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FOREWORD
Dear Reader, It gives us immense pleasure to bring to you Issue III Volume II of e-Globuzz. Over the last three months the world witnessed signs of economic recovery in the developed countries including USA. On the other hand, uncertainties of oil supply and inflation spiral due to the developments in West Asia continue to cause concern over economic growth in the world markets.

During this period, IBS@SIMSR arranged numerous useful interactions with industry stalwarts including our illustrious IB alumni, the details of which have been covered later in this issue. Like in the prior issues, this issue also brings to you a wide range of international business topics. We cover the legendary journey of Kodak and its unfortunate downfall in this decade. There is also topical coverage of the Euro debt crisis and possibilities of new countries emerging as sources of natural gas. The other notable features are the changing role of central banks in recent times and the invaluable contribution of SMEs to Indias international trade. We will be back with the next issue in July 2012. We look forward to contributions for the upcoming issue from the alumni and faculty. Happy reading! Prof. CP Joshi Faculty Mentor IBS@SIMSR

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Vol II Issue III JanMar 12

European Debt Crisis
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Marketing and Branding in China

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Faculty Mentor Prof. C. P. Joshi Editor-in-Chief

The Kodak Story

Kyoto Protocol Natural Gas of Turkmenistan

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Manvinder Sodhi Prerna Makhijani

Indian SME Effect of Changing Role of Central Banks

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Designers Swetaleena Das Vishu Kartik Did you know? Ankur Yadav Interactions coverage

Country in Focus Turkey Alumni Speak

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IBS Interactions Alumni Interactions

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Swati Moolchandani Circulation Gurpreet Kaur

All the views expressed in this e-periodical reflect the personal opinions and views of the authors and do not reflect IBS@SIMSR views.

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European Debt Crisis

- Sunmeet Kaur PGDM-IB (2010-12) The global banking system is currently under close watch as fears of another crisis spread through Europe and the US. Unnerving sovereign debt crises in Europe have sparked concerns of distress among banks and have scared investors away from financial markets. European banks that once saw little risk of holding sovereign debt are now at a huge disadvantage with balance sheets comprised mostly of Euro-zone government bonds. Now that banks seem reliant on weak sovereigns, panic is steadily increasing. The potential for significant losses has caused a credit crunch that has severely limited the short-term financing available to European banks. When a governments outlays exceed its tax receipts in a given fiscal year, it runs a deficit and may have to borrow money to make up the difference. Sovereign debt is the accumulation of such borrowing from foreign and domestic creditors. If creditors are unsure whether a national government is able or willing to repay its debts, then the government may have to pay a higher interest rate on the bonds it issues to entice buyers. If a government is unable to issue bonds to cover its debts, then it must resort to other means: cutting expenditures, raising taxes or borrowing from international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund. Greece and a few other European countries currently find themselves in this situation. In the US, financial markets are showing increased signs of volatility and risk aversion in response to the situation in Europe. The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has continued to weigh on the economic recovery and the recent debt ceiling debacle and credit rating downgrade have increased concerns of financial instability. With the global economy still coming out of its misery in 2008-2009, Greece got severely exposed for its years of unrestrained spending and failure to implement financial reforms. The statistics exposed a national debt of US$414 billion in Greece that is bigger than the countrys economy, and a fiscal deficit of 12.7 percent of the GDP. Greece's credit rating has been downgraded, implying worsening investors confidence for the economy. This crisis is not only hitting the zone economically but also politically. Spains Socialists became the fifth government in the 17 nation single currency area to be tumbled by the debt crisis this year following Portugal, Ireland, Italy & Greece. Also the risk premium on Spanish, Italian and French government bonds rose as investors fled to German Bunds. The key impact that has sent ripples across financial markets so far is a drop in investors confidence triggered by concerns about debt servicing ability of PIIGS governments. Repercussions through financial markets can also arise from cross-border bank lending, as European firms rely heavily on banks for funding and banks have extensive cross-border lending activities. . Major lenders to PIIGS are financial institutions from France and Germany, with outstanding bank loans amounting to 34 and 21 per cent of their respective GDP. Therefore, should financial institutions in PIIGS experience severe problems, the banking sector of these major creditor countries could also be affected, which could create systemic risks to Europes
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financial markets going forward. Such a crisis is not only affecting the low rated economies in the Euro zone but also France which is among the Euros six AAA rated countries. Moody's warned that the debt crisis that began more than two years ago in Greece and snared Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain is close to reaching France pertaining to the rise in borrowing costs. The effects are not just confined to the Euro Zone but it is also affecting US, the world leader. The country had reported 2.5% annual growth in the third quarter which was far below the growth rate of about 4% in 2009-10. The major cause for the same is that because Europe is the largest trading partner of US. More than 20% of all US exports go to Europe. Germany and Great Britain are by far the US's largest trading partners. Total exports to the European Union were $177 billion in the first eight months of 2011, up 15% from last year. Even then the U.S. is running a $65 billion trade deficit with the EU. Adding to the woes, U.S. banks have about $300 billion outstanding loans each in France and Germany and about $50 billion each in Italy and Spain. They have about $700 billion in Great Britain, which isn't directly affected. Needless to say the political effect felt in the US with regards to the crisis situation. The cause of the problem is that European Union is at the fourth stage of Economic integration, which is Economic Union. Most notably, economic unions require formally coordinated monetary and fiscal policies as well as labour market, regional development, transportation and industrial policies. Since all countries would essentially share the same economic space, it would be counter-productive to operate divergent policies in those areas. An economic union frequently includes the use of a common currency and a unified monetary policy. Eliminating exchange rate uncertainty improves the functioning of an economic union by allowing trade to follow economically efficient paths without being unduly affected by exchange rate considerations. It has been told
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that a fiscal union was in the works, an effort to correct a basic flaw within the EU that it has a common currency and shared monetary policy, but no mechanism to ensure that all members are financially sound. Euro zone has taken several measures recently like Germany and France have signed a pact that has laid a sigh of relief to the zone. The meetings are being held at different points in time between the leaders of zone and other countries to come out with the solution to tackle the problem at hand. It is high time that actions are taken to correct the current situation because if the issues are aggravated then it can not only blow off the Euro zone affecting its single currency system but can also deeply hurt other emerging economies of the world. Such a crisis has shaken up the world affecting, the US and other major emerging regions especially Asia. In fact Billionaire Investor Warren Buffet said Europes debt crisis had shown up a major flaw that cannot be corrected just by words. It would take more than words to fix it.
Source: guardian.co.uk

