Knowledges in Management

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UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM: THE TRENDS SUCCESSFUL BUSIN

Recruiting highly efficient individuals in order to create productive teams does not work. So says entrepreneur and author Margaret Heffernan, who has adapted the ‘superflock’ theory of evolutionary biologist William Mure. In the workplace, groups consisting of ‘highly productive’ employees will show lower outputs than ‘generally productive’ groups over time. Heffernan explains that highly efficient individuals often prioritise their own success over that of the group and are more aggressive in the workplace. Instead, group productivity is best built through social capital – trust, candour and openness. NO REAL NAMES Logan Green In January, US ride-sharing app Lyft, whose CEO is Logan Green, confirmed that it was investigating employee feedback about improper use of data. Yet the insight hadn’t come via team meetings. Lyft employees are among those who use an anonymous app called Blind, where they can share their thoughts and feelings about work under pseudonyms. Users log in to their company’s message board by using their work email address (not shared) and forums must have more than 30 members as this aids anonymity. Microsoft, Amazon and Uber are among the firms with the most contributors, and employee feedback can be positive, too – Blind has been credited with encouraging creative ideas. WORK-LIFE BALANCE Tony Hsieh When it comes to unconventional wisdom, the CEO of online clothing retailer Zappos has it covered. For a start, the company encourages employees to talk about their personal lives: they are granted sessions with an on-site life coach who helps them achieve goals, such as losing weight, through a series of 30-day challenges. Tony Hsieh told a crowd at Stanford University in the US: “There are companies that focus on work-life separation or work-life balance… at Zappos we really focus on work-life integration. When people are in that environment, that’s when the passion comes out and that’s really what’s driven a lot of our growth over the years.” LEGIBLE DOCUMENTS Tim Harford It’s time to ditch your house style: fonts that are difficult to read help employees to retain ideas. Economist and author Tim Harford explains: “When you get something in these fonts, it’s ugly, difficult to read, and it attracts your attention. Then you actually start trying to understand what it says.” In psychology, the concept is known as ‘disfluency’ and leads to individuals processing information at a deeper level. This means they are more likely to recall it later on. DISCRETIONARY SICK PAY Mark Parker Discretionary sick pay schemes often serve to implicitly discourage absenteeism, but in Asian countries such as South Korea paid menstrual leave is enshrined in law. Women receive one day off per month for period pain and employees are allowed to claim additional pay for those days not taken. The move is said to increase transparency and fuel long-term productivity by allowing workers to address a health issue. Internationally, Nike – whose CEO Mark Parker joined in 2006 – added paid menstrual leave to its employer code of conduct in 2007.

