016360   Ramakrishna S (International Trade, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (A Deemed University), New Delhi) : Job loss exports, and the global economic meltdown. J Indian Mgmt Strategy 2009, 14(4), 54-7.

10 tables, 8 ref

016359   Modykamdar R;Srivastava M (Marketing Dep, NMIMS Univ, V.L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai) : Brand image formation as a function of involvement and familiarity. J Indian Mgmt Strategy 2009, 14(4), 4-10.

Brand image refers to consumer perceptions and encompasses a set of beliefs that consumers have about the brand. From the consumer's perspective, a brand provides a visible representation of differences between products. An organisation can, through its branding strategies and advertising messages, seek to convey a certain image for the brand. Consumers may, however, evaluate the company's message through the prism of their own subjectivity. People will use their own interpretations and will respond differently to brands. This subjective evaluation results in the formation of brand image in the mind of the consumer. This paper attempts to understand how consistency of brand image across consumers is affected by the consumers involvement with the product category and familiarity with the brand.

4 tables, 41 ref

016358   Kushwah S;Mathur G;Bali S (NO, All India Management Association, Gwalior) : Working capital management: a study of cement sector. J Indian Mgmt Strategy 2009, 14(4), 21-5.

Working capital management is concerned with the problems that arise in attempting to manage the current assets, the current liabilities and the interrelationship that exists in between them. The success of an organization to a greater extent depends upon the effective management of working capital. The present work therefore is a modest attempt in this direction by undertaking a study of working capital management. The current paper has tried to examine the sources used by the companies to finance their working capital requirements and to analyze and evaluate the working capital management. The paper has also examined the liquidity position of the companies. In order to examine and analyze, secondary data of five companies was collected in cement sector i.e. ACC, Grasim, Ambuja, Prism and Ultra-Tech. Financial statements of these companies were collected for the period of two years from 1stt April, 2007 to 31st March 2009 and ratio analysis was conducted. Liquidity and Activity ratios were calculated and analyzed to check the working capital conditions of these cement companies. The study shows that out of the five cement companies, overall ACC has got the best working capital management.

7 tables, 4 ref

016357   Dogra S;Siwach M;Dahiya M;Goyal S P (KVK, Kurukshetra, KVK, Panipat, Email: sdogra66@yahoo.com) : Rural women training programmes: socio economic empowerment. Eco Res J Biosci 2010, 9(1-2), 46-53.

Socio-economic empowerment of women is the need of the day. Training is the base for any developmental activity as it enables rural women to acquire new knowledge, skills and technology for improving and developing their tasks in all fields. The present study is carried out with the objective to assess the impact of rural women training programmes as imparted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra. The findings of the study reveal that large percent of the respondents had favourabe attitude towards garment preparations and value added food products. Further small percent of the respondents adopted garment preparations on a professional basis. Most of them found different projects as somewhat profitable.

3 illus, 4 tables, 4 ref

016356   Dhason Antony;Teena Wadhera (Management Studies, Amity Business School, Amity Univ, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201 303) : e-Learning-an overview. J Indian Mgmt Strategy 2009, 14(4), 39-48.

2 tables, 34 ref

016355   Devendra Malviya (MBE Dep, Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal Univ, Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh) : An evaluation of growth of Indian derivatives market. J Indian Mgmt Strategy 2009, 14(4), 27-31.

2 tables, 11 ref

016354   Baruah M (Family Resource Management Dep, College of Home Science, Central Agricultual Univ, Tura, Maghalaya) : Buying habits of women consumers of Assam. Asian J Home Sci 2010, 4(2), 373-6.

The study emphasizes the buying habits of women consumers. A total of 120 women consumers were selected of which 36 belonged to low income group, 38 belonged to middle income group and 46 belonged to high income group. It was observed that 60% of the respondents preferred to buy groceries from retail shop. Quality was an important factor considered while buying. Most of the consumers had a habit of checking manufacturing date, maximum retail price, expiry date and brand name.

