Small screen star shines bright

Amit Sadh had all that makes a 'celebrity'. But a creatively challenging career is what his heart desired, and thus he took the leap from small screen to big screen to satiate the actor within. He shares his journey with Pratishtha Malhotra...

You were very active in sports and wanted to join the army. How did acting happen?
I don’t know! It just happened by default. One fine day I decided I wanted to be an actor and I just picked my bags and came to Mumbai. It was a very impulsive decision. I was just 20 then and threw myself into this ocean of madness. At that time some of my friends also mocked me and said that you can’t do it.

How did you keep yourself going despite being mocked about your decision?
I am a masochist. I enjoy it when people are mean to me. I like it when people talk shit about me. I like it when people say that you cannot make it because the more I hear that, the stronger I come back.

How do you feel when you look back today at your journey from TV to films?
It has been beautiful. As a creative person, time is something you don’t have to comprehend to. Nothing is time bound. It’s creativity. Till the time you’re honest with your thoughts, you grow. It’s not that easy though because people see the outcome of a certain event as success. It’s a journey in which you have to succeed.


How different is TV from films?
There is a huge difference. In TV, I don’t think there is any creativity because the objective in TV is not content or as an actor, to create something. People know you as the name of the character. Once your character goes, you go. In films, the creativity is to create a character, to live a character. So the emphasis is on the content and creativity. I don’t have anything against TV, but the kind of role and kind of characterisation I looking for, is only available in films.


When did you decide to give up on TV and try out in films?
I got bored doing serials. I was making a lot of money, but then I thought I’m not here to make money only. I am an actor and I am not acting. I was cheating myself and I wanted to grow. You can’t just go to a studio at 7am and come back at 10pm, get a pay cheque every month, drive a fancy car, live in a fancy house and think you’re growing. So that’s when I decided to make a move.


Was being a part of a bigger canvas challenging?
Yes. One tends to carry the same aura and the same mentality to films. When I left TV, I left my baggage. People knew me. I had done Guns and Roses, Nach Baliye and a lot of stuff on TV, but when I came to films I realised that I am a newcomer here. I was aware that I had to break my ego. I told myself that I am going to wait for three hours and I will get a lot of rejections. I prepared myself for it. I was ready to become zero again. I lost all my money, lost everything that I had, but it made me a better actor. Now I have realised that if you want to be a good actor, the more ‘zero’ you are the more you can pick up. The moment you get in awe of yourself, get arrogant or egoistic, you’ll die out.


Who has been your inspiration all these years?
It’s Amitabh Bachchan. If he’s not your inspiration then you can never be inspired. Then there’s Irrfan Khan and Vidya Balan. There are many other people too I get inspired from.


How has life been post Kai Po Che?
Oh! Brilliant (Laughs). It’s nice to get so much appreciation. Especially after failing miserably for five years, to get the kind of attention, love and acceptance with just this film is very humbling. I am living my dream.


How did you end up getting the film? We’ve heard that you, Sushant and Raj landed up together at Mukesh Chhabra’s office…
Mukesh Chhabra called us and whatever we did there, I think Gattu Sir ( Abhishek Kapoor) liked it and he gave me the film. I owe my life to him. There’s so much you can learn from him. He was a great source of inspiration. I got a lot of appreciation from a lot of industry people and I would not have done this without him. He told me that I would not get this kind of a role in years and I said, yeah! You’ve spoilt me.


Had you ever imagined that Kai Po Che would be such a huge hit?
We knew it from day 1. Not in an arrogant or an over confident way, but we knew what we are making. When we were making the film, the kind of hardwork and focus we put in, and when we saw the first cut, we knew that we had made a special film.


Did you in any way identify with the character you played?
I have nothing in common with him and for me acting is when you are not you. It was very difficult for me to disconnect from Omi even after the film. He was big, so I actually had to think differently. I became a bull even while thinking! Now Omi is gone so I am back to normal. It gives me a kick to portray or be somebody else.


What according to you is the best thing about being an actor?
It’s the learning. You’re continuously learning. That is for what I am here. Apart from that everything else is a by-product… the appreciation, fame, money. It’s not that I don’t want all that, but I am not headed for that. I wish to focus on my work and the rest will follow.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
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IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

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NSD & Bollywood - Gateway or road block ?

Monojit Lahiri talks to some ex-luminaries for insights into this tricky issue.

