Risk Management Strategies

          Today in class, I had to analyse the risk management strategies of Sidra supermarket in the Student Centre. I was extremely interested in this project and examining the way the store was set up and thus decided to do the same when I went to shop for make up today at 51 East. While I was walking around trying to find all of my favourite items, I was paying close attention to the conventions used by the store and how they appealed to their customers.
          I tried to answer the first question from the worksheet with this new scenario I was in. The standard items I would find in this section was obviously makeup, perfumes, body soap and face creams. I also expected to see organized stands that divide all of the different products, and a colourful displays for every different brand available.

          The second question on the worksheet involved pointing out different risk management techniques used by the business. The first was having well known brands and companies that are known internationally and locally. Their brands included both successful high-end companies and regular ones. Some high end brands also used celebrities as the face of their products. For example, Charlize Theron models for Dior make up and her photo was blown up on the wall of that section. This is considered to be a risk management strategy as Dior hired a prominent figure to be a part of their campaign.

Each brand also sold every make up product they have available. For example, the Chanel stand included eye shadow, blush, lipstick, mascara, perfumes, creams, soaps, nail polish and much more. This is called overproduction where you create more cultural products than the market can sustain in hopes that a few big hits will cover the numerous losses. This concept applied with every brand in the make up section.

Another technique was the use of product placement. At the entrance of the store, the first thing you would see in this section was a massive perfume display for Guerlain. It was a small-elevated stage by the escalator and was designed beautifully. One could not help and stare at the stand if they pass by it. This was intentionally done by the brand in order to promote their latest collection. If one likes it, they’re most likely to look at the other products by the same brand.

Lastly, they included a small coffee shop in the middle of the make up department. This was clever and appealing, especially towards men, as they now get to enjoy a cup of coffee while their wife shops for new make up.
          The last question on the worksheet asked if we saw any examples of glocalization. This is when a product imported from another country has been customized to appeal to the local audience. I personally did not see any examples of glocalization as you cannot modify a lipstick number or blush shade. As this may be inconvenient for the locals who do not speak English, many of the saleswomen spoke Arabic and therefore were taught to deal with this dilemma.

Dance+Romance+Fight=Success?

With over a 1000 films being churned out in 10 or more languages every year, the Indian film industry is more than capable of satisfying the needs of the billion-strong movie aficionados in the country. Yet if I was to count the number of those movies released even in the last 5 years that had a different content, I would be left with a considerably small number. Why is this the case? The answer very much lies in the risk management topic of sociology which highlights the strategies adopted by movie producers in ensuring profits with their movies.but with much less at stake.

The case of the Indian film fraternity is no different. Its first and most significant strategy has been to conform to certain conventions related to the content of the movie: which I describe as the dance+romance+fight formula. Almost all Indian movies, be it in "Bollywood" or the many smaller regional industries always seem to contain these three elements in some form of the other; almost as if it were a requirement. It shouldn't be surprising then  for an audience to find the hero and his lady crooning to tunes in the posh locales of Switzerland, only seconds after he saves her from the evil schemes of the villain. The hyperbolic,exuberant  impression of life that these movies generate is all but a distraction from the rigors of reality and perhaps this is why this tried- and-tested mantra has continued to work wonders on audiences.

The other noticeable issue that could possibly cause a continuum of traditional genres is the imbalance in power between different production houses. With successful businessmen entering the field of movie production and  their influence on casting bankable stars and promoting their movies through aggressive campaigning; the chances for the others to release a successful movie reduce significantly, regardless of the quality of their content. There have been several instances where movies with great stories have been sidelined by their much more popular, more extravagant counterparts. As a consequence, audiences are left with watching movies these bigger production houses present, which are often formulaic and hackneyed.

Overproduction is at present, an obvious factor that the Indian film industry depends on heavily. It is founded on a belief that by creating far more movies than the industry needs, the few big hits would compensate for the losses incurred by the many flops. It is this belief that I consider to be at the heart of the issue of similar content in films. Why need 1000 films to establish a successful industry, when out of those 1000, most of them are gone without a trace? Producing fewer movies would give room for experimentation both on the producing aspect and the film-making aspect; thereby giving room for unique plots and ultimately satisfying audiences.

While, this alternative idea is yet to be fully explored by the Indian film industry, in recent years there have been quite a few movies that have challenged not just the famous dance and romance formula but also the stereotype that lower budget films can never reach the kind of success that those with a famous cast can.
Here are some of those exceptional movies that are still revered by audiences :

Here are some articles describing the Indian film industry :

Indian film industry

stereotypes in indian movies

http://www.inbollywood-movies-from-the-soul-that-will-rule-the-world-842327.html