End Moment

7/29/2019 End Moment

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The start and the progress

The most important and cost centric touch point for the telecom operators has been the ContactCenters. It all basically started with setting up of a small facility for receiving calls from

customer with employees on rolls and space owned, but as the operations started getting widerand deeper the challenges to manage the inbound call flow became difficult. The easiestavailable option was to establish local level call centers with smaller volume of operations meantto cater the calls originating from the circle itself. Small time entrepreneurs were asked tocommit and the operations were ghost managed by the operators themselves. But with passage oftime and explosion in the subscriber base this model became inefficient due to lack ofprofessional commitment, focus on costs alone, lack of scalability and poor quality of services. Itforced telecom players to change their strategies and start innovating their business models.Strategic outsourcing and partnerships and alliances (with the customer being at the center) wereestablished as the cornerstones of the new competitive theme. The focus on core competencies ofthe own organization and leveraging of others became top agenda for the telecom operators.

Telcos realized that their core competencies were sales and marketing of the services andsupervision of the service delivery rather than managing the trivial affairs like payroll andaccounting or even the other areas of strategic importance like information technology, networkmanagement and maintenance, call center technology and contact center operations. The need tooutsource was further fueled by desire to attain.

Scalability- Gearing up for growth

Increased Retention- Retaining customers is always cheaper than acquiring new ones

Predictability- Having predictable cost structures

Accountability- Defined SLAs and risk sharing with partners, vendors and alliances

The Indian BPOs were having advantages of learning curve from different world class operationssupported and amalgamation of best practices from different global companies. This diffusion ofknowledge and practices made the BPOs move closer to the much celebrated productivityfrontier and become best in the class. Telcos started to leverage this core competency of theIndian BPOs by forming strategic partnerships. The salient factors which assisted the telecomoperators in making the choice were

Management of heavy call volumes The swelling call volumes at the contact centers, lack ofcompetencies, limited manpower and scalability were hindering the service to the growing

subscriber base. The BPOs with hiring & training facilities and deep pockets were more capableof providing desired scalability to telcos cocktailed with high class professional competenciesand commitment.

Consolidate to leverage economies of scale The scatter bed local contact centers with theirown standalone and non-standard practices were posing hindrances in operations. The unificationof the contact centers enabled the cutting of costs and benefits of economies of scale with onefacility serving for 3-4 circles or more.


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Leveraging the economies of scope The BPOs also provided an opportunity to realizedifferent revenue streams like upselling (generating revenue from the callers at inbound callcenter by selling VAS services etc).

Establishing command centers for optimizing resource utilization The consolidation spreenecessitated establishment of centralized command centers with aim of optimizing resource

utilization at each of the contact centers. A specialized team, working round the clock, in a stateof the art environment, delivers the following benefits

Improved forecast accuracy

Real time work load management

Improvement in accessibility and service levels

Business continuity and contingency management

Optimized resource utilization

This optimization will always have to balance the strike of the double edged sword of decreasingthe costs and maintaining the Customer Satisfaction.

Offering segmented service delivery The hyper-competitive telecom market necessitates thatthe entire base of the customers be segmented into different buckets depending upon their AON(Age On Network), MoU (Minutes of Usage) and revenue contribution. For retention of the bestcustomers the companies started the loyalty and the privileged customer programs whichrequired better skilled contact center agents and superior management of processes. This couldonly be achieved by better systems for training and operations.

Gaining from the core competencies of the BPOs The contact centers are meant forproviding uniform services to all the callers by adhering to the processes. The BPOs have

developed capabilities of managing the business processes of varied types and havecompetencies to handle complex operations with higher standards of service delivery.

Establishing multiple channels for service delivery The outsourcing of contact centers freedthe resources of telcos to focus more on development of channels through which the customerscould be served without agents. The increased use of IVR (Interactive Voice Response), speech,web and other non-voice channels of customer contact through customer education and influencewas targeted.

The telecom operators outsourced the entire contact center operations to 4-5 BPO corporationsfor managing the operations of the entire country. The operators took a two-pronged approach oflimiting the no. of strategic partners they tied-up with and ensuring that the contact center sitesgot located conveniently at the non- metro locations with regional language preferences to cutcosts and manage attrition.

This approach was followed by the below mentioned strategies

1. Transforming multiple standalone operations, into a single virtual call center formaximum efficiency, consistency and control.


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2. Reducing the application integration backlog that slows down agents and makes themless productive.

3. Providing unified, universal customer access via telephone, email and internet channels,to open less costly and more convenient interaction channels while preserving quality andconsistency across all channels

4. Developing and enabling a systematic process to make rapid adjustments to servicedelivery in order to ensure customer service excellence.

What the future has in store?

Voice Self-Service

The contact centre is caught in the centre of the Demand Delta the gap between customersincreasing expectations and organizations ability to deliver service. Voice Self-Service is a

communication channel providing opportunities to balance cost control with customer serviceand to address the issue of demand delta.

Types of Voice Self-Service

The challenge would be effective implementation of the Voice Self Service because IVR shouldinvolve customer preferences without making the system too complex and slow to use whilesupporting the brand values of the organizations.

In terms of guidelines for the implementation of Voice Self-Service the telecom operators wouldneed to:

1. Select situations where customers make repeat calls

2. Identify areas where call numbers are large and for a specific purpose

3. Pick applications where speed and convenience are particularly important

4. Offer customers the choice of application.

In terms of usability, some key considerations that will have to be kept in mind:

1. Speed of IVR Neither too slow and nor too fast

2. Personality Youve got to know its not a person

3. Fall out Provide the option to escape to a live agent

4. Introduction by an education program

5. Test, test and re-test for usability with customers.

Customer experience

There are several compelling reasons for improving the customer experience:

1. Strategic: The burgeoning competition and heavy regulation has commoditized the telecomservices. In rapidly commoditizing markets, customer experience may be the only way todifferentiate the brand and create sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, there areevidences galore that consumers are willing to pay a premium for a positive experience.


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2. Marketing: If an organization can create raving fans or apostles, it can actually buckle itsexpenditures on marketing. The word of mouth and referrals by the present customers cause aSnow-ball effect leading to an ever magnifying base of customers.

3. Customer retention: A customer receiving a better service and warm experience will alwayshave a better retention probability, hence giving better revenues.

4. Reduce or eliminate cost to failure: The costs resulting from a poorly designed orimplemented customer experience can be enormous. Even a trivial problem or issue can translateinto multitude of calls in a contact centre.

5. New technologies: New technologies such as the Internet and CRM, are aiding in improvedcustomer experiences.

From agent to expert

The agent is becoming increasingly central to the delivery of customer experience within thecontact centre. However, with customers becoming more demanding and less satisfied with thecontact centre experience, the agent often gets caught in the management of contradictions as

they try to balance the demands of the organization (increase efficiency) with the needs of thecustomer (get service). As we move into the future the call centre agent needs to become morethan a transaction processor, adding little value, and move into the role of an advisor and,ultimately, an expert.

The Demand Delta trade-off between cost, control and quality produces three general types ofcontact centre model and contact centre employees. One model has evolved over the other withthe passage of time and dynamism of the industry dealing with complexity, delivering value andcustomer satisfaction.

These models are:

Mass Production The Agent.It is based on centralized control, rigorous process definition and employee compliance. A massproduction contact centers goal is to maximize throughput, deliver uniformity and minimizecosts. It is solely driven by productivity based KPIs for management of the operation and thegoals of the business which often leads to behaviors that are detrimental to the customerexperience (such as call bouncing)

Mass Customization The Advisor.

A Mass Customization Model is characterized by high levels of employee autonomy andempowerment. Agents become advisors. Mass customized contact centers aim to delivereffective, high quality, personalized customer experiences using flexible processes, customer

knowledge from the CRM and knowledge system. High levels of first time resolution andcustomer satisfaction are the norm. Costs in this model are not managed through simply countingtransactions and volumes of calls but by measuring and eliminating waste (and cost) through theidentification of cost of failure demand (characterized by measures such as FCR (First ContactResolution).

