This is a blog by the students at the S P Jain Center of Management, Dubai, Singapore. The site is designed to play a common ground for the students and alumni of SPJCM to blog about their lives at the campus, industry exposure, events, current happenings, and everything else. The views expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of S P Jain Center of Management. For more information on S P Jain Center of Management and the courses offered, visit the official SPJCM website
Pavan Shinde Global Human Resources Management GMBA - April'09
The fall of Dubai World
With the Sheikhs of Abu Dhabhi allowing Dubai to slip and Emirates Airlines on the line, one can only guesstimate what the repercussions will be on the GCC. To some extent, I think the property debacle was imminent. Not only because Dubai’s property market has been built on sand and dry oil wells, but also because of the sentiments in the world markets. While Dubai was looking up at the 200 storeys of Burj Dubai (the tallest man-made structure ever built ), the man-made wonders of the Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai Waterfront; the world was looking at Dubai in silent speculation. I think sentiments are like self-fulfilling prophecies; if you think that the market will collapse, it most certainly does! Personally, it’s untimely as it might affect my prospects of finding myself a suitable job opportunity when I graduate in March. Nonetheless, I’m staying optimistic, hoping that sentiments can indeed turn the world around!
On one side where strategy is usually understood as a plan of action to achieve specific goals, philanthropy essentially is a symbol of giving, possibly to charity. But these days, there is a buzz in the corporate world, besides Copenhagen. And the new buzzword is Strategic Philanthropy. While Milton Friedman insisted decades ago that the only purpose of existence of the companies is to generate profits for its shareholders, the socially conscious global citizens of 21st century are ready to turn that statement up on its head. In the present times, the shareholders are considered nothing but gamblers in the market whose expectations, if turned into corporate strategy, will translate into Only Profit, Full Stop. But it is good to see that the social awareness is increasingly becoming popular in the corporate sector.
Vijay Vaidyanathan Information Technology Management GMBA - April 09
The wall clock in our class displays 7:10 pm. I look around the classroom and notice at least 10 hands popping up in the air – students eagerly trying to put forth their points of view or ask questions on the topic being discussed in class. Today we are discussing the online strategies of Skype and SPH – South East Asia’s leading media brand. This was supposed to be a 3-hour session and should have come to an end by 5:30 pm. The class has been going on for almost 5 hours now!!!
Is this the same class where students often complain having to sit through just the stipulated duration of the classes? No one in the class (including me) seems to be in a mood to end the session. I’m amazed at the interest and the enthusiasm displayed by the students today.
'iCradle' - is a business plan presented by us, in the e-Business course of our GMBA program. The idea came from what we see around and from our own experiences. In a country like India, there are a huge number of aspiring entrepreuners who do not have the opportunity to implement their innovative ideas and build new business ventures. Our idea of 'iCradle' aims to address this problem by bringing entrepreuners closer to venture capitalists and corporates who can fund their ideas.
Vijay Vaidyanathan Information Technology Management
GMBA - April 09
The Leadership club of SPJCM has done it once again – organized a very successful blood donation camp in our Singapore campus on 02 Dec, 2009. The Leadership club under the guidance of Mr. Thaneer Lakshmanan, our academic manager has done an excellent job of canvassing for the event among the students. They sent repeated mailers, put up posters in prominent places, conducted explanatory sessions on blood donations encouraging people to come forward and donate blood. The students responded by turning out in great numbers. The target for the day was to collect 40 units of blood. We ended up collecting 56 units of blood despite many people being rejected due to failure to meet criteria like expected hemoglobin count etc.
We thank Mr. Thanneer and the leadership club for taking the initiative to organize such an event and help us take part in a noble cause. We are looking forward to many more events like this in future.
Videos by: Vijay Vaidyanathan & Manu Iyer GMBA - April 09
At SP Jain, life is always on the fast track. You could find us on the wash room brushing our teeth rigorously ten minutes before the start of the first session at 9 O’clock in the morning, or you could find us running in the lobby thirty seconds before the start of the class. At the end of the session, we would take a quick lunch and get ready in time for the next two sessions of the day.
At the end of seemingly endless lectures, it was time to prepare for the next day. On any given day, or night, you could find all of us hanging out together, in the library, to complete the assignments, or prepare for the ‘surprise quiz’ or complete the pre-reading exercise. This would go on and on until sunrays hit the peak of the small hill on the Kent ridge park, near our campus. So, in short, SP Jain never sleeps!
Even though, our lives are always on the fast track day after day after day, today was special. We were still brushing in a hurry and were still running on the lobby in a hurry. But, this time, it was not to attend the classes on time. But, this time, we were up early for a noble cause. Donating blood!
Vijay Vaidyanathan Information Technology Management GMBA - April 09
This is a cartoon by the famous cartoonist R.K.Laxman. There was once a time this was almost true. The years after the Dot Com bubble were a boom time across the world when economies and organizations were growing at a rapid pace. Companies went on huge recruitment sprees to satisfy the seemingly ever growing demand for talent. Any student entering college was virtually assured of a job and students from top colleges bagged mind boggling offers from employers.
But sometime last year, everything came crashing down. The real estate bubble in the US burst triggering a disastrous chain reaction, plunging the world economy into a deep recession. The honeymoon in the job market came to an end. Millions were laid off. The campus recruitment dreams of students vanished into thin air.
Chetan Shetty Information Technology Management GMBA - April 09
My friend Vijay has been asking me to write about my experiences in Toronto. I guess that’s because there is a smile on the face of every “Maple Leaf” (a term coined by Dr. Barnes for everyone going to Toronto) when he/she is asked the question – “How was Toronto?” This article is my answer to that question.
