All Articles

Jobs & Careers
448

Lock, Stock & Trade (LST) is an annual entrepreneurship event which aims to inspire the younger generation towards entrepreneurship. At LST, the audience learn about diverse business opportunities; hear from leading entrepreneurs and financiers how to start and grow companies; and match their investment savvy against professionals in a simulated stock trading game.

At this one day event, the SPJIMR student teams representing the entrepreneur and investment banker present carefully selected real life private company profiles to the audience. These companies are open for evaluation and trading by the audience who acting as investors mock 'invest' in shares of their choice. The stocks are allotted through bidding and the ultimate stock prices are determined by the market forces. At the end of the day, the winning 'investors' are those with highest value portfolios and the winning company that which has the highest market capitalization. The game provides opportunity for many a player to bid, trade and build their portfolio, and experience... the Dalal Street excitement!

LST aims to raise interest in entrepreneurship among college students and help them start new ventures, 'sometime, if not now'. The 18 business presentations provide the audience an opportunity to know about business opportunities not generally showcased to the public; learn from leading entrepreneurs and financiers on how to create a company; and match their investment savvy by competing in the mock investment game. All these businesses are operational and are run by families of FMB (Family Business Management) students of SPJIMR. The FMB student (entrepreneurs) and the PGDBM students (business analysts) partner to make the presentations for each business.
LST had an immensely successful debut in 2004 with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw as the keynote speaker.

Key note address by Subroto Bagchi, Co-founder and COO, MindTree Consulting. Panel on "From Idea to IPO: The Entrepreneur's Progress" discussed by eminent entrepreneurs and financiers including Shravan Shroff, MD, Shringar

Cinemas Ltd., Pravin Gandhi, Partner, Infinity Ventures, Devendra Saharia, Co-founder & President Ajuba International (health care BPO), Vijay Chandok , Country Head, Small Enterprise Group, ICICI Bank. Company presentations by 18 real life companies. 500 excited people including students, entrepreneurs, faculty and professionals attended the event - to play the IPO game and network.

Attractions of LST 2006
In LST 2006, the attractions are the keynote address by Chetan Maini, Deputy Chairman, Reva Electric Car Company. A distinguished panel consisting of Ajay Hattangdi , Senior VP, Silicon Valley Bank (Global), Prof. Ed Rubesch, Faculty for Entrepreneurship at Thammasat B-School, Bangkok, Mahesh Murthy, CEO, Pinstrom, and founder, Passion Fund , R. Sriram, CEO, Crosswords, Aashish Bhinde, Senior VP, Avendus, would be present for a panel discussion.

Elaborating on SPJIMR's entrepreneurship efforts, the Dean, Dr. Manesh Shrikant, mentions, "Entrepreneurship and networking define our DNA at SPJIMR. We intend to leverage the opportunity provided by NEN to extend the scale and scope of our entrepreneurship curriculum for family businesses, executives and the student community." LST is a model example of productive collaboration bet.



449

The one-day programme was a mix of presentations by students and panel discussions, which focused on how companies manage their global vision, while at the same time customizing their product and services to retain the Indian flavour.

Further, in a unique workshop, pre-selected ISB students worked in teams of six, along with a Brand Manager. Each team worked on a case presented to them on broad themes of Retail and Telecom and an alumnus mentored them. The teams analysed the given issue and presented several interesting recommendations before the panellists, comprising of Vijay Ramachandran, Head, Marketing, Citigroup, Elango T, CEO, A.P Circle, Airtel and D Shivakumar, MD, Mobile Phones, Nokia India and Nirmal Dayani, Director Marketing, ESPN/Star Sports. From suggestions about a zero cost handset, to developing retail work force, to a hub and spoke model for the Indian retailers, the students displayed innovative ideas, all backed with scalability, and taking into account all local concerns.

D Shivakumar presented his thought model about the “beaten to death”, Think Global Act Local theme. He went a step ahead and said, “Think global, manage regional and act local.” Shivakumar added, “Marketers run into the risk of either being hopelessly global or mindlessly local. Smart marketers strive to strike balance between the two.” In an attempt to define 'local', Shivakumar put forth an out of the box adage, “Listen to global and then go do your own thing.”

Vijay Ramchandran simply asked, “Why bother?” He urged to go beyond binaries of global and local. “Most multinational brands look for consumer similarities and not differences. Most of these brands are founded on a single human insight that transcends markets, “he concluded.

Guest speaker for the event, Dipak C Jain, Dean, Kellogg School of Management, delivered the closing address. “A better phrase for Think global, act local could be – Global presence, local relevance,” Dean Jain suggested. He said that the idea of an institution like ISB was a perfect example of thinking globally and acting locally. “The students here get a global perspective but use it in a local environment,” said Dean Jain. He said that world today is becoming bipolar and that we need to go beyond 'global' and 'local' and think not in terms of geographical areas, but changing demographics.

The conclave proved to be an excellent learning and networking ground, giving the students an insight into the industry mind. It also proved useful to showcase their own forte and gave them invaluable team experience and contact hours with industry experts.

450

The real change which the batch '97 noticed is that in these 10 years the institute has advanced enormously in every which aspect; infrastructure, the new campus, number of faculty, number of course offerings, number of application received and most obviously the sharp rise in salaries. On the other side what the current batch got to know that in the span of 10 years the alumni has moved on to bigger things professionally. It was really inspiring to see the growth achieved in both the sides.
The event was an informal one; more like a family get together. Just the batch '97 and the faculty who taught them were there and were accompanied by batch '07 and '08 and the current faculty.

The event started mid day with grand reception of the batch and their interaction with current faculty. Real core of the event was the introduction of '97 batch to the current batches. The format was a presentation with the pictures, nick names and description which was collected from the batch itself. The real fun was to see that how the external personalities change along with time but the inner driving forces remains somehow same even after this long a time. Along with the introduction every batch mate talked about their experience in those days and the changes they are seeing right now. The Director, Dr. Rajani Gupte, felicitated them with the memento and slam book.
On this occasion SIIB launched its 'Alumni Portal'. This is meant to increase interaction between the alumni and the institute.