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand

Skin-lightening creams are a fast-growing market in India. Rohit Deshpandéexplores what firms should do when a product is decidedly popular—but may be promoting discrimination. by Dina Gerdeman In India, where many people consider fair skin more desirable than dark, the cosmetics industry has responded by producing a wide range of skin-lightening products—and with great success. But, when these companies pitch their creams in ads that seem to portray fair-skinned people as somehow superior to those with darker skin colors, are marketers crossing a line? Cream makers say they are merely meeting a market need, but social activists argue that these companies have an ethical responsibility to avoid marketing products in a way that could perpetuate a skin color bias. Where does a company’s obligation lie? The struggle over the advertising of India’s fairness creams is the centerpiece of a March 2016 case “Fair & Lovely vs. Dark Is Beautiful,”which was written by Rohit Deshpandé, Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School, and researcher Saloni Chaturvedi of the School’s India Research Center. “These products have really grown in the last 15 to 20 years, and I was interested in looking at how they have been marketed,” says Deshpandé, who says the case generated a lively debate among business leaders in his Executive Education course. “If you think of the role of advertising as providing primes that are psychological in nature as a means of persuasion, you can take something that exists in society—a consumer preference for fair skin—and leverage it for good or for bad.” Advertisements under fire As Deshpandé and Chaturvedi detail in the case, lighter-skinned women have been favored in India’s ads. Advertisements in the 1980s told stories of dark-skinned women unable to find husbands until they applied fairness creams. Later, skin lightening brand Fair & Lovely linked lighter skin with success, including a TV commercial showing a young woman able to secure a job as a sports broadcaster only after applying the product. And several famous actors have endorsed skin-whitening products. Although men share this desire for fair skin and sometimes dip into similar creams marketed to men (or use their wives’ products), the case explains, the prejudice seems to have a deeper impact on women, whose worth is more often judged by society on their appearance. (This is obvious from matrimonial ads that seek brides who are “fair and beautiful.”) Founders of Women of Worth (WOW), a nonprofit organization established in 2008 to promote women empowerment, decided to take on the issue by launching a “Dark Is Beautiful” campaign, partly to pressure advertisers to stop portraying lighter-skinned people as superior. “IF YOU LOOK AT WHETHER IT’S DONE ANYTHING TO AFFECT THE SALES OF THE PRODUCT CATEGORY, THE ANSWER IS NO” Actor and director Nandita Das became its unofficial brand ambassador, speaking out against skin color discrimination (or “colorism”) and refusing to be air brushed or lightened for her film roles. The campaign was designed to get attention, and that it did. A picture of Das—accompanied by her quote, “Stay unfair. Stay beautiful”—went viral on social media in 2013. (See illustration below) Campaign ad featuring Indian actress Nandita Das  protesting skin-lightening creams.Source: Women of Worth,  courtesy Rohit Deshpandé Fair skin part of India’s psyche Despite high-profile opposition, sales of fairness creams have remained brisk. By 2015, facial care was a $1 billion market in India, and skin lighteners represented almost half that market size. The facial care market is expected to grow to $1.96 billion—nearly doubling in size—by 2019. “The campaign has helped a lot in raising public awareness,” Deshpandé says. “But if you look at whether it’s done anything to affect the sales of the product category, the answer is no. This is a big market by any standards, and it’s growing exponentially.” After all, the country’s preference for fair skin has deep roots—possibly tracing back to the lighter-skinned Aryans invading India from the north and conquering the darker-skinned native Dravidians. The first fairness cream, Afghan Snow, hit the Indian market in 1919, although home remedies had been passed down even earlier from generation to generation. In 1975, Fair & Lovely was launched by Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the multinational company Unilever—and sales skyrocketed, leading other companies to quickly follow with their own products. Skincare products are regulated under India’s Drugs & Cosmetics Act of 1945, although most creams and lotions are defined as cosmetics rather than drugs, which means companies don’t have to provide strict data about whether fairness creams actually work. Many of the lotions inhibit melanin production, but some dermatologists say that when the cream wears off, melanin production returns to typical levels. Advertising guidelines are merely “suggestions” Stepping into the controversy, the Advertising Standards Council of India, a self-regulatory body for the ad industry, in 2014 issued guidelines about the advertising of skin-whitening products, saying ads should not show people with dark skin as “unattractive, unhappy, depressed, or concerned.” But these standards are merely guidelines, not laws. “These are not really regulations,” Deshpandé says. “They’re suggestions.” That leaves WOW organizers concerned that cream manufacturers can use questionable marketing tactics to profit off of the consumer’s complexion complex. And with fair-skinned famous actors appearing in these ads, the push for lighter skin can have potent effects. “Bollywood is a very powerful industry,” Deshpandé says. “These actors are role models, and the majority of them use these creams.” WOW founder Kavitha Emmanuel is particularly concerned about how the ads may affect the perceptions of young consumers. “The advertising industry has to stand up for what is right,” she says in the case. “Our young people are already being bombarded with several messages that cause self-doubt in their impressionable minds.” “THERE IS A NEED IN OUR SOCIETY FOR FAIRNESS CREAMS, SO WE ARE MEETING THAT NEED” In January 2014, Emmanuel delivered a petition with 30,000 signatures to Emami’s Fair & Handsome, asking the brand to withdraw an ad that featured actor Shahrukh Khan tossing a cream to an aspiring actor who wanted to be like him. The company refused, saying, “There is a need in our society for fairness creams, so we are meeting that need.” The view from business The cosmetic company's position drew support from many of the 150 business executives in Deshpandé’s Leadership and Corporate Accountability course. Their argument: The government has no business interfering with products that aren’t breaking laws and, more importantly, are clearly meeting a real consumer need. “It was a powerful argument that played out strongly,” Deshpandé says of the discussion among the executives, who had come from at least 20 different countries and had worked an average of 12 to 15 years in a variety of industries. “Consumers vote with their pocketbooks, and they’re saying they want this product. It makes the consumer feel beautiful. Who is the government or an activist organization to regulate or constrain consumer demand? Let the market speak.” For others in the course, however, it mattered how cosmetic firms were actually encouraging the demand, Deshpandé says. “If it’s through making consumers feel concerned about themselves, about their bodies and skin color, (they questioned) if you psychologically manipulate that, is it appropriate and ethical? What are the responsibilities that an organization has to its consumers?” The discussion drifted beyond the boundaries of India, touching on different views about skin color around the world. In Vietnam, some women wear long gloves and hats to protect their skin from the sun to appear fairer, while many European and American women prefer a dark tan. “This is an issue that manifests in many different societies,” Deshpandé says. “Although this case study originated in India, the issues it deals with are universal issues that business leaders have to reflect on regardless of where they’re based.”

