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Participants included students from Pilani, Pune and different educational institutions across the state, working Professionals, prominent faculty from IIM Calcutta and other b-schools, in-house students and even two people from the armed forces. As Laura Parkin, Executive Director, NEN noted, “The NEN IIMC Ascent'07 is a great example of how academia is equipping young people to make the most of opportunities today, by bringing together experts and students. We're also delighted to see that this event has become a networking platform for the students of the different NEN members in Kolkata. Connecting these young people of different backgrounds is a critical step towards building a vibrant and supportive ecosystem for the next generation of entrepreneurs”

The focus was on understanding some of the typical issues and problems which any budding entrepreneur has to face while starting up. Sourcing of funds was the topic of the much admired session by Mr. Mahesh Murthy on 'Entrepreneurship, Business Plans and Funding'. His informal and understated humour cut well with the audience as he talked about the trials and tribulations of an entrepreneur; motivation for the same; the option of secure jobs as against starting up. How to arrange for Venture Capitalists to fund the venture apart from leveraging their networking, and the criticality of having a superior product/service offering were the salient points pointed out in the session.

Adding glamour to the event was the talk by eminent adman, restaurateur, cigar maker and much more, Mr. Prahlad Kakkar who talked about the importance of following one's innermost dreams and instinct with sincerity and dedication. His brand of humour and take on a wide variety of things made the session a major hit among all present.

Day two started off with a session on “Uncertain youth and the entrepreneurial mind” by Mr. Bikram Dasgupta, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur who joined HCL in its infancy and went on to found the Globsyn Group of Companies. The session began with Mr. Dasgupta presenting his book “Minds on Fire” to the Entrepreneurship Cell. He shared his experiences on how he became an entrepreneur and the major influences which shaped his thoughts, how he learnt from failures and to be innovative. He reiterated that performance is the best form of security in today's world. He gave his views on how young people can become entrepreneurs by breaking the twilight zone & go ahead to realize their dream.

Sunday also saw Mr. Saumen Chakraborty, founder of Intelsys group, who saw it through the dotcom boom and bust, growth of outsourcing, e-governance/e-learning telling about the problems both professional and personal faced while making an entrepreneurial jump. The importance of a superior offering; a sound understanding of the market; the need for lean and calculated capital expenditure schedule; having realistic plans; and most of all getting the right human capital were the some of the key issues he highlighted in the discussion.

Marketing and creating a consciousness around one's product/service is a key issue with most start-ups. Mr. Deap Ubhi of Burrp.com & Mr. Saumen Chakraborty who started the software product firm-Intelsys gave insights on creating the right marketing strategy in 'Marketing for your Start-Up, how to create a Buzz about your Company'. This was followed by both entrepreneurs deliberating on some of the Key Issues/ challenges faced during starting-up which could be potential causes of failure.

The feedback from participants was very encouraging with all participants extremely appreciative of the learning they received. All in all, Ascent'07 provided ample opportunities for learning and interacting with the people who chose to do it their own way.

"This is a new initiative that we have started this year and the response has been amazing. This will be instrumental in establishing IIM Calcutta as the Entrepreneurship hub in the country.", said Arijit Sen, member of the Entrepreneurship Cell.

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When did you know that you wanted to be a part of the family business? Did you work anywhere else before joining your family unit?

Actually from a fairly young age I knew I wanted to be a part of my father's business. Since childhood my brother and I visited the office on several occasions like office openings, launch of products etc. Thus we were reasonably familiar with the atmosphere and the people at Zenith. We were also introduced to the business happenings and operations at Zenith Computers at a really early stage of our lives. My brother is the CEO of Zenith Infotech. Whereas I'm currently the Executive Director, Marketing of Zenith Computers.

Indians are very brand conscious. What brand identity would you associate with Zenith?

Zenith has always been a people's PC and a mass brand. In fact that's how we would like it to be positioned as well. My fathers dream is that every Indian should have his or her own PC and that's what we are trying to achieve. We have slashed prices, launched different lines of products and given good quality products. Thus we believe in providing International quality at Indian prices to all our customers.

We are well aware that young Indians prefer to buy foreign brands, which offer more stylish, and high-end models. Therefore we recognized the need and launched Vu Technologies, where I'm currently the CEO. It is a luxury technology brand, which develops and manufactures high-end computers and LCD displays. This brand helps us reach out to a wider range of customers, as we would be providing high end products from Vu and other general products manufactured by Zenith. I feel the market is looking good right now, as people are prepared to spend and willing to pay a price for luxury products. Hence we are providing a whole gamut of product types to consumers to pick from.

What do you think has been your contribution to the organization? What do you value most as a marketer?

I would say that the brand has become more visible, the product is slicker and in tune with the needs of the youth. India as a country is growing and developing faster than ever before. Furthermore there has been a great consumer shift since the past few years especially post 2000. Thus brands need to gear up in order to appeal to the new age Indian. That's why I have tried to bring in and create more brand awareness thereby getting people to buy, use and like our product.

