References have been made to Latin America, and how it is very common to find public display of affection there. In fact, it is apparently an indication of the security of the place!
Sometimes I think it has become "fashionable" to condemn censoring of public affection. People sometimes make statements that India is becoming a medevial society, because we don't allow public display of affection. Why, I also hear that we need to grow up, and move on, because this is okay in other parts of the world. I don't understand this.
Let us take a historical perspective. Years ago, it is said, women used to walk around with few clothes on, they used to bathe in open rivers, and we were still one of the "purest" societies in the world. India is the country where the Kama Sutra was written. India is the land of Khajuraho and Konark, where you find scores of temples with erotic inscriptions. Why, even the Qutub Minar complex in Delhi has a few erotic inscriptions.
As time passed, salwars and bathrooms were invented, and women went back indoors. Somewhere along the line, sex was made taboo, and we began to fear our past. Maybe it was a Moghul influence.
But today, in this great land of Khajuraho and the Kama Sutra, we are still among those who condemn public display of affection. Is it wrong? The answer is that yes, it does make a lot of people uncomfortable. It does make elders uncomfortable to see people "getting it on" in public. That's their culture. That's what they have seen.
India is a country that is developing by leaps and bounds. A satellite channel influence means that the youth of today are becoming more and more foreign in their approach to life. But we should spare a thought for the previous generation, that still lives in a world where man-woman interaction before marriage is not allowed. This change is taking place too fast for them to digest. This change is in every aspect of our lives. And guess what, the lawmakers are still the elder generation.
We must change, I do not deny that. We must become more liberal in our outlook, I totally agree. But do spare a thought for those who condemn change. Change is never easy. Look at yourself. Did you get over your last girlfriend/boyfriend? Do you like your new job? I think that with time, we will all get used to it. But come on guys, give them some time.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Fcuk it all !
A religion is a pure bond between an individual and the Almighty. There are many religions, but there is one common characteristic. Religion is a unifier. It brings people together, by applying the same set of rules to a large number of people.
However, from time immemorial, it has been used by smart people, to manipulate the masses. Every walk of life: politics, marketing, culture, society, have seen instances where the religious sentiment has been adopted in order to unify people in a common direction, and for a common cause.
This is not necessarily bad, if the cause is worth it. But sometimes, it could be called plain manipulation.
Marketing around the world has been showing a marked change in the attitude that it is potraying. There seemed to be an era, where marketers around the world were completely oblivious to the fact that religion could be used successfully in marketing their brand.
However, they soon awoke, and began to use faith to sell their product. The first example of a gigantic success in this direction was the Mel Gibson movie "The passion of Christ". In some time, there were clever entrepreneurs across the world who took advantage of this religious sentiment, and tried to push their product.
To be frank, this has been too little, and way too late. None of these products are capturing the imagination of the masses, and none of these are proving to be high sellers. There are many reasons for this. Most importantly, religion is no longer a powerful force in our society. Hate crimes, religious politics, caste based crimes, and of course, media, have ensured that people do not think highly of their weekly visit to the religious places anymore.
Also, religion just does not seem to make sense to a lot of people around the world. I'm an Indian, a Christian, and for long, I have wondered why my religion is so complicated. I have wondered why my religion will only try to give me long and convoluted stories, when all I'm looking for, is a simple answer. Hindus have wondered why their religion won't grow up with the times. Muslims have wondered how their religion gets misinterpreted and misused so easily, and so often.
The stage seems to be set for a new form of marketing. A form where religion is now the enemy, and religion is now the force that divides.
Enter irreverence marketing. This is by no means a new phenomenon. One of the biggest brands in the history of mankind, Nike, has been built on the basic premise of irreverence. The tagline "Just do it" says it all. However, in time, they became the establishment, by leading the market. This required a mindset shift, and they have managed well.
Ever heard of a brand called "Cheap Monday Jeans"? A Swedish brand, its logo is a "skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead." Founder Bjorn Atldax says, "It is an active statement against Christianity. I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."
Atldax insists he has a purpose beyond selling denim: to make young people question Christianity, which he called a "force of evil" that had sparked wars throughout history.
Sweden lets him sell his brand peacefully, but other religious states might just have a problem. As of now, though, he is laughing all the way to the bank, after creating one of the fastest growing brands in Sweden.
Fcuk is another brand that is making a living out of irreverence. Fcuk jeans are very popular in college campuses and among the youth, because of the very shock that the brand name evokes.
Closer home, in Hong Kong, a new furniture store brand is making good use of irreverence. The brand name: "G.O.D". No, don't be shocked. G.O.D stands for "Goods of desire", and the owner hopes to make a luxury brand for the Hong Kong customer, a brand far removed from the traditional images of the dragons and skyscrapers one might associate with Hong Kong. But a store called GOD? Irreverence at its best.
India is at the throes of development. A large young population, religious confusion, and a fast rate of internet and cable TV penetration. India today sounds like a perfect recipe for irreverence branding.
Will the iconoclast please raise his hand?
However, from time immemorial, it has been used by smart people, to manipulate the masses. Every walk of life: politics, marketing, culture, society, have seen instances where the religious sentiment has been adopted in order to unify people in a common direction, and for a common cause.
This is not necessarily bad, if the cause is worth it. But sometimes, it could be called plain manipulation.
Marketing around the world has been showing a marked change in the attitude that it is potraying. There seemed to be an era, where marketers around the world were completely oblivious to the fact that religion could be used successfully in marketing their brand.
However, they soon awoke, and began to use faith to sell their product. The first example of a gigantic success in this direction was the Mel Gibson movie "The passion of Christ". In some time, there were clever entrepreneurs across the world who took advantage of this religious sentiment, and tried to push their product.
To be frank, this has been too little, and way too late. None of these products are capturing the imagination of the masses, and none of these are proving to be high sellers. There are many reasons for this. Most importantly, religion is no longer a powerful force in our society. Hate crimes, religious politics, caste based crimes, and of course, media, have ensured that people do not think highly of their weekly visit to the religious places anymore.
Also, religion just does not seem to make sense to a lot of people around the world. I'm an Indian, a Christian, and for long, I have wondered why my religion is so complicated. I have wondered why my religion will only try to give me long and convoluted stories, when all I'm looking for, is a simple answer. Hindus have wondered why their religion won't grow up with the times. Muslims have wondered how their religion gets misinterpreted and misused so easily, and so often.
The stage seems to be set for a new form of marketing. A form where religion is now the enemy, and religion is now the force that divides.
Enter irreverence marketing. This is by no means a new phenomenon. One of the biggest brands in the history of mankind, Nike, has been built on the basic premise of irreverence. The tagline "Just do it" says it all. However, in time, they became the establishment, by leading the market. This required a mindset shift, and they have managed well.
Ever heard of a brand called "Cheap Monday Jeans"? A Swedish brand, its logo is a "skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead." Founder Bjorn Atldax says, "It is an active statement against Christianity. I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."
Atldax insists he has a purpose beyond selling denim: to make young people question Christianity, which he called a "force of evil" that had sparked wars throughout history.
Sweden lets him sell his brand peacefully, but other religious states might just have a problem. As of now, though, he is laughing all the way to the bank, after creating one of the fastest growing brands in Sweden.