Neatly dressed in business formals, I was furiously running in the middle of the road at 8:15 AM .This was in response to a frantically waving hand at a distance.“Innaikum bus vitutengala saar!” (“You missed your bus today too!” ) asked Suresh smiling at me.
Suresh works in the Tea stall next to the bus stop where I board my company bus. He is a bubbly character and has opinions or suggestions for every topic on earth. To know him better, all you have to do is to get a glass of tea from the stall and throw a topic in the air. Suresh will promptly air his ‘expert opinions’. Nobody can miss his demeanor. His day typically begins with washing used plates and glasses from the previous day, cut vegetables for sambar and poriyal and prepare idlis for breakfast. All this before he ensures that I catch the bus on time.
Ten months ago we set our foot steps to a Journey,
Filled with enthusiasm, anxiousness, and a story,
We entered a world with dreams untouched,
Looking for a new discovery and an exciting ride.
The first day was the day of introductions,
Met some new faces and some with moving reactions,
Things in no time turned interesting,
And the journey appeared to be long and exciting.
With the ever changing global business landscape, carved by technological advances and the ongoing challenging times of recession companies are struggling to keep their heads above the water to breathe and survive. There has been a shift in the philosophy of productivity, a shift which has the potential to render the big ones helpless and the small ones with all the power. The shift is that of Innovation.
Innovation has become a buzz word with every new kid on the block, challenging the big and established ones on the grounds of innovation. Responding to the change and threat associated with innovation, firms today have become more experimental than ever with huge involvements in terms of resource and capital commitment.
Empty roads, Closed Coffee shops pooled with the sound of music speak a thousand words for many. The clandestine beauty of life might have blown away many and yet there are cynics who don’t understand it. The cherry will be ripped apart if the mystique nature of it is not enjoyed in its totality.
Life is made up with so many moments and stories. Some are complete and there are some which last for few moments and are incomplete, yet they are the ones which remain afresh in ones mind with its surreal and mystique nature. There are times when your heart cries remembering them and at times it brings with it hope and an irresistible desire to do something extraordinary.
The enigma for many is to how to rekindle that one small magic moment into eternity.
The six year old in Darfur fighting with an AK-47
The sixty year old obese in the US waiting for his ticket to heaven
The four year old in remote Sudan hopes food will reach his parched lip
The forty old mother in China remembers her second child, offloaded to Hong Kong in a ship
Playing with waves and particles is the game of future world. These days we follow up waves in the fields of Mobile Computing, GSM, GPS, Listening radio, Bluetooth for transferring Data, RFID Tags, Infra red in TV remote and many more numerable examples in day today life. These are some of the basic usage of transferring Information through waves. If transfer is possible, then why not processing of information in waves? Quantum, wave Computing comes and play a major role in developent of wave processors.
I would like to share with you all a recent experience and relate it to what we have learnt about branding and/or will be learning about branding. Around one week back my mobile phone broke down, I tried getting it repaired but the repairing cost was too high as compared to India, so I decided to rather buy a rather basic model for the time being and get my phone repaired once I get back to India.
So as a typical Indian consumer I enquired about price on a number of shops and thus finally find a shop close to our hostel. The shopkeeper was an old man, gave me quite a few options ranging from 60 dollars to 600 dollars, but as usual I was broke and had very little money! So I told him to narrow down the range to minimum, which is $ 60.
World of Information is becoming complex day by day. New information is getting accumulated at Geometric progression. Side by side different innovative tools, algorithms and web applications are getting developed to have search, usage and utilization of information as best as possible. Accumulation of tremendous information in this Global world has forced us to do proper trade-off between Precision and accuracy of complex Information, using tools like Six Sigma. Because information derived and needed would be different for different humans, but database is same, and more precise the information, higher chances of inaccuracy and vice versa. Now, by analysing and embedding different variables and Technologies, we are slowly and steadily moving towards Knowledge based search Engines, adding intelligence to our search for information and last but not least trying to imitate “Human mind".
Welcome to my second post on Cloud Computing, this article speaks about the Ontology of the cloud. Though there is no industry defined ontology for the cloud, I found this particular representation most appropriate.
Ayaz Furniturewalla, general manager of Elizabeth Arden’s distributor market and travel retail in Singapore says that “Beauty is recession-proof. Even when the economy isn’t doing well, people still need a little distraction to feel good about them.”
For majority of the Singaporeans, beauty is a ‘must-have’ rather than a luxury.
Irrespective of the slowing economy and the growing financial crisis, the beauty products and the cosmetics industry in Singapore remains upbeat. Above all, this industry is expected to maintain the current pace of growth next year also. A small survey conducted by a marketing research company also showed that despite the job losses and the deep economic recession that the country has faced till date, seven out of ten Singaporeans will continue to spend on beauty products and services. Those who wanted to cut their spending on beauty products like cosmetics said that they would just switch from designer labels to house brands.
Today prices of water made a new high, it touched a record price of €50 per barrel before closing at €47.52 a barrel. In the futures market the water prices surged upto €60 a barrel. Analysts say that the recent increase in the price of water is not due to the speculation , rather it is attributed to the acute shortage in fresh water world wide.
Retail Mobility refers to the collection of real time accurate data at any point of store activity and gaining access to task related information at the work location point. As a result of this technology, more staff is available on the shop floor between customers instead of performing heavy backend work. The consumer perception of store service assumes a marked impact by concentrating staff availability in customer facing locations. This is mainly achieved using some form of hand-held computing device which is used to implement a process in software at the point of activity or location of work.
