I was having lunch with my old friend and his fiancée. We ordered calculated amount of lunch but a small proportion was still left after we were over. I was indifferent to the leftover stuff and as usual busy in chatting with my friend, however the wise lady asked the waiter to parcel the leftover food. Then we had the discussion about the policy of “no food wastage” followed by some righteous people. This ofcourse reminded me of my another friend who never wasted food once taken in his plate and always used to remind me whenever I did left something.
Well, we did parcel the leftover food and gave it to someone sitting on the footpath in the afternoon under the bright sun. I was sitting in the cab while my friend went out to give that parcel to the needy. Little did I realise what that parcel meant for a person living roadside and worrying just how his next meal is going to come. But when I saw the expressions on the face of that needy person I found all that effort was really worth it.
Lets us talk about a normal person, busy with his work and enjoying his weekends with his friends, he seldom find time to contribute something for the society. What does it takes to parcel the leftover food from a restaurant, just asking the waiter to do it for you. No additional effort is required except that you may have to get down from your cab to give it to someone in need but everything is worth it when you notice the true value of your leftover food for someone who may not even have his/her meal for that day.
Certainly, I will parcel a meal again, will you?
Friday, 16 April 2010
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Abhivyakti
I was never a poet, you gave me the words to write
I wasn’t an artist either, you made me find my creativity
I was not the leader, you gave me the strength to believe
Neither was I a confident man, But now I can take on this world
I had the wings, you taught me how to fly
I feared big ambitions, you told me not to shy
I had my share of setbacks, you said not to cry
Nothing seems impossible, you always inspired me to try
It was your energy that made me cheer
With your direction I steer
I do not know what more to say
You made me what I am, dear!
I don’t know how I would get along
My feelings for you are, all strong
Wish you along with your dreams, flourish
As it is your friendship that I cherish
[this is my first attempt at writing a poem, i did this on the last but one day of my stay at IIMK; and I wish all my graduating friends all the very best for their future]
I wasn’t an artist either, you made me find my creativity
I was not the leader, you gave me the strength to believe
Neither was I a confident man, But now I can take on this world
I had the wings, you taught me how to fly
I feared big ambitions, you told me not to shy
I had my share of setbacks, you said not to cry
Nothing seems impossible, you always inspired me to try
It was your energy that made me cheer
With your direction I steer
I do not know what more to say
You made me what I am, dear!
I don’t know how I would get along
My feelings for you are, all strong
Wish you along with your dreams, flourish
As it is your friendship that I cherish
[this is my first attempt at writing a poem, i did this on the last but one day of my stay at IIMK; and I wish all my graduating friends all the very best for their future]
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
The Laundry war gets dirty – P&G vs. HUL
Have you seen the latest Rin ad by HUL, they have claimed that Rin is better than Tide Naturals in the sense that it fights dirt better.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Advertising/Rin-washes-rivalry-linen-with-Tide-in-public-through-new-TV-ad/articleshow/5629626.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Ad-part-of-battle-over-market-share/articleshow/5631730.cms
They have taken an aggressive stance by explicitly taking the name of Tide Naturals in the Ad (and showing Tide Natural Rs20 pack), it is a brave move and could prove to be risky if P&G decides to fight it out in court. Some things are noteworthy in this campaign
· The campaign is run very frequently as you notice this Ad every next minute, it is obvious as HUL is not sure how soon they would be forced to stop airing the Ad if P&G moves to the court, so if damage has to be done, it has to be done quickly
· The Ad launch was timed perfectly with a long weekend coupled with Holi, when people are searching in the cupboard for clothes that they can wear on Holi and are worried that their new clothes should not get dirty anyhow in holi celebrations
· The long weekend also ensures that the Ad gets a breathing time as it will make it difficult for P&G to respond in a quick manner, the decision taking will take more time
