November 2013 by Unique Times

Vol 3 Issue No.25 November 2013 | 30 | AED 5

Assessing Your Creditworthiness Through

Credit

Score Jiz P. Kottukappally

GOLD

CONSUMPTION OR

INVESTMENT? Shri V.P. Nandakumar is the MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd.

We will be the

No:1 in the World Sabu M Jacob, MD, Kitex Garments Talks about the bustling Infant Wear Business

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Nissan

Terrano Thailand A Natural Abstract Reality

Managing Editor Ajit Ravi Editor Jebitha Ajit

Editorial

Associate Editor Bejoy George Assistant Editor Denisha Sahadevan Legal Advisor Adv. Sreelatha Parameswaran Correspondents Dr. Thomas Nechupadam Tressa Varghese Sheela Abraham Sreerekha R. Nair Creative Design Ashique K. Gilsha Bindosh Marketing Vice President, Marketing Neeti Sharma, Ph: +91 88009 22566 Tamquest entertainment LLC PO box 232886, Dubai UAE Riju Rajan, PH : 97555776966 Bharath Kantham, Andrapradesh, Ph-no: 95500 54943 Anupama Suvarna, Karnataka, Ph: 0966 362 8748

Pramod Mithun Mithraa - Trivandrum Jenson Antony Photographer Jinish, Photogenic Richard Antony Our Patron: Mr. V.P. Nandakumar

I am happy to present you the 25th edition of Unique Times. We are adding more columns in our magazine which are relevant in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business environment. In this moment I want express my sincere gratitude all our readers, advertisers, and all who work behind the scene to bring this magazine out every month. This edition we have an interview with Mr. Sabu M Jacob of Kitex Garments. Mr. Sabu heads Kitex Garments, one of the global leaders in the infant wear manufacturing business. In the interview he speaks about his business empire and his future plans. Among our regular articles we have got Mr. V P Nandakumar discusses about perennial question about gold, whether it is just consumption or a sound investment, Jiz P Kottukappally writes about assessing your credit score. We also have some serious articles of marketing and communication Hope you all will enjoy this edition. Happy reading Thanks

Ajit Ravi

Printed and Published by: Ajit Ravi Pegasus, L5-106, Changampuzha Nagar Kalamasserry, Kochi-33 Printed at: S T Reddiar, P.B. No: 3627, Veekshanam Road, Cochin Contact: Ph: 0484 3242220, 3292223, 3046432 Mob: +91 98460 50283, 94470 50283 editor@uniquetimes.org

Cover Photograph:

Sabu M. Jacob MD - Kitex Garments

Our Patron Mr. V.P. Nandakumar

Contents

22 CONSUMPTION OR

INVESTMENT? Shri V.P. Nandakumar is the MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd.

Entrepreneurship & Personal Branding Dr. Thomas Nechupadam

We will be the

No:1 in the World Sabu M Jacob, MD, Kitex Garments Talks about the bustling Infant Wear Business

14 Assessing Your Creditworthiness Through

Credit

SUCCEED IN with GLOBAL MARKET effective

CROSS CULTURE

COMMUNICATION

SPEC “We Understand. We Deliver.”

Management Solution

Thailand A Natural Abstract Reality

46 STRESS

Management

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greenâ&#x20AC;?&

Nissan

Terrano

Discover Your Natural Beauty

Marketing Lexicon Financial Lexicon

Gadgets

Unique Diary

FIPB Gives the Green Signal

fter the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave an approving nod to the Tata Sons, to start the Singapore Airlines joint venture to start a full service carrier, Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata had a meeting with the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. He was accompanied by Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong and Tata Singapore Airlines Chairman Prasad Menon. Tata commented to say that the meeting was a courtesy call. The FIPB giving it’s yes sign basically invited in a foreign investment of $49 million. Tata had earlier along with SIA CEO Phong had met with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. This happens to be the second partnership venture for the Tata’s where the first partnership was with Malaysian carrier Air Asia in the month of February intended for a low cost passenger air service.

Women Business Leader I

t is one thing which many women can take much pride in, that even after many years of struggling for their vote to right along with their fight for many other rights, in today’s world there are many women holding powerful positions. There are four Indians who have made it into Fortune magazine’s global list of the top 50 women business leaders, all the while as PepsiCo’s chief Indra Nooyi has been placed in second rank in a similar list for U.S. Firstly. ICICI Bank’s CEO Chanda Kochhar has been ranked fourth, National Stock Exchange chief Chitra Ramkrishna at 17th, Axis Bank’s Shikha Sharma at 32nd followed by HSBC’s Naina Lal Kidwal at 42nd placed are four of the women mentioned in the international list showing the most powerful women in business.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.” Dave Barry

Real Estate

s everyone has their eyes on real estate, in the Delhi-NCR market, the housing sales have increased by 18 percent which shows signs of improvement in the property market which has been facing a slowdown in regards to demand. According to a property consultant Knight Frank India, “during H1 2013, the NCR residential market witnessed a total absorption of 35,000 units showing an increase of 18 percent from H1 2012, can be ascribed to the high number of project launches in the affordable category.” The Noida area had sales of 14,300 units in H1 2013. The levels decreased in both Gurgaon and Noida due to the increase in not being able to afford the housing options which had been made available in these markets.

SpiceJet From Pune, Bangalore to Bangkok H

ere’s a new airline route! As of October 27th, the Chennai based airline carrier which is run by billionaire Kalanithi Maran, SpiceJet has started flying to Bangkok from Pune and Bangalore. Bangkok is its tenth international destination. The cities of Pune and Bangalore will be having four flights a week. Starting on November 22nd, the airline will also be flying on a daily basis from Madurai to Dubai. The airline which has a fleet of 58 aircraft, consists of 30 Boeing 737-800 new generation jets and 28 Bombardier Q 400 aircraft is planning to expand into more international routes with new planes. There was an order which was placed for 30 Boeing aircrafts three years back. As of last week one of the aircrafts arrived, and over the period of next three years, the rest is to be delivered. These new aircrafts will be mostly used for international routes.

“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.” Louisa May Alcott

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 07

Unique Diary

Dhoom 3 Debuts Game

ovies, Bollywood, Yash Raj Films! India’s most popular movie franchise Yash Raj Films has partnered up with Microsoft to bring Dhoom 3 game which has been developed by 99Games Online Private Limited, exclusively for the Windows Phone store. The movie is set to be released on December 20th while the game will be available on other platforms only after four weeks. The 3D racing game is se in Chicago where the movie was taken. The director of Microsoft India’s Windows Phone Business Group Vineet Durani told Business Today that the game will be available on all Windows Phone devices and have the same experience. According to him they are “very keen on getting Indian content as their audience does not connect well with some of the global hits.”

Welcoming Chinese Investment I

n order to give its bilateral trade ties a boost China has made a proposition to establish a Chinese Industrial Park in India, an investment proposition which was welcomed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to PM Manmohan Singh, India is facing an unsustainable imbalance in its trade with the Chinese and one of the way of overcoming the trade deficit is for India to welcome in more foreign direct investment from China. The PM said that they have shown a few possible sites where the Chinese Industrial Park can be set up in and will work with the Chinese side in order to carry out the idea. Commenting on the proposition made by China to promote the construction of Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the PM said that India is promoting regional connectivity for a balanced economic development.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

"When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact". Warren Buffett

Shares and Shareholders of Twitter

n an IPO which will value the company at $10.9 billion, Twitter is getting ready to sell 70 million of its shares to the public. There are a few groups which own at least 5 percent of the shares. Rizvi Traverse Management and affiliates which owns 17.9 percent of the shares at the present time will be holding 15.6 percent stake of shares in Twitter after the IPO. The company Spark Capital and affiliates which currently holds 6.8 percent of shares will be holding 6 percent stake of shares after the IPO. Benchmark owns 6.6 percent of the shares after the IPO they will only have 5.8 percent of the shares. Union Square Ventures and affiliates owning the 5.9 percent of the shares will be holding 5.1 percent after the sale. DST Global and affiliates which own 5 percent will owe only 4.4 percent of stakes after the IPO.

Yahoo! Y

ahoo’s relationship with Microsoft Corp is really falling apart. As a proof court filings show that the Chief Executive Marissa Mayer tried to slow the rollout of its search deal with Microsoft Corp as it was questioning its partner’s commitment. Despite the rough time which the companies are going through as they are both trying to approach with different strategies into the market as the current conditions have changed and requires adaptability it has been ruled that Yahoo must adopt Microsoft’s research technology in Taiwan and Hong Kong under their partnership in order to try and decrease Google Inc’s dominance in search advertising. This ruling is only hinting at the weakening of the relationship with the two companies. Yahoo has said that it wanted to hold off switching to Microsoft technology which is certain with the markets until there was a discussion with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s successor.

"Practice Golden-Rule 1 of Management in everything you do. Manage others the way you would like to be managed". Brian Tracy

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 09

Unique Diary

RBI Increasing Repo Rate A

merican Brokerage Morgan Stanley has stated that the Reserve Bank is likely to increase the short term lending or repo rate by another 25 basis points in the monetary policy review due next week as the inflations continues to cloud over. In September, the inflation increased to a seven month high of 6.46 percent, all the while as the retail inflation increased to a 9.84 percent. “As inflation both WRI and CRI, remain elevated and surprised on the upside last month, we expect the RBI to increase the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent to anchor inflationary expectations. This move will also help to achieve RBI’s stated intent of eventually narrowing the gap between the MSF and repo rate to 100 basis points,” according to Morgan Stanley.

