Greatest, because he joined the board in 1991 [became President in 1995] and oversaw the supernova of a merger between Time and AOL. The companies had a combined value of $247 billion during the deal. Today, the combined entity is worth a mind numbingly low $58 billion. Parsons earned on an average $10.64 million per year. By the way, he’s now the Chairman of the group!

With $37 billion involved, Dieter Zetsche, then on the Daimler Benz board, squeezed through the merger with Chrysler. In 2007, CEO Zetsche made Daimler Chrysler part ways with a deal worth only 21.5% ($7.4 billion) of the total acquisition value! Millionaire Patricia Russo, CEO Alcatel-Lucent, has a history of destroying shareholder wealth. At the time of the merger of Alcatel and Lucent, the entity had a share price of $15.4 (March 31, 2006). July 24, 2008, the price is $6.09 (62% fall). CEO Meg Whitman, who ensured eBay bought off Skype, also ensured eBay’s price fell from close to $40 (September 9, 2005), to $25 (July 24, 2008). Shareholders be damned; she donated $30 million of her personal wealth to Princeton in 2007 to start the Whitman College!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

WHAT CAN BRING THE COST OF CAPITAL DOWN TO AFFORDABLE LEVELS?

Further, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real estate sector should not be subjected to the condition of minimum three year lock-in period for repatriation of the original foreign investment. This shall ensure availability of greater capital and liquidity for developers to fund their existing projects and growth. Government should also grant industry status to the real estate sector. This will certainly help the players raise the much needed construction capital at low cost domestically. In fact, this has been a long pending demand from the sector.

Stamp duty rates on property transactions too need to be rationalised or brought down and should be made uniform across all states. Moreover, an upward revision to tax exemption to the extent of Rs.3 lakh against the existing limit of Rs.1.50 lakh should be made available on housing loan interest payment under section 24(b) of IT Act. This will help boost demand for residential units in the country.

I also feel that the real estate regulator should be set up with an intention to make the system transparent, efficient and competitive and to protect the interests of consumers. It should serve as a platform wherein, if the developers have issues with local bodies, the regulator should assist them in addressing these issues. All these changes will certainly contribute towards the sector’s growth in the long run.

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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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Too costly to kill?

The death penalty, besides being a question of morality, is also becoming a question of cost. But the cost of crime must also be considered

James Ellis, Chief Criminal Judge, Oregon put forward the point quite succinctly, “Whether you’re for it or against it (capital punishment), I think the fact is that Oregon simply can’t afford it.” The rising cost of capital punishment is becoming a ground reality across the world; thus forcing nations to reconsider it.

According to the California Commission, the entire infrastructure behind an execution system costs $137 million per year, but a system without the death penalty costs only $11.5 million in California (as per 2008 data). A 2003 legislative audit in Kansas noted that the estimated cost of an execution case ($1.26 million) was 70% more than the cost of an analogous non-execution case ($740,000). As per the Urban Institute (2008), the cost of execution cases amounts to almost 3 times more as compared to non-execution cases in Maryland. Similar comprehensive studies are not readily available in other countries, but the fact that the death penalty is considerably more expensive is amply clear. Most costs relating to capital punishment occur prior to and during trial; not in post-conviction proceedings as the trial period becomes too lengthy over the time for execution. As per the Florida Department of Corrections, the average length of stay on death row prior to execution is 12.68 years.

However, this doesn’t nullify the relevance of death sentences, as it’s also important to calculate the cost of crime to a nation. According to Georgetown University Professor of Public Policy Jens Ludwig, the cost of crime to the US economy is around $2 trillion per year.

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.

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Versatility, thy name is…

…Paresh Rawal. The actor extraordinaire, who pulls off comic capers with as much aplomb as the wiles of the scheming creep, is often the un-publicised draw in most films. Here in an exclusive conversation with Neha Sarin…

What made you take up acting as a career?
It’s true that Naseer bhai (Naseruddin Shah) inspired me to get into acting, otherwise I'd have stuck to theatre alone. It’s only when I saw Naseer bhai and Om Puri, I realised that this is the right kind of acting. One must jump into it and must do this kind of acting…then you feel justified. I don’t know what I would have been into, if not for acting.