According to me feedback plays an extremely crucial role in developing ones brand. Simultaneously even making ones presence felt in front of the consumer is equally important. A lot of marketers say things like 'one needs to do a lot of research then plan accordingly'. Whereas things work differently for me, I don't believe much in research. And being a marketing student in college we were taught to do ample of research and work accordingly. Instead what I do is, I travel a lot. I go into the actual market, visit my dealers and try to interact with my customers in towns, smaller cities and metros. While traveling and discussing with many people I receive plenty of vital feedback, which I then make use of to improvise.

How do you see the computer industry evolving in India? What's your take on the emerging laptop market?

The industry will grow tremendously because there is necessity and requirement. After a while the prices would stabilize. But the main question is how interesting is your product for a consumer to buy it? As the number of applications increase the demand of the consumers also rises proportionately. Thus the market is good and is going to mature further. We cater to the laptop segment as well. We were the first Indian company to launch laptops in India. We have several brands and we try to cater to a wide range in the market. The main point is to promote the brand and get your product into the market. This will enable people to try and then buy it. I feel the laptop is replacing desktops only in the developed countries, whereas in developing countries like India there is still a lot of scope for expansion in the desktop market. In India still 60 pc to 70 pc people are using desktops much more than the number using laptops. Thus desktops will stay but the growth in the laptop market will definitely improve.

Were there a lot of women in senior positions at Zenith when you joined?

Whether women were present or not within the organization does not make a difference. I have never given thought that I'm a woman and I need any extra favors. For me it's the work that counts. Ultimately I need to perform my duties and do well. For me merit is most important. Merely being a woman candidate doesn't really help. I judge individuals on their abilities not on the gender.

Does having a woman in the senior most positions of a company make it easier for younger women in the company to grow?

I don't know! You need to ask the younger women within organization. As far as I'm concerned I consider the most crucial aspect as getting the job done. Being softer with someone because of gender is not something that I believe in. It's a competitive environment one needs be tough and get the tasks completed. In my opinion women are more competitive and ambitious than men are these days.

In your opinion what are the disadvantages faced by women managers at workplace? Do women have to work a lot harder than their male counterparts to achieve leadership positions?

I haven't faced any problems as such because I did not have to get ahead of any glass ceiling. But I'm sure a glass ceiling exists. As we know the computer industry is quite evolved thus the discrimination does not come across so openly. I feel women should not expect favors and just perform well. Henceforth they would be taken more seriously. Moreover I would not be the best person to comment on other women.

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You have done your BBA from University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Do you feel a degree in business administration is a prerequisite to carry out a business? Does it in anyway add value to a woman's managerial skills?

I feel a degree adds a lot of confidence and makes one more disciplined. At the same time you get to learn a great deal of terminologies. According to me if anyone believes that just by doing an MBA he or she becomes more intelligent. Then let me tell you frankly that's not true at all. I know a few people who have done their MBA; they wear suits and carry fancy laptops. But when they join work I'm like 'Oh no! This is not what we are taught'. When one is doing an MBA, you think as if you are the CEO of Pepsi or some big company. But eventually when one joins he or she joins at the lowest rung of the corporate ladder. Thus I think all MBAs should have realistic expectations. They should know where and when to apply what they have learnt. We too hire from b-schools but majorly for sales. We don't hire particularly for strategy as soon as they pass out. We hire them at a very basic level.

Particularly for women I would say they should develop various kinds of skills. Most important would be to have a good academic score so as to help you have a variety of options. I would also recommend them to participate in extra curricular activities, college festivals, have a hobby. Furthermore it's crucial to move around and interact with other people. Taking initiative and having leadership skills helps to add a lot of value especially while presenting oneself. We have are own products thus we need to know how to market them well. Unless you know how to do that, whatever you sell will not work.

Who is your role model? Among your contemporaries whom do you admire most? And why?

I do not have a role model. According to me things have changed like the concept of a role you play is quite different from earlier. In fact one visualizes them what they want to be five years down the line. Thus work accordingly to achieve their goal.

Do you make a conscious decision in order to maintain a balance between your personal and professional life?

Yes! I do make it a point to go out on every weekend. For example every Saturday no matter how exhausted I'm I go out partying or for dinner with friends. I think it is important for me maintain that I'm still 25 rather than behaving as if I'm 52.

If not a Director at Zenith, what would you see yourself doing? Do you plan to pursue an MBA in the near future?

I would be probably doing something in innovation. I would have definitely not been a professional because I was never among the studious children. I have no plans to do an MBA right now, as it's an opportunity cost for me. By the time I finish my studies the situation might change within those two years. I certainly prefer working than studying. Even the kind of student I was, I studied only the subjects I liked. When I was in school I wondered why should I study chemistry if I'm going to work with computers in the future. It surely does not work for everybody but that's the way I'm. I don't want to do an MBA for the stamp on my head. Unless it adds any value I don't think it is important for me to do it. I think one should pursue an MBA only if they really like management and want to be there. Don't be a part of the herd mentality.

