Heaven is right here

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The Indian Hotels chain gives the true feel of Indian luxury in India & around the world... on land, in air, and yes, even on water!

Enter the Taj blindfolded and the distinctive fragrance is enough to assure you that you’ve started experiencing the grandeur of ‘Indian Hotels’ chain (you’re not billed for that). But to please your five senses with everything else about the Taj, your need to throw-off those blindfolds; and perhaps the first thing that greets you is an ostentatious lobby with the most elegant Indian touch, bathed in shades of red and cream. Added to the illumination (that gives you a sunset feel) and the chandeliers and water fountains all around; the Taj seems surely no less a wonder among all man-made places of abode. “I frequently visit India on business trips and always prefer to stay in Taj because Taj has got that true feel of India. It gives you that feeling that here is something, which is the best that India can give you. I also really like the dress code of the female employees – truly beautiful, truly Indian,” exclaims Emily Daine, a top-notch executive in an MNC in India. And the admiration is not limited to just overseas visitors, for even domestic visitors share a common thought. Not a coincidence it is though, for even we can testify that the Indian Hotels Company Limited has done enough to break into the list of 4Ps B&M’s 100 Most Admired Companies in India for the year gone by.

The hotel chain today gets counted amongst one of the largest hotel chains in whole of Asia with 59 supreme hotels, strewn across 40 destinations around the country, and offering services across luxury, leisure and business segments. A century after it all started, today what we can testify is that the growth ride has simply been phenomenal, as Girish Solanki, Analyst, Angel Broking, also remarks, “The Taj brand is a premium hotel brand in the country. It has been around for more than a century now and this definitely contributes to its admirability quotient.” And what about it being born under the Tata umbrella? “Well, being a Tata Group company, its corporate governance structure and norms are phenomenal. This has been a major factor contributing to its success, especially in the recent days...” adds Girish. Terrific ambience, exquisite services & food alright; but what about its financials? Does it promote the same degree of honour for the entity?

Well, the answer to that is simple – a thumping ‘yes’! The profits of the Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. during FY 2006-07 has risen annually by a walloping 76% to touch Rs.322.39 crore, as Anil Goel, CFO, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. exclaims, “The good results are despite occupancies in cities such as Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad falling and significant investments, which we made in re-energising and re-positioning the Taj brand in the international market.” Sure enough, even in the face of falling demand in big cities (a favourite hunting ground for all premium hotels) and increased investments, if a hotel chain can report a three-quarter annual rise in net profits, it is a successful ride.


The Indian Hotels chain today has a capacity of over 10,000 rooms in the country – the highest in the country. The group has also launched several tourist destinations in the country in partnership with the Indian government during the past year. It was indeed a clever move on its part, selecting potential tourist destinations and building resorts and hotels there, while the government took charge of developing basic infrastructure – roads and railways. And what about the go global mantra? Well, over the past two years (and more so in the current calendar year), it has also taken the inorganic route to take the ‘Indian Hotels’ brand to the international markets and presently has 17 hotels abroad; the most recent of course being acquisitions of The Campton Place (San Francisco) in April 2007 & Landmark Hotel (Boston) in January 2007. Explaining its expansion strategy, Goel elucidates, “In India we will grow our business at all price points — high-end luxury, five-star hotels, four-star gateway hotels and the Ginger brand of budget hotels. However for the international market, our strategy is to focus on the high-end luxury market.”

With its newly opened Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Mauritius, winning accolades – bagging SpaAsia’s Connoisseur Collection of the World’s Finest Spas for 2007 award, top company award at the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) American Express Award 2006 & the SENSES Wellness Award 2006 – Indian Hotels is on a song. And that is not all. With the launch of Taj Air (an air charter company), Indian Hotels promises a highly customised experience even on air! Land & air covered; what about water? Well, it has an answer there too! With Taj Yachts (2-3 bedroom luxury yachts), it has ensured that all three elements conjure up the magic to make Indian Hotels a name to reckon with & a brand to admire!

Edit bureau: Pallavi Srivastava

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Less leadership could be best

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“No seed can grow if it is dug up and examined every week.”

Classic text-book description of management characterizes it as the process of leading and directing various organizational activities – often a business and its various resources like human, financial, material, intellectual and so on. It’s said to encompass five basic functions, such as planning, organising, leading and co-ordinating. But years upon having taken that last leap – over the threshold of those uber BSchools, as managers, most, more often than not, find themselves at the epicentre of a constant grapple, a struggle to last either for a lifetime or for their respective jobs. “Today’s managers often need guidance and advice in figuring out what to do but can’t – or won’t – spend lots of time reading long treatises on each of these domains,” to quote Jeffrey Pfeffer in his new book What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management.