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Marketing and Branding in China: Global Product Strategy Alternatives

- Sahil Patel PGDM-IB (2011-13)

shopkeepers created signs that combined characters whose pronunciations formed the string ko-ka-ko-la, but they did so without any regard for the meanings of the written phrases they formed in doing so. The character for wax, pronounced la, was used in many of these signs, resulting in strings that sounded like koka-ko-la when pronounced, but conveyed some nonsensical meanings such as "female horse fastened with wax," "wax-flattened mare," or "bite the wax tadpole" when read in Mandarin. What the Coca Cola story demonstrates is that linguistic nuances in Chinese can affect brand sound and brand meaning which, in turn, can affect consumer perceptions and brand identity. Marketers in China must realize prior to entry that the market is culturally distinct, requiring some degree of localization. Toyota's Chinese branding of the SUV Prado A firms Brand naming is a product characteristic that supports brand equity, positioning, unique advertising, and competitive advantage. Toyota's Chinese branding of the SUV Prado, launched by Saatchi & Saatchi in Beijing, was translated to ba dao, which more or less translates to "the mighty rule" or even "rule by force." Such a masculine depiction of the Japanese SUV Prado was also accompanied by advertised media that presented two stone lions saluting and bowing to the car. This cultural blunder evoked association with the Japanese occupation of China during WorldWar-2 and also attracted government censorship, public outrage, and a call for a boycott of the company. Apparently, brands going into the Chinese
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There have been wide and deep linguistic differences between Chinese and English, making translation of brand names a difficult task. Cultural context, pronunciation and the meaning of characters are just a few examples of such difficulties. Lets discuss four global productnaming strategic alternatives available to country/brand managers, along with their usage. These four alternatives include (i) dual extension, (ii) brand meaning extension, (iii) brand feeling extension, and (iv) dual adaptation.

Branding Challenge in China: Brand naming in China by Coca-Cola There was no official representation of the name Coca-Cola in Mandarin Chinese when Coca-Cola first time entered the Chinese market in 1928. They required finding four Chinese characters whose pronunciations approximated the sound of the brand without producing some nonsensical or adverse meaning when strung together as a written phrase. Interestingly, written Chinese employs thousands of different characters, but there are only about 200 pronounced sounds that can be used in forming the name ko-ka-ko-la. Meanwhile CocaCola was in search of a satisfactory combination of symbols to represent their name, Chinese

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market have to scrutinize many market characteristics including the Chinese language and its consumer responsiveness. Attendance to local market considerations should also involve consideration of the firm's global brand-strategy, which certainly involves a wide range of possibilities: globalization on one end, localization on the other, or probably a strategic combination of both. A word of caution: A company's brand is considered to be its intellectual property. As China is not the best place for its safekeeping of intellectual property and since theft of such property is still rampant, all the companies venturing into China are advised to register the likely translations for their Chinese brand names as soon as possible. Looking forward to China: The complete process of global brand-strategy identification and implementation is a journey comprising market research, creative work (especially creating the Chinese brand names require some), international coordination, marketing investments and decisions at all stages. The journey may not always be a drive on a smooth highway, but it is unquestionably challenging as well as interesting and rewarding to professional marketers and brand managers. Key takeaways: For any international brand, different cultures influence consumers in different markets which consequently will affect their perceptions of the brand's standing vis-a-vis other competing brands, both locally and internationally. While today's consumers do not have to leave home to be affected by globalization's influence on local market, the meaning of the brand is still often interpreted and translated in a local context. As far as the near future is concerned, we are all likely to continue to be lost in such translation. Superior talent must unite with the market opportunities for successful cross-cultural branding exercises.

DID YOU KNOW?? Mala Fides

means "In bad faith". It is used when a seller's says that goods are usable for a particular purpose when in fact the seller knows that the goods are not.

Dell Computers was started

by a 19 year old with only $1,000 and Dell's first advertisement was made on the back of a pizza box.

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The Kodak Story

- Prerna Makhijani PGDM-IB (2011-13) As The Economist rightly puts across, seems like it is the last Kodak moment. After a glorious history of 132 years, the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. So the question remains, what went wrong in all these years that led to Kodaks fall? There was a time when Kodak earned nearly $16 billion in revenues and employed over 145,000 workers worldwide. Now the current evaluation of the company stands at $150 million with an employee base of less than 17000 people.

in technology, research and development. The companys culture and the attitude of the top management made it complacent. Even though the labs were churning out great products and innovation, the management seemed myopic and focused more on the current market than delving into the possibilities of future. Ironically, Kodak shelved the digital cameras, something that they invented in 1970s. This was probably the start of losing out heavily to competitors like Fujifilm when it came to digital imaging and photography. Kodaks management believed that digital cameras would cannibalize their photographic film business and therefore did not take forth the idea which was going to be the future of photography. In 1993, when they decided to dive into digital photography and online sharing of pictures, it was already too late and that business model also couldnt sustain the profitability of Kodak. Kodak also tried its hand at diversification. They dabbled in pharmaceuticals for a period of time, owing to their base of chemical expertise used in photography. But this venture also fizzled and was sold out by 1990s. The leadership and the strategy of each leader has also been highly inconsistent causing dissonance in the companys business model. The current CEO is focusing more on turning Kodak into a digital printing powerhouse, something on the lines of what Hewlett Packard has been doing. He is also trying to engage in litigation and make money out of patent infringement lawsuits. Even after years of foot dragging into the digital world, Kodaks strategy lacked focus and it was not clear whether it wanted to be a
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Looking at the financial health of Kodak, it is evident that they have huge amounts of pension and other benefits obligations. Their annual profitability has been going down for the last six years. They have in all $5.1 billion of assets and $6.57 billion in liabilities. Most of these are in the form of 1100 digital patents that they hold and are being used for litigation against giants like Apple & Samsung for patent infringements. There have been a couple of reasons for the predicament that the company is in now. To begin with, Kodak has been labeled as a complacent monopolist despite being a pioneer

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e - globuzZ Even a couple of years of restructuring has not helped the company improvise its financial health and the only way forward is to sell its pile of digital patents. This would at least enable it to pay off debts and other obligations to its stakeholders. There appears to be no place for a legend like Kodak anymore, the US giant seems to have run its course. The Kodak fiasco makes the business world realize the importance of having a clearly thought out strategy. It is important for a company to constantly evaluate its vision and objectives in a world full of disruptive technologies. There also has to be balance between the companys core competencies and its management objectives. A lucid positioning is imperative if one has to survive in the market with competitors snapping at your heels.

product based or a service based or a B2B company. Even their M&As were all over the place and did not add value to their portfolio in the slightest way. The company in its heydays became bloated and did not know how to scale down its operations in the last decade. So when disruptive technologies appeared, Kodak found it extremely difficult to change their business model in terms of creating and capturing value. For years they operated under the classic razor-blade model and when they switched to digital photography, they continued with the same model which obviously did not work. Selling cheap digital cameras and relying on customers to get photos printed and sharing it online would not help earn revenues. All in all, a lot of things went downhill for Kodak and there was no coming back after that.

