Definition
Spirituality is the rational contemplation and adoration of the grand harmony of the Universal Order; and adopting a behavior that sustains and enhances this order.
Satya Prakash Saraswat
Reflections on Spiritual Foundations of Human Values for Global Business Management
Vision, MDI, Gurgaon
July-September 2005
Thursday, July 31, 2008
India has Favourable Conditions for Overseas Successes
For an increasing number of industries, Indian business is reaching the point of having global advantages on all the four determinants identified by Michael Porter in 1990.
1. Favourable factor conditions with respect to natural resources, skills, capital and infrastructure;
2. demand conditions in domestic markets comparable to that overseas in terms of presence of global players, quality of products, and customer expectations;
3. presence of ancillary industries and supportive skills like finance, banking, and legal;
4. and intensity of competition and aspirations of looking beyond domestic markets.
The four determinants tend to have a bandwagon effect in a country on two counts - one, stoking aspirations among other players as the pioneers in an industry start operating overseas, and two, facilitating creation of suitable conditions in related industries.
Rajnish Karki
Indian Companies in Overseas Markets: Perspectives, Patterns, and Implications
Vikalpa, Oct-Dec 2004
1. Favourable factor conditions with respect to natural resources, skills, capital and infrastructure;
2. demand conditions in domestic markets comparable to that overseas in terms of presence of global players, quality of products, and customer expectations;
3. presence of ancillary industries and supportive skills like finance, banking, and legal;
4. and intensity of competition and aspirations of looking beyond domestic markets.
The four determinants tend to have a bandwagon effect in a country on two counts - one, stoking aspirations among other players as the pioneers in an industry start operating overseas, and two, facilitating creation of suitable conditions in related industries.
Rajnish Karki
Indian Companies in Overseas Markets: Perspectives, Patterns, and Implications
Vikalpa, Oct-Dec 2004
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Innovation Chain
Industry relies on innovation to remain competitive.
R&D institutions serve as the fountainhead of such innovation nad academia provide the knowledge required for that innovation.
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
R&D institutions serve as the fountainhead of such innovation nad academia provide the knowledge required for that innovation.
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
Product development
Product development involves five per cent effort towards getting it to work and the remainder 95 per cent towards converting it into a useful device that will meet someone else's requirement.
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
Reward not for Brilliance but for Providing a Solution
The market does not reward anyone for his knowledge or brilliance. Rewards await only those who have a solution to offer that meets specific existing requirement.
A student can be rewarded for his knowledge and his brilliance because his sole responsibility is to learn.
Customer satisfaction needs to be the focus of development activity if rewards or appreciation is to be expected.
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
A student can be rewarded for his knowledge and his brilliance because his sole responsibility is to learn.
Customer satisfaction needs to be the focus of development activity if rewards or appreciation is to be expected.
R. Sunder
Partner Founder
BiSS(P) Ltd.
"Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market"
Vikalpa
October - December 2004
Monday, July 28, 2008
Work Culture - Bhagavadgita
An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture – “daivi sampat” or divine work culture and “asuri sampat” or demonic work culture.
Daivi work culture - involves fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride.
Asuri work culture - involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not oriented towards service.
Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, “yogah karmasu kausalam” should be understood. “Kausalam” means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah” is defined in the Gita itself as “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as “Lokmanya,” probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a description of the meanings of the word “Yoga”, see foot of this page.)
By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita's prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction.
M.P. Bhattathiri:
World Management Lessons from India.
The Internet Journal of Alternative Medicine. 2005. Volume 2 Number 2.
http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijam/vol2n2/mind.xml
Daivi work culture - involves fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride.
Asuri work culture - involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not oriented towards service.
Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, “yogah karmasu kausalam” should be understood. “Kausalam” means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah” is defined in the Gita itself as “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as “Lokmanya,” probably the most learned among the country's political leaders. For a description of the meanings of the word “Yoga”, see foot of this page.)
By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita's prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction.
M.P. Bhattathiri:
World Management Lessons from India.