Do you really need to learn acting to make a name or big bucks in Bollywood? Did the Big 3 who dominated the 50’s, 60’s, even 70’s (Dilip-Dev-Raj) learn acting? Cut to 2013. Did any of the present Big 3 (SRK-Aamir-Salman) go to any acting institution? What’s the big deal about theatre academies and film schools like NSD and FTII, which generate such huge debates? Is NSD a garland or albatross around the neck of the graduates? Passionate and idealistic as many were, ultimately, isn’t Bollywood the only recourse? Did  their training help in breaking in and making a name that would offer them rewards – big bucks, super movies, respect and critical acclaim along with fan following – commensurate with the intense commitment and dedication they gave to their time spent in NSD?

What better way to kick off the debate by going to the go-to luminary, the greatest ad of NSD, Naseeruddin Shah. Did the acknowledged genius consider the years spent there as a nursery, training ground or time wasted? “I genuinely believe that too much is made of this training business. Remember the cardinal truth: Acting is always learnt, never taught. You can go to the finest acting school on earth and learn nothing! What it did teach Om (Puri) and me, however, was to mug up pages of dialogue quickly and deliver an effective performance. What the great Ebrahim Alkazi taught us was not how to act, but how to respond, imbibe and absorb an environment that reeked of drama.” Did NSD help him in Tinsel town? He frankly believed it didn’t and was a hindrance. “My training was constantly at war with what Bollywood perceived as good acting. It was, however, totally my fault. I was far too self-absorbed and blinkered and didn’t read the fine print that stated the kind of acting/performance B-town celebrated and mass audiences loved. The result was that while the Parallel Cinema, a tiny section of audiences and arty critics rooted for me, the mass-audiences rejected me, wholesale! Today if I have some audience – acceptability (having learnt the hard way!) NSD doesn’t really feature in it.”

Om Puri doesn’t quite buy into Naseer’s point of view. “Never was training more important and relevant than it is today. Biceps, aerobics, horse-riding and dancing are all very well, but what about the small matter of acting?! I am grateful to NSD because it gave me both, the training and the confidence to confront all odds and equipped me to face and overcome all challenges. It was Alkazi-saab’s encouragement that gave a Patiala-ka-chhokhra like me to go eyeball-to-eyeball with Jack Nicholson and Amitabh Bachchan.”

Anupam Kher, who was also head honcho of his alma mater for a while a few years ago, refuses to be reverential and calls a spade…a shovel! Kher believes that much has changed from then to now and puts his finger on attitude being the biggest problem. “Bollywood is a different space where actors are seldom familiar with either internationally revered – Ionesco, Chekov, Ibsen, Brecht, Stoppard, Osborne – playwrights or plays. To throw these names at them reeks of arrogance or a superiority/posturing that is neither required nor necessary to make your point. In fact, it puts them off and forces them to stay away from this snooty lot!  Confluence not conflict is the name of the game and it would be worthwhile emulating the icons of Hollywood – Brando, Pacino and De Nero, Olivier, Burton, even Hopkins, among others who brilliantly adapted from theatre to movies in seamless fashion without throwing attitude! It really would be ideal if, today, kids would concentrate on learning the basics of acting instead of constantly fantasizing how they can be the next SRK or Salman Khan. It’s sad to see this changed NSD.”  Pankaj Kapoor takes this lament forward. “While our mentor Alkazi saab had no grouses with B-town, he taught us that acting didn’t begin or end with Rajesh Khanna. He introduced us to the best of art, music, world cinema and the magic of great, powerhouse performances. However, times have changed. New themes, concepts and new-age directors continue to throw up new challenges. NSD needs to re-align its focus.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
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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Persistence paid off

On January 20 this year, TSI carried a cover story India’s other Shame: Missing Children in which our correspondent tracked down victims and highlighted how more than 60,000 children disappear every year in the country, most never to be recovered. Dishing out several heart wrenching and specific stories of lost children, the story slammed the police and media apathy. While kidnapped children belonging to upper class families drew their attention, the economically poor children continued to be sold as labourers or made to beg or sell drugs. TSI had done a story in 2008 on the issue which received appreciation but was also sniggered at the editorial decision to put it on the cover. The story did however give due credit to activists who have persisted with their demand for justice. TSI’s persistence bore fruit and some mainstream news organisations recently started to give the required coverage to the problem.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman

ExecutiveMBA

When GM went broke four years ago, not many gave it a chance to come back from rehab. Those Cassandras are now eating their words as the lumbering giant strikes back with a vengeance.
 
A lot has changed for General Motors (GM) since it went adrift in rough seas four years ago. In the summer of 2008, about a year before GM became a ward of the state, its CEO Rick Wagoner was desperate to catch at straws in a futile bid to prevent his company from going belly up. The financial results for the 2008 spring quarter left no one in doubt about GM’s bleak prospects: a $15.5 billion loss, its third-worst in a century. GM’s revenue in North America had fallen $10 billion y-o-y (33%). And for the first time, after donning the mantle of being the no.1 car maker in the world from Ford in 1931, GM lost that position to Toyota.