Closer home, in Hong Kong, a new furniture store brand is making good use of irreverence. The brand name: "G.O.D". No, don't be shocked. G.O.D stands for "Goods of desire", and the owner hopes to make a luxury brand for the Hong Kong customer, a brand far removed from the traditional images of the dragons and skyscrapers one might associate with Hong Kong. But a store called GOD? Irreverence at its best.
Will the iconoclast please raise his hand?
Buy, all ye faithful
'Cos you gotta have faith' goes the old George Michael song. Sure. But the rise of religion-based identity is a vexing issue - as recent events in both France and Australia have shown.
Should we nullify differences, or acknowledge and celebrate them? That is the big question.
The French government's controversial ‘no headscarves’ rule in public schools is a reflection of the 'nullify' school of thought. But people will believe what they have to believe, is what any smart businessman knows. So let's acknowledge that and create products to cater to their unfulfilled needs!
Faith based products
In 2005, Paris saw the launch of a Muslim-themed fast-food restaurant - Buerger King ('buer' being the French slang for second generation Muslim immigrants from North Africa). The menu is standard but the waitresses wear head-scarves and all the meat served is 'halal'.
Then there was this ‘Mecca Cola’. Launched in 2003 by French entrepreneur Tawfik Mathlouthi with a shoestring budget of €22 000, the soft drink cleverly capitalised on anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world. Additionally, Mecca Cola tom-toms its commitment to donate 20% of its profits to charity - 10% to Palestinian children and 10% to local organisations, wherever it sells.
Mecca Cola has spawned me-toos like the Qibla cola in the UK and a 7-up alternative - Muslim UP.
Now what’s faith got to do with choice of a cellphone? Well, with a little imagination it well might. The Ilkone i800 is the world’s first- ever 'Islamic' mobile phone.
The handset includes features such as establishing Qibla direction (towards the Ka'bah at Mecca, which Muslims face to pray) from anywhere in the world and automatic precise prayer timing with inbuilt Azaan (call to prayers). Additionally, the Ilkone i800 contains the full text of the Holy Qur'an with English translations -approved by the scholars of Al-Azhar in Egypt.
The phone was the brainchild of Saqer Tellawi, a Palestinian telecommunication professional, who led a 2 ½ year R&D effort to develop the phone with the best technology, and highest quality 'Muslim' features. The product has been available in the Middle East since 2004 but was launched only in October 2005 in key
markets such as Malaysia. The company also targeted the 12-16 million strong Muslim population in Europe with a pre-Ramzan rollout in the Netherlands.
Other 'culturally compliant' products introduced by local entrepreneurs include 'Razanne' (a doll with a hijab) and Shukr Online (a store specialising in 'modest clothing').
Does faith sell?
But are these ventures small niche opportunities which make for interesting headlines, or do they signify an important trend marketers need to take note of?
Ilkone sold 100,000 units in 2004, although it hoped that number will soon swell to a trillion handsets by the end of 2010. The lack of key features such as camera and MP3 player is likely to put off trendy young Muslims. As for Mecca Cola, although it did get off to a promising start, the brand has under 1% of the market share in its biggest territory - France.
However, the slow progress being made by faith-based products could have more to do with the limitations of the start-ups selling them, than inherent lack of market potential. But it’s unlikely that large corporations will actually use religion to sell products. And if they do, it will be cloaked under the garb of ‘cultural sensitivity’.
The Ikea store in north London recently asked TheHijabShop.com to design a ‘hijab’ with the brand logo sewed on - for employees who wished to wear one as part of the company uniform. A symbolic
we-accept-you-are-different gestures which well might attract more Muslim customers to the shop.
Corporations like McDonald’s have always taken cognisance of local dietary preferences - religious restrictions included. So, in India, it sensibly deleted pork and beef from its menu. Conforming to local custom, it’s ‘halal burgers' in the Middle East and similarly, there’s a ‘kosher’ outlet in Jersualem to satisfy Orthodox Jews.
The new trend however is that based on demand from the local population, individual McDonalds and KFCs offer 'halal' items - in cities like Sydney and Detroit. A response to rising immigrant populations who, instead of assimilating into what ‘is available’, influence the availability itself.
Helping to 'keep the faith'
A recent report in IHT noted that “Global financial institutions, led by HSBC, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, are now setting up either Islamic divisions or separate banks.”
HSBC’s ‘Amanah Islamic Banking Solutions’ are currently offered in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, USA, UK, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei and Singapore. The ‘Amanah’ products and services conform to the requirements of Islamic ‘shariah’ law.
Muslims, with their very distinct religion-based preferences, form the largest and most attractive market for faith-based products. But ‘Born Again Christians’ are being targeted similarly, in the US. The entertainment industry, in particular, is looking at churches as a serious alternative marketing ‘channel’ to reach out to family audiences.
‘The Passion of the Christ’, which raked in more than $400 million at the box office alone was marketed intensively at churches. But then, the subject matter was such that the strategy made perfect sense.
But the Walt Disney film ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ has nothing to do with Jesus – it’s about golf. Yet Disney held sneak previews at influential churches, promoting it as a film with “very secular, but potentially Christian virtues”.
Disney also hired Motive Entertainment, which handled "The Passion of the Christ" church-marketing campaign, to sell the fantasy film "Narnia" to Christian audiences. Incidentally, many view the tale as a "Christian allegory."
20th Century Fox went a step further and launched a website called foxfaith.com which sells ‘family-friendly’ home videos to the Christian audience . A ‘church resources’ link offers downloads of Bible verses that are relevant to scenes in particular films.
It’s all a numbers game – greeting cards giant Hallmark classifies 72 million Americans as ‘Born Again’ and 14 million as ‘Evangelical’. Recognising the need to cater to this giant market, in 1999 Hallmark acquired ‘Dayspring’, a company specialized in the production of Christian greeting cards.
A CNN/Money report titled “The Financial Power of Faith” reported that religious-themed books now represent the No. 3 publishing category by market share, after popular fiction and cooking. That’s $1 billion in book sales – excluding Bibles. While in music, Contemporary Christian music (CCM) recordings now outsell classical and jazz music combined. 43 million Christian ‘rock’ albums flew off the shelves last year.
Even gaming developers are eyeing this lucrative market. Companies like ‘Digital Praise’ aim to provide wholesome alternatives to the gory games currently in the market with titles such as ‘Bible Games’ for the Xbox, PS2 and Gameboy.
The India story
Given the political incorrectness of the idea, overtly faith-based marketing does not really find favour. So, for example, instead of labelling themselves as ‘Hindu’, channels like Aastha sell on a ‘spiritual’ platform.
Of course, in the late 80s, Godrej Soaps did try to market ‘Ganga’ bath soap – hoping that its ‘Gangajal’ content would attract the devout. It didn’t work. Even though around the same time Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan was a monster hit on television.
Now the Sagars may have another winning idea on their hands. Shiv Sagar, son of Ramanand Sagar, has plans to build ‘Gangadham’ a 25 acre Hindu ‘theme park’ at Hardwar. Dubbed as the ‘Disneyland on the Ganges’ by the BBC, the park aims to recreate great moments in Hindu mythology through hi-tech rides, an animated mythological museum, a "temple city", food courts and a sound and light show. Expected completion date: 2012.
