Microsoft should takeover Yahoo!!!

Over the past few days, the internet search turf has been heating up. And the evolving dynamics are changing at such a fast pace that it is becoming increasingly difficult for analysts to predict the final outcome. The recent bid by Microsoft on Yahoo would not have come as a surprise to anyone as for long it had been talked about. It all started on the 1st of February, when Microsoft, the software giant, made a staggering $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo (at $31 per share – a 61% premium on Yahoo’s previous week’s closing price).

For long, Microsoft, a compulsive monopolist in the software market, has been feeling very uncomfortable with Google’s growing dominance in the internet space. It is no secret that in the internet space, Google had been a clear market leader cornering almost 60% of the web searches on the internet, followed by Yahoo and Microsoft’s MSN Live at a distant 20% and 7% respectively. This enviable position that Google has been commanding has given the company an indisputable control over the advertisement market. And much to Microsoft’s displeasure, Google has been using its monopoly position in controlling the online advertisement revenues to such an extent that it alone manages to corner almost 42% of the ad dollars, which Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL put together earn. And that’s not all, Google’s online ad revenues have been growing almost at 30% annually! Such is the growing dominance of Google that Microsoft for long had become a follower in this virtual duopoly market. So much so that since 2004, for every acquisition that Google did, Microsoft did another.

So as Google bought Marratech, YouTube, Android, Orkut and the likes, Microsoft followed it up with Unified Communications, Soapbox, MessageCast Inc., Facebook respectively. But that’s not all, Google had been giving sleepless nights hitting into Microsoft’s bread and butter software business by offering free solutions. Consecutively, for long, Microsoft had been eyeing an opportunity to strengthen its own position; and what better than this opportunity to bid for Yahoo, and that too exactly when Yahoo had shown disappointing results in January when its share prices fell to a four year low, wherein the company announced its plan to retrench 7% of its workforce.

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.
 

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

Industrial infection

MNCs are hailed as national treasures but their devil-may-care attitude results in tragedies, making them global shame

globalisation is inevitable as we reside in ‘global village’. And the entities which benefit the most, perhaps, out of this phenomenon are modern day centres of affluence & influence – MNCs. As they profit and in the process, enhance employment and production, goes unnoticed is that their drive to profit, which leaves the rest in pain, is their lack of concern and efforts towards safe working of their industrial units, across the globe. While a McKinsey report has exemplified that cumulative market value of top 10 Fortune 500 companies is equal to combined GDP of India & Brazil or total forex reserve of six leading Gulf oil exporting countries in 2006, but their irresponsible, greedy & biased business policies and activities without considering people, environment & legal aspects, have brought apocalypse in form of fatal industrial accidents, environmental hazards, affecting millions in myriad other ways.

Start with Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984; which is the most horrifying industrial catastrophe in history, claiming between 3,000 and 20,000 lives, leaving thousands with serious diseases and injuries. The reaction of Dow Chemical, the global giant providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services and responsible for this industrial catastrophe, publicly disowns its accountability. Moreover, it tried to console affected families with mere $300-$500. And when nearly 200 women protested against Dow for its meagre liability and for not really taking any proactive mechanisms to clean up the area stacked with dangerous toxic waste which spreads many gas related diseases in the small town Bhopal, it has sued them for raising voice against the company using it’s political, monetary & muscle power.

When an explosion and fire ruined a fireworks factory belonging to Bright Sparkles Sdn. Bhd. at Sungai Buloh, Malaysia in 1991, causing 22 deaths & injuring 103, Bright Sparkles remained lukewarm in helping victims and their families and compensating the environmental damages it has caused.

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.
 

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

Maya cocks a snook

In a deft, low key move, UP introduces Dalit quota in private sector through state Cabinet

You could call it job reservations through the backdoor. While much debate has been generated in the media and the public on the subject of introducing job reservations in the private sector after the UPA Government made noises to that affect after coming to power in 2004, the verdict on the proposal has largely been unclear. There are a set of effective speakers on both sides who have held the debating floor in television studios – but nothing more serious than that.