Infosys Expands Decision Making Body I

nfosys made a decision to expand its executive council in order to keep the top management under a bit of control as the company is going through some tough times as it tries to keep a check on the rising levels of abrasion. In order to make way for more people, Infosys has expanded the strength of its highest decision making body to 30. All of those appointed to the title of the council will be given an allowance of $150,000 per annum pro rata for the period of time in which they serve to be a member. This expansion of the executive council had come days after the announcement made by Infosys that it has set aside more funds in order to keep top performers. The position of the newly appointed members of the council is effective as of November 1st, 2013.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. Nelson Mandela

What’s hurting the global players?

hat is it that is hurting the international retailers from being able to expand their presence in India? According to experts it happens to be the poor quality of retail space, regulatory issues as well as the subdued economic growth. According to CBRE South Asia report, though several overseas groups took up space in new developments in anticipation of a future supply crunch, there are a few retailers who are being cautious as the economic outlook remains subdued. The retail services head of CBRE South Asia, Vivek Kaul said that “international brands had plans to expand their presence here. But now they are adopting a careful approach in smaller cities. At the moment international brands such as Swarovski, Vero Moda, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Louis Philippe, Puma, Nike, and Calvin Klein are present in the country.

Billionaire’s letter to Apple Inc. I

t seems that the billionaire investor Carl Icahn wrote a public letter to Apple Inc’s Chief Executive Tim Cook which asked that Apple start an immediate tender offer of $150 billion. In a tender offer, usually a company will be offering to purchase some or all of its investors’ shares. The tender offers usually come at a premium to the current share price, and what Icahn wants is for Apple to borrow money to make its offer at $525 per share which is the level at which shares of Apple are currently being traded for. In the letter itself Mr. Icahn revealed that he owns 4.7 million shares in Apple at the present time meaning that he owns around $2.5 billion worth of shares of the iPhone maker. Upon receiving Mr. Icahn’s letter, the cochief investment officer at PIMCO twitted that “Icahn should leave Apple alone and spend more time like Bill Gates. If Icahn’s so smart, use it to help people not yourself.”

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. W. Clement Stone

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 11

Investment

Shri V.P. Nandakumar is the MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd.

CONSUMPTION OR

INVESTMENT? 12

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

ith India’s Current Account Deficit now a cause for serious concern, everyone has woken up to the fact that our import of gold is next only to petroleum in terms of forex outgo. Our obsession with gold is jeopardizing our macro-economic stability, say our policy makers. There’s one school of thought that believes gold imports should not be reckoned in the current account at all. The argument is that people buy gold as investment, and therefore it should be accounted for in the capital account. Not that a reclassification of this kind would have any impact on our final balance of payments, but it would certainly make the current account look a lot better. And sometimes, perception can matter more than the underlying reality.

When deciding whether buying gold amounts to consumption or investment, a conventional way out is to look at the form in which it bought. When purchased in the form of bars, coins and biscuits, gold is investment and when bought as jewellery, it is consumption. However, careful thought suggests that even when gold is bought as jewellery it has characteristics of both investment and consumption.

olden days, when property rights were not secure and not always respected — being subject to arbitrary seizures by kings, courtiers and warlords or prone to destruction during frequent wars etc.— gold was the most sensible way to accumulate wealth. Along the way, it became part of our culture and tradition. It acquired a social, emotional and economic significance beyond logical comprehension. Many of our traditions have changed over the years, but large scale purchases of gold during weddings continue. The newer generation may be less inclined to flaunt it, but demand for gold jewellery shows no signs of abating.

To understand why, we need to step back a little and look at how India’s fascination for gold has evolved historically. India is the largest consumer of gold in the world. Our love affair with the metal is age old. Roughly 800 to 900 tonnes, or about a third of the total gold mined in the world, is consumed in India. Domestic production being negligible, we are the largest importer of gold.

From the point of view of an economist, gold cannot be considered as investment because it is unproductive by nature. It does nothing but sit idle in safes or bank vaults. Other financial instruments like fixed deposits with banks, shares, bonds, insurance policies etc. are a source of productive funds for business and government, and have a positive impact on economic activity.

The Indian attachment to gold is a product of our history. Gold is rare and beautiful and stable. It does not depreciate in value nor does it deteriorate in quality with time. It is compact and can be carried around with ease. It can be buried underground without loss of quality or quantity. Gold is therefore permanent, portable and hideable wealth. And because it can be easily concealed, it is more resistant to expropriation. In the

From the point of view of the individual, an important reason for buying gold jewellery is the satisfaction you or your loved ones get from wearing gold jewellery. In this sense, gold plays the role of consumption because you get satisfaction from its usage. However, strictly speaking, for something to be consumed, the process of consumption should also lead to a decrease in the useful life of the product. It should result in a

gradual destruction of the product over the years as happens, say, to a motor car used for many years. But as we have already noted, gold is not subject to depreciation. When you wear jewellery over a long period its physical qualities remain intact. (There is some wear and tear, but not significant.) The other important motivation for buying jewellery, common to all investments, is the conviction that the gold will hold its value over the long term, even after adjusting for inflation. It is therefore no accident that if India’s gold consumption has surged in recent years, it happened in lockstep with the resurfacing of inflation in the economy. Prices have risen sharply and interest rates on bank deposits have failed to keep pace. The common man responded in the most logical way. He moved his money away from bank deposits and into gold. It helped his cause that till recently gold enjoyed an unprecedented bull run of its own. Seen in this light, gold in the form of jewellery is wearable investment. There is pleasure in wearing it and there is also a reasonable expectation that it will appreciate in value. It is both similar to, and different from, a work of art. With art we get satisfaction from the mere viewing, along with a reasonable expectation that its value will appreciate over time. But the difference is that when you drop it, break it, or splash paint over it, art loses its value… unlike gold jewellery.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 13

Banking

Jiz P. Kottukappally The author is working as Asst General Manager, Catholic Syrian Bank and the views expressed are the personal opinion of the author. Author can be reached at jizpauls@gmail.com

Assessing Your Creditworthiness Through

Credit O

ne day a friend of mine, a software engineer working in a reputed software company called me and asked me if my bank is providing motor vehicle loans. On saying yes , I could see a sunshine blooming on his face. As anticipated he asked me if I can get a loan sanctioned for him. Knowing that his salary account was with some other bank, I said it would be better for him to approach the bank where the corporate salary account is maintained as that would provide convenience and also proof of income. In reply he said it is that what has been worrying him. With a six digit salary and quarterly average balance of

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

over a lakh ruppes in his salary savings account the bank has rejected his loan application stating that the credit history is not good. I asked him what his credit score and he was not aware what a credit score is. I asked him if he had defaulted in any loan repayments for which he said no. On further questioning he said he had some dispute with two credit card issuers regarding charges etc and so has not paid the amounts, for more than 6 months , pending settlement of the dispute. I thought no wonder his loan application has been rejected. First of all he is a defaulter and then he does not even know what his credit score is.

An individual’s Credit Score provides a lender with an indication of the ”probability of default” by the individual based on their credit history. In other words it means that as a borrower how likely you are, to pay back a loan based on your past pattern of credit usage and loan repayment behavior. Demystifying credit score

The most important points looked at by a bank in your credit report while evaluating your loan applications are payment history and current balances

A Credit Score ( CS ) is a three-digit numeric summary of the credit history of the individual. The score is derived using the credit history found in the credit information report( CIR) . A CIR is an individual’s credit payment history across loan types and credit institutions over a period of time. CIR contains details of loans only and does not contain details of your savings, investments or fixed deposits. I f you are planning to avail a loan from a bank its always better to have a look at your credit score before applying for the loan. You can purchase your report from the credit rating agency by payment of the prescribed fees. The credit score is calculated based on the credit behavior of the individual reflected in the ‘Accounts’ and ‘Enquiries’ section of the CIR. CIBIL the largest and most popular individual credit rating agency awards a credit score in ranges between 300-900. A score above 700 is generally considered good. An individual’s Credit Score provides a lender with an indication of the ”probability of default” by the individual based on their credit history. In other words it means that as a borrower how likely you are, to pay back a loan based on your past pattern of credit usage and loan repayment behavior. The closer you are to 900, the more confidence the lender will have in your ability to repay the loan and hence, the better the chances of your application getting approved. The report contains personal information like name, date of birth,

gender and identification numbers such as PAN, passport number, voter’s number, contact information like address , phone numbers ,, employment information, monthly or annual income details as reported by the credit institution , and account information like the details of your credit facilities including name of lenders, type of credit facilities , account numbers, ownership details, date opened, date of last payment, loan amount, current balance and a month on month record (of up to 3 years) of your payments. Enquiry Information which is a history of enquiries made by financial institutions , every time an individual applies for a loan is also available in the report. Improving your credit score As the report contains so much information , other than your income, the report becomes the single most important tool used by a bank to evaluate your application for any loan. Thus it becomes very important for individuals to understand the credit score and how to improve your score by maintaining a good credit history. The golden rules that can help you in maintaining a good credit history are Making payment of all your bills on time, Keeping the balances low, Applying for new credit in moderation, Maintaining a healthy mix of secured and unsecured credit, Monitor your co-signed and joint accounts monthly and Reviewing your credit history periodically and especially before making a loan application. The most important points looked at

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 15

Authorized user indicator usually appears in the case of add-on credit cards and implies that you have an access to credit, but are not responsible for paying dues on that particular account

