Prof Fisher asks organizations to become more transparent

Prof Colin Fisher asks Organizations to become more transparent

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility are topics that have risen to the top of the public agenda in recent times on account of unethical practices followed by certain companies and the global financial crisis. The general scepticism about Business Ethics needs to be countered not only at the individual level of education and practice but also at the organizational level through transparency and debate. Prof Colin Fisher of Nottingham Business School, UK expressed this view in a special lecture delivered at Pearl School of Business, Gurgaon on 4 Nov 09.

According to him, one place to start the process of change is the MBA education. There has been much criticism that the MBA fosters a competence in managerial technique but ignores the context of social responsibility and ethical and philosophical traditions. In US some students of Harvard Business School have devised and promoted the MBA Oath which enjoins upon the MBA a standard of moral and ethical conduct.

But putting the responsibility for overcoming the problem on individual managers is only a part of the solution, according to Prof Fisher. Organizations have to become more transparent and open to challenge and debate. Anyone raising issues of morality and social responsibility at work should not be treated with scorn or suspicion. Corporations have to realise that the days of sole pursuit of maximising shareholder value are long past. They have to take liability for pollution, social damage and corporate manslaughter. It may call for modifying the concept of limited liability, Prof Fisher said.

Prof Colin Fisher has a Ph D from Cambridge University in Indian History. After many years in manager development, he has specialised in business and managerial ethics. His recent research focuses on the impact of management metrics. He has published books on business ethics, management research methods and public sector resource allocation.

Prof Colin Fisher on Business Ethics - at PSB

Prof Colin Fisher of Nottingham Business School, Nottingham, UK will deliver the Annual Distinguished Lecture at Pearl School of Business on the topic of

Scepticism about Business Ethics - how to counter it

on Wed 4 November 2009 at 4 pm.

Prof Fisher is the Professor of Managerial Ethics and Values at NBS and also leads the DBA programme. He has written several books and published research papers on the theme of Business Ethics. He has been the Chair of European Business Ethics Network - UK and has a longstanding interest in India and Indian Management.

Use of Statistical Techniques for Research - Workshop

Dr Gour Saha will conduct the workshop on Use of Statistical Techniques for Research at PSB on 18-19 and 25-26 Sept 2009. For details see the link below:

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B64gr4YvoK9pZmNiMDM5NmEtYjlhMS00MmVjLTg4Y2UtY2I0ZTVkOTlkYTM1&hl=en

An interview with Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, Distinguished Professor, PSB

Prof Chhokar receives the Gielen award at the APA Convention, Toronto, Aug 2009

1. Tell us how you got drawn to the work in the area of Cross Cultural Management.

In a way, it was by accident and the existence of an opportunity, but in another way it seems it was a natural progression from some of my earliest research.

Taking the second explanation first, my first research project and also the first publication, done when I was a doctoral student, was to validate a questionnaire in the US and in Europe. The expression, cross-cultural management, was not in use then in management literature but in retrospect, it was a preliminary form of cross-cultural management.

The accident and opportunity arose when the founder of a major cross-cultural research project (The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness-GLOBE-Project) invited me to join the project as the Country Co-Investigator (CCI) for India

Another factor, perhaps, is my inherent curiosity for other cultures which may have been fuelled by my travels to various other cultures, within India and outside.

2. The ongoing research requires a massive degree of coordination among researchers from different countries. How is this achieved?

Coordination was, and continues to be, one of the major challenges in conducting research projects of this magnitude, which had never been attempted earlier. I am still uncomfortable saying that the coordination “has been achieved”. The advent and growth of internet, email, file transfer protocols (FTP), and the spurt in communications technologies has helped a lot. All these were not as developed when we started. Communications and coordination have been the two greatest issues. We tried to communicate as much as possible, even building in redundancies in the process, to ensure appropriate understanding.

A major stumbling block in this particular kind of research is the variety of languages in use in different societies. Even English which is often considered the “language of business” in the world, is inadequate for this kind of work, and not only because French, Chinese, Arabic, Portugese, Spanish are also very commonly used in several countries and in some of them, English is not even understood.

Translations also raised serious problems. Not only that some English words did not have proper equivalents in several other languages, some of the concepts either did not exist in some societies or had a very different connotation. For example, there is no word in Arabic for the word “leader” which is a key concept in this project. The word “leader” is literally translated to “Führer” in German which has come to have a different connotation of a dictator since the time of Adolf Hitler.

To overcome such issues, what needs to be done and what was attempted, fairly successfully I would say, was to keep working at bringing as much understanding as possible among the participants. My personal learning it that email while being efficient in terms of speed, etc. is not a very effective means of communication and coordination. Phone calls are more effective as you do get an idea of the tone of the communication of the other party, but nothing can replace face-to-face meetings and discussions, however expensive they may be.

