Monday, November 23, 2009


(News collection for Management studies) 


Volume: 02           Issue: 109          23-November, 2009 – Monday            Pages: 12 
Message  from the  Principal,
                   Raja Mahendra College of Engineering, Ibrahimpatnam


Dt. 21.11.2009
Prof. Dr. Colonel K. Prabhakar Rao ( Retd)
          B.E.(Mech); ME(IISC); Ph.D(Engg), Ph.D(Engg) USA, Ph.D(E.E)
          AMIE, FIPE, FIEE, PGDAE
Principal

I congratulate Prof. B. Sundara Rao, HOD the Department of Management Studies at Raja Mahendra College of Engineering for launching the Blog.

The field of management science is a growing one and the students of MBA programme have to keep themselves abreast and update their knowledge about various developments in the field. There is also a requirement of continuous interaction with the members of society on related issues. This is possible through internet and blogs. Students and faculty members find this a good opportunity to express their views, post new findings, ideas and thoughts over the blog from which others too would be greatly benefited. The blog no doubt would serve as a source of important in the form of articles, case studies and findings. There is however a requirement keeping the blog absolutely professional in the outlook and contents and eliminate controversies. I also advice that any information taken from any source must be properly acknowledged.

I wish the organizer all success in their efforts in this direction. On this occasion I especially congratulate Mr. Venugopaal Rao, Assoc. Prof. of the Department for his untiring efforts.

PRINCIPAL
( Dr. K. Prabhakar Rao)



