2.1. INDUSTRIAL SICKNESS IN PRINT MEDIA
Before independence the press in general had a missionary role and saw itself as a powerful instrument in the struggle for India's freedom, excluding the British owned press which was generally a supporter of foreign rule. Now the missionary role gave way to its role as a major media industry and like all industries it had a role to play for the development of the nation. It was recognized as a vital part of the nation and having a duty and a responsibility to shape the emergence of a nation.
The press as an industry developed a common outlook and now the distinctions were not only gone but a new philosophy of running newspapers as successfully as any private business which did not depend on any largesse replaced the old outlook that newspapers were serving a cause and often they were helped out by all kinds of people. The first press commission analyzed the economics of starting a newspaper and found that the major problems facing the industry and often leads to sickness were:-
Heavy initial capital expenditure required for starting a newspaper or periodical
The generally inadequate supply of finance for the updation of changing technology
Competition from existing established newspapers with substantial financial backing
In addition to the above mentioned problems, the other important three problems at present leading the industry to sickness are: (i) lack of right human resource management, (ii) lack of right financial management and (iii) lack of effective and innovative marketing management.
2.2. CAUSES OF SICKNESS IN THE EXPRESS MALAYALAM DAILY.
The factors responsible for sickness in the Express Malayalam Daily can be divided into two categories: (i) Exogenous factors and (ii) Endogenous factors.
2.2.1. Exogenous factors.
Exogenous factors relate to such factors financial, marketing and government policies pertaining to production, prices and distribution.
The periodical hike in prices of newsprint, the unfavourable import policies regarding the import of printing and information technology, the changing ceiling on circulation for the release of government advertisement, the additional taxes levied on the advertising agencies and other regulations that curtails the sources of informations are all exogenous factors that adversely affect the media industry.
Besides the above mentioned factors, factors such as non-availability of adequate funds at the right time and the entry of corporate competitive units into the industry have also contributed to aggravate the sickness of the Express Malayalam Daily.
2.2.2. Endogenous factors.
The most important endogenous factor which contributed sickness in Express Malayalam Daily is its weak management or mismanagement.
In media industry the chances for mismanagement is high. Because in media industry till recently power is vested upon the managing editor of the newspaper. His post is strictly professional and for the same reason he will not be able to manage the organization in its production, finance, marketing and in the areas of general administration.
The other factors such as outdated and obsolete technology, poor quality control, poor marketing management, overstaffing, lack of proper financial planning and management have also contributed to the sickness in the Express Malayalam Daily.
2.3. METHODOLOGY OF TURNAROUND STRATEGY.
Turnaround strategy is an effective management tool to overcome the critical stages of industrial sickness. But it is not possible to apply any one of the turnaround strategies with out conducting proper organizational diagnosis. Generally organizational diagnoses is conducted with the support of environmental analysis.
2.3.1. Environmental analysis.
Environmental analysis conducted in the Express Malayalam Daily identified the factors of SWOT in the organization.
The growth of literacy, spread of educational institutions, the spirit of education in women, the growth in population of working women
and their additional earning at home are some of the factors that affected the general purchasing power. This social environmental factor has its own magic effect up on the media industry especially in the buying behaviour of weeklies and magazines for women. The historic and eventful high circulation of Malayala Manorama weekly, Mangalam weekly, Vanitha magazine and Femina are some examples.
The weakness identified in the areas of technology environment is the outdated technology which is the reason for newspaper's poor quality, poor sales, increase in cost of production and increase in wastage.
Advanced technology can offer major opportunities for improving the product and can also eliminate major threats. The change in lay out and design of the Illustrated weekly of India by modernizing the 50 years old printing technology under the editorialship of the eminent poet and journalist Pritish Nandi is a good example. Pritish Nandi stated in the context that in order to keep ahead in the market one should upgrade and change and make themselves technologically compatible with the times. Technological advancement will also help one to increase the product life cycle which in turn result in increased profits.
The environmental analysis of the Express Malayalam Daily also shows enough potential to the organization. This opportunity of potentiality is being supported by the demographic and geographic factors.
The demographic factors such as the growth of literate population as well as the of growth of middle income group will increase the purchasing power which in turn positively effect the sales of newspapers
and periodicals. The geographic factors on the other hand creates threats as well as opportunities. As far as newspaper media is concerned proper consideration of geographical factors will certainly act as opportunities. This is one of the strong reason for the demarcation of certain pages in a newspaper for certain geographical regions
The environmental analysis stated above strongly recommends that the company must be able to move faster than the competitors. The strategic managers should always keep his eyes open to the environmental changes that arise due to the entry and exit of the major competitors. Entry and exit are not easy things particularly in a developing and protected economy. Entry or exit of the firm depends on the barriers to entry and exit.