IMCI Delhi 18th ABCeMag 311209

de-limiting excellence
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India,
Delhi
Dear Reader,
No editorial, No big talks…
Presenting the 18th ABCeMag in
5 times its size.
Alag Tewar, Alag Flavour…in
true spirits and actions.
Have a great year 2010…
Cheers,
Be alw ays at w ar
with your vices, at Rajiv Khurana, CMC, FIMC
peace with your Chairman, IMCI, Delhi
neighbours, and let
each new year find
you a better person.
~Benjamin Franklin
December 16-31,
2009
Certified Management Consultant TM

The international credentials of a
professional management consultant,
reciprocally recognised by global members imcidelhi@gmail.com, www.imcidelhi.com
of the International Council Of Management http://sites.google.com/site/imcidelhi,
Consulting Institutes [ICMCI] http://twitter.com/imcidelhi
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
IMCI Delhi during 2009 [1 st April…]
India,
Delhi •Expanding the focus to Academia, Business
and Consulting instead of confining to
consultants alone
•Launching this fortnightly eMag: ABCeMag
- delimiting excellence. – This is the 18th
issue. It has always been on or before time,
i.e., 1st and 16th of every month.
•Held 20 public events including hosting a
four event International Management
Consultants' Week during July 16 - 22, 2009.
Attendance in each of our programme has
ranged from 26 to 172. We have
experimented with new programme formats
including T20Camps, Guru Speaks and
Professionals Round Table successfully.
•Creating a group 'imci - delhi' on
linkedin.com with over 335 members across
the globe. Check linkedin.com. Search for
the group ‘imci – delhi’ to be a member.
•Making IMCI Delhi accessible on twitter.com
•Webcasting videos of all events on
youtube.com and msn video. Type
'imcidelhi' on youtube or msn and see the
coverage.
•Podcasting all the talks in mp3 and making
it available through box.net. Type 'imcidelhi'
on box.net and listen/download.
December 16-31, •Making over 1450 pictures available to all
2009
participants of the events and general public
through picasa.
•Tying up with professional bodies and
hosting joint programmes in New Delhi. This
…time to includes All India Management Association,
blow a bit Standing Committee of Public Sector
2/50 of our Enterprises, International Management
trumpet Institute and Consultancy Development
Alag Tewar, Centre.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India,
Delhi
December 16-31,
2009
3/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India,
Delhi Right from the nation wide political parties to small
size board rooms , we all make RESOLUTIONS.
Each beginning of the new year, these resolutions
gain great significance for every executive and non-
executive. No one bothers to re-look at them once
In 2010… the euphoria dies out in a fortnight. Resolutions are
resolutions…they are meant to be broken. Not any
Be more. This year I have resolved to give you
positive, resolutions which you will love to nurture and
sustain. I am opening my heart before you. Pick
Act and choose these random outflows:-
negative -This year I will increase my weight by another 10
kg and waistline by 3 inches. I dislike wastage.
Waistline is a small compromise for the food on the
waste-line during every corporate party.
-This year I will fall sick more often or at least
pretend to fall sick more often. I do not like my
medical entitlements going down the drain. Tax
laws and my company do not bother to give me
medical fitness allowance. I have to live with
medical sickness allowance.
-This year I will spend at least one hour every time
during my 15 minutes tea/coffee break. How else
can I cope up with so many things happening the
world over in politics, hollywood, bollywood,
neighbourhood etc. All efforts made by persons like
Rajiv Osama will go waste if we do not take note of them.
Khurana
December 16-31, -This year I will spend more time admiring Miss
CMC, FIMC
2009 Dilruba Dilwali who has now shifted on the same
floor where I work. Keats said, “A thing of beauty is
International a joy forever.” I do not know why people in
Management management do not follow this with poetic heart.
Trainer and
Consultant, -This year I will deliberately give wrong and delayed
Author, information to my superiors. How else will they
4/50 Newspapers understand my significance and the conditionalities
Columnist, with in which I work? Low or no increments only
Photography lead to low or no performance.
Alag Tewar,
Enthusiast
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of -This year I will be more competitive. Even though KBC has
India, gone down, there are other competitions which have emerged.
Delhi I am told that now the web based competitions have also
started. Great news for competition buffs like me! Sitting on
my computer, I can always pretend to work while surfing to
upgrade my general knowledge. I will also continue doing my
kids homework this way.
-This year I will act as a great communication network link
amongst my colleagues during office hours. I will maintain a
live and active database of who is seeing whom, who ate with
whom, who dropped whom etc. etc. I will try to have at least
one transmission every hour through net or through phone.
People will bless me for this service.
-This year I will use office stationary and photocopier more
often. These days, book stores don’t sell good quality
notebooks for children for rough work. Our office stationary is
much better. My children will save a lot of their time through
my little efforts of copying their notes on the office
photocopier. As usual, I will continue giving the office erasers,
pens, pencils etc. as return gifts on my children’s birthdays.
-This year I will use the corporate entertainment card more
often. My wife has been complaining a lot that I have not been
taking her out quite often these days.
-This year I will apply a lot of butter to my boss. Poor old man
has been suffering from arthritis for quite some time. I hope a
bit of lubrication supplied regularly by me can boost up his
mental and physical self.
-This year I will complain more about my colleagues to my
superior. In my last program, the trainer talked about building
December 16-31, ownership. I must own the responsibility of informing my
2009
superior about what my colleagues do, should do or do not
do. My colleagues have become quite complacent of late.
They should start living and adjusting to the environment of
un-predictability and increasing stress.
-This year I will give some more tough time to my customers.
They have been thinking too high of themselves of late. They
5/50
should realize that american scenario cannot be super
imposed in India. The ford of America has to move at the
Alag Tewar, speed of ox-ford in India.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of -This year I will devote more time to Indian
India, cricket. What can these boys do if the
Delhi general public is losing interest because of
their unpredictable performance? How can
performance boost up if there are less
viewers in the stadium or before the TV?
Large viewer-ship means large modeling
roles means large money means large
possibility of field presence and
performance [provided some actress is not
waiting in the pavilion!].
-This year I will talk a lot. The great Indian
past time needs strengthening. At least
something should emerge stronger from
India. Big talks, Big promises, Big vision,
Big noise etc. can go in a big way to boost
our credibility. So what if no body listens,
people in any case do not talk because
others have to listen.
-This year I will be a proud Indian. I have
always been. I will always remain. Lip
service is not expensive. So what if I do
not help the accident victim on the road, so
what if I do not pay my taxes, so what if I
do not work enough, so what if I believe in
‘chalta hai’. Things keep moving because
of ‘chalta hai’. I will also keep moving.
I liked what somebody said, “Better to get
up late and be wide awake, than to get up
early and be tired all day?” I sometime
December 16-31, wonder, “In this fast paced world, who are
2009
we racing against?” No one but our fears.
Shed them. Sit down. Calm down. Life will
not change drastically for you within a
year. Why worry? Extinguish your fire.
Don’t become a spent force.
6/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India,
Delhi
& IMCI Delhi
4th Round Table:
Lessons for learning,
December 21, 2009
unlearning and relearning
in consulting practice
Session Chairperson: Dr. S R Mohnot

Dialogue Initiator: Rajiv Khurana
See pictures taken by Mr. Vijay Nagrani and Mr. Devesh Verma at
http://tinyurl.com/yhw42ms
A report by:
December 16-31,
2009
S A Khader
A productivity &
competitiveness
consultant and a
consultant
7/50 trainer, with life-
time association
with indian
productivity
Alag Tewar, movement
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management Lessons for learning, unlearning and
Consultants of relearning in consulting practice
India,
Delhi Consulting is truly an evolving professional practice for every
consultant; because it is possibly 70% art (relationship-
management) and 30% is technical & scientific methodology.
Some people rightly state that consulting is predominantly
relationship management as a consulting intervention gets
effectively executed with the creative involvement and
participation of the client and his representatives. Finally the
success of a consultancy in terms of realizing its gains of
implementation is better ensured when the consultant is in a
position to create an element of trust & confidence in his sincerity
and rationality as well as objectivity in solving the client’s problem
and this, further leads to new business development with or
through the same client. Considering these vital aspects of
management consulting profession, IMCI Delhi has organized a
Round Table (RT) on 21st Dec. at Consultancy Development
Center (CDC) with the focus of Learning’s & Un-learning’s in
Consulting Practice, as relationship management is period sensitive
and dynamic in the fast changing market & value system of the
clientele. No less a person of the caliber and prudence in
relationship management and the current chairman of IMCI Delhi,
Mr. Rajiv Khurana initiated the discussions, while Bhishma Pita-
Maha of consulting profession in Delhi i.e. Dr. SR Mohnot
moderated the deliberations. RT was attended by about twenty
senior professionals from the consulting community in and around
NCT of Delhi added value to their deliberations.
Dr.Mohnot, in his initial remarks created a setting for the round -
table, by delineating the three unique features of management
consulting profession; namely i) learning, ii) de-
learning/unlearning and iii) re-learning as a cyclical feature of
December 16-31, consulting; without which long term success in not possible. This
2009
is somewhat similar to popular concept of Deming’s P-D-C-A
cycle (originally known as Shewhart-cycle). He lucidly
demonstrated this concept by delineating 6-processes involved in a
consulting intervention; these being i) Learning, ii) Unlearning/de-
learning, iii) Re-learning, iv) Application, v) Delivery and vi)
Evaluation, and then learning etc; the cycle goes on and on.
8/50 Subsequently, the key discussant Mr. Rajiv Khurana initiates the
subject of the day with ten key lessons (as A to J of excellence in
consulting) that he learnt the hard way in his 25 years of consulting
Alag Tewar, experience with the Indian corporate.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, A:Avoid Over Selling & Over Staying - Learn to
Delhi provide such of those services that one is qualified and
confident of providing & there is need to demonstrate
your humility in this regard, while asserting
professionalism. As a consultant one would earn
goodwill of the client, if he does not show an inkling of
sticking-on with the project and withdraw once his TOR
is accomplished
B:Beat Your Record Consistently – Learning & re-
learning is the name of he game that enables a
consultant to reduce his cycle-time and improve upon
his deliveries at lower costs. One should remember &
follow the Moore’s Law of IT sector of halving the price
with doubling of the output/capacity of storage.
C:Create & Share the Client ‘Black List’ – It is
always prudent and also good service to the profession
to widely propagate the blacklisted clients, who were
found difficult & disrespectful to the ethics and code of
the professional practice
D:Develop & Fine-tune IT Skills – IT has become an
effective language of consultants and judicious use of
IT tools add to the efficiency and effectiveness
(productivity) to compete in the fast changing market
for consultants
E:Excel in Subtle Marketing (Make your Presence
felt) – try resorting to value-adding interventions in
open & public meetings so as to make your presence
felt (possibly by raising issues of contemporary
relevance and vital from the angle of society, enterprise
and people) and arousing enquiries about you in the
December 16-31, audience
2009 F:Follow Ethical Standards & Highlight them – It is
not only prudent to follow the code of ethics and more
important is to impress upon more explicitly that you
have full conviction and commitment to all facets of the
code.
9/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of G:Give ‘Jhunga’ to clients – much more than the
India, TOR – One must realize that it is human tendency to
Delhi expects some thing more than what is contractually
offered, it is the case even in simple groceries
shopping in India (known as Kosuru, Pao etc in
vernacular); consultancy can be no different.
H:Handover Success on a Platter to clients People
– It is said that a consultant should have two self-
satisfying traits; these are - he should be thick-skinned
to put up with the criticisms & comments from the
client & his representatives and other he should be
self-less in giving extra credit to the client and his
people
I:Invest in Clients People & Stay away from
Internal Politics – Focusing on developing clients
people takes the consultant a long way in creating
confidence across the board and wins over a large
section of clients environment, very helpful in
implementation and future business
J:Juggle with your Hobbies & Balance your Life
Well - For remaining focused in the challenging
environment and retaining much needed creativity &
innovation in objective problem solving, it is essential
to maintain a healthy routine for a consultant.
These guidelines evoked a lot of discussion amongst

