It Depends (Management Jargons Part I)

It depends! One of the most frequently used phrase in management and more so when one is answering to some query. The phrase in itself looks small and also gives an impression that the person using it is trying to make up something when he/she actually does not has an idea about what is being asked. Although it true a number of times, but sometimes it is the very nature of management issues which do not have a clear yes or no. But, again, it is difficult to distinguish between the two.
Management is not a subject of accurate/pin-point explanations and results. And even the thrust is also not to formulate standard methods/results otherwise what will be left for the managers to do. Management is, to me, a science of trade offs and that is way "it depends" has a very large proportion in management talks. One has to some how "manage" the two extremes of requirements- urgency vs accuracy; soft talk vs hard banging...can't think of more practical ones except for the usual operations examples.
How should we increase sales?...."it depends"
Where should we put our plant?...."it depends"
What kind of advertisements should we make?...."it depends"

And even...
Sir, what is the cut off for passing the course?
Doctor, what injection should we give to the dying man?
Pilot to the technician at the radar station- Which is the button for automatic landing?
...OR may be
What is your goal in life?...."It depends [short-term, medium-term or long term :) ]"

Really useful (the "it depends" tool)....right?

Any Questions
The professor (After a presentation or a verbose explanation) "Do you have any questions?"
"Well, if you don't have any, it is presumed that the concept is understood properly."
Simple logic...isn't it?
But that's not the way it should be. I believe one can only question when one really gets the understanding and if one doesn't get the thing right then, to my "understanding" the only question that can be asked is-"Can you explain the thing again?"
But then that's how life is. You are forced to ask some random questions and carry forward the discussion.

Strategic Management (SM)
It was asked to define this term. The first thought that came to my mind was-"It is the management of strategy." Then I looked at the term and understood it is actually-"strategic management." So, what is meant by that. This in core management terminology............ would not be explained by me. i would take the analogy of business with the game of football and try to explain the term.
In football the analogy with a company would be a club. And there are clubs with a large degree of variations similar to business which will help the cause. The are clubs with the stature of Wal Mart, Microsoft, Reliance, Tata and the like. We have Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Real Madrid and so on to match their counterparts in business and then we also have clubs like Southall United (remember "Goal", the bollywood one of course ), Mahindra Utd, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal (don't know much about the lesser knows European clubs, but I know there would be plenty of them) to show us the other side.
So from football's perspective, SM means to carry out the functioning of a club with some thing in mind to achieve and thereby choose those alternatives that would take the club towards those things. To put it simply it is "to think before implementing".
And I feel most of the clubs do that, because even these tops clubs operate in the way business is carried out globally.
The club managers are loaded with targets and they go about formulating their strategy to fulfill those targets. They have to decide about how much to spend and which players to buy through the transfer markets, which players are to be sold out, which players need to be retained, what formation to be chosen, how much to spend on technicians, support staff, publicity and infrastructure, when to rest your star performers and when to give chance to the youths and so on.
All these form a part of the Strategy- "the game plan to beat one's opponents".
And then we move on to something called Competitive Advantage. In terms of football the competitive advantage can be strong financial position of the club, a brigade of youth, and experience in terms of player skill and like wise. Teams/clubs try to leverage their most significant asset/attribute and try to build around that. A rich club would try to rope in good technician and invest in support systems to reap benefit; on the other hand a club full of young players would go about building a strategy around these players to succeed.


Watch out!!! More GLOBE coming up. [Jargon Count= 5]

Strategic Management

As promised I am here with the first post of the series of discussion about my courses in II year.
This is the only subject qualified as GLOBE in my portfolio (although most courses have started off on the same note). The first lecture was all about strategy and its role in management. Lets look at the various jargons of the subject being taught/discussed till now.
Business Objective
In pure management language it means "to maximize value for the stakeholders; alternately to earn profits which in turn deliver value to shareholders and on a more macro level brings value for the economy.

To illustrate the concepts let us put football in place of a business. There the objective of a team, which is analogous to an organization in business, is to continue winning games.

Strategic Management

The terms refers to management by strategy; that is, to run a business keeping in view the objectives and there by adopting various plans and tactics to achieve the objective. One important point here is that the objective, vision as we call it in management jargon, is itself a product of strategy.

The analogy with football would be the way professional clubs are run. The club managers are required to fulfill certain objectives as set by the board. These objective themselves are determined based on some thinking considering the past performance, player ability, financial status and so on. The mangers have to formulate the game plan- the formations, team combination, transfers, technical assistants etc. This approach to managing the game where a lot of thinking is put into place even before the actual game starts can be compared with strategic management as carried out by corporates.

In sport’s sense a definition of strategy would be “to formulate the game plan which will enable a team to defeat its opponent”. Thus it a game plan around which a team works in order to realise its objective- achieving victory.

Most of the professional clubs have well defined game plans or strategies to achieve their respective objectives.  (.........unfinished)

My Portfolio

The second innings has started at hel(L) and it isn't looking too comfortable (chill) at all. Classes from 8 to 9; yes 8 in the morning to 9 in the evening!!!

