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STUDY OF DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS
AND READERSHIP SURVEY OF
BUSINESSGYAN
A Dissertation submitted in partial requirements for the
award of MBA Degree of Bangalore University
By
Ms Vibha Shetty
(Reg no: 04XQCM6116)
Under the guidance of
Prof. Jairaj Nair
MPBIM, Bangalore
M.P. Birla Institute of Management,Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
No 53, Race Course Road,
Bangalore-560001
2006
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objective of the readership study was to identify needs of
Businessgyan readers and to make recommendations to enhance
readers satisfaction in the Businessgyan.
The objectives of the distribution study was to examine the
visibility of Businessgyan in the distribution outlets and to
identify how visibility can be improved in the distribution centers
This research investigation is analytical in nature. We seek to
generate the data for the research analysis through an interview
schedule to be administered on the readers and the data so
generated will be subject to analysis and inferences will be drawn
accordingly.
Businessgyan was found to be popular for its practical
information especially to human resource managers and facility
managers. It was also noticed that the articles and practical
information sections are the most preferred among the other
content in the magazine.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Declaration
I hereby declare that this dissertation entitled, STUDY OF
DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS AND READERSHIPSURVEY OF BUSINESSGYAN is a bonafide study, completed
under the guidance and supervision of Prof. Jairaj Nair, Adjunct
Professor, M.P.Birla Institute of Management, Bangalore. (Internal
Guide) and Mr. Balaji, Businessgyan Bangalore (External Guide).
I further declare that this dissertation is the result of my own efforts
and that it has not been submitted to any other University or Institute
for the award of a degree or diploma or any degree or other similar
title of recognition.
Place: Bangalore
(Ms.Vibha Shetty)
Date:
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Certificate
I hereby certify that this dissertation entitled STUDY OF
DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS AND READERSHIP
SURVEY OF BUSINESSGYAN has been prepared by Ms.Vibha
Shetty under the guidance and supervision of Prof. Jairaj Nair,
Adjunct Professor, M.P.Birla Institute of Management, Bangalore.
(Internal Guide) and Mr. Balaji, Businessgyan, Bangalore (External
Guide)
Place: Bangalore
Date:
(Dr.Nagesh S Malavalli)
Principal
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Certificate
I hereby certify that this dissertation entitled STUDY OF
DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS AND READERSHIP
SURVEY OF BUSINESSGYAN is the result of research work
carried out by Ms. Vibha Shetty under my guidance and supervision.
Place: Bangalore
Date: (Dr. Jairaj Nair)
Internal Guide
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my project guide,
Prof Jairaj Nair, for highlighting certain aspects that I needed to
cover and also in framing the final report.
I am also grateful to Mr. Balaji, Chief Catalyst and Mr. Kiron,
Relationship Manager of Businessgyan for their expert guidance and
support.
Credit also goes to my parents, without whose moral support
and inspiration, this report would have been incomplete.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
External Guides Certificate
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
INDEX
SL. # CONTENTS
1.1 Industry profile
1.2 Company profile
1.3 Product profile
1.4 Businessgyan distribution
1.5 Businessgyan readership
2.0 Research topic-
Study of distribution effectiveness
of Businessgyan and Readership
survey
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Part I
PROFILE OF THE
ORGANISATIONAL
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
1.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE
Introduction
For centuries human civilization has utilized the printed media
to spread news and information about political and social happenings
to the masses. In ancient Rome and China, handwritten newssheets
were posted daily in the major cities to update citizens on
government scandals, military campaigns, trials and executions, etc.
With the invention of the printing press during 14th century in
Europe, the spread of news and information on paper increased
dramatically. Short pamphlets reporting a news event were circulated
around the community. However, these pamphlets appeared only
once, reporting a single news event.
The first modern newspapers, or publications that would
appear regularly and frequently, are a European invention. The first
half of the 17th century saw weekly news publications popping up in
Germany, Italy, France, England, and many other western European
nations. These newspapers featured items from all over Europe and
occasionally America or Asia. However, they rarely reported any
news about the country in which they were being printed.
The invention of the telegraph in 1844 revolutionized the printed
media industry. For the first time information could be transferred
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
within a matter of minutes from all parts of the country. Publications
were reporting events that were now only one or two days old, rather
than one or two weeks. As newspapers began to go into mass
circulation they became valuable businesses with large staffs. They
started to be less of a vehicle for one person's opinion and more of a
provider of information.
The first magazine came into existence in 1700s, looked like
books. Magazines began as a medium from which literate men
expounded their points of view, in essay or satire. Daniel Defoe
started the first English magazine, The Review, during or just after
his imprisonment for criticizing the Church of England. His purpose:
a statesman or man of letters offers his comment, criticism and satire
to influence public taste. The audience is composed of members of
the same social scene that is the subject of most of the magazine's
writing.
Until the 1880s, only the upper classes read magazines. They
were small soft cover books, carrying stories that appealed to a
classically educated, elite readership that identified with Europe. The
poor folk read newspapers and weekly tabloids. Magazines were
expensive, partly because printing technology limited even the most
popular to a run of 100,000 copies; it simply took too long to push
any more paper through a press. The birth of mass media changed
this trend. Magazines began printing in large numbers which brought
down the price and hence circulation increased.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Introduction of photography during the period 1890-1910
brought dramatic improvements to the magazine industry.
Photographers and editors had to devise precedents for using
photography and words together in print. The first photo-interview,
between French photographer Paul Nadar and 100 year old physicist
M. E. Chevreul, set a precedent for photo-captions later. The
combination of the photos, evolving styles of journalism, and the new
technology of offset printing and color process created a new
language of the printed page, a language which made high-power
advertising layouts possible. Suddenly magazines became very
attractive to advertisers. Before the turn of the century, even the most
popular magazines carried only a small amount of what we call
classified advertising and almost no large display ads. But after some
resistance, the last of which died out in the 30s, mass market
magazines all came to depend on advertising to survive. This
changed magazines completely. They no longer sold people
information and entertainment; their main purpose was to provide
advertisers with a steady, returning audience. Advertising exploded
not just because of the magazine but due to large-scale distribution
networks.
New manufacturing technologies made it possible to mass-
produce goods for unprecedented reach. And the invention of plate
glass windows, around the turn of the century made possible
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
expansive storefronts, which in turn set the tone for the large
department stores which placed the most expensive early advertising.
But the co evolution of advertising and mass media was dramatically
important. Ads made it possible to sell magazines below production
cost, which made it possible to lower their price still more increasing
their audience, which made them even more useful to advertisers. Ad
agencies started in 1890. They developed research and circulation
boosting: the subscription discount offers, the efforts to survey a
magazine readership to document their demographics for potential
advertisers.
