IIPM- News Articles: August 2010

Saturday, August 28, 2010

IIPM [ Live ] - IIPM Bhubaneshwar - Panel Discussion on the topic, “Advertising: Is it all about creativity or strategy”

On 10th July 2010, 4ps Club of IIPM Bhubaneshwar organized a Panel Discussion on the topic, “Advertising: Is it all about creativity or strategy”. The guests for the event were Mr. Prasanna Panda, Response Head- Indian Express, Mr. Debasish Sahu, Branch Manger- PPS Bhubaneshwar and Prof. Surya Das Mohapatra who played the role of moderator in the entire event.

Both the speakers had stressed on the core importance of the verticals of their respective industries. Mr. Prasanna Panda was very explicit and clear about his views on how an adjustable and practical balance has to be maintained when thinking of the success of an advertising campaign. Mr. Sahu of PPS was also very clear in explaining different attributes that influence the advertising industry. His clear distinction of strategy and creativity and how the combination of both the concepts has turned around the thinking in advertising industry was beautifully emphasized by him.

Students were delighted to be among the guests and thoroughly enjoyed the question and answer round. It was a real value addition for the young & dynamic future managers as they had got a 360 degree view of the Advertising Industry.

Friday, August 27, 2010

IIPM National News - Independence Day Celebrations at IIPM Lucknow

“At the stroke of midnight India will see a new dawn….” said Jawaharlal Nehru on the night of 14th August, 1947. Today we Indians celebrate that golden moment with the same unmatched enthusiasm that they did 63 years ago.

IIPM Lucknow joined the caravan of celebrations by hosting a function on 14th August 2010. The Students’ Council celebrated the Patriotic eve by participating in competitions like collage making and singing. The topic of Collage Making was “Swadeshi Marketing" and it was won by Vivek Pant and Khushboo Chatlani of PGP/SS/10-12.

Besides this, to get the feel of the day, everyone had adorned the tricolors wherein the most creatively dressed students won awards for their dresses which matched the theme. The selected people had to perform as per their preferences i.e. sing, or speak on something in relevance to Independence Day. Himanshu Singh of PGP/SS/10-12 bagged the title of Best Dressed Student.

Management School - IIPM - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Ashim Mathur

Director Marketing, Microsoft EDD India

He leads the hard part of Microsoft (literally!!!). Ashim Mathur is the man in charge of driving the business of Microsoft Xbox 360 and the input devices division. Besides that, he is also bringing out detailed strategies for Microsoft at the retail and the shopfront level. Under his leadership, the Xbox has attained significant traction via a slew of launches marketing campaigns and online initiatives. Even the hardware devices are attracting consumer preference despite being priced at some premium in a largely commoditised market. At the front end, Mathur is extremely positive with respect to the increase in usage of genuine Microsoft Office software, from nearly 0% to around 20%.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“We will change your outlook” – The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read…

The Sunday Indian:-

B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!

For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine’s B School Ranking Scam Exposed

Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor

Don’t trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education

IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years

TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. – For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Thursday, August 26, 2010

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Amit Syngle

VP, Sales & Marketing, Asian Paints

Amit Syngle has added even brighter colours to the Asian Paints stable ever since he took over the reigns as VP, Sales and Marketing in 2008. Asian Paints won the Web Marketing Association’s Web Award 2008 for outstanding achievement in web development in the Consumer Goods Standard of Excellence category. The high point has been the launch of the signature store ‘Colour with Asian Paints’ in Mumbai to give the consumers an experience into diverse colour themes and ranges. Similarly, he has spearheaded the recent Apex Ultima campaign targeted at high end users. Thus, Syngle continues to ensure that A-Paints (as it’s called in the circles) continues to shine brightly in its flock.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

A. S. Mehta

Director – Marketing, JK Tyres

It was when an Army officer contacted the company asking for a replacement of a tyre that he claimed to be a defective piece. However, when we started doing the investigation, it was found that it wasn’t a defect; rather it was because of an external injury. But we decided to replace the tyre and it was decided that we will replace a tyre immediately if a complaint comes from an Army officer with no question being asked. It is a particular moment that I feel is very close to my heart as at JK Tyres, it is our small tribute to the Nation.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Hitesh Oberoi