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

by a bank in your credit report while evaluating your loan applications are payment history and current balances. Payment History – The payment history appears in the accounts section of your credit report and has two parts - the Days Past Due (DPD), and the month and year of payment that reside here. The DPD indicates the delay in making the monthly payment of a particular month. Anything other than “000” is considered negative by a bank and anything more than 90 would mean that your account is NPA with the bank. The chances of you getting a loan from any other bank would be very bleak under such circumstances. . On occasion you may see “XXX” reported for your DPD on a certain account. This means that the Loan provider has not reported that month’s DPD to CIBIL and hence, there’s no need to worry. Such payment history will be available for a period of 36 months. Current Balances – Current balances also appears in the accounts

section and this indicates the total loans outstanding in your name and thus helps the banks to evaluate strength to take on additional EMIs, in relation to your current income. Naturally, lower the current balance, the better the chance of your loan getting approved. In the case of credit card and overdraft accounts the maximum limit will be displayed as high credit and in the case of loans the amount sanctioned will also be displayed. The ownership indicators on the credit report will mention who is responsible for payment of that credit facility. If the ownership indicator has been mentioned single then you are solely responsible for making payments on that account. Joint ownership indicator means you and someone else bear joint responsibility for payments on these accounts. Authorized user indicator usually appears in the case of add-on credit cards and implies that you have an access to credit, but are

not responsible for paying dues on that particular account. If you guarantee to honour an obligation, in case the principal applicant is unable to do so, you will be shown as a guarantor for that account. As per the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005 governing Credit Information Companies, all accounts irrespective of their status (both Good Standing and Delinquent accounts) have to be maintained for a minimum period of 7 years from the date the account was last reported. Thus even closed accounts will be appearing in your credit report. If you find a date adjacent to the ‘Closed’ field in the account section of your credit report, this means that that loan account has been closed by the loan provider. In other words, it means you have paid off your loan. However, if you have not been able to pay off your dues in full, your account could still be marked ‘Closed’. In such cases, you may see the ‘Status’ section populated (Written-off or Settled), which is viewed negatively by banks and other credit institutions. If no date is populated in the ‘Closed’ field, it means that your account is still open. This can be harmful to your loan application, because banks would think the loans to be open and consider repayment obligations for that also. This will affect your repayment capacity and negatively impact your loan application. Hence, if you see open accounts on your credit report that are actually closed, raise a Dispute Resolution request. You can raise a dispute resolution request by logging on to the credit bureau’s website and providing name, address, date of birth, nature of error and control number. The control number would be a unique number generated every time a credit report is generated. It is very important to provide this number to the bureau, as it helps them to identify the credit report on which you would like to ‘dispute’ information. Once you have raised a Dispute

Request, the credit rating agency , after checking whether all the requisite details have been provided will forward it to the Dispute Resolution Department for Analysis. If the credit bureau is unable to resolve the request, it is routed to the relevant bank . If there is an error the bank will

prompt borrower this rate would be higher as the bank would be charging a higher interest rate to all borrowers, in order to compensate for the possible default of a small portion of the loans disbursed, just like a college professor punishing an entire class of students for the mischief played by a few errant

As the credit report provides a snapshot of your credit profile, it also helps you to understand the total amount borrowed by him, total amount outstanding and also identify areas for improving his creditworthiness. provide the agency the corrected data. The rating agency will then update the data and informs you of the same. Normally the dispute resolution would take around 30 days, and could vary depending on the time taken by banks to respond. In case you are not satisfied with the dispute resolution or it is taking more time than expected you can contact the lenders directly. The errors which can occur in your credit report are inaccurate current balance or amount overdue which could normally happen if you have purchased your credit report within 45 days of making a payment as loan providers report information to rating agencies only on a monthly basis. There could also be mistakes regarding incorrect personal details, ownership etc . Importance of credit score to an individual . The advent of credit scoring for individuals would make the life of prompt borrowers more easier and happier. Banks while granting loans charge a risk premium , for compensating the default risk incurred by the bank. Earlier when credit ratings were not available for individuals the banks would treat all loan seekers equally. Each applicant, if approved by the Credit Institution’s internal credit policy, would get charged the same interest rate for a particular loan size and purpose. For a

students . Today, credit reports and the credit score provide the banks the ability to differentiate between those who have honoured their loan repayment obligations responsibly and those who have defaulted. Individuals who have appropriately managed their obligations build ‘reputational collateral’ with banks and thus gives them more head room to negotiate better terms. As the credit report provides a snapshot of your credit profile, it also helps you to understand the total amount borrowed by him, total amount outstanding and also identify areas for improving his creditworthiness. But it should also be remembered that credit score is not the final deciding factor in a credit application and even if your credit score is high , banks may choose not to lend to you, probable because bank feels that you are not able to take on the burden of additional EMIs. But definitely having a good credit score will weigh heavily in your favour for having your loan sanctioned.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 17

Marketing Denisha Sahadevan

SUCCEED IN with GLOBAL MARKET effective

CROSS CULTURE

COMMUNICATION

ny individual will agree that communication is a key factor when it comes to business. To strike up any successful business deal, one has to be able to know how to talk in an effective manner which will win over the clients or help create new partnerships. The talent of being able to handle communication in a smooth manner is not something which everyone possessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and those who do hold that certain skill must know how to use it wisely in order for it to work. Having the skill for communication wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t solely help as you must also know how to use it properly or you may need help improving it as it serves to

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

be one of the main pillars behind success. And for a business person to know how to communicate effectively they may feel at times a necessity to take up a course or two based on business communications. So to make it easier here are some ways or quick lessons on about how you can hone your communication skills so that you can sail through your business deals without taking on a high amount of stress on worrying about how it will all pan out in the end. When it comes to the term communication, there are many definitions. Now I am not going to get into an in depth lecture about this

The basic meaning of communication involves an individual being able to discuss their ideas, and information in a formal and thorough manner where they captivate their client’s attention and continue to keep them in an attentive form throughout the meeting or discussion. Basic communication obviously is only way in which you can bank deals, conduct strategized marketing plans and strike up partnerships locally and globally

topic as it will concern many detailed types of communication with technical terms which might not be the best way to go about learning about the topic of effective communication. But keep in mind that there are various types of communication that can be laid out. However the two main types of communication which is necessary for a business person to be knowledgeable about is the basic form of communication as well as “cross culture communication.” The basic meaning of communication involves an individual being able to discuss their ideas, and information in a formal and thorough manner where they captivate their client’s attention and continue to keep them in an attentive form throughout the meeting or discussion. Basic communication obviously is only way in which you can bank deals, conduct strategized marketing plans and strike up partnerships locally and globally. With the comprehension of the basic communication skills, it may not always seem very difficult for the persons who are familiar and well aware of the culture and the behaviors of the people of the country in which they reside to know how to close in on a deal with ease when it comes to conducting a successful business proposition in the local business environment, But the trick comes about when the business persons come across having to communicate effectively as they merge with business partnerships and deals abroad or have to learn to communicate with transfer employees from foreign countries who are unaware of the culture and behavior of the country in which they are being stationed in. It is not only the business persons in this case who will face challenges when it comes to working with the business persons in other countries, but also their temporarily transferred employees who are sent abroad for work purposes will happen to face the similar obstacles of having to learn to communicate in a well sought way where their ideas and information is conveyed in an understandable manner. This form of

communication which occurs where a business person or employee has to learn to communicate with the business persons and employees from other countries and cultures is known as “cross culture communication.” The concept of cross culture communication clearly states its meaning in the wordings.

To learn the concept of cross culture communication, you must be aware that there are various cultures, and though the world is increasingly globalizing day by day, there are still countries which embrace their culture values, and religious beliefs Communication amongst different cultures are being interlocked with as business persons and employees come together in order to bring the company into a higher status of success. For those business persons who prefer to keep their business within the local market and for those business persons who aim higher to expand their business by entering into the global market will equally need to be aware of cross culture communication. Any business person without the knowledge of the happenings in the global market will find it difficult to carry on a successful business as it happens to be so that in today’s world shoppers not only seeks for products within the local market, also seek to purchase from the foreign markets as they weigh out the most affordable price ranges for each and every product. So without learning cross culture communication, one cannot successfully carry on their business to a brighter future. To learn the concept of cross culture communication, you must be aware that there are various cultures, and though the world is increasingly globalizing day by day, there are still countries which embrace their culture values, and religious beliefs. Therefore you must learn to understand the minor things in other cultures, in their values, and beliefs in order to find success amongst the business persons

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 19

in that particular country. One must be aware that there are certain business formalities which are followed in certain countries and these formalities are a result of these cultural values, and specific beliefs. If it happens to be so that an Indian businessman might travel abroad to the western countries such as United Kingdom, or United States, know that it is not always about the way or in the accent in which one speaks English which matters, but rather it is about how one understands the western way of doing business which one should be concerned about. In the western business world, everything is prompt and expectations which are set to be achieved are to find success beyond the expected level. When a meeting is set for a certain time, you must show up at that exact time with no delays or possibly 15 minutes early as that will be a sign of attentiveness to the business that is going to be dealt with. When you meet a person, you are to shake hands with them, as the handshake gives the first impression of the individual. Also maintaining eye contact in the western culture comes off as showing a sense of confidence, whereas in some Asian cultures, it would be considered offensive to make eye contact with those who are higher in position. Now if a European or an American business person travels to India to do business, they must defiantly be aware of the various cultural values set within India. They must be aware of the respect which is shown to the elders in India, so to say that they must be aware of the age difference and learn to speak in a well mannered fashion to those business men who are elder to them so as not to offend them. Also crossing oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legs in front of elders may come off as offensive to some, so one must make certain, that the way that they sit, or hold themselves before the individual who they are presenting themselves in front of is proper as the non verbal form of communication will certainly give either a negative or a positive impression. Also one must be aware that in India you cannot give anything with the left hand, as some may take it to be offensive, but rather when

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

In the western business world, everything is prompt and expectations which are set to be achieved are to find success beyond the expected level handing anything over hand it over with the right hand as it is a sign of respect. It is similar in China where if a Chinese business man is being handed a business card, it must be handed with both hands as it shows a sign of respect and make certain that the business cards are always translated. When it comes to some others cultures, such as in Brazil, there is the formality of showing affection when hugging and kissing on the cheeks when people meet, but in the western culture a certain amount of distance is always maintained between two strangers. There are certain physical boundaries which cannot be crossed when speaking as it will be too close and causing a sense of discomfort. When it comes to some Asian cultures, know that there are certain countries where people will bow down before an individual upon meeting the person. The lower they bow down to the other person, the more respect is shown. When one is bowing down to a minimal or maximum level, then it is

also a sign of the level of acquaintance between the individuals. Before you set off to another country, or you are aware that someone from another country is coming to work in your office under your management, learn about that country, their cultural values and beliefs. It will help one better communicate with the individual rather than leaving one wondering why they are randomly taking so many days off from work, when the person may have religious reasons to do so, or why they will not even look at those higher in position to them. One must understand the reasons behind each individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions. It is only upon find a level of understanding that any business will come to find success. So to better partnerships in the global market learn the norms, values, and beliefs of the countries which you are destined to travel too, by learning not only their way of verbal communication, but also their way of non verbal communication.