The slick magazine look didn't crystallize until the late
40s/early 50s. Its roots were in the fashion magazine of the 20s.
Vanity FairandVogue, where advertising and editorial art directors
worked together on the new language of fashion photography/page
display. At first the slick look was purely a highbrow consumer
phenomenon, a representation of new attitudes about quality. Vogue
in particular, for all its evocation of upper-class pretension, made that
pretension accessible to wave after wave of newcomers. The slick
look signified a further democratization of style and substance alike,
a sense that audiences as well as information producers would
henceforth be chosen on merit and not appointed merely because they
represented a social class.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
But it wasn't long before the slick look gravitated even to trade
magazines. New magazines all looked the same, and adopted the
same tone. They distinguished themselves only by carving out
narrow consumer-group content niches: Runners, weight-lifters, dog
lovers, model train builders, music lovers, computer owners, knitters,
home restorers, and so on. People turned to magazines in a much
more prosaic way, to identify (through them) with communities of
interest, rather than communities of identity. In the early 1970s, one
magazine established itself as a general-interest vehicle for
describing identity in a mass-medium-dominated world. It enjoyed
one of the most popular magazine launches in history known as
People.
Media in India
News media in India is undergoing significant changes in the
current liberalized environment. To understand these changes, one
needs to have some idea of the road traversed so far. It is useful to
look at media in the two phases of India's history - pre-colonial and
post-colonial. Each medium has taken its own evolutionary path.
William Bolts, an ex-employee of the British East India
Company attempted to start the first newspaper in India way back in
1776. Bolts had to beat a retreat under the disapproving gaze of the
Court of Directors of the Company.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
The BengalGazette by James Augustus Hicky was started in 1780.
The Gazette, a two-sheet newspaper, "specialised" in writing on the
private lives of the Sahibs of the Company. The colonial
establishment started the Calcutta Gazette. It was followed by
another private initiative the Bengal Journal. The Oriental Magazine
of Calcutta Amusement, a monthly magazine made it four weekly
newspapers and one monthly magazine published from Calcutta, now
Kolkata.
PTI (Press Trust of India) and UNI (United News of India) are
the two primary Indian news agencies. The former was formed after
it took over the operations of the Associated Press of India and the
Indian operations of Reuters soon after independence on August 27,
1947. PTI is a non-profit cooperative of the Indian newspapers. UNI
began its operations on March 21, 1961, though it was registered as a
company in 1959 itself.
Over the years saw the development of magazine industry in
India. Eventually trade specific magazines came into being due to
influx of foreign media. Most prominent among them is Business to
Business publications which involve both daily newspapers like
Business Standard, etc and magazines like Business World.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Business Media in India
Business media industry remains a very small business in India
by International standards. Combined revenues from business-to-
business publishing are in the region of Rs 46 crores. The past 2 3
years have been tough ones for publishers in particular with
advertising revenues falling dramatically as they have elsewhere in
the world. Advertising is heavily skewed towards newspapers and
television which are relatively much larger businesses in India. Acombination of various data sources generates the following from
Indias total Rs 5bn advertising expenditure.
Advertising spent between different media
TV
45%General Print
52%
Radio &Cinema
2%
Internet
0%Specialist &Trade Mags
1%
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
The market for business publishers is dominated by a small number
of companies each of which own around 10 15% of the business
publications market. The following table shows the top six publishers
who, between them, account for 67% of the market ranked here by
Business Strategies Group (BSG) private estimates of revenues from
business publications. It appears no other publishers achieve more
than 5% share of the market:
Top 6 business media publishers in India:
Company Comments
1 Cyber media Leading and longest-established major technology
publisher.
2 ABP Group Publisher of Business World
3 Living
Media
Indias largest magazine publisher. Now publishes
only to one B2B magazine, Business Today
4 Jasubhai A leading publisher of technology and other
business magazine
5 Business
India
Flagship publication is Business India
6 Indian
Express BPD
The Business Publication Division of Indian
Express Newspapers has a range of specialist
business titles of which Express Computer is the
flagship.
Source: BSG analysis
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Because of its relatively small size and the fact that it has remained
tightly closed to foreign publishers, the presence of international
business media companies in India is very limited. The following
profiles represent the largest and most important of India business
publishers.
Cyber media
Cyber media is one of the best established of the business
publishers in India. Founded in 1982 by Pradeep Gupta, the
Chairman and Managing Director, the company has for most of its 20
plus years history focused on technology publishing. Most recently, it
has announced its intention to work with McGraw Hill to launch an
Indian edition of Business Weekalthough approvals for that venture
are still pending. The company is also planning an Initial Public
Offering. The company has various business lines, as well as its eight
magazines; it has an event management division and what is regarded
as the leading on-line service for the technology industry. The
company has also ventured successfully into producing technology
programming for television as well as multi-media content and CDs.
Cyber media employs 375 staff with offices in Delhi (its Gurgaon
head office is one of the more sophisticated publishers offices in
India), Mumbai and Bangalore.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
ABP Group
The weekly Businessworld has emerged as the leading
general business title in India with a circulation of 135,000. Although
it carries rather fewer pages in each issue than its fortnightly rivals,
business today and Business India, our estimates still put the
magazine in the top spot with over 10% of all Indias business
revenues. Businessworld is published by the Kolkata-based ABP
Group which also produces the English language The Telegraphnewspaper and the Bengali newspaper Ananda Bazaar Patrika.
Living India (India Today)
Indias leading magazine publisher now has one major
business title, Business Today. The Group was launched in 1975 with
the fortnightly English news magazine, India Today. Today, that
magazine claims a circulation of 417,505 and total readership of 15.9
million across all its editions. The publishers say it is the most
widely read magazine in the country and that Living Media India is
the largest magazine publisher in the country. The company also
published Computers Today for a number of years but pulled back
from that market. An attempt to re-launch as Smart Inc. was not
sufficient to keep the company in that market, leaving Business
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Today as the only business focused title in a portfolio which
otherwise focuses on consumer titles.
Jasubhai Group
Jasubhai Chairman, Jasu Shah, is one of Indias business
media pioneers. Starting with his flagship Chemtech trade show some
30 years ago, he has built what is now clearly one of the leading
business media groups in the country. As well as the chemical
industry, the Groups magazine portfolio covers IT (DIGIT,
Computer Reseller News, Network Computing, and Developer 2.0
are the main titles),, architecture, interiors and, in its newest venture,
the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors.
