Volume 1 Issue 5 - Best Engineering Institutes & Colleges ... · PDF filePanipat Institute of Engineering & Technology 1 | P a g e Volume 1 Issue 5 ... Technology Advancement,

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology

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Volume 1 Issue 5

September-2016



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VISION

To create high quality human resources in the field of management who lend their expertise in

the global arena and serve the society as business leaders by setting high professional and ethical

standards.

MISSION

Our mission is to offer a unique learning environment which nurtures students across nations so

as to develop them into world class:

a) Managers who create an environment for their teams to be self motivated

b) Entrepreneurs who are not only dreamers with new ideas but who also persevere to turn those

ideas into reality

c) Innovators who are daring, patient and not afraid of failure

d) Leaders with vision, integrity and emotional intelligence who have a transformative impact

on the society



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FROM THE DESK OF EDITORS

Observation, idea, hypothesis and testing of hypothesis are the four basic steps of research. We

all observe and based on observations many of us get an idea. Few brilliant people make a

hypothesis based on such an idea. It is only a Researcher/ Scientist who designs a proper study to

test such a hypothesis and produce a piece of research. Research is fundamental need for

scientific development of a society.

Continuing with our Management concern, this month the Editorial Board has again assembled a

diverse group of articles that provide something of interest to our varied readership. It includes

An Event Study Approach on Evaluation of the Financial Performance of Selected Acquiring

Banks in India, An Empirical Study of Indian Economy from 1992 to 2011on Macro-Economic

Impact of Crude Oil Prices on Economy. With the increase in changing trends in the field of

Technology Advancement, the current issue would also include Emerging Trends in Technology

Adoption by Banking Industry, Internet of Things (IOT) And Smart Technologies: Framework

of Temporal Data Mining Concerning Smart Meter, Paytm Parent in Talks and New Era’s

Advertisement. This issue would also focus on India’s First Textile City which is likely to come

up in Andhra Pradesh. Fortunately, now, we are getting good quality research articles. In order to

acknowledge the efforts of our research scholars contributing in “e-arth”, we are announcing

awards in various categories. These will be annual awards and will be decided by an editorial

committee, after publication of all the issues of that year. These awards will be given during the

end of financial year 2016-17.

Your valuable feedback about the magazine is food for our thought. Please do send it regularly.

Editor-in-Chief Priyanka Sehgal

Associate Professor HOD-Department of Management Studies-MBA, PIET

Associate Editor Associate Editor Akhilesh Kr. Mishra Dr. Himanshu Jain Assistant Professor Associate Professor Dept. of Management Studies-MBA Dept. of Management Studies-MBA



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CONTENTS

Sr. No Name of the Article Name of Author(S) Page No.

1. Green Marketing: A Study of Consumer Perception And Preferences In India

Ms. Shruti Chhabra 5

2. Human Resources' Just Doesn't Tell You What HR Really Does

Sandhya Chugh 22

3. Mutual Funds Pollution & How to Control

Ankit Singhal 25

4. Convergence With International Financial Reporting Standards: Challenges and Opportunities

Heena Chanana 29

5. CRM in The Age of the Customer

Shilpi Jain

36

6. These 5 Interview Blunders Will Probably Kill Your Job Prospects

Timmy Thakkar 42

7. Personal Effectiveness

Anjali Gambhir 45



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Green Marketing: A Study of Consumer Perception and Preferences in India

Ms. Shruti Chhabra Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies

Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology, Samalkha (Panipat)

Abstract

Concerns have been expressed by manufacturers and customers about the environmental impact

of products during recent decades. Consumers and manufacturers have directed their attention

toward environment friendly products that are presumed to be “green” or environment friendly

like low power consuming (energy-efficient) electrical appliances, organic foods, lead free

paints, recyclable paper, and phosphate free detergents. Indian marketers are also realizing the

importance of the Green Marketing Concept. Although a variety of research on green marketing

has been conducted across the globe; little academic research on consumer perception and

preferences has been carried out in India. This research provides a brief review of environmental

issues and identifies the green values of the consumers, their level of awareness about

environmental issues, green products and practices. This paper highlights the consumers’

perception and preferences towards green marketing practices and products with the help of a

structured questionnaire. A study was conducted on 106 respondents. High level of awareness

about green marketing practices and products was found among the consumers. Green values

were also found to be high among the respondents. Research has given good insights for

marketers of the green products and suggests the need of designing the marketing

communication campaigns promoting green products due to high green value among the

consumers. Results of regression analysis reveals the view that overall green values, awareness

about green products and practices and the perception regarding seriousness of marketing

companies towards green marketing had positive significant impact on consumer persuasion to

buy and prefer green products over conventional products.



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Introduction

Businesses need to constantly assess the latest and most attractive marketing trends. Marketing

trends can be found out by continually researching about the changes in consumer behavior in

the marketplace. By identifying the changes in the consumer behavior, the businesses can modify

their offering to the consumers. Consumers today are more concerned about environmental

degradation and negative impact of their uses of product and services on environment. The

reason for this concern could be visible climatic changes, global warming and increasing air and

water pollution. Thus using green marketing by the organizations not only provides an

opportunity to meet consumer expectations and address their environmental concerns, but also to

gain a competitive advantage and a strong consumer base. Green marketing is also termed as

environmental marketing or ecological marketing. According to American Marketing

Association, marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe is called as

Green Marketing. Thus wide range of activities are covered under green marketing, which

includes modifying the product, making changes in the production process and packaging, as

well as modifying advertising or removing any activity that impacts the environment in negative

way. Today, the Earth faces more environmental issues than ever before, hence it is imperative

for companies to make and market themselves as environment friendly. Green marketing is

emerging as a popular promotional strategy owing to increased consumer awareness and

concerns. The concept of green or ecological marketing calls upon businesses to follow ethical

and green practices while dealing with customers, suppliers, dealers, and employees. Companies

have started marketing themselves as green companies. Even the Public Sector Units and state

governments are now paying a lot of attention towards environmental issues such as global

warming, pollution, or water contamination and have started taking steps to prevent

environmental pollution. In a recent survey conducted by National Geographic Society and the

international polling firm Globescan (2010) to determine consumers’ green attitude called

“Consumer Greendex”, the top scoring consumers were in the developing economies of India,

Brazil and China while industrialized countries ranked at the bottom. Consumers showing the

largest increase in environmentally sustainable behavior were in India, Russia and the United

States (Howe et al., 2010). A company to be successful in green marketing requires to be

committed to operate in environmentally friendly ways.



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Green Products and Marketing Practices

Actually there is no consensus on what exactly is green. There is no accepted definition of green

product. However based on different definitions of green marketing, some common

characteristics of products generally accepted as green, including the products are:

1. Energy efficient (both in use and in production).

2. Water efficient (both in use and in production).

3. Low emitting (low on hazardous emissions).

4. Safe and/or healthy products.

5. Recyclable and/or with recycled content

6. Durable (long-lasting).

7. Biodegradable.

8. Renewable.

9. Reused products.

10. Third party certified to public or transport standard (e.g., organic, certified wood)

11. Locally produced.

Many consumer durable companies are now marketing their products with Energy Star Label

stating that their use will reduce the energy consumption and consumers can save a lot of money

on electricity consumption over a period of time. For example, Godrej Consumer Products is

marketing its product through green marketing and gives additional incentive to buyers to

exchange their old products with latest green and environmental friendly products. The

advertisements try to persuade the buyers to adopt a green lifestyle and contribute in

development of a greener planet. NDTV a major media group promotes green values through its

campaign Greenathon. NDTV Greenathon as they call it organizes various philanthropic and

social activities to raise awareness regarding environmental issues at the same time contribute to

the social causes like electrification of rural areas etc. Philips is marketing its Compact

Fluorescent Light (CFL) as “Marathon”, highlighting its new “super long life” and energy

efficiency. Many companies are now offering more eco-friendly alternatives for their customers;

re-cycled products are one of the most popular alternatives that benefit the environment.