Industry overview - Aviation

The aviation sector in India can be broadly divided into 2 segments based on benefits desired namely low cost (economic benefit) and full service (experiential benefit). In domestic routes two thirds of the traffic flies on Low cost carriers. There are 4 major players in the low cost segment due to which heavy pricing competition prevails in this segment. This poses an unsustainable model for some airlines while providing huge opportunities to others due to the different cost structures. The low cost segment is highly price sensitive and there is low brand loyalty. Customers may switch to other brands easily if price differentiation is huge. Also if the price differentiation is low other features come into picture. The full service carriers offer better in-flight service such as complimentary food & drinks and in-flight entertainment. Hence it is expected to charge higher than the low cost carriers. However, due to such a high price sensitivity in Indian market the price difference is low. This also reduces the expected service differentiation offered at base prices. The full service carriers offer little better service quality for normal tickets and they offer premium cabins at much higher prices. Also both low cost and full service segments can be further subdivided into international and domestic. Most low cost airlines including SpiceJet have very little presence in international routes. This is an area where SpiceJet can focus since establishing itself in International routes will lead to higher brand recognition. Profitability is significantly higher on international routes. Also brand loyalty is higher in international routes.

Arthur Andersen

ANDERSEN COMPANY DEVELOPMENT •       1947: Death of Arthur Andersen. Leonard Spacey, a senior partner at the accounting firm, took over as CEO •       1954: Introduced the firm to consulting work •       1970s: Auditing firms came under pressure to cut costs and started to search for alternative revenue sources The area most accounting firms turned to for alternative revenue sources was business and systems consulting. •       1970s: Consulting business exploded as the demand for IT services increased •       1978: Andersen consulting became the industry leader with consulting practice accounting for 21% of firm’s revenues •       1979: Almost a half of the firm’s worldwide fees came from the consulting work •       1980s: Surpassed 1000 partners and became the world’s biggest business services firm •       1984: Consulting practice more profitable per partner than traditional accounting and tax business •       1989: Company formed a separate consulting practice •       ANDERSEN WORLDWIDE: Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting •       2000: AC became independent and renamed itself as Accenture •       2002: AA had 85000 employees, 2300 clients and $9.3 billion annual revenues Factors leading to Separation of firms •       DECLINE IN AUDIT FEES Firms began to outbid one another aggressively for audit engagements, eventually leading to decreased industry standards as firms became unwilling to upset clients. •       PERCEPTION TOWARDS AUDIT WORK Audit work began to be viewed as a loss leader as the Big Five Firms used audit engagements as a springboard to sign up clients for more lucrative consulting engagements. •       DISSIMILARITY BETWEEN CONSULTING AND ACCOUNTING MARKETS        The two markets, consulting and accounting, were very dissimilar. The clients had different                needs and strategies, resources and operating models required to meet these needs differed.  As a result of this dissimilarity, the consulting partners in 1989 created Anderson Consulting as a separate legal commercial enterprise devoted to business and technology consulting. According to Jon Conahan, a global managing partner responsible for Andersen consulting’s market strategy since its formation, “We needed to draw a clear distinction in the market place between a traditional Big Eight accounting and tax firm and a firm capable of challenging IBM or EDS.” Establishing a new operating unit posed a serious financial risk for the original partners of Andersen Consulting. They set out to create a new organization and there was no guarantee of success. Moreover the consulting partners had to give up their ownership interest in Arthur Andersen and join new Andersen Consulting partnerships established as separate legal entities. The switch paid off. Andersen Consulting’s annual revenues grew from just over $1 billion in 1989 to $8.3 billion in 1998. In addition, the firm also served more than 85 of the Fortune 100 largest global public companies and many of the world’s leading governments.   •       NO COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE TO EITHER FIRM The auditing and consulting units remained under the Andersen Worldwide SC umbrella. As part of the agreement, the units had a revenue sharing model. Although Andersen had been divided into two companies- AA and AC- the split did not provide the complete independence that the consulting side sought. •       INITIATION OF ARBITRATION PROCESS AND FURTHER DISCUSSIONS (AUGUST 2000) As the tension between the two sides of the firm increased, an arbitration process was initiated to decide upon the firm’s future. In AUGUST 2000, after a three-year confrontation between the two sides, the arbitration court separated Andersen Consulting from Arthur Andersen. The International Chamber of Commerce arbitrator found the parent, Andersen Worldwide, to be failing in its contractual obligation of assuring cooperation, coordination and compatibility. During the arbitration discussions, Arthur Andersen asked for $14 billion to let Andersen Consulting break away. However, it was eventually awarded only $1 billion, resulting in further pressure on Arthur Andersen to boost the firm’s revenue. Overnight the accounting firm’s partners went from having an equity stake in annual revenues of $16.3 billion to $ 7.3 billion. After the two firms split, Andersen Consulting, which fought unsuccessfully to keep the rights to the prestigious Andersen name, renamed itself ACCENTURE; Arthur Andersen launched a new brand campaign, calling itself Andersen. As a part of its new initiative to increase consulting revenues, the newly named Andersen, formerly known as Arthur Andersen, reinforced its business strategies and aggressively sought new consulting engagements to help drive revenue growth. As such, it adopted a new version: “To be the partner for success in the new economy”.   

Trade Wars

Trade Wars : Who is winning, China or US?

Case Study Analysis: LEARNING TEAM-Shriking to a

Based on the case study its shown, how a group of people behave with one another and what are the characteristics of individuals.  