After playing the villain in the 80s and 90s, you became increasingly associated with comedy. How did the transition come about?
When you do justice to a villain’s role, you get bombarded with those kinds of offers, that’s how this industry works. But to my shock and surprise, Ketan Mehta walked in and offered me “Sardar” after auditioning a lot of actors and then he chose me – he had the faith in me. Then “Sir”, followed by “Tamanna” and “Raja”, after which I was bombarded with roles of the heroine’s brother or the hero’s father. Some of them were intense and some were plain stupid, but in the end I was playing a positive kind of a guy. And then came "Hera Pheri". Post "Hera Pheri", I was bombarded with comic roles.

What makes your chemistry with Akshay Kumar so brilliant?
He is one actor who has come up so brilliantly and I respect him a lot for that. He made it without help from any godfather. He came up doing the kind of roles that pahalwans were doing, then slowly and steadily he made his mark. And it’s not easy to go from an action hero to becoming a dependable star, which in the industry means an all-rounder – the one who can do comedy, tragedy, romance…it’s an achievement.

How do you adapt yourself to such disparate roles, each with its unique quirks?
I didn’t know if I was versatile, but my theatre training did allow me to try my hand at different kinds of roles. And more importantly, I desired to do different kind of roles and I guess that made me do justice to each of them.

"Oye Lucky" was a fun film; was it fun on the sets too?
In my entire career, I worked with very good people or very talented people but the combination of talent and goodness is very rare to come by. So it was a lot of fun working in "Oye Lucky". I played three different characters in the film and that was a lot of fun too. Dibakar Banerjee is one of the brightest directors in the industry.

How was it working with Abhay Deol?
What an actor! He is a highly underrated actor; he grows on you. He is one actor who is not concerned with his looks or six packs etc. He is only concerned about his character. He is sure, you see, unlike any other hero who probably would not pick up such risky roles. It takes a lot of courage to do such roles. That is why, he is here to stay. Bahut lambi race ka ghoda hai…

How was your experience working with other veteran actors in "Maharathi"?
It’s a lovely thriller and its appeal lay in the strong storyline and the kind of actors that are part of this film… It was joy, joy and sheer joy all the way, working with the likes of Naseer bhai, Om Puri, Boman Irani… It’s a kind of a dream come true when you work with the finest actors that the industry has to offer – the people you love and respect, they who inspire you…therefore, the end product is good.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

…AND YET, YES WE CAN!

On the night of November 26, when terrorists stormed the Taj, in a room on one of the floors, there was one of India Inc’s bright young beacons lying on the floor, alive, but terrified, confused and unsure. Next to him on the floor lay others, some bleeding, others perhaps weeping… A wall away, they could hear the crack of assault rifles, the cries of victims as they crashed lifeless in corridors and rooms and the deafening sound of explosions. As the acrid smell of the carnage wafted in with the smoke, panic set in. How much longer before the terrorists enter our room? Will they kill us all? What do we do? Questions raged in every head, including the young CEO’s… “We did not know what to do? We tried barricading ourselves inside the room… but it was rather flimsy…” he said on TV, after he was rescued the next day. He thanked providence and his spiritual practice for carrying him through those harrowing hours, for there was little else to bank on.

That same evening, in another part of the hotel, seven South Africans were dining in one of the restaurants when they heard gun shots inside the hotel. When they realised that there were terrorists in the hotel, they spoke to the other diners and told them who they were – bodyguards in the country on an assignment, protecting international cricketers – and explained that they had the training to handle this situation. “People remained calm”, one of them told a news channel, as they moved more than a hundred people out of the restaurant. “…it had a large glass area which could have been dangerous…” They switched off the lights to retain the element of surprise and then the other guests were herded into a conference room which was then barricaded by the South Africans with relatively sturdy objects like refrigerators and heavy tables. The bodyguards had armed themselves with what they could – cleavers and knives and were considering various possibilities when they realised that the building was on fire. They knew they had to evacuate, checked to see if it was ‘all clear’, got word through to the security personnel that they shouldn’t shoot and finally through the fire exit, guided 120 hostages to safety (including an old woman who was carried in a chair, down 25 flights of stairs!) ....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Dog Squad !

