All-time Quotes by Abdul Kalam The crux of his life in his very own words: “My story—the story of the son of Jainulabdeen, who lived for over a hundred years on Mosque Street in Rameswaram island and died there; the story of a lad who sold newspapers to help his brother; The story of a pupil reared by Sivasubramania Iyer and Iyadurai Solomon; the story of a student taught by teachers like Pandalai; the story of an engineer spotted by MGK Menon and groomed by the legendary Prof. Sarabhai; The story of a scientist tested by failures and setbacks; the story of a leader supported by a large team of brilliant and dedicated professionals. This story will end with me, for I have no belongings in the worldly sense. I have acquired nothing, built nothing, possess nothing—no family, sons, daughters.” Some very unique and inspiring quotes by the great man: 1. “All birds find shelter during a rain . But Eagles avoid rain by flying above the clouds. Problems are common ,but attitude make the difference . 2. “Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity. 3. “Anyone who converts a challenge into an opportunity through innovation creates wealth. He or she indeed is a leader, are you? 4. “Yesterday leaders commanded the control (yesterday they were commanders, the leaders). Today, leaders empower and coach, that means potential leaders will be empowered to the exposure of needs of sustainable development, what we need today. 5. “For success in all missions, it is essential to have creative leaders in our country or anywhere else. Creative leadership means exercising the vision to change the traditional role from the commander to the coach. 6. “What is Success? When your signature changes to ‘Autograph’. 7. “Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead! If you lose, you can guide! 8. “Man needs difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success. 9. “Don’t read success stories you will get only messages, read failure stories you will get some ideas to get success. 10. “Dreams are not what you see in your sleep, dreams are what which doesn’t let you sleep. 11. “You have to dream before your dreams can come true. 12. “To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal. Also “If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means “Next Opportunity”. So Let’s be positive. 13. “If you salute your duty, you have no need to salute anybody, But- If you pollute your duty, you have to salute everybody. 14. “I am not a handsome guy, But ‘ I can give my hand-to-some one who needs help. Beauty is in the heart Not in the face. 15. “Never rest after your  first victory, because many lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck. 16. “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher. 17. “It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone. 18. “Suffering is the essence of success. 19. “Dream, Dream Dream Dreams transform into thoughts And thoughts result in action. 20. “My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work...

The following is a list of “Key Terms of #Strategic Management” which find their use often when trying to explain the concepts. #Mission An important undertaking that an organization believes it is its duty to do. A specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of people. Missions tend to be long-term and laid out in broad terms, without attempts being made to quantify them precisely. #MISSION STATEMENT Mission statement An open statement of the aims and #objectives of a business or an organization – providing employees with an indication of what they are attempting to achieve through their collective deeds. Mission statements are intended to give substance to the perceived purposes of the organization. Vision Statement A Vision Statement defines what your business will do and why it will exist tomorrow and it has defined #goals to be accomplished by a set date. A Vision Statement takes into account the current status of the organization, and serves to point the direction of where the organization wishes to go. Objective Something which an organization intends to do or achieve; a result that the organization intends to make happen. Long-term or short-term objective, which you hope to achieve within a few years or a few months. Objectives and aims tend to be medium-term and more specific in terms of what is intended to be achieved. SMART OBJECTIVES #Strategy A #plan of future action, usually long-term, in the pursuit of objectives.  (e.g.) business strategy; company strategy; financial strategy. The formulation of long-term plans and policies by a firm which inter-connects its various production and marketing activities in order to achieve its business objectives. STRATEGY GENERATION #Aim A result that an organization’s plans or actions are intended to achieve. (e.g.) To try to do something: we aim to be No. 1 in the market in three years’ time. Goal An organization’s aim, objective or purpose. Goals and targets tend to be medium-term or short-term and may be expressed in terms of specific levels of achievements and tend to involve more specific quantification and deadlines. (e.g.) our goal is to break even within twelve months. GOALS VS. OBJECTIVES #Target A level or situation which an organization intends to achieve or aim at. An object or area aimed at the object of an attack or takeover bid. A fixed goal or objective, etc. #Tactics The plans followed to achieve a particular short-term aim. (a) The science and art of disposing and maneuvering forces in combat. (b) The art or skill of employing available means to accomplish an end. (c) A system or mode of procedure TACTICS OR STRATEGY? Plan A set of decisions about how an organization intends to do something, or to ensure that an event or result should happen in the future. Organized way of doing something: contingency plan, government’s economic plans. Plans tend to be quite specific (the shorter-term they are, the more specific they tend to be) and are usually quantified in some detail. They will, in order to ensure that they are complied with, lay out specific deadlines for each key stage. They may also involve the consideration or analysis of priorities and constraints. STRATEGIC PLANNING #Budget A #financial plan, which may be short-term or longer-term, showing probable (planned) #income and #expenditure. Budgets tend to be expressed mainly in monetary terms, although they may focus on the amounts of physical resources (materials, labor time) required. An estimate of income and expenditure for a future period, as opposed to an account, which records financial transactions after the event. BUDGET...