2 illus, 4 tables, 3 ref

015317   Yenagi G V (Agricultural Extension Education Dep, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580 005) : Work values and job satisfaction. Karnataka J agric Sci 2009, 22(5), 1143-4.

3 tables, 8 ref

015316   Nagoor B H (Economics Dep, Karnataka University, Dharwad-580 003) : Economic analysis of agricultural exports of major developing countries under world trade organization regime. Karnataka J agric Sci 2009, 22(5), 1130-2.

4 tables, 2 ref

015315   Ganesh Kumar B;Datta K K;Vidya Sagar Reddy G;Menon M (National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, , Pusa, New Delhi-110 012, Email: drgankum@yahoo.com) : Marketing system and efficiency of Indian major carps in India. Agric Econ Res Rev 2010, 23(1), 105-13.

The Kolleru Lake area (KLA) in Andhra Pradesh being a predominant centre for carp culture is known as the Carp Pocket of India'. This paper has described the highly efficient fish marketing system prevalent in the KLA and has compared it with the marketing of Indian Major Carps (IMC) in other major aquaculture states like West Bengal and Orissa and marine states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The marketing channels, market intermediaries, price spread and marketing efficiency have been presented. A comparison of the marketing channels at several fish markets has revealed that the price spread for IMC from Kolleru is highest at the Mumbai market and lowest at the Coimbatore market. Consequently, fishermen's share in consumer price has been found highest for Coimbatore at 61.54 per cent and lowest for Mumbai at 47.06 per cent. Similarly, the marketing efficiency was the highest for Coimbatore at 2.60 and lowest for Mumbai at 1.89. Retail price for KLA carps has been found lower than locally cultured carps at various areas, reflecting the efficiency of the marketing channel in providing cheap fish transported over large distances and through a large number of intermediaries. The reasons for the efficient IMC marketing system at KLA have been discussed and the study has recommended the development of efficient fish marketing system in other parts of the country.

1 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

024759   Chattopadhyay G P (Emeritus Professor of Acad of HRD, Ahmedabad and CEO Chattopadhyay Associates, Kolkata) : Managing oneself in role in the Indian context. J Indian Anthrop Soc 2004, 39(2), 129-37.

The principal task of a manager is to provide and maintain boundaries, primarily of task, time and territories, and secondarily of many other resources, in such a way that those within the boundaries, including the managers themselves, can engage with the tasks of the system with least difficulty. Since every person manages some systemic tasks and relations, the concepts dealt with are very real in most person's life. In order to manage systems and their boundaries, each person has to primarily manage oneself in one's various roles. Focus is on some of the major socio-psychological processes present in India that each individual has to deal with in order to manage oneself in one's role.

13 ref

021653   Ramakrishna B V;Radhakrishnan R;Subramaniam N;Krishnamoorthy G;Fredrick K (Anna University, , Chennai) : Streamlining and managing distribution with information technology - a strategic approach to supply chain management. Process Pl Engng 2004, 22(2), 84-8.

The supply chain is a series of connected activities concerning the planning, coordination and control of material, pans and finished goods from suppliers to the customers. The management of upstream and downstream relationships is to deliver superior customer value, in the form of products/service, at less cost to the whole supply chain. Physical Distribution, being the final link between marketing and customers, plays a very important role. With joint venture partnerships and alliances, globalization is engulfing the business element. Companies have to evolve distribution strategies, coupled with IT/ Web enabled distribution systems for achieving, their ultimate goal of meeting the 'customer requirements and needs' with delivery of quality products.

5 illus, 9 ref

021652   Aswani K G (IFFCO, , Kalol) : Safety audit of process plants. Process Pl Engng 2004, 22(2), 70-2.

In spite of greater awareness in the management and employees regarding safety, health and environment, a number of accidents and hazards are taking place. Hence regular safety audit by an experienced and competent person is required to prevent the accidents and losses. A safety audit of plants subjects each activity to a systematic critical examination with the object of minimizing loss to men, materials and money. It discloses the hidden weakness in the system and ensures that the operations are carried out in a safe and sound manner.

