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The chief guest for the inaugural session was Dr. Kshama Bhatia, Founding Partner, Corpret Fox Leadership development & Impression Management Institute. She discussed the new perspective of HRM where employees are not treated as workers but as intellectual capital. Speaker for second session Mr. Satyavrat Srivastava, MD, Mott MacDonald India, spoke about “Employee Ownership” as an effective HR retention strategy. His presentation enforced the idea of adopting a profit sharing policy where the profits of the corporations are shared with the employees. The speaker for the third session was Mr. N Dharamrajan, VP-HR, Transmission Sector, RPG Group. Topic for his presentation was “Strategic HRM: Creating a Performance Culture for Competitive Edge.” He vouched for how “People Development and Culture Building Interventions, aligned with the Organization's Strategies” acted as differentiator in the process and help them get the award for 'The Best Company in RPG Group'.

The next session was taken over by Mr. M.K. Iyer, Senior Chief General Manager- HR, IT & Finance Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd. He gave a talk on “People Issues in Corporate Restructuring Process”. He talked very enthusiastically about the Corporate Restructuring at his firm. The fifth session was by Ms. Jaspreet Narula, Head HR, Azure Styx Infosoft Pvt. Ltd. She led the discussion on the very contemporary and critical issue in the BPO sector, “Managing Attrition”. She had compared this issue as a virus plaguing business and also discussed the different aspects of why people leave organizations and the requisite tools to retain them. The final session of the first day of the HR conclave was by Senior Scientist, Gujarat Council of Science City, Mr Narottam Sahoo. He was encouraging the prospective managers to think out of the box and how they would be surprised by the variety of options that would appear by doing so.

After the wonderful first day of the HR Conclave'07, the expectations for the second day were soaring high. To start with, it was very much kept up by Mr. L. Balasundaram, Director, HR, Gujarat Gas Company Limited, who gave a talk on “Talent Acquisition and Retention”. Talking about retention, he emphasized on keeping few things in mind like maintaining the recruitment process until the employees join a firm and having good relations with the boss. The second session was taken over by Ms. Joyoti Banerjee, Asst. Vice President – HR, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd, who spoke about “Strategic HRM: Creating a Performance Culture for competitive edge.” Reflecting upon the accelerating pace of growth of Indian economy, she emphasized upon how rising number of opportunities is making it difficult to make the right choice of employees. “HR plays the role of an architect but the real work is done by line managers of bringing together the employees” she said. After that dynamic presentation it was Mr. Sanjeev Prasad, Principal Consultant & Practice Head, Ma Foi Global Search Services Ltd. who threw light on various aspects of 'Talent Engagement'. He elaborated on the shifting paradigm where talents no more chase few jobs but it is now the jobs who are chasing few talents. The fourth session was by Dr. Mukund Vyas, GM-HR, Siemens Ltd. India division. He addressed the retention strategies big organizations like Siemens follow. He took the students on a journey of how Siemens matched changing customer value expectations over the last 3 decades and how they leveraged the changing employment frameworks across time.

The valedictory function was presided by Mr. Awdhesh Krishna, Senior VP and Head HR, Lehman Brothers India. He surprised the audience by the true experiences of his 17 years in the industry in HR. He unmasked the industry and how they had perceived the different facets of HR and how it has now changed. Mr. Krishna predicted the new emphasis on careers would be on its depth and not breadth in the years to come. The HR Conclave 2007 concluded by the event coordinators, both faculty and students been acknowledged for the successful and effective conduction of the HR Conclave.
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Prof. Christopher Abraham, Sr. Vice President, signed on behalf of the SP Jain Center of Management & Prof. Ali Al Jaafari, President, signed on behalf of the APIC at a ceremony on October 11, 2007, at the SP Jain's Dubai International Academic city campus.

This move marks the first collaboration of this nature in the region. The MOU seeks to formalise and strengthen the relationship between the two leading institutions which will be instrumental to regional development. It is envisaged that this agreement will encompass delivery of a range of programs from short to long term duration in Project Management.

“SP Jain's closer collaboration with APIC will result in the enhancement of the capacity in the Gulf region of both institutions to attain the common objective of ensuing economic growth and social development. This joint initiative will ensure that the industry professionals are equipped with the latest tools, techniques & methodologies for projects, said Prof. Christopher, Sr. Vice President, SP Jain Centre of Management Dubai.
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This year, MICA will be hosting the Gujarati band of ALAAP as they create an eclectic amalgamation of Gujarati sounds and festive music. Also being introduced is a never before held session of Disco Dandiya, where typical disco lighting and beats will mix with the traditional Gujarati dance to enthral the participants.

Conceived as a 'mela' of this scale for the first time ever, guests can, on one hand, enjoy all forms of mouth-wateringly delicious Gujarati pakwaans, and on the other hand be a part of the colourful mosaic of Dandiya sticks, chaniya cholis, bandhnis, turbans, kedias, Raas, Garba, Mehandi, Kachhi Ghori, Puppet Shows and Pottery present all around them. All these elements will revel together in the night and contribute their own flavours to the Oorja Mela and create a truly unforgettable experience...

The Cultural Committee of MICA promises to transform the campus in a way that one cannot possibly imagine: a sanctuary of love and euphoria where colours, festivities, music, food and dance all collide together and become one in what is truly a celebration of life and joy in all its forms.
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The idea of a Barcamp is to turn the idea of a 'conference' on its head by removing all possible rules out of the way of a intense discussion. These are meeting places of people with great business ideas and ones with sound technical caliber where they ideate, discuss and brainstorm on all the topics of common interest ranging from wildlife photography and venture funding to blogging and Flex programming.

Due to their widespread appeal and quality of discussion, Barcamps are increasingly being seen as hubs of technical entrepreneurship all across the world. The two documents attached with this email will give you the perspective of national mainstream media.

