The Hindu Business Line : ‘Growing economy requires managers with global vision’

Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Director and CEO, Chennai Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, addressing students of the VMRF Business School here as part of the BL Club lecture series.

Our Bureau

Chennai, Jan. 28 At a time when India along with China was leading the world in economic activity and GDP growth, there was a need to produce managers with a global vision, said Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Director and CEO, Chennai Container Terminal Pvt Ltd.

He was addressing students of the VMRF Business School here as part of the BL Club lecture series. He said India and China had recorded the highest GDP growth rates of between 8 and 10 per cent. And the two countries were providing the ‘brain-ware’ for the global economy.

He pointed out that last year, India had become the 12th country to record a trillion-dollar-economy. And according to projections, it could surpass the US economy by 2050 when the economy expanded to $37 trillion.

Speaking from his experience at Chennai Container Terminal, which has a workforce of 1,000, he said there was a need to micromanage employees to ensure that customer demands are met.

While the global logistics market was estimated at $2 trillion, the Indian logistics market was valued at $130 billion and accounted for a 13 per cent share of GDP. With a number of multinational companies setting up base in Chennai, including Ford, Nokia, Foxconn, Flextronics, BMW and Nissan, the demand for logistics services had increased.

Ensuring smooth operations in the face of growing traffic, called for meticulous planning. Logistics service providers had to assure their clients of safe and secure transportation and in-time transport. CCTP today accounted for a 60 per cent market share in the South, up from 50 per cent in 2002, he said. Further, Chennai port was now connected to global ports, Mr Karunesan said.

Globally, container movements were on the rise. Container volumes had grown from 330 m TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in 2004 and were expected to touch 470 m TEUs in 2010 and further to 700 m TEUs in 2015. Similarly, the size of ships used had increased and the draft at various ports had grown from 10 m in 1980 to 15 m in 2000 and was expected to hit 15-17 m in 2010.

Management focus

Over the years, the management attention has shifted from the business focus prevalent in the ’80s to quality in the ’90s and IT in 2000. Today, businesses were customer-focussed and people would be the main focus of managements by 2010, he said.

Since people run organisations, handling people and meeting their expectations would be the toughest challenge in the days to come. Management focus would, thus, have to shift to talent and people management, he said.

In the new millennium, employees would increasingly seek personal and professional satisfaction, besides quality of life. Managements should be proactive about employee relations and work should be carried out in a spirit of mutual respect and team work. Organisations would have to work out ESOP and incentive plans to meet the expectations of the employee, he said.

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