the RT participants who lucidly shared their
experiences centering on ethics in consulting in highly
competitive environment, consulting business
development, consulting culture in the country, undue-
advantage enjoyed by the clients owing to flexibility in
December 16-31,
consulting business etc. Finally, the RT concluded that
2009 ‘Passion to serve the clients’ in an honest way is
central to excellence in consulting any where in the
globe and it is no different in India. Consultants need
to develop pride in what they are doing and look for
long term goals and gains, as against short terms
benefits. RT concluded with vote of thanks to the chair
& the participants.
10/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, IMCI – FMS
Delhi
Workshop Series
on
“Cracking the
Organizational
Selection
Process”
December 24 and
27,2009
December 16-31,
2009
11/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of IMCI – FMS

Workshop Series on
Management “Cracking the Organizational Selection Process”
Consultants of December 24 and 27,2009
India, In keeping with the resolve of IMCI Delhi to build closer
Delhi ties with academic institutes, business houses and
consultants, two workshops were conducted in one of the
most prestigious Business School of the country, the
Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.
Special mention must be made of the contribution of
Professor J.K.Mitra and Professor A. Venkataraman who
initiated the idea in their discussions with us. The credit
for the smooth conduct of the workshops must be given
most deservedly to the Corporate Relations and
Placement committee representatives for their hard work
and organizing skills. The courtesy extended by them to
the resource persons was of a very high order. The
resource persons for the series were Mr. Mohit Malik, an
IIM alumnus and Founder, Anoova Consulting (
http://AnoovaConsulting.Biz ), a business consulting firm
that helps entrepreneur led firms grow successfully;
columnist for Business World, along with IMCI Delhi office
bearers Mr. Rajiv Khurana, Mr. Sumit Chaudhuri, Mr.
Vijay Nagrani and Mr. S.A.Khader.
In the words of the participating students, “The workshops
were very useful, with the interview tips creating a strong
foundational base and the “one-on-one” interviews with
each of the candidates giving a flavor of the real challenge
ahead for us. The importance of finding about what the
company wants and what it is looking for was stressed as
part of our preparations. It was rightly said that “people
will not give a job because of your reasons, people will
give a job because of their reasons”
December 16-31, Learning was given vital importance and not just
2009
qualifications. “Qualifications don’t build careers, it is what
you do with the qualification that will build your career”
epitomised the point that was put forward by the resource
persons. Useful interview tips such as the importance of
vitality, the psycho-somatic relationship, the significance
of packaging one’s skills was stressed upon.
12/50
This was followed by the “Business Consulting’ and
“Marketing, Sales & Distribution” sessions and “One-on-
Alag Tewar, One” interviews.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, Business Consulting
Delhi
The workshop, intended to serve as a guide in the
preparation for consulting interviews, began with the
foremost principle of Consulting: “A consultant is
supposed to provide a solution”. However, this comes with
a precursor too, that a consultant may also have to
“Identify the problem”, before he/she can come up with
the solution.
Consulting interviews require the interviewee to have a
structured thinking process. This is necessary to analyze
the problem in all its dimensions, and add business logic
to the proposed solutions. It is also possible that there
could be multiple solutions to a specific issue, and all
possible alternatives should be open for discussion.
To keep the interviewer in sync with the thought process,
a decision tree structure is usually recommended. This
not only helps the candidate in analyzing the various
options / facets to the issue, but also adds sequence and
hierarchy. This hierarchy would be of use when in-depth
analysis of a particular facet is to be done.
Parallels were also drawn from the Structure Conduct
Performance (SCP) Model, as used by McKinsey and
Co., and how this is a more useful tool to analyze the
dynamics of an industry, rather than presenting a static
picture of the various forces in operation. This also came
with a caveat that frameworks studied in the classroom,
especially the ones that are used in strategic decisions,
are not meant to be used as is for analyzing but the key
issue is that all analysis should be carried out in a
December 16-31, structured manner and that is the real framework. So the
2009
effort in a consulting interview has to be to use the
available frameworks to develop a thought process and
should not be treated as an end in themselves.
With the above guidelines, it is expected that the
interviewees would be able to fully appreciate the situation
at hand, and arrive at a meaningful approach to solving
13/50 the same.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of Marketing, Sales & Distribution

Management
Consultants of The session on the nuances of sales and distribution, started with
understanding of the motive as to why should sales precede marketing
India, in career planning terms, the reason being that it is the field experience
Delhi that brings clarity to the adoption of a strategy.
To bring forth the difference in the promotional content for different
categories of products, the variation in the communication content for
an FMCG product and an insurance policy was used. To carry forward
the nitty-gritty of sales promotion, the concept of a self-liquidating
premium was brought up, which stems from a strategic tie-up between
the producers of complementary goods. It serves as a mode to reduce
costs for logistics and marketing, as well as reduce the demand
fluctuations for the complementary goods. However, the original
manufacturer can sell the goods at a lower price, which is still paid by
the customer. Thus, the manufacturers earn the same premium,
although the selling price is reduced.
The session went forward with the kinds of launches for a product –
breakthrough, me-too, sampling, celebrity promotions or
demonstrations.
The skill of selling, as exemplified by the power of persuasion through
fair means, and being able to put forth the point even when
counteracted, is the basic foundation on which the understanding of
Sales should be laid upon.
“One-on-One” Interviews
Quoting the Placement Committee members, “The interviews with the

industry stalwarts were thoroughly useful. The interviews were based on
the ground issues and the candidates’ understanding of the basic
concepts of sales, distributor-retailer relationship, the 7Ps of services
marketing, and many other basic concepts. Stress was given to the
learning from the summer internship and projects done. The candidates
presence of mind was tested very well with questions which required
December 16-31, spontaneity and immediate response. The feedback given for interviews
2009
was also very relevant and useful in giving a direction to our efforts for
the days to come.
The “one on one’ interviews was a big value add in addition to the
interview tips which in essence gave a very good footing on which we
can base our further preparations. Overall, a very good workshop with
many learning opportunities.”
14/50
( This report has been prepared based on inputs from Mr. Rishabh
Gupta, Associate, Corporate Relations and Placement, Faculty of
Alag Tewar, Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi )
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management The Global Crisis
The world is going through a serious crisis. Indian
Consultants of heritage values are coming back as most relevant in
India, sharp relief. The most important value of the India
Delhi civilisations is Dharma, Righteousness. The current
crisis began as a Financial Crisis in the US, in the
middle of 2008. It has led to an Economic Crisis. Not
surprisingly, the end impact is a Socio-Political crisis.
Dharma for The US has gone through the fears of a Depression 2,
Management reminiscent of the Great Depression of the 1930s. In a
connected global “village” economy, the US crisis has
in the current impacted all parts of the world. The European Union is
Global Crisis in Recession, which, technically, means a fall in GDP.
Japan is experiencing a drop in all prices, which is
worse than moderate Inflation. Emerging markets, like
India and China are also compelled to pay an
involuntary, indirect tax, in the form of a Downturn,
which is a lower rate of growth than in recent years.
From a high growth rate of 9%, India may grow at only
6% this year.
The Crisis of Values
While the crisis visible on the surface is a Financial-
Economic-Social crisis, the underlying, root cause is a
Value Crisis. It is the deadly impact of the actions of a
few with high, specialised Apara Vidya, worldly
knowledge, without adequate Para Vidya,
transcendental knowledge, or commitment to it.
Among others, five aspects of the value crisis are
worth noting.
First is the sin of “Short Term-ism” – going for quarterly
and similar short term results, with apparent gains, and
Dr. M B Athreya
ignoring the long term, with real risks. One of the
qualities stressed even in the Subhashitaani,
December 16-31, Management Panchatantra, etc. is that of a Deerghadarshi, one who
2009 Guru. Former can look well ahead; anticipate; avoid pitfalls; and take
Professor - IIM the right actions.
Kolkata, London and
Second has been a high degree of Lobham, greed.
Scottish Business
Schools. Chair and Executives in the financial sector, especially in Wall
Member of Street were rewarded with high salaries and bonuses.
Government Policy The rewards were so “powerful” that they cut corners
Committees. Advisor to show results and earn the pay offs. Vedanta
15/50 to industry,
recognises the shad ripu, six enemies – Kaama,
government and
NGOs. Desire; Krodha, Anger; Lobha, Greed; Moha,
Alag Tewar, Infatuation; Mada, Arrogance; Maatsarya, Attachment.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Third, the senior management of the financial and other
Management large firms, connived at such behaviour, hoping it won’t
Consultants of be found out. They did not live up to their role of the
India, Sreshtha, the Elite, with great responsibility to be Role
Delhi Models; to Walk the Talk; through their Aacharan,
Conduct; and the Pramaanam, Standards that they set.
Fourth, the Regulatory Agencies were lax in their
overseeing roles. They ignored some external signals
and internal warnings. They believed too much in the
market being efficient and self-regulating. They took
the rise in share prices as an indicator of health, even
when the valuations were not justified. They did not
apply strict principles and systems of Nireekshanam,
inspection; and Vichaaram, examination.
Finally, in some cases, there was political collusion in
not preventing the crisis; even in causing it; and
deepening it. Some of it was due to a commitment to a
particular, ideological orthodoxy. Some of it, due to
party and political gains. Those in seats of power in
government, both political and administrative, did not
follow Raaja Dharma, the ethics of the rulers.
Multi-level Dharma
There are dozens of relevant ethical principles and
examples in the Indian heritage. The most central
concept is Dharma, Righteous Action. The word itself
has deep and profound implications. Dhr, dhar iti
Dharma. That which upholds any society, organisation,
family, or individual is dharma. Dharmo rakshati
rakshitah. If we protect dharma, in turn, it protects us.
It is applicable at various levels of human affairs.
At the apex level, it is Raaja Dharma, the ethics of the
rulers. Yathaa raja, tathaa prajaah. As is the King, so
December 16-31, are the subjects. This is especially true in a democracy,
2009 where the elected rulers are expected to be more
accountable; deliver on their promises and deserve
reelection. Indian history has many examples of Kings
exemplary for their practice of Raaja Dharma, such as
Maharajas Aja, Prithu, Bharata, Janaka, Rama and
Yudhishthira. The raaja is expected to see to the
welfare and happiness of the people, law and order;
16/50 conducive conditions for business, administration of
justice etc.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management Next comes Sreshtha Dharma, the ethics of the elite. The Sreshtha,
Consultants of Elite need to be grateful for the opportunity of birth; education; work;
learning and other inputs which have enabled them to reach their
India, positions. The elite, by definition, is a smaller group compared to the
Delhi
mass of the people. They need to approach their status not as a
prerogative to dominate and exploit the people; resources; systems
etc. to the benefit of themselves, their families, close friends and
community. On the contrary, they have a great responsibility to
protect, serve, and develop the people.
Our shaastraas do not advocate paternalism from above, and
dependence from below. They also emphasise Prajaa Dharma, the
duties of the citizenry. The individual has the responsibility to be a
good student, worker, parent, neighbour etc. In modern parlance, this
would include civic sense in terms of paying taxes; avoiding the black
market, not indulging in crime, damage to public property, etc.
At all levels of Dharma, such as the above three dharmas, and others,
there are two variants. The one applicable more of the time, under
normal conditions of peace and process, is Saamaanya Dharma,
General Ethics. The other is applicable in unusual situations, which
do not remain so forever, but return to normal, sooner or later.
Examples are the current global crisis, war, terrorism, Naxal/Maoist
violence; drought; earth quake; life threat; etc. It is Vishesha Dharma,
Special Ethics. It is more of an exception, than the rule.
Management Applications of Dharma

