HR as Product: Be the Brand of Choice!

It is time for Human Resources practitioners to rethink their role and that of the HR department, not only for the purposes of contributing to the organization's bottom line, but also for their own survival.
HR continues to balance the demands of several different roles: business partner, internal consultant, operational and administrative expert and both employee and employer advocate. This may sound like business as usual, roles that aren’t likely to create a mad rush of HR people arming themselves for the future.
In reality, however, they are new. Although the questions may be the same, the answers most assuredly are not. The ongoing challenge is to establish new deliverables and to sustain strong partnerships with both internal and external customers. The ability to see the big picture—and to deploy the resources to address the big picture—will be more important than ever.
If you were to ask your employees today, "What does the HR Department do?" would they mutter something unintelligible to you and make a run for it? If that is the case, your human resources department needs to rethink its role and do some in-house marketing, marketing research and public relations.
First, you need to ask yourself some important questions:
Do you know what your HR department’s reputation is among the employees? When HR is mentioned, do managers picture savvy strategists, backward bureaucrats, or pleasant, people-pleasers?
Do employees understand and appreciate the importance of the HR department in furthering the organization's mission and objectives?
Does the HR department make an effort to market its services to the organization? If it does not, then it has the reputation it deserves. You can, however, easily correct this reputation.

The key is to open up conversations with all levels of employees, and present yourself in the role of facilitator instead of enforcer. You have to get out of the HR office and into the world of your organization’s employees. Finding these answers requires dialogue, which means that HR must communicate. That communication must consist of equal parts of listening and promotion. First, HR must listen carefully to what its customers need. Then it must promote what it has done and can do. HR staff must educate the organization about its capabilities and potential contributions. No one knows your capabilities as well as you do.
Employees, for the most part, still see HR as "those people who handle benefits and do interviewing." To position the HR function for the next decade, every HR practitioner need s to take on a public relations role—starting with your own employees. Think of yourself as a product and do some smart marketing.
During the past few years, HR has worked hard at educating senior management about the value it adds to the organization. Managers and employees are less familiar with HR's new role as business partner. Increasingly, these internal constituents will need to embrace the importance of the HR function. It won't be easy, but ongoing communication, and actually meeting the organization’s real and expressed needs, will help HR earn respect throughout the organization.
The marketing of the HR department requires you to demonstrate your problem-solving skills, so others will know you do much more than simply process papers. The best form of advertising is the actions you take. By your actions, processes and programs, you can promote the HR department as a flexible, adaptable, solutions-oriented partner, a resource to whom the organization can turn when it needs problems solved.
According to Shari Caudron in her article Brand HR: Why and How to Market Your Image, "If you want HR to be perceived as more strategic, more valuable, more credible more whatever, you need to start thinking like a business with a product and market your overall brand image."
As organizations continue to outsource non-value-added activities, HR is facing competition from outside vendors. If HR practitioners do not strive to build up the profession's overall image and reputation, they will lose services to organizations that understand what customer service and accountability are all about. These are Caudron’s eight great tips for building and enhancing the HR department's image and reputation.

Identify your customer's needs and perceptions.
The first step in creating or enhancing a brand identity is to determine who your customers are and what they need from the HR function. You will also want to know your customers’ current perceptions of the HR department. Begin this process by identifying your customers. Are your primary customers executive managers, line managers or the entire workforce? What products and services do they use from HR? What would they like to receive from HR? Do they use HR services from outside HR vendors, and if so, why? How do they perceive the internal HR department?
HR departments could conduct employee attitude surveys to obtain answers to these questions, but to get truthful and more useful information, Caudron suggests it is worthwhile to hire an outside consultant to conduct the interviews in private. She states, "employees would more likely state their true feelings about HR if they are guaranteed anonymity."
It is important to conduct this type of analysis, to understand the difference between what you are providing and think your organization wants from you, and what they say they need. In today's organizations, there are so many perceptions about what role HR should play. HR conducts so many activities...training, recruitment, personal welfare, salary and bonus, and a whole range of other concerns, that "HR brand" development is challenging. In order to correct this, HR practitioners must research their current "brand" to figure out where they stand.

Craft an identity based on customer needs.
Cauldron says that after you determine the needs and current perceptions of your existing customers, you can decide how you would like your customers to perceive the HR department. It is important to note that the function of the HR department will differ from organization to organization. In one organization, internal customers may want the HR department to provide great service in all of the traditional HR areas.
In others, customers may expect HR to take responsibility for productivity and growth. You have to decide what "brand" identity works best for your particular culture and then work to create a mission statement and organization that supports that identity.
As another example, in your organization, it may make sense to outsource routine tasks such as payroll processing so that the remaining HR staff can concentrate on more strategic matters. To achieve a solid brand identity, you cannot be all things to all people.
You can try, but you will fail in the eyes of significant numbers of your customers.

Develop a mission statement that resonates with meeting customer needs.
Having determined your identity, Caudron suggests taking the time to design a mission statement that will guide you through the changes and improvements that you need to make. The mission statement should define the HR function, the values and core principles the department will uphold, and the benefit HR expects to provide to the rest of the organization. For example, the Los Angeles County HR Department's mission statement follows:
“To provide a human resources program that carries out Board priorities for a comprehensive and equitable County personnel system;
To assist departments in developing and maintaining a high quality workforce, enabling them to provide critical services to the public;
To establish Countywide policies and provide monitoring and oversight necessary to ensure consistent application of human resource policies, including recruitment, selection, promotions, training, discipline, employee benefits administration, workforce reductions, classification, compensation, employee appeals and disability benefits; and
To ensure fair and equitable job and promotional opportunities and services for both current employees and individuals seeking employment with the County of Los Angeles.”
It is important to have a mission statement as it helps define your future goals and direction. The mission should not be empty rhetoric. It is a charter that outlines the HR pledge to the rest of the organization.