Business India
The original Indian general business magazine founded by
Ashok Advani, 26 years ago, Business India, is a powerful brand in
the Indian market. Published every two weeks, the magazine bears
some resemblance to The Economist and has a reported circulation of
89,000. As well as Business India magazine itself, the company
produces magazines and events for interiors (Inside Outside). Theevents division was previously very active producing, amongst other
things, Comdex India. .
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Indian Express BPD
The Indian Express is one of the great Mumbai newspaper
titles founded by independence campaigner Ramnath Goenka.Its Business Publications Division was founded in the early 1990s by
his grandson and remains an important publisher of trade titles in the
IT, hospitality, pharmaceuticals and textiles. The groups flagship
weekly Express Computer competes vigorously with Cybermedia and
Jasubhai in the IT sector.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
The following is a summary of business media developments
in India since the middle of 2002:
June 2002 Restrictions on foreign investment lifted:Foreign holdings in news and current affairs publications are now
allowed up to 26% while technical and other non-news media can sell
up to 74% to non-Indian companies. Information and Broadcasting
Minister Sushma Swaraj was reported as saying that editorial and
management control have to remain in Indian hands. The
Government retains veto rights over investments by foreign
companies and needs to approve subsequent changes of ownership. It
also requires that 75% of all employees are Indian nationals. The
move received a mixed welcome from Indian media groups. The
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
major ones remained opposed to it while smaller players saw it as an
opportunity to tap outside capital sources.
Aug. 2003 AMP acquires stake in Hindustan Times:
Australian financial services group AMP acquired 19% of the
Hindustan Times; a Delhi based general newspapers, the first
transaction of its type after the 2002 regulatory liberalization.
Sept. 2003 Financial Times acquires stake in Business
Standard:
The Financial Times (FT) announced the acquisition of a stake
in the Mumbai based Business Standard newspaper. The investment
of Rs141 million gave the FT a 13.85% stake in the pink broadsheet
which is printed in seven Indian cities. The existing shareholders,
investment bank Kotak Mahindra and Great Eastern Shipping, both
retained their equity positions following the deal.
Jan. 2004Wall Street Journal announces Indian edition:
Dow Jones announced an agreement with Bennett, Coleman &
Co. Ltd., publisher of The Times of India and The Economic Times,
to establish a joint venture to publish an Indian edition of the Wall
Street Journal. Dow Jones will own 26% of the new business, themaximum allowed under current rules. The Indian Journal will be
published five days a week. Bennett, Coleman has been among the
more aggressive Indian companies in taking advantages of the
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
liberalization of foreign media ownerships rules first announced in
June 2002.
Last year it also announced a joint venture with BBC
Worldwide to publish specialty consumer magazines in India.
Foreign ownership:
Until June 2002, foreign companies were not allowed to own
print media operations in India. At that time, the government
announced a limited relaxation of those restrictions.
The new rules are as follows:
News publications can take up to 26% foreign investment;
Technical and non-news media can take up to 74% foreign
investment.
The two highest profile deals in this sector have been the
Financial Times acquisition of 13.85% of the Business Standard
newspaper in Mumbai and Dow Jones announcement that it will
work with Bennett & Coleman, publishers of the Times of India to
publish an Indian edition of the Asian Wall Street Journal of which it
will own 26%. So far, BBC Magazines acquisition of a stake in the
Times of India Groups Filmfare and Femina titles is the major
magazines investment so far. The financial details of this
arrangement have not been released although market rumours in
Mumbai have speculated on a high price paid for the stake of up to
Rs 80 crores
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Circulation
Controlled vs. paid circulation
By and large, this is a market where business publishing is
dominated by controlled circulation titles.. Many publications are
largely limited to 8 10 major cities. There has been some success in
working around this physical limitation with online publications such
as ITNation.com whose e-newsletter goes to IT distributors in 200 or
so small and medium-sized cities.
Estimated circulation of Indian business and finance
publications in Karnataka:
Publication Frequency CirculationBusinessworld Weekly 10747
Business today Fortnightly 11764
Business India Fortnightly 10622
Business Week Monthly 10500
Business
Standard
Daily 32350
Most controlled circulation titles use the Indian Postal System
for distribution. Some of the more up-market titles use courier
networks, which today have become very cheap and reliable.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
There is also a network of bulk delivery companies who do
citywide deliveries while some publications have their own local
delivery teams.
There is a market for international magazines but industry
insiders in India believe it is essential to have a large local media firm
to publicize these titles. The Times of India, for example, does this
through its portal indiatimes.com for quite a number of titles.
Without the local boost, the sale of most international titles does not
exceed 1,000. Time magazine and Cosmopolitan have an
arrangement with the India Today group and the BBC, now
managing the two top brands of the Times Group, has indicated that
is wishes to launch a number of other consumer titles into the market.
They would use the distribution infrastructure of the Times
The future
A number of important trends in business media over the next
several years will emerge in India. These will all have significant
impacts on the way foreign companies can do business there:
The beginnings of a process of consolidation will occur over
the next 3 4 years in which smaller publishers will be acquired or
will go out of business. Foreign publishers are likely to be involved,
at least in part, in this process.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Several Indian business media firms are considering Initial
Public Offerings. This move will inevitably be linked to an
acceleration of mergers and acquisitions as well as pressure from
market regulators for significantly improved professional standards in
those companies which do list. Investors will also be looking for
higher returns than have traditionally been achievable in this sector.
This will presumably lead Indian business media groups to look to
diversify into other media and to seek foreign partnerships to help
improve their capitalization and give them access to international
markets.
It is believed that 2004 - 5 are likely to see the emergence of
the Internet as a significant business tool in India. This will lead to
the emergence of new business opportunities which are subject to
much less regulatory constraint for foreign companies.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
1.2 COMPANY PROFILE
Introduction
Businessgyan is a unit of Dr. C V S Ratnam & Associates Pvt
Ltd. It was started in 2001 April. Mr.Balaji Pasumarthy initiated the
idea of this magazine. He realised the need for a medium which
would educate new entrepreneurs. Thats how Businessgyan a
business handbook was initiated to cater information, contacts, etc to
companies who were setting up operations in Bangalore. It was setup
and started working to collect information, different articles,
advertisers, etc.
Mission
Businessgyan Mission is To help people do business
smoothly and successfully. This is achieved by making practical
information available. Key aspects of Businessgyan are
It is a one stop place for decision makers to access
information
Handy information, guides, checklists, benchmarks
& resources are provided to save time and effort.
Presented in a manner, which is user friendly
Integrates print, e-mail & help desk formats to
effectively provide information.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
After just 3 years of existence Businessgyan has grown well to
establish itself as a unique magazine with a difference and to boast
for being only city specific business magazine. It has further
extended itself from magazine to bring up a business directory to
cater information to facility managers to find their vendors. It acts as
a bridge between facility managers and vendors.
