1. The 30 years of Draconian communism from 1948 to 1978 instilled docility in the nation’s citizenry which has played an im- portant role. This would have been of no use if the government was corrupt or unintelligent. But the Chinese government was none of these. To comple- ment its government’s work, market mechanism backs its government’s policies. Markets and in- centives play a critical role for development to occur, and as long as the government has the intel- ligence to weave these into policy fabric, the stage is set for economic take-off. Further the Chi- nese government has in- tervened in macroeco- nomic markets by keeping tight controls on capital and has kept its exchange rate deliberately underval- ued in order to break into global markets with its exports. But the kind of social engineering that contemporary China at- tempt is quite is unthink-
To understand develop- ment and why some so- cieties take off and others do not and why, from a host of nations caught in a poverty trap, one sud- denly breaks rank we must be prepared to look at the differences in each society , to search in the nooks and crannies of a nation’s economic, social and institutional structure. In crafting effective poli- cies for development, we must not be prepared to simple rules of what a nation should do.
Despite major moves to liberalize the economy since 1978, China re- mains one of the most state-owned economies of the world. Its political and institutional setting is much more socialistic than India’s. If with that setting intact, its econ- omy had failed, it would not be unreasonable to expect that economists would uphold Chin’s ex- perience as a textbook demonstration of what that kind of polity does to
the economy. Hence the fact that China’s economy has succeeded poses a ma- jor intellectual challenge to mainstream economies.
Core factors behind China’s economic growth Under the leadership of Deng Xioping , China adopted the market reforms in 1978 and its growth rate showed a marked improve- ment. The pro-market lib- eralization set China off on its searing growth path but what is usually not recog- nized is the three decades of Maoist communism pre- ceding Deng’s liberaliza- tion played. China’s labor force is one of the most disciplined and also acqui- escent, and its civil society lines behind the govern- ment in ways that is true of few other societies, devel- oped or developing. Its labor force is relatively easy to manage and con- trol, and stands in sharp contrast to India’s chaotic and demanding labor and this can also be attributed to China’s government.
TIGER CHASING DRAGON
VOLUME3,ISSUE 4
MI’BYTES
BUSINESS LETTER
PAGE 1
AUGUST 2014
MASTER OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT STUDIES
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Tiger chasing dragon
1
Corporate speak
2
Quick bytes
3
Quote for the Month
4

2. The Godrej Group is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mum- bai, Maharashtra, India, managed and largely owned by the Godrej family. It was founded by Ardeshir Godrej and Pi- rojsha Godrej in 1897, and operates in sectors as diverse as real estate, consumer products, in- dustrial engineering, ap- pliances, furniture, secu- rity and agricultural products. Subsidiaries and affiliated companies include Godrej Industries and its subsidiaries Godrej Consumer Prod- ucts, Godrej Agrovet, and Godrej Properties, as well as the private hold- ing company Godrej & Boyce .
Page 2
Ques 1: How is technology changing the retail landscape, as the distinction between physical and online retail is vanishing?
Ans1: The distinction between Physical and online retail is vanishing for some category especially in those where people are fully aware of the de- tails. There are cases however where 'the touch and feel' of the real world is necessary. For example furniture, no matter what you see online in the end you have to touch and feel the wood to know is it really as it looks. So, people can than do their first cut off study online to understand what are the options, what are they looking at and then physically go and see it. I think in some categories like books for example, there is nothing to physically go and see, if you know what are the contents of the book, who the author is etc, there is nothing to see before placing an order. So, I think its vanishing in some it's not vanishing in others. Technology is coming into play by providing knowledge you want about the product, which you can than scan and get additional information. Now an individ- ual has an opportunity to gain more information. Another area where technology is helping is in decision making.
Ques 2: What are the most important operational changes needed in the retail industry?
Ans2) This again depends on the nature of the retail. Retail is a place where one gets to touch and feel things that are the part of your final de- cision. Now people are looking for more experiential way off exploring. For example, when they see our furniture they just don’t want to see dif- ferent chairs, they want to see a combination of chairs and sofas pre- sented in a way as if it was a living room. So that they can imagine what it looks like in real space. I think part of the operational retail is how you aid the ability for the customer to visualize what they are buying. One part is experiential and the second part involves questions, not just about the prices or what color options are available rather detail questions as to what kind of material does it require, any specific kind of maintenance etc. The third is in the area of logistics, because in the end any kind of lo- gistics involves costs. So, those are some of the areas in which operation- ally retail needs to get stronger.
Ques 3: From your experience, can you give us some examples of how busi- nesses can become more sustainable? Do you admire any companies in par- ticular for their approach towards sustainability?
Ans3) I think there are many dimensions to sustainability. Sustainability can be in terms of environment in which you are utilizing precious re- sources in a very responsible manner i.e. you are not over consuming any resources whether it is water, energy, plant etc and that there is a mecha- nism by which you can replenish them. There are many businesses for example that consume water as part of their operations but they have taken no responsibility for harvesting rainwater or replenishing water or treatment of water so that water can be utilized. People should be much more self-reliant in every way possible. And lastly, whatever products and services you create should be created with materials that do not harm the environment. There are a variety of ways in which organiza- tions can be sustainable. Godrej is enabling people to
ABOUT GODREJ
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4
CORPORATE SPEAK
Mr. Shireesh Joshi
COO, Strategic Marketing Group
Godrej
Cont...on page 3
“Retail is a place where one gets to touch and feel things that are the part of your final decision”
“It all starts with the customer needs”

