Journal 3rd

FACTOR IMPACT ON SIX SIGMA SUCCESS
P.Sujendra Swami & V.M .Prasad Abstract

For any new initiation for every organization there exist some success factors. Apart from all factors some are the positive influencing factors and some are negatively influenced factors. Sixsigma is a success mantra for all corporate companies to assure and provide quality products to their customers in the market. Nowadays all the companies are focusing on quality implementation with the help of strong s/w and R&D departments they have with them. One of the most critical and costly adapting process, but all major corporate of software and manufacturing companies are adapting to improve product quality and improve customer satisfaction to retain more world class companies as their clients, especially in the field of banking, services and production. Depending on the nature of the organization, products and services the companies adapting new quality change process where they must need to identify the key success factors for easy implementation of six sigma. In this paper we discuss about six sigma definitions, various success factors and there mode of impact (Positive or negative) on success departments wise, function wise etc. Keywords: Leadership, Strategic plan, Belt holders, competitor.
Introduction These are the most frequent questions being asked by the potential Six Sigma followers. But, there is no easy answer to each one of them. Simply because driving a business toward Six Sigma is not a one-time effort; it is about producing products and services that continue to meet customer and market requirements. This requires organizational agility and constant vigilance to changes in the market place. Thus, the real challenge with Six Sigma is getting to the point where one can meaningfully measure a business' current performance against dynamic customer requirements while developing the internal organizational abilities to response to changing marketplace conditions. Doing this well means aligning organizational components inside the company (leadership, strategy, people, and technology) to give Six Sigma efforts the momentum and staying power they need to succeed. Objectives of the study -
To know the most critical success factor for six-sigma implementation. Find out the importance of various factors in quality implementation. To know the contribution of various departments for six sigma implementation. To know the mode of factors impact for six sigma success.
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Research Methodology Data collection made through electronically (Through E-mails) by a short questionnaire. After collecting the primary data, the interpretation done by using SPSS 17.0, relevant statistical tools are used to check the efficiency of the results. Period of the study The study conducted in November- January 2010 at six sigma completed/ implemented organizations in Hyderabad city. Sample &Sample size Sample Respondents are the belt holders (black belt, Green belt, Yellow belt) in six sigma form various industries in Hyderabad & Secunderabad city. Questionnaires distributed 60(52 received) for above said respondents with in time period of 60 days. The Study This paper is an outcome of an analysis of responses received from 52 respondents who include 24 black belts, 10 green belts and 18 yellow belt working in different industries in Hyderabad & Secunderabad. They express their views about concept of six sigma, success factors such as the leadership of the top management, commitment to high quality, well-developed strategic planning system, training systems, voice of the customer and overall customer satisfaction etc in six sigma department-wise and function-wise of an organization. Among the issues that have been focused include how these are contributing to the success rate of quality and the interrelationships among these factors. At last we check the correlation and Regression of some success factors like Literature Review of Six Sigma Motorolas Bill Smith initiated Six Sigma almost two and a half decades ago building on the philosophy, Principles, and methods of Demings Total Quality Management (TQM). Since then, thousands of organizations have become Six Sigma companies by adopting specific training and project management practices. With Six Sigmas industry-based origins, it becomes important to assess the state of the related academic contributions now that the associated field of study is maturing. Definition Six Sigma is an organized and systematic method for strategic process improvement and new Product and service development that relies on statistical methods and the scientific method to make dramatic reductions in customer defined defect rates. OR
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Those authors further described that the name Six Sigma suggests a goal of less than 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO) for every process. However, they did not include this principle in the definition because, Six Sigma advocates establishing goals based on customer requirements. Methodology Six Sigma has two key methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV both inspired by Deming's2 Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process; DMADV is used to create new product or process designs. DMAIC Define process improvement goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy. Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data. Analyze the data to verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Improve or optimize the process based upon data analysis using techniques like Experiments. Control to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. Set up pilot runs to establish process capability, move on to production, set up control mechanisms and continuously monitor the process. Executive Leadership includes the CEO and other members of top management. They are responsible for setting up a vision for Six Sigma implementation. They also empower the other role holders with the freedom and resources to explore new ideas for breakthrough improvements. Champions are responsible for Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from upper management. Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts. Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other job responsibilities. They operate under the guidance of Black Belts. Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts focus on identifying projects/functions for Six Sigma. Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as in-house coaches on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They assist champions and guide Black Belts and Green Belts. Apart from statistical tasks, their time is spent on ensuring consistent application of Six Sigma across various functions and departments.
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LSS: Lean Six sigma, HPO: High Performance organizations Figure 1: Six sigma High performance factors adapted from Garvin in 2003
There is limited literature to reveal the success factors for Six Sigma implementation. However, one doctoral candidate, Tsung-Ling Chang, performed a research survey which identifies ten Critical Success Factors for implementing a Six Sigma quality system. Based on Changs research findings, Process Quality Associates has developed a Six Sigma implementation framework by Gravin. The above figure indicate that performance improvement starts with internal quality process which includes production quality, process quality etc., which all these leads organization performance improvement. Statistical Analysis of the study 1) Leadership & work culture of top Management. Descriptive Statistics
N 52
Mean 3.13
Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum 1.314 1 5
Chi-Square Test
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Leadership Value commitment Pearson Chi-square 12.603
df 4
Asymp.Sig (2- sided) 0.03
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals 12.063 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is less than 0.05suggest that there is significant importance for Leadership & work culture of top Management while implementing six sigma. 2) Implementation of Effective process management system Test Statistics Effective process Management. Pearson Chi-square 11.750 4 0.19 Value df Asymp.Sig (2- sided)
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals 11.750 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is less than 0.05suggest that there is significant importance for Effective process management system is one of the success factor for six sigma. 3) Well-developed strategic planning system Chi-Square Test strategic planning Pearson Chi-square Value 11.438 df 4 Asymp.Sig (2- sided) .002
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals 11.43 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is less than 0.05suggest that there is significant important for strategic planning system is one of the success factor for six sigma. 4) Importance of statistical tools Training of Employees.
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Descriptive Statistics Std. N 52 Test Statistics Stats training Pearson Chi-square Value 7.375 df 4 Asymp.Sig (2- sided) .117 Mean 3.34 Deviation 1.405 Minimum Maximum 1 5
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals 7.37 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is greater than 0.05suggest that there is no significant important for statistical training to employees and six sigma success rate. 5) Overall customer Satisfaction Descriptive Statistics Std. N 52 Mean 3.25 Deviation 1.244 Minimum Maximum 1 5
Test Statistics. Overall satisfaction Pearson Chi-square 27.062 4 .000 customer Value df Asymp.Sig (2- sided)
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Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals27.06 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is greater than 0.05suggest that there is a significant relation that customer satisfaction is one of the major success factor for six sigma. 6) Implementation of correct VOC Test Statistics.
Correct VoC Pearson Chi-square Value 37.063 df 4 Asymp.Sig (2- sided) .000
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals37.06 at 4 degrees of freedom, the significance value is less than 0.05suggest that there is a significant relation that implementation of correct VOC is an absolute success factor for six sigma.
7) Fully integrated with HR department where HR directly/indirectly related with Six sigma. Chi-Square Test
Integration with HR Pearson Chi-square Value 14.250 df 3 Asymp.Sig (2- sided) .003
Inference: The obtain chi-square value is equals 14.250 at 3 degrees of freedom, the significance value is greater than 0.05suggest that there is a significant relation that HR department is must fully integrate with six sigma process is one major success factor. Factor Analysis Rotated Component Matrix
Factor 1 Leadership .179 .679 2 .179 Component 3 .179 July 4
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Effective process Strategic plan Statistical Tools Customer Satisfaction Correct VOC HR Integration
.476 .711 .-287 -.358 -.115 .467
-.596 .411 .-487 -.651 -.143 .348
.571 .519 .183 -.586 .635 .521
.576 .111 .478 -.258 -.435 .147
Inference: Analysis by factor wise factor analysis the observation indicate that most successful factors for six sigma implementation is Strategic planning before quality implementation, Leadership Commitment and work culture, Implementation of correct VoC ( Voice of the Customer) , Effective process are most important factors from among 7 tested factors in the study Gap Analysis
Various Factors Dependency for Six Sigma Success. Dependent Variable Y= Belt Holders History (BHH) Independent Variable X1 = BH Experience in Years (Emp.Exp) X2 = Number of customers demands for quality by every 10 clients (CuDq)
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X3 =Competitor Activities on 5 point scale (Comptr.) (1=Low, 5=High level of activity) X 4 = BH Education (EmpEdu) ( 1=Technical and 2=Non Technical) X5 =Time of project implementation for Maximum 5 years period. (ImplTime) X6 = Number of Belt Holders Correlation
BHH BHH Emp.Exp CuWSs EmpEdu. Impl.Time Comptr. 1 -0.020 .150 .059 0.095 -.048 Emp.Exp -0.020 1 -.213 .335 -.230 -.151 CuDq .150 -.213 1 .101 .187 .002 EmpEdu .059 .335 .101 1 -.045 0.026 Impl.Time 0.095 -.230 .187 -.045 1 -.045 Comptr -.048 -.151 .002 0.026 -0.045 1
Inference: First let us check the correlation of all variables with each other. The above correlation table is indicate that the values from 0 to 1( -ve and +ve). By observing all columns the columns like Employee experience and competitor activity are negatively correlated and all other are positively correlated with each other which indicate the all elements are correlated with each other some are highly and some are nearly correlated.
Regression: Model Summary
Model
R Square
Adjusted R Square
Std.Error
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.192a
.037
-.105
8.589
a. Predictors: (Constant), Comptr., CuDq, Emp.Edu, Time, Emp.Exp.
ANOVAb Model Sum of df Mean Standardized F .259 Sig. .003a
Unstandardized Coefficients Square Coefficients Squares Model Regression 1 (Constant) Residual B 95.723 14.720 2513.252 .171 2608.975 .735 -1.465 .540 -.421 Std. Error 5 11.598 34 .604 39 .835 3.010 1.246 1.748 Beta 19.145 t 1.269 .283 .880 -.487 .433 -.241 Sig. .213 .779 .385 .630 .668 .811
73.919
.054 .156 -.089 .076 -.041
TotalEmp.Exp
CuDq. Emp.Edu Time Comptr. a.
Dependent Variable: No of BH
Before we use the equation we need look at the statistical significance of the model and R2 Value, the ANOVA table last column indicate that 93% significance level. The R2 value is 0.37, we also note that then t-teats for significance of individual independent variable indicate that the significance level 0.10 (confidence level 90%). Only employee education and experience are statistically significant in this model.
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However for the time being we shall use the model as it is and try to apply it for decision making. The real use of the regression model would be to try and predict weather belt holder back ground history will effect on six sigma success rate or not. The equation we use have obtained means in effect that the success rate of six sigma will depend on employee education and customer demand for quality and the time of six sigma implementation and also negative relationship between employee education and competitor activity. Belt holder History= 4.41+0.171(Belt holder Experience)+0.735(Customer demand for quality)-1.4( Employee education)+0.54(Time)-0.421(Competitor Activity). At the same time by observing of t values coefficients of variables employee education & competitor activity are negative which lead wrong conclusion. By strictly speaking only two variables employee experience and time of implementation have above 90% confidence. Study Analysis These are the most frequent questions being asked by the potential Six Sigma followers. But, there is no easy answer to each one of them. Simply because driving a business toward Six Sigma is not a one-time effort; it is about producing products and services that continue to meet customer and market requirements. This requires organizational agility and constant vigilance to changes in the marketplace. Thus, the real challenge with Six Sigma is getting to the point where one can meaningfully measure a business' current performance against dynamic customer requirements while developing the internal organizational abilities to response to changing marketplace conditions Top management should act as key driver in continuous improvements, communicate to employees about organizational goals, and establish an environment for supporting organizational & employee learning. Processes need to be established in order to monitor customer satisfaction levels, to receive customer feedback, and to resolve customer concerns. The education and training system should provide continuous courses to employees for equipping them with quality-related knowledge and problem-solving skills. A well-developed strategic planning system must translate into executable action plans with related performance measurements. The necessary human & financial resources must be allocated to support the implementation of business action plans. Effective human resource management system has a positive impact on Six Sigma QMS success. A job advancement system is important to human resource development. Various methods are developed to facilitate the communication between the
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organization and its employees. To promptly improve performance, employees need to receive their performance feedback from their supervisors. Discussion of Results Leadership and work culture is one of the success factor for six sigma until the organization not follow better leadership tactics and not inviting changes in work culture every new initiation goes into vain. Another success factor is effective process management system in all aspects like, operations process, customer feedback collection process, employee suggestion regarding new system pros & cons should consider for success of any process in the organizations. - Most important factor for six sigma success which is identified by factor analysis is strategic planning of the process which is in the form of well developed and strategically balanced the results of any tough process obviously success. Customer satisfaction in the view of six sigma success play a vital role where feedback for new quality change leads success side or not and in\implementation of correct VoC (voice of the customer) which leads high customer satisfaction rate. In the part of Statistical tool training to the employees for successful implementation of six sigma is not necessary for all, the study revealed that the training will be depend on the educational background and analytical skills of various employee Where if they are form technical background they need little bit of guidance where people from social sciences background need full fledged training about statistical tools. The department wise performance should measured independently where we consider the epicenter for all departments HR which is played a major role to integrate all these sub factors into one major success factor by contributing intellectual assets for any success in the organization.
Conclusion The entire study conclude that the success factors for six sigma is like all general management success factors excluding some important areas like metrics and tools for training because of the Implementation of six sigma is somewhat tough process to achieve desired results in time. References:
1. Ackermann C(1997). Supplier improvement via SPC application workshops. IEEE Transactions
on Semiconductor Manufacturing; 6(2):178183. CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September ISSN 0975 7953 July -
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2. Garvin DA(1988) Managing Quality: The Strategic and Competitive Edge. Free Press: New 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
York, Ackermann C, Fabia J(1998). Monitoring supplier quality at ppm levels. IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing Pg:189195. Fontenot G, Behara R, Gresham A(1998). Six Sigma in customer satisfaction. Quality Progress : 7376. Kane L(1998). The quest for Six Sigma. Hydrocarbon Processing :15-17. Snee R(1999). Why should statisticians pay attention to Six Sigma? Quality Progress ; 32(9):100103. De Mast J, Schippers W, Does R, van den Heuvel E(2000). Steps and strategies in process improvement. Quality and Reliability Engineering International Vol(14):301311. Pande P, Neuman R, Cavanaugh R(2002) The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies are Honing Their Performance. McGraw-Hill: New York.. Munro R.(2003) Linking Six Sigma with QS-9000. Quality Progress Vol(5):4753. Hahn G, Doganaksoy N, Hoerl R. The evolution of Six Sigma. Quality Engineering 2003; 12(3):317326.
Knowledge Management
U.Syed Aktharsha
Abstract
Knowledge is an important organizational resource. Unlike other inert organizational resources, the application of existing knowledge has the potential to generate new knowledge. Not only can knowledge be replenished in use, it can also be combined and recombined to generate new knowledge. Once created, knowledge can be articulated, shared, stored, and re-contextualized to yield options for the future. For all of these reasons, knowledge has the potential to be applied across time and space to yield increasing returns (Garud & Kumaraswamy, 2005). The strategic management of organizational knowledge is a key factor that can help organizations to sustain competitive advantage in volatile environments. Organizations are turning to knowledge management initiatives and technologies to leverage their knowledge resources. Knowledge management can be defined as a systemic and organizationally specified process for acquiring, organizing, and communicating knowledge of employees so that other employees may make use of it to be more effective and productive in their work (Kankanhalli, Tan, & Wei, 2005). Knowledge management is also important in inter organizational relationships. This article attempts to explain the theoretical framework of knowledge and knowledge management in terms of knowledge characteristics, Knowledge categories, Knowledge value level and Knowledge Needs identification. Key words: Knowledge, Knowledge Management, Tacit and Explicit Knowledge.
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Introduction Knowledge is a renewable, reusable, and accumulating resource of value to the organization when applied in the production of products and services. Knowledge cannot, as such, be stored in computers: it can only be stored in the human brain. Knowledge is what a knower knows; there is no knowledge without someone knowing it. The need for a knower in knowledge existence raises the question as to how knowledge can exist outside the heads of individuals. Although knowledge cannot originate outside the heads of individuals, it can be argued that knowledge can be represented in and often embedded in organizational processes, routines, and networks, and sometimes in document repositories. However, knowledge is seldom complete outside of an individual. Knowledge is defined as information combined with experience, context, interpretation, reflection, intuition, and creativity. Information becomes knowledge once it is processed in the mind of an individual. This knowledge then becomes information again once it is articulated or communicated to others in the form of text, computer output, spoken or written words, or other means. Knowledge management is also important in inter organizational relationships. Inter organizational relationships have been recognized to provide two distinct potential benefits: short term operational efficiency and longer-term new knowledge creation. For example, the need for continual value innovation is driving supply chains to evolve from a pure transactional focus to leveraging inter organizational partnerships for sharing information and, ultimately, market knowledge creation. Supply chain partners are engaging in interlinked processes that enable rich (broad-ranging, highquality, and privileged) information sharing, and building information technology infrastructures that allow them to process information obtained from their partners to create new knowledge (Malhotra, Gosain, & El Sawy, 2005). Knowledge Characteristics Six characteristics of knowledge can distinguish it from information: knowledge is a human act, knowledge is the residue of thinking, knowledge is created in the present moment, knowledge belongs to communities, knowledge circulates through communities in many ways, and new knowledge is created at the boundaries of old. This definition and
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these characteristics of knowledge are based on current research (e.g., Poston & Speier, 2005; Ryu, Kim, Chaudhury, & Rao, 2005; Sambamurthy & Subramani, 2005; Tanriverdi, 2005; Wasko & Faraj, 2005). Today, any discussion of knowledge quickly leads to the issue of how knowledge is defined. A pragmatic definition defines the topic as the most valuable form of content in a continuum starting at data, encompassing information, and ending at knowledge. Typically, data is classified, summarized, transferred, or corrected in order to add value, and become information within a certain context. This conversion is relatively mechanical and has long been facilitated by storage, processing, and communication technologies. These technologies add place, time, and form utility to the data. In doing so, the information serves to inform or reduce uncertainty within the problem domain. Therefore, information is united with the context, that is, it only has utility within the context (Grover & Davenport, 2001). Knowledge has the highest value, the most human contribution, the greatest relevance to decisions and actions, and the greatest dependence on a specific situation or context. It is also the most difficult of content types to manage, because it originates and is applied in the minds of human beings. People who are knowledgeable not only have information, but also have the ability to integrate and frame the information within the context of their experience, expertise, and judgment. In doing so, they can create new information that expands the state of possibilities, and in turn allows for further interaction with experience, expertise, and judgment. Therefore, in an organizational context, all new knowledge stems from people. Some knowledge is incorporated in organizational artifacts like processes, structures, and technology. However, institutionalized knowledge often inhibits competition in a dynamic context, unless adaptability of people and processes (higher order learning) is built into the institutional mechanisms themselves. Our concern with distinctions between information and knowledge is based on real differences as well as technology implications. Real differences between information and knowledge do exist, although for most practical purposes these differences are of no interest at all. Information technology implications are concerned with the argument that computers can only manipulate electronic information, not electronic knowledge. Business systems are loaded with information, but without knowledge. Davenport and Prusak (1998) define
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knowledge as a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insights that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories, but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms. Distinctions are often made between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom: Data are letters and numbers without meaning. Data are independent, isolated measurements, characters, numerical characters, and symbols. Information is data that are included in a context that makes sense. For example, 40 degrees can have different meaning depending on the context. There can be a medical, geographical, or technical context. If a person has 40 degrees Celsius in fever, that is quite serious. If a city is located 40 degrees north, we know that it is far south of Norway. If an angle is 40 degrees, we know what it looks like. Information is data that make sense, because it can be understood correctly. People turn data into information by organizing it into some unit of analysis, for example, dollars, dates, or customers. Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose. Knowledge is information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection. Knowledge is a renewable resource that can be used over and over, and that accumulates in an organization through use and combination with employees experience. Humans have knowledge; knowledge cannot exist outside the heads of individuals in the company. Information becomes knowledge when it enters the human brain. This knowledge transforms into information again when it is articulated and communicated to others. Information is an explicit representation of knowledge; it is in itself no knowledge. Knowledge can both be truths and lies, perspectives and concepts, judgments and expectations. Knowledge is used to receive information by analyzing, understanding, and evaluating; by combining, prioritizing, and decision making; and by planning, implementing, and controlling.
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Wisdom is knowledge combined with learning, insights, and judgmental abilities. Wisdom is more difficult to explain than knowledge since the levels of context become even more personal and thus, the higher-level nature of wisdom renders it more obscure than knowledge. While knowledge is mainly sufficiently generalized solutions, wisdom is best thought of as sufficiently generalized approaches and values that can be applied in numerous and varied situations. Wisdom cannot be created like data and information, and it cannot be shared with others like knowledge. Because the context is so personal, it becomes almost exclusive to our own minds, and incompatible with the minds of others without extensive transaction. This transaction requires not only a base of knowledge and opportunities for experiences that help create wisdom, but also the processes of introspection, retrospection, interpretation, and contemplation. We can value wisdom in others, but we can only create it ourselves. Grover and Davenport (2001) calls these definitions pragmatic, as a continuum is used, starting from data, encompassing information, and ending at knowledge in this book. The most valuable form of content in the continuum is knowledge. Knowledge has the highest value, the most human contribution, the greatest relevance to decisions and actions, and the greatest dependence on a specific situation or context. It is also the most difficult of content types to manage, because it originates and is applied in the minds of human beings. It has been argued that expert systems using artificial intelligence are able to do knowledge work. The chess-playing computer called Deep Blue by IBM is frequently cited as an example. Deep Blue can compete with the best human players because chess, though complex, is a closed system of unchanging and codifiable rules. The size of the board never varies, the rules are unambiguous, the moves of the pieces are clearly defined, and there is absolute agreement about what it means to win or lose (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Deep Blue is no knowledge worker; the computer only performs a series of computations at extremely high speed. While knowledge workers develop knowledge, organizations learn. Therefore, the learning organization has become a term frequently used. The learning organization is similar to knowledge
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development. While knowledge development is taking place at the individual level, organizational learning is taking place at the firm level. Organizational learning occurs when the firm is able to exploit individual competence in new and innovative ways. Organizational learning also occurs when the collective memory including local language, common history and routinesexpands. Organizational learning causes growth in the intellectual capital. Learning is a continuous, never-ending process of knowledge creation. A learning organization is a place where people are constantly driven to discover what has caused the current situation, and how they can change the present. To maintain competitive advantage, an organizations investment decisions related to knowledge creation are likely to be strategic in nature (Chen & Edgington, 2005). Alavi and Leidner (2001) make the case that the hierarchy of data-information-knowledge can be of a different nature. Specifically, they claim that knowledge can be the basis for information, rather than information the basis for knowledge. Knowledge must exist before information can be formulated and before data can be measured to form information. As such, raw data do not exist: the thought or knowledge processes that led to its identification and collection have already influenced even the most elementary piece of data. It is argued that knowledge exists that when articulated, verbalized, and structured, becomes information that when assigned a fixed representation and standard interpretation, becomes data (Alavi & Leidner, 2001, p. 109): Critical to this argument is the fact that knowledge does not exist outside an agent (a knower): it is indelibly shaped by ones needs as well as ones initial stock of knowledge. Knowledge is thus the result of cognitive processing triggered by the inflow of new stimuli. Consistent with this view, we posit that information is converted to knowledge once it is processed in the mind of individuals and the knowledge becomes information once it is articulated and presented in the form of text, graphics, words, or other symbolic forms. A significant implication of this view of knowledge is that for individuals to arrive at the same understanding of data or information, they must share a certain knowledge base. Another important implication of this definition of knowledge is
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that systems designed to support knowledge in organizations may not appear radically different from other forms of information systems, but will be geared toward enabling users to assign meaning to information and to capture some of their knowledge in information and/or data. Knowledge Value Level It is not difficult to agree with this reasoning. In fact, our hierarchy from data via information to Knowledge is not so much a road or direction as it is a way of suggesting resource value levels. Knowledge is a more valuable resource to the organization than information, and information is a more valuable resource than data. This is illustrated in Figure 1. The figure illustrates that it is less the knowledge existing at any given time, per se, than the organizations ability to effectively apply the existing knowledge to develop new knowledge, and to take action that forms the basis for achieving long-term competitive advantage from knowledge-based assets. According to Grover and Davenport (2001), knowledge processes lie somewhere between information and the organizations source of revenue: its products and services. This process can be generically represented in three sub processes: knowledge generation, knowledge codification, and knowledge transfer/realization. Knowledge generation includes all processes involved in the acquisition and development of knowledge. Knowledge codification involves the conversion of knowledge into accessible and applicable formats. Knowledge transfer includes the movement of knowledge from its point of generation or codified form to the point of use. One of the reasons that knowledge is such a difficult concept is because this process is recursive, expanding, and often discontinuous. Figure 1. Value Level of Resources in an organization Strategic Value Knowledge Resources Non-strategic Value Data Resources Knowledge Development Information Resources
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Short term value
Long term value
According to Grover and Davenport (2001), many cycles of generation, codification, and transfer are concurrently occurring in businesses. These cycles feed on each other. Knowledge interacts with information to increase the state space of possibilities, and provide new information that can then facilitate generation of new knowledge. The knowledge process acts on information to create new information that allows for greater possibilities to fulfill old or possibly new organizational needs. This process is often discontinuous, where new needs and their fulfillment mechanism could be created. In our resource-based perspective of knowledge, data is raw numbers and facts, information is processed data, and knowledge is information combined with human thoughts. Knowledge is the result of cognitive processing triggered by the inflow of new stimuli. Information is converted to knowledge once it is processed in the mind of individuals, and the knowledge becomes information once it is articulated and presented to Figure 1. . Value levels of resources in the organization Strategic value Non-strategic value Shortterm value Long-term value others. A significant implication of this view of knowledge is that for individuals to arrive at the same understanding of information, they must share the same knowledge framework. In Figure 1, we can imagine that data are assigned meaning and become information, that information is understood and interpreted by individuals and becomes knowledge, and that knowledge is applied and develops into new knowledge. We can also imagine the opposite route. Knowledge develops in the minds of individuals. This knowledge development causes an increase in knowledge resources. When the new knowledge is articulated, verbalized, and structured, it becomes information and causes an increase in information resources. When information is assigned a fixed representation and standard interpretation, it becomes data and causes an increase in data resources. There are alternatives to our perspective of knowledge as a resource in the organization. Identification of Knowledge Needs
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To classify knowledge as a resource, there has to be a need for that knowledge. Hence, identification of knowledge needs in an organization is important. Three supplementary methods exist to identify needs for knowledge, as illustrated in Figure 2: Problem decision analysis. This method aims at identifying and specifying problems that knowledge workers have, solutions they can find, decisions they have to make, and what knowledge they need to solve problems and make decisions. For a lawyer, the problem can be an insurance claim by a client, the decision can be how to approach the insurance company, and the knowledge need can be outcomes of similar cases handled by the law firm.
Critical success factors. This method aims at identifying and specifying what factors cause success. Success can be at firm level, individual level, or individual case level. For a lawyer, critical success factors at the individual case level can be quality of legal advice and service level of advice delivery. Critical knowledge in this case includes legal knowledge as well as procedural knowledge.
Ends means analysis. This method aims at identifying and specifying external demands and expectations to goods and services from the firm. For a lawyer, the client expectation might be that she or he wins the case. The end is winning the case. Knowledge needs associated with winning a case includes legal, procedural, and analytical knowledge of successful cases in the past. The means for winning a case might be access to resources of various kinds, such as client documents and client funds. Knowledge needs associated with means include historical records and analysis of legal client practice.
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Knowledge categories Many researchers have tried to define categories and dimensions of knowledge. A common distinction is made between explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can be expressed in words and numbers and shared in the form of data, scientific formulae, specifications, manuals, and the like. This kind of knowledge can be readily transmitted between individuals, both formally and systematically. Tacit knowledge is, on the other hand, highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate or share with others. Subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches fall into this category of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is deeply rooted in an individuals actions and experience as well as in the ideals, values, or emotions he or she embraces. Tacit knowledge is embedded in the human brain and cannot be expressed easily, while explicit knowledge can be easily codified. Both types of knowledge are important, but Western firms have focused largely on managing explicit knowledge (Grover & Davenport, 2001).
Figure 2. Methods to identify knowledge needs Problem Decision Analysis Problem Decision Solution Knowledge Knowledge
Success factor
Critical Success Factors
Knowledge
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End Mean Analysis End Means Result Process

