Burgernomics (Mmm..)

These kiosks adorn every happening place in Chennai these days. They promise delicious burgers at reasonable prices. Having over 40 outlets now, Burgerman Foods India Pvt. Ltd has even set up an academy named the Indian Institute of Kiosk Management (IIKM) at T. Nagar, Chennai, to provide training for people interested in being entrepreneurs. Krutika and Shloka in a tête-à-tête with one such young man at the Gandhinagar Burger man kiosk.

Krutika: Hello. We have come from Bala Vidya Mandir. We’d like to talk to you so that we get some information on how exactly a Burger Man outlet functions. Could you spare a few minutes?

Dinesh: Yes Sure. Go on.

Shloka: Tell us a little about yourself.

Dinesh: Sure. I am Dinesh. I’ve been working at this kiosk for the past one and a half months.

Krutika: That’s great! What is your qualification?

Dinesh: I have completed my 12^th standard. I was doing my second year BBA, but I had to drop out as my family needed my financial support. My friend, who also does this, suggested this to me.

Shloka: Oh, we applaud your decision! So were you given some sort of training?

Dinesh: Yes. We underwent training for 1 week. This included both classroom training, like how to talk to our customers, making burgers, keeping accounts and so on, and on the job training.

Krutika: So what are your working hours?

Dinesh: I am open from 12 in the afternoon to 10 at night. I get about 50 customers a day, mostly around evening time.

How is the remuneration?

Dinesh: There is no investment from my side in this. I am paid a salary of 5000 per month, and if I meet my target and exceed it, there is an additional of 50 rupees per day. I also get bonus and incentives and a weekly day off.

Shloka: That sounds good. What are your future plans?

Dinesh: I want to start a business of my own, with a few friends. I hope to do that in the near future.

Krutika: We wish you luck with that! Have you tasted the burgers that you sell?

Dinesh: (laughs) Yes, and I like them, too!

Shloka: Thanks for talking to us. All the best!

I love my job! :)

Credit: Prasad Rao

Effects of Influx of Chinese Imports into the Indian Market

Introduction :

As Indians scale newer heights of consumption, retail shelves are becoming showcases of the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing. Unlike India, China’s economy is greatly export driven. With the demand from China’s traditional markets(mainly US and Europe) dwindling, the country has found a paradise in India’s open and unprotected markets.
The sector which is hurt most is the Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) sector, due to Chinese products flooding the markets with a lucrative price tag of 10 to 70% lower than the prices of the same products manufactured in India.
With the Chinese government giving more incentives to boost its export sector, imports to India and other neighbouring countries will continue to surge. This will not only eat into India’s domestic markets but will also shrink India’s share in global markets.
The question now is whether the methods adopted by the Government to combat this hindrance will be effective in saving our SMEs.

Conclusion :

Our aim behind conducting the survey for our project was to find out about the extent of which Chinese imports have affected the indigenous market. We surveyed 35 traders and 35 consumers and made the following conclusions:
Majority of the traders and almost all of the consumers felt unhappy with the introduction of Chinese goods in the market as they are non durable, cheap in quality and they are made up of toxic materials.
Some traders however felt that Chinese goods ensure better sales as they are more attractive looking, colourful and much cheaper than indigenous products.
From the survey, and the above conclusions, we came to know that the Indian consumer is very aware of the quality and worth of the product that he or she buys, and thus the traders must keep in mind these parameters while selling goods so that indigenous products can once again retain their brand value. Indian authorities will have to ensure that imports from China clear quality and safety norms before they are allowed to be sold and marketed in the country.

Credit: Shrija Chavali

Brand Survey

Introduction :

Understanding the customer perceptions of the business and product stands at the heart of brand awareness. Protecting, redefining and building the brand can pose a daunting task to even the sanest marketers. Market research surveys provide valuable intelligence as to the company’s marketing presence and the strength of the particular brand recognition, that is, information that is critical to the success of the business.

Why conduct a survey :

A brand awareness survey can reveal much about the strength and weaknesses of the products, services and the company.

Conclusion :

The response shows that 84% of the respondents are brand concious and most of them are concious about footwear and apparel. A brand survey as this identifies the pulse of consumers. This helps in innovation and improvement in quality of products, and this, improvement in standard of living.

Credit: Shloka Narayanan

What they had to say.

“Government in the U.S. today is a senior partner in every business in the country.”
- Norman Cousins

“Tact is the art of convincing people that they know more than you do.”
- Raymond Mortimer

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“When you combine ignorance with borrowed money, the consequences can get interesting.”
- Warren Buffet

“I hope we never live to see the day when a thing is as bad as some of our newspapers make it.”
- Will Rogers

“It is much easier to ride a horse in the direction it’s going.”
- Abraham Lincoln

“Never ask the barber if you need a haircut.”
- Warren Buffet

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
- Will Rogers

How it started.

History of Amazon.com :
Jeff Bezon coined the term Amazon.com from the earlier name Cadabra.com. It was the excellent way to present large volume online bookstore. But did he have hidden intentions? It is hard to believe but in the early Internet days, when Yahoo was dominant search engine, results on one page were listed alphabetically. Amazon would always appear above its competition for a specific keywords. This could be a breaking point for Jeff to expand and became what it is today.
——
What Is Google? :
Google, the Internet search company founded in September 1998. by Larry Page & Sergey Brin, got it’s name from the word Googol, which represents number 1 followed with hundred zeros after it.

Did you know?!