Networked Expert The Expert.

Unlike the previous two models, where work is monitored (to different extents) and knowledgeis presented to agent at the appropriate moment in the workflow, experts themselves are


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responsible for maintaining and updating their working practices and knowledge. Experts couldbe anyone in the organization with a particular expertise in a customer, discipline, locale,interaction skill, product or service. These experts do not necessarily reside in a traditionalcentralized contact centre but could comprise a mixture of office based, mobile and homebased workers. They may work anywhere (and for anyone) but they will have customer queries

routed to them intelligently, based on their expertise, appropriateness and availability.

Advertising - Its Importance In MarketingView Comments

Written by Tanushree Bhattacharya

Written By :- Tanushree Bhattacharya

Advertising is a potent vehicle which includes imagination, creativity, concepts,ideas and innovation to promote new products and remind about changes in the oldone. Advertising means selling but for this one need a creativity of mind with thework of beauty and art.

Advertising can be said both powerful and magical. It sells us dreams and hasbecome fabric by selling life style. We can find that people of the society havetremendous impact of advertisements. In todays fast moving media driven world itplays a vital role in customers mind and sentiments. So advertisements reach tothem through the route of emotion which is a powerful one in advertising.

Advertising proves magical by the power of wordwhich leaves an image on themind of the customers. Words not only control the minds but it also changes theview points completely and help the customers to climb the ladder of inquisitiveness.If advertising is shown with the combination of words along with something newfactor highlighted then it bring a favorable response of the consumers.

In the present market scenario advertising is experiencing a period of rapid economicgrowth worldwide. Like many other marketing tools, advertising is among one ofthem which try to draw the attention of prospective customers and try to quench theirthrust for products and services by presenting them in a favorable manner. If anadvertising campaign proves effective then it invites more and more customers with

greater frequency. Advertising is one of the parts of marketing Mix. We have toaccept the fact that advertising rely on the heart of marketing strategy which includespublic relations, product, packaging, customer service, pricing, promotionalprograms, word of mouth and channel relationships among other strategies.

Advertising acts as a guide book which tell us what to buy or not to buy. It is foundthat advertising is just not only the way to sale products or services but it alsoacquires its own importance by educating and providing knowledge to customers. Itcan be said as revenue generator as many media outlets such as television, radio, and
http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:advertising-its-importance-in-marketing&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:advertising-its-importance-in-marketing&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58#disqus_threadhttp://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_mailto&tmpl=component&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGVjZW9pbnNpZ2h0cy5jb20vam9vbWxhL2luZGV4LnBocD9vcHRpb249Y29tX2NvbnRlbnQmdmlldz1hcnRpY2xlJmlkPTE1MzphZHZlcnRpc2luZy1pdHMtaW1wb3J0YW5jZS1pbi1tYXJrZXRpbmcmY2F0aWQ9NTQ6YXJ0aWNsZXMmSXRlbWlkPTU4http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?view=article&catid=54%3Aarticles&id=153%3Aadvertising-its-importance-in-marketing&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?view=article&catid=54%3Aarticles&id=153%3Aadvertising-its-importance-in-marketing&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:advertising-its-importance-in-marketing&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58#disqus_threadhttp://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:advertising-its-importance-in-marketing&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58


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newspaper do business due to sale advertising which earns revenue and helps ineconomic growth worldwide.

Building of brand image through advertising is important as brand always lives inthe memory and hearts of the customers. Companies and customers can share astrong bond of relationship through branding. Promoting public relation is one of the

greatest ways to form a brand because it only helps customers to understand acompany and its products. To create a good brand and its effectiveness is a longbattle although it makes selling easier.

In case of advertising whatever we see may not be reality and if it shows reality it isquite possible we may not see it. So one of the oldest and traditional conceptualmodel for creating any advertising is AIDA model: get Attention, hold Interest,arouse Desire and then obtain Action. This model conveys that A standsfor Awareness and Attention. That means the first task of an advertisement is tomake customer aware about a product. I stand for Interest. It means when a customerwill come to know about a product it will automatically create an interest in the mindof that customer regarding the product. D stands for Desire. The desire to obtain that

may be generated in the mind of the customer. At last A stands for Action which isthe final stage and depends on the determination of customer for taking action to buythat product.

Through the help of the above model advertising can knock the mind of customersand if it proves effective customers will definitely try the product at least for once intheir whole life and if it meet their expectation then it becomes their lifetimeproduct.

In a whole advertising is important for marketing.


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The Point Blank | Transforming Rural India- Prevalent Scenario

countries advance not because of their size but by the manner its people lead their lives andby the character they possess and by the skill of their hands and intelligence they possess to dothings. If India would make progress, it would do so because such people live here and notbecause 36 crore people live in this country.- A pertinent quote of India's first Prime Minister,Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s during a visit to the small township of Dayalbagh

(population 5,000 at that time), about 200 kms from Delhi.

Unarguably the Rural India to what some prefer to refer as Bharat - is predominantlydependant on agriculture for its livelihoods and the burgeoning population coupled with moreefficient farm practices has made it unsustainable for agriculture to continue to sustain itstraditional market share of rural employment. In India, Today agriculture employs more than70% of rural population, but only contributes to about 18% to nations GDP. The dependence ofvillage communities, specially the resource-poor (comprising mostly of agricultural laborers andfarmers with very small landholding) on land is enhanced because of the lack of access to otherproductive assets and skills.

Today, WE are a nation of approximately 638,000 villages with more than two third of totalpopulation living in the villages. In this scenario, in order to achieve nationwide transformationand push our country in the orbit of developed nation, bring mass awareness, fight againstenemies such as poverty and population, create an advanced educated society of citizens andabove all in order to witness India transformed after 75 long years of independent rule, I believe,the up-most action-item is to bring about Rural Transformation.

Prevalent Scenario Need to Eradicate Urban Rural Divide

As we are aware majority of Rural India population has been engaged in the core agricultural work till date. This, however, beingthe most accepted-and-followed Socio-Economic model; there has been evident reason for the Rural Youth to remain engaged in

the business which they had for generations. Categorization of task backed by limitation of choices in the Rural Indiaeventually widened the chasm between not only the Rural and Urban Youth communities but also between the opportunitiesmade available to them. Moreover, the divide not only barred the opportunities but also the exposure of advancement to the youthof Rural India. The divide formed uneven income groups starkly differentiating the Urban and the Rural Youth. And, sadly so,the differentiation factor responsible for disparity is, I am sure, the unavailability of opportunities to Rural Youth and certainly

NOT unavailability of talent.

India is in the race of being a super-power and, luckily, there are many visionaries - like Former President APJ Abdul Kalam -who have already shown pathway for the same. Amidst all the efforts we direct to make India a developed nation, the pressingneed of time is to eradicate the opportunity difference between Urban and Rural Youth. Eradicating barrier of Urban Rural


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Divide would help us address plethora of our prime concerns such as poverty and population explosion (or implosion?!) to namea few.

Having noted the need for highly-scalable model which can bring mass awareness and help the nation prosper; I believe there is aneed for a model which,

i) Provides requisite opportunities to Rural Youth

a. For getting trained

b. To receive appropriate feed-back

c. For better utilization of their time and efficiency

ii) Creates employment with even opportunities for both men and women

iii) Eliminates the difference of exposure between Urban and Rural areas

iv) Proves to be the most competitive yet economical model wherein comparison with otherconventional/ traditional existing models.

v) Itself should be a highly scalable for leveraging the untapped potential of the Rural Youth.

