Recently, I wrote on my blog that I had ordered a copy of Michael E Porter’s book, Competitive Advantage along with Peter Drucker’s Practice of Management. I have written about the first, though not as a book review because it wouldn’t have been fair to Drucker. As far as Michael Porter’s book is concerned, I… Continue reading Brands and Competitive Advantage
Emerging out of the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic recovery is proving to be a tricky business, requiring a delicate balancing act by governments and central banks. This is because most of the world has racked up huge amounts of debt, while trying to stimulate their economies, in addition to the debt they already had. Western… Continue reading World Caught Between Soaring Inflation and Debt
It has often struck me as strange that the much-vaunted French luxury industry, a growing and sizeable part of the French economy, doesn’t include automobiles, especially passenger vehicles. Given their penchant for design, their understanding of exclusivity and luxury and their engineering prowess especially in aviation and high-speed rail, it is rather strange that they… Continue reading Why Do Cars Get the Cold Shoulder in French Luxury?
In this article, the second of the three Es that I referred to at the start of the year, I write about the Indian economy in the light of the Indian budget that was presented recently. The much-anticipated Indian Union Budget of 2022 has come and gone without any fanfare, nor any major controversy. This… Continue reading Murphy’s Law of Budget-Making in India
While reading an article by Theodore Levitt titled Marketing Myopia, I came across a reference to Peter Drucker’s Principles of Management and Concept of a Corporation and I thought I must read them. Principles of Management was not available on Amazon India, but there was Practice of Management, also by him. Concept of a Corporation… Continue reading Peter Drucker and Today’s World of Work
As we come to the end of the second pandemic year, we are being forced to confront the same old ugly reality: rising inequality. Come to think of it, we have had to live with this for the past couple of decades and more. And despite two massive crises of a global nature – the… Continue reading Coming Soon: The Revolt of the 90%
Going by the past record of UN Climate Conferences, the latest one that concluded in Glasgow a few days ago was no different. It was a repeat of the same old discussions, the same sticking points, the same contentious issues, and finally the usual watered-down statement that is palatable to all. That is because it’s… Continue reading Why COP26 Is a Missed Opportunity
As countries report their September 2021 quarter GDP growth rates, the world will be eagerly watching to read and parse the news and data. So far, China has reported a much lower than expected GDP growth at 4.9% over the previous year. I am not sure how much of that is due to the government’s… Continue reading The Global Economy In a SWOT, Wot?
In recent days, the Indian media has been full of news and views about Air India finally being sold to the Tatas. Divestment done. People have also been opining about how this reflects the government’s seriousness about privatization and reforms. My reaction was: If only it had been allowed a couple of decades earlier, when… Continue reading The Return of The Prodigal
The act of transcribing one’s thoughts on a page or any surface dates back millennia and is inextricably linked with our being human and needing to communicate. Whether expressed as ideograms or drawings, like the Lascaux cave drawings in the Dordogne region of France, this form of communication developed even before languages and scripts were… Continue reading Of Writing and Writing Instruments
Peripatetic Perch 