Event got a colourful hue with a series of cultural events. Every bit of it was a enjoyed by the alumni as it had the tinge of nostalgia and humor. The event came to an end with the vote of thanks by Mr. Avinash Purandare (Faculty) and appreciation of the entire student team who made this event possible.

In totality, the event was a great interaction between current batches and the batch '97. It surely has strengthened bonds between the alumni and the institute.



451

The FMS Delegation to LUMS returned back to India with a wealth of insights and experiences in December. The aim of the visit was to give the students a holistic experience, rather than a purely academic one; the students therefore returned with a better understanding of the life of a management student in Pakistan, as well as of the rich culture of Lahore.

The New Year brings with it an opportunity to make the bond established between the students of the two premier B-Schools even stronger! FMS is playing host to the LUMS Delegation which has reached Delhi. This is the first ever visit by Pakistani B-School students to India, and signifies how Higher Education is becoming the new face of diplomacy.
Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan, Dean, LUMS had visited FMS last year. One point of difference that he had noted between management education in India and Pakistan was that while the Indian system was more geared towards corporate placements, in Pakistan, there was a strong emphasis on Family Business Management. The LUMS Delegation will now provide a student perspective on the similarities as well as differences in education as well as other aspects of life in India and Pakistan.

As part of their stay in India, the students will attend lectures on Strategy, Marketing et al in FMS to learn more about the life of a B-School student in India. Interactions with the Dean as well as other Faculty Members are also on the cards. The Delegation will visit Red Fort, Jama Masjid, India Gate, Qutub Minar as well as other places of historic importance in Delhi, apart from visiting Agra. To get a better understanding of Contemporary India as well as its Youth, the Delegation will also visit multiplexes, malls and so on.

Students at FMS have welcomed this opportunity wherein they get a chance to return the hospitality and warmth that they received during their stay in Lahore.

We would like to invite you to the FMS campus to interact with the Delegation. Interviews, Q&A; sessions, television coverage, participation in television talk shows etc can be tentatively scheduled for 10th and 11th January.

452

The Chief Guest for the inauguration was Mr Manoj Kohli, President - Bharti Airtel Ltd. Prof Shekhar Chaudhari, Director, IIMC, was the Guest of Honour.

The function was kicked off with a short introductory speech by Aditya Paranjpye, one of the Overall Coordinators for Intaglio 2006-07.

This was followed by an address by Prof Chaudhuri, where he commended the organizing team for this year for keeping up the good work done by previous teams and building on it. He appreciated the metamorphosis of Intaglio into a truly international meet, with participating teams from the US, Australia and several countries in Europe and South-east Asia. He introduced IIM Calcutta's various educational programs, including the recently introduced program for executives, to the guests present. He also mentioned a discussion he had had earlier with Mr Kohli about the possibility of Indian industries making a mark on the world stage in the foreseeable future.

Continuing the motif of Transforming Potential to Performance, which is the theme for the meet this year, Mr Kohli talked about the fantastic possibilities available to India's youth today in his inaugural address. Welcoming the future leaders of India, Mr Kohli stressed on the need to take measures to nurture the vast talent pool India has by building on human capital, improving the social sector and extending high standards of education beyond IITs and IIMs, the “islands of excellence”.

Expressing delight at India's good fortune in having two extremely learned men at the helm of affairs at the Centre, Mr Kohli further stated that owing to the gradual, but steady, cleaning up of the democratic system and India's growing stature in the world because of good fundamentals, India's economic supremacy is not a distant dream anymore.

Mr Kohli was especially appreciative of the development in eastern parts of the country in recent times, because of which there is a greater chance of equitable growth, unlike in the past, and which also gives India an edge over its competing developing nations. India's “trailblazing entrepreneurs”, according to him, have set the stage for many more to follow.

Moving on to the importance of developing certain personal characteristics – an issue very relevant to the students from leading B-Schools - Mr Kohli expounded on a 5-point basis. He stressed on the need for a positive attitude, a world-class benchmark, mastery over intellectual analysis, strong values and work-life balance for ordinary individuals to develop into inspirational leaders.

There were lighter moments in his speech, like the instance where he mentioned feeling nostalgic coming back to an educational institution and offered his post to Mr Paranjpye in return for a student's life. The latter, in turn, accepted the offer without batting an eyelid, not surprisingly.

The function was wrapped up with the inauguration lamp being lit by the guests and Mr Hari Nair, the other Overall Coordinator, followed by a vote of thanks by Prof Sougata Ray, the faculty coordinator of Intaglio.

The inauguration marks the commencement of a fascinating combination of intense competition, interaction and networking, debates and discussions and cultural performances lasting over the next three days.

453

In addition to the regular recruiters, 2006 saw the entry of bigwigs like Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG, Pepsico, Pricewater House Coopers and Deloitte, which recruited for the first time from Great Lakes. The growing visibility of the institute is reflected in many similar companies offering fall projects to Great Lakers.

As many as 81 companies offered projects during the one month project phase, with 37 of them being first-time recruiters at campus.

Great Lakes grew in reputation as a finance bigwig shone across again with nearly 30% of the PGPM batch getting a finance profile. Premier Banks and Financial Organizations like Acumen Fund, Standard Chartered Bank, Kotak Mahindra Asset Mgmt., KPMG, SBI Caps and Langham Capital reaffirmed their relationship with the campus.

FMCG and Retail majors too recognized the talent at Great Lakes with profiles in Marketing, HR and Finances being offered to students by ITC, Pepsico, Reliance Retail and others.