3. What are the implications of this research for academicians and practitioners in India?

India is an extremely diverse and complex society in terms of culture, and that makes the research and findings of the GLOBE Project very relevant to academics and practitioners in India. Academics have a tremendous opportunity to conduct further research in India on the lines of GLOBE because what has been done for GLOBE in India is actually far from adequate. As the chapter on India in the second GLOBE book (Culture and leadership across the world: The GLOBE book of in-depth studies of 25 socieites, 2007, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates) mentions towards the end, India needs a full-blown GLOBE project of its own.

Practitioners have the opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of culture as a phenomenon which has a major role in global and international business, and also specifics of several cultures in the world. The first GLOBE book (Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, 2004, Sage Publications) presents the quantitative findings of 62 countries, and the second book contains in-depth chapters on 25 countries combining quantitative and qualitative findings. By reading these books and referring to them from time to time, practitioners can learn how to be sensitive to other cultures and to function effectively in them and also to more effectively deal with people from those cultures.

4. You have been one of the founders of the Association for Democratic Reforms. You have taken to this public activism with great energy. What has driven you to this activism?

If I may say so, I have not only “been” one of the founders of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) but I am still one of the founders of ADR. While the start of the involvement in this activity was kind of slow, the energy increased with time, experience, and involvement. While I was generally aware of the poor state of governance in the country, I think I understood more about the specifics and possibly the real, in-depth causes and also possible remedies to improve the quality of governance, as I worked more and more in the area and learnt more about it.

The underlying reasons for taking up such issues is the sense of frustration and dissatisfaction with the sloppiness of the governance systems in the country, and a desire to do something to improve things. Two factors which make me continue doing this is (a) the small successes that we have had in this effort, and (b) the approval or sense of appreciation that we get from citizens from time to time.

5. What are the notable changes that you have seen over the years in the Management academia?

Management academia has moved from a focus on deep analysis and basic understanding, to a technique orientation. The focus seems to have shifted to a kind of “how to” approach, with the “why” being either ignored totally or not being paid adequate attention. This is perhaps related to the trend towards short-term orientation that seems to be becoming more important in major parts of the world, over the years.

Another change is the pre-ponderance of the internet. On the side of the students, it results in very heavy reliance on the web for all kinds of information or even completing assignments. For the teachers, there seems to be great reliance on Power Point slides and presentations, as that is how most of the teaching now seems to happen.

Reading of books, even current, what to talk of the classics, seems to be a thing of the past which is sad.

6. What would be your advice to the students of management and entrepreneurship in PSB?

Usually, I am very hesitant to give advice, particularly if the person concerned has not asked for it. But taking it to be an unusual situation, I would suggest to students of management and entrepreneurship in PSB to first understand themselves. A lot of students these days take up courses just because it is perhaps fashionable to take these up. As deep an introspection as possible would be of tremendous help in deciding on what kind of a course to take up.

Having taken up management and entrepreneurship, one must understand the difference between management and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship involves total responsibility which being a manager may or may not. But the most critical ingredient of entrepreneurship, according to my understanding, is innovation—doing, at least some thing differently. This presupposes, what is jargonistically called ‘thinking out of the box’. But my concern is that ‘thinking out of the box’ itself presupposes ‘thinking’ which, it seems to me, is not very common these days.

A lot of the young men and women I know today seem to be looking (a) to make the maximum money, in (b) the shortest time, and (c) with the minimum of effort, and they seem to think that ‘smart-alec’ kind of entrepreneurship is the way to do this. We need to understand that there are really no short-cuts to success. Real success always comes after sustained effort and hard work. I of course wish all the students all the best in whatever they decide to do.

Seven Steps and inconsistency

I read in the scramble quiz today that "inconsistency is the greatest weakness in human nature." It took me to the very common experience that I have had with teaching simple techniques to students. The ideas and the practices of relaxation and time management are very simple and practical. But for that very reason, they are not easy to follow consistently. There is a feeling that arises from time to time - 'Oh, it's simple and I have done it; it doesn't matter if I miss it for a day.'

So I asked our participants to make a progress check after the first week. There were three simple things to be done over the week. Some had practised one or the other regularly and others had predictably been irregular. The material that was put in the folder had read fully by not even one participant. I have learnt to respect the participants' choice. So I don't sermonize the virtue of consistency. Instead I follow a time tested mantra that I received from my ustad in these practices.

"First learn to relax. Keep practicing. Don't give up." That's what I told our participants last week. Let's see what they report today.

Another famous saying of opportunist politicians is that consistency is the virtue of a donkey. Of course it is not flattering to be likened to a donkey. But donkeys as animals also have a right to be respected. After all, the Kargil war could not have been won without the donkeys that carried the ammunition boxes up the mountain cliffs and the Bihari workers.