Companies are now focusing on not to use plastic bags, instead they use carry bag made up of

recycled paper (for example, Titan, Tanishq have made a corporate policy that the goods will be



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delivered or given to customers only in the carry bags made out of recycled paper). Idea Cellular

Limited also launched an advertisement stating saving trees towards their corporate social

responsibility. Kansai Nerolac Paints is marketing themselves as green as they have removed

hazardous heavy metals from their paints and are marketing their lead free paints in India. Dell

focuses on producing green IT products under their strategy called “Go Green with Dell”. Dell

products are also coming in eco-friendly packaging with a system recycling kit bundled along.

They are also focusing on green innovations from data-center efficiency to the use of ecofriendly

materials for everything from chassis design to product packaging. Major electronic goods

manufacturing organizations are selling their products with star energy ratings that help to

consume less energy. More is the star rating (maximum rating is 5 star) of the

electrical/electronic appliance, less is the energy consumed. Nokia has come up with the concept

of recycling of phones to save the natural resources. In 2007, IBM launched Project Big Green to

help clients around the world improve the efficiency of IT and better optimized their data center

resources. IBM has software and services technologies to help businesses reduce data center

energy consumption and cut energy costs by more than 40 percent. Efforts are being made at

government and industry level to protect environment. In India Environment Protection Act in

was implemented in 1986 and Environment Audit in 1992 for the protection of the environment.

New Delhi, Indian capital, was one of the most polluted cities until Supreme Court of India

intervened to change to alternative fuels. In 2002, Supreme Court issued a directive to

completely adopt CNG in all public transport systems to curb pollution. Many greenhouse gas

reduction markets have emerged over a period of time that can catalyze projects with important

local, environmental, economic, and quality-of-life benefits. Kyoto Protocol’s Clean

Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the steps towards greenhouse gas reduction. In the

construction industry, builder lobby are now using fly ash bricks to reduce soil erosion due to

manufacturing of traditional bricks. They are also using solar panels to generate electricity for

common passage lighting, elevators to reduce the traditional electricity consumption. Footwear

Design and Development Institute (FDDI) is focusing on re-use of tyres, using unconventional

methods and innovatively creating footwear and accessories from old and recycled tyres. Green

products have also proven to be recession proof through the economic downturn of 2008 and

2009. According to a Datamonitor study in the first six months of 2009 there were over 500 new

product launches of goods that claim themselves as eco-friendly.



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Literature Review

Green marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first book titled

Ecological Marketing was the outcome of first workshop on “Ecological Marketing”, held by

American Marketing Association (AMA) in 1975. Green marketing acquired an eminent status

since early 1990s. There has been occurring about green consumers and green consumerism in

1970s and 1980s. Henion and Kinnear (1976) defined green consumers as environmentally

conscious consumers while Antil (1984) described green consumerism as a specific type of

socially conscious consumer behavior with prime focus on protection of environment. Green

consumerism was described as a form of “pro-social” consumer behavior (Weiner and Doescher,

1991). Michael Polonsky (1994) defined “green marketing as the marketing that consists of all

activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or

wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with minimal detrimental

impact on the natural environment.” Various studies support the assertion that consumers today

prefer environmentally safe products and have a positive disposition towards companies

following such practices. A strong willingness is shown by consumers to favor environmentally

conscious products and companies as per various opinion polls taken in US and elsewhere,

however action to do so in reality are debatable (Mendleson N, Polonsky M J, 1995). In spite of

huge interest in green marketing by researchers and organizations, demand of green products is

not as high as expected. Mintel (1995) found a significant gap between consumers concern and

actual green purchasing. It is found that still there are considerable barriers towards the diffusion

of more ecologically oriented consumption styles. According to Michael J Polonsky,

environmental marketing has been perceived as an opportunity by the organizations to achieve

their objectives (stated by Keller 1987, Shearer 1990). It was believed that organizations have

moral obligation to serve the society in more environmental friendly way (Davis 1992, Freeman

and Liedtka 1991, Keller 1987, Shearer 1990). Firms are also forced to become more socially

responsible due to the laws laid by the government towards the protection of the environment.

Firms are also pressurized by the environmental activities adapted by competitors that demand

the firms to change their marketing activities to environmental marketing activities. One of the

factors identified that affects the purchase of green product is its high price in comparison with

traditional product. Price of the product can be reduced by properly designed environmental

standards. Environmental standards can trigger innovations that lower the cost of the product or



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improve its value. Such innovation will allow the companies to use a range of inputs more

productively-from raw materials to energy to labor – thus offsetting the cost of improving

environmental impact and hence enhanced resource productivity will make companies more

competitive. Innovation will play a lead role in sustainable development for the companies to be

competitive and resisting innovations will lead to loss of competitiveness in today’s global

economy (Michael Porter and Claas van der Linder, 1995). Jacquelyn Ottman, (1998) suggests

that from an organizational standpoint, all aspects of marketing including new product

development and communications should be integrated with environmental considerations. This

holistic view of Green Marketing suggests that not only the suppliers and retailers, but the new

stakeholders including educators, community members, regulators, and NGOs should also be

taken into purview. Environmental issues should not be compromised to satisfy primary

customer needs. Organization operating green practices in their processes and products is

considered as environmentally friendly by the consumers and they prefer to purchase the

products of the organization that are marketing themselves as green organizations. It has been

always believed that the actions of individuals can be predicted by their attitudes. Number of

studies has been made towards improving the ability to predict an individual’s actions. Davidson

et al. (1985) found that the consumers’ attitude is associated with the knowledge and personal

experience they possess. However inconsistencies were found among the relationship between

consumers’ attitude and their behavior when it comes to green consumerism. Mainieri et al.

(1997) found low correlation between consumers’ attitude and green behavior. Previous

researches also proved low correlation between consumers’ attitudes and their green behavior

(Tracy and Oskamp, 1984). Spruyt et al. (2007) suggested that the prediction of individual’s

behavior is dependent on the attitude of the consumer. In order to predict specific behaviors, the

measurement criteria of attitudes should be directed at a specific environmental issue like

purchasing of green products (Gadenne et al, 2011; Wulf and Schroder, 2003). Green Gauge

Study of Roper Organization (stated by Crispell, 2001) classified the American consumers into

True-Blue Greens, Greenback Greens, Sprouts, Grousers and Basic Browns. True-Blue Greens

are the consumers who buy only green products and trying to make up for the deficits,

Greenback Greens are the consumers willing to expend money towards protection of natural

environment but don’t have time and energy for environmental activities, Sprouts are the

consumers who can buy green products but are not involved in environmental activities,



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Grousers are the consumers who cares about the protection of environment but make excuses for

adapting green products, and Basic Browns are the consumers who don’t care about the

environment protection and are not even ashamed of it. Consumers are substantially aware about

green products; however applying green marketing practices in business operations is not an easy

task (Juwaheer, 2005). Antonio et al (2009) suggested that due to environmental consciousness

that has evolved over time, studies on green consumerism will be the main focus point in future

leading to identifying the consumer attitudes, behaviors and intentions. Braimah and

Tweneboah-Koduah (2011) studied Ghanaian consumers and have found low level of awareness

towards green marketing issues which affected that purchase decision of the consumers. Price of

green products was also found to be one of the factor that influence the purchase of green

products. However, it was found that young consumers are more likely to be influenced by green

issues. Cherian and Jacob (2012) found that consumers lack green knowledge and because of this

low awareness, organizations are still not focusing towards development of green products.