Knowledge
Knowledge
Tacitness may be considered as a variable, with the degree of tacitness being a function of the extent to which the knowledge is or can be codified and abstracted. Knowledge may dynamically shift between tacit and explicit over time, although some knowledge always will remain tacit. Nonaka et al. (Nonaka, Toyama, & Konno, 2000) have suggested that knowledge creation is a spiraling process of interactions between explicit and tacit knowledge. This spiraling process consists of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization, as we will see later in this chapter. The concept of tacit knowledge corresponds closely to the concept of knowledge with a low level of codification. Codification is the degree to which knowledge is fully documented or expressed in writing at the time of transfer between two persons. The complexity of knowledge increases with lower levels of codification. A similar distinction, which scholars frequently make, is between practical, experience-based knowledge and the theoretical knowledge derived from reflection and abstraction from that experience. A distinction is sometimes made between codification and personalization. This distinction is related to the tacit vs. explicit concept. It involves an organizations approach to knowledge transfer. Companies using codification approaches rely primarily on repositories of explicit knowledge. Personalization approaches imply that the primary mode of knowledge transfer is direct interaction among people. Both are necessary in most organizations, but an increased focus on one approach or the other at any given time within a specific organization may be appropriate (Grover & Davenport, 2001). Explicit knowledge is sometimes called articulable knowledge (Hitt, Bierman, Shumizu, & Kochhar, 2001). Articulable knowledge can be codified, and thus can be written and easily transferred. Tacit knowledge is not articulable, and therefore cannot be easily transferred. Tacit knowledge is often embedded in uncodified routines and in a firms
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social context. More specifically, it is partially embedded in individual skills and partially embedded in collaborative working relationships within the firm. Tacit knowledge is integral to professional skills. As a result, tacit knowledge is often unique, difficult to imitate, and uncertain. It has a higher probability of creating strategic value than articulable knowledge. Distinctions can be made between core, advanced, and innovative knowledge. These knowledge categories indicate different levels of knowledge sophistication. Core knowledge is that minimum scope and level of knowledge required for daily operations, while advanced knowledge enables a firm to be competitively viable, and innovative knowledge is the knowledge that enables the firm to lead its industry and competitors:
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Core knowledge is the basic knowledge required to stay in business. This is the type of knowledge that can create efficiency barriers for entry of new companies, as new competitors are not up to speed in basic business processes. Since core knowledge is present at all existing competitors the firm must have this knowledge, even though it will provide the firm with no advantage that distinguishes it from its competitors. Core knowledge is that minimum scope and level of knowledge required just to play the game. Having that level of knowledge and capability will not assure the long-term competitive viability of the firm, but does present a basic industry knowledge barrier to entry. Core knowledge tends to be commonly held by members of an industry and therefore, provides little advantage other than over nonmembers (Zack, 1999). In a law firm, examples of core knowledge include knowledge of the law, knowledge of the courts, knowledge of clients, and knowledge of procedures. For a student in the business school, core knowledge includes knowledge of what subjects to study this term and where the lectures take place. According to Tiwana (2002), core knowledge is the basic level of knowledge required just to play the game. This is the type of knowledge that creates a barrier for entry of new companies. Since this level of knowledge is expected of all competitors, you must have it, even though it will provide your company with no advantage that distinguishes it from its
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competitors. Let us take two examples: One from the consumer electronics (hard product) business and one from Internet programming (soft product). To enter the modem manufacturing market, a new company must have extensive knowledge of these aspects: a suitable circuit design, all electronic parts that go into a modem, fabricating surface mount (SMD) chip boards, how to write operating system drivers for modems, and familiarity with computer telephony standards. Similarly, a company developing Web sites for, say, florists, needs server hosting capabilities, Internet programming skills, graphic design skills, clearly identified target markets, and necessary software. In either case, just about any competitor in those businesses is assumed to have this knowledge in order to compete in their respective markets; such essential knowledge, therefore, provides no advantage over other market players.
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Advanced knowledge is what makes the firm competitively visible and active. Such knowledge allows the firm to differentiate its products and services from that of a competitor through the application of superior knowledge in certain areas. Such knowledge allows the firm to compete head on with its competitors in the same market and for the same set of customers. Advanced knowledge enables a firm to be competitively viable. The firm may have generally the same level, scope, or quality of knowledge as its competitors, although the specific knowledge content will often vary among competitors, enabling knowledge differentiation. Firms may choose to compete on knowledge head-on in the same strategic position, hoping to know more than a competitor. They instead may choose to compete for that position by differentiating their knowledge (Zack, 1999). In a law firm, examples of advanced knowledge include knowledge of law applications, knowledge of important court rulings, and knowledge of successful procedural case handling. For a student in the business school, advanced knowledge includes knowledge of important articles and books that are compulsory literature in subjects this term. According to Tiwana (2002), advanced knowledge is what makes your company competitively viable. Such
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knowledge allows your company to differentiate its product from that of a competitor, arguably, through the application of superior knowledge in certain areas. Such knowledge allows your company to compete head on with its competitors in the same market and for the same set of customers. In the case of a company trying to compete in modem manufacturing markets, superior or userfriendly software or an additional capability in modems (such as warning online users of incoming telephone calls) represents such knowledge. In case of a Web site development firm, such knowledge might be about international flower markets and collaborative relationships in Dutch flower auctions that the company can use to improve Web sites delivered to its customers.
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Innovative knowledge allows a firm to lead its entire industry to an extent that clearly differentiates it from competition. Such knowledge allows a firm to change the rules of the game by introducing new business practices. Such knowledge enables a firm to expand its market share by winning new customers, and by increasing service levels to existing customers. Innovative knowledge is that knowledge that enables a firm to lead its industry and competitors, and to significantly differentiate itself from its competitors. Innovative knowledge often enables a firm to change the rules of the game itself (Zack, 1999). In a law firm, examples of innovative knowledge include knowledge of standardizing repetitive legal cases, knowledge of successful settlements, and knowledge of modern information technology to track and store vast amounts of information from various sources. For a student in the business school, innovative knowledge includes knowledge of important topics within subjects, links between subjects, typical exam questions, and knowledge of business cases where theory can be applied. According to Tiwana (2002), innovative knowledge allows a company to lead its entire industry to an extent that clearly differentiates it from competition. Innovative knowledge allows a company to change the rules of the game. Patented technology is an applicable example of changing the rules. Innovative knowledge cannot always be protected by patents, as the lawsuit between
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Microsoft and Apple in the 1980s should serve to remind us. Apple sued Microsoft for copying the look and feel of its graphical user interface (GUI). The Supreme Court ruled that things like look and feel cannot be patented; they can only be copyrighted. Microsoft won the case since it copied the look and feel, but used entirely different code to create it in the first place. Many more categories and dimensions of knowledge have been suggested by researchers. The problem with most of these classifications is that they do not seem to satisfy three important criteria for classification. The first requirement is that a classification should always be complete, there should be no category missing. The second requirement is that each category should be different from all other categories, that is, there should be no overlap between categories. The final requirement is that each category should be at the same level, there should be no category including another category. Consider the following categories suggested by researchers: formal knowledge, instrumental knowledge, informal knowledge, tacit knowledge, Meta knowledge, and context-independent knowledge. These categories seem to violate some of the classification rules. For example, there seems to be an overlap between informal knowledge and tacit knowledge. Maybe Long and Faheys (2000) classification into human knowledge, social knowledge, and structured knowledge satisfy our requirements:
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Human knowledge. This constitutes know-what, know-how, and know-why of individuals. Human knowledge is manifested in individual skills (e.g., how to interview law firm clients) or expertise (e.g., why this case is similar to a previous case). Individual knowledge usually combines explicit and tacit knowledge. This type of knowledge may be located in the body, such as knowing how to type touch on a PC or how to ride a bicycle. This type of knowledge may be cognitive, that is, largely conceptual and abstract.
Social knowledge. This kind of knowledge exists only in relationships between individuals or within groups. For example, high-performing teams of tax lawyers share certain collective knowledge that is more than the sum of the individual
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knowledge of the teams members. Social or collective knowledge is mainly tacit knowledge, shared by team members, and develops only as a result of team members working together. Its presence is reflected by an ability to collaborate effectively.
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Structured knowledge. This is embedded in an organizations systems, processes, tools, routines, and practices. Knowledge in this form is explicit and often rule based. A key distinction between structured knowledge and the first two types of knowledge is that structured knowledge is assumed to exist independently of individual knowers. It is, instead, an organizational resource. However, to be complete, this knowledge has to be in the heads of individuals. Two dimensions have been introduced to classify knowledge. The first dimension is concerned with whether an individual knows. The second dimension is concerned with whether an individual knows whether he or she knows. This is illustrated in Figure 3. I can either have the knowledge (I do know) or not have the knowledge (I do not know). I can either be aware of it (I know it) or not be aware of it (I do not know it). Some researchers have argued that the real tacit knowledge is found in the right upper quadrant. In this dimension, I do know, but I do not know that I know. Tacit knowledge in this sense is also called hidden knowledge or non accessible knowledge. In his book, we do not use this extremely limited definition of tacit knowledge. Figure 3. Dimensions of individual knowledge
I do know
I know that I know
I dont know that I know
I know that I dont I dont know know
I dont know that I dont know