The above and similar dimensions of Dharma can be applied for
better management of affairs in Business; Government; and Society.
There is extensive scope and crying need for Dharma in Corporate
Management. A relevant aspect of Dharma for Businessmen and
Executives is that of Vaishya Dharma. Kautilya’s Arthashaastra and
other texts stress many aspects of business ethics. Business should
make profits, but not profiteer. It should stay viable and self-
sustaining. It should provide jobs and livelihood; pay taxes; etc. In
December 16-31,
2009 addition, during emergencies of drought; famine; floods; earthquake;
epidemics; etc. the vyaapaari, trader, should feed, clothe and ensure
the survival of his employees and local communities, so that they are
available for work, consumption and growth, when normalcy returns.
This is what would today be called CSR – Corporate Social
Responsibility.
17/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of Another fundamental principle for management is that of Vishwastha, the

Management trustee. It is a concept that Mahatma Gandhi revived during the freedom
Consultants of movement, when there was close cooperation between the freedom
fighters and Indian business leaders. The term has come into wider use
India, worldwide. The implication is that a management should look at itself as a
Delhi Trustee of all the stakeholders – customers; shareholders; employees;
vendors; dealers; partners; society. All the stakeholders have entrusted
their resources to the company, and staked their future with it. The trust
should not be betrayed.
In a globally and locally competitive environment, of particular importance
is Atithi Dharma; ethics towards the customer, treating her/him as “Atithi
devo bhava”, the guest is God. Gandhiji stressed the customer as “the
most important person in our business”, in his famous 1931 speech.
Modern Marketing Management books and articles begin with the primacy
of the customer as Queen/King.
In business, the concept of Sreshtha Dharma is very relevant to
executives and supervisors, at all levels, who have been delegated
authority and accountability. They should practise this dharma towards
their subordinates. Act as a “Maalaakaara” the gardener who tends many
plants; picks the right flowers; and makes beautiful garlands, day after
day. They should be like the Guru, teacher; with juniors as their Sishyas,
Disciples. Carry out coaching, counselling, mentoring and talent
development.
Dharma in Government
Ministers and officials should be like a Raaja Rishi, as Kings like Janaka
were called. They should combine the austere life style of a Rishi, Sage,
and the State craft of a Raaja, King. In a later era, Plato also advocated
the need for the Philosopher-King. In our contemporary era of
democracy, the relevant term is Philosopher - Statesman. The call is to
“Not just be a Politician; but become a Statesman”.
Every Government official, and employee, from the President, Prime
Minister, Governor, Chief Minister down to the Panchayat staff should
work for Loka Sangraha, public good. That means putting the public
December 16-31, above oneself; one’s department; ministry; states etc. Prevent corruption.
2009
Ensure that the budget allocations, from tax revenues, from the
hardworking Corporate and individual tax payers are spent on the target
population, without leakages.
In the current crisis, the GoI Budget 2009-10 has made huge allocations
for the Social Sector. This can be justified as the Government’s Visesha
Dharma. But, it carries with it the risks of inflation, higher interest rates, or
18/50 squeezing liquidity. To prevent these dangers, government employees
need to perform kushala karma, efficient work, as per one of the
definitions of Yoga as “Yogah karmasu kaushalam”, Yoga is dexterity in
Alag Tewar, all work.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management In any society, government has to be the ultimate
Consultants of sanction to ensure that “Satyam eva jayate”, Truth
alone will prevail. Some government departments,
India, corporates, NGOs, and citizens will be tempted,
Delhi
from time to time, to deviate from Satyam, to
suppress it. This happened recently in a company
whose name included the word Satyam!
Fortunately, through a transparent process, the
core of the company has been acquired by another
reputed company. The promoter and some of his
close associates are suffering punishment for their
deviation from Satyam. Our heritage allows for
Paschataapam, Contrition and Praayaschittam,
Making Amends.
Self Management
The foundation of the Corporate, NGO and
Governmental superstructure is the individual.
She/he should practise Prajaa Dharma, Ethics of
the Citizen. To begin with, the model for each
person is to pursue Purushaarthaas, Life Goals.
There are four – always in the same prescribed
order – Dharma, Ethics; Artha, Wealth; Kaama,
Desires; and Moksha, Transcendence. In the
current crisis, one should find a balance between
the pulls of Consumerism, on the one hand; and a
prudent Thrift, on the other. Every employee
should try to evolve beyond a karmachaari, worker,
to that of a Karma Yogi, a dedicated contributor,
without excessive focus on personal benefits.
Those who basic needs are met should practice
PSR – Personal Social Responsibility. Help the
less fortunate with literacy, skills, health, art, culture
December 16-31,
2009 etc.
Conclusion
Dharma is very relevant. A silver lining of the
otherwise painful current crisis is that people
everywhere will become more aware of it; and
return to it. Indians, as the originators and
19/50 inheritors have a special responsibility and
opportunity to do so; and share it with the rest of
the world.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of Consultants operate in a highly competitive environment.

Management Credibility, ethics and governance are great challenges,
Consultants of particularly when there is no barrier to the entry to the
profession. Any body can claim to be a consultant.
India, There have been persistent efforts to govern and
Delhi regulate the activities of consulting profession.
Significant efforts are made by IMCI to professionalize
consulting by promoting Certified Management
Consultant (CMC). CMC suffix implies that the
consultant has met strict certification requirements of
qualifications, experience, consulting competence,
objectivity, impartiality and independence established by
Professionalism the Institute. The consultant is expected to have the
in Management requisite degree of professionalism in terms of
Consulting knowledge, analytical skills, right attitude and behaviour.
But what do we really mean by Professionalism? There
is no definite or precise definition of Professionalism. It
includes a wide range of skills, attitudes, behaviour,
values and ethics. Similarly, there is no standard
definition of a professional. Generally a person following
a learned profession such a consultant, a lawyer, a
doctor, an architect or an engineer is called a
professional. It is understood that a professional
undergoes specialised training, gains necessary
experience and is generally a member of a specialised
Institution or an Association. The organisations such
as Consultancy Development Centre (CDC)[1], Institute
of Management Consultants of India (IMCI)[2],
International Council of Management Consulting Institute
(ICMCI)[3] , CEAI-Consulting Engineers Association of
India and FIDIC-The International Federation of
Consulting Engineers, play an important role in setting
and enforcing standards for consulting profession. The
Ramesh Tyagi code of professional conduct set by these organisations
December 16-31, is expected to be followed by the consultants who are
2009 Consultant of repute
in the International members of these organisations. They are expected to
field. Area of uphold and follow the meaning and value of the ethics
specialization: laid down by these organisations for the profession.
Business plans, Generally, they pledge in writing to abide by the
feasibility studies,
Institute’s Code of Professional conduct. Their
entrepreneurship
development, adherence signifies voluntary assumption of self-
20/50 productivity discipline.
improvements and
competitiveness,clus [1] Website www.cdc.org.in
Alag Tewar, ter development for
2 Website www. imcindia.co.in
Alag Flavour SMEs.
[3] Website www.icmci.org
Institute of Academic qualifications do not necessarily guarantee

Management high degree of professionalism. As somebody had
Consultants of said ’Professional is not a title you claim for
yourself; it is an adjective you hope other people
India, will apply to you. You have to earn it.’[1]
Delhi Professionals can be depended upon for their
decisions and advice. They care about relationship
with the client and can be trusted to put their interest
first. They strictly observe principles of behaviour and
ethics.
Intangible assets of a consultant are of two types:
Knowledge Assets’ or ‘Intellectual Assets’ and
‘Reputation Assets’. Reputation assets are derived
from external perceptions, brands, and
communications and are extremely important for
professionalism.
Consultant to achieve professionalism should develop
a number of skills in addition to the knowledge of the
area of specialisation. These include: effective
management of client relationship, earning trust and
confidence, integrity, right attitude and behaviour.
Business schools train the students in functional
disciplines. Consulting requires many more skills
other than functional disciplines. Few business
schools provide explicit training in consulting skills
and issues of professionalism and ethics.
‘Consulting skills range from proposal writing to
interview methods, to reducing complex analysis to
communicable insights and to persuading reluctant
clients to make difficult changes. Every MBA
programme should sponsor at least one course in
consulting.’[2]
Large consulting organisations have their own brand
value and code of ethics. To stand out from the
December 16-31, crowd, Individual and small consulting organisations
2009
may become member of professional bodies such as
CDC and IMCI, uphold the code of ethics laid down
by these organisations and obtain certified
management consultant status.
[1] David H.Moister, True Professionalism (New York:

