(News collection for Management studies)

Volume: 02 Issue: 116                                    6-May, 2010 – Thursday             Pages:3

Focus : Cars -Corporate - Outlook

Bajaj Auto small-car to focus on performance rather than price - Eyes 30 km/litre fuel efficiency, double-digit CO2 emission levels.

Bajaj Auto would focus on delivering “path-breaking performance” with its low-cost small car rather than just concentrate on a low price band.

The company said on Wednesday that in terms of fuel efficiency, emissions and maintenance, it is aiming for a 50 per cent improvement over competition.

The Pune-based two- and three-wheeler maker is developing the small car in partnership with French automaker Renault-Nissan. The vehicle is scheduled for launch by 2012. Renault had earlier mentioned a target price of $2,500 or Rs 1.12 lakh. The car is expected to compete at the Tata Nano price point.

Quality matters

Speaking at the launch of two new RE series three-wheelers, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, said, “It is the intention of Renault to price the car at $2,500. We're clear that a price of Rs 1 lakh or Rs 1.5 lakh is not important to us. We will instead focus on very high fuel efficiency and low emissions, besides low cost of ownership — which is what customers in the segment are looking for.” Bajaj is aiming at a fuel efficiency of 30 km a litre, besides carbon-dioxide emission (gm/km) in double digits. Currently, the closest competitor — Tata Nano — offers a fuel efficiency of 23.6 km a litre and a carbon-dioxide emission level of 101 gm/km. Other compact cars have a fuel efficiency of 18-19 km a litre.

To a question on the launch of four-wheeler passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, Mr Bajaj said, “We've harmonised our four-wheeler plans with what we're developing with Renault. It will only be introduced by 2012.”

The company launched two Bharat Stage III-compliant three-wheelers — RE 205D and RE 205M, priced at Rs 1.27 lakh and Rs 1.36 lakh respectively. Mr R. C. Maheshwari, CEO, Commercial Vehicles, Bajaj Auto, said the company has invested Rs 12-15 crore in the development of the new platform.

On the BSE, Bajaj Auto shares rose 0.71 per cent to Rs 2,085 on Wednesday







DAY FOCUS:

Macro Economy - Food inflation eases to 16.04%

Food inflation further eased to 16.04 per cent for the week ended April 24, as arrival of rabi (winter) crops cooled down prices of essential items.

Inflation fell over 0.57 per cent from 16.61 per cent in the previous week on account of a percentage point drop in prices of fish, fruits, wheat and vegetables over the week.

However, tea prices rose 13 per cent while maize, gram and eggs prices were up 1 per cent each.

Prices of cereals eased by 0.19 per cent and that of rice by 0.12 per cent in the week, but pulses became costlier by 0.60 per cent. Besides arrival of rabi crops in the markets, analysts attributed the cooling trend in inflation to reports of a normal m onsoon that has somewhat curbed aggressive speculative activity in food stocks.

Food inflation, which topped 20 per cent in December last year, came off from its high for the second consecutive week. On yearly basis, prices of vegetables, including potatoes and onions fell, but those of milk, fruits and pulses remained high.

Industry - Exports fall 4.7% in FY’10

India’s exports in 2009-10 fell 4.7 per cent to $176.5 billion, as a late revival in demand failed to fill the vacuum created in the first half.

The country’s exports fell for 13 months in a row, starting October 2008, due to the global slump in demand. Exports turned positive for the first since the slowdown in November 2009. Value of India’s outward shipment in 2008-09 was $185.3 billion.

“Some sectors continue to hurt badly like engineering, which declined by 21 per cent, electronic goods, handicrafts, and carpets,” Commerce and Industry Minister Mr Anand Sharma told reporters here.

As regards performance in March, exports grew 54 per cent to $19.9 billion. March was the fifth straight month of growth.

Mr Sharma said the export target for 2010-11 will be $200 billion. “We have a modest target of $ 200 billion of merchandise exports in 2010-11. We are confident of achieving the target and hopefully exceed it.”

Corporate -DB Corp to merge group co’s radio biz with self

DB Corp Ltd, the publisher of Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, on Thursday said it will de-merge the radio business of subsidiary Synergy Media Entertainment and transfer the same to itself.

The de-merger plan for the radio business has been approved by the company’s board of directors, which met yesterday, DB Corp said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Synergy Media Entertainment operates radio business under the brand, ‘My FM 94.3’, airing across 17 FM locations, including Jaipur, Bhopal and Nagpur.

“The restructuring proposal with DB Corp reinforces our growing confidence in the growth potential of radio business,” Synergy Media CEO Mr Harrish Bhati said.

Apart from Dainik Bhaskar, DB Corp publishes several other newspapers in different languages including Divya Bhaskar, a Gujarati daily.

Shares of DB Corp were quoting at Rs 248, up 1.74 per cent in late afternoon trade on the BSE



MANAGEMENT TIPS: GETTING ALONG WITH EMPLOYEES

A happy office is a productive one. Everyone will be more cheerful if you follow these simple rules.

1. Don't make your employees come in on days they're normally not scheduled to work or call them while they're on vacation. A surefire way to make employees resent you is to invade their personal time for nonpressing work. Unless you have something that absolutely has to be done, let time away from work stay that way.



2. Don't play favorites. Playing favorites can bias your judgment and impair your leadership abilities. Treat your employees equally.



3. Give credit when it's due. Don't take credit for your employees' ideas or hog their limelight. This action not only fosters resentment but also makes you seem untrustworthy.



4. Don't micromanage. While it's fine to keep up with what your employees are working on, don't constantly look over their shoulders.



5. Never discuss employee matters with their co-workers. This kind of gossip always gets back to the person and will make you look unprofessional.



6. Don't interfere with employees' work. If your employees are getting work done, don't stress about how it gets done. Even if it's not being done they way you'd do it, it's best to let employees use their best judgment.



7. Don't push unreasonable deadlines. You don't want to spend all of your time at the office, and neither do your employees.



8. Keep your promises. Barring some catastrophic event, you should always keep promises you make to employees, especially about pay and benefits.



9. Keep work about work. Don't require employees to run your personal errands. Take care of your own personal business or hire an assistant.



10. Reward hard work. Make sure your employees feel valued for the work that they do. Employees will be more willing to put in extra effort if they know it's noted and appreciated.



11. Provide motivation. Sometimes employees need a morale boost. Provide them with encouragement to get a project rolling.





Focus – Day Tip

Man becomes virtuous only when his speech is good; he becomes evil when his speech is bad..