Deliver your promises.
Supposing, based on your customer input, the HR department needs to improve its customer service and supportiveness. This might require hiring more employees, empowering the receptionist to make decisions, or conducting team-building sessions. Customers want you to be more responsive. Caudron recommends that since forging your new identity means delivering a promise, you must ensure that the staff, practices and systems in your department all work to support the goal of customer service. Staff your department with people who are easy to work with and who are willing go the extra mile for line managers. Deliver what you promise in your mission statement.

Update your image.
Few consumer products are packaged without a distinctive logo and type of packaging. Can you imagine mistaking a can of Pepsi for a can of Coca-Cola? A bottle of Coors for a Bud Light? These companies understand that the look of their products communicates powerful messages to consumers.
The same applies to HR. If your HR department has made substantial improvements and changes, then you can use the packaging as a means of communicating those improvements to others. Develop a separate logo for your HR department, if you’d like, that expresses your mission, your commitment to customers, and your goals. The most important packaging piece, however, is the HR department itself.
If you want your HR brand to deliver the message of quality service, ensure that visitors to the department get what they need, with no hassle, friction, or needless hoops to navigate. You can spend millions of dollars redesigning your department and developing a logo, but if the people in HR are impossible to deal with, you have accomplished nothing in the eyes of your organization.

Spread the word.
After you have determined your identity, created a system in which you can consistently deliver on your promises, and packaged the HR department in a manner that conveys improvements, Cauldron suggests it is time to "toot your horn." For example, if you want human resources perceived as a strategic partner, take the time to quantify the strategic impact of a recent HR program or decision. Communicate this impact in board meetings, through your organization's newsletter, your Website or Intranet, or by developing special HR performance reports. The key objective, for positive notoriety, is to back up the overall message with hard data and specific success stories.

Enhance your visibility.
Another good marketing technique for HR, not only inside your organization, but also to the human resources world at large, is to publish articles in magazines and speak at HR seminars or conferences. This validates the internal changes you have made and may capture the attention and interest of your management group. You can heighten this visibility within your organization by including the program-specific managers and employees in the article or at the conference podium with you. Professionals love hearing from "real people" and they will spread the good word for you in your organization.

Continuously improve. Keep on keeping on.
Just as in the business world, where companies have to continuously review, revisit, and update their brands to meet customers' changing needs, so this advice applies to HR. In the rapidly changing world of business, the HR profession must regularly be willing to make tough decisions about what it will and will not stand for. Every HR professional can craft initiatives using the same toolbox. The best will try new things, challenge conventional wisdom, and ask more questions more often.
With careful attention to forging an identity, your HR department can learn to provide what your internal and external customers expect. Your organization will love you and your HR staff members will take their place as “players,” making a difference in the real world of your organization.

Courtesy: Judith Brown, Director of HR Research, International Personnel Management Association

Business Life Cycle- 5 stages of small business

In the small business life cycle not every business will go through every stage, and not all small businesses will succeed as a result of these stages. However, they are proven stages or small business that are an important part of running a small business, whether from home or from a formal office.

Stage One

The first stage of any small business is obvious – establishment. At this stage, the business is being created, planned and the early days of its operations take place.

For some, this is the only stage that a small business may see, as it is by far one of the most difficult to survive. Many things can go wrong at this stage; thus, good business planning a crucial and necessary part of it.

Without a good business plan, it is impossible to get a small business off the ground, running and eventually moving through to the next stages of its life cycle.

Stage Two

The second stage of small business in the small business life cycle is the growth period.

During this stage, a business has an initial time of negative profit until it breaks even and begins to show increased revenues that allow it to truly grow. This is also the stage that the real test of a business comes into play.

How the business is managed and how it is able to compete within its designated market will determine whether it will survive, heading to the next stage - or whether it will decline and reach the last stage of its life.

Stage Three

The third stage of small business is about expansion. This is the point at which a business gets to the point where there is sufficient revenue being brought in so that there are no doubts of its survival and it can expand its horizons.

This includes taking on staff, expanding the office space of the business or even investing in equipment to deal with a larger base of clientele. This stage also entails producing more products if necessary.

Stage Four

The fourth stage of small or other business is about maturity.

The business is now stable enough to survive most unforeseen circumstances. It has enough backing, capital and support to ensure that even if the market becomes unstable, it can pull through.

This may be accomplished by rearranging its management plan, getting rid of one product to replace another or adding an additional product to an already existing product line.

However, if the market declines, it may survive, though its profits may take a temporary slide backwards.

Stage Five

In the small business life cycle the fifth stage of small business, is about decline. In fact, it is the easiest stage to reach for any business because it is the point where a starting business will fail.

An existing business, even a mature one, can decline in profits, take heavy losses and eventually either fail or cease operations to avoid further losses. As any small business owner can attest to, the stages of business are necessary and a normal part of the small business life cycle.

Source- morebusiness.com

Mergers and Acquisitions

Introduction:

A merger is a combination of two companies to form a new company, while an acquisition is the purchase of one company by another with no new company being formed. A merger occurs when one firm assumes all the assets and all the liabilities of another. The acquiring firm retains its identity, while the acquired firm ceases to exist. A majority vote of shareholders is generally required to approve a merger. A merger is just one type of acquisition. One company can acquire another in several other ways, including purchasing some or all of the company's assets or buying up its outstanding shares of stock. The term "acquisition" is typically used when one company takes control of another. This can occur through a merger or a number of other methods, such as purchasing the majority of a company's stock or all of its assets.