1 illus, 2 tables

017376   Sharma G C;Jain M;Maheshwari S;Shinde V (Mathematics Dep, Basic Science Institute, Khandari Agra-282 002) : Transient analysis for maintenance planning of material handling system (MHS). Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(2), 167-76.

This investigation suggests transient analysis for maintenance of material handling system consisting of three subsystems working in series. The subsystems may be in either of the two states; operating or failed. Lifetime and repair time of subsystems are exponentially distributed. Stochastic behavior of the operating units is examined numerically by using Runge-Kutta's method of fourth order. The numerical results for transient state availability are obtained.

2 illus, 10 ref

017375   Mandoria H L;Singh R P (Computer Engg Dep, College of Technology, G.B.P.U.A. & T, Pantnagar, Uttaranchal) : Performance analysis of state depedent priority schemes for bursty traffic in ATM Networks. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(2), 125-38.

The asynchronous transfer model (ATM) is the most promising approach for broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN), which can handle any kind of information i.e. voice, data, image, text and video in an integrated manner. Bursty traffic such as voice, video and graphics is supported in ATM networks and requires different quality of service (QoS). To meet the various QoS requirement of bursty traffic, state dependent priority schemes have been analyzed for the scheduling of an output buffered ATM switch. The performance analysis of state dependent priority schemes has been described for bursty traffic in ATM networks to improve the QoS in terms of cell delay time for each class and to reduce the cell loss rate of loss sensitive class in an ATM network.

5 illus, 16 ref

017374   Lanjewar U A;Khot P G (P.G.T.D. of Statistics, Campus, Nagpur Univ, Nagpur) : Dignostic tool for control of raw material cost in textile. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(2), 177-98.

An illustration of Network Planning is represented by a case of raw material mixing together of number of basis from different lots of various cost of similar category. While quantities and qualities of raw material are varied, since cost would also varied and hence an attempt is made to reduce the cost of material by the application of new proposed developed prediction equations. Further the monitoring system suggests the rate of change of cost time relation amongst normal cost to crash cost, which is invariably compatible with the present status, and review the impact of contribution. As a result the crash stop enables the manager of the cotton textile industry to make the selection of cotton bales from various lots as a raw material by an optimization concept, without affecting the quality.

9 illus, 10 tables, 6 ref

017373   Khurana A;Arora S R (Mathematics Dep, Delhi Univ, Delhi) : Multi-index time minimizing transportation problem. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(2), 105-24.

A multi-index time minimizing transportation problem is introduced. Two different algorithms for solving the given problem are discussed. Both these algorithms involves a finite number of iterations and are based on the concept of moving from one basic feasible solution to another basic feasible solution until it is not further possible to reduce the time. A numerical example to illustrate both the algorithms is also included.

5 tables, 15 ref

016292   Lal D P (Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., , , Email: devojoplal@yahoo.co.in) : Technology management. Indian chem Engr 2004, 46(3), 185-9.

Different phases of technology transfer (from scientific conception to commercialization) have been discussed and critical factors identified for cost control and effective technology management. Technology developmental activities should, be linked with product development (including cost of production and market penetration capabilities) as a continuous process until the technology is considered to be obsolete. However, R&D work must be sustained for the development of higher quality product having competitive price and the whole cycle must be restarted.

1 illus

007149   Vikas Kumar;Garg D;Mehta N P (Mechanical Engng Dep, YMCA Inst of Engng, Faridabad-121 006) : JIT practices in Indian context: a survey. J scient ind Res 2004, 63(8), 655-62.

Examines the implementation of Just-in-Time (JIT) based managerial philosophy in the Indian industries. Specifically, JIT elements, JIT benefits and reasons for slow implementation of JIT in Indian industries are investigated through a survey. The results of this survey support the notion that JIT has potential to increase the organization performance of Indian industries. However, to achieve this potential, Indian industry must be willing to modify their procedures and operations. Much has been written regarding the positive effect of JIT of performance of production system. But, the negative impact of JIT on workers and production system are not clear. The disadvantages of JIT production system are therefore highlighted here.