Dogs vied with each other at proving their skills in Kerala Police academy Passing-Out Parade too. A robbery scene was enacted by trainers, following which German Shepherd Lisa traced the ‘robber’ by sniffing his handkerchief and the weapon he left behind, as Manikantan, her trainer watched. Salma was adjudged the best tracker dog, Annie the best sniffer dog and Lisa the best demonstrator at the Academy.

C Bhuvanachandran, Superintendent of Police at the Dog Training School, proudly recalled the feats of the newly trained dogs. Brownie, who took charge in Thiruvananthapuram had detected bombs from a suitcase at the airport. Salma had even exposed a jewellery theft in Kottayam and Stella traced the culprit in the sensational killing of Chavakkad schoolboy Nizamuddin. Tarzan, merely by sniffing a stone thrown by the criminal at the Sree Narayana statue at Kollam, had nosed him out of his lair for the police.

Yeomen services notwithstanding, training centres have their own woes to contend with. “Life expectancy of a dog is about 10 years. And 18 of the 24 dogs in Kerala dog squad are 8-year olds. They need replacement. Every district needs a minimum of three dogs and spare dogs. The academy will be able to supply the required number of dogs only by 2012,” explains Alexander Jacob.

Nonetheless, amidst the awe and excitement buzzing in the crowd of spectators at the first Passing Out Parade of the four-legged commandos in the Academy, it was evident that the war on terror has a dependable, though mortal, ally in man’s best friend too; the only concern being if the lives of our brave men have gotten so dispensable, what of the dogs?....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

The new Line of Control

It is surprising, always from the benefit of hindsight, how much Indian investigators and the media now know about Mumbai’s bloody slaughter. The light and sound, the flurry or charges and counter charges by various responsible hands in the government, and the unseemly recriminations in the aftermath of one of the greatest security disasters in recent times, has added a new word to the lexicon – `actionable intelligence.’

What is actionable intelligence? Consider the following:

November 22, 2008: (two days before the attack): Shivraj Patil tells India’s police chiefs: "To control terrorism in the hinterland, we have to see that infiltration does not take place through the sea routes.’’

November 13, 2008: (a fortnight before the assaults) PM tells BIMSTEC summit, "Terrorism and threats from the sea continue to challenge the authority of the state."

March 11, 2008: A.K. Antony warns International Maritime Search and Rescue Conference of the "dangers of terror attacks from the sea in the region", admitting that the Coast Guard faces shortage of manpower and hardware.

September 18, 2008: RAW intercepted a phone conversation in which a LeT source says there is a plan to target a hotel at the Gateway of India through the sea route.

September 24, 2008: RAW identifies hotels which could be attacked: Taj, Marriott, the Land's End and Sea Rock.

If the ultimate aim of terrorists – apart from causing mayhem, murder and demoralisation– was to discredit the Indian security establishment, then it is a job well done. Waking up in the aftermath of an onslaught which has claimed over 200 lives (an understated figure?) and many hundreds maimed, the story of many gaps in the government action makes up for a picture which is not new .In line of fire is the Naval chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta. Defence Minister, A.K.Anthony, pulled up the Navy Chief asking him how they missed the intelligence warning?....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

and to begin with, it was only a B-School fest!

Other popular events included Best Manager, Creative Writing, Ad-Guru, Flip Back and Treasure Hunt. The much-awaited evenings had an exciting line-up of rounds. Whilst the choreography teams set the stage on fire, the winner of the Solo Singing Competition walked away with a free trip to Switzerland. Mr and Ms Amaze won Rs 50,000 each. The Fashion Show highlighted the Amaze 2008 raison d’etre, with a slide-show illustrating global problems and suggested solutions. Adding lustre to the glitzy affair were Mukesh Tyagi (last seen on screen in “Fashion”), Shahnaz Husain (celebrated beautician), Muzaffar Ali (fashion designer), Salma Sultan (TV personality), Karishma Agarwal (MD, Galaxy Group of Hotels and lead dancer in Shiamak Davar’s troupe). Amaze 2008 thus delivered every bit of the fun that was promised, all the way to the grand finale.

On the evening of 14th November, DJ Suketu churned his latest chartbusters at Sun City Gardens and soon the jostling crowd succumbed to the dance beats. But the best was yet to come! Delhi witnessed its finest retro fiesta ever when Boney M featuring Marcia Barrett stepped on the stage and there followed 60 minutes of exhilarating music, as an audience of over 15,000 swung to the tunes of “Rasputin”, “Belfast”, “Rivers of Babylon” and yes... “Daddy Cool”.

