One of the most notable features of the international economy in recent years has been the willingness of nearly every government in the world to embrace ‘market-friendly’ policies. This has made some people very rich, of course and a large number of people very poor and unhappy.
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The latest abstract to be accepted for publication in my forthcoming collection on technological change and organizational development is:
The Impact of Technology on Entrepreneurs in the Auto Components Sector
Mukund Deshpande, Professor & Research Scholar at HNIMRW, Pune- India and Dr. Neeta Baporikar, Doctoral Guide, University of Pune, India
Abstract
Organizational excellence has at all times aroused curiosity and been a favourite area of dialogue for entrepreneurs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been recognized world over as important drivers of the national economy. Nevertheless, running such an enterprise amidst global challenges can require extraordinary skills at both managerial and entrepreneurial levels, if the enterprise is to survive and grow. Whilst technology endeavours to introduce useful techniques based on functional logic for proactively conducting business, excellence is only attainable in the course of innovative practices. Good business policy-making requires effective entrepreneurship and proper engagement with all key stakeholders throughout the process. Enterprise leaders believe that the ability to innovate and change is crucial to the success of business. Given this situation, a built-in innovative mechanism has become a critical ingredient of the current business model.
The business approach of SMEs in particular has been a key area of research as these firms, generally lacking human, financial and other tangible and scarce resources, need to be configured accurately to match the new business surroundings. Consequently, a major challenge has been the articulation of resources so as to enable them to achieve success for the enterprise overall. The globe itself seems to be shrinking as a result of information exchange through the internet. For that reason, organization of resources has regularly posed a challenge for SMEs to manufacture products with competitive prices, timely delivery and appropriate quality. The traditional business approaches fail to gratify the general needs of business, owing to the complex environment and, as a result, businesspeople are always alert for approaches. The overall objective of good business strategy is to ensure that it is fit for the purpose, resource efficient, sustainable, resilient, adaptable and attractive.
This case study explores and elaborates such approaches in the Pune Auto-Component industry in India as an illustration of excellence that is setting new trends in modernizing the industry. The auto components industry is a major sub-sector of the automobile manufacturing sector. In effect, it is a large feeder industry that has put India on the global map for excellence and innovation and it has been categorized in the SME class by the Indian Government. Whilst the auto-component industry has been exponentially growing in India at three different locations, the Pune region has been particularly vibrant due to the support from the Automotive Research Institute and the IT industry, coupled with the availability of technological talent. To take advantage of this market opportunity, prospective entrepreneurs must remain inquisitive about new initiatives in this area.
The mainstream auto-component industries are mostly run by family-owned enterprises at Pune, with interest in diverse product ranges that operate around the world. Industry specific challenges ensue due to global competition and continually changing customer demands. They pose further challenges concerning the dearth of in-house resources, as well as the recurrent fresh demands posed by intensification of information exchanges. The case focuses on implementing the “Strategy for the SME” approach that is, in effect, accountable and well judged for the start up, survival and growth of such enterprises. The research methodology designed for the study consists of in-depth study of diverse sources describing the success of the business. A diverse range of entrepreneurs was approached for interviewing and a questionnaire utilising five-point Likert scale questions used to collect data. Emphasis was placed on issues of Face, Construct and Criteria validity. Data collected, based on personal interviews with owners, managers and supervisors of SMEs, were collated into a database. Seven such SMEs agreed to share confidential information and they represent the primary sources of data. In-depth analysis of the data, employing a deductive approach, was undertaken to identify and understand the effective instruments used by SMEs in their businesses. The statistical analysis, in terms of consistency of the approaches, has uncovered very constructive, reliable and sustainable approaches and techniques employed in these industries. The purpose of this research study was to reveal the tools, techniques and behaviour of the Pune businesspeople, at their workplaces, as they addressed the multiplicity of challenges they faced.
The study has revealed that Pune entrepreneurs require an analytical mind and belief to enter the business successfully, which should be undertaken after thorough investigation of facts and figures as well as government policies, while also taking account of the need for information technology back-up for continuity of market knowledge, information on innovation in technology and to link with prospective collaborators. Placing emphasis on customers’ requirements is considered an important policy in manufacturing. A strong belief in the importance of technology is evident, as well as the need for world class amenities that facilitate auto-components manufacture with diverse designs resulting in sustainable policy options. This policy effectively leverages manufacturing competence into access into multiple markets.
Their survival strategy has also been determined and it is to to obtain repeat business from existing customers by providing good quality products, with timely delivery and competitive prices. They are also cautious in maintaining a sound cash flow that is coupled with restricnig the number of debtors and creditors to a minimum and ensuring the prompt recovery of receivables. Keeping borrowings to the minimum and making financial collaborations has also been used to gain access to low or zero interest funds for the business. Survival is also accomplished through supply chain management by way of cooperating with partners. Strengthening survival likelihood is achieved through low rejection of products and eliminating waste materials through effective means that are also consistent with government.
