ALL INDIA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION'S 28TH NATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONVENTION

The All India Management Association's 28th National Management Convention was held on the 6th, 7th and 8th of September 2001, at the Taj Coromandel. The convention's theme was "Building Sustainable Competitive Strength". The convention began with Srinivasan K Swamy, President, Madras Management Association (MMA) and T T Thomas, President, All India Management Association (AIMA), welcoming the gathering. The tone for the two day delibration was set by K V Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Ltd and Mukesh Ambani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, who painted a very positive, 'India can do' picture for the future.

The theme address was delivered by Dr A C Muthiah, Convention Chairman and Chairman, Southern Petrochemical Industries Limited. A C Muthiah spoke on the need for political stability. He said that competition is here to stay and globalisation is inevitable. He added that the world cannot afford to ignore India, given the size of its population, the big consumer market that comes with it and the huge intellectual capital. He also added that Indian silicon valley start ups have proven that it is possible to compete at the global level.

Delivering the keynote address, K V Kamath advised professionals and the Indian industry to impart 'change management', as it is the most crucial element for building competitiveness. He said that we have to look at restructuring manufacturing, infrastructure development and have to think about how to connect rural India to the mainstream.

He added that the good news is we are already over the hump in a few areas as is witnessed by the closing down of some of the uncompetitive companies in industries like chemical, textile and steel. Companies that will survive will look at building sustainable competitive advantages in the long run. Another reason for concern he felt was the cost of finance, which is very high, inspite of the large availability of funds in the form of savings in the banking, insurance and mutual funds sector. Kamath felt that we should be able to fund at globally competitive rates. A low cost of capital and deleveraging he said are the key to build a vibrant manufacturing sector.

Then came the inaugural address, by Mukesh Ambani, which charged the audience with new hope for the future. Ambani painted an ambitious big picture for the Indian economy and for Indians. He said that all Indian companies have to be competitve at the micro level. He stressed on the need to move from self reliance to global leadership. He said that we already have world class examples in companies like Sundaram Fasteners Limited, Jet Airways, NDTV, Amul and educational institutions like the IIMs, which are brands on their own. He said that companies have to come out of the shadow of the Government. All good ideas should be funded by the capital market not by the government.

He said that foreign direct investments only lead to mergers and takeovers, whereas greenfield projects like the Reliance Petroleum project at Jamnagar, provide opportunities for economic growth and employment. He ended his speech saying that there is a need for a new structure for economic growth and development through total deregulation. You can either reform or deform, there cannot be stages of reform.

Other distinguished speakers at the convention were -Graham Henry, Head, Asia Pacific, Accenture, Dr Shankar Acharya, Indian Council for Reasearch on International Economic Relations, Prof Bhanoji Rao, University of Singapore, Sudarshan Sampathkumar, Partner, Accenture, P K Mohapatra, President and CEO, IT and Telecom, RPG Enterprises, Rahul Goswami, Vice President - Strategic Planning, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Krishna Srinivasan, President and Senior Partner, Frost & Sullivan, USA, Yash Mahajan, Vice Chairman and MD, Punjab Tractors Ltd, Manish Choksi, Vice President IT & Strategic Planning, Asian Paints India Ltd, Rama Bijapurkar, Management Consultant, Jerry Roberts, Senior Vice President, BBDO Worldwide, New York, Harsh Mariwala, Managing Director, Marico Industries Ltd, Anil Sachdev, Chairman, Grow Talent Company Ltd, Frederick Dubee, Special Officer, Executive Office of UN Secretary General, United Nations.

Some of the topics covered were "India's Competitiveness?", "Manufacturing - The China Factor", "Targeting Global Markets; Building Local Defences", "Enhancing Productivity", "Effective Marketing & Distribution Strategy", "Building People-Centric Organisations" and "Corporate Social Responsibilities".

Addressing the special valedictory session at the end of the convention, Dr J J Irani, Director, Tata Sons Ltd, spoke on the importance of TEAM, which he said for him meant, Together Everybody can Achieve More. He compared the birth, development and death of the enterprise to that of human beings. The growth and development he said also depends on the environment, and the environment has changed dramatically today. Earlier on sustainable advantage was achieved through structural positioning like low cost runs, economies of scales and technological advantage, though these factors are still relevant and important, they have become an everyday process; to be practised continuously. The ability to be agile and the ability to change have become very crucial. He said, to manage change, organisations have to continuously communicate. Capture the employee's attention and get the organisation involved. Communicate to the media and the shareholders on a regular basis.

He said that one example for the need to communicate was witnessed in the convention itself, in that, five or ten years ago, companies like Ranbaxy, Asian Paints, Punjab Tractors etc would never come out and tell you the secret of their success, but the fact that they are doing it today, goes to show how the environment has changed.

Another important advice he gave to Indian industry was that, Indian companies should not look at the opening up of the economy and the advent of the MNCs as a threat, but they should count upon it as an opportunity to go out and conquer new shores. He also added that there was a lot to be learned from the MNCs. He said the MNCs are focussed, high on knowledge management, know their core strength, are prepared to take risks, they want market share, and are focussed on R & D; he said we can apply these qualities albeit with some modifications to suit Indian companies.

Irani stressed on the need to shift our mindset to become customer oriented, to control costs and to develop efficient supply-chain management. Finally he said that one must never be complacent and to explain this point he told a small story:

Every morning when the sun rises in South Africa, a gazelle wakes up thinking that he has to run faster than the fastest lion, or face death

Every morning when the sun rises in South Africa, a lion wakes up thinking that he has to run faster than the slowest gazelle or he will have to starve to death.

The moral of the story he said was...no matter who you are and what you do, when the sun comes up, you will better be up and running or face the consequence.

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