| COVER
FEATURE
Meet
the CEO - - Ravi S Madapati, K Rajesh Prabhakar
"Every
member of the Evalueserve team is virtually in the `office
next door', available to provide immediate assistance."
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
GLOBAL
BUSINESS
Sony's
new CEO - - Ravi Madapati
On
March 7, 2005, Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and CEO of Sony resigned,
handing over the reins to Howard Stringer. At an emergency
meeting in Tokyo, Sony's board approved the transfer of power,
making Stringer one of only a handful of foreigners ever to
lead a top Japanese company. The move is the biggest management
upheaval in Sony's 59-year history.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
GLOBAL
BUSINESS
GM
vs. Fiat The `Put' Option - - Krishna Kumar
Automotive
Industry watchers were awaiting the implementation of the
`put' between General Motors (GM) and Fiat. But the issue
got delayed as GM had second thoughts on the agreement. This
article takes a look at the problem with details on the background,
reasons of both companies for entering into the agreement
and the final resolution of the matter.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COMPANY
IN FOCUS
Gucci:
The making of a luxury brand - - Mridu Verma
Gucci's
troubles began in the 1970s as family members disagreed over
strategy and wrestled for management control. A bitter infighting
ensued between Aldo and Rodolfo Gucci, the founder's surviving
sons, and the younger generation. In 1980, after twice being
fired by his relatives, Aldo's son Paolo tried to launch a
series of products under his own name.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
INDUSTRY
IN FOCUS
Cementing
relationships Acquisition of L&T Cement by Grasim Industries - - Saptarshi Purkayastha
India
is the second largest cement producer in the world with cement
production at 144 million tons and consumption at 117 million
Tons, surpassing developed countries like USA and Japan. But,
the industry is highly fragmented in nature with more than
55 companies controlling a total capacity of around 140 million
tons. The Indian cement industry has tremendous scope for
improvement in the long run, in spite of the fact that it
has produced more than 100 million tons of cement for two
consecutive years now.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
HUMAN
RESOURCES
Intricacies
of Ceo succession planning - - VV Gopal
Family-owned
businesses form a major chunk of the business landscape. It
is in this context that the issue of succession planning assumes
significance. It is incumbent on the existing CEO to not only
identify and groom a successor, but also to ensure that a
smooth transition mechanism is in place. The corporate world
is full of instances wherein business majors have made headlines
on account of the issue of succession.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
CASE
STUDY
Rehabilitating
Daiei - A Japanese retailer in trouble - - Vivek Gupta, Swati Raman
The
case highlights the expansion strategies of Daiei Inc., a
leading Japanese retailer. This expansion was funded by acquiring
huge debts, which led the company to bankruptcy in the fiscal
2001-02. The case then describes the various efforts of Daiei
to restructure and reduce its debt burden and explains why
they were unsuccessful. It also describes the initiative taken
by the Japanese government owned Industrial Revitalization
Corporation (IRCJ) to help Daiei turnaround. The case then
discusses the plans that IRCJ and Marubeni led consortium,
which was selected as its sponsor, have for Daiei's rehabilitation.
It explores the future prospects for Daiei in the light of
the recent developments and also throws light on the possible
harm for the Japanese economy if IRCJ fails to deliver the
desired results in the proposed time frame.
© 2005 ICMR. All
Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study,
log on to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org.
CEO
WATCH
Carly
Fiorina's Ouster - - Ravi Madapati
On
February 9, 2005, Hewlett-Packard's (HP) Board of Directors
announced that it had fired CEO Carleton S Fiorina after the
controversial $19 bn Compaq acquisition failed to produce
expected benefits. With her resignation taking immediate effect,
Robert Wayman, Chief Financial Officer of HP, was appointed
interim CEO and was also nominated to the California-based
company's Board of Directors. Patricia Dunn, Vice Chairman
of Barclays Global Investors, was named Non-Executive Chairman
of the board. Dunn has been on the board of HP since 1998.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COUNTRY
IN FOCUS
The
brand "Korea" - - Shishir Kumar
Korean
products have raised their image by shifting from low-end
mass products to high-tech premium products. In the overseas
markets Korea was once perceived as a country of labor disputes
and widespread corruption, where political intervention in
corporate management was common. But, today the enhanced quality
of Korean products has improved the image of the country,
which in turn has given Korean products an edge over products
from other countries.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
BOOK
REVIEW
Kmart's
10 Deadly Sins - How Incompetence Tainted An American Icon - - Y Chandra Sekhar
Kmart's
filing for bankruptcy has shocked the retail community. During
its 40-year history, the company has grown and expanded immensely.
However, escalating problems resulted in this drastic decision.
This book, through in-depth probe and research, attempts to
categorize the factors and offer valuable insights to other
retailers on how the growth of a company has to be managed
and what are the potential areas that can result in the decay.
© 2003 Marcia Layton Turner. All Rights Reserved. The IUP holds the copyright for the review. |