But the returns are only as good as the choice of your portfolio.
And mine is quite a heavy weight one. I have 3 fin, 2 ops and 1 eco course in this term along with a compulsory Strategy course. So I expect quite high returns (read burden) from my risky (heavy weight) portfolio; without much diversification (no fillers) of the risk.
Only diversification is with respect to time; the sessions are diversified across the whole day and even run into the night :(

This is the first weekend but the week isn't over.
Yeah the week is not over! We count time at helL by weeks and this time around the "week" has started mid-week. Change of schedules, change of class rooms, change of sections; but there is no "positive" change in the burden. It has only got aggravated.
The first half week went just fine. This part of the week (the latter half-thu/fri/sat) is like a three-day management workshop for me- classes start at 8 in the morning and continue up till 9 in the evening with 1-3 hours gaps in between. The day goes by in classes, , traveling to-fro and mess. The latter part is on a chiller side- 2pm to 8pm; only two classes scheduled at the maximum separation possible.

Most of the courses started off with the "mandatory" globe (read introduction) that is a a necessary condition for any course to qualify in a management curriculum.; although not a sufficient one, there is need for more globe latter on. Although it has been promised (by??) to gradually phase out the global part in the coming lectures. Lets see!

My portfolio goes as:
Corporate Valuation and Restructuring (CORVAL);
Managing Financial Services (MFS);
Commercial Bank Management (CBM);
Manufacturing Systems Design (MSD);
Services Operations Management (SOM);
Econometric Methods (EM); and
Strategy Management (SM).

Coming up next:
My take(perception/expectation/understanding) on these courses.

Hast la vista baby!

Hasta la vista baby! This famous phrase means "see you later". But no, I am not going anywhere! The only reason for this phrase being the post heading and my status msg on gtalk is that its the only quote that I know from Spanish and I think one of the most famous ones as well (corrections welcomed). So why Spanish? why not Brazilian, Portuguese or just plain English?Since, Brazil do not play in Euro; I am not a Portugal fan and England, unfortunately, didn't make it to the Euro-08 finals.
So its clear i m backing Spain. This is the team with some really exciting players- Torres, Fabregas, Ramos, Villa, Puyol and Casillas in the goal. La Furia (name given to the Spanish national team) are going to remove the "underachiever" tag this time around.
"La Furia goines thes Champianos" (No, this does not mean anything; just put some random words to sound like "Spain are going to be the Champions")

Rajasthan Royals and IPL v Test Cricket

Lets start with IPL and the fairy-tale story of Rajasthan Royals (RR) dominating it and eventually winning the tournament under the inspired leadership of Shane Warne. Although many people knew about the impact that Shane creates both as a player and thinker on the game but same wasn't supported by live examples. But we have got one now and we can now see how immensely talented this man is. Although I wasn't able to watch IPL but from the initial perception of RR and the team composition I was of the view that this team wasn't one of the best if not the worst. And the contribution of Shane was a very important aspect, at least according to me.

So IPL is the next big thing in the cricket world and there are talks of it being held twice every year. Now this a good news for the viewers all over and the sponsors, a sort of mix bag for players and certainly a bad news according to the traditional Pundits. The problem with IPL or T20 is that it makes cricket a whole lot different from the way it has been played traditionally, but the same impact was created by 50 overs cricket as well. So why this hue and cry now. The point is that the shorter you make the game the less certain and hence more arbitrary the game becomes, at least according to the traditionalists. On one hand this brings in more excitement from the point of view of viewers but on the other hand the element of orthodoxial fineness goes away. And that is why the traditional Pundits are worried. No matter how they put it but the essence of their view is that cricket should be played in the manner in which it has been played over the years,with technique and patience as the main ingredients of success. They want to preserve what they were a part of and hence the apprehension. The same apprehension was there when 50 overs cricket became popular. But still that required technique and patience to some extent. And now with T20 those elements are certainly becoming less relevant as per the traditionalists.
The whole problem is that people are trying to see all forms of cricket from one eye. There is a need to understand the difference in order to enjoy and appreciate all the forms. Test cricket is the "test" of a player's "traditional technique" and patience; T20 lies to the other extent which requires "improvisation techniques" and "rapid transitions" and 50 overs is mid way between the two. And thus saying that T20 is a game of arbit hits" is totally illogical. Technique is an important factor but this technique is not the same as in test cricket.The objective is to minimize the probability of not getting out in tests while in T20 the objective becomes "to maximize the runs scored/ball". Both forms require immense hard work and commitment and just because the techniques differ does not mean one is inferior to the other. It would be very easy to accept T20 if we can view T20 and tests as two different sports rather then fitting them under one category and then comparing one with he other.

EPL and IPL

Let us begin with the english football- Manchester United won EPL for the second consecutive year and have the CL final coming up with Chelsea.

