Sunday, May 13, 2012
PARAG KHANNA - on multiple identities
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PARAG KHANNA on ' How to Run the World :" Wharton
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http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2811
Stephen J. Kobrin: In How to Run the World, you talk about the fact that we are entering a "postmodern Middle Ages" and that 21st-century diplomacy is going to be very complex. Technology and money, rather than sovereignty, [will] determine who has authority and who calls the shots. And you talk about "mega-diplomats." Who are these mega-diplomats?
Parag Khanna: Well, let's go back to the "postmodern Middle Ages." This is a very important analogy -- it's not just a clever historical reference. The Middle Ages was that period a thousand years ago when East and West were simultaneously powerful -- when China was the world's most advanced civilization under the Song Dynasty, when the Chola Dynasty of India was a great naval power, and when the Arab and Islamic Caliphates ruled all the way from North Africa to Central Asia. Europe was weak and divided between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. The fact that it was a multipolar landscape around the world is a very important attribute of the Middle Ages.
ON MULTIPLE IDENTITIES : It's either your ethnic identity or your religious identity or your national, state identity -- or what's on your passport. That's not a very creative way of understanding how identity can take shape in a technological environment and an environment where money talks as much as it does. I meet a lot of young people who subscribe to a generational identity. They identify with certain causes that they are either members of physically or financially or through technology communities in the clouds -- like Facebook and various other groups and causes. Corporate identities are also extremely important today. When I meet young people who work for multinationals, but who have citizenship from Brazil or India or China or Russia, they realize that, in fact, their national identity will not allow visa-free access to the West or other parts of the world for years and years to come. The corporate identity is what allows them that access -- and the visas that their corporation gets for them.
PARAG KHANNA on ' How to Run the World :" Wharton
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2811
Stephen J. Kobrin: In How to Run the World, you talk about the fact that we are entering a "postmodern Middle Ages" and that 21st-century diplomacy is going to be very complex. Technology and money, rather than sovereignty, [will] determine who has authority and who calls the shots. And you talk about "mega-diplomats." Who are these mega-diplomats?
Parag Khanna: Well, let's go back to the "postmodern Middle Ages." This is a very important analogy -- it's not just a clever historical reference. The Middle Ages was that period a thousand years ago when East and West were simultaneously powerful -- when China was the world's most advanced civilization under the Song Dynasty, when the Chola Dynasty of India was a great naval power, and when the Arab and Islamic Caliphates ruled all the way from North Africa to Central Asia. Europe was weak and divided between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. The fact that it was a multipolar landscape around the world is a very important attribute of the Middle Ages.
ON MULTIPLE IDENTITIES : It's either your ethnic identity or your religious identity or your national, state identity -- or what's on your passport. That's not a very creative way of understanding how identity can take shape in a technological environment and an environment where money talks as much as it does. I meet a lot of young people who subscribe to a generational identity. They identify with certain causes that they are either members of physically or financially or through technology communities in the clouds -- like Facebook and various other groups and causes. Corporate identities are also extremely important today. When I meet young people who work for multinationals, but who have citizenship from Brazil or India or China or Russia, they realize that, in fact, their national identity will not allow visa-free access to the West or other parts of the world for years and years to come. The corporate identity is what allows them that access -- and the visas that their corporation gets for them.
Labels: Knowledge at Wharton
beauty-care industry , a predominantly a woman's domain ?
FMCG business is predominanatly woman's
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2759
(with a greater range of choices for consumers and lower barriers to entry for companies, Estée Lauder has remained committed to selling in upscale department stores. Stylists behind the makeup counter add value to purchases by offering personalized advice to the customers. )
[But in the case of beauty products,] consumers still want to see it, touch it, feel it, smell it. Technology does not allow that to be replaced, so she's still willing to go to a store. The other thing is the notion of what shopping is about -- that's a behavioral pattern that hasn't really changed. It's still as much about entertainment as it is about an act of consumption. Many people can entertain themselves happily at home with different electronic gadgets. But many still want to get out and about and be in a social environment. They still like to shop in an environment like that. And then you add the interaction with an expert with whom they can talk. That behavior has only evolved a little bit, not a lot. We in the cosmetics business, for example, thrive on the fact that so many of our consumers, once they find the product that they love and they like, want to come back and buy it again and again.