4 tables, 17 ref

007148   Suresh Kumar S (Planning and Evaluation Group, Regional Laboratory (CSIR), Trivandrum) : AHP-based formal system for R&D project evaluation. J scient ind Res 2004, 63(11), 888-96.

The paper dwells on a judgement model for R & D project evaluation using multifactor criteria based on hierarchic considerations. The idea is to employ formal tools in quantification of subjective evaluations where expert judgement is involved. Comparative evaluations on a priority scale are converted to quantites using the eigen vector concept. This is also the essence of the Analytic Hierarchic Process (AHP) of satty which as a technique is employed for R & D project evaluation. It is argued that AHP is more effective than scoring charts and utility models in priority setting based on judgemental evaluation through peer rating.

2 illus, 9 tables

007147   Srinivasan A;Saavithri V (Department of Mathematics, Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu) : Cost analysis using bivariate policies of recruitment in man power planning-a general model. Acta Cienc Indica-Math 2004, 30(1), 187-91.

In any organization, the exit or wastage of personnel is very common. The exit of personnel in marketing organization is very frequent, especially when policies regarding incentives, targets are revised. A bivariate recruitment policy is considered and a mathematical model is constructed for the policy under the above setup. Explicit expressions for the long-run average cost per unit time is obtained. For a better understanding of the model, numerical illustrations are given after assuming specific distributions.

2 tables, 7 ref

006192   Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (NO, , Wittelsbacherplatz 2, 80333 Munchen, Germany) : Method for cashless payment. 0000, (NULL), (NULL).

006191   Tirupathi Rao P;Srinivasarao K (Department of Statistics, Mrs. A V N College, Visakhapatnam, A P) : Stochastic model for cancer cell growth with spontaneous mutation and proliferation. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 85-93.

Introduces a stochastic model for tumor growth spontaneous mutation and proliferation by assuming that the mutation and loss processes of mutant and normal cells are Poisson with different parameters. Using the cumulant generating function and the difference differential equations, the tumor growth behaviour is analysed by deriving the explicit expressions for average and variance of number of mutant and normal cells in the tumor. Sensitivity of the model with respect to parameters is also discussed, this model is much useful in optimal drug administration in tumor control.

1 table, 10 ref

006190   Sharma B K;Sharma D K (Northern India Textile Research Association, , Sector-23, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad 201 002 (U P )) : Application of information technology in textile wet processing for strategic decision making. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 53-64.

In Indian context application of IT like ERP, SAP and Data processing are getting popularity in certain areas of textile operations like spinning & weaving. However, in wet processing, not much attention is given. This is due to complex nature of textile wet processing. A mill can earn profit/loss for a particular fabric quality/shade due to factors like cost of dyeing, process and machinery used. Hence, profitability of a mill depends upon optimum use of the available resources. The software package developed by NITRA has taken care of all these complex situations and provides information of order status, inventory control, individual party wise profit/loss statement, quality/shade wise costing report, machine wise/quality wise/process wise production statement, quality/shade wise costing report, machine wise/quality wise/process wise production statement, quality control, value loss statement of any customer. This software is applicable to fibre, yarn and fabric processing textile mills engaged either in job work or own work.

5 illus, 4 tables, 7 ref

006189   Rao K S;Sarma K V S (Department of OR & SQC, S K University, P G Centre, Kurnool 518 002) : An order level inventory model under L₂-system with power pattern demand. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 31-40.

Deals with a single period inventory model having two levels of storage. The demand is assumed to occur according to a power pattern so that the inventory onhand is not necessarily linear over time. The model specifically deals with the case where a large portion of demand occurs at the beginning of the period, which corresponds to the case with pattern index n<62>1. The optimal order level is determined assuming that a rented warehouse is used whenever the own warehouse is insufficient to keep the stock. Both deterministic and probabilistic contexts are studied and numerical illustrations are provided.

