5S is a standard tool that is used prior to many continuous improvement efforts that helps you get things organized and gets your associates prepared for larger scale activities. The 5S breakdown goes like this:


Japanese English Translation
Seiri Sort
Seiton Set or Stabilize (a place for everything)
Seiso Shine (clean)
Seiketsu Standardize
Shitsuke Sustain (discipline)


First you start off by sorting the work area and eliminate anything that is not needed. If it is something needed but not used often it may be relocated to a storage area. Tag items that are not needed with a red tag and have a red tag hold area where these items can be reviewed before disposing.

Secondly set everything in a proper location, or a place for everything and everything in its place. this makes things easier for associates to find when they need it. This is also a useful tool for office areas as well.

Third is a very thorough cleaning of the area. At this point only needed items should be in the area and cleaning should be easy.

Fourth create written standards on how the area should be maintained and cleaned. Clear expectations and checksheets remove any question or room for error. Make sure these are audited regularly. You have also set a new standard for all other areas to follow.

Lastly is sustain or the discipline to follow thru. This tends to be the area where most companies fail. They make progress and expect is to last without follow-up or management involvement. Human nature tends to let things go if they are not monitored closely.

A MOVE FROM THE 2S MODEL TO THE 7S MODEL........EVOLUTION











How do you go about analyzing how well your organization is positioned to achieve its intended objective? This is a question that has been asked for many years, and there are many different answers. Some approaches look at internal factors, others look at external ones, some combine these perspectives, and others look for congruence between various aspects of the organization being studied. Ultimately, the issue comes down to which factors to study.

While some models of organizational effectiveness go in and out of fashion, one that has persisted is the McKinsey 7S framework. Developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, two consultants working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful.

The 7S model can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful, for example to help you:
Improve the performance of a company;
Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company;
Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition; or
Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy.


The Seven Elements
The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors which are categorized as either "hard" or "soft" elements:

HARD:-Strategy,Structure,Systems

SOFT:-Shared Values,Skills,Style,Staff

“Hard” elements are easier to define or identify and management can directly influence them: These are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems.

“Soft” elements, on the other hand, can be more difficult to describe, and are less tangible and more influenced by culture. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful.

Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition.

Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom.

Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done.

Shared Values: called “superordinate goals” when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic.

Style: the style of leadership adopted.

Staff: the employees and their general capabilities.

Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company.

Placing Shared Values in the middle of the model emphasizes that these values are central to the development of all the other critical elements. The company’s structure, strategy, systems, style, staff and skills all stem from why the organization was originally created, and what it stands for. The original vision of the company was formed from the values of the creators. As the values change, so do all the other elements.

How to Use the Model
Now you know what the model covers, how can you use it?

The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change.

Whatever the type of change – restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on – the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration.

You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. It’s then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint.

Sounds simple? Well, of course not: Changing your organization probably will not be simple at all! Whole books and methodologies are dedicated to analyzing organizational strategy, improving performance and managing change. The 7S model is a good framework to help you ask the right questions – but it won’t give you all the answers. For that you’ll need to bring together the right knowledge, skills and experience.

When it comes to asking the right questions, we’ve developed a Mind Tools checklist and a matrix to keep track of how the seven elements align with each other. Supplement these with your own questions, based on your organization’s specific circumstances and accumulated wisdom.

7S Checklist Questions

Here are some of the questions that you'll need to explore to help you understand your situation in terms of the 7S framework. Use them to analyze your current (Point A) situation first, and then repeat the exercise for your proposed situation (Point B).

Strategy:

What is our strategy?
How to we intend to achieve our objectives?
How do we deal with competitive pressure?
How are changes in customer demands dealt with?
How is strategy adjusted for environmental issues?


Structure:

How is the company/team divided?
What is the hierarchy?
How do the various departments coordinate activities?
How do the team members organize and align themselves?
Is decision making and controlling centralized or decentralized? Is this as it should be, given what we're doing?
Where are the lines of communication? Explicit and implicit?