The Internet Journal of Alternative Medicine. 2005. Volume 2 Number 2.
http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijam/vol2n2/mind.xml
Operations-related Senior Managerial Roles and Competencies
Operations-related Senior Managerial Roles
1 Implementation of policies
2 Implementation of changes and innovations in area of jurisdiction
3 Setting of short-term tasks and targets for area of work
4 Fair allocation of the work to members of the staff
5 Seeking suggestions and help from ‘clients’ in order to improve the services provided by his/her department/unit
6 Operating an appropriate control system for the department/unit
7 Providing periodic feedback to staff and helping them review their performance
8 Rewarding/encouraging good performance
9 Anticipating and/or mitigating crises
‘Core’ Competencies for Operations Roles at Senior level
Competencies having correlations of 0.50 and above with
operations roles
1 This person can be counted upon to play his/her part in getting
jobs done
2 This person has a fine sense of timing when it comes to
introducing changes or innovations
3 This person is great at spotting and seizing opportunities that
are beneficial to the organization
4 This person puts out his/her best and expects to come out
way ahead of others
5 In getting jobs done, this person has a knack for doing the
right things at the right time
6 This person seeks and accepts personal responsibility for
getting a job done
7 This person has a knack for mobilizing the necessary
resources for a task even when resources are scarce
8 This person has a knack for making very persuasive
presentations for proposals for new projects or activities
9 This person has a knack for building an effective team for
implementing a new project or activity
Pradip N Khandwalla
“Competencies for Senior Manager Roles”
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
1 Implementation of policies
2 Implementation of changes and innovations in area of jurisdiction
3 Setting of short-term tasks and targets for area of work
4 Fair allocation of the work to members of the staff
5 Seeking suggestions and help from ‘clients’ in order to improve the services provided by his/her department/unit
6 Operating an appropriate control system for the department/unit
7 Providing periodic feedback to staff and helping them review their performance
8 Rewarding/encouraging good performance
9 Anticipating and/or mitigating crises
‘Core’ Competencies for Operations Roles at Senior level
Competencies having correlations of 0.50 and above with
operations roles
1 This person can be counted upon to play his/her part in getting
jobs done
2 This person has a fine sense of timing when it comes to
introducing changes or innovations
3 This person is great at spotting and seizing opportunities that
are beneficial to the organization
4 This person puts out his/her best and expects to come out
way ahead of others
5 In getting jobs done, this person has a knack for doing the
right things at the right time
6 This person seeks and accepts personal responsibility for
getting a job done
7 This person has a knack for mobilizing the necessary
resources for a task even when resources are scarce
8 This person has a knack for making very persuasive
presentations for proposals for new projects or activities
9 This person has a knack for building an effective team for
implementing a new project or activity
Pradip N Khandwalla
“Competencies for Senior Manager Roles”
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Senior Managerial Roles in Strategic planning and implementing
Senior Managerial Roles in Strategic planning and implementing
1 Formulation of policies
2 Planning of changes and innovations in area of jurisdiction
3 Securing critically needed information and intelligence for formulating goals
4 Setting of long-term objectives for area of work
5 Securing an understanding of the nature of the organization’s vendors, competitors, etc.
6 Articulating a vision for the future activities/impact of his/her unit/department
7 Contributing to the growth and diversification of unit/department
8 Procuring scarce financial, human, technical resources for the unit/department
9 Building up the image of unit/department
Competencies Highly Correlated (0.50 and above)
with Strategic Roles
1 Puts out the best and expects to come out way ahead of
others
2 Often comes up with original solutions to difficult problems
3 Carefully maps out all the steps of a solution or a course
of action
4 Has a knack for making very persuasive presentations for
proposals for new projects or activities
5 Has a fine sense of timing when it comes to introducing
changes or innovations
6 Is great at spotting and seizing opportunities that are beneficial
to the organization
Pradip N Khandwalla
“Competencies for Senior Manager Roles”