Businessgyan has taken up a project with IFMA India
chapter called as Atheos. Atheos was launched on 15th
Nov 2003 in
IFMA India Work Place. The First Ever Enterprise Collaboration
Gateway, designed specifically to simplify the partner selection
process in Enterprises. Atheos facilitates interactions by providing
relevant contact information, knowledge on selection and usage of
various services and products. Atheos is truly a collaboration
exercise, with the actual users, namely decision makers, providing
inputs on exactly what information gaps they encounter and how they
would like it to be solved. An initiative of International Facilities
Management Association- India Chapter and Businessgyan, Atheos is
designed to catalyse the partnering process in the Enterprise to
Enterprise space. Atheos Vision is To Provide knowledge products
and services to catalyse the Decision Making process in enterprises.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
STRATEGY
Definition of Strategy:
Strategy is the art of devising and employing a system of
activities that mobilizes all resources toward a valuable goal.
According to Edmund P. Learned Strategy is the pattern of
objectives, purposes or goals, stated in such a way as to define what
business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is
or is to be. One another definition given by Alfred D. Chandler
states that Strategy is the determination of basic long-term goals and
objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of course of action and
the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals. In
other words, the route that the organization has chosen for its future
growth; a plan an organization formulates to gain a sustainable
competitive advantage.
Businessgyan is the only city specific practical business
magazine which doesnt believe in becoming a yet another business
magazine. Various companies have different strategies to achieve topposition in their field of operation. Businessgyan give priority in
creating unique methods to reach buyers in offices in the growth and
expansion stage. Core readers of Businessgyan are decision makers
in the investment, growth and expansion phase in an organisation.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
To reach them Businessgyan have devised unique techniques
like Watering Hole concept, referral networks, etc. Mission of
Businessgyan is Information, to help do business smoothly and
successfully. So creating content which key decision makers
involved in buying decisions would require for their work and which
will catch their attention and interest is given at most priority.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
STRUCTURE
Definition of Structure:
A structure is the formalizing of relationships, roles and
responsibilities in order to organize and perform work. In simple
term, structure is the pattern in which various parts or components
are interrelated or interconnected. So organization structure is the
pattern of relationships among various activities and positions.
Because various persons hold these positions, the structure is the
relationships among people in the organization.
Organizational structure of Businessgyan is shown above is for
the sake of the outside world to open customer doors etc. but have no
significance within the company. In reality Businessgyan has a fluid
and dynamic structure. Actual working involves defining the broad
activities, which also include identifying a coordinator.
People work on different aspects and are responsible to
different coordinator of the broad activities. People in the team couldbe working for different coordinators at the same time and be
coordinators themselves for specific activities or objectives. This is
sponge structure of organisation. Depending on the immediate
urgency and priorities people drop or reduce the time spent on long
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
term projects and focus on immediate priorities etc. Frequent groups
meetings to share and exchange information and set objectives.
Administration head is in charge of financial activities also among
other activities. Main financial activities are maintaining accounts of
all essential issues like salary billing, purchase, sales, etc.
Administration head is also in charge of data entry in the
organisation. Editorial staff is involved in developing issue focused
articles, interview the gurus of different field, product review and
hence thereby increasing the subscription. Concept Development
Manager is responsible for forecasting sales for the financial year,
taking care of P&L of the company, taking care of production & get
copies on time, recruiting, etc.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
SYSTEMS
Definition of Systems:
A system is a defined process, or set of processes, that links
and orders activities to enable work to be done and goals to be
achieved. According to Richard A. Johnson A system is an
organized or complex whole; an assemblage or combination of things
or parts forming a complex unitary whole. System in simple words
is the formal and informal procedures, including innovation systems,
compensation systems, management information systems, and capital
allocation systems, that govern everyday activity.
In Businessgyan lot of time and effort is spent of developing
systems to eliminate non-productive work. Continued improvement
and streamlining of all day to day activities is given importance.
Information is readily available to anyone in the team. Businessgyan
have an efficient data entry system where data is entered only once
for multiple tasks. In terms of IT systems, an Relational Database
Management System (RDBMS) based Management Information
System has been developed internally which integrates sales, billing,order book, readers database and interactions with readers and
advertisers. This has been designed on filemaker pro, which is a
Apple company product.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Systems like group meetings to encourage team work and
sharing of information where new ideas and concepts are discussed.
These meetings are frequent with each and every member can
express their view points which will be put up for discussions and
finally a consensus will be arrived at. Evaluation and feedback
mechanisms to help improve each individual. Accounts, sales,
readership interaction systems all integrated to provide intelligent and
quick data.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
STYLE
Definitionof Style:
Style of leadership or relationship refers to the manner in
which an individual uses his or her talents, values, knowledge,
judgment, and attitudes to lead and relate to others. Style expresses
the person's character. Style is the leadership approach of top
management and the organization's overall operating approach; also
the way in which the organization's employees present themselves to
the outside world, to suppliers and customers. In simple words styles
is the pattern of behavior, which a leader adopts in influencing the
behavior of his followers (subordinates) in the organizational context.
Businessgyan has a participatory, non intrusive, democratic
decision making with special emphasis on grooming skills among
team members and working towards a system to help foster a
collaborative and productive work culture. Control is restricted to
setting the broad direction and structure for the business to grow
naturally. This provides a good environment for personal growth and
skill setting among the members so that they get equipped to meet the
challenges on their own. Members are given full power over their
area of work in taking decisions. Clear policies are set helping in
decision-making.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Team Members are independent and driven to perform their task.
Seeking help, expertise and assistance as and when required from
other members. Sharing and expressing concern and plans to make
necessary shifts in strategy as and when required in a dynamic not
centrally planned fashion. Clear emphasis is given on team work and
co-operation. The team members are responsible adults, skilled and
competent for their roles. Good ideas and commitment is not a
prerogative of a few but something basic for every team member.
Every member's actions impact the organisation and the success of
other team members. So every team member is responsible to correct
and set right deviant behavior of another if any and is responsible to
make his or his team member contribute the maximum.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
STAFF
Definition of Staffing:
Staffing may be defined as filling and keeping filled the
positions in the organization structure. This is done by identifying
workforce requirements; inventorying the people available; and
recruiting, selecting, placing promoting, appraising, planning the
careers of, compensating and training or otherwise developing both
candidates and current job holders so that task are accomplished
effectively and efficiently
Staffs are selected based on skill and aptitude required for
specific roles. However once hired, they are free to work on projects
of interest and importance to the organisation. Team members
evaluate performance of each member and weightage to each
evaluation is given in proportion to the impact of the team members
work on other team members deliverables. Basically internal
customers get to evaluate their internal suppliers. People work across
projects and teams get formed and dissolved automatically based on
projects. Designations are given for the sake of the outside world toopen customer doors etc. but have no significance with in the
company. Increments happen based on the value provided by the
individual to the team and to his internal customers.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Everybodys opinion matters and decision-making is done by
evolving consensus. Finally the person responsible takes a call taking
the majority on board.
