Tarun Tejpal and his pack are at it again. Tehelka has implicated the Gujarat government in the 2002 communal riots, publishing gory first hand details of the massacre that is very disturbing. Their claims could have an impact on the higher echelons of the government including the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.
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I was compelled to name this post as I did since I thought it will be an appropriate follow up to my earlier one on profit and philanthropy - after all they are phonetically very similar and on a lighter note, when I was young and ignorant I thought philosophy and philanthropy were one and the same, neither of which I really understood.
I recently re-read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, a book I had read in grad school but never really appreciated its relevance then since I had neither worked in a corporate setting nor fought a war, and it triggered me to find out more about the impact of philosophy on modern business. After all, The Art of War, though originally a military treatise, has been revered and has found more relevance in the business world (sports & politics to some extent) than war in recent times. It is broadly read within the business world as the basic primer for competitive strategy and is widely regarded as the oldest and most definitive text on the topic.
Zen, which has been embraced by business leaders as a "way of life", probably comes a close second to the Art of War. Zen's emphasis on daily practice, teamwork and self improvement is a perfect recipe for success in the corporate world and leadership seminars often propose Zen concepts like the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the five precepts, the five aggregates, and the three marks of existence as a means to solving to day today business problems.
Though Stephen Covey and Deepak Chopra's works are popular amongst business leaders, my personal thought is that their concepts are nothing more than simplified versions of ancient Chinese or Indian philosophies - nothing original. (Refer to this article for an illustration of my argument)
As I read more about the influence of ancient Chinese doctrines on business, I began to wonder if the business leaders and personality development gurus were oblivious to what the Indian counterparts of Sun Tzu had to say on this matter. After all, Lord Krishna's counsel to Arjuna was not too dissimilar to Sun Tzu's and it is not a small matter of coincidence that both the Bhagwad Gita and the Art of War are set in the backdrop of war! Just as in other spheres of business like manufacturing, outsourcing and technology, in philosophical influence too, if China is the first stop, India is the next, as this article from Business Week indicates.
While India has had a big impact on global economy in the last 15 years or so, its biggest impact yet might just be around the corner and the day saffron-clad swamis ring the opening bell at Nasdaq may not be far away!
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In my ongoing tryst with innovation, I was fascinated by the companies that are repeatedly cited for being innovative, especially in the last 25 years - Apple, Toyota, 3M, Intel, IKEA, Disney, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Sony and Dell, to name a few from core industries and of course, Google, Amazon, EBay, MySpace (NewsCorp) and UTube from the times post-Internet invasion.
While the stories of these American/European companies have been well documented and their innovations well imitated by their competitors to become BAU, I was wondering if any Indian companies could be part of this elite group.
Though companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and myriad other start-ups are the first ones to cross my mind, I wonder if their success was just a natural by-product of pre-existing economic conditions and HR abundance in
The two organizations that I chose to be the most innovative - one from health care and the other from an industry it created out of its product - have both developed their systems out of the economic and cultural scenario in India, rather than use it as an excuse for stymied growth.
Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai, India: Founded in 1976, by the charismatic Govindappa Venkataswamy, M.D (or Dr. V as he was fondly addressed), grew out of the need for an eye care system that would be appropriate to and supported by the economic conditions in India. Dr. V's vision of providing quality cataract care to the masses of his country resulted in his brainchild that has evolved into a world leader in eye care, ophthalmic education, and the development of appropriate technology for cost-effective surgery. Its model has proven to be one of the most effective programs for addressing the enormous backlog of blindness in
Dabbawallas of Mumbai: This is innovative services at its best. Born out of the cultural preference of home cooked food over cafeteria cuisine, the dabbawalla system overcame the logistic hurdles posed by a growing Mumbai in the 70s, and is widely recognized as one of the most innovative logistics systems by management gurus.
So what makes the dabbawallas so unique? And how do they work? I stumbled upon this Deck that explains the organization, their system and even their P&L.
As
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This was forwarded to me by an American friend who read my post on Sivaji and Rajnikanth. Thought I will share it with you. It is hilarious. Enjoy.