Interview

We will be the

No:1 in the World Sabu M Jacob, MD, Kitex Garments Talks about the bustling Infant Wear Business

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

izakkambalam village, situated near the bustling Kochi is a beautiful village. When you drive down from Kochi you can feel the apparent calmness and charm. The roads are small and winding, no skyscrapers like most of the villages in Kerala. But once you enter the sprawling campus of Kitex, you will be immediately astonished. Kitex Apparel Park is a fully integrated manufacturing unit, dedicated to infant wear business. The Apparel Park gives direct employment to more than 8000 people and 95% percent of the employees live in the park premises. Kitex Garments occupies the No: 3 position in the world in the infant wear segment. The company caters to global brands like Mothercare, Gerber, Toys R Us, Carters, Jockey, Walmart etc. There is touch of class and perfection everywhere in the park, the buildings, the factory and office premises are full of elegance. In a talk with Bejoy George, Sabu Jacob tells about the beginning of AnnaKitex Group, their growth and diversification and future plans.

Kitex is a 46 year old company, Can you tell our readers about the beginning of the group?

My father grew up seeing this everyday and he thought if he could give permanent employment to at least 10 people, this will solve all the problems.

My father M C Jacob started this business in 1968. He came from an agrarian background and during his childhood days he saw 30-40 people queuing up for a job in front of his house everyday and his parents was able to accommodate only 1 or 2 people. My father grew up seeing this everyday and he thought if he could give permanent employment to at least 10 people, this will solve all the problems. So he started a small factory which makes aluminium utensils. The method was to collect scrap aluminium from houses and melt it in a mud clay oven to make small utensils like spoons. Initially he was able to employ 10 people and that is how Anna Group came into existence. Now, we are the largest employer in the state of Kerala employing over 15000 people. What was the turning point? There were several turning points during our growth process. The first among them was in 1972, the power crisis in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,

these two states were the hub of aluminium manufacturing in South India and being a small company the products of Anna was not able to compete with them. At that time our competitors also added lead into aluminium to increase the weight of the utensils. My father was very keen about the quality of his products and naturally the margins were low. Anna group was facing a crisis with accumulated stock and debt. But with power crisis in the other states, the inflow of aluminium products reduced, the price of aluminium shot up. We were able to sell our stock at a higher price and since the quality was good, nobody was complaining. Today Anna Group has a 100% market share in branded aluminium products. Our aluminium is 99.5% pure and we now produce more than 800 types of products ranging from spoons, utensils, frying pans , pressure cooker and cooking range. Can you tell our readers the stages of growth diversification? In 1978 we ventured into Spice business under the brand name Saras. I think I should tell you about our brand names. Anna is the name of my

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 23

We got the best vendor award from Gerber and we were the best vendor for Toys R us for two consecutive years. We are platinum certified for social compliance.

father’s mother . She passed away at a young age and my father and siblings were under the care of his mother’s sister Sara. So that is where the name Saras came from. We also manufacture a range of pressure cookers under the Chacksons, which is derived from my grandfathers name Chacko. As far as Kitex is concerned, we started the company as Kizakkambalam Textiles Limited and for branding purposes’ we renamed it as Kitex. Kitex Garments is a well known brand now, can you tell us more about the company? Kitex was founded as Kizakkambalam Textiles Limited in 1979. We started by manufacturing the ubiquitous ‘Lungi’. We then started producing fabrics. In 1993 we started a garmenting unit. In 1994 the company was made public limited as Kitex Garments. At that time, Tirupur was the hub of all garment business and most of the business were seasonal business. We were facing strict competition from players in Tirupur . Moreover, all the vendors and suppliers were focusing on Tirupur companies. Even facing these problems, we were the first to make winter jackets in Kerala and we also manufactured garments for every season. As a company based in Kochi, and Kochi in fact had a lot of problems with logistics, we were not able to get any direct orders and we had to rely on middle men who took a lion share of our profits. Till 2000 the company was not making any profit. The year 2000

augured well for us, as one of the multinational retail giant came for us, and we were the first company to qualify on the social and human compliance audit. We started supplying Gerber with infant wear clothes. In 2001 after the dotcom bust and recession, the sales in all major sectors went down, but the infant wear segment grew by 68%. From that we realised, infant wear i.e.: from 0-24 months, is an evergreen segment. Since 2001, we began focusing only on infant wear . Today we are 100% specialised in infant wear and we are No: 3 in the world and by 2015 we will become the No: 1 Player in the infant wear business. How much is your production and who all are your major clients? We deal with the major brands in Europe and North America, which includes Gerber , Toys R Us, Carters, Jockey and Mother Care. We make about 5, 50, 000 pieces every day . Even though we are No: 3 in terms of production we are the world No: 1 in infrastructure, technology, productivity, social compliance, human rights and safety. We have received many awards based on these criterions. Tell us about that. We got the best vendor award from Gerber and we were the best vendor for Toys R us for two consecutive years. We are platinum certified for social compliance. Can you tell us more about the social compliance part? Social compliance audit is based on 12 principles which includes every aspect of the law, i.e, compliance with laws and workplace regulations, there should not be any child labour , forced or bonded labour , prohibition of any harassment or abuse , no discrimination of any kind, compensations and benefits for employees, the hours of work, health and safety, no violation of environment law, customs compliance and security. A company will be rated based on all these criteria and we have the highest rating in the world.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

point of view, by 2015 our aim is to reach No.1 in the world and be 100% compliance factory and our next goal is to introduce our own brand in US market and to have total distribution network for our existing clients. We also aim to double the turnover . Your father had a great vision to give employment to the people in your village, how are you taking the legacy forward.

Seeing all these facility, one can see that there is lot of investment? We were never reluctant for any capital investment as we knew that it will be technology that will give us an edge over competitors. We have invested more than 100 Crores for technology . We have a world class factory . We employ more than 8000 people out of which 95% stay in-house. We serve 32000 meals every day . We

give facilities like in five stars for accommodation. We take care of the accommodation, food and welfare of our employees. What is your vision for company and the society? I follow my fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision, his vision was not to cheat anybody and follow all principles and ethics. From a business

Yes, In fact as I have said, the original idea behind starting the group is to give employment and the welfare to people of our panchayath. Now I have taken this a little forward. I have 20-20 vision for this panchayath. The vision is to make Kizakkambalam a model panchayath in India in every aspect like Housing, Drinking water, Health, Food, Education, Agriculture, Employment, Electricity, Green Initiative, Infrastructure and to wipe out corruption etc. We have made a rather exhaustive plan.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 25

requirement. In addition, a regular supply of food packs to 300 families is also undertaken on a monthly basis. We also have a pension scheme of Rs.500/- to support 200 families every month. How much money is required for this vision and where do you find the funds?

Tell our readers more about Vision 2020 for this village? We have recruited 25 social workers to co-ordinate several activities. As the first activity we have done a multi speciality medical camp which was attended by 3800 people. From the attended we have sponsored the surgeries of more than 500 people and that include heart surgeries too. Our medical camp was slightly different; we took the complete responsibility of people who were referred for surgeries, including transportation, food and bystanders expenses. The eligible patients were picked from the house and we dropped them back after the surgeries. For the people who had undergone cataract surgeries, we made sure that we gave the spectacles of the best quality and a wide range of frames to choose from. Gaining insight from the first medical camp we decided to eliminate health ailments and diseases one by one. For that reason we have already conducted an eye and dental medical camp very recently. Aiming , by 2014 January this panchayath will be free from eye and dental problems and our ultimate goal is that by 2020 this panchayath will be free from all diseases and ailments. We also provide regular medicinal support upto Rs.1000/- for 300 families. In the agricultural side we plan to cultivate 900 acres of vacant paddy fields in the panchayath and this year we have started with 500 acres out of which 14 acres of crop has already yielded. By 2015, our plan is to have self sustainability in food grain

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

production. We have also planted 100,000 banana trees and by next year this panchayath is estimated to have planted 500,000 plantations and would generate 15 crores revenue from this. Next focus is to plant 25,000 high yielding coconut trees. Within next 2 years our plan for the panchayath is to plant vegetables like cucumber, chillies, curry leaves etc and be a self sufficient panchayath in vegetable production. We have also completed 6 drinking water projects and 8 similar projects are underway and 6 more projects are proposed and our ultimate aim is to eliminate the drinking water problems by next year in this panchayath. Our housing project will support in the maintenance works of houses of poor people and by 2020, we will make sure that every person in this panchayath will have a better shelter. One of my dream project is to construct a school of international standards under Public-PrivatePartnership scheme, so that 1500 poor and destitute children can get high standard education in this panchayath. Also, in the beginning of this academic year, we had supplied our Scoobee day school bags to 4000 students. We had also interfered in the distribution of ration and ensured the supply of allotted quantities and allowed prices every month. During the peaks of monsoon season, when people were unable to go out and work for their living, we had supported the community with the supply of 65 tonnes of food packs for 2 weeks

Here I believe in the Cheshire's story, 'if the aim is good, money will follow', and absolutely I don't have any concern about the funds. Kerala has been traditionally unfriendly to industries, is the recent efforts by the government showing any results? I think Kerala has to move a lot in this aspect. Our state is lagging behind when compared with states like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. In Tamil Nadu, development is happening in each district and each district collector is given responsibility and power to give required sanctions to develop industries. I have been invited by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Government to start business in their states. They all have single window system in place and in Kerala the single window system is only in the name. Our Government is spending Crores to invite industries to Kerala and in the same time it is sad to say that successful traditional business houses are moving out of Kerala. As a business man what is your advice to young entrepreneurs. You should take care of your business like you take care of your baby . You have to watch every step of its growth. Your presence is very important. You should also have the discipline and energy to make your business a success. Also if you are based in Kerala you should be a small firm or a large firm. I think it is not ideal to run a medium scale business in Kerala.

