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2757 items in total found

Working Papers | 1977

Positioning Strategy and Multiattribute Information Processing

Dholakia Nikhilesh and Dholakia Ruby Roy

The concept of "positioning" a brand in the mind of the buyer has evolved from the search for the most effective advertising strategy. The view that consumption objects are not notionally perceived as "products' but as conglomerations of attributes has altered the concept of positioning. Multi attribute positioning strategies rely on the manipulation of the way attributes are considered and evaluated. Several such strategies are discussed and a general framework is presented by which the interactions of positioning strategy with market conditions can be systematically explored for purposes of theory building, marketing practice and public policy.

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Working Papers | 1977

Mechanics of Planning: Need for Formal Replanning

C Rangarajan

One lacuna in the present process of planning is the absence of a systematic effort to modify the plan targets as surpluses and bottlenecks arise in the course of a plan. To meet this problem, it is not necessary to resort to rolling plan which involves planning for five years at the beginning of each year. A rolling for this purpose is too complex and cumbersome a procedure. It may in fact reduce the discipline required to implement a given plan. On the other hand, a formal re planning after a plan has been in operation for a few years will provide an opportunity for critically examining the past performance and for taking appropriate corrective measures. This paper has argued that the task of resetting the targets is not a mechanical one. It involves establishing a new set of consistent targets bearing in mind the dominant objective to be fulfilled. In the case of multiple objectives to be satisfied this will require the planners to establish a new trade off among them.

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Working Papers | 1977

How to get the Best from Your Advertising Agency

Sen Gupta Subroto

This paper deals with the advertiser-advertising agency relationship which has been described as the "critical partnership" for companies where the marketing function is of substantial importance. There are numerous structural problems in the relationship between the advertiser and the advertising agency in India. These problems stem from such factors as the nature of the financial relationship between advertiser and agency based on the 15% commission; they stem from the acute degree of competition, sometimes bordering on unhealthy competition, in the agency world. Most of them stem from the fact that many advertisers in India are only now emerging into a buyers' market and have not gained enough maturity in the marketing function to develop productive relationships with their advertising agency. The writer gives numerous real life illustrations to emphasize his arguments about the nature of a productive relationship between advertiser and agency. He puts forward 8 basic requirements for such a relationship. The entire problem has acquired a greater degree of topicality because of recent MRTP inquiries questioning the financial basis of the agency system.

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Working Papers | 1977

Choice of Estimated Econometric Models

Misra P N

One of the problems faced by researchers in the field of quantitative economics relates to choice of appropriate functional forms from amongst many that can be estimated on the basis of available data on a given set of causal and effect variables. Most economic phenomena could alternatively, be stated alternatively as an effect variable y depending upon k causal variables, namely x1, x2, …. and xk. A good understanding of economic reasoning both in theory and practice will help a lot to specify, define and quantity the above mentioned variables but it seldom comes to one's rescue while one battles to understand the mode of dependence between y and x variables. The coefficient of multiple correlations is usually used as a summary statistic for comparing the explanatory power to alternative functional forms. Wisdom of the use of the statistic in case of explanatory power of models that involve dependent variable in terms of different dimensions has been questioned by several authors and in this article a simple method is suggested to overcome this problem by way of suggesting the statistic that can always be calculated no matter what is the functional form. The significance of suggested approach is empirically illustrated with the help of three models.

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Working Papers | 1977

Using Personality Traits to Explain Consumer Behaviour: An Empirical Examination

Dholakia Ruby Roy

The use of personality theory in consumer behaviour research has met with more disappointments than success. The belief that individual difference in brand preference or choice behaviour are caused by personality differences has not always been supported by empirical research. Keeping the limitations of past findings in view, a study was conducted to test the relevance of personality trait theory for explaining consumption of instant coffee in India. The findings of this study help in defining the scope of the theory and their relevance for research and marketing strategy.