2 tables 7 ref

006188   Ramesh Babu T;Rao K S P (Department of Industrial Engineering, Anna University, Chennai 600 025) : Decision support system for the design and evaluation of production lines-a case study. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 1-12.

In the design of paced as well as unpaced production line systems, the important decision parameters are: selection of work stations, work allocation to each station, buffer allocation between work stations and allocation of servers to work stations. The determination of these parameters is influenced by the presence of variability in process times and the reliability of the workstations. In the evaluation of production lines, throughput of the system is considered as a performance measure. The case study presented a Decision Support System (DSS) developed to evaluate the existing production line systems and to assist in the design of new production lines. The data from an automobile engines manufacturing industry producing about 50,000 engines per annum, where two production lines of 38 stations and 15 stations are in operation, has been used to built and validate simulation model of the DSS.

4 tables, 13 ref

006187   Om Prakash;Sharma P K (Department of Mathematics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143 005) : Measures of fuzzy entropy and their relations. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 65-72.

Keeping in view the concept of fuzzy information, some new measures of fuzzy entropy have been proposed. The validity of the proposed measures has been checked by studying the essential properties of the fuzzy measures. Some relations among the proposed measures of fuzzy entropy have been developed. A more general measure equivalent ot the given class of fuzzy measures has been developed and some measures of fuzzy entropy have been deduced from it.

9 ref

006186   Mohan Kumar G;Noorul Haq A (Department of Production Engineering, Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappali 620 015, Tamil Nadu) : Analysis of aggregate production planning using memetic algorithm. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 73-84.

Aggregate production planning is a procedure of translating the expected demand and production capacity of the available facilities in to future manufacturing plans for a family of products. It includes decisions on production quantity, work force, and inventory to workout a low cost product and timely delivery. Various mathematical models and methodologies have been developed for such problems. Meta heuristics are non-conventional techniques that are turning out to be effective optimization techniques for many engineering and other managerial applications. Memetic Algorithms (MA) is recognized as a class of metaheuristics, which constitutes an emerging paradigm for optimization. They combine the advantages of natural genetics with a cultural refinement. In this worm, a model of Memetic Algorithm, is developed and the result obtained is compared with a variety of metaheuristics plans generated.

7 tables, 22 ref

006185   Khaparde M V;Nasery A V (Department of Statistics, Nagpur University, Nagpur) : Targeting the best clinical treatment out of multiple treatments in the presence of prognostic factors. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 21-30.

In clinical trials, many a times there is a problem of comparing multiple treatments. Deal with the design which randomly allocates multiple treatments to sequentially arriving patients. The design is response adaptive, where the response depends upon the levels of two prognostic factors PF₁ & PF₂. On an average this design assigns better treatment to more patients. Limiting proportions of allocations by these treatments are obtained.

3 tables, 8 ref

006184   Kane SP;Kane N S (Department of Statistics, Nagpur University, Nagpur) : Analysis of queues with service surrender facility. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 13-20.

The present literature of queueing theory is restricted to the `only" queue to a service counter. This paper presents a queueing system containing two different queues, a primary and a secondary queue. Depending upon the type of service given by the server and the server's certain limitations, the existence of secondary queue is decided whenever the formation is possible in queueing systems. The average waiting time in the system by a customer and service wastage rate are derived in this paper.

1 table, 6 ref

006183   Gupta P;Arora G K;Tuteja R K (M D University, , Rohtak, Haryana) : J-divergence for continuous probability distributions. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 41-4.

Some parametric generalizations of J-divergence for the continuous probability distributions have been provided. A unified expression of these generalizations is obtained and its properties are also studied.

10 ref

006182   Desai A A (South Gujarat University, , Udhana Magdalla Road, Surat 7, Gujarat) : A knowledge based decision support system for media planning. Int J Mgmt Syst 2004, 20(1), 45-52.