Last but not the least, there's ‘tele-shopping’ on late night television. Now, in addition to miracle knives and magical stain removers, religion-based products are being hawked.
Kader Khan is peddling ‘Allah ke darwaaze ka aks’ while Smriti Irani extols the virtues of ‘ShreeYantra’, invoking Ram, Sita and a host of other Hindu gods. Health, peace and happiness for just Rs 1999/- (posting and handling extra). All major credit cards accepted.
Mirza Ghalib, the greatest of all Urdu poet sums up the thing about faith in the following lines :
तेरे कूचे का है माईल दिल मुज़्तर मेरा
काबा इक और सही किब्लानुमां और सही
[कूचे = lane, माईल = obliged, मुज़्तर = restless, काबा = house of Allah in Mecca, किब्लानुमां = direction for prayer]
So, even when we all know that Qibla isn't the only direction where God may be sought, we all seek the direction nonetheless. And marketing can't be blamed, they'll use all notions that people have/talk about, believe in/criticize. We're all born 6 pounds before we become beings who gain 6 pounds per week.
It won't be long before faith based brands launch their secular versions as well. Another way to look at this phenomenon is the premium that politically-aware products have historically commanded. Environmentalist pay more for green-friendly products and bleeding hearts buy expensive shirts not made at "sweatshops" and health concious people burn their pockets buying organic food.
The newest niche market are economically empowered religious folks, who due to the current political climate around the world, are assertive about wearing their reliousity on their sleeve. For capitalists this is God-sent. (also available in Allah-sent and Bhagwan-sent flavors).
What our sadhus/saints (most) do is exploit the deep seated faith of people to get the best of lifestyle and money flowing from themselves. The marketers creating faith brands are very much the same except that they are more honest about their deeds.
I believe that a smart doctor in the US is now peddling the Jesus diet! Yeah, eat what He ate and lead a happy life. Apparently he chanced upon the idea after noticing the rise in obesity among young Americans, and decided that this diet was the only cure.
Out here in Tamil Nadu, religion's a truly big business. So many magazines, so many mutths, so many swamijis and sanyasinis...it's pretty big. But unlike the instances mentioned, the believers' market here is highly segmented. So a Sai Baba book or tape will not find favour among non-Sai devotees.
Faith does sell. But this we see as "the other". Most products sell to a very Euro/US centric, Christian market anyway. It's diversity in product, and religion is a way of life - So more than being a cash cow - I guess it's about supply and demand. Market mechanics at work, and as all good market mechanics go - they drive towards creating more demand.
Fad or otherwise, atleast they are bothering to understand their markets. Though I think trinkets (Aimed at the spiritual and healing market) is different from niche markets like mobile phones. What eats me is that it could possibly mean more stereotyping.. hhmm...
The truth of the matter seems to be that ghettoisation sells. As we move into a more fractious and polarised society, marketing is bound to get more target specific. That is not necessarily a new thing. Marketing has always, in order for the tail to wag the dog, artificially created new demands in niche markets to sell products. This is just an extension of that.
The problem lies not more in the sociological reasons that allow target fragments to be exploited by cynical marketers. From colas to Islamic Banking, marketers are actively enouraging this fragmentation so that they can mint money. This can potentially lead to dangerous situations. What happens if someone accidentally knocks over a bottle of Mecca Cola with his feet? What's the guarantee that someone will not consider this an insult to Islam? Similarly what will stop a rabid RSS guy from accusing someone of using the "pure" Ganga soap to wash unmentionable body parts? Or what happens if someone spots an HSBC employee having pork chops for dinner?
These maybe far out examples, but will the marketers take responsibility then for the potential fallouts? Where does business bend and responsibility begin? As long as there are gullible people out there, some smart-ass will make money out of their ignorance by selling them 'peace' and 'happiness'.
I have tremndous respect and admiration for all entrepreneurs who cash in on religion. I think they are really smart and gutsy folks. They have manged to see through the oddities of life and look at religion for what it really is - a cash cow.
As you might note from the rather formal tone of this piece, it was not written as a blogpost. Was felt to be potentially controversial, hence sees light of day here instead!
P.S. I am not for or against faith-based products - simply a keen observer of trends.
Should we nullify differences, or acknowledge and celebrate them? That is the big question.
The French government's controversial ‘no headscarves’ rule in public schools is a reflection of the 'nullify' school of thought. But people will believe what they have to believe, is what any smart businessman knows. So let's acknowledge that and create products to cater to their unfulfilled needs!
Faith based products
In 2005, Paris saw the launch of a Muslim-themed fast-food restaurant - Buerger King ('buer' being the French slang for second generation Muslim immigrants from North Africa). The menu is standard but the waitresses wear head-scarves and all the meat served is 'halal'.
Mecca Cola has spawned me-toos like the Qibla cola in the UK and a 7-up alternative - Muslim UP.
The handset includes features such as establishing Qibla direction (towards the Ka'bah at Mecca, which Muslims face to pray) from anywhere in the world and automatic precise prayer timing with inbuilt Azaan (call to prayers). Additionally, the Ilkone i800 contains the full text of the Holy Qur'an with English translations -approved by the scholars of Al-Azhar in Egypt.
The phone was the brainchild of Saqer Tellawi, a Palestinian telecommunication professional, who led a 2 ½ year R&D effort to develop the phone with the best technology, and highest quality 'Muslim' features. The product has been available in the Middle East since 2004 but was launched only in October 2005 in key
markets such as Malaysia. The company also targeted the 12-16 million strong Muslim population in Europe with a pre-Ramzan rollout in the Netherlands.
Other 'culturally compliant' products introduced by local entrepreneurs include 'Razanne' (a doll with a hijab) and Shukr Online (a store specialising in 'modest clothing').
Does faith sell?
But are these ventures small niche opportunities which make for interesting headlines, or do they signify an important trend marketers need to take note of?
Ilkone sold 100,000 units in 2004, although it hoped that number will soon swell to a trillion handsets by the end of 2010. The lack of key features such as camera and MP3 player is likely to put off trendy young Muslims. As for Mecca Cola, although it did get off to a promising start, the brand has under 1% of the market share in its biggest territory - France.
However, the slow progress being made by faith-based products could have more to do with the limitations of the start-ups selling them, than inherent lack of market potential. But it’s unlikely that large corporations will actually use religion to sell products. And if they do, it will be cloaked under the garb of ‘cultural sensitivity’.
The Ikea store in north London recently asked TheHijabShop.com to design a ‘hijab’ with the brand logo sewed on - for employees who wished to wear one as part of the company uniform. A symbolic
we-accept-you-are-different gestures which well might attract more Muslim customers to the shop.
Corporations like McDonald’s have always taken cognisance of local dietary preferences - religious restrictions included. So, in India, it sensibly deleted pork and beef from its menu. Conforming to local custom, it’s ‘halal burgers' in the Middle East and similarly, there’s a ‘kosher’ outlet in Jersualem to satisfy Orthodox Jews.
The new trend however is that based on demand from the local population, individual McDonalds and KFCs offer 'halal' items - in cities like Sydney and Detroit. A response to rising immigrant populations who, instead of assimilating into what ‘is available’, influence the availability itself.
