FC Experts Blogs
Anupam Mukerji
October 17, 2007
Change Management: US Recession Impacting India
Signs of a recessionary US economy are being seen thousands of miles away in India. India’s apparel exporters are facing canceled orders and dried up pipelines, a result of a weakening US economy and a strengthening Indian Rupee against the US Dollar.
Recently I met with the merchandizing head of a leading Indian apparel chain. She mentioned that top Indian exporters, who were operating at full capacity till a few months ago and had little interest in smaller Indian orders, are now queuing up outside her office to produce her private labels. Apparently, weak consumer spending forecasts have led several US retail and apparel majors to reduce their purchases. And a stronger Indian Rupee has made countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh more attractive than India.
Continue reading "Change Management: US Recession Impacting India"
Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 1:07 PM
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August 21, 2007
Change Management: Will IBM be India's Biggest IT Company?
Well known management guru Jagdish ‘Jag’ Sheth says that successful Indian companies are becoming arrogant and complacent, and this arrogance may eventually bring them down. He predicts that in 2 years we may not see an Indian IT goliath. He predicts IBM will be India’s biggest IT company.
Elaborating on the problems that will plague Indian IT companies, he talks about the lack of diversity of leadership. Very few Indian IT companies would have a non-Indian heading their company. At Wipro, it was he who told them that the board is all-Indian, and finally got a non-Indian on the board. Infosys, according to him, is even worse. In fact, all senior leaders are not just Indians, they are south Indians. There's not a single north Indian in the top leadership of Infosys. To become truly global, Sheth believes that Indian IT companies need to build in more cultural diversity in their leadership.
Sheth can’t stop talking about how serious IBM is on its India strategy. IBM CEO Sam Palmisano deliberately held the annual get-together of all his worldwide analysts in Bangalore . He invited 10,000 people. He also announced that he'll invest $6 billion in India in three years. That's $2 billion a year. Two billion a year is 50 per cent of the revenues of Infosys. So he has made a commitment.
IBM’s clarity of thought and vision seems admirable. Given the volume of procurement from China , they shifted the whole global sourcing from the US to Shenzhen (China), where they'll have their own subsidiary. India will be their base for capturing talent and resources.
Sometime ago, Palmisano said he believed that the next CEO of IBM does not have to be an American. "If my market is going to be Asia , then it's likely that it should be Chinese or Indian or Asian.” He also believes that the headquarters of IBM should be relocated. Sheth feels that IBM is really thinking differently, something he does not see in Indian corporations.
Anupam Mukerji • Bangalore, India • www.mmi-india.com
Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 2:52 AM
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August 1, 2007
Change Management: Outsourcing's Dark Shadow Looms on Indian Society
Outsourcing is creating ripples – not just in global business, but in the social fabric of India. As more Indian youth turn to outsourcing work, a relatively easy career option, cracks are beginning to show in youth culture and lifestyles.
In the last decade India has established itself as the leading destination for offshore outsourced work. In India, the outsourcing industry has had a profound impact not only on the Indian economy, but also on the Indian society. Every middle class Indian is separated by one or two degrees from someone in the outsourcing industry. Several homes in the large metropolitan cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and recently even smaller cities like Vizag, Cochin, Chandigarh are buoyed by fat starting salaries characteristic of the outsourcing industry. It is not unusual for a father to have finished his career at the salary that his son or daughter has begun his or hers with. Urban centers teem with bright clusters of call center or data management executives chasing the good life – buying big and staying hip.
However, in this warm glow of the success of outsourcing, it is easy to overlook the long term implications of this industry on the Indian youth, the Indian social fabric and, ultimately, it’s impact on the outsourcing model altogether.
Continue reading "Change Management: Outsourcing's Dark Shadow Looms on Indian Society"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 8:14 AM
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July 26, 2007
Change Management: The Day Mumbai's Music Died
Today marks the second anniversary of the great Mumbai floods of 2005. The day when Mumbai stood still. The day when Mumbai’s façade of a mega polis was shattered. The day when all problems plaguing this great city came to the fore. The day Mumbai's music, truly, died.