Focus on Patience:
Patience Must Be Cultivated and it Results From Love
(Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao , Principal, Raja Mahendra College of Engineering, Ibrahimaptnam)
Patience is vital for us. To develop patience, it is necessary to have patience. In an interesting event a person was found praying to God requesting to grant him the trait of patience and that it should be given quickly. He was in hurry even with God. The person was in hurry to obtain the trait and lack of this patience was demonstrated in the prayer too. Jesus is the fitting example as an embodiment of patience. His death on cross has no parallel to demonstrate this aspect. Even when the nails were being driven through his body in to the wooden cross he did not utter a single harsh word against the tormentors. In face of great pain, he requested his father (God) to forgive his tormentors as they were ignorant (Luke 23:34-35) (1). Similarly Prahlada the ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu in the yore demonstrated great patience in pursuit of his devotion to the Lord and finally succeeded. Hardships of greatest magnitude including death imposed by his father Hiranyakasipa did not deter him from his goal and finally he succeeded (2). Lord Buddha spent many years of his prime youth in search of peace and truth and moved with ascetics and subjecting his body to great pains and hunger. But he did not succeed. Yet, he did not loose patience and determination. At last, he attained realization under a Bodhi tree in Gaya and from then, he was called Buddha. Paul in his letter wrote,
“Learn to be patient so that you please the God and be given what he has promised.” (Hebrews, 10:36, ) ( 3).
Bible states that those who live with great patience keeping God always in the mind and patiently undergoing pains and forgiving those who torment will be blessed by the God with great love. This is clear from the statement,
“Daniel, stay trusted till the last, at the end you shall die. Subsequently you shall rise and at the time of judgment shall be rewarded” (Daniel, 12:13) ( 4)
Nehemya said,
“You have been warning them repeatedly. Through prophets they were advised. But the advices have not gone to their heads.” ( Nehemya, 9:30) (5)
Peter in his second letter said,
“The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises. As some people think he is. In fact God is patient, because he wants every one to turn from sin and no one to be lost, ( 2 Peter, 3:9)
Thus we see that God is very patient and this trait is divinely one. Men must develop patience and live to abide by the directions of God and inculcate and develop the trait of patience. It is also difficult to demonstrate patience at trying circumstances particularly when health and physical conditions become a testing factor. Most of us loose patience and get angry and become revengeful. Ant is the best example for patience. Watch a group of ants trying to move few crumbs of food. In spite of failures and inability to move foods they will not loose heart and run away and succeed in finally taking it away.
In the words of Henry Drummond, patience is the outcome of love. Steady love and awaiting love is nothing but patience. Those who display love are not perturbed and loose patience. They patiently wait for directions from God. They live-in hope and anticipation. Such men can sustain any hardships. Even during the most trying circumstances, they are not disturbed. They patiently wait for deliverance by the Lord. . Thus, love and patience both are mutually dependent and synonymous (6).
While displaying patience, it is also essential to use common sense. Patience also does not mean to accept indiscipline eternally. At times if people are not corrected at appropriate times, it would be very difficult to make amends later on and long term damage would result. Therefore one has to be very judicious too in this regard. The present world scene is very relevant. Certain countries are targeted by Muslim terrorists and are waging Jihad on false notions. Many times these countries have ignored the attacks without retaliation hoping that the offenders would soon see the reason and stop the nefarious activities. But silence and extended patience is seen as inability to take firm action and cowardice and further serious attacks are planned. Therefore at a particular instant the line is crossed retaliatory actions are a must to set things right. Probably attacks on world Trade center on Sept 11, 2001 in New York can be quoted in this context. USA in fact was very liberal to the AlQaeda and other terrorist actions against it on earlier occasions. Earlier attack on WTC and on USS Cole, attack on US embassies around the world were not given necessary importance and finally the terrorists grew bold and the result was the calamity in New York in 2001. USA finally went hammer and tongs against Al Qaeda in all corners of the world.Thus, patience has to have a limit on certain occasions. However on the religious front while we are in efforts to seek God infinite amount of patience is essential.  Religious scriptures also attribute actions of anger to Gods. Does God become angry? He is known to be the apostle of love and compassion. From where such angry actions to God devoid of patience have been attributed? In Old Testament of Bible, God is known to have destroyed ancient cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah because people of these cities practiced evil.
In Hindu scriptures too there are many such writings attributing anger and loss of patience to God. Lord Parsurama was the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and he was born to a famous and accomplished sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka. The Ruler at that time was Kartyaveerajuna famous and accomplished king who was however was cruel and demanding. The Sage Jamadagni was killed by the king and the king was a Kshatriya. In retaliation and as a revenge Parasurama (Rama with Parasu meaning with Battle axe) invaded the capital of the king and in ferocious battle killed him with his battle axe. Subsequently Parasurama invaded Kshatriya kingdoms in the land 24 times and killed all the kings. This was done because the Kshatriya kings were believed to have become too powerful and arrogant. To a modern man, this appears rather strange. Parasurama the incarnate of Vishnu (who is God) took revenge and killed all the kings 24 times. Can this be approved as an action from the God or his incarnate? God has to be affectionale and is identified with love. In Bhagavad-Gita that was proclaimed by Lord Krishna (8 th incarnation of Lord Vishnu) it has been stated whenever evil exceeds in the world God would incarnate himself on the land and would get rid off the evil in a befitting manner. It is said:
Yadaa Yaddahi Dharmsya Glanirbhavati Bharata
Abhyuddhanamadharmasya taddatmanam srujamyaham -. (Bhagavad- Gita, 4: 7 )
Hey Arjuna whenever virtue is in decline and evil flourishes
I shall manifest in this world
Paritranaya Saadhoonam Vinasaya cha dushkratam
Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavaami yuge yuge (Bhagavad-Gita Gita 4:8)
To protect the righteous and to destroy evil men
To establish dharma I shall incarnate in every period.
The land was being ruled by ill tempered and evil kings and the Lord incarnated himself as Parsurama who was the most valiant Brahmin of the times and he waged war using his battle axe and eliminated the Kshatriya kings 24 times and freed the world from the evil rulers. Thus Gods actions on killing of Kings were justified as an action to free the world from sinners and evil men.
Similarly the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were evil men practicing homosexuality and sinned. God had to destroy these men enblock and hence the cities were destroyed by fire and evil was eliminated. By punishing the evil men God has freed such men from sins. Hindu scriptures state that the evil men such as Rakshasa who tormented the world and finally were killed by the God (Including God incarnates) were freed of their sins and attained paradise. Thus the evil men were liberated from their sins at the hands of God. In this context, clarification of most distinguished Swami LateVidya Prakashananda of Kalahasti ashram (hermitage) is highly relevant. If the evil men are not eliminated, sin and evil in the world would increase many folds in the world and would devastate the world. If the human body is infected with apses, it has to be set right by operation. Or else, it would aggravate situation and also can lead to death by serious infection and setting of Gangrene or cancer. At times, a limb may be lost in a body in an operation. But life is saved. Similarly the society would be set right and saved by eliminating the evil persons (7). Lord Krishna too killed his maternal uncle King Kamsa who ruled at Mathura and put Krishna’s parents in prison. He made many attempts to kill Krishna as Krishna was destined to kill him. At last Krishna grew up and killed Kamsa and eliminated the evil. Such actions of corrections can not be termed and attributed to violent and revengeful actions of God on his own subjects.
Thus patience is a divinely trait and has to be cultivated by men and has to be developed. Love would develop along with patience and one has to patiently wait for others conduct towards us and wait for transformation.

