Consumer Psyche

When ICICI Bank announced in April that it would skip annual rituals like promotions or large-scale bonus payouts this year, there was a general sense of disbelief.

After all, India's largest private sector bank was going against the conventional wisdom that the Great Indian Salary Boom will continue despite the slowdown signals. The general consensus was that ICICI Bank was being foolish as the talent shortage and emergence of new job opportunities will ensure an exodus from the bank.

ICICI Bank, however, went ahead and gave a moderate 8 per cent increase in salaries (11 per cent last year), skipped promotions and slashed bonus payouts. Three months later, Ram Kumar, ICICI's group head of human resources, says the bank's attrition rate hasn't gone up -- even marginally.

In short, the Great Indian Salary Boom story will have to take a pause for at least some time to come. The economic boom in the last four to five years meant companies had to go in for premium pricing of manpower and sometimes 'overskill' themselves, as no one wanted to miss out on the opportunity the economic growth could provide.

ICICI Bank also did just that.

Read more.

What happens to the Half-Right Process?

People look to use them for their own good. Doing it wrong everytime spoils the process. Unfair means, loopholes become part of the process. People will see you as a second rate company, providing second rate service and employing second rate people. Credibility is lost, talent is lost and standards are comprimised. This effect will spill over from one process to another and everything would go down in a spiral.

So start by stopping the first instance of being half right.

When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.

He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.

Sarathbabu was in Chennai, his hometown, a few days ago, to explore the possibility of starting a Foodking unit in the city and also to distribute the Ullas Trust Scholarships instituted by the IT firm Polaris to 2,000 poor students in corporation schools.

In this interview with rediff.com, Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur.



Read more.

India is likely to see the largest growth in its share of foreign investment overall, and should become the world leader for investment in manufacturing, says a recent KPMG survey. The results showed a move away from investments in the United States, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, and a big increase in flows to Brazil, Russia, China and India (BRIC).

A global survey of corporate investment plans was carried out by KPMG International. Corporate investment strategists from over 300 of the largest multinational companies in 15 major economies were asked where they plan to invest in the next 12 months and in five years' time.

This trend-setting survey suggests a major shift of capital flows from the USA, Japan and other European countries to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, in the next five years. Significantly, while 10 per cent of the companies surveyed expect to invest in India currently, that number will go up to 18 per cent in five years -- the biggest gain amongst all other BRIC countries.
Further an increasing proportion of investments will flow into industrial products and manufacturing in India. Interestingly, 64 per cent of the investment into India is expected to come from new entrants to the country.

India, according to the survey, has the potential to play an even more influential role in flow of capital and it's a great opportunity for India to further improve the economic and fiscal climate and attract and retain investments in its growing economy.

Read more.

From Mumbai to Shanghai to California, shopping malls are sprouting up by the dozens every year. And with the retail sector booming, more such swanky shopping plazas are waiting to be built. But all is not as bright as it is projected to be.

While footfalls in most malls are increasing by the day, the volume of actual sale remains more or less static, barring the festive seasons, when sales shoot up. But this too is restricted to select outlets. However, there is no denying that shopping malls have become an indispensable part of our lives, today.

World's 10 biggest shopping malls

1. South China Mall, China
2. Golden Resources Shopping Mall, China
3. Central World, Bangkok
4. The SM Mall of Asia, Philippines
5. Dream Mall, Taiwan
6. West Edmonton Mall, Canada
7. Cevahir Shopping Centre, Turkey (Largest in Europe)
8. SM City North EDSA, Philippines
9. SM Megamall, Philippines
10. Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur Shopping Mall, Malaysia

Listed here.

Taking a tough stand against outsourcing, the presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama said that the choice is between giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas or give benefit to those corporations that keep jobs domestically."We can keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, or we can give tax benefits to companies that invest right here in New Hampshire," Senator Obama said at a joint appearance with Senator Hillary Clinton in Unity, New Hampshire."We can have a tax code that rewards wealth and hands out billions of dollars more to big corporations and multimillionaires. Or we can provide a USD 1,000 tax cut to 95 per cent of families in America, start rewarding work and not just wealth, and eliminate income taxes for seniors making USD 50,000 a year or less," Obama said, adding that's an agenda for change that we can believe in. That's the choice that we can make in this election."We can allow millions of Americans to work full-time but still not make enough to support their families, or we can raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation, and ensure that hard work pays off in America," the Illinois Senator said.

Source.