Helping to 'keep the faith'
A recent report in IHT noted that “Global financial institutions, led by HSBC, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, are now setting up either Islamic divisions or separate banks.”
HSBC’s ‘Amanah Islamic Banking Solutions’ are currently offered in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, USA, UK, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei and Singapore. The ‘Amanah’ products and services conform to the requirements of Islamic ‘shariah’ law.
Muslims, with their very distinct religion-based preferences, form the largest and most attractive market for faith-based products. But ‘Born Again Christians’ are being targeted similarly, in the US. The entertainment industry, in particular, is looking at churches as a serious alternative marketing ‘channel’ to reach out to family audiences.
‘The Passion of the Christ’, which raked in more than $400 million at the box office alone was marketed intensively at churches. But then, the subject matter was such that the strategy made perfect sense.
But the Walt Disney film ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ has nothing to do with Jesus – it’s about golf. Yet Disney held sneak previews at influential churches, promoting it as a film with “very secular, but potentially Christian virtues”.
Disney also hired Motive Entertainment, which handled "The Passion of the Christ" church-marketing campaign, to sell the fantasy film "Narnia" to Christian audiences. Incidentally, many view the tale as a "Christian allegory."
20th Century Fox went a step further and launched a website called foxfaith.com which sells ‘family-friendly’ home videos to the Christian audience . A ‘church resources’ link offers downloads of Bible verses that are relevant to scenes in particular films.
It’s all a numbers game – greeting cards giant Hallmark classifies 72 million Americans as ‘Born Again’ and 14 million as ‘Evangelical’. Recognising the need to cater to this giant market, in 1999 Hallmark acquired ‘Dayspring’, a company specialized in the production of Christian greeting cards.
A CNN/Money report titled “The Financial Power of Faith” reported that religious-themed books now represent the No. 3 publishing category by market share, after popular fiction and cooking. That’s $1 billion in book sales – excluding Bibles. While in music, Contemporary Christian music (CCM) recordings now outsell classical and jazz music combined. 43 million Christian ‘rock’ albums flew off the shelves last year.
Even gaming developers are eyeing this lucrative market. Companies like ‘Digital Praise’ aim to provide wholesome alternatives to the gory games currently in the market with titles such as ‘Bible Games’ for the Xbox, PS2 and Gameboy.
The India story
Given the political incorrectness of the idea, overtly faith-based marketing does not really find favour. So, for example, instead of labelling themselves as ‘Hindu’, channels like Aastha sell on a ‘spiritual’ platform.
Of course, in the late 80s, Godrej Soaps did try to market ‘Ganga’ bath soap – hoping that its ‘Gangajal’ content would attract the devout. It didn’t work. Even though around the same time Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan was a monster hit on television.
Now the Sagars may have another winning idea on their hands. Shiv Sagar, son of Ramanand Sagar, has plans to build ‘Gangadham’ a 25 acre Hindu ‘theme park’ at Hardwar. Dubbed as the ‘Disneyland on the Ganges’ by the BBC, the park aims to recreate great moments in Hindu mythology through hi-tech rides, an animated mythological museum, a "temple city", food courts and a sound and light show. Expected completion date: 2012.
Last but not the least, there's ‘tele-shopping’ on late night television. Now, in addition to miracle knives and magical stain removers, religion-based products are being hawked.
Kader Khan is peddling ‘Allah ke darwaaze ka aks’ while Smriti Irani extols the virtues of ‘ShreeYantra’, invoking Ram, Sita and a host of other Hindu gods. Health, peace and happiness for just Rs 1999/- (posting and handling extra). All major credit cards accepted.
Mirza Ghalib, the greatest of all Urdu poet sums up the thing about faith in the following lines :
तेरे कूचे का है माईल दिल मुज़्तर मेरा
काबा इक और सही किब्लानुमां और सही
[कूचे = lane, माईल = obliged, मुज़्तर = restless, काबा = house of Allah in Mecca, किब्लानुमां = direction for prayer]
So, even when we all know that Qibla isn't the only direction where God may be sought, we all seek the direction nonetheless. And marketing can't be blamed, they'll use all notions that people have/talk about, believe in/criticize. We're all born 6 pounds before we become beings who gain 6 pounds per week.
It won't be long before faith based brands launch their secular versions as well. Another way to look at this phenomenon is the premium that politically-aware products have historically commanded. Environmentalist pay more for green-friendly products and bleeding hearts buy expensive shirts not made at "sweatshops" and health concious people burn their pockets buying organic food.
The newest niche market are economically empowered religious folks, who due to the current political climate around the world, are assertive about wearing their reliousity on their sleeve. For capitalists this is God-sent. (also available in Allah-sent and Bhagwan-sent flavors).
What our sadhus/saints (most) do is exploit the deep seated faith of people to get the best of lifestyle and money flowing from themselves. The marketers creating faith brands are very much the same except that they are more honest about their deeds.
I believe that a smart doctor in the US is now peddling the Jesus diet! Yeah, eat what He ate and lead a happy life. Apparently he chanced upon the idea after noticing the rise in obesity among young Americans, and decided that this diet was the only cure.
Out here in Tamil Nadu, religion's a truly big business. So many magazines, so many mutths, so many swamijis and sanyasinis...it's pretty big. But unlike the instances mentioned, the believers' market here is highly segmented. So a Sai Baba book or tape will not find favour among non-Sai devotees.
Faith does sell. But this we see as "the other". Most products sell to a very Euro/US centric, Christian market anyway. It's diversity in product, and religion is a way of life - So more than being a cash cow - I guess it's about supply and demand. Market mechanics at work, and as all good market mechanics go - they drive towards creating more demand.
Fad or otherwise, atleast they are bothering to understand their markets. Though I think trinkets (Aimed at the spiritual and healing market) is different from niche markets like mobile phones. What eats me is that it could possibly mean more stereotyping.. hhmm...
The truth of the matter seems to be that ghettoisation sells. As we move into a more fractious and polarised society, marketing is bound to get more target specific. That is not necessarily a new thing. Marketing has always, in order for the tail to wag the dog, artificially created new demands in niche markets to sell products. This is just an extension of that.
The problem lies not more in the sociological reasons that allow target fragments to be exploited by cynical marketers. From colas to Islamic Banking, marketers are actively enouraging this fragmentation so that they can mint money. This can potentially lead to dangerous situations. What happens if someone accidentally knocks over a bottle of Mecca Cola with his feet? What's the guarantee that someone will not consider this an insult to Islam? Similarly what will stop a rabid RSS guy from accusing someone of using the "pure" Ganga soap to wash unmentionable body parts? Or what happens if someone spots an HSBC employee having pork chops for dinner?
These maybe far out examples, but will the marketers take responsibility then for the potential fallouts? Where does business bend and responsibility begin? As long as there are gullible people out there, some smart-ass will make money out of their ignorance by selling them 'peace' and 'happiness'.
I have tremndous respect and admiration for all entrepreneurs who cash in on religion. I think they are really smart and gutsy folks. They have manged to see through the oddities of life and look at religion for what it really is - a cash cow.