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We define tacit knowledge as personal and difficult, but not impossible to communicate. Classification of knowledge into categories and dimensions may depend on industry. For example, there are likely to be different knowledge categories in a bank compared to a law firm. At the same time, there will be certain generic knowledge categories such as market intelligence and technology understanding in most companies, independently of industry. When classifying knowledge in a firm, it is important to do the analysis without the organization chart. If you classify knowledge into technology knowledge, production knowledge, marketing knowledge, and financial knowledge, it may be because the firm, according to the organization chart, consists of a development department, production department, marketing department, and financial department. It might be more useful to introduce new knowledge categories, such as product knowledge, that include knowledge of development, production, marketing, and finance. By identifying cross-sectional knowledge categories and dimensions, solutions for improved knowledge flows in the organization will emerge. A law firm is a good example. A law firm is organized according to legal disciplines. Some lawyers work in the tax department, while others work in the department for mergers and acquisitions. The types of knowledge involved in the practice of law can be categorized as administrative, declarative, procedural, and analytical knowledge (Edwards & Mahling, 1997):
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Administrative knowledge, which includes all the nuts and bolts information about firm operations, such as hourly billing rates for lawyers, client names and matters, staff payroll data, and client invoice data.
Declarative knowledge, which is knowledge of the law, the legal principles contained in statutes, court opinions, and other sources of primary legal authority; law students spend most of their law school time acquiring this kind of knowledge.
Procedural knowledge, which involves knowledge of the mechanisms of complying with the laws requirements in a particular situation: how documents
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are used to transfer an asset from Company A to Company B, or how forms must be filed where to create a new corporation. Declarative knowledge is sometimes labeled know-that and know-what, while procedural knowledge is labeled knowhow.
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Analytical knowledge, which pertains to the conclusions reached about the course of action a particular client, should follow in a particular situation. Analytical knowledge results, in essence, from analyzing declarative knowledge (i.e., substantive law principles) as it applies to a particular fact setting. Classification of knowledge into categories and dimensions has important limitations. For example, the classification into explicit and tacit knowledge may create static views of knowledge. However, knowledge development and sharing are dynamic processes, and these dynamic processes cause tacit knowledge to become explicit, and explicit knowledge to become tacit over time. Tacit and explicit knowledge depend on each other, and they influence each other. In this perspective, Alavi and Leidner (2001) argue that whether tacit or explicit knowledge is the more valuable may indeed miss the point. The two knowledge categories are not dichotomous states of knowledge, but mutually dependent and reinforcing qualities of knowledge: tacit knowledge forms the background necessary for assigning the structure to develop and interpret explicit knowledge. According to Alavi and Leidner (2001), the linkage of tacit and explicit knowledge suggests that only individuals with a requisite level of shared knowledge are able to exchange knowledge. They suggest the existence of a share knowledge space that is required in order for individual A to understand individual Bs knowledge. The knowledge space is the underlying overlap in knowledge base of A and B. This overlap is typically tacit knowledge. It may be argued that the greater the shared knowledge space, the less the context needed for individuals to share knowledge within the group and, hence, the higher the value of explicit knowledge. For example in a law firm, lawyers in the maritime law department may have a large knowledge space so that even a very limited piece of explicit knowledge can be of great value to the lawyers. Alavi and
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Leidner (2001, p. 112) discuss knowledge space in the following way: Whether tacit or explicit knowledge is the more valuable may indeed miss the point. The two are not dichotomous states of knowledge, but mutually dependent and reinforcing qualities of knowledge: tacit knowledge forms the background necessary for assigning the structure to develop and interpret explicit knowledge. The inextricable linkage of tacit and explicit knowledge suggests that only individuals with a requisite level of shared knowledge can truly exchange knowledge: if tacit knowledge is necessary to the understanding of explicit knowledge, then in order for Individual B to understand Individual As knowledge, there must be some overlap in their underlying knowledge bases (a shared knowledge space). However, it is precisely in applying technology to increase weak ties in organizations, and thereby increase the breadth of knowledge sharing, that IT holds promise. Yet, absent a shared knowledge space, the real impact of IT on knowledge exchange is questionable. This is a paradox that IT researchers have somewhat eschewed, and that organizational researchers have used to question the application of IT to knowledge management. To add to the paradox, the very essence of the knowledge management challenge is to amalgamate knowledge across groups for which IT can play a major role. What is most at issue is the amount of contextual information necessary for one person or groups knowledge to be readily understood by another It may be argued that the greater the shared knowledge space, the less the context needed for individuals to share knowledge within the group and, hence, the higher the value of explicit knowledge and the greater the value of IT applied to knowledge management. On the other hand, the smaller the existing shared knowledge space in a group, the greater the need for contextual information, the less relevant will be explicit knowledge, and hence the less applicable will be IT to knowledge management. Some researchers are interested in the total knowledge within a company, while others are interested in individual knowledge. Dixon (2000) was interested in the knowledge that knowledge workers develop together in the organization. Employees gain this knowledge from doing the organizations tasks. This
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knowledge is called common knowledge, to differentiate it from book knowledge or lists of regulations or databases of customer information. Some examples of common knowledge are what medical doctors in a hospital have learned about how to carry out certain kinds of surgery, what an organization has learned about how to introduce a new drug into the diabetes market, how to reduce cost on consulting projects, and how to control the amount of analysis in maritime law cases. These examples all include the how-to rather than the know-what of school learning. Moreover, it is know-how that is unique to a specific company. In the law firm example, procedural knowledge was classified as know-how. Conclusions To conclude, Organizations face number of complex challenges. Growth and competitive advantage has become strategic perquisites for any organization. Need for developing Information and Knowledge structure is becoming increasingly important in order to achieve sustained growth in todays competitive environment. In order to organize the performance skills of employees working in the organization, it is important to coordinate their skills and energies in meaningful way. So there is an urgent need for organizations to study the prevailing KM Practices and Process and evolve suitable parameters relating to it.
References:
1. Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems:
Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107-136.
2. Chen, A. N. K., & Edgington, T. M. (2005).Assessing value in organizational knowledge creation:

Considerations for knowledge workers. MIS Quarterly, 29(2), 279-309.
3. Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1998). Working knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 4. Dixon, N. M. (2000). Common knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 5. Edwards, D. L., & Mahling, D. E. (1997). Toward knowledge management systems in the legal domain. In
Proceedings of the International ACM SIGGROUP Conference on Supporting Group Work Group (pp. 158166). The Association of Computing Machinery ACM. 6. Garud, R., & Kumaraswamy. A. (2005). Vicious and virtuous circles in the management of knowledge: The case of Infosys technologies. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 9-33.
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7. Grover, V., & Davenport, T. H. (2001). General perspectives on knowledge management: Fostering a
research agenda. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 5-21.
8. Hitt, M. A., Bierman, L., Shumizu, K., & Kochhar, R. (2001). Direct and moderating effects of human capital
on strategy and performance in professional service firms: A resource-based perspective. Academy of Management Journal 44(1), 13-28.
9. Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B. C. Y., & Wei, K. K.(2005). Contributing knowledge to electronic knowledge
repositories: An empirical investigation.MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 113-143.
10. Long, D. W., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of
Management Executive, 14(4), 113-127.
11. Malhotra, A., Gosain, S., & El Sawy, O. A. (2005). Absorptive capacity configurations in supply chains:
Gearing for partner-enabled market knowledge creation. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 145-187.
12. Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., & Konno, N. (2000). SECI, Ba and leadership: A unified model of dynamic
knowledge creation. Long Range Planning, 33(1), 5-34.
13. Poston, R. S., & Speier, C. (2005). Effective use of knowledge management systems: A process model of
content ratings and credibility indicators. MIS Quarterly, 29(2), 221-244.
14. Ryu, C., Kim, Y. J., Chaudhury, A., & Rao, H. R. (2005). Knowledge acquisition via three learning processes
in enterprise information portals: Learning-by-investment, learning-by-doing, and learning-from-others. MIS Quarterly, 29(2),245-278.
15. Sambamurthy, V., & Subramani, M. (2005). Special issue on information technologies and knowledge
management. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 1-7; and 29(2), 193-195.
16. Tanriverdi, H. (2005). Information technology relatedness, knowledge management capability, and
performance of multibusiness firms. MIS Quarterly, 29(2), 311-334.
Implications of Right to Education Act 2009 on Future Technical Education

D.Mavoothu Abstract
Indias demographic and economic conditions appear remarkably conducive to future technical educational development. The working age population in US, UK, Japan and some Western European countries are decreasing, while the same is increasing in India and Brazil. This will lead to shifts in jobs, skills and talent globally. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers says that mature economies are increasingly aware that they will be unable to withstand the pressure from emerging economies by competing head on with their human capital potential9. India has a lot of opportunities in human capital development. Of the BRIC countries, India is projected to stay the youngest with its working-age population estimated to rise to 70% of the total demographic by 2030 - the largest in the CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September ISSN 0975 7953 July -
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world10. To tap this opportunity India must go for a strategic investment in human capital. It reinforces the justification for further investments and policy changes in technical education.
Introduction The Right to Education Act 2009(RTE) is the gateway to Indias development. After the enactment of Right to Information Act 2005, the next breakthrough act was RTE. It makes the education the fundamental rights of the children in the age group of 6-14 years and from class 1 to 8. China introduced the Compulsory Education Act in 1986 which is similar to Indias RTE 2009. Because of that act, today china started reaping the benefits. In 2008, the enrollment in primary schools and middle schools across the China reached 98%. China gives very much importance to vocational and technical education. It gives free access to secondary vocational education since 2009. China produces much more engineers, doctors, scientists, and other professionals than India. They have many world-class universities. Mathematically, China is at least 2.5 decades ahead of India in education. After the introduction of the RTE, the Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal announced three major initiatives. They are Setting up of 2500 Kendriya Vidyalayas, Opening the door for foreign universities, and Setting up a high-power National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), which will subsume all the national level higher education bodies like UGC, AICTE, BCI, MCI, etc. In the light of the above developments, it is pertinent to analyse what are the implications of that on future technical education in India. The Main features of Right to Education Act 2009 The following are the salient features of the Right to Education Act 2009: - Free and compulsory education to all children of India in the 6 to 14 age group; - No child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education; - A child who completes elementary education shall be awarded a certificate; - Calls for a fixed student-teacher ratio; - Will apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir;
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Provides for 25 percent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class One in all private schools; Mandates improvement in quality of education; School teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose job; School infrastructure (where there is problem) to be improved in three years, else recognition cancelled; and Financial burden will be shared between state and central government.
What is Technical Education? Technical education creates specific human capital (Becker, 1964)1 and is not portable across ones life and from job to job. Technical education is to imbibe specific jobrelevant skills that can make the employee more readily suitable for a given job and would make him/her thus more productive2. Technology is commonly defined as a discipline or body of knowledge and the application of this knowledge combined with resources to produce outcomes in response to human desires and needs. Technology education draws its content from four universal domains: (1) sciences, (2) humanities, (3) technologies, and (4) formal knowledge. The sciences and humanities domains contain all recorded knowledge of the sciences and humanities. The technologies domain likewise contains all recorded knowledge related to the types of technology. The formal knowledge domain consists of language, linguistics, mathematics, and logic3.
Compulsory Education and Technical Education: Chinas Experience China introduced the Compulsory Education Act in 1986. As China consolidated the momentum of its rapid economic gains and drives more openly into the market environment, the quality of human resources was considered as an important determinant of the countrys competitiveness. However, there is very narrow access to higher education, particularly among the poor. The students who exit from education system create an oversupply of labour with senior secondary schooling, thereby affecting their wages and eventually dampening returns on investment4. A comparison between India
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and China in promoting high quality technical education shows that China has developed the technical education sector much more rapidly than India. China has produced more
than 5,000 Ph.D. holders per year compared to India's 1,000. China has also successfully implemented the concept of scalability(Pai,2009)5. Overall, China has encashed its Compulsory Education Act 1986 to promote its vocational and technical education.
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The Current Status of Technical Education in India Since 1947, when independence was achieved, India has been one of the few developing countries to invest extensively in both Science and Technical education. Indias first IIT was started in 1950 at Kharagpur. India's technical education landscape was initially dominated by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), which had good faculty and facilities and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) which had a good three-year Bachelor of Science diploma/degree programme in engineering. However, the growth of IITs and IISc, in terms of both scalability and accountability, seemed to have gradually declined beginning in the late 1960's. In fact, no IIT or IISc was again put in place until 1995, which clearly indicates a failure on the part of the Indian government. A large number of private engineering colleges with poor facilities and unqualified faculty thus came about after 1970; constituting nearly 75 percent of the total intake of engineering students. These colleges now number approximately 1,100 compared to the seven IITs and one IISc, causing the IT industries, et al, to deem only about 20 percent of first degree holders employable. Thus, technical education developed a distorted image; graduating over 2,30,000 Bachelor's degree students, 20,000 Master's degree students, and 1,000 Ph.D. degree students in 2006. By contrast, according to a December 2008 report from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, IITs and IISc graduate only 1 percent of this number at the Bachelor's level, 4 percent at the Master's level, and 40 percent at the Ph.D. level. For a mere 3,000 seats in IITs there are close to 3,00,000 applicants. Experience has shown that at least 10-15 percent of those applicants are of IIT quality and comparable to the students at major public universities in the U.S. A direct consequence of this was an enormous, but unfortunate growth of coaching institutes where many students enrolled for two years prior to taking the IIT entrance exam. The fact that a large number of non-IIT students turn out to be equally competent and innovative was largely ignored until about a decade ago6. Table: 1 Indias Higher Education Institutions [Branch-wise share (in %)]
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Branch Arts, Science&Commerce Medical
Percentage 56 10
Engg.,Technical&Architecture Teacher Training Polytechnics Others
07 08 06 13
Total
100%
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Source: The Financial Express (Online), Dec 26, 2009
The above table shows that the Indian higher education is dominated by the general education. The vocational and technical educations are given a backseat driving. Implications of RTE on Opportunities in Future Technical Education If the RTE is delivered effectively, efficiently and equitably, then there will be a lot of opportunities in India in the field of technical education in future. It is said that in the Twenty First Century, 'a nation's ability to convert knowledge into wealth and social good through the process of innovation is going to determine its future7. For that a strong foundation of technical education is a must. The following are the implications of RTE on opportunities in future technical education:
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Quality Technical Education: As there will more aspirants every year, there will be growth in the supply of quality professional higher education (Kumaraswamy, 2008).8 Internal Efficiency: Availability of more aspirants and seats leads to generating maximum output at minimum cost. Opportunities for Faculty Positions: There will be a lot of opportunities for faculty positions in technical institutes. Competition: The quality of the IITs and IIMs remain largely untested currently since there is no meaningful competition. If the Harvards, Kellogs, MITs and the Stanfords are freely allowed to set up shop in India, the strength and quality of the institutions may get validated or competition may force them to improve their quality. In that case, there may even be an influx of foreign students seeking seats, which will help commercial expansion of our technical education.
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Demographic Dividend: Indias demographic and economic conditions appear remarkably conducive to future technical educational development. The working age population in US, UK, Japan and some Western European countries are decreasing, while the same is increasing in India and Brazil. This will lead to shifts in jobs, skills and talent globally. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers says that mature economies are increasingly aware that they will be unable to withstand the pressure from emerging economies by competing head on with their human capital potential9. India has a lot of opportunities in human capital development. Of the BRIC countries, India is projected to stay the youngest with its working-age population estimated to rise to 70% of the total demographic by 2030 - the largest in the world10. To tap this opportunity India must go for a strategic investment in human capital. It reinforces the justification for further investments and policy changes in technical education. Business Opportunity: Educating and training India will be a huge business and social opportunity11. Venugopal Dhoot, the Chairman of Videocon Group, says that the deregulation of higher education will result in creation of annual revenues of close to $100-billion and generate job opportunities for 20 million people in the field of education alone. Jeremy Williams, Chief Academic Officer, Knowledge Universe Education, estimates that India needs 2 million new teachers today and will be short 18 million teachers by 201512. The English Advantage: English, as a subject, is taught up to under graduation in India. The entire technical education is in English. English is the language of business in India and the large English-speaking workforce is a benefit to investors and employers. Investment in learning English language as such a great business opportunity13. Gauri Kartini Shastry demonstrated that Indian districts where it is easier to learn English benefited more from globalization: they experienced greater growth in information technology jobs14.
Implications of RTE on Challenges in Future Technical Education The following are the implications of RTE on challenges in future technical education:
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Scalability in Public Institutions: The government-run technical institutes are
always lagging in scalability. The IISc(Bengaluru) discontinued the diploma/degree courses in the engineering disciplines between the 1960's and 1980's and the concept of scalability (i.e. having a large student intake and a higher student to faculty ratio as is obtainable in reputed pubic universities in the U.S) was never addressed. A large number of private engineering colleges with poor facilities and unqualified faculty thus came about after 1970; constituting nearly 75 percent of the total intake of engineering students. These colleges now number approximately 1,100 compared to the seven IITs and one IISc, causing the IT industries, et al., to deem only about 20 percent of first degree holders employable15.
Intermediation: The coaching classes for the entrance tests to get admissions in
premier technical institutes like IITs, IIMs, NIFTs, NIDs, IIFTs, etc. will become still more commercial as there will be more aspirants for each seat and every one will try to increase the chances of getting the admission. More resources will go to the intermediary product (coaching classes) than to the final products (technical programmes).
Exorbitant Fee: There will be hectic fee even in the government-run technical
institutes to augment the revenue and to grow on their own.