Chaos Is Not a Viable Leadership Style

By- Theodore Kinn Thirty years ago, the business world had a fling with chaos theory — the idea that although nonlinear systems, such as markets and companies, are inherently unpredictable, some order exists within them nonetheless. Tom Peters told us that chaotic markets harbored valuable business opportunities. Meg Wheatley said that chaotic companies were more adaptive, creative, and resilient than hierarchical companies. But I don’t recall anyone recommending chaos as a leadership style. To be sure, there are prominent leaders today who adopt chaos as their modus operandi. Take Brandon Truaxe, the CEO of Deciem, a fast-growing Canada-based beauty products company that expects to record US$300 million in sales this year. Since January 2018, here are a few things he has done. Truaxe fired his social media team and started posting strange messages on Deciem’s Instagram account, including, as described in Elle, “closeup videos of him talking disjointedly about the popular skin-care line’s vision, a river flowing around a mass of garbage, and a photo of a dead sheep, captioned with a promise to never test products on animals.” He fired co-CEO Nicola Kilner, which prompted chief financial officer Stephen Kaplan to quit. (In July, Kilner rejoined the company.) Truaxe also emailed the company’s employees, “I’m done with DECIEM and EVERYTHING. No need to discuss.” Illustration by Dina Belenko / Alamy One big benefit of being a chaotic leader is that you get a lot of attention. In this social media–driven, attention-addled, 24/7 world, it could be that the quantity of attention matters more than its content. Indeed, even as media and customer reactions to Truaxe’s actions turned negative, the company’s products continued selling briskly. “All they’re (his actions) doing is creating more sales for me,” Truaxe told WWD. Well, maybe. But before you adopt a chaotic leadership style for its Barnum-like marketing effects, you probably should pause to consider what it does to the people and organizations that you are charged with leading. Chaotic leaders are like Loki, the trickster of Norse mythology, who sows the seeds of confusion and discord. Although it can be perversely entertaining to watch a Loki at work, working for one isn’t much fun at all. These are leaders who have a fetish for defying expectations — clearly, consistency is not their strong suit. They say things that they don’t mean and mean things that they don’t say. They jump the rails of process and take off for territories unknown on a whim. They fire people for not following orders andfor following orders. They refuse to acknowledge any authority — such as the values of the organization or its board — as greater than their own. This inconsistency and unpredictability results in a high-stress environment in which even highly motivated people burn out. Working at Deciem has been described in less than glowing terms. Orders from the CEO arrive via Instagram; people are promoted or passed over willy-nilly; the company lacks organization and reporting structure. After unexpectedly firing his co-CEO, who had been at Deciem since its founding in 2013, Truaxe said, “We still have a few people who need to go — I can feel it.” A comforting note for the rest of the team to be sure. One of the reviews of Deciem on the popular workplace review site Glassdoor is headlined: “House of Horrors!” The human and organizational problems that chaotic leadership creates are legion and obvious. Morale plummets. Fear becomes pervasive. Turnover rises. Productivity falls. Eventually, financial results must suffer. One of the fundamental principles of chaos theory is the butterfly effect. Chaos theory pioneer Edward Lorenz coined the term to describe how, in complex systems, tiny actions, such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can produce huge effects over time, like altering the position and power of a tornado. Given the position and power of chaotic leaders in companies, their flapping is probably more akin to that of a pterodactyl than a butterfly, producing an exponential increase in negative effects. No one needs a pterodactyl flying around the office.

