HeadlinesHR Professionals Happiest Despite The Work Load
According to a recent study, HR professionals have emerged as the happiest lot in the country, even as they face an enormous workload. As per the latest Happiness at Work Index survey by international recruitment consultancy, Badenoch & Clark, about 94 per cent of human resource professionals insist they are still happy in their role, despite having mounting workload and a bleak career outlook. The current level of optimism at 94 per cent is much higher compared to 76 per cent seen three months ago, but the study does not mention the reason for it. Interestingly, the optimism persists despite the fact that the sector has witnessed the highest increase in the work pressure since the beginning of 2008 compared to other industries surveyed.
Source: 18-08-08 rediffnews.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesBanks Cut Down On Sales Force Due To Slowdown In Credit Growth
A slowdown in credit growth, which includes fresh personal loans, credit cards and auto loans is taking a toll on direct selling agents (DSAs) hired by banks to sell these products. According to estimates, banks have reduced the number of DSAs by 15-25 per cent, while marketing expenses are 35-40 per cent lower. For instance, ICICI Bank the country's second largest lender, has reduced the number of DSAs this year, while pruning the marketing expenses on these channels by 40 per cent to Rs 228 crore (Rs 2.28 billion) at the end of the first quarter. Citibank, which was till recently the most aggressive player among foreign banks, has slashed the number of DSA-managed sales staff by about 15 per cent over the last 18 months.
Source: 19-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesTwo India-origin Persons In The League Of Forbes’ Top-Paid Young CEOs
Two Indian origin businessmen, Mr. Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Mr. Francisco D’Souza from Cognizant have made it to the league of young CEOs with hefty pay package in the US, as per a list compiled by Forbes. Mr. Narayen has been ranked at the 5th position and Mr. D’ Souza is at 15th position in a list of 15 young CEOs, aged 45 or less. The list has been topped by a person of Pakistani origin, Mr. Nabeel Gareeb, CEO of chipmaker MEMC Electronic Materials since 2002.
Source: 16-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesNine Lakh Bank Employees Go On A Day Long Strike
Banking services in the country came to a standstill as about nine lakh public sector bank employees went on a strike, paralyzing most commercial operations throughout the country. The strike affected banking operations in the financial capital Mumbai, other parts of Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Bihar, Assam and Gujarat. The employee unions are protesting against the government’s reform agenda, which includes privatization, mergers and consolidation and ‘unrestricted’ FDI in the banking sector.
Source: 21-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesCorporate World Trying To Cope Up With Increasing Stress
With increasing stress and illness among employees, companies are now showing concern over the mental health of their employees. Many companies are offering psychological help to their employees in the form of counselors, workshops etc. These counselors give a non-judgemental approach to their problems and suggest alternate thinking methods and solutions. In most multi-national companies (MNCs), counselors are hired on a part-time basis. In smaller firms HR managers are playing the role of counselors. Counsellors feel that it’s best to nip the problem in the bud, before it seriously begins to affect one’s personal and professional life. Also, coming of ‘de-stress’ weekends, coporate workshops, employee-bonding picnics etc have become a part of the corporate cycle that help in reducing stress.
Source: 18-08-08 DNA Mumbai Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesDelphi To Cut 600 Salaried Jobs
Bankrupt US Autoparts maker, Delphi Corp said that it would cut 600 salaried jobs from its electronics and safety division as part of a plan to cut the division’s costs by 25 per cent. The company, which employs around 10, 200 salaried workers in the US has cut thousands of jobs and has sold off several business units since it filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2005.
Source: 20-08-08 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesUS Slowdown Forces Ramco Systems To Cut 200 Jobs
The slowdown in the US economy has left 200 Ramco Systems employees jobless. The company is now left with only 1,200 people across the country. Employees with experience of two years and above, who have not been able to catch up with the performance requirements, were asked to leave. Though the average age of the professionals has increased marginally to 28.1 years from (from 27.5 years), the lack of experience poses challenges at the middle management level, according to Mr Kamesh Ramamoorthy, Chief Operating Officer, Ramco Systems. Other software companies who have cut down on extra staff in the last few months are TCS (500 plus), Wipro (725), Patni Computers (108), Hexaware Technologies (329) and Syntel (48), and Adventity (200 plus).
Source: 16-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesUP Govt. Staff, Teachers To Get More Salary
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati has announced a pay hike for over 14-lakh government employees and teachers in accordance with the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations. This move would benefit 8.7 lakh State employees and around 5.5 lakh teachers. The Chief Minister said that the panel’s recommendations would be implemented with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006 and the employees would be entitled for the revised payscales from December 1, 2008.
Source: 19-08-08 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesIndia Inc Reviews Its HR Policies Because Of US Sub-Prime Crisis
Due to the combined pressure of global economic slowdown, the sub-prime crisis in the US and rising inflation, India Inc has been forced to reconsider their HR policies, increase productivity and redeploy their manpower. Though companies have factored in the economic turmoil in their budgets for 2009, the average salary projections for the coming year are lower by only a percentage point at 13.9%. Despite the increased pressure, the year 2008 saw a strong salary increase of 14.8% according to a study by HR consultancy firm, Hewitt Associates. According to the survey across 150 companies, only 20% are resorting to a slowdown in hiring or a complete freeze. While the majority, 57% are looking to balance the effect of inflation and lower HR budgets by increasing productivity, 31% are deploying their manpower towards better efficiency. Many companies (30%) have also introduced performance linked pay to deal with fixed pay increases.