Media Planning is an important Decision Support System (DSS) for the Marketing Information System. This DSS makes two decisions, one the about selection of media vehicles and second, about the frequency of insertions in the selected media. Both of these two decisions are different in nature. The media selection problem is a qualitative in nature where as the later one is quantitative. Demonstrated the solution of vehicle selection problem through knowledge Representation (KR), where as for the frequency finding problem, a multiple objective optimization model (MMOIP) is defined where all the objective functions are different in nature viz, linear, non-linear fractional, concave etc. An algorithm for the quantitative decision-making is also illustrated in the paper.

15 ref

005131   Chakrabarty R;Patra N K (Business Management Dep, Univ of Calcutta, ) : Stochastic inventory model for a finite life item with uniform lead time and demand depending on m different types of quality. Int J Mgmt Syst 2003, 19(1), 11-24.

An inventory model for a perishable product with two periods of life has been discussed. The demands of the product in the two periods are independently and uniformly distributed admitting a uniformly distributed lead-time for procurement. The supplied product quality may be of m types and they are accepted to meet the demands at lower cost according to the supplied quality. The optimal order quantity has been obtained. A numerical example is also included.

2 tables, 12 ref

004182   Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (NO, , Wittelsbacherplatz 2, 80333 Munchen, Germany) : Method for cashless payment. 0000, (NULL), (NULL).

004181   Vedpuriswar A V (ICFAI Knowledge Centre, , Hyderabad) : Managing the risks in merger & acquisitions. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 16-24.

In their obserssion with growth, companies often strike M&A deals of questionable merit. A dispassionate analysis of the potential benefits and pitfalls involved is important before going ahead with a merger. Board members have an important role to play here, especially external directors. CEOs must be thoroughly grilled and asked to explain the benefits of the merger. Once the decision to go ahead is announced, the focus shifts to integration. This is a task which is underestimated by most companies. In the final analysis, it is the efficiency with which the integration process is managed that decides whether projected synergies materialise. Not all mergers fail. The acquisition of Corporate Express by Buhrman is a good example. The Dutch company announced a $1 billion cash bid, a clear indication of its condfidence in the deal. It paid a premium of only 24 per cent. Right from the start, the markets appreciated the deal. Buhrman's stock rose by 20 per cent immediately after the deal and had risen by 110 per cent a year later. Similarly, companies like Nestle and Cisco have driven their growth through acquisitions. But past evidence clearly indicates that success in M&A is less likely than failure. The difficulties in planning and executing acquisitions and alliances make them very risky. CEOs, in their rush to complete deals, should never underestimate the risks involved.

2 tables

004180   Shermon G (NO, , , Email: gshermon@univcanada.ca) : For whose benefit does the organisation exist. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 76-8.

Markets and shareholders have redefined the purpose for which an organisation exists. The old long-term relationship between the organisation and the employee has been replaced by something more short-term and tactical.

004179   Sanjay Badhe;Sridevi Rao (NO, , ) : Increasing customer loyalty through employee focus. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 46-7,49.

Employee loyalty explains around 40 per cent of customer loyalty. This means that a unit shift in employee loyalty could bring about a shift of 0.4 per cent in customer loyalty. The more committed and employee, the more likely he is to exhibit positivebehaviours such as recommending the workplace as good, and continuing to work there while it may take a long time to earn your internal or external customer's loyalty, it is worth the effort compared with short-term strategies to woo and satisfy customers.

004178   Raman M (NO, , , Email: manjariraman@yahoo.com) : From customers to brand enthusiasts. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 26-30,32,34.

Every company needs satisfied customers, But as any marketing maven knows, satisfaction is a necessary condition for customer loyalty, but not a sufficient one. To create loyal customers, you have to convert customers into enthusiasts and brand evangelists

2 illus

004177   Raghavendra Rao K (NO, , ) : Into the consumer's mind. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 37-40,42,44.

As product categories get overcrowded and quality differentials narrow, traditional narrow, traditional market research cannot yield the kind of consumer insights needed to create winning brands. The new frontier for market research is probing the deep recesses of the consumer's mind, where needs are still not well articulated.

004176   Oza A (NO, Daly College Business School, Indore) : Where the FMCC market sizzling. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 56-9.