DID YOU KNOW??

Warner Chappel Music owns the copyright to the song "Happy
Birthday". They make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song.

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Kyoto Protocol: An answer to unpleasant economic climate

- Erica Fernandes PGDM-IB (2011-13) The world is changing. With the revolutions in the Arab world, the questions surrounding the EU, the nuclear standoffs between nations, the US recovering at a very slow pace, ever wondered if we are globally sustainable? However when we think of sustainability we tend to overlook an imperative factor contributing to its deterioration, and that is climate change. Policy makers today are realizing the seriousness of the issues and the importance of the Kyoto Protocol signed on 11th December 1997. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its main objective is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially six gases which are: carbondioxide, methane, nitrousoxide, sulphur hexafluoride -hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. According to the UNFCCC, parties to UNFCCC are classified as:

have committed to reduce their emission levels of greenhouse gases to targets that are mainly set below their 1990 levels. Thus the major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community. So how do these countries reduce GHC emissions? They can reduce the use of carbon-emitting technologies or improve these technologies so as to reduce the emissions they create. For example, today we have cars using catalytic converters which lower emissions. Thirdly, development projects that actively reduce atmospheric GHG like planting trees effectively help to capture greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol also provides countries meeting their targets through nation measures. The three market mechanisms available to countries are as follows:

Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries Non Annex I countries: Developing countries

Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions due to the higher level of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations. Annex I countries which have ratified the Protocol
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e - globuzZ 1. Joint Implementation (JI) The Joint Implementation mechanism is often grouped with CDM because it is a very similar system. The major difference is that the countries in which projects can be built under the JI are primarily in the Eastern Bloc (Eastern & Central Europe). This is separate from the CDM because these countries are generally considered developed. The Kyoto protocol is a step in the right direction, but implementation has been poor as countries have struggled to strike the right balance between the environment and economic growth. Especially in recent years, the economic crisis has robbed the environment of its due attention. Only if the need for bolder policy implementation can be met can we achieve global sustainability in its true sense.
Source: UNFCCC

Market mechanisms to help meet emission targets 1. Emissions trading (the carbon market) Countries that have not met their emissions targets can purchase additional credits from those countries, which have exceeded their emission targets. This had led to the development of international carbon trading systems, the largest of which is the European Emissions Trading System(EU ETS). In recent times, price for credits has been raised and there are more stringent caps on emissions which will help achieve more emission control. An extension of the above is carbon trading at a domestic level between states and businesses. But these are mostly unstandardized and there is a need a need to make local trading more integrated on a global scale. 2. Clean development mechanism (CDM) Developed countries can also choose to compensate their excess emissions by reducing emissions in developing economies (Nonannex I countries). Sometimes, it may be more cost-effective to reduce emissions in specific projects in developing countries approved under CDM rather than reduce emissions in the developed world or to purchase carbon credits. Possible sectors where CDM is used include renewable energy (Wind, solar, biomass), modernizing power plants, switching from fossil fuels like coal to more efficient means like gas. It may be relatively easier to achieve such projects in developing economies which are less energy efficient than their developed counter-parts.

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Natural Gas of Turkmenistan: Plethora of Opportunities - Pratichi Swain PGDM-IB (2011-13)

Central Asia has not enjoyed the same limelight in the past as the other regions of Asia. This was mainly because of domination by the Soviet Union. The breakup of the USSR in 1991 gave birth to many countries in Central Asia. The autonomy enjoyed by these countries enabled them to build their own roadmap for growth and development which was further fuelled by the large reserves of oil and natural gas in the region. Central Asia currently contributes around 70 percent of the oil production outside OPEC. The oil and gas revenues have led to a surge in building roads, railways, airports, power plants and pipelines throughout the region. Turkmenistan, the heart of Central Asia has also been a big beneficiary. It has come a long way from depending on its cotton and carpet exports for foreign exchange supply. With nearly 10% GDP growth rate and US $ 7500 per capita income, it has already set itself on the fast pace of growth. Presently Turkmenistan is predominantly an oil exporting nation. It enjoys the forty fourth largest reserve of 100 million tonnes in its 150 oil depots. But with a present production rate of 10 million tonnes per annum, these reserves would hardly last for next 10 years. The presence of many MNEs hardly leaves any space for a new entrant. On the other hand, natural gas sits at a more promising situation for the future. Turkmenistan has the fourth largest reserve of 10 billion cubic metres of Natural Gas which accounts for 5.29% of the total world reserves. It currently contributes only 1% to the total production of Natural Gas in the world. But what turns the scale in favour of Turkmenistan is the Reserve/Production ratio. This ratio signifies the number of years it would take for the existing proven reserves to exhaust with the current rate of production. With the present rate of production, while the world reserves are estimated to last 59 years, Turkmenistans reserves would carry on for 256 years. This is music to the ears of a long term investor as it speaks about the volume of opportunities Turkmenistan has to offer. Turkmenistan also has the benefit of good quality gas because impurities like Caron dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen sulphide are present in very less quantities. With Turkmenistans ability to supply good quality natural gas in large quantities for a long period confirmed, lets see where the demand is likely to originate and concentrate. The main driver for domestic demand of natural gas has been the power sector. Off late Turkmenistan has been an electrical energy exporting nation. In 2010, out of 15.5 billion kWh electricity it produced, it exported 2.5 billion kwh, 1.6 billion kwh of which was to Afghanistan. Natural gas is used as the main resource for 99.8% of Turkmenistans electricity generation. The Turkmenistan government has also been laying more emphasis on exporting electricity. It aims to produce 35 billion kWh of electricity and export 17 billion kwh by 2030. That would mean an increase in production of 20 billion kWh, which in all probability has to be met by its most abundant resource natural gas. On an average 1 kWh of electricity production requires 0.2 cubic metre of natural gas. So this would result in an extra demand of 4 billion cubic metres by 2030.