What advice would you give to women managers? What skills apart from a possible MBA do you think would help women managers to do well?

I would advice them not to just walk into a job. Think twice about what job you are going to do.Secondly as women we don't want to venture everywhere. But when a job has to be done one should do it enthusiastically. At the end what matters is the result thus one needs to work accordingly. I think one should go out, meet people and interact with different individuals. Moreover one could inculcate a hobby, read a lot of different things that interests them. If you are doing a variety of things firstly you wont be stressed out. Secondly you wont be defined by your job. So if you do change your job it's not the end of the world for you.



Discuss this article in the Forum!
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The objective of this contest is to give the aspirants an experience of simulative environment of a business startup. Last Year's B-Plan contest had an overwhelming participation with students from various top B-Schools like IIM-A, IIM-C, IIM-B, IIM-L, XLRI, ISB, FMS, IIT-B, MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS, to name a few.

The unique feature of this contest is that the selected teams undergo a one-month mentorship under successful and inspiring entrepreneurs to refine their B-Plans. Final presentation is made to an eminent jury comprising venture capitalists, incubators, bankers etc. at Empresario 2007, NITIE, Mumbai.

And to top it all, the winners get a chance to incubate their plans at Nirma-Labs and get a seed funding up to 20 Lacs INR.

Besides the B-Plan contest, Empresario hosts many more events to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship. Mr. Harish Mittal, Mr. Rajat Sharma, Mr. Kishore Biyani and Captain Gopinath were felicitated with the 'NITIE Empresario Entrepreneurship Awards' over the last two years.

For details & registration, visit www.lakshya-nitie.com/empresario.
Send your entries to [email protected]

Important Dates:-

Registration begins from:
Last Date for submission of entries (executive summaries): August 1, 2007
Last date for submission of B-Plans: August 20, 2007.
Mentorship for final 5 teams begins from: September 6, 2007.
Final presentation at NITIE: October 12 to 14, 2007.


Empresario Team

NITIE, Mumbai

Phone: +91-9867655194

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.lakshya-nitie.com/empresario

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EUA is organising its first ever conference in Asia (in Malaysia - September 5 & 6, 2007) in collaboration with the Malaysian Vice-Chancellors Committee and the Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF). The focus of the conference will be governance of higher education institutions, an issue of major and growing significance in both continents. Alongside this conference, EUA is also organising a series of special visits for its members to higher education institutions in both Malaysia and Singapore. The Asia-Europe Colloquy is aimed at university leadership and senior representatives of university associations and networks from Asia and Europe. It aims at facilitating dialogue and discussion among participants and to establish a better understanding of institutional management and governance in different parts of Europe and Asia, in order to enhance exchange and cooperation prospects.

EUA will also be taking part in a range of key higher education events in Asia, such as July's QS Apple "Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education" conference in Hong Kong. Here EUA's Michael Gaebel gave a presentation on the 'The European Higher Education Area - New Opportunities for Asian Students and Scholars'. EUA will also be sending delegates to the Asia Link Symposiums in Malaysia, Vietnam and China later in the autumn and is playing a key role in the ASEF initiative to establish a platform for Asia Europe higher education collaboration.

These moves are part of EUA's strategy to develop the international dimension of its activities. "Whilst individual universities and national organisations have been pursuing collaborative links, this is the first time a 'pan-European' higher education body such as EUA is looking to raise the profile of the European Higher Education Area. This will bring a European perspective to international education discussions and help to widen participation between universities internationally," says Michael Gaebel.

EUA is not focusing its efforts solely on Asia, and is already building similar collaborative links with Africa, Australasia and the Americas. While supporting its members in their international developments, EUA seeks to draw attention to the importance of ensuring that international academic cooperation is based upon a community of interests, thus promoting 'brain gain' rather than 'brain drain' both within Europe and between Europe and the rest of the world, and underlining the importance of academic values and cultural diversity.

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The first batch of 15 students comprised of 10 students from L&T;, 2 from Mahindra & Mahindra and 3 from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. The Chief Guest for the evening is Mr. Neville Lobo, Director (MDC), and L&T; LTD.

This Executive Diploma in HRM, which was conceived by Dr. R. K. Premarajan, is an innovative programme aimed at working professionals to earn a professional qualification in HR without interrupting their career.

The course is of 16 months duration spread over four terms of four months each. Besides academics, the course also lays a large emphasis on practice in industry, as the last term of 4 months will be exclusively devoted to an Action Research Based Project.

The course follows a unique structure with two contact sessions per term, which will be residential in nature. The programme consists of 15 courses with each course having an 8-day contact sessions at places decided mutually by XLRI and sponsoring organizations.

The course, which will enable participants to get tuned to the latest developments and best practices in HR, will give the participants the opportunity to head the HR function in the operating divisions while also developing a repository of HR experts who can lead change in the organization. The second batch of the course has commenced on July 3, 2007. The new batch consists of 5 executives from L&T;, 8 from M&M; and 3 from BHEL.