Shortage of Faculty: Whether the technical institutes can attract the young scholars
to come to teaching at the frugal rate at which they pay the faculty? Private Actors: Technical education in the private sphere is largely a mediocre commercial activity that needs radical reforms16. In India there is an artificial shortage of good institutions. The IITs and IIMs are so selective and there are a large number of people wanting to get educated. But then India does not have a tradition of not-for-profit organisations setting up universities or colleges. Except, of course, those set up by the church and other such organisations. Supply would follow demand and here in India the public universities do not have the resources or the seats to meet the public demand. That is why private universities have come up17. Today, the government retains art subjects, and the private encash on the engineering and technological courses18.
Low Rate of Return: The future output from the technical institutes may be far
more than the labour market demands. So, the social rate of return to technical
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education investments may be below the returns to investment in alternative forms of capital. This may cast doubt whether further public expenditures in this sub-sector are justifiable.
Alternate Financing: Scholarships and student loans that eventually would help
reduce the differences in rates of return. But, given the present experience with these types of alternate financing is not encouraging.
Personal Cost of Education: In her book entitled Academic Capitalism, Professor
Sheila Slaughter discusses the ascendance of a corporate regime in higher education, which has focussed on using universities and knowledge as instruments of power and control, both within America and across the globe. Personal cost of education has risen with the decline of state support for universities. Racial, class, gender and regional inequalities have deepened19. The increasing number of aspirants will lead to self-financing technical institutes. That will increase the personal cost of technical education. It is already evident in India. Human capital investment in all countries is focusing on significant labour-market gains for the individuals, such as higher post-tax earnings, higher participation in the labour market and improved employment probability20.
Technical Education to the Disadvantaged: Providing quality technical education and training to the disadvantaged children is going to be the big challenge21.
Imperfect Information: There is a problem of imperfect information. People may not know which skills to invest in, or who provides the best education and other instruction. So, the students and the parents will have the herd mentality22. It is already happening in India. Suggestions The following are the suggestions/strategies to mitigate and reckon with the potential challenges in future technical education in the light f RTE:
The IIT Model: The IIT model of success needs to be replicated on a far larger
scale (Narayana Murthy, 2009)23. In fact, no IIT or IISc was again put in place until 1995, which clearly indicates a failure on the part of the Indian government24. While replicating these models, the issue of scalability must be addressed. Several reports regarding technical education or the AICTE guide lines state a figure of 15:1 as the desired student to faculty ratio. While this
48
figure is perhaps the norm in Ivy League schools in the U.S., it is not so in reputed public universities such as Berkeley, Illinois where the ratio is more than 20:1. These are primarily research universities with huge undergraduate enrollments where postgraduate students are involved in various aspects of faculty assistance. Tier I institutions in India must adapt this model and concentrate more on research. Enrollment into the existing IITs can be doubled within a year or so if incremental investments in infrastructure are made. In terms of hostel space, room sharing should be considered except for Ph.D. scholars, as is common in non-IIT schools and was the prevalent model before 1947 as well. One can make efficient use of classroom space during the daytime, run labs during both mornings and afternoons, and admit students in both semesters. Thus, more than 20,000 quality IIT undergraduate students can be generated in a four year time frame while some of the Tier II institutions can be upgraded to IIT status with no difference in undergraduate quality25.
Increase the Available Seats to Aspirant Ratio: The available seats to
aspirant ratio will have to go up for bringing down the coaching class fees and the tension level of the aspirants and the parents.
Avoid Intermediation: It is necessary to channelise the huge amounts spent by
society on intermediary coaching classes for financing the actual endeducation (Kumaraswamy, 2008)26.
Balancing Between General and Technical Educations: Both general and technical
educations contribute to economic growth. So, a balance has to be struck between size of general education and technical education. As compared to industrially mature economies such as Korea, Germany, Japan and the UK, where at least 70% of workers between 15-29 years have formal vocational skills, the corresponding proportion for India is a dismal 2%27.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP): Utilise the private sectors efficiency in
running technical institutes and raise resources by unlocking the governments brand value. The PPP can be opened only to public limited companies, which have greater financial reporting requirements than other entities like trust, societies and private companies. We need entities that are subject to adequate disclosure requirements and internal governance processes. There are listed public limited companies like NIIT in the education sector. It is believed that
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government is very serious about PPP in educational sector. In India the PPP model has proved to be successful in sectors like telecom, power, roads and ports28.
Decentralisation: Involve local bodies in setting up and running the technical
institutes. For example, in China, the municipal governments-supported universities became more popular than the provincial universities for the vocational programmes, especially in short-cycle courses29.
Short-cycle Courses: Universities and Colleges must give equal importance to
both short-cycle courses and 4 or 5-year academic programmes.

Socialistic Programmes: Provide incentives for socialistic programmes such as
reservations, creating facilities in remote centres and so on to meet the demand of technical institutions.
Resource Prioritisation: It would be prudent to target governmental resources
to those fields of study where the demand in labour market is high30.

Nationalisation of Admission Tests: Nationalise the admission tests to technical
courses as a National Testing Service on the lines of GMAT and mandate all the technical institutes to partner this initiative. Conclusion India needs the best intellect available for government, business, military, or any aspect of society to strive for global excellence (Narayana Murthy, 2009)31, and this can be achieved only by making use of the opportunities thrown out by the RTE in the field of technical education in future. Looking ahead, the future of technical education in India can be bright if certain decisions can boldly be taken for India to emerge as a leader in research and development as similar route taken by China several years ago 32. Though the industrial revolution was initiated in England, subsquently England lost the economic power to German, France and USA due to the fact that it did not focus on the vocational and technical education. And the general education dominated over the technical education in England. Thats a great lesson for India now; and so let us see that India does not do the same mistake that of England. Reference:
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1. Becker, G.S. (1964), Human Capital, National Bureau of Economic Research, New York.
2. 3. 4. Tilak, J.G.B. (2002), Vocational Education and Training in Asia. In Keeves, J.P. and Watanabe, R., The Handbook on Educational Research in the Asia Pacific Region, Kluwer Academic Publishers. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2536/Vocational-TechnicalEducation.html">Vocational and Technical Education - Current Trends, Preparation Of Teachers, International Context - HISTORY OF</a> [Accessed on 12 March 2010] Hossain, S.I., Making an Equitable and Efficient Education: The Chinese Experience. Available at: http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2000/02/24/000009265_39711 04185041/additional/116516322_20041117170042.pdf [Accessed on 12 March 2010]
Ethnocentrism in Consumer Behaviour for White Goods

Ms.Anagha Shukre & Vigyan Mishra
Abstract
Indian White Goods market is growing at a fast pace because of change in work life of consumers. More and more foreign companies are jumping in this developing segment of the consumer durables. As the need for "anytime anywhere" access to information is increasing, the sales of White Goods are also increasing. Other factors that are responsible for the hike in sales figure are reduction in prices and affordability. White Goods are now sold at approximately half the price at which they were sold two years ago. The third most important factor is duty free import of White Goods as a personal baggage that has helped a lot in increasing the penetration level of the product among the consumer population. Awareness about White Goods has also increased over the years. The paper primarily focuses on the ethnocentrism and positioning of White Goods of different companies in the market. The study has been done on the respondents of NCR to get an overview of the ethnocentric factors which influence their purchase decision in terms of White Goods. The tool used here is MDS. Keywords: Ethnocentrism, Domestic Economy.
Introduction and Need of Study Consumer ethnocentrism is defined as "the beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign-made products." Consumers who are ethnocentric believe that purchasing imported products is unpatriotic, causes loss of jobs, and hurts the domestic economy. Consumers who are non-ethnocentric judge foreign products on their merits without consideration of where these products are made. The study of consumer ethnocentrism would be appropriate in a market where fierce competition exists between domestic and foreign-made products. The emerging markets
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like India in South Asia fit that description today. In a marketing and consumer behavior sense, ethnocentrism refers to consumers' preference for domestic products and prejudice against imports. Consumer ethnocentrism results first from the love and concern for one's own country and the fear of losing control of one's economic interests from the harmful effects of imports. Consumers who are highly ethnocentric are unwilling to purchase foreign products and tend to look at the issue of buying foreign goods as a moral rather than just an economic problem. There was no proper study done to understand the Ethnocentrism of Consumer Behaviour especially with respect to White Goods. Today, big companies are encasing this concept by hitting the right nerves of the Indian Consumers. Its very easy to sell products in India if they are related to Indian culture, beliefs and values. So, it becomes very important to understand conditions and attributes of the Ethnocentrism Behaviour of the consumers. This would give an insight of the Indian Consumers and Indian White Goods Industry. The most well-known scale that measures consumers' ethnocentric tendencies is the CETSCALE, developed by Shimp and Sharma. The 17-item scale was rigorously formulated, refined, and validated in the United States. Although originally developed as a measure of American consumers' ethnocentric tendencies, the CETSCALE was subsequently applied and its psychometric properties validated internationally, in Japan, France, and Germany, Korea, Russia, and China. Consumers with ethnocentric tendencies have a proclivity to evaluate domestic products favorably, often unreasonably so, compared to imported products. This indicates a definite positive association between ethnocentrism and evaluation of domestically-made products, and a negative association between ethnocentrism and evaluation of imported products. Study of ethnocentric tendencies among consumers in a country, therefore, has clear implications for marketers. If the level of consumer ethnocentrism in a market is high, foreign manufacturers looking forward to expand in that market as well as domestic marketers distributing imported products will face a tough challenge. Review of literature Ethnocentrism study began last century with social psychologists such as Sumner (1906), who defines ethnocentrism as the tendency to view ones own group as the center of everything. Highly ethnocentric individuals tend to accept things culturally similar and reject things culturally dissimilar (Samovar and Porter, 1995). Since the 1980s, consumer researchers have adopted the construct of ethnocentrism. Shimp and Sharma (1987, p280) define consumer ethnocentrism (CE) as consumer beliefs about the appropriateness, or morality of purchasing foreign-made products. Individuals vary in CE and their levels of CE influence attitudes and intentions towards buying foreign goods (Klein, 2002; Orth
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and Girbasova, 2003). Highly ethnocentric consumers believe that buying foreign products or brands is unpatriotic and tend to favor local products or brands. Even online, CE may relate to consumer reactions to global and local appeals on websites (Singh, Furrier, and Ostinelli, 2004). Some researchers, however, question the broad capability of CE to explain consumer favoritism towards local brands and against foreign brands. Baugh and Yaphank (1993) posit that a foreign brands COO2 strongly influences local consumers attitude towards a particular foreign brand. CE may moderate COE, but the research is inconclusive. Batra et al (2002) found that Indians prefer non-local brands to brands seen as local but CE had no significant impact on their evaluations of foreign brands. In a study on the US and Korean consumers, however, Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden (2003) found that the level of CE moderated COE on perceived product quality. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have carried out a comprehensive Survey of industries in the consumer durable goods sector. The FICCI Survey, based on feedback and interaction with representatives of consumer durables industry, allied industry organizations, associations, Government agencies and public sector undertakings, reveals that sector is poised for a quantum leap due to technological improvements, falling prices due to competition, aggressive marketing and declining import tariffs. The Survey reflects the changing dynamics of consumer behavior luxury goods are now being perceived as necessities with higher disposable incomes being spent on lifestyle products. There is a discernible shift in the consumers preference in favour of higher-end, technologically superior branded products, the demand being spurred by increasing consumer awareness and preference for new models. This shift is also explained by the growing trend of products being manufactured in the organized sector of the economy and the narrowing down of the price differential between branded and nonbranded goods. Competition has forced companies to offer efficient after sales service and support and this, in turn, has swayed customer preference for branded products. The Survey highlights the positive growth trends in consumer durable segments white goods and consumer electronics during April-March 2004-05 and points to sustained growth during 2005-06 because of emerging opportunities and strong fundamentals of the economy. The FICCI Survey offers insights into the dynamics of growth in a competitive market environment. The Survey has identified that quality products with superior technology and technology up gradation has helped the industry to achieve higher growth in terms of volume and also in higher realization in value terms. Though CTV segment faced a de-growth in April- June 2005 sales of colour televisions declining by 5.3 per cent and in value terms by 14.1 per cent due to the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime introduced in April 2005, the flat CTV category achieved a volume growth of 36.2 per cent and value growth of 25.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2005-06. The refrigerator
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segment also has shown a similar trend with frost-free segment having about 54 per cent growth rate with about 15 per cent de-growth indirect cool refrigerators. There has been qualitative change in consumers preference going for higher end products. Rate of growth in production has been more in terms of quantity or in volume growth rather than the growth in value terms for a number of products. This has happened because of constantly falling prices over the years due to competition among the major players, aggressive marketing strategies, declining import tariffs. The price difference between branded and unbranded goods has narrowed down. The branded players provide good after sales services and support, thus resulting in consumers preferences to buy branded products. The consumer durables industry appears to have two clearly differentiated segments. The multinational corporations have an edge over their Indian counterparts in terms of technology combined with a steady flow of capital. The domestic companies compete on the basis of their wellacknowledged brands, an extensive distribution network and an insight into local market conditions. Competitive strategies revolve around strong brand differentiation and prices. Bargaining power of customers is high due to availability of many brands. Demand is cyclical and seasonal. Demand is high during festive season and is generally dependent on good monsoons. Purchase necessarily is done only during the harvest, festive and wedding seasons April to June and October to November in North India and October to February in the South. Rural India, which accounts for nearly 70% of the total number of households, offers plenty of scope and opportunities for the white goods industry. The urban consumer durable market for products including TV is growing annually by 7 to 10 % whereas the rural market is zooming ahead at around 25 % annually. Increasing consumer awareness and preference for new models have added to the demand. Products like air conditioners are no longer perceived as luxury products but are treated as necessities in the changed socio-economic environment with changed life styles. Attractive consumer loan schemes with reduced interest rates over the years by the financial institutions and commercial banks and the hire-purchase schemes have added to the surge in demand. Besides, the consumer goods companies are themselves coming out with attractive financing schemes to consumers through their extensive dealer network. The phenomenal growth of media in India and the flurry of television channels and the rising penetration of cinemas have spread awareness of products in the remote markets. The use of internet by the market functionaries has led to intelligent sales of the products. It helps to sustain the demand boom witnessed recently in this sector. The rising rate of growth of GDP, rising purchasing power of people with higher propensity to consume with preference for sophisticated brands would provide constant impetus to growth of white goods industry segment. Penetration of consumer durables
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would be deeper in rural India if banks and financial institutions come out with liberal incentive schemes for the white goods industry segment, growth in disposable income, improving lifestyles, power availability, low running cost, and rise in temperatures. While the consumer durables market is facing a slowdown due to saturation in the urban market, rural consumers should be provided with easily payable consumer finance schemes and basic services, after sales services to suit the infrastructure and the existing amenities like electricity, voltage etc. Currently, rural consumers purchase their durables from the nearest towns, leading to increased expenses due to transportation. Purchase necessarily done only during the harvest, festive and wedding seasons April to June and October to November in North India and October to February in the South, believed to be months `good for buying, should be converted to routine regular feature from the seasonal character. Rural India that accounts for nearly 70% of the total number of households, has a 2% penetration in case of refrigerators and 0.5% for washing machines, offers plenty of scope and opportunities for the white goods industry. The urban consumer durable market for products including TV is growing annually by 7 to 10 % whereas the rural market is zooming ahead at around 25 % annually. According to survey made by industry, the rural market is growing faster than the urban India now. The urban market is a replacement and up gradation market now. The increasing popularity of easily available consumer loans and the expansion of hire purchase schemes will give a moral boost to the price-sensitive consumers. The attractive schemes of financial institutions and commercial banks are increasingly becoming suitable for the consumer. Consumer goods companies are themselves coming out with attractive financing schemes to consumers through their extensive dealer network. This has a direct bearing on future demand. The other factor for surging demand for consumer goods is the phenomenal growth of media in India. The flurry of television channels and the rising penetration of cinemas will continue to spread awareness of products in the remotest of markets. The vigorous marketing efforts being made by the domestic majors will help the industry. However, the effective duty protection is still quite high at about 35-40 per cent. So, a flood of imports is unlikely and would be rather need based. Reduction in import duties may significantly lower prices of products such as microwave ovens, whose market size is quite small in India. Otherwise, local manufacturing will continue to stay competitive. At the same time, there will be some positive benefits in the form of reduction in input costs. Washing machines and refrigerators will also benefit from lower input costs. (Table 1) The Indian White Goods Industry Earlier in India it was perceived that a foreign brand means good quality and better product i.e. value for money. But now the things are changing rapidly. Indians have started relying more on Indian brands of products. And the reason for this is the
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ethnocentric connect they feel with the Indian brands. That is why the Indian players are doing well in the market. Companies have started using ethnocentric approach for not only advertising and promoting their product but also for creating a positive Indian perception in the minds of the Indian customers.(Graph 1: Penetration of Consumer Durables) Another year of impressive growth - Riding on the back of robust economic growth and soaring incomes, lifestyle aspirations became a central theme for Indian consumers who continued their enthusiastic purchase of home appliances and driving strong growth in 2007 for the domestic electrical appliances market. While urban demand was mainly derived from consumers seeking better features that tend to be premium priced, rural/semi-urban demand was thanks to low household penetration of domestic electrical appliances in these regions. Leading brands have invested in research to understand the consumer better and have subsequently met the specific needs of Indian consumers be it in terms of features, pricing, promotions and extending routes to market to a larger group of consumers in rural India. Urban India goes premium Consumers purchase decisions are no longer limited to basic appliances. More consumers are opting for high-end appliances that save on time and effort on housework. Also, there is an increased tendency among consumers to go for style and ergonomic ease. Some examples of premium products launched in 2007 were 4-door individual compartment cooling refrigerators which provide better food preservation, bottom mounted freezers as these are used less than the main compartments and thus reduce frequent bending. Other notable premium products included LGs DIOS refrigerator with a 15-inch TV in the door. Air conditioners are also becoming premium, providing not just strong cooling but also superior air quality (antibacterial filters) and are also aesthetically appealing (match wall colour, art/dcor finish panels). Rural Markets the durable dream - Having reached high penetration in urban markets, most appliances manufacturers are now looking to focus on addressing the low household penetration of household appliances in rural markets that are seeing growing incomes and increasing awareness due to the rapid rise of TV and other media. According to industry sources and articles in leading newspapers such as Hindu business line, per industry data, rural sales contributed about 25% of the total sales of refrigerators and washing machines five years ago, but rose to around 40% in 2007-2008. In view of the special consumer needs and lower affordability of rural markets (mainly power, water shortage), key players have started customizing products for rural areas. For example, Godrej rolled out a frost-free refrigerator under its sub-brand Champion, while Electrolux launched a battery-backed 170-litre refrigerator, Bijli, which offers 12-hour power backup, quite useful in a country still plagued by power cuts. Rising influence of modern retail -As per industry sources, since 2002, large chain retailers have contributed to a larger share of sales of domestic electrical appliances (as much as 8% of the total domestic electrical appliances market in India). Their bargaining power with appliance manufacturers grew sufficiently that
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they can compete aggressively in the distribution of appliances. In response, some manufacturers like Videocon are forward integrating into retailing. These developments are expected to further extend distribution networks so that appliances can reach more consumers and may appeal to international retailers which may seek to enter the market over the forecast period.LGs dominance continues, but competition from Indian players intensifies- LG continued its lead of domestic electrical appliances in India. Its strategy of offering products suited for Indian consumers at affordable prices, sold on the strength of aggressive promotions and a vast distribution network, has paid rich dividends. Korean manufacturers including Samsung have focused on fulfilling the demands of urban markets with premium appliances, while serving rural customers who have yet to purchase an appliance or are making tentative steps to feature laden appliances. However, Indian manufacturers like Videocon and Godrej have stepped up competition by launching their own products laden with features for the Indian consumers. The Indian brands have gained their shares quickly thanks to their extensive rural reach, longstanding trade relationships and their established brand recognition in India. Promotion of White Goods is mainly through its features and technology. But now one more aspect is being included and that is Ethnocentrism. White Goods have more liability in their promotions through their technical features, their price and user-friendly features. There are more factors to be considered during the marketing of White Goods. In our study we are going to consider different brands of White Goods available in India and their Indian way of promotion in the market. This includes their pricing strategy, the availability of models. We have many Indian and Foreign Brands of White Goods in Indian market. Every player wants their share from the market and hence tries to position themselves in the customers mind for longer period of time. One way of doing so is using ethnocentric approach to capture mind of consumers and Indian firms are doing it very effectively. Videocon was the first to cash this concept. The foreign multi-nationals are also now following their footsteps to have a proper positioning and perception of being and Indian brand. Positioning is done in the mind of the customers, as it is the psychological affect which induces the customer to arrive at certain decision. Too often India has been denigrated as an extremely price sensitive market. While the Indian consumer may be price sensitive this doesnt necessarily translate into the fact that we only buy cheap products. India is more of a value conscious market. As long as the Indian customer is convinced of the value he gets for his investment, price is not an issue. Price sensitivity means that the Indian consumer looks for value for money in every purchase. Whether they are buying a TV or LCD they ensure that they derive the maximum benefit from the purchase. But now the modern age Indian customers also see whether or not the brand has an Indian appeal or not. This Ethnocentric appeal helps in creating a sense of reliability in the minds of the customers. As soon as an Indian appeal
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comes for a brand automatically the consumer feels a connection with the brand. This Indian connection plays a vital role in creating a good perception about a brand. India as an Ethnocentric Market India is a country of many cultural values and beliefs. Over the past 20 years its political environment changed several times. At the same time, the Indian consumer, like other Asian consumers, became more sophisticated and demanding (Hou, 1997). In the past five years, India has seen an influx of major foreign industries and products. This is primarily due to the liberalization policy that was adopted by the Indian government. At the same time, advances in telecommunications (like direct television broadcasts from satellites) provided the Indian consumer some exposure to foreign products via advertisements (Lamont, 1996). Another media that is quite rapidly gaining acceptance as a valuable marketing type is the Internet. The slow but steady increase in the number of Indian consumers being exposed to the Internet will also increase. This in turn will likely increase the level of exposure of foreign product advertisements by the Indian consumer. Most human beings have a tendency to crave for goods and services that they cannot get. This is likely the reason that there was a craving for foreign made goods by the Indian consumer as well (Johansson, 1997). However, despite its foreign made status, there are some foreign brands that are not as popular in some developing countries as one would imagine. Cultural and social background of the person plays a big role in this aspect of their lack of need for such foreign made products. One of these culturally and socially determined factors affecting the attitude of potential customers toward the country-oforigin of the brand or company marketing or associated with the brand is consumer ethnocentrism. Often it has been stated that some marketers lose business in the international market because of the ethnocentric beliefs of the society in which they are trying to market their product (s). Like any other country, consumers of different generations, with a generation gap, coexist in the Indian market as well. India is a highly diversified country of many religions, languages, cultural values and beliefs. It has the largest democracy in the world. The political environment of that country is quite different from that of the United States and the governing power has changed hands several times in the past two decades. The Indian consumer is also much more knowledgeable now regarding different products and services, available to them, than they were only fifteen years ago. In the early 1980s, the Indian government started operating several hundred new television relay transmitters. Before that time, only a handful of large metropolitan cities in India, primarily the state capitals, had a television station or a relay transmitter. After the expansion trend of the early 80s, most Indian consumers were exposed to at least some kind of advertisements via the television media. And as it has happened in almost all countries, television advertisements played a significant role in making the Indian consumer an informed consumer. Beginning April
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2001, the Indian government removed quantitative restrictions on most foreign products. India has the world's largest middle class, estimated at 400 million. Research Methodology We use descriptive research design in our studies. The sampling technique is multistage sampling and the survey was conducted in Delhi and NCR region. The potential buyers of the products were interrogated. The sample size taken is 200. A highly structured nondistinguished questionnaire has been used for the study.
Brands & Attributes Considered For the Study
Based on a pilot survey following brands and attributes were selected for the study. The pilot survey for brands was based on taking the players which have national presence and maximum reach in India. And it was also made sure that a proper mix of Indian and foreign brands were taken. As far as attributes are concerned, they were chosen keeping in mind both Ethnocentrism attributes and standard attributes that an Electronic Good must posses. Not only pre-sale attribute like Brand awareness but also post sale attributes like customer satisfaction were taken in to account.
Brands Considered For the Study 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. SONY SAMSUNG HAIER PANASONIC LG VIDEOCON BPL PHILIPS SANSUI ONIDA
Attributes Considered For the Study 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Brand Awareness Indian Connect Price Impact on Indian Families Quality Design After Sales Service Customer Satisfaction Availability of service centers
Analysis & Findings

