Understanding LCC business model from a customer's perspective

Low Cost Carriers (LCC)have brought in a revolution in the global skies.Infact during the trying times that the aviation sector is currently witnessing, most of the LCC are giving the Full Service Airlines(FSA)a hard run for their money.Yours truly witnessed quite a few of these LCC and FSA first hand as a customer with a background of understanding Business and Management.The latest one which was experienced in the last couple of days was Fly Dubai while flying on Muscat-Dubai-Muscat route for a weekend visit to the Emirate.On expected lines Fly Dubai had a good customer service experience to cater with a wide range of merchandise being sold on board at compelling prices, akin to many other Gulf based carriers.The diversified background of the cabin crew, along with their friendly and warm hospitality would make even the most jaded passenger to feel fresh and happy.However, a complete and truly satisfying service was not to be as there were some lacunae that created creased customer foreheads. Two such instances were-There wasn't any mention about the departure terminal in the e-ticket especially while boarding from a big airport like that of Dubai International Airport, which is always there in case of all FSA airlines like that of Oman Air, Emirates and Etihad.The second instance was in fact more appalling as it led to customer inconvenience and harassment. On landing in Dubai, the immigration and customs official told, as per the new amendments in the entry and exit rules of all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)residents, a passenger having their visa expiry date less than six months from the date of travel are not allowed to enter the Emirate.This resulted in many passengers travelling into Dubai via Fly Dubai from destinations like Muscat, Kuwait and Doha had to face inconvenience at the airport.Thanks to a friendly immigration and custom official at Dubai International Airport, who helped in routing the cases through a known travel agent so as to complete the visa proceedings apropos the new rules in vogue.Imagine what may have gone through with those passengers who are travelling in the sector for the first and without any contact in Dubai, leave aside knowing a travel agent!However, even the best of his efforts(customs and immigration) couldn't stop the passengers from wasting their precious 4-5 hours by being stranded at the airport.As a responsible service provider Fly Dubai would have sought all details about the passenger, his passport and visa status while he booked his ticket online and also during checking-in so as to avoid such inconveniences at the last minute.Although the other aspect of the service are truly world class, Fly Dubai need to pull up socks with players like Air Arabia fast catching up with the international best LCC practices.Indian LCC can definitely pick a lesson or two from the Middle East based LCC and their FSA counterparts.These players have strong business sense and coupled with fast reaction players like Emirates, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad to name a few are giving a tough fight to all the European carriers.Gulf based carriers are smart enough to leverage the export credit benefit, along with smart services to the passengers. The European hub is being fast taken over by the gulf based carriers owing to their opportunistic approach based on strong customer service.In such a scenario can the two instances of Fly Dubai be classified as an abberation?

