Wednesday, December 12, 2012

JEFFERY IMMELT: WORST EVER CEO OF GE

...atleast that name has GE written on it!

Now how does destroying shareholder value in the long term, and dangerous short-term double-digit decline in earnings indicate “performing well”? We fail to understand! Worse, to cover up the real ‘gloomy’ air floating around the GE campus, Immelt further announced a remorseless $12 million in bonus to reward performance.

And if you thought that was plain numerical criticism, then contrast this: during the same time as this ‘magnanimous doling out of mercies’ is happening, GE has announced its first dividend cut since the Great Depression (that’s 71 long years back!) – a massive 70% cut to just 10 cents a share per quarter.

Bill Rothschild, who once worked GE’s strategy team also comments, “I believe that one of the reasons that GE is in the current situation is that it’s Go Big/Go Global strategies were wrong...” Sad, Immelt thought he was on the right track! One major issue for Immelt is the fact that he took over from a man who ensured that GE’s Mcap rose by more than 1100% during his tenure of 19 years; what a contrast! Surely, Welch’s ‘neutronic’ HR policies worked well for GE’s shareholders, and now it’s time for Immelt to put that rule back into action; question is: who’ll go first? Well, the world can wait for another century, and it will. GE too can, and it will, but only if Immelt puts his name on the ‘first-to-go list’. Dear Welch, your successor wasn’t wrong, his ‘ego’ was... Perhaps you never told him this, allow us to: You don’t have to be right all the time Jeff; you don’t. But you can also never forget your top priority – your shareholders? You did & you deserve the ‘Worst CEO of the century’ award for it.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Monday, December 10, 2012

RICK WAGONER: EXIT

32 long years did this Harvard MBA take to understand GM; one fine day it took the US Senate to fire him! No more gambles, Rick...

Then there are other issues that will keep you fresh in our memories. Your utmost detest for fuel-efficiency and your scrapping of the futuristic EV1 ‘electric car’ project wins you our fan cards! Really Rick, we admire your awareness, and the manner in which you forgot how the global auto market is more elastic than the US army. Afterall, you belong to the Harvard MBA Class of '77, right?

Oh yes, read your bio too – was interesting! Born: February 9, 1953, in Delaware, to George Sr. & Martha. Post-MBA, you chose GM over other lucrative jobs. Commendable! Your big break came in 1992, when the-then CEO Smith appointed you as the CFO. Your low-key lifestyle and the fact that you command a high popularity quotient amongst your employees, makes you most respected as a friend; but as a leader, there are complaints that you lacked that “ruthless streak needed to make the tough decisions required to bring GM back from the brink of bankruptcy.”

But Rick, we still stand by your ox-like faith in hybrids; an engine type which despite having existed commercially for 15 long years, accounts for a pathetic 2.15% of world automotive sales! Now 2.15% does not define majority, does it? But it’s ok Rick; poor mathematics is not a turn-off for us. But it sure did get your pants on fire, and we couldn''t do anything about it. [Sorry about that; for oil supply may be increasing, but water is really scarce in our parts of the world.]

Next, come to geography. Rick seriously, what were your grades in school? CEOs of manufacturing entities realised years back that shifting operations to emerging economies can help cut costs tremendously. You did too, but like the kid who skips homework, you jumped out of the window of sanity, and trashed your vision into the nearest garbage tank… and enjoyed playing football on American grounds. Oh yes, GM is an American legacy brand; how can GM cars be produced in emerging third-world, Hydrogen sulphide emitting lands? Well, thanks to your ‘Be American, buy American’ ideology, every GM vehicle produced in the past two years has cost GM $4,500 in just welfare cost. Rick, you rock! Your drained out industrial relation skills & super-confused branding philosophy have also put GM in a fix. Today, the cost of pension & healthcare per GM man-hour is a high $24 – a blood-freezing 100% more than at Toyota, Honda & Nissan! Now beat that!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Saturday, December 08, 2012

Welcome to the Chernin ranks!

