The Herd Mentality

From Business World

‘There Could Be An Element Of Ego At Play’

Herd mentality in business is perhaps a natural extension of human behaviour. BW spoke to Madhukar Shukla, professor of organisational behaviour and strategic management at XLRI, Jamshedpur, and author of Competing Through Knowledge, Building a Learning Organisation, to understand the behaviour of herds. Excerpts.

Why do businesses display a herd mentality?
A lot of opportunities spring up when a new sector is opened. Many try to exploit this. Since the sector is new, there are no benchmarks. Capability issues arise only later.

Do they have clear strategies for new opportunities?
They would have, but they would not be tested. They rely on previous experience, what they already know from other sectors and other countries. But that may not work for a new segment and local markets.

What are the risks they face?
When huge markets such as India open up, the picture is always incomplete. The retail sector, for example. More than 95 per cent of the sector is unorganised. The organised players think that even if they capture 5-10 per cent of the unorganised market, it would be great business. But there are too many unknowns. The strategy that worked in other developed markets may not apply in India.

Some businessmen don’t quit even though they do badly...
Sometimes, they stick on the hope that the sector would mature sooner or later. There could be an element of ego at play sometimes that clouds decision making.

Read the entire article here

The Times of India :: Lead India Contest

The Times of India group has started a competition for selecting a national political leader for India who would be eventually trained in the John F. Kennedy School of Political Leadership. Post-training he/she would be provided with seed funding/media support to contest Lok Sabha elections in India. Two XLers have reached the regional finals who would eventually go through to the National finals.

1) Ms. Aparna Banerjee
http://lead.timesofindia.com/profile_Aparna_Banerjee.asp

2) Mr. Sandeep Agarwal


This rounds winners would be determined on the basis of votes received by the candidates through online or SMS voting.

Please do vote for them by clicking here: http://lead.timesofindia.com/voteing_Kolkata.asp or

PLEASE NOTE THAT ONE PERSON CAN ONLY VOTE FOR A SINGLE CANDIDATE

To know more about the contest and selection process, please click here: http://lead.timesofindia.com/selection_process.asp

We also have one other "genetic" Xler (or Xler-by-genes) in the list.
Nisha Millet in Bangalore list is the daughter of Aubrey Millet of 72 batch.
http://lead.timesofindia.com/profile_Nisha_Millet.asp

Leena Menon (92PMIR) - BT's "25 Most Powerful Women in Indian Business"

From Business Today, India



Leena Nair
37/ Executive Director (HR), Hindustan Unilever
Education: BE Electronics and MBA from XLRI
Work Experience: 15 years
Career High: First woman ED at HUL
Hobbies: Bollywood movies, reading, outdoor sports and travelling Success Mantra: Look for a win-win in every situation

It's a hat trick, in some sense. Leena Nair isn't just the first woman to make it to Hindustan Unilever's Management Committee (mc), but also the youngest Executive Director (ED) and that too one in charge of not a profit centre, but human resources. As the HR boss, Nair heads a team of 250 people who look into the well-being of about 15,000 employees across 70 different locations in the country, including 45 factories and four regional offices.

The 37-year-old Nair joined Hindustan Lever (as it was known until recently) straight out of XLRI, Jamshedpur, 15 years ago, and has risen quickly through the ranks. From being a factory personnel manager to management development planning manager to hr manager for the detergents business, Nair has been there, done that. But how does it feel to become the youngest and only woman Executive Director on the mc in HUL's history? "It is definitely a big honour for me because HUL is not just a big organisation with a great history and heritage, but (my elevation is) also a testimony to how much hr is valued here," says the tall and trim Nair.

She could say that again. Until recently, in most organisations, hr didn't get a seat at the high table. For one, hr wasn't seen as a profit centre and, for another, it was not considered strategic enough. But with talent becoming scarce and the only real differentiator at most companies, boards are waking up to the strategic importance of human resources. No wonder, Nair says her challenge is straightforward. "We have to do well and excel to make a difference to the organisation. My team must also make a difference to excellence in hr in the company and in the country," she says.

On staying put at the FMCG giant, Nair says, "When your job is interesting and you are feeling stretched and challenged, and when you have great bosses and you are working with talented people, you don't want to leave." HUL must be hoping that she can spread the same kind of enthusiasm around the organisation.

Appeal from an XLer 90batch - Sam Placid

I am forwarding a mail from Placid Sam of 90batch (samplacid[at]rediffmail[dot]com)

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"I wanted to let you know that I have been supporting a charity for the past 5 years which helps children of lepers(they are probably among the most ostracised class in India)get a chance for a better life.We provide hostel accommodation for these children along with food,clothing and medicines.It is managed by an uncle of mine who also happens to be a priest(though he has no love lost for the traditional church and I suspect they reciprocate the same feelings).We currently have 300 kids(boys and girls) and also run a school from the same premises for these children.

We are now trying to build a school building as without a proper and separate building the UP govt.authorities will not grant recognition and without recognition these kids will not be allowed to write the board exams.

Is there any possibility that we can raise some funds for this thru the XL network or thru similar organisations like the MFF?

I do not normally talk about this work and would prefer to do this quietly.

The name of the charity is NAYEE ASHA and all contributions are income tax deductible.

P.Sam(BMD 90)

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Golf sessions for XLRI students

As recent studies have shown, in today’s business environment networking is a tool that no manager can do without. Golf is one of the primary ways by which managers network as it provides numerous opportunities while eliminating rank and formalities. Innumerable business decisions are taken and contacts built over a friendly round of golf.

XLRI as a part of its endeavor to make its students tomorrows’ global managers has started a golf awareness and initiation session. The Sports Committee at XLRI launched Golf 101, a series of 20 sessions to help familiarize and teach the students the basics of golf.

To introduce the students to the game, a primer session was held last Wednesday, September 26^th. Mr George Olapally, an XL alumnus from the 1975 batch who had specially flown in from Bangalore, and Mr. Bushen Raina, CEO, Tata Tinplate and Captain, Beldih Club golf team, spoke to the students about their love for golf. The interest and the passion that these two gentlemen shared rubbed off on to the students and what followed was a very interactive and informative guide to the world of golf.

They briefly outlined the golfing rules, terms and etiquette. This was followed by a demonstration of the golfing equipment used. They told the budding golfers on how to get started by giving them tips on the kind of equipment to purchase and the golf clubs to approach for membership. They clarified that one can never be too old or too young to play golf and encouraged all present to learn the sport.

They spoke about how invaluable golf had been to them both in their business as well as personal life. They said in addition to providing networking opportunities it is a great stress buster and basically a way to just have fun with one’s friends and family.

By the end of the session the students were all set to tee off.

Posted by External Linkages Cell, XLRI Jamshedpur at 7:00 PM