M. Shankar writes in...

Ranbaxy was one of those majors in Indian pharmaceuticals industry, actually shaping up well and nicely positioned to be really global in its operations. In fact, it reflected as an icon of pride in an average Indian's psyche. I am not sure any Indian would be jubilant about Ranbaxy being sold out to foreign interests. It is not about Ranbaxy going MNC now. In the context of India's huge population,health concerns and needs for quality health care and medicare, availability of a range of medicines and drugs is a critical issue. Ranbaxy, with an Indian identity, would have met that need fully. Would have even led medical research in a meaningful way relevant to the Indian masses. Commercial priorities being what they are, especially in international business, it is doubtful that Ranbaxy's role, seen in this context, will be as maintenable any more. Promoters anywhere decide their own priorities.

The only good thing is yet another Indian name goes among the richest. But,in a way, it is a dampener on India's growth aspirations! Take overs, mergers, acquisitions etc. of Indian companies, of any sector, by other globally rich and powerful corporate entities make good news on business pages, but they also rob the corporate's root-country's people of opportunities they might have otherwise had. Such activities may be normal in the corporate world, but commitment to one's own society could also prevail over lucrative deals. This pattern of globalization does not do us good.

Brand value helps you to get more investments and pool them to fund more research, distribution network, downsize costs and reduce prices. All this is possible only if the company wants to do so. If all they are looking for is profit then it does us no good.

The top 10 hollywood movies this weekend are:

1. Get Smart
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. The Love Guru
5. The Happening
6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
7. You Don't Mess With the Zohan
8. Sex and the City
9. Iron Man
10. The Strangers
    

Listed here.

1. WHATEVER YOU THINK THINK THE OPPOSITE Author: Paul Arden
2. A BIAS FOR ACTION: HOW EFFECTIVE MANAGERS HARNESS THEIR WILLPOWER, ACHIEVE RESULTS, AND STOP WASTING TIME Authors: Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal
3. BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING Author: Malcolm Gladwell
4. EARTH: THE SEQUEL Authors: Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn
5. BRAND SENSE : HOW TO BUILD POWERFUL BRANDS THROUGH TOUCH, TASTE, SMELL, SIGHT AND SOUND Author: Martin Lindstrom
6. POUR YOUR HEART INTO IT : HOW STARBUCKS BUILT A COMPANY ONE CUP AT A TIME Author: Howard Schultz
7. 10 RULES FOR STRATEGIC INNOVATORS Author: Vijay Govindarajan
8. THE CORPORATION THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: HOW THE EAST INDIA COMPANY SHAPED THE MODERN MULTINATIONAL Author: Nick Robins
9. EINSTEIN : THE LIFE AND TIMES Author: Ronald W Clark
10. JALEBI MANAGEMENT Author: Shombit Sengupta
    
    Listed here.
    
    
    
    

Raghu tells me that the percentage of malls in the metros is skewed. The figures are Bangalore 2%, Chennai 5%, Hyderabad 7%, Delhi 24% and Mumbai 45% (Andheri 20%).

Consumption rates are growing at 29% in India with Bangalore 22%, Mumbai 36%, Delhi 20%, Chennai at 16% and Hyderabad 45%.

I wouldn’t wait for Nano till 2011 if I wanted a cheaper car. Is the worth the wait? I don’t think so. It cant be used on the highway as it wont go fast. It looks cheap. I would be having ‘CHEAP’ or ‘POOR’ message right across my chest. It runs on petrol! Unless they come up with a dual version. I would prefer to go to Rewa, the magic car, as many are discovering. Its beats many cars on many counts: cost, space, ease and style. Would you like to go for something that is not tried and looks poor or would you like to go with something that assures satisfaction. Another contender is the Maruti DUO.

Pics: images.paultan.org

An old qualm is that the snacks are not healthy and home-made food is the best. Parents, elders at home used to start grumbling when you order a pizza, burger or have ice cream or chips. But this is not the case now. Health consciousness has improved among the youngsters and the parents. Takers for healthy snacks are on the rise. Manufacturers are concentrating on how to bring taste and health together. It was thought to be impossible but not any more. Though the young watch fast and furious and non-stop jabbering they are opting for healthier snacks with less calories and more of taste. This trend is set to rise.

Image does play an important role in getting the candidacy, be it in politics or in sports or in office.