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
1 Formulation of policies
2 Planning of changes and innovations in area of jurisdiction
3 Securing critically needed information and intelligence for formulating goals
4 Setting of long-term objectives for area of work
5 Securing an understanding of the nature of the organization’s vendors, competitors, etc.
6 Articulating a vision for the future activities/impact of his/her unit/department
7 Contributing to the growth and diversification of unit/department
8 Procuring scarce financial, human, technical resources for the unit/department
9 Building up the image of unit/department
Competencies Highly Correlated (0.50 and above)
with Strategic Roles
1 Puts out the best and expects to come out way ahead of
others
2 Often comes up with original solutions to difficult problems
3 Carefully maps out all the steps of a solution or a course
of action
4 Has a knack for making very persuasive presentations for
proposals for new projects or activities
5 Has a fine sense of timing when it comes to introducing
changes or innovations
6 Is great at spotting and seizing opportunities that are beneficial
to the organization
Pradip N Khandwalla
“Competencies for Senior Manager Roles”
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Indian Companies - Quality
To compete globally, we need to have global orientation. There should be no export quality versus domestic quality; it should all be the same quality.
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Theory of Comparative Advantage
David Ricardo strongly advocated the theory of comparative advantage - even if you can make a product cheaper in England, you should not do it if you can add more value with your resources (in some other way). You are better off buying from other countries even if it is more expensive because you have better alternatives for your resources such as capital, knowhow, people, land etc.
Ricardo was perhaps the first economist to champion what we call 'outsourcing' today.
This is how the British economy became global. In fact, htere has never been globalization in the world historically except for the British Empire.
The British also outsourced the manufacturing of two major industries: textile and steel, steel to America and textiles to India. This is one reason why even today India has a very large textile industry and America became one of the largest steel producers of the world.
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Ricardo was perhaps the first economist to champion what we call 'outsourcing' today.
This is how the British economy became global. In fact, htere has never been globalization in the world historically except for the British Empire.
The British also outsourced the manufacturing of two major industries: textile and steel, steel to America and textiles to India. This is one reason why even today India has a very large textile industry and America became one of the largest steel producers of the world.
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
India - Global Orientation
The new India has to become more and more globally oriented. It should also focus on certain key sectors of the economy where it has a resource advantage compared to other nations of the world so that it can be globally competitive.
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
Jagdish Sheth
"Making India Globally Competitive"
Vikalpa, October-December 2004
India - Happy Country - JRD TATA
"I don't want India to be an economic super power. I want India to be a happy country."
J.R.D. Tata
(July 29, 1904 - November 29,1993)
From an advertisement of tata group
J.R.D. Tata
(July 29, 1904 - November 29,1993)
From an advertisement of tata group
Friday, July 25, 2008
Response of Public Sector Enterprises to Environmental Change
Environmental changes call for adaptive responses on the part of the organization. When these changes are major, sudden, and irreversible (structural changes), strategic changes that may involve changes in the characterof the organization and the assumptions held by its top management will be needed.
Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) was set up in 1966 to develop indigenous know-how and effect import substitution in electronics. It had a Chief Executive highly committed to these objectives. In 1976-78 the Government liberalized its imports policies for computers and licensed competitors to manufacture computers. ECIL's response was mainly to attempt to influence the policies to nullify the effect of these changes. It did not initiate any strategic changes in computers (business), nor ws there any significant cahnges in the overall strategies of the corporation.
This exploratory study came out with some tentative hypotheses. Two of them are
1. Public enterprises whose objectives are based on values and whose top management is deeply committed to these values may have difficulties in appreciating the need for strategic change if it implies changes in these values. Thus commitment to values can be a barrier to strategic changes.
2. Change in leadership can bring about a different appreciation of the environment and hence a strategic change.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
ECIL: A Case Study of Environmental Change and Organizational Response in the Public Sector
S. Manikutty (1987)
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) was set up in 1966 to develop indigenous know-how and effect import substitution in electronics. It had a Chief Executive highly committed to these objectives. In 1976-78 the Government liberalized its imports policies for computers and licensed competitors to manufacture computers. ECIL's response was mainly to attempt to influence the policies to nullify the effect of these changes. It did not initiate any strategic changes in computers (business), nor ws there any significant cahnges in the overall strategies of the corporation.