With a booming industry sector and multiple profiles on offer, IT companies made a collective pitch for the MBA students. Major firms like Cognizant, Covansys, TCS, Oracle, Lehman Brothers, Flextronics & Wipro offered attractive choices to the students.

Projects in consulting arena were also offered at Great Lakes by companies like Frost and Sullivan, E&Y;, Technopak Advisors, KPMG and Deloitte. Some companies, like Honeywell Automation, in FMCG, Manufacturing and other sectors also offered roles like Process Consultant etc.

Says Prof S. Sriram, the Executive Director at Great Lakes “The Fall Projects at Great Lakes, Chennai displayed the sound academic foundation and an excellent industrial interface. The diversity of the internships across horizontals and verticals on offer this time are indicative of Great Lakes equity in the industry. The successful fall project is once again a reflection of the trust that corporates place on us”


454

The Governor of Orissa, Rameshwar Thakur today inaugurated the programme at XIMB. Mr Thakur commended the effort of XIMB and said, “I appreciate the efforts of NACO, UNDP, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to produce efficient leaders in the society to address the root cause of the disease.”

It is anticipated that countries having higher numbers of HIV positive people are unlikely to achieve Millennium Development Goals primarily because of the menace of HIV/AIDS. Mr Thakur further added, “Recent media reports show rise in the incidence of this disease in the state. The government alone cannot be expected to control this menace, therefore I welcome every innovative intervention with focus on awareness to prevent spread of HIV in the country as it concerns our economic health and social life.”

During this occasion, Fr E Abraham, Director XIMB said, “XIMB is the first management institute in the country having both business management and rural management in the same campus. We have also emerged as a unique institute in the country having amalgamation of diverse programmes.”

About 15 XIMB professors from five disciplines of management as well as a couple of doctors UNDP officers are likely to be involved in this programme. "XIMB is perhaps the first management institutes in the world to launch a programme for HIV positive people,” said Dr S Peppin, XIMB professor who is also the coordinator of PGPRM.

Ms Alka Narang, Head – HIV and Development Unit, UNDP said that even though she is not an economist but the prevalence of this disease is going to seriously affect the economy of the nation in the days to come.

According to HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2006, India has an estimated 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, which is the highest in the world. The idea of this programme is to provide them managerial skills. The program will address leadership skills at national, state and district levels.

"The pedagogy for this course includes interactive sessions, powerpoint presentations, group discussions, case analysis, psychometric tests, business games and simulation exercises. The basic of every teaching module is learning with fun," elaborated Prof Peppin.


455

The evening bore witness to Lt Gen Aditya Singh, AVSM bar, ADC, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Command, Indian Army speaking about the Southern command of the Indian Army and the institution therein and also the concept of Naam Namak and Emaan, which binds the Indian Army together. He also spoke on the national security needs, and values of secularism, unity and tolerance from the Indian Army, which can be applied, to every organisation.

Mr. Ravikumar Chairman and MD of NCDEX spoke on creating value for farmers through an institution like NCDEX and adapting to already existing models in an innovative manner to suit your business needs. Simplicity with Impact interspersed with huge doses of humour marked his speech, and was the highlight of the evening.
Representing the social sector, Mr. Irwin Fernandes, Director Western Region – Cry spoke about the founder of Cry and his leadership role in building CRY as an institution. He said that Organizations must grow beyond the leader and should not be dependant on personalities or individuals. He highlighted that the social transformation of organisations, the ability to adapt and overcome crests and troughs to build a brand, helps make great institutions. Ms. Kimberly Blewett, VP and GM Morgan Stanley Advantage services spoke strongly against luck. She said there is nothing called as luck, it is simply where opportunity and preparation meet. She spoke about cross cultural adaptation and her experience on adapting to the Indian culture. She mentioned about the three cultures in operation, the individual cultures, which people bring in, the geographic culture and the Organizational or corporate culture. She said that bearing the cultural torch was very important.

Mr. Vivek Law, Consumer Affairs Editor from CNBC TV18 took the programme forward into a panel discussion. With the stalwarts in different fields talking about leadership and institution building in their domains, it was a power packed discussion conducted deftly and with great panache by a powerhouse moderator. The topics of discussion ranged from defining leadership to CSR responsibilities and cross-cultural leadership. A friendly banter between the General and the NCDEX chief was the highlight of the discussion and enthralled the audience. The discussion was both enriching and enlightening, understanding leadership from so many different perspectives.
Learning can never be complete without academic inputs, and Prof. Lata Dhir, the convener of the CLP program from SPJIMR provided the insights on leadership and the institution building from the academic perspective.

All in all it was an evening to remember! After all one doesn't get to see a General of the Indian Army, the MD and CEO of Commodity Exchange, the Director General –Western Region from an NGO, the VP and GM of a big Corporate House and the Consumer Affairs Editor from a big media house share the podium on a single dias and talk about leadership practices and institution building!

SPJIMR was proud to host this seminar and shall endeavour to host similar programs in future under their CLP program. Contemporary leadership Practices was born out of the need to focus on an effective and symbiotic relationship between the Industry and the Institute in the field of Leadership. As an initiative to gather first hand inputs from thought leaders and institution builders across domains in the field of Leadership and Institution building ,the seminar was a step forward in that direction.



456

Lock, Stock & Trade (LST) is an annual entrepreneurship event, which aims to inspire the younger generation towards entrepreneurship. At LST the audience learnt about diverse business opportunities; heard from leading entrepreneurs and financiers about how to start and grow companies; and matched their investment savvy against professionals in a simulated stock trading game. Being the only primary market stock trading game is India LST has been attracting immense participation from corporate world as well as reputed business schools.

