Symbiosis Institute of International Business Blog

PR Meet 2011-'12

2011-12-12T21:36:00.002+05:30

It was a Sunday afternoon in January 2011, about six weeks after the SNAP exam, when I attended the Annual ‘City meet’ of SIIB. While I was interacting with the speakers and simultaneously analyzing my future prospects for SIIB (which later turned out were actually pretty good) a thought suddenly crossed my mind – “It would have been so cool if I was the speaker addressing this crowd”. Not knowing what fate had in store for me, I made a promise to myself that if I do get admitted to SIIB I will join the PR team.

10 months later, October 2011 another Sunday afternoon I am delivering a similar presentation while addressing a crowd of 100 odd nervous aspirants.

The 10 month journey from being a spectator to be a speaker has been nothing less than spectacular; my first day at college, first interaction round with seniors, Interview for PR team and preparing day and night along my with team mates to make sure that when the day comes we fall short of nothing and deliver the expected.

The PR (Public Relations) team bears all responsibilities related to official communication and visibility of college but the ‘Crack it with SIIB city meets’ is what everyone dearly waits for as it is a completely student driven initiative which gives us an amazing opportunity to meet our potential juniors and share our thoughts and experience with the aspirants. Same is also a wonderful platform for the aspirants to gain some extremely useful tips and insights on SNAP exam and process beyond that (GD’s, PI’s). We try our best to facilitate the journey that aspirants go through; which starts at the preparation stage and ends at the very door of SIIB.

On a personal front, I was eagerly waiting for the meet as it allows one to feel the same adrenaline again as one did a year ago when he/she was one of the Aspirants and also to realize how does it feel to be on the other side of the crowd.

The motive is to conduct the workshop in all major towns on the very same day accessing as much populace as we can across the country. This year we have planned to conduct this workshop in 13 major cities reaching every corner of India.

Invitations have been send, teams have been designated, months of planning & preparation boils down to the week of the city meet when we all embark on a journey to the designated cities to conduct the ‘Crack it with SIIB’ city meets.

For the PR meet scheduled on 20^th Nov, I along with my two colleagues leave for Delhi to make arrangements and to conduct the workshop. We spent the preliminary days making venue arrangements and contacting as much coaching institutes and colleges in city as possible to invite the respective students to the workshop. Last but not the least, we got our suits dry cleaned and we were all set to represent our college.

The day went fine with people turning up in good numbers and two of our distinguished alumni gracing the occasion with their presence. The students seemed satisfied interacting with us and the alumni.

The workshop acted as a platform where aspirants could quench their thirst of knowledge when it comes to MBA program and SNAP exam, hence the session was aimed to provide a firsthand experience of life at a B-School & I think we were pretty successful in doing so. The aspirants seemed to appreciate the value of MBA and how it can act as a catalyst for their career.

Evening, in order to celebrate the success of the event we went out for dinner with both of our alumni and believe you me it turned out to be an enthralling experience, not just because of good food but because of the amazing anecdotes our seniors had in store for us.

As our super seniors were sharing their stories (indeed very interesting) with us we could see them getting a bit nostalgic and sentimental. For us it was a great feeling to see the level of commitment and love they have for their Alma Mater, Indeed a lesson for all of us to learn.

The Event was a huge success all across the county, the response was terrific, we addressed around 1500 people pan India. But the best moment for me was yet to come and it came a couple of days after I reached college.

It was in form of a mail which said “It was indeed a really good presentation and I wish I could do the same when I join SIIB”.

Regional Aspiration...A Step Further

2011-11-08T10:57:00.000+05:30

Every two months a young college student in Rourkela, Orissa travels to Kolkata, West Bengal to shop for garments & accessories for himself & his close friends…A local Shoes trader in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh travels to Delhi every week to observe the latest trends & fashions with respect to footwear; in order to replicate the same designs for his stock of shoes to be sold in Meerut…The only thing common between them is that they both pander to Aspirational marketing & if studied together; they explain the Cause & effect relationship of a new phenomenon emerging from Aspirational marketing (which we will discuss later in the article).

Aspirational marketing is not new to the world of management; as it has been extensively exploited by the behemoth of Multinational corporations dealing in luxury brands for years. Aspirational marketing is a management technique that companies worldwide exercise to present their brand to a particular set of people in such manner that people would feel elevated & superior by associating themselves with that brand. The brand image is created in a way that people look up to that brand for its esteem & prestige; it is done by bracketing that brand with a certain element like a person, sport, Quality, ambition, or human trait that people are in awe of.