Bibliography
 1. New testament Contemporary English version, Commorative edition, American Bible Society, New York, 1995, PP 116
2. Prof Dr Colonel (retired) K Prabhakar Rao; God is omnipresent, omnipotent and merciful. All religions conform, Prahlada Charithra (the story of Prahlada), www.faithcommons.org , December 12, 2006, 22:18
3. New testament Contemporary English version, Commorative edition, American Bible Society, New York, 1995
4. Holy Bible, Catholic translation in Telugu. Gali Bali, Guntur Mission, Andhra Catholic Society, Guntur, 1990, PP 1774
5. Holy Bible, Catholic translation in Telugu. Gali Bali, Guntur Mission, Andhra Catholic Society, Guntur, 1990, PP 774
6. Father Nicholos Maestrini, PIME, Prema Sadhana, (Forever Love…. God’s plan for happiness), Translated by Guntur Yesupadam, Catchist Sisters of saint ann., Nacharam, Hyderabad, AP, India, April 2001, PP 363,
7. Vidya Prakashananda Swami, Geetha Makarandam ( the nectar of Bhagavad-Gita)( In Telugu), Sri Sukabrahmasramam, Sri Kalahasthi, Chittor District, AP, India, PP 384-385

FOCUS : Marketing – Brand Advertising

Collected  by J.Deepthi., 1-Sem MBA  09D61E0011
Source : The Economic Times – 18 Nov, 2009.

PUTTING SEVERAL BRANDS IN ONE AD IS A RISKY PREPOSITION

Marketers from all sectors are turning to multi-brand advertising as a way of promoting a portfolio of products. One obvious and immediate benefit is lower advertising costs, but that does not mean it is a universally appropriate strategy. “You can see why multibrand ads are alluring to companies,”says Ben Kay, head of planning, RKCR/Y&R .

“It gives the parent brand an ego-boost by showcasing all its products and helps to save on budgets.”  P&G recently ran a TV campaign featuring its Max Factor, Olay, Aussie and Clairol brands. The ads took the form of a ‘reallife’ make-over show, during which products from all four ranges were used. Andy Lear, head of planning, Publicis London, says brands need clear evidence of the benefit of grouping products in this way.

“It is surprisingly hard to find a message that is relevant to a range of products.” “There has to be some reason for grouping , like in P&G’s ad, showing the dramatic impact all four products, when used simultaneously, can have for the customer.” Heinz also announced that it wants to use a similar approach. It is to run a multi-millionpound umbrella campaign, the first time it will advertise all its lines together, under the line ‘It has to be Heinz’ . It believes this will help battle supermarket own-label ranges. In an unusual choice of direction, Ford has also tapped into the trend. Its ad, which broke in May, featured models including the Focus, Mondeo, Fiesta and Kuga. The manufacturer now plans to use this brand-led format for the majority of its communications.