S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) recognizes the pivotal role of entrepreneurship as a driver of growth in an open market economy. SPJIMR is one among five founding partners of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), initiated by the Wadhwani Foundation. Elaborating on SPJIMR's entrepreneurship efforts, the Dean Dr Manesh Shrikant mentions “Entrepreneurship and networking define our DNA at SPJIMR. We intend to leverage the opportunity provided by NEN to extend the scale and scope of our entrepreneurship curriculum for family businesses, executives and the student community.” LST is a model example of productive collaboration between SPJIMR and NEN.

At this one day event the SPJIMR student teams representing the entrepreneur and investment banker present carefully selected real life private company profiles to the audience. These companies are private businesses of the Family Managed Business (FMB) students of SPJIMR. These companies are open for evaluation and trading by the audience who acting as investors mock 'invest' in shares of their choice. The stocks are allotted through bidding and the ultimate stock prices are determined by the market forces. At the end of the day the winning 'investors' are those with highest value portfolios and the winning company that which has the highest market capitalization. The game provides opportunity for many a player to bid, trade and build their portfolio, and experience….the Dalal Street excitement!

This year the winning company was Atlanta Ltd, the upcoming infrastructure firm. The runners up were Anmol jwellers Ltd and Eco Rent a Car Ltd. These companies were trusted as the best investments by the budding investors and had the largest market capitalization.

In LST 2006 the attractions in addition to the substantial cash prizes were, the keynote address by Mr Chetan Maini, Deputy Chairman, Reva Electric Car Company. A distinguished panel consisting of Ajay Hattangdi, Senior VP, Silicon Valley Bank (Global), Prof. Ed Rubesch, Faculty for Entrepreneurship at Thammasat B-School, Bangkok, Mahesh Murthy, CEO Pinstrom and founder Passion Fund, R. Sriram, CEO Crosswords, Aashish Bhinde, Senior VP, Avendus were present for the panel dicussion which added new dimensions to entrepreneurship and was an eye opener for budding entrepreneurs.









457

On January 14, 2007 eminent panelists would deliberate on the topic "Redefining Services: The Technology Way". This will be followed by a Movie Marketing Workshop by Mr. Tarun Tripathi, Director - Marketing, Yash Raj Films and a play by the theatre group EVAM to formally end Serveskriti-2007.

This edition of Serveskriti takes a panoramic view of the Experience economy with the theme "Services: The Experiential Way".

The Global economy has witnessed a shift from an Agrarian Economy based on extracting commodities, to an Industrial Economy based on Manufacturing goods, to a Service Economy based on delivering services, and now to an Experience economy based on staging experiences. While commodities are measurable, goods tangible, and services intangible, service experiences are memorable. Service experiences are a distinct economic offering that can provide a higher level of value, and command a higher premium than previous economic offerings. Experiences are the fourth economic offering, as distinct from services as services are from goods, but one that has until now gone largely unrecognized.

In 'The Experience Economy', consumers are looking for service experiences which complement their lifestyle and fulfill their aspirations. From hotels to restaurants to airlines to IT to financial services, consumers are looking for service providers who strive to transcend the basics to meet their needs. They are looking for a service experience that is intentional, consistent, different, and valuable.

It takes careful design, collaboration between all the Functional domains to harness the power of people and deliver a meaningful service experience. It also requires the seamless integration of high-tech and high-touch; the powerful combination of technology and human interface. Serveskriti 2007 aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the some of the ingredients that go into the making of a complete Service Experience.

Session 1: Branding the Experience

Experiences forge strong emotional ties that are a powerful tool for creating brand equity and differentiation. Customer Experiences driven brand loyalty requires thought, effort, and resources. Just like in goods, branding is critically important in services as well. The more consequential, complex, and variable the service, the more customers need brand reassurance. Experiential beliefs of the customers overtake packaging, positioning, logo development, slogans, names and visual presentation of services. So, the question is how can one sustain a strong service brand? How different is branding of services from goods? How monumental is experience in branding of services? How does one harness the power of people and turn them into brand ambassadors?

Session 2: Employees - the Fulcrum of Customer Delight

In today's environment of sophisticated & tech-savvy consumers, companies which deliver memorable customer experiences consistently are able to create superior value and competitive advantage. With the transition from a service economy to an experience economy, the culture of service now plays a greater role in an organization's success. This session aims to understand the contribution of the Human Resources of an organization in providing exceptional service to the customers. How important is employee satisfaction for a memorable customer experience? How does the culture of service affect the satisfaction of employees and in turn the satisfaction of customers?

Session 3: Redefining Services: The Technology Way

Standardisation and Routinisation – the traditional manufacturing philosophies have made inroads into the Services domain. The proliferation of Technology based Services has redefined the contours of Service Delivery in terms of speed and efficiency. The boom in IT-enabled services has made it possible for Services to be delivered in a faster, more efficient manner. How can organizations leverage upon their technology to enhance customer experience? Can technology be employed to standardize services? What role does technology play in achieving a trade off between standardization and customization?
.
For registration details, contact 09899316670
Reporting time on 13.01.2007 is 9.30am
For further details visit www.fms-serveskriti.com

459

The two triumphant teams will be walking away with not just the substantial prize money of Rs 70,000 but will also receive this esteemed honor amidst a gathering of the nation's preeminent academics, industry's top financial services professionals and students from across India.

SPJIMR with its location in the heart of the financial capital of the country and its unrivalled reputation as the nation's leading business school always in sync with Indian market realities, can provide such a grand platform for academics, practicing industry professionals and career aspirants to come together and interact under the auspices of such an event. The research aims to identify potential upsides or downsides for a stock with a short, medium and long term perspective, to enlighten investors on the gains or losses they are likely to make by investing or divesting in a company.
Equity Research is a highly regarded profession in the developed financial markets and is fast gaining acceptance among aspiring MBAs as an excellent career choice. With the equity markets on a roll and with the interest of retail investors in the equity markets increasing all the time, the demand for professional research analysts and fund managers are increasing. In recognition of these new emerging opportunities SPJIMR's SBU-Finance Committee conceptualized KHOJ as an annual event to encourage business school students to prepare themselves for careers in capital markets. It also provides the incentive to students to step into the arena of financial research by participating in KHOJ 2007.