Peter Chernin will no longer remain at News Corp. But why is he leaving? And who will be his successor?

Raising a toast to goodbye seems to be the flavour tailored for this season, across boards, and across companies; and even the big boy of the media world, News Corporation stands as a no exception. The company’s second in command (only after Chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch) Peter Chernin, President & COO, News Corp, has decided to step down after his two decade-long stint at the company. So what led to Chernin’s decision? And more importantly, who will fill in the void once Chernin moves out in June 2009?

Chernin, famous as one of the most ‘powerful’ executives in the media world, was promoted to the post of President and COO after seven years of his service at News Corp, and today has earned great repute, so much so that many in the media refer to him as Murdoch #2 or News Corp #2. Chernin’s biggest strength was his keen eye for the right assets, and thanks to him, News Corp acquired many right assets at the right times. He took Fox Film Studios to the pinnacle of success and supervised everyone with the production of the world’s highest grosser ever – Titanic. He was involved in the launch of Fox Network’s biggest show ‘American Idol’ which continues to be the most watched TV show in US even in its eighth season. His other significant achievements include the MySpace buyout, negotiating the writer’s guild strike and the more recent deal with NBC Universal to launch a free online video destination named Hulu. Acknowledging Chernin’s contributions, even Rupert Murdoch has said, “Peter’s contributions to the company over the past two decades have been immeasurable.” But that is where the trouble starts; knowing that you can never become the top guy, with Murdoch around?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Friday, December 07, 2012

The Multi-national Comex!

MCX still has a long way to go despite the multi-billion rupee achievements. A B&E exclusive interview....

B&E: What degree of importance has MCX SX attained so far?
JS: We started stock exchange in currency in the first week of September, 2008. Three months after the first stock exchange became operational in the country, trading volumes had increased by 65% on a month-to-month basis. In terms of share, we had gained around 50.5% of the total market by January 2009, with an average daily turnover at Rs.12.20 billion. While these figures may look impressive in a short journey of around 6 months, we have a long way to go, considering the huge potential for currency derivatives that exists in India. Most of the corporates, with exposure to currency risks are still operating though over-the-counter market, and are in the process, not only paying higher transaction costs, but also facing other challenges including high counter-party risks. Sometimes, they get lured by structured currency derivative products which they purchase without any knowledge of the underlying and without thorough understanding of the terms of conditions under which these products are offered. Our challenge lies in creating awareness among the stakeholders about benefits of participating through exchange-operated currency derivatives route. We are currently focussed on reaching out to SMEs, who have suffered most in the current global turmoil & related currency risks.

B&E: Innovative ideas and expansion have been the key areas for MCX over the years. How decisive are they for the success of MCX?
JS: Like our counterparts in the BFSI sector, it is innovative products and expanding tie-ups with benchmark markets that have led the MCX growth story. Our efforts to reach-out to market players with awareness about products and information about the market ecosystem through various other media sources played an equally important role in propelling MCX to the position it has attained today.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Why so sore, Charles?

Indian aviation players must follow a selective pricing policy in order to maximise their revenues

“She stoops to conquer”! That’s the title of a hilarious play written by Oliver Goldsmith, which tells the story of Kate Hardcastle, a girl of wealthy lineage, who pretends to be a commoner to win over the love of Charles Malrow, a man who is uncomfortable with wealthy women! Analogously, Indian air carriers have stooped often in the past few years by slashing airfares to conquer the hearts of consumers, who are distinctly uncomfortable of their ‘class pricing’ act.

This was evident even recently when domestic Indian air carriers like Kingfisher, Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo had slashed air fares by up to 50% in January to boost the dwindling air traffic (air traffic declined by 14.65% in January on a yoy basis). However, they haven’t stooped too long this time. Airlines have once again increased fares by 15-20% earlier this month. Jet Airways was an exception, as it was pressurised by the Civil Aviation ministry against doing so.