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Out of a total of 200 respondents,18% people fall under the age group of 20-25, whereas 36% are from age group of 25-30. 32% of the respondents are from the age group of 3035 & rest i.e., 14% lie in age group 35-40 years. From the total number of 200 respondents, 18% are college going students, 27% are service class respondents, 41% are businessman and 14% are housewife. Out of 200 respondents, 68% are males & 32% are females. Out of 200 respondent about 20% prefer LG ( which is a Foreign brand), 17% preferred Samsung, 16% prefer Videocon, 12% respondents prefer Sony, 9% answered in favour of Sansui, seven per cent answered in favor of Philips, 6 per cent favored Onida and Hair each while only 3 per cent responded for BPL. After filling up the 90 column and 200 rows of SPSS data, by using multi dimensional scaling technique, we get a table of 200 responses about the perception of the 10 brands and their 9 attributes taken for the study. We calculate the weighted mean of every column (like SONY Price. SONY Indian Connect, SAMSUNG Design, SAMSUNG brand awareness, HAIER Price, HAIER customer satisfaction etc) and finally we get the 9*10 matrix form of our weighted mean MDS data, which would be input to SPSS for final MDS output. The 9*10 matrix is given below followed by the Euclidean Distance Model ( graph 3).
PARAMETERS / BRANDS
HAIER
SAMS UNG
VIDE OCO N 3.70 3.58 3.37 3.58 3.30 3.83 3.30
ONID A 3.57 3.54 3.50 3.80 3.75 3.54 3.58
LG
PANAS ONIC
TOSHIB A 2.76 2.90 2.84 2.79 2.50 2.76 2.83
SONY
SANSU I
PHILL IPS 3.22 2.98 2.64 2.84 2.43 2.84 2.87
BRAND AWARENESS PRICE AFTER SALES SERVICE DESIGN QUALITY INDIAN CONNECT BRIGHTNESS
4.22 2.97 2.87 2.82 2.11 2.09 2.63
4.55 4.35 4.33 4.35 4.49 4.75 4.10
4.02 3.29 3.28 2.82 2.62 3.05 2.87
4.12 3.20 3.43 3.44 3.39 3.17 3.43
4.69 4.48 4.68 4.75 4.11 4.69 3.46
2.31 3.17 2.05 2.84 2.33 2.61 2.68
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IMPACT INDIAN FAMILIES
ON
3.53
3.05
3.27
3.13
2.97
2.92
2.46
1.77
2.61
2.50
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
3.85
3.42
2.70
3.38
2.62
3.43
2.99
2.20
2.62
2.79
The Lower Triangular matrix Optimally scaled data (disparities) for subject 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
.000 3.428 2.005 2.005 1.061 1.563 1.553 3.937 1.934 1.269 .000 1.910 1.563 2.611 1.934 3.404 1.269 3.937 3.252 .000 .458 .938 .530 1.563 2.028 2.005 1.389 .000 1.061 .394 1.826 2.028 2.370 1.656 .000 .732 1.005 2.951 1.563 .732
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10
6 7 8 9 10
.000 1.504 2.370 2.028 1.269 .000 3.428 .530 .285 .000 3.937 3.392 .000 .732 .000
Thus R-square indicates goodness of fit, whether stress value represents badness of fit. So for any research higher value of R-square and lower value of Stress is expected. The high R-square value represents MDS model is well fitted with the given problem. In our case,
Stress = .01417 RSQ = .99912
The iteration is given below: Young's S-stress formula 1 is used. Iteration S-stress 1 2 3 4 5 Improvement .03274 .02104 .01708 .01551 .01471 .01171 .00395 .00157 .00080
Iterations stopped because S-stress improvement is less than .001000 Configuration derived in 2 dimensions Stimulus Coordinates Dimension Stimulus Stimulus Number Name
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
HAIER
1.2333 1.0667 .5004
SAMSUNG -2.1263
VIDEOCON -.3419 -.1815 SANSUI LG PHILIPS BPL SONY ONIDA -.5498 .4756 .2264
.2776 .2858
-.1600
1.1330 -.4829 -2.3104 -.6946 1.5997 -.7866
PANASONIC 1.0469 -.2113
D r e S u sC n u a n e iv d tim lu o fig r tio
E c e nd ta c m d l u lid a is n e o e
1 .5 H IE A R
Dimension 2
1 .0
S MU G A SN 0 .5 SNU ASI 0 .0 P IL S H IP L G
V E CN ID O O
PNS N A A O IC BL P
-0 .5
S N OY
O ID N A
-1 .0 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
D e s n1 im n io
Through the Euclidean distance model, we come to know about the competition between the brands in the perception of customers or how the different brands of White Goods positioned in the minds of consumers. As far as the ethnocentric brands are concerned, we can see that the two Indian brands ONIDA and BPL have a similar perception in consumers minds on various parameters. There is a close competition between these brands. The third Indian brand Videocon has no competition from the other Indian brands. It can be inferred that it has a relative more positive perception. If we take price as a dimension then from this matrix we see that consumers perceptions about the brands
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SONY & VIDEOCON is negative. That is both are considered to be a high priced brands by consumers. HAIER & LG have no competition with the other brands, as there is no brand placed near them. As is visible from the graph, there is a neck to neck competition between ONIDA & BPL. PANASONIC is also a competitor. So, in the minds of consumers, all three brands share the same place. There is no competition between HAIER, SAMSUNG & SONY as far as Ethnocentrism is concerned. None has an Indian connection with the consumers. The three brands have stayed in three different places in different quadrants. These three brands have no competition with other brands also. There is tough competition between SANSUI & PHILIPS. VIDEOCON & LG are also the competitors. Due to its vast presence and clear visibility, many respondents initially thought of LG to be an Indian brand and thus it lies very close to VIDEOCON. SONY has its own space in consumers minds and has nowhere near Indian brands. It can be thus inferred that it has almost no ethnocentric approach in creating its perception. Similar is the case with SAMSUNG and HAIER. Conclusion The paper gives an insight into the ethnocentric studies with respect to the white goods industry. It gives certain ideas and views which the industry players can en cash upon. BPL which was once considered as a face of Indian white goods, today shows no connection with ethnocentric factors affecting the Indians. This may be due to lack of visibility and emergence of other players like Videocon, L.G. & Samsung. So, BPL requires promoting itself on the Indian ness of its brand. Surprisingly L.G. which is a Korean brand is giving tough competition to Indian brands like Videocon on the Ethnocentrism scale. In India L.G. is perceived to be an Indian brand and continues doing so. It has been en cashing this perception since it entered into our markets. Further Sony has its own space in the market but they have no Indian base. Sony could try to relate themselves with India, on the ethnocentric grounds. Similarly Samsung has its own share in market and has its own sets of customers. Hitting the consumer chords with some ethnocentric approach can work very well with these two companies. References:
1. Armstrong, Gary and Kotler, Philip, Marketing: An Introduction, 5th ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2000. Bilkey, W., and Nes, Johann, Country-of-Origin Effects on Product Evaluations. Journal of International Business Studies (Spring/ Summer 1982) : 89-99. Durables, from http://translate.google.co.in/translate?hl=en&sl=zhTW&u=http://etds.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/site/sh/detail_result.jsp%3Fid %3D093DYU01321023&ei=PaBRST0A9GGkAXZvPmxCg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ7gEwAA&prev =/search%3Fq%3DBaugh%2Band%2BYaphank%2B(1993)%252Bconsumer%2Bethnocentrism %26hl%3Den CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September ISSN 0975 7953 July -
2. Baugh and Yaphank (1993),A study of the Buying Willingness Impact of Product Cues for
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3. Batra et al (2002), Consumer Ethnocentrism And Chinese Attitudes Towards Store Signs In
Foreign And Local Brand Names from http://smib.vuw.ac.nz:8081/www/anzmac2005/cdsite/pdfs/9-Marketing-Int-C-Cultural-Env/9-Liu.pdf 4. Cheng Lu Wang, Zhen Xiong Chen, Consumer ethnocentrism and willingness to buy domestic products in a developing country setting: testing moderating effects from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet? Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0770210603.html. 5. Gerth, Jeff, Reports Show Chinese Military Used American-Made Satellites: White House Says It Can't Control Such Leases. The New York Times (June 13, 1998): A I and A8. 6. Hou, Wee Chow( 1997), Practical Marketing: An Asian Perspective, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, New York, NY. 1997, P. 11. 7. Johansson, Johnny K(1997), Global Marketing: Foreign Entry, Local Marketing, & Global Management, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Chicago, IL. 1997, p. 369. from 8. Klein, J. G., 2002. Us versus them, or us versus everyone?-Delineating consumer aversion to foreign goods. Journal of International Business Studies. 33(2), 345-363.
Marketing Problems of Rural weekly market A Case study of Dhemaji District, Assam
Chimun Kumar Nath Abstract
Rural Marketing is an attractive term as compared to what it was in the mid and late 80s. The present study is aimed at bringing out a focused analysis of marketing in rural areas. The works has delved into both secondary and primary data to present a comprehensive view of rural marketing the study is both diagnostic and suggestive in nature. It has mainly examined and analysed the aspects of rural market profile consumer behaviour in rural markets product and relating to product problems, ensuring business periods problems, location of business away from the markets problems, competition, etc. Based on a sample survey of Three major bocks of the Dhemaji District of Assam an attempt has been made to see the present marketing strategies for rural markets. From the study it has been observed that the rural markets of Dhemaji District at large has suffered from various problems of marketing mix like Product, Price, Promotion and also Place. An integrated approach is needed to overcome such problems. The role of a strategic approach also can not be ignored.
Keywords: Price promotion, Rural Market. Introduction
The market place is one of the few areas in modern society where people can participate directly in public life. India has the second largest population in the world and therefore can easily be interpreted that it has the second largest market in the world. With about 70 percent of Indias population living in rural India, marketers con not ignore the vast potential of this segment. Marketing may aptly be described as the process of defining, anticipating and creating customer needs and organizing all
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the resources of the company to satisfy them. In fact satisfaction of customers needs and wants provides the rationale for the firms existences. The rural market of India started showing its potential in 1960s. The 70s and 80s witnessed its steady development. And, there are clear indications that the 90s are going to see its full blossoming. The rural market consists of two segments as like The market for consumption goods including consumer durables; and The market for investment goods including agricultural inputs.
The rural markets are green pastures for any markets, provided his marketing plans are attended to the specialities of rural markets. The rural market is estimated to be growing faster compared to urban market. Being a new market it could be easily manipulated provided the manufactures develop an insight in to the behavioural patterns of rural consumes. The potential of rural markets is said to be like that of a WOKEN UP SLEEPING GIANT. Rural Market The term marketing connotes different meanings to different people; to some it is shopping, to others it is selling and still others understand it as purchasing as well as selling. Marketing is the activity undertaken by the companies to make and exchange transaction, a consummate and adding one bring out greater output at a minimum cost. Marketing in its most general definition is the dissecting of the flow of goods ad services from the producer to consumer or users. The definition of rural as given by the census of India is not urban. There could be several approaches to understand the rural market. Rural market is not an independent entity by itself. In fact, these are sociological and behavioural factors which affect the economy of rural market. Marketing in rural areas has a varied conceptual dimension as the events occurring in markets are necessarily taking place in a set of conditions affecting the rural dwellers and institutions hinterlands. In fact, by rural market, we mean the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods from urban to rural areas (For manufactured goods) and vice versa (for agricultural produce) and products manufactured by rural non-agricultural workers. Therefore, rural marketing has two major areas Marketing of agricultural products and Marketing of manufactured products in rural areas. Problems of Rural Marketing in Dhemaji District
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In the Dhemaji District context, rural marketing is a complex subject. For a business organisation, rural marketing is beset with a number of problems. The process of rural marketing poses many problems due to the vastness of the country and a high potentially for providing an effective marketing system. Besides, a few other problems stem from the underdeveloped markets and illiterate and gullible people constitute the major segments of the markets. The rural markets in Dhemaji have some peculiar problems compared to urban markets. These problems arise basically but of the peculiar dynamics of rural market Dhemaji District: the uniqueness of the rural farmers/Beparee, the uniqueness of the structure of the rural market and the peculiarities of the distributional infrastructure in the rural areas. The rural weekly market is a case for the introduction of traditional marketing activities of promotion, distribution, sales and servicing, by introducing appropriate innovation, selection and adaptation. It is hardly under-stressed that the development of rural markets depends on a difficult network of roads to connect the village to towns, and to transport products to the rural hinterland. Market development in rural areas will receive tremendous fillip if infrastructure, facilities for communications are strengthened. Travelling in the hinterland is extremely tedious and stay is a big problem. It is necessary to build more circuit houses or small motels in the interior villages. Research on rural market is very less and reliable quantitative data about the total size of the market for specific durable and non-durable products is not available. In the absence of adequate data and information about rural market, the marketer finds it difficult to evolve strategies and specific plans for rural markets. Review of Literatures Empirical support for the relationship between the marketing strategy and financial performance of a business has been provided by a number of studies. The majority of these studies have been based on the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy and have focused on company performance in the United States of America (Faria and Wellington,2005; Kyle, 2004). Various studies by Shim et al.(2004), ONeill et al. (2002) and Patterson and Smith (2001) have suggested that overall business performance is influenced by the marketing strategy. However, the results of the aforementioned studies are inconclusive. In the South African context, Cant and Brink (1999) studied the marketing perceptions of grocery shop owners whilst Martins (2000) studied grocery retail strategies based on the income and expenditure patterns of consumers. Neither of the studies has, however, attempted to verify the relationship between the marketing strategies and profitability of small businesses in rural market. It is against this background that the study has been undertaken.
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In order to measure the problems of marketing and its strategy effectiveness, a business has to break down its marketing function into constituent parts, along with a mechanism through which to analyse the interaction between those parts. By doing this, decisionmakers will finally be in a position to relate marketing expenses to shareholder value and to understand how to tie marketing initiatives back into the value created for the company. Decision-makers will be able to understand the internal motives that propel the marketing value of the business (Anonymous, 2006). The manipulation of the following marketing variables, namely price variation and price promotion, research, advertising, product differentiation, quality, packaging and place will yield in-creased returns for the firms. Each of the variables are discussed in more detail below Customer service The importance of service to the customer is often overlooked from the perspective of the firm. Firms may assume that a competitive advantage centres primarily on price and that the customer focuses on price and will, therefore, only buy the product that is the cheapest. Research has, however, indicated that the following factors also play an important role in customer decision making and could provide a competitive advantage to the firm, namely (Brink and Berndt, 2004): The availability of a backup service to the customers. The tailoring of business hours according to the needs of customers. The punctual fulfillment of promises.
The following aspects are important when a personal service is delivered to the customer, namely (Gummeson, 1999): i.) Know the names of your customers. ii.) Care for the needs of the customer and prove it by the owners presence in the business. iii.) Try to make the availability of the products to your target market as convenient as possible. Site and supply points are very important in this regard. iv.) Good service is to listen to the comments of customers. In this way, an advantage over competitors is created. v.) Select people orientated employees to serve customers. vi.) Train employees to render superior service to customers. Price variation and price promotion
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Price variation policy represents the firms price position, one that can range from stable pricing, featuring consistent, everyday prices and few price discounts, to highly promotional pricing, featuring frequent price discounts. Price variation and price promotion is a set of pricing and promotional decisions designed to communicate a price position to consumers and influence short term sales response and overall market performance (Lal and Rao, 1997). Price promotion advertising volume is the volume of advertising dedicated to communicating a price position. This dimension is independent of price variation policy in that retailers can elect to advertise everyday prices that promote a stable price position or sale events that emphasize discounted prices. The pricing policy that is favoured by customers will stimulate repeat purchases and eventually profitability. It has been observed that many retailers who operate in South Africas informal settlements have been accused of charging exorbitant prices (Cant and Brink, 1999). Research Consumers vote with their purchases in the grocery store everyday. The interest in cost and taste by discerning consumers has led to a greater demand for quality and higher principles towards production standards (Food Marketing Institute, 2005). It is against this background that consumers can and do drive research programs that can ultimately improve on a retailers profitability. The key to understanding how consumers would drive profitability is to understand issues around research and development. Investment is needed on research into consumer factors affecting the production, dissemination and adoption of new ideas, new technologies and new products in the grocery shop market as this affects the product offering by a particular retailer (Food Marketing Institute,2005). Advertising Advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion (Anonymous, 2006). Advertising allows a company to tell the benefits of a product to a potential customer. Advertising can be in a newspaper or magazine, on radio or TV, a billboard, internet or a variety of other means. Advertising is generally paid for, as opposed to publicity, which is usually free.
Product differentiation
Product differentiation is the modification of a product to make it more attractive to the target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as the
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firms own product mix (Bennet, 2002). The changes are usually minor; they can be merely a change in packaging or may include change in the advertising theme. The objective of a product differentiation strategy is to develop a position that potential customers will see as unique. If the target market of a business views the product as different from the competitors', the firm will have more flexibility in developing its marketing mix. A successful product differentiation strategy will move the product from competing primarily on price to competing on non-price factors such as product characteristics, distribution strategy or promotional variables. Quality improvements Research by Gilmore (1999) and Koskinen (1999) has, consistently, determined that consumers value highly the quality, choice and convenience offered by major supermarkets. They also want access to a wide range of goods at competitive prices and a convenient time, regardless of whether they live in a major city or suburban, regional or rural centres. Arnauld et al. (2002) defined perceived quality whether in reference to a
product or service as the consumers evaluative judgment about an entitys overall excellence or superiority in providing the desired benefits.
Packaging Packaging is a crucial component of the "marketing mix" for a product. It is the "least expensive form of advertising" and is of particular importance at the point of sale, as the package is the manufacturer's last chance to convince the customer to purchase the product (Anonymous,2006). Packaging plays a central role in promoting the appeal of products to first time users. The package serves as a strong image identifier among residents of townships. Blem (1995) stipulates that customers expect their goods and services to be packaged and presented conveniently. Attractive packaging, before purchase, is an aid to selling. However, after purchasing a product, the packaging becomes an aspect of service. The customer needs packaging that is suitable for transporting and storage and that is easy to remove. Place (Distribution) Place is also known as channel, distribution or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/service provider to the user or consumer (Meggison et al., 1997). Grocery retail stores sell all kinds of pro-ducts, and provide services needed to sell those pro-ducts. Most retail firms buy their products from wholesalers or other distributors in the form which they will sell to the consumer. The function of the retailers is to give products utility, that is, to add value by making them available to the consumer at a convenient location.
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Rationale Many studies on rural markets in India have dealt with certain agricultural products which are traded in the rural market. The rural markets are by and large, les explored and less exploited in Dhemaji district. A recent macro economic survey indicates that there is a great opportunity not only for further growth and distribution of consumer goods, but also increasingly, for products, which improve, farm yields. Rural Dhemaji has been reviewed so much that now there is and increasing stalls of rural marketing and separate set of marketing techniques exclusively for the rural markets is required. But before offering a suitable marketing mix, the marketers must understand the village marketing environment in rural Dhemaji. Rural sector is now poised for offering a vast potential to marketers which promises to be an opportunity for which are to be grabbed by surmounting the challenges and threats. There have been less focused studies analysing the rural market in the context of changing the rural market in the context of changing scenario of rural markets. The present study is an attempt to fill up this grey area on rural weekly market. The study has been confined to the Dhemaji Division of Dhemaji District. Only the Rural weekly markets have been considered as the subject matter of this study. The study has been further confined to only three blocks namely Dhemaji Development Block, Machkhuwa Development Block and Bordholoni Development Block. For this study only those local vendors who are basically producer of the products sold in these weekly markets has been considered. The branded and/or other products produced by any company or big firm have been kept out of the scope of this study. Objectives The main objective of the study is to analyse the present marketing pattern of consumer products in rural weekly market. To set direction for the study, the following objectives have been self forth. They are to: Examine the product penetration in rural weekly markets. Understand the pricing pattern in rural weekly markets. Review the publicity aspects in rural weekly market. Study the competition level in rural weekly market. Source of the Data and Methodology The data for the study are drawn from both primary and secondary sources. The results of various surveys by state level organisation have been used to sketch the
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profile of rural weekly market. For the specific analysis, Beparee (Vendor in Assamese) respondents have been selected from different village of the three blocks Dhemaji Development Blocks, Machkhuwa Development Blocks and Bordholoni Development Blocks of the Dhemaji District. To carry the data, questionnaire is administered to rural Beparees. The study also gathered information on the basis of personal presentation of the researcher from the retail outlets. It is a questionnaire cum direct interview method adopted for information collection. The data are analysed and tabulated for the interpretation. Apart from the primary data, information has also been gathered from books, reports and articles. As regards methodology, the study taken mainly four aspects for analysis i.e., product, price, promotion and place (they are questions mainly arise from rural Market-mix) from each market, ten marketers (baparees) are selected on convenience basis.
Sample of the Study According to the census of India the rural means not being urban. Based on this concept, the study was taken up in 10 selected markets from Dhemaji district. From Dhemaji development blocks four market were selected in total out of seven weekly market, three market were selected from Machiskuwa development block in total out of 5 markets, three market selected from Bordholoni Development Block out of 6 markets. Three development blocks have been selected on convenience basis. Care has been exercised to see that the selected markets are not near to towns (exhibit I). Exhibit I: Sample structure: District Development block names Dhemaji development block 1. Dhemaji Machkhuwa development block Machkh uwa weekly market. 2. Sissikal garh weekly market. 3. Bhutiku r weekly Bordoloni development block 1. Bordholoni weekly market. 2. Gogamuch weekly markets. 3. Jiabhol weekly market.
Market name 1. Moridol weekly market. 2. Shreepani weekly market. 3. Bishnupur weekly markets. 4. Lakhipatuer
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weekly markets.
market.
From each markets a sample of 10 regular Vendors have been drown. Thus sample Vendors from each market workout to 10 and the total number of sampled Vendors for the study comes to 100. The data has been collected through Questionnaire/ direct interview method to collect information from Vendors. The made and media used for collection of primary data have been distribution of questionnaires, and personal visit with interviews. The questionnaire was translated into Assamese (Local Language) so as to enable the respondents to understand the questions by an expert. For this study is order to compile and analyse the data, simple mathematical calculation like percentage has been used. Descriptive tables have been used to understand the information conveniently. Analysis The appropriate method of data analysis depends to a large extent on the nature of responses made by the respondents. In this study, the present researcher had tried to figure out the various marketing problems of different respondents, their preferences, and more importantly the problems involving marketing mix. The present researcher mainly depended on the primary data as a source of information. For this purpose, questionnaire and personal interviews has been used. The percentage tool was extensively adopted to evaluate the questionnaires. Apart from the primary source of information, secondary data source like journals, text books, annual reports, websites etc. also helped to the present researcher for further analysis of data. From the table 1 it has been observed that out of the selected samples 74 (74%) respondents have responded that they face the problems in gathering information relating to products. While 16 (16%) respondents did not feel that it is a problem and 10 (10%) respondents were found neutral. From the table 2, it is found that out of the selected samples 42 (42%) respondents have responded that they fetches lower price for their product. While 37 (37%) respondents did not feel in the same line and 21 (21%) respondents were found neutral in this aspect.
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From the table 3, it can be witnessed that out of the total selected samples 45 (45%) respondents have responded that they face problems in estimating the demand of their products. While 30 (30%) respondents did not consider it as a problem and 25 (25%) respondents were found neutral on this aspect. Further it has been observed from the table 4, that out of the total selected samples 38 (38%) respondents have responded that they face problems in getting customers regularly. While 33 (33%) respondents have opined that they did not face the problem and 29 (29%) respondents were found neutral. From the table 5, it was observed that out of the selected sample respondents 30 (30%) respondents have responded that they face problems in promoting their product. While 42 (42%) respondents reveals that they did not face such problems and 28 (28%) respondents were found neutral. From the table 6, it is found that out of the selected sample respondents 86 (86%) respondents have responded that they feel that the location of their manufacturing set up is far from the market. While 5 (5%) respondents did not respond it as a problems and 9 (9%) respondents were found neutral. 44 (44%) respondents have responded that there is a decline of profit margin in their products sold in these weekly markets. While 34 (34%) respondents did not feel in the same line and 22 (22%) respondents were neutral on this aspect (refer Table 7). From the table 8, it is found that 36 (36%) respondents have responded that they face the problems relating to frequently changing market conditions. While 23 (23%) respondents did not responded it as problem and 41 (41%) respondents were found neutral. 47 (47%) respondents have responded that they face the problems of getting information relating to prices of product in similar other markets. While 28 (28%) respondents did not face the problem and 25 (25%) respondents were found neutral (Refer table 9). From the table 10, it was revealed that out of the total selected samples 46 (46%) respondents have responded that they face the problems of competition from the big players for their product. While 24 (24%) respondents did not feel it to be a problem and 30 (30%) respondents were found neutral. Interpretation Based on the analysis, the following Interpretation and Major Finding has been
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furnished: Information relating to product is major problem for rural marketers like Govt. Scheme, loan, training centre, packaging etc. Packaging is the first important step of product processing. If the packaging cost is high, it will increase the total cost of products. It is suggested that the marketer should use cheaper materials in packaging for the rural market. From the table (Table-1) it has been observed that out of 100 (100%) selected samples 74 (74%) samples have responded that they face the problems getting information relating to product is a problem. While 16 (16%) samples did not respond the problems and 10 (10%) samples were neutral. So, it is major problems for rural marketers. The study found that the rural people fell product services is a problems. From the table (Table-2) it has been observed that out of 100 (100%) selected samples 42 (42%) samples have responded that they face the problems getting information relating to product is a problem. While 37 (37%) samples did not respond the problems and 21 (21%) samples were neutral. So, study found problems are more than prospects. Because, in the rural areas, there are no facilities for public warehousing as well as private warehousing. Rural farmers face the problem of storage of their crops. As they cannot hold their crops for some time, they have to sale their crops immediately at low price. Per capita incomes are lower in rural areas compared to those of urban areas. Again, the distribution of rural income is highly skewed, since the land holding pattern, which is the basic asset, itself is skewed thus the rural population presents a highly heterogeneous spread in the villages. So, rural marketers have been facing the problem of estimation of demand for their own products, as rural marketers depend mostly on the rural people income. The main problem of rural marketing is seasonal demand in rural areas and since 98 per cent of rural income is seasonal, the demand for fertilisers is always high during the start of Kharif and Rabi crops. The demand for consumer goods will be high securing the peals- crop-harvesting period, because this is the time at which the rural people have substantial high cash inflows. Rural people and demand depends upon income and consumer behaviour. Media have lots of problems in rural areas. T.V. is a good medium to communicate a message to the rural people. But due to non-availability of power, as well as T.V. sets, two-thirds of rural population cannot get the benefits of various media. But unfortunately study has revealed that the publicity is one of the problems of their particular areas, because they have no knowledge about the promotion.
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Transportation infrastructure is major problems in Dhemaji District. 95 percent of villages are roads do not connect the district. The Government had started a plan to connect every village with big towns under JAWAHAR ROJGAR YOJNA. But a discernible development has taken place in the area under study. As we know, marketing activities require transportation facilities. Due to poor transportation facilities, farmers faces the problem of reaching city markets and find it difficult to get fair prices for their crops. So, location of business away from the market is a major problem. Their main transportation tools for the local entrepreneurs is limited such as thella, bicycle etc. as from the analysis (table-6) it has been observed that out of 100 (86%) of selected sample have responded that they faces this problem. While 5% did not respondent to that problems and 9% were found neutral to this aspect.
Rural Marketing is an attractive term as compared to what it was in the mid and late 80s. The present study is aimed at bringing out a focused analysis of marketing in rural areas. The works has delved into both secondary and primary data to present a comprehensive view of rural marketing the study is both diagnostic and suggestive in nature. It has mainly examined and analysed the aspects of rural market profile consumer behaviour in rural markets product and relating to product problems, ensuring business periods problems, location of business away from the markets problems, competition, etc. An attempt is also made in the study present marketing strategies for rural markets. The rural market may broadly be categorised into the two following sub-markets viz, the market for consumption goods and the market for agricultural and other investment goods. The various surveys of National Sample Survey (NSS) showed that rural market has a vast potential. There have been less focused studies analysing the rural market in the context of changing scenario of rural markets. The present study is an attempt to fill this void in research on rural weekly markets. Conclusion The study has manifold implications. The study of the structure and characteristics features of rural marketing will be highly beneficial to marketers of consumer and industrial/Farmers goods in rural areas. The Dhemaji rural sector remained backward till recently, and the rural market was slow moving. This was due to several reasons such as excessive dependence on agriculture lack of education, poor consumption habit etc. Now rural Dhemaji district is stepping into other occupations such as business, Agriculture and other employments, leading to increased income. As a result a consumption revaluation is
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taking place in rural areas. In Dhemaji district, about 98% of the total population are living in the rural areas. Therefore more opportunities of doing business in future exist in Dhemaji District. From the case studies it was found that the Dhemaji District rural weekly market structure is discernible in terms of lack of knowledge about promotion, product knowledge, etc. However, since 98% people living in rural areas and 60% people are depend on the agricultural sectors. It has more opportunities doing business of in future. So some suggestions has been provided as it should be of most importance: There must be a marketing plan. The market structure and product responsibilities should be defined in the marketing plan. The plan should be easy to understand for all level of rural marketers/buyers. Market zones to be specified as strong areas and week areas to put suitable efforts and improve market conditions. The communication transportation should be developed. For that a proper methodology has to be adopted in order to implement the government projects properly. The local MLAs and MP should be made answerable to this effect. For that a movement of awareness creation among the rural youths should be campaigned by the NGOs, clubs, etc. Warehousing should be provided by the govt. to rural farmers. However, the role of NGOs can be denied in this aspect.
Future Study The district-side is where the markets of the future are likely to be. Urban markets are becoming increasingly competitive for many products. In some cases, they are even saturated. On the other hand, rural markets offer growth opportunities for firms not being caught up in intensive, inter-firm rivalry as highlighted in urban and metro markets. Marketing gurus describe rural markets as the market of the new millennium. According to them, marketers will have to understand the rural customers before they can make inroads in rural markets. So a comprehensive study about the causes and effects should be made regarding the rural market problems.
References:
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1. Afuah A (1998). Innovation Management: Strategies, Implementation and Profits, New York: Oxford University Press. 2. Anonymous (2005). MINITAB Release14 Statistical Software for Windows [On-line]. Available: 3. http://www.minitab.com/products/minitab/14/default.aspx [Accessed:1 Mar.2009]. 4. Anonymous (2005b).. Definition of Causality, Answers.com [On-line].Available: 5. http://support.sas.com/rnd/app/da.html [Accessed: 1Mar.2009]. 6. Anonymous (2006a). Retail's Marketing Management Challenge [On-line]. Available: 7. http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/bhandari1.asp [Accessed: 2 June.2009]. 8. Anonymous (2006b). A definition of marketing strategy on the Web.[On- line]. Available: mvp.cfee.org/en/glossary.html [Accessed: 2June.2009]. 9. Anonymous (2006c). How to succeed in the African market: Want to do successful business with Africa? Here are some tips to help you do just that. Business Guide Internet Edition. [On-line]. Available: 10. http://www.africa-business.com/features/succeed.html [Accessed: 2 April 2009]. 11. Anonymous (2006d). Country Analysis Briefs. [On-line]. Available: http://www.eia.Do 12. e.gov/emeu/cabs/safrica.html [Accessed: 4 April 2009].
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ROLE OF MARKETING IN CURRENT SCENARIO WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RETAIL SECTOR