There are several issues and challenges identified by various researchers with respect to Green

Marketing (Welling and Chavan, 2010). Practicing green marketing initially may prove to be a

costly affair as it encourages green products/services, green technology (procuring new

technology or modification of existing technology), green power/energy which requires a lot of

money to be spent on R&D programs. High investment is required in marketing promotions to

create awareness regarding green products and their uses. Many customers may not be willing to

pay a premium for green products which may affect the sales of the company. It requires the

companies to extensively communicate the presence and benefits of green marketing to the

customers by means of various tools available for integrated marketing communication. Eco-

labeling could be a good way to convince the customers regarding green products. Consumers

might be willing to pay premium price if they see additional benefit (such as quality,

environmentally safe product, fuel-efficient vehicles, and non-hazardous products) attached with

the product. Green Marketing can help organizations to gain a competitive advantage and a

strong consumer base. (Renfro L A, 2010). According to Joel Makower (cited by Shafaat &

Sultan, 2012), challenges faced by green marketer also include the lack of standards and

common consensus among the public about what actually constitutes “green”. Despite these

challenges, green marketing continues to gain popularity, particularly in light of growing global

concern about climate change. Companies are coming forward to showcase their commitments to



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reduce adverse climate impacts of their products and services. Green marketing can play an

important role in sustainable development so firms must adapt innovative methods to sustain

itself in the competitive environment.

Need For the Study

Green marketing has now evolved as one of the major area of interest for marketers as it may

provide competitive advantages. However it requires investment in terms of technology

enhancement, process modification, communicating benefits to customers etc. Many of the

companies in India have now started marketing themselves as green organizations due to certain

government regulations and shift in the preference of the consumers worldwide. However, not

much research with respect to green marketing has been done in India and there is question about

the awareness of green products among consumers. The attitude of Indian consumers towards

green products and the relationship between the attitude and behavior is also questionable. As

green marketing is different from the marketing in traditional way, marketers need to know the

factors that persuade the consumer to buy the green products. This study aims to resolve the

research question that what factors influence the consumer persuasion to buy the green product

or not.

Research objectives

1. To investigate the level of awareness of Indian consumers about green products and practices.

2. To measure the green values of the customers.

3. To identify the brands, consumer associate with green marketing practices.

4. To investigate the preferences of Indian consumers about green products.

5. To identify the factors that influences the customer persuasion to buy green products.

6. To understand the issues and challenges of green marketing practices.

Hypotheses

Based on the literature reviewed and the conceptual model following hypotheses were generated

to be verified with statistical analysis.

H01: There is no significant difference in green values on the basis of gender.



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H02: There is no significant difference in preference of green products with respect to the

academic qualification of the consumer.

H03: There is no significant difference in buying intentions for green products with respect to the

academic qualification of the consumer.

H04: There is no significant difference in preference of green products with respect to the gender

of the consumer.

H05: There is no correlation between green values and preference for green products.

Methodology and Measurement

The unit of analysis in this study is the consumer level. Questionnaire survey was applied in this

study to collect information from the consumers (refer appendix A for questionnaire).

Information collected through consumer survey is utilized for further analysis and verification of

hypotheses. Green Consumer Value Scale developed by Haws et al, 2010 was adapted in this

study to measure the green value of the consumers. Classification of consumers from Green

Gauge Study of Roper Organization (2001) was adapted in this study. 10 consumers were asked

to fill the questionnaire for pretesting and to identify the ambiguity in terms, meanings and

issues. Therefore the questionnaire had a high level of content validity. The respondents were

asked to rate the statement on a 5 point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Since the neutral point on the scale was 3, those means above 3 suggests overall agreement with

the statement and the mean below 3 reflects disagreement. 106 valid responses for the

questionnaire were received. After the pretest, the sample elements were selected as per

convenience and were asked to return the filled questionnaires within 1 week.

Findings and Discussion

Awareness Respondents surveyed were aware about the green products and practices. However

most of the respondents were not aware about the initiatives taken for promoting green

marketing practices by central/state government, NGOs and business houses in India suggesting

need for better marketing communication from these entities and have to strongly communicate

to the customers about their green initiatives. Newspaper and Television were found to be the

most known sources of information regarding green products to the consumers.



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Consumer Perception about Green Products and Practices

As revealed from the mean score (3.57), respondents agreed that organizations with green claims

are really concerned about the environment. This implies that consumers are not skeptic about

the green claims of the organizations. Consumers strongly agreed that the environmental

degradation has risen in the last decade. Their mean score was found to be 4.38 on a scale of 5.

Also, consumers strongly agreed to the fact that the environment will be degraded more in the

next five years with a mean score of 4.15 on a scale of 5. All consumers have rated the

seriousness on higher side for various factors that are considered as environmental concern.

Consumers’ agreement regarding environmental degradation was high and may prefer green

products over conventional products to protect the environment. Marketers can come up with

new green products and communicate the benefits to the consumers. Respondents have rated the

seriousness of various environmental concerns as high. The responses have marketing

implications in terms of designing marketing communication campaigns, as higher mean score

representing higher concern regarding the same amongst consumers and thus could be used

while promoting green products. Consumers were strongly agreeing for the importance of green

marketing practices and have rated “Manufacturing Eco-Friendly Product” as the most important

green marketing practice followed by “Educating customers to use products in environmental

friendly manner” with a mean score of 4.67 and 4.64 respectively. All the green marketing

practices were found to be considered as important by the consumers with none of the green

marketing practice having scored less than 4.10 (see Table 1). This suggests that consumers are

concerned about the state of environment and expect the organizations to employ green practices

towards the protection of environment.

“Message/Theme of the advertisement” was rated as the most important element of green

product’s advertisement (with mean score of 4.60), followed by “Punch-line of the

advertisement” (with mean score of 4.04). The responses have marketing implication in terms of

designing marketing communication campaigns focusing on message or theme of

advertisements. Attitude The reliability analysis of Green Consumer Scale has shown the

Cronbach’s Alpha value as 0.726. The Overall Green Value of the consumers is found to be 3.88

i.e. the consumers are concerned about the protection of the environment.



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Table 1: Consumer perception about importance of green marketing practices

Green Marketing Practices Mean Std. Deviation

Manufacturing Eco Friendly Product 4.67 0.658

Educating customers to use products in environmental friendly manner 4.64 0.733

Manufacturing products through eco-friendly process 4.53 0.650

Modifying products to make them environmental friendly 4.36 .807 4.36 0.807

Modifying product packaging to suit environment 4.30 0.841

Promoting products through eco-friendly modes of communication 4.20 0.844

Using green supply chain for procurement and distribution 4.11 0.865

Branding product associating with green marketing practices 4.10 0.839

Brand Association

Following brands were recalled as being associated with Green Marketing Practices including

Bajaj CFL, Suzlon Windmills, Indian Railways (paperless ticket), Nokia, Philips CFL, Nerolac

Paints, Exide Green Batteries, etc. It was found that consumers were not able to recall the brand

without assistance. This has marketing implication in terms of the requirement of extensive

communication by the marketers to make the consumers aware about the green brands. Around

75 % of the consumers have shown willingness to buy green products if it is available in the

product category often purchased. Their mean score was found to be 3.92 on a scale of 5.