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e - globuzZ can reach the energy deficient Europe by accessing the European pipeline grid either through Russia or Azerbaijan. The high handling capacity of Turkmenbashi port on the Caspian coast can be used to transport gas to Azerbaijan and then the gas can be sent through pipelines connected to the European grid. The low cost of transportation using the extensive pipeline network helps Turkmenistans gas to remain cost competitive by the time they reach the distant markets. With President Kurbanguly succeeding after the death of Sarpurat Niyazov, a lot of initiatives have been taken to attract foreign investments in the natural gas segment, most importantly the enactment of the Petroleum Law in 2008, which encouraged long term investments. The following long term licenses are currently given Exploration License (6 years + 2 x 2 years extension) Production License (20 years + 1 x 5 years extension) This law provides concessions on royalty and exploration and production terms. The introduction of Single Window mechanism has helped to overcome delays and curb corruption. The low tax rates and Free Trade Agreements signed with countries like Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are also a big boost. Natural gas is slowly but steadily becoming the protagonist in Turkmenistans growth story. It not only offers huge opportunities for long term but also an investment friendly environment making it the destination to be for all major gas companies across the world.

Even the world gas demand is certain to increase significantly in the coming years. The widely accepted Hubbert Peak theory says that for any finite resource: 1. There will be a point for start of production 2. The rate of production then moves to the peak/highest point 3. Then the rate declines till the resource gets exhausted Hubbert was highly acclaimed for using his theory to accurately predict the point of highest production of crude oil for USA. He forecasts the crude oil production to reach its peak in 2020 and thereafter show a permanent decline. An ever increasing world demand for energy sources and fall in the production of oil would cause a greater shift in dependence from oil to natural gas. Also the introduction and usage of higher number of gas run or hybrid engines and machineries will result in more demand for natural gas. The world demand pattern for natural gas is also going to watch a sea of changes in the near future. It is estimated that India and China which have a combined contribution of 4.3% to total current world demand of the resource will see their share increase to 25% by 2030. This will happen on account of individual increase in demand of natural gas in India and China by 309% and 463% respectively. This has very high relevance for Turkmenistan gas. Turkmenistan enjoys locational advantage of having proximity and accessibility to these geographies. It already has accessibility to Chinese market through the pipeline to LuNan in China. Talks are underway between the concerned governments for commencement of work of the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline. Turkmenistan has well laid out pipeline grid within the country and also has direct pipelines to Russia. Turkmenistans gas

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Indian SME: Export Competitiveness - Nilay Kale PGDM-IB (2011-13)

Introduction Globalization is the increasing interdependence of national economies involving consumers, producers, suppliers, and governments in various countries. In this environment, there exist opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to play a greater role in the world economy. International activities expose SMEs to more complex and risky business environment for which, compared to big firms, SMEs are relatively unprepared and less resourced. SMEs gaining access to global markets can help realize the potential for prospective high growth. However, in regards to their smaller size, most SMEs lack in various sectors over the traditional multinational enterprise (MNE). SMEs were operating in a protected environment, but a direct consequence of globalization resulted in free trade flow and increasing competition. Along with foreign competition, domestic demand is changing to better quality products at globally competitive prices. In the Indian perspective, potential of SMEs is reflected as they contribute 45% of industrial output, 40% of exports, employing 60 million people, creating 1.3 million jobs every year and producing more than 8000 quality products worldwide. There are approximately 30 million SME units in India. SMEs are considered to be important members within a supply chain. Hence export promotion from SME sectors are highly preferred in Indias Export promotion strategy which includes incentive for higher production of exports, market development funds, simplification of procedures and duties etc. They are thus
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hovering for global partnerships to absorb and impart technologies in various fields. In order to attain comparative advantage, SMEs need to pay more attention to quality, price and delivery by implementing few marketing strategies. Why Should SMEs Export? There is high scope of expansion of markets and customer base by diversifying product segments. This can be achieved by exploring different export markets. Additionally, higher exports lead to greater exposure to foreign technology and processes. Consequently, optimum utilization of production capacity and greater attention to product design can be achieved. This can guide the production techniques to cost efficient and enhanced quality control systems. SMEs decision making structures are often flatter and more nimble owing to their family-style management organization. This enables them to take quick international trade related decisions when needed. Contribution of SMEs to export benefits the industrial operations and economy of nation in general. How should SMEs export? SMEs begin by importing technology in material forms (FDI, licensing and equipment). Then they invest in building their abilities to master the unstated elements of the technology. They draw upon a variety of internal (human resources, technology, management and organization) and external inputs (skills, finance and infrastructure) to build up their capabilities. Marketing Strategies SMEs lack resources and are thus prevented

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e - globuzZ (E.g. China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan). The formation of a strategic alliance allows the SME to overcome its weaknesses compared to the big MNEs. This will put the SME in a better position to defend and survive against the aggressive measures taken by the big MNEs SME Export: Indian Perspective Indian SMEs export both traditional and nontraditional goods. Sectors like food and beverages, chemicals, auto-components, machinery, electronics, metals, castings and forgings have witnessed an increasing export orientation trend over the last decade. Potential export destinations for products of SMEs are the USA, EU and Japan. There exists a huge potential in the non-traditional sectors. SMEs may not be able to strike the advantages of economies of scale, but then they are ideal for serving small markets. From the Five year All India MSME census report 2006-07, 40540 enterprises were engaged into exporting, which contributes to only 3.3% of total MSMEs. Majority contribution towards export was from auto, textile and apparel sectors. Challenges SMEs are uncertain due to the erosion of their market share, and the middle 60 per cent are not able to arrange themselves with the supply chain systems, despite of strong demand from customers. The top 20 per cent of SMEs (on the basis of exports) are mainly from automobile, pharmaceuticals, engineering, power and apparel industries, and these are facing variety of problems ranging from funding, product quality to labour related issues. A major difficulty of the SME sector is that it is highly set apart with small local power base. SMEs have to struggle to achieve economies of scale, and to access credit, information, technology and markets.

from embarking on market development efforts. Hence, they are normally at a cost disadvantage against the MNEs. Given the resource limitations and cost disadvantages of SMEs, they should therefore focus on selecting market niche. An SME may consider entering into a market segment that is currently being ignored or one that is currently being served by an MNE. A set of generic marketing strategies are practiced for entering into a market. The three generic marketing strategies are substitution, free riding and strategic deterrence. Substitution call for the SME to offer differentiated yet substitutable products to that of a present so as to force space by the latter. Free riding allows the SME to enter a served market segment without having to incur market development expenses. Strategic deterrence aims to prevent a bigger serving. This can be achieved by formation of strategic alliances in order to indicate the SMEs commitment to stay in the market.