How to define your business purpose

Purpose-driven organisations are more efficient, profitable and popular with customers. But unlike more concrete management concepts such as ‘flexible working’, many bosses have trouble defining organisational purpose and knowing how to use it.  Following a two-year project studying the UK’s top executives, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)’s latest white paper, The What, The Why and The How of Purpose: A guide for leaders has shed light on the topic. The report was written by Charlie Ebert of Judge Business School Cambridge, Dr Victoria Hurth of the University of Plymouth, and Professor Jaideep Prabhu of Judge Business School Cambridge.  The researchers conducted 18 in-depth interviews and a roundtable discussion with leading professionals – including Marks & Spencer’s director of sustainable business, Mike Barry and PwC’s head of reputational strategy Neil Sherlock. CMI evaluated what purpose means at the organisation level and why companies are pursuing it. WHAT IS PURPOSE? Researchers defined purpose as “an organisation’s meaningful and enduring reason to exist that aligns with long-term financial performance, provides a clear context for daily decision making, and unifies and motivates relevant stakeholders.” Purpose directs teams and companies to pursue objectives with a strong intention to serve the wellbeing of others. Applicable to all types of businesses and organisations, the study proposes that purpose is at the heart of an organisation’s strategy and identity.  This recent CMI Insights report also found that two in three millennials are choosing their employer based on its sense of purpose.  Five characteristics for spotting a workable purpose are below.  FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PURPOSE 1. A meaningful reason to exist More than just selling a product or service, the executive interviews revealed that managers expect their companies to have a meaningful and higher objective. This typically ties in with motivating employees, customers and investors by contributing – directly or indirectly – to defeating societal, economic and environmental challenges in the UK and abroad.  The Body Shop’s success selling all-natural personal care products is underpinned by their higher purpose help 40,000 economically vulnerable people worldwide find sustainable employment and protect 10,000 hectares of forest and woodlands.  2. Purpose forms organisational identity Purpose is connected to a company’s aims, needs and desires, and helps mould the perception of the business to everyone it interacts with – from marketing to customer service. “It's the essence of who you are. Purpose is the fundamental essence of an organisation,” explained Alison Sharpe, an independent consultant on organisational trust and purpose, (formerly director of corporate affairs at PwC). Embodying its identity as a fresh and healthy organisation, fruit juice manufacturer Innocent Drinks has incorporated its sustainability purpose into its core business strategy. For example, all its cartons are made from 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified card, and the company has incorporated at least 25% recycled content in bottles since 2003. 3. Purpose needs profits (and vice versa) One of the clearest findings showed most executives strongly believe that purpose and profitability go hand in hand. “I think it's really, really important that without profit the achievements of purpose are often completely flawed,” said Brendan McCafferty, CEO, Flood Re. Similarly, Laura Turkington, senior manager of Global Innovation and Business Development at Vodafone stated: “We can only create the social impact if it does make profit.”  4. A clear context for daily decision making Purpose provides a clear guideline on business values and objectives to all stakeholders, while allowing creative freedom for individuals to determine the best course of action in specific scenarios.  “There is a link between purpose and autonomy because if you know where you are going, it’s much easier to be able to be autonomous. I think purpose creates some real clarity and therefore some real agility,” explained John Rosling, CEO, Contexis. 5. Unifying and challenging stakeholders  There have been instances where purpose-driven organisations have made decisions that upset certain stakeholders to protect their purpose. For example, Unilever, adhering to its purpose, ended quarterly reporting to the City and actively managed away its hedge fund investors, whilst Barclays used its purpose to justify ending its tax reduction department, which may have upset some stakeholders. 