Seven Steps to Self Empowerment

We launched this Executive Education programme on 31 Jul 2009 with 10 participants. It is being held on 3 Fridays from 6 to 8 pm for middle level managers. We held a free introductory seminar on 17 Jul 09 for which there were 25 participants.

Empowerment means getting the power to act in line with one's thoughts and feelings. Self Empowerment means giving that power to oneself.

The basic idea is to help these managers discover simple ways of tapping their own energy in thought, feelings and action. The contents are relaxation, time management, improvement projects for self and interpersonal relations. The methods are experiential in nature and include projects and guided experiences.

We would review the design in the light of experience and offer it to wider audiences.

Prof Chhokar's work receives international acclaim

A book coedited by Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, distinguished professor at PSB, has been adjudged the best contribution in 2008 to international psychology by the American Psychology Association and has received the prestigious Ursula Gielen Book Award. The title of the book is Culture and Leadership Across the World: The GLOBE Book of In-Depth Studies of 25 Societies, and is a significant contribution to understand, assess and conceptualise the culture-specificity of leadership and related constructs. The award will be formally presented to the Editors at the forthcoming annual conference of the American Psychology Association in Canada.

Congratulations, Prof Chhokar and wish you greater success in future.

The Myth about Model T

There are two myths associated with Model T car of Henry Ford, which became the harbinger of assembly line mass production systems. First is the one that associated the color black with the Civil War in US in the nineteenth century, signifying that the capitalists had not taken kindly to the abolition of slavery.

The second was that Model T represented the triumph of the manufacturer over the market. Henry Ford was reported to have remarked that the customers could have Model T in any color that they wanted, so long as it was black.

I visited the Luray caves near Washington DC in Jan 09 and saw the Model T in the vintage car museum that stands next to the Caves. The information board clearly mentions that Model T was available in other colors as well and thus explodes the myth about Ford's supercilious remark.

The 10-20-30 rule of powerpoint presentation

I am appalled many a time by the Powerpoint presentations that attack the audience sensibility and I wonder how the presenter could be so insensitive as to not think of the needs of the audience. The font sizes are small, the entire slide is packed with text and on top of it, the presenter insists on reading the whole stuff. Sometimes the presenter goes near the screen and starts pointing out the words or phrases. All this turns out taxing for me and I guess, for many like me.

I came across a very apt piece on presentation that I have followed and found useful. Please follow the link: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html

It is interesting to read, easy to follow and effective in outcome.

Women in Management

Namita Chowdhary is an adjunct faculty in Marketing at PSB. After nearly two decades in marketing and brand building for the tobacco and liquor industry, she and Vishal formed a brand consulting practice. An alumnus of FMS, Delhi, Namita has been instrumental in successful launches of some Healthcare Service brands.

In this interview she talks about her journey in the big crazy world of brand building in premium luxury categories.

Ø What made you take up marketing of tobacco and liquor products in your career?

In my very first interaction with the Marketing Team at Godfrey Phillips I found the place highly energetic and creative. GPI had an international tie-up with Phillip Morris, US. The mindset in India operations was very dynamic and I found the prospect of Marketing Life Style product very exciting.

I had the wonderful opportunity to create a new Brand Promotion Cell. As part of the Marketing department the Cell was responsible for creating consumer contact programmes, brand building activities, advertising and PR. Had a great team and leadership support to create concepts like Four Square White Water Challenge, Red & White Bravery Awards, Four Square Theatre, Rothmans Club, Jaisalmer programme etc

Liquor was a natural progression from Cigarettes in a way. It had lot of common grounds. The time was right, multinationals were entering India. Got a chance to be part of start-up team of Seagram and revolutionize the Industry with FMCG practices and business philosophy

Ø What was the reaction of people close to you – family, friends and relatives?

My father has always been very encouraging and ambitious for his girls. He is a great believer of ‘woman power’. He has instilled a deep sense of self reliance and confidence in us. He was really proud of me being one of the first (and very few) senior woman manager in the men’s industry and the recognition that it brought.

My husband is my biggest strength and support. Like a rock he has always stood by me. He is my intellectual and creative mind-partner. Professionally we learn a lot from each other. On personal front he not only made all the adjustments to my travel, late event hours, and chaotic deadlines but also boosted my confidence to take on more.

My daughters are my soul- mates. They take pride in my work and never ever grudged on my commitments or timelines. I feel my work has some what helped make them more responsible and independent girls.

Ø What were some of the professional gains from the experience of marketing such fine products?

I come from the experience of working in regulated industry. It’s a challenge that makes you an exceptionally creative thinker. The products are lifestyle products with strong brand identifications. Brand Building is critical. This created a very sharp focus on Branding issues, Advertising and deep understanding of Consumer Insights.

I was also lucky often to work with significant marketing budgets and at a scale that any marketing professional will die for!

Ø As a woman manager, what was your experience – support, discrimination, bias or prejudice?