The team of Barcamp Mumbai 2 (BCM2) has experience of organizing second, third and fourth Barcamps of Bangalore (4th Barcamp - July 28-29, 2007 - the largest in the world with 600participants!) and the first Barcamp of Mumbai(July 2006) and multiple Barcamps in Pune. SINE (Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) at IIT Bombay is the event partner. The event is being supported by E-Club, the entrepreneurship club at SJMSOM, IIT B.

Bar Camp Mumbai 2 is fast becoming a rage across the ecosystem with leading corporates like SUN, DirectI and Nokia sponsoring the event.

We are excited about the list of around 200 registered participants that includes ace investor Mahesh Murthy, who is talking about VC funding at BCM2. It will also see presence of many startups and bloggers, who too have registered for the event.

Barcamps are free events - there is no entry/regn fee and one can register by simply editing the event wiki (http://barcamp.org/BarCampMumbai2). Kindly register at the earliest.

We would like to have all of them at the event on October 14, 2007 for an enriching experience, thus helping us in our endeavor to grow the startup ecosystem in India.
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Here is a tutorial designed to help you get over the fear of FIJ questions.

PDFClick here to download the decoding FIJ tutorial

(or right click and 'Save as...' before opening it in Adobe Reader)

The tutorial is a shareware item. Which means that if you like it, you promise to share it with your friends who are also preparing for CAT. But if you happen to really adore it, then you promise to buy us and the Endeavor team a beer someday!



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The changing stripe: It is being observed that the data interpretation (DI) section of CAT has remained one of the toughest sections for the last two to three years. One can observe a shift in the pattern of the questions. Traditionally, the DI section contained data in the form of graphs, tables, pie charts and you had to process that data and answer questions accordingly. What has changed is that the questions are more logical-reasoning based. We can call this section data interpretation/logical reasoning (DI/LR), rather than just calling it the DI section. By logical reasoning, we mean that the section has more puzzle-based questions. For example there are different rows given and one has to come out with an arrangement. But the difficulty level of these puzzles is very high. These are not the sort of puzzles that you normally come across. There would be lots of possibilities that might exist in that particular puzzle and you have to try lots of combinations, which further means that you would have to hold a lot of data in your mind. In a nutshell the questions in DI are more reasoning based.

The rationale: The way the CAT exam pattern changes, raises many questions in students' (and in fact everyone's) mind about what is the rationale behind this changing pattern and what is it that the examiner wants to gauge in the candidates. In each and every section one or the other managerial skill of the candidate is put to test. In DI section, earlier, the examiner wanted to test how you gather information from a snapshot. The graph was used because it gave you a bird's eye view of a particular case. The examiner tested whether, after viewing a graph, you could do calculations quickly and tell whether the sales were increasing or decreasing. But with a shift towards logical reasoning the examiner wants to test the candidate's ability to structure an unstructured situation, to do multiple solutions at one time and reason out? The examiner also tests your ability to hold multiple conditions at one time. All in all, lateral thinking is put to test.

Preparation strategy: Since the shift in DI section is more towards logical reasoning and the calculations are close to zero, the preparation strategy for both maths and non-maths students would remain same. But yes, the main question would be — can I really prepare to develop logical ability? It would be equally tough for students from all the streams. A person who has interest in solving puzzles would be at an advantage in this section. The strategy for this section would always remain amorphous because a puzzle can appear from anywhere. It could be a game, for which the examiner has set the rules, it could be based on relationships or it could be a number series. There is no end to logical reasoning-based questions. There cannot be any standard approach. What can be done in this case is familiarising yourself with lots of puzzles, which involve mental activity. Get a good collection of puzzles and solve them continuously. For beginners The Great Book of Mind Teasers and Puzzles by George Summers can be of great help. The book has a great collection and a very high difficulty level. You should try solving this entire book. Every Sunday The Times of India carries a column called Mind Sport, which has some very good puzzles. You can get the archives at its website mindsport.org.

Strategy while attempting CAT

Dealing with DI while attempting CAT can have a very straight strategy. Do not start solving the puzzles immediately, but read all the sets first. Part 1A of DI section usually has 10 questions and three sets. Read through all the three sets and then make a call on which set is more structured and has lesser variables in terms of conditions that can be put in a structured table or a format easily. Make a good choice across the sections and, having decided that, give all the time to that set only. There are going to be hurdles but that does not mean you leave the set and move on to another set, because you have already taken a decision. In the last two CATs, solving two sets of one mark, and solving one set of two marks would have landed calls. So a total of three sets out of nine to ten sets would have given multiple calls. Hence it makes sense to invest time in picking up the right set and doing that right, rather than just jumping from one set to another. Moving from set to set is a recipe for disaster. You would just not manage to find the solution for any set and time would fly. It is unlike maths. In maths, every minute or so you are attempting one question. In DI, it would not matter even if you are spending six to seven minutes on just working out the sets, having not spent a single minute on solving the set. But then even if you spend eight minutes in working out the entire set and the set is very clear, you can solve it immediately. Don't be in a hurry that every two minutes you have to mark a question. Spend time on selection of the right set.

Selecting the right set

a) Familiarity: The difficulty level amongst sets can be gauged in order to select the easier one. For example, you have three sets. One question talks about four people playing four different games and a few conditions follow. You can still plan it in a tabular form. The second question talks about an entirely new card game. The moment we talk about a game, the advantage is to the exam setter — he can frame any rules he wants to. Pick up the one with which you have familiarity and try avoiding unseen situations.

b) Conditions: Very few conditions mean ambiguity and you have to work out lots of possibilities. On the other hand too many conditions, say 10 to 12, mean reading a lot. Or you read the set and every question has a new condition that virtually demands redoing the entire arrangement because it adds a new condition. Or else there is a set with four straight conditions — for example which boys sits on the right, or left etc. These are deterministic conditions. You can just work on the arrangement and answer the questions. The more standard a puzzle the more you can come up with the schemes to represent data. Each question with new condition means doing everything with a new condition. You can also monitor whether the set you have selected is right and till what level or time you should spend time on that particular set.

c) Reasoning: Do not make a guess on selecting a set and taking a plunge that the set is going to be easy without any reason. There should be a rationale behind selecting a set. Don't try out all the sets. One of the biggest problem areas is that students move in a sequential way in the exam pressure type of situation. DI in most of the cases is attempted last and by that time all your strategy and time scheme plans have gone for a toss. Don't take a chance and don't think that the solution will be evident while trying the set. Before trying you should have a clear idea about how to go about it.

d) Sequence of selection: There is no suggested plan of which section should be attempted first and which should be attempted last. They should be attempted at your own competence level. Don't keep the most difficult section for the last because it is already difficult and keeping it for the last would add to the pressure. Start with the easier section to score a few points and feel better, follow it up with the section, which you find the most difficult and then move on to the next section.

