Articles by S L Rao

S L Rao The difficulties of brand building in the Indian setting and the rewards that accrue to companies that strive to build additional values in their products so that they develop a preference in their customers' minds and become brands. Ownership and country of origin are not the issue. Value addition as recognised by the customer is.

The Indian Dinosaurs S L Rao The deed is done and the clock cannot be put back The Indian economy is open to foreign investment Competition has come into almost all sectors of industry, and will increase. This has already benefited the Indian consumer. It is making the economy more efficient in using resources. This process must accelerate. Indian companies have had six years to prepare themselves. A new breed of entrepreneurs is emerging who are able to operate successfully in this new changed environment Old companies which do not wish to change are our dinosaurs. It is in the interest of the country's future growth and competitiveness that they become extinct.

Labour Adjustment as Part of Industrial Restructuring Human Dimensions of Liberalisation S L Rao Changes in labour legislation or 'exit' policies and compensation to workers through the National Renewal Fund are only of cosmetic value in bringing about industrial restructuring and labour adjustment. At the national level what the country needs are policies towards literacy, education, training and retraining of the workforce and making the workforce and managements accountable for their performance.

Identifying target consumers and their different segments, positioning products in the segments, developing differentiation in the product, being sensitive to product life in a changing environment

S L Rao devoted a whole issue to Marketing Management in 1973 (Review of Management, August 25). The industrial climate in India has changed radically since then. There is a much larger base of production of consumer and industrial goods. There is a much larger middle class. The availability of media for advertising, and especially, television, has vastly improved in reach. But the most important change is that Indian industry is facing competition. In 1973, some of the consumer products industries had competitions and a total availability of production in excess of demand, giving the consumer a choice of brands. Even in those industries the competition was perhaps not in the same class as in the industrialised countries. Manufacturers were not able to go all out in improving products to meet rising consumer expectations because of restrictions in imports of materials, machinery and know-how, and their own unwillingness to invest in research and development. In the case of industrial products and consume! durables the position was that a licence to produce almost guaranteed a market for the production. Licensing was related to govern ment forecasts of market demand growth, which were many times wrong and not all licences got converted into production, or not in time.