Director & COO, naukri.com

The most memorable marketing moment for us has to be definitely the launch of “Hari Sadu” campaign who with time became synonymous with rude, ill-tempered bosses. It was the turning point for Naukri.com, as it not only took us to a next level, but also gave a strong brand recall which is quite evident till today. The character and campaign got such a wonderful response that our job-search portal, which initially positioned itself as the complete and final solution to all with Sadu-like boss, has again relaunched the character for more fun, now when jobs are back!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Rahul Agarwal

Executive Director – WW IMC and Marketing Services, Lenovo

The day we kicked off the global marketing hub in Bangalore for Lenovo worldwide, June 1, 2007 would perhaps be the highpoint of my career, symbolically. It was a pioneering model; no one before has had the vision to this level of marketing at a global level, which could cover not only strategy but also execution. We manage marketing communications for over 50 countries and meet their needs right from a product brochure to TVCs. We make global campaigns, but we also try to localize them. We also do market research, analytics; launch management and competition analysis at a global level. Our objective now is to further sharpen and perfect this model. The challenge always is how to strike the right balance between global consistency and local relevance.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

MOVEMENT FROM MASS MEDIA TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media has become the highlight for marketers using Digital Media. While TV took 13 years to reach 50 million users, it has taken the Internet only 4 years.

‘Ignition’ is the first Digital Media Internship Program to be launched, which focuses on rigorous on-the-job training and handling real projects, which will enable interns to fit into any digital agency or a marketing role from the time they graduate.

It is designed to evolve professionals for the digital world. It is the perfect platform for graduates and young professionals pursuing a career in the online industry that will also aim at honing their skills to prepare them for being part of the industry. ‘Ignition’ is a ten month program, where in the first three months the interns will work with various online divisions, which will include creative, web development, client servicing, business development, strategy, search marketing, social media optimisation & online media. The next six months, the interns choose their area of specialisation in client servicing, search and social marketing or online media and work on live projects. The last month is dedicated towards gearing up for placements, where the most interesting and promising aspect about the programme is the guaranteed job in leading online agencies and companies.

The entire program is also certified by the IAMAI – The Internet and Mobile Association of India, and interns will receive a joint certification from Ignition and IAMAI at the end of the program.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Will India really be Incredible this year?

With three blockbuster events unfolding in 2010, the Indian hospitality & tourism sector is the catchphrase for the world for this year. Marketers have to ensure that they milk this opportunity to unleash fast paced, sustainable growth

NET BOOKING

INTERNET TO THE RESCUE

According to IRCTC data, Online Travel portals have grown by 20% irrespective of the fact that the travel and tourism industry didn’t see any growth last year. By cashing in on business travellers, the Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) prevented major setbacks in 2009. And with the economy bouncing back, players have huge expectations from 2010. The OTA fraternity believes that the volume of consumers switching over to online tools for their travel related buying is proliferating every year. So can we catch up with world’s largest online travel market – US? “Not really, but the ‘offline to online shift’ has been the fastest ever in the Indian market, with over 40% growth,” answers Deep Kalra, Founder & CEO of MakeMyTrip.com. The company is extrapolating a growth of 25% this year. New kids are also scrambling to beef up their presence. One such player is Travelocity, which is aiming for a growth of 20% during the Kumbh Mela and Commonwealth Games. In the same league, Cleartrip has seen the first profitable month in January 2010. And Ezeego1is enhancing its product offerings by offering more value added product to corporate travellers.

TRAVEL ACCESSORIES

TO KEEP YOU COMPANY

“We would be rolling out a new collection during the summers and it’s not because of Commonwealth Games, but we are expecting a major growth this year as the travel sector is going to boom,” announces Subrata Dutta, COO, Samsonite South Asia.