DI in other exams: the DI section in other MBA entrance exams still has a traditional pattern. It has the regular pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, etc and calculations are still a part of DI. You must not forget about traditional DI questions as you follow a puzzle-focused approach for the CAT.

The difficulty level of DI questions asked in non-CAT exams is lesser. For example, a pie chart can just have so many questions asked on it. In fact, for a non-maths student, the traditional DI is a lot easier as when compared with quantitative ability. If quant is not your strength, you should compensate that by focusing on DI questions in exams other than CAT.

Day-to-day preparation

For preparing for traditional DI, pick up any newspaper or business magazine. Some graphs are usually given and the data is captured in those graphs. So you should do some mental calculations based on that data. For example, while watching a cricket match, calculate the run rate before it is flashed. We go to a petrol station and hardly check the right amount supplied — calculate the prices and the quantity wherever you go. Such regular mental calculations would start building up the base and looking at different forms of graphs will build in understanding of the DI. Building logical ability is difficult in so far as preparation for DI section of CAT is concerned. This is not to say that logic cannot be developed but the fact is that only looking out for the solution in the puzzles will not work. If you are working on the puzzles, you should spend time with the puzzle rather than looking for solution.

ENROLL NOW for the best CAT preparation material with Career Launcher!

The author, Arindam Lahiri is Director - Academics at Career Launcher. Career Launcher (CL) is Asia's leading education service provider catering to the needs of more than 50,000 students annually in its 100+ study centers located across India and the Middle-East. It currently offers test-prep programs for careers in Engineering, Law, Services sector (Hospitality, IT) and Management.



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The Guest Lecture was another major event in the list of numerous such academia-industry interactions organized by the HRM&LR; forum (the industry relation cell of Human Resource Management course at TISS). Mr Mariwala began with the times which saw the Marico stemming out his desire to make out of his own. With a core team and loads of belief he started out which is now a lean and agile trans-national company and one of the fastest growing FMCG company in the Indian Subcontinent.

He canvassed through the times when Marico was one brand dependent with Parachute, about the changing tides they faced in Kerela and candidly admitted the troubled moments they warded off when another giant FMCG threatened to bulldoze them over. But those tests were fought off gallantly mostly with 'uncommon sense 'and Marico today not only boasts of plethora of successful brands but over the years has acquired brands from bigger competitors. Mr Mariwala stressed that throughout this enduring journey what has differentiated Marico from the rest is understanding common Indian consumer's wants. Once that is known, the organization goes out all guns blazing to fulfill that demand. Closing all exit routes is the key. A high degree of accountability and empowerment is given to the employees who execute the projects.

Today Marico has firmly established itself in the wellness sector as well. Its brand suffola is the hallmark of health awareness in edible oils. Kaya has enabled Marico take the next step with opening wellness clinics. Marico is now a force to reckon with as it is making inroads in the European and American markets with Sundari and Kaya. Marico boasts of an open and energetic work culture where positions and roles are fixed in accordance with people's strengths. Awards have come in by the dozen both for Mr Mariwala for his commanding leadership acumen and well as for Marico for astounding performance.

The session was full of meaningful insights about how HR played a stellar role in shaping this journey. After the lecture Mr Mariwala took numerous questions which ranged from strategy to policies to the next Chairman of the family run organization with aplomb. It was thus , some great learning for the future HR managers.
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The event commenced with the welcome address by Dr. Subhash D. Awale, Director NITIE, who also felicitated the awardees with Lakshya and Empresario awards. He defined the need for Industry Institute interaction as the essence to learn from the leaders of the industry through events like Lakshya.

Mr. Rahul Bajaj, in his charismatic speech, said “the GDP growth rate of 9% is quite sustainable even though the business environment in India is not as conducive as it can be”. It requires some dedicated and focused efforts towards bringing out a significant metamorphosis in hitherto lagging agriculture sector, while small change in industrial policy can provide the required impetus for maintaining high growth rate in service sector. With India becoming the land of new opportunities, the hitherto call of “Go West” is now getting replaced by “Go East”. Accentuating the need for good leaders in India, he said “Leadership is not only about charisma and showmanship. It's more about forthrightness, consistency, tolerance and most importantly, uncompromising integrity”.

Mr. Harsh Goenka, Chairman RPG Group, who accepted the award on behalf of Mr. R P Goenka, exemplified the significance of good business sense and leadership in attaining faster business growth, quoting the very example of RPG Group of industries. He stated that “A true business leader must not lose sight of innate sense of humanity and goodness”. India is emerging as a new hub for professionals, giving enough space to excel in various dimensions of business.

Mr. Kumar Subramanyan, the first ever alumnus of NITIE to be awarded with Entrepreneurship Award, emphasized that “one must think innovatively and have a contrarian view to succeed in a new business”. He talked about his journey from NITIE to Adventity, a leading financial BPO, and instilled the spirit of Entrepreneurship in the audience by sharing his own experiences and success stories.

Mr. Balraj Singh Parmar, Sr Director, Suzlon Energy Ltd accepted the award on behalf of Mr. Tulsi Tanti. In his address to the packed audience, he said that “the key to any entrepreneurial success is the ability to think BIG”.

