Gillette has approx. 29,400 employees. Again, assuming they're all of equal
worth, that means that the purchase price puts a value of $1.9 million per
person. D'ya think they'll even see 1% of that as a transition bonus?
Synergy?Batteries and toilet paper?
So I guess the answer is
obvious.
What's the point?Because they can!
We must all celebrate the opening up of what used to be a western club.
Some regard Lakshmi Mittal as the pioneer of Asia's ascent: after all, he
created the world's largest steel empire three decades ago. However, whatever
his ethnic origin, he was a British-based businessman. The real pioneer, I
believe, was China's Lenovo, which back in 2005 took over the personal computer
business of IBM, the company that had invented the PC in the first place. Since
then, Chinese and Indian acquisitions across the globe have been swift and fast,
and capitalism has become truly global in ownership. Infosys became the world's
biggest consulting group when it took over Accenture. And Tata Motors became the
world's largest auto company when it rescued General Motors from the brink of
bankruptcy. Many of us in here flew in on United Jet Airlines, created when BBC was put up for privatisation this year, the highest
bid came from Prannoy Roy's New Delhi TV. But the deal has been held up because
the British Labour Party opposes takeover by a foreigner. Similarly, several
senators in the USA want to stall the takeover of The New York Times by The
Times of India. The outsourcing debate refuses to die either. US Senators
complain that 20 million jobs have been outsourced to India in the last three
decades. True, but high-income jobs have replaced low-wage ones in the USA.
Besides, India is now a high income country that attracts only high-skilled
jobs. China and India have moved up the skill ladder, and the poorest countries
are now becoming the back offices of the world. Low-skilled outsourcing now
benefits mainly Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania and Nepal, spreading the benefits of
globalisation to once-neglected remote corners.
Hiring is one area where we tend to fall into the "dark side" of rapid cognition, says Gladwell. He conducted a study to showcase how we often succumb to what he calls the "Warren Harding error" (Harding being, he says, "one of the worst presidents in American history," who nevertheless radiated "all that was presidential"). Polling about half of the Fortune 500 companies, Gladwell discovered that the vast majority of their CEOs were at least 6 feet tall (only about 14.5% of all American men are 6 feet or taller). What does this say about the way we hire? "We have a sense of what a leader is supposed to look like," he writes. "And that stereotype is so powerful that when someone fits it, we simply become blind to other considerations."
Linked In has leveled the playing field on both sides of the recruitment process. Recruiters get to save time and money while jobseekers are elevated from faceless pieces of CV meat trapped inside a blackhole. What happens next will be very interesting…
...diversity is a 21st century business priority — a driver for revenue andIt employs a Knowledge Manager who reviews the media for news up-and-coming diverse talent. Recruiters at Spencer must try to present diverse candidates for every search assignment.
a means of creating the dynamic, adaptable workforce a global economy
demands....We believe that heterogeneous groups make better decisions....
Why aren't we promoting a local blog? Well, you know what we say when we outsource to India: "They may not be Canadian but "By Ghosh the price is right!"
Consistently blogging good stuff on Management and HR from an Indian
point of view.