But the worst was yet to come. Finding itself at the end of financial tether, Wagoner flew to Washington DC, cap in hand, to ask for $10-12 billion of easy loans from the Fed. But his demeanour – flying in a private luxurious jet at the company’s expense – rubbed many in Washington the wrong way. In quick time, Wagoner was booted out and the doddering company was offered a lifeline in the form of government bailout funds after being put under bankruptcy court protection. GM declared in its filing that it had $172 billion in debt and $82 billion in assets. Its m-cap having plumbed the depths of investor confidence, stood at $2.21 billion in March 2009 when Wagoner departed. The value of GM stocks had cratered to $3.62 as against the trading levels of above $70 when Wagoner had joined as CEO in June of 2000.

Wagoner’s exit did not exactly move GM away from over the hump. Through the initial months of restructuring, the company became a revolving door for a succession of CEOs who drifted in and out without making an impression. It was only after Daniel Akerson arrived in September 2010 that the company once again rediscovered its competitive gene. Since then, the automaker, which had lost about $100 billion in the years before its 2009 bankruptcy, has been consistently profitable. In the latest quarter (Q4, 2011), GM made $1.7 billion in profits, besides having already repaid $24.1 billion of the $49.5 billion in government aid it had received. But the biggest icing on the cake was that GM’s worldwide sales rose 7.6% to 9 million vehicles in 2011, helping the auto major to once again grab pole position as the world’s no.1 car seller (a position it had ceded to Toyota in 2008). That’s surely a remarkable achievement for a carmaker that looked completely down in the dumps until two years ago.

The uptick in sales came about on the back of the strong showing by its flagship Chevrolet brand, which sold a record 4.8 million vehicles last year (more than total sales of brands like Nissan and Honda). European carmaker Volkswagen was the second-largest seller of vehicles worldwide whose sales rose 14.3% to 8.2 million vehicles followed by the likes of Toyota, which expects its 2011 sales to come in at around 7.9 million vehicles, down about 6% from 2010. Analysts attribute GM’s recent swell performance to its strong US and China operations. Being the two biggest markets for carmakers today, GM has done well to wedge the China market open in its favour by collaborating with its local partner (SAIC Motor Corp), a strategy that has paid off handsomely. In 2011, GM sold more than 2.5 million vehicles in China, registering an 8.3% increase from the previous year. In the North American home turf, GM clocked sales of over 2.5 million vehicles at a 13% growth trajectory last year.

According to Jeremy Anwyl, Vice-Chairman of Edmunds, GM was lucky to have come out of its bankruptcy and consequential restructuring at a time when global market conditions were once again turning favourable for the automobile industry. “The bankruptcy allowed GM to cut costs and fundamentally restructure its operations from a cost & incentives perspective.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
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Quest of the headless horseman...

China is overtaking India in its quest for growth by leaps and bounds, and it’s doing so by embracing innovation. However, except for a few instances, the ecosystem for fostering intellectual property continues to be dismal in India

Patents are funny little things. To understand what we’re trying to say, consider this – “A method for creating networking database containing a plurality of records for different individuals in which individuals are connected to one another in the database by mutual recognition of a relationship. This mutual recognition of a relationship is inferred by the possession of the Guest Key of one member by the other member. This paradigm for network expansion allows users to proactively grow their networks both using the site features and using tools they may be more familiar with, such as email, messaging, talking, etc.” If you’re feeling that we have crammed up a significant space with a definition straight out of a software programming manual, which for now makes no sense at all, then you’ll probably be shocked to know that this in summary is what defines a social network. This in fact is the abstract of the first ever social networking patent that was granted to inventors Jared Morgenstern and Edward Lim. The original assignee of the patent was Sixdegrees.com – a now defunct portal which was in some ways a shadow of what Facebook has evolved into. It was ahead of its time and therefore had to shut shop. However, the patent was later, in 2003, acquired by Reid Hoffman (Co-founder, LinkedIn) and Mark Pincus (Co-founder, Zynga) for $700,000 fearing that if resourceful players like Yahoo get their hands on it, they’ll bring the entire social networking ecosystem to a standstill for a significant amount of time. Their anxiety was compounded by the fact that most social networks during those days were start-up which were having trouble putting up money for basic infrastructure like servers. Had Yahoo (which was also a bidder) acquired the patent and gone on an offensive, these new businesses would have had no choice but to close down. For now, the owners of this seminal patent are, well, sitting on it. Pincus is out of the social networking business (before Zynga he had been a co-founder at a social network called Tribe.net). But Hoffman is very much on the same terrain. And his website LinkedIn is emerging as one of the most successful and sustainable social networks after Facebook. If for some reason he decides to sue Facebook, the latter will have no choice but to either settle down for an obnoxious amount or licence out some of its own patents in exchange for Hoffman’s.