· The product compared is Tide Naturals and not normal Tide and a third party Laboratory validation is quoted with an * mark
· The Ad capitalise on “Chauk Gaye” phrase which is synonymous with Tide campaigns and ends with “Aunty chauk kyon gayee”
Surprisingly but cleverly HUL has moved to the court and challenged the use of ‘Naturals’ word by Tide, clearly with a two pronged attack on Tide. Well if you have little idea about the detergent market, HUL has been losing its market share to Tide for a long time and I think it has tried too hard to sustain its market share but whether this new all offensive attack on Tide Naturals will help HUL get back its market share? Time will only tell, but lets see what is P&G options now, how should it counter this attack
1. Move to the court, get a stay on the Ad asap, as it is hitting the brand equity of Tide
2. Launch a counter offensive by doing the laboratory test again and disproving the results otherwise
3. Reinforce the Tide brand by some sales promotions or point of sales events, PR, emphasising the cleaning action of Tide
4. Take the war to a whole new level and include Ariel and Surf Excel, attack stronghold of HUL’s other brands and get even
However, a smarter way would be to tell the consumers that by launching this Ad HUL has inadvertently accepted that Tide is the leader in the category and therefore they are forced to compare their product with Tide and not any other brand, so the customers should realise that Tide is already no1 and every other brand is just comparing itself to Tide and looking to match the brand promise this way or the other. Whatever, P&G’s response will be, I am looking forward to watch the detergent war getting dirtier, lets us see how the brand managers of two prestigious FMCG companies fight it out.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Advertising/Rin-washes-rivalry-linen-with-Tide-in-public-through-new-TV-ad/articleshow/5629626.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Ad-part-of-battle-over-market-share/articleshow/5631730.cms
They have taken an aggressive stance by explicitly taking the name of Tide Naturals in the Ad (and showing Tide Natural Rs20 pack), it is a brave move and could prove to be risky if P&G decides to fight it out in court. Some things are noteworthy in this campaign
· The campaign is run very frequently as you notice this Ad every next minute, it is obvious as HUL is not sure how soon they would be forced to stop airing the Ad if P&G moves to the court, so if damage has to be done, it has to be done quickly
· The Ad launch was timed perfectly with a long weekend coupled with Holi, when people are searching in the cupboard for clothes that they can wear on Holi and are worried that their new clothes should not get dirty anyhow in holi celebrations
· The long weekend also ensures that the Ad gets a breathing time as it will make it difficult for P&G to respond in a quick manner, the decision taking will take more time
· The product compared is Tide Naturals and not normal Tide and a third party Laboratory validation is quoted with an * mark
· The Ad capitalise on “Chauk Gaye” phrase which is synonymous with Tide campaigns and ends with “Aunty chauk kyon gayee”
Surprisingly but cleverly HUL has moved to the court and challenged the use of ‘Naturals’ word by Tide, clearly with a two pronged attack on Tide. Well if you have little idea about the detergent market, HUL has been losing its market share to Tide for a long time and I think it has tried too hard to sustain its market share but whether this new all offensive attack on Tide Naturals will help HUL get back its market share? Time will only tell, but lets see what is P&G options now, how should it counter this attack
1. Move to the court, get a stay on the Ad asap, as it is hitting the brand equity of Tide
2. Launch a counter offensive by doing the laboratory test again and disproving the results otherwise
3. Reinforce the Tide brand by some sales promotions or point of sales events, PR, emphasising the cleaning action of Tide
4. Take the war to a whole new level and include Ariel and Surf Excel, attack stronghold of HUL’s other brands and get even
However, a smarter way would be to tell the consumers that by launching this Ad HUL has inadvertently accepted that Tide is the leader in the category and therefore they are forced to compare their product with Tide and not any other brand, so the customers should realise that Tide is already no1 and every other brand is just comparing itself to Tide and looking to match the brand promise this way or the other. Whatever, P&G’s response will be, I am looking forward to watch the detergent war getting dirtier, lets us see how the brand managers of two prestigious FMCG companies fight it out.
7, 12, 17 …
So what should come next?
