Miranda Musing

"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." Army's magazine of preventive maintenance. "Aim towards the Enemy." Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher "After the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend." U.S. Marine Corps "Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground." USAF Ammo Troop "If the enemy is in range, so are you!" Infantry Journal "It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed." U.S. Air Force Manual "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons." General Douglas MacArthur "Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo." Infantry Jour...

The recent rains in India and Mumbai particularly have brought out the woes of infrastructure in the financial capital of India. “India needs $ 320 billion investment in infrastructure alone” said Mr. P Chidambaram , Finance Minister at a conference in London. As India gallops in to a 10% average GDP growth for the next 10- 15 years, the infrastructure needs to cope up with the potential growth. India prides itself in possessing an intellectual labour force, world class business practices, a stable political climate and an effective legal system, however loses out on the infrastructure. How do we revamp the infrastructure and bring it to world class? Sure enough our population is going to be a big challenge, but can also be an opportunity as China showed it to the world. We have a large labour force for infrastructure development, but sadly need the financial muscle for it as the Finance minister pointed out. It can come only from foreign direct investment ( FDI ) in real ...

What should companies focus on Market share or Profits? An interesting article on Economic Times by Mr. VN Bhattacharya on companies aiming for sales growth at the cost of competitiveness set me thinking. We can see the euphoria of double digit has spurred many of the Indian companies to be obsessed with Market share than profits. Is it a right trend? Many of the companies we see are in a mad rush in the competition for the market share at a cost of profit. In the process companies give a skip to cost saving measures, superior processes, customer service and focus on new non - existent markets, expensive promotions, blind acquisitions etc. The latter processes definitely will result in better market share and top lines and subsequently good bottom lines in short term but the neglect in former areas tend to take its toll on the bottom line resulting in better sales and poor profits. Many companies instead of consolidating on existing customers neglect to service them efficient...

THE FINAL INSPECTION The Soldier stood and faced his God, Which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, Just as brightly as his brass. "Step forward now, you Soldier, How shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Church have you been true? "The Soldier squared his shoulders and said, "No, my Lord, I ain't. Because those of us who carry guns, Can't always be a saint. I've had to work most Sundays, And at times my talk was tough. And sometimes I've been violent, Because the world is awfully rough. But, I never took a dollar, That wasn't mine to keep... Though I worked a lot of overtime, When the bills got just too steep. And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear. And sometimes, God, forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears. I know I don't deserve a place, Among the people here. They never wanted me around, Except to calm their fears. If you've a place for me here, Lord,It ne...

Knowledge Management comprises a range of practices used by organisations to identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness and learning. A true KM helps achieving the flow process of Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom and Innovation for the overall objectives of the organisation. Knowledge has to be made explicit from tacit or in other words tacit knowledge we have in our heads have to be codified into explicit knowledge that can be used by others in the organisation. What does KM give the organisation? Competitive advantage is the first thing that comes to mind. It improves operational efficiency, innovation in the work place, better process, faster learning and knowledge access across the organisations. Online corporate yellow pages or expertise locators and document management systems are the most preliminary forms of knowledge management, however with information technology providing better tools the capabilities of KM are increasing. Blogs, intranet...

Indian IT aspires to reach $ 60 billions by 2010 as per Nasscom - McKinsey report. The present export figures of Indian IT is $ 31 billions. Right now the market share of Indian IT offshore is 65% and BPO is 46% of Global IT offshore and BPO market respectively which is around $ 300 billions. But then why has India's exports grown only to $ 31 billions? Indian cost is low comparatively but that is the pull factor influencing Indian IT. MNCs are gaining a major market share by their captive units. The supply is not corresponding to demand. We are not able to meet the scale needed to meet the demand due to many constraints. What are the constraints to our growth? Inadequate talent to meet the demand. It is predicted there can be a shortage of 150,000 graduates in IT alone by 2010. This is going to be one of the major constraints. IT cos need to focus on demand and put in place adequate training programmes aimed at futuristic growth. Here attrition is going to be a big chall...

A powerful Navy we have always regarded as our proper and natural means of defense; and it has always been of defense that we have thought, never of aggression or of conquest. But who shall tell us now what sort of Navy to build? We shall take leave to be strong upon the seas, in future as in the past; and there will be no thought of offense or provocation in that. our ships are our natural bulwarks. - President Woodrow Wilson Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor. - Oliver Wendell Homes

A nice article in today's Economic Times - Corporate Dossier that I thought should share it with you. Sam Walton, founder of Wal - Mart and the most successful businessman in the world, (a retired Army officer to founder of the richest organisation in the world) reportedly followed a set of rules to which he has credited his success not only in his business but also his life. Rule #1: COMMIT to achieving success and always be passionate. Rule #2: SHARE your success with those who have helped you. Rule #3: MOTIVATE yourself and others to achieve your dreams. Rule #4: COMMUNICATE with people and show you care. Rule #5: APPRECIATE and recognise people for their effort and results. Rule #6: CELEBRATE your own and others accomplishments. Rule#7: LISTEN to others and learn from their ideas. Rule#8: EXCEED the expectations of others by setting high standards. Rule#9: CONTROL your expenses and save your way to prosperity. Rule#10: SWIM UPSTREAM, be different, and challenge the status quo....

All of us are aware of the famous quote by Mukesh Ambani that India has place for six major Retail players but do we believe that. As it is happening in Telecom three major players are emerging after the telecom market got consolidated. The same way I feel in Retail too though there may be many players with different retail models, finally only three or may be four may emerge. However the time frame for the consolidation may be longer than it took for Telecom. The winner eventually is not only the Indian consumer but all these players who ventured into retail. The smaller guys may do a merger deal with the bigger ones which will work out as a win win situation for both of them. At the end of the day all the players who ventured into retail will be laughing all the way to the bank. Do you know five of the top seven millionaires in the reformed Russia made their millions through retail? Many of the top millionaires in the world are also Retailers. No wonder every business house in India ...

These days the favourite topic in news is who is the fall guy for the cricket failure. The blame game is on. The favourite scape goat is Greg Chappell followed by Rahul Dravid. But in my view, it is neither of them but the BCCI. They didn't have any direction so far and will not have any in the near future also. Every one is there to enjoy the booty of Cricket in India. GC and RD were good for the Indian cricket team and were entrusted with the job after a great selection process. How can the process suddenly become bad. The players didn't have any direction. Though RD is an absolute team player and team loyalist he may have lacked the leadership that mattered. But did we have an alternative for the captaincy. We didn't have and still we don't have. It's tough to lead a team with high profile players who are in their ego trips and endorsement millions of their own. But it has been done before. some of the names that come to mind, Imran Khan, Clive Lloyd, Steve Vaug...

Hi friends, This is my blog to share with you my musings on different subjects which give you insight from my point of view. You may share with me your views on the subject and make our readings interesting.