As you might note from the rather formal tone of this piece, it was not written as a blogpost. Was felt to be potentially controversial, hence sees light of day here instead!
P.S. I am not for or against faith-based products - simply a keen observer of trends.
Monday, November 8, 2010
ybrid hunger solutions
Well, I had a taste of the new hybrid pizza and must say it was surprisingly good. I use the word surprise because I'm not a satisfied Dominos customer.
Originally we ordered Dominos because it was the only home delivery pizza available where we lived. Now there's a Smoking Joes (which is infinitely better) but I can never recall the number. And so, Dominos wins every time.
Besides, Dominos keeps dropping coupons by your house with this or that offer. And one fine day when you're tired of the cooking but too tired to go out and eat either, you see their flyer with the cheese doing a nach balliye with the toppings and say, 'let's order!'
However 8 times out of 10 I have been unhappy with the pizza when it actually arrived. The base is too thick and elasticky in your mouth. The pizza too bland. Or, exotic sounding but ordinary.
In fact the non-pizza items on the menu have always been more satisfying. The twisty bread, garlic breadstick and most of all the Cinna Stix with Apple Dip.
Mmm ..accha hai
Well, this time was different. The 'cheeseburger pizza' was good. The good thing was I didn't know what I was biting into or I may have had a less objective opinion. A cheeseburger pizza, after all, sounds pretty 'cheesy'.
This pizza had a filling and a topping. The filling reminded me more of pav bhaji than a 'burger' but the overall effect was good. The concept seemed to be inspired by our desi stuffed parathas than a burger if you ask me. But 'paratha pizza' may not have sounded that cool.
Of course, I am sure the extra layers of cheese + the burger filling = many, many more calories than regular pizzas. So, plan to have two slices instead of three.
And yeah, do check out their new 'India' website. The steam rising from the pizza featured on the home page is a great idea. Makes you actually want to order now.
But no, I'm trying to shed some weight and so will firmly resist!
One day they'll figure out how to add smell to the cyber equation and then.. well it won't be that easy.
Shoots, eats and leaves
Nope, I didn't get the book title all mixed up. This is the exact sequence of events at the average I-know-you-barely-but-must-attend-your-wedding scenario.
The invitation came from a known friend of my father's whom we have dealt with closely over the last 14 years. So had he not invited us for his son's wedding thoda bura bhi lagta. And having been invited we had to turn up. Knowing fully well we will know not a single soul at the event.
So what do you do? Land up, stand in line, wish the happy couple, hand over the bouquet and get the mandatory picture clicked. Then, you head straight for the food and boy - was it great!
This was one of those classy Gujju weddings held in an open air ground. So while there was opulence in the air, unlike the similar weddings I've seen in Delhi, everything was pleasantly understated.
Yes, there were some 25 different food counters - including pasta, stir fry, chaat, salad, crostini, north Indian, south Indian, Gujarati and what have you. Plus a separate 'without onion/ garlic' counter. But the best part was the portions - everything had been made in mini-size servings so you could try 10 different things but end up wasting very little.
As for the dessert counter - it had a 'chocolate fountain'! OK, not as grand as the kind you'd see in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. This was basically a variation of the fondue pot. Dipping bits of fruit or bread or whatever into the chocolate was fun though it didn't taste all that great.
But all put together... Mmm, it was good.
Shaadi ke prakaar
Weddings are like sentences - they come in three forms:
* 'First person' : When you are the one getting married
I am sure many people have memorable, perfect weddings. Mine - crammed with relatives and rituals - passed by in a blur. Years later you look at your ghastly pics in a photo album with a ghastlier red rose on it and vaguely recall "this happened"
* 'Second person': When someone close to you gets married
This is the best kind of wedding. You get an excuse to shop for sequinned outfits and matching purse/ footwear without worrying about in laws, joint accounts and 'shall I change my surname or not?'
Of course, if the one getting married is too close to you - like a brother, favourite cousin or best friend - you may have to volunteer for some of the 'work' as well. Such as ferrying people from railway stations and airports, keeping track of gifts and envelopes or minding the bride's suitcase filled with jewelery... Grin and bear it!
* 'Third person': When someone barely known to you is getting married
This can be the most boring of all events. Or extremely interesting. I have to admit that I have attended very few marriages ... specially when I was at school and we were dragged by parents to alien marriage parties. Protocol followed - wish, eat and come back)
Marriages have more or less become important venues to flaunt the wealth one has... Here in the South, The Chettiyars are supposed to exhibit whatever they pass on to the marrying couples. They stack hundreds of big vessels, old cauldrons etc (of all sizes, numbers, types :)) ) in a separate room. Their food is also too good. The next nitty gritty is about the gift :) How big someone brings a gift has been made into a rib-tickling comedy into one of the Tamil movies.
The fact that you know very few people there means you don't have pressure to dress up too much and look your best. But you have every right to check out what the others are wearing and pass judgement without feeling guilty.
But like I said, the real deciding factor is the food... A great wedding feast has a charm of all its own.
Enjoy the next one that comes your way!
The invitation came from a known friend of my father's whom we have dealt with closely over the last 14 years. So had he not invited us for his son's wedding thoda bura bhi lagta. And having been invited we had to turn up. Knowing fully well we will know not a single soul at the event.
So what do you do? Land up, stand in line, wish the happy couple, hand over the bouquet and get the mandatory picture clicked. Then, you head straight for the food and boy - was it great!
This was one of those classy Gujju weddings held in an open air ground. So while there was opulence in the air, unlike the similar weddings I've seen in Delhi, everything was pleasantly understated.
Yes, there were some 25 different food counters - including pasta, stir fry, chaat, salad, crostini, north Indian, south Indian, Gujarati and what have you. Plus a separate 'without onion/ garlic' counter. But the best part was the portions - everything had been made in mini-size servings so you could try 10 different things but end up wasting very little.
As for the dessert counter - it had a 'chocolate fountain'! OK, not as grand as the kind you'd see in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. This was basically a variation of the fondue pot. Dipping bits of fruit or bread or whatever into the chocolate was fun though it didn't taste all that great.
But all put together... Mmm, it was good.
Shaadi ke prakaar
Weddings are like sentences - they come in three forms:
* 'First person' : When you are the one getting married
I am sure many people have memorable, perfect weddings. Mine - crammed with relatives and rituals - passed by in a blur. Years later you look at your ghastly pics in a photo album with a ghastlier red rose on it and vaguely recall "this happened"
* 'Second person': When someone close to you gets married
This is the best kind of wedding. You get an excuse to shop for sequinned outfits and matching purse/ footwear without worrying about in laws, joint accounts and 'shall I change my surname or not?'
Of course, if the one getting married is too close to you - like a brother, favourite cousin or best friend - you may have to volunteer for some of the 'work' as well. Such as ferrying people from railway stations and airports, keeping track of gifts and envelopes or minding the bride's suitcase filled with jewelery... Grin and bear it!