At the end of the day, IIPM’s fest, Amaze, proved to be an apt forum to bring together youth from across the globe and advance synergy, peace and tolerance to the world – a mission well accomplished!....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

THE DESTINATION DOSSIER

Steering the course:
Many airlines like American Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air India ply from India to San Francisco…Just plan the trip and pick the airline!

The ‘season’ed traveller goes now:
If you enjoy cool weather then travel to SF during the winter as without freezing temperatures you still get an amazing winter feeling. If not, then visit during spring when a light sweater works just fine.

Cosy corners:
From low-budget hotels to five-star Hiltons, anything in your budget is available.

Savour Faire:
Indulge in some fine dining along the bay as well as the local clam chowder, the smell of which would attract you while walking down the Piers!

Get to work:
Although you can go for a guided tour of SF which would take you to all the must see places, instead, explore the city on your own. Just walk around and observe the landscape, the houses, the street shops and people, as that’s what the true experience is all about.

What’s the word?
English is the primary language, but Spanish words like Hola (hi/bye) and Gracias (thank you) always come handy.

Keepsake courtesies:
Key chains of the Golden Gate Bridge, sweatshirts, and postcards of San Francisco’s top destinations are the most famous keepsakes.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

His choice of Republicans for key posts shows his commitment

Appointment of such a high profile leader will also boost Obama’s plans to completely revamp the healthcare system of the country – an issue close to his heart. Of the other possible contenders, retired Marine General James Jones, the previous top operational commander of NATO, is leading for White House National Security Advisor post. Similarly, names of incumbent Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Chuck Hagel, a Republican senator from Nebraska, are doing the rounds for being Secretary of Defence. Appointments of these stalwarts will mean Obama is ready to give the Republicans responsibility to deal with National Security – their forte.

Obama’s rainbow coalition reflects Abraham Lincoln’s ‘Team of Rivals’ that so successfully managed to held America together during the civil war. Talking to TSI, Richard Carwardine, an expert on bipartisan polity at Oxford, said, “The appointments reflect that Obama's Lincoln connections go deeper than what people initially thought. Obama has clearly shown that he is not the one who is afraid of surrounding himself with able people, whether they are Republicans or Democrats – which was exactly Lincoln's temperament.”

Lincoln or not; it is clearly 'one-love ' for Obama.....Continue

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The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

The army has become a punching bag

Certain other questions also remain unexplained. When TSI approached the Army to check on the possibility of RDX being procured from them, a senior Army officer categorically asserted that the “Army neither uses nor stores RDX. We use only plastic explosives and TNT. The RDX seized during a raid on terrorist hideout is always handed over to the local police.” As per army rules, it requires a chain of command to procure even plastic and TNT explosives from the army ordinance and involves at least four-five officers as witnesses and a lengthy documentation process. Some former officials say that that man in uniform is the easiest target in India. “The army has become a punching bag. Since it has no ways and means to give its side of the story, all reports are believed. In a 1.3 million-strong army, if one man is convicted, it never shows the general trend. Such cases in India are rare. In the case of Col Purohit, the investigation is still on” says Lt. Gen. Raj Kadyan, a former deputy chief of army. The Congress demand of setting up a multi-disciplinary Task Force to conduct a threadbare investigation of the Malegaon blasts could help. Importantly, such an investigation could possibly keep at bay prying busybees, such as a media hungry for headlines - never mind the damage it could cause - and politicians who do not look beyond their electoral noses. India, after all, is justifiably proud to be a developing country where the military prefers the barracks to civilian office. Most people are agreed that it would help it keep that way.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

‘There is no scope for regional parties here’

Distribution of BJP tickets for the forthcoming assembly elections have sparked off protests all over Madhya Pradesh.
This is not new. It is true that the BJP is preparing to come back in the state for a second term. It is also clear that after the current term, more people are keen to contest on our party ticket. But not everybody can be given tickets. So some anger is understandable. But they will come around to it.
These public demonstrations – including a semi-nude protest display at the party office – gives the BJP a very negative image.
The display is not right. They are getting emotional. But I do not agree that it sends out a negative signal to the voters or workers. (during the course of the interview, the phone rings and Patwa directs an irate party worker to forget about everything else and work for improving the image of BJP.)
There are allegations that the survey that was conducted to weigh chances of sitting MLAs, has not been taken into consideration…
No I won’t buy that. There are other means also by which we evaluate the people whom we give tickets to contest. Survey alone can not decide the fate of a candidate. Survey is just one of those ways. Different sources in the party at different levels have been taken into confidence before giving away these tickets. I find the process fair.

