RATAN TATA

Ratan Tata
Born: - December 28, 1937
Occupation: - Chairmen of Tata group.
Marital Status: - Never Married.
Parents: - naval and Soonoo Tata.
Dates:-
1971:- Appointed as the Director In charge of the National Radio Electronics Company limited (Nelco).
At that time Nelco had 2% market share and a loss margin of 40%.
1972-75:- Nelco grow eventually to have a market share of 20% and recovered its losses. But
Declaration of emergency by Prime Minister Indra Gandhi and union problems in 1997,
did not let venture to survive.
1977:- Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills , a textile mill controlled by Tatas. At that time it was one
of the few sick units of Tata group. But competition from less labour- intensive enterprises and
Modern mills made number of companies, including empress mill unviable. So some directors,
Chiefly Nami Palkhivala, took the line that Tatas should liquidate the mill, which was finally closed
in 1986.
1981:- Ratan was named as Chairman of Tata Industries, the groups other holding company.
1991:- He took over as group chairman from JRD Tata. Since then he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of Tata group.
• Today Tata group has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian stock market.
• On Jan 31, 2007, Tata sons acquired Corus group an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminum producer. The merger created the fifth largest producer of steel in the world.
• Ratan Tata’s dream of manufacturing a car worth Rs 1000000 was launched in New Delhi Auto Expo on Jan 10,2008
• Tata Motors under Ratan Tata bought over Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for $ 1.5 billion ($2.3billion).

Awards
1. On the Occasion of 26th Jan 2000, Ratan Tata was honored with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest decoration that may be awarded to a civilian.
2. On 26th Jan 2008, he was awarded the Padma Vibhusan, the 2nd highest civilian decoration.

WORK-LIFE IMBALANCE

Work-life balance is a person’s control over the conditions in their workplace. It is accomplished when an individual feels dually satisfied about their personal life and their paid occupation. It mutually benefits the individual, business and society when a person’s personal life is balanced with his or her own job.
And when the situation get reversed, i.e one has no control on his/her life, driven by other forces, get workaholic etc, then one’s life get imbalanced, affecting personal and social life as well as working capacity, what is termed as work-life imbalance.
Imbalance in life and work may occur due to many reasons. It’s not always the employer who makes the life of employee, a hell.
REASONS:
1. The main culprit for the growing gap between work and life is globalization and the "productivity" pressures it's causing that are undermining progressive policies and a focus on equity in the workplace. The meaning of efficiency in present global-economic climate is that involve fewer people doing more work as well as myths and assumptions that characterize 'ideal' workers as those who can work as though they have few or no outside responsibilities outside of paid work.

2. Connectivity technology—e-mails, cell phones, PDA’s and other gadgets— make it easier than ever to keep in touch with goings-on in the office, allowing today’s workforce to save time and be more accessible. However, experts say they have the potential to do more harm than good. These lovely things really make our life hell. These let us attached to our paid work 24x7.

3. Ambitions and Prestige- are the reasons that are created from the employee side itself. It makes an employee workaholic and cut him from the rest of the world. One thinks that he/ she can balance or manage his/ her life after achieving dreams and ambitions but is should not be forgotten that ‘making life balance’ is a slow and continuous process.

4. Money is honey-Last but not the least, employee get paid extra for the extra effort as well as employer get more profits because of extra efforts and sincerity.

7 WAYS TO FIND WORK LIFE BALANCE:

1. ONE LIFE ONE DAY BOOK: Keeping separate calendars can easily lead to conflicts between work tasks and home-life commitments. By scheduling everything in the same place, you're less likely to get confused between your cell calls and sweet song of your daughter or beloved.
2. CAN’T SPARE A WEEK? TAKE AN HOUR: You don't always need an extended vacation to unwind. Instead, set aside an hour each day to enjoy something completely unrelated to work -- a short walk, a workout, or a chapter or two in a book. Quality, not quantity.
3. AUDIT YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE: Keep a log of everything you do during the week, from meetings to commuting to watching TV. With a sense of how the scales tip to one side or the other, you'll be better able to re-balance them.
4. PLAN AND PROTECT DOWNTIME: Don't take leisure time for granted. A day in front of the TV is no substitute for a round of golf, a trip to the beach, or a BBQ with friends.
5. KNOW YOUR OPTION: More than ever, new technology is offering employers and employees alike greater flexibility with work schedules. This includes everything from a compressed workweek, to flex hours, job-sharing, and telecommuting.
6. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT: Take the time to decide what's important for you. Then, try devoting your full attention to one thing at a time -- concentrate on work at work and family at home.
7. STOP BEING BOSS EVERYWERE: Entrepreneurs tend to be control freaks. That can be good for business, but bad for downtime. Whether it's paying the bills or organizing a trip, why not let family and friends run the business of your life every now and then?