21/50 Free Press , 1997)
[2]The changing global Consulting Industry-Flemming
Poulfelt, Larry greiner and Arvind Bhambri
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, Global Financial Melt Down & Indian
Delhi Economy
The financial crisis of 2008 lead to steep
decline of stock market indices affected by
the dwindling down of the prices of shares
& securities prices to the levels of 10 to
30% in different countries. The crisis got
Management triggered off basically due to the
combination of unregulated growth of
Consultancy post housing mortgages and investment banking
Financial operations and so-called sub-prime lending
Tsunami in US has affected the financial & banking
sector and subsequently the real economy.
This became a contagion characterized by
slumping demand, plunging production,
resultant job-losses and seizure of credit
markets. This has affected not only the
advanced economies, but also hither-to
insulated emerging economies too and
forced IMF to revise their estimate for
global growth in 2009 to range between (-
)1.0 to (-) 0.5 per cent., a contraction first
of its kind in 60 years. Further, US, Europe
and Japan being high consumers of goods
and services produced by other nations, any
impact on these markets is bound to affect
the exports and imports and thus affecting
the economies of many countries globally.
As a result some counties and
subcontinents are passing through different
December 16-31,
2009 S A Khader stages of depression/recession/slowing
down or down-turn. The world-trade is
A productivity & projected to contract by about 2.8% during
competitiveness 2009, the fastest pace of shrinkage in the
consultant and a last 80 years. The international community
consultant rightly named this phenomenon as
trainer, with life- ‘Economic Tsunami.’ One could visualize
22/50 time association the kind of impact it is likely to have on an
with indian emerging & globalizing economy like that
productivity of India.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour movement
Institute of
Management The India being one of the least globalize economies is
Consultants of facing the down turn or a mere reduction in the rate of
growth that averaged to 9.0% over previous five year
India, period to a rate of 5.5%. One could reassure oneself that
Delhi
this 5.5% is much above the Hindu-rate of growth of
3.5% that India witnessed for over three decades in the
past. But, the aspirations of emerging society and
expectations on QWL of burgeoning middle class of India
can not be met without good growth. However, it is
observed that India and China are much better off during
these days of global melt down impacting economies of
USA with depression, Europe with recession and Japan
facing acute deflation. Despite, the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP) just grew around 1.3% in August 2008
and became negative (-3%) in March 09, it is now
realized that the down turn is getting arrested during this
quarter and now it is hoped that during first half of 2009,
economic growth would be 6.5% and subsequent half
year would witness 7% GDP growth and in two years
ahead it is likely to catch up with 9% (i.e. by 2011) as per
the latest estimates. The silver-lining is that Indian
exports are rising slowly during the last month (April 09)
compared to April 08, after a steep fall of 30% during
March 09. Both the government and Reserve Bank of
India responded to the challenges in close coordination
and consultation resulting in government focusing on
fiscal stimulus and RBI‘s concentrated in monetary
accommodation and counter cyclical regulatory
measures. These included maintaining comfortable rupee
liquidity, augmenting foreign exchange liquidity and
maintaining a policy framework that would keep the
credit delivery on track so as to arrest moderation in
growth. The government’s fiscal stimulus amounting to
December 16-31,
2009 3% of GDP included additional public spending,
government guaranteed funds for infrastructure spending,
cuts in indirect axes, expanded guarantee cover for credit
to MSME; all on top of the already announced expanded
safety-net programs for rural poor, a farm loan waiver
package and salary increases for government staff, so as
to stimulate internal demand.
23/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Consultancy and its Imperatives
Institute of According to current RBI Governor, Dr. D Subbarao, the heart of India’s growth (in
Management the recent past) is i). a growing entrepreneurial spirit, ii) rise in productivity and iii)
increasing savings, complemented by benign global environment, easy liquidity and
Consultants of low interest rates. From this, one can infer the relevance and importance of the role
India, played by the consulting sector in supporting the economic and social sectors with its
Delhi knowledge-based services that strengthen the management’s resolve to focus on the
above imperatives for growth. Consulting in particular management consultancy
came into greater prominence after the economic reforms of 90’s and grown to a
multi-billion business in India and it has metamorphosed itself with the arrival of
hordes of MNC consultancies. The committee constituted by Consultancy
Development Center (CDC) have estimated roughly that 100,000 consultants are
working in India spread over 25,000 consulting entities during 2005 with 80% of
them are individual or freelance consultants. Considering the massive investments
that have gone on during the recent times (about Rs.766000 crores during the 10th
Plan Period), consulting has been growing at a high rate till the down-turn in the
economy. Now, management consultancy entered into the stage of difficult business
times, calling for its introspection and repositioning. In this regard, a recent
discussion meeting organized IMCI Delhi (Institute of Management consultants of
India) participated by about 125 professionals came up with following ten
prescriptions for consultants & the enterprises:
•Because consultants are needed more when the business is struggling, hence
consultants should deliver more value with less revenue during the down-turn days,
demonstrating the solidarity with the clients’ concerns.
• Make consulting more cost effective rather than cosmetic, by tightening the belts
and participate in implementation for the proposed gains.
• Consultants should not hesitate to suggest organized abandonment of non-value
adding business lines or products
•Focus on cost reduction and quality improvement tools, the kind of strategies that
Japan used during the post-war reconstruction period
•Due to high level of uncertainty of future, consultants must be able to peep into the
future and dream along with their clients and become their mentors.
December 16-31, •Maturity and prudence lies in management to remain optimistic and adapt the policy
2009 of ‘Conserve and Survive’ till up-turn is experienced.
•Protect the image of the company by providing services even at lower margins and
maintain financial solvency and ultimately go for growth
•Managements to retain the existing consultants as investments of the past and at
best engage any specialized consultants to tackle special issues
24/50 •Enterprises should not shy away from right sizing, of course with human face.
•Consultants to undertake pro-active diagnosis, provide inter-firm comparison and
Alag Tewar, benchmarking support at subsidized or deferred payments basis and even on the basis
Alag Flavour of results –the so-called flexible consulting.
Institute of
Consulting Opportunities Post Down-Turn Era
Management
Consultants of With the investor sentiment improving, picking up of exports during April 2009 and
demand for automobiles too picking up, one can hope that the down-turn would be
India, getting reversed rather slowly. Hence, there appears a mixed bag of opportunities for
Delhi consultants and there could be three kinds of clients clearly emerging. The existing
enterprises who weathered the onslaught would like to stabilize and expand; such as -
FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) manufacturing units, Telecom companies,
power sector including growth of renewable-energy enterprises as well as engineering
and automobile manufacturing enterprises. These units would need services of project
management including commissioning, as they would be augmenting their capacities
to meet the growth process and they would also be recruiting fresh talent, means
business for placement consultants too. As the purchasing capacity in the market is
likely to increase, the companies need to re-gear their marketing and distributions
systems and development of new kind of relationships with dealers and vendors, which
mean business for marketing and productivity consultants.
The second category of clients are those ‘new managements’ such as re-furbished
companies such as Satyam, Pharma (for instance the current Ranbaxy) & Healthcare
companies, where the managements have changed hands owing to a variety of reasons
(for instance Sun-Micro Systems & Chrysler are typical international examples).
These are those business houses and enterprises, where the management has gone
through some kind of metamorphosis and the employees may be going through some
kind of a shock, the key issue would be to manage the change effectively and also
enable the human system to embrace the change. The potential areas of work for
consultants would be in the area of Change Management, motivation and inspiring the
relatively resigned employees, updating of long-term plans including budgetary
revisions and focusing on the marketing and dealership issues.
The third group of clients is new organizations that are likely to come up during the
Post-Tsunami era to harness emerging business opportunities; such as retail,
divestment, mergers & acquisitions, enterprises that will entail ‘Climate Change’
particularly in renewable energy companies etc. The potential areas of services
include, - techno-economic viability (critical mass & size of business), corporate
restructuring and lean-organization, port-folio restructuring, financial re-engineering
December 16-31, and cost-basis management.
2009
According to a latest WB report, the BRIC countries are likely to drive the global
economy to growth mode in the coming decade not only through exports but by the
shear size of domestic consumptions itself, while the major economies recouping from
the financial melt down and till such time a new international financial order takes an
effective shape. The focus of India should be to rebuild the strong manufacturing
base, where in productivity improvement based services would be of utmost value.
25/50 All this would mean a challenging kind of work for management and technical
consultants. Above all, the financial sector would itself be going through a major re-
Alag Tewar, engineering world over through mergers and acquisitions, where in use of appropriate
Alag Flavour technology would-be central to its efficient operations to serve the billions all over.
Institute of Conclusion
Management
Consultants of Thanks to the timely efforts of governments particularly
of major economies with their conventional and some un-
India, conventional strategies and the implementation of bail-
Delhi out packages to different sectors including banking &
others, the markets indices have been able to recover
rather slowly to the tune of 60% in India and 31% in US
by April 09. It appears the global economy too is picking
up and expected to be normal by end of this year or
latest by mid 2010. But, still it is feared that there is
more to come due to likely busting of consumer credit
card market which had unhindered growth in US, which
may trigger another financial crisis. However, the efforts
are to re-discover thrift as a means to sustained life-
style, to partly insulate the economies from the adverse
impact on the banking and financial sector. However,
Indian policy makers and economic planners are seized
with the issues of devising and implementing innovative
strategies for reversing the down-turn and bring the
growth rate back to 9% with renewed vigor after an
impressive showing by the ruling coalition in the recent
elections, All this would throw up a new set of
opportunities and challenges to consulting community in
the coming years.
References:
Shalini S. Dagar, Economy in Eclipse; Business Today,
Nov.2, 2008
Subbarao D, India – Managing the Impact of the Global
Financial Crisis, RBI monthly bulletin, April 2009
Proceedings of Panel Discussions on Management
Consulting during difficult times’ IMCI Delhi, e-Mag, April
2 09
December 16-31, Proceedings of ‘Guru Speak Event’ on Management
2009
Consulting post Down-Turn Era by Dr. MB Athreya;
IMCI Delhi, e-Mag, May 2, 09
Khader, SA; Enhancing Competitiveness in MC;
Consulting Ahead, CDC, Vol.1 and Issue 1
‘When going gets tough for business during these days
of downturn, consultants should dawn the promotional
26/50 roles and enthuse & invest in their clients by being their
mentors’.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
In this world due to social, family and business issues one has
India, to deal continuously with different kinds of people. Therefore,
Delhi
learning how to motivate and persuade people to say, “YES”,
or getting them on your side, is the most important skill you
can use in your day to day interactions. This article is aimed at
Six Steps to providing you with an insight into helping you to learn how
Effective you can motivate people to accept your ideas to accomplish
your personal and organizational objectives.
Persuasion
Skills (EPS) Effective persuasion skills (EPS)* are based upon a proper
understanding of human behaviour. Human behaviour is
predictable and lends itself to scientific analysis. Therefore,
persuasion skills can be learnt. It is for this reason that
behavioural science has emerged as being very important and
is being taught in practically every important management
institution all over the world. Because it is a science, it
clearly implies that just like one can learn physics and
chemistry one can also learn human behaviour.
The Effective Persuasion Skills (EPS)* model covers the
following 6 steps as per the acronym OPOSPC*
1. Opening Statements (O)
Opening statements should introduce the broad benefits or
idea that can help satisfy the other person’s interests or
needs. They also help to set the right tone for interaction.
2. Probing (P)
Probing skills help you to do the following:
ARVINDER S
a) Evaluate the other person's attitude & needs
BRARA,
b) Set up supporting statements
December 16-31,
2009 CMD, MANTEC
c) Proceed in a non-direct manner, especially when you want
CONSULTANT
to discuss things the other person feels are important
S PVT LTD
and Author of d) Proceed in a direct manner when you want to discuss
“The Art of things which you feel are important
Getting People
e) Proceed to the next step when your initial attempt to get a
to say YES”
27/50 commitment or acceptance has not been successful.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
3. Objection Handling (O)
Management Objections can be categorised as i) Easy or ii) Difficult
Consultants of Just like the antidote to a chemical reaction can be scientifically
India, analyzed and implemented, similarly objections can be handled in
Delhi a predictable and scientific manner through a logical approach.
4. Proving statements (P)
Proving statements are used to remove doubts that the other person
may have about your idea or proposition. While making proving
statements, a strict discipline must be followed. as given below:
a) Restating the benefits of your proposal or idea
b) Proving it.
c) Expanding it.
5. Supporting statements (S)
Supporting statements make use of and build on favourable remarks
made by the other person. There are two ways to go about it. You may
offer agreement or reinforcement to the other person’s favourable remark.
Or you may want to introduce an appropriate benefit relevant to the
person to expand on his favourable remarks.
6. Closing skills (C)
Closing is getting acceptance or commitment to what you want. There
are many closing techniques that are used to directly or indirectly ask for
agreement or acceptance by asking a question, the answer to which
cannot be ‘No’ like a choice question.
Very often your ideas and concepts have got a lot of merit but do not get
acceptance. EPS (Effective Persuasion Skills) will help you to close an
argument or get a ready “Yes” to your ideas or proposals when you do the
following while implementing the OPOSPC approach:
a) You must assume that the acceptance / commitment from the other
person already exists
b) You must summarize important benefits to the other person for
accepting your proposal / idea.
c) You must ask for explicit acceptance of your proposal / idea.
Most successful people who have the power of conviction and the ability
December 16-31, to get acceptance advertently or inadvertently follow some of these 6
2009 behavioural steps. The more you practice and implement EPS the more
successful and happy you will be with your enhanced ability to persuade
other people to say YES in an agreeable and pleasant manner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* These Acronyms have been developed by the Author. The author has
invented the OPOSPC model based on his experience in USA with Xerox
Corporation and worldwide accepted professional selling skills adapted for
28/50 the first time to develop a unique approach to persuasion skills. For more
details visit the Author’s website: www.asbrara.com
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of Strategic management, originated as a discipline in the
India, 1950s and 1960s, has turned out to be necessary
Delhi concomitant to a business in this day and age while
being integral to the success of the business. Owing to
Strategic its dynamic role continues overall organizational
Analysis – As accomplishments in terms of what has been planned
an Assessment and intended. It affects the entire organization by
of Employees’ providing direction and being in pursuit of organizational
Organizational development in entirety. It is meant for the organization
Relationship to dwell on excellence with the creation of superior
efficiency and effectiveness in the total organizational
performance. It aims to widen business’ scopes while
laying out a direction for the attainment of entire
organizational objectives and long term goals.
What in general perspective entails are the value of
planning ahead of times and the way an organization
goes about the accomplishment of its goals – which is
what is termed as strategy. Planning is reaping desired
results in future and special sort of planning is leading
to take intelligent actions on choices while enabling
avoidance of chances posing risks with the
establishment of strategies. As the saying is befitting;
those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Planning is an artistic
skill and special sort of planning is adding elegance to
the skill. The same is true of strategic management; it
devises special sort of plans- strategies and
endeavours for overall implementation.
Indeed, that which is in pursuit of strategic management
- based on its key components – strategic analysis,
strategic choice and strategy implementation lies in
Fareed broader sense and scopes and spectrum. But our
December 16-31,
Siddiqui attention would be focused mainly on strategic analysis
2009
A member of relating to personnel function; as it seeks to assess the
the Institute of strength and weakness of business position including all
Management functional areas. Since the sole task of personnel
Consultants of function is to manage the relationship between
India and a organization and employees, this function can be
Professional analyzed by observing the following factors. They are
29/50 trainer, Author outlined in brief herein:
and a regular
writer.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of The process of strategic analysis ensures the