In fact, very recently, Mark Zuckerberg experienced first hand what it might mean to get locked into a patent battle with a rival. After joining Yahoo, Scott Thompson – the now fired CEO – spearheaded the filing of a 10 patent infringement lawsuit claiming that Facebook had been violating Yahoo patents in the areas of news feeds, advertising and privacy settings. Instead of plunging into the battlefield Facebook agreed to licence its patents in exchange for Yahoo’s apart from strengthening the existing advertising and content sharing partnership. Before this unsolicited drama, the social network had to cough up $40 million to acquire some patents from Friendster (a social gaming site founded in 2002) in 2010. Now with privacy becoming a huge issue, Zuckeberg has finally managed to get a patent for ‘Dynamically generating a privacy summary’ which he had applied for in 2006. The patent defines the process of displaying a user’s profile based on his/her privacy settings. The development will help the now listed company by protecting a significant part of the social networking experience. Other social networks might have to eventually license out the patent from Facebook.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

The famine that India did not waste!

Between 1965 & 1967, the Government of India was up against an extremely daunting challenge – the Bihar Famine. It compelled the then PM Indira Gandhi to realise the importance of self sufficiency in food for India’s long term interests. This realisation led to the Green Revolution, and things were never the same

It was circa 1966-67. Anil Vibhakar, then a high school student, has chilling memories of the last famine that hit his home state Bihar, along with other parts of India. “Newborn babies and young infants cried and shrieked for their mothers’ milk. But young mothers were not in a position to generate milk in the absence of enough food,” he recalled.

Vibhakar, now a senior journalist based out of Gaya, also recalled how many people vomited after eating wheat chura. Ultimately, they developed a taste for it and mixed it with milk powder and also made kheer (Indian dessert) out of it. In adjacent Jehanabad, Bali Ram Mishra narrates how pregnant women were most affected in light of poor calorie intake and found it hard to deliver babies. Similarly, Vijendra Singh in Patna recalls how his grandfather failed to grow even a blade of grass and the family carried on for a few months with a reserve stock of food.

On account of a decline in death rates, India’s population grew from 300 million in 1947 to 500 million in the 1960s. This led to increased demand for food and India’s food imports rose from 1 million tonnes in 1950 to 10 million tonnes in 1966.

The genesis of the Bihar famine lay in the successive monsoon failures of 1965 and 1966 that affected south Bihar, currently Jharkhand. Some reports peg the total loss of lives at 2,500. The year 1965 was already a year of deficient rainfall. Then a double tragedy struck by way of floods in north Bihar and poor monsoons in the south.

As a result, foodgrain production declined to less than 25% of the normal in large parts of south Bihar. Annual production in Bihar fell from 7.5 million tonnes to 3.5 million tonnes and availability of foodgrains declined from 13.4 ounces to 6.5 ounces per head. Some 30 million people faced scarcity and famine with around 18.8 million cattle. Studies pointed out that food shortage in Bihar was significant in 17 out of 17 districts, with 9 districts producing less that 50% of normal output.

The Congress Working Committee decided to hike the central allocation to the state. In a month’s time, the allocation of foodgrains to Bihar from the central pool increased from 70,000 tonnes in October 1966 to 150,000 tonnes in December that year and further to 2,25,000 tonnes between April-October 1967. Thanks to the US Public Law 480 Program (PL-480), India got continued food supplies and the Bihar Famine did not precipitate a national calamity. PL-480 or Food for Peace is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for overseas aid. It was signed by then President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 after US produced surplus grain and as a result, global prices crashed. But PL 480 was given to countries that didn’t antagonise US geopolitical interests.

Food imports were used by US to arm-twist ‘non-aligned’ India into accepting its position. Leading US political scientist Paul R. Brass, in an article titled Political uses of Bihar Crisis: The Bihar Famine 1966-67, wrote: “Lyndon Johnson was known to be angry with Mrs. Gandhi (Indira Gandhi) and the Government of India for their disagreement with US Policy towards Vietnam and he adopted ‘short-tether’ policy of adjusting the release of aid, including food aid, to India...” The US still uses food imports as a diplomatic tool as is visible in recent cases of North Korea and Iran. It denies food even on commercial terms.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page 

