true mayu anna
A Better India, A Better World".By Infosys Narayana Murthy
The iconic face of the Indian IT industry, Infosys founder chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy spoke shortly before the release of his book "A Better India, A Better World".Murthy was certain that any book penned by him should not be about himself nor the rise of the IT empire he founded. Instead it is a collection of lectures he has given in India and abroad in recent years.Asked about his decision to give away his personal wealth to NGOs and fieldwork organizations, he said, "If Bill Gates has done it, so should I.”Narayana Murthy's book is frank about India's economic and social failures, as well as its successes.
When I look at the big canvas of India, I often feel confused, agitated and powerless—but also motivated to find solutions to the problems of poverty. We continue to rationalize our failures. No other society has mastered this trait as well as we have. Obviously this is an excuse to justify our incompetence, corruption and apathy. This attitude has to change.Asked for his wish list for the new government that is due to be installed in a few weeks' time, Murthy listed the all-important issue of food security for children as a top priority.
“Mid-day meals to alleviate hunger is even more important than healthcare,” he said.
Well, Murthy's book is being slated as a top seller of the season—high up on most reading lists this summer.
The Role of Marketing in Challenging Times
Every cloud has a silver lining and the current economic down turn- which started in the West but is having an inevitable worldwide impact- is no exception. Despite feeling anxious about the overall state of the global economy. The marketing bodies have found that marketers remain relatively optimistic about the fortunes of their own companies, and crucially, the prospects for marketers themselves.
How is this possible? Simple. Marketing is now at the very heart of business and is accepted as the competitive differentiator in these challenging times. In short, there is recognition that it will be those organizations that attract and retain professional marketers who will be best placed to ride out and even profit from the economic turbulence.
Why marketing? Surely when budgets are tight, the last thing you need is marketers overspending on ever so-creative but ever-so-ineffective campaigns? In fact, more and more organizations have woken up to the fact that qualified marketers can have a fundamental role not just in the here-and-now, but in the long term success if their business.
After all, marketing is about so much more than advertising or promotion. When times are tough, forward-thinking organizations need professionals adept in anticipating, identifying and then meeting customer and market needs. Never is this more relevant than at times like this, when competition for con
sumers’ spending becomes fierce. The survivors- the winners -0 will be those organizations able to respond quickly and appropriately to changes in their customers and markets.
In fact, in bracing themselves for challenging times, many marketers are already significantly altering their plans to cope with the rapidly different climate of the recession. They are adapting to the changing needs of their markets and customers; they are using their resources ever more wisely; and they are monitoring their achievements with growing precision.
What all this means is that there has never been a better time to be a professional marketer, for you have a key role to play in guiding companies through the tough times ahead. Being at the very forefront of business means this profession has more and more to offer both those embarking on a new career or those already working their way up the marketing career ladder.
Indeed, marketing is one of the most dynamic, constantly evolving profession. It encompasses a wide range of activities and skills- from number crunching and analysis right through to innovation and creativity. Marketing executives are involved in planning, advertising, promotion, public and media relations, PD, distribution, sponsorship and research- just name a few. And although marketers are found chiefly within the private sector, there are more and more marketing jobs in the public and not-for-profit sectors as the long-term benefits that responsible marketing brings become more evident. Social marketing too is how firmly on the agenda as a cultural force for beneficial global change.
Whilst the responsibilities of the role will course vary, depending on the size of the organization and sector, and whether the focus is on selling a product, service or raising awareness of an issue, what all marketing roles share is being in an exciting, varied and challenging role at the very centre of business.
Not only is marketing an exhilarating profession, it is also an increasingly popular one. Not only are unprecedented numbers of people choosing marketing as their profession of choice, but many millions of others are making marketing decisions as part of their everyday job role. This does not, however, mean that the profession is saturated. Indeed, it is the qualified marketer the situation, decide the best options and implement appropriate strategies to meet the rapid changes that lay ahead of us all.
For anyone in any doubt about the extent of the transformation within the sector, you need look no further how the techniques of marketing have changes hugely in the last 40 years with the spread of radio and then television, faster and more pictorial printing of newspapers and magazines and the growth of digital media.
The introduction of digital media alone has brought an explosion in the number of channels marketers can use. This year is just the 10th anniversary of the launch of Google. Moreover, we have, as marketers in recent years, had to take on board other business issues such as social responsibility, reputation management and increasingly demanding stakeholder communication.
I think, it’s our time for marketers. I would go so far as to say that as marketers, we are now requiring more than any other professional to understand the business and our role in delivering strategic business objective. Do you all agree?
The Makings of Today's Marketer
Today we operate in challenging world. The modern marketer's big challenge is the rapidly changing customer needs and wants.