The grand inaugural ceremony culminated with the vote of thanks by Prof. Ashok K. Pundir Convener, Lakshya. He commended the concept of Lakshya by saying “Lakshya provides our students an opportunity to develop and test their managerial skills as well as provide a forum for learning and assimilate directly from achievers in the corporate world. He wished that “in coming years, the Indian Business world will witness a new breed of business leaders and entrepreneurs, with NITIE students taking a lead in it”.

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Dr. C. S Venkata Ratnam, Director, IMI, welcomed Prof Lehmann and expressed pride that he had chosen IMI as a platform to speak to the leaders of tomorrow. 'Meeting aspiring future global leaders is the singular reason that he has traveled all the way from Lausanne to IMI Delhi', stated the Director in his introductory remarks.

Prof. Lehmann began by approximately quoting from Charles Dickens' “Classic Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……………it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”. And so it is with most countries today, he said. It depends upon where in the country you look. The share of OECD in world GDP has shrunk and technology is moving faster than institutions. He criticized institutions like the WTO as being static. The dominance of the global economy by US & China – or “Chimerica” as he stated could be conceptualized as consisting of two parts - Western and Eastern Chimerica. The former represents the spend and consume part, while the latter, the save and produce part. The two “Chimericas”, thus share a symbiotic relationship. The world had never seen such a long period of extended growth and low inflation. It's a huge opportunity. The opportunity however, needs to be exploited and the advice he offered future managers was simple yet powerful.

According to Prof. Lehmann, to do well in a global era, managers need to strengthen themselves in four key areas - “The first important aspect is to acquire business related skills in finance, strategy, operations, etc. Secondly, they should have global knowledge, i.e. understanding of the global environment and the changing trends. Managers also need to be ethical the finally they must demonstrate committed citizenship, which is important to fulfill their role as socially responsible managers."

Globalization has brought in many challenges for Indian businesses. "The biggest challenge is global competition. There is very intense competition where organizations need varied professional skills," said Prof Lehmann. Describing competition as an opportunity, he said, "Competition should be looked upon as a positive and healthy trend for growth."





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MICANVAS 2007 presents “The Third Awakening – Brand India Resonates”, a full four day culmination of all that our proud nation stands for – the culture, the vivacity and the intellectual capital. Starting on the 25th of October, MICANVAS opens, for the first time ever, with an International Day, a tribute to Brand India. With participants both from India and abroad, this is a once in a lifetime chance as students to pit your brains against the best from across the world.

Test your skills as managers, as MICANVAS will then put you to the grindstone on October 26, 27 and 28, 2007 with formal events ranging from B-plan contests, Case Studies and Strategy Games to debates, paper presentations, communication plans and game theory games. And if that weren't enough, there's more in the form of quizzes, negotiations and tests to find the best. And if you still can't get enough, there's the salsa workshop, film workshop and a midnight treasure hunt to keep you grounded at the MICA campus!

The nights will find respite for your brains, but a challenge for your feet. Get ready to scream, shout and jump it out with rock bands “Parikrama” and “Zero” hitting the grounds of MICA on October 27, 2007. With heart thumping and ear splitting music, get ready to be blown off your feet as the bands play into the night. And there's more. Come back on the night of the 28th to an altogether different tune, as the melodies of “Strings” sets you swaying under the starlight night.

Ahmedabad will not miss out, so make sure you don't either.

Concerts:
27th Oct: Parikrama and Zero
28th Oct: Strings

Time: 9:00 pm onwards

Venue: MICA Grounds

Tickets available: @ all Café Coffee Day outlets
Or contact Shriharsh @ 9979099022

For further details, contact:

Team MICANVAS

Shreeja Das: 9979260904
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Mr Rao and Mr Khandagle spend some time explaining the idea of (better called cornerstones) Learning Organization. They explained why some organizations due to lack of collective aspiration, internal core commitment and group vision fail to see the current reality and thus fade into oblivion due to changing times and cutting competition. On the other hand a Learning Organization is one that continuously unlearns, learns and relearns.

Both the practitioners talked more of commissioning of the idea at HPCL rather than just delving around the concept. They succinctly explained entire journey which started with the formation of the core group, getting the buy in from the top management, involving the unions in this drive and spreading the enthusiasm into the sinews of the organization. The result was a massive change in the work culture and thought process of the organization. Formation of the core team helped idealizing the project which was spread across through the internal coaches who were in turn tutored by the core group. The strategy was formed by an inductive process by the collective efforts of field people, third party sake holders and the line managers. The vision of a bubbling HPCL was jointly coined by the entire HPCL family. The concentrated efforts saw HPCL overcoming major hurdles to establish itself an enduring enterprise full or vigor and a will to be the best in the business.

This guest lecture was a great insight of an Organization Development intervention for the budding Human Resource Managers at TISS as it helped them to associate theory with practice. It helped the audience to relate with the theories and concepts of OD and change. A lively and interactive session saw quite a few intriguing questions from both ends. In the end the session ended with a promise to continue this relationship with more in-depth discussions on various aspects of Learning Organizations.
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Eminent industry personalities like Dr M Venkateswarlu, Drugs Controller General of India, Anil Matai, CEO, Pharmaceuticals Division, Novartis India Ltd, Viraj Gandhi, CEO, Medicine Shoppe, Priyanka Aggarwal, Healthcare practice, McKinsey & Company, Dr Mark A Goldberg, President, Clinical Research Services, PAREXEL International, where the speakers at the conclave.

The key note address was delivered by Dr M Venkateswarlu, Drugs Controller General of India who threw light on pharma being a controlled commodity and affordability of drugs still remaining a major concern. He further urged the industry to foster Public Private Partnerships and increase mobility of services.
The days proceedings was divided into three sessions, each specifically for 'Access', 'Growth' and 'Economics'
The first session saw speakers discuss the current and future emerging trends in this industry to accelerate growth.