Now UP Chief Minister Mayawati threatens to upset the applecart. In keeping with her style, last week the UP Cabinet cleared a proposal that could have far-reaching ramifications as far as job reservations go in the private sector go. In the process, it has given a new meaning to the concept of public-private-partnership (PPP). Under this important partnership programme – which is increasingly becoming part of the official-business lexicon – the UP Cabinet declared job reservations for Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the private sector. As ever, Mayawati is not the one to get too involved in polemics and debate or get cowed down by an impasse.

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.
 
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

Just a tax cut by the MoF and India Inc. would take care of our existing socio-economic ills!!!

This New Year brings some outstanding news for the Ministry of Finance, as direct tax collections have gone up by a staggering 40% for the period from April 1, 2007 to December 15, 2007. Though year on year the direct tax collections have been growing, but that has been nothing like the manner it has grown this year. In fact, the net tax collections stood at a whopping Rs.164,407 crore, up from Rs.115,377 crore during the same period last year (a growth of almost 42.5%; achieving almost 62% of the budgeted direct tax revenue for the current fiscal). And the bigger news is – of this overall collection, corporate tax alone has registered a growth of 42.37% with respect to last year.

So, as the coffers of the Ministry of Finance are jingling, the old debate of reduction of corporate tax rate has again come to the forefront. And speculations are ripe that the Ministry might bring down corporate tax rates from the existing 30% (in fact 33.99%, if one takes surcharge & cess into account) to 26% in the forthcoming Union Budget. No doubt, there is definite merit if the Ministry finally decides for the cut. Since some time now, there has been a considerable debate in terms of lowering the rates in order to provide a level playing field for all, which is not the case right now, as the effective tax rate for a domestic company currently is higher than what a foreign company operating in India pays (if one takes dividend distribution tax into account). Other than this, it has been noted that though India, off-late, has been receiving considerable foreign investments, this could further grow if the Ministry could rationalise the corporate tax rates in the global context. According to a KPMG report, the average corporate tax rate in the European Union stands at 25.04%, whereas for the Latin American region, it is around 28.25%, and for the Asia Pacific region, it is around 30% (with China at 25%, Singapore at 18%-20%). In addition to all these reasons, cutting down the tax rates would also help in enhancing compliance and at the same time help in expansion of revenues for the Ministry. In fact, all the rationalities overtly indicate that such a step would not only reap huge dividends for the government but would also boost India Inc. and the nation as a whole.

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.
 

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’s Steven Philip Warner analyses...

Stupendously sarcastic to competition & a saintly saviour to the sector – that’s Kingfisher…B&E’s Steven Philip Warner analyses... 

Tactic #2: Outside-flight customer experience!

Though most of the airlines have ignored this factor (assuming it to be non-critical), Kingfisher has very intelligently used this to its positioning advantage. In which other airline have you had a visibly excited valet greeting you on your arrival at the airport? Well, Kingfisher’s valet even lugs your luggage (many a time courteously refusing the tip you might have had up your sleeve), and would walk you right through getting a boarding pass till you enter the boarding area. But it is not just about the valet, but about almost every other aspect. Customers waste minimal time waiting at the classy Kingfisher check-in counters; and if it is a question about tele check-in (a facility that other airlines give only to frequent flyer card holders), at Kingfisher, any passenger across the country can use their toll-free telephone service to check-in! Not to forget that Kingfisher now has India’s best record of an airline being on-time, and that too with minimum flight cancellations, As due credit, Kingfisher has won the ET Avaya 2006 Award for “Customer Responsiveness”, India’s Favourite Airline Award and The Best Airline Award by The Times of India, the most coveted PATWA’s Best New Airline Award for Excellent Services and Cuisine, and innumerable other awards in quality benchmarks.