Retail mobility technological solutions include a variety of single application devices, stand alone technology, wirelessly connected multi-tasking computer platform with printing and automatic data capture (bar-code, RFID) capability.
No. This isn’t a book review for the James Ivory bestseller. Nor is it a claim that soldier’s daughters (more specifically, me) never cry. It is a line my father used on the occasions when I would hold on to his OG (Olive Green) clad leg for dear life and refuse to let him board his train. I have always wanted to write about my feelings for the spirit of the Indian soldier. Having experienced it so closely and drawn from it all my life.
It is a fact that the Indian Army has a standing in our country that no other government institution can match or even come close to. Most people take this for granted, but very few know what goes into being a soldier.
When I was young, my father being an Infantarian was posted in inaccessible (Families weren’t allowed.) field areas for almost 2 postings out of every 3. It was a rare treat to have him around on birthdays and Diwali because that meant that unreasonable and absurd demands would always be met with a benevolent smile, which otherwise would completely be ignored by my knowing and experienced (read strict and no nonsense) mother.
Since we were in Pune for the most and did not travel with the paltan (A unit within the Regiment is referred to as a Paltan.) there were times when I knew that my mom found it hard to cope without an adequate support system. Having dad come to school on annual days was something that was unheard of and it wasn’t rare that he forgot what class my brother and I were in.
I have no doubt that my father like every single member of any defense service had his moments of weakness too. When pressure was high and the warmth of home and family must have seemed far away. But the only dad that we ever saw was the one smiling and whipping us into shape ever so often, when reports of wayward behavior reached him.
I’ve had the good fortune of visiting a few army posts over the years. The respect that an officer commands from the troops is the basis on which The Indian Army functions. An officer’s authority, whether he is a Second Lieutenant straight out of IMA (Indian Military Academy) or a Lieutenant General with 30 years of experience behind him, is unquestioned by his men. If he commands them to stand in the line of fire, they do it. With a simple belief that he will watch their backs.
The pressure of watching your men injured, maimed and often killed on a day to day basis, while putting your own family on the back burner, is one that would make any board room seem almost laughable in comparison.
Bravery and chivalry, these are the values that a soldier always stands for. And believe me when I say, these are not empty words. Only the lucky few who have experienced this life can truly understand its depth.
If I were to be born more than once, I would proudly choose to be a soldier’s daughter again. My father has demonstrated to me not just with words but with every action that there is no place for fear in a warrior’s heart.
Because for a soldier all the sacrifices are but a small price to pay for the glory and privilege of being of able to serve his country.
With each passing day, we all are moving towards “crucial time”. This time is something which we all dreamt of when we applied for this institute. No doubt all of us are full of energy and have high hopes!
We all see the glimpse of the totally commercial world outside within our batch. We have seen many ups and downs in past eight months which have brought us together and have taken us apart. Each case study and each subject has thought us of being more and more professional in approach, to focus more on our objective. Our professors have given us a piece of their minds and we have engrained those conclusions in our minds.
“Its time to clean up your fridge” claimed a mail from his roommates. “Anything is welcome, as long as it is stale” it mentioned.
It was close to midnight. Every room in the hostel was busy. Every one, for once, decided to close their books and open their refrigerator to look out for leftover food stuff. Everyone knows that anything that was not stale was strictly not accepted.
I was sitting in the kitchen table and was deeply disappointed that my fridge was already clean. Thinking whether we should borrow something from the next room’s fridge, I was sipping my cup of coffee. People started gathering in the corridor, with a pack of ‘presents’ for the birthday boy.
We have been hearing a lot about a revolution which will change the way we do business. A revolution which will make the best IT solutions available to any organization/individual at a very reasonable cost, yes we have been hearing a lot about these two revolutionary words ‘Cloud Computing’. These series of my posts will focus on different aspects of Cloud Computing.
Cloud computing draws a very close analogy from the world of electricity. In 1851 Henry Burden invented the big Burden’s wheel to generate electricity for his factory. This revolutionized the way factories operated and in the years to follow many factories started their own electricity generating units. It was not long before Thomas Edison’s assistant Samuel Insull realized the potential of building central electricity generation units and providing factories and households with electricity at a cheaper cost. People saw the benefit of this approach and soon electricity generation shifted from individual companies to electricity generating organizations at a very fast pace allowing businesses to concentrate on their core competencies. All one needed were few wires from the electricity generation plant to their factory and pay for the number of unit of electricity they utilised. The electricity generating organizations were able to significantly reduce electricity cost because of economies of scale and were able to create significant business value out of this approach. This made electricity a utility and a necessity for all businesses and no longer gave companies any competitive advantage.
A similar revolution is currently underway in the technology industry where computing power is being talked of in the same breath as a utility service. The concept is called cloud computing, the general understanding held by the market is best described by this definition from Wikipedia “Cloud computing . . . is a style of computing where IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service,’ allowing users to access technology-enabled services ‘in the cloud’ without knowledge of, expertise with or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them". The idea being a user would now just need a terminal, internet connection (the cloud is the internet) and probably his credit card details to plug into the cloud. And a whole lot of applications and infrastructure would be available to him to use and pay for according to his usage.
In the early years of the last century the nature and economics of mechanical power changed with the centralization of electricity generation and we arrived at a moment where technology extended mans physical powers. We are at another such moment today with technologies that extend our intellectual powers.
Sundeep Malik Information Technology Management December’08
The Americans have literally thrown the kitchen sink at the problem called recession. They have tried every possible way to combat the recession. The solution will take time to address the problem and this time can be used by the corporates to prepare plans for recovery post recession. There are three problems corporates have faced as a result of the recessionary environment.