As the travel buzz gains momentum in the course of the year, travel accessory manufacturers are expectedly seeing a wonderful opportunity to crank up those sales targets. Samsonite is planning to roll out its collection and has set aside a portion of its advertising budget to promote these products. Samsonite is not an exception; with recession finally bidding adieu and travel & tourism showing a sunny signal, many travel accessory companies are readying themselves to cash in on this opportunity.

Starting from sports brands to glares, from global giants to desi brands; all are in a spree to bank in on the travel quotient of Indian consumer. “It’s not always the travel quotient, summer is also another reason and our merchandise is for summer travels,” says Rajiv Mehta, CEO of Puma Sports India Pvt Ltd. From cargos to ruck-shacks, Puma is bringing out a range of products and the German headquarters has even given instructions to promote these products specifically to the tourists traveling during Commonwealth Games. In the same league, VIP Industries, whose growth plans was affected during last year’s slowdown, is now gearing up with its new luggage collection and to sharpen its edge of plastic moulded suitcases, the company is enhancing the same product portfolio with vibrant colours. Ray Ban does not have specific plans for the summer time but for travellers they are coming out with a sales promotion offer during April. Even if they do not convert to immediate numbers, the games will provide invaluable visibility for firms who are targeting the Indian market.

Neha Saraiya and Angshuman Paul

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Thursday, August 19, 2010

WHAT’S BUZZING THE BUZZ?!

Be it handycams, mobile phones, laptops or the latest hot wheels, all of them created enough waves in the Indian market in the last fortnight.

Samsung B5722

Next is Here: Samsung has added a new phone to its series of new launches. Samsung B5722 is a phone with the Dual SIM-Touch Screen technology. It provides the user with an advantage of using 2 SIM cards along with the touch screen technology. The phone offers a 2.8” touch screen display, 8 GB expandable memory, 13.4 hours of talk time and a brilliant 3D sound output.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Dual SIM- Touch Screen
3D Sound Output
3MP Camera
13.4 Hours Talk Time
Price: Rs. 11,680

TRANSCEND

PF830

Cheerful Memories: Transcend has launched a digital photo frame which displays digital photos with the same sharpness and rich colours as the high quality prints provide. It has a 2GB of internal memory and supports almost all types of memory cards and storage devices. The PF830 has 8’’ digital LCD panel with 800x600 resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio which allows minimal distortion of your digital images.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

2GB Internal Memory
8’’ digital LCD panel
800x600 resolution
Price: Rs. 8,000

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

As many as 16 players vying for the attention of consumers in a market, how can anyone get noticed? Ask Indian telecom service providers and they will tell you how…

“There is no hour of waking life in which we are not besought, incited, or commanded to buy something of somebody.” Sound familiar? Samuel Hopkins Adams, the famous advertising expert of his time, had made this remark in 1909, an era when advertising and marketing was still in its uncluttered infancy. More than 100 years have passed, but the statement seems as relevant as it was then. In fact, as clutter turns out to be the great media boogeyman of our time (as Marc E. Babei, Forbes.com’s marketing columnist puts it) and marketers its puppets, the significance of this statement has only increased manifolds with question remaining the same: How to get a hearing amidst the entire hubbub? And this holds true even for the Indian telecom industry whose growth story has said to have defied the fundamental rules of the game!

The reason as to why we can say that with élan is based on the fact that as of today there are as many as 16 players (including brands like Airtel, RCOM, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Tata Indicom, Aircel, Uninor and Tata DOCOMO) in the Indian telecom arena vying to catch the attention of the subscribers, but with very little differentiation, both in terms of product offerings and services. This wouldn’t have been a big problem for these players if everything would have remained the same as it is now. But with mobile number portability (MNP) making its way to the Indian telecom arena anytime soon, it would become imperative for these players to have a strong brand aura so that they can not only lure new customers, but at the same time remain connected with their existing customers. “Surely MNP will be an advantage to all, operators and customers alike. However, only those brands that deliver superior mobility experience to customers and create a strong brand connect will be able to sustain the initial benefits derived from MNP,” says Allan Bonke, Executive Vice President, Delhi Hub, Uninor. Indeed true! But then, there lies the challenge: With as many as 16 players vying for the attention of consumers, how can anyone get noticed?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

WHAT’S BUZZING THE BUZZ?!

