########################################################################## # Goanetters-2004 meet in Goa. Dec 21, Tuesday. 12 noon to 2 pm. # # Clube Vasco, Near Municipal Garden, Panjim. Pass the word around! # ##########################################################################
<It would be helpful if jargons and unfamiliar acronyms are explained in the posts for the benefit of the lay reader. 'Cost-benefit analysis' is easily understood. But SWOT? Well, for the uninitiated, it's Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Example: My wife is my strength. My neighbour's wife is my weakness. Opportunity is when he goes on tour. And threat is when I go on tour! A bit bawdy, but proves the point all the same. Cheers, RKN> That sure was good for a laugh. The point about unnecessary obfuscation is well taken. It should, however, be appreciated that management is glorified common sense i.e. the "world's" experience, both conceptual and practical (not just yours and mine). So it does require some effort sometimes which, however may be well recompensed. Regarding SWOT, the first comment is that it is old fashioned, to the tune of about 40 years. It was first overtaken in the early 80s by "competitive analysis" which, when one thinks about is, is about "threats" in the short and medium term. Then "scenario planning" (about opportunities and threats in the LONG term) made a brief appearance later in the decade but didnt really hit it big. This, however, was the good fortune of "core competence" which emerged in the early 90s. It focused on "strengths". Here again the complementary idea of "core rigidities" (weaknesses) made a proforma appearance. Thus SWO has been unbundled over time. Going back to the opening story, it implicitly raises the important issue of "unit of analysis". Its fine and generous to credit someone else, X, Y or Z, for one's strength, but what is the strength of "I, me, and myself"? So one has to be clear as to "whose" core competence or whatever is being talked about especially in this age of outsourcing. In the case of Goa, its government and IFFI: 1. The Goa government may be said to have a "soft" core competence in infrastructure building under duress (especially transportation related, supposedly because of its corruption potential) e.g. at the time of CHOGM 20 years ago and now IFFI. It also has plans to build a new airport and a new highway (TOTAL BILL: Rs 3000 cr). Its hard core competence (in a serious positive sense) is yet to be determined. Maybe someone with a good historical perspective can shed some light on this. 2. The Goa government is now trying to develop a "new" core competence in "entertainment". On the back of IFFI (i.e. INOX and Kala Academy) it has laid out its strategic intent as being the establishment of Goa as an entertainment hub. Here it is leveraging (piggybacking on) the core competence of the state itself in "tourism". The state government's own contribution to the success of tourism is unclear and if what Remo says is any indication, it may be negative on the whole.It has done nothing about Dabolim airport and interstate bus terminals in Panjim, Margao and Mapusa. Anway, what do Goa's people have to say about the new strategic intent and core competence? Does it match with the value system of the people or of the BJP for that matter? Let's leave it here for now. Any reactions?