Top Rajnikant Facts known to man:
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I was at a training session today about innovations in the credit card industry and one of the speakers started with an anecdote about an innovative businessman, which I found to be very interesting. Thought I will share it with you.
They say in Manhattan, that you can identify a Man from New Jersey by his looks. One such man walked into one of the leading banks in Manhattan and asked for an immediate loan of $10,000. The banker, dressed in one of his finest of suits was skeptical; as would any New Yorker be of a Man from Jersey, and thought that it was an obvious set up for swindling money. His suspicions got confirmed when the Man from Jersey said that he wanted the money in an hour's time since he was catching a plane to go out of the country for 2 weeks. But, being a true banker, he still wanted to earn the business and make some money.
(I have deliberately tried to make the beginning narration sound like lines from Quentin Tarantino movies; remember David Carradine's narration in the chapter "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei" in Kill Bill?)
"I can't just give you a loan of $10,000 without any type of collateral" the banker replies politely.
"Will my car do?" the Man from Jersey asks.
"Depends on the car" the banker replies
"What if it is a brand new Mercedes?"
"I should think so..." the banker replies, who promptly has the car driven into the bank's underground parking for safe keeping, and then gives the Man from Jersey $10,000. The Man form Jersey fills the paperwork at 7.99% APR and leaves.
Two weeks later, the Man from Jersey walks into the bank to settle up his loan and get his car back.
"That will be $10,000 principal, and $16.64 in interest" said the Banker.
The Man from Jersey promptly writes a check, gives it to the Banker, gathers his keys, and starts to walk away.
"Wait, sir!" Banker says. I've just got one question. Obviously you are wealthy. Why did you want to borrow $10,000?"
The Man from Jersey smiled "Well, when I got here I noticed the congested traffic and the obviously high parking rates of $20/hr and decided it was too much of a risk to park my car around town because it might get scratched up. Where else could I find a safer place to park my Mercedes in Manhattan for two weeks and still pay only $16.64?"
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I want to thank every person who has visited my blog in the last 3 months. The number of visits has crossed 1,000 as of 10/3/2007 and the site has logged its 300th unique visitor (No, it is not me clicking away to make up the numbers; I have excluded my IP addresses from all counters). While visitors from the US and India contribute 50% of the visits, followed by Australia, Canada and UK (25%), it has been very encouraging to see visitors from countries like Poland, Russia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Romania logging a significant number of visits. The site has also achieved significantly high organic rankings (as high as #3) on high traffic keywords on Google. The highest # unique visitors on a single day so far has been 35, recorded on 9/27; apparently Google likes people blogging about it.
Happy Reading!
Sincerely,
Naga
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One of the first things I noticed and slowly developed when I migrated to the US was to hold the door open for the man/woman following me to the door and people are generally appreciative of it. While it is always easier when you have someone following right behind, a tricky situation arises when the person is not close enough to pass the baton, and far enough that you have to go out of the way to hold the door open? As Shakespeare would have put it - To hold the door or not is the question.
Having found myself in one such awkward situation today, I decided to let go and was the recipient of the most scornful look I had ever received from the person who followed me (Classic Seinfeld (George Costanza) moment!), and that has made me write this post. Since I am pretty confident that the Fab Four in Seinfeld have not discussed this burning issue in day today American life, I would like to know from my readers if there is a thumb rule to this great tradition that I should know and follow.
Let me know your comments!
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On one of those happy hours after work, my colleague and I got into a debate on companies and their social responsibility. His view was that a company's only responsibility is to make money for its shareholders and that they should be blamed neither for problems in the society nor ignoring their responsibility towards society - pretty capitalistic indeed. My view was that though profit remains a company's primary motive and shareholders their primary focal point, companies must be profitable within the realms of social responsibility. Remember, I am not a communist by any means, neither am I a total believer in Ayn Rand and her theory of objectivism. I believe in capitalism where society plays a significant part - a middle ground of sorts.
