5 Things you want to be sure of to make an impressive presentation

So you have been working hard on collating your data and here is your chance to present it to your boss. You have an hour’s slot. Of course you want to present to the best of your abilities and you want to showcase the amount of efforts you have expended on the exercise. This is your opportunity to make an impression! You are diligently putting all the data in your slides and have come up with this killer presentation. Fifty slides with a number of charts and graphs should be good enough to impress your boss. Or is it?

Hold on. A good idea is to step back, rethink and make sure that you have covered all these aspects.

1. Getting the perspective right

The first step is to make sure that you have clearly identified the message you want to communicate and its relevance to business. For example you may want to show a comparison of the change in sales volumes in different regions after a particular campaign or you may want to convince the management about a reduction in Turnaround Time (TAT) that can be achieved by optimizing the production process. Any information you present and how you present it is successful only as long as it communicates the relevant message effectively to your target audience.

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4 charts show why South Africa earned the reputation of 'Safe Haven' for investors among BRICS nations

Good corporate governance and ethical practices by companies are considered essential for well functioning capital markets all over the world. Ethical practices, transparency in dealings, better investor protection and efficient boards boost investor confidence and lead to capital inflows in markets. A comparison of the BRICS nations with developed nations on 5 parameters of corporate governance, as reported in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14, shows why South Africa earned the reputation of ‘safe haven’ for investors.  

Ethical Behavior of Firms

Ethical behavior is assessed by company policies on bribery, kickbacks, protection money, facilitation payments, gifts, fraud, money laundering, and political and charitable contributions. Management systems and procedures outlining frameworks for risk assessment, sanctions, whistle-blowing, continuous internal self-review and external reporting also fall under the purview of ethical behavior. In 2013, South Africa ranked at No37 on ethical behavior, ahead of other BRICS nations, with China at a distant 54^th rank. India & Brazil ranked 86^th and 87^th and Russia ranked the lowest among BRICS nations on this parameter.  

Source : Global Competitiveness Report WEF 2013

   

Strength of Auditing and Reporting Standards

Fair practices and transparency in dealings are critical to attracting foreign investments. 

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World's Population Distribution - A Few Facts

11th July was the World Population Day. Here are some facts about population Distribution in the World.

Population Distribution in the World

7.2 billion people are estimated to be inhabiting the earth today of which 1.39 billion people are living in China and 1.29 billion in India.

If all land on Earth were as densely populated as Mumbai, entire human population could fit in Germany.

There are more people living inside this circle than outside of it.

Countries with Highest and Lowest Population Growth since 1990.

Japan and Czech Republic are the countries with the lowest population growth since 1990.

Countries with the highest population growth since 1990 are not China or India but Qatar and UAE.

Most Populous Cities in the World

10 Top populous cities in the World in 2014 as reported by the UN are :

1. Tokyo
2. Delhi
3. Mexico City,Mumbai,Sao Paulo
4. Osaka
5. Beijing
6. New York-Newark,Cairo

Six Charts that show the State of Innovation in India

Economists, academicians for long have recognized the role of innovation in a country’s economic growth. National innovative capacity is defined as the ability of a country – as both a political and economic entity – to produce and commercialize a flow of innovative technology over the long term.

As India takes on its path of economic recovery, the time is apt to look at the state of innovation in India, reflected in its R&D capability. Though the growth of R & D services has been consistently high at around 20 % in the last few years, but India ranks low in its capacity for innovation as compared to developed nations as well as other BRICS nations. In the global gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) of US$ 1.6 trillion for 2014, India’s share is around 3 %, which is around five times lower than that of China.

The Economic Survey Report of India 2013-2014 has highlighted the current state of R&D services in India. A look at the following charts reveals the determinants of India’s innovative capacity and the opportunities for improvement in this area.

Capacity for innovation

According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14 released by World Economic Forum in Sept 2013, India’s capacity for innovation has been lower than 3 of the other BRICS countries (Brazil, China, and South Africa).

Data: Economic survey 2013-2014

University–industry collaboration on R&D

Though India scores better than China, Brazil, and Russia on quality of scientific research institutions, its poor score on university–industry collaboration on R&D as compared to some other BRICS nations like China and South Africa, indicates that research undertaken in such institutions is not percolating down for commercial usage.

Data: Economic survey 2013-2014

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How Corporate Culture Impacts Gender Diversity At Your Workplace

‘The importance of Gender Diversity at workplace' is one of those issues that are often spoken about in conferences, reiterated in survey findings, and yet seldom are a priority unless there is a mandatory obligation for companies to comply with.

With the exception of a handful of countries such as Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, Philippines, women are generally under-represented in the corporate sector in a large number of countries all over the world.

Even in the Tech companies that are known to promote employee friendly culture, diversity remains an issue. Google admittedly has a gender gap, so has Facebook. LinkedIn, too would like to improve its gender diversity numbers says the company's Vice President of global talent, Pat Wadors. Twitter was criticized for filing the I.P.O. without a single woman on the board, subsequent to which it appointed Marjorie Scardino as the first woman director to its board.

What impedes gender parity at workplaces?

Among the factors that hinder gender parity at workplaces, ‘Cultural Inertia’ emerges as a predominant reason that holds back the adoption of gender diversity practices.

In Japan, for instance, women have been identified as the most under-utilized resources. A traditionally conservative country, Japan did not encourage its women to remain in full time employment, notwithstanding their high level of education. Faced with the problem of an ageing population and shrinking workforce, Japan is now waking up to the fact that utilization of women talent pool is crucial for the revitalization of its economy. ‘Womenomics’, a term coined by Kathy Matsui in 1999, now forms a vital component of Abenomics, the set of economic reforms advocated by the Prime Minister Shinjo Abe.

India Inc. too has a long way to go for bridging the gender gap at workplace. In India, while entry is easier and a reasonable percentage of entry level positions are filled by women, the percentage of women declines sharply as we move up the ranks. What happens in between the levels is an oft-repeated story.

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