Reasons for Mergers and Acquisitions:

The management of an acquiring company may be motivated more by the desire to manage ever-larger companies than by any possible gains in efficiency. There are a number of reasons why a corporation will merge with, acquire, or be acquired by another corporation. Sometimes, corporations can produce goods or services more efficiently if they combine their efforts and facilities. Collaborating or sharing expertise may achieve gains in efficiency, or a company might have underutilized assets, the other company can better use. Also, a change in management may make the company more profitable. Other reasons for acquisitions have to do more with hubris and power.

Regulation of Mergers and Acquisitions:

Mergers and acquisitions are governed by both state and federal laws. State law sets the procedures for the approval of mergers and establishes judicial oversight for the terms of mergers to ensure shareholders of the target company, receive fair value. Generally, state law tends to be deferential to defences as long as the target company is not acting primarily to preserve its own positions. Courts tend to be sceptical of defences if the management of a target company has already decided to sell the company or to bring about a change of control. Because of the fear that mergers will negatively affect employees or other company stakeholders, most states allow directors at target companies to defend against acquisitions. Because of the number of state defences now available, the vast majority of mergers and acquisitions are friendly, negotiated transactions.

Motives behind M&A

i) The following motives are considered to add shareholder value:

Economies of scale, increased revenue / increased market share, cross selling, synergy, taxes, geographical or other diversification and resource transfer.

ii) The following motives are considered to not add shareholder value:

Diversification, overextension, manager's hubris, empire building, manager's compensation, bootstrapping and vertical integration

Mergers and Acquisitions: Doing the deal

Start with an Offer

When the CEO and top managers of a company decide that they want to do a merger or acquisition, they start with a tender offer. The process typically begins with the acquiring company carefully and discreetly buying up shares in the target company, or building a position.

The Target's Response

Once the tender offer has been made, the target company can do one of several things Accept the Terms of the Offer, Attempt to Negotiate, Execute a Poison Pill or Some Other Hostile Takeover Defence.

Closing the Deal

Finally, once the target company agrees to the tender offer and regulatory requirements are met, the merger deal will be executed by means of some transaction. In a merger in which one company buys another, the acquiring company will pay for the target company's shares with cash, stock or both. When the deal is closed, investors usually receive a new stock in their portfolios - the acquiring company's expanded stock. Sometimes investors will get new stock identifying a new corporate entity that is created by the M&A deal.

The Human Side of M&A Activity

Plenty of attention is paid to the legal, financial, and operational elements of mergers and acquisitions. But executives who have been through the merger process now recognize that in today’s economy, the management of the human side of change is the real key to maximizing the value of a deal. The management of the human side of M&A activity, however, based upon the failure rates of M&As, appears to be a somewhat neglected focus of the top management’s attention. People issues occur at several phases or stages of M&A activity. More specifically, people issues in just the integration phase of mergers and acquisitions include:

(1) Retention of key talent;

(2) Communications;

(3) Retention of key managers; and

(4) Integration of corporate cultures.

HR issues in three Stage Models of Mergers and Acquisitions

The three stages: (1) Pre-combination; (2) Combination and integration of the partners; and (3) Solidification and advancement.

Selected HR Issues in the three Stages of M&A

Stage 1: Pre-Combination

Identifying reasons for the IM & A
Forming IM & A team/leader
Searching for potential partners
Selecting a partner
Planning for managing the process of the IM and/or A
Planning to learn from the process
Stage 2-Combination and Integration

Selecting the integration manager
Designing/implementing teams
Creating the new structure/strategies/ leadership
Retaining key employees
Motivating the employees
Managing the change process
Communicating to and involving stakeholders
Deciding on the HR policies and practice
Stage 3: Solidification and Assessment

Solidifying leadership and staffing
Assessing the new strategies and structures
Assessing the new culture
Assessing the new HRM policies and practices
Assessing the concerns of stakeholders
Revising as needed
Learning from the process
Role of the HR Department in M&A activity

1. Developing key strategies for a company’s M&A activities

2. Managing the soft due diligence activity

3. Providing input into managing the process of change

4. Advising top management on the merged company’s new organizational structure

5. Overseeing the communications

6. Managing the learning processes

7. Re-casting the HR department itself

8. Identifying and embracing new roles for the HR leader

9. Identifying and developing new competencies

The strategic contribution of HR as consisting of the “Five P’s”: Philosophy, Policies, Programs, Practices, and Processes.

Conclusion

Merger and Acquisitions success entirely depends on the people who drive the Business, their ability to Execute, Creativity, and Innovation. It is of utmost importance to involve HR Professionals in Mergers and Acquisitions discussions as it has an impact on key people issues. As Mergers and Acquisitions activity continues to step up globally, Companies involved in these transactions have the opportunity to adopt a different approach including the increased involvement of HR professionals. By doing so they will achieve a much better outcome and increase the chance that the overall deal is a total success.

TATA DoCoMo

TATA DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) telecom service on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Group's strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices has received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services, under the brand TATA DOCOMO and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles. TTSL and has already rolled out its services in various circles.
The launch of the TATA DOCOMO brand marks a significant milestone in the Indian telecom landscape, as it stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world's leading mobile operators-in the Japanese market, the company is clearly the preferred mobile phone service provider in Japan with a 50 per cent market share.
NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks like 3G technology, as also products and services like the i-modeTM, mobile payment and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most of the rest of the industry is only beginning to talk of LTE technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO has already started conducting LTE trials in physical geographies, not just inside laboratories!
DOCOMO is also a global leader in the VAS (Value-Added Services) space, both in terms of services and handset designs, particularly integrating services at the platform stage. The Tata Group-NTT DOCOMO partnership will see offerings such as these being introduced in the Indian market under the TATA DOCOMO brand.
TATA DOCOMO has also set up a 'Business and Technology Cooperation Committee, comprising of senior personnel from both companies. The committee is responsible for the identification of key areas where the two companies will work together. DOCOMO, the world's leading mobile operator, will work closely with the Tata Teleservices Limited management and provide know-how on helping the company develop its GSM business.
Despite being a late entrant, Tata Indicom, TTSL's CDMA brand, has already established its presence and is the fastest-growing pan-India operator. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices Limited is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. Today, Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves over 37 million customers in more than 320,000 towns and villages across the country offering a wide range of telephony services including Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wire-line Services.