Be it handycams, mobile phones, laptops or the latest hot wheels, all of them created enough waves in the Indian market in the last fortnight.

ThinkPad X100e

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
• AMD Athlon Processors
• 11.6 inch HD Display
• Price: Rs.29,950 onwards

THINKING ABOUT THE THINKPAD?: ThinkPad X100e is the first professional ultra portable laptop from Lenovo in India. This latest offering comes with a 11.6-inch HD (1366x768) LED backlight 200 nit, 4GB (2 SD-DIMM slots) memory, carries a turion dual core processors, and comes with a 3 cell battery for the Indian user.

SONY W380

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
• 14.1 Mega Pixel
• 5x Optical Zoom
• 6.9 cm LCD
• G Lens
• Price: Rs.14,990

TIME TO SAY CHEESE: Sony India has added a new digital camera to its highly acclaimed Cyber-shot series. The new W380 is a 14.1 mega pixel camera with 5x optical zoom, G lens, 2.0 Hi-Speed USB, 6.9 cm LCD, with 110 minutes (220 shots) of battery backup.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Can Shera add shine to Brand India?

The first is undoubtedly what can be seen and felt – fractured infrastructure! As per a recent survey conducted by HVS Hospitality Services, only 69% of the 100 projects that were announced for the Games in 2007, have actually been launched. Similarly, only 53% of the proposed supply of 16,560 rooms that were to come up in the Delhi-NCR areas will be ready by October 2010. Thus for the CWG 2010, only 5,700 rooms will be made available – a shortfall of about 15,000 rooms! Of course, this presents great opportunities for the small and mid-sized hoteliers, as Peter J. Leitgeb, CEO & President, Claridges Hotels and Resorts, says, “Yes, we are also looking forward to CWG 2010 in a big way and why not when the Government has taken all necessary steps to ensure that private entities come forward. But again, I think marketers are getting too optimistic about the CWG 2010 event...”

The second issue is that of poor build-up of the brand ‘CWG 2010’. Although the CWG governing body has already raised $60 million by selling-out TV rights to the broadcasters in Australia & UK, the figure represents a minor poportion of even the $2.6 billion loan taken from the Government. Talking about this lackadasical approach to the branding of the whole event, Latika Khaneja, Director, College Sports Management, explains, “When a country promotes such a stately event, then the planning should be done in 5-6 years in advance, like it was done with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when even the key store chains at streets were branded for the big event. Thus, you first build on the ‘event’ brand and only then can you expect corporates to be interested in it, as they would never desire any association with such a loss-making proposition. But in our country, the officials were/are just so engrossed in dealing with basic infrastructural issues that they have totally neglected the branding and marketing part of the event.”

All said and done, the grand event is finally just months away. But with just four official sponsors, shortage of hotel rooms (which of course is a case long lost), metro-rail construction still in progress and bureaucracy playing spoilsport, brand India Inc. will need to pull all its might into supporting the government efforts, if they really wish to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity. Yes, infrastructural and developmental delays can’t be simply wished away. But also cannot be ignored is the fact that if there is any state or city that can pull this mammoth event off, it is New Delhi. And truly, things just might work out in time. Our take: Godspeed Shera!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

“Funding is the major roadblock!”

He sold his well set up business in 2007, that made him once the market leader and decided to venture into a sector that was only talked about and not explored. Today with Indosolar, he is the largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic cells in India, ahead of firms like Moserbaer and Tata BP Solar. Set to hit the market with his maiden public issue, Hulas Rahul Gupta, MD, Indosolar, discusses his future plans to B&E’s Deepak Ranjan Patra

B&E: You were the market leader in the compact fluorescent lamps and halogen lamps category when you decided to make an exit from the particular business. Why did you take such a decision?
HRG: By the end of 2006, there were a lot of activities going on in the PE arena, especially in the automotive segment in the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the offers were for growth capital and we were not in the growth capital space. So, it was all a matter of valuation. We analysed it very professionally and the valuation was really good. The share price was around Rs. 85 and the selling was Rs 200 a share. We also believed that the sharehoders were getting a good amount and it was a win-win situation. So we decided to move out from the sphere.