Well, I asked this to a Consultant and he told me ‘It depends’, a Financial Analyst told me that it can be no simpler, it is 22 for sure, Mr. Marketer told me that if you do not do anything it will be 22 but if you let me handle that I can increase it, Mr. Accountant told me that he can make the next number anything I want, Mr. Operations told me that whatever it will be he can only handle it if it is within 3σ, Mr HR advised me not to be too inclined to numbers and use some qualitative matrix as well. Now, before you lose interest let me tell you that it is a time series data, does that help you?
Well, I am not sure of the next number in the series. It will depend upon the following
• Number of events happening at local, national or international level that arouse my interest
• Number of people who praises my writing :) or come and comment on my blogs
• The time that I am able to devote to my blog
Yes you get it right, it is the number of blog posts that I have written for the last three years and the next in series will be the total posts that I will write in year 2010 . So what will it be?
Well, I asked this to a Consultant and he told me ‘It depends’, a Financial Analyst told me that it can be no simpler, it is 22 for sure, Mr. Marketer told me that if you do not do anything it will be 22 but if you let me handle that I can increase it, Mr. Accountant told me that he can make the next number anything I want, Mr. Operations told me that whatever it will be he can only handle it if it is within 3σ, Mr HR advised me not to be too inclined to numbers and use some qualitative matrix as well. Now, before you lose interest let me tell you that it is a time series data, does that help you?
Well, I am not sure of the next number in the series. It will depend upon the following
• Number of events happening at local, national or international level that arouse my interest
• Number of people who praises my writing :) or come and comment on my blogs
• The time that I am able to devote to my blog
Yes you get it right, it is the number of blog posts that I have written for the last three years and the next in series will be the total posts that I will write in year 2010 . So what will it be?
Saturday, 20 February 2010
2*06 – The one with all the Thumping
Guess where did the name come, well after lot of pushing, I started watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S so the inspiration came from that. But wait the entire story is not about that so those of you who are not really a big FAN of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, can also read on.
I was sitting in my “the very last” lecture at iimk and project presentations were going on, one after the other. Usually these sessions are difficult to sit in, I mean project presentations! People are least interested in the project that their own group did, forget listening to ppt of other groups. So what do you, some people sleep like they don’t care, some people keep on moving in and out of the class and try not to care, some people respect the sanctity of the classroom and sit patiently there, a few try to listen to what is being said by the presenters just because they anyway had to remain in the classroom and have nothing else that can do in a classroom, but everyone is looking at the clock, with every tick of the second you are marginally happy and the diminishing rate of return does not apply here, it’s a increasing rate of utility curve where the utility continue to increase, the more closer you are to the end of the session the higher is the utility of that last of the seconds. Well not anymore!
I wished for the first time in my last ever lecture at iimk that may be the last group had a few more words to say to the class before they say “thank you”, may be some of my ‘kind’ friends who were listening to the presentation had 1-2 questions to ask, may be the professor had something to say to the class before he winds up the session, may be everyone in the class was feeling like I do and may be something was happening for the first time ever that did not happen before, each of us in the class wanted that lecture to go on for a few more seconds, may be minutes and each of us for the first time did not mind if the class overshoots by a couple of minutes. As when the last presentation finished, my eyes did not believed what they saw, my ears wanted to ignore what they were hearing, my mind was trying hard not to waste time in thinking about what is happening, and my heart was beating slowly as if it was saying something to the clock, my goose pimples were trying to hide from being noticed - they did not wanted to appear. I wanted the time to stop, I wanted to be a poet, I wanted to be a photographer, I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be an artist, because these MBA programs can teach you how to run a 100 crore business but they fail to teach you how to capture moments that matter.
While I was feeling all that, suddenly a cold current ran through my nerves, the heart beat that was going slow jerked up, the mind was puzzled, the two ears were confirming with each other if what they heard was right, the goose pimples couldn't wait any longer...engulfing --almost uplifting-- my body with a feeling that can only be experienced, not described, my whole 2 years flashed in front of my eyes as the last group said “thank you”. That was a dead silence in the classroom, everyone was trying not to look at others, they were looking at the ceiling, the fan, the projector, the board, and then they started thumping the desk. The thumping that did not stop, probably no one wanted this thumping to stop, the thumping was the last hope of each one of us to continue sitting in the class somehow and not leave, the thumping was the only common way out for the emotions that each one of us had, the thumping was the only way to cheer up all those who were feeling bad about the end of the PGP program, the thumping that never looked like it would stop. I did not care if the table break but I desperately did not wanted that thumping to stop.