Tactic #3: Defying industry dynamics & bringing in a unique pricing method

Well, where on one hand there were launches after launches of low-cost champions dreaming to rule the Indian skies by slowly climbing the stairs to the skies, this mercurial liquor baron actually decided to take the elevator. And lucky for him, his plan seems to be working! Kingfisher realized that the Indian aviation market was too small and thin (footfalls being just an annual 14.3 million when Kingfisher was launched; and this figure too was high only because of LCCs in the market selling tickets for irrational prices) for the LCC concept to profitably work, even over the forthcoming decade! By focusing on the ‘profit giving’ high-end customer over the ‘favour-expecting’ masses, Mallya has adopted an innovative model of rational pricing. Not only has Mallya slowly increased the price of the economy class tickets (charging a visible premium for the quality differentiation), but has also ensured that if any one wishes to fly business class, as their branding goes, Kingfisher is first! As Binit Somaia, Regional Director, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) asserts, “The airline, along with its superior service, has adopted a very effective branding and public relations strategy and has become increasingly focused on the corporate market. Kingfisher has achieved a very positive reputation in the market place and can easily win recognition as the ‘radical’ element in the airline industry.”

Noted airline analyst, Madeline Cross, Elan Corp., remarked, “Kingfisher can be called a disruptive force, and a necessary one at that. The manner in which it has baptized the sector through better pricing policies and improved services gives the domestic aviation giants some reason to cheer about.” And what has been the critical wedge on which Mallya is betting? That’s brings us to the next tactic!

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.
 
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

BEAUTIFUL BOUNTIFUL LOFOTEN

Situated 123 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the Lofoten islands, are a 118-mile-long archipelago of small fishing communities. The area is characterised by a narrow coastline, steep mountain formations and strong tidal currents. Breathe in pure air and take in infinite shades of green and yellow at this steep island. The skies are filled with cuckoos, curlews and eagles while the ground bursts forth with wild flowers and berries and the water churns with migrating cod and salmon. The sun shines over the beaches of white sand, cosy rorbus and crystal-clear waters.

Known for excellent fishing, picturesque villages and whale safaris, Lofoten is better explored on foot. Watch out for the killer whales as you go rafting in the Trollfjord. Once in Lofoten, witness one of the most spectacular light constellations – The Northern lights or get transported back to the Viking age at the Lofotr Viking Museum. Experience midnight golf at the Lofoten Golf Links course; with its proximity to the ocean and rugged mountain terrain, it promises a great golfing experience. Enjoy mountaineering with panoramic views or play fisherman for a day. At Lofoten, the sun never sets!

The seven principal islands of Lofoten are Austvagoy, Gimsøy, Vestvagoy, Flakstadoy, Moskenesoy, Vaeroy and Røst. Spend a day bird watching at Rost. Situated at the tip of Lofoten, the island of Røst, is home to the largest number of nesting birds in Norway. Climb up to the Skomvaer lighthouse, which is the final outpost overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Hop on a boat and tour through Moskstrommen, for a date with the natural elements. Don’t forget to visit Refsvikhula cave, a gigantic and awe-inspiring coastal cavern which has about 3000-year-old cave paintings sketched on its walls.

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.
 

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

‘Sunder’-ban?!?

The ongoing plight of fishermen

Kultali village in Sunderban is no different than any other village in that area whose economy has been destroyed by the all conquering Aila that blew over southern Bengal on May 25 this year. The hapless fishermen of this region are at the mercy of moneylenders from whom they had borrowed money for their business. For the last 25 years, Kanu Bose had been maintaining his 4 acre fishing lake to earn enough to sustain his family of eight. But for the last three months, he is absconding, being hounded by moneylenders. Because of Aila, the levees are broken and embankments have collapsed, causing sea water to flood the delta. This has raised the alkaline level of water killing fish, thus destroying the source of livelihood of fishermen there. Dakshin Goranghati area of Kultali is almost deserted with 60 families having fled from there. In certain villages, the entire population has relocated to unknown places being unable to pay back the money they had once borrowed.

Even the environmentalists are not giving much hope either. The effort required is to flush out the water from the lakes and dredge out the top soil. This needs the kind of money, which is far beyond the reach of the poor fishermen.

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.
 

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