So, profit or philanthropy? Competitive advantage or corporate social responsibility? Where does one end and other begin for a company (or an individual, for that matter). Can everyone, like Buffet and Gates have proved successfully, follow one up with the other? If all companies were socially responsible, wouldn't we all be buying groceries only from Whole Foods? Wouldn't every car manufacturer switch to hybrids?
When Nike faces a consumer boycott because of media reports on its labor practices in Asia or when McDonald's and KFC are held responsible for obesity in the US, it raises a debate in my mind - Are we right in pointing the finger at companies for flaws in the individual or the society? Or are companies and their practices the causes of the flaws that we are talking about? It is a classic chicken and egg question. After all, Who is John Galt?
In pursuit of more clarity on this issue, I came across this article in the Harvard Business Review by Porter and Kramer (yes, Porter of "Porter's 5 forces" fame), winner of the 2006 McKinsey Award for the Best Harvard Business Review Article.
Porter discusses both sides of the issue but agrees that there is a "moral purpose of business" and proposes a framework by which companies can integrate business and social needs into their value chain. Among the many cases he uses to highlight this concept, I found that of Nestle to be the most interesting (refer text below) and most explicit in highlighting how a company can contribute to economic and social growth while increasing its profits; a win-win.
Maybe there is John Galt!
Integrating Company Practice and Context: Nestlé’s Milk District
Nestlé’s approach to working with small farmers exemplifies the symbiotic relationship between social progress and competitive advantage.
Consider the history of Nestlé’s milk business in India. In 1962, the company wanted to enter the Indian market, and it received government permission to build a dairy in the northern district of Moga. Poverty in the region was severe; people were without electricity, transportation, telephones, or medical care. A farmer typically owned less than five acres of poorly irrigated and infertile soil. Many kept a single buffalo cow that produced just enough milk for their own consumption. Sixty percent of calves died newborn. Because farmers lacked refrigeration, transportation, or any way to test for quality, milk could not travel far and was frequently contaminated or diluted.
Nestlé came to Moga to build a business, not to engage in CSR. But Nestlé’s value chain, derived from the company’s origins in Switzerland, depended on establishing local sources of milk from a large, diversified base of small farmers. Establishing that value chain in Moga required Nestlé to transform the competitive context in ways that created tremendous shared value for both the company and the region.
Nestlé built refrigerated dairies as collection points for milk in each town and sent its trucks out to the dairies to collect the milk. With the trucks went veterinarians, nutritionists, agronomists, and quality assurance experts. Medicines and nutritional supplements were provided for sick animals, and monthly training sessions were held for local farmers. Farmers learned that the milk quality depended on the cows’ diet, which in turn depended on adequate feed crop irrigation. With financing and technical assistance from Nestlé, farmers began to dig previously unaffordable deep-bore wells. Improved irrigation not only fed cows but increased crop yields, producing surplus wheat and rice and raising the standard of living.
When Nestlé’s milk factory first opened, only 180 local farmers supplied milk. Today, Nestlé buys milk from more than 75,000 farmers in the region, collecting it twice daily from more than 650 village dairies. The death rate of calves has dropped by 75%. Milk production has increased 50-fold. As the quality has improved, Nestlé has been able to pay higher prices to farmers than those set by the government, and its steady biweekly payments have enabled farmers to obtain credit. Competing dairies and milk factories have opened, and an industry cluster is beginning to develop.
Today, Moga has a significantly higher standard of living than other regions in the vicinity. Ninety percent of the homes have electricity, and most have telephones; all villages have primary schools, and many have secondary schools. Moga has five times the number of doctors as neighboring regions. The increased purchasing power of local farmers has also greatly expanded the market for Nestlé’s products, further supporting the firm’s economic success.
Nestlé’s commitment to working with small farmers is central to its strategy. It enables the company to obtain a stable supply of high-quality commodities without paying middlemen. The corporation’s other core products—coffee and cocoa—are often grown by small farmers in developing countries under similar conditions. Nestlé’s experience in setting up collection points, training farmers, and introducing better technology in Moga has been repeated in Brazil, Thailand, and a dozen other countries, including, most recently, China. In each case, as Nestlé has prospered, so has the community.
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