Chirag V. Raval & Pinakin R. Sheth
Abstract
Indian retail marketing gears up for global heights. Retailing in India has a long haul ahead, dynamic retail-marketing scenario. The Indian retail players have made their presence felt in the market and are increasing their operations through adding more outlets across the country. The world is now looking at India as the nation of the future. The retail marketing scenario in India is unique; Retailing forms an integral part of the marketing mix and includes elements like product, Price, Place, Promotion. Place refers to the distribution and availability of products in various locations. In retailing direct marketing and advertising through mass media are useful factors for personal contact with consumers; so that the retail industry should emphasis on innovative advertising, communication and promotions help customers make purchase decision easily. The promotion is an additional method to generate sales and is used n combination with other methods. The paper deals with Introduction of retail marketing, Characteristics of retail trade, retail scenario global, Indian, Growth of malls etc. Retailing is the booming sectors of India in the current scenario.
Keywords: Retailer, Consumerism
Introduction
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The word retail is derived from the French word retailer, meaning to cut a piece of or to break bulk. In simple terms, it implies a firsthand transaction with the customer. The word Retail is derived from a French ford with the prefix re and the verb trailer meaning to cut again. Thus, retail trade is one that cuts off smaller portions from large lumps of goods. It is a process through which goods are transported to final consumers. It consists of the all activities involved in selling, renting and providing goods and services to ultimate customers for personal, family and household use. Retailing is an important marketing activity. Not only do producers and consumers meet through retailing actions, but retailing also creates customer value & has a significant impact on the economy. Characteristics of Retail Trade
(Essential requisites for an effective retailer are as follows)
A retailer is the link between the wholesaler & the customer. They purchase products in bulk from wholesalers or manufacturers. They sell goods in sMall quantities to the buyers demand. They deal in different types / variety of products / services. They can start business with sMall / lesser capital or large capital. They operate both of sMall scale & large scale basis. They usually purchase products / goods / services on credit / cash from. They provide maximum service to the buyers. The retailers pay more attention on proper set up and decoration of the business premises in order to attract buyers. The manufacturers perform all the important functions of marketing for example: buying, assembling, warehousing, selling, risk bearing, grading, packing, financing and advertising, sales promotion etc.
Retailing involves a direct interface with the customer and the coordination of business activities from end to end right from the concept or design stage of a product or offering, to its delivery and post delivery service to the customer. The industry has contributed to the economic growth of many countries and is undoubtedly one of the fastest changing and dynamic industries in the world today. Retailing Scenario-Global
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Retailing in more developed countries is big business and better organized that what it is in India. According to a report published by McKinsey and Co. along with the confederation of the Indian Industry the global retail business is worth a staggering US$ 6.6 trillion. In the developed world, most of it is accounted for by the organized retail sector. For instance the organized sector has an up to 80% share of retail sales in the United States. The corresponding figure for Western Europe is 70% while it is 50% in Malaysia and Thailand, 40% in Brazil and Argentina, 70% while it is 50% in Malaysia and Thailand, 40% in Brazil and Argentina, 35% in Philippines, 25% in Indonesia and 15% in South Korea. Organized retailing however remains poorly developed, accounting for a paltry 10% in China. Globally retailing is customer centric with an emphasis on innovation in products, processes and services. In short, the customer is king! Retailing is the second largest industry in US in terms of number of people employed. WalMart is the largest retailer in the world with annual sales of US $ 284 billion. Retailing Scenario in India The retail scenario in India is unique. Much of it is in the unorganized sector, with over 12 million retail outlets of various sizes and formats. Almost 96% of these retail outlets are less than 500 sq.ft. in size the per capita retail space in India being 2 sq.ft. compared to the US figure of 16 sq. ft. Indias per capita retailing space is thus the lowest in the world.
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With more than 9 outlets per 10000 people, India has the largest number in the world. Most of them are independent and contribute as much as 96% to total retail sales. The growth and development of organized retailing in India is driven by two main factors lower prices and benefits the consumers cant resist. According to experts, economics of scale drive down the cost of the supply chain, allowing retailers to offer more benefits offered to the customer. The retail business in India in the year 2000 was Rs. 400000 crore and is estimated to go to Rs. 800000 core by the year 2005, an annual increase of 20%. The contribution of the organized retail industry in the year 2000 was Rs. 20000 crore and is likely to increase to Rs. 160000 crore by 2005. Growth of Malls in India The Indian Government is taking major initiatives to aid growth in the retail sector. Investment in word class infrastructure is expected to be close to USD 150 bn.
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(: Number of Malls in Major Cities of India)
Cities Name Other Cities Hyderabad Bangalore Pune Kolkata Chennai Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane Noida and Ghaziabad Gurgon Delhi
2005 34 8 8 11 10 2 36 15 13 21
2007 86 16 20 23 20 6 71 29 34 51
Source: Crisil
According to this years Global Retail Development Index India is positioned as the leading destination for retail investment. This followed from the saturation in western retail markets and we find big western retailers like Walmart and Tesco entering in to India market. Indias retail industry accounts for 10% of its GDP and 8% of the employment to reach $17 billion by 2010. There are about 300 new Malls, 1,500 supermarkets and 325 departmental stores being built in the cities very soon. Malls Innovation by: Efficient Management requires: Integration of the Owner and The Mall Management Team. A Carefully Conceived Design and A Good Management
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Team, managing the functioning of the Mall. Modern, Convenient, Technologically Well-Equipped, Well - Maintained / Managed and Promoted Todays Malls. Conclusion Retailing in India is becoming increasingly important, and organized retailing is posed to grow at an exponential rate. These growth opportunities have even attracted global majors who are setting up shop in India. With consumers now enjoying a wide variety of products and services to choose from, retailers who provide genuine value will be able to establish themselves in the long run. Consumers will emerge as the emperors of retailing in India with their discerning buying attitudes and their ever increasing purchasing power. Consumerism will empower them significantly. The growth of the retail sector will make retailers powerful intermediaries in the marketing channel, bridging the gap between manufacturers and consumers. Many manufacturers and marketers may hence take to retailing themselves to be closer to the consumers. Therefore it will be the power of the consumer as well as that of the retailer in the marketing channel that will spearhead the growth of retailing in India. References:
1. 2. 3. 4. Chunawalla S.A., Contours of Retailing Management, Mumbai, Himalaya Publishing House, First Edition, 2006. Dhotre, Meenal, Channel Management and Retail Marketing, Mumbai, Himalaya Publishing House, First Edition, 2005. Levy, Michad and Weitz A barton, Retailing Management, New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., Fifth Edition, 2003. Nair Suja, Retail Management, Mumbai, Himalaya Publishing House, First Edition, 2006.
5. Vedmani Gibson G., Retail Management functional Principles & Practices, Mumbai, Jaico
Publishing House, Second Edition, Revised & Enlarged, 2004. 4PS Business and Marketing, Vol.-2, issue 11, 6 July-19 July, 2007. 6. Business India, November 18, 2007. 7. Business Today, Fortnightly Magazine, December 16, 2007. 8. Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume -37, No. 10, October-2007. 9. Retail Vol. 7, No.1, January, 2008. 10. Retail, Vol.-6, No.9, September, 2007.
Image Building in Cooperatives