Management availability of jobs and requisite skills of employees.
Consultants of Since training and development programs are meant to
equip the employees to related jobs and build up their
India, competencies, it is examined whether these programs
Delhi are effective. As regards employee morale, it’s vital
ingredient of organizational success. It is believed that
both morale and productivity go hand in hand – being
reciprocal. So, the process verifies if employee morale
is high or appears to be lower. Further, the absenteeism
rate and its causes are analyzed. Mention must be
made about performance appraisal of entire activities. It
is significant – as it’s a way to assess the progress
towards desired goals, therefore, its implementation is
ensured for corrective measures- creating super
efficiencies. Pay scale is also a factor to low
performance, hence it is considered in the light of
suitable standards. Attitudes of the employees and
managers are also to be analyzed. Thus, the process of
strategic analysis ensures and analyzes the relationship
between organization and the employees so as to
implement suitable strategies that the organizational
relationship may be strengthened.
Human element is more valuable than any other
organizational resource. A business that ignores this
element cannot continue its prosperity for a long run. It
is vitally important for a business to keep strong
relationship with its people. According to Mary Kay Ash,
“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It
doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars
or cosmetics. A company is as good as the people it
keeps.” This statement may serve as a guideline to an
organization to sustain human assets, to preserve their
relationships, to enhance their morale, to build their high
December 16-31, competencies to ascertain overall achievement in
2009
organizational efficiency, effectiveness and
development. Thus, in view of the above, strategic
internal analysis is significant to assess the relationship
between the organization and employees. It is rather an
appraisal of strength and weakness of that relationship
through which the intended results may be achieved
30/50 being turned to be genuinely true what lies in the
expression, “The only vital value an enterprise has is
the experience, skills, innovativeness and insights of its
Alag Tewar, people.”
Alag Flavour
Institute of
A credit derivative is a financial instrument or
Management derivative whose price and value derives from the
Consultants of creditworthiness of the obligations of a third party,
India, which is isolated and traded. Credit derivatives in
Delhi their simplest form are bilateral contracts between a
buyer and seller under which the seller sells
protection against certain pre-agreed events
occurring in relation to a third party known as a
reference entity; which affect the creditworthiness of
that reference entity. Credit derivatives (CD) are a
major innovation in that they offer credit risk
APPLICATIONS OF protections that were not available until recently.
CREDIT There are unfunded credit derivatives and funded
DERIVATIVES credit derivatives. Where credit protection is bought
and sold between bilateral counterparties this is
known as an unfunded credit derivative. If the credit
derivative is entered into by a financial institution or
a special purpose vehicle and payments under the
credit derivative are funded using securitization
techniques, such that a debt obligation is issued by
the financial institution or SPV to support these
obligations, this is known as a funded credit
derivative…
Applications
One purpose of credit derivatives is to transfer credit
risk from for example a bank, which wants to reduce
its exposure to a certain credit, to an investor who
wants to earn income. There is also the purely
speculative reason to get involved in trades with
Dr.Joji these kinds of instruments, where the idea is to earn
Chandran excess returns. Banks are the largest group of credit
MBA PhD derivatives users who use the derivatives to free up
Associate or manage credit lines, manage loan exposure
December 16-31,
Member, IMCI without needing the consent of debtor, manage
2009
(Chennai regulatory capital or exploit comparative advantages
Chapter) & in cost of funding. The management of credit
Professor of exposure involves reduction of credit concentration
Finance, through basket structures, easier diversifications of
R.V.S.Institute credit risk and the direct hedge of default risk. The
of Management party that assumes the risk can either trade a view of
31/50 Studies & the credit quality of the reference asset or make
Research, arbitrage profits of mis priced defaultable bonds.
Coimbatore,
Alag Tewar, Tamilnadu.
Alag Flavour
Institute of Credit derivatives are swap, forward, and option contracts that transfer risk and
return from one counterparty to another without actually transferring the
Management ownership of the underlying assets. Similar products have been around for
Consultants of centuries and include letters of credit, government export credit and mortgage
India, guarantees, private sector bond reinsurance, and spread locks. Credit derivatives
differ from their predecessors because they are traded separately from the
Delhi
underlying assets; in contrast, the earlier products were contracts between an
issuer and a guarantor. Credit derivatives are an ideal tool for lenders who want to
reduce their exposure to a particular borrower but find themselves unwilling (say,
for tax- or cost-related reasons) to sell outright their claims on that borrower.
Market Size and Major Participants