This implies that marketers should make the green products available to the consumers for their

consumption as customers have shown willingness to buy green products if it is available.

Around 56 % of the consumers were found to be “Sprouts”, i.e. people who can buy green

products from time to time but are not involved in any environmental activities, whereas, around

22 % of the consumers were found to be “True Blue Greens”, i.e. people who buy only green



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products, spend time and effort in environmental activities such as recycling and believe that an

individual can do much to promote the environment. Around 12 % of the consumers were found

to be “Green Back Greens”, i.e. they are able to buy green products but don’t have the time and

energy for environmental activities and do not want to change their lifestyles to promote the

environment. It was found that the percentage of people who buy only green products is very low

(22%). Thus signifying need for better promotions.

Consumers Action

Consumers felt that green products are priced higher than conventional products (with mean

score of 3.83. They have revealed that they prefer the green products over conventional products

while purchasing (with mean score of 3.78). Consumers have also revealed that they consider the

ill effect of the manufacturing and consumption on natural environment and the price of the

green product affects their purchase behavior with mean score of 3.59 and 3.58 respectively. As

consumers consider the ill effects of manufacturing and consumption on natural environment it

can be said that following green marketing practices not only lead to social good but also make

good business sense. When asked about the factors that affect the purchase of green products,

consumers rated “awareness about green product” first with the mean score of 4.31, followed by

“availability of green product”, and “product price” at second and third position. This implies

that marketers have to extensively market and communicate the availability of green products to

the consumers.

Results of Hypothesis Testing

With respect to the first hypothesis (H01), it was found that there is no significant difference in

green consumer values on the basis of gender; overall green value of consumers was found to be

3.88 and p-value for overall green consumer value was found to be 0.675 which states that null

hypothesis is accepted and it can be inferred that gender of the consumers does not affect their

green values. With respect to second and third hypothesis (H02 and H03), no significant

difference was found in the preference of green products, and purchase intention for green

products with respect of academic qualification of consumer, with p-value of 0.322, and 0.727

respectively, failing to reject the null hypothesis and stating that qualification of consumers does

not affect their preference and purchase intention towards the green products. With respect to



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fourth hypothesis (H04), it was found that there is no significant difference w.r.t. to gender and

preference of green products, i.e. the preference of green products does not depend on the gender

of the consumer. With respect to fifth hypothesis (H05), a moderate positive correlation was

found between green consumer values and purchase intention for green products with Pearson

Correlation Coefficient coming to as 0.445. It can be inferred that purchase intention of green

product is dependent on the green values of the consumers.

Influence of green consumer values on purchase of green products

The value of correlation coefficient, R=0.445 suggests that there is moderate positive correlation

between preference of green products and green values of the customers. However, only 19.8 %

(R-square values of 0.198) variation in purchase preference is accounted due to green consumer

values. This implies that there is impact of other factors also on green purchase behavior. These

factors remain to be explored in future research.

Table 2: Influence of green consumer values on purchase decision of green products Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of Estimate 1 0.45 0.198 0.190 0.858

Only 33.8 % (R-square values of 0.338) variation is accounted due to the green consumer values,

green product awareness and perception regarding seriousness of green marketers, on the

purchase intention of green products. This implies that there is impact of other factors also on

purchase decision towards green products. These factors remain to be explored in future

research.

Table 3: Influence of green consumer values, awareness about green products and

perception regarding seriousness of green marketers on purchase of green products by

consumers

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of Estimate 1 0.581 0.338 0.282 0.811

Conclusions

Consumers’ level of awareness about green products found to be high but at the same time

consumers are not aware about green initiatives undertaken by various government and non-



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government agencies signifying need for more efforts from organizations in this regard.

Newspaper remains leading source of information for most of the respondents and should be

utilized more for reaching out to the consumers regarding green products and practices.

Responses were on moderate positive level and we can conclude that consumers are not skeptic

about green claims of the organizations and consumers are concerned about the present and

future state of environment signifying need for green products and practices. Marketers can come

up with new green products and communicate the benefits to the consumers. Due to increased

awareness and concern consumer may prefer green products over conventional products to

protect the environment. Concerns were more directed towards depletion of Ozone and Global

Warming. The consumers are concerned about the state of environment and expect the

organizations to employ green practices towards the protection of environment. The results have

implication for durable manufacturers especially to practice green marketing. The marketing

communication regarding green practices need to focus more on theme and message. Advertising

appeals using green products and practices are likely to move emotions and result in persuasion.

It is important for markets to be in top of mind recall of consumers to gain maximum from their

green brand positioning. Constant and continuous communication from the organizations’ side is

required to make an impact and create a distinct green positioning. Consumers have shown

positive attitude towards green products at the same time they are concerned with the availability

and price of such products. This implies that Marketers should make the green products available

to the consumers for their consumption as customers have shown willingness to buy green

products if it is available. As consumers consider the ill effects of manufacturing and

consumption on natural environment, they may purchase the green product if marketers can

make them aware about the benefits of the green products (which consumers perceive as priced

higher) as compared to that of traditional products. It was found that the percentage of people

who buy only green products is very low and marketers need to take this as an opportunity to

build their product portfolios and promote themselves as green. The study has implications for

marketers as well as consumers and makes a good case for start of an era of green marketing in

India. The study since focused on a limited geographical area has limited generalizability but

provides good insights regarding behavior of consumers towards green products. Future research

could focus on psychographic segmentation of consumers in terms of assessing their green



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values and preferences. The study can be replicated at a larger scale to get more insights into the

behavior of consumers and understand more about green phenomenon.

References

Antil, J. H. (1984). Socially Responsible Consumers: Profile and Implications for Public

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Green Brand Awareness on Consumer Purchase Decision in Ghana. Journal of Marketing

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HUMAN RESOURCES' JUST DOESN'T TELL YOU WHAT HR REALLY DOES

Sandhya Chugh Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies


Here’s a simple truth. Human resources is an outdated term.

The HR director or HR coordinator no longer just focuses on hiring and firing employees and

making sure the company is in compliance with benefits and payroll.

In fact, many businesses are even shying away from the title HR coordinator, as it may sound

stuffy or scary, and - worst of all -- it appears to commoditize human beings. Certainly, people

are an organization’s greatest resource, but they aren’t smartphones, replaced with the newest

model every two years. They’re also not raw materials or working capital, used until the supply

is depleted and then replenished in time for the next initiative.

To remain competitive and productive, it’s up to the C-suite to revitalize and invigorate

employees, so they continue to perform their best. And that is a key reason many successful

organizations are changing "head of human resources" to “chief people officer,” “chief happiness

officer” and “mood coordinator.”

Just as the phrase to describe HR professionals has evolved and expanded, so, too, have the

duties of that department.

The HR departments of the past were segregated as their own separate entity, not part of the

employee team and also not quite part of upper management. But how can an organization focus

on building a strong company culture and creating happy employees with a strong purpose if the

person in charge of that function isn’t part of the team they seek to lead?

The HR department requires a cultural overhaul, some reputation management and a PR facelift.

HR is evolving in creative ways to fit today’s innovative HR titles.

The new generation of HR titles doesn’t leave room to treat people like commodities. Once HR

personnel begin thinking of themselves as a chief happiness officer or even mood coordinator, it



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opens the door to viewing employees as people with feelings, goals and ambitions both inside

and outside the office. It’s the job of today’s HR professional to take into account those aspects

of workers’ personalities as they seek to manage the overall cultural climate of the office,

workplace morale and productivity.