Systems:

What are the main systems that run the organization? Consider financial and HR systems as well as communications and document storage.
Where are the controls and how are they monitored and evaluated?
What internal rules and processes does the team use to keep on track?
Shared Values:
What are the core values?
What is the corporate/team culture?
How strong are the values?
What are the fundamental values that the company/team was built on?



Style:

How participative is the management/leadership style?
How effective is that leadership?
Do employees/team members tend to be competitive or cooperative?
Are there real teams functioning within the organization or are they just nominal groups?


Staff:

What positions or specializations are represented within the team?
What positions need to be filled?
Are there gaps in required competencies?


Skills:

What are the strongest skills represented within the company/team?
Are there any skills gaps?
What is the company/team known for doing well?
Do the current employees/team members have the ability to do the job?
How are skills monitored and assessed?


UNDER GIVEN IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE 7S WORKSHEET WILL LOOK....

The BCG matrix (aka B.C.G. analysis, BCG-matrix, Boston Box, Boston Matrix, Boston Consulting Group analysis) is a chart that had been created by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 to help corporations with analyzing their business units or product lines. This helps the company allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management, and portfolio analysis.

Cash cows are units with high market share in a slow-growing industry. These units typically generate cash in excess of the amount of cash needed to maintain the business. They are regarded as staid and boring, in a "mature" market, and every corporation would be thrilled to own as many as possible. They are to be "milked" continuously with as little investment as possible, since such investment would be wasted in an industry with low growth.


Dogs, or more charitably called pets, are units with low market share in a mature, slow-growing industry. These units typically "break even", generating barely enough cash to maintain the business's market share. Though owning a break-even unit provides the social benefit of providing jobs and possible synergies that assist other business units, from an accounting point of view such a unit is worthless, not generating cash for the company. They depress a profitable company's return on assets ratio, used by many investors to judge how well a company is being managed. Dogs, it is thought, should be sold off.


Question marks (also known as problem child) are growing rapidly and thus consume large amounts of cash, but because they have low market shares they do not generate much cash. The result is a large net cash consumption. A question mark has the potential to gain market share and become a star, and eventually a cash cow when the market growth slows. If the question mark does not succeed in becoming the market leader, then after perhaps years of cash consumption it will degenerate into a dog when the market growth declines. Question marks must be analyzed carefully in order to determine whether they are worth the investment required to grow market share.


Stars are units with a high market share in a fast-growing industry. The hope is that stars become the next cash cows. Sustaining the business unit's market leadership may require extra cash, but this is worthwhile if that's what it takes for the unit to remain a leader. When growth slows, stars become cash cows if they have been able to maintain their category leadership, or they move from brief stardom to dogdom.

As a particular industry matures and its growth slows, all business units become either cash cows or dogs. The natural cycle for most business units is that they start as question marks, then turn into stars. Eventually the market stops growing thus the business unit becomes a cash cow. At the end of the cycle the cash cow turns into a dog.


The overall goal of this ranking was to help corporate analysts decide which of their business units to fund, and how much; and which units to sell. Managers were supposed to gain perspective from this analysis that allowed them to plan with confidence to use money generated by the cash cows to fund the stars and, possibly, the question marks. As the BCG stated in 1970:


Only a diversified company with a balanced portfolio can use its strengths to truly capitalize on its growth opportunities. The balanced portfolio has:
stars whose high share and high growth assure the future;
cash cows that supply funds for that future growth; and
question marks to be converted into stars with the added funds

Introduction

With the opening up of the insurance sector and with so many players entering the Indian insurance industry, it is required by the insurance companies to come up with innovative products, create more consumer awareness about their products and offer them at a competitive price. New entrants in the insurance sector had no difficulty in matching their products with the customers' needs and offering them at a price acceptable to the customer.

But, insurance not being an off the shelf product and one which requiring personal counseling and persuasion, distribution posed a major challenge for the insurance companies. Further insurable population of over 1 billion spread all over the country has made the traditional channels of the insurance companies costlier. Also due to heavy competition, insurers do not enjoy the flexibility of incurring heavy distribution expenses and passing them to the customer in the form of high prices.

With these developments and increased pressures in combating competition, companies are forced to come up with innovative techniques to market their products and services. At this juncture, banking sector with it's far and wide reach, was thought of as a potential distribution channel, useful for the insurance companies. This union of the two sectors is what is known as Bancassurance.

