Strategic tools for the practising manager

THIS WEEK: PREMIUM CHOCOLATE

Indian consumers spend Rs 727 crore on premium chocolate, with 40 per cent penetration levels.

The market suffers from low brand awareness, with only 26 per cent of the population recognising luxury brands of premium chocolates.

Per capita annual spends by affluent Indians on premium chocolate is about Rs 10,700.

The average spend per occasion is roughly Rs 875.

Brand awareness for premium chocolate is highest among the affluent populations of North and West India, compared to the south and east.

About 85 per cent affluent Indians prefer to buy premium chocolate locally, while 25 per cent also regularly buy them abroad.

The most frequent buyers and consumers of chocolate are those in the 40-50 year age group.

Those from Non-metro areas tend to spend more on a single purchase of premium chocolate, compared to those living in metros.

Most people prefer to buy premium chocolate from neighbourhood stores while 45 per cent prefer department stores.

Selections from management journals
NUGGETS

When in 1992 the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TSA) was constituted as a telecom and postal services regulator, its telecom operations were spun off as Singapore Telecom "" SingTel "" which was incorporated in 1992.

It was later transferred to Temasek Holdings to allow a separation of the government's role as shareholder from that of regulator (while remaining 60 per cent government owned).

The article reviews the history and strategy of the company over the past 20 years, and assesses its progress in the bid to become Asia-Pacific's top communications group.

SingTel: Becoming the best regional communications player, By Gabriel Szulanski and Sam Garg
Insead Knowledge,
January 2007

Read this article at http://knowledge.insead.edu

Even for the most gifted individuals, the process of becoming a leader is an arduous, albeit rewarding, journey of continuous learning and self-development.

The initial test along the path is so fundamental that we often overlook it: becoming a boss for the first time. That is a shame, because the trials involved in this rite of passage have serious consequences for both the individual and the organisation.

For a decade and a half, the author of this case study has studied people "" particularly star performers "" making major career transitions to management.

As firms have become leaner and more dynamic, new managers have described a transition that gets more difficult all the time. But the transition is often harder than it need be because of managers' misconceptions about their role.

Those who can acknowledge their misconceptions have a far greater chance of success. A common misconception is that new managers are responsible only for making sure their operations run smoothly.

But new managers need to realise they are responsible for initiating changes "" some of them in areas outside their purview "" that will enhance their groups' performance.

Becoming the Boss
Linda A Hill
Harvard Business Review, January 2007

Read this article at http://www.hbr.com