‘Raymond’ as a brand has been successful in crafting an inspirational brand by presenting the protagonist as a successful, global man; which people aspire to be (A complete man). The legendary ‘Marlboro Man’ campaign would be more precise an example. Associating a brand of sports shoes (Nike) with a global celebrity like ‘Michael Jordan’ can also be classified under the genre of Aspirational marketing. This process is extremely prevalent in developing nations as they have a constant desire to follow the west in fashion & lifestyle, so companies by connecting their brands to the desired elements create an Aspirational image amongst consumers. The study of Aspirational marketing in context of Indian society and market would help us answer a lot of unasked questions; such as:-

Why does almost every lounge in Indian metros emphasize on English (or western) tracks? The answer lies in the preference of young music followers as they are severely dedicated towards western music, not because the Hindi music is not peppy enough but because they (or ‘WE’ in many cases) feel pride being in the same class.

Why do Indian apparel brands such as ‘Kuotons’ use foreign origin models for their Brand advertisement in Indian market?The answer is simple & has already been stated in the above paragraph. Post Independence, both ‘the good and bad’ of the western lifestyle has influenced the Indian way of living; as ‘Dev Anand’ eloquently portrayed in his cult classic ‘Dum Maro Dum’. It reached its epitome in 1970’s when everything from Movies to daily wear garments (Bell bottoms) to food (fast food) to music (Disco & break dance) was directly influenced by western culture. Media after the advent of color television in 1982 & cable television a few years later has played a pivotal role in building this phenomenon from a niche segment to a mass occurrence. Mass mediums like Internet then gave us more exposure than ever to the global scenario.

Since then The Businessmen of the world have used this concept in daily operations to market & sell their products & services in India.

Otherwise; how would you explain such rapid success of fast food chain like ‘Pizza Hut’ or ‘McDonald’s in Indian market? Good market research & marketing policies! Yes Of-course it is one of the factors.

But isn’t it majorly because the youth of the nation has grown up watching Americans enjoying their hamburgers sitting on the bench with ‘Ronald Mcdonald’…!!! Aspirational marketing is not just limited to India or other developing nations, it can & it does occur in every society as people everywhere idolize some or the other element like celebrities, quality, form of sport etc, & this process admiration would be used by entrepreneurs to promote their brand by relating it with that particular element of admiration.

It is not just limited to one country or people in that country looking up to a different country & being influenced by their flamboyance. This process has evolved itself in such a way that it is now integrated to different states, cities or regions in any given country, wherein a certain set of people in a certain region looks up to a different section of people in some other region for inspiration. This gradual evolution of Aspirational marketing has led to a new phenomenon known as Regional Aspirational marketing.

Let’s not confuse this with local marketing as local marketing is to pick a globally successful product, adding a local regional flavor in it & presenting it to the consumers in that particular region. This form of marketing caters to the Pride factor associated with the regionalism, like regional language, food or regional attire. A nationwide television broadcasting channel playing soaps & movies in Marathi language in Maharashtra for the local customers is a classic example of this phenomenon. ‘Spiderman the Movie’ being dubbed in Bhojpuri for the local industry is another illustration of Local marketing.

Regional Aspirational marketing is when a set of people in a certain region wish to emulate other set of people in different regions & trends followed by them. The businessman in that scenario would connect his products with the later & presents it to the former. So that the former set of people feels proud to be associated with the particular brand.A businessman operating a restaurant in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, with the restaurant serving Delhi centric cuisines & provides ambience which relates to lifestyle in Delhi can be cited as a case of Regional Aspirational marketing.

Again, let us try to understand this process in the context of Indian society & market. A quick analysis of cases mentioned in the starting should help us do that.A college student in Rourkela, Orissa & his friends are inspired by the fashion & culture of the Kolkata (the nearest metro city to Rourkela) & hence they try to follow the same trends being followed in Kolkata & visits Kolkata often to shop for their clothes & accessories.

A local shoe trader in Meerut knows that youth of Meerut is influenced by the Flamboyance of Delhi & given an opportunity they would like to follow their footsteps in regards to fashion. Therefore the trader goes to Delhi every week to understand the new designs of footwear & try to replicate the same designs in his stock of shoes. It might also work out well for the youth of Meerut as they are getting what they desire, but at a lower cost than actual price of those goods in Delhi market. Regional Aspirational marketing in India forms a cycle of admiration, where in people in villages’ looks up to nearest tier 2 or 3 city for exposure, Tier 2 & 3 cities gets influenced by larger metros & the people in Metros in India are inspired by the Western flamboyance.