Observation and Learning from CWG-2010

CWG-2010 being held in New Delhi, India was a fairy tale case of event management, till the stupendous inaugural ceremony stole the limelight and wiped out all the miserable happenings grabbing international headlines for more than a fortnight. These rapid developments made all and sundry sit back and ponder at the sudden emergence of the 'Numero Uno Commonwealth Games Ever' from the throes of doldrums.Even the most unorganized instances of event management wouldn't have imitated the callous approach, complicated processes and corrupt practices witnessed till the completion of the work for this global event.Thanks to the free Indian press, which left no stone unturned so as to publish all the scoops thereby publicizing the wrong doings involved in tarnishing brand India. Suddenly the billion mind powered democracy was airing their discontent, anguish, disgust and agony all over the media-print and electronic.CWG-2010 suddenly became the discussion everywhere,real and virtual.Twitter and Facebook simply complemented the platforms already available, thereby having a multiplier effect on the whole incident.All the stakeholders, save the prospective audience and the citizens were involved in alleged corruption cases, ignorance, blame game and was up in arms against the CWG bigwigs like Mike Fennel.Allegations and counter-allegations flew thick and fast and a pall of gloom descended just a few days prior to the game.The fire fighting exercise on the part of the global organizing committee wasn't enough and they soon realized the magnanimity of the situation and therefore started to ring the alarming bells in front of the government doors.The cabinet ministers, along with the Prime Minister got up from their slumber and were running helter-skelter, till someone took up the reins of turning around the preparation head-on.A handful few days to go for the gala event to take center stage, the Central and Delhi government along with the private corporate bodies collectively joined hands to avoid a complete white wash of India's brand image.The last minute saviour enabled India save the blushes, notwithstanding the jolt received by brand India, as a global emerging power.The discrepancy in a banana republic was obvious with none taking up the gauntlet of saving the country, till it became suicidal.
The major learning from the event leading to the opening ceremony are listed below for analysis and brainstorming-
(1)The decision makers in the governing bodies of Indian Sports Associations are still the powerful, corrupt and hungry politicians, whose main interest is to loot the exchequer and mar the image of the country, so as to boost up their own coffers
(2)Government takes less interest till something big erupts jeopardising national image, IPL-2010 was the latest pointer before the CWG fiasco
(3)Providing best facilities to the sports person are the last in the priority list of the sports administrators, with cricket being the exception
(4)National brand building through such a global event isn't being completely leveraged by all the concerned stakeholders
(5)Politicising events of national importance portraying myopic vision of various political parties
(6)Lack of fixed accountability, authority along with associated deadlines, and making them public for the awareness of the people at large
(7)No details of funding and the usage of the same, the source of the funds, available in public domain
(8)Hierarchical structure not known to anyone except the people having vested interests
(9)Collective effort on the part of all the states, to make the event a memorable one for the nation at large is absent owing to the shortsighted approach of the central and state governments
(10)Pre, during and post games plan so as to leverage the event in the larger interest of the national brand building is sorely missing
(11)In the information age even the smartest corrupt administrators would be under the scanner within no time

There could be more than what have been listed above. Although the grand opening ceremony have shut down the mouth of international bodies, India would find it difficult to market the destination for Olympics, thanks to the brand dilution till the resurrection exercise was initiated.Are the major decision makers listening?

The unexplored part of India

India is gradually moving up the ladder as far as a destination for leisure tourism is concerned.The ranking is quite high when it comes to medical and spiritual tourism.Places like 'God's own Country' Kerala, 'Go Goa', Shimla, Mussorie, Kashmir and the metros like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru to name a few are right up there in the mind of all foreign tourists.What they probably need to explore and try is the Northeastern part of India, which in itself would provide an altogether different experience than any other part of the country.The lush green surrounding embedded with ice clad mountain tops, people of mongoloid origin would for a moment make one sit back and ponder, whether its China, Southeast Asia or India.The infrastructural bottlenecks, notwithstanding, NE India with places like Sikkim, Guwahati, Shillong, Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Agartala are worth the try.The central and state government are trying their best to market these destinations, what is needed is that momentum which can come only from the private sector,the absence of which unfortunately happens to be the shortcoming for that region of India.The hospitality extended to the tourists would second to none,and with literacy rate quite high, the locals(read service providers) would have no problem in managing the communication in English, even when it comes to the ordinary citizen.Companies like Cox and Kings are already trying to market these destinations,but more such concerted efforts has to come especially through public-private ventures.This can also boost up local employment, apart from the Indian exchequer earning foreign revenues.

Protectionism the synonym for Free Trade?

Protectionism should be the last word in the lexicon of a country which is supposed to be the most developed economy in the world.Seems they are yet to learn their lessons in spite of the recession which is gradually subsiding and supposed to be the biggest since the great depression.Proponents of free trade especially to the emerging economies namely the BRIC nations are now eating their own words only to save their own skin from the domestic audience.Creating barriers in the form of banning government outsourcing contracts citing a silly excuse like boosting up of local employment/reducing umemployment or hiking up the fees for H1 visas are wishful thinking to say the least.For every job outsourced to an emerging nation the developed nation generates at least three jobs directly and indirectly in their own backyard and what about the foreign exchange they earn in the whole business process, which is substantial enough.China is probably the only country which has taken the bull by the horns.They have a tit for tat measure in place either in the form of the currency devaluation of the Yuan vis-a-vis the US dollar or the low cost manufacturing coupled with their huge domestic demand, which makes even the most dynamic economy beg for uniformity, albeit diplomatically.The other three emerging nations in unison with other countries should join hands so as to neutralize the impact of the protectionst moves carried out by the US and its allies.Crying hoarse in global forums like WTO or G-20 wouldn't bring much respite to these emerging economies as everywhere US or their proxies would ensure that their vested interests are kept alive, even if it means digging their own grave yard in the long run.