With this, tall claims of passing the benefits of the air turbine fuel (ATF) price cut to the consumers are biting the dust. If ATF prices have dropped by 60% in the last five months, then why this reverse pricing strategy? Well, ‘Charles’ refuses to be impressed this time around! According to reports by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), after Indian air carriers slashed prices to lure back passengers in January, revenues of full-service carriers and low cost carriers fell by 50% and 40% respectively. Hatim Broachwala, Aviation Analyst, Khandwala Securities Limited, avers, “The strategy failed miserably and now they have gone for a reverse strategy to increase yields.” A majority of air carriers have completely scrapped the basic fare of Rs.1 to Rs.100 from their price bucket with immediate affect.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Thursday, December 06, 2012

No frills... no thrills... just mounting bills!

Subhiksha must adopt a franchise model, but first it needs money real fast!!!

The man behind FedEx, Fredrick Smith once famously said, “Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something.” And it seems that R. Subramanian, MD, Subhiksha did follow that advice with sheer optimism and steadfast resolve. However, he isn’t exactly moving in the direction of Frederick Smith! Just a year back, both R. Subramanian and the Indian retail sector were considered to be on a high but as the global economy melted down, both of them followed suit. In a business like retail, where the balance between cash and inventory rules the roost, almost all the retailers present in the country are finding it tough to keep their bottom lines above water. But among all, Subhiksha has been amongst the worst casualties. Apart from delaying salaries of employees and not clearing its debtors, many news reports claim that the suppliers have stopped transactions with the retail chain, which the company has often denied. But now things seem to be getting out of hand.

The no frills retailer has been known for offering low cost products to the consumer but for the past few months, Subhiksha has lost a lot of ground to competitors, as it hasn’t been able to lure the customers due to the shortage of supply. “We are in pain but we are not shutting down,” said R. Subramanian in a note sent to the media. Sources confirm that the retailer hasn’t given salaries to its employees since October and owes a hefty amount to them across the country. “There are arrears on salaries and payments – not because we do not want to pay, but because we can’t pay,” admits Subramanian. The company is also planning to cut sown on its stores by a hefty count of 100-150 from the currently operating 1,600. Subhiksha, was once considered to be an underdog emerged as a very strong player in the retail industry, but the company made the mistake of over reliance on debt. They have raised only around Rs.1.8 billion on shareholder funds and the Rs.40 billion turnover in 2008 was funded largely through debt. Their equity plans last year fell flat as a result of the crisis, making their aggressive expansion ill-timed. “We did not budget for a time, when there would be no money,” asserts Subramanian. Subhiksha urgently needs a fresh infusion of Rs.300 crore to give their business a new start, but the unfortunate part is that getting funds from the market isn’t a cake walk in the current scenario.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Tuesday, December 04, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: TRANSITION HISTORY

On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the United States; a commentary...

From the American initiative to use private security companies to protect Iraq’s oil infrastructure to the much hyped Iraq reconstruction projects [The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction reported frauds in the initiative and led to conviction of many top officials]; from the abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons, where the prisoners were subjected to unspeakable torture [Amnesty International’s 2005 report confirmed the same], to Sergeant Samuel Provance [who reported the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl by two interrogators]; from US Attorney Alberto Gonzalez [under his regime, the Justice Department and the FBI have illegally used the US Patriot Act to uncover personal information about US citizens] to Bernard Madoff [arrested on charges of the biggest accounting fraud in history that led to investors losing $50 billion]; from all this to much more, US has left much to answer for its ‘achievements’ in the last eight years, be it the response to Hurricane Katrina, or Saddam Hussein’s structured execution, or America’s conspiratorial and deliberate support to promoting the recession, or the Wall Street melt down, and of course, Bush’s failure to capture Osama bin laden!