Continue reading "Change Management: The Day Mumbai's Music Died"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 7:10 AM
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July 18, 2007
Change Management: Combining Management with Ancient Philosophy
New Delhi is getting a makeover in preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in the city. And the government has gifted the capital city its latest showpiece, the state-of-the-art Tube, the Delhi Metro Rail. Already 600,000 daily commuters on the Metro Rail have cut their travel time by 75%. And Delhi’s pollution has reduced by a third since this clean and fast mode of transport began. But what makes the Rail extra special is that it’s testimony to how modern management techniques can combine with ancient Indian philosophies to build a truly efficient, ethical and empowered organization.
Continue reading "Change Management: Combining Management with Ancient Philosophy"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 11:49 AM
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July 12, 2007
Change Management: Globalization is Good
The debate on globalization has been raging since the turn of the century. Economists, politicians, businessmen and social commentators from across the world have judged the merits and demerits of this inevitable 21st century phenomenon. Some countries like India and China are largely viewed as beneficiaries of this trend. While others, especially Western developed countries, are viewed as victims due to job losses to lower cost nations. Nothing could be farther from truth, as was witnessed in Seattle last weekend.
07.07.07 was an unusually sunny Saturday in Seattle. The Boeing airfield in the city saw a Boeing 707 land at precisely 7.07 pm. A Boeing 717 touched down exactly ten minutes later at 7.17. The arithmetic progression continued with a Boeing 727 landing at 7.27 p.m., a Boeing 737 at 7.37 p.m., a 747 at 7.47 p.m. and so on. Finally, at 8.17 pm the new generation Boeing 777 made its presence felt on the tarmac. The next day, July 8th, 2007 or 7/8/7 marked the roll-out of the Boeing showpiece, the 787 Dreamliner. The show demonstrated the American giant’s dominance of international skies with more than 10,000 seven-series planes in service.
Continue reading "Change Management: Globalization is Good"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 11:45 AM
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July 4, 2007
Social Responsibility: Environment Scare in India
The weather conditions in India during the last few weeks strongly indicate the disasters that await our world due to global warming. The months of May and June saw North India wrapped in an unprecedented heat wave. Temperatures in Delhi soared to levels that I had never experienced during the 10 years I spent in Delhi during the 1990s. Even from the cool confines of Bangalore, it wasn’t difficult for me to imagine the plight of Delhiites and other citizens of Northern India living through the heat wave.
http://www.ibctoday.com/News/ViewNewsItem.aspx?rootVideoPanelType=1&newsItemId=26465
Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 2:54 PM
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June 20, 2007
India - The Super Job Creator
A recent study shows that India is by far the highest new jobs creator in the world. It may be celebration time for Indians, but is this also the right time to reflect on aspects that could bring the party crashing down?
Well, India’s economic success story is official now. India has created the maximum jobs in the world during the period 2000-2005. Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has claimed in its recently released Employment Outlook 2007 report that India generated 11.3 million net new jobs per year on an average. During the same period, China created 7 million net new jobs while Brazil and Russia created 2.7 million and 0.7 million net new jobs respectively. India’s unemployment rate of 6% in 2005 also compares favorably with other BRIC countries whose unemployment rates were hovering around the 8-9% mark at the same time.
Continue reading "India - The Super Job Creator"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 7:52 AM
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May 31, 2007
Dreaming of a Global Career? Think Bangalore
There was a time, not too long ago, when being sent to work in India could be considered a punishment posting; when an India stint would include a ‘hardship allowance’. Well, times surely are changing. Today, getting an India (and/or China) experience is becoming increasingly significant for American executives. And thousands of them are opting for a two to five year stint in Bangalore, hoping for a big career boost when they return. The word ‘Bangalored’ is assuming a new meaning altogether.