The credit derivatives market is relatively small compared with other, more
mature, derivatives markets (e.g., derivatives markets for interest rates and
currencies), and represents about 1 per cent of the underlying principal (or
“notional”) value of the global volume of over-the-counter derivatives. However, it
is growing rapidly, reflecting the fact that credit derivatives have proven to be a
very useful means of managing the relatively large and growing volumes of credit
risk that global markets deal with on a daily basis. Several observers have
suggested that global markets are faced with much larger exposures to credit risk
(than to interest rate or currency risk). They therefore suggest that the credit
derivatives market has virtually unlimited growth potential. By comparison, the
Bank for International Settlements (2000) reported that the total notional value of
outstanding over-the-counter foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives stood
at US$74,000 billion at the end of December 1999. The steady decline in the
overall relative size of the government bond market from 62.1 per cent of the
world bond market in 1990 to 54.3 per cent at the end of 1999 has increased the
credit-risk profile of outstanding global debt. Credit derivatives have proven to be
a very useful means of managing the relatively large and growing volumes of
credit risk that global markets deal with on a daily basis. Still, a number of recent
developments should facilitate the growth of this market. For example, in 1999 the
International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) introduced new,
streamlined default-swap documentation that should reduce the likelihood of
interpretation disputes. The recent launches of two Internet trading platforms for
credit derivatives (CreditTrade — http://www.credittrade.com and Creditex—
http://www.creditex.com) could bring some much needed transparency to the
credit derivatives market. The European Credit Swap Index, launched in March
December 16-31, 2000 by J.P. Morgan, tracks default-swap premiums on about 100 European
2009 corporations. Finally, in April. Both CreditTrade and Creditex are backed by major
market participants.
CreditTrade features major involvement from The Chase Manhattan Bank and
Prebon Yamane (a leading over-the-counter financial market broker). Creditex’s
backers include J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Montreal, and Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce. 2000, Standard and Poors launched a series of
U.S.corporate credit-spread indexes that could form the basis for a more generic
32/50 and useful style of credit spread put option. Commercial banks account for over
half the trading activity in the market for credit derivatives. Trading is concentrated
among a small number of institutions, which is not unusual for off-balance-sheet
Alag Tewar, derivatives.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of This article provides a critical assessment of the
India, recent fortunes met by the concept of “Localized
Delhi Knowledge Spillovers” (LKS), and in particular the
debate on the spatial boundaries of spillovers from
both private and public or academic R&D
laboratories. LKS can be defined as “knowledge
externalities bounded in space”, which allow
companies operating nearby important knowledge
sources to introduce innovations as a faster rate
than rival firms located elsewhere. As such, they are
Localized the key object of enquiry of a fast growing stream of
Knowledge studies, which deal with the impact of academic and
Spillovers and industrial R&D on the localization of firms innovative
the Geography activities. These studies exploit the increasing
of availability of large data sets on the innovation inputs
Innovation: A and outputs of firms and regions, whether measured
Critical by R&D, patents, innovation counts, or questionnaire
Assessment results, and frequently invoke the existence of LKS
to comment upon their findings. Although originally
proposed as an extension of previous research on
the relationship between public and private R&D,
innovation, and productivity growth, these studies
including the present study have become
increasingly popular with economic geography.
In particular, LKS’s are frequently acknowledged as
a key agglomeration factor as “New Industrial
Geography” i.e. the vast and heterogeneous
literature dealing with regional agglomerations from
a non-mainstream (non neoclassical) economic
viewpoint, represented by influential case studies on
high-tech clusters in the US or industrial districts,
Nigel R learning regions in Europe. At the same time, they
December 16-31,
2009 D'silva are frequently questioned, as a meaningful or useful
Management research category, by the so-called “New Economic
Consultant Geography” (NEG) started by Paul Krugman’s
engaged in authoritative reassessment of location theory and
technology soon developed into a research field of its own.
management,
33/50 CRM analytics,
modelling and
econometric
Alag Tewar, forecasting.
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of Two critical observations not addressed by the
India, studies set a tight research agenda for those who
Delhi want to understand why geography really matters for
a firm’s innovative activities. The first entry in the
agenda is the labour market. A crucial mechanism
through which knowledge diffuses locally is the
mobility of technologists and scientists, both across
firms, and between firms and academic institutions.
However, this is not necessarily true for all localities
and industries. Besides, it remains to be seen to
what extent technologists and scientist, and by
moving across firms, contribute to the creation of a
common pool of knowledge or manage to retain
control over their intellectual assets.
A second line of research should deal with
assessing more carefully the impact of local
universities and public research institutes on the
firm’s innovative activities. The ‘spillover’ perspective
has obscured the wide set of mechanisms through
which those actors actually contribute to the local
and non-local firm’s research efforts. These
mechanisms ought to be explored by overcoming
the far too easy, but obscuring metaphor of the “local
community”, and by studying in some depth the
knowledge-based services which academic and
public institutions (or individual scientist therein) sell
to or share with local or non-local business
companies. In doing so, more attention should be
paid to the large number of club or common property
arrangements that situate knowledge flows in
between the two extremes of private vs. public
December 16-31,
goods. This, in turn, would require a big effort for
2009 establishing an explicit link between the geographic
dimensions of those knowledge flows and the
disclosure rules foreseen in the related
arrangements.
34/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of Managing Business in today’s Globalization Scenario
India, requires taking into account managing of Cultural
Delhi Diversity. Following are some of the salient points
that have to taken into consideration for effective
Management.
The cultural dimension in important because in
dealing with people of different countries that is if you
are sensitive to the culture then you are at much
CULTURAL better position to deal effectively with people.
Primarily dealing with people involves being sensitive
DIVERSITY
to their feeling and if you are sensitive to their values,
AND culture, beliefs you can create a rapport which is
MANAGING needed whenever you want to deal with them. Any
BUSINESS interpersonal dealing in business will involves
communication, decision making, working in a team
etc. all being influenced by cultural environment.
The first step is to learn about differences in form of
various cultural dimensions and for this we can follow
Hofstade’s cultural dimensions which contain
differences in different cultures based on 1)
Individualism v/s collectivism that is orientation of
relationship between individual and his/ her fellow
individuals in society2)High Power Distance
environment based on inequality in a society v/s Low
Power Distance: 3) Uncertainty Avoidance use of
rules and strategies to reduce exposure to an unsure
future v/s risk taking: 4) Masculinity v/s Femininity:
Emphasis on male values like advancement,
earnings, business like approach v/s female values
like friendly atmosphere, security, empathy,
cooperation 5) Long Term Orientation (LTO)
Harsh persistence, thrift, personal stability and respect for
December 16-31,
2009 Vardhan tradition v/s short term orientation. The other relevant
Kothari, studies in field of low context culture rely more on
Asssociate spoken and written languages v/s high context
Professor at culture interpret more of the elements surrounding
ICFAI message are also relevant. Here we can view
Business situation on continuum of two extremes and
School, Noida accordingly devise strategy regarding people dealing
35/50
and organizing business.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of Then the other elements that differ from culture to culture
Management are 1) concept of time-importance of deadlines, 2)
distance- conversation distance, 3) salutation- various
Consultants of ways, 4) things- relevance of material possessions,5)
India, agreements- rules of negotiation based on laws, moral
Delhi practices or informal customs. They all have to be learned
through various literatures available, and people having
experience when dealing with people and customers of
particular country. Based on the above discussion we also
have to take care of policies relating to recruitment,
orientation, performance appraisal, compensation, rewards
and recognition for the persons working in a particular
culture because we have to make subtle changes to
accommodate that.
Diversity has its implication to group behavior because at
initial stages people have to understand each other when
working together and there may also be some problems
too but once people learned then they bring new ways of
working and enhance group capabilities. Various
processes which have to take into account they are
leadership, power, communication (all verbal, nonverbal,
written etc.), conflict and coordination. We have to find out
appropriate ways for each of the above for effectiveness
based on literature, experiences of others, and reactions to
our own behavior.
There are certain wider organizational factors too to be
understood across various cultures. We have to take care
of environment elements like political, social, dynamics of
culture change etc. when dealing with particular country/
culture people. The adaptation of technology and attitude
is other cultural aspect taken care of. It is also necessary
of learning about various organizational structures, design
and decision making across various cultures.
We also have to take care of implication of cultures on
December 16-31, consumer behavior and for this following steps have to be
2009
taken: Determining 1) relevant motivations in the culture –
needs specific to culture 2) characteristics behavior pattern
relating to purchase of product 3) Broad cultural values are
relevant to product 4) characteristic forms of decision
making 5) promotional method appropriate to the culture 5)
appropriate distribution channels of product. Therefore
36/50 there will be effect of culture on various aspects of
Managing Business and according to local perceptions
various policies have to be devised.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, Recently during the month of March, while the global
Delhi leaders of the Kaizen Institute met at Venice for the
annual awards, I got chatting with our
Sensei…(Japanese for guru), our founding chairman
Masaki Imai on a topic dear to heart -organizational
transformation! It was early evening, we were relaxing
before dinner and Imai san went on to narrate
ananecdote and share some pearls of wisdom on
...LEAN… matters relating to organizational transformation.
6sigma … Once, a chimp was dressed up in a pair of trousers, shirt,
Kaizen jacket, a pair of sun glasses and a smart hat to complete
True the getup. He was let loose on the street and soon the
chip started walking towards an office building. A group
Transformation of people saw this ‘object’ approaching them & each one
….from started guessing who it could be? Some were sure it
Monkey to Man resembled jack, while other were betting it was Jim
walking towards ….or was it Peter ? As the object got
closer, it started looking less like jack , Jim or Peter and
more like a stranger with a funny hunched and awkward
gait! When it got really close, they soon were shocked to
find that it actually a chimp DRESSED UP as a human!!
What is the point here? That a chimp dressed up as a
human, does NOT ever become a human! A chimp can
never become a human unless his very bones, his
fundamental skeletal structure changes! The chimp has
a curved or bow of a back bone; we human have erect
back bones! This fundamental difference makes us
Jayanth different, though from far we may ‘resemble’ each other!
Murthy
True organizational transformation happen when the
December 16-31,
2009
Founding very bones…the skeletal structure is challenged and
Partner & changed. When old paradigms and structures are
Director questioned and replaced when needed. One can’t fool
Kaizen one self or others by mere ‘dressing up’! Sadly, often
Institute – time, this is the case within many organizations who
India and adopt LEAN/ 6 Sigma or any other transformation
Africa Fulbright approach. Especially this applies to manufacturing or
37/50 Fellow in transformation related to operations as in LEAN/ LEAN
Management Sigma or similar implementation.
and Industrial
Alag Tewar,
Engineer
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India, Often organizations get started with tools. 5s, SMED,
Delhi AM, Cellular Layouts etc are tools that are launched and
implemented with encouraging results, but many a times
the efforts start and end with these tools. These tools are
an means to an end. The end being Sustainable Growth
and Profits!
NEVER ever can these disjointed, tool focused approach
truly be considered as organizational transformation! We
do get enthused by book like The Toyota Way, which
does offer more than a peep into Toyota’s culture
transformation under way since some many decades
(they say it is still work in progress! Kaizen). But not
many of us are able to appreciate the deep organization
cultural transformation which drives everything else. This
is what Imai san says is true Kaizen…Everyday,
Everyone, Everywhere Kaizen ….continual improvement.
It is not few people, few days, few places ….Kaizen!
While tools drive improvements, it is how one builds the
underlying cultural transformation that is the key. From
the Kaizen Management System perspective, culture is
an outcome that comes by staying focused on three key
elements: (a) system & model for change within the
organization (b) building skills / capability across the
board to learn & drive change (c) coupled with setting
clear goals, anaudit mechanism linked to performance
management. It is this judicious combination of these
three elements that powers true transformation, which in
turn, powers sustenance of a Kaizen culture within any
organization.
As one perfects the tools of change, one should not
December 16-31, loose sight on the cultural aspects as mentioned above.
2009 There is no meaning in fooling ourselves or other stake
holders, by calling a ‘dressed up’ chimp as a homo
sapien! The message is clear….apply tools, but address
the culture!
In Imai san’s words….LEAN or 6 Sigma is the outcome,
whereas Kaizen is the process that drives these
outcomes! We got down to dinner that night, with these
38/50
words swirling around in our minds, like the bubbles in
our fizzy drinks!
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Management is the art of attaining definite objectives often
Consultants of with inadequate resources. Mankind owes so much to
India, Bhagavad-Gita for its teachings many of which have
Delhi management implications particularly in the area of human
resources development. The economy of a nation is the
karma (action)
of its business leaders. There is nothing higher than the
Gita as a source of motivation and excellence for nation
building and leadership development. The economic future
of any country rests on the young managers of today. Only
men of character and vision deeply rooted in management
and spiritual strength can make a nation culturally and
economically strong. This should be the goal and message
Enrich of modern management.
Management
Many managers feel rudderless for want of a proper value
through
system. Pressure groups gain ascendancy in organizations
Ancient and in society. They displace sanity, reason and love and
Wisdom install corruption, incompetence and greed in their place.
We have come across several cases in support of this
phenomenon. In pursuit of wealth they neglect their own
duty to society. Violence and frustration, give rise to
constant mental conflict and intellect is clouded. Agitations
and strikes plague society and work havoc causing huge
erosion of resources. The result is substandard
performance in all areas of activity and wastage of
resources. This is exactly what management and wisdom
seek to avoid.
The rudderless performance is the result of imbalance in