Ford Europe’s director of marketing communications, Mark Simpson, says the company had been planning the ad for some time as it wanted to reposition the Ford brand and communicate messages about the vehicle features and brand values across its range. “This is a much more powerful way of advertising than focusing on individual vehicles.”

Simpson argues a multibrand ad only works with a strong parent-brand identity. “The difference between Ford and P&G is that we have an overriding brand name that consumers recognise,” he says. He recalls Ford producing a multibrand ad for marques including Aston Martin, Jaguar and Volvo, but notes that it was ineffective because many consumers did not care that Ford was then the owner of Jaguar. Phil Thomas, marketing director, household and personal care, Reckitt Benckiser, is cautious for precisely this reason.

“I can see that for Heinz & Ford it could make sense, as the parent is a bigger consumer brand than the individual sub-brands ,” he says. “Were we to advertise Finish, Vanish and Dettol in a single ad, the viewer would not easily understand why those brands had come together. It risks confusing and possibly distracting the audience from what you are trying to communicate.”

Amid such tough market conditions, experts say advertisers need to examine the implications carefully before committing to a multibrand strategy. “The recession promotes innovation and desperation in equal measure, and with multibrand ads you are seeing a bit of both,” says Paul O’Donnell ,
UK group chairman, Ogilvy. “It is logical to promote some similar brands together to boost short-term sales. However , brands are precious things and have been protected in their own space for a long time. It is dangerous to blend them together, as it destroys the brand image.”

Some brands naturally sit well together and, where this is the case, it can be tactically effective & cost-efficient, to promote them at the same time. However, this should not be done at the expense of the individual brands. If the tie-up does not seem logical to customers, then, at best, the ads will be distracting and ineffective.


DAY FOCUS:  Focused by J.Deepthi, 1-Sem MBA (09D61E0011)
                                                            
                                                            Software - Marketing - Online Marketing

Tech is ideal prescription - Dr Reddy's Laboratories says IT is toning up the company's sales and distribution operations.
 


Information at a click.

What does a medical representative do if a doctor poses a complex question on the efficacy of a drug he is trying to explain to him?

Generally, the medical rep sends the query back to the company head quarters located miles away, which would get back to the doctor with an appropriate answer over a period of time. But India's second largest pharma company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, says its rep can provide the answer in no time, by harnessing the power of information technology.

The Hyderabad-based pharma major is able to achieve ‘real-time' efficiency in marketing by providing customised hand-held, palm-top devices to its team of 2,500 medical representatives across the country. “In fact, we are the first pharma company to automate the entire direct sales force of over 2,500 medical representatives,” B.V. Srinivas, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Dr Reddy's Labs, tells eWorld. The PDA devices, besides improving the communication between doctors, R&D and drug discovery team, help in other ways.

“A medical representative can plan his schedules with doctors and electronically fill-in the expense statements instantly. The head office will also know what is happening on the field,” he says.

Sharpening distribution

Dr Reddy's has also sharpened the edge of its distribution network by integrating it with its electronic network. The traditional method of maintaining inventories, stockists and replenishments request is manual. “But, at head office, we can pick up files of over 1,500 distributors and access the closing stocks. A real-time update on the entire supply chain is possible. From a stockist's perspective, triggering a new order for replenishment is just a click away,” says Srinivas.

For vendors too, a portal exists that makes it easier for asking a quotation or sending a statement on financial status. A central data pool on various drugs and steps to be taken in case of any adverse reaction is also in place. “We have also put in place various protocols for disaster recovery and business continuity,'' he says.