In targeting market segment already supplied by big MNEs, an SME can successfully enter the segment by following a free-riding strategy. Some SMEs in the developing and newly developed countries in Asia are known to practice the free-riding strategy by engaging in illegal and prohibited trade of goods. An SME can follow a substitution strategy by offering a substitutable yet different product targeted at a segment of the market currently ignored by a big MNEs in order to successfully penetrate the market. . A direct implication of the substitution strategy is that both the SME and the MNEs can exist profitably in the market. A good example of such a strategy is that of large departmental stores and supermarket chains (mostly foreign owned) competing face to face with the smaller retail showrooms and corner garment stores in many of the newly developed and developing economies in Asia.

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Conclusion The application of the recent technology and innovation perspective to SME competitiveness provides valuable insights on the process of how SMEs in developing countries become globally competitive in an integrated international economy. A rational SME competitiveness strategy needs to be formed by current and future comparative advantage of a national economy and should be an integral part of national export strategy. Such a strategy could also emphasize less demanding regional markets for first-time SME exporters and more demanding international markets for established SME exporters.

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Effect of changing role of Central Banks - Sushant Shah PGDM-IB (2010-12)

Changing role of Central Banks will be able to actively counter the development of monetary instability The predominant view until now was that Central Banks should pursue "one tool and one target" policy strategy. Based on this view, the best role for the Central Bank in pursuing macroeconomic stability and prosperity was to ensure that inflation remains low. Recent financial crisis has changed this perception. The recent crisis highlighted the extent of systemic risk and thus the overriding importance of a stable financial system. It also demonstrated the inadequacy of the instruments and measures used until now to ensure financial stability. More effective measures are needed to check and prevent systemic risk. The key question is how should or can this be achieved in the future? The appropriate responsibilities of the central bank are being re-examined in light of the recent financial crisis. Due to increased connectivity of the world, systemic risk events have become more widespread and significant as compared to what it was previously. The complex interactions between the financial system and the real economy raise important questions about the role central banks should play in responding to episodes of financial instability. Stable economic growth and low inflation could not prevent the emergence of vast imbalances in the global financial system. Ensuring price stability remains top priority for central banks but more attention is also being paid to crisis prevention in order to improve the stability of financial systems. As monetary policy instruments are only suitable up to a point in countering the emergence of financial imbalances central banks are strengthening macro prudential supervision and regulation as one plausible option. Macro prudential policy takes account of systemic risks in the financial sector through action geared to reducing such risks. Collaboration between the various authorities involved both nationally and internationally is also of crucial importance. These instruments are being used to essentially supplement set of existing monetary policy. Monetary Policy: Monetary policy is any policy related to the supply of money. A more realistic definition of monetary policy would be that it consists of the directives, policies, pronouncements, and actions of the central bank (agency concerned with the supply of money) that affect aggregate demand or national spending. Monetary policy can have important effects on aggregate demand and through it on real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, real foreign exchange rates, real interest rates, and the composition of output. These important effects, to the extent that they occur, are essentially only short run in nature. Over the longer run, the major effect of monetary policy is on the rate of inflation. Thus, while a more rapid rate of money growth may for a time stimulate the economy, leading to a more rapid rate of real GDP growth and a lower unemployment rate, over the longer run, these changes are undone and the economy is left with a higher rate of inflation.

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How central banks role is changing: Core Objectives of the Regulator - The core objectives of the Central Bank are to maintain price stability. Now with a new mandate of achieving financial system stability Progressive Liberalization of Financial Systems - The present day financial markets are well integrated. National borders mean little to the global financial services Increasing Role of Financial Intermediaries in Allocating Resources Banks and financial institutions are now moving towards investment banking, structured finance, syndicated loans, retail and micro financing, derivative financing, property development financing etc. at large scales. The traditional banking label is no longer valid. Rapid Pace of Financial Innovation and Product Development - It should not lead to disruptions in financial markets and thus stability The Scale of International Financial Flows - FDI, bi & multi-lateral aid flows, other investment flows and cross border remittance flows are important worldwide as their impacts are felt on economic growth of countries. Increasing Incidence of Domestic and International Financial Crises Factors affecting Central banks role: The nature and characteristics of the Financial Sector - There are no clear boundaries or demarcations. Therefore, a case for changing the licensing procedure by the regulator is important.
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Public policy objectives of regulation - In a broader sense, ensuring financial system stability, investor protection and market integrity/discipline are considered to be public policy objectives. Clarity, consistency and public announcements are necessary on the part of the regulator, as they will reduce distortions in the playing field between local and foreign institutions as well as state-owned and private institutions. Perception of the Government - It is a part of Governments public policy to ensure that banks and financial institutions function well and that there is public confidence in them. Governments tend to rely on regulators to ensure that there is a conducive regulatory environment, which establishes confidence in the wider financial system. Type of the regulatory structure Movement from rule-based regulatory structure to a more risk focused system Perception of the financial community and understanding of regulators role International standards - Framework comparable to international norms, standards and benchmarks Availability of domestic supervisory skills Over enthusiasm of Financial Institutions, Information overload Safety nets and moral hazards - Mandatory Deposit Insurance Schemes, Explicit and Implicit Guarantees, Bailouts by Regulators

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e - globuzZ more important role in monetary policy in the future? With regard to measures taken during crisis, the effectiveness of monetary policy instruments was clearly demonstrated. We were able to safeguard price stability and cushion the negative impact on the real economy. However, vigorous interest rate cuts were not sufficient on their own. The liquidity situation on the money markets initially remained extremely tense. In many cases, interest rates rapidly dropped to zero. The chief monetary policy instrument could thus no longer be used. Central banks around the world therefore adopted so-called unconventional measures. These included direct intervention in the financial markets by buying assets, such as long-dated government bonds, debt securities issued by private borrowers and foreign exchange. Another measure was the temporary expansion of liquidity provision to banks beyond the normal level. These measures permit further monetary easing if the desired stabilization of prices and the economy cannot be achieved through cutting interest rates alone. Also, unconventional measures can be justified by the central banks role as lender of last resort. Its role is of providing emergency funding for financial institutions that are facing short-term liquidity bottlenecks. The aim of these unconventional measures is to restore the functioning of market forces as quickly as possible and ultimately to restore market confidence in the financial system. Vigorous response by central banks showed that zero interest rates on no account mean that central banks have exhausted their set of monetary policy instruments. Through quantitative and credit easing measures, the central banks have effective instruments that can be used to reduce risk premia, alleviate liquidity bottlenecks and prevent deflation. Moreover, their role as lender of last resort has taken on a new dimension. The central banks demonstrated that they can fulfill this function to a previously unforeseen extent. In short, they demonstrated their ability to respond to monetary instability.