The growth policy of firms involves making smart investments in projects through innovation, adding multiple sources of income and controlling spending to generate surpluses for reinvestment to promote enterprise growth and, where appropriate, collaborating with prospective partners. The Pune auto-component industry has been utilizing a trilateral instrument for designing policies for business that includes the phases of conceptualization, formulation and analytical. They further believe that this approach to business is formulated on its utility, flexibility, viability and competitiveness to match the type, size and value of resources of the enterprise for its prolonged subsistence. These firms prepare business plans and intentionally sketch out process flow charts to generate operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Sector specific indicators allow an entrepreneur to quickly ascertain whether assumptions are out of line with industry benchmarks.
A further finding of the study is that Pune industries use a bilateral approach to link up the internal and external environments through what are termed ‘core’ and ‘complementary’ approaches. The core approach has emerged to relate the external environment to the internal, whilst the complementary approach represents support for the core approach to the business. Findings further indicate that these are practical instruments and reliably improve operating economics, maintain environmental equilibrium and intensify harmonious social dealings. The modus operandi of growth is to have an innovative model with repeated iteration which has the ability to surmount sometimes dreadful challenges.
Key words: Auto Components, Entrepreneurs, India, Technology
The latest abstract accepted for my collection of case studies is:
Turning Customers Complaints into Compliments: A Case Study of Indian Railways
by Dr. Harjit Singh (Faculty Member, School of Business, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, India) and Manoj Kumar Pachariya (Faculty, School of Computer & Information Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, India).
Abstract
An organization may have hundreds of branches, thousands of employees and millions of customers but from a customer’s point of view, you are just one organizaton. They perceive your organization as a complete network, funnelled directly through you, dedicated to meeting their requirements, listening to them and not as competing sections preoccupied with their own personal issues, rules and politics. In short, in the business world, it is expected that if you are in competition, you cannot say ‘No’ or ‘sorry it’s not my fault’, or “I’m helpless, I’m not getting support from my colleagues” or ‘Sorry, today our network is not working’ to your customers. The customer is little bothered about what is happening in the organisation and wants the service which is being paid for. In other words, you cannot assign blame to another employee or department. This case study is about Indian Railways (IR) which, before going online, used to have same reaction. The system was overwhelmed with manpower and human resource development had not kept pace with the latest technological inventions.
Consequently, IR found itself in a critical situation. There was a lack of modern management as Indian railway failed to attract high quality human resources and to provide appropriate incentives. This made railways incompetent when coping with increasing number of passengers and reservations. Consumer complaints were on the rise. The number of complaints/cases for refund of tariffs and loss for ‘delay’ were increasing at unprecedented rates. The railway booking system was totally in the hands of private agents. Further, railway employees’ negative attitudes, the sheer volume of passengers and the accompanying chaos at the booking centres made the prospect of booking railway tickets an unlikeable thought. The position became more worsened with the entry of low cost airlines which were offering slightly higher or even the same fares than railways for most commercial destinations. Consequently, IR was not only confronted on the passenger front but also saw a steep downfall in the transport sector too. The case begins with the growth of IR and studies the operations of a large Indian organisation that played a vital role in the social, political and economic development of the country. The case highlights the disparity between the organization’s social and economic objectives and the strategies adopted to attain them. What circumstances forced Indian railways to introduce ‘Online Passenger Reservation System’ and its progress in recent years to become one of the most passenger-friendly railway systems in the world. The case emphasizes IR’s efforts to develop consumer perception as the most reliable travel system.
Key Words: Indian Railways, Consumer Complaints, Online reservation.
The latest abstract to be accepted into my edited collection of case studies on the subject of Technological Development and Workplace Change is: The Growth of LIC Pension Funds, Ltd., by Dr. Bala Krishnamoorthy, NNIMS, Tanesh Bhattacharya, NMIMS, Dhruv Desai, NMIMS and S.C. Sahoo DGM,LIC –PFL.
Abstract
“You Save, We Secure Your Peaceful Retirement,” LIC Pension Fund Limited, 2010
A pension secures your future while you contribute to the present: “There is a great demand and a felt need for pension funds in India. Look at the burgeoning middle class. Each family has one or two children and when the children move out parents need to take care of themselves only. It is always better to save for one’s old age rather than being dependent on somebody else. The retirement years are like a second innings and it should be trouble and tension free,” according to Manickam, Chief Executive Officer, LIC-PFL (Pension Fund limited).
