1st Answer

Introduction: A retrenchment strategy would enable a corporation to reduce its

operations and cut down on expenses in order to achieve a position in the market and
industry where they are known for their core business unit, and they are financially
stable.
Businesses would adopt a retrenchment strategy because of the economic downfall,
losses and issues pertaining to legal challenges. A retrenchment strategy can be used
in order to downsize or restructure their business.
Concept and Application: In the above case, Citibank, when it comes to divestment,
the organization would downsize its operations or sell a unit of their business in order to
focus on the core issues and make use of this money in order to grow the core
business.
It is important to note that divestment is different as compared to liquidation. In
liquidation, an organization would sell its unit and even close the door, and in
divestment, the company would sell a non-strategic business and raise money in order
to move forward with a strategic investment in their core business.
In a divestiture, the company who has had an acquisition of assets and divisions, that
company would make an examination in order to determine whether the assets or
divisions would fit into an overall corporate strategy in maximizing the value.
If it doesn’t fulfil the purpose, such an asset or a division is hived-off. Selling a division
or part of the company is known as a divestiture. It is often used in order to increase
capital to enhance the strategic acquisitions or investment. It is also made use of in
order to get rid of business units that are not profitable or that do not form a part of the
core operations of the company.
Following would be a huge advantage of divestment for CitiBank:

Streamlined Operations – Citibank now wants to focus on expanding their business

operations to B2B and reduce their operations to the consumer. Most corporations
prefer evolving very fast as possible. However, this doesn’t always work out as they
expect and it is important to reconsider the business strategy. Instead of incurring sunk
costs when it comes to holding poorly performing parts of an organization that would
operate in the expectation that they would be able to finally turn around, and divestiture
would help Citibank to cut down on the costs and the time involved in B2C operations.

Companies that may use a divestment strategy often encounter issues with overlapping
of employees. Some personnel may perform work for the parent and the business unit
that was slated to ensure divestment. This sharing would often take place with human
resource, information technology, accounting and other such administrative functions
that would render services to the company as a whole and to its units of business.
Companies need to allocate personnel to the company or the unit with most required or
for whom the employee is not working.

Ring-fencing refers to an industry term that would imply that the company has identified
a group of employees that would support the business and that the company believes
must be sold or divested with the business.

For instance, if the purchase thinks that they are purchasing an ongoing business and
suddenly ten percent of important leaders or operational folks are not involved in that, it
could have jeopardized their ability to sell that business as it is not going to be functional
day one. Ring-fencing implies that the company would place an invisible barrier to
make sure that all the right people in the business are involved so that the business can
be sold and become successful from day one for the purchaser. This must be done
early on, preferably during the starting of the analysis stage.

There are employees who are targets, there are supervisors who are targets and there
are also certain employees who aren’t initially a part of the deal, but they get involved
with the ones who are, and these people also have certain questions to ask.
So, this means that there would be a communication plan of the company that doesn’t
get impacted by the deal as well.
There are also process partners, external companies and certain bodies that have to be
informed regarding the deal.

One of the best practices that are found in divestiture over the last years is to begin
communication with the employees at an early stage.
Sometimes, the requirements of deal would prevent that, like, in scenarios, when there
are strict guidelines on when the things are possible to be communicated, if provided
the opportunity, it is always wise to begin the communication with the employees as
early as possible.

Q&A employee sessions are also very useful, as enabling the employees to ask
questions provides a chance for everyone to voice what their questions are. Citibank
can also keep a detailed FAQ so that each question that would come in would stay
captured, would get answered and then gets fed to the employees. This relives a lot of
employees’ anxiety, and it costs next to nothing, as compared to waiting and trying to
place in retention programs and plans when they have already been going.