A new role of central banks will be: 1. First the emphasis on a well capitalized banking system with adequate regulation regarding liquidity and currency mismatches. This has to be a central concern on the part of policymakers in the world. 2. Second, less reliance on market discipline and much more emphasis on supervision The assumption being that financial institutions have incentives to circumvent regulation. Maybe they will not cross the line, but the natural tendency is to leverage and thus earn profits. 3. Third, a careful approach to financial innovation - Sophistication of financial systems is closely associated with financial innovation. Financial innovation that is geared mainly to increase profits of the financial industry, and is more and more removed from the main function of finance i.e. the channelling of savings to productive activities is not adding value to society. The most fundamental rationale for a central bank to safeguard financial system stability is that monetary and financial stability are actually two sides of the same coin. Monetary policy has significant implications for financial stability; while on the other hand, financial stability is the most elemental pillar for effective monetary policy. Therefore, preserving financial stability for a central bank is a core task as monetary policy and financial stability are interlinked. If monetary policy is mismanaged, inflation may soar and have adverse impact on the performance of financial institutions and financial markets. This raises a number of questions about the future role of central banks. Can and should monetary policy be used to actively counter the development of imbalances or financial bubbles? Does it make sense to use monetary policy instruments for this? Will the new instruments used during the crisis also play a

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Country In Focus: Turkey Winning Team Comercio12 (Mrinal Banerji, Monika Mane, Meet Buch, Satwik
Kabisatpathy) PGDM-IB (2011-13) The Economy: It is the 16th largest economy in the world and is popularly referred to as the BRIC country of Europe. After the major financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted fiscal solidarity reforms in collaboration with the IMF. These went a long way in strengthening the countrys macro-economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth. It was growing at an average of more than 6% annually until 2008, after which the global recession and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009. The inflation reduced to 6.9%, which was a 34 year low and it also cut public sector debt to GDP ratio to fall below 50%. Its well regulated financial markets and banking system weathered the global crisis commendably and GDP growth rebounded to a robust 7.3% in 2010, as exports returned to normal levels after the recession. The economy however continues to be burdened by high current account deficit and often remains dependent on volatile, short-term investment to finance its trade deficit. The stock value of FDI stood at $174 million at year end 2010, but inflows have slowed owing to current economic mess in Europe. Turkeys high current account deficit, uncertainty with regards to policy making and fiscal imbalances leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence. Turkeys economy continues to be incrementally developed by its industrial clusters and service sectors but the agricultural sector accounts for about 30% of the employment like any of the developing countries. The last decade has seen an aggressive privatization programme which has capped states involvement in priority industries like banking, transport and communication. The expansion rate for the industrial clusters has been higher than developed countries like Britain and France.
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Introduction: - Established in 1923 after the collapse of the - Ottoman Empire, the Turkish Republic has encountered periods of instability and - recurrent democratic power. Modern day Turkey though, can boast of being an associate member of the European Union and undergoing major changes in order to strengthen its democracy and integrate its economy into a more global field. Turkeys geographical position offers an excellent base for economic activities throughout the region and is emerging as a focal point for politics and culture. Thus such increasingly attractive business environment presents the world with many advantages and potential opportunities to businesses wishing to expand in this country.

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e - globuzZ About 98 percent of Turkeys citizens are Muslims, of whom about 80 to 85 percent represent Sunnis of the Hannafi School and 15-20 percent of Shiite sects. The education system in Turkey is governed by a national system which was established in accordance with the Ataturk reforms after 1923. Every year it is estimated that 1.5 million students graduate from Turkish high schools. There are around 167 universities in Turkey. The system of education involves a national examination after which graduates are assigned to universities according to their performances. Currency: The Turkish Lira is the currency of Turkey and is subdivided in to 100 kurus which is the Turkish equivalent of paisa. In the last decade or so the Turkish lira has stabilised in comparison to the US dollar and the Euro. An average of 9 Lira per U.S dollar in the late 1960s was replaced by 1.65 lira per U.S dollars in late 2001. This represented a situation of an average inflation of 38% per year. It was referred to as a matter of national shame by Prime Minister Erdogan. Thus it led to a slew of measures which have radically changed the Liras fortunes. Like the Brazilian real it has emerged as one of the strongest currencies in the modern financial structure. The strong currency has been one of the drivers of a burgeoning middle class population with a large consumption demand. The Turkish Lira exchange rate depreciated 1.95 percent against the US dollar last month. The last 12 months the lira has depreciated almost 14% against the dollar. Ease of Doing Business in Turkey: The World Bank and the International finance corporation rank Turkey as the number 71 in in the ease of doing business out of the 183 countries sampled. The R & D and innovation law passed by the government which entitles you to certain tax breaks on investing in R & D is one of many measures that allow a business to grow further as you invest in high
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Thus this forward looking economy is certainly not going to go under the radar for the next 30 years at least. The GDP per capita (in terms of PPP) is 12,300 USD as per latest figures which is quite healthy and is expected to rise. The Political Climate: The major driver for this period of prosperity in modern Turkeys history is the unprecedented political stability that it has enjoyed since the Justice and Development (AK) party took over the reins in November 2002. It has brought in with it a strong leader who remains a popular public figure and recently won the elections for the third straight term. The charismatic leader, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has transformed Turkey in this decade with a plethora of financial reforms and governance measures which have propelled the economy on an impressive growth path. Thus this climate of political stability has gone a long way in ensuring Turkeys glorious present continues into the future. The Culture: The official language, Turkish is spoken by 90% of the population. Minority languages include Kurdish (6%), followed by Arabic (1.2%). Islam is the religion of the majority of the Turks and the state is a very secular one. Most citizens now identify themselves as Turks regardless of their ethnic origins. The major non-ethnic groups include- the Kurds in the south-east, the Arabs in the South, the Laz of the Western Black sea coast and the Georgians in the North-east and Northwest