A student with good grades stands a better chance over others. A batsman gets iconic status and more pay package as it happened in the IPL. An established actor a better role (Aamir Khan once mentioned he could pick and choose the roles only after 10 years into his career), a well dressed person better seat in a restaurant, respect and so on. So image is important to get through the initial hurdle. The package helps sell the product, the presentation and decoration the dish, the ice the cake and so on. It applies to everything you see in daily life, both products and services. Even if the actual product is good it may not sell if the package sucks. The first look, feel, sound, touch i.e. the first impression or interaction should be something that would be remembered. It should have an impact, a strong one so that it generates the momentum to push the deal.

But only time will tell if the effort was worth it and the choice was correct. When selecting one needs to look beyond the visible and then take the decision.

News has just come in that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has said that the largest oil producing country of the world Saudi Arabia will up its oil output to 9.7 million barrels per day. He hinted that this number may also go up to 12.5 million barrels in the future.

In his statement, he also said that OPEC have never tried to shoot the oil prices towards north - he lays the blame of the present oil crisis on speculators. He also said that countries levy huge oil taxes and then sell to their citizens thus pushing up oil prices. In India, government adds atleast Rs. 10 towards the price of petrol and then gives a lot of subsidies in this regard (due to the sudden rise nowadays)! All his arguments may tempt people to think that oil prices will go down………Due to increased supply by Saudi Arabia and subsequent cooling off. But some oil analysts and economists beg to differ.

Not only is crude oil technically very strong but it might just go all the way to $145 - $148 if a short selling comes in oil in the next few days. Short selling essentially means- when people take a bet that oil prices will fall. When their bet is successful, they speculate even more. Finally at unresistable rates all their bets reverse due to market forces which compel the oil prices to rise one-way. Therefore, it is expected that perhaps, oil prices may rally to $148 a barrel in the near future.

In this time of uncertainty, it would not be wise to call the shots so early. Rest all depends on the forthcoming meeting between OPEC and Federal Reserve (of US) later this month.

Source: Yahoo Groups

An explorer, a white man, anxious to reach his destination in the heart of Africa , promised an extra payment to his bearers if they would make greater speed. For several days, the bearers moved along at a faster pace. One afternoon, though, they all suddenly put down their burden and sat on the ground. No matter how much money they were offered, they refused to move on. When the explorer finally asked why they were behaving as they were, he was given the following answer: “We have been moving along at such a fast pace that we no longer know what we are doing. Now we have to wait until our soul catches up with us.”

--- Paulo Coelho in Maktub

Half-Right is when you

• Don’t try to help
• Give up
• Hate work
• Ignore
• Are satisfied when you know you can improve
• Follow the process for the heck of it

‘What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do, I understand’

--- Einstein

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with Rs 86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every “evening” deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!
Each of us has such a “bank”. Its name is TIME
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose
It carries over no balance
It allows no overdraft
Each day it opens a new account for you
Each night it burns the remains of the day
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours

Source: FFO

Pragjyoti Samal, a 24-year-old computer engineer from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, is the first person to win Rs one crore on Star Plus' Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain.

Answering to the question: Do you think your lifestyle will change now?

She said, " I don't think so. I am a simple person. When we used to hangout with friends, we would think twice before going to Cafe Coffee Day. Now, that will not be the case.

When I returned to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata, my train got cancelled due to heavy rains. I spent the whole night on the platform. The next day, it was cancelled again but I waited for the train. If it is urgent, I travel by flight but if I have the time, I will not spend money unnecessarily."

Read full story.

The legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg is edging closer to ending his fractious two-year relationship with Paramount Pictures – and is readying an alternative alliance with one of India's richest men.

Anil Ambani's Mumbai-based conglomerate, Reliance ADA – one of the biggest producers of Bollywood films – is planning to invest more than $500m (£255m) in Spielberg's production house DreamWorks SKG, which the Schindler's List director runs jointly with David Geffen. A cash infusion of $500-$600m from Reliance ADA, with debt financing of a further $500m, would allow an independent DreamWorks to produce half a dozen movies a year.

A Reliance subsidiary said it had signed agreements with several major Hollywood stars, including Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt, to help fund movies through their independent production companies.

Read the full story here.

Journalism has reached a point where crime and violence as projected as ‘breaking news’. Journalists spend hours waiting to get the juiciest version so that their channel gets the maximum viewership and TRP ratings. This is a sorry situation. There should be restraint and caution before defaming any particular person and character. Moral values are at stake and press appears in no time if there is crime or something that would feed to the curiosity of sex-blinded audience. But they show a different treatment if the news is about a social cause or a good deed. Advancement of technology has only added to the situation. There should be a panel set and strict rules should be formulated to check as to what should be mentioned, reported, when it should be reported and so on. Only the official statement after proper investigation should be released from responsible people. Press should not be allowed to speak to every Tom Dick and Harry for opinion and broadcast it. This only will add to the confusion and opinion forming.