Source- Internet

Does Management know their Staff ?

On walking into the factory, the MD noticed a young guy leaning
against the wall, doing nothing.

He approached the young man and calmly said to him, "How much
do you earn?"
The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a
personal question, he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2
000.00 a month, Sir. Why?"
Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed
$6000.00 cash and gave it to the young man and said, "Around
here I pay people for working, not for standing around looking
pretty! Here is your 3 months salary, now GET OUT and don't
come back".
The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight.
Noticing a few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner,
"And that applies for everybody in this company".
He approached one of the onlookers and asked him, "Who's the
young man that I just fired?"
To which an amazing reply came of, "He was the pizza delivery
man, Sir...!"

Cultural Intelligence ........

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the ability to cope with national, corporate and vocational cultures.CQ is the ability to understand unfamiliar contexts, and then to adjust. They describe three sources of Cultural Intelligence.

THREE SOURCES OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
1. The Head / Cognitive. Rote learning about the beliefs, habits and taboos of foreign cultures, will not work well.
2. The Body / Physical. You will not disarm your foreign hosts, guests, or colleagues simply by showing you understand their culture; your actions and demeanor must prove that you have already to some extent entered their world.
3. The Heart / Emotional/motivational. To adjust to a new culture involves overcoming obstacles and setbacks. People can do that only if they believe in their own efficacy.
While it shares many of the properties of emotional intelligence, Cultural Intelligence goes one step further by equipping a person to distinguish behaviors produced by the culture in question from behaviors that are peculiar to particular individuals and those found in all human beings.

IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
Why Cultural Intelligence? In an increasingly diverse business environment, managers must be able to navigate through the thicket of habits, gestures, and assumptions that define their coworkers' differences. Foreign cultures are everywhere. In other countries, certainly, but also in corporations, vocations, and regions. Interacting with individuals within them demands sensitivity and adaptability. And the people who have those traits in abundance, are not necessarily the ones, who enjoy the greatest social success in familiar settings.

The people who are socially the most successful among their friends, often have the greatest difficulty to understand cultural strangers, and to accepted by them. Those who fully embody the habits and norms of their native culture, may be the most alien when they enter another culture. Sometimes, somewhat detached people from their own culture, can more easily adopt the habits and even the body language of an unfamiliar host. They are natural observers, and easily make a conscious effort to fit in.

GROWING YOUR CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
Earley and Mosakowski conclude that anyone who is reasonably alert, motivated and poised, can attain an acceptable CQ. They recommend a 6 step approach to cultivating your cultural intelligence:
1. Examine your CQ strengths and weaknesses. In this way you establish a starting point.
2. Select training that focuses on your weaknesses.
3. Apply this training.
4. Organize support in own organization.
5. Enter the cultural setting. Start with a focus on your strengths.
6. Reevaluate (360°). Possibly define further training.



Reference:HBR,Oct-04

What Goes Around... Find it out???

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said: "What goes around comes around." Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching. Sing like nobody's listening. Live like it's Heaven on Earth...

26/11- a Black day of Indian history

On the night of Mumbai terror attack almost everyone went beyond the call of duty, some with arms and some with plain courage. One such person was former chief security officer (CSO) for The Oberoi Hotel, Commander S Nagmote. His presence of mind saved many lives that night.

"I got a call that there is a blast, the person who called didn't realise that it was a gun fire initially," said Nagmote.

He entered the hotel minutes after the first round of fire.

"There was blood near the bell desk. I could see blood near the elevator because I think one of the Japanese guests was shot at by the terrorist at the bell desk area. He was pulled by his colleague at the elevator so I could see the blood stains on the floor, the blood of somebody being dragged," he said.

"What I really wanted was that I should have had a weapon like AK47 and I would have gone after these guys," he added.

Nagmote may not have managed to control the two terrorists, but he pledged that he would not allow any further collateral damage to the people or the property.

Two things that became a priority for Nagmote were managing the fire panel and conserving water to combat any fire and for those injured and stranded. He was aware that he was exposing himself and risking his life in the process. It was then that he saw water leaking down from the higher floors where the terrorists were hiding.

"I thought I must conserve water. So I went up to the 12th and 13th floors. Thereafter, I gave up because I didn't have a life jacket. I only knew the terrorists were on the top floor. I thought they were on the 21st floor. I knew the number of terrorist. I knew it from the CCTV camera footage that there were two terrorist," he said.

Nagmote put a list together of all those present at the hotel and called every guest to ensure that they felt safe. He made a 1,000 calls but forgot to dial one number of his worrying wife and daughter at home.

"The touching moment was when I switched on my cell phone and I had a SMS from my daughter saying that 'at least please call us and tell us that you are ok,'" he said.

The man who saved many lives lost one closest to him, his childhood friend Anti Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare.

"Personally the thing that moved me was the loss of the lives of the guests and of my employees and colleagues," he said.

"My dad came back home and saw gifts laid on the table and he asked what is going on? I told him it's my birthday. And him coming home was the best birthday gift," said his daughter, Suma Nagmote.