Twelve times author and co-author, Pfeffer’s is a name that stands tall in the field of Organisational Theory and Human Resource Management. As always, lending a breath of fresh air with in-depth analysis in a pattern comprehensible with utmost ease by the neighbourhood grocer, this Stanford Professor, in his latest offering, traverses like a wise old grandfather through a wide array of subjects that influence one’s daily work-life. Though, at heart, he stands all for people. Whether its ‘people-centered strategies’ or ‘creating effective work-places’, ‘it’s people, not software, that build customer relationships’, says Pfeffer. No wonder in cutting employees’ benefits when in red, he sees short sightedness, ‘it seldom fixes anything’.

“Education, as I understand it, during more than three decades as a business professor, is not telling people things they already know nor providing themselves with ideas they necessarily agree with. Education is concerned with helping people see and understand things in different ways, mostly helping them think and ask questions to uncover some fundamental insights.” And it is these grounded and exceptionally well argued insights that make it differ from an existing hoard of jargons that usually infest bookshelves, making it a delightfully inquisitive experience for the dilettantes, whereas, always a pleasure for those familiar with Pfeffer’s past works, The Knowing-Doing Gap, Hidden Value, The Human Equation, and Hard Facts being other well-known and frequently read titles.

Also, in a way, this book begs to differ if you are hoping for a chapter to chapter, classroom spoon-feeding style. Structured it is, but can be picked up from any chapter (preferably the one closer to your liking), be it Organisational Strategy or profound expositions on Leadership and Influence; in every chapter lies an overview of what is precisely to be done and what not with enough guidance for further personal analysis and research.

To not be afraid and stand out, an antithesis to Collins’ Level 5 Leadership, to a constant focus on the importance of human interaction, Pfeffer’s brand new essay immediately finds itself in the ‘must read and constant reference’ section, particularly for those stuck-up managers restlessly waiting for the next big change in their careers or monotonous work lives in general. Though at times, partly subjective on certain principles, Pfeffer tends to dismiss negative consequences of certain lenient policies.

Nevertheless, a great read, definitely for those over-fed with ‘Management Vani’. “It’s a collection of management insights and data designed to help you do your job more effectively.” As simple as that.

Edit Bureau: Shashank Shekhar

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
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Flying the ‘real’ times

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The Kingfisher-Air Deccan consort demystifi es much for Indian aviation…

I’m penning this piece aboard what I believe is the grandest thing to have happened to our country’s aviation ambience after liberalisation and in the wake of that veritable ‘opening of the skies,’ which enabled a whole new world of populace to sample the experience, ease and expediency of flying, in a deliciously ironic way at once exponentially reducing – and increasing – the notion of distant ‘privilege’ that has long since prefixed sitting strapped atop a plane.

So, while I revel in the luxury of this lavish airliner... oops, I mean Kingliner, in the backdrop of the just declared 26% stake acquisition in Deccan Aviation by Dr. Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Holdings, resulting in the creation of an entity that will wield authority over a share of approximately 38% of India’s domestic aviation sector pie, I feel a hark back to the soaring developments in the very dynamic (dynamic it is in every context, or call it aerodynamic if you would!) vista of this industry would only be appropriate. A decade ago, when the air wasn’t as thick with competitive activity in our skies and the wallets went thin more often than not, so far as ticket pricing was concerned, a select audience of air travel kept itself content with barely half a handful of operators (but of course, a significant few among them made no bones about underscoring the elitist aspect associated with this act).

A few years into the new millennium witnessed what will truly go down in our country’s corporate, consumer and societal history as a revolution, in terms of the magnitude it spawned and the impact it disseminated across the periphery of a strata that was, let’s say it best, only ‘waiting in the wings’ for a lift off. As an armada of low-cost carriers marched into the blue, they ushered in a direly required whiff of fresh air in an industry that was way over the threshold of complacency and unleashed the aspirations of an entirely unattended segment of audience by promising an opportunity to savour much beyond their staple diet of rail and road at a price well within their means.

And while the likes of Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo went about cementing their space of mind and market in the consciousness of consumers, giving full-service players a battle for their buck, another two years down the line, somewhere amidst the freebies and the euphoria, the present was begging for a reality check… in one word, consolidation.