the body, mind and intellect system. Expectations grow fast
and are not fulfilled. The enormous intangible resource
December 16-31, T Ramaswamy within man is not tapped and its potential not realized. This
2009
CMC reservoir of talent and energy is mostly wasted. . In short
we are not managing our God given internal resources
MBA from IIMA, effectively and for the benefit of society.
Certified
Management What is the remedy? Management. Yes, Management that
Consultant with will rely on ancient Indian wisdom, which is the world's
35 years' precious and priceless heritage. It emphasizes the need for
39/50
consulting mind control, positive thinking and a healthy body.
experience in
Alag Tewar, value based
Alag Flavour management
Institute of Here comes the role of self-management. Spirituality provides insight into
Management the knowledge of "knowledge’s". Management is the noblest of noble
Consultants of professions. Both are creative. Both stress on optimum resource utilization.
Our objective should be to excel in a chosen field for activity. All of us want
India, happiness, which is a state of mind. It does not mean the joy of possessing
Delhi material objects. It is attaining peace of mind and remaining in that state
without any break. In that state of mind great contributions to society take
place. The examples of great leaders reveal their strength derived from the
inspiration sprouting from the bottom of the reservoir of wisdom evolved
from spiritual strength.
What should we do? The concept of empathy widely discussed in
management can be extended to include respect for all. It is respecting the
human side of enterprise. It is enlarging the scope of the Y theory of Mc
Gregor, an authority on human relations. We must learn to love all
creations in the universe. Our environmentalists discovered the need for
conservation of natural wealth only recently whereas Indian sages (Rishis)
discovered and propagated this concept thousands of years ago. We must
stretch our minds to the farthest limit. The mind is a $10 billion gift. Here
the concept of developing a universal mind becomes relevant. It is an
extension of the management concept of thinking big. It is the highest
development of the concept of conceptual skill. Conserving our energy and
cultivating positive values will greatly help the cause of management. We
must seek and master the true knowledge, the knowledge of all knowledge,
and the light of all lights. This is royal wisdom. I t is the purifier, which will
help to liquidate all evil tendencies in the mind. There will be no source of
disturbance and one can attain total freedom from stress, which is a curse
of the modern executive. It enables one to discharge all obligatory duties
faithfully. One's intellect will be calm and peace sets in. One will not
entertain any greed prompted thought.
Take care of the body through yoga, pranayama and control of food. Yoga
asana with proper breathing will ensure stamina, efficiency and good
health. By living in the present one can manage time better and make it
more productive. This concept of time management is deeply imbedded in
ancient Indian wisdom. One will be free from preoccupations. One will not
December 16-31, regret about the mistakes of the past or have anxieties about the future.
2009
One can aim at excellence cherishing age-old time-tested values. Spiritual
strength is the greatest asset. A manager benefits considerably by
developing and holding on to it. It helps to develop muscles of iron and
nerves of steel.
It is worth remembering the old saying "Better a moment of glow than a
lifetime of smoke". Thus we achieve a better quality of life and TQM.This
40/50 should be the message to young managers. Modern management will gain
a lot if it brings spirituality in its fold as part of a systems approach to
efficient value based management.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management Reality TV is the latest craze to have hit Indian
television. Love it. Hate it. But you sure can’t miss it.
Consultants of The list is endless from musical reality programs where
India, the judges fight more often than contestants to dance
Delhi or quiz based ones which required one to compete with
oneself as much as with others, from selecting the
“perfect” candidate for marriage to learning how to
manage kids after marriage, from living in a jungle
setting to doing ones bit towards CSR by “switching”
places to fulfill someone’s dream, from baring
everything “truthfully” about one’s life to trying to
Strategy in peek into the lives before this one, from learning the A-
Reality shows B-C-D of politics while being on the road “E” to the
- Lessons self proclaimed biggie which is now in season ‘3’.
Learnt for Life In all these perhaps the factor most exciting to the mind
of the consultant is the interplay between the mind and
the heart and how it affects the interactions between
people. This is something similar to our interactions in
business situations and the dynamics at work in an
organization. It shall be therefore worthwhile to try and
understand the strategies that contestants use in these
shows, how these affect others around them and how
these may impact the chances of winning. Given below
are the seven pointers that constitute the strategy of
REALITY.
R – Being real has no substitute. No matter how strong
the mask is, the length of the show is such that the
mask is going to wear out or slip. And when it does,
you can kiss your chances for winning good bye. So it
is advised to be real both in happiness and in pain. Also
be ready to shed your ego and appeal for votes if the
situation demands it. It’s the same in real life too, at
December 16-31, Devesh Verma least in the long run. So if you bluff your client, boss or
2009
colleague you have already started the timer towards
Entrepreneur( breaking their trust and when that happens, you have
Director-Devz lost them forever. Moreover just like the reputation
Consulting), contestants build so carefully can dissolve in one
Strategic Advisor, momentary slippage of the “mask”, a lifetime’s good
Educator, Youth work can be washed away by one ‘lie’. And when you
41/50 Coach and do end up in a difficult situation, whether it is in a
Trainer reality show or in life, never be shy of asking for help
(and votes) from friends, family and well wishers.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management E – Enjoy what you are doing. No one wants to watch someone who is
boring and does not take interest in the tasks presented. The tasks
Consultants of may at times be silly and therefore having a good sense of humor will
India, not only make you more popular with fellow contestants but also get
Delhi you more votes. This couldn’t be more true in our business
interactions, all of us want to be around people who enjoy what they
do, hoping to have the rub-off effect so that we can make our own daily
grind a bit easier. Also enjoying what you do will surely help you do it
to the best of your ability and make sure that your destiny is in your
‘own’ hands. So whether it is with a client, a supplier or within your own
organization enjoy your interactions with people as this is an important
step towards making these successful and leaving a positive
impression on the other person.
A – Be approachable. This is true as much in a reality show as it is at
office and at home. It is very important that you don’t build walls
around yourself. No matter whether you are a superstar or a common
(introvert) person it should be possible for people to come and talk to
you. In a reality show this will ensure that you find it easier to pass
your time (without losing sanity), get to know people better (to be able
to predict their moves) and also have “interesting” discussions with
people. These discussions are what hook on the audience and
increase the show’s ratings. In real life, being approachable is as
beneficial if not more, whether it is your colleague, a manger at client
side or your son/daughter everyone appreciates someone with whom
they can share their own fears/problems and the knowledge of these is
generally critical for you to start addressing them.
L – Be level-headed. Remember that there are cameras all around
you, so everything that you say and do is being recorded. This is going
to be watched both by the audience (in-real time) and by your fellow
participants when they go out. Since there is always a possibility of
people returning through wild card entry, be extremely cautious of what
you say about others. Moreover also remember that especially in India
Reality TV makes for family viewing and foul words and the familiar
December 16-31, ‘beeping’ sound can be both irritating and embarrassing. Even in our
2009
professional life this principle will do more good than harm. As they
say, words once spoken can never be turned back. And with such an
interconnected world you never know who is connected to whom, so a
seemingly harmless (or at times intentional) bitching about a colleague
to a client may end you up in an uncomfortable position. Also such an
instance will almost never increase your respect in the client’s eyes,
42/50 simply because they will never be sure that you are not saying similar
things about them to someone else.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
I – Be ready to initiate friendships with as many people as possible. This
Management helps you get through the initial stages of the show where people
Consultants of generally refrain from nominating “friends”. Also having contestants you
India, like and can talk to helps you adjust better to the new (sometimes
Delhi hostile) environment. Mild flirtation with someone your age is also not a
bad idea as the “will they – wont they” feeling keeps the audience
interested in what you do. Friendships are similarly helpful in business
interactions provided you genuinely take interest and initiative in making
friends with people and are not faking it just to gain an advantage. It is
also not that likely that you are going to find your “buddy” through this
route however, friends with whom you can interact and network with are
not that difficult to make in a business setting.
T- Think on your feet. It is utmost essential to be able to do this in a

reality show. With an ever changing game environment with new twists
and turns, being able to understand each situation, process the given
information and decide the course of action accordingly is extremely
important. Remember that every new twist is intended to increase the
TRPs, as long as you can help the producers do that you are “safe”. With
a business environment that is not much different than this, with new
happenings almost every other day this trait will definitely be boon. It may
be a tender bid or a business negotiation this ability to think right and to
do it fast is what separates someone who can get things done and from
the one who can’t. Every change no matter how gloomy it appears from
outside also holds some opportunity inside. It needs the initiated to be
able to see that opportunity and think though to be able to use it.
Y - Know the ‘Y’ (why). Last but not the least, the importance of knowing
why you are there cannot be overemphasized. At all times, you need to
be clear in your own mind that you are there to win the show. Whatever
may be the odds against you, whatever the challenges and/or the
temptations you need to be committed to your goal. Such focus will do a
word of good even in our business interactions. It’s this kind of
December 16-31, professionalism that at times differentiates us from our western
2009 counterparts. It was perhaps this goal orientation that helped a little
known German girl (who did not even know Hindi) to reach up to the
tenth week of one of the shows! Once we perfect the art of knowing
what is it that we want from each business day, each meeting and each
action of ours we will derive the maximum out of these and be well on the
path of achieving our goals.
Whether it is a reality show or the game of life there is no sure shot
43/50 mantra to succeed. However the strategies given above can ensure that
you increase your chances of winning and at least end up as one of the
Alag Tewar, “finalist”.
Alag Flavour
Institute of Keeping up with new practices in consulting is a

spotty task. I read lots of books and articles but
Management am not convinced I am keeping up across the
Consultants of board. Any ideas how to do this in a more
comprehensive manner?
India,
Delhi
Congratulations on even asking the question. As we
get more experienced as consultants, we tend to
consider ourselves thought leaders (at least in our
own minds) about our areas of consulting specialty.
This is inevitably a self limiting strategy since, as
business and management evolve, so do
management consulting skills, behaviors and
techniques. Even if you are up to date in your area, far
too much information and techniques are being
generated and discussed for anyone to keep up with
in the absence of a plan (or a good network).
For example, recent deep thinking about how the

whole approach to business transformation is
outdated is required reading for consultants and are
found in (the 2009 Shift Index). Increasingly,
companies involved in risk management are digging
deeper into how management needs to address
issues like climate change, issues about which
consultants need to be better advised (e.g., access to
thinking on risk by companies like Marsh, Mercer and
Kroll
Tip: Keeping current in subject matter is only half of