3. VOLUME 3,ISSUE 4
PAGE 3
be beautician, technician or imparting knowledge to them in a way whereby they can gain employment. We also teach people if they have their own little entrepreneurship business the essentials of accounting, book keeping, inventory management, so that they are able to manage their business more efficiently.
So, Godrej as a Group has taken specific efforts in all these 3 areas, in greener products, in creating employment and in creating a much greener India to do that. I think our own organization across divisions is actually doing a fair amount of admirable work.
Ques 4: Godrej is a diversified group, what do you see before entering into a particular field in terms of Innovation, customers need, market structure, conditions of the economy etc?
Ans 4: It all starts with the customer needs. You have to understand what the customer requires at that point of time and the requirement do change for the same customers also at different point of time and they can be dif- ferent for different customer also at the same point of time. So in the end its look at what breadth of customer needs it and then determining which of those are feasible. It’s not possible for any one organisation to try and solve everything. So it begins with customer needs than identify which one we will solve and then we bring together the required resources.
Ques 5: Where does growth come from for a company and what do you think we will see in the years to come for Godrej?
Ans 5: Growth always comes from pretty much the same place as in previ- ous answer i.e. customer needs. In years as customer needs evolve and change that’s where growth really comes from. For example, household item that will be needed for an individual when you are bachelor will be different from what is needed when you are married. So as your needs evolve so do your requirements for things that will make your life easier and better.
Godrej is on very sound footing. The group has declared a goal of growing ten times in ten years and that requires a very strong double digit growth and so far the group is on track.
Ques 6: What will be your message/advice to IB students at JMI?
Ans 6: First of all, one should have a broad spectrum. Look at what are the needs of the industry are and help the policy maker understand those re- quirements and try and influence the future policy that is much more growth effective and the other is taking the knowledge of existing policy and working with the organisation and helping them in delivering efficient and effective results. Secondly, self discipline and ability to work under work process is also essential. I think these are the two parts in which you have to orient yourself.
QUICK BYTES
1. Samsung accounts for 20% of Korea's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
2.Candy crush brings in a reported $6,33,000 a day in revenue..
3.The Rubik's cube is the best selling product of all time. The I phone is second .
4.In 1997, yahoo re- jected an offer to acquire Google for $ 1 million, today Google is worth $250 billion.
5.Amazon.com employ- ees spend two days every two years working at the customer service desk — even the CEO — in order to help all workers understand the customer service proc- ess .
Cont...from page 2

4. PAGE 4
MASTER OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT STUDIES
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
QUOTE FOR THE MONTH
“There is only one boss: The customer. And he can fire everybody from chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else ”
—Sam Walton
E-mail: suban.ajam@gmail.com,
9650430820
TIGER CHASING DRAGON
Cont...from page 1
able in most nations. The government launched initia- tives like “queuing day”, which required that on the 11th of every month, gov- ernment officials would go out all over the city to tell citizens “it is civilized to queue, glorious to be po- lite”. Then, there was the “seat giving day” once a month when the young and fit were encouraged to give up their seats in buses and trains to the old and less able. Here, also have to dis- cuss China’s population policy which has yielded huge long term benefits. One sees evidence of cen- tralized control and submis- sion of the citizenry in China’s population policy. By the 1970’s China fertil- ity was extremely high. But by the late 1970’s the gov- ernment changed its mind on population and initiated measures to control the population. By the 1990’s the one-child policy had become the norm.
Recommendations:
Labor laws need to be amended allowing for eas- ier hiring and firing of workers. This will help the workers by causing wages to rise and increasing their bargaining power. Instead
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Ms. Sunayana Kumar
STUDENT EDITORS:
Suban Khalique Ajam
Faisal Anis
Mayank Tuli
INTERVIEW BY:
Suban Khalique Ajam
of creating room for dif- ferent kinds of contracts between workers and employers, the effort is to us the law to impose certain terms exoge- nously.
India needs to invest in better infrastructure. The bureaucracy needs to be cut down severely and trade and investment need to be liberalized further.
While the size of govern- ment is not India’s prob- lem, the nature of its en- gagement especially in the industrial and ser- vices sector has turned out to be restrictive. Moreover, where it is most needed-in enforcing contracts between agents-it has been either non- existent or has encour- aged the reneging. There is a strong need for the government to increase its expenditure in the social welfare sector. Poverty is still very high with around 250 million people below poverty line.
If the Indian banking system is to attain inter- national excellence, it will require action on several fronts: introduc- tion of greater competi-
tion, the convergence of activities and super- vision of financial con- glomerates, the induc- tion of new technology, improvement in credit risk appraisal, the en- couragement of finan- cial innovations, im- provement in internal controls and the estab- lishment of an legal framework for bank- ruptcy procedures.
According to IMF, fis- cal deficit is expected to increase to 8.5% of the GDP this financial year. Gradual fiscal consolidation is needed to reduce fiscal vulner- abilities arising from high debt levels and to free fiscal space for social spending.
Clearly, renewed ef- forts at fiscal consoli- dation and effective forward movement on long-pending reforms in agriculture, infra- structure, labor laws, banking, education, energy and retail trade could compensate par- tially for the unavoid- able downdraft from the international econ- omy.
By-Dhruv Saxena
MIB 2nd Year
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