Perhaps it was the millennial influence that affirmed for employees that personal fulfillment

matters in the workplace. Or maybe it’s technology that blends work and life into one, giving

employees more flexibility to perform their duties on their own terms. In all likelihood, a number

of factors have given way to the evolution of HR.

With the growth of flex-time, video conferencing technology and bring your own device

(BYOD) policies, the HR professional is managing more moving parts than ever before. The

upside is that each of these factors, when managed well, empowers employees to do their jobs

with greater efficiency. And empowered employees are happy and productive employees.

HR’s role today covers employee engagement and empowerment, employee experiences (the

day-to-day office experience as well as workplace amenities and organized team-building

activities) and the workplace culture. And that’s before you get into recruiting and candidate

experiences.

It’s no easy feat, which is why HR professionals must find the balance between workplace

flexibility and getting the job done. In the past, it was the HR leader’s job to ensure everyone

was treated equally. Now, it’s about treating every employee fairly - and taking steps to ensure

that everything, from their hours and primary work location to their benefits, and even the

technology they use, is customized to the employee’s specific needs.

HR and technology have blended. Smart HR teams have evolved to keep pace. This department

no longer simply manages people but also works with the CIO to manage the technology they

use - all with the goal of happier, more productive workers. HR directors, who get CIOs in their

corner, will discover limitless possibilities to use technology to build a video culture, enable

workplace flexibility and enhance productivity.



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As the role of the HR department continues to evolve, the very concept of human resources may

be phased out. And new titles may reflect leaders, who are not gatekeepers and enforcer of rules,

but partners in creating a company culture built upon the shared values of the organization and

its workers.



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MUTUAL FUNDS POLLUTION & HOW TO CONTROL

Ankit Singhal Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies

Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology, Samalkha (Panipat) A mutual fund collects money from different people/institutions and invests in different assets and securities like equities, bonds, cash etc. on behalf of the investors to generate returns. Mutual fund scheme units can be bought at Net Asset Value (NAV) from the Mutual Fund Company. There will be a portfolio manager to manage the investment and to ensure that returns are maximized and risks are minimized. The Asset Management company charge management fees & distributor/advisor also earn out of this.

Mutual fund investments are beneficial for the layman investor as he does not need a big amount in a lump sum to invest and can also benefit from diversification across assets. He also gets the advantage of a professional management of his investments and gains income in the form of capital gains, and dividend.

But anything of too much is not great. Consider the following structure (missing many categories) –



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MF Pollution

There are further sub-divisions within these as well. In India, there are more than 40 Mutual fund

companies and more than 2000 schemes. (Mutual Fund base swell to more than 14 lakh

crores in April 2016 – that’s huge, looking at where we were couple of years back) As you

can see that there are a lot of mutual funds schemes and a lot of investment by mutual funds.

Moreover, mutual funds keep launching new schemes with differentiation or with very little

differentiation between schemes to get more market share. Sometimes a mutual fund manager is

forced to show product differentiation and ends up choosing stocks that may not give great

returns leading to underperformance by the MF Scheme. Some managers play too safe and invest

only in Sensex stocks or low–risk assets. This leads to the investor not getting optimum

returns in spite of paying for professional management of his fund.

Khichdi Portfolios

The retail investor has too many mutual funds to choose from. Many are just slightly different

from the others and some are just duplicates of other schemes. But it is difficult for an investor to

choose funds to invest in. Many schemes have similar sounding names and the user is confused

which to choose. Sometimes investors end up buying too many MF schemes that have similar

objectives either due to non-awareness or mis-selling. Here investor become fund collector.

Some investors consider all equity funds or all debt funds as same and invest in any of them

without considering all parameters or just consider the performance. This might defeat their

investment objective. Some investors buy all new schemes launched with the argument that the

NAV is only Rs.10. But that is a wrong way to look at the investment. Many agents/distributors

keep trying to sell more and more mutual fund schemes to the investor to confuse them whether

it meets their investment objective or not as the agent will definitely earn commission and his

objective gets fulfilled.

How to Control

Here are some steps to consider that will help the investor decide which Mutual fund scheme out

of the numerous ones available to consider investment in and how much to invest in Mutual

funds



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The investor should have an investment objective for investing in mutual funds. He should

know how much to buy to fulfil the asset allocation and investment diversification

objectives.

The investor should read the scheme documents so that he knows the asset management

fees, objective of the scheme, fund management team etc.

Once the investment is made, he cannot forget about it. He should keep a watch on the

NAV, dividends, investment style of the fund house and fund manager and any important

news that might affect the mutual fund. (frequency can be low)

The investor has to consider performance in the past (but not the only criteria), portfolio,

management team, returns, risk, the cost of investment, investment exit barriers and

performance against peers to select the schemes that they have to invest in. These parameters

must be considered keeping a time period in mind.

It is important to keep an eye on the portfolio of the MF scheme. The liquidity of the

portfolio is important. Higher the liquidity, the better it is. The portfolio turnover ratio

should also be considered. It indicates the number of times underlying securities are bought

and sold. The more times the portfolio is churned, the higher is the ratio which leads to

higher cost. It can also lead to volatility and show the confidence of the fund manager in the

portfolio.

It is not easy to select the mutual fund schemes to invest in. The investor has to consider

qualitative and quantitative parameters to select schemes to invest in. At the same time, the

investor community needs to be active to push SEBI and AMFI to have a regulatory framework

that protects their interests. SEBI and AMFI have to ensure regulations are framed and followed

so that investors are not taken for a ride.

My Take

I agree with most of what is mentioned in the above post regarding mutual fund “population or

pollution”. Psychologists have already proved that too many choices or data or information lead

to worse decisions or no action at all. Similar is the case when it comes to Mutual Funds. The

only way of overcoming is if you can create your own filtering criteria & stick to it in all season.

I think mutual funds are also responsible for this habit of launching funds with similar



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investment styles – in the long term that benefits them as they will be promoting the performer of

last few years.

SEBI asked AMCs in one of the meetings with AMC – they have asked them to share one fund

each in 8 most common categories defined by the regulator. This hints that they may be planning

to bring some regulation to merge all overlapping schemes. This may sound like this will reduce

confusion – theoretically YES. To me, it sounds like a dumb idea from regulator – can someone

ask Hindustan Unilever to make only one soap or Maruti to manufacture one car. I know this is

tough but this is the way the world is.



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CONVERGENCE WITH INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS:

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Heena Chanana MBA IInd Year, Department of Management Studies


Accounting is the art of recording transactions in the best possible manner, so as to enable the

user to make concrete decision. Financial statements play major role in decision-making.

Financial statements present the results of operating activities of business and reveal its financial

position during a period. For making these financial statements, it is utmost necessary to have a

set of guidelines. These guidelines are called accounting policies or accounting standards.

Accounting standards are written policy documents issued by expert accounting body or by

government or other regulatory body covering the aspect of recognition, measurement,

presentation and disclosure of accounting transactions in the financial statements.

The last decade has witnessed a sea change in the global economic scenario. The emergence of

trans-national corporations in search of money, not only for fuelling growth but to sustain

ongoing activities has necessitated raising of capital from all parts of world, cutting across

frontiers. Each country has its own sets of rules and regulations for accounting and financial

reporting. But international analysts and investors would like to compare financial statements

based on similar accounting standards, and this has led to the growing support for an

internationally accepted set of accounting standards for cross-border filings.