I was sitting in my “the very last” lecture at iimk and project presentations were going on, one after the other. Usually these sessions are difficult to sit in, I mean project presentations! People are least interested in the project that their own group did, forget listening to ppt of other groups. So what do you, some people sleep like they don’t care, some people keep on moving in and out of the class and try not to care, some people respect the sanctity of the classroom and sit patiently there, a few try to listen to what is being said by the presenters just because they anyway had to remain in the classroom and have nothing else that can do in a classroom, but everyone is looking at the clock, with every tick of the second you are marginally happy and the diminishing rate of return does not apply here, it’s a increasing rate of utility curve where the utility continue to increase, the more closer you are to the end of the session the higher is the utility of that last of the seconds. Well not anymore!
I wished for the first time in my last ever lecture at iimk that may be the last group had a few more words to say to the class before they say “thank you”, may be some of my ‘kind’ friends who were listening to the presentation had 1-2 questions to ask, may be the professor had something to say to the class before he winds up the session, may be everyone in the class was feeling like I do and may be something was happening for the first time ever that did not happen before, each of us in the class wanted that lecture to go on for a few more seconds, may be minutes and each of us for the first time did not mind if the class overshoots by a couple of minutes. As when the last presentation finished, my eyes did not believed what they saw, my ears wanted to ignore what they were hearing, my mind was trying hard not to waste time in thinking about what is happening, and my heart was beating slowly as if it was saying something to the clock, my goose pimples were trying to hide from being noticed - they did not wanted to appear. I wanted the time to stop, I wanted to be a poet, I wanted to be a photographer, I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be an artist, because these MBA programs can teach you how to run a 100 crore business but they fail to teach you how to capture moments that matter.
While I was feeling all that, suddenly a cold current ran through my nerves, the heart beat that was going slow jerked up, the mind was puzzled, the two ears were confirming with each other if what they heard was right, the goose pimples couldn't wait any longer...engulfing --almost uplifting-- my body with a feeling that can only be experienced, not described, my whole 2 years flashed in front of my eyes as the last group said “thank you”. That was a dead silence in the classroom, everyone was trying not to look at others, they were looking at the ceiling, the fan, the projector, the board, and then they started thumping the desk. The thumping that did not stop, probably no one wanted this thumping to stop, the thumping was the last hope of each one of us to continue sitting in the class somehow and not leave, the thumping was the only common way out for the emotions that each one of us had, the thumping was the only way to cheer up all those who were feeling bad about the end of the PGP program, the thumping that never looked like it would stop. I did not care if the table break but I desperately did not wanted that thumping to stop.
Monday, 14 December 2009
A Walk to Remember !
One fine afternoon, I and my friend started our journey to the classroom for the first lecture of corporate governance course here in the last term. We started our usual discussion on how we want the course to be (given that it is the last term), how the prof. would be, how much the workload be, given that she will be teaching us for the first time and no one has any idea how she teaches as she has recently joined the institute.
On our way to classroom, walking down the corridor (devoid of any 2nd year student and full of the anxiety of final placements of the batch); my friend notices that the new professor is behind us, possibly towards the same classroom to take the first lecture of her course. He hinted the same towards me, and we came to an instant agreement (rarely arrived at between two MBA grads on any damn topic and that too at a lightening speed!) that we should mark our words and discuss limited stuff in the remaining part of our journey to the classroom. At once I thought why not discuss something really good on Corporate governance and act smart and then I realised that I was suffering from ‘Bounded Rationality’.