SKILLS
Definition of Skills:
A skill is the ability, knowledge, understanding, and judgment
to accomplish a task. Skills may be defined as what the company
does best; the distinctive capabilities and competencies that reside in
the organization
Key areas in Businessgyan are Concept Development and
Marketing. So basic skills required are good sales and marketing
skills for the sales team whose work involves marketing physical
copies of Businessgyan and selling ad space. Content development
skills for editorial staff is a must. They must be able to provide
relevant, useful and accurate information to readers. Knowledge of
business management and the Bangalore business environment is
essential which will contribute towards the pursuit of excellence in
this field.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
SHARED VALUES
Definition of Shared Values:
A shared value is an essential characteristic or attribute
promoted by the organization to motivate the behavior of members of
the organization. In simple words, Shared values are what stimulate
trust. Values are the identity by which a company is known
throughout its business areas. These values must be explicitly stated
as both corporate objectives and individual values.
Create a culture where every one is comfortable
contributing and reaching out to his or her full potential. Where
individual initiative thrives and finds expression. An organisation
which responds to changes in the environment fast and seizes
opportunities, and is capable of high growth while resilient to face
tough times. Where each individual feels important and has a sense
of being part of creating something important. An environment free
of hierarchy and red tape, yet very productive and effective, where
people enjoy working yet are result oriented. Where people come to
make a living and a life.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
1.3 PRODUCT PROFILE
Businessgyan is the only city specific practical business
magazine, which doesnt believe in becoming a yet another business
magazine. It helps a very focused communication channel for those
who want to reach out to the decision makers in the companies,
enterprises and the startups. It covers articles which are focused on
issues which are very useful to decision makers like CEOs, CFOs,
HR Managers, Purchase Managers, Students, Entrepreneurs, etc.
Businessgyan covers topics on all aspects of management and
also on industry verticals like BPOs, etc. Rather than focusing on
industry sectors, it prefers to focus on functional areas inside each
industry.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Content that stands apart
Businessgyan, is the only city specific business digest, with
little news but more implementation oriented articles.
It is a handbook for decision-makers in companies and for
entrepreneurs to access practical business guidance and to
collect vendor information.
Articles like panel discussions, best practice case studies,
business methodologies, expert columns, message board,
product launches and jargon busters, are relevant to an
audience across all industry sectors.
Prominent personalities are featured in our 'First Person'
interview, so are companies and products as case studies.
Articles give handy business information to be used for day-to-
day operations, starting new ventures and understanding
industry trends across verticals.
Management Gurus give 'gyan' for navigating through toughtimes. Inputs are taken from industry practitioners to design
content for decision makers to solve complex problems.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Last but not the least, it is a Cost Effective Publicity Media for
Small & Medium Enterprises who support the huge IT and
ITES industry in city. You can find classifieds on pest control,
data storage, foreign exchange dealers, audiovisual renting,
HR, tax and financial consultants.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Distribution system
Businessgyan uses unique ways to reach the target readers.
One method is distribution through couriers to reach well known
organisations. Distribution technique called 'Watering Hole', is
employed by which the magazine is placed in strategic locations
where new entrepreneurs or top executives can pick it up. It also uses
Refferal networks which is a common means of getting information
about vendors. Right now Businessgyan has a circulation of 15000
copies, which is more than any other business publication in
Bangalore.
Benefits to Advertisers:
1.Provides an effective focused medium to address decision makers.
2.Information dissemination and brand building takes place during
decision-making stage,
3.Little spillage of media spending.
4.Long shelf life since decision-makers keep reffering to it during
growth stage.
5.Constant updation possible.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Businessgyan Distribution
CIRUCULATION: AN OVERVIEW
SUBSCRIBERS 2500
MAILED COPIES or sponsored copies: Decision
Makers - CEO's, Facilities manager, Finance Head,
HR Head, Branch Heads Sales & Marketing Head,
Senior Partners of Venture Capitalist and
Consultantancy companies
3500
TRADITIONAL CHANNEL / Paid Copies
Available at Stands ie, Bombay Store, Fabmall,
Gangarams, Higgin Bottoms, Java City, In & Out,
Regular Book Shops, Super Markets and other
premium outlets
4500
WATERING HOLES: for companies in growth/
expansion and start-up phase: STPI, Venture Capital,
Business Centres, Builders, International Real Estate
Consultants, Banks/Financial Institutions, Trade
Chambers
2000
For Transit Visitors/for new to town: all Premium
& Business Hotels, Car Rentals, Foreign exchanges1500
Conference: TIE, CII, and other events like IFMA,
Microsoft conference, PC Expo, IT.com paid
conference, HR India monthly meet,
700
Total 14700
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Businessgyan In Brief
Businessgyan is a business digest providing practical business
information. It is the only city specific handbook available for
decision-makers in companies and entrepreneurs to access practical
guidance and to collect vendor information.
In its five years of existence Businessgyan has built a unique
identity for itself as being the only source of information in
Bangalore for useful information that can be applied to work. With a
circulation of 15,000 copies a month and readership of around
60,000 a month, Businessgyan leaves an imprint in the business
landscape of Bangalore and thus is a very effective vehicle to reach
out to professionals and business decision makers.
Businessgyan Highlights:
We take Focus very seriously:
Trying to fill a tea cup with a fire hose? No one likes spillage, so
why not focus your marketing budget in a media, which can reach,
business decision makers with pinpoint accuracy...And thats the
precise reason you don't find us everywhere! But examine the desks
of corporate decision makers in Bangalore, be it a CEO, CFO,
Finance, HR or Admin Manager, High Net worth Individual and
you will surely find us.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Effective Medium, in terms of cost and reach:
In a world of information overdose, it might sound preposterous to
claim that we are the only medium who can assure some mileage
for its advertisers. It is the only medium, which is sought out for
both advertisements and articles.
Businessgyan is designed as the most effective channel in Bangalore
to reach business decision makers, be it the huge IT, BPO or Biotech
Industry, or the large number of companies starting up to support theneeds of the growing city. With our focused distribution methods we
reach out to the decision makers who have the maximum impact.
We reach out to the CXO of the top 1000 companies in Bangalore in
a targeted and sustained basis, and we have also got special methods
to reach out to those companies who are in the growth and
expansion phase. Needless to say we cover the people who really
matter in Bangalore in a very effective manner.
