Food for hunger...

The world's population today stands at 6.5 billion with the number expected to touch a whopping 9 billion by 2050. And most of this population growth is happening in the developing and underdeveloped world. This burgeoning population is leading to a fight for resources, raw materials, food and land. The question is is this kind of growth sustainable? What are the measures undertaken to control the population. And as the population grows unabated, what are the measures taken to meet the requirements of the growing population. On the food front for instance over 800 million around the world are mal nourished and one in five of them is a child. Annually fifteen million children under the age of five die because of hunger. And mass hunger, poverty and scarcity haunts the resource abundant continents of Asia & Africa. Presently there is about 1.5 million hectares of land around the world under cultivation. With increased industrialization, land under cultivation is decreasing. This is only expected to raise the problem. So there have to be solutions on alternate fronts. One of the solutions to the food scarcity is the use of scientific and technological advancements to meet the increasing requirements. The green revolution in Asia in 70's and 80's increased the food production upto three times and saved the world's most populated continent from food crises. Under traditional means of production the food production is 30-40 percent less. For instance in the wheat yield is about two tonnes per hectare in Russia compared to almost four time that is about 8 tonnes per hectare in France. Thus, leveraging scientific and technological advancements to usher in an era of second green revolution would be a good idea. Africa with its vast lands of fertile soil and natural resources, can world's future to its food requirements and industrial inputs. But these have to leveraged through technology to maximise returns. Thus, there is a case for association between the technologically advanced and resource abundant developing world.

Women's Reservation: Progressive or Regressive

Its interesting to observe the difference. The Ruling UPA alliance hails ensuring a fifty percent reservation for women in the panchayats(in villages) as its biggest achievement(http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100518/814/tnl-in-rae-bareli-sonia-targets-maya-on.html). In the more developed part of the world 'reservations' are seen as negative impetus for human development. Did Darwin not talk about the 'survival of the fittest'. Reservations for the weaker sections in India started about sixty years ago and every ten years the target is extended for the next ten years. And to top it now we have the women's reservation. Is it a genuine intention on the part of the legislature to take the country to the higher pedestal of progress or does the 'British Raj' legacy of 'Divide and Rule' still lingers on in the minds of our opportunistic legislatures. Living from one election to another, oner day to the next, one agenda to another is that all that is the aim of politicians, seen by MK Gandhi as the true servants of people. Reservation, the appeasement politics by another name, may benefit the myopic policy-makers agenda in one election; but is it not like the termite that eats the wood and thrives on it. The sad state of affairs brings to my mind the effervescant question who's country is it anyway? Increased polarisation with every passing elections, opportunism; brain drain which some infact see as better then brain in the drain; for how long can it all continue? Can we forever afford to live with this 'chalta hai'('everything works!') attitude?

Is this the Rule in Law?

Whar confronted India on the dark December 1984 remains to this day one of the biggest questions on the Rule of Law. With the latest judgment by the court awarding a mere punishment of only two years and charging them under section 304A as death due to negligence, one of worst corporate crimes in the history of modern idea has been equalled to the stature of a truck accident. Is democracy a farce, an illusion to satisfy the intellect of those pursuing the higher ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity? The world's largest democracy promotes itself as the epitome of Rule of Law. In the international arena we encourage international investors, FDI to come and invest in the country on the promise that there is a Rule of Law, Good Governance which is where lies India's advantage over China. And then comes another blow on the head with the Nuclear Liability Bill limiting the liability of MNCs to a pittance virtually in case of a nuclear disaster. The Bill re-raises many unanswered questions that were once raised way back in 1984 in the Bhopal iso-cyanide gas tragedy. What is that Rule of Law worth that can not ensure and protect the rights of its own citizens. This takes one back to the fundamental question: what is that development worth, that India shinning like for the common man on the street who's eyes get annoyed by the glare of the shinning sun for he does not even earn enough to cover his bare feet. Is this the Right to Life and Liberty embellished under Article 21 of the world's lengthiest constitution. Is this right to Life and Liberty so poetically articulated and interpreted by the Highest Court in India through the fine pen of Justice Bhagwati and his bench including the famous Justice Iyer Krishna: Right to life does not mean a mere animal existence. It means the right to live one's life completely, to develop as a human being.

Dragon's story scrippted in Gold as Elephant sleeps!