With 70 percent of our population living in villages, the development of India will not becomprehensive or complete unless there is development in our rural areas. Our objective ofinclusive development will not be achieved unless villages do not prosper, where as MahatmaGandhi used to say the heart of India throbs


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Open Innovation In SlowdownView CommentsAbout the Author: Mr. Prashant Kumar, MBA Student, LM Thapar School of Management, Campus Editor, TheCEO Insights

Abstract

Innovation is a key to success and for survival as well. When resources are scarce

and/ or constraints are imposed, new ways are to be sought to survive and sustain.Same is the situation at present in the world economy. Financial turmoil has shakenthe whole world and all governments. This has direct impact on enterprises, be itlarge companies or SMEs.

The research paper analyzes the past and reframes the future. It proposes aframework for the enterprises to survive based on open innovation and strategiccorrelation. The paper introduces open innovation and explains the role of openinnovation in endurance of enterprises with briefing about challenges of openinnovation. The paper proceeds with what can be achieved by open innovation inrecession and explains the necessary actions for open innovation in recession period.The paper touches human side of innovation and based on all these, proposes a

framework for open innovation. The paper ends with role of open innovation insmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) to show importance of the same for theirsurvival.

1. Introduction

The concept of open innovation approach is becoming more and more popular over the years, andseveral organizations adopt this kind of methodology. Based on the open innovation approach, betterresults and developments can be achieved through the extension of the innovation processes outsideof borders of an organization, and involving partners in the processes: suppliers, customers, businesspartners, but especially the end users of the new products and services. Organizations realized theimportance of opening their innovation processes, but there are several levels of this openness, andusing external resources. Innovation process is the development or refinement of new products,services or capabilities of an organization, or application existing solutions in new ways. For the

innovation process both internal and external knowledge can be used, or new knowledge can begenerated.

2. Role of Open Innovation

The open innovation approach changes some traditional innovation and R&D processes: whileinnovative solutions are traditionally serious business secrets, this new approach makes the futuresolutions visible not only for the future users, but also for competitors. In some cases open innovationprocesses are performed in informal development teams, networks, where only weak centralcoordination supports the processes (e.g., Linux, Mozilla, and Google web applications). In thesecases the goal-oriented approach is more challenging, but there is a bigger possibility for radically
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new solutions. Mozilla developed a legal and functional model that allows the open sourcecommunity and Mozilla itself to cooperate in product development (Mendonca and Sutton 2008).

The main advantage of open innovation is the involvement of new thoughts, approaches into theinnovation process. The capabilities, competencies and possibilities of internal innovation are limited,while extending the innovation process outside the organization borders, opens (theoretically)unlimited capacities. Through extending the innovation boundaries a wider expert base can be

achieved, where the experience from other fields or interdisciplinary areas can be useful for theinnovation process. In the case of a biotechnological firm, the company faced with a problem relatedto DNA sequences. Because they have failed to solve the problem, they opened the problem area foroutsider scientist. By surprise the winning solution was presented by a scientist, who is not evenworking close the problem domain, but he could understand it, and he could reframe an existingtechnology for the actual problem (Lagace 2006).

As output, a company can directly use the results of the open innovation, or offer indirect productsand benefits (e.g., related to Linux), or use the by-results of the innovation process, like customerloyalty, or image (Burghin et al 2008).

Challenges

The biggest challenge in open innovation is the motivation of participants. However directcompensation (salary, prices, etc.) can be challenging and interesting for several participants, more

personal factors have more important role:Curiosity,

Intellectual challenge of the problem (process of problem solving, achieving success),

Fame (to show the world of capabilities),

To be part of the community,

Fun (fun of problem solving).

Based on these motivation factors, in open innovation approaches organizations should makeemphasis on building a suitable virtual environment for cooperation of participants, and offeringintangible motivation factors. Participants can even convert these benefits in other relationships, e.g.,the fame achieved in an open innovation project or in the open community could result a good payingcontract from another company, or can be a good reference even for a company.

Another important challenge is to convince the innovating organization itself about the benefits ofopen innovation: decision makers usually afraid of presenting the future plans or currentdevelopments of the company. Through open innovation it is not hard for competitors to see, or figureout the current development plans for an organization.

3. Innovation for recession

3.1 Achievable benefits

The two key benefits are speed and the ability to capitalize on knowledge and laborregardless of where it resides.

3.1.1 Speed.Open innovation fosters faster exchanges of ideas through innovationaction networks and shared development. Open innovation is more agile, better able

to deal with uncertainty of markets and enables technology development processesthat are more adaptive and efficient. Every company is facing greater demands torespond faster to their market and open innovation can enhance those efforts.

3.1.2 Distributed knowledge and labor.Organizations can more effectivelycapitalize on skilled labor that is mobile and independent. We are reaching the end ofknowledge monopolies based on conventional business models. Globalization trendsrequire increased knowledge to compete in other markets. However, in practice,companies are reducing their internal knowledge bases in an effort to run lean. The


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best way to meet knowledge and labor limitations is to use open innovation methods.

Open innovation is about more than a small change in R&D. It has the potential torevolutionize business. But at this stage of the revolution, the open innovationprocess is chaotic. It is advisable to get involved early, fail quickly and often, learnfrom your mistakes and develop best practices for your company.

3.2 To implement open innovation in an organization

The biggest issue with implementation is that one cannot simply copy anothercompany. Too often a CEO mandates an open innovation initiative because it worksfor another company and thinks it can simply be duplicated. It just doesnt work thatway. Another issue comes as a result of the lack of company-wide engagement. Ago-getter director initiates a program for a department, typically R&D, and the restof the company is indifferent or even resistant to the changes. Finally,implementation deals with an intangible problem created in a company probablyalready in shock from too many recent changes to the organization, making it unableto process yet another restructure or corporate culture adjustment.

Every company is unique and must develop an approach to open innovation that fitsits needs. Make sure the engagements are the right size. In several cases clientsexpressed remorse that an open innovation project took two full quarters toimplement and then came the realization that the market potential for the project istoo small, making the open innovation effort seem trivial.

3.3 To assemble a good open innovation network

Without a network, open innovation is dead. There are examined the different typesof connections: solution bounty, internally prequalified, business partners, suppliers,and crowd sourcing in different literatures:

A Solution Bounty offers a reward for offering a solution to a specific question. On

the positive side, it is easy to establish through a third-party, and typically youwill find an extremely large number of innovators connected. Some of thedisadvantages include the tendency towards innovation against specificationwhich can be too myopic. And transparent problem briefs signal strengths andweaknesses to your competitors.

Internally Prequalified typically exist in the largest companies. IP issues are

handled upfront and the framework supports innovation-against-specificationand mission innovation based on the closer engagements between the client andmembers.

Business Partners typically are rich in resources compared with typical small

innovators, and they are more inclined to think bigger and understand the

innovation mission. Some detractors with engaging business partners include thedanger that the partner can claim the joint project and you end up boxed out.Also, make sure IP issues are addressed up front.

Suppliers have inside knowledge of your strategy, and ideally, are more likely to

generate disruptive technology. Supplier relationships tend to mitigate IP issues,too. If they value your business, they have a lot to lose if something fails. Sonormally, suppliers do not squabble over IP so they can maintain client


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relationships.

Not all businesses have strong opportunities in Crowd Sourcing. If you are in such

a business, crowd sourcing builds customer loyalty and practical knowledge ofyour value proposition. The primary detractor is the cost associated withmanaging customer-feedback processes.

3.4 To evaluate open innovation

As with any field that is new, no final answer is available. We can start byexamining how open innovation compares to traditional internal methods. Comparethe results and time to market of open innovation to previous methods. Ultimately,open innovation should increase profitability compared with only using internalmethods.

To assess open innovation by output, we can ask a series of questions. Whatpercentage of sales came from externally licensed technologies? Is this percentageincreasing or decreasing compared with 2-3 years ago? What percentage of netincome last year came from technology licensed out to other companies? Is this

percentage increasing or decreasing compared with 2-3 years ago?In assessing opening innovation in terms of time to market, we should ask how long it takes forpatented ideas created inside the company to be transitioned to the firms own products and services.Has this interval changed in the past five years? How? What percentage of internal ideas is offered forexternal license? How much time elapsed between the patenting of ideas and their external licensing?