Netflix - A strategic Perspective

NETFLIX Company's Growth Story •         Within a decade, subscriber base grew from seven million U.S. subscribers to 93 million people worldwide •         Aims to stake claim as the FIRST GLOBAL TELEVISION NETWORK - Not much growth opportunity left in US Market with already 49 million American subscribers (which makes it available in 43 percent of U.S. households) and hence seek to expand abroad •         1990 - Distributed DVDs- mainly films- by mail               2007 - Launched National Video Streaming Service               2013 - Added film and television production as well as online distribution               2016 - Television series broadcasted on its network accounted for 70 percent of its               streaming               2016 - Added more than 5.8 million paying members between October & December 2016 of which 1.43 million belonged to US (beating internet forecast of 1.15 million)   REASONS FOR IMMENSE SUCCESS •         Netflix delivers programs "on demand" via internet which gives the user option to choose what and when to watch according to his comfort rather than simply watching what is being broadcasted. •         Subscriber-funded services just like Netflix must offer enough programming that viewers find the service worthy of their monthly fee charged from them. While every broadcasted show doesn't require a mass audience, the majority do so that the subscriber finds enough value offered on the platform and continues to pay. •         Conglomerated Niche Strategy :  Develops programs for audiences with varied interests ranging from serial dramas ("House of Cards") , horror series ("Hemlock Grove") to action series like Daredevil. Netflix caters to around 2,000 taste communities.                Gathers extensive data about its subscribers' behaviour with the help of internet  distribution , cultivates its library according to information obtained and then provides the users with their likely desired content. •         Broadcasts shows produced not only for the US Audiences but also develops original series for subscribers in non-U.S. markets that are also available to U.S. subscribers such as “Marseille,” a French political drama or “Hibana,” a Japanese drama about the country’s competitive comedy scene. •         Develops localized content which helps it to compete with local channels or networks relying primarily on regional language entertainment. And if it can't produce the required local content , it outrightly purchases the content from local publishers either for an upfront fee or upfront fee plus royalties.    THE BUSINESS MODEL •         Subscribed-Based Business Model : Netflix makes money by selling the audiences to the advertisers. The viewers pay a monthly fee for access to the library of content available on Netflix •         The Process 1. Buy /License the commercial rights to broadcast or stream content from the different production houses (which are the real owners of the content). 2. Prepare and maintain a Robust Platform to broadcast these pieces of content. 3. Attract users to view these contents for free for a certain time (Free Trial for a month or so) and develop their interest in the same. 4. Convert Free Users to paid recurring subscribers and charge them a monthly fee for viewing the content. 5. Maintain this subscriber base by continously buying fresh and new content. NETFLIX OPERATIONAL STRATEGY Considering the Porter's Three Generic Forces Model (1985) , Netflix pursues competitive advantage through DIFFERENTIATION LEADERSHIP. In fact, Netflix tries to deliver an offering perceived as unique by the mass market and its sources of differentiation are mainly two : Content and Criterions of Use. 1. CONTENT Change in proposition from focussing earlier on quantity to now focussing more on the Quality. Netflix tries to offer its users appealing content, especially through its TV series of high quality and their availability exclusively on the Netflix platform. Moreover, from 2013 Netflix also ventured into creating its original productions which delivered prime content only to its loyal users. 2. CRITERIONS OF USE Netflix tries to focus more on the functionality, usability and performance to be able to provide the users with a lively and innovative entertaining visual experience and not just provide any ordinary watching experience. Netflix focusses on maximising the user experience and provides features unique in many aspects : from 4k video definition to compatibility with almost every device, from many language and subtitles offerings to binge watching.   