A record number of 250 student teams from the finest Business Schools had sent in their registration for this year's event, choosing to send in their recommendation for the outlook on a stock of their choice in a sector of their own choosing. A rigorous assessment of the entries by distinguished panel of industry professionals and academics have resulted in the short listing of the top 7 teams who have been invited to present their case before an eminent panel of jurists who have reached the highest echelons of their chosen profession in the equity markets.

The distinguished panel of judges for KHOJ 2007 comprise of the paramount corporate czars from across the industry including Mr. Anup Maheshwari of DSP Merrill Lynch, Mr. Sanjeev Kaushik, Lehman Brothers, Mr. Madhusudan Kela, Reliance Capital to Mr. Ratnesh Kumar from Citiglobal and Vasant Sivaraman, Professor at SPJIMR.
The final short listed candidates for KHOJ 2007 are from the country's top B schools like IIM-K, ISB, XLRI, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS and N. L. Dalmia. Presentations will be made by the selected teams on Pantaloons (Retail), Balrampur Chini (Agriculture), MICO (Auto & auto ancillaries), HT Media (Media), Colgate (FMCG), Reliance Energy (Power), and Thermax (Engineering).









460

Perspective: The perception, the perspiration… the perfection. Through diverse activities and contests, Perspective will explore the complexities and thrills of the business scenario today. Participated in by all front ranking business schools, Perspective will provide that excitement and sense of achievement that would be just right to begin an eventful year. Being a national event, Perspectives generates a lot of activity and buzz on campus.

Last year Perspectives saw a total of 100 participants across 16 best Business Schools in the country, which included the likes of IIM, SCMHRD,IMT,NIMIMS etc . This year, Perspective will offer Srijan: the business plan contest, Vyapar Vyang Chitrakala: the business cartoon contest, Sumantra: the book review contest, Vishleshan: the case study contest, Abhivyakti : the paper presentation, Pariyojna: the summer project contest and Spardha: a bouquet of exciting management games.

This year the Institute of Management, in partnership with Nirma Labs, has decided to promote Srijan , the Business Plan contest to generate innovative project ideas among management students. NirmaLabs, a technology business incubator, has been making keen efforts to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship across the country. (You may like to visit www.nirmalabs.org for more information about Nirma Labs). The winners of the Business Plan contest may be given an opportunity to incubate their ideas at Nirma Labs.

While the case will be available on the website by 13 th January, entries have already started pouring in for the paper presentations and the book review contest. What seems to have captured the student's attention is the fact that new events have been added this year. The Summer Project presentation is a one of its kind in the country. It gives a lot of importance to how students apply their one year of learning in organizational settings!

Besides the invaluable experience, there are a number of informal events to keep the students busy and working throughout the day! There are lots of exciting prizes to be won too!

Keep watching our website http://www.imnuperspectives.com/ for updates on this.


461

Speaking on occasion of the first ever-international conference organized by XIMB, Director, Fr. E Abraham said, “It is high time for all entrepreneurs as funds are pouring in from all sides and resources are following the ideas.” Addressing the budding entrepreneurs, Fr. Abraham said, “We at XIMB believe in integrity, honesty, transparency, commitment, passion, social and ethical responsibility, which entrepreneurs must possess to build high performing organisations.”

Participating in the conference as a keynote speaker, the youngest CEO in the world, Suhas Gopinath of Globals Inc. said, “Age and looks hardly matter in this fast changing world. To be successful in entrepreneurial venture you must focus on your product and customer satisfaction. Following this dimension, we have developed an open source ERP software for SME and we would earn money through its maintenance and services.” Mr. Gopinath has earned the rare distinction of being the youngest CEO & President at 14-years of age in 2000 through his California based entrepreneurial venture. Within six-year, he has expanded his business to eleven countries with 600 employees and clients like Airbus and BMW.

“In the morning, I attend lectures and in the evening I talk to my clients and employee taking full advantage of the time difference between India and the US,” said Mr Gopinath, who is also pursuing his engineering degree. Talking about the future plans, he said, “Though Indian companies are not allowed to open office in Pakistan but we are establishing an office there in September this year, as Globals Inc. is a US based company.”

Different aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation were discussed during the conference. “I wanted to become an entrepreneur because I wanted to change the way business is done. The hardest part of running business is commercializing it and making it scaleable. Money has never driven me towards being an entrepreneur. Raising money is like dealing with the devil, as all investors want their money back within 3-4 years time,” said Joseph Sigelman, Co-President, OfficeTiger. Mr.Sigelman, a graduate from Harvard Business School, is the recipient of Annual Star of Asia Awards from Business Week Magazine in 2006. “Now the business scenario is changing and the economy is growing faster than resources. The opportunity is bigger and better for entrepreneurs now. The challenge now lies in selecting right people, forming a team to share your vision and professionalism,” he added.

The two-day conference would also witness the presence of Dr.Atanu Dey, leading economist and founder of Deesha, Rashmi Bansal, founder-editor of popular youth magazine JAM and Rohit Awasthi, Head of Marketing/New Business Development at PaGaLGuY.com, India's largest and most comprehensive MBA forum. These key speakers would be talking on topics ranging from e-entrepreneurship and strategy for growth to social entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship. The conference is being attended by academics, entrepreneurs and students from China, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Spain and Muscat.



463
What are the 3 unique differentiating factors that set you apart from the SOMs of other IITs?

The most interesting feature is the exposure our students get to American Universities and business giants through our regular exchange program, for e.g. last year, not only did we have the six hour one-on-one with the legendary Warren Buffett, our students also had the rare opportunity to discuss strategies of Fortune 500 companies like Conagra and Union Pacific. In addition, our students go for regular internships to University of Nebraska and Creighton.

