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 Crossword, a leading lifestyle bookstore chain, and India’s leading publisher, Penguin Books India, celebrated the publication of scholar-manager S Ramachander’s book 'Manager at Work: A Practitioner’s Guide to Being The Best' at Crossword Bookstore, T
Nagar, Chennai.
What are the challenges that face the 21st century manager today? What is the impact of relentless change on managers? These were some of the questions that formed part of the discussion between the author and guests, A Satish Kumar, managing director, Henkel India Ltd, and Arun Bewoor, managing director, International Flavors and Fragrances.
"'Manager at Work' offers practical advice on how to ensure process and discipline in manufacturing, quality and vendor management, and explores ways of managing risk without sacrificing an experimental attitude," remarked the author. "Today's manager must grapple with apparent opposites and paradoxes and develop a nuanced view that includes complexity and uncertainty," he added.
Satish Kumar said, "Keeping in mind Ramachander’s vast personal experience as a manager, I am certain that this book will provide insights and key pointers to present-day managers on the various tools and skills required to fight competition."
"This book is an essential introduction for the practising manager aiming for excellence in a brave new world of infinite opportunities. Ramachander’s book is a must for all managers in the present-day who want to quickly and innovatively adapt themselves to the ever-changing environment to tackle competition," added Arun
Bewoor.
India is one of the most vibrant economies in the world and is increasingly being perceived as a market with unlimited prospects. However, it is no easy task for the Indian manager to survive and prosper in this scenario of intense competition. What tools and skills does he need, then, to tackle the flip side of entrepreneurial freedom and opportunity? 'Manager at Work' provides a fresh and practical perspective from scholar-manager S Ramachander who has drawn on almost four decades of experience, a good part of it as a top-rung manager and head of a management school.
The book’s central idea is that managing business is about building and nurturing relationships in two ways - by building a creative culture and a facilitative organisation internally, and by building reputations and loyalty to brand identities externally.
Ramachander emphasises that the competitive world of a manager in practice is neither linear nor predictable as markets are constantly morphing and the principles of marketing continuously changing.
He is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and Harvard Business School. He honed his multiple talents working in companies such as Hindustan Lever, Pond’s, TI Cycles, Shaw Wallace and JWT in a range of functions including Marketing, Corporate Planning and business unit head or CEO. He was Director, Institute for Financial Management & Research, Chennai, till 2004 and taught marketing as a visiting professor at IIM-A (1983-1999) as well as collaborative courses with the Michigan Business School and Carnegie-Mellon, USA.
His long career in management has straddled both the professional and the professorial facets and his rich and varied career has prepared him well for his present role of management mentor and writer. He is the author of 'Ascending the Value Spiral'. He has also written extensively for management journals and newspapers in India and abroad.
R Rangaraj
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