The pro-India view

H.E. Peter N Varghese AO Australian High Commissioner to India

The India-Australia coal trade is a token of India’s growth story driven by huge domestic demand, which is one of the highest in the world. Earlier, the imported coal from Australia was mainly cocking coal used for domestic consumption but the future import usage would be centered on thermal power generation, another important prerequisite for India’s growth story. It would be myopic to look into India’s growth with quarterly or yearly results – India’s economy has undergone many twists and turns – from Hindu rate of growth to a fast paced one from the time of liberalization. That notwithstanding, a massive pool of young population would be the key to India’s success in the long run. In this age of globalization, India’s economy is not a phenomenon in isolation, rather its being impacted by the global economy and economic meltdown in Europe and North America always have a negative effect on it. The strength of Indian economy is based on certain factors viz. it is a consumption based economy, its high savings and high investment level, and then if it can win the challenge of education for its citizens. Economy is a part of an ecosystem and it does not exist independently. Economic growth and political stability are clearly inter-related. Further, India’s democracy is the pillar of strength for its economic advancement, which provides as shock absorbers, so that in the long term economic growth speeds up.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

How well can the takeovers be leveraged?

Godrej Consumer Products' deft acquisitions in the emerging markets and its sharp focus on select product categories have helped it pull off superlative performance in the FMCG space. But can GCPL transform itself into a truly world-class multinational?

Personal care and household goods maker Godrej Consumer Products has, over the years, continued to deliver high growth within the FMCG space, by acquiring new brands, entering new categories and building a robust market overseas. In fact, over the past three years it has managed 51% compounded annual sales growth and a net profit growth of 49% on a consolidated basis during the same period. Today, GCPL commands a 10.1% market share in the domestic soaps segment and is the leader in hair colours segment with a 29.4% share. With 100% acquisition of Godrej Sara Lee, GCPL is also the leader in household insecticide business, with 36.6% share in the domestic market.

The company posted a 36% increase in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012 at Rs.1.92 billion. In the year-ago period, the company’s consolidated net profit was Rs.1.41 billion. Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 increased 30.85% to Rs.13.23 billion as against Rs.10.11 billion in the same quarter in the year-ago period. For the fiscal 2011-12, consolidated net profit increased 41.19% to Rs.7.26 billion compared to Rs.5.14 billion in the previous fiscal. Its net sales grew 31.95% to Rs.48.50 billion during the fiscal, against Rs.36.76 billion in 2010-11. The strong numbers have helped move the GCPL scrip to new highs, and in past quarter it also outperformed the market, surging 22.48% as against 0.27% decline in the Sensex. Commenting on GCPL’s performance, Chairman of Godrej Group Adi Godrej said to B&E: “I continue to be very confident of the opportunities for GCPL both in India and overseas. We will continue to pursue a prudent but aggressive growth strategy through a blend of organic and inorganic initiatives.”

GCPL’s earnings have been strengthened by strong positive EPS (earnings per share) accretiveness of new acquisitions and excellent domestic business performance across all three categories of household insecticides, hair colour and soaps. While domestic business grew by 21% in the fourth quarter, the company witnessed healthy growth across core categories. Home care grew by 28%, more than 3x of the category growth of 9%, led by strong marketing investments and distribution synergies benefits. Soap sales growth was 30%, nearly 1.5x of the 20% value category growth and representing a volume growth of 17% against category volume growth of 4%. Sales growth of hair care products was 13%, led by Godrej Expert powder hair colours and Nupur natural mehendi.

Going ahead, the company apparently aims to continue seeking growth opportunities in these categories. “The macroeconomic environment is strong. We continue to explore opportunities to strengthen our presence and competitive position in the home care, personal wash and hair care space,” says Godrej. In line with this strategy, GCPL has set an ambitious target of growing 10 times over the next 10 years from its current turnover of over Rs.48.5 billion through acquisitions as well as normal expansion in both domestic and international markets. “We want to be 10 times bigger in size in 10 years’ time, which is a compound annual growth rate of about 26%,” says Godrej. Elaborating the strategy, he says: “We hope to achieve about 15% to 20% organic growth and the balance through inorganic growth... We hope to achieve about 15% to 20% organic growth and the balance through inorganic growth.”