With economic reforms beginning in the early 90s, the Government of India was keen to introduce saving habits among people and encouraged saving through pension fund schemes, tax incentives to reduce the dependency on the state and sharing the responsibility between employer and the employee to provide for the retirement years. Over the last two decades (1990 -2010), many eminent economists have debated social security and pension reforms, which have taken centre stage as critically important policy issues both in developed and emerging countries. Policymakers and researchers have been searching for an appropriate mechanism to tackle the problems arising from increased longevity and the unfunded Defined Benefit Pension System, which is unsustainable in the long term. With the Success of the Chilean Pension scheme, parallels were drawn for the introduction of a funded and defined contribution pension system which might solve existing problems in India. In a DB or Defined Benefit Pension scheme, the pension amount to the outgoing employee is dependent on the last salary drawn averaged over ten months. The liability would be ever-increasing as years of service accumulate and this amount is funded the employer’s or government’s resources. In a DC or a Defined Contribution scheme, only the contribution or the accumulation is defined (normally a certain percentage of the employee’s current salary is contributed, which is accumulated and earns a certain percentage of yearly returns); based on cumulative total, the pension is then derived at the time of superannuation.
Currently, India has a large, young population with an average age of 26 and it is anticipated that the population profile will age over the next 25-30 years, so that supplying pension products will become a major economic activity. The population of elderly people is anticipated to increase more quickly than the population overall and the rate of pension coverage is currently very low and the existing system of pensions is not viable for central and state governments. It is necessary, therefore, to move to a new system which will provide wider coverage, reduce the government’s burden and provide better returns.
Manikam, CEO of LIC Pension Funds, reviewed the progress of the business unit. Looking at the past performance/trend during the last four years,( 2007- 2011), he had the following issues to review and cast out a plan for the future:
This case study follows the progress of LIC Pension Funds in the context of the changing Indian environment and the differences that changing pension expectations will have on the way that people work, save and plan for the future. Implications are drawn from the different workplace behaviour patterns that may be expected to emerge.
Reference
LIC Pension Fund Annual Report 2010. Source: www.licpensionfund.in.
ICMC this year was held at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, a different location from before and associated with Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH).
Greater Noida itself is one of the new ‘townships’ (as it was described to me) which is aimed at drawing Delhi residents from the city limits to a pleasant suburban location – well, it is halfway to being built. There are numerous large apartment blocks which appear, from the outside at least, to be nearly ready for moving in (a photo of one such follows).
If you have read Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, which is based on nearby Gurgaon (at least in part), then you will have a good idea of what the neighbourhood is supposed to be like. There is a half-finished public school but I did not see any retail outlets or employment opportunities. I imagine that residences will contain maid quarters and there may be small retail outlets at the bottom and behind the apartment blocks just as there was in the similar blocks in Abu Dhabi – although people I spoke to thought this was unlikely to be the case.
In any case, it is difficult to imagine that this would be a vibrant community – it is far enough away from anywhere that private car will be necessary to go to work or shopping or any leisure or civic insitution and no space seems to have been provided to encourage communal living and entertaining.
However, a lot of money is being invested there – just down the road is the F1 circuit and attendant folderol as well as the Export Exhibition Centre. The hotel I stayed in is currently pretty much in the middle of a not-very-picturesque industrial estate, although not far down the road someone is building ‘India’s first five-star tourist destination’ (photo below).
This time next year, then, all of this stuff should be open and we will see how it works. Unfortunately, this year I was unable to get to any shopping centres or department stores or, indeed, much else at all. Never mind, eh.
As for those people who used to live in this part of Noida before it was reinvented as Greater Noida, I noticed in the local paper that protests were being mounted by farmers (this is considered to be very good agricultural land) about their being moved off the land, although I did receive other reports suggesting that those involved had been in fact well compensated for their land but had spent all their money – spent their money foolishly was the implication.
If I learn more about the situation, I will be sure to let the world know about it.
In 1975, in response to the Emergency declared by Mrs Gandhi, VS Naipaul, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, traveled to India to write the second of his three books on the subject. Naipaul is an ethnic Indian from the Caribbean who has been both drawn inexorably to his roots in the sub-continent and also repelled by many of the practices he found there.
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Vijayanagar is the ‘city of victory’ and is the name given both to the city and state that surrounded it from 1336-1614. It was located in the southern part of India, near to modern Madras and the state of eastern Karnataka. Both city and state were almost completely destroyed at the beginning of the C17th and now few people are aware of much if any of its history.
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Marx wrote ‘The British Rule in India’ for the New York Daily Tribune (June 25th, 1853). It is in some ways a typical example of his journalism concerning countries he had never visited and about which he relied for knowledge on his extensive reading and his ideological and analytical frameworks.
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