To be able to fully sustain its competitive advantage , the available resources and capabilities (shown below) should be organized effectively.    Considering the Ansoff's Matrix Model (1957) , Netfix has implemented both Market Development and Vertical Integration Strategies. •         MARKET DEVELOPMENT Leveraging on its core competencies and experience , Netflix is present in 190 countries and this expansion allows it explore new revenue opportunities and counterbalance the slow growth in the US. It is ,however, important to note here that since Netflix is continously reinvesting money into content at an extraordinary rate, the only way to sustain this model is to continously genrate new subscrptions. •         VERTICAL INTEGRATION Netflix began its backward integration bu producing exclusive content since 2013. The strategic decision allows it to mitigate suppliers' bargaining power and control the content costs, to sustain the international expansion and to respond better to customers' preferences thereby increasing its retention. The bar charts below show the growth as achieved by Netflix both in terms of Profts as well as Revenue generation. CHALLENGES AHEAD 1. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION : In most of the countries it has entered, it has been a late entrant implying that the local competitors have been well established and have already acquired a significant customer base. It hence becomes difficult for Netflix to establish itself in such a strong market space. 2.BACKWARD INTEGRATION : To counter the increasing bargaining power of suppliers. Vertical Integration to allow better control over content costs. Also can go in for revenue-sharing agreement which makes the studios more willing to offer their content. 3. MOBILE WATCHING : Increase in people watching shows on the go worldwide but common mobile contracts allow users to watch no more than 2-3 HD films a month. Hence, to cater to such a segment Netflix can go in for "download and watch later" feature. PARTNERSHIPS Microsoft : In 2008, Netflix subsequently partnered with Microsoft for developing a streaming video app for their gaming console. As part of the partnership Netflix developed a native app for the game console Microsoft XBox 360. This gave access to XBox Live Gold Members access to Netflix on their television via their game console. For Netflix it meant that the market of 12 million XBox Live members was opened up, whereas for Microsoft could market their XBox for the million Netflix subscribers. The deal required Netflix to maintain the streaming video technology exclusively to XBox for an year. Subsequent to that Netflix would develop a Blu-ray disk based streaming video solution for Sony’s Playstation. The company would later go on to generalize the software platform they developed for DVD players to enable Netflix integration via Software Development Kits (SDKs). This also meant that as Smart TVs emerged and prevalence of streaming video over the internet developed over the years, Netflix was essentially prepared and could offer easy integrations. Sony : In 2009, Netflix partnered with Sony Electronics that enabled Netflix subscribers to instantly watch movies streamed from Netflix on Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs and on previous BRAVIA models compatible with Sony's BRAVIA Internet video link module. Amazon : In 2008, Netflix partnered with Amazon web services to transfer its complete database to cloud.This process started in 2008 and completed in 2016. Orange Group : Orange and Netflix have renewed the agreement signed in 2014 for the distribution of Netflix for Orange TV customers in France, and have expanded their partnership to all countries in which the Orange Group is present. This strategic partnership will enable the Group’s subsidiaries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to distribute Netflix in the future, bringing their customers the rich, globally popular, exclusive content of this service to all their screens: licensed and original TV series, movies, stand up comedies, documentaries and children's programmes. Netflix is the home of award- winning shows likeStranger Things , Orange is the New Black, House of Cards andThe Crown; and global phenomena such as13 Reasons Why andNarcos. Orange has been a Netflix distributor in France since 2014 and in Spain in recent months.  

