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Showing posts from June, 2017

China's Banking Sector : Leaders in the World

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Chinese banks are now global leaders not just by asset base but also brand value, according to the latest version of Brand Finance Banking 500, which shows the combined value of Chinese banks has surpassed that of US banks for the first time. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the world’s most valuable bank with a brand value worth $47.8 billion, representing a 32 percent year on year growth. Brand Finance's CEO David Haigh, said: "Chinese banks are being carried along in the slipstream of industrial giants as they grow and expand into international markets. Facilitating international deals boosts revenues, but more importantly, enables the banks to build their reputations with potential clients across the world." Marketing investment and the brand's credibility with customers, staff and shareholders, among other factors, are all taken into consideration in calculating brand value. Essentially, the ranking rates how a bank's soft values translat

PRODUCTIVITY OF WORKFORCE & GROWTH OF ECONOMY

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In an article published by the Harvard Business Review  Michael Porter stated, “National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency value, as classical economics insists”.  According to Porter, the answer to consistent innovation by certain companies in certain nations lies in their ability to sustainable strategise, focus upon four broad attributes, constituting what he calls the “diamond of national advantage”.  These attributes include factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. Therefore, from conventional economics literature, factors of production (land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship) per se remain marginally important on their own, in explaining the prospects of a firm to enter a given national environment and do sustainably well there over the long run.  Simply having a large domestic wo

SUCCESS IS A JOURNEY AND NOT A DESTINATION

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If we read about articles on how to be successful all of them will tell that we need to be a) Disciplined b) Hardworking c) Have Goals in Life d) Do not leave work for tomorrow e) Be Honest f) Prioritize your tasks g) Complete your projects h) Be Optimistic i) Overcome Fear etc. etc. Recently I came across one article which wrote about 37 secrets only successful people know . I am sure if I interview successful people and ask them about the 37 secrets they themselves would be equally curious to know .  (Following is the link https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/37-secrets-only-successful-people-know.html ) The point is that everyone knows what are the Good things that one needs to do in his or her life but that does not guarantee success as defined or as per their definition. In fact the definition of success itself is a moving piece which keeps on changing in the life of every person as he grows and the definition keeps on changing . Most of the times he or she only has a very
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The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is going to be implemented in India very soon. It is a very significant step towards the indirect tax reforms in India and will combine a large number of Central and State taxes in to a single tax. One of the important advantages of it for the consumers would be the reduction of overall tax burden and for the traders; it supposes to create a level playing field and will give them a competitive advantage in domestic as well as in international market. Some of the Important features of GST : 1.      GST would be applicable on “supply” of goods or services as against the present concept of tax on the manufacture of goods or on sale of goods or on provision of services. 2.      GST would be based on “destination based consumption” taxation principle as against the present principle of “origin based” taxation 3.      It would be a dual GST with the Centre and State/Union Territory levying it simultaneously on a common base 4.      GST will be collected

INDIA AND US RELATION GETTING STRONGER VISIT TO VISIT

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When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited US President Barack Obama to attend his country’s Republic Day ceremonies earlier this year, it signaled an important change in relations between the world’s two biggest democracies. Ever since the 1990s, three American administrations have tried to improve bilateral relations, with mixed results. While annual trade between the countries has soared during this period, from $20 billion to more than $100 billion, annual US-China trade is worth six times more, and the political relationship has had ups and downs. The two countries have a long history of confusing each other. By definition, any alliance with a superpower is unequal; so efforts to establish close ties with the United States have long run up against India’s tradition of strategic autonomy. But Americans do not view democratic India as a threat. On the contrary, India’s success is an important US interest, and several factors promise a brighter future for the bilateral rel

CFO to CEO : Right Brain Balancing act

Chief financial officers (CFOs) who believe that becoming chief executive officers (CEOs) is their next logical career step may very well find that the odds are against them. The numbers bear this out: Only 13% moved into that position from being CFO. In addition, Forbes 2000 CEOs who previously held senior-level financial officer positions (controller, treasurer, chief accounting officer, senior vice president/vice president of finance, chief tax officer, vice president of investor relations, or CFO) accounted for only 18% of the total. These numbers are virtually the same overall for 2013 through 2015, and improve only slightly among Forbes 500 CEOs. The reasons for the dearth of financial executives moving into the CEO role are both eye-opening and instructive for CFOs with their sights set on becoming the final decision makers. A strategic mind-set, strong financial acumen, and a close working relationship with the board, although they are characteristics of best-in-class CFOs,

Peter Drucker : The Management Guru and his timeless quotes

My first college business professor was a fanatical Peter Drucker devotee. He launched our course with a dissection of Drucker’s The Effective Executive and concluded with a thorough reading of The Practice of Management. Through my professor's tireless evangelism, I developed a keen appetite for the timeless wisdom of this prescient thought leader. Related: How the Advice of the Past Can Save Us Now Young entrepreneurs unfamiliar with Drucker would do well to study his insightful commentary on the world of "management." Millennials mired inside a traditional corporate environment and people living life inside lean startups will find his thinking particularly spot on. Even after all these years, 10 Peter Drucker quotes still bounce around in my head constantly: 1. “Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.” 2. “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” 3. “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with gre

EDUCATION NEEDS TO GET RELEVANT AND AFFORDABLE TO MAKE DEVELOPING AND UNDERDEVELOPED ECONOMIES GROW

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Education even today , if we look at is still very much the same as it was 50 years ago , though the entire world has seen so much of change in every other sphere. It does not mean that everything that is being taught is be undone but may be the way it is done needs to be re-looked at , making more stress on what is relevant for job skills and innovative and creativity and lesser on repetitive and non useful stuff. Another thing that can make a difference is Technology which is still to be used extensively is education as it is used in all other sectors specially in schools and colleges. Also there is a need to reduce the cost of education which has skyrocketed in recent times thanks to a combination of inflation , limited supply of resources vis-à-vis demand and to a large extent profiteering also. The most important dimensions in Education that needs to be looked at today are 1. Relevance of Education to acquire job related skills 2. Cost of Education to be m