Strategy and SME Growth

Often it is asserted that the field of strategic management lacks coherence and it is highly fragmented. However, there is research evidence to show how companies have achieved excellent performance and sustainable competitive advantage by implementing strategic plans.

Strategy primarily deals with issues of longterm implications. In recent years, business organisations have gained the power to predict the future with reasonable accuracy using various performance management systems and harnessing the tremendous increase in computingpower and communication technology. With this power, they can exploit the potential of the emerging scenarios.

Unfortunately, most Indian SMEs are either unaware of the power of these strategic frameworks or do not show any inclination to use them for strategic planning. As the tumultuous political and economic events of the present decade have made long-term planning a much more risky business, there is a real possibility of more small and medium firms staying away from strategic planning, notwithstanding the fact that except a relatively small number of firms in the knowledge sector, a majority of the Indian SMEs are still operating in environments where robability distributions of outcomes are knowable.

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Contributed By:
Prof. Abhijit Bhattacharya
(Dean - Globsyn Business School, Ahmedabad)

Training for SME Workers

By smartly exploiting the opportunities created by the process of globalisation, a large number of Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been able to sharply increase their businesses, either as original equipment manufacturers or component suppliers or business and knowledge processes outsourcing (KPO) partners for multinational corporations (MNCs) as well as large Indian companies. In a world where technology and business models are changing very fast,sustainability and growth of the Indian SME segment in the coming days will primarily dependupon SMEs’ access to education and skill upgradation. The government has a major responsibility in providing such access as the private sector cannot be relied upon for this — hi-tech knowledge and skill generation is a timeconsuming process and the return on private investment may be less than the optimum level thanks to knowledge spill-over, high rate of technology obsolescence and some other factors.

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Contributed By:
Prof. Abhijit Bhattacharya
(Dean - Globsyn Business School, Ahmedabad)

Office Etiquettes

Successful people display a style that oozes charisma and dressing that speaks of power, authority, dependability, and attitude.

• Clothes help to get close. So, always choose the right attire that is best suited for the occasion.
• Trim nails and hair as this would add to your dressing style.
• Look simple, yet elegant,-this would give a classy look.
• Don't use vessels and utensils which make too much sound during eating.
• Do not eat while working.
• Prefer getting dry food as a lunch or dinner pack, as foods with gravy tend to be messy.
• While using microwaves, be conscious that you don't keep others waiting for long.
• Keep the space-table or desk clean.
• Avoid filling water bottles from water dispensers at times when too many people need water,say, during lunch or dinner.
• Above all, be courteous at all times whenever you deal with others, remember arrogance and being haughty are attributes of a 'weak' person.

Contributed By:
Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay
(Globsyn Business School)