Conclusion: So, it can be concluded that the divestment would enable Citibank to cut
down on its operations to customers and focus on the business segment. The
communication plan to handle the reactions and anger of the employees would be to
simply tell them that they would get time to adapt. Two-way communication would be
preferred so that employees can voice out their opinions in a structured manner. Ring
fencing is extremely important. It must be ensured that the employees don’t overlap.
2nd Answer
Introduction; Most of the Indians are insane and dedicated fans of cricket, and with the
current situation of Covid-19, most of them are not allowed into the stadium to watch
their favorite matches live.
Nevertheless, the matches continue taking place without any hindrance. Ever
wondered how the IPL franchises would make money if the tickets are not being sold.
Concept and Application: Following are some of the reasons why IPL is so insistent
on continuing with its league in spite of the pandemic:
Because of the Covid-19 restrictions, crowd is not allowed in stadiums this year, and
this means that IPL is not selling tickets for the T20 matches. However, the fact has not
stopped IPL from their formation of eight teams to battle it out in order to be the winner
of the tournament. So, how were they making money if they were not selling the tickets?
A robust business model such as an IPL doesn’t depend completely on selling of
tickets. They ensure that there are various other outlets from which they would be
generating money in order to sustain themselves. The tournament of IPL has developed
as a valuable commercial property. It would provide the firm with an opportunity to
market and extensively advertise their business. And with this, it is possible for them to
easily earn money and continue the IPL.
The core of the business model of IPL refers to the idea of inviting private firms to own
franchises. When the franchise rights get sold at soaring prices, investing companies
saw the value of investing in IPL. By selling off the franchise rights, IPL was able to
generate a cash cow.
People always love entertainment, and this guarantees that showbiz would never
slump, and it would exponentially continue growing. IPL refers to a mixture of Bollywood
as well as cricket; and it refers to a source of entertainment for millions and the
investors are aware of this, and so, there would not be a shortage of investors.
The BCCI would collect colossal revenue by sale of media rights of IPL. With this
revenue model, the BCCI would gain revenue from the broadcasters as well as
platforms that stream the live match online, and after it deducts its share from the
revenue it would share with the team. The final winning team having the highest ranks
at the end of all the matches gains the highest amount of prize money. As per Business
Insider, around 60-70 percent of all the revenue that is earned by IPL teams is often
generated through media rights.
The IPL players that are being casted for brand sponsorship are seen. During the IPL
season, there is an increase in sponsorship. It is due to the IPL teams generating a
huge percentage of their revenue through brand sponsorship.
All franchises which partner with brands, sign contracts and agree to endorse their
logos on their kits. Around 20-30% percent of the IPL team’s revenue comes from
sponsorship.
The owners of the team fix the price of the ticket and if an IPL franchise is the home
team for a particular match, they also get ticket shares. Around ten percent of the
revenue for IPL teams would come from the selling of tickets.
With no chance of international or domestic cricket that resumed in India, the IPL would
get the players of the nation moving. After spending months sitting at home, during the
lockdown, the giant t20 tournament would enable them, especially the Indian cricketers
can get into the groove.
The most important thing for an IPL is its fans. The Indian fans have been craving for
live-action since the NewZealand tour. So, the IPL happening, even behind closed
doors, would be a breath of fresh air for most of the organizers and the team members.
The challenges: BCCI has compromised on few aspects when it comes to agreeing to
move the IPL 2020 out of India. One of them has to be not earning money like each
year. The cash-rich league refers to a huge flag-bearer for the board with respect to the
revenue, and would have to pay some amount to the ECB.
The franchise would lose a huge amount of gate revenue, and this was the revenue that
they used to earn by hosting IPL matches at home. The BCCI had reportedly cleared
that they would not be compensation for the loss of ticket revenue to the franchises.
The BCCI would have to decide the action with respect to the bio-bubble creation for the
tour and finalize the rules of the game on and off-the-field.
Another major obstacle that has to be considered is what if a player would test positive
for Covid-19 in the middle of the IPL. In case, unfortunately, the league gets cancelled
after a cricketer or if some cricketers test positive for Covid-19, and it would be a
massive loss for the BCCI in order to compensate. Also, there would be no other
window to continue the tournament with the team India travelling for international tours.
Conclusion: With the Indian government clearing path for the IPL in UAE, the T20
tournament is all ready to take place in September. While the move has many
consequences and threats, not having IPL would be a severe damage to the financial
status of the Indian cricket. In the current scenario, the BCCI has opted for the only
viable option and hopefully, for the cricket fans, the league must go ahead without any
major problems.
3rd Answer
3a.
Introduction: Immediately after the lockdown of closure, it was very clear that the face
of theatre would change, and mostly, this would be in the ability to gather together and
ensure creation of new material. Pre-recorded production of theatres that was created in
controlled conditions during the pandemic was the next streaming developed.
Concept and Application: Theatres must leave no stone unturned in making sure the
well-being of its guests and address any concerns with respect to COVID Virus. All
theatres should install negative ion generator devices at key locations inside the
theatres including the auditorium where the guests would spend the maximum time.
This technology would provide real-time air sterilization by the use of non-chemical
negative ION generator that would discharge up to 100 trillion negative ions per cm.
All theatres must constantly maintain stringent hygiene protocols and the measures that
are mandated by the Government and even going beyond them would help the theatres
to consistently deliver the same moments to movie goers in the post-pandemic world.
Theatres, in order to ensure health and well-being of their employees, need to follow the
safety protocols, and they can advise their employees to operate from home. Theatres
can also introduce a “Pause Break” for our employees in order to take care of
themselves and their family members with a minimum of at least 10 days of pause
break each month.
In order to ensure least minimum contact, all theatres should enable digital transactions
via e-wallets. In order to ensure that paperless movie ticketing is executed, the theatres
need to eliminate the need to purchase physical tickets at the box office, and these
tickets would be possible to be booked on the website or the mobile app of the theatre.
QR Codes are possible to be scanned in order to enter the cinema using the phone of
the consumer.