* 'Third person': When someone barely known to you is getting married
This can be the most boring of all events. Or extremely interesting. I have to admit that I have attended very few marriages ... specially when I was at school and we were dragged by parents to alien marriage parties. Protocol followed - wish, eat and come back)
Marriages have more or less become important venues to flaunt the wealth one has... Here in the South, The Chettiyars are supposed to exhibit whatever they pass on to the marrying couples. They stack hundreds of big vessels, old cauldrons etc (of all sizes, numbers, types :)) ) in a separate room. Their food is also too good. The next nitty gritty is about the gift :) How big someone brings a gift has been made into a rib-tickling comedy into one of the Tamil movies.
The fact that you know very few people there means you don't have pressure to dress up too much and look your best. But you have every right to check out what the others are wearing and pass judgement without feeling guilty.
But like I said, the real deciding factor is the food... A great wedding feast has a charm of all its own.
Enjoy the next one that comes your way!
Ethics and Education are not the same
Fallacy:
The axiom that the education at Ivy league schools like IITs,IIMs ensure ethical behaviour by the students. Anybody who fails to meet this high-bar in personal life is a "blot" on his/her alma mater.
The unsaid corollary being, if you are not from a top-notch school, ethical behaviour is not such a hard requirement. Anyway, the papers print the colourful resume of fraudsters only if it is from a well known institute which very few can boast as alma mater.
To me, ethics and education - at any institute - are two different things. The terms corporate governance and ethics in business gaining currency in B-schools is a very recent phenomenon. The blue blooded US B-schools started to focus on corporate governance only after their alumni at Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, etc were caught red handed in world's biggest corporate scams.
Back home, there are quite a few cases where the super-educated were arrested in illegal acts. And, do keep in mind that only "illegal" activities make it to the papers. Save columnist like Sucheta Dalal, the media is too busy covering lives of celebrities to look into "unethical" activities or white-collar crimes. So, Ivy league education and ethics are different things.
The entire idea of ethics being taught in classrooms sounds laughable. The upbringing of 20+ years ensures that a decision to classify an activity as unethical is taken almost instantaneously. Rest of the time is spent building the argument supporting for the decision. Also, schools like Stanford Business School hesitate to express truth like saying Mukesh Ambani did not complete his MBA from school. Instead, they choose to use an utterly deceptive "pursued" to describe his stint at Stanford. When the schools themselves are not clear about what is true and ethical, how can one expect them to impart the value system to students?
Continuing with the IIM-Samsung case, this doesn't look like first.
Vagal could have been a great role model. After having an enviable resume, he resisted the temptation to join corporate world, thereby denying himself a financially comfortable life. Instead, he chose to "serve" the nation. Had he not been nabbed, his "sacrifice" would have been glorified to no end.
OK, here is my prescription. To begin with the IIMs should stop bragging about the placement offers with $$$ salaries at large financial corporations for the reason that most (I am just being conservative by not using "all") have been found indulging in illegal and unethical business practices at some point in time. A more drastic step would be to ban all these companies from campus recruitment process. The steps would be to denounce the association with any alumnus working with such "unethical" corporations. Sounds ridiculous, right?
Apologies if this stinks too much of MBA bashing. I don't intend it to be. But, to me, such self-righteous argument built on fragile ground by a really admirable person is unbearable.
The axiom that the education at Ivy league schools like IITs,IIMs ensure ethical behaviour by the students. Anybody who fails to meet this high-bar in personal life is a "blot" on his/her alma mater.
The unsaid corollary being, if you are not from a top-notch school, ethical behaviour is not such a hard requirement. Anyway, the papers print the colourful resume of fraudsters only if it is from a well known institute which very few can boast as alma mater.
To me, ethics and education - at any institute - are two different things. The terms corporate governance and ethics in business gaining currency in B-schools is a very recent phenomenon. The blue blooded US B-schools started to focus on corporate governance only after their alumni at Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, etc were caught red handed in world's biggest corporate scams.
Back home, there are quite a few cases where the super-educated were arrested in illegal acts. And, do keep in mind that only "illegal" activities make it to the papers. Save columnist like Sucheta Dalal, the media is too busy covering lives of celebrities to look into "unethical" activities or white-collar crimes. So, Ivy league education and ethics are different things.
The entire idea of ethics being taught in classrooms sounds laughable. The upbringing of 20+ years ensures that a decision to classify an activity as unethical is taken almost instantaneously. Rest of the time is spent building the argument supporting for the decision. Also, schools like Stanford Business School hesitate to express truth like saying Mukesh Ambani did not complete his MBA from school. Instead, they choose to use an utterly deceptive "pursued" to describe his stint at Stanford. When the schools themselves are not clear about what is true and ethical, how can one expect them to impart the value system to students?
Continuing with the IIM-Samsung case, this doesn't look like first.
- Sridhar Vagal, IG of Police, was the first police officer to go behind bar in the high-profile Telgi scam. He "allegedly accepted Rs 72 lakh from Telgi over a period of time and had amassed wealth and property amounting to Rs 50 crores". He is an alumnus of IIT-B and IIM-A.
- Sanjay Kumar, CEO, Computer Associates had to quit amidst charges of financial fraud. He is an alumnus of an IIM. (I couldn't find a more concrete link.)
- Another potentially unethical behaviour by IIM alumnus - Sushmita Sen made sexual harassment charges against a Coke executive, an IIM alumnus. In the out-of-court settlement, Coke paid 1.5 Crores.
Thousands of young people look at IIMs as their ultimate destination and toil to gain entry. To that extent IIM grads do have a 'role model' effect.Listen, all those India Shining campaigners. India has reached such a stage that the role models for the younger generation are the graduates of Ivy League schools. And these "role models" should behave truthfully only because they are the leaders of the society. Pity.
Vagal could have been a great role model. After having an enviable resume, he resisted the temptation to join corporate world, thereby denying himself a financially comfortable life. Instead, he chose to "serve" the nation. Had he not been nabbed, his "sacrifice" would have been glorified to no end.
"We, who condemn corruption at large should highlight the need for ethical practices in business."
OK, here is my prescription. To begin with the IIMs should stop bragging about the placement offers with $$$ salaries at large financial corporations for the reason that most (I am just being conservative by not using "all") have been found indulging in illegal and unethical business practices at some point in time. A more drastic step would be to ban all these companies from campus recruitment process. The steps would be to denounce the association with any alumnus working with such "unethical" corporations. Sounds ridiculous, right?
Apologies if this stinks too much of MBA bashing. I don't intend it to be. But, to me, such self-righteous argument built on fragile ground by a really admirable person is unbearable.
Ethics of MBA's
Felt rather disgusted when I read this.
In a shocking case of corporate misgovernance, a senior executive of Samsung India Electronics, the Indian arm of the South Korean electronic giant, misappropriated funds worth several crores of rupees from his firm, using ingenious methods to achieve his task.
Vivek Prakash, vice-president, sales and marketing (IT division), had everything going for him. He was only 34 years old and, in the firm’s hierarchy, he was next only to the director, drawing a handsome salary. His total package amounted to Rs 40 lakhs per annum.
Yet, he put in his papers abruptly one fine morning. When he did so, his bosses in India and in South Korea were not surprised. From the past year, they could detect irregularities in his functioning. On scrutiny, they stumbled upon something to give them sleepless nights for many days.
Using R S Sahu, manager, accounts (receivables), an officer who was reporting directly to him, as an accomplice, Prakash had duped the company of Rs 18 crore. While the Delhi Police’s economic offences wing (EOW) had already laid its hands upon evidence on the embezzlement of this amount, there was a feeling that the magnitude of the fraud could be bigger.