2014

Are you the one with pleasant personality and style that allures everybody? Are you the one who fire on the ramp? If yes then you can definitely apply for the finest pegeant in South India

Organizer

Associate Sponsors

Co-sponsor

Crown sponsor

Hospitality Partner

Grooming Hospitality Partner

Out door media Partner

Entrepreneurship

Dr Thomas Nechupadom heads Metanoeo, a total transformation/ grooming company that has been the by word for grooming and dressing, personality enhancement and Social/Corporate Etiquette for many pageants including Ms.South India and Mannapuram Ms. Queen of India contest 2012.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

People will only remember a few Interview with T .S. Kalyanaraman Sir things Jewellers about you, so focus on telling CMD Kalyan the story that contributes most to your brand. Use your personal story as the basis for your expertise.

he entrepreneur’s personal reputation plays a large role in the success of the organization. As the clients gains more access to the company, they will be always in search for more details about the business founder. So it is necessary that you build a reputation and create a personal brand. Building your personal brand will help you in the future. In case of an uncertainty like an economic recession or any other problem having a strong personal brand will keep your options open. Great companies always had a leader with a strong personal brand. This has helped the companies they serve. Take the example of Steve Jobs, his name is synonymous with Apple. It is the same with the smaller companies and it is certainly more important for you as an entrepreneur. It will help you increase exposure and enhance reputation and helps you in retaining business. A strong personal brand name online and offline is good for employee morale and client engagement. In recent surveys it has been proved that leaders with a good social media exposure help a lot in brand building. Richard Branson of the Virgin Group is a good example of a leader who is very much active in the social media. As an entrepreneur make your biography interesting. Make sure that you have all the interesting factors about you incorporated in you biography, it should include your

achievements, writings, speeches and should include all you important works. You should also optimize your LinkedIn profile. You should have fully fledged linked in profile and should have recommendations from various people in the field. Apart from various social media sites, you should also show your presence in blogs. Write an article about your expertise. Content marketing is a great way to build your brand. It doesn’t matter if it’s not your first priority, or even your second priority, but it gives people a place to develop a stronger connection with you. Include a mini-bio at the end of each post, put time and effort into your about page and use it to paint a picture of your ideal personal brand. People will only remember a few things about you, so focus on telling the story that contributes most to your brand. Use your personal story as the basis for your expertise. There is no use if your contents are old and repetitive. If you don’t continue adding new elements to your brand. You can’t ride one idea forever. Keep adding new layers to what you represent. Continue learning and updating your knowledge, especially if your expertise is based around the online world. The web changes drastically from month to month. People will follow your brand from project to project if they feel connected to it. When launching new projects, your personal brand has the potential

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 25

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

to guarantee you never have to start from scratch again. Your personal brand is built from the thoughts and words and reactions of other people, it’s shaped by how you present yourself publicly. This is something that you have control over. You can decide how you would like people to see you and then work on publicly being that image.

There is no use if your contents are old and repetitive. If you don’t continue adding new elements to your brand. You can’t ride one idea forever. Keep adding new layers to what you represent. Continue learning and updating your knowledge, especially if your expertise is based around the online world. The web changes drastically from month to month.

You should have a notion about the key ideas you would love people to associate with you. Every good brand involves the notion of expertise. This is not so much what you communicate about yourself, but rather, how you do it. Your style of delivery should be as unique as any other aspect of your personal brand. This doesn’t mean you need to sit down and brainstorm how to be different. If you don’t actively imitate anyone else, it will happen naturally. Read widely and write a lot. If there’s one writer you love and read all the time, you’re probably going to ape them a little bit unless you catch yourself.

Think about your personal brand each time you interact with someone - or don’t interact with someone. What impression are you leaving them with? If you don’t want to spend time responding to tweets and emails there’s no reason why you can’t make this part of your personal brand so that people do not expect differently. Try to build relationships with as many people as possible and also build a rapport with influencers. In this instance an influence is any person with an audience that you want to reach. Every entrepreneur should grow the personal brand; it will certainly of great help in the long run.

Gadgets

SAMSUNG

Galaxy Star Pro The new Samsung Galaxy Star Pro has a 10.16 cm display, with a 480 x 800 resolution. With TFT Technology, it is a dual SIM phone with Android’s Jelly Bean OS and an A5 1GHz single core application processor. It has storage capacity of up to 32 GB, a 2 MP Camera, Wi-Fi enabled, with battery life for talk time lasting up to 15 hours.

6,750/-

SAMSUNG

Galaxy Trend The Samsung Galaxy Trend consists of a 10.16 cm display with a 480 x 800 resolution, 3MP Camera, and dual SIM. This WVGA TFT technology, has a 1 GHz single core application processor with Wi-Fi enabled, uses Android’s Jelly Bean OS, with a storage capacity of 64GB, and it’s battery life for talk time lasts up to 8 hours.

8,260/-

SAMSUNG

Note 3 Consisting of a 14.4 cm display with HD screen and 1920 x 1090 resolution, the Samsung Note 3 has a storage capacity of 32GB. Using Android’s 4.3 OS, it has a 1.9 GHz Quad + 1.3 GHz Quad OCTA, a 13 MP camera, Wi-Fi enabled, and a battery life for talk time lasting up to 20 hours.

47,900/-

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

49,999/-

Nokia Lumia 1020

With a 4.5in display, the Nokia Lumia 1020 has a 32 GB, and uses a micro SIM. It’s feature point happens to be the camera which is of 41 MP. It has a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, and uses a Microsoft Windows phone 8 OS. With Wi-Fi enabled, the battery life talk time is up to 13.3 hours.

Sony Xperia C The Sony Xperia C has a 5 in display, dual SIM, and comes with a 8 MP camera. It has a 4 GB internal storage, and has an expandable storage capacity of 32GB. It uses a 1.2 GHz MediaTek MTK 6589 quad core processor, and Android’s 4.2 Jelly Bean OS. With Wi-Fi enabled, this phone which has a battery life talk time which lasts up to 10 hours comes in color options such as white, black and purple.

21,490/-

Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 has a 5.7 in HD display with a 12 MP camera. It uses a 1.2 GHz MediaTek 6589 quad core processor, an Android’s 4.2 Jelly Bean OS, with Wi-Fi enabled and a 16 GB inbuilt storage, 12 GB of which is user accessible. The battery life for talk time lasts up to 9 hours.

19,990/-

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 33

Gadgets

iBall Slide 3G 8072 Tablet The new iBall Slide 3G 8072 tablet has an 8 in display with a 1024 x 768 resolution. It has a 1GHz dual core cortex A9 processor, and runs on Androidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS. With a 2MP camera, it has 4GB inbuilt storage which happens to be expandable up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card. WiFi is enabled as well as 3G. Though the iBall Slide tablet has yet to be unveiled in India, if you want to purchase it you can do so online at flipkart.com.

11,999/-

Simmtronics XPAD The Simmtronics XPAD has a 7.8 IPS display with a 1024 x 768 resolution, 2MP camera, and dual SIM. It uses a 1.2 GHz quad core processor, with 8GB inbuilt storage, which is expandable up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card, and uses androidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4.2.2 jelly bean OS.

13,999/-

Lenovo Miix2 Tablet Lenovo Miix2 has an 8 in IPS display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, with a 2 MP camera. It uses Intel Bay Trail-T quad-core processor with Intel HD Graphics, and has a 128GB storage which is expandable up to 32GB with a microSD card, and it uses Windows 8.1 OS.

$ 299/-

Acer Iconia W4 Tablet The Acer Iconia W4 Tab has a 2MP camera, with an 8 in display, 32GB/64GB of in built storage, which is expandable up to 32GB through a microSD card. It uses a Windows 8.1 OS, and 1.8GHz Intel fourth generation of Intel Bay Trail series Atom processor.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

32 GB 20,200/64 GB 23,300/-

30,620/-

Toshiba Satellite C50-A I0011 Laptop The Toshiba Satellite C series Lap has a 39.6 cm HD display with a 2GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM which is expandable up to 16GB. It has an Intel CoreTM i3-3120M Processor with a 2.5 GHz, 3MB. It has a 500GB hard disk drive and a bluetooth which can be used for long distance transfer.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 35

Gadgets

Sony VAIO Fit 15E Laptop The VAIO Fit 15E has a 39.4 cm touch screen display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. With a high sound quality, the laptop has a 4GB memory and a 750 GB hard disk drive. It uses an Intel Core i5 processor, comes with the MS Office 10 trail version and comes with music applications such as Imagination Studio VAIO Edition. It weights 2.7 kg (with the battery), and lasts up to 4.0 hours of use.

59,990/-

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

27,340/-

HP 14-Q001TU Chromebook 14 inches WXGA LED Backlit Display Intel Celeron Dual Core (4th Gen) Processor Chrome OS HD Webcam and Dual Internal Speakers 4GB DDR3 RAM 16GB Solid State Drive Weight 1.9kg Dimension 344.42 x 239.77 x 20.57 mm Warranty 1 Year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP)

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 37

Gadgets

26,000/-

Acer C720 Chromebook 11.6’’ (1366x768) display, 16:9 aspect ratio 0.75 inches thin – 2.76 lbs/ 1.25kg Up to 8.5 hours of active use 1 New Intel Processor 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage2 with 16GB Solid State Drive 30-day free trial with Google Play Music All Access Built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 Full size HDMI Port

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Beauty

There are many ingredients which are not approved to be used in makeup products, as many of the ingredients that are used in American makeup products which are known to have harmful effects are banned in some countries

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greenâ&#x20AC;?& Discover Your Natural Beauty

Tressa Varghese, Director, Phoebe International

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

s you grow older, you cannot help but notice that there are wrinkles forming on your skin, and crowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet surrounding your eyes, and loose skin hanging from your face here and there. Then you take a look at your hair, which is graying day by day and there are days when you feel that you are just having a bad day, as if you got out of bed on the wrong side. To hide all of these defaults from your face and to hide your tiring eyes, you pick up that make up kit on top of your dresser to pretty yourself up, or you feel that you need to go to the parlor to get yourself pampered, and in the end you spend a big amount of money with which you could have done many other things. It is nice to get yourself pampered now and then, but are you aware of the damage which the chemicals are doing to your skin cells? You may have bad face days, but wake up and realize the amount of chemicals that are used to form the makeup which you are layering onto your face. There are many ingredients which are not approved to be used in makeup products, as many of the ingredients that are used in American makeup products which are known to have harmful effects are banned in countries such as Japan, Canada and in the European countries, but there are many other ingredients which we need to still worry about.