On completion of one year, please pray for the immortal soul of the brave soldiers, who made our country proud.

Source- IBN

Price war- Bharti Airtel Vs TATA DoCoMo

The equal competitors are coming up with their new tariffs, plans ,special packs and their varying services to prove themselves to be much competitive and trying to anchor them firmly in this mobile sector. Still many new operators are yet to launch their services in days to come but existing ones don’t seem to leave a bit of it.

They convinced the people by their VAS plans and tariffs too. Currently the Tata Docomo came up with its services with an all new tariff scheme of pay per second which has brought out a massive revolution in the market. DOT’s mandatory urged every operator to go with pay per second scheme.

On 30th Oct the leading mobile service provider Bharti Airtel launched their much awaited “Pay Per Second” tariff all throughout India.The tariff comparison with Airtel and TATA Docomo is as follows,

* Airtel with its inception on 2001 renders number of customers but their tariff, call rates to different network makes confusion and remains unstable. But Docomo’s 1p/sec throughout India makes consumers to keep track of their account and controls expenses.

* Airtel has kept different SMS charges even in their Pay Per Second plan with local sms being charged at Re.1 and National SMS at Rs.1.50, whereas Docomo introduced SMS charges based on the number of characters. No recharges are needed to opt for per second calling after one year.

* Package activation of Airtel ranges from Rs.64 to Rs.99 and varies from circle to circle. Docomo’s does not charge anything extra for activating the per second pack since the tariff plan by default is on per second basis.

* The Airtel tariff calculation is hard ranging from 1p/sec to 1.2p/sec , but 20% higher to other operators whereas A2A calls are kept at 1p/sec and that to other operators are charged at 1.2p/sec. But Tata Docomo is offering a limited period offer of STD calls at 1p/sec.

* Post paid customers are abandoned from VAS, IVR calling, etc .Docomo is quite opposite to this post paid subscribers enjoy those services.

* But Airtel is older than Docomo so it has compact network links than Docomo , so this is the place where Docomo has to establish itself.

Meanwhile it is found that Docomo with both GSM and CDMA network added over ‘4 million’ subscribers in September, beating market leader Bharti Airtel yet again. Airtel had 2.5 million new users in September.

The battle has just begun as new operators are still to join the war.

Source- Call bharat

Future in Life Insurance

The Indian life insurance industry is expected to grow by about 15 percent in the current financial year to touch a total premium income of Rs. 2,55,000 crore in 2009-10.

"Despite the slowdown in the economy, life insurance industry has continued to grow as policyholders are realizing the value of insurance. We continue to be optimistic about the future of the insurance business in India and expect the industry to grow about at 15 percent," Life Insurance Council Secretary General S.B. Mathur said in a statement.

As per the industry body's estimates, the target for total premium at Rs. 2,55,000 crore for this fiscal would be achieved, he added. The industry had garnered Rs. 2,21,688 crore of total premium in 2008-09, the statement said. In the first six months of this fiscal, the insurance industry has already mopped up Rs. 1,01,976 crore of premium registering a growth of 18 percent over the year-ago period, reports PTI.

As per the industry body, total renewal premiums for regular Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) witnessed a growth of 40 percent in April-September period at Rs. 25,950 crore compared with Rs. 18,506 crore in the same period last fiscal. New business premium increased by 13 percent to Rs. 38,985 cores from Rs. 34,529 cores for the corresponding period in 2008-09, it said. In the first half, total benefit paid to policyholders stood at Rs. 28,373 crore as against Rs. 23,070 crore, up 23 percent, the council said.

India's workforce unskilled? Only 5 percent certified

Pointing out that enhancing the skill sets of the workforce in the country is a challenge, President Pratibha Patil regretted that large chunk of workforce in India did not have skill certification, contrary to the developed countries.

As reported by the Indian Express, the President said, "Only five percent of the workforce in India has some kind of certification. This is in contrast to over 85 percent in the developed countries. Encouragement of work-integrated learning followed by examination, certification and accreditation through distance education will be of help. However, to make it effective there would be a need for active two way collaboration with industry and other players." Participating in the silver jubilee celebrations of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Pratibha Patil said that the open university system being flexible and innovative can be useful for a wide section of society and should help in improving skill sets.

The President also said that the spread of education among women is very important. "By spreading education amongst them, not only is an individual educated, but rather the seeds of progress of the next generation are planted," she added.

Moreover, Pratibha Patil said that the gross enrollment ratio (GER) in India in higher education is very low as compared to the world average. She pointed out that strenuous efforts are required to reach our goal of enhancing the GER in India to 20 percent by 2020.

Richest Man of country

While the rest of the world has been struggling with the worst recession in decades, India's economy has glided serenely through the crisis, registering 6.1 per cent GDP growth to date in 2009 and enriching its top earners to such an extent that the number of billionaires in the country doubled last year. During that time the Mumbai stock market has soared by three-quarters to the joy of India's super-rich elite.

Forbes Asia magazine released its annual rich list yesterday, and there were 52 dollar billionaires on it, up from 27 last year. In pride of place at the top of the table with $32bn was Mukesh Ambani, the 52-year-old chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector conglomerate.

Ambani took over the family firm, of which he owns 48 per cent, from his father Dhirubhai, and is currently locked in a bitter legal battle with his brother Anil over a business deal. Mukesh is the owner of the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians, for which he paid $111.9m.

Nestled behind Ambani in second place, with just $2bn less, is Lakshmi Mittal, the chairman and CEO of steel giant Arcelor-Mittal. Confusingly Mittal, 59, is also considered to be the richest person in the UK, where he maintains a house in Kensington that he bought from fellow tycoon Bernie Ecclestone in 2004. He paid £57m for the 12-bedroom mansion – breaking the world record at the time for a single property. He also owns a stake in Queens Park Rangers football club alongside Ecclestone and disgraced Formula 1 team principal Flavio Briatore.