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“Giving away these scholarships is testimonial of the fact that excellence is achievable, the greatest mistake in life is continually fearing you will make one” said Mr. Khandelwal while reminiscing his experiences as a student and fellow learner. “Management is uniquely placed as a profession. It is driven by ideas. The emerging professional and practical agenda is not so much set by practitioners but by Business schools such as IMT, consulting firms and an array of management gurus. Managers have to be on a continual quest for new ideas, new interpretations and new corporate cures. Updating knowledge is an ever present necessity” remarked Mr. Khandelwal.

Articulating it further, Mr. Khandelwal stressed the fact that “success is always an if. Managers must engrave those words onto their minds and hearts in order for the profession of management to grow in this harsh new century, fraught with perils and gleaming with possibilities. What a manager can do is to maximize the number of good-for-the-business decisions and thereby renew the corporate lifespan, to guide corporation towards their aim thereby bringing success to itself and the society at large. This is precisely why management has always existed and will continue to exist. We in management cannot afford to forget that. That's a message worth heeding.

The event saw the presence of the top brass at IMT Nagpur. Amongst those present were Dr. Anwar Ali, Director, IMT Nagpur, Dr. V.Gopal, Dean (Academics) and the Chairpersons of the various programs-Finance, Marketing, IT and HR. To Dr. Ali, it was one of the proudest moments of his life since he joined IMT Nagpur. “These students are not only competing to become better academically but also donating blood which can one day save a life. That in essence is what IMT is all about, about creating future-managers of substance and high social values who can steer India Inc. in the fiercely competitive global arena.

The 'Institute Day” function was held at IMT-Nagpur's impressive campus at 35-Km milestone on Katol Road. It started with garlanding of the statue of IMT's legendary founder Shri Mahendra Nath, followed by lighting of lamps and Saraswati Vandana.


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Assignments based on real time cases, covering the various MBA specialisations, were useful in making the students reach a certain comfort level, making them aware of what lay ahead of them in the journey that was to follow. The marketing assignment for instance, was taken up with a lot of enthusiasm by all. It not only made an interesting read, but also provided the scope for the batch to put their creativity to good use. Business quizzes were also organised to evaluate and increase the general awareness of the students in the business domain.

On a non-academic note, though, a lot of informal events helped in facilitating proper interaction between the seniors and the juniors. Events like the AD-MAG tickled the imagination of the students as they had to come up with advertisement ideas and captions for the products given to each group of students. “Assignments were the order of the day the moment I stepped into NITIE, but it wasn't 'no play and all work', we had our share of fun, with funny introductions, ad skits, songs. It made my joining at NITIE memorable”, says Sai Sudha.

The interaction between the senior batch and the junior batch was much required, because the junior batch was given valuable insights, which not only included the academic aspects, but also about the college in general and the values that it stands for. “The induction program tailored by IMPACT team facilitated juniors to smoothly transit to the NITIE lifestyle and it helped us tune in to the b-school culture”, says Rishi Shah. The BUDDY programme for instance provides a good interface for the interaction between the two batches, as each senior student is given the responsibility of a student in the junior batch with similar work experience and interests that could aid one in adjusting to the college life in general and help one chalk out one's career plans.

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An alumna of the institute, Ms. Bali, has had a rich array of top management experience in leading multinationals like The Coca Cola Company and Cadburys Schweppes across geographies spanning the Americas, Africa, and Europe.

The session assumes great relevance given the increasing the number of international placements at JBIMS. Ms. Bali outlined the strong process driven culture which is a hallmark of leading corporations in the US and Europe and the nuances in the work cultures in India and abroad. She spoke at length on her experiences and the challenges faced at various stages in her career. She exhorted the students to develop an ability to excel in every endeavour and to have zero tolerance for mediocrity.

Given the highly demanding and fast paced lives of modern corporate executives, Ms. Bali made a strong case for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. She cited the example of globally acclaimed marketing guru Mr. Sergio Zyman, with whom she worked at the Zyman Group as Managing Principal and Head of the Business Strategy practice. In her very lucid style, Ms. Bali made the session highly interactive, inviting several questions from the audience.

It was an excellent way to kick start the new academic year for the batch of 2008, through a session with one of the institute's most successful alumni.

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"The seats at IIM Shillong will be available through the common pool of CAT 2007 admissions," he informed about the seventh IIM, which shall be called Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong.

"The special name was chosen on the collective wish of the governments of all north-eastern states," he added. The institute will still be at par with the rest of the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Indore and Lucknow in terms of its status and ownership, said Prof Tandon, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU).

The plan to lay the seventh IIM in north-east India was laid three years ago in order to provide an institute with national stature in that region. The Union HRD Ministry has in the past week issued recruitment advertisements in the media for a Director to head RGIIM, Shillong and more advertisements looking for faculty are expected to be issued in the coming months. A non-recurring expenditure fund of Rs 120 crores has been granted to the IIM, a large part of which will be used to build a campus in Shillong. Until then, the institute will function from the old premises of NEHU in Mayurbhanj complex.