1. Loss of customer confidence
2. Loss of image and brand
3. Loss of human resources i.e. employees
For any corporate to prepare a recovery plan post recession, the above three must be the top most priorities.
Loss of Customer Confidence:
The recession has seen many corporates lose the confidence of their customers. One of the key reasons behind this is the inability of corporate to show survival skills. WoolWorths, UK is a very pertinent example in this context. The retailer was one of the most exclusive retailers in London’s High Street and remained the same till this period of uncertainty hit them hard.
Corporates must strengthen their core values and survival skills post recession to brace for a similar situation. Corporates must strip the non essential components of their business and stay lean. They must transform themselves into lean (not mean) fighting machines. By stripping non essential components, they must focus on their core competence and try delivering a confident customer experience.
Loss of image and brand
This recession has seen several big corporate with successful track record go under the belly. Several of these corporate have paid the price for being non transparent and over ambitious. They entered many businesses that made all logics disappear. Merril Lynch graduated from being an underwriter in CDO’s to becoming an investor and player in the same market. Merril was seduced by the gains that other players were making in the CDO trading space and chose to enter it. Little did it know that this decision would cost them their independence and loss of face, image and brand.
Corporates must now prepare a leadership team that is capable of not getting seduced by short term gains that will potentially risk their existence. Corporates must also rein in executive compensation and show the consumer / customer that they are a responsible company in all aspects.
A 360 degree marketing campaign highlighting the sustainability and responsibility to the soceity must be undertaken to restore loss of image and brand among customers.
Loss of employees
One of the most disturbing outcomes of this recession has been the way employees have been treated. Most of the Corporates in distress have shown no mercy for employees, firing thousands of them at will. This measure will save the corporate precious money in the short term but will sow the seeds of future doom.
Corporates seem to have forgotten that a satisfied employee can lead to higher productivity, drive margins upwards and thus result in higher stock prices. Post recession, corporates must devise an empathetic approach towards employees. The leadership must treat them as equal partners rather than as subordinates.
The post recession recovery plan must include the following
1. Following core competence to the last letter and exiting business that do not fit the core values.
2. Focusing on the brand/image and using marketing as a mode of continuous communication with clients/customers.
3. Treating employees as peers rather than paid subordinates.
4. Scenario Planning- Corporates must invest a lot of time and money to come up with best and worst possible business environments and test their responses to the same.
These are the key components of any post recession recovery plan. Recessions are violent but the will to survive and fight has to be stronger.
The common perception among people is this subject is only for HR’s. The irony is that most MBA’s like us also feel the same. I fail to understand why. Are only HR’s supposed to know about the ethics of the organization. Heard a lot of people say “my specialization (left to the readers’ discretion to guess.) and ethics don’t go hand in hand and I really don’t need to study this.”
Now coming to the question of why do we even need a course on governance and ethics ? Every other day we hear about the Stamfords, the Madoffs, the Enrons and the Satyams of the world that there is an air of mistrust all around in the world. Had there been a little amount of due diligence on the part of the stake holders of an organization, we wouldn’t have landed up in a soup like what we are in now. That’s where I realize the governance and ethics come in.
Over to the main issue, is it only for the HR’s? I have a few questions to pose. Why is a CEO held responsible for fraud when unethical practices are reported in an organization if it is only for HR’s ?Who handles the whole organizational governance? The CEO or the HR manager? Agreed HR managers are equally responsible in building the work culture but it is often built from top to bottom as the values at top percolate in to the bottom levels. It’s essentially the top leadership which drives the governance and ethics in the organization. As I see it is totally up to individuals to discover the importance of ethics in their lives but people must realize that if they aspire to be top leaders, be it a CEO, CFO or a HR in an organization, they cannot afford to compromise on ethics
Our first week in Singapore saw us traversing the malls and stores at Orchard Street trying to get a flavour of a retail world that has seen it all - growth, maturity to a current attempt at rejunevation. Having said that, one has to agree that the shopping streets of Singapore exude a certain spirit, something missing from the large shopping spaces of Dubai.
The difference though is not just of size, but also the shopping experience. Walk into store here, there are a host of smiling faces waiting to greet you and serve your needs. More importantly, the smiling faces are equally equipped with a sound knowledge of the product in question, a stark difference from their Indian and Arab counterparts who appear to be part of a mere position filing exercise.
Interestingly, even this experience varies between stores. We happened to visit some of the high end stores Like Tiffany & Co., Mont Blanc and Louis Vuitton in the upmarket Ngee Ann City. Given our sling bags and casual clothing, it wasn't hard for a seasoned salesman to to guage out shopping intentions. Yet some of them were more than willing to answer our curious queries, while others were skeptical about their wasting their time. An interesting point made by our retail faculty was that we weren't the first such casual information seeking visitors. Everyday, these stores encounter many such 'non-buyers', some out for pleasing their eyes and other students and professionals for store comparison; which may be one of the reasons behind the reluctance and sometimes blunt refusal of stores to entertain such folks. But does this defy the core of all our theories of customer service? Is the store experience or even delight meant just for the sure shot buyer - maybe a food for thought!!
The Internet is a world wide web of interconnected computer networks which comprises of millions of privately and publicly owned, academic, business, and government owned networks which have local to global scope. These networks are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies.
Commercialization of the internet network started in the mid 1990s, and countless applications in virtually every aspect of modern human life have evolved since then. As internet is touching every aspect of the human life, we are more interested in the future of internet. What would be the role of internet in the future world, let’s say after 10 years i.e. 2020.
Recently a survey was conducted by the PEW internet and American life project to predict the implications of the internet on society in coming times and how internet will be evolved? The survey focused on the responses from the key personnel in internet industry, analysts and technocrats.