What is Bancassurance?

Bancassurance is the distribution of insurance products through the bank's distribution channel. It is a phenomenon wherein insurance products are offered through the distribution channels of the banking services along with a complete range of banking and investment products and services. To put it simply, Bancassurance, tries to exploit synergies between both the insurance companies and banks.

Bancassurance if taken in right spirit and implemented properly can be win-win situation for the all the participants' viz., banks, insurers and the customer.

Advantages to banks

• Productivity of the employees increases.
• By providing customers with both the services under one roof, they can improve overall customer satisfaction resulting in higher customer retention levels.
• Increase in return on assets by building fee income through the sale of insurance products.
• Can leverage on face-to-face contacts and awareness about the financial conditions of customers to sell insurance products.
• Banks can cross sell insurance products Eg: Term insurance products with loans.

Advantages to insurers

• Insurers can exploit the banks' wide network of branches for distribution of products. The penetration of banks' branches into the rural areas can be utilized to sell products in those areas.
• Customer database like customers' financial standing, spending habits, investment and purchase capability can be used to customize products and sell accordingly.
• Since banks have already established relationship with customers, conversion ratio of leads to sales is likely to be high. Further service aspect can also be tackled easily.

Advantages to consumers

• Comprehensive financial advisory services under one roof. i.e., insurance services along with other financial services such as banking, mutual funds, personal loans etc.
• Enhanced convenience on the part of the insured
• Easy access for claims, as banks are a regular go.
• Innovative and better product ranges








Issues to be tackled

Given the roles and diverse skills brought by the banks and insurers to a Bancassurance tie up, it is expected that road to a successful alliance would not be an easy task. Some of the issues that are to be addressed are:

1. The tie-ups need to develop innovative products and services rather than depend on the traditional methods. The kinds of products the banks would be allowed to sell are another major issue. For instance, a complex unit-linked life insurance product is better sold through brokers or agents, while a standard term product or simple products like auto insurance, home loan and accident insurance cover can be handled by bank branches
2. There needs to be clarity on the operational activities of the bancassurance i.e., who will do the branding, will the insurance company prefer to place a person at the bank branch, or will the bank branch train and put up one of its own people, remuneration of these people.
3. Even though the banks are in personal contact with their clients, a high degree of pro-active marketing and skill is required to sell the insurance products. This can be addressed through proper training.
4. There are hazards of direct competition to conventional banking products. Bank personnel may become resistant to sell insurance products since they might think they would become redundant if savings were diverted from banks to their insurance subsidiaries.


Conclusion

With huge untapped market, insurance sector is likely to witness a lot of activity - be it product innovation or distribution channel mix. Bancassurance, the emerging distribution channel for the insurers, will have a large impact on Indian financial services industry. Traditional methods of distributing financial services would be challenged and innovative, customized products would emerge.

Banks will bring in customer database, leverage their name recognition and reputation at both local and regional levels, make use of the personal contact with their clients, which a new entrant cannot, as they are new to the industry.

In customer point of view, a plethora of products would be available to him. More customized products would come into existence and that too all within a hands reach.

Finally Success of the bancassurance would mostly depend on how well insurers and banks understand each other's businesses and seize the opportunities presented, weeding out differences that are likely to crop up.

Cyber insurance is fast becoming a necessity for companies. For the Insurers it promises to open up a new avenue of growth. Only time will tell if cyber insurance turns out to be manna from heaven, but all the big players have lined up to claim their shares…..

Even as pundits started talking about the saturation of the Insurance industry in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a new vista appears to be opening up for the industry. As yet largely untapped and unmeasured, it seems to be just what the doctor ordered for rejuvenating a sector considered by many to be in the stagnation phase of its product life cycle by promising a very lucrative growth phase. Like all growth phases, it is uncertain and ridden with risk. The early adopters are there, waiting for the product and just like all growth markets the sky is the limit for pricing. Yes, we are talking about cyber insurance, a new segment with the potential to put the insurance industry back on the growth path.