4. The human element of open innovation

4.1 The human side: a missing element

Its easy to assume, especially since much of the open innovation movement focuseson identifying external sources of innovation, that ideas and technologies (or theprocesses to find them) are the keys to success. But, the key to success in makingopen innovation happen is in overcoming the significant barriers and perceived risks

on the people side of the equation.

According to a recent survey by Strategos, executives cited short term focus (63%),lack of time/resources (52%), and management incentives not supportinginnovation (31%) as the biggest barriers to effective innovation. Only 15% citedlack of out-of-the-box ideas as a major barrier. Marketing guru Seth Godin sumsup the sentiment well, when he says Whats missing isnt the ideas --its the will toexecute them.

At leading companies like P&G, Nokia and others who are successfully adoptingopen innovation models, the stories behind the scenes are tales of inspiredleadership, aligned incentives, and cultures that support strategic experimentation

and reward collaborative results. They have created in their organizations what iscalled an Open Innovation Mindset.

4.2 Five keys to creating an open innovation mindset

Key 1: Broaden your view

We all see the world through the lens of our own experiences and pre-conceivedviewpoints. For this reason, having the right people doing the looking and having theright mindset becomes critical in where/how you look for innovation and how you


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filter what you discover. As an example of this filtering, its interesting to look at astudy from Dr. Richard Wisemans book Luck Factor, a book about his study ofself-reported 'lucky' and 'unlucky' people. One of his studies showed that when eachof these groups were shown a newspaper and asked to count the number of pictures,on average the self-reported unlucky people spent about two minutes on the exercise

while self-reported lucky people spent seconds. The reason? Lucky people tended tospot the message on page two -- in big type -- "Stop counting: there are 43 photos inthis newspaper". In fact, the unlucky people tended to miss not only this message,but the next one about halfway through -- "Stop counting, tell the experimenter yousaw this and win $250".

The lesson: "Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they're too busylooking for something else. Lucky people see what is there and not just what they'relooking for".

Key 2: Create alignment across the innovation ecosystem

Creating alignment within any company is critical to achieving the organizationsgoals, and lack of alignment is often cited as a barrier to effective innovation,especially conflicting goals across functional groups. These barriers become evenmore pronounced in cross-company collaborations. Often in collaborativerelationships, at the highest levels it appears that groups are aligned, because theyagree on the major goals to be achieved. But if you look deeper, youll often see thatincentive systems, functional and organizational goals are often in direct conflictwith the overall stated goals.

One of the most common mistakes occurs when functional groups across thecompanies (whether marketing or engineering) negotiate and develop plans withcounterparts in other organizations. Because they believe that they speak the samelanguage, and are often quick to agree on certain aspects of the approach or

program, each is much too quick to fill in the blanks with assumptions about theother sides intentions and needs. This is a critical point to remember: you areespecially susceptible to misunderstandings when the differences are subtle.

Key 3: Adapt to your organizations tolerance for risk

Authors and consultants James Andrew and Harold Sirkin11 present a frameworkfor alternative approaches to new product and business development, which isvaluable as a tool for structuring strategic initiatives that are in line with anorganizations tolerance for risk. The three types of roles include that of Integrator,Orchestrator and Licensor. Integrators manage all steps necessary to generate profitfrom an idea. Orchestrators carry out some steps and link with partners to carry outthe rest (the traditional view of co-development). Licensors license the innovation

(or brand) to another company to take it to market. When viewed through the lens ofmanaging risk, these approaches can be adapted to suit an organizations culture andneeds.

Key 4: Put the focus on learning, not results

All of the great skills that larger established companies bring to the task ofoptimizing current business can become an obstacle to nurturing nascentopportunities within an open innovation environment. In their work on the fallacy of


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ambidextrous organizations, academics Markides and Geroski state The skills,mindsets and competencies needed for discovery and innovation are not onlydifferent from those needed for mass market optimization; they conflict Openinnovation initiatives can be thought of as strategic experiments in many ways. Inopen innovation initiatives, the focus should be on accelerating learning, not solely

results. Theory-focused planning and other more flexible planning approachesrecognize these differences and put the focus where it belongs: on learning.

Key 5: Transform your culture from the outside in

Individuals and organizations that repeatedly fight their way through totransformational events acquire an ability to champion innovative and potentiallyrisky ideas. It's not blind optimism; it's a recognition and calmness about the processof trial and error and a development of informed instinct as to when it's appropriateto continue with the challenge or move on to the next one. Many of theentrepreneurial companies and individuals that you are likely to partner with in anopen-innovation initiative are often just these types of transformational champions the Michael Boehms of the world. Continued exposure to these innovators and these

initiatives within a somewhat protected and risk-reduced environment will overtime create the kind of innovation mindset that otherwise would likely never becomereality.

5. Framework for Recession: A Ripe Time for Open Innovation

Recessions present a good opportunity to collaborate with others on finding,developing and marketing new ideas.

With the economy softening, it's tempting for companies to turn off the lights andshut the door on innovation efforts until things pick up. But while this might looklike a smart move, the impactlost momentum, team dispersion, and wastedinvestmentsis less than desirable. It doesn't have to be this way. One of the best

options for recessionary times, and, some would argue, even in expansive times, is tojoin forces with another entity with complementary innovation goals. Openinnovation is about connecting with others to find new ideas and, often, to co-develop and co-market them.

There are many examples of successful open innovation efforts today. Some take theform of pan-industry innovation networks that share in the risks and rewards of theirfindings. Others are straightforward co-development projects between strategicplayers.

5.1 Higher levels of brainpower applied. As the old saying goes, "two heads arebetter than one." When companies with aligned interests come together, there is abetter chance the problem at hand will be more broadly defined and there is lesschance of falling prey to group-think. Such broadly defined problems increase thechances for more holistic, breakthrough solutions to emerge.

5.2 Validity. Especially in open-innovation situations that involve a potentialprovider and a customer, the team has access to field conditions where the essentialissues lie. The reference points and shared values that teams derive by working withusers on a daily basis helps them zone in on the right problems up front. Solving theright problems is half the battle of innovation, primarily because working on the


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wrong problems is so costly. Think foregone investment, market share, profits, andthe negative career implications associated with failed efforts.

5.3 Quicker to scale.One of the biggest reasons you see entities coming together isto make a given partnership scale up quickly should its efforts be successful. In theNetflix/LG Electronics deal, LG gets ready customers (who it expects will buy

millions of its new boxes), while Netflix gets a new media platform that makes itmore competitive. This means access to something new to the world that could onlyhave been co-created. Before initiating and/or participating in open innovationefforts, bear in mind a few important things that need to be aligned from the outset:

5.4 Identify partners who share a common vision. Obviously, things can movemore quickly if companies already have a relationship, but that is not essential. Andsometimes partners can be found in existing networks where you can "meet" andperhaps "date" before getting "married" into a tighter co-development relationship.

5.5 Have a big idea with clear goals. Start with a big ideaafter all, one of theadvantages of open innovation is that a team of companies can accomplish morethan one alone. But the effort also needs clear goals and milestones that partnerscommit to.

5.6 Plan two team workspacesone physical, one virtual. It's important for theteam to meet in person at the outset of the effort, any time the team is working todraw conclusions from their separate analyses or when decisions are being made.Other than that, concentrate on using virtual tools to post and share documents andcommunicate through regularly scheduled calls.

5.7 Manage IP.Managing intellectual property is always the stickiest part ofcollaborative innovation. The most successful efforts seek to build win-win cultureswhere both parties benefit in equal measure. Although it should be an expectation toinvolve lawyers at some point, it is often unproductive to have them driving the early

meetings before the parties have had the chance to explore the commercial orinvestment requirements of the partnership. Instead, it is often more productive tounderstand each company's legal culture, its successes and failures in pastrelationships, and any assets being brought to the table. These things can inform amore casual letter of intent that can guide the early stages until more is known. Thatdocument would include the fundamental goals of the united effort, an agreement inprinciple regarding the resources being brought to the table, and what the expectedtimetable would be to draw up a more exact picture of the future businessrelationship. When exploratory activities result in a tangible concept of what theparties will produce and a business model is formulated, then it is time to formalize abusiness contract.