[Customers] want something new, but they also want the products that they like not to change, so they can use them again and again. The number one consumer feedback we get is "Bring [a certain item] back" when we've discontinued a product....
Problems in Family owned business : Many of the challenges of a family owned business are the same no matter what kind of business you're in. You have family members who may have certain emotional opinions and biases, which may or may not be best based on rational thought. Sometimes those emotions are legitimate, and sometimes perhaps they're based on ideas that did work at one point but perhaps are not as relevant today. In other words, [older family members might say,] "When I was your age, I did this or that." The ability to say, "Gee, you know, I'm not so certain that might work right now," isn't so easy. That is the other side of what I talked about before, which was that we are very innovative and we have innovation as a part of what we do. But occasionally there are stakeholders who perhaps have the same last name as I do, who have a stake in the way it was, not necessarily the way it will be. It takes extra convincing for them to get there. That's one of the issues.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2759
(with a greater range of choices for consumers and lower barriers to entry for companies, Estée Lauder has remained committed to selling in upscale department stores. Stylists behind the makeup counter add value to purchases by offering personalized advice to the customers. )
[But in the case of beauty products,] consumers still want to see it, touch it, feel it, smell it. Technology does not allow that to be replaced, so she's still willing to go to a store. The other thing is the notion of what shopping is about -- that's a behavioral pattern that hasn't really changed. It's still as much about entertainment as it is about an act of consumption. Many people can entertain themselves happily at home with different electronic gadgets. But many still want to get out and about and be in a social environment. They still like to shop in an environment like that. And then you add the interaction with an expert with whom they can talk. That behavior has only evolved a little bit, not a lot. We in the cosmetics business, for example, thrive on the fact that so many of our consumers, once they find the product that they love and they like, want to come back and buy it again and again.
[Customers] want something new, but they also want the products that they like not to change, so they can use them again and again. The number one consumer feedback we get is "Bring [a certain item] back" when we've discontinued a product....
Problems in Family owned business : Many of the challenges of a family owned business are the same no matter what kind of business you're in. You have family members who may have certain emotional opinions and biases, which may or may not be best based on rational thought. Sometimes those emotions are legitimate, and sometimes perhaps they're based on ideas that did work at one point but perhaps are not as relevant today. In other words, [older family members might say,] "When I was your age, I did this or that." The ability to say, "Gee, you know, I'm not so certain that might work right now," isn't so easy. That is the other side of what I talked about before, which was that we are very innovative and we have innovation as a part of what we do. But occasionally there are stakeholders who perhaps have the same last name as I do, who have a stake in the way it was, not necessarily the way it will be. It takes extra convincing for them to get there. That's one of the issues.
Labels: Knowledge at Wharton
India as desitnation of medical tourism
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, India’s share in the global medical tourism industry will reach around 3% by the end of 2013
India has not been able to set up an adequate health care infrastructure for its own citizens and it doesn’t have the money to do so. Creation of a sophisticated medical tourism structure will have a trickle-down effect. ( or , will it ? Ever ?)
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" "India has been ranked among the top five destinations for medical tourism," says Rana Kapoor, founder, managing director and CEO of Yes Bank, which has recently done a study on health and wellness tourism in India along with apex chamber of commerce FICCI. The ranking by Nuwire Investors, an online source for news on alternative investments, puts Panama on top, followed by Brazil, Malaysia and Costa Rica
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"We produce the largest number of doctors, nurses and medical technicians in the world. Also, we have been traditionally linked with western health care because of the British influence on our medical education and the ability to speak English. This is extremely important for developing [global] health care. Our greatest asset is our ability to produce the largest number of technically-skilled individuals. We also have the largest number of USFDA (U.S. Food and Drugs Administration)-approved drug manufacturing units outside the U.S."