Between them, the 100 richest Indians are valued at $276bn, almost 23 per cent of the country's 2008 GDP of $1.2tr. The growing inequality in the nation - where more than 800m people live on less than $0.50 a day - has prompted calls from academics and government ministers for action. Ambani sensibly saw the way the wind was blowing and cut his annual salary by 66 per cent to just $3.2m.


By Seth Jacobson

Economic Terms.

Whether you are a student of Economics or Management,Whether you are a working professional or a layman.Reserves play a important role in your life.Reserve Ratios or Required Reserve Ratio or Cash Reserve Ratio effects the market and the life of a common man directly.

Now you may be thinking what exactly is it??????

So let us see it in details.

The Reserve Requirement (or Required Reserve Ratio or Cash Reserve Ratio) is a bank regulation that sets the minimum reserves each bank must hold to customer deposits and notes. It would normally be in the form of fiat currency stored in a bank vault (vault cash), or with a central bank.

CRR:-

CRR Rate in India

Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

Relation between Inflation and Bank interest Rates

Now a days, you might have heard lot of these terms and usage on inflation and the bank interest rates. We are trying to make it simple for you to understand the relation between inflation and bank interest rates in India.

Bank interest rate depends on many other factors, out of that the major one is inflation. Whenever you see an increase on inflation, there will be an increase of interest rate also

What is Inflation?

Inflation is defined as an increase in the price of bunch of Goods and services that projects the Indian economy. An increase in inflation figures occurs when there is an increase in the average level of prices in Goods and services. Inflation happens when there are less Goods and more buyers, this will result in increase in the price of Goods, since there is more demand and less supply of the goods.

Deflation

Deflation is the continuous decrease in prices of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate becomes negative (below zero) and stays there for a longer period...

What is a Repo Rate?

Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. A reduction in the Repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the Repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

Marketing Concepts ...

A Professor at one of the IIM's was explaining marketing concepts to the Students: -

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" - That's Direct Marketing

2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you say: "He's very rich. Marry him." - That's Advertising

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me." - That's Telemarketing

4. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car) for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride and then says:"By the way, I'm rich. Will you marry me?" - That's Public Relations

5. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says:
"You are very rich! Can you marry me?" - That's Brand Recognition

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say:
"I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - That's Customer Feedback

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say:
"I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband. - That's demand and supply gap

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tells her: "I'm rich... Will you marry me?" and she goes with him -
That's competition eating into your market share

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before
you say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" your wife arrives. - That's restriction
for entering new markets

So, Dear Friends hope it is clear by now

Source: Club Jam- By Journeyman

Titan: Losing some sheen

With gold prices soaring to nearly Rs 1,700 per gram, sales of jewellery could be somewhat lacklustre during the coming wedding season. As it is, Titan's September 2009 quarter revenues were up five phttp://www.blogger.com/moderate-comment.g?blogID=3747989201941910550er cent at Rs 1,150 crore resulting in a fall in the operating profit of 14 per cent.
For several quarters now, the jewellery business hasn't seen any meaningful rise in volumes and according to analysts, volumes have actually fallen in the last three quarters by 8, 15 and 11 per cent.
It's true that the past year has seen a runaway rise in gold prices at a time when the macro-environment has been weak. But while consumers may have resumed spending, gold prices remain high.

Jewellery accounts for two-thirds of Titan's operating profit and with the jewellery business growing faster than the watches business, operating margins for the company, contracted 220 basis points to 8.7 per cent in the September 2009 quarter
Indeed, the poor performance of the watches division in the September 2009 quarter, where sales dropped 2.6 per cent, came as a bit of a surprise after the excellent show reported in the June quarter when sales were up 21 per cent. Brands such as Sonata are understood to have fared badly. However, the business remains profitable with higher sales of top-end brands and sales should pick up as dealers start restocking.
Titan plans to go slowly on its rollout of stores, especially the gold Plus outlets, in the wake of weaker-than-expected demand. Also, while it had earlier hoped to have around 120-130 Titan Eye stores by March next year, the plans have been scaled back. Nevertheless, it's extensive reach and strong portfolio of brands make Titan a good play on growing consumer aspirations and incomes.
In 2010-11, Titan is expected to grow revenues by about 19-20 per cent to Rs 5,300 crore while net profits are estimated to grow 16-18 per cent to Rs 270 crore. However, at the current price of Rs 1,370, the stock trades at a fairly expensive multiple of over 22 times estimated 2010-11 earnings.

Source: Business Standard

Effect of recession india

Certainly there is a lot of effect of US recession on Indian economy. US recession has a chain effect as US imports many things from other countries which includes India. Primarily this has impact on export industry in India which includes textile industry, granite processing industry, tobacco exports and so on. It is said that already 5 lakh people have already lost their job in Indian textile industry.

This is not the end of the story. Now it has also started showing its direct effects on all other industries as well which include IT and ITES. Proactively many of the companies have started taking proactive steps to protect them self from the gloomy future. Many small companies were closed and ready to close, increasing the unemployed people. This will have lot of impact on peoples spending abilities and the supply chain effect carries forward.

But is every one in India are effect? Yes, but many people may not realize it or many not have any direct effects. Especially people living in cities will are more exposed to this and people in towns are less exposed to this situation. This is especially because number of employees working in private firms are susceptible to this situation and people working for govt. and self employed are less (these people will have impact only at later stages).