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e - globuzZ policy. The trade volume is expected to grow to 20 billion dollars in the next five years. Both the countries are mulling on signing an FTA which will move towards increasing bilateral trade and co-operation. Indian companies like TATA and Mahindra have been operating in Turkey for a fair amount of time. The TATAs have gone for the licensing route like many other foreign car majors while M&M has gone for a JV with the ILCE group. Its association with the EU customs union would thus provide India with better trade opportunities in the EU region as well. The Road Ahead: The demographic phenomenon is very similar to what we find in Brazil today. By 2050 Turkey would have a consumer market of a 100 million people which makes it a very attractive investment hub for MNEs. The challenges though are to address some barriers in its development structure. It has the second highest unemployment rate in Europe after Spain. The other issue is to invest in education. Only 13% of the population has higher education which is a worrisome figure. The tolerable level of social development is critics argument for delaying succession to the EU. Thus it needs to look at its HDI indicators to further fuel its democracy to newer heights. Therefore just like the BRIC countries it needs to look at its people as drivers of its prosperity in the new millennium.

end technology. Thus the government understands the need of the hour to invest in technology and a low corporate income tax allows businesses to operate with high profit margins. Moreover ease of repatriation of profits to the home country also makes Turkey a very viable proposition for doing business. It is much ahead of the BRIC countries in the Ease of doing business index and thus it gives a pre-cursor of how the corporate world views the former Ottoman behemoth. There is considerable ease in certain micro factors related to setting up a business like getting construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, trading across borders and enforcing contracts. It has provided foreign firms within the technology sector with land and tax benefits and incentives. TDZ, IZ and FEZ are being set up like SEZs in China and India to promote exports and give a boost to the economy. Indo-Turkish Relations: Indo-Turkish relations date back to 1948. The trade relations between Turkey and India are very strong and India sees Turkey as a major trading partner. Moreover the bilateral trade between the two countries is 7.6 billion dollars. India and Turkey have both had a rich and diverse historical connection. Turkey has stressed on having stronger ties with India China and other rising Asian powers as part of the diversification of its economic and foreign

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Alumni Speak: Jyoti Anand

- Gurpreet Kaur PGDM-IB (2011-13) Jyoti Anand, alumnus of SIMSR, 2008-10, batch, PGDMInternational Business, is currently working as a Customer Supply Chain Analyst at CHEP. He has also worked as Operation & Maintenance Associate with Tata Steel. Jyoti is one of the founder members of the International Business Society and also the class representative of IB batch, 2010. 2. Over the last 2 years, how have you leveraged your learning pertaining to IB? In what ways has PGDM-IB programme helped you to rise up the corporate ladder in the last 2 years? In todays global business environment, any company faces global competition in the market place. The overall exposure to IB helps you understand the mindset of international companies working in different geographies & conditions. This also gives me an advantage of understanding cross-cultural factors while dealing with internal & external customers. One can not only get comfortable in any company quickly, but can start contributing effectively as per companys vision and policies. Two years is comparatively very small time to talk about the leverages taken out of the IB programme. 3. Looking back, what do you feel (skills, capabilities, subjects), you should have focused on while you were a student at SIMSR-PGDM-IB? Statistical tools, MS office are some basic tools to get the mastery in. International trade, marketing & operations could have been more effective with live cases & projects. 4. What would you suggest for the current PGDM-IB batch (2010-12, 2011-13) to improve their long term career prospects? Just after graduating from the college, it is very important to know where you want to move in the long term. While getting a right profile gives a perfect start to your career, you must also note that getting a handsome salary
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Interview:
1. What were your expectations when you joined PGDM-IB, SIMSR in 2008? Which of those expectations, you think, have been fulfilled in these 2 years? Expectations were many. Few of them can be described as: - To understand the basics of business administration and general management practices in global business environment. - To understand the impact of cultural & socio-economic factors on business environment - Get the exposure to a mixed profile people, where cross functional learning gives us an advantage of understanding various situations in different business conditions. This knowledge and experience can be leveraged in future career path of senior management or at best in entrepreneurship. Certainly in these two years, understanding about business functions, their importance and roles in organization has increased a lot.

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e - globuzZ I believe the inclusion of some live case-studies or recently winning B-plan can be more refreshing and worth reading for all the students and alumni. 7. Being one of the founder members of IBS, what additional initiatives you suggest for International Business Society? IBS team should now go one step ahead of all in terms of bringing in eminent guest speakers from across the industries and verticals on regular basis. Seminars on international topics can be arranged frequently with the help of respected lecturers. This gives IB course an opportunity to showcase itself across industries and get more relevant job offers in future. 8. Would you like to suggest some initiatives for the Alumni Committee /Imprints? Alumni Committee can have an Active Cell, which can work exclusively with esteemed alumni to maintain healthy relations and get quality projects/summers/placements for deserving candidates. Highlights of Imprints can be put in mail, covering the success story/Award wins by SIMSR students in recent competitions. This can allure alumni towards reading it fully and may bring their attention to their contribution in it.

without good learning might get counted in those years of experience that went in vain and may affect negatively. Therefore selection of your aim in life and choosing the right path to achieve your goal is very important. Getting experience across various functions may give you good confidence both for entrepreneurship or senior management positions in long term prospect. Cultural changes based on geographical variation could be a good learning, both for national as well as international business understanding. 5. What do you feel should be the capabilities and skills, PGDM-IB students should develop while at SIMSR? Apart from regular curriculum, participation in various B-school competitions should be increased. There should be a regular watch and news spreading from respective specializations in order to make sure the participation of students in good competitions. Further, live projects can be a very good addon for students to learn and contribute to any company. This can also create a chance to showcase the students abilities and may convert in job offers. 6. What changes would you like to see in the content and format of e-globuzZ?

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IBS Interactions
Financing entrepreneurial ventures by Colin Bottomley: An hour and a half discussion with sir was really an insightful one where we learnt about the sources of funds for an entrepreneur and how they go about in the struggle in setting up their own ventures-a physical manifestation of their dreams. He started with a small group activity wherein we had to list down our (students) revenue structure and expenditure pattern. This way we were enlightened by the fact that-if managing daily transactions is so difficult for a human being then the scale and complexity of business transactions an entrepreneur deals in is unimaginable! This way he threw open the discussion and told us about the various funding agencies for an entrepreneur to name a few were-angel investors, venture capitalists, bank overdraft, and last but not the least friends and families. We not only learnt the literal definitions of the same but also about some nitty-gritty involved in the inception of ventures. HELM Interaction: Two delegates from a global MNE Helm AG, Mr.Daniel Wilhoeff and Mr.Axel Thomas Viering along with Mr. Samir Somaiya graced the afternoon and made the IBS interaction session a memorable one! The team started with a fine group activity involving not only the students (SIMSR and other colleges of Somaiya campus) but present faculty and Mr Samir Somaiya too. The latter half of the discussion involved understanding Germans work culture, the role of Indians in their firm and what is their perspective on Global India and its Resurging economy. All this was followed by a quick rap- up question-answer session where the intrigued audience asked relevant questions pertaining to international Business and in return got extremely satisfying answers. A lot of practical learning and cross polarizations of ideas took place and students had a lot in their palette to discuss and take away before they left the room!

