Order Dubbas ONLINE

Mumbai Dabbawalas, as most of us know run the best managed supply-chain business without any major tech help. They make just one error in every 1.6 crore transactions. That gives them a Six Sigma performance tag of 99.999999 %. Now, they have gone 2 steps ahead with technology. U can order your dabba ONLINE on the Dabbawala website.

U can even book your Dabba through your cell phone by sending an SMS to 3636. This is how it is done: Send your name and home and office addresses to the short-code number. Suppose you are Satish and you live in Bandra, you can send message like this to 3636: “Dabba Satish Meghdoot 504 Linking Road Bandra Atlanta 2nd floor Nariman Point.”

Ain't this cool?? Wish the dabbawala association gives me a share of their profit for this publicity...LOL.

2 months of solid grind

Hey ppl, I completed 2 months at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research y'day[:)] Its been a roller-coaster ride so far. Its been a lot of learning, fun and loafing. The faculty are very committed to make us learn and ensure that we get innumerable assignments, tests, quizzes, and exams apart from the high rated gyan in class. Sometimes, feel that so many tests are indeed not necessary...anyways thats the system here(guess in most Indian B-schools), so just need to live with it. There's no mobile signal in the college campus. This compounds the seriousness of the management to make us focus on our studies.

All of us wait for a Thursday - our only day off! Believe me, all of us think we have never been so busy in life ever. Sometimes we dont even realise what day it is.

Have the midterm exams scheduled this week for term 1(Functional Module - Financial Mgmt, Marketing Mgmt, Operations Mgmt, People & Performance and IT in Business)..THE GRIND CONTINUES...

Learnings from the Foundation module

What did i learn during the foundation module ?

I learnt to read and comprehend financial statements, balance sheets and Profit & Loss statements of a company, some statistics stuff and a lot of Economics ( Micro Economics - pricing, costing, productivity, monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition, consumer behavior, etc. Macro Economics - govt’s role in controlling money markets, sensex, forex, economic crisis in Japan, South-East Asia, current Chinese economy, etc)

I am comfortable in comprehending as to why the sensex sheds points because of FII pullout and the relationship between FII pullout in India due to a Federal rate hike in the US, y Americans don’t save, y is China a gr8 exporter and how is it that manufacturing sector so damn cheap in China, how does the value of a currency fluctuate, whats inflation, from where does money come from when Govt is in need…..all these are so very interesting!!

RFID

IT in Business - a subject that emphasises the role and scope of IT in all kinds of businesses. Each group in class had to prepare a presentation on one of the technologies and its application in business and the approach towards implementation of these technologies. We had to concentrate more on the 'what' part than the 'how' part of the technology--the rationale is that as managers and thought leaders, its necessary to know the lingo of business and technology more than the implementation of the technology.

My group had to make a presentation on RFID - 'Radio Frequency Identification Device' which can play a great role in the Supply Chain. The benefits of RFID are cost reduction, easy tracking of items, inventory management, etc. RFID definitely is the next BIG thing in the Retail Sector. Take a look at the Presentation for more information.

My takeaways - Vatsa and I had worked majorly on this topic. Our hardwork paid off when we were applauded by one of the IBM General Managers who was judging us. We felt jittery to face a mature audience(58 classmates and 1 GM from IBM). Anyways we did a good show as we had the right content. Due credit to my senior Ranjan Rao who helped us with some very good material. Content and Ability to Handle Questions are the two most important things while making a presentation apart from Connecting to the Audience and Voice Modulation.

RFID Overview.ppt

Hosted by eSnips

Regression Analysis

We had to give a presentation today on Regression Analysis of real-world data. Regression is all about comparing the relation between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. The higher the number of independent variables, the better is the correlation. There will be a Standard Error that will be factored in to reduce the impact of non-related variables on the correlation.( i hope i have understood these things correctly, lol:-) )

All the groups did well. Our group gave a presentation on the major factors that influence the B-school rankings. We pooled in data from Business World's cosmode rankings and Outlook's rankings for the year 2005. We found that Placements, Admissions and Networking were the 3 major factors that influenced the rankings upto about 83%!!

One of the groups gave a presentation on Google Adsense which could be useful to many of the bloggers.
Another group came up with a presentation on what makes people choose a particular brand of BEER in KERALA:-)...interesting eh? 'Availability' of the brand easily was the major factor that influenced the people who responded it seems. The top 3 brands were:

KingFisher - USP (Advertising, Availability, Price)
Fosters - USP (Brand Image, Stylish, Taste)
Haywards - USP (Alcohol Content)

But midst all these, the presenter wooed all of us by this extempore sher:

Woh gulab bhi kaisa gulab jo mehektha nahi,
Woh sharab bhi kaisa sharab jo behektha nahi!!

Well, thats some gyan i guess. U see, people have fun at B-schools too, Cheers :-)

Was Tipu a Freemason?

The Code of Tipu Sultan

Was King Of Srirangapatna A Freemason?