The Downside to

crude oil is the one ingredient which clogs up the pores of your skin. So avoid anything which uses petroleum based ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, and paraffin.

Personal Care Products

? Chemicals such as MEA, DEA,

Nearly 22% of the beauty products ?

? Any makeup containing sulfate is

contain a chemical known as 1, 4dioxane, which has been known to cause cancer. Research has revealed that makeup ? containing nano particles gets into your skin and causes the cell damage, which you will see later on in life as you age. Are you aware that almost 61% of ? the lipsticks which have been tested tend to contain residues of lead? Now you do! Makeup which uses synthetic ? fragrances usually contains a chemical called phthalates known to mimic hormones so it is better to avoid

makeup which use these synthetic fragrances and look for makeup which use essentials oils. ? There is a chemical that is used known as parabens which is used to preserve the other ingredients used in skin care in order to extend the expiry date of the product however this can also be disrupting to the hormones. This chemical has been also linked to breast cancer. The chemical which is also found in hair and beauty products was found to be increasingly present in 18 samples of 20 breast tumors which was analyzed by scientists in the United Kingdom. ? Petrochemicals which is taken from

TEA are known to be ammonia compounded chemicals which are used to balance out the pH in cosmetic products, and the same ingredient which causes the allergic reactions, eye irritation and the dryness to your skin which you may feel after washing your make up off. best to avoid as the chemical which is taken from petroleum is what causes eye irritation as well as rashes on your skin, which some feel after taking off the makeup. Also know that any synthetic colors which consist of heavy metal salts gives causes your skin to have toxins causing your skin to become sensitive and leading to a sense of irritation. ? You may think that the salon

ingredients which are used on your scalp may not be harmful to your body, however the chemicals being used are being breathed in and being absorbed by the pores on your skin and can even cause cancer.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 41

ALEO VERA Facial Cleanser

This is a cleanser which is meant to cleanse and moisturize dry skin.

Ingredients 30ml (1 fl. oz.) aloe vera gel | 50ml (1/5 cup) olive oil | 30ml (1 fl. oz.) rosewater 4 drops of rose essential oil | 2 drops of grapefruit seed extract Directions First mix all of the ingredients together in a food processor and pour it into a small bottle or jar to keep in the fridge. Before you use it shake it well because the ingredients may separate. Take a little of the cleanser onto your hands and massage it into your face, then remove it with a muslin cloth or water. Source: "The Ultimate Natural Beauty Book," by Jo Fairley

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Instead of having to use chemical induced products every day, there are homemade products which you can make yourself using ingredients from your own kitchen and herbs from your garden. Here are a few which you can try for your skin as well as your hair.

SKIN FIRMING Clay Mask

This mask is to refine the pores, and to calm and protect all skin types.

Ingredients 1 tbsp filtered water, prepared green tea (for anti-aging benefits) or milk (for sensitive or dry skin) 2 tbsp fine clay powder (you can purchase the clay powder for your skin type from the website FromNatureWithLove.com.) Directions Pour the water, green tea, or milk to a small bowl. Slowly add in the fine clay powder into the liquid, while stirring (to prevent clumps), until you make it into a smooth paste. Using your fingers or an unused paintbrush, apply a thick layer of the paste everywhere onto clean, dry skin except for your eyes and lips. Let your face relax and keep still for 10 to 12 minutes as the mask dries to help the clay dry instead of crack in between and fall off. After 12 minutes rinse it off with warm water and pat it dry. Afterwards use a natural toner and a light moisturizer in order to keep your skin soft and nourished throughout the day.

GREEN TEA Toner

This mixture is mean to help tighten your pores and decrease puffiness for all skin types.

Ingredients 4 tsp loose green tea leaf, if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have tea leaves, cut open 2 tea bags and use that. 1 cup boiling mineral water Tip: to calm down the acne on skin types from normal to oily add 1/2 cup of witch hazel and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Boil water and pour some of the tea leaves or keep the tea bag in the water for at least 10 minutes to make the tea. After allowing the tea to cool, pour it into a small bottle that has a top which has a spray top, and refrigerate it. Spray the toner onto your clean and washed skin and pat down the spray or you can use a clean cotton ball to apply the spray all over. Source: Sharnell's Skincare & Beauty.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 43

CHAMOMILE & OATMEAL Facial Scrub

This facial scrub is to help calm oil skin and exfoliate it after a deep cleansing.

Ingredients 1/4 cup chamomile tea (brewed and cooled to room temp) 1/4 cup oatmeal (lightly ground) | 2 tbsp honey | 2 drops of almond oil Directions Combine all the ingredients and rub it over your face and neck in a gentle way, all the while still putting enough pressure on so as to exfoliate your skin. If you want to do deep cleansing, leave the scrub on for a while as it will become a mask, and you can wash it off with warm water, then pat it dry with a towel. Source: Nature's Bath & Beauty

PINEAPPLE SAGE Facial mask

This facial mask is best known for all types of skin in order to keep it hydrate it and remove any of the dead cells in your skin.

Ingredients 1/2 cup boiling water | 1 tbsp fresh pineapple sage leaves (or any type of sage) 3 tbsp oatmeal | 2 tbsp honey | 1 egg white Directions Pour the hot water over the sage leaves, once its cool, strain the sage and add the water in with the oatmeal, egg white, and honey. Blend the mixture until it is smooth and creamy, then spread the mixture onto clean skin. Let it stay on your face for 15 to 20 minutes, after which you should wash it off with warm water and pat your skin dry. Source: Janice Cox, the author of "Natural Beauty from the Garden."

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Health

Never play the blame game while talking about issues with your family as well as bring in problems from the past. Learn one thing, what has happened in the past is of the past, let go of the past.

STRESS Management 46

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Stress can be the result of work, family, any health problems which you are facing, and any major life changes which has occurred, or even emotional problems.

ife is not always full of happiness. In fact life is like a roller coaster ride and sometimes you feel like you cannot get away from anything, because everything seems to be falling down around you. At times problems last only for a short time, at other times problems will continue on for a long period of time which can take a toll on the person. In everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, there are problems, and everyone no matter what has come across the stress factor. So how and when does stress occur? Stress occurs when we feel so much pressure around us reaching an intensity where it becomes more than we can handle. And once stress occurs, your physical and mental response tends to have an effect on each other. When a person undergoes a high amount of stress, their blood pressure increases, immunity system becomes weak, heart rate tends to rise, sleeping becomes difficult, and digestive system tends to not be balanced as the person will be eating

excessively, or eating very little. A person might start getting constant headaches, body pains, signs of nervousness such as twitching, nail biting may also develop. Emotionally speaking, there are many hormones which will become unbalanced causing anxiety, anger, feeling of insecurity, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, irritation, a sense of restlessness, and makes you feel completely burned out. The amount of stress which you take on will have an effect on your eating habits, cause you to intake too much alcohol, and have sudden emotional changes. It will also make you withdraw from your social circles, where you close people off. Stress can come from anywhere, anytime. Stress can be caused due to certain relationships in your life. Stress can be the result of work, family, any health problems which you are facing, and any major life changes which has occurred, or even emotional problems. Having certain insecurities about one self and problems within yourself can cause stress and lead you into a state of depression where you are unable to manage your life. Fear, and uncertainty about life, your attitude, perceptions, having your expectations be let down can also cause stress. There are different types of stress. When you feel stress regarding a job interview, or a little exam, that is known as short term stress which is normal, then there is the long term chronic stress caused by family problems or work problems which you cannot solve very easily. The long term stress usually tends to lead to severe health problems. Then there is the post traumatic stress which is due to an individual having faced a traumatic event in their life such as rape, a natural disaster, or even war. These types of events can cause acute stress disorder or post traumatic stress disorder also known as PTSD. Acute stress disorder is known to be a short term anxiety disorder which is usually caused by a traumatic, life threatening event which results in evoking reactions of fear, helplessness or even a state of horror. The symptoms of acute stress disorder includes a feeling or numbness

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 47

Post traumatic stress disorder is also known to be caused by a life threatening event which causes an emotional and psychological response within oneself

(emotionally speaking), reliving of the event which pushed you into the state of stress through recalling disturbing memories or dreams, and avoiding anything which may stand to be a reminder of that particular event. These types of symptoms are at an intense level where they may disrupt your daily activities such as going to work, and interacting with people in general. This type of disorder can start as soon as the event has occurred lasting up to four weeks. Any of these symptoms which last more than a month long is known to be post traumatic stress disorder. Post traumatic stress disorder is also known to be caused by a life threatening event which causes an emotional and psychological response within oneself. The symptoms of post traumatic stress are similar to the symptoms of acute stress disorder as well as being easily angered or feeling

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the edge about to have a break down, or easily startled by certain thing. When you have post traumatic stress disorder, doctors would recommend that you seek counseling and medicines such as antidepressants and anti anxiety medicines. However for many even that will not be of any help. Now it does not always have to be a certain life threatening event which leads you to feeling more than a monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of stress, it can be anything which you feel is a very drastic occurrence in your life. But once you start feeling stress for over a month, gradually what will happen is that this stress causes you to go into depression. When it comes to depression many of the symptoms which you face while you are feeling stressed are what you feel when you are depressed. And many times, no matter how much counseling one may go to, or how

much antidepressant or anti anxiety pills one may take it will never be enough, and the state of depression which has come to form about will only worsen.