With a view to achieve this objective, the London based group namely the International

Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), responsible for developing International Accounting

Standards (IAS), was established in June 1973. Between 1973 and 2001, the IASC released

international accounting standards. Subsequently, International Accounting Standard Board

(IASB) comes in nation in place of IASC from April 2001. Now IASB publish its standards in a

series of pronouncements called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS are

considered a “principle-based” set of standards. In fact, they establish broad rules rather than

dictating specific treatments. Every major nation is moving towards adopting them to some



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extent. Many lenders and regulatory and government bodies are looking to IFRS to fulfill local

financial reporting obligations related to financing or licensing.

The Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) as the accounting standards-formulating

body in the country has always made efforts to formulate high quality Accounting Standards and

has been successful in doing so. Indian Accounting Standards have withstood the test of time. As

the world continues to globalize, discussion on convergence of national accounting standards

with IFRS has increased significantly. In India, so far as the ICAI and the Governmental

authorities such as the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards established under

the Companies Act, 1956, and various regulators such as SEBI and RBI are concerned, the aim

has always been to comply with the IFRS to the extent possible with the objective to formulate

sound financial reporting standards.

The ICAI, being a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), considers the

IFRS and tries to integrate them, to the extent possible, in the light of the laws, customs,

practices and business environment prevailing in India. Accordingly, the Accounting Standards

issued by the ICAI are based on the IFRS. However, where departure from IFRS is warranted

keeping in view the Indian conditions, the Indian Accounting Standards have been modified to

that extent. From April 2011, Indian companies are stated to begin using the IFRS.

Adoption of IFRS by Indian corporate is going to be very challenging, but at the same time,

could also be rewarding. There are many beneficiaries of convergence with IFRS such as the

economy, investors, industries and accounting professionals. The convergence of financial

reporting and accounting standards is a valuable process that contributes the free flow of global

investment and achieves substantial benefits for all capital markets’ stakeholders. It facilitates

the maintenance of orderly and efficient capital markets and also helps to increase the capital

formation and economic growth. The financial statements prepared using a common set of

accounting standards helps the investors to better understand investment opportunities as

opposed to financial statements prepared using a different set of national accounting principles.



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The investors’ confidence would also be strong if accounting standards used are globally

accepted. Convergence with IFRS contributes to investors understanding and confidence in high

quality financial statements. IFRS also helps the industries to raise capital from foreign markets

at lower cost if it can create confidence in the minds of foreign investors that their financial

statements comply with globally accepted accounting standards. Convergence with IFRS also

provides opportunity to accounting professionals to sell their services worldwide. For instance,

Indian accountant can make a single set of IFRS compliant financial statement for US companies

and vice-versa.

The perceived benefits from IFRS adoption are based on the experience of IFRS-compliant

countries in a period of mild economic conditions. The current decline in market confidence in

India and overseas coupled with tougher economic conditions may present challenges to Indian

companies. One common criticism about IFRS is that it is heavily loaded in favour of fair

valuation principles. Fair valuation often produces unrealized gains and losses. How will income

tax treat these unrealized gains and losses? Awareness of IFRS among investors and analysts is

also a major challenge in the implementation of IFRS. It is required for all organizations to

provide training to their employees so that they can maintain their accounts according to IFRS.

Hence, training is also a challenge in the eyes of organization.

There are certain disagreements between Indian Accounting Standards and IFRS under statutory

duty. For example, Accounting Standard (AS) 21 on Consolidated Financial Statements defines

‘control’ as ownership of more than one-half of the voting power of an enterprise or control over

the composition of the governing body of an enterprise. However, IAS 27 on Consolidated and

Separate Financial Statements defines ‘control’ as the power to govern the financial and

operating policies of an enterprise. Another concept is recognition of “constructive obligation” in

the books as opposed to “contractual obligations”. This involves provision for unknown and

unascertainable liabilities. For example, contingency liability provision (AS) 29 which is

recognized as a fact has to be recognized as a figure.



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This could distort the actual financial health of an enterprise. However, when it comes to events

after the Balance Sheet like proposed dividend, etc., IFRS talks in a different tone. Time value of

money is also considered as a challenge for users who maintain their account compatible with

IFRS. For example, if we sell goods worth Rs. 8 Lakh and give a credit period of 60 days, we

have to take only the discounted value in Sundry Debtors. Here, it is not even a fact but a fiction

that gets translated into a figure.

At present there are eight IFRS listed as follows:

IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards

IFRS 2 Share-based Payment

IFRS 3 Business Combinations

IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts

IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations

IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources

IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures

IFRS 8 Operating Segments

Bibliography

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4. Christensen, H. B., Lee, E. and Walker, M. (2008) “Incentives or Standards: What Determines

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Ifrs/177415, Retrieved on 15 November, 09.

8. He, X., Wong, T. A. and Young, D. (2009) “Challenges for Implementation of Fair Value

Accounting in Emerging Markets: Evidence from IFRS Adoption in China”,

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9. Hope, O.k., Jin, J. and Kang, T. (2006) “Empirical Evidence on Jurisdictions that Adopt

IFRS”, http://ssrn.com/abstract=751264, Retrieved on 11 November, 09

10. Horton. J. and Serafeim, G. (2008) “Market Reaction to and Valuation of IFRS Reconciliation

Adjustments: First Evidence from the UK”, http://ssrn.com/abstract=923582, Retrieved on 10

November, 09.

11. Indapurkar, k., Chakraborty, A. and Pathak, R. (2009) “Convergence with IFRS: Hopes and

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Adoption on key Financial Ratios”, Accounting and Finance, Volume no.49, pp. 341–361.

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News Papers, Magazines

The Times of India

The Economics Times

Business standard

The Chartered Accountant



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CRM IN THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER Shilpi Jain

MBA IInd Year , Department of Management Studies Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology, Samalkha (Panipat)

We've entered a new era that is regarded as the age of the customer. While companies have

always, to a greater or lesser extent, called themselves "customer-centric," this is different. It is

not about customer-centric thinking or taking the attitude that the customer is always right.

Instead, the new power of customers means that a focus on the customer now matters more than

any other strategic imperative. Competitive differentiation achieved through brand,

manufacturing, distribution and IT are all now only table stakes. The only source of competitive

advantage is the one that can survive technology-fueled disruption—an obsession with

understanding, delighting, connecting with and serving customers. Effectively managing a

company's relationships with those who buy and use its products and services has never been

more important.

Ultimately, executives don't get to decide how customer-centric their companies are—customers

are the ultimate arbiters. Better customer experiences drive improvement for three types of

customer loyalty:

willingness to consider another purchase,

likelihood to switch business to a competitor, and

likelihood to recommend to a friend or colleague.

But how does that affect a company's bottom line? Our models estimate that the revenue impact

from a 10-percentage point improvement in a company's performance, as measured by

Forrester's Customer Experience Index (CXi) score, could exceed $1 billion.

As a result, managing customer relationships has become a top priority for continued business

success. Tough economic conditions, the increasing cost of doing business, stiff competition, and

the need to support and personalize every customer interaction are forcing business and

technology leaders to think about the customer relationship management (CRM) life cycle

beyond legacy CRM tools.



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Defining CRM

Forrester defines customer relationship management as: the business processes and supporting

technologies that support the key activities of targeting, acquiring, retaining, understanding and

collaborating with customers.

Although we do not advocate that organizations primarily define CRM solely as a set of

technologies, interest in investing in technology solutions to improve customer-facing business

processes continues to be strong. Nearly half (47 percent) of the North American and European

enterprises responding to the Forrsights Software Survey, Q4 2012, have already implemented a

CRM solution in the form of a marketing, sales or customer service application. One-quarter (26

percent) are spending more to upgrade their tool set. Thirteen percent plan to adopt a CRM

solution within the next 12 months, with a further 12 percent indicating longer CRM

implementation road maps.