Asked if RGIIM, Shillong's accessibility will be an obstacle in arranging resources and jobs for its students, Prof Tandon said, "These issues will be worked out in due time once a proper administrative team is in place. But on the whole I think that having an IIM in the region will help boost north east India's potential in natural resources, forestry, horticulture and related sectors by a huge margin," Prof Tandon said.

Sources in NEHU said that although RGIIM, Shillong will not have reservation for north east Indian students, having an IIM in the vicinity would get more students from that area to consider higher education in specialized institutes.

Will an IIM in north east work? Discuss the issue on the forum
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Amity had submitted in the High Court that even though it was recognized as per section 2(f) of the UGC Act with the power to award degrees under section 22 of the UGC Act, the non-inclusion of its name in the UGC List (which is a non-statutory list, i.e. not required under law) was creating problems for its students as some Universities were denying admissions for further education merely because the name of Amity University was not to be found on the UGC website.

Allowing the petition filed by Amity University, Hon'ble Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed observed, “It is beyond the pale of any debate that UGC is a public body and performs public functions and although it has discretion in maintaining or not maintaining a list of Universities, once the discretion in exercised, it must be reasonable and not arbitrary. It was open to the UGC not to maintain a list of Universities falling under section 2(f) of the UGC Act but having exercised the option of maintaining such a list, it is not open to UGC to pick and choose and arbitrarily and unreasonably deny inclusion of the petitioner's name in the said list even though it falls within the definition of the word “university” given in section 2(f) of the UGC Act. This action on part of the UGC is detrimental to the interests of the petitioner as well as to the students of the petitioner...It is in these circumstances that I deem it proper to direct the UGC to include the name of the petitioner university in the list of universities, as per section 2(f) of the UGC Act that is being maintained by it on its website.”

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Miss Marleen enlightened the students of IMI about the structural change in the economy of Spain after it became a democracy in 1975. She discussed about economic liberalization, industrial restructuring and incorporation of women in labor market. .
She said, “According to 2006 statistics there are 19.8 million workers; services and construction being the most dynamic sector.”

Miss Marleen further provided the information that helped the students to gain insight of Industrial Relations in Spain. “The membership in trade union is lowest in Western Europe”, she said. She highlighted the issues like non-uniform electoral representation coverage and low work place representation, which is only 41% in terms of workers who declare union representation. The key issues of industrial conflicts in Spain like relatively high but still decreasing strikes activities, and increasing number of collective conflicts taken to court were exposited as well. “Spain still has capacity to absorb more immigrants, which shows why Spain is developing economically and socially. Collective bargaining is well-established practice in Spain” she said.

In the end, she generalized the whole scenario to help the HR students to gain a practical perspective about industrial relations and challenges associated with it in the current panorama.. She said “Social dialogue is a common tool to increase competitiveness and reduce temporary work among other agreements. The environment is changing.”

Concluding with Miss Marleen , who joined IMI as Honorable Adjunct Professor, Prof. C.S.Venkata Ratnam, Director , IMI, observed that India and Spain has similar issues on employment, immigration and labor laws. Further he quoted “ the physical distances may be very large between Spain and India, but the emotional bonding is too good”. That indeed was the similarity between the two nation's industrial relations, Dr. Ratnam said.

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The Main Theme - Managing Talent for Global Competitiveness: Issues and Challenges

The field of Human Resource Management is vast enough to encourage more and more discussion, which can only lead to more clarity and maybe concrete ideas on how to manage the complexities that govern human behavior in an organization. In fact, the most pertinent issue in this area these days is how to keep the high performers motivated, and hence productive. This issue is all the more crucial in today's wired world, where the only real differentiators that a business possesses are its employees, and managing them well can really give them an unassailable competitive advantage globally.

The Sub Themes for Panel Discussions are as follows:

1. Managing Attrition and Aspirations
2. Non – Financial Employee Motivators: Improving Employee Engagement
3. Planning for the future: Succession Planning
4. Recruitment Process Outsourcing: Challenges and Opportunities
5. Employer Branding: How Truthful? How Fruitful?

Like in HR Summit I, eminent personalities from the industry as well as the academia will hold insightful discussions on these sub themes. Apart from this, the Inter School B-School Competition will be held as a part of the 2 day event.

Inter B-School Paper Presentation Contest

Taking HR from the Backroom to the Boardroom

For many years, HR was consigned to the task of handling "people and payroll". It is only now that people have started to understand that people are the key differentiators in any business. It is also an accepted fact that companies which spend their time determining how people policies can support the overall business strategy could put themselves one step ahead of the competition. However, most companies are having trouble giving HR a central role. Maybe the problem lies in the fact that most boards forget that HR Executives are also business executives. So the major challenge for HR managers is to demonstrate that they do have business acumen.


Attrition: A Blessing in Disguise?