Gradually we realised that the distance between the prof. and us was slowly reducing and my friend was continuously keeping a watch on the developments like a manager trying to foresee what will happen in the immediate future. And then we started “moderating” our behaviour to look like ‘normal’, of course we are going to be managers soon and hopefully we have learnt that art by now (we hoped!). But again the reality was far different than what we wished it to be, possibly in our last term we did not have energy or enthusiasm and we were crawling to the classroom (a part of the brain trying to justify the remaining part that we need to attend lectures) so the distance was reducing. At the same time the professor is looking forward to meet the budding managers of tomorrow in the first ever interaction that she would be having with the 2nd year students, so she was walking a little fast, maybe she did not wanted to be late for the first ever opportunity to talk to 2nd year students.
Whatever! The distance was decreasing and again the two of us came to another agreement that we needed to speed up, the classroom doors are now visible and we should be able to reach them well before we have to greet the professor. My friend glances backwards a bit trying to hide the fact that he is continuously checking on where the professor is at any point of time. Front and then Back, front and then back, it is like we are almost there, (it is like I made 5 strong points in the GD and I should be just in the next round of the process), like we are sure our speed was just right to be able to get into the classroom before encountering the professor. We were almost confident that even if we cannot make sound arguments in the case discussions this was too basic for us to fail and that even if we do not know how to calculate the financial ratios we were very sure that we calculated our speed quite accurately. We were mechanically doing the same repetitive job, look front and then back, front and then back, front and then back; sounds something like the routine job at work everyday.
Suddenly we realised that the professor was right there behind us and we could very well wish her a good afternoon just by turning back. At the same time we were puzzled as to how this could have happened and we didn’t even realised, that we did not do the same repetitive task well. We did picked up some speed or at least we thought we did or is it the complacency that has occupied our mind before we even started our managerial carrier. How can the distance reduce to such an extent despite my friend keeping a close tab on the “developments”, the shock and surprise can well be described similar to what the financial world had got when they were hit by the sub-prime completely unaware. Well the ‘right sense’ came to our mind like a ‘bail-out’ package and we turned back and greeted the professor. She smiled and said “Don’t worry guys I am not following you”.
Well she noticed that my friend was continuously keeping a tab on the “developments” and it was rather obvious that we were trying to run away. Anyway we got another ‘bail-out’ and we realised that she was carrying a lot of course handbooks for the class and that we should offer some help on the same. Like our financial industry (after the bail-out), my friend too got new boost of energy and rushed towards the classroom door and kept it open for Mad’m to enter and I decided that very moment that I am going to pen it down...... errr "pen it down" or should i say "type it up"..... whatever !!!
On our way to classroom, walking down the corridor (devoid of any 2nd year student and full of the anxiety of final placements of the batch); my friend notices that the new professor is behind us, possibly towards the same classroom to take the first lecture of her course. He hinted the same towards me, and we came to an instant agreement (rarely arrived at between two MBA grads on any damn topic and that too at a lightening speed!) that we should mark our words and discuss limited stuff in the remaining part of our journey to the classroom. At once I thought why not discuss something really good on Corporate governance and act smart and then I realised that I was suffering from ‘Bounded Rationality’.
Gradually we realised that the distance between the prof. and us was slowly reducing and my friend was continuously keeping a watch on the developments like a manager trying to foresee what will happen in the immediate future. And then we started “moderating” our behaviour to look like ‘normal’, of course we are going to be managers soon and hopefully we have learnt that art by now (we hoped!). But again the reality was far different than what we wished it to be, possibly in our last term we did not have energy or enthusiasm and we were crawling to the classroom (a part of the brain trying to justify the remaining part that we need to attend lectures) so the distance was reducing. At the same time the professor is looking forward to meet the budding managers of tomorrow in the first ever interaction that she would be having with the 2nd year students, so she was walking a little fast, maybe she did not wanted to be late for the first ever opportunity to talk to 2nd year students.
Whatever! The distance was decreasing and again the two of us came to another agreement that we needed to speed up, the classroom doors are now visible and we should be able to reach them well before we have to greet the professor. My friend glances backwards a bit trying to hide the fact that he is continuously checking on where the professor is at any point of time. Front and then Back, front and then back, it is like we are almost there, (it is like I made 5 strong points in the GD and I should be just in the next round of the process), like we are sure our speed was just right to be able to get into the classroom before encountering the professor. We were almost confident that even if we cannot make sound arguments in the case discussions this was too basic for us to fail and that even if we do not know how to calculate the financial ratios we were very sure that we calculated our speed quite accurately. We were mechanically doing the same repetitive job, look front and then back, front and then back, front and then back; sounds something like the routine job at work everyday.