The strong demand for CRM technology solutions has prompted leading vendors to continue to

invest in improving their solutions and make acquisitions to fill out their solution portfolios.

However, business and technology pros tell us that they struggle to determine how to define the

right CRM strategies, re-engineer customer-facing business processes, effectively acquire and

deploy the appropriate supporting technology solutions, and lead and sustain the organizational

changes required to transition to new ways of working.

Thanks to digital platforms, the customers live in a world of heightened expectations and

abundant options; they can get more of what they want, in more places and at more times, than

ever before. A new breed of competitors is on the scene—companies that use digital tools and

platforms to get closer to customers and engage with them in deeper and novel ways. Digital

disruptors, which Forrester's James McQuivey writes about in the book Digital Disruption,

threaten to make an organization irrelevant by delivering a more compelling product and service

experience than it and at a lower cost. Digital disruption is now set to turn its destructive force on

even non-digital products and services, adding new competitors to the mix, revamping old

economics and establishing new customer relationships along the way. We have entered the age



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of the customer; the only source of competitive advantage now is to focus on knowing and

engaging with customers.

Why focus on customers?

The barriers to entry are lower. Empowered customers can easily find the cheapest prices from

suppliers, large or small, anywhere in the world. That severely weakens traditional barriers to

entry: Global outsourcing erodes economies of scale, online channels render distribution strength

impotent, and customer word of mouth reverses huge brand investments.

Substitute products and channels gut profits. Digital substitution is collapsing value chains and

erasing profits across multiple industries. The customer is at the center of this disruption, because

innovators targeting any business know that if they give the customer what she perceives as

value, she'll gladly substitute their product for what she's buying now.

Buyers have more knowledge—and therefore power—than ever. With online reviews and mobile

Web access, customers know more about products, services, competitors and pricing than the

company. The more information a buyer has, the greater his bargaining power with suppliers.

Employees have more clout with companies. In a knowledge economy, people are a key

ingredient of any product. If they don't get what they want, they can jump ship and go work for

someone else—and they're doing this more and more. The customers will follow the talent that

creates quality content and relationships, leaving acompany behind.

Further, competitors have instant access to a company’s tactics and strategies. A company’s own

customers share their experiences online, search engines expose interest in keywords, and

everything which the competition wants to know is available on website. In short, customers

practically lay granular insight about a company at its competitors' feet.

Coping with digital disruption

As new plans are implemented, take into account these three customer experience (CX) trends

identified in Forrester's CRM Playbook that drive CRM strategy and planning agendas.



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Trend 1: Enterprises are navigating digital disruption.

A new breed of competitors has arrived: digital disruptors. Those companies and individuals

embrace digital tools and platforms to get closer to customers and engage them more deeply. The

competitors can come from anywhere; unopposed, they will steal customers and disrupt business.

In 2013, more organizations will turn their attention to devising strategies to both cope with and

take advantage of digital disruption. Although best practices are still emerging, Digital

Disruption spotlights the most effective principles to follow:

Adopt a digital disruptor's mindset—in an era where digital possibilities are rapidly

erasing analog barriers, these organizations embrace an attitude of continuous innovation.

Behave like a digital disruptor—these organizations experiment and continually add new

benefits to their product experience.

Disrupt yourself now—everyone, at every level, must accept that they have the

responsibility to become digital disruptors within their domains as well as across

traditional silos.

Trend 2: Companies are transforming to become experience-driven organizations.

CRM initiatives are often (and correctly) criticized as focusing too much on siloed, internal

business processes in marketing, sales, support, the Web channel or the call center. As a result,

CRM efforts miss key moments that matter to customers—for example, receiving a bill from the

accounting department that accurately reflects customer expectations set by a purchase made

over the phone with a customer service representative. More enlightened companies define

customer management strategies from the outside in, articulating a customer management

strategy defined in customers' terms that can be used to guide organizational improvement

efforts.

In 2013, more organizations will move beyond empty goals such as "becoming customer-

obsessed" and instead begin to define clear, actionable and disciplined CX strategies. To

orchestrate a consistent on-brand experience, firms need a CX strategy that defines the intended



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experience, directs employee activities and decision-making, and guides funding decisions and

project prioritization. The intended experience specifies the target customers, describes the

desired emotional response and offers unique value. Directing decision-making means spelling

out the CX guiding principles for employees. Steering resources to the right projects means

filtering funding requests using guidelines that include CX criteria.

Trend 3: Brands are turning their attention to CX design.

Companies in nearly every industry disappoint their customers, especially when customers cross

channels. Even companies that make CX a strategic priority struggle to implement long-lasting

improvements. Many CX initiatives don't realize their full potential—or worse, fail completely—

because neither employees nor partners have a complete picture of what CX actually entails or

the dynamics that go into creating it.

In 2013, organizations will increasingly embrace the concept of the "customer experience

ecosystem," which we define as: the complex set of relationships among a company's employees,

partners and customers that determines the quality of all customer interactions

The right customer interactions, across all touch points, don't just happen. Instead, they must be

actively designed. That requires learning—and then sticking to—the steps in a CX design

process.

Trends for future

When putting the finishing touches on the CRM strategy, don't forget the following trends that

will impact the market over the next 12 months:

♦ Untamed processes are getting more attention. More organizations will move away from

isolated BPM and/ or front-office CRM projects and toward cross-functional transformation

initiatives to support the invisible and untamed customer management processes critical to

exceptional customer experiences.

♦ Agile implementation approaches are scaling to the enterprise level.More organizations will

adopt agile project management and software development methodologies. Agile development is



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based on principles of iterative development, where requirements evolve through collaboration

within a self-organizing, cross-functional team.

♦ Social customer engagement is moving to the mainstream. Social CRM use cases spotlighting

demonstrable business value will become more common. The key to value-added social

customer engagement is to be clear about the objectives.

♦ Mobile apps are empowering employees and customers. Mobile CRM solution support will

continue to evolve rapidly, but assembling the components of an effective mobile CRM solution

to meet the precise use case for a specific type of mobile worker requires navigating a complex

set of decisions.

♦ The marketing technology office is driving customer engagement innovation. Organizations

will invest even more in harnessing marketing technologies to spur customer interaction

innovation.

♦ The customer analytics ecosystem is increasing in complexity. Forrester anticipates that

enterprises will increase their focus on data-driven marketing. But few firms have the budget,

technology capabilities or analytical skills to advance their analytics agendas internally, and will

frequently turn to extended analytics ecosystems for guidance.

♦ Organizations are adopting flexible CRM management practices. More enterprises will

embrace emerging CRM solution governance best practices to better capitalize on the value of

on-demand solutions.

♦ Customer experience disciplines are cutting costs and boosting profits. Forrester expects that

organizations will start to adopt a more disciplined approach to transformation and start doing

business in a new, more customer-centric way.

♦ Voice of the customer programs are driving action and defining results. More organizations

will adopt best practices, which will help organizations determine process improvement priorities

and enable back-office employees to better understand customer expectations.



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THESE 5 INTERVIEW BLUNDERS WILL PROBABLY KILL YOUR JOB PROSPECTS

Timmy Thakkar MBA IInd Year, Department of Management Studies


It's time to shine in your big interview. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, of course.