Besides strengthening its domestic presence in soaps, household insecticides and hair colours, the company is pursuing growth through overseas acquisitions in a major way. The acquired companies are mostly in emerging economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The company has identified Africa as a key market for growth and is aiming to be the largest Indian FMCG firm on the continent. Last year GCPL had expanded operations in Africa with the acquisition of a 51% stake in African hair care company Darling Group Holdings, which operates in 14 countries across Africa, selling hair extension products under brand names like ‘Darling’ and ‘Amigos’. For the fiscal ended March 31, 2012, Africa contributed 23% to GCPL’s international business. In FY 2011-12, GCPL’s sales from its main international markets of Asia (excluding India), Latin America, Africa and Europe stood at Rs. 5.13 billion.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

 

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

"Despite opportunities, the company faces several risks"

Rick Summer, Senior Stock Analyst, Morningstar, talks to B&E's Amir Moin about the future prospects of the world's largest online social network

B&E: Do you think Facebook will be able to innovate on its business model with all the money it has raised from the IPO. If yes, how?
Rick Summer (RS): Facebook announced a new service called Facebook Exchange that allows advertisers to capture information about users’ browsing history and employ real time bidding strategies for more relevant ads on the Facebook website. The service is set to launch in the next few weeks. In our view, this service signals the most consistent trend that we expect for Facebook’s future – the company will need to continue investing in deep technology solutions to maximize the value of its user base to advertisers. Moreover, the company will need to marry the capabilities of ad formatting, measurement, relevancy, and reach for advertisers in order to achieve our forecast growth rates and continue the shift of advertising dollars from offline media to Facebook.

B&E: In its disclosures before the IPO, Facebook made it clear that revenue growth had declined from 155% to 45% and will continue to decline. What are your views on Facebook’s current business model. Do you think Mark Zuckerberg rushed with the entire IPO thing?

B Facebook’s platform capabilities provide important assets for growth and competitive advantage. We believe optimism is warranted, but the market may not appreciate several near-term challenges facing the company. First, there is a lack of best practices for advertisers to measure the return on their advertising dollar. In our research, advertisers and agencies have commented that the lack of standards or clear returns on investment in running social advertising campaigns presents a challenge, although the massive user base is too compelling to ignore. However, if agencies and advertisers are not able to develop acceptable tools for measurement, growth in social advertising may stall and the value of Facebook will be as generic as any other website that drives traffic.

B&E: How do you value the stock at the moment. What do you expect from Facebook in terms of growth and profitability?

RS: We value Facebook at $32 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $71 billion. Our valuation represents a multiple of 59 and 71 times our 2012 earnings per share and free cash flow estimates, respectively. In modeling the company, we forecast 10 years of financial statements. Admittedly, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the ultimate growth trajectory and profit profile of the company, but the exercise is important to us for several reasons. First, we believe the company will reach its structural maturity within 10 years, whereby it has normalised operating margins and cash flow yields. Second, understanding the size of the revenue opportunity at the end of our explicit forecast period helps quantify our level of optimism about the firm’s revenue potential. While we would not feel comfortable about our level of precision in forecasting the absolute level of revenue in three years, we do think our 10-year forecast results in a fair representation within a range of possible outcomes.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

“There are advantages not challenges”

Debjani Ghosh, MD of Sales & Marketing Operation, Intel South Asia, talks to B&E’s Amir Moin about the opportunities in the smartphone segment

B&E: Intel is one of the most innovative corporations of our time. It has been a pioneer when we consider the computing industry. As such, one would have expected Intel to launch their first smartphone processor with a more established brand like Samsung or at least someone like LG or Sony. Why was Lava chosen?
Debjani Ghosh (DG): We work with a variety of partners across markets. A lot of other people have asked me this question and I say “why not Lava?” There’s a strong alignment between Intel and Lava in terms of business orientation, what we want to achieve and how we can make an impact on the market.

B&E: Intel is the dominant force when we consider the PC market. You have benefitted tremendously from the proliferation of personal computers in the last few decades. The fact that you have a massive R&D budget, sets Intel apart in terms of product innovation. But the mobile market which consists of tablets and smartphones is a relatively new area for you. What are the challenges of catering to the mobile platform?
DG: There are advantages not challenges. And the advantages clearly support us. No one knows better than us about delivering performance. The only challenge is to reduce the power consumption because unlike PCs, smartphones and tablets do not have a motherboard. All the elements have to be incorporated onto a SoC (System on a chip). To address that, we are prepared to tap into the entire technology Intel has right now.

B&E: Up until today, the processor market was pretty much simple. Intel was content with the notebook PC market while ARM singularly catered to smartphone manufacturers through ecosystem partner like Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Samsung et al. But by launching the Atom Z2460 on Lava’s XOLO X900, Intel has made a bold move. How do you plan to differentiate the user experience of an Intel chip from the ones which have an ARM core?
DG: The user experience is not defined just by the processor powering the smartphone. It depends on a lot of other factors like the specification of the device, the OS being used and its compatibility with a host of applications. There are many devices available in the market today which enhance the user experience in terms of browsing speed etc. If we consider the smartphone we just launched – the Lava XOLO X900, it definitely stands out when you compare it to other smartphones in the same price band. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processors and comes packed with 1 GB of RAM. The smartphone demonstrates the power of Intel’s Hyper Threading technology which allows phenomenal multitasking without slowing the device. That means you can leave apps running in the background without actually worrying about the speed. It is the ease of use which defines user experience and with the XOLO X900, I think we have succeeded in delivering the standards which Intel represents.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Why Ms. Sandra Fluke is a slut