–The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40.
–95.1 percent of respondents themselves had earned bachelor’s degrees, and 47 percent had more advanced degrees.
–Less than 1 percent came from extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds
–15.2% of founders had a sibling that previously started a business.
–69.9 percent of respondents indicated they were married when they launched their first business. An additional 5.2 percent were divorced, separated, or widowed.
–The majority of the entrepreneurs in the sample were serial entrepreneurs. The average number of businesses launched by respondents was approximately 2.3.
–74.8 percent indicated desire to build wealth as an important motivation in becoming an entrepreneur.
–Only 4.5 percent said the inability to find traditional employment was an important factor in starting a business.
–Entrepreneurs are usually better educated than their parents.
–Entrepreneurship doesn’t always run in the family. More than half (51.9 percent) of respondents were the first in their families to launch a business.
–The majority of respondents (75.4 percent) had worked as employees at other companies for more than six years before launching their own companies.
–American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad in first class.
–Every 23 seconds a Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world.

Got the right pay? ;)

Credit: Prasad Rao

Tickle your funny bone!

This guy is walking with his friend. He says to this friend, “I’m a walking economy.” The friend replies “How so?” He says, “My hair line is in recession, my stomach is a victim of inflation. And both of these together are putting me into a deep depression!”
——
The Ten Commandments Of Employment. If it rings, put it on hold. If it clunks, call the repairman. If it whistles, ignore it. If it’s a friend, stop work and chat. If it’s the boss, look busy. If it talks, take notes. If it’s handwritten, type it. If it’s typed, copy it. If it’s copied, file it. If it’s Friday, forget it!
——
This is the story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told Anybody, so Everybody blamed Somebody.
——
A wealthy investor walked into a bank and said to the bank manager, “I would like to speak with Mr. Reginald Jones, who I understand is a tried and trusted employee of yours.” The banker said, “Yes he certainly was trusted. And he will be tried as soon as we catch him.”
——
The fees for withdrawing money from your ATM machines are expected to double, even triple. You’re going to pay two to three times to withdraw your money. So basically, the ATM machines have become full service. Instead of getting robbed at the ATM machine the ATM machine robs you. You eliminate the middle man.
——
A young businessman rented a beautiful office and furnished it with antiques. However, no business was coming in. Sitting there, worrying, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wanting to look busy, he picked up the phone and pretended he was negotiating a big deal. He spoke loudly about big figures and huge commitments. Finally, he put down the phone and asked the visitor, “Can I help you?” The man said, “I’ve come to install the phone.”
——
An accountant dies and goes to Heaven. He reaches the pearly gates and is amazed to see a happy crowd all waving banners and chanting his name.
After a few minutes St. Peter comes running across and says, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you personally. God is looking forward to meeting such a remarkable man as yourself. The accountant is perplexed. “I’ve tried to lead a good life, but I am overwhelmed by your welcome.”, he tells St. Peter. “It’s the least we can do for someone as special as you are. Imagine, living to the age of 123 and still looking so young,” says St. Peter. The man looks even more dumbfounded and replies, “123 years old? I don’t know what you mean. I’m only 40.” St. Peter replies, “But that can’t be right. We’ve seen your time sheets!”
——
A very successful partner in a big firm had a peculiar habit. He would go to his desk everyday, open a locked drawer, look inside, lock the drawer again, and start his work. This continued for many days. His subordinates knew that he hid the secret of his success in the drawer, they waited for the opportunity.Then, one day when the partner had gone out of the city, the juniors decided to make a break. They broke into the drawer, breathlessly, and looked inside. There was one small piece of paper inside – it said – “Left is debit and right is credit.”
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I’m always delighted when people stick their noses in my business – my company makes paper tissues.
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I once knew a couple who were in the iron and steel business – she did the ironing, while he went out to steal.
——
Starting the day with a conversation between a wife and a husband who happens to be a software engineer.
Husband (Returning late from work) : “Good evening Dear, I’m now logged in.”
Wife : Have you brought the grocery?
Husband : Bad command or file name.
Wife : But I told you in the morning.
Husband : Erroneous syntax. Abort?
Wife : What about my new TV?
Husband : Variable not found.
Wife : At least, give me your Credit Card, I want to do some shopping.
Husband : Sharing Violation. Access denied.
Wife : Do you love me or do you only love computers or are you just being funny?
Husband : Too many parameters.
Wife : It was a big mistake to married an idiot like you.
Husband : Data type mismatch.
Wife : You are useless.
Husband : It’s by Default.
Wife : What about your Salary?
Husband : File in use. Try after some time.
Wife : What is my value in the family?
Husband : Unknown Virus.
——
One employee told his boss, “Sir, increase my salary, I got married recently.”
The boss replied, “The Company cannot compensate for the accidents that happen outside of the company.”
——
You’re at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car) for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride and then say, “By the way, I’m rich. Will you Marry Me?” – That’s public relations.
——
You’re at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, “You are very rich! Can you marry me?” – That’s Brand Recognition.
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You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, “I am very rich. Marry me!” She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. – That’s Customer Feedback.
——
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, “I am very rich. Marry me!” And she
introduces you to her husband. – That’s demand and supply gap.
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You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person comes and tell her. “I’m rich. Will you marry me?” And she goes with him. – That’s competition eating into your market share.
——
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say, “I’m rich, Marry me!” Your wife arrives. – That’s restriction for entering new markets.

Enterprise!

Credit: N. Aparna