Dealing with stress and depression You have to come to realize firstly that in life problems exist. No matter where you go, and no matter who you are even if you are the richest billionaire in the world, you will always have a problem. It is a fact of life. But know that problems big or small are only temporary. Any problem which exists does not exist without a certain solution. You may not reach the solution so quickly, but once you start working through your problem, you will eventually reach the end thus finding the solution. However not everyone is capable of working through their problems effectively as their concentration will stray and psychologically speaking they will be very vulnerable to the little problems, once their big problem is not solved. For those who are unable to work through their problems effectively without the help of a counselor, it is best that you stick to seeing a counselor where you can talk openly about your issues. When it comes to dealing with stress with your family, it will definitely affect your work, your thinking, and how you react to everyone else throughout the day. When It comes to stress related to family matters, whether it is with your spouse or children, or parents, realize when you are at work you should be solely focused on working. Work tends to be the best form of distraction when it comes to problems. When you hide behind your work, you are able to stop thinking so much. Then when you come home back to your family, deal with the ongoing problem with your family rather than focusing or continuing to hide behind your work. When you have issues within your family learn to talk openly with your family. Rather than losing tempers, and lashing out on each other, if

Never play the blame game while talking about issues with your family as well as bring in problems from the past. Learn one thing, what has happened in the past is of the past, let go of the past.

everything is openly talked about, some terms of understanding can be reached. Never play the blame game while talking about issues with your family as well as bring in problems from the past. Learn one thing, what has happened in the past is of the past, let go of the past. It is called the past for a certain reason. Live in the present and focus on the problems which are in the present time. Life is too short to focus on what was, and what is going to be. Before you know it you will be very old, and you will feel like you missed out on your whole life because you spent all your life worrying about problems which eventually solved themselves out. The same goes for when it comes to stress due to certain relationships in your life whether it be boyfriend, or girlfriend relationship, or even family relationships, or relationships at work. The main problem which causes stress in relationships is holding onto unnecessary issues and causing problems out of minor little things which donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even matter. Learn to

forgive and forget easily. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so much about too many things, and distract yourself to avoid stress. Listening to good music, taking a vacation, watching movies, even talking openly to strangers whom you will never meet again in your life can be a very good way of reliving stress. Also taking up yoga or any type of exercise will help reduce the stress which you feel. If you are however having traumatic nightmares which haunt you, it is best to deal with the problem by talking about it with someone who is very close to you. If you open up about certain things which are tormenting you inside, it will put you at ease. If nothing seems to work and you feel helpless seeking counseling might be the best way to help you work through stress or depression. Depression can be very dangerous at times because it can lead to thoughts of suicide, so it is highly recommended that you seek professional help. Remember in life, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think too much about one thing, and learn to let go of anything which is unnecessary in your life that is causing you a burden.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 49

Management

SPEC “We Understand. We Deliver.”

Management Solution

“Nothing is impossible” if the work is planned out accordingly and carried out flawlessly as planne

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

PEC Management Solution’s motto is “We understand. We deliver.” The company’s Chief Executive Officer believes that “nothing is impossible” if the work is planned out accordingly and carried out flawlessly as planned. With a background in commerce, Preethi Naveen has a unique way of handling business as she sees importance in handling every details of a project which is taken on in order to have it be a successful one. Being the CEO of SPEC MS, a consultancy firm Preethi Naveen and the Chief Operating Officer Naveen Menon have made it certain that the company takes value in their clients as they attempt to understand their clients’ needs and give them exactly what it is that they need when it comes to requirement in real estate, retail, malls and property developers. They do everything they can to provide the best solution in these specialized areas with one team getting involved in more than 4 million sq ft. SPEC MS has one objective which to mainly advice the developer or investor in all aspects possible starting from the possibilities of investing to how it will go on about and helping with the budgeting to carrying out the investment. They help to neatly work out the expenses which the projects will cost in order to make certain that their client will receive profit. In Kerala itself within 7 months they have obtained 6 projects in various locations associating as advisor,

design and development, sales, marketing and construction. As they take each client and their project on with much responsibility, they deliver their service fully and take on challenges of clients as they work on each project with careful attention and dedication.

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Travel

Denisha Sahadevan

All countries have their own cultures, and Thailand is no different as it holds up a culture that dates back to thousands of years, starting even before the founding of the Kingdom of Sukhothai which happens to be the beginning of the modern history of Thailand. Whether you want to go for a weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vacation, or for your honeymoon, this kingdom which is surrounded by crystal blue waters and the breathtaking beauty created solely by nature with its tropical climate consisting of heat and humidity which brings in the tropical monsoons is one of the places in this world which will take you away from reality into another whole world.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Thailand

A Natural Abstract Reality

The Land of Smiles! Located at the center of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia, with Bangkok being the capital, Thailand with a reputation of being the “land of smiles” is known as Kingdom of Thailand (in Thai known as Ratcha Anachak Thai) which was formerly known as Siam. The country which is ruled by a constitutional monarchy has much history. Thailand has been greatly influenced by many of the surrounding countries such as Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. With Thailand also consisting of many temples known as “wat” in Thai, which happens to be the center of many events which take place, the importance which is maintained by religion in a Thai Citizen’s life is well seen. Though the religion scene in Thailand is mainly Buddhism, which is practiced by a figure of 95% of the Thai people,

Thailand is a country which is tolerable and accepting towards any religion in existence. Thai’s are also very welcoming towards anyone’s eagerness to study Buddhism. With religion being very influential, as you travel through Thailand don’t be surprised to find images of senior monks on hung on the walls of homes, and businesses.

Fun Facts and a Bit of History Now here’s a bit of fun history which you will find to be very intriguing. Thailand is a country which was first settled by two groups known as Mon and Khmer and later on by an ethnic group which migrated from southern China known as Tai. And here’s something interesting, Thailand happens to be the only Southeast Asian nation which has never in its history been colonized by the

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 53

You can come across many fake versions of the high end brands such as Rolex watches, Chanel and Gucci bags, so don’t be tricked when you see a Guess watch being sold for an unbelievable price. It’s not the real thing. It’s cheap because it’s fake. For those shopaholics do make a note to visit the Chatuchak weekend market when you are in Bangkok as it is the one place where over 8,000 vendors come together to sell all their products in one place making it a heavenly place for those obsessed with shopping!

Traveling Around the City European powers. Thailand is known to have been a unified kingdom since the mid 14th century known as Siam until 1939, when the name of the country was officially changed to Kingdom of Thailand. Have you ever looked at the map of Thailand? If you take a look you will find that the border of this country is almost in the shape of an elephant’s head! Being the 50th largest country, Thailand holds up a population of around 65 million citizens, and 10 million of these citizens happen to reside in the capital city of Bangkok!

When it Comes to Shopping! Thailand is the place which will not have you going overboard on your budget with your shopping. You can do a lot of street shopping as there are mainly many street shops located all around, where you can find many items being sold at a very cheap rate.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

When you are traveling around the cities of Thailand it is best to travel by taking the metro as it is easily accessible, and much easier than taking a bus. So once you arrive in Thailand it is best that you find the nearest metro before you map out the locations which you are eagerly

awaiting to tour through. If you are not very keen on the idea of taking the metro or the bus, you can hail a taxi, only make sure that you hail a cab which is already driving on the road (a red light will indicate that the taxi is empty), as they will use the meter. If you approach a parked cabbie, they will ask you for a higher fare at an unreasonable rate which will surely take you for a ride. And note this one thing down (as none of us can really imagine a life without cell phones!), if you ever want to make a phone call, you can find pay phones available throughout the country where you can make a call at around 1 bhat per minute for the local calls. But if you do have a cell phone in handy make certain that it is GSM friendly and that you purchase the SIM card at the airport. If you happen to forget buying the SIM card on arrival, you can find SIM cards in the IT markets. If you do

As it happens to be the capital of Thailand, Bangkok known as “the city of angels” to its citizens is a city which has an irresistible charm about it as it is filled with bustling markets, and golden palaces.

not have a GSM friendly phone, you can just as well purchase a cell phone at the airport for a reasonable rate, or a second hand cell phone can be purchased at many locations such as the malls in Bangkok.

Must See Places Bangkok: As it happens to be the capital of Thailand, Bangkok known as “the city of angels” to its citizens is a city which has an irresistible charm about it as it is filled with bustling markets, and golden palaces. Bangkok which is also known as Krung Thep was founded in 1782 by King Rama I, who was the first king of the Chakri dynasty. The beautiful city attracts many tourists to the exotic temples, the shopping malls, and Thailand’s Grand Palace which should go down in

your must see list while you do your sightseeing. You can splurge in the uniqueness of Thailand’s culture in this city all the while enjoying all the luxury which the city offers. Before you set off to another city, don’t miss out on visiting the City Pillar Shrine located at the heart of Bangkok where you can wish for your good fortune and glory! Phuket: A place where you can relax by bathing in the warmth of the sun, while you feel the sand mellow down beneath your feet, and listen to the sound of the sea breezes, Phuket is an island which is part of Thailand where only two seasons exist in the year. One is the green season which spans from May to October and then there’s the hot season, spanning from November to April. There are a number of

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 55

Thai food is spicy, sour, sweet, salty, yet bitter, a mix of everything, creating a treat for your taste buds when you eat a combination of dishes.

activities on this island which will keep you busy such as snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing and many other water sports which you can do once you go to Koh He known as “Coral Island,” located in Phuket. This is the place for the divers and water lovers, who take pleasure in being surrounded by nature. Pattaya: If you’re looking for a weekend full of activities and a nice nightlife, don’t miss out on this beach resort destination which is on the Gulf of Thailand, a two hour drive to the southeast from Bangkok. You can keep yourself busy by windsurfing, water skiing, sailing, taking trips to the nearby islands, bungee jumping, skydiving, and golfing in the various golf courses around Pattaya. The beach resort is known for its wild nightlife, where whether you’re on a tight budget or you have much to spend, you can equally have a very enjoyable unforgettable time. And if you

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

suddenly wish a peaceful time, you can make a visit to the Jomtien beach nearby.