Cultural Awareness Session on Spain: On 23rd Jan, IBS@SIMSR arranged an interaction with Dr. Myriam Guerra Balic, MD PhD from Ramon Llull University in Barcelona. She was accompanied by Ms. Andrea Granell Querol. They made an interactive presentation on Spain highlighting its history, culture including the dances and foods, levels of economic development in various sectors and achievements in sports, arts etc. They also dwelt on the possibilities for cooperation between Ramon Llull University and SIMSR. The visitors were immensely impressed with our campus and the students as well.

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CHEP India Interaction We had the president of CHEP India, Pranil Vadgama to interact with us. He has been heading the Indian operations for the last three years of which he spoke about in detail. He was very candid in telling us about his experiences with Indian clients and how he managed to expand his pallet and logistics business in such a short span of time. Mr. Vadgama has also been part of GE, Europe division and he elaborated on the work culture at GE. The insights provided by him were of immense value and definitely complemented our classroom learning with what he had to share with the students. He was accompanied by our alumnus Jyoti Anand of the 2008-2010 batch, who is currently a Customer Supply Chain analyst at CHEP India.

Asian Paints
Tom Thomas, General Manager International Business Division at Asian Paints addressed the students of PGDM-IB on the strategies adopted by Asian Paints in the past to expand their business in APAC and other European countries. He gave interesting anecdotes on his experiences at Asian Paints while dealing with foreign business associates. He related theoretical concepts with real time practical situations, which helped the students, get a holistic view of international business as a profession. It was indeed a great learning experience for us and was a reassurance that the learning in the classroom is applied in the real world. Mr. Thomas also invited queries from the students and explained at length quenching the curiosity of the students pertaining to the current international business scenario.

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Alumni Interactions
Interaction 1.
Our alumnus, Mr. Mihir Deshpande who is currently the assistant manager for Business Development and New Product planning at Johnson & Johnson was with us recently for an interaction with the IB class. He spoke to us about his journey after graduating from SIMSR as an International Business professional. Mr. Deshpande also gave us insights into the pharmaceutical industry and in particular explained about J&Js business in India. At the later end, the session became highly interactive when students inquired the prospects of international business as a profession and the current employment scenario for the same. He answered all of them very patiently and his warmth won everyones hearts.

Interaction 2: Co-hosted along with Alumni Committee

Key Speakers for the event: Vipul Khosla,Research Manager at Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Melbourne, Australia PGPIB (2002-04 Batch), SIMSR Aarohi Vashishtha, Associate Director at IPE Global, London, UK Amruta Kulkarni, Manager -Client Relations at Sodexo Svc India Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, PGPIB (2002-04 Batch), SIMSR Mr. Vipul Khosla and his colleagues were in the SIMSR campus on 24th February, 2012. Prof. C.P. Joshi coordinated our interaction with the 2 PGPIB alumni and an esteemed guest from London. Vipul shared his personal experiences and learning in SIMSR very candidly. During his SIMSR tenure, he had his summer internship at EXIM bank and got placed with an advertising firm later. He found that media and developmental work were his core interest areas. His calling was child educational development and Media literacy. He completed his Masters programme in this domain at London School of Economics (LSC) after which he worked with BBC, London. Vipul is currently working with ABC, Australia, in the Research Management division. He showcased to the students one of his online live projects for UN. Vipul explained how IB programme at SIMSR acted as a launch pad for him and his International career progression in a great way. He told the audience, the importance of voluntarily going out and trying different activities, exploring and getting new ideas for personal development. He also talked about the attitude and motivational differences between students at Indian institutes vis--vis the foreign institutes.
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Aarohi also added his views on career progression by sharing his own experiences. Aarohi, after completing his MBA was placed from campus in a sales profile. He realized soon that that he was not cut out for that job. He decided to take a less travelled path and go for something he was truly passionate about-Public Administration. He went to London School of Economics to gain some domain knowledge on Public Administration area. Aarohi mentioned that the students who want to go for Public administration/governance related fields have an upper hand if they have studied in India/developing countries at some point of time as they can relate to the problems faced by such countries and empathize with their problems better than foreign students. Amruta, PGPIB, SIMSR alumnus, was placed with Future group from campus. Then she switched to Oracle Corporation in International Sales where she emphasized she could leverage her IB knowledge and skills as a competitive advantage. Amruta is currently working in a Client Relationship role in Sodexo (a French Multinational). She spoke at length about her role in the Sales and Marketing areas in International organizations and how her IB domain knowledge is a distinct advantage. Prof. C P Joshi also shared his views on the importance of Public policy and International Business domain knowledge in our careers. This was followed by a Q & A session. The students were really encouraged with the very insightful discussions and experiences shared, during the event.

Comercio 12
On 17 Feb 2012, the International Business Society at SIMSR (IBS@SIMSR) took another step as a part of its continuous endeavour to bring together students who want to work out a career in International Business and conduct an enriching session of discussion between them by conducting Comercio`12. Comercio`12 was the first International Business Society event to be conducted in Melange, the cultural and management fest of SIMSR. MBA students were asked to select a developing country except India and do a country analysis and evaluate the ease of doing business in that country. The students were also asked to study the political, cultural, economic and technological environment. Based on the understanding of the above parameters, they had to choose a favourable sector and do an in depth analysis on the attractiveness of that sector. The competition saw a huge response from students. More than 50 teams from India`s top B schools registered including IIM-B, IIM-C, IIM-I, IIM-K, IIM-Shillong, IIFT, FMS, IMT-G, TAPMI, NITIE, SPJIMR and others. Their analysis was submitted to the International Business Society in the form of an executive summary. Top five teams were invited to present their evaluation of the respective sector they selected to a panel of esteemed judges comprising of Mr Rohit Pandya from Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited and Mr Mihir Deshpande from Johnson and Johnson. The 3 hour presentation run saw variety of opportunities in some of the most promising and unthought-of places. After five presentations and some quality Q&A session, the judges finally declared team M3S of SIMSR as winners and team Aaroham from SIMSREE as runners up.

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For any suggestions contact us at K.J.Somaiya Institute Of Management Studies and Research Somaiya Vidyavihar ( E ) Mumbai-400077
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e-mail : simsr.ibs@gmail.com