The future plans on IT usage in Dr Reddy's include complete integration of quality manufacturing. “This is vital for a drug-maker. Instead of manufacturing a product and testing it, we plan to incorporate quality testing and control at the design level itself,” he adds. “We are also in the process of bringing our entire IT resources across different geographies to a central location in India. One ERP system and one process for all operations is essential for proper connectivity and collaboration,” he says.

Paperless model

On the employee front, Dr Reddy's is adopting a paperless model where all HR-related issues, applications, are dealt electronically. Even interviews are being conducted via video-conferencing through a tie-up with the Reliance Web World. The candidates to be interviewed are given the option of facing the interview from any outlet of Reliance Web World. And, all this is done with a team of just 60 people with an annual budget of Rs 25 crore for a $1.5 billion plus company!

Retailing - Marketing  Strategy

Future Group to launch 10-15 brands every year - To introduce Tasty Treat breakfast cereals.
 
Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is developing well-performing labels from its private label kitty into strong stand-alone brands.The company is expanding its private labels in various categories and is looking to enter 10-15 new categories every year.
“Our endeavour is to develop the brands as any other FMCG product. Since they don’t carry the crutches of Food Bazaar, it will help in developing the market for these products,” Mr Devendra Chawla, Head, Private Brands, Future Group told Business Line. The company’s hyper-format Big Bazaar is all set to launch breakfast cereal range under its private brand -Tasty Treat.
“We will be shortly launching noodles, jams and toothpaste from our private label portfolio. The breakfast cereal is a category that is on an uptick and usually sells through an organised retail environment. We will be retailing the products through our various formats,” he said.  Tasty Treat breakfast cereals will be available in variants such as corn flake, plain cornflakes, chocolate and honey flavour. The company will be adopting in-store branding and marketing initiatives to popularise the brand.
Private labels

Food Bazaar’s other private labels include Fresh-n-Pure for dairy based products such as butter and ghee and home care and personal care labels Care Mate and Clean Mate.According analysts, private labels account for nearly 30 per cent in FMCG category and 25 per cent in the personal category for Future Group. Since these products are priced 8-10 per cent cheaper than competitive products, it is becoming a significant revenue earner for most retailers.

“We will be shortly launching our brand of toothpaste under the brand name Saach. Since margins from private labels are in excess of 20 per cent for us, this is a huge incremental revenue,” Mr Chawla said.

US Senate passes unanimous resolution on India
Welcoming the state visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the US Senate on Monday passed a unanimous resolution saying that India and the United States can together make “enormous contributions’’ in addressing the challenges of the 21st century. Introduced by Senator Christopher Dodd, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, and co-sponsored by as many as 18 other Senators, the resolution said the Senate “believes that together the governments of India and the US can bring immense benefits to their people and make enormous contributions to addressing the global challenges of the 21st century’’. A similar resolution was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives last week.
The Senate resolution is considered to be significant as it was passed during the course of a rare week-end meeting of the US Senate which discussed the issue of health insurance reform.“Warmly welcoming Dr Manmohan Singh on his official state visit,’’ the Senate said it looks forward to the continuing progress in relations between India and the United States.
Acknowledging the significant cooperation between the two countries, the resolution said India serves as a pivotal and effective partner in ensuring international peace and security and is the third largest contributor of personnel to United Nations peac ekeeping missions.