CONCLUSION:
Seals don't balance balls on their noses for fun; they do it for fish. People don't try to achieve work/life balance for fun; they do it to survive. This means that balancing life with our paid work is not a fun or makes our life easier but it creates a path for us on whom we can schedule our whole responsibilities, likes, dislikes, hobbies etc on the same way. In fact balancing a life with work is itself a tough job.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw-Admired Businesswoman

KIRAN MAZUMDAR SHAW
Born: 23 March, 1953
First job: Brewer at Carlton & United Breweries
Current Position: Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon
Group Turnover: Rs.1090.2 crore( Q1-2008 )
Group Net Profit: Rs.200.25 crore ( Q1-2008 )
Key Business Area: Biopharmaaceuticals
Biocon was founded in the backyard of a suburban house in Bangalore in 1978 as a small operation of enzyme extraction. The woman behind Biocon - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Kiran) who dreamt of starting her own business with just Rs. 10,000 in hand and a degree in brewery - is now the richest woman in India. The case study describes how Kiran recognized the future potential of biotechnology industry when not many people in India knew about it.Over the years, the company grew under her stewardship and is today the biggest biopharmaceutical firm in India. In 2004, Biocon went for an IPO and the issue was over-subscribed by over 30 times. Post-IPO, Shaw held close to 40% of the stock of the company and was regarded as India’s richest woman with an estimated worth of Rs. 2,100 crore (~U.S. $ 480 million).
After schooling at Bishop Cotton Girls School,Ms. Shaw received a graduate honours degree in Zoology from Bangalore University (1973) and qualified as a Master Brewer from Ballarat University, Australia (1975). Ms. Shaw also received an honorary Doctorate of Science, from her alma mater, Ballarat University, in recognition of her pre-eminent contributions to the field of Biotechnology. Recently she also received an Honorary Doctorate from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), in recognition of her outstanding achievements in biotechnology and industrial enzymes.
Ms. Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the ET Businesswoman of the Year, Best Woman Entrepreneur, Model Employer, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Leading Exporter, Outstanding Citizen, Technology Pioneer, etc. Her most cherished awards are however, the PADMASHRI (1989) and PADMA BHUSHAN (2005) presented to her by the President of India, for her pioneering efforts in Industrial Biotechnology.
She is married to John Shaw, a Scotsman and Indophile, who headed a leading textiles MNC, Madura Coats from 1991-1998 as Chairman and Managing Director. John Shaw has since joined Biocon as Director, International Business and is the Vice Chairman of the Board.

Fact figures: Reliance

1. Reliance group was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani.
2. Dhirubhai started his first textile mill in year 1966.
3. Anil Ambani was the first Indian to be awarded - Wharton School Dean's medal.
4. Mukesh Ambani has got the tag of richest person of the world.
5. Anil Ambani personal stake in reliance communications is 66%.

Biocon Q1 profit graph down

Indian based Biotechnology firm on Thursday announced consolidated net profit of Rs.15.02 crore for the first quarter of 2008. Thus a decline of 71.66 % over the year ago period of i.e first quarter of year 2007, on account of rupee fluctuation.
The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs.53 crore in the first quarter of 2007, previous year.
The consolidated total income however, rose to Rs.276.53 crore in the latest quarter from Rs.272.21 crore a year ago.
Biocon has been featured amongst the top 25 global biotechnology companies according to a report released by Med Ad News.

25% Profit in 1st Quater for HDFC

Housing Development Finance Corporation(HDFC), on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs.468.11 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, a 25.56% over Rs.372.81 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
Thus total income rose to Rs.2,318.62 crore in the first quarter of 2008 from 1,830.39 crore of the 2nd quarter of previous year.

Electronic Commerce

To make someone understood what Electronic Commerce exactly is in one sentence then we can define it as ‘Use of electronic system in the matter of business or commerce for buying, selling, delivery of information, payments and services at reasonable costs is known as Electronic Commerce’.
Depending on whom you ask, electronic commerce has different definitions:
From a communication perspective, electronic commerce is the delivery of information, products/services, or payments via telephone lines, computer networks, or any other means.
From a business prospective, electronic commerce is the application of technology towards the automation of business transactions and workflows.
From a service point of view, electronic commerce is a tool that addresses the desire of firms, consumers, and management to cut service costs while improving the quality of goods and increasing the speed of delivery.
From online perspective, electronic commerce provides the capability of buying and selling of products and information on the internet or other online services.
Part of difficulty in understanding Electronic commerce lies in the fact that the growth of Electronic Commerce is happening so quickly and in many directions that even experts are at loss to find any established business model for comparison.
‘Doing Business Online’ sounds technical, and organizations often delegate the task to the technical departments. A better approach is to develop a cross functional team composed of technical staff as well as marketing and financial personnel.
Thus today, technology is seen as a major driver of corporate strategy and business re-engineering.