Source: TOI, 7th June '06
By T S Sreenivasa Raghavan/TNN

The lights at the movie theatre dim and eventually die. The sole projector-generated image flickering on screen is a black-and-white disclaimer, looking out of place in a Hollywood production. It says the story about to unfold before the packed house is absolutely untrue. Without this disclaimer, the powerful forces of Christianity would not allow The Da Vinci Code, based on thriller-writer Dan Brown’s eponymous bestseller, to be released. After all, Brown spoke with authority on Jesus Christ’s bloodline. The Da Vinci Code was also littered with references to a highly secretive society other than Opus Dei. The society of Freemasons. His upcoming book, in fact, deals only with their world — a secretive fraternal order. Not a religious or a political organisation, it is an invitations-only society. Closer home and much closer in time than the beginnings of Christianity, Tipu Sultan, ruler of Srirangapatna of the 1700s, was rumoured to have been one. A Freemason. This, according to Robert Freke Gould, in his book Military Lodges: The Apron And The Sword Of Freemasonry Under Arms, published in the late 1890s. Freke himself was the founding member of London’s Quatuor Coronati Lodge and a lieutenant in the 31st Regiment of the English army. He is an early proponent of the authentic school of Masonic research and has written a three-volume book called the History Of Freemasonry. A Masonic lodge is the basic organisation of Freemasonry. Shrouded in secrecy, the beliefs, rituals and meetings of Freemasons are not widely known. It is thought this secret sect had their start as a group of male skilled professionals, highly experienced in architecture and masonry. To ensure that this knowledge remained among themselves, it is theorised, the secrecy began. There are secret handshakes, secret meetings and secret levels within freemasonry. Though formed on the basis of solidarity, the French Freemasons were not unified with the British Freemasons. In his fight against the British imperialism, Tipu Sultan found a natural ally in the French Freemasons. He was inspired by the French Revolution, rumoured to have been prepared at the lodges of Freemasons. Louis the 16th, though, had refused to enter into a military pact with Tipu, despite his repeated requests. However, at a later stage, it appears, Tipu’s Freemason status helped him win a staunch ally in Napoleon Bonaparte, who too is supposed to have dabbled with Freemasonry. While accepting the club membership, Tipu is said to have told France: Behold my acknowledgement of the standard of your country which is dear to me, and to which I am allied; it shall always be supported in my country as it has been in the Republic, my sister. The primary objective of the British Freemasons in Mysore to revive the Masonic lodges though was to initiate Tipu’s enemies into the fraternity; to enlist their political support in their efforts to overthrow Tipu. The contradiction doesn’t end there. The mystery deepens further when one learns Freemasons have always made a strange mix. For instance, eminent Indian freedom fighters, including Pandit Motilal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad and S Radhakrishnan were said to be Freemasons. Added to this list is Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer, who propagated the theory of secession. These episodes might tempt one to believe that if Tipu indeed was a Freemason, he would have treated British Freemasons better during wartime. But the Anglo-Mysore wars resulted in the decline of Freemasonry in India, because many British army personnel, who were the fraternity’s pillars, became Tipu’s war prisoners. Here, we have a curious episode culled out from history. In 1782, a battalion under Captain (Sir David) Baird had gone to assist Col Baillie, who was in danger of being surrounded by the army led by Hyder Ali and Tipu. But the whole English force was cut to pieces by Hyder Ali and Tipu. Freke writes: Baird was severely wounded and left for dead, but managed to find his way into the French camp, from which however he soon passed with his companions into the power of Hyder Ali, who treated the captives with oriental brutality. After his death, when Lady Baird laid the foundation stone for erecting a monument in memory of her departed husband with Masonic honours in 1832, she consciously chose May 4 for the occasion. For, it was on that day Baird took Srirangapatna by storm and killed Tipu. But can Freemasons ever gang up against their own brethren? That is if one is to consider Tipu a Freemason. Going by the French handing over of Baird knowing fully well he was a Freemason to Hyder Ali, they certainly can. Freke says: Gen Horne had also been a prisoner of war, though his captivity was unattended by any similar hardships and indeed left very pleasing recollections behind it, as he experienced the most fraternal kindness from French lodges at Bourbon and the Isle of France, which is gracefully referred to at the close of a letter addressed by him to the officers of Grand Lodge of England on Jan 16, 1785. This statement is not without substance, considering that Marquis de Lafayette the man who played an important role in the French Revolutionary cause was actually initiated into Freemasonry by George Washington. In fact, it was the Freemasons who founded Jacobin Club that became the radical nucleus of French Revolution. The Jacobian Club in France, born out of an inspiration for liberty and republicanism, had its reverberations in the distant land of Mysore, too, where it came into existence with Tipu’s active blessings.

Banks at sea over credit card tax-implications on GEFC?