Every HR manager's biggest nightmare is handing out pink slips - even if the employee thoroughly deserves it. On the other end of the spectrum is the problem of retention. Companies are continuously struggling to retain good workers and keep them motivated. Yet another perspective is provided by companies like GE, which make it a matter of policy to retrench 10% of their least productive workers every year. In this already complex equation, factor in the knowledge economy and the issue of attrition. Attrition was long considered by most HR managers to be the single largest HRM challenge of this decade. However, these same managers are now coming around to thinking that maybe its good to let employees who want to leave go and hire new people at lower rates and mould them as they like.

Does the IT/ITeS industry need Unions?

Traditionally Unions were seen, at least by their members - salaried or daily wage earning workers - as a means to increase their pay. Now look at the case of the workers in the IT/ITeS sectors. They have been dubbed "the labourers of the information age". This tag is ironic because unlike actual blue collar workers they are paid handsomely. However, they lead extremely stressful lives, often working at odd ours without much contact with their families. So, today's worker is more concerned about welfare, rather than pay. The fact that the industry is not governed by any labour laws is intensifying the demand for union support. However, there are concerns about the effect unions would have on the reputation of the industry, among other things.

Registration and Contact Details:

For more information about the Summit, please visit: http://www.imi.edu

Or mail us at: [email protected]
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This exercise expands the 'limits' of learning beyond the walls of the classroom and updates the students with the latest trends in the industry and the economy. Samiksha is an earnest attempt is to attune the students to become more responsive and better prepared to face the ever-changing nature of business and industry. The discussion is aimed at providing a platform for student-corporate interaction and knowledge sharing.

In the past, issues like Insurance Sector: Opportunities and Challenges, EAI : Integrating ERP, Role of HR in Post Merger Scenarios, Knowledge Management: A new Mantra, Six Sigma: Myths and Realities, Management Consultancy: A new Mantra, SCM: Survival in Competitive Markets have been explored on this platform. This time too a very pertinent topic is lined up for discussion: 'Banking in a Developing Economy: Challenges & Opportunities'. In an economy that is still evolving, the rules of the game change every day. Since the banking sector mirrors these changes most effectively, it is instructive to study the trends in this particular sector. How banking generates opportunities for further growth of the economy and how it caters to the needs of its customers in spite of the challenges present in a developing economy presents itself to some enticing discussion.

To delve deeper into the issue, the following industry representatives have kindly assented:

· Rajeev Varma, Senior Director, Merrill Lynch Banking Research & Economy, DSP Merrill Lynch
· Mr. Vikram Subrahmanyam, Director Operations & Technology, Citigroup
· Mr. P R Ravimohan, General Manager, RBI
· Mr. Devasish Ghosh, Head - Organisation & Systems, BNP Paribas
The discussion is likely to focus on the following issues under the broader head :
· How stock markets value banking stocks and bank valuations
· Regulation of Banks
· Effective Operations Risk Management in BASEL-II environment
Considering the issues addressed and the collective brilliance of the panel, this discussion is an opportunity that no aspiring manager would want to miss.


Event Details
Date: August 4, 2007
Time: 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Venue: NITIE Auditorium, NITIE, Near Hotel Renaissance, Vihar Lake Road, Mumbai.

Contact Details
For further details about the event, kindly check the event-website at: -
http://www.lakshya-nitie.com/samiksha/


For registration, kindly log on to: -
http://www.lakshya-nitie.com/samiksha/samiksha_registration.html

You may contact by sending an e-mail to: -
[email protected]

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Dr. Jalan is a renowned Economist and has been Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1997 to 2003, at present he is a distinguished Member of Parliament

Dr. C. S Venkata Ratnam, Director, IMI said “We are both privileged and delighted to have in our midst today such an eminent personality as Dr Bimal Jalan as well as our esteemed chairman Shri. R P Goenka who has always provided unstinting support for the development of our Institute”.

Dr Bimal Jalan said “The difference between Management of Corporate and Management of the Economy is same as the difference between micro and macro economics.” He discussed this issue from two perspectives-domestic and external. The talk demonstrated the importance of recognizing the inherent trade-offs in any situation, whether for a company or for an economy. Governors of RBI have often been vexed by the present and real tradeoff between growth and inflation. Policies that promote growth often have inflationary effect. “For the industrialist, growth is more important but for the buyer prices matter more”, he stated the challenge is to balance the two often conflicting objectives.

Dr. Bimal Jalan had students impressed with his knowledge insights into present day issues confronting the economy. He highlighted the importance of bringing down the revenue deficit, which is a constituent of the overall fiscal deficit of the government. He emphasized the challenges of financial sector development and the crucial role charted for financial and other regulatory agencies: “There is a thin line between regulation and control” he stressed.

Dr. Jalan also took up other issues including management challenge in infrastructure public distribution system, public health, and education and monetary policies.

On external issues like globalization of the world- “Globalization attracts increasing interest and importance in contemporary world affairs. It also inspires passionate supporters and critics. These in depth reports explore different facets of the complex, evolving phenomenon of globalization.”