Big FMCG players may be struggling with low growth and price wars, but for entrepreneurial regional players, there's no time like the present Usign easily available technology, strong local area knowledge, a short supply chain, and quality raw material, regional players are giving big brands a run for their money Bhaskar salt is positioned as a taste enhancer. But its success lies in distribution. By giving distributors and retailers better margins, it is able to get them to push the salt to customers.

004175   Nag S (NO, , ) : Strategy lessons from small brands. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 50-5.

Regional entrepreneurs are succeedin against the big brands because they know that avoiding risk is the biggest risk today the David brands often jump into chaotic marketplaces. They know the best opportunities lie there. But what ensures success is a highly flexible contingency marketing strategy on visualising an opportunity, Davids move quickly into the execution phase rather than waste time on research. A time-lag could mean losing the opportunity small brands can't afford to create unnecessary marketing buzz. marketing activity has to increase purchase intentions. Promotinal activity has to increase sales volumes.

004174   Clements S (NO, , ) : Outsourcing as a catalyst for transformation. Indian Mgmt 2004, 43(3), 64-8.

Finance and accounting are at the heart of the way an organisation is run, but a small but growing minority of companies is outsourcing these functions not merely to cut costs but to achieve transformation change. Companies often otsource by targeting non-core functions. Separating customer-facing and non-customer-facing activities and outsourcing the latter could be a more effective way. The new appriach to outsourcing finance and accunting is radically different. Companies are not so much outsourcing a F&A function as purchasing an F&A service.

004173   Akella D (Management Studies Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Email: Dakella@hotmail.com) : Giving voice to the powerless: the role of critical theory in India. Mgmt Rev 2003, 15(3), 47-51.

The main concern about literature relating to management and organisation studies is that issues like sexism, power and capitalist development have not been given due prominence. CMS treats this absence as `problematic'. Alvesson and Willmott²⁵ argue that the ideals of democracy sholud be extended from the political (parliamentary) to the economic sphere by facilitating much greater participation in decision making and making those who undertake management functions more widely accountable for their actions. CMS basically involves an emancipatory changeover involving a process fo critical self-reflection and introspection. CMS revisits management theory and encourages researchers and managers to question accepted beliefs, branch into unknown territories, reflect on means-end relationships, and rebuild people's identity, self-esteem and hope for a better future.

25 ref

003048   Sharma I K (Dep of Information Technology, , New Delhi) : E-governance : world scenerio. Elect Inf Plann 2003, 31(1-2), 22-46.

As the Internet's reach has expanded, so has its use for governmental functions. More than 200 nations now have some sort of Internet presence, and many have deployed highly sophisticated interactive applications. Such interactivity enables farmers in India to register property claims through village kiosks, and enabled Swiss citizens to reply to their country's 2000 census (http:/www.statistik.admin.ch/stat_ch/ber00/vz/as/evz-as01-04.htm). Drivers in Rosenheim, Germany, can now check for available parking spaces in municipal garages through phones based on WAP (wireless appliacation protocol, http://www.rosenheim.de/parkleit/stadtplan.htm. Shippers in Singapore submit warehouse inventories to customs department using a browser, Microsoft virtual machine, and a customs department client application (http: //appm4. internet.gov.sg /customs/wise/download, htm). The range and breadth of the projects described here challenge traditional notions of how people should internet with governments to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

6 illus, 7 tables, 4 ref

003047   Julka D K (General Manager (Projects), Uhde India Limited, , ) : Latest trends in project management. Process Pl Engng 2004, 20(3), 56-8.

003046   Anbazhagan N;Arivarignan G (Math Dep, Thiagrajar Coll of Engng, Madurai-625 015) : Two-commodity inventory system with individual and joint ordering policies. Int J Mgmt Syst 2003, 19(2), 129-44.

Considers a two commodity inventory system under continuous review. The demand points for each commodity are assumed to form idependent Poisson processes. A combination of ordering policies, individual ordering policy and joint ordering policy for both commodities are proposed. The limiting probability distribution for the joint inventory levels in computed. Various operational characteristics and expression for the long run total expected cost rate are derived. The results are illustrated with numerical examples.

