The Hindu Business Line : Listen to murmurings

What happens when there are ‘worms in chocolates, pesticides in colas and a catastrophe in the country’s favourite mutual fund’? Exploring the situation are Ivan Arthur and Kurien Mathews in Brands Under Fire ( www.penguinbooksindia.com). Just the right read, I tell myself, because the day’s news is about how Satyam is trying to salvage its image after the Maytas escapade.

In times of crisis, the need is for credibility and authority, writes Pranesh Misra in one of the essays included in the book. It may be worthwhile to study cases of ‘fire’ and check if the leadership, which has decision-making powers, “was too distant to hear the murmurings in the front line,which could see what was happening on the ground but was powerless to effect change and did not have the resources.”

Instructive material.

Three waves of supermarket

Globalization of Food and Agriculture and the Poor
Thomas Reardon & C. Peter Timmer

From earliest to latest adopter of supermarkets in emerging markets, there have been three waves of diffusion, write Thomas Reardon and C. Peter Timmer in an essay included in Globalization of Food and Agriculture and the Poor, edi ted by Joachim von Braun and Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla ( www.oup.com).

“Experiencing supermarket-sector takeoff in the early to mid-1990s, the first-wave countries included much of South America and East Asia outside China (and Japan), northern Central Europe, and South Africa — areas where the average share of supermarkets in food retail went from roughly only 10-20 per cent in about 1990 to 50-60 per cent on average by the early 2000s.” (This compared to the 70-80 per cent share in the US, the UK, or France.)

The second wave, happening in the mid- to late 1990s, covered parts of Southeast Asia, Central America and Mexico, and southern Central Europe.

The third wave, occurring in the late 1990s or early 2000s, included India, Russia, China, some of Africa, and a few countries in Central and South America.

For an in-depth study.

Build a culture of engagement

Do the Right Thing
How dedicated employees create loyal customers and large profits
James F. Parker

On a feverish pace, companies are currently busy slashing costs, cutting headcount, replacing well-paid employees with lower-paid ones or outsourced workers. Alas, many of these experiments may fail, postulates a new book.

Vibrant and successful organisations are not built on a feeling of detachment by employees, avers James F. Parker in Do the Right Thing: How dedicated employees create loyal customers and large profits ( www.whartonsp.com). A lot of companies say their employees are their most important asset, but they don’t really mean it, bemoans Parker. Employees who love their jobs will cause customers to love their company, the author argues. As a corollary, “Employees who hate their jobs will make customers hate the company.”

Urgent lessons.

D. Murali

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