I have summarised the survey outcomes so as to understand the future of internet. The major trends that could evolve in internet usage impacting our society are discussed here.
Global network deployed: By 2020, world-wide internet network interoperability will be achieved, which would allow unrestricted flow of data, verification of credentials and billing; mobile wireless communications will be a low cost commodity available to everyone. In future, convergence of more and more services on mobile will happen.
English as the global language: Internet Networked communications will play a major role to combine the world into a single political, social and economic entity where people can connect each other and everywhere to have audio – visual exchanges using internet. English can thus become the primary global language displacing few of the regional languages.
Growing Technology dependence is a problem: In 2020, our growing dependence on the technology and day by day reducing human control as an interface with increasing usage of artificial intelligence which would cut direct human input so completely out of few key activities such as electronic surveillance, security systems that technology out of our control could generate threat of dangers and dependencies that could not be identified until it would be impossible to reverse them.
Personal privacy at stake: Theotherimpact thatinternet could have in 2020is that with growing usage of internet and it’s availability at cheaper costs, privacy of not only the celebrities but the common man would be affected. In fact, we will be connected to the outside world all the time. But if we look at the bigger picture, it will be good as both the pros and cons would be highlighted easily and the society will be more aware.
Internet opens doors to success: In 2020, Internet will open the door to success. As rightly predicted by Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat, in year 2008, the internet can make it possible for individuals to collaborate and compete globally. The free flow of information will completely blur the national boundaries. The new boundaries that could evolve which will be groupings based on corporate culture with varied geographical boundaries with flat organizations bounded together by the global networks.
Terror risks looms: Increased connectivity and information will led few people to stay away from the global networks to live in peace but few others could utilize the efficacy of these networks for terror attacks as they might not be happy with the way the technology is shaping the world. So, a new type of terrorist segment could arise in the years to come.
These are the major trends that could evolve in the 3rd stage of internet evolution and we can clearly see how our lives will be changed within few years. The technology will accelerate the change process so fast, that would be, beyond imagination. Semantic web will have a drastic impact on this change cycle in the coming years. We should look forward to evolving convergence technologies to make this world a better place to live in.
The growing economic crisis that has gripped the world currently doesn’t really make a difference to 12-year old Kishan who is busy mending shoes in the dark by lanes of Dharavi in Mumbai. Neither does the news of a gain in Sensex excite Murthy, a poor farmer in Andhra Pradesh who has a feed his family of five. Life, for millions of people across India, is a crisis any way. Isn't this a cold-blooded fact that we are completely alienated from a larger part of India? While we discuss the impact of this crisis in the comforts of our air-conditioned class-rooms, these people, in a sheer helplessness fight the already lost battle.
My recent trip Pulau Ubin Island provoked a thought. We took a ferry boat from Singapore coast and it a ten minute boat ride and you reach Pulau Ubin. As I de-boarded the boat and entered the island, there were many shops which were renting out bicycles for one day. As Pulau ubin is a small island, one can easily roam around the island on the bicycles.
Looking at the business these shops were able to generate, I thought the possibilities which are there in services. It was the Right Place, the right product which helped these shops to do the business, no tourist wants to buy a bicycle just to roam around the island and yet every one wants a bicycle to roam around. What a business opportunity!
Now if you see how many such places are there in India, I mean places like Pulau Ubin, places which are unexplored and have tremendous potential to be the nest tourist destination. Not only in tourism but in every aspect of business, I think there is a huge potential for services as they offer what customer wants and that to without buying it as it is required for a short time. There are companies which are offering IT hardware on rental basis for short terms as many organizations want IT hardware on project to project basis and are unwilling to incur the cost of purchase.
I can now relate everything I buy to services. Say for example why do I buy bottle of water when I m thirsty. Its not the bottle which I need but its jus that I want o quench my thirst. Just think how big this business of bottled water is. Why cant there be a company which offers water instead of bottles. What If a customer doesn’t have to buy a bottle of water whenever he r she feels thirsty, instead there can be dispensers which can be placed across a geographic location and anyone can just pay a small flat rate for the amount of water he or she drinks, I know this idea is a bit too radical but may be something can be worked out!
I believe that there is a lot of scope of services and innovation in this field, any government can look into this as a means to promote tourism and more over it can act as a source of employment for the local people. Even if there is no help intervention form the government, innovative ideas by local people can attract a lot of tourist. Similarly innovative ideas in services can bring in a drastic change in any field. I see endless possibilities in the field of services!
They say providing one meal to the needy is the biggest Dharma. An even bigger one is donating blood to the really needy. One is a life giver and the other is a life saver.
We at SPJCM Singapore followed the latter to conduct one of the most successful Blood Donation Drives for the Singapore Red Cross. Ably led by Thanneer Sir, our team of volunteers and the workers of the Red Cross made it an event to remember for one and all.
The world is still pondering over what has hit them while I am writing this article. The news articles are filled with recession economics, what went wrong? , what are CDO’s? , who is to blame? Et al. Are we witnessing one of that black swan event’s which has defied all human logic and predictions? Time will tell. However world would move on and so would the economy.
One of the laws of physics which will stay in almost everyone’s tiny head is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The action? No prize for guesses since most of the world is well educated about the consequences of this economic catastrophe by now. The reaction is an upswing and prosperous growth in the near future. When? Even I wouldn’t know. The only clear signal to everyone is that there will be a recovery and when that happens there will be a sudden surge in demand. The corporate who would like to be on the right side of that growth need to start working for it now.
A 'blogitorial' by the members of the SPJCM blogger's club (Dec 08, Apr 09) - the spearheaders of this blog.