5.8 Create a new mindset. In many cases, organizational culture can be an obstacleto open innovation. Internal groups often perceive open innovation as a code wordfor outsourcing, when it's really an issue of redefining some internal roles andrethinking your innovation organization much more broadly. Success requires a top-level vision and a lot of internal communication as the initiative is rolled out. But,says Venture2's Docherty, "it's almost magical to watch the transformation ascompanies actually become more innovative when they learn to partner with creativecompanies and entrepreneurs on the outside." Open innovation is a leap of faith. The


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job of leadership is to make it a short leap. But given how many recent collaborativeefforts have been successful, open innovation should be put on the top of the list ofcore competencies for the foreseeable future, recessionary times or not.

6. Survival of the Innovative Doing More with Less

When the economy is down, money is short and cutbacks loom, the first instinct at

many organizations is to freeze and do nothing. No new projects, no new ideas just keep a low profile, cover up and wait for the storm to pass. But while this maybe a natural reaction to the crisis, Ill argue in this paper that it is the wrong reaction,and is actually the riskiest and most dangerous option for companies today. Thereason should be no news to anyone reading this paper:

The state of enterprise, for example, IT hasnt changed demand for computingservices within the organization continues to increase, and the existing infrastructure,often based on the N-Tier distributed computing model, is still as cumbersome,inefficient and difficult to scale. Yesterday you could still solve things by throwingmoney at the problem. But today theres no budget for expensive machines, complexintegrations or armies of consultants. The only way to deliver the goods, and provethe true value of IT within the enterprise, is to do things differently. Doingsomething something innovative is key to ITs very survival in these toughtimes and is true for any company in any sector.

6.1 Innovation that Saves Money

We often think of innovative technology as something that goes beyond the ordinarythat allows you to make things bigger, better, and faster. But in fact, one of the maindrivers for innovation is economic pressure. Not having enough money makes youthink out of the box, and discoverhow to do more withless. When budgets are cut,you have two choices: deliver less to the organization, making yourself even moreprone to the next round of budget cuts, or think of innovative ways to produce the

same level of services or even better services! With less resources. But thisisnt an easy task: being more efficient requires you to look into how your currentsystems are running and re-examine some of your most basic assumptions.

6.2 Time for a Change

It is an interesting irony that sometimes the strongest incentive for a change is wehave no choice. When survival is at stake, many barriers to innovation fall, andstakeholders rally around new ideas which might save the day. The current crisismight be exactly the time to take a bold technological leap which addresses theglaring inefficiencies in the existing infrastructure. For the architect, a crisis mightsuddenly provide freedom to perform core architectural changes, which, althoughbadly needed, would previously have been very difficult to achieve. Under todaysmarket conditions, the regular objections "let's not break what's running", letsnot rock the boat, "its not company standard" are not going to cut it. The nameof the game is survival of the innovative those who push forward new ideasthat will improve efficiency are most likely to survive, while those who take the "sitand wait" approach take the risk of being left behind.

7. Innovation in SMEs

SMEs play an increasingly important role in innovation and job creation, but are


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nevertheless left out of the research on open innovation, which has been analyzedmainly within the context of large, technology user firms (Chesbrough, 2003). Manysurveys have shown and indicated that open innovation is also becomingincreasingly popular among SMEs. This is not a surprising, considering theincreasingly important role small and medium sized firms play in innovation. After

all, small firms often lack resources to develop and commercialize new product in-house and as a result are more often inclined to collaborate with large firms. Inaddition, the survey results show that open innovation is not entirely different forservices and manufacturing firms as we expected based on the literature.Manufacturing firms are on average more active in the outsourcing of R&D and theout-licensing of IP, a result that is not surprising given the technologicalcommitment of these firms, but they do not differ with service firms on other openinnovation activities. It has also been found the significant differences betweendifferent SME-sizes which show that there are different open innovation strategiesand practices among SMEs.

Several motives have been found in studies for firms to start open innovation

practices and barriers that SME managers encounter when they open up theirinnovation process. Open innovation is mainly motivated by market-related targets:these are the most important driver for firms to engage in venturing, to participate inother firms and to involve user in the innovation process. Most SMEs use a broad setof methods to meet the ever-changing customer demand and to stay competitive.Corporate renewal is second most important driver towards open innovation. Inaddition, many barriers for open innovation in SMEs are related to corporateorganization and culture, no matter which type of open innovation practice ispursued. There is certainly no one unique ways in which SMEs deploy openinnovation strategies, but we have no further specifications about these differentstrategies.

8. Conclusion

The recession and financial meltdown has provided companies an opportunity tocome close to each other and to behave with each other in a way of partners in anindustry than competitors. To survive, when the resources are scarce and constraintsare increasing, innovation is the only way ahead. Many times, it has been proved thatcollective efforts have shown more substantial results than individual efforts. So, thetime has come when all companies in the economy should join hands with theirsuitable partners and to support each other in survival against all the odds. Thepurpose of the research is to communicate a message to all the companies andenterprises in India that world economy is changing its faces and economical focusis shifting to Asia. Since, India is a country having a large number of SMEs who

contribute a major percentage in economic development and growth; it is required tounderstand the role of innovation in their survival. Strategic partnership andcollaboration will generate new ways to survival for enterprises; leaving thempreparing stronger platform for themselves.


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Games the First Boss should play with the fresh recruits from Colleges andUniversitie s

This is the hiring time for all fresh engineers and MBAs. Every year they join the corporate

in the month of April, May, and June.

With lot of expectations, energy, vigor, optimism and with good academic andtraining background they are recruited from colleges and universities to the corporate.

These young educated people have tremendous potentials and they can perform attheir peak performance provided they are given a very conducive environment wherethey can perform brilliantly.

These fresh recruits look out for Conducive Corporate Environment, and major

and most important player (THE FIRST BOSS) plays an important role to make

these young people to work and perform at their best.

They are the managers(First Boss) to whom the new recruits report, they play mostpivotal role in building and shaping the new recruits careers and help them to buildthem as leaders in future.

The role the First Boss is very important in setting directions , making and shapingthese young peoples mind, careers and individual goals along with the corporategoals.

Games the First Boss should play with these young and fresh graduates just

coming out from colleges.

1. Responsibility and Challenge: The first Boss is an important person in everyoneslife, as we commonly say first impression is the best impression the first boss makeslasting impression in the fresh recruits mind. You are the leader, manager, motivator,mentor, friend, philosopher, and guide to these young men. Your responsibility is tomake them true leader and a performer in the long run. Undoubtedly this verychallenging task and a stupendous responsibility to become the first boss in some oneslife.

2. Task and Target Oriented: Right from the day one makes them accountable for

the job they have been assigned for. Be candid and polite to them and make themunderstand that they have been recruited for these specific task and should be ready toand willing to go for hard work in order to achieve the targets that they has beenassigned for. In a professionally managed organization performance is the only thingthat matters. Be task an oriented Boss not a task master. When specific targets aregiven along with time deadlines they may feel little bit nervous not for achieving thetargets within that deadline it's the First Boss job to show them the process how to
http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:games-the-first-boss-should-play-with-the-fresh-recruits-from-colleges-and-universities-&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:games-the-first-boss-should-play-with-the-fresh-recruits-from-colleges-and-universities-&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:games-the-first-boss-should-play-with-the-fresh-recruits-from-colleges-and-universities-&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:games-the-first-boss-should-play-with-the-fresh-recruits-from-colleges-and-universities-&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58http://www.theceoinsights.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:games-the-first-boss-should-play-with-the-fresh-recruits-from-colleges-and-universities-&catid=54:articles&Itemid=58


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achieve the targets within the deadlines. Make them successful because their successis your success.