Banks at sea over credit card tax


Service tax on the card transaction chain creates confusion

Source: Economic Times, 5th June '06
George Smith Alexander MUMBAI



THE date for payment of the first installment of service tax on card payments on Monday was marked by confusion among banks.
The confusion arose on account of the fees levied by banks on merchants or establishments where the electronic data capture (EDC) terminals are deployed by banks. Currently, banks which deploy these terminals, called acquiring banks in industry parlance, charge close to 1.5% to the merchants. Of this, around 1.1% goes to the issuing bank, or the bank that has issued the credit or debit card, a small sum is credited to card issuers such as Visa or MasterCard, while the rest is retained by the acquiring bank.
Service tax has been levied on these back-end card transactions with effect from May 1, '06. Generally, the invoice is the basis of service tax assessment, and the date of payment to the service vendor is crucial to determine the due date for tax payment. However, banks are wary as unlike other business deals, no invoice is issued to another person in the card payment chain.
Banks have other worries, too. The date of receipt of consideration for each person is different. Against this backdrop, banks feel that it would be better if
certain crucial aspects of this levy are clarified upfront to avoid litigation in future. This is because the amounts involved are huge. The first due date for tax payment was June 5.
Says Prasad Paranjape, director, RSM Advisory Services, "The government needs to intervene and issue clarifications after talks with industry players as to who the service provider is - the issuing bank, the acquiring bank or
both put together. Does a taxable event occurs when the merchant establishment is charged or an acquiring bank is paid by the issuing bank or when a issuing bank is paid by the card holder needs to be clarified." According to bankers, there is confusion on the transaction chain at which the service tax has to be charged. They feel that the service tax has to be paid on 1.5%, ie on the acquiring fees. However, the way the Finance Act has been worded, the issuing bank would also have to pay on the 1.5% and also again on 1.1%. This would amount to double taxation on the same fees, say bankers and tax experts. Banks have now decided that they would pay fees only on the whole 1.5%. Using this approach, the acquiring bank would pay tax on the 0.2%, while the issuing bank would pay for 1.1%.
Over the past few years, the merchant fees of banks have come down drastically from close to 2.5% to around 1.2-1.3%. Bigger retailers, hotels and others which record heavy transactions, pay lower fees, while smaller retailers and hoteliers pay higher fees of around 1.5-2%. The charges are also marginally higher in the non-metros. Though banks may not charge the service tax on bigger retailers, the impact of this move on smaller merchants remains to be seen.



Assignment - Need to superimpose the above economic dev's implications on to the GEFC cycle..working on it. Meanwhile if any1 hits upon this and has any thought on this, plz post it:-)

Well, I came up with the following:

Implications on GEFC:

The confusion regarding who is the service vendor - issuing bank, the acquiring bank or both put together should be cleared by the Govt.

Also, which is the taxable event - when the merchant establishment is charged or an acquiring bank is paid by the issuing bank or when a issuing bank is paid by the card holder?

Financial Intermediaries:

Given that the service tax is imposed on the banks, whether the issuing bank pays or the acquiring bank pays, there will be an implication on the GEFC. The banks will try to squeeze in this outflow by increasing the service charge to the merchants. Here, the financial intermediaries are affecting the production sector.

Household Sector:

Since the merchant has to pay a higher service charge to the banks, he will try to squeeze in this amount from the customer. Thus, the customer will have to cough up more for the same product which he would have bought at a lower price earlier.

Production Sector:

As the banks will increase the service charge/fee that the merchant has to pay, the merchant’s profits will go down. To maintain the previous level of profit, the merchant will tend to charge more from the customer. Since the merchant charges more from the customer, if the product is a commodity product, there will be no change in its demand/sales. But if the product is a life-style/luxury product, then its demand may go down. Thus, the company or the production sector is affected.


Government:

The Government in any case will benefit as it will get the extra income from the newly imposed service tax. The Government gains from the tax that the vendor pays for the sales done and from the new tax that the banks will now have to pay (for the same transactions that has been already taxed). This, in a way is double taxation benefit to the Government.

Forex:
This sector remains unaffected.

Fanaa - My review

Movie: Fanaa
Rating: **

Tere dil mein mere saason ko panah miljaye,
Tere ishq mein meri jaan fanaa hojaye!!

Have watched Fanaa twice now-first time with family and second time with friends. Trust me, its not worth watching this movie more than once. The pace is slow, and the script isn’t appealing either. The story starts off with Kajol setting out to find her soulmate in the country’s capital – She’s part of a Kashmiri team that has to perform at the Rastrapathi Bhavan. Aamir gives a shaayari entry as a tour guide and charms everyone. Suddenly, there’s a flood of sher-shayari and for once, I felt good listening to shayari---all credits to Aamir, Kajol and the lyricist on this one. Then the usual story of boy-gal running around trees begins. All is well until a blast at the Rastrapathi Bhavan brings in the news of Aamir’s death. The story takes a wild turn from there on.

The cinematography is awesome (which reminded me of my honeymoon at manaliJ) and the background music is crisp. I liked only two songs though – Chand Sifarish and Mere haathon mein tera haath!

It’s a welcome comeback by Kajol who’s looks stunning (although am a die-hard Preity Zinta fan). She’s at her best and her expressions are amazing. Aamir as usual has given his more than 100% and sports three hairstyles in a span of 2.5 hrs. The movie would have been a disaster if not for these two great stars!