Suddenly we realised that the professor was right there behind us and we could very well wish her a good afternoon just by turning back. At the same time we were puzzled as to how this could have happened and we didn’t even realised, that we did not do the same repetitive task well. We did picked up some speed or at least we thought we did or is it the complacency that has occupied our mind before we even started our managerial carrier. How can the distance reduce to such an extent despite my friend keeping a close tab on the “developments”, the shock and surprise can well be described similar to what the financial world had got when they were hit by the sub-prime completely unaware. Well the ‘right sense’ came to our mind like a ‘bail-out’ package and we turned back and greeted the professor. She smiled and said “Don’t worry guys I am not following you”.
Well she noticed that my friend was continuously keeping a tab on the “developments” and it was rather obvious that we were trying to run away. Anyway we got another ‘bail-out’ and we realised that she was carrying a lot of course handbooks for the class and that we should offer some help on the same. Like our financial industry (after the bail-out), my friend too got new boost of energy and rushed towards the classroom door and kept it open for Mad’m to enter and I decided that very moment that I am going to pen it down...... errr "pen it down" or should i say "type it up"..... whatever !!!
Rating Agencies and Accounting Firms – fixing the responsibility?
The first session of corporate governance course started on a good note, why am I terming it as ‘good’, well was some good participation from each corner of the class. During the discussions the prof. made a point that accounting frauds and false rating by rating agencies are some of the important challenges while addressing the concerns of corporate world. Well, people sounded that it is difficult to penalise monetarily the accounting and rating agencies and usual norm is to rotate the accounting firm periodically (the regulation that came in after Satyam) and refer to credit rating of a firm by multiple rating agencies.
Yes, it is difficult to quantify the penalty that should be applied to accounting or rating agencies because they are not running the business, they are dependent on the managers to provide them with the necessary documents (that too only when asked), and that the size of the client company can be even 100 times the revenue of these accounting firms and rating agencies. We cannot ask these to compensate for the fraud in these big firms, the accounting and rating agencies will go bankrupt in just 1 fraud incidence. But does that means there is no way to make them liable, financially responsible for the fraud that could have been averted by ‘due’ due diligence by these firms.
I am not sure if there are already some experimentation done in this regard in some corner of the world but surely one can come up with some logical and acceptable solution.
You can make these firm pay for the proportionate amount of their own worth in terms of damages if there happen to be a fraud e.g. an accounting company with Rs 100 crore in revenue, acting as a accountant for a Rs 10,000 Cr company. Take a case that the client has done some fraud amounting to Rs 5,000 Cr, then the accounting firm should be made liable for 50% of its own worth i.e. it should be asked to pay Rs 50 Cr in terms of damages to the affected stakeholders.
Now the above argument can be contested on the ground that the accounting firm can have 10 different clients and out of which only 1 did a fraud so it is wrong to penalise the firm solely taking into account the fraudulent firm. OK lets modify the above statement a little bit, lets the total worth of all the clients of the accounting firm is Rs 1,00,000 Crore and 1 firm did a fraud of Rs 5,000 Cr in that case the accounting firm can be asked to pay Rs 5 Cr in damages. Well this can be very well too small for a accounting firm and may not make a significant threat!!!
Let us look at it differently, say that the same accounting firm has earned a total of Rs 50 Cr (present value) in term of fee towards its accounting services for the fraudulent firm. One can straight away ask the accounting firm to pay the same in damages.
Similar ideas can be put down for rating agencies as well and the final solutions (just and acceptable) can very well be a combination of the above three points or may be altogether a better option. But fixing the liability in financial terms is quite possible and can be done. May be there exists some sort of formulae that even I am not aware of; and the whole effort that I have put in while writing this is useless!
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