Petroleum - Corporate  Announcements
Reliance receives first consignment of Cairn crude oil
Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat, received its first consignment of Cairn India’s Rajasthan crude oil over the weekend. The first consignment was dispatched on 21,November 2009. Reliance is to get seven such consignments totalling about 1.5 million barrels a day (each parcel of about 209,000 barrels).
Sources close to the development told Business Line, “After delivering two consignments to one of the Government nominees Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), Cairn has now delivered its first consignment to RIL.” According to sources, the implied price realisation represents an average 10-15 per cent discount on Brent on the basis of prices prevailing for the six months to September 2009. For the last fortnight of October, Brent averaged at $75 a barrel.
Early this month Cairn had reached an initial agreement for crude supplies from the Mangala field in Barmer, Rajasthan, to RIL. This agreement is pursuant to the Government approval of allowing private refiners to qualify as additional offtakers of the Rajasthan crude. The crude oil has been delivered to RIL’s Jamnagar refinery through heated crude oil tankers shipped from Kandla Port to Jamnagar. As in the case of Government nominees, IOC and MRPL, the commercial terms including the price for the initial offtake of the Rajasthan crude have been concluded with RIL. Meanwhile, Cairn has requested the Government to nominate additional offtake arrangements and discussions with other private refiners are in progress.
According to reports, RIL imported about 1.279 million bpd crude in September. Cairn had started crude oil production from RJ-ON-90/1 Block on August 29, and is currently producing around 20,000 barrels a day. Cairn has designed the Mangala Processing Terminal (MPT) to process crude before evacuating for sale to Government nominees and private refiners. The MPT will process crude from the Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields – collectively known as the MBA fields. The MPT is designed to process 205,000 barrels a day of crude with scope for further expansion.


9% growth needed to eradicate poverty: Manmohan
Ahead of his talks with the US President, Mr Barack Obama, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday said India needs a growth rate of eight to nine per cent to industrialise and get rid of chronic poverty and pitched for transfer of d ual use technology to achieve that goal.
“We are a nuclear weapons state, but we are a responsible nuclear power. We have an impeccable record of not having contributed to unauthorised proliferation of these weapons of mass destruction,’’ he said in an interview to CNN, aired minutes before he landed at the Andrews Air Force Base in the US on the first state visit of Obama Administration.
“I think, India does require greater consideration of the international community,’’ he said when asked about the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and its implementation. India needs to industrialise and operate on the frontiers of modern science and technology, Dr Singh said.
“And therefore, restrictions on dual use technology affect our growth,’’ the Prime Minister said adding that India needs an annual growth rate of eight to nine per cent to get rid of chronic poverty, ignorance and disease which afflict millions and milli ons of Indians. In that context, industrialisation and transfer of dual use technology can play a greater role, he added.
To a question, the Prime Minister said the relationship between India and the US will not be affected because of the change in the US Administration. “I have no apprehension that our relations with the United States would in any way suffer because of the change of the Administration,’’ he said. 


Corporate - Aurobindo Pharma opens new unit in Hyderabad
Aurobindo Pharma has inaugurated its formulations manufacturing facility (Unit VII) at APIIC Green Industrial Park near Hyderabad at an investment of about Rs 150 crore.
According to BSE announcement, the unit would cater to high value non-betallactum products for regulated markets and will further enhance the company’s capabilities in providing comprehensive pharma manufacturing, distribution, services and solutions to its customers including global alliance. The facility currently employs 200 people and expects to significantly expand its workforce in India over time. The scheduled commencement of commercial operations is April 2010. 

Industry – Assocham demands uniformity in ET rates across India

The Centre should act as a coordinator to bring uniformity in entertainment tax rates, currently varying between 30 per cent and 40 per cent across the country, for growth of the entertainment and media industry, Assocham has said.
“Entertainment industry is anticipated to grow at a rate of nearly 10 per cent for the next five years and would reach a level of Rs 1,000 billion...(however) uneven entertainment tax which is already in excess would curb its growth,” the industry body said. While entertainment is one of the basic needs of life, the entertainment tax levied on release of films in cinema halls is highly uneven across various states and is in excess of 30-40 per cent, the chamber said.
It further said that the government should remove withholding tax on discounts given to advertising agencies by newspapers on bulk purchases of space, stating that there is no scope of this tax. The Central Board of Direct Taxes is, however, of the view that such discounts is in the nature of commission or brokerage paid by newspapers to advertising agencies and accordingly is liable to withholding tax, it said.