Whats the other side of the coin? Frankly its a overall loss to every one. But this is the right time for govt. to attract good talent to join in govt. organizations. That way govt can increase its efficiency and also help country to face this situation. But govt has to act quickly for filling already vacant positions and creating new jobs.

This is just a cut-short version of the impacts and analysis. This can be discussed for years. But not now.

Educational pooverty In India

India is a developing country. The may in factor that made India a developing country is its educational wealth still its poverty stricken.Mostly 80% of the population depends on agriculture and out of it 60% is illiterate. Thus the basis of all these problems is illiteracy. It is a main factor that can bring an end to all these rising problems among common man.Education is very important in the present day life.Only a literate person can now adjust with the development of society.Especially girls or women must be educated.As they play vital role in the society.There are some people around us who still don't let their girl children to go to school and get educated.All these old customs or practices has to be removed.When a girl is educated she attains knowledge gains power this helps in her self development .When she has a family it gives a positive thinking and influences that family in various ways.When her kids grow she too makes them educated.This helps the society to improve in all aspects .This leads our country gradually to develop.Its a fact that every one must get educated,when girls get educated,they become aware and it reflects in the upcoming generations of our country.When all get educated problem of rising poverty gets decreased.In all aspects education is an important factor that helps in bringing about various changes to ourselves as human beings and also to the society.Getting educated makes man perfect and eligible.The new generations must get educated and be valuable resources to our own country.world being today in this position ,the basis of all these achievement is education .thus getting educated is very important to be a good human being and a good citizen.with Education we can achieve all that we want and can make new things and resources and meet the growing needs.


By. Prof. Chanchal Kabra

Attitudes and Choices ...

Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past.
Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and choices today

So enjoy the story here it goes......

This is a story an elderly carpenter who had been working for a
contractor for many years. He had built many beautiful houses but
now as he was getting old, he wanted to retire and lead a leisurely life
with his family. So, he goes to the contractor and tells him about his
plan of retiring. The contractor feels sad at the prospect of losing a
good worker, he agrees to the plan because the carpenter had indeed
become too fragile for tough building work. But as a last request, he
asks the old carpenter to construct just one last house.
The old man agrees and starts working, but his heart was not in his work
anymore. He had lost the motivation towards work. So, he resorted to
shoddy workmanship and constructed the house half-heartedly. After the
house was built, the contractor handed over the front door keys to the
carpenter and said; this is your new house, my gift to you. The carpenter
was shocked and upset. Had he known that he was building his own house, he would have done a better job! Now, he would have to live in the house,
which is not worth staying.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. You work hard every day, but are you
giving your best? We put our least to the work we don't like or do not
have interested in. Later, we get shocked at the situation we have created
for ourselves and try to figure out why we didn't do it differently.
Enjoy your tasks and carry on your responsibilities with pleasure and not
with pain. Life is a do-it-yourself project. Do your job enthusiastically
and with devotion, a positive output and a pleasing life will certainly
be on your way...

What does Infosys has to say ???

Infosys BPO, the business processing outsourcing subsidiary of software major Infosys Technologies, is looking at fresh acquisitions in the range of $80-200 million and hiring more people.

Speaking on the occasion, Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO, Infosys BPO said,"We plann to hire 2000 people in the next four-five months or by the end of this fiscal. Currently we are 16,000 people in India."

Recently, the 300-million Infosys subsidiary signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up rural BPO centres in 22 districts of the state. Infosys BPO gets significant part of its business from North America and Europe. To bag more clients, it is said to be looking at aligning with Finacle, the banking solution business of its parent.

The unit is also planning to set up a new delivery centre in the U.S. before the end of this financial year. The back-office services wing of Infosys has eight delivery centres across the globe, including in Mexico, but it did not have a centre in the U.S. so far.

Infosys BPO registered revenues of $71.3 million with a net profit of $16.3 million for the September quarter. Besides, Infosys is also said it is eyeing acquisitions worth USD 50-200 million in areas where the company has a small presence. "The acquisitions will be funded through cash in areas we have a small presence," said Chaudhry.

Some of the areas where acquisitions can be done are, manufacturing, insurance, media and entertainment space mainly in the U.S. and the Europe.



Report By IANS

How to develop your RESUME

Friends,

PEOPLE FIRST Sharing with you few tips while developing the Resume

1. What IS a resume anyway?
Remember: a Resume is a self-promotional document that presents you in the best possible light, for the purpose of getting invited to a job interview.
It's not an official personnel document. It's not a job application. It's not a "career obituary"! And it's not a confessional.

2. What should the resume content be about?
It's not just about past Jobs! It's about YOU, and how you performed and what you accomplished in those past Jobs--especially those accomplishments that are most relevant to the work you want to do next. A good resume predicts how you might perform in that desired future job.

3. What's the fastest way to improve a resume?
Remove everything that starts with "responsibilities included" and replace it with on-the-job accomplishments. (See Tip 11 for one way to write them.)

4. What is the most common resume mistake made by job hunters?
Leaving out their Job Objective! If you don't show a sense of direction, employers won't be interested. Having a clearly stated goal doesn't have to confine you if it's stated well..

5. What's the first step in writing a resume?
Decide on a job target (or "job objective") that can be stated in about 5 or 6 words. Anything beyond that is probably "fluff" and indicates a lack of clarity and direction.

6. How do you decide whether to use a Chronological resume or a Functional one?
The Chronological format is widely preferred by employers, and works well if you're staying in the same field (especially if you've been upwardly-mobile). Only use a Functional format if you're changing fields, and you're sure a skills-oriented format would show off your transferable skills to better advantage; and be sure to include a clear chronological work history!