11 ref

014279   Susiganeshkumar E;Elangovan R (Statistics Dep, Annamalai Univ, Annamalai Nagar-608 002, Email: susijk@rediffmail.com) : Prediction of manpower wastage in Tamil Nadu software industry using cox's regression approach. Ultra Scient phys Sci 2010, 22(2), 283-96.

In manpower planning, one of the most important variables is completed length of service on leaving a job, since it enables us to predict staff turnover. It is a common phenomenon that some personnel leave an organization after completing a certain period of services in that organization either voluntarily or due to death, retirement or termination, known as 'turnover' or 'wastage'. Wastage creates vacancies to be filled up either by promotion from the lower cadres or by direct recruitment or by a combination of both. The propensity of leaving the job is quantified based on CLS only and it sometimes leads to unrealistic prediction of manpower attrition. In addition to CLS, at the micro level, other factors such as socio-economics indicators or personal and/or familial factors influence the propensity to leave the job. Tamilnadu has been in an enviable position regarding the quality and quantity of manpower in its software industry. In this paper the suitable model is developed, to analyze and predict the pattern of manpower wastage in Tamilnadu software industries using Cox's regression model.

10 tables, 23 ref

014278   Mohanan M K (Postgraduate Dep of Commerce, Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha-686 661, Email: mkmohanan@gmail.com) : Operating performance of scheduled commercial banks in India. Sci Soc 2010, 8(1), 63-70.

The banking scenario in India has been totally changed since 1990's. The focus of Indian banks shifted from social commitment to profitability. The post reform era is mainly characterized by the deregulation measures of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to strengthen the soundness and profitability of Indian banking system. The Banking Sector Reforms (BSRs) initiated by the RBI have created a positive impact on the operating efficiency of banking institutions. Hence an attempt is being made to analyse the operating performance of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in India.

8 tables, 5 ref

014277   Mehta N;Verma P;Seth N (NO, Truba College of Science and Technology, Bhopal-462 038, Email: namishmehta01@rediffmail.com) : Deming 14 principles implemented on technical education. Ultra Scient phys Sci 2010, 22(1), 13-18.

In the past decade, quality improvement initiatives continue to be established in all service industries like education, banking, healthcare, telecommunication, transportation etc. Such initiatives are necessary as quality improvement programmed is directed towards satisfying the needs and wants of service users. Education like other service industry will also aim to meet the needs and wants of its service users. In this paper the 14 principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, which form a framework for the implementation of the Total Quality Management (TQM), are individually applied to the academic environment. The purpose behind this paper is to understand 14 principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming and their relation with Technical education.

14 ref

014276   Kuriakose S;Gireesh Kumar G S (School of Management studies (SOMS), Indira Gandhi National Open Univ, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068, Email: gireeshkartha@yahoo.com) : Assessing the strategic and financial similarities of merged banks: evidence from voluntary amalgamations in Indian banking sector. Sci Soc 2010, 8(1), 49-61.

Synergies arising from the increased efficiency, cost savings, economies of scale etc are the principal factors behind the voluntary amalgamations in the Indian banking sector. Even though, mergers are the major way to adhere to the regulatory requirements and the source of inorganic growth, the strategies adopted by the merging entities have to be critically analysed, because mergers seem to produce strategic and financial growth and also have considerable public policy implications. The merging partner's strategical similarities and relatedness are very important in the synergy creation because the relatedness of the strategic variables have a significant impact on the bank performance. On the basis of existing literature, banks should be similar in some areas and dissimilar in some other areas in order to improve post merger performance. In this paper we use firm specific data to study the strategic similarities of bidder and target banks in the voluntary amalgamations in the Indian banking sector. All relevant strategic and financial variables of respective banks are considered to assess their relatedness. It is assumed that balance sheet resource allocation is the indicative of the strategic focus of the banks.

1 illus, 5 tables, 24 ref