H.S.K.Tangirala
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Abstract
The Cooperative system is a strong vehicle which carries economically weaker section of people to the destination of prosperity and growth. The people involved in the cooperatives have to reckon these facts. It was evident from the past history that some people have sacrificed for the development of the cooperatives and some people have insulted the cooperatives for their selfish and vested interest. Some of the Cooperatives, many a times have become a laughing talk as it was made as a centre for corruption, inefficiency, poor quality of products or services, launching vehicle for politicians. If a Cooperative is a garden then there are people who acted as weeds which have to be removed. Keywords: Stakeholders, Retailers
Introduction In the competitive market every thing is like a war. Many brands participate with different features. The features might be quality of the product, price, prompt in supply, too much of advertisement, offers, gifts etc. All these strategies are very common and temporary in dynamic market environment. These will last no long. Then what ? According to author, it is the image of an organization which makes to remain for a longer period in the market. Image of an organization, if it is a tool to win over competing organizations, then, it has to have sustainable strategy forever. A customer always wants returns to his every paisa that he spends for the goods he buy. The customer observes, how the organization is behaving in the market, outside the market with social responsibility towards customer and how the customer made delighted by the services provided by the organization. To increase the image of the organization, it is not only the price, quality and quantity of the product, but also how the organization care the customer, shareholders, bankers, regulatory bodies, government, distributors, retailers, i.e., Stakeholders, non-members and society as a whole which is illustrated below with the help of diagrammatic representation. The image of the cooperative society depends on the actions which have affect on the above stakeholders. We have seen different stakeholders of a cooperative and sometimes one action have common affect and most of the times different impact depends on the stake of the holder towards the cooperative. Hence, the cooperative have to have analytical approach towards each and every stakeholder.
Regulatory Bodies
Government
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Customer
Bankers/Financi ng agencies
Shareholders
Image of a cooperative
Employees
Potential Members
Other
Cooperative
Institutions
General Public
Distributors/ Retailers
= towards
Activities/Actions stakeholders of
= Perceptions of stakeholders and impact on cooperative
Cooperative
The Cooperative system is a strong vehicle which carries economically weaker section of people to the destination of prosperity and growth. The people involved in the cooperatives have to reckon these facts. It was evident from the past history that some people have sacrificed for the development of the cooperatives and some people have insulted the cooperatives for their selfish and vested interest. Some of the Cooperatives, many a times have become a laughing talk as it was made as a centre for corruption, inefficiency, poor quality of products or services, launching vehicle for politicians. If a Cooperative is a garden then there are people who acted as weeds which have to be removed. But there are many such cooperatives and its leaders who have played tremendous role in the economic development of the members and general public as a whole in the form of service, employment generation, physical infrastructure, economic participation for the development of the country. Taking this environment as backdrop, in this paper an attempt has been has been made to list out the reasons to increase image
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of the cooperatives and to suggest the methods to build the image of cooperatives to sustain in the cut-throat competition. According to me, image of cooperatives is an intangible item i.e., perception of the members and non-members on the objectives, plans, activities, management/leadership style, policies, quality of services/products of the cooperative society which have direct reflections on the economic performance in the business and market. Why cooperatives have to increase its image The cooperative have to increase its image in the public and among its stakeholders for the following reasons: to develop trust among customers, stakeholders and general public, to increase sales and market share, to increase goodwill in the market, to grow as a leader in the concerned sector of business, to shape the behaviour of staff, clients and others, for the benefit of the cooperative institution, - build a favourable opinion about cooperative addressing its expertise, capability, skills, technology and so on to offset negative attitudes, - to make the public more familiar with its activities, - to express that the cooperative society is more innovative and dynamic, - to avoid of taking a low profile in the market, - to bring facelift of the organization and to change the misperception and misunderstanding about the cooperative society. Methods to increase image of cooperatives Following are the methods slated to increase image of the cooperatives: -
increase the awareness of cooperative system through members education, providing and maintaining quality services/products to the members timely, launching cost effective products with quality,
cost effective promotional and advertisement to the target group,
participating in social activities, having concern among other cooperatives, help people in crisis i.e., during floods, tsunami, earth quakes, high inflation etc. treating employees as assets of the cooperative society, conducting timely board meetings and general body meetings, taking right decisions without any political bias. In other words, keeping political shoes outside the board room,
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conducting seminars, training programmes to the consumers, farmers, or any other related persons to educate on specific issues, adopting good governance practices and adhering the rules provisions of State cooperative societies act, developing and following citizen charter, following cooperative principles, values, identity as suggested by International Cooperative Alliance(ICA). getting timely feedback from the members/customers about the activities and positively acting towards feedback from the various corners, strictly following the set objectives, plans, activities, developing mission statement and vision statements, professional approach to its leadership to meet the needs of the members, maintaining all books of records, accounts and getting it audited as per rules paying good returns to its members, paying taxes if any to the governments, repaying the debts, loans etc. introducing technology in its operation, value additions to the produce of the members, developing infrastructure, bringing out in-house journal, going for certification of ISO 9000, adapting modern methods of addressing public by way of logo, cooperative slogans, developing public relation activities community involvement, participation in quality improvement schemes not getting involved in controversial issues by the secretary or president of the cooperative society, by proper house-keeping by consistent profit performance by continuous improvement of services/products by change management in the required areas timely
Conclusion The cooperative societies even though do business in small scale when compared to corporate organizations; it has its own identity, principles, ethics and values to reach the needy. The image building exercise is indispensable for the cooperatives not only to run professionally but also to sustain in the competitive environment. The above all stated methods to increase the image of the cooperatives are not similar to all sectors of
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Cooperatives and should not be used as a straight jacket method. They have to see which method suits to which sector of cooperative and also local conditions. To conclude that the image building exercises not only change the facelift of the Cooperative society but also helps lot to enhance and diversify business activities. Resources:
1. Balmer, John M.T.(1991) "Building Societies: Change, Strategy and Corporate Identity" Journal 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
of General Management. Winter. Business Today 25th March 2007, India Chowdary S. (2002) Leadership 21 C Great Britain Prentice Hall Datuk Michael Yeoh " Enhancing corporate image. Malaysian Business. Ind, Nicholas(1992) Corporate Image. Kogan Page. Olins, Wally(1990) Corporate Identity: Making Business Strategy Visible through Design. Harvard Business School Press. "Reputation Keeps Business Buoyant." Marketing. May 27,1999. Schindler, Esther(2000) "Define 'Reputation.' "Smart Reseller. January 10.
Are you working to improve your knowledge and skills?

If you want to ensure the success of your business and enhance your own career, make the effort to study and learn all you can about your industry and profession, and take the time to develop the necessary work skills. If youre new on the job, take good notes during training, ask lots of questions, and apply yourself diligently to mastering your duties. Glean valuable wisdom from experienced coworkers and solicit input about what has helped them in their career development. Taking any available training, enroll in classes that will build your knowledge base, and read business and trade magazines to broaden your perspective. Make no excuses for not building your skill and knowledge at work. Your preparation and diligence will surely pay off in promotions and increased job satisfaction.
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Marketing Efficiency of Rapeseed - Mustard Crop in Jhansi Division of Uttar Pradesh