MANAGEMENT TIPS: MANAGE YOURSELF

Being a good manager isn't just about what you can encourage other people to do, it's also about managing your own performance.
Be accessible. Don't hole up in your office all day — come out and visit with your employees. Let them know that they can always come to you with problems and concerns.


Be open to constructive criticism. It may not always be what you want to hear, but listening to constructive criticism gives you the chance to learn and grow from your mistakes.


Accept responsibility. Part of being the boss is accepting responsibility for the mistakes of all that you manage, not just your own.


Know there's always room for improvement. No matter how good you think you are, your job can always be done better. Always be willing to learn.


Improve your skills. Learning is a lifelong process. You're never too old to take a class or ask a co-worker to help you improve your knowledge.


Explain things simply. Don't use big words or technical jargon just to sound smart and impress others. Your employees will understand and perform better if you explain simply and clearly what you need.


Instruct rather than order. You may be the boss, but you don't have to be bossy. You'll have more success if your requests are more tactfully delivered.


Include your staff in your plans. Don't make your work top secret; let your employees know what's going on and how they are expected to contribute.


Know your subordinates' jobs. You don't want to be caught with inferior job knowledge.


Be flexible. It's fine to be firm in what you expect, but allow for flexibility in how it gets done.


Get regular feedback. Your employees and superiors can give you valuable feedback on how to improve your performance. Use this to your advantage.


Know your limitations. You can't be everywhere doing everything all at once. Know the limits of your time and abilities and say no to things you know you can't do.

 FOCUS – CASE STUDY:

Sales and Advertising Management - Skill Development Vs Employee
A large south based fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company wanted its employees to have highly specialised, focused sales training- so that the firm could achieve faster sales growth, utilising such skills. To this end it had hired' the services of a premier sales training agency and asked 9o fits executives (mostly engineers and commerce graduates) to undergo training for a period of 15 months. The company supported the programme by meeting all the expenses charged by the agency in addition to a special allowance for buying books, study material, stationery, etc., The training was offered in company's own premises in Chennai. The executives were allowed to focus on the programme in the afternoon hours, in addition to two off days on weekends. The whole exercise was meant to update their skills in 'sales' as quickly as possible. The programme went on smoothly and concluded only recently. The results were beginning to manifest themselves in more than one way. As per the recommendations of the training agency and the newly trained executives, (he company is about c to launch new brands into the market.
Rahul, a bright and aspiring young engineering graduate full of energy and ideas- for whom management had high hopes- resigned in August 99, exactly after four months of the sales training programme. Rahul found that the intra organisation training, the invaluable 6 year work experience and the newly acquired sales training certificate presented a 'fairly lucrative portfolio of credentials, which he took to a large multinational firm. The offer from the MNC seemed irresistible and Rahul had no hesitation in quitting the company that had spent nearly fifty thousand rupees on his sales training just four months back. Rahul, on his part, had expressed a desire to stay, but the management told him that there were no anticipated openings at middle management level and he might have to wait for his turn patiently.
Rahul's manager Vikram is caught in a dilemma now. Loss of Rahul meant a ten-month setback for the project. Rahul was working on. He also felt that the extensive sales training Rahul had received at the company's expense was little utilised compare to what Rahul would have contributed had he remained with the company. Another pressing problem stared Vikram in the face-many others may be waiting in the queue. Rahul had shown the other trainees that if the firm would not recognize and reward his capabilities, other employment could be easily found.


Questions:
1. As Rahul's manager, what would you do to retain him?
2. What changes would you recommend in the company's employee development programmes?
3. Does it make sense to develop employees at company's expense, only to lose them afterwards'?



Focus – Day Tip
There is one book that you have to study and that is this world


1 comment:

  1. WE NEVER EXPECTED THIS SORT OF THINGS FROM OUR ORGANIZATION.... IT'S REALLY SUCH NICE EFFORT SIR...

    DURGA

    ReplyDelete