Grey matter for the business elite:
We are experts whom you can refer for every practical business
information that can help you get down to business right away. Our
implementation-oriented articles like best practice case studies,
business methodologies, expert columns on HR, Finance, Facility,
Marketing, are relevant to an audience across all industry sectors.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Management Gurusgive 'gyan' on navigating through tough times,
inputs are taken from industry practitioners to design content for
decision makers to solve complex problems.
Outstanding personalities are featured in our First Person interview
and so are remarkable companies and products featured as case
studies. Articles give handy business information to be used for day-
to-day operations, starting new ventures and understanding industry
trends across verticals. In short, we are the mouthpiece of seasoned
veterans who want to propagate the 'best practices' in business.
The context makes the difference:
Business Information that is useful for work, this is what
Businessgyan is all about, and this sets us apart from all the other
business media, which cater to the economy, news, and stock
market. Since Businessgyan is read for useful business information,
readers also look at advertisements for making decisions. It is not a
surprise that you will find Businessgyan in the office environment,
on desks of managers, in the reception, with the office secretary,
and used for contacting vendors, looking up business information.
Businessgyan is not read in the morning and forgotten, it is read at
work and preserved.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Readership
By Functional Area: -
CEO / General Management/ Partners:- 23%
Human Resources:-21%
Facility Managers / Admin:-23%
Finance / Information Systems:- 15%
Marketing/ Advertising:- 14%
Production/ Operations/ Quality:-4%
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
By Position in the Organization:-
Top Management (CEOs, Directors, Owners, Heads of Department)
64%
Team Leaders:- 22%
TeamMembers:-14%
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
By Industry:-
IT / ITES/ Bio-Tech 46%
Banking / Finance / Retail- 7%
Hotels/ Hospitality 6%
Manufacturing- 11%
Consultants/Resellers- 8%
Others:- 22%
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
By Size of Company: -
Less than 20 employees:- 17 %
20 100:- 37%
100 and above :- 46%
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Part II
PROJECT
TOPIC-
Study of the distribution effectivenessof Businessgyan in the distribution
outlets and readership survey of
Businessgyan
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Study of the distribution effectiveness of
Businessgyan in the distribution outlets
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
The following are the objectives of the research undertaken:
To examine the visibility of Businessgyan in the distributionoutlets
To identify the how visibility can be improved in the
distribution centers
To make recommendations to enhance the visibility of
Businessgyan in distribution centers
To examine if the agents supply Businessgyan at the right time
and at the right place
To examine if stores are being supplied with adequate number
of copies of relevant issue
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
To understand the feasibility of selling the magazine in the
respective store
To identify the pattern of sales and pattern of refilling the
magazine.
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
Our preliminary enquiry with the distribution manager in
Businessgyan indicated that distribution of the magazine though
extensive was not effective and lacked visibility.
These findings reveled that the distribution and readership aspects of
the magazine have not been researched adequately. This is a road
that is less traveled. This prompted us to undertake this research
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The research has been undertaken to identify the distribution outlets
that can be used as a tool to enhance visibility and increase sales.
HYPOTHESIS:
Since this research investigation is company-specific, the company
has asked us to identify the visibility effectiveness of Businessgyan
in the distribution centers and readers satisfaction based on its
requirements. Hence the issue of hypothesis formulation, we feel, is
redundant.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH DESIGN:
This research investigation is analytical in nature. We seek to
generate the data for the research analysis through an interview
schedule to be administered on key officials in the distribution
centers and the data so generated will be subject to analysis and
(simple statistical treatment) and inferences will be drawn
accordingly
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS:
Since this research investigation has been administered on
randomly selected key officials in the distribution centers, the
problem of generalization is obvious
Time and resource constraints
Reluctance of store managers to reveal flaws and negativeaspects of the store and visibility
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH TOOL:
A questionnaire was designed with the help of the distribution
staff of Businessgyan (distribution manager and assistants who
personally visit stores).
The purpose of the questionnaire was to identify certain key
aspects of the distribution of the magazine, which ultimately
determine the sales of Businessgyan. Some of them are:
Distribution effectiveness
Visibility of Businessgyan in the store
Feasibility of selling the magazine in the store
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
QUESTIONNAIRE:
DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS
1.)How good is the visibility of Bg compared to other magazines
in the rack?
( ) visible ( ) barely visible ( ) not visible
2.)How effective is the distribution, i.e. does it reach the stores on
15th
of every month?
( ) yes ( ) no ( ) sometimes
3.)Does the refilling take place on time?
( ) yes ( ) no ( ) sometimes
4.)How often is it refilled?
( ) monthly ( ) weekly ( ) fortnightly
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
5.)Do people prefer magazines based on the prices? (E.g. what is
the probability of people choosing Business World over Bg
since BW is Rs. 10?)
( ) most of them ( ) no ( ) yes
6.) Do you get enquiries about Bg from customers, especially if
the store is out of stock?
( ) yes ( ) no ( ) rarely ( ) most of
the time
7.)Has the sun board improved the visibility of Bg?
( ) to some extent ( ) to a large extent ( ) no
8.) Is it the first of its kind?
( ) yes ( ) no ( ) dont know
9.)Do you think its the right idea to improve visibility?
( ) yes ( ) no
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
10.) Is the cover page attractive enough to induce customers
to buy the magazine?
( ) yes ( ) no
11.) Which is the most preferred category in magazines?
Sports Movies &
entertainment
Health
care
Business Others
Most
preferred
Less
preferred
Not
preferred
12.) Any suggestions?
Store-
Contact person-
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Stores visited:
FOODWORLD
FABMALL
BOMBAY STORE
LANDMARK
HEALTH & GLOW
JAVA CITY
HIGIN BOTTOMS
GANGARAMS
Visibility of Businessgyan:
FOODWORLD
The visibility of the magazine in Foodworld (3 outlets) is
good. It is placed in a rack along with the other magazines of
different categories, some of them being sports, entertainment, and
health etc. It is visible to people who walk into Foodworld as the rack
is placed near the entrance.
The distribution of magazines to all Foodworld outlets is
handled by a distribution agency called Magworld.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Each of the Foodworld outlets receives 20 copies every month and on
an average each outlet sells 15 copies per month. All the unsold
copies are sent back to the distribution agency.
BOMBAY STORE
Bombay store is located on M G road. Businessgyan here is placed
on the cash counter in a small rack. It is the only magazine sold here.
As per the officials in Bombay store they receive 15 copies every
month and they sell 10 copies on an average every month.