Cereals Market in India

Cereals have always been part of Indian breakfast platter like Chivda or Poha (flattened rice flakes) with milk popular in Central and Western India, Dalia (whole wheat grits) in Northern India along with traditionally preferred regional staples like Paratha in North while Idli or Dosa in the south. Mostly Indians have preferred or inclined towards consumption of quintessential hot and cooked breakfast called as Nashta and finds it difficult to give in to such options like cereals with milk.   Factors accelerating cereals: Changing lifestyles in tandem with rising disposable income, increasing urbanisation, emerging middle class, greater time-poverty, need for increased convenience, and increasing health consciousness have drove Indians specifically Indians in urban areas to go for breakfast cereals. The Western lifestyle influence and eating trends have also accelerated experimenting with different tastes and varied eating preferences.   Market Drivers: With changing lifestyles consumers prefer breakfast foods which are healthy and easy to cook. Most of the customers seek convience where they seek breakfast on the way to their destination. Breakfast cereals fill this gap and hence urban consumers are responsible for 96% of breakfast cereals value sales in 2016.2 Flakes have captured around 50% market share in this category along with oats and muesli receiving warm welcome.3 Increasing literacy rate is spreading awareness about benefits of healthy diet among consumers. As breakfast cereals are high amongst nutrition content consumers prefer them over traditional platters. Increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, etc. in urban population have made them health consciousness than ever before and further pushed them towards low fat and nutritious cereals. In today’s world breakfast cereals provide fast and healthy options to middle income groups. Thereby reducing preparation time these delicious products have enabled consumers specially mothers to spend time in other activities.   Classification: In India the breakfast cereals can be broadly classified as follows: 1. Ready to Eat Cereals: It consists of cereals which can be consumed without cooking, solely or along with complementary accompaniments like water, milk or fruits. For Example, wheat flakes, cornflakes, multi-rain flakes, etc.   2. Ready to Cook Cereals: These cereals have to be cooked in oil, water or milk and include instant and quick cooking oats, muesli. One can add salt, sugar, spices, fruits or vegetables to enhance the taste depending upon taste preference.   3. Processed or Precooked Cereals: These are the maximum consumed breakfast cereals. They can be divided into ready to eat or ready to cook subcategories. Ready to eat include cereal or malt based foods or beverages and pulse and crisp snacks and dessert type cereals. Ready to cook cereals include fermented or non-fermented products, enriched products like Idli, Vada, Upma, Poha, etc.   4. Ready-made or Breakfast Mixes: They include dry or liquid mixes of other whole, flaked or ground cereal or grain with other ingredients like Dosa or Idli batter, Poha or Upma mix, etc. They can be prepared with minimal efforts and don’t require further addition of ingredients.  

Amul Case

History of amul and challenges faced by the company to reach the current heights

ITC - CSR Activities

This presentation talks about ITC & CSR activites.