What are the achievements that BJP is planning to take to the masses?
Its Congress’ 50 years versus BJP’s five years. It is for the people to compare the work done by the respective governments. BJP’s tenure has been exceptional. People can see visible changes, as far as development is concerned. But we’ll have to understand that development is an unending process and it can not be completed in just five years. And for that we want another stint.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Court ruffles muslim feathers

Council mooted to relook at Islam allowing polygamy
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court observed that India needs a law to set up bodies at Central and regional levels to regulate, control and supervise Muslim marriages and divorces. While passing a verdict in a matrimonial case involving a Muslim couple, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Harun-Ul-Rashid said that an effective system should be launched to protect Muslim women from "indiscreet marriages and divorces". The verdict came in the wake of a ruling given by the Family Court of Thrissur, which had granted divorce to a Muslim lady, Seleena, because her husband Saidali took a second wife. He had appealed that a Muslim man would find it impossible to marry more than one woman – permissible in his religion – if a divorce is granted on the basis of polygamy. The court said that a divorce cannot be granted on the basis of the husband's second marriage. However, if a woman refuses to live with another woman, she should recieve separate accommodation and alimony. While passing the verdict, the court also referred to the historical background of allowing polygamy in Islam: when orphans, widows, and dependants of prisoners of war found it tough to lead a decent life. Now, 1500 years later, some people still observe polygamy without questioning its basis. The court also held that though the Prophet had permitted up to four wives, Islam insisted on equal sharing of food, clothing and accommodation. Polygamy should not be practiced if these norms cannot be adhered to, the court added. Meanwhile, reactions to this landmark judgment have not been as enthusiastic as expected. Nisa, a Muslim Progressive Women’s Forum, welcomed the verdict while the secretary of Samastha Kerala Jama-Iyyathul Ulema said such things should be sorted within the society. MN Karasserry, a Muslim thinker, said that the Parliament should enact rules as per this verdict. But Sunni faction leader Kanthapuram AP Abubaker Musliyar disagreed with the court’. In the meantime, the Law Reforms Commission submitted its report to Kerala government, stating that polygamy is an exception among Muslims, but permissible only in socially exceptional circumstances and should be supervised by a conciliation council....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Unlike India's bad experience, Taiwan hopes for better

IIPM Publication

Both sides were at ease to take no notice of the pungent disputes that lie at the nucleus of their divide for the sake of commerce, inking agreements on non-stop flights across the Taiwan Strait and straight shipping links that will considerably slash costs. Mr Chen and Mr Chiang, who stand for quasigovernmental departments in charge of cross-Strait interactions, settled on tripling the number of non-stop charter flights from 36 a week to 108, and to expand service to 16 more cities in China. They also approved to open up supplementary air and sea cargo courses, extend postal links and lend a hand on food hygiene issues.

“His trip is a significant step forward for the tempestuous cross-strait relationship. So far, wisdom has prevailed and the leadership in both capitals has seized the opportunity to build a more stable and mutually beneficial relationship. While progress has been made, future gains are not guaranteed and recent accomplishments can be reversed,” said Bonnie Glaser, senior associate at Centre for Strategic and International Studies, while speaking to TSI.

Military tensions between the two neighbours have soared since 1949 as the “Nationalists” led by Chiang Kai-shek, routed by Communists in the Chinese civil, escaped to Taiwan. Beijing has ever since maintained that Taiwan is a turncoat territory, to be brought under Chinese rule by martial force if necessary. ...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Why Andhra means glory!

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Why Andhra means glory!
Utpal Sen Gupta, Chairman, CII (Andhra Pradesh) speaks...