Another unique feeling in our curriculum is the six month project and dissertation which enables our students to implement their learning on hands-on-projects.

An inherent spin-off of our large batch size (largest in the IIT system) gives an exposure to others from a wide range of backgrounds. Interaction with service officers also undergoing programs with us adds a new dimension of discipline, management and joie de vivre.

Once an admission application lands on the committee's desk, what is the process it goes through for shortlisting?

The applications are evaluated with weighted points for academics and extracurricular activities and due credit given to post-qualification work-experience. The objective is to shortlist people who can develop to have good management and leadership qualities.

What was last 3 years cut-off for JMET?

We do not have any specific cut-off points for JMET. We derive a cut-off based on the overall weighted evaluation of the student's application.

What resources are at the disposal of VGSOM, it being a part of IIT? How many of these resources do students actually use and how?

Students are free to use each and every facility available to all undergraduate and postgraduate students of other departments – like the central library and technical labs. They are also encouraged to participate in inter-collegiate and inter-departmental competitions and fests of IIT.

The faculty for many specialized courses is drawn from the other corresponding departments like Humanities and Social Sciences, Industrial Management etc.

In fact, there is a lot of freedom for students to venture into areas of their choice through the entrepreneurial park.

VGSOM only has technical-background students on campus. Does it affect the batch experience when you don't have arts or commerce students on campus? How do you compensate for it?

It is true that most of our students are techies. This results in them being very strong in their analytical judgments. However, in order to have our students going out with good all-round personalities, there are concerted inputs for developing soft skills and studies of humanities subjects.

Is VGSOM planning to open itself to non-engineering students?

If you read our eligibility criteria, you would find the various degrees which qualify with provision for 'equivalents' in terms of course content. To this extent, there is flexibility in admitting non-engineering students.

Discuss this article in the Forum!
464

The distinguished panel of judges for the event were Anup Maheshwari (Head of Equities, DSP Merill Lynch), Shaina Mukadam(Head of Research, IDBI Caps), Dr. Mrs. Uma Sashikant ( Consultant), Sunil Singhania (Fund Manager, Reliance AMC).

A record number of 250 student teams from the finest Business Schools had sent in their registration for this year's event, choosing to send in their recommendation for the outlook on a stock of their choice in a sector of their own choosing. A rigorous assessment of the entries by distinguished panel of industry professionals and academics have resulted in the short listing of the top 7 teams were invited to present their case before the eminent panel of jurists.

The final short listed candidates for KHOJ 2007 were from top B schools like IIM-K, ISB, XLRI, FMS, MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS and N. L. Dalmia. Presentations were made by the selected teams on Pantaloons (Retail), Balrampur Chini (Agriculture), MICO (Auto & auto ancillaries), HT Media (Media), Colgate (FMCG), Reliance Energy (Power), and Thermax (Engineering).
Finally the coveted Khoj Trophy and the winner's cheque of Rs 40000 went to team from NL Dalmiya who presented on Thermax India. The runner's up prize went to team from SPJIMR who presented on Balrampur Chini mills Ltd.. The runner's up got the prize of Rs 30000 apart from the trophy.

SPJIMR with its location in the heart of the financial capital of the country and its unrivalled reputation as a Business which is always in sync with Indian Market realities is the only institute which can provide a platform like Khoj where academics, practicing industry professionals and career aspirants can come together and interact to share their knowledge and thoughts.

465

Ocumen is the flagship event of Oculus, a student committee, conducted with active support from the Student Affairs Office at IIM Lucknow. It aimed at helping young impressionable minds form an opinion towards the world of management that comes not from word of mouth but from a first hand feel of management. According to Dr D.S. Sengar, Chairman, Student's Affairs, IIM Lucknow “as an institute our objective is to contribute towards management development and nurture global, socially conscious leaders contributing towards upliftment of society. Ocumen is quintessence of our efforts to improve our environs.”

OCUMEN 2007 had some remarkable improvements planned over the previous years. The games covered all the gamut of functional areas that a management student is exposed to during his two year stay on campus like finance, marketing, strategy, operations and many more. The games were especially designed to be introductory, fun, easy to understand and at the same time, sowing the seeds of management in the children's minds.

Highlights of this year are:

'Money Matters', The Finance Game:
This finance game aimed to make young financial wizards of the participants conversant with the risks and returns, interest rates and investments. It aimed to evaluate an understanding of the basic concepts based on which the investment decisions are made.

'Market Place', The Marketing Game :
Marketing is one of the primary managerial functions and PRiSM hopes to use this event as a useful platform for information sharing across educational institutes. This was achieved through a quiz based on contemporary marketing issues, advertising and recent news.

'Opsessed', The Operations Game:
Operations Interest Group (OIG), conducted a simulation game for school children aiming to introduce them to the basic concepts of operations management.

'Teams Win', The HR Game:
Management is all about working with people in teams. There is a process that leads to formation and success of teams. This game highlighted this very process.

Miss and Mr. OCUMEN:
A test of quick and creative thinking in the midst of a discriminating audience helped in picking the best participants for the day judged as Mr. and Miss OCUMEN.

'Strategists':
Your today will take you to your tomorrow. But what charts this connection between the present and the future is strategy, the management vertical to be addressed by this event.

In addition, the day saw quizzes, skill-based contests and extempore sessions being conducted, all evaluating the overall personality of the participating students.

Ocumen aimed to introduce school students of class XI and XII, at an important inflection point of making their career choices, to the all-encompassing field of management. It tried to provide an introductory snapshot of management to young students through a variety of games and competitions, at the same time providing them with a unique opportunity to experience life at a B-school.

OCUMEN as an endeavor is unique to IIM Lucknow. It was first started as an effort to bridge the gap between the realities and the perception regarding management education. It aims to deliver this by demystifying management education through a day long event conducted on campus, at IIM Lucknow.