This exploratory study came out with some tentative hypotheses. Two of them are
1. Public enterprises whose objectives are based on values and whose top management is deeply committed to these values may have difficulties in appreciating the need for strategic change if it implies changes in these values. Thus commitment to values can be a barrier to strategic changes.
2. Change in leadership can bring about a different appreciation of the environment and hence a strategic change.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
ECIL: A Case Study of Environmental Change and Organizational Response in the Public Sector
S. Manikutty (1987)
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
Government of India - Strategic Role in Oil Industry
The government of India had played a strategic role in the development of the Indian oil industry and the following elements could be identified as forming part of the strategy formulation process
a. Identifying a long-term mission.
b. Dealing with the futurity of present decision rather than with immediate responses/reactions to the present decision.
c. Constantly watching environment for threats/opportunities, and using the opportunities to reduce the threats.
d. Taking risks in uncertain and unpredictable environment.
e. acquiring strengths to be able to react to the environment effectively and to improve the organization's own bargaining power.
f. Generating alternatives to widen the base for choices towards achieving the mission.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
Indian Oil Industry: A Historical Study with Special Reference to the Strategic Role of Government of India
S. Vathsala (1980)
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
a. Identifying a long-term mission.
b. Dealing with the futurity of present decision rather than with immediate responses/reactions to the present decision.
c. Constantly watching environment for threats/opportunities, and using the opportunities to reduce the threats.
d. Taking risks in uncertain and unpredictable environment.
e. acquiring strengths to be able to react to the environment effectively and to improve the organization's own bargaining power.
f. Generating alternatives to widen the base for choices towards achieving the mission.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
Indian Oil Industry: A Historical Study with Special Reference to the Strategic Role of Government of India
S. Vathsala (1980)
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
General Management - Pubic, Private, MNC Subsidiairies
Our study found that sectoral differences existed in many of the variables related to general management in public, private and MNC subsidiaries in India.
Particularly, statistically significant sectoral differences were noticed in respect ot organizational objectives, business strategy, top management styles, planning, coordinating and control system, degree of need satisfaction, instrumentality of efforts to rewards, and organizational motivational climate.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
A Comparative Study of General Management Function Between Private SEctor, Public Sector, and Multinational Subsidiary Companies in India.
Krishna Kumar (1980).
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
Particularly, statistically significant sectoral differences were noticed in respect ot organizational objectives, business strategy, top management styles, planning, coordinating and control system, degree of need satisfaction, instrumentality of efforts to rewards, and organizational motivational climate.
IIM Ahmedabad Fellowship Dissertation
A Comparative Study of General Management Function Between Private SEctor, Public Sector, and Multinational Subsidiary Companies in India.
Krishna Kumar (1980).
a compendium of Dissertation Abstracts of the Fellow Programme in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, Macmilllan India Limited, Delhi, 1998
Thursday, July 10, 2008
CEOs - Rams and Ravans
What does a Ravan CEO stand for?
He never bulit the city of gold - Lanka. he drove out his brother, Kuber and took over the kingdom of Lanka.
He went around killing sages and raping women. Why? To establish his dominion and generate fear.
And during the war, he let his sons die andhis brothers die before entering the battle field himself. His desire for victory over Sita, and Ram, mattered more than lives of his people.
Ravan lives for himself. His pleasure matters the most.
Ram is a hero and god.
Because by being an obedient son, he demonstrates his commitment to others. He lives for the pleasure of others around him.
Devdutt Pattanaik
In an article in Corporate Dossier 11 July 2008 "Flamboyant Villain"
He never bulit the city of gold - Lanka. he drove out his brother, Kuber and took over the kingdom of Lanka.
He went around killing sages and raping women. Why? To establish his dominion and generate fear.
And during the war, he let his sons die andhis brothers die before entering the battle field himself. His desire for victory over Sita, and Ram, mattered more than lives of his people.
Ravan lives for himself. His pleasure matters the most.
Ram is a hero and god.
Because by being an obedient son, he demonstrates his commitment to others. He lives for the pleasure of others around him.
Devdutt Pattanaik
In an article in Corporate Dossier 11 July 2008 "Flamboyant Villain"
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