Anil Matai, CEO, Pharmaceuticals Division, Novartis India Ltd, presented to the audience an overview and current scenario of the Indian Pharma sector. He talked about the 'clutter' in this mushrooming sector. Some of the concerns of this sector, due to the growing clutter, he pointed out, were sub- optimal share of voice, brand recall, customer retention and expansion etc. To rise above this clutter, he shared with the audience an internal strategy of Novartis India – an exercise in brand building, which rested on facts like innovation, action, speed, relationship, pride in brand etc.

Viraj Gandhi, CEO, Medicine Shoppe focused on creating access at the bottom. Giving an example of Sehat, low income health care centre initiative of Medical Shoppe, he said, “We have taken a solution focused approach rather than a product focused one. The focus of Sehat is lowering the cost of getting well.”
During the second session speakers discussed the key trends and drivers contributing to the growth and also about the emerging patterns in Contract Research Organisations (CRO), and how they will contribute to the growth of Indian Pharma.

Priyanka Aggarwal, Healthcare practice, McKinsey & Company categorized six factors that will fuel the growth of this industry – “growth in income, increase in health insurance coverage, growth in medical infrastructure, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, patent legislation and lastly aggressive market creation by local players.” “Shift focus from market share to market creation, adopt different business models for different opportunities and ensure continued access to products,” she cued in for the local players. “For the MNCs, they need to clarify aspirations for the Indian businesses and invest in local organisations,” Aggarwal said.
Speaking on Contract Research Services, Dr Mark A Goldberg, President, Clinical Research Services, PAREXEL International said, “Pharma growth is under pressure globally due to reasons like R&D; inefficiencies, pricing pressure, failure of the blockbuster model and major pending patent expirations.” He added that clinical trails are growing in the Asia Pacific regions because of factors like lower costs, increased outsourcing, large markets for products, rapid patient recruitment etc.” He noted that India and China are the most attractive destinations to perform clinical trials outside the US and that India's attractiveness is going to grow with expected regulatory improvements.

The third session comprised of a panel discussion on the theme of Economics. Speakers debated issues surrounding incentives to innovation versus challenges of affordability. A Panel of industry experts, comprising Ranga Iyer, MD Wyeth, Sanjeev Dani, Senior VP and Regional Director , Asia, Ranbaxy and Venkat Jasti, Chairman & MD Suven Life sciences, respectively brought perspectives from an MNC, a Indian Pharma company and consultancy view point. The discussion was moderated by Utkarsh Palnitkar, Partner, and Ernst & Young.

The Summit also saw an interesting talk by Dr Ajit Dangi, Director General OPPI, on how businesses can effectively utilize Intellectual Property Rights to create a competitive advantage for themselves. “If an Indian scientist discovers insulin that can be inhaled or taken as a pill, he will not get a patent in India because it does not increase efficiency,” he said. The management of IP, according to him, should be best a “boardroom issue and not left to scientists and lawyers.”

The event came to a close with felicitation of the winner of the Pharma paper writing competition on various topics related to the Pharma industry - a debut event inviting papers from the best of management Schools across India.

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A forum for the celebration of the audacious spark of innovation & exploration, it will offers an opportunity to showcase business ideas as a B-Plan, and receive feedback from an eminent panel of judges. The forum anticipates a culmination of innovative ideas captivating the interest of potential investors.

'Empezar'07' is also an opportunity for the entrepreneurs-in-making to learn from the experiences of successful entrepreneurs, who have been there and done it all - as they share with us the how-to's of the otherwise innate art of entrepreneurship through discussions and a workshop.
If you believe in the power of your dreams, come take the challenge and craft your own success story.
Yojana -The blue print of your dreams
IMI presents an opportunity to those with Chutzpah, out-of-the-box thinking and initiative to take calculated risks.

We welcome the Kautilyas of the Corporate World to chalk out winning strategies in the market, and prove their mettle in the sacred art of wealth creation and employment generation, humbly termed as 'Business'.

The B-Plan would be held in the following phases:

Stage 1: Submission of the Executive Summary

The stage entails the submission of an executive summary of the Business Plan, based on which the entries will be short listed for Stage 2. The executive summary should be submitted in a soft copy to [email protected] by Tuesday October 30' 2007, 23:59:59 hours.
Rules for Stage 1
1. The executive summary should not exceed 2500 words, on A4 size paper.
2. The format of the summary should be: 1.5 line spacing, Font size 12, Font type Times New Roman, 1 inch margins on both the sides.
3. The document should be in .doc format.
4. Cover page of the documents should include the following details:
a. Name of the participant(s).
b. Name of the Institute
c. Email id & Contact numbers
5. The subject of the email for sending entries must be in the following format:
Empezar_Team Name_Institute Name
6. The rest of the documents should not reveal the identity of the participants or the institute in any way.
7. It is important that any study or research be clearly mentioned and acknowledged.

Guidelines for the Executive Summary
The Executive Summary should be briefly written as under-
a) Business Idea: A brief description of the venture you want to start.
b) Objectives: Describe your short term goals and objectives; mention what you hope to achieve three years down the line. Briefly outline your strategy to reach your goal.
c) Product/Services Offerings: Provide a clear and concise description of the product or service in layman's terms.
d) The market: Explain who your target audience is and why they need or want your product or service. What, if any, is the 'WOW' factor in your idea from the perspective of the target audience?
e) Customers: Mention the market potential of the company. Data supporting your argument or information regarding the customers expected.
f) Competitive Advantage: A persuasive statement of why and how the business will succeed. Briefly explain the competitive advantage of your product/services, and how it is better than the ones already existing in the market.
g) Key Management Team Members: A description of management team's qualification and capabilities to start, run and manage a successful business.
h) Technical Feasibility: The source of technology, expertise and infrastructure.
i) Financial and funding requirements: Include a summary of the timelines and details of how the funds will be used. Project revenues on projected market share and a timeline for profitability can be mentioned. Provide a brief snapshot of the revenues, cash flow and balance sheet of your company.
j) Exit Plan: A possible exit plan from the venture through an IPO or a trade sale.