Thank you, the issue. We also often overlook keeping our
Mark R. consulting skills up to date. A refresher course from a
Haas CMC, FIMC reputable source is always a good idea, as is staying
deeply involved in a network of professional
Editor consultants who can refresh your knowledge about
December 16-31,
2009 Tips for emerging consulting topics and practices. Consider
Consultants Essentials of Management Consulting, a six-week
and
online course to cover core consulting competencies
President
Research and of client service and tools, functions, communication,
Organization and change management techniques. Don't feel you
Management, are too busy or too knowledgeable to refresh your
Inc., USA consulting skills.
44/50 (c) 2009, Institute of Management Consultants USA
For your
concurrence to
Alag Tewar, print the tips in our
ABCeMag
Alag Flavour regularly.
Institute of
Management
I am either "in the groove" or "in a rut" with my
Consultants of consulting, depending on the day. I am really
India, successful at what I do but have been doing it
Delhi for many years. What are some ideas for
exploring other industries or disciplines?
Two ideas come to mind, one about doing and the

other about thinking your way to a "new groove."
First, talk to colleagues about teaming as a way to
experience new areas and types of consulting. Use
your industry experience to team with colleagues
who bring other disciplines to bear. The
combination of, say, your finance skills with a
colleague's marketing expertise will expand your
perspective and skills in the same industry. A few of
these experiences of leveraging your skills can lead
to a more interesting consulting practice.
Alternatively, work with others with expertise in the
same discipline who work in other industries. You
may find that your "rut" is really boredom with the
same industry, not with your particular discipline.
Second, dedicate some time to working on case

studies. These provide a way to quickly take a
broader view of different disciplines or industries
without working through individual engagements.
Tip: Even if you are not in a rut, pick up a few

books with cases studies to go through. Fiona
Czerniawska and Paul May's Management
Consulting in Practice: A Casebook of International
Best Practice provides two dozen short cases, a
December 16-31, few in each of human resources, operations, etc.
2009 Another source is in The Strategy Process:
Concepts, Context and Cases (3rd Edition)
provides several strategy related cases of large
companies, whose effectiveness you can probably
see (the cases are drawn from the 1990's).
45/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
I like to send my clients all kinds of things,
India, e.g., articles from professional journals,
Delhi
thoughts, recent news, specific
recommendations, and all sorts of things I
believe will be helpful. My concern is that
they don't read it all. How do I deal with this?
We are all on information overload and your

clients are no different. Part of our service is to
make the client's life easier, pointing them to the
right information at the right time. Don't assume
just because something is interesting to you that
it will also be for your client. Also, be sure this is
something that can be used, whether by
themselves or their staff. What they don't need
is something that is just a fact, trend or
summary that they have to think hard about how
to use it (these are data but not information, and
certainly not knowledge).
Tip: Start by being judicious about who gets

what. You probably don't have more than a
dozen really close relationships with clients.
Limit your sendouts to just those you know well
and are current on their needs. When you do
send something, tell the client why it is worth
reading, and help them to not read it by telling
the client what the major relevant point is for
their business. If you are really articulate and
know them well, you can summarize the main
December 16-31,
2009 points and let them use the item for backup.
Make sure the recipient knows immediately from
the headline and summary what is nice to know
vs. what is important, critical to their business.
46/50
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of As a professional advisor to executives, I
maintain a businesslike demeanor in my
India, dress, habits and services. This is what I am
Delhi being paid for, so I conduct myself
accordingly. However, I sometimes get the
sense that my clients are not on the same
wavelength. What gives?
First of all, lighten up. Yes, your clients are

paying for your insights, experience, and skills.
What they are not paying for is your being stiff,
distant, and "businesslike." Being professional
does not mean being humorless and dull.
Consultants seem to think that clients are buying
competence. So this is what they sell. Just look
at their literature - long lists of services,
features, clients, and the things they will "do" for
a client.
This is misdirected. Clients assume competence
as given, but are really looking for confidence -
confidence that they are entrusting their
organization to someone who has perspective,
understands them and their emotional needs,
and has good, old fashioned common sense.
Try to consult based on a template and both you
and the client will lose.
Lighten up by getting inside the client's head.
What hobbies does he or she enjoy? What do
they find funny? What aspects of the business
do they feel good about? What aspects of the
current challenge they face do they find
emotionally most vexing? How can you put them
December 16-31, at ease and feel that you really see them as
2009
people and not as an "engagement?" You can
still deliver your technical skills and perspective,
but don't forget that you are seeking to satisfy
their emotional needs, not just their intellectual
ones.
Tip: Take a moment to enjoy laughing at
47/50 yourself.
Alag Tewar,
Alag Flavour
Institute of
Management
Consultants of
India,
Delhi A true leader is
one who designs
the cathedral and
then shares the
vision that
inspires others to
build it.
– Jan Carlzon
Once I learned how to

be a leader rather than
a manager, I was able
to open up each
company to new,
market oriented
possibilities and to the
creative energy of its
employees.
– Jan Carlzon
Each one of us, in large
or small ways, is a leader.
Some have an official title
for their roles as leaders,
while others may lead
their brothers, sisters, or
December 16-31, friends on the playground.
2009 Leadership is a state of
mind – what you do to
yourself, not what you do
to others.
– Chin-Ning Chu
48/50 Leadership Ideas For Today

Extracts from the gift book- LIFT,
Alag Tewar, pending print, by
Alag Flavour - Rajiv Khurana, CMC, FIMC
Institute of
Management ICMCI
Consultants of The International Council of Code of
Management Consulting Institutes
India, is the global association of national
Professional
Delhi management consulting institutes Conduct for
from around the world. These
national institutes administer, in IMCI members
accordance with world class
standards, the international "CMC"
certification Certified Management
Minimum Guidelines
Consultant earned by individual
professional management Confidentiality
A member will treat client information as
consultants.
confidential and will not take personal advantage
More details: icmci.org of privileged information gathered during an
assignment, or enable others to do so.
Unrealistic Expectations
IMCI A member will refrain from encouraging unrealistic
The Institute of Management Consultants expectations or promising clients that benefits are
of India (IMCI) is the apex body of certain from specific consulting services.
management consulting professionals, Commissions / Financial Interests
being the only registered institute of A member will neither accept commissions,
established management consultancy remuneration or other benefits from a third party
firms and practicing individuals in the in connection with recommendations to a client
country. without the client’s knowledge and consent, nor
fail to disclose any financial interest in goods or
Constituted in 1991, IMCI was formerly services which form part of such
known as the Management Consultants’ recommendations.
Association of India (MCAI), which was Assignments
founded in 1963. A member will only accept assignments for which
In 1989, IMCI became the first Asian the member has the skill and knowledge to
organisation to be accepted for perform.
membership of the International Council Conflicting Assignments
of Management Consulting Institutes A member will avoid acting simultaneously (in
(ICMCI), the global apex body of potentially conflicting situations) without
Management Consulting Institutes. ICMCI informing all parties in advance that this is
has 46 member countries in the world. intended.
Conferring with Clients
The Executive Secretariat of IMCI is A member will ensure that before accepting any
located in Mumbai. The Institute has engagement, a mutual understanding of the
regional Chapters in Ahmedabad, objectives, scope, work plan and fee arrangements
Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), is established and any personal, financial or other
December 16-31, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai (Bombay) and interests which might influence the conduct of the
2009 Pune. work are disclosed.
Recruiting
CMC Designation A member will refrain from inviting an employee of
IMCI endeavors to raise the standards of a client to consider alternate employment without
management consulting by awarding prior discussion with the client.
Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Approach
designation to individual members who A member will maintain a fully professional
have passed a qualifying examination approach in all dealings with clients, the general
and have met the profession’s standards public and fellow members.
49/50 of competence and ethics. The CMC Code of Professional Conduct
designation implies international A member will ensure that other management
recognition to worldwide standards. consultants carrying out work on the member’s
Alag Tewar, behalf are conversant with and abide by the Code
More details: imcindia.co.in of Professional Conduct.
Alag Flavour
Institute of Join gro

up
Management ‘IMCI – D
elhi’
Consultants of on linke
din.com
India,
Delhi
http://twitter.com/imcidelhi
Imagine We await your

ideas,
Clients’ desperate to get you.
What does it take? suggestions,
contribution,
support …
Patron:
Patron: Chairman
Chairman
Dr.
Dr.M.B.Athreya
M.B.Athreya Rajiv
Rajiv Khurana
Khurana
Mentors:
Mentors: Dy.
Dy.Chairman
Chairman
Dr.
Dr.S.R.Mohnot
S.R.Mohnot Sumit
SumitChaudhuri
Chaudhuri
December 16-31, Mr.
Mr.Shashi
ShashiBudhiraja
Budhiraja Hon.
Hon. Secretary
Secretary
2009
Dr.
Dr.Sunil
SunilAbrol
Abrol Vijay
VijayNagrani
Nagrani
Past
PastChairmen:
Chairmen: Hon.
Hon.Treasurer
Treasurer
Mr.
Mr.Ashok
Ashok Kumar
Kumar M
MSS Sridhar
Sridhar
Mr.
Mr.Ramesh
RameshTyagi
Tyagi Executive
Executive Members
Members
SSAA Khader
Khader
SSBB Sengupta
Sengupta IMCI – Delhi
50/50 Dr.
Dr.Shiv
Shiv Dhawan
Dhawan
Regional
RegionalRep.
Rep.
Alag Tewar, SSAA Khader

Khader imcidelhi@gmail.com
Alag Flavour This eMag is meant for free electronic circulation amongst members & friends of IMCI - Delhi

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de-limiting excellence

Certified Management Consultant TM

Session Chairperson: Dr. S R Mohnot

These guidelines evoked a lot of discussion amongst

Institute of IMCI – FMS

Institute of Marketing, Sales & Distribution

Quoting the Placement Committee members, “The interviews with the

Management Applications of Dharma

Institute of Another fundamental principle for management is that of Vishwastha, the

Institute of Consultants operate in a highly competitive environment.

Institute of Academic qualifications do not necessarily guarantee

[1] David H.Moister, True Professionalism (New York:

Institute of The process of strategic analysis ensures the

Market Size and Major Participants

The rudderless performance is the result of imbalance in

T- Think on your feet. It is utmost essential to be able to do this in a

Institute of Keeping up with new practices in consulting is a

For example, recent deep thinking about how the

Tip: Keeping current in subject matter is only half of

Two ideas come to mind, one about doing and the

Second, dedicate some time to working on case

Tip: Even if you are not in a rut, pick up a few

We are all on information overload and your

Tip: Start by being judicious about who gets

First of all, lighten up. Yes, your clients are

Once I learned how to

48/50 Leadership Ideas For Today

Institute of Join gro

Imagine We await your

Alag Tewar, SSAA Khader

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