Characteristics of the modern marketer
Today's marketer needs to show the following traits and competencies
1 - Creativity and innovativeness, specially the ability to challenge conventional methods of thinking and doing. Innovation is widely acclaimed as the single most important factor for corporate excellence. Marketers would do well to harness creative skills, by always challenging the "status quo". For example, there are several innovative methods of distributing and marketing products and services.
2 - Endurance is critical for the modern marketers, as markets today are characterized by phenomenal and perceptual change. In these challenging times, sheer grit and conviction become paramount. Marketers should remember the age-old cliché "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".
3- Absolute dedication and focus on customers at all times, striving to build relationships, by going that extra mile for the customer. Customers are not contented with marketers who merely satisfy their needs. They require modern marketers who will aspire to delight them.
4 - Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to get along and get the best out of people. Marketing is after all, a team game and to play in the team marketers must be team players. Many well qualified marketers fail to produce results, as their leadership and team management skills are poor. It is worthwhile to reiterate that marketing is a practical discipline that requires execution skills. It is people that make it happen.
5 - Strategic think is a must for the modern day marketer, contrary to the short-termism prevalent today. The modern marketer needs to be a visionary, with abilities to chart the future of their brands.
6 - Supreme self-confidence and positive attitudes are vital characteristics. This only comes with a comprehensive knowledge of your products and brands, organization, markets and job. Technical knowledge if technical products are marketed is a must. This is an area where marketers have been found wanting.
7 - Analytical skills: Modern marketers need to have an inquiring mind, supported by the willingness to analyze things. Perhaps the detective skills of a Sherlock Holmes and the analytical skills of a master strategist such as Ketan J Patel.
8 - Dynamism and initiative are two other vital characteristics. Basically, the ability to make things happen and to act faster and smarter. Present day marketers should be able to think and act their feet. Changing markets require swift decisions, to capitalize on evolving market opportunities.
This list is by no means exhaustive. However, they are probably the most important characteristics. Some of these have to be developed consciously in order to do so, skill development training should be undertaken, both on- and off-the-job.
Sony Ericsson posts loss, to cut 2,000 jobs
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday posted a €293 million ($387 million) net loss in the first quarter on falling sales and said it would slash an additional 2,000 jobs to cut costs.
The result was the third consecutive quarterly loss for the Sony and LM Ericsson AB joint venture, which reported a profit of €133 million in the same period in 2008.
Sales in the January-March quarter tumbled by 36 per cent to €1.7 billion, from €2.7 billion a year earlier.
Sony Ericsson attributed the sales drop to weaker demand for mobile phones, with distributors and retailers trimming inventories amid the economic slowdown.
The company shipped 14.5 million mobile devices in the quarter, down 35 per cent from a year ago.
"In summary it has been a difficult quarter and we expect this to continue through 2009," company President Dick Komiyama said during a conference call.
The results were largely in line with expectations. The London-headquartered company last month warned it expected to post a pretax loss ranging between €340 million and €390 million in the first quarter. The pretax loss landed at €370 million.
Shares in Ericsson rose 4.1 per cent to close at 79.10 kronor (€7.24; $9.54) in Stockholm.
Komiyama said Sony Ericsson plans a new round of restructuring aimed at reducing operating costs by €400 million by the middle of next year. About 2,000 jobs would be cut as part of the savings plan, which was estimated to cost about €200 million to implement.
"We are aligning our business to the new market reality with the aim of bringing the company back to profitability as quickly as possible," he said.
Komiyama declined to specify which countries and areas would be particularly affected by the layoffs, saying the details had not yet been finalized.
Sony Ericsson had earlier laid off 2,000 workers as part of a previous savings program.
Some analysts have criticized Sony Ericsson for focusing too much on the more expensive mid-range and high-end phones, thereby missing opportunities in emerging markets.
The average selling price of Sony Ericsson phones was €120 in the first quarter — compared with €65 for devices from market leader Nokia Corp.
Nokia on Thursday reported a 90 per cent plunge in the first quarter, but shares surged as the Finnish company maintained its industry outlook and target of increasing market share this year.
Sony Ericsson said its market share fell 2 per centage points to about 6 per cent. The company said it expects the global handset market to shrink "at least 10 per cent."
IPL LIVE CRICKET : WATCH ONLINE
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE CRICKET
http://67.228.91.77/~bhejacri/
Since our national chennels and LBN's fail to broadcast the hot cricket i am hardly looking for. I was able to find some websites on google where i can see IPL T20 20 2009 free cricket streaming online in high quality. Then i found some interesting websites links after searching using these keywords in google “ipl cricket live, ipl live cricket match, Set max live, Sony max live, watch live cricket ipl, view live cricket, freedocast, sopcast, justin tv, ustream, flash, mms, windows media player, TVU, oox tv”
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE CRICKET
for other links
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)