Mahindra Satyam will see another round of reshuffling of top executives tomorrow that will see outgoing CEO AS Murthy getting a new designation and US-based head of commercial division Ram Mynampati being replaced.
Mynampati, who was the President of the Commercial and Healthcare Divisions, has been replaced by Keshav Panda, sources close to the development said. Panda, who was the head of the Europe business would be replaced by someone from within the Tech Mahindra Group.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Indians on business trips to UK should get visas on short notic
Indians on business trips to Britain should be provided visas on short notice to allow them to explore commercial opportunities in the country, Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords said today.
Participating in a debate on 'British Opportunity in India and Indian Investments in the United Kingdom', Dholakia said "Bilateral trade is impacted by our own visa regime."
Drawing attention towards the difficulties faced by Indian businessmen in obtaining visa, Dholakia said "We should make sure that business visitors and senior providers are facilitated to travel to the UK to explore business opportunities and business contracts."
"Would not the Minister accept that timelines are short in the business world?" he asked. He cited the example of IT industry and said "it is particularly impacted by issues such as delivery of service which is dependent on movement of professionals at short notice."
Participating in a debate on 'British Opportunity in India and Indian Investments in the United Kingdom', Dholakia said "Bilateral trade is impacted by our own visa regime."
Drawing attention towards the difficulties faced by Indian businessmen in obtaining visa, Dholakia said "We should make sure that business visitors and senior providers are facilitated to travel to the UK to explore business opportunities and business contracts."
"Would not the Minister accept that timelines are short in the business world?" he asked. He cited the example of IT industry and said "it is particularly impacted by issues such as delivery of service which is dependent on movement of professionals at short notice."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Temporary US visa holders in Washington to get subsidised tuition
Under the new House Bill 1487, which is to be introduced on 1 July, foreigners working in the US state of Washington on certain temporary US visas such as H-1B visas will receive the same subsidized tuition fee charges as American citizens. Low-cost tuition fees will also apply to the workers' spouses and dependants.
The bill has been nicknamed the ‘Microsoft Subsidy Bill’ and has caused some controversy, but has been passed through the House and the Senate as a good way to help large international firms in Washington attract foreign talent to come and work in the US. Currently, 13 other states offer some subsidised tuition for foreign workers and the Washington bill is intended to help the state compete with these.
Under the plans, an immigrant state resident will pay $7,677 for a years tuition at the University of Washington, which compares to the £24,352 that was payable before the subsidy scheme.
Lydia Tamez, Microsoft’s director of global migration, says the new bill allows spouses, who often cannot work under their US marriage visas, to study while they are living in the US.
She explains, "these are people who are here lawfully, and are going to be here for a long period of time. It makes it affordable for workers who are your neighbors, pay taxes, buy homes and whose kids hang around with your kids to possibly earn a second degree at night."
The bill has been nicknamed the ‘Microsoft Subsidy Bill’ and has caused some controversy, but has been passed through the House and the Senate as a good way to help large international firms in Washington attract foreign talent to come and work in the US. Currently, 13 other states offer some subsidised tuition for foreign workers and the Washington bill is intended to help the state compete with these.
Under the plans, an immigrant state resident will pay $7,677 for a years tuition at the University of Washington, which compares to the £24,352 that was payable before the subsidy scheme.
Lydia Tamez, Microsoft’s director of global migration, says the new bill allows spouses, who often cannot work under their US marriage visas, to study while they are living in the US.
She explains, "these are people who are here lawfully, and are going to be here for a long period of time. It makes it affordable for workers who are your neighbors, pay taxes, buy homes and whose kids hang around with your kids to possibly earn a second degree at night."
Oracle revenue, profit fall
Oracle reported a drop in quarterly sales and profit today, while still beating Wall Street expectations. A decline in software purchases was offset by the company's huge base of existing customers who continued to pay for maintenance and upgrades. The Redwood City software giant reported net income of $1.9 billion for the quarter that ended May 31, down 7 percent from the same period a year ago, on revenue of $6.9 billion, which was down 5 percent from a year ago.
Those figures were better than predicted by Wall Street analysts and the company's own forecast, issued three months ago as the recession was hitting Silicon Valley hard. Oracle executives were cautious Tuesday about projecting an upturn, but said they were encouraged by a growing pipeline of deals.
Those figures were better than predicted by Wall Street analysts and the company's own forecast, issued three months ago as the recession was hitting Silicon Valley hard. Oracle executives were cautious Tuesday about projecting an upturn, but said they were encouraged by a growing pipeline of deals.