There must be no pat down search, only DFMDS (Door Frame Metal Detectors) that
must be used in order to ensure security check.

The theatrical technology mainly would revolve around upgrading the projection, sound
and screen. Technology should be advanced in theatres would largely revolve around
enhancing the power and the impact of the big screen, and to create an unparalleled
viewing experience, something that the audience cannot get while they watch the
content at home. In other words, the full focus would be on the total immersive
experience that covers each angle of the theatre, and this creates an excitement of
storytelling, and this implies crisper images, giant screens and all-encompassing sound
effects.
Conclusion: Technological innovations in the safety and well-being, engagement of
audience and enhancement of the cinema can be AR, VR, Glassless 3D, 4D
experiences that would have an important role to play. Going forward, to enhance the
cinema going experience for the audience, how well the theatres adapt as per the strict
protocols as well as changing preferences of the consumer would be important for
movie theatres in order to continue playing the main role in ensuring that they not only
survive but also remain relevant.
3b.
Introduction: Demand across media companies is changing at a rapid pace with a
huge rise when it comes to consumption of on-demand content and in-home
experience. Of course, this is paired with a sudden obliteration of an in-person
experience that impacts the venue owners across the country, including going to
movies.
Concept and Application: While this is the current scenario, once consumers start
going back to the theatres, it is important that the theatre owners provide them a
fantastic experience along with an assurance that they are safe.
The default of consumption of content at home would not be required to some but
comfortable to all. New experiences that have been fueled by technology would be
needed in order to excite the customers as well as compel them to “go back to the
movies and reinvigorate the industry.
Theatres should innovate in the cinema advertising arena as making a comeback after
the pandemic. In order to increase the brand interest, it should implement a 270-degree
on-screen experience in the advertising of cinema for the first time in India.
The proliferation of 5G and integrating the existing as well as new technology would
enable the new capabilities to be at scale in order to ensure that the theatrical
experience for the consumer is enhanced to the next level.
For instance, the ultra-high resolution scan as well as capture technology would enable
the individuals’ likeliness to be accurately provided into content that is in digital video
format. For instance, the volumetric capture can be taken as an example. This makes
use of several cameras in order to record high-quality video from different angles
around a person or a subject.
So, the software would align and stitch all the data that points that are captured in space
in order to recreate a fully volumetric 3D Digital capture of the subject. Today, this
needs multiple cameras with various high-performance PCS having multiple cores, and
a totally fast connection in order to transport captured video in order to stitch software,
all of which would become very costly as well as take a lot of consumption of time.
Theatres can provide immersive experience as it continues to evolve because of the
extended reality (XR – Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality Technologies) or even
hologram experiences that would eliminate the motion sickness when the movie is
being viewed. For instance, if the end-to-end latency (i.e. delay between the head
movement of the user and the change of the display in a VR headset is extremely high,
users are in a position to experience motion sickness. In order to avoid it, ideally VR
system would.
In addition to marketing a theatrical film opportunities in order to engage directly with a
customer in different ways can also be enabled. Interactive, Digital screens in airports
and theatre lobbies can invite the customers to interact “live with their favorite character.
They can be giving high-fives, take selfies and talk to their favorite characters via
personal devices or at specific locations of event.
Conclusion: Fifty-six percent of individuals who would normally spend time in the lobby
of the theatre would say that these kind of experiences would make them likely to go out
with their families and watch a movie, because they are not just looking to enjoy the
content, they are looking to enjoy an overall amazing experience that only a theatre can
bring. No OTT would be able to provide an experience that one can enjoy with their
family members after a tiring week.