LANDMARK
Landmark is located in Forum. The magazine is hardly visible in the
rack as the rack is stuffed with several other magazines, which are
larger in size than Businessgyan. When questioned, the officials in
the store were not aware if they had received the most recent issue.
There seemed to be lot of confusion regarding the current status of
the magazine in the store as to whether they had any copies in the
store presently and when was the last time they had received the
copies.
Further probing revealed that Landmark had not received any copies
of Businessgyan for the past 6 months, which was not known until
then. The distribution agency for Landmark is Kasturi and the agency
was responsible for not delivering the magazine to the store
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
HEALTH & GLOW
Businessgyan in Health & Glow outlets are placed in a rack
near the cash counter. Each of the three outlets visited receive
anywhere between 15 to 20 copies each month. The officials in
Malleshwaram and Basaveshwarnagar outlets claimed they sell on an
average 7 to 8 copies each month. As per the officials as most people
who walk into the store are women looking for cosmetics and other
beauty products, they do not pay much attention to the magazinesplaced in the counter.
The store manager in the commercial street outlet said that not more
than 3 copies in a month are sold since the visibility is very poor. The
magazine in the store is placed in a rack adjoining the cash counter.
The rack is barely visible.
JAVA CITY
Church Street
Lavelle road
Java City is a coffee shop located in two prime locations. Each of the
Java City outlets receives 20 copies per month and as per the
managers they sell 10 copies each on an average per month.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Businessgyan in the Lavelle road outlet is placed behind the cash
counter and is visible to people who walk up to the cash counter, but
since most of the time the bill is produced to the customers in their
respective tables, customers do not approach the cash counter. As
hence visibility though good is not meeting its purpose.
HIGGIN BOTTHOMS
Higgin Botthoms is a bookstore located on M G Road. The
magazine is placed on a table along with the other magazines. Thestore receives 25 copies each month and sells all the copies. At times
when there is excess demand, the store manager informs
Businessgyan distribution officials and the required numbers of
copies are delivered to the store.
GANGARAMS
Gangarams is a bookstore located on M G Road. The magazine is
placed on a table along with the other magazines. The store receives
25 copies each month and sells all the copies. At times when there is
excess demand, the store manager informs Businessgyan distribution
officials and the required number of copies are delivered to the store.
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
EFFECTIVENESS OF DISTRIBUTION:
The distribution of Businessgyan takes place on 15th
of every
month. The distribution agencies (Magworld and Kasturi) are
responsible for distribution of Businessgyan to most outlets
(Foodworld, Landmark, Health & Glow, Fabmall). The distribution
staff of Businessgyan handles the distributions to bookstores.
The distribution staff and the distribution agency have to make sure
that the books reach the stands by 15th of every month. All the unsold
copies of the previous issue are returned to Businessgyan.
On enquiry with the store managers regarding the promptness of
distribution (i.e., whether they receive the magazine on 15th
of every
month) the following facts were revealed:
Promptness of distribution
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
On time Not sure No Sometimes
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
67/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Refilling maybe done monthly, fortnightly or weekly depending on
the demand.
The stores where refilling takes place monthly are
FOODWORLD
FABMALL
BOMBAY STORE
HEALTH & GLOW
JAVA CITY
The stores where refilling takes place fortnightly are
HIGGIN BOTTHOMS
GANGARAMS
Refilling
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
monthly fornightly weekly
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
PRICE CONSIDERATION:
In majority of the stores ( except Bombay Store & Java City),
since the magazine was kept in a separate rack along with others the
consumers would pick up the magazine of their choice or based on
impulse.
But in Java City and Bombay store, Businessgyan is the only
magazine to be sold. Most of the times, the customers perceive it to
be a complimentary issue with their purchase and hence they just
pick it up from the rack without paying attention to the price (but it is
later included in their bill).
ENQIURIES FOR BUSINESGYAN:
The question of enquiries arises only when the concerned store runs
out of stock and refilling has not taken place on time. Since the
distribution staff and agencies are prompt with their services except
in Landmark, the enquires for Businessgyan are not received that
often. However there have been cases where bulk orders for
Businessgyan have been placed on a single day (E.g. in the month of
May, Gangarams received an order of 20 copies on a single day andthis resulted in enquiries when they were out of stock)
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
EFFECTIVENESS OF SUNBOARD:
The sunboard is a cardboard frame placed behind the magazine
to enhance its visibility in stores where magazines are placed in a
rack.
During the visit to the various stores mentioned above it was
noticed that the sunboard was not used at all. The company should
make sure that the concerned distribution agency handles this issue
strictly.
For instance in Foodworld (Malleswaram) the distribution
agency (Magworld) had not ensured that the sunboard was placed
behind the magazine.
Due to such instances the survey revealed that the sunboard
hardly mattered in enhancing the visibility of the magazine.
The store managers in all the outlets (where sunboard was required)
were not sure if its the first of its kind. They are also not aware if the
cover page is attractive enough to induce a purchase.
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70/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
MOST PREFERRED CATEGORY:
Business magazines were the most preferred category in all the
outlets. For instance in Gangarams OUTLOOK (business magazine)
is the most preferred magazine.
SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
BY STORE MANAGERS:
Mr. Michael, store manager Java City (Lavelle Road)
Businessgyan in the Lavelle road outlet is placed behind the cash
counter and is visible to people who walk up to the cash counter, but
since most of the time the bill is produced to the customers in their
respective tables, customers do not approach the cash counter. As
hence visibility though good is not meeting its purpose. Hence therack needs to be shifted from the billing section to the sitting area of
the coffee shop.
Health & Glow (Commercial Street), Store manager-
The store manager in the commercial street outlet said that not more
than 3 copies in a month are sold since the visibility is very poor. The
magazine in the store is placed in a rack adjoining the cash counter.
The rack is barely visible. Hence provision needs to be made to place
the rack at a prominent place. E.g. on the billing counter.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
71/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Businessgyan should try to increase its reach to more number of
people by enhancing its visibility in distribution outlets and efficient
and timely distribution services.
The distribution agencies responsible for placing and refilling the
magazine on the stands should be given strict instruction regarding
their role and the repercussions if they fail in their duty.
Monthly or quarterly visits to the distribution outlets can be made by
Businessgyan staff to verify if the said instructions are being carried
out and also to check if there is a possibility of placing the magazine
in a more prominent location where visibility is enhanced.
Businessgyan now needs to identify many other outlets where the
magazine can be placed and help in increasing its circulation.