On February 29, 2012, Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh panned Georgetown University Law Center law student Ms. Sandra Fluke as being a “slut” and “prostitute”. The series of abuse and vitriolic attacks on her continued over till March 2, 2012. The apparent reason for the same was the testimony she presented before US House Democrats supporting insurance coverage on contraceptives.

“What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke, who goes before a Congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception.” The celebrity Conservative supporter Limbaugh followed up these statements in the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show with 45 more instances of direct attacks on the law student.

The resulting national furore was quite dramatic with international and national commentators lampooning Rush. But in as much as Democrats seized the emotion of the moment to slam Limbaugh (and gained galloping brownie points from women across America), the Republican response was mystically anaemic. While 75 Democrat lawmakers signed a covenant accusing Limbaugh’s comments as being “sexually charged, patently offensive, obscene [...] an abuse of public airwaves...”, Obama, who is looking at further improving his popularity among women, called up Sandra to comfort her. White House spokesman Jay Carney termed the attacks “reprehensible”. Minority leader Pelosi called the attack “obnoxious”. Republicans unfortunately capitulated. Mitt Romney simply said, “It’s not the language I would have used.,” Santorum even justified the attack, commenting, “An entertainer can be absurd.” Similar were the responses of other Republican leaders.

Undoubtedly, this was a defining incident for American women, irrespective of their religious ideologies, irrespective of their political orientations, and irrespective of their position on whether contraceptives should be covered under insurance or not. Republican leaders had deserted them, in principle if not in person. Limbaugh’s attacks on Ms. Fluke were not just about an issue of contraceptive insurance, but about an ad hominem argument that any woman who uses or requests contraception must have a questionable character. It was shocking that many Republican party members even justified the method in the madness. On that parameter, it lost a wide trust vote.

The AP-GfK poll for February 16-20 2012 shows Obama’s approval ratings among women at 53%, a gain of 10% since December 2011. The New York Times reported on March 10, 2012, “As per a New York Times/CBS News poll in mid-February 2012, women, who in a January poll had disapproved of Mr. Obama’s job performance by 48% to 46%, now approved of him by 53% to 38%... A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll this month showed that... While the president trailed Mr. Romney by six points among men, he had an 18-point advantage among women.”

There’s a growing thought among the common fence-sitting Republican supporter that if Mitt Romney does not get the party nomination, then they would vote for Obama. Such a thought process has suddenly gained a stronger following amongst women Republican supporters across America.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

B&E Indicators

Private charity contributions rise in India
Although the human conditions in India remain difficult for many, the attitude towards giving has certainly started to change. In fact, as a percentage of GDP, private charitable giving in India has increased 50% since 2006. Today private giving totals 0.3-0.4% of GDP in India. However, the country still lags behind when compared with the developed world. For instance, private giving in US accounted for 2.2% of GDP in 2009.

But, it’s still below the global standard

A prime reason for the disparity is that individual donations in India still constitute only 26% of all private contributions, way below the global standards. While in US individual charitable donations total as much as 75% of all private giving, in UK, it’s 60%. Moreover, the wealthiest Indians are still donating much less than (1.5-3% of annual income) their US counterparts, who contribute about 9% of their annual incomes.

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

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Mining: The Game has Changed

Revenue up by 32% to $400 billion, profit up by 156% to $110 billion, total assets approaching $1 trillion... as the numbers suggest the global mining industry is on a roll once again. And that’s despite all words of caution from the experts. Escalating commodity prices and increased production to meet the rising demand from developing countries has certainly done the trick for the miners. by karan arora

Miners on a high
Despite short term fluctuations in the market, the financial results of the top mining companies remained spectacular in 2010. With a total of over $400 billion, cumulative revenue (Top 40) of the global mining industry witnessed its highest level in the past decade. However, the revenue composition of the miners definitely witnessed a change as commodity prices sky-rocketed last year. In fact, with a price rise of 111% last year, iron ore’s share in overall revenue of the industry increased from 15% in 2009 to almost 20% in 2010. Such price rise also helped miners to book higher margins as the bottomline of the Top 4o in the industry surged by a mind-boggling 156% during the year. A 51% rise in production too helped the miners.