3. Teacher and Coach: The First Boss right from the day one make the business

process understand to these young recruits, it involves lot of teaching and coaching forthese young resources.

4. Power house of Encouragement: The First Boss is the source of encouragement,he is the person who will break all the fears and doubts in the mind of these your

people, enable them to open up their mind which can be a bonanza. Encourage themto come out with new ideas of doing the job and help them to do the "Out Of The BoxThinking".

5. Appreciation Catalyst: The First Boss should be loud in their appreciations evenfor little achievements that these young guys make.

6. Can Do Attitude Initiator: Appreciations by First Boss is like wining first 100meters flat race in schools, it increases the confidence level in these young minds andthe Can Do attitude starts developing. After they accomplish small task and targets,slowly give them additional responsibility and bigger task and targets, make use of the"Can Do" attitude artfully.

7.Hand Holding If Necessary: The First Boss should never hesitate to roll up hissleeves and make his hand dirty to teach complex things to these young recruits, oncehe teaches them his job becomes easier. Never get irritated even if they ask you verystupid questions. Remember your parents did hand holding while making you walk.Remember handholding is a part of mentoring; they remain obligated and indebted toyou throughout their life.

8. Delegate and Encourage Them to Take Decisions: The First Boss should

delegate little power and ask them to take small decisions. Look out carefully for theoutcome of the decisions if its good give them appreciations, if the outcome is poorsit with them to analyze where it went wrong and what precaution they should takewhile making the next decisions. Dont shout at them if the decision is wrong theywill close them up get back in to their cocoon. After all decision making is the mostimportant thing in business. Help them to make good decision makers.


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9. Respect Leads to Responsibility: The First Boss should never ever disrespectthese young recruits .Respect works like magic. If you respect these young recruitsthey not only reciprocate but automatically take responsibility, and once they take full

responsibility they start delivering the goods. Results give confidence, and confidencebuilding is a step by step method. Delivering results becomes a habit. Mutual Respectis a 'Win-Win" situation.

10. Never Steal Credits: The First Boss should never be a credit stealer, rememberthese young people are very smart they understand every thing, if you have a 360degree appraisal system working in your firm they will fix you up then. Creditstealing by a boss is like digging his own grave in the professional organization.

11. Dont involve them in Office Politics: Every office has got office politics; theFirst Boss should never use these young recruits as pawn in the office politics that hemay be involved in. These young guys will come to know office politics and lobbyingin due course .Office politics reduces energy and in turn reduces efficiency. Herecome the maturity calm and composed character strength of the First Boss.

12. Close Monitoring: The First Boss should keep a strong vigil about the quality oflearning, engagement and the involvement in the work that these young recruits aredoing. Keep always the communication channel open. Make the communication is an

adult -adult mode.

13. Encourage Them to Do Self Audit And Introspection: The First Boss shouldmake sure that the young recruits are making the Self Audit after first ninety days ofwork and correcting themselves on the basis of their audits. Ask them to find out theirown mistakes/drawbacks and remedial measures which they need to overcome them.Give them suggestions about the blind spots which you may find by using Joharywindow.

14. Make Them Think Big: The First Boss should be able to make these youngguys to Think Big. So he has to Think Big in order made others Think Big. Ifyou can make them Think Big they can achieve big by Thinking Big" is a practiceand it stays lifelong.


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15. Never Be Afraid of Smart and Intelligent Recruits: Last but not the least theFirst Boss may come across young recruits much smarter and intelligent than him,

please dont get afraid of them, dont think them as your threat. Smart peopleworking in your team can make you and your team smarter.

These are all old saying and observations; its just like old wine in the new bottle.One interesting survey was conducted by an agency and it was found that 47% of

the employees don't leave the organization but actually leave their Boss.

Its easier said that done. Its true the impact of the FIRST BOSS lasts long.

Just after academicss entering into the new unknown big corporate world is atransformation stage, where a professionally qualified student has to perform anddeliver, some perform and excel and some dont. With my experience andobservations I have written this topic after working in various firms watching many

bosses and training and building many careers by being a boss.

Some BOSS you want to remember throughout your life and some you dontwant to remember at all, and they are your nightmare.


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INDIA TO FOCUS ON LAG OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TALENTS AMONG RURALYOUTH WITH THE HELP OF SUPPORTIVE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS

UNDER PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP MODEL.

Indians are in general risk averse and look for employment opportunities ratherthan engaging in business and industry. However in recent years some change isvisible particularly in urban and metropolitan areas. It may also be mentioned thatsome sections of Indian people have earned name and fame almost globally asentrepreneur of small retail business houses particularly in provisions, clothes, andgold and silver ornaments businesses. It is interesting to note that suchentrepreneurs could be traced in most of the counties of the world as since timeimmemorial these people have migrated from India to set up their tradingbusinesses in various parts of the world. It would be further interesting to note thatmost of these people migrated from their villages and towns and stayed over therefor generation. In fact even in agriculture like sugarcane etc Indian farmers haveenriched many backward countries through their entrepreneurial skill. However it isequally true that India lagged in Schumpeterian model of entrepreneurship for quitesome time and of late only this could be seen emerging in metropolitan and also in

some developed parts of urban areas.GLUED TO FARMING

Most of the Indian villagers remained glued to farming only partly because thetraditional farming was seasonal and provide enough time to laze away. It alsoneeded no formal education. Moreover but for monsoon failure, the risk in farmingwas almost negligible and hence remained attractive for generations. However withthe emergence of risks beside monsoon viz. seeds, attack of pesticide and volatilityof prices of agricultural products farmers over the years developed a mindset offatalist and cursed their fates for any calamities and sought doles, waiver andcharity from governments and charitable institutions. It would not be wrong to saythat successive governments and politicians even after independence followed apolicy to keep farmers and artisans under their thumbs by making them dependent

on their doles, grants and subsidies etc. as that helped them to build their votebanks. However it would be wrong to assume that villagers could not betransformed as entrepreneurs as they have been found developing manyinnovations even with primitive traditional knowledge for survival. It would bepossible to develop an appropriate entrepreneurship model if rural youths areempowered with marketable skills.

FORTUNE AT THE BOTTOM OF PYRAMID

Dr C k Prahlad of Wharton in his famous book The Fortune at the bottom ofPyramid has brought out how poor people in rural India could become employableby adopting new growth models suitable for generation of new employmentopportunities and economic growth. In this regard he stressed that the role of multi

national companies has to be re-defined. He emphasized that the present trend ofMNCs to cater for mature markets need to be changed and to extend the sameeven to poorly developed markets in villages and semi-urban areas by introducingsome strategic changes like packaging and pricing. It would not be difficult as therecently developed supply chain management techniques empowers industries toreach easily and in cost-effective way to the remotest area of any place. Someinitiative of this nature has already been taken by some consumer goods industriesand no doubt these efforts have helped these industries to capture more space andalso have helped villagers not only to earn and spend but also to produce and


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consume these along with people residing in urban and metropolitan towns.However these efforts have led to growth of market for MNCs but have not helpedvillagers to develop their latent potentiality of becoming full fledged entrepreneuras manufacturer of goods. It is true some of the villagers could develop some supplychain management and retail business in the process.

NEED CHANGE IN MINDSET IN FRAMING POLICY

It appears there is need for some paradigm change in our policy thinking as well asour mindset particularly of our politicians. In this regard our ex- President Kalamsvision of providing urban facilities in rural areas (PURA) is worth mentioning as thisis possibly one such step that would help transforming agri-business potentialthrough knowledge, institution and technology platform. It would therefore need tobe multiplied to help spreading knowledge and technology to rural youth. It has tobe borne in mind that technological innovations could also emerge in thelaboratories of life as rightly pointed out by Dr. Mashelkar. Accordingly this has tobe stressed in all efforts to rejuvenate rural youth and transform them asentrepreneurs.