Was even more disgusted when I learnt that this guy was an IIM grad (Bangalore - '95 batch).
Yes, on one hand there was Manjunath who sacrificed his life, unwilling to be bought out and on the other hand there was this Vivek Prakash who sacrificed his honour, who so willingly sold out.
And for what? Why would someone who had everything going for him take such a risk? I guess he thought he was just too smart to get caught.
But he did and the future looked pretty bleak. The Delhi high court refused his application for anticipatory bail.
Smarts vs Ethics
There was a hectic debate going on in some of the IIM e-groups and mailing lists. One alum wrote:
I suggest IIMs and alumni collectively should have taken the lead in denouncing this guy (and any other alumnus caught doing such things or worse)... take back the degree, etc. To send the message that while even IIMs may have black sheep, we strongly condemn such behaviour, and will take the lead in punishing him, in whatever ways we can.
Another adds: I just finished reading a book about the Enron collapse ("Smartest Guys In The Room"), where most of the fraudsters were very highly educated. Education is no guarantee for ethics... But still, it is a shock - coming so soon after Manju.
Of course in the case of Enron it wasn't one individual but an entire organisation built on a culture where the bottomline came first and nothing else mattered.
Oh, they did have an 'Official Code of Ethics'. As Michael Miller described it: The July 2000 booklet is nearly 65 pages of take-the-high-road legalese that must have made employees feel they were working for the Vatican or some other equally pure and clean organization...
As they say it's all about what you do and not about what you say or preach. And a conscience is something that ought to prick you when no one is looking. This is the very pride which destroys the image of IIM grads in the eyes of so many corporates and people who believe that they are snobbish and have an attitude many times rightly so.
IIMs are a great brand value and it fails us when it makes you think that its the place where characters can be moulded and ethics driven in. The students of IIMs are typically of the age 22-24 and a lot depends on their upbringing and the circumstances of their further work life that might make them get into the booby trap.
If you still believe that those 2yrs in an IIM are the reformatory period of an individual, then well God save all those grads.
We have made the IIM brand a tad different by choosing a different career line but by making ourselves stand out as belonging to a "privileged" community will only make all think of the IIM grads as snobbish.
One's level of education is only mildly correlated with one's ethics. One's ethics are a function of one's nature plus upbringing plus opportunity/context. When opportunities present themselves in the context of power that one possesses, the path down the slippery slope begins to beckon. It doesn't look slippery at first. The stakes are small, the temptation is small, the first transgression is small. This serves then to inoculate you against the next, bigger transgression. That's what happened to the folks at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco etc.
Another question which pops out is what does ethics have to do with the IIM's? Aren't students from other B-schools taught ethics? There are scores of management graduates pouring out into the corporate world every year and every once in a while we hear such instances. Would it have generated so much interest had he been from some other institiute? Agreed that the IIMs are great institutes and all but once you're in the corporate world for a few years it doesn't really matter any more, what counts are your actions. Besides, while two years in a B-school does alter the course of your life, it does not in any way guarantee whether or not a person will be caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Solution offered : Let the IIM's make a policy of recording each student's PAN number (similar to SSN in the US). Any offence that this student commits should be reported to IIM, and the student given a chance to respond. The record of student offences should be public at the IIM. When any IIM alumni takes up a new job, the employer can look up his record...
But can the two years in a college change the fabric of ethics and values? Do we really believe it will override the 20 years of life before an IIM?
We have been privileged to attend these institutions; ethics and values are part of what we are meant to have imbibed there.
There is this old saying : more money = more problems , err maybe an old equation but now i would like to say more IQ = more problems, because eccentricity is the price you have to pay for being a genius.
Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principals which direct them.--Napoleon Bonaparte
To that extent IIM grads do have a 'role model' effect. Of course, every individual's acts are based on his own character. But if today people are talking about 'IIM graduate Manjunath' on its front page, tomorrow it may be referring to 'IIM graduate Vivek Prakash'.
There are some things money can't buy. The honour and respect of one's peers is one of them. "Character is what we do when no one is looking." Education doesn't guarantee you a place in the Hall of Integrity.
Corruption is a far big problem in India than what this case displays. All of us give or take money to get the routine work done. Everyday most of our politicians are eating our money by illegitimate means.
The crux of the problem is that most of the people who are not at these posts where corruption is an easily viable option, want to be here to do corruption. This means punishing these guys will not be enough but it requires a larger effort correcting the attitude of people.
The latest KPMG Forensic Integrity Survey says companies are more aware of ethics, but that unethical behavior is continuing unabated. That suggests companies are doing a fair bit of spin when it comes to ethics.
Regardless of his IIM status it should have come across as disgusting. But I find the reaction a bit typical (the one that you talk about on the e-groups) of the insular attitude taken by the A-list colleges.
This chap got caught. God knows how many people on that e-group are lurking around after years of deceit, or evading tax, or making bill-less purchases and killing the VAT. Mob-justice is as disturbing as lynching. It assumes a collective virtue (as opposed to collective intelligence).
IIM or any other college is a reflection of the society that feeds students into it. As a country, we accept bribery and swindle as long as we don't get caught in the act - It's getting caught that appears to be more shameful than the act of commission. It may upset some yes, but hhmm.. nothing extraordinary.
I believe that in India stealing from big organisations is considered cunning and not theft. Why do we think that IIM guys can't do anything wrong at all. Temptation maybe anything and in any form ...why do IAS officers become corrupt after all, even the IAS exam too is tough. In the IAS, honest offiecrs are hard to find. Why do Doctors sell kidneys? The list goes on perhaps why do people become spies and betray the nation? Nothing to do with the degree that they get. It's the values and ethics they nurture.
Hardly feel that there is any connection between this guy having swindled the money and he being from IIM. That does not mean all the hundreds of IIM graduates who pass out are Mahatma Gandhis. There are Gandhis and Godses every where whether it be the medical field, IIT, IIM, XLRI etc.
This is the case which is to be condemned by one and all of the country. Mere a passout from a good B-schools doesn't ensure that he/she is ethical and is imbibed with good values. The whole system is creating and encouraging such individuals . After all, they are human beings too. There is nothing exceptional in them except for the two years of "extraordinary" education they go through. They too are driven by the whims and fancies of the mundane world and commit gross crimes, including non-payment of loans or fraudulent transactions.
But yes, in some small way his individual decision to embrace the Dark Side does leave a small blot on the collective brand equity of IIM graduates. Just like Manjunath's principled stand added a positive shine to it.
We, who condemn corruption at large should highlight the need for ethical practices in business. And along with Manjunath, include a case study on Vivek Prakash to be taught in B schools as well!
In a shocking case of corporate misgovernance, a senior executive of Samsung India Electronics, the Indian arm of the South Korean electronic giant, misappropriated funds worth several crores of rupees from his firm, using ingenious methods to achieve his task.
Vivek Prakash, vice-president, sales and marketing (IT division), had everything going for him. He was only 34 years old and, in the firm’s hierarchy, he was next only to the director, drawing a handsome salary. His total package amounted to Rs 40 lakhs per annum.