Stage 2: Submission of the Detailed B-Plan
The entries short listed after stage 1 will have to submit the complete business plan. The report should be mailed at [email protected]. Based on the comprehensive business plan, entries will be short listed for the next stage. The last date for submitting the plan is November 14' 2007, 23:59:59 hours.

The rules and guidelines for Stage 2 will be communicated to the short-listed teams.

Stage 3: Final Presentation
Short listed six teams will be invited to make final presentation to be held on Saturday, November 24, 2007


Additional Information:
1. Any number of entries can come from the same institute.
2. Each team can submit only one business plan.
3. An individual can be a part of only one team and cannot submit two business plans.
4. A contesting team can have a maximum of three members. All the members should be from the same B-School.
5. Acknowledgement receipt mails will be sent to all contesting teams once their executive summary is received.
6. The decision of the judges will be final and binding.
7. The organizers are not liable for any failure of the e-mail provider/network in case of non-receipt of Executive summaries within the stipulated deadline.
8. Failure to comply with the above rules will result in immediate disqualification, without prior intimation.
9. The final short-listed teams selected to present their respective papers will be reimbursed AC III Tier, return journey expense. The reimbursement will be for the shortest route between the team's institute and Delhi.

The Accolades
First Prize- Rs.40, 000
Second Prize- Rs.25, 000

The teams selected for the final presentation will get an opportunity to put forth their ideas before a panel comprising eminent entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academicians. The venture capitalist would fund the plan on his/her sole discretion.


Important Dates:
S.No. Phases Proposed Date
1 Deadline for Submission of Executive Summary October 30'2007
2 Results available online November 4'2007
3 Deadline for submission of the detailed B-Plan November 14'2007
4 Results available online November 17'2007
5 Final Presentation November 24'2007

For any queries please contact:
Richa Thakur- 09810282000
Nimerpreet Sran- 09971472341
Email : [email protected]

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The entire batch was placed by the end of Day 1, which gave every student sufficient time to evaluate various profiles on offer and select the ones that were most preferred. The highest domestic stipend on offer touched six figures at Rs. 1,00.000, a whopping 67 pc rise over last year. The average domestic stipend also touched an all time high of Rs. 47,000 (Rs 23,500 per month).

FMCG & Pharma

This year saw the resurgence of FMCG majors on campus with 21% of the batch accepting offers from the sector. Proctor & Gamble led the way, making six offers. Heavyweights such as HUL, Nestle, Colgate Palmolive, and Coca Cola also recruited in numbers. Other major FMCG recruiters like ITC, Cadburys, Dabur, Britannia, L'Oreal, Heinz and Castrol participated in the process. Titan and DuPont made several offers for their marketing profiles.

The Pharmaceutical sector was well represented by majors like Pfizer and Astra Zeneca. Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer recruited interns for its finance and marketing functions. Johnson & Johnson Medical also made several offers for its marketing, finance and operations profiles.

BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

JBIMS continued to live up to its reputation of being a favourite amongst top banks and financial services companies. Over 30% of the batch opted to do their internship in this sector in reputed organizations such Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and Axis Bank. Profiles on offer include M&A; advisory, debt syndication, treasury, and credit and risk management.

KPMG lead the pack of Financial Services companies and made offers for its Financial Advisory Services division. “It feels great to have made it to one of the Big Four for my internship” says Harshal Pandya who would be doing his summers with KPMG.

India's leading Merchant Bank AK Capital Services Limited offered profiles in investment banking and Wealth Management. Commodity Exchange NCDEX recruited for projects in their Spot Markets division. Financial Services sector also saw the participation of regular recruiters like GE Money and American Express. IDFC recruited two students for its project evaluation and appraisal practice.

CONSULTING

Consulting majors Acccenture Business Consulting and Mercer Consulting participated in the process. “The best thing about Management Consulting is one gets to see his deliverables being successfully implemented which would provide huge job satisfaction. The best thing about working with Accenture is the variety of work and its clients' base as well as its expansive training programs”, says one lucky candidate who made it to the leading Consulting major.

IT and ITES

Almost all of India's IT majors took part in this year's summer placements. These included Cognizant, TCS, Wipro, Patni and Mindtree Consulting. JBIMS forged a new relationship with US Technology which was a first time recruiter at this year's summer placements.

INTERNATIONAL OFFERS

International placements continued from where it had left off in February with students having a host of international profiles to chose from, which is testament to the growing international recognition JBIMS is receiving. “JBIMS has proved to be a great platform to venture into my first opportunity to work overseas. I look forward to work in a truly global environment and gain exposure to international standards and best practices”, says CET 2007 topper Shreyas Shah, who opted for a business development profile with UAE based conglomerate Sharaf Group over domestic offers. Other Students from JBIMS would be looking forward to undergoing their summer internships in companies like HSBC, Procter & Gamble and US Technology.

NICHE PROFILES

Several niche profiles on offer ensured that students from the batch of 2007-09 could choose from the entire gamut of projects available. International Telecom major Vodafone selected two students. The RPG group offered diverse projects varying from Project Finance to projects in their ERP function in retail. Hindustan Times made 2 offers to fuel its future growth in new businesses. Students were also offered profiles like international factoring, asset management and projects in the aviation sector.

Member of the Placement Committee, Ankit Tyagi says, “The high point of this summers was not the registration by over 100 companies, nor was it the good start to international summers or the record stipends offered, instead it was the successful introduction of an innovative student friendly dream offer concept for the summer placement process. This succeeded in giving the students the option to get the most desired profile in the sector of their choice, while they already had offers in hand.”
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Students of the Net Impact club at the Indian School Business held their Social Responsibility Conclave today. The theme of today's discussion is both important as well as relevant and it revolved around the perspective on the scenario of education in India. India's literacy rate is being hampered due to problems such as ignorance, illiteracy and social inequalities.

Delivering the introductory speech was D Purandeswari, Honourable Minister of State for Higher Education who said that with the 21st century being a century of knowledge and with world looking at China and India as great economic powers; education did not remain a goal by itself. Applying new ideas and technology to education would help it in a creating a key.