7. What if you don't have any experience in the kind of work you want to do?
Get some! Find a place that will let you do some volunteer work right away. You only need a brief, concentrated period of volunteer training (for example, 1 day a week for a month) to have at least SOME experience to put on your resume.
Also, look at some of the volunteer work you've done in the past and see if any of THAT helps document some skills you'll need for your new job.

8. What do you do if you have gaps in your work experience?
You could start by looking at it differently.
General Rule: Tell what you WERE doing, as gracefully as possible--rather than leave a gap.
If you were doing anything valuable (even if unpaid) during those so-called "gaps" you could just insert THAT into the work-history section of your resume to fill the hole. Here are some examples:
1993-95 Full-time parent -- or
1992-94 Maternity leave and family management -- or
Travel and study -- or Full-time student -- or
Parenting plus community service

9. What if you have several different job objectives you're working on at the same time? Or you haven't narrowed it down yet to just one job target?
Then write a different resume for each different job target. A targeted resume is MUCH, much stronger than a generic resume.

10. What if you have a fragmented, scrambled-up work history, with lots of short-term Jobs?
To minimize the job-hopper image, combine several similar Jobs into one "chunk," for example:
1993-1995 Secretary/Receptionist; Jones Bakery, Micro Corp., Carter Jewelers -- or
1993-95 Waiter/Busboy; McDougal's Restaurant, Burger King, Traders Coffee Shop.

11. What's the best way to impress an employer?
Fill your resume with "PAR" statements. PAR stands for Problem-Action-Results; in other words, first you state the problem that existed in your workplace, then you describe what you did about it, and finally you point out the beneficial results.

Here's an example: "Transformed a disorganized, inefficient warehouse into a smooth-running operation by totally redesigning the layout; this saved the company thousands of dollars in recovered stock."

12. What if your job title doesn't reflect your actual level of responsibility?
When you list it on the resume, either replace it with a more appropriate job title (say "Office Manager" instead of "Administrative Assistant" if that's more realistic) OR use their job title AND your fairer one together, i.e. "Administrative Assistant (Office Manager)"


Regards,
PEOPLE FIRST.

Importance of Professionalism in the Workplace: PEOPLE FIRST

What is Professionalism?


Just being in a profession does not make one a professional. Read on to know what goes into making one.
Last night a very interesting question came up in my mind.
I always listen from people about professionalism, people usually say BE PROFESSIONAL. The magic question that made me put on my thinking cap was, "What is Professionalism"?

The answer varies all the time when I ask this to people, but there seemed to be a general lack of succinct understanding of the concept.
To start with let us agree on something -- just because one is a professional, he or she automatically does not exhibit professionalism.
A very general, raw idea of professionalism is a bundle of the following concepts: a focused approach, pride in what one is doing, confident, competent, motivation towards a particular goal, accountability, respect for people irrespective of rank, status and gender, responsibility while on the path to a particular goal, commitment to word and deed, control of emotions - well, you are beginning to get the idea now.
Basically it all boils down to where you leave out emotional upheavals and stay focused on the issue no matter what the issue is or how stressful and trying a situation turns out to be.
Cool as a cucumber, grace under pressure, while keeping the total focus on what one is supposed to be doing and accomplishing.
You will be exhibiting professionalism if you:Base business related interactions to facts, figures and purely on the logic and understanding of the situation at hand.
Do not get carried away by the passion of the moment.
Emotions vary by individual sensibilities and of course, cultures.
So stay focused and keeps bringing the person gently back on the issues. Otherwise you will lose complete control over yourself and the situation.
A business interaction has a purpose and a goal. An excessive amount of jocularity of "kidding around'' will be seen as flippant.
That does not mean that you pack up your natural sense of humor. Be mindful of when you are crossing the line. There is a tasteful limit to everything.
The ideal is a combination of light humor, where and when appropriate with a complete seriousness to moving towards the goal that is demanded of the interaction.
Understand your "corporate culture'' and function within its parameters.
Every business must set forth, not only to develop its own identity but also make sure that it is understood and translated in behavior by the employees.
All the corporate policies otherwise will remain just that, policies on paper.
Understand how to treat superiors, peers and subordinates with the utmost courtesy and in the proper accepted norms.
That will differentiate you from the rest by giving the cutting edge advantage.
More than your technical expertise and academic accomplishments you will be remembered and admired for your strict codes of conduct in your interactions.
Accept the fact that you are there to accomplish a definite task and that should be done with complete integrity, commitment and pride in your job.
This is just the raw data to get you started. The whole concept of professionalism can be very confusing with so many concepts going into it.
It is not something that is measured in any test where you are given scores.
It is there in a very subtle way making a statement about you and others are constantly taking down notes on you.
The importance of professionalism in the workplace cannot be overlooked in 21st Century society. Most of us spend more time at work than at home, and friendships with our managers and co-workers have become commonplace. But, when the boundaries between professional and personal cross, there can be serious problems. Too much openness about personal issues, lack of respect for authority, gossiping and not returning telephone calls promptly are a few examples of unprofessional (but increasingly common) behaviors at all levels that kill corporate productivity and image. Our society has become faster-paced and more casual, but professionalism remains the key to the business world – despite the trend toward casual dress and operating style.
With unemployment at record lows, the importance of professionalism in the workplace cannot be overlooked as a key to success and advancement. How you dress, speak, act, write and work determines whether you are a professional or an amateur. Since our culture has become more relaxed and casual, many believe that amateur work is acceptable and thus many businesses accept mediocre results. However, those organizations that stress the importance of professionalism in the workplace are usually growing, vibrant entities.
For starters, stick with all the ideas given here and you should be able to survive in any professional situation with great professionalism! All the Best Dear Friends…



References: The Hindu, Wikipedia