In addition to this, Dr. Jalan also shared his views on other external issues including sudden appreciation of rupee, management of exchange rate including flexible exchange rate regime in India, free flow of capital /management of capital flow and status of foreign exchange reserves and overall management of trade.

Dr. Jalan concluded with an idea covered in depth in his recent book “India's Politics: A View from the Backbench”. There are three pillars of the government, namely the judiciary, bureaucracy, and parliament; today, the importance of politics has grown in micro and macro economics of the country due to emergence of the coalition era of governments has increased significantly. Emergence of small parties, their switching support and the increasing role of regional parties has only added to the uncertainty in Indian politics. Managing the economy in such circumstances becomes more challenging and difficult. In addition, life expectancy of coalition governments too has shortened, adding to the enormity of the challenge, he declared.
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Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), will be the keynote speaker. The symposium will see a host of speakers from companies like Boston Consulting Group, Stern Stewart & Co, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touché, Ernst & Young, Technopak, KPMG, IBM, TCS and Oracle will also adress the Symposium.

The sub-themes in the daylong symposium will be: 'Changing Scenario of M&A; - Format v/s Content in Consulting', 'Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)' and 'Reinventing the Value Chain'.

According to IIFT, “This symposium is an opportunity for students, consultants and managers from the corporate world to be an audience to the crème de la crème of the consulting industry and learn about the changing face of the industry as well as gather significant insights about the opportunities and scope in the sector.”

The symposium's keynote speaker Arun Maira has spent more than 35 years creating and transforming organizations. He offers a combination of direct experience in consulting and thought leadership on the subject of organizational transformation.

PHDCCI president Mr Sanjay Bhatia will make the concluding speech at the inaugural session.

Upbeat about the growth and role of consultancy services, IIFT says, “With nearly 4,000 consulting agencies already present in India, and considering that the country is in the midst of an economic revolution, the scope for consultancy services can only grow further.”
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Conceptualized by Prof. T.Prasad, Mandi stands as a hallmark in NITIE's curriculum as it integrates the theoretical principles of statistics, managerial economics, marketing and basic market research with their practical application. It is a unique socio-marketing initiative and in that NITIE is the first business school in India to adopt the experiential method of teaching.
The central purpose of MANDI is threefold. Firstly, to make a difference in the lives of thousands of children who lose out on basic education. Secondly, students practice the classroom concepts of Marketing, Principles of Management, Business Economics, and Accounting in the real field. Thirdly, this unique event intends to impart an additional dimension to the learning of the students who buy these toys.

The entire amount collected is donated to the NGO Navnirmiti which provides the event with toys (for sale) in the first place. Last year's efforts went towards the education of many children – slum dwellers, tribal children and the children in special schools.
The inauguration of an event with such a noble cause was done by none other than Ms. Nandita Das, a lady associated with a number of NGOs catering to the educational empowerment of children and society as a whole. She stressed on the fact that unless we believe in something that we do, we can't put in our best foot forward and neither can we achieve the desired results. The inspiration and the drive to do the work has to come from within.

Also present was Wg.Cdr Surendra Malhotra who heads the CDMA – Mumbai Circle for Reliance Communications. He shared his varied experiences with the students which helped them in relating various aspects of management with real life scenarios.

The overall experience was exhilarating. Selling toys to children who - with their short attention spans – are one of the toughest classes of customers to please, was a learning that no case discussion or text could replicate. Strategising how to convince these young minds and inculcating an interest in them in just 10 minutes time span was a task in itself.
Mandeep Manocha, a management student recounts, “Selling toys on the street is no joke. Convincing parents is easier than convincing kids. The rains also made the task harder. But perseverance did pay in the end”.

Shweta feels that any product can be directed both at an individual and at an institution, whatever its use as long as it is projected/perceived appropriately. She recounts from her own group's experience at Juhu beach, “Middle class people who couldn't afford Jodo – the higher priced product- but understood the educational value of the toys, enthusiastically bought out the Tangrams and Pentominos.”

One of the customers Mrs. Purnima Desai had to say, “The kind of enthusiasm shown by the young budding managers is unparalleled. If each corporate in his own small way can do something for the society then this world would be a better place to live in”
At the end of the day, Mandi achieved its objectives to the fullest. It enabled the student to succeed while permitting failures that did not demoralize. It sensitized students to the social raison d'etre of the activity which was to make a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged.
Truly, Mandi is a wholesome demonstration of NITIE's belief that management can and should straddle the world of enterprise and profit with that of social responsibility.

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Dr. Dumblekar is India's most experienced authority and the only researcher in software-based simulations and games. He is the only Indian on the Steering Committee of the International Simulation and Gaming Association. He has pioneered the design, business plan, launch and implementation of the software based management simulation games on a national scale in 1998 which goes by the name MANTIS.

The students of FMS had the privilege to play the same under the module 'ICEBREAKER'. The session was a refreshing change from the rigorous classes and assignments routine as it provided a practical edge to the learning. The whole class was divided into groups of four and were asked to run a car manufacturing company for two quarters. Each of the team members were asked to don a role of one of the following: CEO, CFO, CMO or COO.