B&E: Just two years back, you entered the photovoltaic cell-making business and now you are the leader with controlling 40% of the country’s annual cell-making capacity. How has been the journey so far and what was the strategy that worked for you so well?
HRG: After Phoenix, one of the areas where we started looking business opportunities, was global warming and climate change. In thge mean time, we came across solar technology. The more we looked at it more we liked it. It was seriously a capital intensive business. But at the same time, we decided that we must bring in concurrent technology to India, so that it has a higher domestic demand in future. From that point of view, we entered into solar technology. From the beginning itself, we wanted to go for scale. So, at a time when 10 MW unit was considered big, we opted for a plant with 200 MW capacity.

B&E: You are planning to launch a public issue shortly. Does it aim at scaling up your capacity alone?
HRG: After looking at the governments’ incentive policy, which allows a capital subsidy of 25% on capex of Rs. 1,000 crore, we thought we must apply for the same. Thus, we decided to increase our footprint to 360 MW at a total cost of Rs. 1,545 crore. With this IPO, we are planning to accomplish the second phase of our expansion by adding 100 MW capacity.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Race to sign Priyanka!

Director Abbas Mastan is trying to rope 27-year-old Priyanka Chopra in a sequel of the hit action flick Race that was released in 2008. While Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have already been signed for the movie, it is Priyanka’s sex appeal that’s drawing Mastan to get her on-board as soon as possible. Intended to be slicker than the 2008 film, with Piggy Chops it will definitely be sexier!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

“Intel and Qualcomm are two different competitors!”

B&E: AMD is investing heavily on server & graphic technology. What’s all the talk about your new ‘Vision’ approach that follows the ‘Fusion’?
Seyer: We are seeing strong demand in a variety of markets, including a rebounding server industry that is being driven by cloud computing and virtualisation, among other technologies. On the graphics side, there’s unprecedented demand for immersive graphic experiences, be it gaming, video or otherwise. In fact, in just the three months after the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series, the first DirectX 11-capable graphics products from AMD, we have shipped more than 2 million DX11 cards. In 2009, we introduced Vision Technology from AMD, a new way of communicating with consumers, retailers and PC manufacturers that breaks the traditional model of how PC benefits are communicated by emphasising real-world usage models that communicate the value of the whole system, not technical specifications. The positive response to the Vision approach prompted the launch of Vision Pro at The Consumer Electronics Show 2010, which expanded the program to AMD’s enterprise customers. At CES, Lenovo debuted its first AMD-powered ThinkPad notebooks, using Vision Pro.

B&E: Intel & Qualcomm are two of AMD’s biggest competitiors. What challenges do they pose to AMD?
Seyer: Intel and Qualcomm are two different competitors, but we welcome fair and open competition. The former is well established in the computing market, and the latter is not established in computing, but is well established in the communications market and is just beginning to enter the computing market through smartbooks. The key to success won’t be based on past achievements, but on forward-looking innovations and through our Fusion approach, we have plenty of capability and assets to lead in our target markets. The semiconductor market has always been, and always will be fiercely competitive, but AMD is keenly focused on what we need to do to succeed.

B&E: After 12 quarters, AMD returned to profits in Q4, 2009. What were the most recent strategiec changes that have helped AMD’s cause?
Seyer: We took steps to streamline the company, including revitalising the executive team & board with a series of strategic appointments, reducing company debt, refocusing on design & the spinning-off of AMD’s manufacturing capabilities in 2009. These, and many other advances, have put AMD in a strong market position to compete.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

“India is an excellent fit..."