FOCUS ON DISPARITY IN INVESTMENT IN RURAL AREAS

In fact investments made in rural areas though undertaken extensively and at timeseven massive amounts have been earmarked for various rural projects but all thesegenerally have proven ineffective as most of these are in the form of subsidies,doles and waiver of loans instead of investment in infrastructure development inrural areas. These also failed to generate effective delivery institutions and virtuallygenerated highly corrupt institutions manned and fanned by politicians and ruralelites. In fact the highly noticeable disparity in between rural and urbaninfrastructure like roads, transports, power and communication have created thehiatus in economic growth of rural and urban areas. Lack of infrastructure in ruralareas have made private sector also hesitant to develop industries over there. It istrue the scene is changing and some new industries are growing in villages or itsoutskirts. But essentially villages have remained agrarian with low and disguisedunemployment. It is therefore high time for policy makers not to introduceemployment opportunity plan like ROJGAR YOJNA (NREG) where unemployed ruralyouths are either given work of mud lifting or paid even when no work could beallotted to them. This would obviously make them lazy and some of them evencome out to refuse digging mud and to carry the same for dumping at some allottedplace. It is difficult to fathom out the type of mindset of politicians who activelyadvertise such projects and feel complacent and happy as if they have been doinggreat work for poor villagers. In fact it would not be wrong to state that theprogram seemed well designed for bureaucrats and politicians to siphon off money.

NEED TO CHANGE MINSET OF POLICY MAKERS

However if something has to be done for rural poor it would be necessary to change

the mindset of policy makers and bureaucrats. In fact rural areas should not beconsidered as agricultural belts and rural youth should not be taken for granted asfarmers and artisans only. In fact rural youth like all other youth should beconsidered as human resource and could be shaped like all other youths asentrepreneurs, innovators, professionals and managers. In fact many rural youthafter getting some education have migrated to urban areas and have developedmany new business and even industries. It is therefore natural question that wouldarise in the mind of any rational man what for these migrations should continue and


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why not such thing could not be done in rural areas. The answer is not very far toseek. It is the lack of infrastructure that has led to such migration of youth. It wouldtherefore be necessary for government, enlightened institutions and individuals tocome forward with projects both agriculture and other sectors including service andmanufacturing to provide opportunities to rural youths to work in these villageprojects and enterprises.

MODEL RECOMMENDED

In this regard it is worthwhile to keep in mind that there would be some lag indeveloping village entrepreneurs as there would be dearth of capital to developvillage projects and enterprises but this could be dealt with by developinginstitutional entrepreneurship as is done to meet the capital needs of urbanentrepreneurs by creating development banks. However in this strategy also therecould be some difficulty as overall supply of individual entrepreneurs and mangerswith necessary education and aptitude might not be readily available. It wouldtherefore be imperative that institutions under public private partnership modelshould be developed to fund and organize ventures to provide services and tomanufacture product. Such organizations should conceive projects for compact

lands for farming and for clusters of artisans for manufacturing, trade andcommerce. States in developing countries have assumed the role entrepreneurs. Insome of the developing countries including India some efforts have been made toinstitutionalize development activities even in rural areas but these have not beenspecifically assigned the much needed role to act as catalyst for growth ofindividual entrepreneurs. In fact villagers could have been as good as city dwellersbut for lack of infrastructure including education. It would therefore be necessary tohold the hands of villagers for some period and enable them to grow asentrepreneurs and managers without getting the shocks of market and monsoon orsuch other natural risks for some time as these have created fear psychosis invillagers for generations and obviously they need some time to get over suchpsychology and become an entrepreneur rather than remain as fatalist and

dependent on doles alms and such other charities.APPLICATION OF RECOMMENDED MODEL

In recent years some efforts have been made to hold hands of farmers and artisansby some micro financing institutions particularly in south. Pragati Bandhus inKarnataka is one such model as these groups of marginal farmers named as PragatiBandhus not only provided hassle free loans to farmers but also physically stayedwith them to help them to prepare crop planning along with marketing andtechnology support. This obviously a better model than usual pattern followed bymicro financing institutions to act as lender to farmers, however to achieve realsuccess it is imperative that these institutions should shoulder the risk of farms andfirms in rural areas run by rural farmers and artisans. The ultimate need is to enable

them to get enough confidence and managerial and financial strength to becomeentrepreneurs on their own. Only with such transformation of rural peopleparticularly youth who outnumber others could make India a developed country anddecouple her from the present global meltdown.

A LIVE CASE STUDY of CANADA-A SUCCESS STORY*

*(adapted from www.tbs-sct.gc.ca; www.rural.gc.ca; www.google.com )

Business Development and Entrepreneurs
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/http://www.rural.gc.ca/http://www.google.com/http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/http://www.rural.gc.ca/http://www.google.com/


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Small businesses are the source of nearly 80 per cent of new jobs in WesternCanada. These are the employment engine of the region. In recognition of theimportance of community-based delivery of services and support to Small- andMedium-sized Enterprises (SME) development, western economic development(WD) program provided funding to third-party organizations including industryassociations and those making up the Western Canada Business Service Network

(WCBSN), which in turn deliver business services and support to entrepreneurs. Thishas obviously led to improved access to business information, training, businessadvisory services and capital for all western Canadians, including women andfrancophone entrepreneurs, and people located in rural communities.

Improve Business Productivity

It provided operating and loan funding to a number of other organizations that in turn delivered targeted loan programs, businessadvisory services and training for entrepreneurs. It improved business productivity by addressing the needs of SMEs andentrepreneurs through a number of service delivery mechanisms and partnerships including more than 100 offices. It engagedCommunity volunteers, who knew local issues and could identify business opportunities, mainly helped in achieving success ingrooming entrepreneurs and their business enterprises in 2005-2006; this organization was stabilized through new, multi-yearagreements providing operating support for member

Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs)

Furthermore CFDCs were floated as a national community economic development program implementation organization thatwould help people in rural communities respond to local needs. It has provided operating funding to the CFDCs since 1995 toenable them to provide local strategic economic planning services, business counseling and loans to small businesses in ruralcommunities.

Women's Enterprise Initiatives (WEIs)

WEIs work to provide customized services to help women entrepreneurs face challenges and succeed. Operating from headoffices located in Kelowna, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, the WEIs improve access to financing, education and training,

business advice, loan aftercare, information, networking and mentoring for women entrepreneurs.

Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs):

FEDOs enhance the vitality of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) in Western Canada and strengthen economicopportunities for francophone business. With head offices in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver, FEDOs provideenhanced services to francophone entrepreneurs, including training, business and community economic development, access tocapital, information services, marketing advice, and networking.

Canada Business Services Centres (CBSCs):The CBSCs provide a single, seamless gateway to information for businesses and maintain an extensive database of business andtrade information from federal, provincial, municipal and non-government sources. Western Canada CBSCs are located inVancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg and services are also available through a network of regional CBSC andAboriginal service sites.

In addition to support through the WCBSN, WD has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage SMEs and R&Dorganizations to be innovative in improving their productivity and competitiveness. These include lean manufacturing practices(identification of new trends, the development of innovative strategies and the implementation of new processes), technology andmanagement training and academic and industry internships and exchanges.

