Strategic tools for the practising manager.
FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian economy. It is estimated to be Rs 1,13,000 crore for 2007.
The FMCG market has been exhibiting more than 10 per cent growth since 2005 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10-12 per cent over the next few years.
The penetration of many product categories in the segment is still low, and thus, the growth potential of the FMCG industry looks promising.
Toilet soap has the highest penetration at 91.5 per cent.
Some of the key challenges for the sector include complicated tax structure and GST implementation, fragmented and weak agricultural supply chain, and bureaucratic regulatory processes.
NUGGETS
selections from management journals
More From This Section
Many people believe that good ideas are rarer and more valuable than good people. Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, couldn’t disagree more. That notion, he says, is rooted in a misguided view of creativity that exaggerates the importance of the initial idea in developing an original product. And it reflects a profound misunderstanding of how to manage the large risks inherent in producing breakthroughs.
In filmmaking and many other kinds of complex product development, creativity involves a large number of people from different disciplines working effectively together to solve a great many inherently unforeseeable problems. The trick to fostering collective creativity, Catmull says, is threefold: place the creative authority for product development firmly in the hands of the project leaders (as opposed to corporate executives); build a culture and processes that encourage people to share their work-in-progress and support one another as peers; and dismantle the natural barriers that divide disciplines.
Mindful of the rise and fall of so many tech companies, Catmull has also sought ways to continually challenge Pixar’s assumptions and search for the flaws that could destroy its culture. Clear values, constant communication, routine postmortems, and the regular injection of outsiders who will challenge the status quo are necessary but not enough to stay on the rails. Strong leadership is essential to make sure people don’t pay lip service to those standards.
How Pixar fosters collective creativity
By Ed Catmull
Harvard Business Review, September 2008
Read this article at www.hbr.com
While layoff decisions might be beyond your control, there’s plenty you can do to make sure you retain your job. In this article, Janet Banks, a former HR executive at Chase Manhattan and FleetBoston Financial, and Diane Coutu, an HBR senior editor and former affiliate scholar at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, describe how to improve your chances of survival.
It’s mostly a matter of coolheaded planning, they observe. When cuts loom, the first thing to do is act like a survivor. Be confident and cheerful. Research shows that congeniality trumps competence when push comes to shove. Look to the future by focusing on customers, for without them, no one will have work. Survivors also tend to be versatile; tight budgets demand managers who can wear several hats, so start demonstrating what other capabilities you can offer. If you’re, say, a manager who once worked as a teacher, take on a training role.
How to protect your job in a recession
By Janet Banks and Diane Coutu
Harvard Business Review, September 2008
Subscribe to this article at www.hbr.com
How can a company deliver continuous, exceptional growth, year after year? J C Larreche, a professor of marketing at INSEAD, answers that question in his book, The Momentum Effect: How to Ignite Exceptional Growth. According to the author’s research, momentum-powered firms delivered 80 per cent more shareholder value than their slower rivals.
“Momentum leaders are not lucky — they are smart,” he writes in this excerpt. “They have discovered the source of momentum and, with it, the beginnings of a smarter way to exceptional growth. Managers often talk about “riding the wave.” Momentum leaders aren’t that passive. They live by this motto: First build your wave, then ride it.
The power of momentum: Companies that build their wave and ride it
Knowledge@Wharton, August 20-September 2, 2008
Read this article at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/