She summarized the initiatives taken by the government, saying that these could help bring about a metamorphosis in the education system. “The government is committed to ensure universal education. With Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan, that there is a school within every one kilometer radius,” she said. Stressing on the importance of education for the girl child, she said it was necessary to bring girls into mainstream education. Issues such as child labour and domestic labour are keeping children away from schools and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan is trying to bring education to these children with initiatives such as summer camps and bridge courses.

Delivering the key note address, Dileep Ranjerkar CEO, Azim Premji Foundation said that teachers have to pay a more active role in the education system. Teachers must do their best to get the potential out of the student. There is so much oppressiveness in today system, and slowly the social hierarchical relationships will not be accepted. There is lot of confusion between what is taught in schools today and what really happens in the world outside. Poverty and healthcare are very much a part of this system and they have to be kept under control.

The panel discussion was led by the theme called Demographic Dividend of India: Education as a Turnaround Factor. Professor VN Rajasekhran Pillai vice-chancellor IGNOU said that such a dividend exists. The students and teachers do not understand the context of the text that is taught to them. Education is not dependant on knowledge and skills alone, he said. Professor AK Shiva Kumar visiting faculty, ISB and advisor to UNICEF-India said that in India the children were treated badly. The infant mortality rate is at 57% and the contribution of education can be maximized only if the children are healthy.

Dilip Thakore, editor, Education World said that we must in invest in children. They can be valuable resources only if they are properly educated and healthy or they might turn into anarchists, which could be a dangerous proposition. He stressed on the importance of increasing spending on education. Invest in the basic level, provide water, and toilets especially for the girl child in schools, he said.

The afternoon's panel discussion was on the topic of Challenges in Service Delivery-A Ground Reality. All the speakers spoke of what their organizations were doing on this level. Dr Preetha Bhakta of the Naandi Foundation spoke of working with the system. Free food, education and text books are all promised by the government to the children but it takes a long time to deliver the same. It is very tough to work with the system, she said.

Verghese Jacob, Lead partner of the Byrraju Foundation said that they were working in collaboration with the government, the community and alliance partners who all worked with a common agenda. There are gaps in funding and this is what they were trying to bridge. PK Babu of Ashray Akruti said that proper counseling for the mothers of the children had resulted in a change in behaviour of the children.

Dr A Saibaba Goud, founder of the Devnar Foundation for the Blind found that even visually challenged children with proper encouragement and facilities had the capability of coping with the normal children. The only challenge was enrollment, he said. Parents were not motivated enough to send children to a visually challenged school, and government policy also has to change to encourage the visually challenged child.

The day concluded with a paper presentation competition with the theme: self sustainable revenue gathering models for enhancing the scope and quality of the existing setup of education in India.

Smt D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education Speaking at Social Responsibility Conclave at the ISB.

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Khoj facilitates interaction between industry professionals, academicians and students in the area of Equity Research. It provides a platform for MBA students interested in equity research and security markets as a career option to display their potential to eminent professionals from the industry and gain new insights and ideas for further learning.

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, BSE Sensex touching 19,000 and with the interest of retail investors and FIIs in the equity markets increasing all the time, the demand for professional research analysts and fund managers is increasing. Khoj recognizes these new emerging opportunities and provides an incentive for you to step into the arena of equity research.

Through Khoj we aim to provide B -school students a platform to showcase their talent in equity research and get evaluated by eminent professionals from the industry. Khoj invites participants to submit an equity research report giving a recommendation on the stock, keeping a long-term perspective in mind. Hence, participants are free to choose a stock on which they are bullish or bearish.

So, if you think you have that analytical skill and foresight requisite for the stock markets, Khoj is for you to get yourself rated by the best in the industry.

Registration opens : October 19, 2007

Last date for Registration : November 20, 2007

Last date for receipt of Research Reports : November 23, 2007

Declaration of results December 31, 2007

Presentation Day : January 12, 2008


The registration for Khoj 2008 starts on October 19, 2007 and closes on November 20, 2007. For further information, log on to www.spjimr.org/event_khoj2008/khoj_home.asp or mail [email protected].

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Alankar (The Talk Series) brings internationally recognized inspirational speakers together like globally renowned business strategy consultant Shri C.K. Prahalad, the torchbearer of India's communications revolution Shri Sam Pitroda, and founder of Art of Living Sri Sri Ravishankar together.

Embodying the spirit of all the disciplines of management is Abhyutthan - the championship games at AVENUES.07. The best teams from India and abroad will fight it out in the final round that will grill the teams in all areas of management. Navonmesh (The Entrepreneurial Challenge) brings business strategy and venture capitalist challenge – Baazi and panel discussion – Anubhav.Teams from the US, Canada and Singapore colleges/universities fought out in the international preliminaries and the national prelims have been launched. May the best team win!

Prashnavali (The Mega Quiz) to be hosted by renowned quiz master Giri ' Pick Brain' Balasubramaniam, Chitra Katha (The Short Film Contest) organized by Creative Commons India, Udgam (A Consulting Challenge) in association with CII-Yi bringing a social business development strategy competition and Deewan-E-Khas (The cultural night) which has Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, an Indian maestro, internationally renowned for his successful adaptation of the Western Hawaiian Guitar into a new instrument known as the Mohan Veena and the recipient of Grammy Award (1994), the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1999) and the Padma Shree (2002) are some of the glittering events at AVENUES.07. Apart from these, there are on-the-spot games and competitions to make two days of the festival memorable.

For a detailed look at AVENUES.07, kindly visit:
http://www.sjmsom-avenues.org/

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The concert began with a brief introduction of Pt. Bhatt and Pt. Mishra followed by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by PGP Chairman, Professor Unnikrishnan. Pt. Bhatt started off with a small description of what he was going to perform and explained to the audience a few technical terms of music like 'Meed', 'Gamak', 'Alaap' and 'Jod'. He also spoke about how music is also a science and how a musician needs to divide every second down to fractions, mentally and play to them.