Our biggest success story was the fact that we could instill among the students an appreciation of the complexities of management and a realization of its importance in the competitive world today. The ultimate objective of which would be to chart a plan of progress for the country's education system by identifying loopholes in the system and an attempt to plug them by ideas brought forth by the stakeholders of the system.



466

The top ten teams from several hundred entries were invited to present their proposals in front of a distinguished panel. In a showdown that saw many brilliant ideas showcased, the team from ISB comprising Ali Potia, Megh Kalyanasundaram, Pranav Saraiya and Sindhu Shanmugam took home the honors. Their idea was a model that facilitates the transfer of simple, low-cost technologies to rural communities. Dealing with the SSI sector, they proposed to use just 1% of the SSI budget outlay to drive rural industrial growth.

Rural tourism and BPOs to promote alternative livelihood were the tools of choice for Aditya V, Ananth Chilukuri, Gaurav Kumar, Vasav Varshney, the team from SPJIMR who came in a close second. The winners walk away with a prize of one lakh with an additional lakh donated to a charity of the winning team's choice. But money is just one consideration, the uniqueness of the competition lies in the fact that these and three other ideas that were unveiled during the course of the event will be presented to the PMO as the contribution of budding business leaders to society.

In addition to this, the breath-taking campus of IIM-K played host to participants from several B-schools who came to take part in a plethora of business simulation games. The fest which just keeps getting better every year witnessed intense competiton in several on-the-spot management games and informal events. The 3 day fest came to an end with a pulsating performance by Hindi Rock band Euphoria.

Backwaters 2007 is being sponsored by Reliance Industries, RPG, Cognizant, Bristlecone, Lenovo, PaGaLGuY and Airtel. PaGaLGuY is the knowledge partner and Business Standard, the print media partner for the event.

For more information, please visit www.iimkbackwaters.com or contact Sheeba at 9846774441 or Shweta at 9846570842.



467

To keep step with the increased growth of its event, the Manfest Committee (a committee comprising of 14 students) decided to add another feather to its cap:- ISO 9001 Certification. Says Neeraj Trivedi, Manfest Committee Member “It was a big challenge for us to sustain the growth momentum acquired in the past 2/3 years. Hence, there was a strong need to put in place efficient systems and processes. ISO certification speaks about the quality level of our initiative and also inspires confidence amongst our participants and partners”. This is a milestone in Manfest's history that marks the culmination of efforts to institutionalise their success over the years. The passion, glory and charisma that have been the hallmark of this journey now have the support of processes and a commitment to continuous improvement. With this, Manfest will move steadily towards better quality management each year. Every successive conclave will bring Manfest closer to achieving its vision of becoming Asia's most recognized business conclave.

ISO certification achieved by Manfest is only a reflection of the superior quality of the students at IIM Lucknow and their willingness to dwell deeper into the application of Management concepts and theories Dr. Devi Singh, Director, IIM Lucknow “ ISO certification achieved by Manfest is only a reflection of the superior quality of the students at IIM Lucknow”.

Manfest 2007, the Magnum Opus, is woven around the theme 'Indian Roots, Global Ambitions' and aims to capture the essence of Indian thinkers and organizations making big pioneering strides in the global arena. Talks by eminent speakers start off with a lecture by Ms. Roopa Purushothaman, co author of the influential BRICs Report and Chief Economist, Future's Group. She will talk to the students of IIM Lucknow on the Truth and Myths of India Growth Story. This will be followed by talks by Mr. Prahlad Kakar - Ad Maker; Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan - CEO, Rediff; Mr. Raghu Pillai – Chief Executive, Reliance Retail; Mr. F C Kohli - Father of Indian IT Industry; Mr. Chandra Sekaran - MD, Cognizant and Mr. Robbert De Haas - Global HR Director, ING.

468
What are the top 3 unique differentiating factors between IIT-B SJMSOM and the management schools in the other IITs?

Firstly, SJMSOM has a very strong industry orientation with a series of events where eminent dignitaries from the corporate world come and share their knowledge, ideas and experience with the students. The objective is to make students aware of the latest developments and issues in the industry. There are six Continuum seminars (each focusing on one MBA function – Finance, Consultancy, Systems, Marketing, Human Resources, and Operations), a technology seminar, a business festival, a series of leadership lectures and a number of Diksha lectures in a single year. Great thing about these events is that they are all organized by students themselves and thus provide a great interaction and learning platform.

Secondly, Leadership Lecture Series (LLS) has grown from strength to strength and is a part of the compulsory course "Leadership and Vision" in the final year. The students learn through a lecture series, with a focus on developing all facets and grooming them to take the leadership roles in the society. The series features eminent leaders from the Indian industry as well as from other walks of life. Sri Sri Ravishankar (2005), Mr Kishore Biyani, Mr Anand Mahindra, Mr Rahul Bajaj, Mr Arun Maira, Capt GR Gopinath, Mr AK Purwar, Mr Shyam Benegal – all 2006. This year's list includes Mr Adi Godrej, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Mr Uday Kotak, Dr Ashok Ganguly, Ms Kiran Bedi and Mr Karan Johar.

Thirdly, SJMSOM has a strong belief in continuous 'knowledge creation' and transmission to the budding managers and leaders for application. Stressing research orientation, SJMSOM has a distinguished PhD program and present students include IPS Officer, CEOs, Directors of corporate houses. To name a few Mr Arvind Agrawal (CEO, RPG Spencer's), Mr Nandkumar Saravade (IPS) - Director - Cyber Security and Compliance, NASSCOM, Mr Pankaj Phadnis (Group Vice-President, Wadia Group). A few alumni include Mr Ganesh Natrajan (Deputy Chairman and MD, Zensar Technologies Ltd.), Mr Hasit Joshipura (President and ED, Johnson & Johnson Ltd).