But perhaps Bush is playing to the past, where previous Presidents have mirrored his lack of commitment to promises. Woodrow Wilson promised to keep the US out of World War I; and ended up pushing the US into the same war. Then came Herbert Hoover’s 1928 famed pledge to end poverty – he gifted US ‘The Great Depression’. Franklin D. Roosevelt met with aplomb his 1932 pledge to maintain balanced budgets and to keep the US out of World War II. He ‘atom’ bombed Japan and his government’s spending increased from 8.0% of GNP to 10.2%. The national debt doubled from 16% to 33.6%. Nixon promised resolutely in 1968 to ‘quickly’ resolve the Vietnam War. If not the war, he at least ended the drought of box office hits in Hollywood where innumerable movies kept on crapping about US heroism in Vietnam.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Monday, December 03, 2012

INDIA: A FORGETFUL NATION WILL FORGET 26/11

Two, maximum three months, and a majority of Indians will quite easily forget their ‘unbelievable’ anger of now... In fact, much faster than they’ll forget the daily issues that affect their lives...

For it was the common man in the defence forces who fought, and the common man again who worked day and night in the media, taking news briefs to every home of this country. When the nightmare was over, it was again the common man who was out there on the streets asking for answers from the powers that be. He was seeking answers from those whom he had trusted to save his life. The common India was finally waking up.

For long, India’s political masters have been parroting that issues with terrorism are mainly perpetrated by Pakistan. But in reality, if it were not for US pressure, Pakistan wouldn’t have moved an inch right now. Had it not been for Condoleezza Rice’s strong words to Pakistan, the crackdown on the terror camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and elsewhere would not have happened at all. While Barack Obama proclaimed India’s right of self defense, India’s political leadership remained muted. Finally, the US is showing some signs that the War on Terror is not just about taking care of US interests. In other words, the common Indian should be grateful to the US, rather than to Indian politicians for whatever Pakistan is being forced to do. Unrelenting and unified anger did come out with people coming out in thousands with their unsuppressed hatred towards politicians and their ilk. Heads rolled. Ministers double rolled. Finance ministers became home ministers, home ministers become gone ministers, prime ministers became sleeping pill ministers, and other ministers became yes ministers. And respected Mr.Kalam continued congratulating ISRO on its amazing Chandrayaan mission to the moon.

Cut to the present. Cut to the harsh reality of the present and we now forward the irritable proposition that all this anger and the so-called mass movement against third rate politicians would last the box office weeks of a superhit Hindi movie, no more. Allow us foolhardy and obstinate ‘intellectuals’ to enumerate. If you feel volcanic hatred towards many of our politicians right now, we guarantee, your hatred against your neighbour will outlive not only the current incident, but also perhaps you. Add to that issues related to medical problems, increasing costs, life threatening skyrocketing rentals, tax notices, typhoonic falls in business receipts (or salaries), your own layoff – in short, the mother of all recessions – and for all you care, Zardari could be taking a walk down New Delhi’s famed Greater Kailash market with the famous Delhi flies and you wouldn’t care less.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Saturday, December 01, 2012

Infra‘stuck’ture!

We need funds. But from where?

Infrastructure funding in India has been mainly through banks and financial institutions. But as a result of the credit crisis and the high interest regime, investments in infrastructure (which tends to have a longer-term focus than corporate capacity expansion) have dried up.

In these dry times therefore, it becomes imperative to understand that this sector can really play a counter-cyclical role and support economic growth. Today, the Indian government desperately needs capital for its infrastructural projects. With Indian forex reserves surging to over $290 billion, the government is looking for ways to use them for infrastructure development (as per estimates, India will require around $492 billion over the next five years). The India infrastructure finance company (IIFCL) has already offered assistance worth Rs.10,000 crore, but this amount alone will not be suficient. India could also encourage oil rich west Asian countries (where wealth funds have a corpus of over $1,500 billion) to invest in infrastructure projects. Another route is private capital. As more private capital flows into infrastructure, more public-private-partnerships (to build & operate infrastructure) will be formed, which is definitely good news for overall economic growth.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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