Let me count the ways: arriving late, crazy hygiene (I’ve seen it) and being rude, just to name a

few. Yet, among all the ways an interview can go sideways, I’ve found there are five fatal

blunders that stand out -- and that are fairly common.

A lot of mistakes in a job interview can be dismissed or counter-balanced by positives if a

company feels you really are the right candidate for the job. But here are five red flags that most

great hiring managers will not miss and will have a hard time getting past.

1. Bridge burning. Badmouthing a current or former employer is not the path to my heart. I’m

always looking for team players who can work well with others, even in trying circumstances.

Criticizing colleagues, a boss or an employer, is a very bad sign.

Obviously, most workplaces are not perfect, so if you feel the need to talk about issues and

challenges at your former employer, you must do so in a respectful way -- not a rant. Tell a story

that lays out a challenging situation but, more importantly, focuses on what skills or insights you

gained through that experience. I want employees who, when confronted with tough situations,

found the positives and grew. Nobody wants to hire a grouser.

2. Weak on strengths, and weaknesses. Employers need hires who know where they are strong

and where they could use support. Don’t be afraid to articulate clear strengths, bolstered by

examples of goals achieved or issues resolved. You should go into an interview armed with at

least a handful of strengths, each supported by a couple of concrete examples. If you can’t

convey your strengths in a compelling way, you’re in trouble.



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At the same time, you need to be able to talk about areas where you hope to develop. Rarely do

we find a candidate who is the whole package, so I want candidates to be genuine when they

articulate weaknesses.

Even top CEOs are not rock stars at everything. The best recognize their shortcomings and hire

rock stars to fill those gaps.

3. No research. If a candidate hasn’t prepared -- and, ideally, over-prepared -- for this critical

first meeting, what can we expect on a typical Tuesday in the role? With access today to

company websites and Facebook pages, LinkedIn, news searches, sites like Glassdoor.com and

other sources, there is no excuse to walk into an interview ignorant.

I expect candidates to understand the business, have read recent news releases on the company,

and know a bit about the leadership team. Bonus points to those candidates who find someone

connected to the company and can ask a question or two based on those “insider” insights.

If you don’t know someone at a company, use LinkedIn to try to connect with an employee,

former employee or someone who has done business with the company. You’ll gain invaluable

intelligence. Using the theory that we are all just six connections removed from any person --

and, in this case, any company -- you should make the effort to talk to someone with direct

knowledge of the company before you step into an interview.

4. No questions. I want candidates who are curious about the team, the role, our strategy and

what they can expect to be doing on day one, in six months and in a year. I also want team

members that are passionate about what we’re doing -- and excited to learn more.

You should go into every interview with a minimum of five questions for the interviewer. Even

if you know the answers, you should be hungry to hear your hiring manager or future co-workers

respond to those questions. These should be serious and insightful questions.

Too often I spot candidates who ask token questions because they know they are expected to.

They show little interest in delving into how the business is run, what’s the competitive

landscape and what’s the work environment and culture like.



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If you don’t ask questions that suggests to me you don’t care about the people you are going to

be spending 8 to 12 hours a day with. Not a good start to a long-term relationship.

5. Too much “I”. For some candidates, it starts with ‘I’ and never goes anywhere else.

Naturally, a prospective employer wants to hear what you have accomplished, but equally

important is how you describe those achievements. Was it all ‘me’ that accomplished the great

outcomes? Or was it the team from product development, marketing and ‘me’? Even if you led

the effort, don’t forget execution is as important as your strategic planning.

We work in an age of collaboration. I want to hire smart people who have accomplished goals

elsewhere and can articulate how their contribution worked as part of a larger effort. Do they

have a holistic understanding of the way things get done in a business and appreciate that each of

us is just a piece of a bigger enterprise?

What you may notice about my five deadly red flags is that they go deeper into a candidate’s

personality and his or her approach to interacting with others and with an organization.

Committing these blunders will almost assuredly mean the end of your prospects with the

company.



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PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Anjali Gambhir MBA IInd Year , Department of Management Studies


Everyone wants to have a fulfilling career. But what do you think you need to have it? While

there are many possible answers, in my opinion there are at least two things you should have.

First, you should follow your heart. Following your heart means working on something

that matters to you. It’s something that you do not because of money, but because

of love and care.

Second, you should live your fullest potential. It’s not enough just to do what matters to

you. You should also grow your capacity to the fullest. I don’t know about you, but I feel

deep satisfaction whenever I know that I’ve done my best.

The key to living your fullest potential is developing your skills. You can only live your fullest

potential if you always develop your skills so that you can give better and better value over time.

Here are few tips for developing your skills:

1. Learning skill

Learning skill should be the first skill you develop because it greatly helps you develop other

skills. An essential ingredient to have good learning skill is motivation. If you are motivated to

learn about a subject, it will be much easier for you to learn it. Again, curiosity plays an

important role here because a curious person is naturally motivated.

2. Be curious

Curiosity is essential because it makes the process of developing skills much more enjoyable. If

you are curious, you will naturally want to know more simply because it’s fun. You will go

further and deeper than those who develop their skills because they must.



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3. Be a versatilist

A versatilist is someone who can easily adapt to new situations and quickly develop the skills

necessary to excel. Being a versatilist essentially means being a smart learner who knows what to

learn and how to quickly learn it.

To know what to learn, a versatilist should anticipate the future. That way he will get a sense of

what new skills will be in demand and prepare himself before most people do.

4. Find your mentors

While having role models is good, in many cases you can’t connect directly with them. But

developing skills will be much easier if you work with those who have gone through it. That’s

why you should find not just role models but also mentors. Ideally your mentors are also your

role models but at least they are those who are more experienced than you. These people can

teach you what to do and what not to do so that you don’t have to find them yourself the hard

way. You can save a lot of time.

Finding mentors, of course, is not easy. Often you should give first before someone is willing to

become your mentor. Try to be useful to them by helping them in whatever way you can. Give

them a reason to invest their time in you.

5. Get feedback through real projects

The best way to develop your skills is through real projects. Why? Because real projects give

you the much needed feedback to hone your skills. While many people prefer to wait until

everything is well-prepared before working on real projects, you will learn faster by working on

something real. You may face failures in the process but they are your stepping stones to success

since they give you precious lessons

6. Find your role models

It will be easier for you to grow if you have concrete examples of what you want to be. That’s

why it’s important to find your role models. Your role models give you a standard to achieve so



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that you know where and how far you should go in developing your skills. It will also motivate

you since you know that someone has already achieved such high standard.

7. Shorten your learning cycle

The speed of your skill development depends on the length of your learning cycle. The shorter

your learning cycle, the faster you will develop your skills. Here are some ideas to shorten your

learning cycle:

Make quality effort

I already mentioned that you should work on real projects since they give you important

feedback. But having feedback alone won’t help you much. You must have quality To have it,

ensure that your effort is qualityeffort. Prepare yourself as good as you can (without being over

prepared) before launching an initiative. This way the feedback you get will be of higher quality.

Measure comprehensively

The feedback you get should also cover as many dimensions as possible. You can achieve it by

measuring your performance comprehensively. The more metrics you measure, the better

feedback you will get. Of course, the metrics should be chosen carefully so that you don’t waste

your resources on measuring.

Act upon the feedback

After getting the feedback, you should act diligently upon it. Learn as much as possible from the

feedback to get the most possible points for improvements. Then choose the most potential ones

and do your best to improve them before launching your next initiative.

Conclusion

These tips will help you develop your skills and make your career more fulfilling. Not only will

you do what matters to you, but also you will get the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve done

your best.

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