(Dr.Devi Shetty)
, India’s share in the global medical tourism industry will reach around 3% by the end of 2013
India has not been able to set up an adequate health care infrastructure for its own citizens and it doesn’t have the money to do so. Creation of a sophisticated medical tourism structure will have a trickle-down effect. ( or , will it ? Ever ?)
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" "India has been ranked among the top five destinations for medical tourism," says Rana Kapoor, founder, managing director and CEO of Yes Bank, which has recently done a study on health and wellness tourism in India along with apex chamber of commerce FICCI. The ranking by Nuwire Investors, an online source for news on alternative investments, puts Panama on top, followed by Brazil, Malaysia and Costa Rica
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"We produce the largest number of doctors, nurses and medical technicians in the world. Also, we have been traditionally linked with western health care because of the British influence on our medical education and the ability to speak English. This is extremely important for developing [global] health care. Our greatest asset is our ability to produce the largest number of technically-skilled individuals. We also have the largest number of USFDA (U.S. Food and Drugs Administration)-approved drug manufacturing units outside the U.S."
(Dr.Devi Shetty)
Labels: Knowledge at Wharton
Y , middle managers R the most important in your company !
Why Middle Managers May Be the Most Important People in Your Company
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http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2783
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The importance of individual skills and characteristics can be especially significant when measuring firm performance in industries and fields that value innovation, like computer games, software, consulting, biotech and marketing, according to Mollick.
It is in these knowledge-intensive industries where variation in the abilities of middle managers – the "suits" he refers to in his paper -- has a "particularly large impact on firm performance, much larger than that of individuals who are assigned innovative roles," he says. His research differentiates knowledge-based companies from traditional industries where "economies of scale are critical, such as manufacturing, and where there seems to be little need to take individuals into account to explain performance." Toyota is an example. "With a six-layered bureaucracy, cross-trained workers and clearly delineated departments, Toyota built a manufacturing powerhouse that integrates workers in a complex mechanism to produce cars efficiently," Mollick writes. "Individual workers are ultimately replaceable and interchangeable with others who have received the same extensive training." The process "does not rely on any individual worker's skills but rather firm-level processes to hire and train the appropriate individuals for the appropriate roles." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Caught in the Middle: Why Developing and Retaining Middle Managers Can Be So Challenging Published: May 28, 2008 in Knowledge@Wharton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- middle managers. They are often referred to as the "glue" that holds companies together, bridging the gap between the top management team and lower level workers. They implement strategy and organizational changes, keeping workers engaged during both good and bad economic cycles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Many companies are seeing significant turnover in middle management ranks, and with significant turnover, they don't have the ability to execute strategy," says vice dean of Wharton Executive Education Thomas Colligan. "Top management can spend all their time creating strategy, but without someone there to implement it, where are you at the end of the day?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As companies go through economic cycles like the current one, middle managers get hit with the elimination of rewards and incentives and, in some cases, layoffs. This is particularly true now in the financial services industry, he says. "In cost-cutting times, knee-jerk reactions happen. There is a paradox where middle managers are essential, but end up sacked when restructuring occurs. It's a rough situation because the people needed to run the most important projects are in the middle."