Just like all tasks kick starting this blog was also the hardest part of contributing to it. But also just like all tasks, our attitudes are what paid off and will be directly proportional to its success. (However good or bad. J) Welcome to the SPJCM student’s blog. Hope we are able to impact you in some way.
Sameera Yargop
Human Resources Management
December 08
“Be the change you want to see in the World”: With this Gandhian philosophy in mind the PMM blog will actually have the thoughts about how we can revolutionise the marketing world. The thoughts will start from the History of Marketing and will lead to Future of Marketing. From the onslaught of technology, new initiatives, great concepts, anything and everything under the sun will be the Mantra of the PMM bloggers.
Gaurav Sharma
Product Marketing and Management
December 08
This is a medium for me to reflect and share my thoughts on all the things that excite me. Be it education, politics, career, topics specific to our area of specialization or the latest happenings at SPJCM this is ‘the place’ to find it. So let’s all connect on this portal and make it a huge success.
Sharon Barsey
Service Marketing and Management
December’08
Launching this blog is just the start of our marvelous journey into the world of blogging. So Mavericks and GMBA bloggers start penning down your thoughts!! More is to come but only through more contribution from us … The Onus is on us all!
Ishtiba Meeajane Product Marketing Management December 08
Introspect. Ponder. Introspect. Write. Not because someone’s reading; but for the pleasure of writing.
Siddharth Vishwanath. Human Resources Management December 08
Well, Blogging has been a passion for a while now and just the thought of blogging with a purpose has got my adrenaline going again. The purpose is to just live both really and virtually the experience of our stay here at SP Jain. I hope we not just give a piece of our head but also help derive some value for all concerned who could come across it.
Happy Reading!!
Varun Sankar
Retail Management
December 08
We look forward to keep this Blog as a pin display board of our mindsets and our thoughts. Please do pour in your ideas as this will showcase what SPJCM is all about to the rest of the mankind.
Madhur Dhawan
Services Marketing Management.
December 08
We launched this Blog with an intention to connect people….as logistics and supply chain professionals say “ A supply chain will be stronger depending on strength of the links between each stage ” I am sure this Blog will give the required impetus to strengthen the links between the SPJCM student community.
Nikhil Ranade
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
December 08
'Winning or Losing is part of the game. What is important to me is to keep on going and to never stop conquering.’
Namit Nayak
IT Management
December 08
‘People insist on calling it luck though I have put in my sweat and blood. Luck comes after sweat, blood and pain.’
Siddharth
Banking Management
December 08
‘Life is all about finding the silver lining in the darkest of clouds, and yes!! It does exist. It’s not optimism in its righteous rationale but a challenge that defines the luminosity of the light you may find.’
Lokesh Mudgal
IT Management
December 08
I enjoy writing to the core and indulge myself into creative writing as often as my schedule permits. I started blogging about 3 years ago as a sporadic writer, but have become increasingly addicted to it now, so much so that I need to pen down my thoughts every so often just to get it out of my system! I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as we think we will love posting our views here. À la prochaine!
Pavan Shinde
Human Resources Management
April-‘09
The fear of failure chases only the small and the silent - Grow with your dreams and speak your mind always so that the fear is drowned in the drum roll of success! And even if you do fall, the entire planet stands up and hears you, or feels the impact!
Manu Iyer
IT Management
April 09
At every stage, I have this doubt, "Can I do it? what if...". Then in every stage, I keep pushing on, thinking, "I can". Positive things happen to positive people. I'm positive, I can...
Vijay
IT Management
April 09
The world comprises of two parts , one is you and the other is rest of the world.
Be truthful to oneself and do good to yourself and half the world shall be a better place.
Shivangi
IT Management
April 09
I may not the best blogger around. At the same time, there is no one who is better than me!
Gopal Rathnam
IT Management
April 09
They say some succeed coz they are destined to, but most succeed coz they are determined to...I am determined and I will succeed..
Jatin
IT Management
April 09
“It gives us a great pleasure to see that everything is finally falling in place. In a true SPJCM style, we sweated it out and fought all the challenges so that we could interact with YOU. Welcome to the world of SPJCM students. Fasten your seat belts. Let me assure you, the ride is going to be a great fun. “
Sheeram Kunte
Services Marketing and Management
April 09
Things do not happen. Things are made to happen."The RM Bloggers will their try and impact the Retail World with their innovative ideas and strong fundamentals. Change is the law of life and those who live in the past or the present are certain to miss the bus for the future.So are you ready for the journey!!!
Sudhanshu Tyagi
Retail Management
April 09
Trying to assimilate with all our might,
The loads of information bombarded on us as we hold on tight,
In this single year roller-coaster ride where we bravely fight,
To hold our spirits high even though we wanna sigh
Blog we must to help us smile,
For it must shine our inner light,
Enlighten the world, make it bright,
Spread thy knowledge, for darkness should die
Santosh Venkatraman
Services Marketing and Management
April 09
Few thoughts for your grey cells, some ideas to ponder upon,
Little warmth to kindle your hearts and smiles to spread along
With this hope we invite you all, to make our blog a melting pot of those innumerable thoughts and ideas which cross our minds and hearts!
Atrocities, Rapes, Murders, Terrorist attacks are no more a rarity. Scholars have spoken, introspection have been done before, mirrors have been broken but all in waste. Where are we going wrong?. Why is there no consensus in building right things and why do we desperately build upon bad things? Who will lead the sea of change? Why not me, why not you? Let’s start now. Let’s come together-Let’s look beyond.