Focus is back on exploration
With demand picking up in the global market, miners have again increased their investment in exploration. According to Metals Economics Group’s World Exploration Trends 2011, the total global spend jumped to $12.1 billion in 2010, up from $8.4 billion in 2009. And interestingly, the top 40 miners took lead in this as they contributed to just less than 50% of the total exploration expenditure last year. However, gold and base metals remained the highlight of the year as 84% of the exploration expenditure was made in them only. But then, a stiff price rise in these commodities motivated the mining companies to enter into a race in order to control more and more mines of these commodities to have a better future.

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

 

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Global Development Horizons 2011

Amidst the transformative change that the global economy is witnessing, it is anticipated that within the next two decades the rise of emerging economies will inevitably have major implications for global economy and geopolitics. The world bank argues that a new world order with a more diffused distribution of economic power is emerging. B&E analyses the shift towards multipolarity.

The new Growth Poles

Over the course of two millennia, there have been several instances of shift in global economic powers. The period of China’s Tang dynasty to the Ming dynatsy (600-1600), saw to it that China was the dominant force in the global economy accounting for a quarter of the global growth. The Renaissance phase coupled with the advent of the industrial revolution saw the coming of age of the European economies (e.g. Italy, Spain, France , Great Britain). Post World War II, innovation and consumer demand propelled the United States to the position of world’s foremost economic power with Germany, Japan and the former Soviet Union playing pivotal roles. Post the financial crisis of 2008-09, the global economy is tilting towards new growth poles.

Dynamics of Growth Poles

In the wake of the financial crisis, the global macro-economy is apparently poised to follow a two-track course. Considering the baseline scenario, the World Bank estimates that the emerging economies’ share of global output will expand in real terms from 36.2% (in 2010) to 44.5% by 2025. A closer scrutiny reveals that China will lead this impressive rise in share of global output. What is interesting to note is the fact that despite the demography driven changes (the old age dependency ratio in China is expected to double between 2010 and 2025), China will be able to maintain its comparative advantage in manufacturing. Consistent with historical productivity trends, India’s annual growth in 2025 will be 5.4%.

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

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)

Andreas Schaaf, President & MD,BMW India

Andreas Schaaf, The Man in Charge of BMW India, Discusses his Company’s Product Portfolio Expansion, Distribution Network and sales Target Strategies with B&E’s Pawan Chabra. Question is: Will Schaaf’s India Plans Work?

The past 10 months have been a smooth drive for BMW India – an 81.41% y-o-y increase in sales in the luxury car market, with a 95.73% increase in production volumes. It has not been all marked with subtlety though. [During the period, BMW outsold the erstwhile #1 Mercedes Benz India by 213 units.] And given the strong December 2010 launch of the X1 (in terms of market response), the March 2011 unveiling of the 6-Series convertible and the fact that BMW is now planning to launch one of its best-selling SUVs by mid-2011 – the X3 – in India, much more is expected from the German. But competitors, who have failed to capitalise on their first mover advantage, will try and force a stalemate situation. Will BMW yield to peer fights? Not if it gets its sales & manufacturing plans in place. And this is what Andreas Schaaf – the man in charge of BMW India – hopes to get lucky with.

B&E: Late last year, BMW India announced the launch of its in-house financial services arm, BMW Financial Services, that was meant to enable it to launch tailor-made financial offerings. Not much has been spoken about it. Any numerical proof to support the advantage of this initiative?
Andreas Schaaf (AS): The performance of the financial arm has been overwhelming. In the first two months of this calendar year alone, our Financial Services arm accounted for 50% of the total sales for BMW India. You are right – the presence of our in-house financial services arm gives us independence to launch tailor-made services, which is not possible with an external partner. Moreover, it helps in accelerating the entire sales process.

B&E: In the past 10 months alone, you sold 6000-plus units. Better still, the luxury car market in India also grew at a double-digit rate, which is expected to continue for many years. What would be your projected annual sales figure, say nine years later, in 2020?
AS: The Indian luxury car market has grown at a strong double digit growth in recent years. The sales figure stood at about 15,000 at the end of 2010. We believe the segment will touch unit sales of over 1.5 lakh units by the end-2020. And considering that we would not like to lose our #1 position and market share that moves in the range of 35-40%, we plan to be selling close to 60,000 units by the end of 2020.

B&E: “Bullish estimate” we must say. Would it not prove a case of counting the crops before the monsoons?
AS: The industry is expected to grow by 30% in 2011. We sold 6,426 units in 2010 and are confident of keeping in pace with the industry growth rate. Product and sales strategy will be key for us. We recently launched the 6-Series convertible and plan to launch the X3 by mid-2011. So, if our product launch plans go well, we should be able to outperform all estimates.

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

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)