"Much has been talked about Andhra’s bright prospects. How has a state so ignored become a state most looked up to? What has got the MNCs glued to this south-Indian kingdom? IT, pharma, engineering and... well, capital inflow! "

India’s economy is growing ever-increasingly. With positive indicators like a stable GDP growth, a booming capital market and rapidly expanding FDI inflows, India has emerged as the second fastest growing economy. The economy has been growing at an average rate of 8.8% over the last four fiscal years. Significantly, the industrial and service sectors have been contributing a major part of this growth.

In this dynamic background, Andhra Pradesh, which achieved a phenomenal and a record-breaking growth rate of 10.3% in FY2007-08 deserves special mention. This was for the first time in history that this state achieved a double-digit growth! This is because of the strong performance of all the sectors at the state level. The state’s performance exceeded the national average in every sector, including agriculture, which had stagnated for a long time. The industrial sector grew at 9.8% as against 8.9% at the national level. The service sector grew at 11.5% as against 10.7% at the national level. Another significant indicator – the per capita income - increased by 9.3% as against the national average of 7.5%! Now that is growth from all quarters, and something which does the state and the nation proud!

Well endowed with natural resources, Andhra Pradesh offers several competitive advantages to investors. Being a mineral-rich state, Andhra is ranked second in India and contains a large variety of mineral wealth. In terms of human resource too, Andhra Pradesh is characterised by a large pool of scientific and technically-trained manpower. The state alone has about 226 engineering colleges in which, 30% of the total capacity is allotted to IT. The state also has dedicated institutions for biotechnology, ITeS/BPO and other fields. The State is well-known for some world-class institutions like The Indian Institute of Information Technology, ISB, The Academy for Construction, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Nutrition et al.

Andhra also provides a cosmopolitan environment with good infrastructure and quality of life. It is home to many catalytic manufacturing & service organisations in industries such as IT, bulk drugs & pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, mineral-based industries, gems & jewellery et al. Surely, Andhra is the right choice for business endeavours.

The state also has good global air connectivity and one of the best domestic connectivity. With liberal labour laws, proactive policies, quality power with competitive tariff, large pool of technical manpower, rich mineral resources and specialised industrial parks with SEZ status, it is the preferred destination for investors. Andhra Pradesh is strategically located and is considered as the gateway to East & South-East Asia. Visakhapatnam port in Andhra is the largest port and its cargo handling capacity will be enhanced with the development of ports in the private sector at Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Kakinada. Another city, Hyderabad, has emerged as the home to several major drug manufacturing companies which are global names.

Andhra Pradesh is the leading state in the country when it comes to e-Governance. The state has the second-largest power generating utility in the country and has also emerged as the best healthcare destination in the country with state-of-the-art hospitals.

All these factors have contributed to making Andhra Pradesh the most investor-friendly and therefore the Best Marketed State in the country.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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When phoren movies come calling on India!

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

A whole new world of cinema that never existed before for the Indian movie buffs has now come alive. UTV’s World Movies and NDTV Lumière are ready with their goodies to quench your thirst for this new genre of foreign language films. By SURBHI CHAWLA

When Dilshad Master, COO, UTV Entertainment Television Ltd., visited the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007, she thoroughly enjoyed watching the more than 3000 movies from across the globe that were screened at the event. Her only disappointment was with the fact that “India gets to see only movies made in Bollywood or Hollywood, which is such a pity, as there are such great movies being made in the world and we don’t get to see them,” she avers. And that’s when Dilshad got the idea of bringing foreign movies to Indian shores. She started working on the concept in April 2007. And the fruits of ten months of hard toil were indeed sweet when on February 3, 2008, World Movies, the world cinema channel of UTV Entertainment Television, went on-air (albeit with a soft launch).

Patrons of this kind of international cinema – till now – were totally at the mercy of film festivals, to see great French, Italian, Latin or let’s say, feature films in myriad languages, other than English & Hindi (or regional languages for that matter!). And the floodgates have only just about begun to open. Apart from UTV, another Indian media house – NDTV – is buoyant on the potential of bringing videshi films into India. Through its new venture NDTV Lumière (collaboration between NDTV Imagine, Manmohan Shetty and Sunil Doshi), the group seeks to premiere the best of world cinema in Indian multiplexes, immediately following their worldwide release. The films would then be made available through home videos or in the pay-per-view format, and will finally make it to their soon-to-be launched channel, NDTV Lumière.