Sub-Activity: Access to CapitalA 2004 Statistics Canada Survey on Financing of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises found that 20 per cent of SMEs citedobtaining financing as an obstacle to business growth. Those more likely to experience difficulties in obtaining financingincluded innovative businesses (40 per cent), young enterprises - defined as those that started operation in 2002 (34 per cent),

exporters (29 per cent) and manufacturers (27 per cent).Through work with financial institutions, members of the WCBSN and other organizations, WD has contributed to increasedinvestment in targeted western Canadian firms. In particular, WD has responded with the development of two types of SME loan

programs;

Evaluation

1. WD Loan and Investment Program (previously the Loan Investment Fund

Program) at:http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/lifp/ic-eng.asp .-source

The evaluation found that:
http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/lifp/ic-eng.asphttp://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/lifp/ic-eng.asphttp://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/lifp/ic-eng.asp


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Only 16 per cent of Loan and Investment Program loan clients could haveobtained financing from other sources;

82 per cent of the small business financing experts surveyed indicated thatthere are gaps in loan financing available to small-and medium-sizedenterprises; and 64 per cent indicated that the Government of Canada shouldinfluence private sector financial institutions to do lending to eliminate thegaps; and

The Loan and Investment Program does not significantly duplicate other loanprograms and services.

Loan loss agreements have been negotiated to leverage additional loan capital from credit unions for rural business lending byCFDCs in British Columbia. The urban micro-loan, Advice and Business Loans to Entrepreneurs with Disabilities loan (ABLED)and francophone (FEDO) agreements provide loans averaging $14,000 to very small and start-up businesses..

2. Developmental loans delivered by the Western Canada Business Service Network and Entrepreneurs with

Disabilities Program (EDP) urban delivery agents

WD has provided WCBSN network members with funds to support repayable loans to SMEs in rural areas, and SMEs operatedby women, francophone, young entrepreneurs or those with disabilities. WD's network members also provide SMEs with pathfinding services and referrals to alternative sources of financing.

Results for 2005-2006

An evaluation of the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP) and the Urban Entrepreneurs with Disabilities InitiativeFund (UEDI) undertaken in 2005 is available on WD's website at:http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/edp-uedi/default-eng.asp . In theevaluation, Ference Weiker & Company estimated that "the average EDP and UEDI loan client generates 260,000 in revenuesand 6 person years of employment over the first five-year period after they receive assistance that is attributable to the assistancethat they received."

In 2005-2006, total external financing leveraged by FEDOs was estimated at $2.3 million. The results for CFDCs in rural areasand WEIs serving women entrepreneurs are summarized below:

Total statistics above include: 68 loans to entrepreneurs with disabilities, totaling $1.4 million and projected to create or maintain156 jobs; 113 loans to youth, totaling $2.3 million; and, 236 loans to Aboriginal clients, totaling $7.18 million.

Program Activity: Innovation

, A innovation process that translates knowledge into new products and services isan important driver of long-term economic competitiveness and prosperity. WDinvestments in innovation are an important building block for creating a diversifiedeconomy in Western Canada. These investments support the emergence andgrowth of technology clusters in key sectors - such as environmental technologies,
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life sciences, information and communications technology (ICT) and value addedresources and contribute to the development and commercialization of newtechnologies and technology based services and products in Western Canada.

According to the cluster life-cycle model, most of the western technology clusters are in their earliest formative stages.Recognizing this, the majority of WD investments have been made in knowledge infrastructure and technology adoption andcommercialization, which help set the foundation for clusters and future growth. As the clusters mature, investments will address

gaps and opportunities and will be connected to markets and collaborative research opportunities with the United States throughthe ERI.

By strengthening the innovation system and enhancing technology clusters, resources such as highly qualified personnel (HQP),large anchor companies, venture capital, investments in R&D and knowledge infrastructure are drawn to and developed in theregion. Firms in clusters are often active in export markets and international supply chains, and contribute to economic growthand diversification by reinvesting in new R&D activities and creating or retaining highly skilled jobs.

In 2005-2006, WD approved almost $52.7 million to support the growth and development of technology clusters and theinnovation system as a whole. The following graph illustrates this distribution:

WD works with many partners when developing and funding innovation projects. On average, the department contributes 33 percent of the costs of an innovation project. For innovation projects approved in 2005-2006, WD support will leverage funding of$146.4 million from other sources.

Sub-Activity: Technology Adoption and CommercializationTechnology commercialization ultimately occurs in industry. WD supports all phases along the technology commercializationcontinuum from support to organizations such as university technology transfer offices that identify, protect and licensetechnologies to support that encourages technology adoption and adaptation.

Increasing investment and support for the commercialization of new technologies in Western Canada is a priority for WD. Thedepartment's work in this area has led to broad results including an increase in the number of technologies developed in researchinstitutions that have commercialization potential, as demonstrated by intellectual property (IP) protection, licensed to an externaluser, or form the basis for a new company. The ultimate goal is to bring new products and services to the marketplace. In

addition, WD's efforts have led to increased technologies adopted by existing firms.Sub-Activity: Technology Linkages

Through its work in innovation, WD has increased connections and synergies among innovation system members through newpartnerships/networks, collaboration, and conferences to exchange information and increase awareness.

Sub-Activity: Technology Research and DevelopmentTo support technology R&D, WD has invested in applied R&D leading to a new product or process that will have a near or mid-term commercial potential. This has resulted not only in applied R&D leading to technologies with commercialization potential,

but also support for the operating or increased capacity of R&D canters and increased availability of skilled personnel


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Sub-Activity: Community InnovationInnovation at the community level can identify new opportunities and enhance the viability of traditional sectors. WD's supportfor community innovation in 2005-2006 resulted in planning studies used by communities as a tool for economic development,increased capacity in communities based on the generation of new knowledge, and community businesses adopting newtechnologies.

Sub-Activity: Technology Skills Development

Under this sub-activity, WD supports projects that increase training, education and skill building in the new economy sectors.WD has contributed to several initiatives that increase the number of qualified individuals in the field and build linkages withindustry.

Sub-Activity: Knowledge Infrastructure Investments in knowledge

Infrastructure provides the foundation for technology clusters. WD's investments inthis area have resulted in increased physical assets for R&D and/or training and newinvestments to the field.

CONCLUSION

It is obvious therefore that the present lag in entrepreneurial development in ruralareas in India could be overcome if institutional entrepreneurs under public privatepartnerships are formed. This would not only help in risk minimizing but also in risk

sharing and that would help risk averse rural youth to undertake business andfarming with more gusto and less fear. It would make them also real entrepreneursafter they start tasting success in their enterprises jointly managed with statepartnership. In the process they would also be groomed as better managers underthe enlightened and better educated executives drawn and recruited by the state....
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Sunil Bharti Mittal, born October 23, 1957 is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Bharti group. The USD 5

billion turnover company runs India's largest GSM-based mobile phone service.

The son of a politician, Sunil Mittal is from the town of Ludhiana in Punjab. He has built the Bharti group, along

with two siblings, into India's largest mobile phone operator in just ten years. He has been Chairman & Managing

Director of Bharti Group since October 2001.

Residing in Delhi, he is married, with three children. A first generation entrepreneur, he started his first business in

1976 at the age of 18, with a capital investment of Rs 20,000 borrowed from his father. His first business was to make

crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers. In 1980 he sold his bicycle parts and yarn factories and moved to

Mumbai.

The importing of telecom equipment was banned by the Indian Government as ITI (Indian Telecom Industry)

monopoly practices & sole OEM for Department of Telecommunication. He established the first company to

manufacture push button telephones in India. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile

telecom business as a major growth area and launched services in the city of Delhi and the National Capital Region

in the year 1995.

Awards

Sunil has received several awards including:

Transforming India Leader, NDTV Business Leader Awards 2008.

GSMA Chairman's Award 2008

Padma Bhushan in 2007, from the President of India

Asia Businessman of the Year, Fortune Magazine 2006

Telecom Person of the Year, Voice & Data, 2006

CEO of the year 2005, at the Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT awards 2006

Best Asian Telecom CEO, Telecom Asia Awards 2005

Best CEO, India, Institutional Investor, 2005

Business Leader Of The Year, Economic Times, 2005


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Ernst & Young Entreprener Of The Year 2004, Ernst & Young

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder, Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, one of Indias leading

business groups with interests in telecom, retail, financial services, realty and agri-products.

Bharti Airtel, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is among the leading global telecom services

providers with operations in Asia and Af

Documents

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