The objective was to achieve maximum profits and to learn the workings of a start up company. Different teams came up with different ideas to maximize their profits and increase their market share. What followed was an interesting and an exciting game where in some had good profits, some were losers, while some just managed to keep their necks above the waters.
Two rounds of this game gave practical understanding of the business to the budding entrepreneurs; while some learnt that there are many factors that govern the success of a product with price topping the list; some noted that intuition rather than factual data is what drives a good business decision most of the times.

Neha Gupta, a first year student, said, ” It was a tremendous learning experience for all the students and everyone participated with full enthusiasm. For most of the us, it was the first tryst with balance sheet, income statement and cash statement. But the primary focus was on self-learning, working synergistically in team, even committing mistakes, and improving on them. In the nutshell, the mantra “Discovery Is Learning” was implemented and utilized to the fullest”.

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Also present at the event were Dr. Gautam Raj Jain, Senior Professor at MICA and head of MICA-EDC along Prof. Atul Tandan, Director, MICA and Mr. Deepak Parikh, president of GLS.

MICA-EDC is a Centre of Excellence of MICA supported by National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to promote business initiatives in the area of Communications Management.

The MICA EDC City Center will be conducting an innovatively designed Post Graduate Programme in Communications Management and Entrepreneurship (PGPCME). This programme is a path-breaking educational initiative which will develop innovators for the communications industry.

The first batch of this 15-month programme will be inaugurated on the 15th of August 2007. The batch consists of 70 students, all of whom have a passion for developing self-sustaining businesses in the communications sector. MICA's resources in terms of industry linkages and the competent faculty members ensure a high quality of education and training in entrepreneurship and communications.

MICA has received active support from GLS for establishing infrastructural facilities for this programme, particularly from Dr Hitesh P Ruparel, Director of the NR Institute of Management at GLS.


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This seminar is all about understanding the emerging marketplace situations created by the new, digitally evolved, informed and omnipotent consumer.

Prof Don E Schultz begins with a discussion on the rapidly changing marketplace that is moving from traditional outbound marketing 'push' activities to the new 'pull' activities. This is followed by a session on brands and branding in this new marketplace with a financial, rather than an attitudinal/consumer behavioral approach to brands and branding.

Don E Schultz goes on to offer a new approach to market and marketing planning. He then talks about customer identification and valuation, followed by a new approach to planning based on network analysis which is then translated into marketing programs. Finally he speaks on the most current information on marketing, communication and branding measurement and valuation, using his famed Three Pathway model which he developed for the Kellogg School.

Prof. Don E. Schultz is Professor Emeritus-in-Service of Integrated Marketing Communications at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He is Executive Director of Brand Finance and also president of the consulting firm Agora, Inc., and is on the faculties of Cranfield School of Management, Bedfordshire, UK; Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He is a prolific writer, and is founding editor of the Journal of Direct Marketing.

Date: August 21, 2007
Time: 09:30 to 17:30
Venue: ITC Maratha, Mumbai
Facilitator: Prof Don E Schultz

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What is new and interesting, however, is a recent change in attitude in prospective Indian MBA candidates. When asked to declare some of the reasons why the candidate is considering business school, results were remarkably different from last year's.

2007 2006
Primarily for education
 17.19 21
To boost salary
 26.55 26
To build professional network
 41.83 34
To enable career change
 34.96
 34
Improve career prospects
 72.3 73
Learn new skills
 55.78 50
Start own business
 24.93 24
Other 2.01 2

Table 1: Reasons for studying for an MBA (figures in percentage)

Table 1 reveals that prospective MBA applicants from India are looking to build a professional network – 42% up from 34%, and learn new skills – 56% from 50%. Indians are evidently becoming more conscious of the need to network to find that perfect job; the 8% jump in interest being a telltale sign.

While Indian culture doesn't traditionally emphasize networking as a career necessity, ambitious students and professionals are beginning to follow Western footsteps when it comes to this practice. Tuck student, Sujana Patel has taken the networking practice seriously, and offers some advice: “One of the main things to remember is that even though everyone knows that you are networking to get a job, your first contact is not the time to send out a resume. The first email has to be formal and short, stating that you saw their profile and would love to talk with them and get their advice on your resume, available jobs, the company and its environment etc… It always helps to build rapport first. At the end of the day, the resume will really not mean that much if you have built a good foundation with the person. It is said that an interviewer will decide if the interviewee is someone they want within the first 10-15 seconds of seeing them; therefore, the first impression is critical. Don't ruin it by directly sending them a resume.”

In the case of MBA candidates looking to learn new skills (up 6% this year), Western nations like the US or UK, again, may be of influence. Indians are often cast as being monolithic in their career path. They pick a profession and stick to it. This is typically not the case in Western societies, and India is following suit. As the nation's economy continues to grow, people are noticing the importance of diversifying their skill set – a characteristic of Western societies which has proved fruitful for years.

Source - www.TopMBA.com



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