Ram Kumar Jha Abstract
Oilseeds are the important contributor in agriculture after the food grains. It contains rich nutrients to human diet, earning foreign exchange and establishing inter-sectoral linkages. Among nine oilseed crops, rapeseed - mustard occupies a prominent place. Thus the objectives of the present study are (i) to identify market channels for rapeseed mustard and (ii) to study the price spreads and marketing efficiency under different marketing channels. A multistage stratified sampling method has been adopted to make comprehensive study. First of all two districts and from each district two blocks have been selected by random sampling method. From each block, 75 rapeseed mustard growers have been selected by stratified sampling method. 25 each rapeseed mustard growers have been selected randomly from each category of rapeseed mustard growers, i.e., marginal (having up to 1.25 acre land), small (having > 1.25acre land and up to 5 acre land) and large (having > 5 acre land) under the proper irrigation facilities. Thus from each district 150 rapeseed mustard growers have been selected and total 300 rapeseed mustard growers and 20 wholesalers and 20 retailers were undertaken for comprehensive study.So far as marketing efficiency is concerned, it may be inferred that the second channel is the most efficient followed by third and first channel in that order. Undoubtedly, the quantity of rapeseed- mustard sold has been observed higher in Channel III in comparison to other Channels (I and II) but analysis exhibits that the most efficient marketing channel was Channel II (Producer-Retailer-Consumer). Key words: Marketing Efficiency, Marketing Channels, Retention Rate, Percentage Margin JEL Classification: M300, Q100, Q120, Q130
Introduction The oilseeds show their own importance after the food grains. It contains rich nutrients to human diet, earning foreign exchange and establishing inter sectoral linkages. Among nine oilseed crops, rapeseed - mustard occupies a prominent place. It is a chief edible oilseed crop of Rabi Season. It ranks second among oilseeds both in respect of area and production in Uttar Pradesh. In spite of this important position, both production and yield of rapeseed-mustard was almost stagnant during the last decade. The price of rapeseedmustard oil was erratic, due to severe market distortions. Out of the total area, the area under Rabi food grains was around 44643 thousand hectare and area under rapeseed mustard crop was 4524 thousand hectares during 2002-03 at all India level. In the same year the total area under Rabi food grains and the area under
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rapeseed - mustard oilseed crop were 11538.95 thousand hectares and 560.19 thousand hectares, 793.25 thousand hectares and 10.03 thousand hectares, 291.21 thousand hectares and 2.37 thousand hectares, 187.86 thousand hectares and 0.33 thousand hectares and 314.81 thousand hectares and 7.33 thousand hectare respectively in Uttar Pradesh, Jhansi division, Jhansi district, Lalitpur district and Jalaun district. In the year 2002-03, the arrivals and average market price of rapeseed - mustard were 4882000 quintals and Rs.1465.33 per quintal, 192454 quintals and Rs.1736.17 per quintal, 94415 quintals and Rs.1713.08 per quintal, 22444 quintals and Rs.1664.25 per quintal and 75595 quintals and Rs.1831.33 per quintal respectively in Uttar Pradesh, Jhansi division, Jhansi district, Lalitpur district and Jalaun district. The state has the better marketing facilities. It contains 243 Mandi Samities to arrange the real value of farm products. But the farmers sold their agro products at village level. Therefore, they were not getting the actual price for their products. Thus, the marketing channels play an important role to get better price for the products. Narappanavan and Bardwaj (1983), Nandlal (1985), Singh and Ali (1985), Singh and Kaur (1990), Verma and Nigam (1979), Singh and Sidhu (1973), Kainth (1982), Kaur and Singh (1989), Bhardwaj et al., (1996), Bhardwaj (1995) and Sahu and Shriwastawa (2000) have done studies on marketing channels, costs, margins and price spreads at all India and state levels. The efficiency of marketing of rapeseed-mustard produce is assessed by the size of the share that the producer obtains in the ultimate price paid by the consumers. The relationship between the producers and consumers price is manifested by what is known as the price spread. In fact, the price spread is a broad spectrum, which discloses the proportion of various components of the marketing cost of the production, and thus explains the variance between the prices received by the producers and those paid by the consumers. In order to secure a sizable share to the producer, it would be imperative to minimize the variance as much as possible. However, the production and marketing of rapeseed-mustard is beset with specific problems in addition to the basic problems of proper marketing channels and infrastructural facilities. The lack of proper marketing infrastructure and transport facilities aggravate the problem. Lack of storage facilities and sudden requirement of money create another hurdle. Lack of marketing information also affects the marketing system as a whole.
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Thus the objectives of the present study are (i) to identify market channels for rapeseed mustard and (ii) to study the price spreads and marketing efficiency under different marketing channels. Review of Literature Many research scholars have put their effort to make study in the field of marketing of rapeseed-mustard produce. Therefore, the findings of the studies have been undertaken and review so that the study becomes to proceed. The reviews of earlier studies are as below: Singh and Sidhu (1973) have made study on groundnut crop in Punjab regarding the assessment of the level of marketable surplus. They found in their study that the maximum percentage of the produce of the cultivators forms the marketable surplus and out of it very small percentage is kept for home requirements. The marketable surplus was high on large holdings (86.17%) as compared to small (79%) and medium (71.06%) holdings. Kainth (1982a) has also made study in Punjab regarding rapeseed mustard crop. According to him Marketable surplus was about 96% in Amritsar district and the retention for feed, seed and family consumption was about 4 percent. The marketable surplus was observed 78.95, 87.55 and 81.37 percent for small, medium and large sized holdings respectively. Kaur and Singh (1989) have made a study at Khanna and Sahnewal market. They observed that variations in arrivals of groundnut were from 88 to 98 percent in the post harvest period and from 1.27 to 4.96 percent in the lean period. Farm size is really an index of retention power. Gupta (1996) has observed in her study that in the case of rapeseed mustard, its price reached its peak in the month of November and its lowest level in the month of March. According to her the purchase price tends to increase over the producer price with the number of market actors, particularly so, when some of these actors add value to the commodity in the marketing channel. Percentage margin over producer price tends to rise from 10 percent when there is no actor between the producer and the purchaser to 24 percent when the wholesaler and / or the village merchant enter between the producer and the miller.
The studies are helpful to make an effort to complete a study on rapeseed-mustard marketing at Jhansi division of Uttar Pradesh. The economy of Jhansi division is mainly based on agriculture and service sector. Therefore, agriculture is the main source of income of majority of people and its proper marketing enhance the volume of income.
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Research Methodology Area of the Study The universe of the study is Jhansi Division, which comprises three districts: Jhansi, Lalitpur and Jalaun. A multistage stratified random sampling method has been adopted to make comprehensive study. First of all two districts and from each district two blocks have been selected by random sampling method. From each block, 75 rapeseed mustard growers have been selected by stratified random sampling method. 25 each rapeseed mustard growers have been selected randomly from each category of rapeseed mustard growers, i.e., marginal (having up to 1.25 acre land), small (having > 1.25acre land and up to 5 acre land) and large (having > 5 acre land) under the proper irrigation facilities. Thus from each district 150 rapeseed mustard growers have been selected and total 300 rapeseed mustard growers and 20 wholesalers and 20 retailers were undertaken for comprehensive study. The reference period was 2004-05 agricultural year. To know the marketing behaviour the information on prices received for the produce, expenses incurred such as transportation charge, market fee, brokerage, gunny bags, loading and unloading, filling and sewing, weighing and purchase tax have collected from the selected regions. Price Spread of Rapeseed - Mustard Crop The marketing margins, costs or price spreads were calculated during the peak marketing period (April to May) for the year 2002-03. To work out the farmers share in the consumers rupee the total marketing costs incurred by the farmers were deducted from the price they received. The marketing costs such as transportation costs varied from individual to individual and the prices also varied from farmer to farmer because prices mainly depend upon demand and quality of the product. Therefore, average of marketing costs and prices of the selected market for the post harvesting period was considered. The sale prices of the wholesalers and retailers were calculated as the simple average of the sale prices reported by the selected traders during the peak period. The marketing costs and margins have been calculated on a per quintal basis. Percentage Margins at Producers Prices
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The percentage margins for a product at producers prices were computed as the ratio of the difference of purchasers and producers prices to producers prices multiplied by hundred (Gupta, 1996 and Prakash et al., 2007).
Marketing Efficiency The marketing efficiency of different channels has been worked out through the following formula:
M .E. = Pcr Pps Mc 100
Where, M.E. Pps Pcr MC = = = = Marketing Efficiency Producers Selling Price Consumers Retail Price Marketing Cost
Results and Discussion Marketing Channels and Sale The existing marketing agencies of rapeseed-mustard crop to which the sampled farmers disposed of their surplus produce was found to be wholesalers and retailers. Some consumers purchase rapeseed - mustard produce directly from the producers at the village level and they save marketing expenses on it. Sometimes, the producers directly take their rapeseed- mustard produce to sell to the consumers. They pay Rs. 10-15/quintal more than the market price but in turn save all other marketing expenses. But at the time when supply increases consumers pay a significantly lesser amount to the producers for their produce. Table: 1. Marketing of Rapeseed Mustard in Different Channels (Kgs.)
Sr. No . Farm Size Group Total Productio n of RapeseedMustard Markete d Quantity Retentio n Total No. of Farmers I (P-C) No. of Farmer s 22 (22.00) Marketing Channels
II (P-RC) 1777 (38.70 )
No. of Farmer s 49 (49.00)
III (P-WR-C) 1865 (40.61 )
No. of Farmers
1.
Margina l Farmers
6507
4592 (70.57)
1915 (29.43)
100 (100.00 )
950 (20.69 )
29 29.00
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2. 3.
Small Farmers Large Farmers
11340 56925
8040 (70.90) 44375 (77.95)
3300 (29.10) 12550 (22.05)
100 (100.00 ) 100 (100.00 )
955 (11.88 ) 2525 (5.69)
15 (15.00) 21 (21.00)
1600 (19.90 ) 1155 (2.60)
24 (24.00) 4 (4.00)
5485 (68.22 ) 40695 (91.71 )
60 (60.00) 75 (75.00)
Source: Primary Survey
Percentages are given in the parenthesis. Channels: (I): (P- C): Producer Consumer, (II): (P- R- C): Producer Retailer Consumer (III): (P- W- R- C): Producer Wholesaler Retailer Consumer Table 1 shows that 70.57% (4592 kg), 70.90% (8040 kg) and 77.95% (44375 kg) rapeseed-mustard were sold in the market by marginal, small and large farmers respectively. The retention rate was recorded 29.43% (1915 kg), 29.10% (3300 kg) and 22.05% (12550 kg) for the respective categories of farmers. In the study, the following channels have been identified:(I): (P- C): Producer Consumer (II): (P- R- C): Producer Retailer Consumer (III): (P- W- R- C): Producer Wholesaler Retailer Consumer Channel I: Producer Consumer It is observed that producers directly sold their rapeseed-mustard produce to consumers (expellers, shopkeepers and home consumers) in urban areas. Table 1 shows that channe I is more preferred by marginal farmers (22%) and by large farmers (21%) and followed by small farmers (15%). This implies that the farmers, who were in need of money at certain times to fulfill their daily wants, sold their produce during the peek period with the help of this channel. Channel II: Producer Retailer Consumer The retailers who purchased rapeseed-mustard on their own account from different villages earned profit by purchasing the produce at a lower rate. With the help of this channel marginal, small and large farmers sold 38.70%, 19.90% and 2.60% produce to the retailers respectively (table 1).
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This implies that a few rapeseed-mustard growers use this channel. In this channel the producer sells to retailers and retailers sell to consumers. The price of rapeseed- mustard rose due to the entry of the retailer. The producers share in the price paid by the consumer has been observed reduced.
Channel III: Producer Wholesaler Retailer Consumer A majority of farmers of all farm size groups preferred to sell their produce to wholesalers. Wholesalers are mostly the financiers of commission agents. The charges for services like, weighing, filling, commission and market fee are paid by the wholesalers. With the help of this channel 29%, 60% and 75% marginal, small and large farmers sold their 40.61%, 68.22% and 91.71% rapeseed - mustard produce (table 1) respectively. The commission agents act on behalf of the wholesalers. They generally charge commission from the buyers for their services to the farmers. They offer services such as space for unloading, cleaning, sieving, dressing and weighing of the produce. Mostly they provide free tea and night stay facilities to the farmers. Many commission agents sell pesticides, fertilizers, tealeaves, cloth and other daily need goods to the farmers and thus earn a good profit. This channel is very common for all categories of farmers. In the channel producers sold their produce to wholesalers and wholesalers sold to retailers and retailers sold to consumers. The end price of the produce is quite high and the producers share in the price paid by the consumer has been observed quite low. This implies that the profit share of producer reduced while the consumers got the rapeseed- mustard at a higher price. This channel was observed more preferable in all groups of rapeseed - mustard growers because producers felt assured of a regular cash inflow. Price Spreads of Rapeseed-Mustard
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Price spreads or market margins are often used to work out the efficiency of marketing system and traders. Efforts to increase production may require an efficient marketing system to carry the product from the producer to the consumer. Market margin comprises of two elements, (i) explicit costs paid for the performance of various marketing functions and (ii) profit of the market intermediaries. The details of price spreads for rapeseed mustard of Jhansi division is worked out and presented in table 2.
Table: 2. Price Spread of Rapeseed Mustard in different marketing channels (Unit: Rs. /Quintal)
Marginal Farmers Sr. No. Particulars (I) P-C 1. Net price received by producer 2(a) Producers whole sale/ sealers 1867.04 (II) P-R-C 1650.50 (76.14) (III) P- W-R-C 1552.38 (69.36) 1552.38 (69.36) 70.00 (3.13) Wholesalers (c) 3(a) margin Producers/ wholesalers sale/retailers purchase price (b) Retailers cost 235.80 (10.88) (c) Retailers margin 280.05 (12.92) 4. Price paid by 1867.04 2167.85 251.99 (11.26) 213.43 (9.54) 2238.24 1970.44 240.11 (11.12) 280.05 (12.97) 2159.66 253.36 (11.51) 213.43 (9.70) 2201.44 1884.94 239.71 (10.84) 280.05 (12.66) 2212.32 257.74 (11.14) 213.43 (9.22) 2314.11 1650.50 (76.14) 112.67 (5.03) 1722.82 (76.97) 1639.77 (75.93) Small Farmers (I) P-C 1970.44 (II) P-R-C 1639.88 (75.93) (III) P- W-RC 1561.94 (70.95) 1561.94 (70.95) 70.00 (3.18) 112.67 (5.12) 1744.54 (79.25) 1698.78 (76.79) Large Farmers (I) P-C 1884.94 (II) P-R-C 1698.78 (76.79) (III) P- W-R-C 1662.50 (71.84) 1662.50 (71.84) 70.00 (3.02) 112.67 (4.87) 1845.17 (79.74)
purchase price wholesalers cost (b)
consumer 5. Producers share 100.00 76.14 69.36 100.00 75.93 70.95 100.00 76.79 71.84
in consumer rupee
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(%) Source: Computed
Producers Share The price spreads varied from channel to channel. The producers share in the consumer rupee for all category of farm size is cent percent (channel I). The price spreads varied from cent percent to 76.14% and 69.36% for marginal farmers, 75.93% and 70.95% for small farmers and 76.79% and 71.84% for large farmers in channel II and channel III respectively (table 2). This variation in the percentage share may be due to the difference in the number of agencies working in a channel. Out of the three channels in the marketing of rapeseedmustard the farmers received the highest share in channel I. However, the most common marketing channel is channel III, i.e., Producers - Wholesaler - Retailer - Consumer through which a major portion 40.61% by marginal farmers, 68.22% by small farmers and 91.71% by large farmers (table 1). As per market records cent percent purchase is done by the wholesalers. However, it has been found that the commission agents who were not shown in the marketing records also made some purchase. The commission agents sell rapeseed - mustard to wholesalers. Wholesalers Margin Wholesalers play an important role in the marketing of rapeseed mustard. The total expenses incurred by wholesalers include expenses on loading, unloading, sieving and filling charges, sales tax, market fee, commission, etc. The total marketing and incidental charges of the wholesalers were found to be 3.13%, 3.18% and 3.02% in the case of marginal, small and large farmers respectively in channel III. After deducting all the costs, the percentage share of the wholesaler in consumer rupee works out to 5.03%, 5.12% and 4.87% with marginal, small and large farmers respectively (table 2). Retailers share The retailers mostly purchased the product from wholesalers. The retailers paid high price to the wholesalers for the product. So, consumers got rapeseed- mustard at very high price.
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The total marketing cost on retailers worked out at 10.88%, 11.12% and 10.84% in channel II and 11.26%, 11.51% and 11.14% in channel III, in the case of marginal, small and large farmers respectively. After deducting all the costs the percentage share of the retailers in consumers rupee works out to 12.92%, 12.97% and 12.66% in channel II and 9.54%. 9.70% and 9.22% in channel III with marginal, small and large farmers respectively (table 2). The above analysis on marketing costs, margins and on price spreads reveals that as the number of market functionaries tends to increase, particularly so when one or more of these functionaries add value to the commodity in the marketing channel the producers share in the consumers rupee falls. Percentage Margins at Producers Price In the marketing channel, each intermediary tends to gain. The larger the number of intermediaries involved in a marketing channel, the more shall be is the differential between purchasers price and producers price. This difference will magnify if some of these intermediaries process and add value to the product. These facts are well supported by table 3. In the smallest market channel (channel I) the percentage margin at producers level is zero. When the retailers and wholesalers are involved in the channel the margin tends to increase in all the selected three regions.
Table: 3. Marketing Efficiency of Rapeseed- Mustard in Different Channels (In Rs. /Quintal)
Marginal Farmers Sr. No. Particulars (I) P-C 1. Producers price (Rs. / Quintal) 2. Producers share in consumer rupee (%) 3. Marketing (Rs./Quintal) 4. Consumers (Rs./ Quintal) 5. Percentage margin at producers price 6. Marketing efficiency 00.00 219.40 213.01 00.00 216.52 197.79 00.00 214.23 175.92 00.00 31.35 44.18 00.00 31.71 40.95 00.00 30.23 39.19 price 1867.04 2167.85 2238.24 1970.44 2159.66 2201.44 1884.94 2212.32 2314.11 cost 235.80 321.99 240.11 323.36 239.71 370.41 100.00 76.14 69.36 100.00 75.93 70.95 100.00 76.79 71.84 1867.04 (II) P-R-C 1650.50 (III) P- W-RC 1552.38 Small Farmers (I) P-C 1970.44 (II) P-R-C 1639.77 (III) PR-C 1561.88 WLarge Farmers (I) P-C 1884.94 (II) P-R-C 1698.78 (III) P- W-RC 1662.50
Source: Computed. CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September ISSN 0975 7953 July -
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The percentage margins at producers price for marginal farmers are 31.35% and 44.18%, for small farmers 31.71% and 40.95% and for large farmers 30.23% and 39.19% in channel II and channel III respectively (table 3). This implies that rapeseed-mustard producers of all the three regions are rational farmers. Depending upon their constraints they tend to make the maximum use of the market information, which becomes available to them. Marketing Efficiency Marketing Efficiency of any product is worked out by the size of share, which the producer receives from the price paid by the consumer. The relationship between the producer and consumers price is manifested by what is known as price spread. In other words, price spread refers to the difference between the price paid by the consumer and price received by the producer. In fact the price spread is a broad spectrum, which consists of various components of the marketing cost and margins of intermediaries, which ultimately reflect the overall effectiveness of the marketing system. In nutshell, it explains the variance between the price received by the producer and that paid by the consumer. Table 3 depicts that producers share in consumers price is highest (100%) in channel I (Where there is no market player i.e., intermediary) in the selected region. The marketing cost has been observed to be quite high in the channels where a number of market intermediaries have entered into the marketing system. In Jhansi Division, the price of rapeseed-mustard has inflated 76.14% in channel II to 69.36% in channel III in case of marginal farmers (table 3) and followed by small and large farmers. In other words, the producers share in consumers price has reduced in channel III, while producers share may be said to be slightly better in consumers price in channel II. Why does the consumers price increase? The consumers price increases over and above the marketing cost indicating value addition through various channels. So far as marketing efficiency is concerned, it may be inferred that the second channel is the most efficient followed by third and first channel in that order. Conclusion From the analysis of the study the following facts can be drawn. The producer did not receive same price in the regions. It varied due to involvement of market intermediaries viz., wholesalers and retailers. The producers share in consumers price has been
99
recorded cent percent in Channel I because there was no market intermediary player. The producer directly sold his produce to the consumer but producer faced a problem of regular cash inflow. The sale of rapeseed- mustard recorded quite low in Channel I in comparison to other marketing channels. Undoubtedly, the quantity of rapeseed- mustard sold has been observed higher in Channel III in comparison to other Channels (I and II) but analysis exhibits that the most efficient marketing channel was Channel II (Producer-Retailer-Consumer). This channel not only paid higher profits to producers but also provided to consumers at cheaper rate the rapeseed- mustard in comparison to Channel III (Producers-Wholesaler-RetailerConsumer). The efficiency of channel II has been 216.52%, but for Channel III it has observed 197.79%. The price of rapeseed-mustard increased over and above the marketing cost due to value addition in Channel III. It is well known that when market intermediaries are involved, the marketing cost spreads while the producers share in consumers price decreases. Further in nutshell, it can be concluded that on the basis of observations, on an average the producers share has been found moderate where as the wholesalers and retailers along with marketing cost contribute to price spreads. In view of the findings of the study, it is recommended that in order to secure a sizable share to the producer, it would be imperative to minimize the variance as much as possible. It is also suggested that the cultivators should form their own marketing cooperatives to sell and process their produce of oilseeds. The government agency should also come forward to help them. This may increase the income of the farmers as well as prevent speculative hoarding in edible oils. There is also a need of a suitable price policy which will be helpful to control fluctuation of price. This encourages the farmers to increase the area under particular crop and they will be assured to get appropriate price for the crop. References:
1. Bhardwaj, S.P. (1995), Study of Cost Behavior and Marketing Margin in Poultry Products: A
Case Study of Broiler, Indian Journal of Marketing, Conf. Spl. pp. 72-73.
2. Bhardwaj, S.P., KPS. Mirman, KPS, Pandey, MS Kaushik (1996), Study of Marketing of Broiler
in Haryana, Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing, Vol.10 p. 118.
3. Gupta, S. (1996), 'Marketing of Agricultural Products', Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,
p. 86.
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4. Prakash, G., Ram Kumar Jha, Shakti Prakash, Akanksha Singhi, A. K. Sapre, (2007), "Estimating
Marketing Efficiency of Chicken (Fowl) Farms: An Empirical Analysis, ICFAI Journal of Agricultural Economics, pp. 36-42, Vol. IV, No. 1(January) Hyderabad.
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FACTOR IMPACT ON SIX SIGMA SUCCESS

P.Sujendra Swami & V.M .Prasad Abstract

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum 1.314 1 5

Leadership Value commitment Pearson Chi-square 12.603

Asymp.Sig (2- sided) 0.03

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

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CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

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.476 .711 .-287 -.358 -.115 .467

-.596 .411 .-487 -.651 -.143 .348

.571 .519 .183 -.586 .635 .521

.576 .111 .478 -.258 -.435 .147

Regression: Model Summary

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

a. Predictors: (Constant), Comptr., CuDq, Emp.Edu, Time, Emp.Exp.

ANOVAb Model Sum of df Mean Standardized F .259 Sig. .003a

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

Short term value

Long term value

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

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CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

Critical Success Factors

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

End Mean Analysis End Means Result Process

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

I know that I know

I dont know that I know

I know that I dont I dont know know

I dont know that I dont know

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

2. Chen, A. N. K., & Edgington, T. M. (2005).Assessing value in organizational knowledge creation:

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September

ISSN 0975 7953

Implications of Right to Education Act 2009 on Future Technical Education

CAMS Journal of Business Studies and Research September