The Dark Continent sits glittering on over 99% of world's gold reserves. Tanzania with the third largest reserves after South Africa and Ghana, rightly enjoys her position as the enviable cynosure of Chinese policy-makers. With economic aid worth Dollar two billion flowing quietly since 1960s from the land of the Mandarin, one wonders if India with her ever mesmerized eyes focused on the glamorous west has missed the opportunity. Just an Ocean way Tanzania, as the Indian Ocean divides the two countries, Tanzania can perhaps be a good way to gain access to the African markets. India with her burgeoning population and accelerated growth rate notwithstanding the economic meltdown needs to re-define its strategy of accessing the International markets. The Chinese policy makers with their foresighted vision could comprehend way back in 1960's the importance to lighten up the corridors to this dark land. Tens and thousands of Chinese Engineers and millions of dollars flew in as investment from China to Tanzania, as Chinese help built the 1860 km long Tanzania-Zambia railway, colloquially called the Freedom Railway in 1970's. An accessible trap into Africa's most rugged terrain helped Chinese tap the emerging African markets for raw materials and an unmet consumer appetite for goods and services available at affordable rates. The Chinese also sent over thousands of medical experts to Tanzania to provide medical services in the under-developed economy. And the camaraderie only seems to have strengthened over time. The Chinese Engineering Company with joint funding from the Chinese & Tanzanian Government built the new national Tanzanian stadium, wherein the two countries jointly hosted the Beijing Olympic relay Torch in April 2008.

Opportunities galore in this Emerging underdeveloped market. Mining, Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure Development and Telecommunications are some of the most promising emerging industries in the region. China with over 40 years of investment of time, foreign aid and infrastructure into the region already seems to have captured the first mover advantage in terms of capturing the mindshare and heart share of the Tanzanians. But the train is not missed as yet. There are competencies to be leveraged from. Indian IT & Telecommunications players for instance having proven their mettle in one of the largest mobile phone & IT markets in the world, can transport the efficiencies to the African market. Airtel, India's largest mobile phone operator's vision to make a move into the African markets with the MTN deal was a step in the right direction. Zantel one of the first mobile phone companies in Tanzania to offer mobile banking provides an example of how mobiles could be an increased source of revenue for the Telecommunications company by looking at mobiles as not just a means of communication but also as an instrument to facilitate trade. Zantel's success emerges from its vision to forsee the fast emerging market of telecommunications growing at the rate of 20% and combine it with a low banking access of only 9% in Tanzania. Thus, m-banking model became a successful way of tapping the informal economy. Such innovative ways to reach those at the Bottom of the Pyramid in the blessed and cursed in size, widely dispersed population of Tanzania are interesting case studies.

With Tanzania emerging as the most favoured destination for Chinese economic aid, there is definitely more to this development then meets the eye. Africa and Tanzania neatly sit on those elusive resources, metals and a fast emerging market to be tapped that could well define the country to emerge as the winner with a sustainable access to these important resources, the key to development of trade and industry. It has always been and it will always be that for nations to be Competitive, the one with the best manpower resources, R&D, scientific and technological advances and sustainable access to resources will have the most sustainable competitive advantage. India on her part must draw lessons from her dragon neighbour and ride on the train to this rough terrain before she catches on the sneeze of lazing elephants.

New Mining Law in Tanzania & implications for Good Governance

Strategically well connected to the African sub-continent with Indian Ocean on its east coast, Tanzania is well connected by land and water transport. Amongst its promising sectors, Mining Industry holds the greatest promise. Tanzania is Africa's third largest producer of Gold after South Africa and Ghana. The Gold mining industry grew at more then five percent in 2009 with gold exports worth $ 1.076 billion compared to $ 932.4 billion a year earlier. With tremors in the Euro zone and shaky Dollars, pessimistic investors pare back on riskier assets in favour of gold. Thus, investing in the rich and abundantly endowed Tanzania is the key to sustained growth. Seeing the importance of its burgeoning Gold reserves, the Tanzanian Government new mining law recently. The law has drawn mixed response from the industry. The law seeks to enforce the socially responsible image of investing in the mining industry. Traditionally, the mining companies have been seen resource hungry with no commitment to the needs of the local population. The new law envisions to change this. The new Act will cover gemstones like Diamond, Tanzanite, Emerland, Ruby, Sapphire, Turquoise and Ruby. With important changes like mandatory requirement to be listed on the Dar-es-Salaam stock exchange, higher Government stake in the Joint Ventures and increased royalty payment of four percent from the existing three percent to the Government; the new law seeks to strengthen the Corporate Governance regime in the mining industry. Tighter compliances and stricter regulation if followed in word,letter and spirit would only help boost the image of the mining companies. This is important as trading in these companies in developed markets are more profitable then trading in metals itself. And with an ethical image for your company, trading on the stock exchange of the more developed Dow Jones and FTSE only gets easier and more profitable.