I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of my work and the work environment. Both at GPI & Seagram I was always ‘One of the Men’ as far as work is concerned. I have worked extensively with Paan walas, Liquor shops, bars on one hand and 5 star hotels, prestigious clubs, fashion events on the other. In my last assignment I was heading both Sales & Marketing for Groupe Pernod Ricard, a French Liquor Company that bought over Seagram in worldwide acquisition.

I have always maintained that if you are confident & earnest in your work then gender is never an issue. I have done all kinds of daring work in my profession but tried to keep certain dignity and honesty of purpose. In fact I can say that being part of a very small select group of women managers in these industries was a privilege and I would not like to have it any other way.

Ø How was it to make a transition from the corporate world to your own consulting practice?

Brand Parenting, set up in October, 2001, is a boutique Consulting Company focused on creating winning brand strategies for its clients. The partners collectively have over 30 years of experience across different industries. HealthCare and Lifestyle products are two major focus areas.

The objective is to offer this rich resource and cross-industry knowledge to both mid size and big size companies. We act as extended Marketing Arm of the client and work both on assignment and/or retainer-ship basis.

The transition to Brand Parenting has acted as an intellectual catalyst. With an opportunity to work for different products, one is always learning something new. There is never a dull moment. New brands, new products, new industries! In the process of working with different companies, one also gets a chance to observe the corporate dynamics more closely. You also learn to work with people with varied backgrounds, culture and competences.

Ø What have been the high points of being on your own?

Flexibility & Creative Freedom! Professionally work is more stimulating and varied. Personally now I have chance to experiment and experience new things in life. I am more conscious and aware as a person. I have time for myself. Yoga has added a new dimension to my life. I am a trained Yoga teacher helping others in enhancing their total wellbeing.

Ø From experience to teaching – any challenges?

Yes of course. I have had to go back to text books!

At Pearl School of Business we have a very dynamic approach to learning. Both our BBA & MBA programmes are driven by real life experiences and integration of different study streams. This has obviously given me a chance to share nuggets of my industry experience and build a theoretical context to the same.

Another welcome challenge has been the challenge to keep students’ enthusiasm sparkling and nurture their personality and confidence to be winners in the real business world

LN Mittal - the man and the leader

Prof Sanjay Kumar, Associate Professor, PSB and former CEO of Arcelor Mittal Algeria, talks about his experience with the trail-blazer of 21st century India, Mr LN Mittal. Prof Kumar can be reached on sanjay.kumar@psbg.in

What would you say about the outstanding qualities of LN Mittal the man?

A clear vision ,a disarming smile on his face and eyes, a mind focused on the task and an inclusiveness in his activities. These are what we all experienced from him.

It is said that Mr Mittal makes it a point to meet important community leaders in places where his plants are located. What’s behind this?

He believed that a steel plant was the most important presence in the locality and as the owner of this asset he had to give due attention to the local stakeholders. The local community leaders were one of these. He also believed that his role was to turnaround an asset and make it produce to its maximum. He looked upon himself as an asset builder and not as an asset stripper. So, sharing these goals with the local community leaders led to a common shared goal and this has been one reason why IR issues have not plagued his manufacturing activities.

Does he rely heavily on Indians to form his top management team?

This was never true. He relied on merit and in the initial days, it just so happened that some of his lieutenants were Indians. But, he never turned his back on a meritorious candidate just because he was a non Indian. There were many in his team who were/are non Indians. This impression gathered weight as his locations were such that most non Indians would avoid going there ( Temirtau in Kazakhstan, Annaba in Algeria, Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico are just a few of these locations) and so he came to rely more on a handful of capable Indians to pursue his goals.

Do you think the group is highly centralized around Mr Mittal?

Yes and no. Yes in the sense that he is not only the biggest shareholder but also the Chairman and the CEO. No because there is a well structured support team of global and regional managers, as well as a clear demarcation between operating units and corporate functions. All these result in a structure that ensures that a global operation spread over 28 countries and 65 locations is streamlined in its business goals and activities.

What would you say is his managerial style?

Participative. Decisive . Openminded . Balanced between long term goals and short term objectives. Results oriented : these are some of the attributes that come to mind.

Welcome to PSB

I am very happy to welcome you to this blog about academic activities in Pearl School of Business. We want to feature work which will generate discussion and debate leading to choices in the real world. Of course, we don't want these to become serious academic exercises for academicians. Rather it is a forum for conversations among practitioners, students and teachers.

Dr Zia Ul Huq of GBMF called Pearl School of Business the finest institution in Entrepreneurship Education in the whole of Asia precisely for this reason: there is a purposeful exploration of the art of Enterprise here.

The first in this series is Prof Sanjay Kumar talking about his experiences with LN Mittal of Arcelor-Mittal, a trail blazer in the twentyfirst century.

So read, comment, write and enjoy.