| THIS WEEK: DIGITAL ACCESSORIES "" I |
| Digital accessories include high-end electronic items such as premium mobile phones, PDAs and digital cameras. |
| India has emerged as the second-largest mobile handset market and is poised for explosive growth by 2007. |
| Affluent Indians spend about Rs 25,000 each every year on high-end mobile phones. |
| Over 93 per cent of male consumers are aware of major handset brands, compared to 86 per cent women customers. |
| About 70 per cent of women mobile users own mobile brands that are not defined as premium. |
| On average, 60 per cent male consumers change or replace their cellular phones at least once a year, compared to 45 per cent women. |
| About 35 per cent men change their phones two to three times a year, compared to 21 per cent women. |
| Roughly 59 per cent male customers purchase their handsets at exclusive brand outlets within the country, while 31 per cent buy their phones from multibrand outlets. |
| NUGGETS Selections from management journals |
| Splitting a project between two or more groups has many benefits, but it also adds complexity for those participating in and managing the project. In order to maximise the benefits of distributed work, we need to know more about the factors behind success or failure. This paper finds that commonly studied elements of intergroup cooperation, such as communication processes and incentives, are insufficient and that status plays a key role in distributed work collaborations. The author argues that our knowledge about how distributed groups work together is missing an important component "" an understanding of the importance of status. Most research into work groups and distributed working focuses on the contributions made by communication processes, incentives and ways of minimising conflict. However, here the author also highlights work in the sociology and social psychology fields on closure, the means by which higher status groups maintain their status at the expense of lower status groups, and suggests that this phenomenon may prove valuable in exploring the interactions between distributed work groups. |
| Owning the code: Status closure in distributed groups |
| By Anca Metiu Insead Knowledge Read this article at: http://knowledge.insead.edu |
| Anyone who has signed up recently for a cell phone service has faced a stern test in trying to figure out the cost of carry-forward minutes versus free calls within a network and how it compares with the cost of such services as push-to-talk, roaming, and messaging. Many, too, have fallen for a rebate offer only to discover that the form they must fill out rivals a home mortgage application in its detail. And then there are automated telephone systems, in which harried consumers navigate a mazelike menu in search of a real-life human being. So little confidence do consumers have in these electronic surrogates that a few weeks after the website www.gethuman.com showed how to reach a live person quickly at 10 major consumer sites, instructions for more than 400 additional companies had poured in. An excess of features, baited rebates, and a paucity of the personal touch are all evidence of indifference to what should be a company's first concern: the quality of customers' experiences. In the first example, the carrier offered a jumble of phone services in part to discourage comparison shopping and thus price wars. In the second, the company offered a hard-to-obtain rebate to stimulate a purchase. |
| And in the third, the goal was to slash staffing costs, despite soothing claims of 24-hour self-service availability. Unfortunately, such cunning makes for customer experiences that engender regret and then the determination to do business elsewhere. |
| Understanding customer experience By Christopher Meyer and Andre Schwager Harvard Business Review, February 2007 Read this article at: http://harvardbusinessonline. hbsp.harvard.edu |
| BOOKWORM Top 10 business bestsellers |
| A View From The Outside: Why Good Economics Works for Everyone Author: P Chidambaram Publisher: Penguin Books India Price: Rs 371.25 ISBN: 670081167 |
| Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American Author: Richard S Tedlow Publisher: Penguin Books India Price: Rs 521.25 ISBN: 670999482 |
| The Ten Faces of Innovation Author: Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman Publisher: Viva Books Price: Rs 236 ISBN: 1861978065 |
| Nani A Palkhivala: A Life Author: M V Kamath Publisher: Pikus Books Price: Rs 464.10 ISBN: 8190416901 |
| Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire Author: Rajmohan Gandhi Publisher: Penguin Books Price: Rs 520 ISBN: 670999326 |
| All Marketers are Liars: the Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World Author: Seth Godin Publisher: Michael Joseph Price: Rs 698 ISBN: 718148657 |
| My Name is Red Author: Orhan Pamuk Publisher: Vintage Books USA Price: Rs 216 ISBN: 571222307 |
| The Penguin World Cup Cricket Companion 2007 Author: Qaiser Mohammed Ali Publisher: Penguin Books India Price: Rs 169.15 ISBN: 0143101323 |
| The High-Purpose Company Author: Christine Arena Publisher: Collins Price: Rs 685.91 ISBN: 0060852078 |
| Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth Author: T Harv Eker Publisher: Harper Collins Price: Rs 192.06 ISBN: 0061336454 List by www.bsbazaar.com |
Strategic tools for the practising manager
KIT
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First Published: Mar 06 2007 | 12:00 AM IST