Given the increasingly iffy scenario for low-cost operators of late, with untenable pricing and selling-below-price mechanisms gradually catching up with market fundamentals, perhaps, it was only a matter of time before a semblance of pragmatism dawned.

The acquisition of Air Sahara by Jet Airways two months back, the merger between state carriers Air India and Indian Airlines in February this year and the latest Kingfisher- Air Deccan combine are all indicative of the phenomenon of integration that every airline worth its mettle is realising as the path ahead – a trend of functional effectiveness that rings in sync with that prevalent in the global aviation market.

And while many may argue that the heydays of the average flier may have scraped the beginning of their end, with more realistic pricing models being evolved by the likes of the Mallya-Gopinath amalgamation, that’s definitely not to say that all of it may be glum. In fact, any of it is probably better in the long scheme of affairs, when you consider the implications of a host of low-priced airlines biting the dust due to infeasibility of operation and the market leaving itself vulnerable to monopoly all over again. Quite the contrary, with mergers of the sort that have manifested themselves recently, the portents of healthy competition blink bright on the horizon.

Of course, the regulator needs to ensure that connivance is kept afar. The idea of enhanced infrastructure and lesser duties on jet fuel reducing the pricing yoke on airlines, besides increased foreign direct investment in the aviation industry will further lend impetus to economies of scale being leveraged by the more modest players, sparking off a greater growth trajectory. Well, like the familiar sign at a place we’ve all been frequently reading - Work in Progress…!!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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DHFL - Changing rules. Changing lives.

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BRAND : DHFL
BASELINE : Changing rules. Changing lives.

4Ps TAKE : This one probably deserves the award for being the worsthome loan ad ever. The concept revolves around a coconut (you better believe that!) – which is supposed to symbolise how difficult it is to get home loan sanctioned from a bank. Very tough, you see! Next, we see DHFL flashing numbers: helpline numbers that would help you get a loan super fast. Now, instead of talking about how easy it is to get a home loan sanctioned – and despite DHFL’s tall claims, we all know that in this age of quick service and advanced mechanisms, is it actually REALLY easy to get a loan (and isn’t that what ICICI says: by the time your cup of tea is over, your paperwork is done?) – wouldn’t it have been so much better to project a different brand proposition? No storyboard, no appealing visual and a very sad communication: this one gets a whopper of thumbs down.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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A tale of two generals

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While Mukesh Ambani was crowned, Darryl Green exited gracefully!

“Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it,” said Dhirubhai Ambani. And surely, his elder son Mukesh is keeping the legend’s vision alive as he became the ‘only trillionaire’ in the country. And who more worthy than Mukesh whose four companies’ combined MCap – including Reliance Industries Ltd., IPCL, Reliance Petroleum & Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd. – exceeded the stunning Rs.2,50,000 crore mark of late!

A chemical engineer and an MBA from Stanford University, Mukesh Ambani joined the business in 1981 and ever since has taken the company to newer heights. Some of the accolades which he has earned include ‘ET Business Leader of the Year’ (2006), being counted among the ‘World’s Most Respected Business Leaders’ et al. And these would be well deserved considering the dizzying heights he’s taken the Reliance group to.

Among his most noted and wellspun strategic moves during the past have been Reliance’s backward integration move from textiles into polyester, increase in Reliance Petrochemicals’ manufacturing capacity from sub-million tonnes to over 13 million tones today.

Then we have the fair-skinned Darryl Green, the media-shy Tata Teleservices CEO who recently bid good-bye to the company after a stint of two years, and a silent one at that. And the reason for his exit simply being voluntary as company sources divulged to 4Ps B&M: “Green had voluntarily resigned... He was not sacked...” Darryl had joined the company in 2005 after moving out as the head of Vodafone Japan where he had a name for being an expert at re-structuring. He also managed to bring in greater efficiency by consolidating 9 regional companies at Vodafone Japan.

Post his MBA at Dartmouth College, Green spent his early career days with AT&T (USA, Japan and Hong Kong). He spent 11 years in the company and was President & CEO of AT&T Japan, when he retired. However, having been an expert in the mature Asian markets, his performance in the emerging Indian market was far from satisfactory – perhaps the reason why TTSL didn’t work very hard to keep him back! But just as they say, ‘right talent doesn’t go unnoticed’, he has already been appointed as the Exec. VP & President of Manpower’s Asia and Pacific operations. Hopefully, this time round, Green’s competitors will go green... with jealousy, of course!

4Ps B&M Research: Shweta Kapoor

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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