What followed was the most mesmerizing performance, many people in the audience had ever witnessed. Pt. Bhatt started out with Raag Poorvi and went on to play a mélange of Raagas, enthralling everyone with the variety and complexity of notes he played while Pt. Mishra, won the hearts of the people with his skills on the Tabla. The timing of the two together was so perfect that the audience often spontaneously broke into applause. 'Jugalbandi' and 'Sawaal-Jawaab' were kept to the end when both the masters, in a display of perfect coordination and mastery of their arts teased and tantalized the audience, who wanted more and more.

At the request of everyone present to play more, Pt. Bhatt went on to play his composition, 'A Meeting By the River', part of an album he made with slide guitarist Ry Cooder which won the Grammy award for 'Best World Music Album' in 1994. At the end of the song, the masters were given a befitting standing ovation. The concert ended with Professor Unnikrishnan presenting the artists with mementos and a vote of thanks on behalf of IIM Kozhikode for an evening so memorable.

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Born and brought up in Kolkata, Parnab has left his mark on the mighty horizons as a journalist, activist, writer, analyst as well as a theatre director who has to his credit direction of the adapted versions of Shakespeare's plays. For more than a decade he has been into media and has worked with some of the popular names in the line like the ABP publications, the Asian Age and Pratidin and has served as the editor of the English as well as Bengali dailies. He is currently working with a collective 'SAMPARK' which aims at bridging the gap between north eastern states of India and the rest of the Nation- giving consideration to the non-chartered path called media advocacy. He has also contributed through his works in the various UN projects as he is also a consultant with the UN.

Matching with the diverse interests he has and the various fields he has worked in, he has established himself as a quizzer par excellence. He has as much passion for this mind sport as he has for working for the sections which have not received apt shares in the growth that the nation, as an emerging superpower, is enjoying.

Sharing his experiences in an interview at the IMT campus, Mr. Mukherjee said, "It is painful the way people call the natives of North-East 'Chinkies'. Calling a Bengali as 'Bong' shows love for your native land whereas a state's person by his/her physical appearance is 'regionalism'." Discussing on the passion for quizzing he mentioned that he has been a quizzer for a decade now and it all began from his native land. Some of the instances of this conversation are

Q. How has the experience in quizzing been for you?
Mukherjee: It has been a mixed experience. Like other things it has good as well as bad parts to it. The best part is that it is an ideal mind sport and there are no parallels to it. Well, the not so good part about this is also the same. It is so because students have begun to mug up the quiz books available in the markets but the in-depth knowledge is missing. Kids learn the first few lines of prominent books because they are quizzed for that particular line but the knowledge of the content and the context of the book is something which they know nothing about.

Q. What according to you is the secret for someone to answer the questions well in a quiz?
Mukherjee: Quizzing is not at all about cramming things about the subject which ones doesn't know anything about. Instead one should look it as an opportunity to learn about unknown fields. One should try to remember the books, authors, places and other things which the quiz master had talked about in the quiz and once back home should try to collect information and learn about those things, instead of forgetting things. The important thing is not about proving yourself a winner, instead about increasing your gamut of knowledge and I don't wish to utter any clichés like – it is not necessary to win but to participate.

Q. What are your views on the quiz material in the market today?
Mukherjee: Absolutely trashy, extremely third grade and a complete marketing ploy to almost commercialising a sport that is fast losing its meaning between celebration and an examination. The only good books are those which are not written with the commercial point of view.

Q. What do you think about the future of quizzing?
Mukherjee: Quizzing in India is moving from general to specific. If earlier I used to do eight general and two business quizzes, I do the exactly opposite now i.e. eight business and two general quizzes. Quizzing has become a sport of the English speaking students from schools and colleges celebrating their niche and ghettoes of knowledge. Their knowledge is very restricted. Today, market gives you trashy books and less knowledge. For example, students completing their fourteen years of elementary education know nothing about the seven sisters of North East or the dalits of Khailranji.

Q. What do think about quizzing as a career?
Mukherjee: It is sustainable if you take it as a researcher.

Q. The young generation of today is accused of being indifferent to immediate realities that the Nation faces. What is your take on this?
Mukherjee: This is absolutely true. We can't associate one movement like Youth for Equality to say that the youth is concerned about whatever is happening in the country. It is not their fault; they are doing what they have learnt from the current systems. They watch a movie like 'Rang de Basanti', feel agitated for a while and then the feeling gets dissolved in the system, forgotten.

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Mr. Samraj, HR Manager with TCS at Chennai, spoke about the various avenues TCS offers in the field of Systems, HR, Marketing and Operations to the MBA recruits. He told that as a System's MBA one could get into the role of a Business Analyst where the job description will be focused on client interactions, requirements gathering, analysis and estimation models etc.

For someone who is an MBA with a specialization in Marketing, he said TCS had job opportunities for them in the marketing divisions of its various verticals. The job description here was related to discussions with potential clients across the globe to pitch for projects, finding out new markets for TCS etc with the designation most probably as that of a Business Analyst.

TCS now has operations across 75+ countries all over the world. Some of these are onsite development centers, delivery centers, technical support offices etc. With such a huge employee base spread all across the globe, managing human resources is one of the most important tasks for TCS. As a result, today TCS is recruiting HR students from various premier MBA institutes to manage its human resources. According to Mr. Samraj, TCS now has HR people at all its onsite offices, so HR people also get a chance to go onsite like techies. He said every new MBA–HR was made to go under special training programs on a periodic basis to keep them up to date with the current HR trends in the IT industry and that the career growth in a company like TCS was phenomenal.

The session was highly interactive and Mr. Samraj gave insights on various queries raised by the students regarding recruitment procedure, career growth, package structuring for MBA's, life at TCS, and what TCS means to its employees.

Overall it was a very informative session for all the students at BIM Tric hy as they got to have a first hand view of what a career would look at TCS after placements, 5 years down the line and probably also 10 years down the line.