Others were of the view that the magazine should be bigger in size so
that the visibility can be enhanced and looks on par with other
business magazines. They also felt the cover page of the magazine is
not attractive enough; one of the reasons is that the cover page is
congested with too much content (pictures and text)
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
72/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
READERSHIP SURVEY
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
The readers of the magazine have several suggestions for the
magazine. There was a requirement to clearly define the needs of the
readers in order to facilitate implementation of the possible changes.
These findings revealed that the readership aspects of the magazine
have not been researched adequately. This is a road that is less
traveled. This prompted us to undertake this research.
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
This project is undertaken to identify the varying needs of
Businessgyan readers and also to determine its reach impact. The
following pages contain recommendations and steps to improve the
problems stated above.
HYPOTHESIS:
Since this research investigation is company-specific, the company
has asked us to identify the readers satisfaction based on its
requirements. Hence the issue of hypothesis formulation, we feel, is
redundant.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
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M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
To identify needs of Businessgyan readers.
To make recommendations to enhance readers satisfaction in
the Businessgyan.
RESEARCH DESIGN:
This research investigation is analytical in nature. We seek to
generate the data for the research analysis through an interview
schedule to be administered on the readers and the data so generated
will be subject to analysis and inferences will be drawn accordingly
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS:
Since this research investigation has been administered on
randomly selected readers, the problem of generalization is
obvious
Difficulty of tracking actual number of readers due to
overlapping
Time and resource constraints
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
74/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH TOOL:
A questionnaire was designed with the help of the staff of
Businessgyan.
The objective was to identify the readers opinion about
Businessgyan, their opinion on the articles, their ideas for
improvement of the magazine in terms of content and people
featured in the magazine.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
75/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
READERSHIP SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE:
Please Let Us Hear From You
We hope you find it useful. Our purpose with the survey is to meet
your professional information and career and practical needs. To
evaluate how we are doing and help us enhance the digest, we are
conducting this readership survey. The following questionnaire takes
only a few moments to complete. Since your views are very
important to us, please take the time to let us hear from you. (Pleasefeel free to check more than one box.)
1. How often do you read Business gyan?
( ) Regularly ( ) Sometimes ( ) rarely
( ) Never
2. How do you like the magazine?
( ) Interesting ( ) Satisfactory
( ) Informative ( ) No comments
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76/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
3. From where do you pick it up?
( ) Subscription ( ) Book shops
( ) Food world or other super markets ( ) Business center
( ) Hotel ( ) Conference
( ) Other
4. Have the ads helped you?
( ) Yes ( ) No
5. How do you rate it compared to other magazines?
( ) Very good ( ) More Informative
( ) More practical information ( ) Same as other business
magazines
6. The length of articles in Bg is:
( ) too long ( ) too short
( ) just right
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
77/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
7. Which area(s) of Bg are of most interest to you? (Please feel
free to check more than one box.)
( ) Articles ( ) Interviews
( ) Panel Discussion reviews ( ) Campaign reviews
( ) Practical information ( ) In-depth analysis of cover
feature
( ) Expert-written ( ) other
8. What kind of people do you think should be featured inBusinessgyan?
( ) Business Leaders ( ) Entrepreneurs
( ) Achievers ( ) Middle/top level managers
( ) CEO /CFO ( ) Others
9. Any suggestions regarding content?
10.Please tell us how you think Bg can better meet your needs?
11.What kind(s) of information would you like to see featured in
future editions of Bg?
Comments:
Name
AddressThank you
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78/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Total surveyed 50
Corporates 35
Students 10
Others 5
Majority of the regularly category includes corporates. However
some of them come under sometimes and rarely category as they
are constantly travelling.
The magazine is not very popular amongst students.
Frequency of reading
0
10
20
30
40
Regularly Sometimes Rarely Never
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
79/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
RATING OF THE MAGAZINE:
Businessgyan is most popular for its practical information especially
to human resource managers and facility managers. Practical
information includes advertisements (contacts) and articles that are
useful to decision makers in companies.
LENGTH OF THE ARTICLE:
No changes are required relating to the length of the article. The
readers were of the view that the length of the article was just right.
Though few were of the view that certain extremely interesting
articles could be carried forward in forth coming issues.
Rating of Businessgyan
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Verygood Informative Practical Information
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
80/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
CONTENT PREFERENCE:
Preference
80%
42%
32%38%
82%
52%
76%
4%
00.10.20.30.4
0.50.60.70.80.9
Artic
les
Interview
PanelD
iscus
sionrevie
Campa
ignrevie
w
Pra
cticalin
form
atio
In-d
epth
analy
sisofc
over
feat
Expe
rt-wr
itte
othe
r
CONTENT
VALU
E
IN%
From the above graph it is noticed that the articles and practical
information sections are the most preferred among the other content
in the magazine.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
81/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
CATEGORY OF PEOPLE MOST PREFERRED:
Most preferred category of people to be featured
0
0.2
0.40.6
0.8
1
Business
Leaders
Entrepreneurs
Achievers
M
iddle/top
level
m
anagers
CEO/
CFO
Others
From the above graph it is seen that the readers prefer to read articles
on achievers, business leaders and entrepreneurs. The readers want to
know the best practices followed in their respective companies and
try and implement it in theirs.
However in the CEO/CFO section only outstanding and popular
CEOs like Nandan Nilekani are preferred among a certain section of
people.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
82/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
SUGGESTIONS ANS RECOMMENDATIONS:
Suggestions by corporates:
As stated earlier corporates are frequent fliers and hence need the
flight schedule which was being printed earlier but was later
discontinued. There has been a suggestion to continue with the same.
Some of the Facility managers felt that the advertisements in the
magazine were been repeated too often. They suggested that new
advertisements and contacts should be printed as the use of the old
ones has been exhausted.
Suggestions by students and others:
The articles of Businessgyan pertain to more of practical information.
Students suggested that more of day to day affairs and news at
national and international level should be included to keep them
updated and for a better reach.
Students also suggested that Businessgyan should organize
competition in colleges and participate in the managements functions
of B-schools to create awareness about Businessgyan magazine as
majority of the students are not aware of the magazine.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
83/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
The students were also of the view that to increase the subscription
the magazine should be given at subsidized rates to the B-school and
graduate college libraries.
Students also feel that a section can be devoted to career related
issues, career counseling and growth, since most of the information is
firm specific. The Human Resource managers who are interviewed
can specify the knowledge and skills required for candidate to enter
their organization. This can help management students to equip
themselves with the required skills so that they can fit the job profile.
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8/7/2019 Vibha Shetty
84/85
M.P.Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books used:
Businessgyan
Businessworld
Business Standard
Websites visited:
www.businessgyan.com
www.business.com
www.hinduonnet.com
http://www.hinduonnet.com/http://www.business.com/http://www.businessgyan.com/ -
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ANNEXURE