Vidyuth Bhandhary, General Manager, NDTV Lumière opines, “Currently, the only supply of international movies is renting or purchase of few popular titles or through pirated DVDs. We believe there will always be demand for good cinema, irrespective of which part of the world it is from. We intend to bridge this demand-supply gap and provide ‘cineasts’ with the opportunity to watch good international cinema.” UTV’s World Movies, on the other hand, has taken an entirely different approach. Giving a miss to Indian multiplexes or home videos, World Movies has gone on-air in the first phase itself. Dilshad asserts that the strategy was crafted after positive results of all the test-marketing and focus group discussions. “We’re very clear about the movies that we want. We want the kind of movies that Indians would like to watch – action, thriller, crime, horror, romance, drama – that would click with the Indian audiences. The only pre-condition being that the movies that we get have to be hits in the countries that they were made in,” she explains.

But one important question remains unanswered. Would there be many takers for this kind of cinema? Dilshad enthuses, “The global Indian is all over the place. When we talk in terms of cuisines, people are not just going to tandoori restaurants any more. They are trying out Italian, Mexican or Spanish. There’s a tendency to experiment and people are game for different foreign language movies.” World Movies and NDTV Lumière also need to contend with the prevailing audience perception about these foreign films being boring and intellectually driven parallel cinema. However, Dilshad is quick to differ. “We’re not here to intellectually stimulate your brains, but simply to entertain.”

Small surprise that after a relatively soft launch, World Movies has now launched an aggressive marketing campaign to educate viewers, promote their movies and do away with that ‘intellectual-arty’ image. World Movies has yet to carve its niche in the Indian cable & satellite industry. But, even before the actual TRP wars begin for the nascent channel, competition from existing dedicated English movie channels on Indian television is hotting up. For starters, Star Movies (and later HBO) have adamantly refused to show ads and promos of World Movies on their respective channels.

There’s another cause for concern. Time spent per week by an individual on an English movie channel is witnessing a declining trend. As per TAM data, Star Movies witnessed its share drop from 5.9 minutes each week in 2006 to 4.91 minutes each week in 2007. Plus there has been no increase in ad revenues for these channels in the year 2007. If such is the case with traditional English movie channels, wonder how a foreign language movies channel would fare at the hands of both viewers and advertisers?

Having said that, it does seem a tad too premature to talk about the success of these two channels. Being a paid channel, World Movies has seen advertisers flocking from day one. Even then it would be interesting to watch the kind of ratings these channels would eventually fetch. So the next time you wanna catch a late night flick, drooling over a tub of popcorn, remember that you always have the option of ‘world cinema’ at your disposal.

SURBHI CHAWLA

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Latest Advertising Communication

Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

“The search for a larger cause with which the brand can tell its story is a great strategy. Cause related advertising does a lot more than conventional ads. It makes the brand a perceptual leader. It attracts immense goodwill. It becomes a platform for public expression... and helps in making the brand iconic,” agrees Josy Paul of JWT.

Take Tata Tea. The tea major is peddling Bhartiyata in the form of its latest advertising communication – Jaago Re – that harps on corrupt and illiterate politicians. In as much, for the first time, a tea brand is attempting to take tea from just being a wake up drink to becoming a medium of larger ‘awakening’. Created by Lowe Lintas, the ad showcases a politician (a pot-bellied and illiterate one at that) on the campaign trail, who is taken aback when a young voter takes his trip, commenting on his (lack of) qualifications for the job (of running an entire country).

Explains a Tata Tea spokesperson, “With this bold advertising step, the brand wants to encourage citizens of this country and make them think about the current socio-political system.” The bid is clearly to woo the growing breed of youngsters in the country, who’ve turned to coffee. While marketers and advertisers reaffirm their faith in this growing new breed of brand communication, they nevertheless put forth a word of caution. “It’s a very fine line between supporting a worthy social cause and advertising it – cross that line and it starts looking very opportunistic. For instance, will the brands stop associating with a cause if the cause becomes less fashionable,” asks Subramaniam.

Agrees Titus Upputuru, Creative Director, O&M. “The value that the brand is propagating gets associated with the brand itself and ends up being an brand attribute only if done successfully over a period of time,” he proclaims judiciously.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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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