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Working Papers | 1977

Urban-Rural Income Differentials in India: An Inter-Regional Analysis

Dholakia Bakul H and Ravindra H. Dholakia

The present study aims at 1) estimating the magnitude of urban-rural per capital income differentials in Indian economy, 2) measuring the extent of inter-state variations in the urban-rural per capita income differential, 3) analyzing the contribution of the structural factors to the urban-rural differential and 4) analyzing the overall sensitivity of urban-rural income differential to sectoral productivity differentials. The study relates to the year 1970-71 and presents the estimates of urban and rural per capita incomes for the 15 major states of India whose population exceeded one per cent of the total population of the country in the census year 1971. The main findings of the study are: 1. The magnitude of urban-rural per capita income differential in India is of the order of around 2.4 to 2.5. 2. There exist considerable inter-state variations in the rural-urban per capital income differential, the ratio ranging all the way from 1.33 to 3.97. Rural per capita income shows a greater regional variation than urban per capita income. 3. The structural factors contribute marginally more to the urban-rural income differentials than the sectoral productivity differentials. 4. Within the sectoral productivity differentials the productivity differentials in the tertiary sector contribute more to the urban-rural income differential as compared those in the secondary sectors.

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Working Papers | 1977

Application of Systems Approach at the Micro Level in Education: Two Cases

Pareek Udai and T. V. Rao

This paper presents two cases to demonstrate the application of system approach at micro-level in education. The cases are based on the experiences of the author's work with school systems. One case deals with the application of systems approach in redesigning a tutorial system in a school and the second case deals with redesigning fifth standard curriculum of a school making it more relevant to the needs of the community where it is located. The problems in the use of systems analysis in education in India, the scope for the use of systems analysis in education, the areas where systems analysis is being used in India and the details of persons and institutions involved in the use of systems analysis are presented in the paper. These are based on a national survey conducted by the authors.

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Working Papers | 1977

Occupational Wage Structure in India

Verma Pramod

The paper seeks to distinguish between occupational wage structure and skill-based wage differentials. It is hypothesized that the wage widening factors are responsible for increasing skill differentials but they have also led for a narrowing of occupational wage structure. To substantiate the hypothesis, both a review of recent labor market studies and a macro analysis have been attempted. It is concluded that increasing demand for skilled labor, as reflected in skill composition, is positively correlated with skill differentials. Other variables, such as wage payment system, state regulation and trade unionism, have not been able to counteract market forces.

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Working Papers | 1977

Financing Minor Irrigation Projects: A Decision Theoretic Framework to Tackle Uncertainities

Srivastava Uma Kant and Oza Nikhil M

Minor Irrigation Schemes such as the construction of dug wells, dug-cum-bore wells and tube wells form a substantial part of irrigation development in the Fifth Plan. The importance of these schemes can be understood from the fact that six million hectares are to be covered by minor irrigation during the plan period. To support the targets of minor irrigation programme, financial institutions have stopped up their lending. The Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation have been playing a major role in promoting minor irrigation schemes through the financial institutions. One of the important constraints in lending for minor irrigation schemes has been the uncertainty associated with the outcome of these loans (because of the problem of failed wells) and consequent problems of recovery. This paper aims at providing a decision theoretic framework to tackle the problem of uncertainty in lending for minor irrigation schemes. The anatomy of decision theoretic approach consists of (i) alternatives, (ii) possible events which can take place in case of each alternative, (iii) probabilities associated with each possible event in case of each alternative, and (iv) a defined criterion of choice. The interactions between various elements are illustrated with the help of two examples based on the data from Mehsana district. The suggested framework is of general interest in dealing with the uncertainties in financing of dug wells, dug-cum-bore wells and tube wells. It is simple and required data are easily available at district and even at taluka level. Apart from bankers (including the regional rural banks) the framework can also be used by voluntary agencies in mitigating the hardships of those farmers who fail to strike work.

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Working Papers | 1977

A Network Planning Model for Power Transmission System

Mukherjee Shishir K

This paper explores the possibility of improving the utility of the well-known WASP computer package for investment planning in power systems by introducing a Network Planning Model for representing and planning the power transmission network expansion in the WASP package as a module. The Network Planning Model formulation for power generation and transmission system planning is described in detail illustrated by an application for the Northern regional power network in India. The integration of the Network planning model with the existing WASP modules at various levels is suggested and the additional data input on the locational aspects of the generating plants and the topology of the transmission network is specified. The implementation of the Network planning module within the WASP package is expected to provide a capability for simultaneous optimization of the generation and transmission system expansion to the WASP model.

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