It is in these knowledge-intensive industries where variation in the abilities of middle managers – the "suits" he refers to in his paper -- has a "particularly large impact on firm performance, much larger than that of individuals who are assigned innovative roles," he says. His research differentiates knowledge-based companies from traditional industries where "economies of scale are critical, such as manufacturing, and where there seems to be little need to take individuals into account to explain performance." Toyota is an example. "With a six-layered bureaucracy, cross-trained workers and clearly delineated departments, Toyota built a manufacturing powerhouse that integrates workers in a complex mechanism to produce cars efficiently," Mollick writes. "Individual workers are ultimately replaceable and interchangeable with others who have received the same extensive training." The process "does not rely on any individual worker's skills but rather firm-level processes to hire and train the appropriate individuals for the appropriate roles." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Caught in the Middle: Why Developing and Retaining Middle Managers Can Be So Challenging Published: May 28, 2008 in Knowledge@Wharton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1968 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- middle managers. They are often referred to as the "glue" that holds companies together, bridging the gap between the top management team and lower level workers. They implement strategy and organizational changes, keeping workers engaged during both good and bad economic cycles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Many companies are seeing significant turnover in middle management ranks, and with significant turnover, they don't have the ability to execute strategy," says vice dean of Wharton Executive Education Thomas Colligan. "Top management can spend all their time creating strategy, but without someone there to implement it, where are you at the end of the day?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As companies go through economic cycles like the current one, middle managers get hit with the elimination of rewards and incentives and, in some cases, layoffs. This is particularly true now in the financial services industry, he says. "In cost-cutting times, knee-jerk reactions happen. There is a paradox where middle managers are essential, but end up sacked when restructuring occurs. It's a rough situation because the people needed to run the most important projects are in the middle."
Labels: Knowledge at Wharton
Friday, May 04, 2012
Short-Termism & Investor & Risk by Francois Brochet
In recent decades, commentators have argued that many corporations exhibit short-termism, a tendency to take actions that maximise short-term earnings and stock prices rather than the long-term value of the corporation.
Using conference call transcripts , we measure the time horizon that senior executives emphasise when they communicate with investors. We studies transcripts of 70,042 earnings calls - conference calls where, executives discuss quarterly results with investors, analysis and the media - that were held by 3,613 firms during 2002-10.
This involved searching for 14 terms used by management such as ' long term' and ' years' that would suggest a longer time horizon approach. We show that firms focusing more on the short term have more short-term oriented investor bases. Also, we find that short-term-oriented firms have ( or attract ) hihgter stock price volatility, and that this effect is mitigated for firms with more long term investors.
Overall, our evidence suggests that corporate short-termism is associated with greater risk and thus, affects resource allocation. Short termsim s arises because of market participatits's prefernce for investment edecisions athat yield short-term profits but not necessariylong term profits ( or worse the short term benefits come at the expens of long term value creation).
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
" Innovation Portfolio " by Bansi Nagji
" On innovation portfolio " by Bansi Nagji.
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Management knows it and so does the Wall Street : the year to year viability of a company depends on its ability to innovate. Given today's market expectations, global competitive pressures and , the extent and pace of structural change, is truer than ever ! But CEO s struggle to make the case to the street that their managerial actions can br relied on to ield a stream of successful offerings. many admit to being unsure and frustrated. They are aware of a tremendous amount of innovation going on inside their enterprises but don't feel they have a gregrasp oon all the dispersed initiatives.
The pursuit of the new appears haphazard and episodic, and they suspect the returns on the company's total innovation investments are too low.
Making matters worse, executives tend to respond with dramatic interventions and vacillating strategies ! Take the example of a consumer goods industry we know ! Attuned to the need to keep its brands fresh in retailers and consumers minds, it introduced frquent improvements to its core offerings. Most of those earned decent income with decent margins. Over time, however, it became clear that, all this product proliferation, while splitting the revenue into even smaller slices, wasn't growing the pie . Eager to earn a much higher return, the management lurched towards a new strategy aimed at --- transformational rather than incremental innovations !
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Management knows it and so does the Wall Street : the year to year viability of a company depends on its ability to innovate. Given today's market expectations, global competitive pressures and , the extent and pace of structural change, is truer than ever ! But CEO s struggle to make the case to the street that their managerial actions can br relied on to ield a stream of successful offerings. many admit to being unsure and frustrated. They are aware of a tremendous amount of innovation going on inside their enterprises but don't feel they have a gregrasp oon all the dispersed initiatives.
