Apple’s chain

There has been lot spoken about Apple’s innovative products reaching marketplace and making its competition redundant. I too agree and respect the product line it offers its customers and one of them being the recent launch of iPhone4.

It’s been reported that the company and its wireless carrier, AT&T, booked more than 600,000 pre-orders on June 15 alone, causing a suspension of sales because of the sheer volume of activity. The number is the largest Apple has taken in a single day, ten times higher than the previous iPhone3 launch last year, causing a sellout of all designated product allocation.

This kind of overwhelming response is something every company would love to achieve. Here I start to ponder over a dilemma; whether innovation and technology can only be sufficient to serve the target customers.

In my opinion, it’s, NO. The company should also focus on itself as well as it's suppliers supply chain. In Apple’s case, suppliers/ contract manufacturers are based in Asia, especially in China where there is now severe labor issues that are surfacing, and since Apple has limited supplier base, has it introduced too much risk in too few value-chain partners?

I believe Apple has, and I predict more snafus to come. The signs are unmistakable, and the pressures are building. Good process and the best technology can only take you so far. The rest comes down to the combined supply chain capability of partners. In the coming weeks Apple will have to demonstrate what being number one really means


Mervyn

W-I-P (inventory)

Propagator

Innovation as a competitive advantage

Without new ideas, businesses and individuals will never succeed. How many times have you had the Eureka moment only to find that the idea has slipped away? It’s amazingly annoying to find that your brain just can pull back that idea, and you will always feel that was the idea that will make you money.

Demands for organizational innovation and technological advantage are increasingly crucial for the firms to remain competitive. Most firms face serious competitive challenges due to the rapid pace and unpredictability of technology change. Global strategies are dependent in large part on accelerating the speed at which innovation reach the market place. These conditions have led management theorists and practitioners alike to call for more creativity in management practices, products, and production processes that a firm employs.

Several common themes emerge repeatedly across studies to suggest that the link between innovation activities and competitive advantage rests primarily on four factors.

- One, Innovations that are hard to imitate

- Two, innovations that accurately reflect market realities

- Three, innovations that enable a firm to exploit the timing characteristics of the relevant industry

- Lastly, innovations that rely on capabilities and technologies which are readily accessible to the firm

As the global playing field becomes increasingly level; Logic, linear thinking and rule-based analysis-- will remain important, but are no longer sufficient to succeed in the global economy.

One of the biggest impediments to innovation continues to be the "constraints of the product development lifecycle". Recognizing that product development cycles are longer than recessionary periods, and any opportunity to shorten the development life cycle could mean real rewards.

My take: Innovation is gradually moving from an occasionally interesting sideshow that is not focused and not strategic, to becoming a key focus of senior executives as they realize that only innovation can help the firms continually grow and differentiate. Innovation is rapidly becoming a capability or enabler that strengthens and focuses the corporate strategies, and should over time become a key enabler to many corporate goals and strategies

God Speed..!!!

Mervyn Lewis

W-I-P inventory

Propagator

Grab the Talent!!

In these days of globalisation and the ‘’competitive environment’’, change is the only constant. Surely, now the tides are turning in the corporate world, gone are the days where a person would join an organisation in his early age and stay on servicing that company till retirement. Today, young professional hop jobs especially during the first 4-5 years of their work life. Times have changed and now people cannot be rooted at one place for long time. It is therefore now proved, that with the advent in technology and knowledge, talent is on the hot seat. Now it’s for one who possesses it dictates and not the one who pays for it.

As Jack Welch says: "Any strategy, no matter how smart, is dead on arrival unless a company brings it to life with people—the right people."

Therefore, now the challenge is how to acquire the right talent and even bigger question is how to retain best talent? While there is no set map or wonder formula to manage talent, the trick is to locate the right talent in the organisation and encourage it. As Tom Friedman puts it across, that in order to compete in this ‘’flat’’ world, one needs to have (well) rounded people. Becoming a well rounded talent requires immense learning and development of skills. Organisations that aim to achieve that, must invest time and energies towards creating enriching workplace environment if they wish to attract and retain the high calibre talent.

It is now the duty of the global HR community to work upon building talent management strategies thereby nurturing the talented workforce. Talent must be spotted, well nurtured and most importantly preserved in the healthy environment.

Right talent for the right job – is the new mantra for organisations.

By Haider Jasdanwala
Proud Trendsetter

No need to say good bye

We 30 "Trendsetter" or as Sunny called us 30 beads of necklace are parting ways after one year of fighting, night outs, sweat and blood and above all friendship for life. Its a season of saying bye to each other. Some of us are elated that they are joining the corporate world while some of us are still in the process of finding the job. While it has already started one by one people are leaving this place and carrying on with life and saying "GOODBYE" to each other . I feel "No need to say Good bye" as we are not parting for ever we are and we will be together for ever , not necessarily physically but emotionally. In this moment of parting season a beautiful poem from "The Chronicles of Narnia " (movie)

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
Til it was a battle cry

I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before

All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye..

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye.


so friends keep in touch , luv you all

Paritosh
Proud to be a Trendsetters

UPDATES

this week started with some good news Shiva cracked TCS Business Development Role, definitely an enviable position for people who want to get into IT . Sanket got into Nihilent Technlogy as a Business Development Manager, as I was getting worried about my self , the results of KPMG were out and by grace of God I cleared it !! what put the icing on the cake was that Sanket also made it to the 3rd and Final round at KPMG.. and the last week it was Winston's turn to convert his internship @ Capgemini into a Job(I also interned their but did not get an offer :( )

We also celebrated our one year at MBS so it was double joy for us and we also had some nostalgic moments when we were addressed by our faculty member and staff .

Another big news on the placement firm 7 of us have been shortlisted by GOOGLE !!! isnt it exciting ?? so Guys keep an eye on this space for updates on placement ...

Your Correspondent

Paritosh

Trendsetter

A Proud MBSite

Placements blues

For all of us the time has come to move on from our student life and to enter into the corporate world. There have been some hits like Sreeram and Jayanto cracking the TCS, Richa,Pradeep and Ibby getting into Al Seer Dubai, and Sourabh,Zaid and Shahil getting into Marketing&design elements and Pallavi cracking lavasa and some near misses like me loosing out at L&T after 3 rounds of interview :( . But I am definately hopeful that we 30 are bonded even stronger than ever before and I am pretty sure that by 15th May when we will be graduating we all would have reached the Al dorado which Bhushan talked about earlier . All the best trendetters !!! lets rock it

Paritosh
Trendsetter

Are you ready??

Perhaps, this would be my first gyan post for this season, hence request all of you to bear with me…:)
5 months into MBA @ MBS, approx 1800 hours of grilling exercise. I wanted to take some time off from this busy schedule and reflect on the days passed by; trust me, journey has been enriching.
This blog might serve as insight to prospective MBSite, who wish to understand MBS better or rather himself better
Idea of doing an MBA was back of my mind from past 3 years and only this year it got materialized, I consider really fortunate for that.
What took me so long; was it lack of abilities?...
Answer to that introspection was; lack of preparedness
What do I mean when I say lack of preparedness??....anyone to answer..!!!
Let me tell you my perspective, it's just that whether you are prepared to take the responsibility of managing time, money and of course stress. This question haunted me until some days back. Well, now I can say that YES, I am!!
So, now time for all you to answer the same question….ask for yourself, why do you need to an MBA?, is it to accelerate your career prospects or for monetary returns or just that your parents/spouse wants you to have one.
Now onus lies on you to find an honest answer and only YOU can find an answer, hope you find an answer sooner than later…

Good Luck…!!!

Mervyn Lewis
Propagator