World has seen so many sporadic changes culturally, economically, and education wise. The literacy level has gone up, economy has improved, cross cultural interactions have increased but between all this our approach towards life has gone narrow and it is sad to see that it is sliding down even further. Materialism is more important and the ability to lie and escape without getting caught probably has more weightage in gauging a personality.
Innocent people are killed in endless bomb blasts, racism is on a rise both inside and outside the country and death of human life is measured in sheer numbers. There are thousands dying as a result of poverty and there are few spending millions on birthday gifts! Humanity has gone for a toss and cynicism is in fashion! The fundamental issue with all of us is the fact that we are too busy worrying about trivial matters surrounding us and in turn losing out to the larger reason of our existence. The only way it can be done is by self-actualizing and by broadening our perspective towards life itself.
But when I look around I still find traces of a lot of inspiring works. The day these inspiring works are appreciated and adopted by societies around the globe in totality is the day when the world will get an all important healing touch. I know it is easier said than done but the only way human society can evolve is by bringing the change within ourselves. I am sure the day would come when people will have better things to do than to be held up in the web of jealousy, narrow mindedness and hatred. That would be possible only when we come together as a global society and where power would be not about oppression but about empathy. The chains will break only when we put our hands together for larger cause of the society. So let’s light up our thoughts and ignite the spark which is within us.
You are the president of Real Madrid, having £80 million burning in your pocket. What do you do?? Well what you can do is, go and buy Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for this whopping amount. Yes that’s what Real Madrid did and thereby created history. No doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is an amazing talent, probably a player one gets to see once in a lifetime but the question is whether shelling out £80 million is justifiable or not. By doing this aren’t the clubs making the game of football a pure business entity. Something similar happened couple of years back when David Beckham was bought by Real Madrid for the sole purpose of branding. The Galacticos era as we all know with the likes of Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Figo, Owen and how can I not mention Zinedine Zidane.
It’s shocking, though, to see that a beautiful game like football is getting more and more commoditized. Billionaires like Roman Abramovich buying clubs for their own whims and fancies with limited passion for the game. Seeing this it looks like that color of money has taken over the game and big boys like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, AC Milan, Barcelona calling the shots. It’s a tragedy that even after so much of hue and cry about lot of money flowing into the game nothing substantial has been done. The FIFA and UEFA are coming up with rules and regulations but all the time clubs do find their way out.
So where is all this taking the game of football, is the question which we all need to answer and thereby ensure that this beautiful game continues to produce talents like Pele, Maradona, Eusebio and thus keeps entertaining its followers world over.
Hey guys!!! To introduce myself as a Retailer would be just like a business card to the unknown. I am entering a world, that I have craven for, only armed with the zeal and wide eyes of a child taking his first steps.
Retailing – It’s an amazing concept that has evolved over the years. Tested over time Buying and selling of goods must have a past that I am unaware of but I can just assume that must have its roots even prior to the barter trade. Concepts evolved over hundreds of years would hence require more than just a lifetime to learn.
It is just fascinating how making goods available to the customer in a way replete with making him buy, would seem so complex that requires more than just an MBA course that would make us more than just an average Retailer.
Our study in the next few months would entail just that, making us smart retailers! Is retailing just about how stores are designed, studying the various formats of stores? Understanding why you and I buy and where? Is it learning about the various success stories that made the Walmarts, Metros and Carrefours of the world? Folks, it is much more, and I m dying to learn and share much more.
Thanks to the college that apart from just classroom study, we have a fascinating class mix of students providing ample scope to learn with and from everyone concerned. Another part of the jigsaw is an exposure to the Retail havens of Singapore and Dubai. There are also two batches in Singapore now to boost. We just formed the Retail Club to have a better coherence between the junior-senior link and enhance a learn-together environment.
This is just the beginning. An intense learning awaits us and I promise to update you on all the interesting news and learning that drives us into a world full of opportunities’ in three of the world’s most promising regions of South East Asia, Middle east, India and beyond, there are not just hurdles and challenges but more than a lifetime of learning to go.
What would you choose to do on a bright Sunday? Go out, but of course! And that is what the students from the two batches, Dec-08 and Apr-09 did. We went out around town in Singapore. We started from the college at 9:00 am in four mega busses and were back by 4:00 pm. From the Marina Barrage to Merlion to the Botanical Gardens accompanied by a sumptuous lunch; who says students at SPJCM don't know how to have fun?
Since this is the first post that I am going to write for the launch of the SPJCM PMM blog I thought it would be appropriate to understand or revisit the history of marketing. So, let me take you through the marketing history in 3 phases in three different posts. From a marketer of the current times we can actually divide the marketing history into three phases. One before 20th century, one during 20th century and the one after 20th century i.e. 21st century. During the current times it so important to understand what has happened in past so that we derive the maximum out of it. Also we do not want to repeat the same mistakes which have already taken place.
I am not going to go through the marketing theories which have actually been developed, re-written, evolved over these three phases but what I am going to do is to get the applications of these theories and then have an idea of what made them clicked, survive or not survive till today. Now there are going to be theories which are not applicable in today’s time. So, what is the reason behind that, and could those applications actually do something else so that they could have survived the times or improved in the times they existed? The fact which will always remain is that marketing is infinity, there is so much to do, so much to undo and so much to redo in marketing. It starts from procurement and does not end in retail. The whole concept is not to allow it to end. It is omnipresent but what we have to focus upon after understanding the history of marketing is that it is not omnipotent. But can we make it omnipotent is going to be the next series of posts.
So that’s what the whole idea of the initial posts will be for this coming week. Do let me know what your comments on the same are so that I can pitch in your requirements in the upcoming blogs.