The pursuit of the new appears haphazard and episodic, and they suspect the returns on the company's total innovation investments are too low.
Making matters worse, executives tend to respond with dramatic interventions and vacillating strategies ! Take the example of a consumer goods industry we know ! Attuned to the need to keep its brands fresh in retailers and consumers minds, it introduced frquent improvements to its core offerings. Most of those earned decent income with decent margins. Over time, however, it became clear that, all this product proliferation, while splitting the revenue into even smaller slices, wasn't growing the pie . Eager to earn a much higher return, the management lurched towards a new strategy aimed at --- transformational rather than incremental innovations !
" TEAMING " by Amy Edmondson
In today's complex and volatile business environment, corporations and organisations also win or lose by creating wholes that are greater than the sum of their parts. Intense competition, rampant unpredictability, and a constant need for innovation are giving rise to even greater interdependence and, thus, demand even greater levels of collaboration and communication than ever before.
Teaming is essential to an organisation's ability to respond to opportunities and to improve internal processes. Teaming is a verb ! It is a dynamic activity not bounded, static entity. It's largely determined by the mindset and practices of team work. not by the design and structures of effective teams.
Teaming is a teamwork on the fly. It involved coordinating and collaborating without the benefit of stable team structures, because , many operations like hospitals, power plants and military installations require a level of staffing flexibility that makes stable team composition rare !
In growing number of organisations, the constant shifting of work means that, many teams disband almost as soon as they have been formed.
You could be working on one team right now, but in a few days, or even in a few minutes, you , may be on another team.
Fast-moving work environments need people who know how to team, people who have the skills and the flexibility to act in moments of potential collaboration when and where they appear !
From " The Importance of Teaming " by Amy Edmondson.
This book rating got 5 star rating on Amazon. The link is here ! TEAMING
Here is the preface on amazon.
New breakthrough thinking in organizational learning, leadership, and change
Teaming is essential to an organisation's ability to respond to opportunities and to improve internal processes. Teaming is a verb ! It is a dynamic activity not bounded, static entity. It's largely determined by the mindset and practices of team work. not by the design and structures of effective teams.
Teaming is a teamwork on the fly. It involved coordinating and collaborating without the benefit of stable team structures, because , many operations like hospitals, power plants and military installations require a level of staffing flexibility that makes stable team composition rare !
In growing number of organisations, the constant shifting of work means that, many teams disband almost as soon as they have been formed.
You could be working on one team right now, but in a few days, or even in a few minutes, you , may be on another team.
Fast-moving work environments need people who know how to team, people who have the skills and the flexibility to act in moments of potential collaboration when and where they appear !
From " The Importance of Teaming " by Amy Edmondson.
This book rating got 5 star rating on Amazon. The link is here ! TEAMING
Here is the preface on amazon.
New breakthrough thinking in organizational learning, leadership, and change
Continuous
improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation
are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies
face.
Amy Edmondson shows that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive,
based on how well the small groups within those organizations work.
In
most organizations, the work that produces value for customers is
carried out by teams, and increasingly, by flexible team-like entities.
The pace of change and the fluidity of most work structures means that
it's not really about creating effective teams anymore, but instead
about leading effective teaming.
Teaming shows that
organizations learn when the flexible, fluid collaborations they
encompass are able to learn. The problem is teams, and other dynamic
groups, don't learn naturally.
Edmondson outlines the factors that
prevent them from doing so, such as interpersonal fear, irrational
beliefs about failure, groupthink, problematic power dynamics, and
information hoarding.
With Teaming, leaders can shape these
factors by encouraging reflection, creating psychological safety, and
overcoming defensive interpersonal dynamics that inhibit the sharing of
ideas. Further, they can use practical management strategies to help
organizations realize the benefits inherent in both success and failure.
