Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Wheat imports harm national interest
Following the nuclear blasts, USA has imposed stiff economic sanctions against Pakistan but is willing to lift its embargo so that it is able to find market for its surplus wheat and help its farming community. The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to exempt farm exports so that US is able to sell 3.5 lakh tonnes of wheat valued at $37 million to Pakistan. The US policy marks high degree of pragmatism where economic self-interest overrides political considerations. Contrast this with the Indian situation where the government is resorting to large-scale wheat imports during the last few years, not only harming the interest of Indian farmers but also jeopardising India's food self-sufficiency painstakingly achieved during last twenty-five years.
United we stand
News reports indicate that the Aditya Birla group is considering unifying all its cement brands. The move clearly indicates that the group, which has so far been concentrating on operational efficiencies, is now turning its attention on revamping its marketing strategies. Group companies, Indian Rayon and Grasim Industries have so far been marketing grey cement under six brands, each owning three brands. However, the disadvantage of selling cement under so many brands is the dilution of the group's market communication exercise which is aimed at promoting cement sales.
Novel arrangement
it is seeking to become a zero-defect, zero-time-loss, zero-customer dissatisfaction company. Almost every group has professionalised. At Reliance Industries, where the average age of employees is just 36, the average revenue per employee was up to Rs 77 lakh in 1997-98, against Rs 54 lakh the previous year, and average profit per employee was Rs 10 lakh against Rs 8 lakh. Almost every top company has either sharply pared investment portfolios or is in the process of cleaning up, as with the RPG group, ugly criss-cross holdings through multitudes of non-transparent investment companies. The Essar group has recruited industry toppers to head its companies, and Ballarpur Industries has resolved its vexed succession issue by splitting operations. Bajaj Auto has improved design, and every employee there now wears the same uniform, a lesson learnt from a similar mass v
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