Project Formulation and Project Life Cycle What is a Project? “A temporary endevour leading to a product / service or result ”  A project is any series of activities and tasks that: • Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications • Have defined start and end dates; • Have funding limits (if applicable); and • Consume resources (i.e. money, time, equipment).   Characteristic Features of a Project: • Has a mission or a set of objectives. Once the mission is achieved the project is treated as completed. • Has to terminate at some time or the other (temporary in nature)  • The project is one single entity and its responsibility is assigned to one single agency. • Calls for team-work, the members of the team may come from different organizational units, different disciplines, and   geographic regions. • Has a life cycle represented by growth, maturity and decay. • Is unique and no two projects are similar, even though the plants set up are identical. The organizations, the infrastructure, the location and the people make the project unique. • Change is a natural phenomenon with every project throughout its life span. Some changes may not have any major impact, but some  may change the very nature of the project. • The happenings during the life cycle of a project are not fully known at any stage. As time passes, the details are finalized successively. • Is always customer-specific. The requirements and constraints within which a project must be executed are stipulated by the customer. • Is a complex set of things. Projects vary in terms of technology, equipment and materials, machinery and people, work ethics and organizational culture. • A substantial portion of the work in a project is done by sub-contracting. The greater the complexity of a project, the greater will be the extent of work performed by subcontractors. • Is exposed to risk and uncertainty and the extent of these depend upon how the project moves through the various stages in its life span. • A well defined project has lesser risk and uncertainty, whereas an ill-defined project faces greater degree of risk and uncertainty. Project Life Cycle: The Project Life Cycle refers to a series of activities which are necessary to fulfill project goals or objectives. The different phases are as follows:   a) Concept or initialization phase In this phase, the project idea emerges and the #management decides on the need for a project. A project which is well conceived can be later implemented successfully. b) Project Definition Phase •The techno-economic viability of the project is checked •The technical configuration of the project is identified •The performance requirements, sub-systems, key equipments etc.- purchased •The cost estimates with limits are identified •Schedule of implementation is identified c) Growth or Organisation Phase Organizations, during this phase, undertake the following actions: a)    Establishing the infrastructure and enabling services for the project b)    Project engineering and design c)    Setting up Project Organization and staffing d)    Appointing a project manager e)    Preparing schedules and budgets f)    Obtaining necessary licenses and clearances from the Government g)    Raising finance h)   Developing systems and procedures for monitoring and reviewing project progress i)    Procedures for inviting tenders and awarding contracts j)    Site preparation and development k)   Procuring equipment and materials l)    Work packaging This phase covers both paper work connected with project planning and also implementation activities.  Planning is necessary to avoid crisis management; it makes the implementation phase to run smoothly. d) Implementation Phase The activities include: 1)  The preparation of specifications for major equipment and machineries, 2)  Placing orders with vendors for the supply of...