GO United Go!!!
CHAMPIONS for the second season in a row. An this one was even more satisfying as the run went down to the last day of the season and Chelsea on the receiving end. I guess that is what we love to see in football and for that matter in any other sport; the shear tension, pulsating nerves and the joy of celebrating the triumph of our favorites. With Ronaldo in RED hot form, the seniors showing emmense resilience at the dawn of their careers and even more exicting youths in the line-up, United are on a golden run. And with Sir Alex as the boss United would certainly like to make it a double this season.
The season has turned out to be a classic in all respects with Arsenal running the show in the first half of the season, United surviving a tough middle phase to reach the top spot just before the final stage and Chelsea handing a defeat to United to set the stage for a really exciting season FINALE. But the story is yet not over with the CL final coming up. What more would the fans want?- a deciding final day of season and now United vs Chelsea in the CL final.
Way to go United!!!

Cricket going the football way
First twenty20 and now IPL, cricket is certainly en route to Europe. Twenty20 has brought the one thing needed to make it a global sport - PACE. Its not that cricket does not pump adrenaline but those moments are quite widely spread on a time line. So its a huge step towards making cricket a global brand. And what has IPL bought?....fierce competition. The teams are well matched both in terms of star power and young guns. Not that this kind of structure was not there in cricket (courtesy County Cricket). But why IPL is different is because of its GRAND APPEAL to the most enthusiastic cricket fans of the world (yes I am talking about Indian spectators). The promoters have done a great job in brining together the best bets from the cricket world and to bring every possible medium of marketing communication into picture- Ads on TV and Radio, Celebrity appeal and so on. Its looks like cricket-business has become more professional with its new product-T20 and IPL becoming its most coveted brand.
So cricket is going the football way. The IPL format will bring in more support with time with elements like fan following, club rivarly etc. shaping it into more of a culture than a sport. This is the case with club football in Europe. If this revolution can be sustained then there's nothing stopping cricket from becoming a global sport. But we Indians have to be prepared enough so that cricket does not go the Hockey way, where we lost our domination (even existence) on the world stage as it became popular in Europe.

20 minutes at the station

THIS POST IS FOR THOSE WHO TRUELY BELIEVE IN THE LEGACY OF "NETA". FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T AWARE OF HIM PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT POST :)

SPOILER ALERT: NETA IS THE COMEDIAN!!! (err...........matlab isi ki wajah se hasi aayegi)

***************************************************************
Scene-1, Act-1;
Characters: Me and Neta
Location: Dadar Station
Date n Time: 10 minutes to 10 p.m., 2nd May

Neta: "Ye Amul to aaj double pitega (One for the IIM C convert and other one.....read on)."
Me: "Lekin tune hi to use 10 baje tak aane ke liye kaha tha?"
Neta: "Haan to 10 to bajne hi wale hai. Pehle to use 8:30 hi aana tha, wo to maine hi use kaha ki jyada jaldi nahi hai wo aaram se relatives se mil kar aaye. Lekin agar wo 10 baje se pehle nahi aaya to uski kher nahi."
Me:" Theek hai aane do usko, khub pelenge saale ko."
***************************************************************
Scene-1, Act-2;
Characters: Me, Neta and Amul.

Its 10:15 p.m. and Amul is seen walking towards us (me and Neta).
We greeted Amul and both of us landed tw0 kicks on his bumps. I thought the issue was resolved but Neta was hungry. He could not stand the fact that Amul was 15 minutes late. Its business as usual for Neta as most of you must be knowing.

So Neta thought that this was the time to hit back, with me supposedy in his favour.The two of us were together for past 4 odd hours and i did not pull his leg even once.

Neta (to Amul): " Tumhe thoda jyada time rukne ke liye bol diya to tumne to had hi kar di."
Me: "Lekin ye to sirf 15 min hi late aaya hai, isme kya problem hai."
Me (to Amul): "Yaar ye Neta hadd karta hai, khud hi ne 10 baje tak aane ko bola aur baad me khud hi jalla raha tha ki 2 ghaante station par wait karna pad gaya."
Me and Amul: LON
From here on it means Laughing on Neta; this acronym will be frequently used in the following paragraphs with various variants,like:
LNON- L Notoriously ON
LEON- L Effortlessly ON
ELON- Everyone LON
LWON- L Wickedly ON

Neta: (Caught with his pants down....since he wasn't expeccting this sudden change of sides from Me) "Abe saale Kholu(me)!!! tu to itni der se meri haan-me-haan mila raha tha, ye achanak kya hua?"
Me: " Dekho Neta ek funda samajh lo:"
(..........ahem ..ahem .......pay attention! this ones a deep funda)
"Jab bhi sirf do log saath hote hai to wo ek dusre ki nahi udaate"

Me n Amul: LNON, Launghing Nototriously on Neta.
Neta:"Are! ye kya matlab hua?, par hum donno mil kar Amul ki bhi to udaa sakte the."

Me: "To ab suno dusra funda:"
"Jab bhi teen lgo me ek Neta hota hai to usi ki maari jaati hai"
Me, Amul and everyone else at the bus station: Laughing on Neta or in short ELON
********************************************************

So this was how the journey began. There still much more to come from our trip to Pune.....two full days...remember this was just a 20 min trailor.


Next up: "The Pune Trip".