I noticed this when I returned to Bangalore last year. The expatriate population in Bangalore had simply exploded in the 2 years I had spent away from the city. I could see Americans and Europeans everywhere – in shopping malls, movie theaters, clubs, and on the streets. Recently, I met with the president of Bangalore Expatriates Club, Arvind Chandra, who opened my eyes to this interesting trend. Apparently, getting the Bangalore box checked on one’s CV has assumed great importance for ambitious American executives. And it’s not just the technology industry, executives in industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, media, legal and manufacturing are flocking to the outsourcing capital of the world. About 12,000 foreigners live and work in Bangalore and, according to Bangalore’s Foreigners Registration Office, this number has been on the increase each year. Bangalore is preferred, mainly because of the large expatriate community and favorable weather. Other cities of choice include Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Continue reading "Dreaming of a Global Career? Think Bangalore"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 5:33 AM
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May 24, 2007
Social Purposes of Social Networking Sites
Who would have thought that the police would use social networking sites to solve murder cases? Well, that’s exactly what happened in Mumbai, India recently. Mumbai Police used Orkut profiles to nab the alleged killer of a young lady found murdered in a suburban Mumbai hotel. The victim’s Orkut conversations led the cops to the profile of an Indian Navy officer, who is now believed to be guilty of the crime.
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/40709/cops-use-orkut-to-track-murderer.html
Well, social networking sites are beginning to serve a huge social purpose in India. Not always in such serious matters, but sites like Orkut, by far the most popular social networking site in India, are being used for several life-changing decisions.
Continue reading "Social Purposes of Social Networking Sites"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 3:06 AM
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May 14, 2007
Changing Demographics of Online Indians
A recent report on Indian internet users by JuxtConsult gives a perspective on which way the Internet is headed in India. The report is useful for technology products and consumer goods companies targeting the Indian consuming class as internet usage patterns give strong pointers towards consumer behavior for new technology products and services.
This study shows growth of internet usage in both ‘spread’ and ‘depth’ in India with 22% new users added to the pie. The study estimates the current population of urban online Indians who use the internet regularly at around 22 million. 1 out of every 2 computer users is logging onto the net implying that internet availability is a critical factor to PC penetration. The good news is that 53% of the internet connections now are broadband (compared to about 23% a couple of years ago). This will significantly impact areas such as gaming, video/music downloads and other heavy internet activities.
Internet is no longer an elite, big city phenomenon. More than 50% of the internet users are from outside the big 8 metropolitan cities, and 60% are from middle to lower brackets of socio-economic classes.
Continue reading "Changing Demographics of Online Indians"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 8:22 AM
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April 20, 2007
Will the Indian Media Bubble Burst Soon?
For the first time in a decade, newspaper readership in India has declined. Even the seemingly booming TV news industry may be suffering from overcapacity. Are these early signs of the Indian media bubble burst?
Round 1 results of the 2007 Indian Readership Survey (IRS) were declared recently and, for the first time in a decade, newspaper readership in India has shown a decline. The survey shows a fall in readership of most English newspapers, vernacular language dailies and magazines. Is this the first sign of the Indian media bubble burst?
The Indian media industry has, for years, been the envy of media companies round the world. With restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment in news media, global media conglomerates have found it difficult to grab a pie of the huge Indian market. For an Indian reader like me, I have had a new title to choose from every few months. Indeed, a Canadian journalist friend of mine was recently lamenting about the declining Canadian media industry and comparing it to the boom times in India. Samar Srivastava’s recent blog on FC Now http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2007/03/21/no_gloom_for_newspapers_in_the_developing_world.html#more
“No Gloom For Newspapers in the Developing World” further reiterates the point.
Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 11:50 AM
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March 29, 2007
Up and Coming Indian Cities for Outsourcing
Outsourcing consulting firm Alsbridge has compiled a list of India’s top five up and coming cities for setting up outsourcing centers. A multitude of reasons ranging from infrastructure breakdowns to rising salaries and turnover rates are compelling IT and BPO majors to look outside of the Big Six cities – Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and the National Capital Region of New Delhi (includes suburban towns of NOIDA and Gurgaon). Alsbridge’s list is a well-timed effort but, in my opinion, it stops short of giving the right perspective.
Continue reading "Up and Coming Indian Cities for Outsourcing"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 6:08 AM
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March 22, 2007
The Heat is on Indian Call Centers Yet Again
Indian call centers are in the news again, and yet again it’s for the wrong reasons. Faced by increasing customer complaints on quality of call handling in Indian call centers, a number of large British firms are shifting their call centers back to the UK. Having seen the Indian BPO industry and their process rigor from close quarters, I find it hard to believe that their quality of service has come under question. The customer, if not satisfied, has every right to complain and the industry needs to closely analyze these complaints and find sustainable solutions.