When I graduated from Senior College in 2006 the biggest dilemma I faced was which industry I should make a career in. I met many career counsellors, gave random interviews to see what excites me the most, until one fine day I got an interview call from an internet marketing company. Not knowing anything about this industry I thought lets give it a try. I gave the interview, got the job and from then on there has been no turning back.
The whole concept of using the internet as a medium to reach out to customers and entice them to buy seemed so amazing and promising to me that I decided to test my boundaries in this field.
Internet Marketing or online marketing as some of us call it is essentially using the internet as a medium to market products and services.
The various forms of internet marketing include:
• Affiliate Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Viral Marketing
• Search Engine Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Interactive Advertising
• Mobile Advertising
• Banner Advertising
• E-Commerce
Subsequent posts will explain each of these in more detail. Also several internet strategies and models will also be discussed like Web Analytics, Web 2.0 etc.
Another important aspect that will be covered are the competitors – Google, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter
Finally the latest developments in this industry like ICANN conferences, Traffic Conferences and similar stories will also be covered.
So the tall and short of it is that to know the in and out of this ever growing and ever changing industry, that is quickly eating into the market share of other mediums of advertising, keep a watch on this space.
Like all industry sectors, the consulting companies have also been biting there nails in last 6 months to see if the market is going to come back to normal and will the client companies start giving them the projects again. This time was very difficult because most of the sectors paralyzed during this period.
On one side the impact of recession was that the clients put their projects on hold, the positive side of recession for consulting market was that it added one more field to field where they could offer there services. All the major players in the market added crisis situation handling as one of the services in their portfolio and researched heavily on what are the various sector specific steps which companies can take in order to minimize the impact of recession.
During this period the consulting companies faced a major problem because of the workforce as workforce accounts for more than 60 percent of cost for a typical consulting company. A lot of proposals were discussed during this period with the clients but as there was a crash crunch situation in most of the sectors few and most critical projects were finalized and the deals were inked. There was a situation in the consulting industry where the manpower was been looked upon as a cost center as the resources were not being fully utilized. Generally it is seen that consulting companies get major projects during the first three months of the year as the financial year starts in the western markets. But since this January the markets were not in their usual form, most of the consulting companies saw a subdued beginning of the year. Thus even the recruitment scenario in the consulting market was bleak in the first quarter as most of the companies were finding it difficult to maintain its current human assets. Moreover consultants looking for a switch in their career had limited opportunity due to limited business.
Fortunately second quarter of 2009 has come up with a ray of light for the consulting industry; the confidence level in markets has rose and companies are again looking forward to invest in new projects, this means the consulting companies are again back in business and thus the manpower is required. But as the consulting companies are now in a very fragile state because of how the markets will be in next three to six months, companies are hesitant to hire fresh post graduates and graduates which required to be trained, instead they looking to hire experts who can give highest value for money on a relatively lower pay package. This has opened a window for people who are experts in their sectors but have not worked for consulting firms.
As today most of the post graduates from business schools across the globe look forward to work in consulting domain, they hope that pretty soon the market bounces and they are in demand again.
Before this course I thought marketing was just one word used to promote any product. I joined this course in Product Marketing to know more about how to sell products. But more and more during our lectures am becoming more reflective about the role of marketing in our lives. Is marketing the mere selling of products? And services? (For my friends in service marketing) This narrow definition that many of us have once given to marketing has been long discarded. Today for my first post I won’t bore you with any more theories. I think our case studies in class have been enough for you all.
So let me bring you all to the world of branding. Who has not heard of Gucci, Mc Donald, Louis Vuitton, Coke, Nike, Chanel…and the list continues on. These iconic brands have become part of our daily lives. Some of us swear only by Adidas shoes, the Billabong shorts or the Giordano T-shirt we wear. What is it with those products that make them so appealing? Why do we all purchase them or go mad when we hear about sales of these going on. Like it or not, brands are part of us, part of who we are. This is the power of branding my friends. We may ask ourselves what’s in a name after all!!
Is it only about the name or is there more to it? How did brands make it to the top and what was so different about them.. That is what my posts for the following week will focus on. So for the time being, I leave you to reflect on those few things!
I still remember vividly the day that I decided to select HRM as my specialization in SPJCM. There’s a huge difference in how I felt about HRM then and now. Am I still starry eyed about ‘motivation’ and ‘employee relations’? No. Does the reality of it scare me? Yes. Beyond measure.
Looking past the standard ‘People are an organization’s greatest asset’ hogwash that my friends and I have so often used in B-school interviews, as I sit in class day after day it dawns on me with greater and greater enormity how HR strategy is the enforcer of that thin line between organizational balance and chaos. What would an organization’s effectiveness be without a sound compensation strategy, or a good succession plan or a fair rewards system in place? Are these systems that anyone can implement? I think not. It’s perhaps easier to sell toothpaste. J
That’s why we go to business school. To learn. To learn how one chink in the chain can lead to you losing your best resource, or how a misalignment of organizational and individual goals can lead to enormous losses or how a simple employee legislation can be used to bring down a million dollar conglomerate.
And yet, here in B-school, every day I find myself countering archaic skepticism about the very need for existence of HR. Ignorance perhaps? Maybe. Or maybe a lack of foresight to look beyond the back office functions that are also such an integral part of Human resource management.
Personally, someday as an HR head, I’d like to be in the board room making just as touch decisions as any business development or marketing head. To ensure that HR strategy contributes equally to the top line. I believe that’s only a matter of time. It’s inevitable. I also believe that this largely depends on how willing top management is to embrace this. The day the reserve dissolves, is the day that HR will turn from a ‘support function’ to a strategic contributor.
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