Attitude and Job Satisfaction What is attitude? Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people or events –Stephen Robbin. They also represent an ‘affective orientation towards an object.’ It simply means what one feels and thinks about something. Elements of attitude: Cognitive components – opinion or belief Affective components – emotion or feeling Behavioral components – intention to behave The interaction of these three components determines the way in which an individual develops an attitude towards something. Sources: Society Friends Teachers Family Members It also forms on the basis of the level of admiration we have over an object or persons. People also try to imitate others and attitudes are gradually formed on that basis also. In some attitudes formed are less stable, in some they even dominate the whole life. Types: Organizational behavior uses the concept of attitudes in relation to nature of the job and its influence on the performance of the persons. Accordingly, Job Satisfaction Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment, are the three kinds of attitude a person could have with respect his / her job or organization. Job Satisfaction: In “Job Satisfaction “, Stephen P. Robbins writes about five factors which make a person satisfied with his or her job. These factors are Mentally challenging work Equitable rewards Supportive working conditions Supportive colleagues and Personality-job fit. Cranny, Smith and Stone define job satisfaction as employees’ emotional state concerning the job, considering what they anticipated and what they actually got out of it. In fact, an employee with low expectations can be more satisfied with a certain job than someone who has high expectations. If one’s expectations are met or surpassed by the job, then one is happy and satisfied with the job. Job Involvement: Job involvement has been defined as an individual’s psychological identification or commitment to his / her job. As such individuals who display high involvement in their jobs consider their work to be a very important part of their lives- In other words for highly involved individuals performing well on the job is important for their self esteem. Organizational Commitment: Three important elements of a committed individual would be Identification with the organization’s goals and/or mission Long-term membership in the organization and intention to remain with the organization, often termed loyalty High levels of extra role behavior- behavior beyond required performance- Often denoted to as citizenship behavior or pro-social behavior. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Leon Festinger developed this theory which explains the relationship between attitude and behavior. It refers to”any incompatibility that an individual might perceive between two or more of his or her attitudes, or between his or her behavior and attitudes.” Attitude Surveys: This is a tool that helps to collect information about the levels of attitude among the people. In most companies these kinds of surveys are conducted with the help of different rating scales like Likert scale offering five or seven alternative choices for each of the statement developed for attitude measurement. Summary: Research conducted on attitude and job satisfaction in Indian workers has made clear certain points as given below: Attitude is positively correlated with efficiency Absenteeism will bring down satisfaction levels Unions, negatively affect the employee attitude and job satisfaction Attitude researches and surveys will improve...

STRATEGIC PLANNING Strategic planning is the primary step in the process of strategic management [Strategic management is a comprehensive topic that covers almost all the functional aspects of the organization] which can be outlined from at least two perspectives: First, strategy is the “broad programme for defining and achieving the objectives of an organization and implementing its mission”. Secondly, “It is the pattern of the organization’s response to the external environment over a period of time”. A strategy that takes a broad and typically long range focus is called strategic planning. MBA Application Strategies for Top Business Schools Strategic planning is the process that classifies the long range goals of the organization and opts for the precise means (strategies and polices) for achieving these goals, allocates resources, and develops long range plans to reach the destination.  Watch this Video to Understand the Overview of Strategic Planning Process Time-Horizon: Strategic planning takes into account the extended time horizon. There may not be any immediate impact out of strategic planning, but the consequences in the long-run prove to be gradual and significant as well. It provides with the necessary action plans to make a difference in vital areas concerning development. You can always associate innovativeness with strategy since it explores new paradigms and tries to enhance the impact. When the size of organizations expands, they are broken down into strategic business units (SBU’S) for the purpose of functional excellence. These units are expected to operate as if they were relatively independent businesses. WHY STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP IS IMPORTANT A Tailor Made Approach:  A tailor made approach is essential when it comes to strategy development the systematic analysis of the factors associated with customers and competitors (the external environment) helps the organization to meet the challenges of modern society. More and more organizations are focusing on formal approaches and concepts for planning their long range process. Specifically these challenges are a result of increasing rate of change, the complexity of manager’s jobs, the increasing importance of fitting the organization into external environment, and the increasing lag between the preparation of plans and their implementation in future. Resource Allocation: Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy or course, and making decisions on resource allocations to pursue this strategy. Managers must be adequately geared up for strategic planning. The goals of the organization must be made plain and not unclear. Each business unit should be categorized based on its performance level to decide on the resource share to be allocated. You need to infuse cash flow into ineffectual units and divest funds from dying units into other profitable ones. The ultimate aim is to build up star performers that will be the perennial source of income or revenue generation. There should be a strong linkage between planning and control. The assessment of strategic plans of the business units must be made periodically and effectively. TOP FIVE REASONS WHY STRATEGIC PLANS FAIL SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses/Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats. Planning is the primary step for control as it provides several standards and benchmarks of control. Planning extracts commitment. Some times planning highlights the objectives only and the planning premises may not be fully reliable. Threats are to be considered as challenges and must be converted into opportunities. Two heads are better than one is the philosophy of brain storming where a group of people with knowledge and expertise assemble to lay out clear plans that will steer the organization smoothly even in times of rough...