MMgmt students have great opportunities of sharing and learning from these highly experienced PhD students as they interact and share classroom with them.

What are the top 3 value propositions for an applicant to join SJMSOM over a reputed non-IIT management school?

One, SJMSOM MMgmt. students have the option of taking subjects on credit or audit or sit through from other departments like Industrial Engineering & Operations Research (IEOR), Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology (KReSIT), Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS). The courses from these departments are great value-adds to the MMgmt. education.

Two, you become an integral part of IIT community. This itself opens up numerous vistas one of which was PanIIT 2006 - IIT Alumni 2006 Global Conference held from 23rd-25th December, 2006. It was a platform where 5000 plus IIT alumni from all over the world converged to Inspire to Involve and Transform India! and was the largest ever IIT alumni meet. SJMSOM's students had an opportunity to actively participate in its organization, being part of various committees, and were there at the Conference as delegates and organizers. IITB also has very strong entrepreneurial culture reflected through very strong initiatives like E-Cell, Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE), National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN).

Three, SJMSOM's MMgmt course gives you Technology Management courses which are taught by faculty who are the practitioners of the field. They're the entrepreneurs who've their startups in the business incubator here and carry with them huge practical experience. Prof S Banerjee teaches technology management and is the Chairman, Board of Directors, Zeus Numerix (http://www.zeusnumerix.com/). As for me, I teach IT courses here at SJMSOM and my company Iken Solutions is also a part of SINE.

What was SJMSOM's JMET cutoff for the last two years?

SJMSOM does not have a fixed cutoff for JMET. Depending on the profile of the candidates, SJMSOM usually gives calls to the best 350 plus aspirants among the top 400 JMET rankers.

Typically, what kind of students are best fit to be in SJMSOM's MMgmt program?

The rigorous admission process ensures that only people with strong aptitude, a passion to learn and a dream to lead, join SJMSOM. The background in technology has already equipped the students with good analytical skills which helps them to better understand the basic courses well. This helps to build a foundation to move to the specialized fields of management. People with work experience fit well here, as a large majority of the batch is with considerable work experience. Aspiring entrepreneurs also have a lot to gain from the E-Cell, SINE and NEN initiatives here. Being a part of the organizing team of various events at IIT like PAN-IIT, Avenues, continuums, cultural events etc gives the aspiring leaders and managers various opportunities to test their leadership and organizing skills.

How much work experience does SJMSOM value? What kind of class diversity has SJMSOM been having in terms of work experience for the MMgmt program?

An average work experience of almost two years clearly shows the importance SJMSOM gives to prior work experience. The work experience here covers diverse fields like IT, research, operations, analytics, teaching, marketing, SCM and design, pricing and cost control and more. SJMSOM also has a strong PhD program. This adds to the diversity and learning as the management students learn a lot from the vast experience of their PhD classmates.

What kind of access do SJMSOM's MMgmt students have to the resources at IIT Bombay? How much participation do MMgmt students have in strong initiatives like the E-Cell, SINE, NEN?

SJMSOM's MMgmt students have complete access to all the facilities of IIT viz the central library, the sports facilities etc. The central library has an impressive collection of management books and journals. MMgmt students regularly use the seminar halls and video conferencing facilities for conducting guest lectures and events.

IITB is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activities. Students of SJMSOM have planned and successfully carried out activities sponsored by NEN at the SJMSOM's annual B-fest Avenues '06. They have participated and organized in various capacities, E-cell initiatives. Infact, SJMSOM was a part of the first-prize winning team of Eureka 2005. Also, a few SJMSOM students work with SINE companies on project basis. There have been instances where an SJMSOM alumnus has had a startup in SINE in partnership with B.Tech students of IITB. More recently, students of SJMSOM wrote a b-plan for a startup at SINE and the b-plan stood second in the Economic Times-Wharton contest.

Will the IIT SOMs open up their admission to applicants with commerce and arts undergraduate degrees in the near or distant future?

Since the IIT Senate takes the decisions in this regard, I cannot comment on this.

Discuss this article in the Forum!
469

Through such socially conscientious events and initiatives SPJIMR, the nation's premier management institute continues to be dedicated towards reaching out and helping the mentally and physically challenged people achieve their potential. It is a tribute to their perseverance, determination and spirit. SPJIMR believes that physically challenged persons are assets of the nation and needs to be protected and nurtured to grow and prosper. The nation's premier business school deems that management education must play a crucial role in fulfilling the expectations of the society with great sensitivity and responsiveness.
Ehsaas had two components, a fun fair and a cultural night. The fun fair- designed, organized and manned by the SPJIMR participants, had dozens of games and activities in which the participants and the differently-abled children from various NGOs like Punarvas, Fellowship of Physically Handicapped (FPH), Parents of Downs Syndrome (PODS) etc took part together. The funfair also had displays of FPH products and paintings of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists association (MFPA). As the artists from MFPA gave live demo of foot painting one thing became absolutely clear that one doesn't need hands to be a meaningful artist. All you need is a sense of purpose, creativity and passion for art.

The funfair was followed by a dazzling night of dance and music, which was a collaboration of the participants and our special guests. The children danced and swayed as the participants sang “Dam maro Dam” and numerous other numbers. The differently abled children from DEEDS, PODS, Punarvas, FPH and others performed many dances and instrumentals for the participants. Their enthusiasm was so infectious that we couldn't stop tapping our feet and every performance was followed by encore requests and standing applauses. These performances were interspersed with singing and dancing performances by the SPJIMR participants especially prepared for our special guests.

The evening had a certain magic to it and the grit, determination and innocence of those lovely children captured our hearts. The purpose of the night was to sensitize the participants towards the societal issue of disability and to make the special children feel that they are also a loved and wanted part of the society, but I think Ehsaas was successful in accomplishing much more than that.