Is the Indian aviation landscape changing?

Indian aviation sector has improved by leaps and bounds. My recent visit to India and while traveling across the length and breadth of the country during those two months summer holidays made me realize quite a few changes observed in the aviation landscape. I flew Air India, Jet Konnect and Jet-lite, Kingfisher, Indigo, Spicejet and paramount. Some of the observations which stuck me are as follows-
Indigo coming up as one of the most admired budget carrier and would definitely create a positive mark internationally once they get approval from the regulatory body, Their focus on the minimal turnaround time by involving the on board passenger is commendable, the changes in the uniform, hair style of the cabin crews and announcing the languages spoken by the crew on board on the lines of Emirates is a point to note, first by a domestic carrier. One thing which was not fitting into the bill was the fact that while the staff on board speaks more than one Indian languages quite often I have seen the languages aren't commensurate with the sector they are flying into. Overall,, Indigo as a carrier is doing a great job by being a true no frills airline. Spicejet gave me a different feeling, which wasn't a positive one at least on two counts-one their time lines and two the laid back approach of their cabin crews especially when the dinner packets were exhausted much before even half the passengers were being catered to while I was flying Pune-Chennai sector. Jet is feeling the heat from Kingfisher, while Air India is partially out of their slumber, but they have miles to go before they can clean their balance sheet completely. Air India may have roped a high flying expatriate executive; however the turnaround calls for brave and forward looking steps by the ministry of civil aviation, which I am afraid won't be there, thanks to the vote bank politics.

My Take on the Indian Healthcare Sector

Healthcare sector in India gave me a mixed feeling.My prior experience in the Indian pharmaceutical sector while based in India, coupled with my insights into the sector as management trainer, consultant and also as a customer(read as patient and their dependents)gave me lot of food for thought. I am sure this small note would activate the grey cells of many of my Indian friends so as to put forth their opinion on the topic which is of immense significance to all and sundry.Indian healthcare sector are broadly classified under the following heads(Manishankar's classification)-Organized chains of corporate hospitals, mom and pop hospitals and nursing homes functioning as semi organized players and the dilapidated public sector players, not to forget the traditional medicinal players and the quacks trying to pitch their own offerings.Corporate chains are good in many aspects, especially when it comes to offering quality treatment along with their composite services which provides a good experience for the patient and their dependents. The pricing strategy is questionable especially when there is an absence of a regulator which can monitor the services, benefits and the pricing strategy followed by different chains.They have very good medicos and paramedics, however, a wide gap is existing especially when it comes to reaching out to the masses, vis-a-vis that of the classes.My experience with two chains in Nagpur and Chennai were reasonably good, sans the opaque feeling a customer have, especially when it comes to the pricing policy adopted by the players and some service related constaints encountered while the patient is metamorphosed from an out patient to the in patient.One shouldn't deny the fact that these chains offers the best services, be it the medical staff and quality paramedical support to complement each other.The loopholes exisiting in their processes are minimal, what calls for immediate attention is to target a wide range of segments through flexible pricing policies.Quasi organized players in the form of mushrooming private nursing homes and hospiatals are minting money with the exception of a handful few which are offering value for money to the consumer.As far as the public healthcare players are concerned, apart from a minsuscle few, most of them are sustaining only because the masses have no option but to lean upon so as to save their lives and that of the dependents.The handful few public operators which are benchmark of sorts are located in some metros as a result of which a chunk of the citizens who otherwise cannot afford the private players are deprived of them owing to locational disadvantage.Moreover, typical of any public sector players, red-tapism is the biggest bane which need to be resolved at the earliest if India is to serve its billion citizens who are dying only because they cannot access quality medical care.The traditional service provider have created a niche for themselves and are also making waves of sorts in the global market, especially when the awareness level of the end user is ever increasing thereby opting for something having minimal side effects.The quacks are trying to play on the ignorance of the rural household.One thing which is common across the sector is being leveraged by a wide range of unethical professionals who consider that their patients and the dependents should treat them as demi gods and never question their decision.The awareness level is always increasing with every bit of information available at the click of the mouse, the improved educational standards reaching out to the nook and corner of the country could only test the approach of the doctors and their supporting staff.Would wind up with an article read recently,authored by a professor from CMC,Vellore, where he emphasized on the importance on humanities in the Indian medical and healthcare sector sums it up all, doctors need to be good human beings first, understanding their profession always have an element of service towards the human kind, the monetary benefits would simply follow, if one knows this core value.