Yet, he put in his papers abruptly one fine morning. When he did so, his bosses in India and in South Korea were not surprised. From the past year, they could detect irregularities in his functioning. On scrutiny, they stumbled upon something to give them sleepless nights for many days.
Using R S Sahu, manager, accounts (receivables), an officer who was reporting directly to him, as an accomplice, Prakash had duped the company of Rs 18 crore. While the Delhi Police’s economic offences wing (EOW) had already laid its hands upon evidence on the embezzlement of this amount, there was a feeling that the magnitude of the fraud could be bigger.
Was even more disgusted when I learnt that this guy was an IIM grad (Bangalore - '95 batch).
Yes, on one hand there was Manjunath who sacrificed his life, unwilling to be bought out and on the other hand there was this Vivek Prakash who sacrificed his honour, who so willingly sold out.
And for what? Why would someone who had everything going for him take such a risk? I guess he thought he was just too smart to get caught.
But he did and the future looked pretty bleak. The Delhi high court refused his application for anticipatory bail.
Smarts vs Ethics
There was a hectic debate going on in some of the IIM e-groups and mailing lists. One alum wrote:
I suggest IIMs and alumni collectively should have taken the lead in denouncing this guy (and any other alumnus caught doing such things or worse)... take back the degree, etc. To send the message that while even IIMs may have black sheep, we strongly condemn such behaviour, and will take the lead in punishing him, in whatever ways we can.
Another adds: I just finished reading a book about the Enron collapse ("Smartest Guys In The Room"), where most of the fraudsters were very highly educated. Education is no guarantee for ethics... But still, it is a shock - coming so soon after Manju.
Of course in the case of Enron it wasn't one individual but an entire organisation built on a culture where the bottomline came first and nothing else mattered.
Oh, they did have an 'Official Code of Ethics'. As Michael Miller described it: The July 2000 booklet is nearly 65 pages of take-the-high-road legalese that must have made employees feel they were working for the Vatican or some other equally pure and clean organization...
As they say it's all about what you do and not about what you say or preach. And a conscience is something that ought to prick you when no one is looking. This is the very pride which destroys the image of IIM grads in the eyes of so many corporates and people who believe that they are snobbish and have an attitude many times rightly so.
IIMs are a great brand value and it fails us when it makes you think that its the place where characters can be moulded and ethics driven in. The students of IIMs are typically of the age 22-24 and a lot depends on their upbringing and the circumstances of their further work life that might make them get into the booby trap.
If you still believe that those 2yrs in an IIM are the reformatory period of an individual, then well God save all those grads.
We have made the IIM brand a tad different by choosing a different career line but by making ourselves stand out as belonging to a "privileged" community will only make all think of the IIM grads as snobbish.
One's level of education is only mildly correlated with one's ethics. One's ethics are a function of one's nature plus upbringing plus opportunity/context. When opportunities present themselves in the context of power that one possesses, the path down the slippery slope begins to beckon. It doesn't look slippery at first. The stakes are small, the temptation is small, the first transgression is small. This serves then to inoculate you against the next, bigger transgression. That's what happened to the folks at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco etc.
Another question which pops out is what does ethics have to do with the IIM's? Aren't students from other B-schools taught ethics? There are scores of management graduates pouring out into the corporate world every year and every once in a while we hear such instances. Would it have generated so much interest had he been from some other institiute? Agreed that the IIMs are great institutes and all but once you're in the corporate world for a few years it doesn't really matter any more, what counts are your actions. Besides, while two years in a B-school does alter the course of your life, it does not in any way guarantee whether or not a person will be caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Solution offered : Let the IIM's make a policy of recording each student's PAN number (similar to SSN in the US). Any offence that this student commits should be reported to IIM, and the student given a chance to respond. The record of student offences should be public at the IIM. When any IIM alumni takes up a new job, the employer can look up his record...
But can the two years in a college change the fabric of ethics and values? Do we really believe it will override the 20 years of life before an IIM?
We have been privileged to attend these institutions; ethics and values are part of what we are meant to have imbibed there.
There is this old saying : more money = more problems , err maybe an old equation but now i would like to say more IQ = more problems, because eccentricity is the price you have to pay for being a genius.
Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principals which direct them.--Napoleon Bonaparte
To that extent IIM grads do have a 'role model' effect. Of course, every individual's acts are based on his own character. But if today people are talking about 'IIM graduate Manjunath' on its front page, tomorrow it may be referring to 'IIM graduate Vivek Prakash'.
There are some things money can't buy. The honour and respect of one's peers is one of them. "Character is what we do when no one is looking." Education doesn't guarantee you a place in the Hall of Integrity.
Corruption is a far big problem in India than what this case displays. All of us give or take money to get the routine work done. Everyday most of our politicians are eating our money by illegitimate means.
The crux of the problem is that most of the people who are not at these posts where corruption is an easily viable option, want to be here to do corruption. This means punishing these guys will not be enough but it requires a larger effort correcting the attitude of people.
The latest KPMG Forensic Integrity Survey says companies are more aware of ethics, but that unethical behavior is continuing unabated. That suggests companies are doing a fair bit of spin when it comes to ethics.
Regardless of his IIM status it should have come across as disgusting. But I find the reaction a bit typical (the one that you talk about on the e-groups) of the insular attitude taken by the A-list colleges.
This chap got caught. God knows how many people on that e-group are lurking around after years of deceit, or evading tax, or making bill-less purchases and killing the VAT. Mob-justice is as disturbing as lynching. It assumes a collective virtue (as opposed to collective intelligence).
IIM or any other college is a reflection of the society that feeds students into it. As a country, we accept bribery and swindle as long as we don't get caught in the act - It's getting caught that appears to be more shameful than the act of commission. It may upset some yes, but hhmm.. nothing extraordinary.
I believe that in India stealing from big organisations is considered cunning and not theft. Why do we think that IIM guys can't do anything wrong at all. Temptation maybe anything and in any form ...why do IAS officers become corrupt after all, even the IAS exam too is tough. In the IAS, honest offiecrs are hard to find. Why do Doctors sell kidneys? The list goes on perhaps why do people become spies and betray the nation? Nothing to do with the degree that they get. It's the values and ethics they nurture.
Hardly feel that there is any connection between this guy having swindled the money and he being from IIM. That does not mean all the hundreds of IIM graduates who pass out are Mahatma Gandhis. There are Gandhis and Godses every where whether it be the medical field, IIT, IIM, XLRI etc.
This is the case which is to be condemned by one and all of the country. Mere a passout from a good B-schools doesn't ensure that he/she is ethical and is imbibed with good values. The whole system is creating and encouraging such individuals . After all, they are human beings too. There is nothing exceptional in them except for the two years of "extraordinary" education they go through. They too are driven by the whims and fancies of the mundane world and commit gross crimes, including non-payment of loans or fraudulent transactions.
But yes, in some small way his individual decision to embrace the Dark Side does leave a small blot on the collective brand equity of IIM graduates. Just like Manjunath's principled stand added a positive shine to it.
We, who condemn corruption at large should highlight the need for ethical practices in business. And along with Manjunath, include a case study on Vivek Prakash to be taught in B schools as well!
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