Media should not be allowed to SHOW how the crime was committed in the form of a documentary as if it was the Dandi march of the Mahatma. Many channels broadcast these sleazy, extremely detailed versions and enact the crime on the screen. Doing this is no different from selling porn.

German sports goods major, Adidas has 30% share in India. Ts all set to release a new collection named after tennis player Sania Mirza. This would be targeting people of 15 – 27 years and include bags, headgear and accessories. The only other star to have a line named after him from Adidas is David Beckham. Sania has come a long way.

Pic: FFO

Change does not need:

• Head strong people
• Initial success
• Large team
• Extra work
• Advise
• Laziness
• Meetings
• Agenda
• Long lectures
• Huge strides
• Quick results
• Applause
• Drastic
• Public support
• Naysayers
• Huge capital

If you don’t change, you will be changed

Top-shelf means that the stuff is just above others while top-class means it is ahead of others. Now what do above and ahead mean? The heat is above 100 F while Sachin is world’s leading batsman. Both mean that the subject is performing better than others. But when you use them and how you use changes the meaning.

Sometimes you are subjected to strong negative feedback. Don’t feel bad about it. You may find these pointers useful in handling it.

• Listen patiently as to what the person has to say
• Find out what are the mistakes
• How could, should this be done
• What could have been avoided
• What are the pain areas
• What are the OK areas
• Background of the person giving it
• Time, place, situation, audience, purpose of the feedback
• Is it being compared? If yes, what can you learn from it
• Ask what they expect from you
• Be polite, patient
• Make notes

Negative feedback means:

• You have underperformed, people expect more from you
• You could have performed better
• Proper thinking, planning, implementation was not given
• First rate person doing second rate work

Last of all make it a point to improve and check if it pleases them or you can simply forget and move on. These people actually took some time and want you to improve.

People who give negative feedback help you improve.

Some customers wait for a chance to make a hue and cry. At the drop of a hat they create a nuisance. Some stop at shouting at the executive, some use foul language, some demand for an apology, some write a complaint. All of these people have something in common. They are not happy with the service being provided and want a redressal. Once this is addresses they stop complaining. I am not pointing to the few who keep shouting and want to fire the executive and so on.

To diffuse this situation you need to first apologize. No matter whose mistake it is, apologize. Then listen to them patiently, check what pains them and address it. Be careful about what you speak.

Few observations about the people who crib:

· They are tired, unhappy, childish
· Carry burden, emotions, stress
· Work in the service sector
· Stinking rich & feel they own everything
· Attention seekers
· Egoistic

If you have any suggestions do comment.

Umbrella : rain :: Parasol : sun.

Raju Srivastav

Change needs…

• Attention to detail
• Love for work
• Passion
• Motivation
• Observation
• Efficiency
• Energy
• Hard work
• Courage
• Power
• Initiative
• Time
• Effort
• Concentration
• Views
• Team
• Positive frame of mind
• Thought
• Persuasion
• Will to succeed
• Consistency
• Continuity
• Patience
• Determination
• Assertiveness

Change needs YOU!

People exaggerate in surveys and try to put up a face and paint a clean picture. They tell they have good habits, sleep more, have less work pressure, know how to balance life, and so on. They tell you they buy more, eat less, spend more on a particular product, they have a happy life and all that stuff. The reality is much much worse. Why not who wants to tell you that they don’t like your product, that live a miserable life, they hate what they are doing. Here is where anonymous comes in handy.

So next time you are reading a survey and statistics you should read with a hunch. If you are conducting one provide a chance for being real, give anonymous as an option.

“If I have been administered either a verbal or written schedule, then I consider it my absolute compulsion to adhere to it.” Amitabh’s Blog – Day 53

No wonder his quality of maintaining time is mentioned by everyone. People take you seriously if you stick to the time schedule. Just try to walk in to the meeting 5 minutes early, back to your seat from lunch - 5 minutes early, appointment – 5 minutes early, give that report – 5 minutes early. You may need to work hard to meet this deadline but keep a smile on your face when do make your entry and see the reaction of others.

This would set a trend. And you would Be THE Change. Worth trying.