Ohio ban on Outsourcing would bounce back on US

The ban on outsourcing by Ohio government to any of the emerging countries is more of a rhetoric, rather than a mature business move.Every sensible American knows that outsourcing is here to stay and in many ways it contributes towards the developmental curve of their nation.Unfortunately, a dwindling support base and popularity for Barack Obama and his team both at the federal and county level have compelled them to take steps in hara-kiri, which defies even the basic business and common sense.Ohio ban may be imitated by many other state governments so as to deviate the attention of common Americans as the job losses encountered with every passing day is in no way related to the outsourcing model adopted by American corporations.The most vociferous voices for free trade had to bite the bullet, simply because of the lack of proper checks and balances culminating in the global crisis is indeed a matter of shame.Emerging nations especially G-20, BRIC nations should take up this move in a very serious matter so that their unified pressure makes the US administrators to realize the stupidity they have committed.If the same move is reciprocated by the group of emerging nations notably India and China, US companies have to run for cover, as most of their toplines and bottom lines are coming out from these markets, instead of their home turf.

Seminar at Tripura University

On 25th of August 2010, yours truly under the banner of www.tripurafoundation.org, an NGO conducted a philanthropic exercise at Tripura University, a central university, located in Tripura, India, for the welfare of the student community of North East India. The 4 hour seminar was divided into two parts for the MBA and BBA students of School of Management Studies of Tripura University. The deliberation focused on Opportunities for Placements, challenges post placements, and opportunities, challenges for Management Professionals. Active assistance in organizing the event was received from academic luminaries like assistant professor, Nishikant and Pro VC, Prof. Agrawal, along with the persistent effort of www.tripurafoundation.org enabled the knowledge seeking budding managers and entrepreneurs to sought response to plethora of queries hovering around placements and career development

Seminar at TIT

Yours truly conducted a seminar for the final year engineering students of Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) a government funded engineering college of state Tripura, India. The budding engineers of Electronics, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, and Computer Technology were taken through a lively session titled, ‘Preparations and Challenges for engineering students’. The enlightened minds were inquisitive to know about the prevailing placement scenario both in India and abroad. The students heard with rapt attention so as to know the nuances of securing the dream job. Prof. Anghsuman and Prof. Bibash were instrumental in arranging the seminar. It was part of yours truly’s philanthropic activity. The seminar was held on the 24th of August 2010.

Seminar at Raisoni's Institute of Management and Research

A seminar was conducted on the 12th of July 2010 during the induction program for the new entrants of MBA batch 2010-2012.Yours truly spoke on Management Profession and the challenges, which was gladly received by the students and staff of Raisoni's Institute of Management and Research,Nagpur, Maharashtra,India.The illuminating minds posed many queries facing the professionals in the light of the bouts of recession and slowdown experienced by the world at large.

A new Link on Soft Skills

I was sifting through google so as to know my standing while searching for 'Manishankar Chakraborty',when I stumbled upon http://www.cte.unt.edu/home/blog_softskills.html which had good insights on soft skills written after referring to one of my paper published in The Journal of Soft Skills and quoting from similar other authors.
I found it quite interesting and presume would be interesting for my blog followers and readers as well.

Please read the link and comment.