Why cyber insurance

Let's face it - what is the most dreaded thing today? Fire? Well, the insurers take care of that, don't they? Death of the director, maybe… Nope the insurers are there again with their key person insurance. Loss of data, right? Well we all have excellent disaster recovery plans - and the back up sits in such idyllic locations as Alaska, so no problem there either! Traditional insurance covers just about everything a Brick and Mortar Company can face today.

But what if someone defaces your site with inflammatory messages leaving everybody visiting your site doubting your credibility? What if someone steals your cyber money? If someone introduces a virus into your system and all your partner companies' systems go kaput, who answers? Talking of which, who do you think is responsible should a partner's system inadvertently infect your site with a virus? When someone steals your customer information, are you responsible for the breach (especially in the wake of stringent legislation like HIPAA..)?

The Ecommerce world thus poses a range of risks - fraud, theft, espionage and a million other such things.

It's clear, the more technology advances and increases the quality of life, the more will the cyber crime brains help keep the economy from becoming hyper efficient.

A recent CSI/ FBI survey*** of 223 companies that were able to estimate their financial losses due to cyber crime, revealed the figure to be a whopping $460 million. Theft of proprietary information accounted for 37% of the estimated loss while fraud set the companies back by about 25%.

The risk is undoubtedly there and the need for insurance imminent. The question we need to ask is whether there something we can do about it. The answer seems to be cyber insurance.

The hour has produced the product, but it's still as naïve and immature as a newborn baby. But at least, it's begun and a good start is half done. So let's leap into the brave new world of cyber insurance and how the future looks. Before we do so however, we need to understand the evolving relationship between the Internet and the Insurance industry.

The Insurance-Internet compatibility puzzle

Insurance and the Internet were expected to hit off like vanilla ice-cream and the neighbor's five year old kid. Didn't work though - while consumers took to online Financial services with gusto, for some reason they avoided online insurance. The reasons prescribed for this lukewarm response to online insurance purchase are manifold.
• - A META group study determined that only 24% of the insurance companies had aggregator site presence and even these companies "do not know what, if any, benefits, are being gained from it for lead generation/sales or brand recognition, because there are no measurement criteria being applied." The report goes on to predict that the banks and financial services will benefit from this reluctance on the part of Insurance companies to recognize and participate in the e-world.
• - A Booz Allen Hamilton study in 1999, pointed out three reasons for online Insurance faring badly. To quote, "First is product complexity and regulation. Second, insurance companies continue to struggle with the cost and complexity of Internet-based sales capabilities and do not expect cost reduction from building these capabilities. Third, these companies are still very dependent on, or influenced by, agents/brokers and are therefore reluctant to offer online sales capabilities.


Whether it was an attitude or an aptitude problem, the Internet and the Insurance industry were as oil and water. Even as the "experts" began talking about the "traditional" mindset of the industry, a disturbing trend began burgeoning in the fathomless depths of the e-world - that of cyber crime.

Suddenly, people realized that they had practically no weapon to protect themselves from cyber-crime. And the insurers began - albeit cautiously - recognizing that a market, staggering in its vastness was here for them to exploit.

Major Players and Products in market

AIG, Chubb, Marsh and a host of others have already entered the fray with a host of policies covering different types and levels of cyber risk. While third party insurance is more commonly offered, first party products have also begun to appear.

Recent reports from studies by reputed bodies indicate that Ecommerce Insurance would generate $2.5 Billion in premium by 2005. In anticipation of this boom, the players have started offering products that cover all the key risks specific to the new economy.

A presentation from AIG summarizes the risks which are most relevant today* - Web Content based liability (libel, slander, copyright and trademark infringement), Professional Errors and Omissions Liability such as in the rendering or failing to render professional services for others for a fee and Network Security Liability & Loss. All these risks can now be covered, albeit in a limited way.

Trends and Issues

While the industry is now getting a good handle on the key risks that need to be insured, the science of quantifying cyber risks is still in its infancy.Traditionally, the actuaries had a lot of historical data, which helped them predict the incidence of risks to a nicety. Errors in estimation were few and far in between. The definition of the fine print in the policies was rather water tight too - both the insurers and the companies knew what was being offered and what wasn't (sure there were quite a few disputed claims - but then now we are stepping into the lawyer market!).