Continue reading "The Heat is on Indian Call Centers Yet Again"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 12:06 PM
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March 13, 2007
India Is Where the Heart Is
It’s the annual placement season in Indian business schools. To nobody’s surprise, starting salaries of fresh MBA grads continue their northward ascent, breaking new grounds and creating new records. However, an interesting trend this year has been in the number of students rejecting foreign postings and opting to stay back in India. Even as early as last year, a New York posting with an investment bank was among the most coveted job offers on Indian campuses. But this year, as reported by a leading business daily, approximately 18 students in the top 3 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have rejected international assignments with global consulting firms and investment banks, choosing to build their careers in India. It’s not new-found patriotism that’s driving this trend. It’s just a case of MBA graduates realizing that, in today’s business world, India is the place to be.
Continue reading "India Is Where the Heart Is"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 1:31 AM
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February 21, 2007
What Does It Take to Aim Low
Is the lower end of the consumer segment really profitable? If yes, why are so few brands pursuing it? What does it take to make this segment really work for your brand? This is a sample of emailed questions I received to my previous blog. I am not the least bit surprised, because these are exactly the kind of questions some of my American clients are trying to answer, as they go about expanding their base in India.
Many a book may have been written on this subject, but the irony is that a successful marketing strategy for the lower-end consumer segment requires adherence to the simplest and most fundamental principles of marketing.
Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 10:24 AM
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February 13, 2007
Aiming Lower to Hit the Bull's Eye
Among the most striking advertisements on Indian television lately has been a series of ads launched by cell phone maker Motorola, advertising their low-end ‘Moto Flip’ model, available for as little as 1,700 rupees ($37). While Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung continue to use music, multimedia, email and camera features to lure consumers in the fastest growing cell phone market in the world, Motorola does a flip and tries to attract consumers with a low cost, stripped-down phone with deceptively expensive looks. While comparative sales figures are not available, it appears that the Moto Flip will find the sweet spot of the contradictorily complex value-driven and status-conscious Indian consumer.
Continue reading "Aiming Lower to Hit the Bull's Eye"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 7:36 AM
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January 23, 2007
India Reported
During a recent week-long business trip of South-East Asia, one of the things I looked forward to was to see how the local media reports on India. Naturally, I expected Indian IT and outsourcing to hog most of the limelight. I would have bet on the booming Indian retail and mobile phone sectors getting some column centimeters. Outside of business, I thought India’s role in international politics and the nuke deal with the US will get some mindshare. I couldn’t be farther from the truth, as I discovered in due course of time.
Continue reading "India Reported"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 5:16 AM
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January 4, 2007
Facing Low Cost Competition?
What do you do when a business that you have built over decades is threatened by low cost competition from across the border? What do you do when you find your customers, even those who you thought were your most loyal, desert you at the hint of a lower cost impersonator? While businesses around the world grapple with these questions, the answers, surprisingly, come from an umbrella manufacturer in Mumbai who has withstood, and even grown, in the face of competition from low cost ‘Made in China’ umbrellas.
Continue reading "Facing Low Cost Competition?"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 6:58 AM
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December 26, 2006
Social Inequality Threatening India's Economic Stability
Can a country where a third of the population is illiterate be an Information Technology superpower? Can a country where 78 million rural homes have never seen electricity be an economic superpower? Can anyone feel safe living in islands of prosperity in a sea of poverty? While India’s educated elite are reveling in their new found status on the global stage, inequitable distribution of wealth and opportunities are shaking the very foundation of India’s new economy. Will the Indian government’s apathy towards the rural poor bring India’s party to an abrupt end?
Continue reading "Social Inequality Threatening India's Economic Stability"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 6:32 AM
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December 20, 2006
Usability in India, Usable Everywhere
If you thought, India is just about techies writing code and agents taking calls, think again!!! Indians with a diverse set of competencies are helping American technology firms make their products look better and feel smarter. While the tap of the keyboard marked the arrival of the previous Indian wave, the current wave is being drawn in the form of strokes of very fine Indian paint brush.
Continue reading "Usability in India, Usable Everywhere"Posted by Anupam Mukerji at 8:51 AM
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