MTV Networks lays off 50 staffers
MTV Networks has trimmed the staff of its MTV Music Group and gay-oriented Logo division. About 50 employees were laid off Tuesday, representing 1 percent of MTV Networks' workforce. "The current economic climate dictates we continue to look for more efficiencies in how we run our businesses," MTV said in a statement.
The latest round of layoffs follows the cut of 850 jobs in December when parent company MTV Networks eliminated 7 percent of its work force, with MTV Networks among the most affected.
The latest round of layoffs follows the cut of 850 jobs in December when parent company MTV Networks eliminated 7 percent of its work force, with MTV Networks among the most affected.
Infosys CEO on how to battle recession
Source: indiatimes.com
There is lower tolerance for poor performance in a downturn, says Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer & managing director, Infosys Technologies. Here's his account on how to fight recession.
How is dealing with recessionary conditions different when you’re in a senior leadership position than when you’re actually leading as CEO?
The CEO has to take bottom line responsibility and has to be accountable to all stakeholders. A senior leader is responsible to only one department or business unit. In that sense, CEOs are different.
How was the IT sector affected last time -- the depression of 2001-03? And now?
The dot-com bubble was restricted to a few sectors. It did not impact financial services -- the backbone of any economy. The crisis is global and is impacting all industries and countries. The responses from governments around world have also been unprecedented taking into account the scale of the problem.
What is the m
ost challenging part about being a recessionary CEO?
In a recession, growth is absent; sometimes, the business may even be shrinking. In this scenario, managing costs in order to protect margins become the immediate priority. Medium term, you have to continue to invest in the business selectively such that the business can emerge from the downturn stronger than competition. This is challenging. Even in good times, a CEO must be able to get to the details if needed. During a recession, this may increase due to the requirement for faster action.
What are some of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to take recently?
Clients are expecting greater flexibility in pricing and margins may get affected because of that. Utilisation levels are lower because of lower volumes of work. There is lower tolerance for poor performance since everyone has to perform better in a downturn.
How do you inspire and motivate the entire organisation at a time like this?
First and foremost, we have to communicate the vision, mission, goals and purpose of our business. We have to make every employee feel that he or she is needed and plays a valuable role in the business. Everyone must feel that they are benefitting intellectually, career-wise and in terms of personal wealth. Employees must feel inspired by the leadership and the values of the company.
Is there a silver lining to the recession cloud?
Downturns allow a company to get ahead of competition if they are able to manage better. In good times, everyone does well; it is during bad times that the good do even better. It also teaches everyone to become more flexible and performance is appreciated better. A recession may fundamentally alter the structure of industries since only the best will survive and emerge stronger. It could change the rules of the game.
There is lower tolerance for poor performance in a downturn, says Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer & managing director, Infosys Technologies. Here's his account on how to fight recession.
How is dealing with recessionary conditions different when you’re in a senior leadership position than when you’re actually leading as CEO?
The CEO has to take bottom line responsibility and has to be accountable to all stakeholders. A senior leader is responsible to only one department or business unit. In that sense, CEOs are different.
How was the IT sector affected last time -- the depression of 2001-03? And now?
The dot-com bubble was restricted to a few sectors. It did not impact financial services -- the backbone of any economy. The crisis is global and is impacting all industries and countries. The responses from governments around world have also been unprecedented taking into account the scale of the problem.
What is the m
ost challenging part about being a recessionary CEO? In a recession, growth is absent; sometimes, the business may even be shrinking. In this scenario, managing costs in order to protect margins become the immediate priority. Medium term, you have to continue to invest in the business selectively such that the business can emerge from the downturn stronger than competition. This is challenging. Even in good times, a CEO must be able to get to the details if needed. During a recession, this may increase due to the requirement for faster action.
What are some of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to take recently?
Clients are expecting greater flexibility in pricing and margins may get affected because of that. Utilisation levels are lower because of lower volumes of work. There is lower tolerance for poor performance since everyone has to perform better in a downturn.
How do you inspire and motivate the entire organisation at a time like this?
First and foremost, we have to communicate the vision, mission, goals and purpose of our business. We have to make every employee feel that he or she is needed and plays a valuable role in the business. Everyone must feel that they are benefitting intellectually, career-wise and in terms of personal wealth. Employees must feel inspired by the leadership and the values of the company.
Is there a silver lining to the recession cloud?
Downturns allow a company to get ahead of competition if they are able to manage better. In good times, everyone does well; it is during bad times that the good do even better. It also teaches everyone to become more flexible and performance is appreciated better. A recession may fundamentally alter the structure of industries since only the best will survive and emerge stronger. It could change the rules of the game.
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