With cyber insurance, none of this is true. Historical data is scarce, and what little is there is not cast in stone either. Estimations of damage due to virus attacks vary dramatically. The perceptions of possible future risks are equally volatile. Companies and the insurers have no real answers.

The result is that we have rather expensive guesstimates - in 2001, the average annual cyber policy premium was $45,000 with a $10 million liability limit**. One other issue is the rather low liability limit. While liability coverage of over $100 million may interest a corporate behemoth, cyber insurance today offers a very low liability coverage ($10M to $25M).

Endpoint

Taxes, death and the Internet are here to stay, no doubt about that. The question though is how cyber insurance will grow over the years.It is clear that lack of enough data and the resulting uncertainty is proving to be a bit of a dampener. The smaller companies are content with lower coverage but at low premiums while the corporate types may be willing to part with sizeable premiums but need large coverage. The insurance companies today are able to provide only limited coverage at rather exorbitant prices.

The solution seems to be in the hands of the IT consultants. These people understand technology better than most and need to be in a position to evaluate future risks to survive in the industry. Thus, they are perhaps best equipped to help the insurance companies predict the risks and define premiums.

Perhaps comprehensive technological audits in view of a company's current technological infrastructure and future Ecommerce needs are the key to success, perhaps not. One thing is however clear - a "brave new world" is unfolding. There will be successes and failures, but the biggest victors will be those who get their hands dirty first. And given the insurance industry's propensity for taking advantage of opportunities in managing risks optimally, it looks like cyber crime is one fish that isn't going to get away lightly!

In the theory of firm's capital structure and financing decisions, the Pecking Order Theory or Pecking Order Model was developed by Stewart C. Myers in 1984. It states that companies prioritize their sources of financing (from internal financing to equity) according to the law of least effort, or of least resistance, preferring to raise equity as a financing means “of last resort”. Hence, internal funds are used first, and when that is depleted, debt is issued, and when it is not sensible to issue any more debt, equity is issued. This theory maintains that businesses adhere to a hierarchy of financing sources and prefer internal financing when available, and debt is preferred over equity if external financing is required.


Tests of the Pecking Order Theory have not been able to show that it is of first order importance in determining firm's capital structure; however, several authors have also been able to find that there are instances where it is a good approximation to reality.

1) Do not ever let anyone take you for granted.( if presentations are to be made together then make sure they are.....don't tolerate freeloaders.......you'll find many where ever you are)


2)Be a part of social sites and see whats happening on the other side of the fence....but.....do not do PR and bitch about your colleagues or institute or personal life for the heck of it.....you never know who is watching)


3)Do not try to be the extra smart sincere student of the group always in the limelight because of brilliant work and questions...you will find favour only with the teachers...and alienate ur classmates.......thats not so important but you will lose your surprise value during placements or in situation which matters..


4)Try not to put on too much weight...b schools make u put on weight.all those sitting around sessions...late night coffees munching and tea........body clocks go haywire ....

5)Try getting your regular 8 hours sleep no matter what...15 minute naps help....don't worry you'll be dog tired anyway....so you'll be able to get cat naps........do this or youll lose memory soon and exams will not be so much fun when u have two or tree papers per day without gaps.........


6)Don't just go with the flow...companies like people with individuality and not just jargon spouting cookie cuts.......if ur one of the crowd....its ok but try to have ur own USP.....it helps ........u need to have a differentiator..........


7)Don't smoke and drink excessively just because of peer pressure and because its so hip etc..........that combined with rich food, a sedentary lifestyle is a sure way to obesity.

8) Don't tell your mum and dad everything that happens in a b school...they wouldnt understand and will worry overmuch...


9)Start reading newspapers and journals and magazines if you are not into the habit of doing so.....its all about being well informed and street smart...the Dhirubhai's didn't go to Harvard .....


10)Never risk your career for anything and be focused at all times..........don't get depressed.....shit happens to everyone.........read that book SNAPSHOTS FROM HELL........helps.......and try not to please everone..you cant do it anyway..

:)


All the Best