Source: 20-08-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesIIMs Expect An Increase In Pre-Placement Offers
The leading Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are expecting a 25 to 50 per cent increase in pre-placement offers (PPOs) vis-à-vis other prominent B-schools, who are anticipating a 25 to 30 per cent drop in placements, this academic year. The IIM PPO process begins every July and goes on till final placements conclude in February. This academic year, too, the offers came from prominent investment banks and consulting firms. For instance, IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) has received 33 pre-placement offers (including 15 international offers) so far, and expects the numbers to go up by 25 per cent over last year, when it received 90 PPOs. Compared to last year’s figures, though, the initial figures indicate a dip in the growth percentage. “Even if the PPOs remain at the same level as last year, we would be happy. Considering that most international recruiters are from the banking and financial sectors (hit by the US sub-prime crisis), we do not expect an enthusiastic response even at the final placement stage,” said a prominent IIM official.
Source: 20-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesNBHC Adds Three More Directors To Its Portfolio
National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd (NBHC) has strengthened its top management team by appointing three additional directors in the board meeting held in Mumbai. Mr. Surender Kumar Tuteja, retired IAS officer and ex-chairman of CWC, is appointed as Chairman, NBHC. Dr. Tajamul Haque, ex-chairman of CACP and advisor agricultural costs and prices, ministry of agriculture, GOI and Mr. Paras Ajmera, director operations and HR, FTIL are appointed as new directors.
Source: 21-08-08 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesIIM Course For Defence Personnel Bypassed By IT Firms
The Certificate Programme in Business Administration offered by the Institutes of Management has not seen much encouragement by information technology (IT) companies. The objective of this course is to help officers from all the three services - Army, Air Force and Navy - in their rehabilitation to civil life after retirement. The course has been initiated by the Directorate-General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defence, in association with the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Indore, Calcutta, Bangalore and Lucknow. However, out of the 80 companies that visited IIM-A during placements for the 66-strong participants in the batch, only a few companies including Tech Mahindra, TCS and Patni Computers were from IT. Companies from sectors like infrastructure, retail, telecom and finance mainly were present for placement. At IIM Lucknow, only five of the 26 companies that offered placements were from the IT sector.
Source: 10-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Headlines‘Outplacement Services’ Gaining Momentum In India
In order to help workers, who have been asked to leave, IT companies are now roping in HR firms for ‘outplacement services’. Outplacement is slowly gaining momentum as the US slowdown is casting a cloud on hiring, and delay in client decisions is forcing companies to cull jobs and weed out non-performers from their rolls, “Outplacement service is a global practice, but in recent times we have seen MNCs adopting it in India. The demand for such services has picked up steam since the beginning of 2008 and we have offered ‘outplacement assistance’ to three MNCs for almost 250 employees,” Mr Kris Lakshmikanth, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Head Hunters India, said. The firm offers resume and interview assistance, career counselling and placement services to candidates affected by such lay-offs.
Source: 18-08-08 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesEmployees Union Express Dissatisfaction With The Pay Hike
Many employees’ unions have expressed their dissatisfaction over the Union Cabinet’s approval to the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. While the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) claimed that the recommendations accepted were ‘not fully satisfactory’, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) showed their disagreement with the government’s decision terming it “totally inadequate, disappointing and discriminatory towards lower-level employees”.
Source: 16-08-08 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesRediffusion Has Appointed A New Group CEO
Rediffucion | DYR has appointed Mr. Mahesh Chauhan as Group CEO, with immediate effect. Mr. Chauhan is taking over the reins from Mr. Diwan Arun Nanda and will be spearheading all the group companies of Rediffusion | DYR; TME, Wunderman, Showdiff, Rediffusion Public Relations, OAP-Touchpoint as well as Rediffusion | DYR.
Source: 20-08-08 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesMr. Vinod Gupta Resigns From InfoGroup
Company founder of database provider, InfoGroup, Mr. Vinod Gupta resigned as Chief Executive Officer. The company said that Mr. Gupta would remain on the board of directors.
Source: 22-08-08 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesAmbit Corp Finance Appoints A New MD
Ambit Holdings Pvt. Ltd has announced the appointment of Mr. Nikhil Puri as Managing Director of Ambit Corporate Finance. Prior to this, Mr. Puri was working as Managing Director in the Global Industries Group.
Source: 21-08-08 DNA Money Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesMr. R.S. Pandey Joins Petronet As A Board Member
Mr. R.S. Pandey is all set to join the Board of Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), a position left vacant after his predecessor, Mr. M.S. Srinivasan had quit on July 31 this year. Mr. Pandey’s name has been approved by the government. According to a source, the next step of PLL would be to circulate a resolution to its Board members to not only consider Mr. Pandey’s appointment as an independent director but also to designate him as Chairman of the Board.
Source: 22-08-08 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesClifford Chance Appoints Mr. Rahul Guptan
International law firm, Clifford Chance has said, Capital Markets Lawyer, Mr. Rahul Guptan will join its global partnership. He will be based in the firm’s Singapore office. He has moved from Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co.
Source: 21-08-08 DNA Money Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HeadlinesMr. Uday Ved Appointed As Head of Tax By KPMG
KPMG has appointed Mr. Uday Ved as Head of Tax. He specializes in international taxation, transfer pricing and exchange control regulations.
Source: 22-08-08 The Hindu Business Line
Compiled by Amresh Anjan
No comments:
Post a Comment