Volume XXXVIII • Number  12 •December 2008

Recruitment Advertising : Art and Adventure in Indian Press Ads

The quality and contribution of the people are the key differentiators in all organizations. Recruiting manpower is, therefore, of paramount importance to fill up vacancies and to build up an efficient, motivated workforce. Advertising is a valuable tool which enables the recruiter to induct eligible personnel in the most cost-effective manner. This paper dwells on the newspaper resume ads and makes an in-depth analysis of two specialized types of press ads: Classified Lineage and Display ads. It elaborates on the content as well as the creative strategies that characterize recruitment advertising. While discussing the classifieds it takes into account the on-going quest for brevity and visibility. The display ads, which enjoy greater graphic freedom, are a revelation of the ways and means by which the recruiters are creating a niche for themselves in the hearts and minds of the readers. It also discusses the manifold ways in which the print media supports and promotes recruitment advertising. This paper emphasizes the importance of appraising/updating manpower requirements and constructing a meaningful rapport with the target audience.

Ruby George
Additional Commissioner of Income Tax
Chennai,Tamil Nadu
rubyirs@yahoo.co.in
 

Ford Motors' India Specific Strategies

Upon entering a country, multinational companies normally have the tendency to extend the same strategies, which had been successfully applied in other parts of the world. However, over a period of time, they learn the unique characteristics of the market and develop appropriate strategies suitable for the host countries. Following the policy liberisations of the Government of India in 1991, a number of multinational car companies entered the country. These companies launched big cars assuming that the small car owners in India would immediately upgrade to them. Ford India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Ford Motors launched Ford Escort. These cars were considered to be quite bigger cars and the Indian buyers shunned them. These companies, which had established huge manufacturing facilities in the country, faced poor utilization of capacity. Ford India Ltd also faced the same crisis. In order to sell the cars it had manufactured, the company applied innovative strategies such as limited edition strategies. As these strategies were novel in the Indian context, they yielded significant results. However, the company realized that to be successful in the long run, appropriate strategies based on the special requirements of the Indian buyer should be developed.This paper deals with the India specific strategies developed by Ford India Ltd. Limited Edition strategy, Exclusive design strategy (Ford Ikon), Product adaptation strategy and Used car strategy have been chronologically dealt with. It also elaborately narrates the hardships faced by the company in the process of implementing these strategies as well as the outcome of these strategies.

Dr.S.Silas Sargunam
Lecturer in Management Studies
Anna University
Tirunelveli,Tamil Nadu
 
 

Branding has become a sought-after marketing exercise. Various aspects of branding have been sincerely and scrupulously planned and implemented by the corporate managers as they are convinced that their brands are the only lifelines of their businesses. With markets becoming more competitive than ever before, the managers are experiencing multi-dimensional attacks on their brands from competitors. At the same time, customer’s preferences are changing faster than ever before and they are looking for newness in various brands they have been using over a period of time. Increased market dynamics are compelling the firms for restructuring themselves in the form of mergers & acquisitions, redesigning the organisation structures, adapting the modern management techniques, etc. And one of those latest practices is Rebranding. Its seems the corporates are convinced about its applicability and are seriously pursuing this widely accepted and proven marketing practice.

Restructuring Management Education in India

The competitive environment facing all organizations has forced many of them to choose strategies that enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Re-engineering, redesigning, reshaping or restructuring is one of the tools used in administering productivity improvements, cost control, quality and asset management, whether in corporate sector or educational institutions, especially management education. Restructuring of organisations are common news we read or go through daily but now is the high time for restructuring of educational institutions especially management education and institutions. As lot of improvement is required, lot of upliftment of the standard is required and lot of change is required, change in abundance of things and their parameters. This paper examines the re-structuring of a management education. Restructuring is required in the vision, mission and strategic direction; core processes; financial performance analysis; organizational structure; reorganization of learning centers; courses offered; human resource policies and customers feedback etc. As it is not feasible to take up all the areas thus for the sake of convenience and clarity, we would bring some of the areas to light. Although a number of studies have been carried out in India, very few have concentrated on restructuring process of management educational institutions. This study critically examines the restructuring process and the major gains of a management educational institution that embarked on a restructuring program to fully meet its objectives of high quality education and training.

Dr.Ruchi Srivastava
Associate Professor
KIET,Ghaziabad
ruchi1003@rediffmail.com
 

India's amazing diversity offers you everything you could ever want in a holiday. The moment a person sets foot in India, he is greeted by a graceful namaste, a gesture that denotes both welcome and respect. The rate of success in the tourism sector is highly influenced by the instrumentality of supporting industries, such as hotel, transporation, communication, banking or so. Hence, due to the possibility of vast development in these fields, there is a tremendous scope for tourism in India. Overseas banks are opening their operations in India, which attracts the foreigners to fly to India. Hotel and transportation facilities in India are growing day by day with international standards to attract the traveller savvy worldwide.

Structural Changes in Indian Retail Market: From Unorganised to Organised

In India during the time of beginning there were only kirana stores called Mom and Pop stores, the friendly negihbourhood stores selling day needs. In the 1980s manufacturer’s retail chains like DCM, Gwalior Suitings, Bombay Dying, Titan etc started making its manifestation in metros and small towns. Multi brands retailers came into the depiction in 1990s.India has the highest shop density in the world and the present retail market in India is estimated to be US$200 billion of which only 3%(around US$64 billion) is in the organized sector. This organized retail sector is poised for a take off. AT Kearney ranks India second in the global retail development index out of 30 nations. The increasing purchase power of the great Indian middle class is the major reason for retail sprint that is being witnessed. The percentage of young people in the country is increasing. It portends well for the retail business, as it is the young people who buy more than the old. Again the percentage of women in the population is showing an increasing trend. Organinsed retail market boom is expected to create the much-needed mass employment. It will upgrade India’s layer second and third tier cities to international standard. While this boom addresses India’s basic infrastructure challenges to create demand for the product of rural India and a more efficient agricultural sector. The organized retail market boom is expected to bring positive outcomes in may of sectors like economic growth, exports, education, IT industry, food processing, infrastructure, banking, tourism, management along with the greater customer satisfaction. This paper focuses a clear picture of looming retail boom through the form of organized retail format. It gives a glance of the progress organized retail format and its positive and negative impact in Indian economy.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a catalytic role in the development of any country. They have always been the engine of growth for every country, in developing as well as in transition economies. In India, they account for a significant proportion of manufacturing, of exports and of employment. SMEs are major contributors to the GDP of the country. This sector in India is the second largest manpower employer after agriculture, and currently contributes 40 per cent of the total Industrial production in the country and over 34 per cent of the national exports. In fact, in terms of socio-economic importance, the total number of SMEs at 11.39 million units is nearly 95 per cent of the Industrial units of the country, while providing employment to nearly 27.13 million people, which is nearly 86 per cent of the total employment in the country.

         Dr.S.Hasan Banu
Reader & Research Supervisor
P.G. and Research Department of Commerce,HKRH College
Uthamapalayam,Theni,Tamil Nadu
hasansafeer@yahoo.co.in