The Cuisine of Thailand As you go about visiting these various alluring destinations in Thailand, after much traveling and sightseeing, you’ll surely want to settle down and have a nice lunch or dinner so make sure that you do not miss out on the wonderful cuisine which Thailand is known for. Thai food is spicy, sour, sweet, salty, yet bitter, a mix of everything, creating a treat for your taste buds when you eat a combination of dishes. Thai cuisine uses fresh herbs like lemon grass, coconut milk that leaves the curries tasting just exquisite and spices, as well as fermented fish sauce in almost every dish which is one thing which the vegetarians should be aware off. Make certain that when you order food that you indicate that you are a vegetarian by saying “jay.” Rice is the main food that is eaten at all meals so when you are ordering,

make sure you don’t forget to get an order of the curries also known as soup, which will leave your mouth watering for more. If you are more of a meat lover, and want to order a plate of fish, or chicken, these dishes will mainly be prepared either stir fried with spices and herbs, or grilled and served with rice. Some restaurants where you can visit in order to have yourself be amazed by the Thai cuisine is Baan Khanitha & Gallery, Baan Rim Pa Restaurant (Thai style teak house), and The Great Hornbill Bistro. So whether you are a newlywed couple on your honeymoon, a bunch of friends planning a getaway, simply taking a family vacation, or going out for a business meeting, you will not find yourself with nothing to do while in the Kingdom of Thailand as you will have many temples to visit, many zoos and aquariums for the children to see, various night venues and restaurants to enjoy, and many malls or markets to do your shopping!

Books

by: David Wiedemer, Robert A. Wiedemer, and Cindy S Spitzer

by: Dave Ramsey

The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition

The Aftershock Investor: A Crash Course in Staying Afloat in a Sinking Economy

his book teaches you just how to get yourself back on the financial track. Dave Ramsey knows his finances, and through his book tries to help his readers to help take a control of their finances so they can get out of their endless debts, and learn to save up money for their retirement. This book on how to handle personal finances will help you to get back on track and out of the rut!

he market isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really look that great for some countries at this time, and this book helps you to learn about the economy and how to learn to protect your investments and profits. It teaches you as to how to buy and own gold and silver, and how to gain profit rather than face a loss as other investments collapse, and gives much advice regarding real estate, retirement, annuities, life insurance and jobs.

by: Sheryl Sandberg

by: T. Hary Eker

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

o what is the difference between desiring success and achieving success? Well this is just the book to help you find out. Eker breaks down your personal finances and using that helps determine where and how your financial life will be later on. This book helps you to look at your financial life and revise it into a positive way so as to help you later on in the future.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

heryl Sandberg takes a look at why women have faced a curb in achieving leadership roles in the business world as even after many years of women achieving much success, it seems as if men are still upholding most of the leadership positions in the industry. She goes onto explain the causes behind such problems and goes onto offering solutions which can help women to achieve success and reach great heights.

by: John C. Maxwell

by: Rose George

Ninety Percent of Everything Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate

ooking at the title, you might be thinking this is very complex, but know that anything with this long of a title is worth the read! This book is like a wakeup call and holds to be very motivational as it helps to one understand the workings and the threats which lay to the economy, the environment and the civilization.

The 5 Levels of Leadership Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential

his is another book which focuses on leadership, teaching you about the five levels of leadership which happen to be position, permission, production, people development, and pinnacle. Using humor and insightfulness, Maxwell teaches about the stages of leadership. This book teaches you how to develop as a leader and how to built a team which helps produce results.

by: Mark Miller

by: Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers: The Story of Success

The Heart of Leadership Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow

his book is just what the title describes it to be, a very motivational piece where stories of success are told. Gladwell who is known to be a very influential writer and a journalist in U.S. has an ability to make a connection with his audiences who happen to be of various interests and this book is just a way of showing how capable he is of making this connection as he inspires with his words.

his book is short and a very easy read through which habits which essentially determines a leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success is shown through. Miller teaches the leaders as to how to develop these habits in a story like format which helps audiences who aspire to be leaders to get on track with their career.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 59

Auto Review

Nissan

Terrano B

adge engineering is the new operative word in the auto industry. In a nutshell, it is two or more car manufacturers teaming up to make the same car and selling it under their own brand names with minor cosmetic touches thus saving up on huge R&D and manufacturing costs. It also helps one of them gain entry into a segment of the market where they need to have presence, without having to develop a new model from grounds up. There are many examples to cite, like the Vento-Rapid twins from VW-Skoda, the Sunny-Scala and the Micra-Pulse twins from Renault-Nissan; and the latest to join the bandwagon is the

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Nissan Terrano. It is basically a Renault Duster in Japanese clothing and Nissanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entry ticket to the burgeoning compact SUV segment. Unlike the previous badge engineering exercises like the Sunny- Scala and the Micra-Pulse, the Terrano looks like a much more thorough job. It looks like a proper Nissan SUV than a Duster that has been worked upon. The three piece chrome front grille and the square-ish headlamps lend it a rather chunky feel helped of course by the V shaped bonnet. There is a nice detailing on the front bumper and the refreshed face looks a lot more cheerful than the Duster. The Terrano has many more sheet metal changes around the doors compared to the Duster, with a lower crease replacing the arc along the middle. The B and C pillars have blackened out look and the top end model gets some tasty looking alloy wheels too. The tail gate and bumper are also all new and the rear gets new combination lamps that extend on to the bumper, making the car look wider. Nissan has got the styling spot-on with the Terrano.

The Nissan Terrano comes with the same 1.5-litre dCi diesel power plant in two states of tune – 84bhp and 109bhp and 103bhp 1.6-litre DOHC petrol engine.

The Terrano is a very timely initiative by Nissan to cash in on the huge demand for compact SUVs. It has successfully managed to differentiate the Terrano from its Romanian cousin.

Move to the inside, there’s more beige trim than in the Duster; except in the base version which gets grey trim. The Nissan comes with a different steering wheel with silver-finish inserts, however there are no columnmounted controls for the audio system. Rectangular air-con vents replace the round cheap looking vents on the Duster and the centre console gets a storage space on top with a lid on top. The CD player is new and comes with Bluetooth mobile connectivity and USB inputs. The non OEM style integration of the power window controls and the knob for the electric mirrors under the handbrake lever are minor irritants from the Duster that have been carried over to the Terrano. There is sufficient space for all passengers and seating position is quite good both front and rear. The Nissan Terrano comes with the same 1.5-litre dCi diesel power plant in two states of tune – 84bhp and 109bhp and 103bhp 1.6-litre DOHC petrol engine. As in the Duster, it is only the 109bhp diesel version that gets the six speed gearbox while the other two get regular five speed boxes. The 109bhp has good midrange performance, but it is the 84bhp version that I would recommend. It has adequate performance for most occasions, but doesn’t have the turbolag that plagues the 109bhp version.

Power delivery is quite linear and builds up from 1400rpm and this makes for a very pleasant driving experience in the city. Couple that to the light steering and good visibility, and we have a great city car. Problems? The gearbox would do with some more precision and the engine could be a bit more refined, but I am really nitpicking here. As for the ride, the Duster has been our pick of the SUV lot for its price, and the Terrano is no different. It rides impeccably well over broken roads and glides over speed bumps. It gets better when you are driving faster too, which means you can drive over broken roads at very high speeds and not feel disconcerted at all. The handling too is good for an SUV with soft suspension, but you do wish the steering offered a bit more feel and feedback when you are driving fast. There is a bit of body roll, but the Terrano acquits itself as a decent car to drive. Straight line stability is good and braking is positive too. The Terrano is a very timely initiative by Nissan to cash in on the huge demand for compact SUVs. It has successfully managed to differentiate the Terrano from its Romanian cousin. Pricing is yet unclear but it could be at least Rs.50-60000 dearer than the Duster. Still, we think it is worth the extra money for the styling and improved interiors.

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 61

Marketing Lexicon

Absolute Advantage AIDA

hen a country has the capacity to produce goods at a lower cost than another country, it is said to have an absolute production advantage. Even if a country has an absolute advantage in the production of all goods, it can still gain from specialization and trade if it has a comparative advantage in the production of any good.

A An approach to understanding how advertising and selling supposedly work. The assumption is that the consumer passes through several steps in the influence process. First, Attention must be developed, to be followed by Interest, Desire, and finally Action as called for in the message. Another, but similar, scheme was developed by Lavidge and Steiner in 1961, later to be dubbed the AIDA: Hierarchy of Effects Model by Palda in 1966. This approach involves the hierarchy of effects: awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and finally purchase in that order. Note the similarity to the adoption process.

Affinities Affinities A tendency for similar or complementary retail stores to be located in close proximity to one another. For example, furniture stores in a city may be located in close proximity to one another in order to facilitate consumer comparison shopping.

Adaptive Selling An approach to personal selling in which selling behaviors are altered during the sales interaction or across customer interactions, based on information about the nature of the selling situation.

Absolute Advantage The learning of the behaviours and mores of a culture other than the one in which the individual was raised. For example, acculturation is the process by which a recent immigrant to the U.S. learns the American way of life. 2. (consumer behaviour definition) The process by which people in one culture or subculture learn to understand and adapt to the norms, values, life styles, and behaviours of people in another culture or subculture.

UNIQUE TIMES November 2013

Source: American Marketing Association

Financial Lexicon

Net present value

business metric that represents the average cost per unit of output over the long run, where all inputs are considered to be variable. Long-term unit costs are almost always less than short-term unit costs because in a long-term time frame, companies have the flexibility to change big components of their operations, such as factories, to achieve optimal efficiency. A goal of both company management and investors is to determine the lower bounds of LRATC.

Book Value of Equity per Share - BVPS

financial measure that represents a per share assessment of the minimum value of a company's equity. More specifically, this value is determined by relating the original value of a firm's common stock adjusted for any outflow (dividends and stock buybacks) and inflow (retained earnings) modifiers to the amount of shares outstanding.

'Debt-Service Coverage Ratio - DSCR'

n corporate finance, it is the amount of cash flow available to meet annual interest and principal payments on debt, including sinking fund payments. In government finance, it is the amount of export earnings needed to meet annual interest and principal payments on a country's external debts. In personal finance, it is a ratio used by bank loan officers in determining income property loans. This ratio should ideally be over 1. That would mean the property is generating enough income to pay its debt obligations.

Public-Private Partnerships

business relationship between a private-sector company and a government agency for the purpose of completing a project that will serve the public. Public-private partnerships can be used to finance, build and operate projects such as public transportation networks, parks and convention centers. Financing a project through a public-private partnership can allow a project to be completed sooner or make it a possibility in the first place.

Source: Investopedia.com

November 2013 UNIQUE TIMES 63

RNI Reg. No: KERENG/2011/42633