GE India CEO John Flannery affirms that the country is at an early stage of devel opment and GE has a number of solutions for its growth problems in an interaction with virat bahri of B&E

B&E: GE India's financing business faced a number of delinquencies in the past. How are you going to address that situation now?
JF: The whole industry - especially in the unsecured consumer sectors - has seen higher than normal delinquency in the past 24 months. We have dealt with it in the "old fashioned" way in terms of just adding a lot of resources and focus to the situation but also using our global best practices to apply technology based initiatives to reduce delinquency. The worst is behind us for sure at this point and we were solidly profitable in the first quarter of 2010. Going forward,we want to remain an active player in financial services in India. We will continue to build out our partnership with SBI and invest in sectors where GE has significant expertise like infrastructure, energy, health care and aviation. We are also interested in continuing our history of making private equity investments - we've done a significant number of deals over the last 10 years with very strong returns - we would definitely like to see more of those opportunities.

B&E: GE has traditionally been famous for aspiring to be among the top three in every market it enters. Where does your company stand with respect to that philosophy when it comes to the Indian market?
JF: Our overall agenda is to become a much bigger player in India than we have been historically. As much as India has grown in the past decade, it is still in the very early stages of its long-term development. To achieve our agenda, we will be focused on enhancing our local product development and marketing capability, expanding our technology and manufacturing base and seeking to partner with leading Indian companies where that makes sense. As with any successful organisation, making sure we attract, develop and retain the absolutely best human resources is of paramount importance. When we look at where we are today in India, we are not fully satisfied. There is no shortage of opportunities in India, and there is a good fit to become two or three times the size we are today. We have had solid success in many areas but given the opportunities in this country and their excellent fit with our areas of strategic focus, we should be doing more — significantly more.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Israel: Keep the faith

Masada, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the complex of palaces and fortifications built by King Herod, stands on a horst on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert. The place was scene to a two-year-long siege by Roman forces during the First Jewish-Roman War. At the end of the two years, the Roman garrison went for an all out offensive, leaving the 900-odd Sicarii rebels with the only option of surrender. The rebels opted for mass suicide and the Romans occupied the City of the Dead. Till date, the opulent baths, storage houses and the hanging palace of Herod stand firm, beautiful witnesses to a horrific and heroic act in defence of faith. This was a heavy experience too. Today, members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) hold their swearing-in ceremony on the top of Masada. It ends with the pledge: “Masada will not fall again.”

The coastal city of Haifa is Israel’s largest port. Standing on the top of the Bahai centre, one can see the marina, the port, and the hills beyond which lies rocket-spewing Lebanon. Haifa is a typical middle class city, centre of the Bahai faith, famous for its art centre, roadside art exhibits, writers, filmmakers and intellectuals. Haifa is the liberal centre of Israel, and the Left including the communists are a force here to be reckoned with. It is a city where we started shedding the load gathered in Jerusalem and Masada. A 40-km drive away stands the Roman capital of Caesarea with its re-built crusader’s city, velodrome and the ancient harbour where ships of the Empire would once berth.

The Israelis say: “You pray in Jerusalem, stay in Haifa and play in Tel Aviv.” True to the hilt, Tel Aviv is everything that stands for degeneration to the orthodox Jews. Considered a hedonist’s pleasuremax paradise,with its numerous bars, nightclubs, lap dance bars and striptease joints, Israel’s second-largest and most modern city literally never sleeps. People are more cosmopolitan, fashionable and friendly. While the evenings are perfect for the spectacular Mayumana show in old Jaffa, the sea-front promenade, an endless sea of restaurants and cafes, is the right place to spend a lazy day.

Israel is a foodie’s paradise as Jews, when they came from different parts of the world, brought their respective food habits. It is a world food station with a Mediterranean undertone. For outsiders, it is important to know whether a place is Kosher. Kosher places don’t serve meat and dairy together. The wine produced in Israel is at par with the world’s finest. From taking one to the lowest point of the Earth to the highest reaches of the spirit, Israel is a nation like none other.

Tathagata Bhattacharya