A gory story scrippted in Oil

From Valdez oil disaster to the Gulf of Mexico... the story of human destruction is written with the gory ink of oil. An intriguing question that stares us in the face with these mamooth disasters is 'Is CSR working'? Is it Corporates Shedding Responsibility!! BP's nail in the coffin with its post on the website asking readers to suggest if there is a way to cork the spill shows that plugging the continuing disaster is beyond the contemplation of existing technologies and the world's best Engineers available at BP. It almost sounds like the Obama campaign, hoping to come out with a solution- Change we are and change we can! Or perhaps someone reminded BP of the story of the cleaning boy at NASA research centre who after millions being spent on making a pen whose ink would not dry up in the space, innocently questioned why spend millions, why dont you take a pencil to the space?

Blue Ocean Strategy

Every company endeavours towards one elusive goal and the goal is to conquer the market; to have greater profits and to last. Different players employ different strategies. Some fight on competition, whereas others endeavour to create a niche by differentiating from their competitiors. Kim & Mauborgnes' 2005 unprecedented work Blue Ocean Strategy emphatically questioned this conventional mind set of the Industry to approach competition and creating a niche. Kim & Mauborgne argue seldom does one look for untapped market, an unmet need and for those that successfully value innovate emerge as leaders, the market control that is sustainable with its niche market and can be sustained in the newly found uncontested space, till imitation gives way to crowding of the space.

Red Ocean Strategy focuses on competing in existing market, beating the competition, exploiting an existing demand, making the value cost trade off and aligning the whole system of a company's activities with its strategic choice of quality differentiation or low cost.

The Blue Ocean Strategy on the other hand emphasizes on creating uncontested market space, making competition irrelevant, creating and capturing new demand, breaking the value cost trade off and aligning the whole system of a company's activities with its strategic choice of quality differentiation and low cost.

Kim & Mauborgnes' 2005 Four Action framework, Red Ocean focuses on Eliminate and Reduce, Blue Ocean emphasizes Raise and Create.

In the Cost Structure Reduction, we need to see what costs a lot without adding a lot of value and hence, need to eliminate the same. We also need to look for places wherein we can reduce emphasis.

In terms of Buyer Value, there are avenues which may not cost much, however emphasizing and focusing on the same we can raise the perceived value in the eyes of the customer considerably.
For Creation, look for areas which are not presently focused upon in the industry at the moment; however, addition and/ or creation of the same, the customer would appreciate the same. Is there something unique, different, hitherto unthought of, not focused on before, however, addition, creation of the same, would be seen in a greatly positive light by the customer.

So the idea basically is innovate, Value Innovation. Value Innovation is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost. We need to look at the whole picture holistically, referred to as the Ladder of Inference, in its entireity. Then we need to evaluate the Value Factors, we need to critically evaluate the present factors and look over the Halo effect. One needs to see what is it that we are assuming to exist, that which possibly does not exist. Value Innovation is the difference between Perceived benefit and cost. If the cost of adding a particular attribute is less then the value perceived by the customer; in other words value perceived is more then the cost spent in adding that particular attribute, then it is Value Innovation. The conventional Six Paths Framework, talks about reconstructing market boundaries, by focussing on Alternatives, Strategic Groups, Chain of Buyers including Strategic Network, Chain of Buyers including strategic network, Complimentary products and services, Functional or Emotional appeal to buyers and Time.

Structuralist view or environmental determinism works on the premises that a firm is competing within the given industry and the resources and environment for the industry are given. The dynamism or the constantly evolving nature of the surrounding environment is not taken into consideration. The proponents of Blue Ocean argue that the dynamism of the industry and the surrounding environment creates the need to value innovate and create blue ocean. The Blue Ocean views looks at the reconstructionist view by challenging the premises that the boundaries of the market are given and that the frontiers can not be redrawn. There is an extra demand out there which is untapped. The all enigmatic question is how to find that untapped market and create a demand. In other words, how to redraw the market boundaries that are taken as given in the minds of the managers atleast. When viewed from the Blue Ocean Lens, there is a tectonic shift in our approach to the market- from supply we look at the demand side; from competition, we look at Value Innovation, from a zero sum game, we look for ways of Harmonic Progression. The idea then is to innovate, to redraw, to re-create; hence the Blue Ocean approach is the reconstructionist approach.

In this world, where even the spiritualists say that nothing is permanent except change, Blue Ocean Strategy is one step closer to looking at this ever evolving world from the lens of reality. As old songs become classic, new hip hop music becomes a rage; as old fashions fade on the canvas of memory, new styles emerge; then in the ever evolving money chasing market dynamics; how can the analogy of a constant fight to look for hitherto untapped frontiers seem misplcaed. The key then is to create Blue Oceans. And sustainable competitive advantage is not a static, it is a Business strategy on the move.