Just like in case of people in Agra (tier 2), who might be influenced by lifestyle in Delhi (metro) & hence would prefer the Delhi centric restaurant, people in Delhi (metro) would admire Western lifestyle & would prefer to visit a Manchester club thematic Lounge. The trick is to NOT to miss a link in this chain, if a businessman associates its brand with a western Element & presents it to tier 2 & 3 cities, it might not work out in his favor.Opening a Manchester club Lounge in Agra (tier 2) might not be the best Idea.(This is considering that Agra youth might not be as exposed to club Football as Delhi youth)

This technique has been nicely put to use by Vishal Mega mart in its retail concept. Vishal mega mart’s strategy is to open more out lets in tier 2 & 3 cities & expose them to fashion being followed in Delhi.

The Idea is to offer a consumer (which is majorly youth in case of Vishal) clothes closely imitating the clothes which a tier 2 consumer might see people in Metros wearing & also actors wearing in Hindi movies & soaps (which increases the demand even more). It works out well for both the customers & The Vishal mart; as the customers are delighted to access these goods at a lower price as compared to the actual price in Metros & Vishal mega mart instead of selling established brands produce their own brands replicating the trend in Metros which offer them economies of scale & thus higher returns in Volumes.

Vishal mega mart is not the only player indulging in regional aspiration marketing, there will be other players following the same concept in business of durables, gadgets, fashion or retail, But the scope is still humongous. Considering that purchasing power parity of rural India & tier 2 cities is increasing day by day, Companies are lining up to market their products in the given segments. This will lead to cut throat competition amongst different brands as everyone would work out strategies to enhance their market share.

In a scenario like this, victorious would be the one who could relate with the masses well, One who could make them feel proud while spending money, One who would be able to understand their sentiments & what they aspire and to deliver the same to them in different regions of different states of a given country in affordable prices.

Written By: Nikhil Budhiraja

Curtain Raiser @ SIIB '11-13 Batch

2011-09-21T19:33:00.000+05:30

Late night studies to prepare for SNAP, going through various levels of group discussions & interviews and of course endless prayers, has finally led us to the big Gate which reads -

“SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS”.

The new session has started and started off with a bang!!! From the very exciting & adventurous outbound session to an equally surprising ice breaking session with the seniors, life here is hectic but immensely enjoyable at the same time.

The outbound session; although perceived strictly as management learning outdoor experience, turned out to be more of a merry making management festival for juniors, thanks to the innovative ideas & the beautiful way it was conducted. One can’t get enough of those management games and the wonderful performances that it brought from all of us!!!

The batch consists of people coming from different backgrounds of society & distinct paths of life; but with a common dream – ‘To make it large’. I realized that our batch like every other batch at SIIB is full of Dreamers & Debaters, that’s what made the trip so very enthralling (even the Mountain trekking taught us a few management lessons).

The road ahead seems to be incredibly exciting with a lot of scope to learn & grow as an individual (& to do this while having a time of your life makes it even more worth it!!!).

Like in most Bollywood Movies (where Hero makes a grand entry) our seniors enthralled us with their grand entry (after they came back from summer trainings). Their innovation and impeccable implementation in conducting the Ice–Breaking session was marvelous. Hats off to you SIR!!!

This really made us comfortable interacting with them on variety of Topics & learn more about the institute. The wonderful equation built on the very first day with them still continues smoothly & will always do…

SIIB is a student driven institution, which has a lot of activities handled by students themselves. Students get to work for some interesting clubs & communities. Be it Alumni interactions, Guest lectures, Public relations, Students activity, Sport committee or a non-profit Non-Government Organization run by students – Prayatna, the list is never-ending…

The journey so far has been exhilarating; we have yoga sessions, aerobics classes, salsa classes, a movie club, late night activities, late night cricket etc. The campus is huge and awesome with sporadic spells of rain!! The campus seems to have some different energy; people remain busy for 24 hours. The professors are the icons, the ground breakers for all us and not to miss our very cooperative seniors. Altogether

an… AMAZING START!!!

The day ahead seems to be full of promise, hope and achievements. I hope that all my friends have a great stay at the campus. I thank all the professors and seniors for such a welcome. We hope to continue the on-going tradition of SIIB. "

Film-maker Ashutosh Gowariker – enthralls SIIBians!!

2011-02-23T14:58:00.010+05:30

The ‘Lagaan’ director was at Symbiosis Institute Of International Business, Hinjewadi, Pune for a discussion on management & film-making.

Leadership skills, ethical practices, effective planning and execution, human relations, emotional quotient, etc. are key managerial skills, MBA students aspire for. Cinema and process of film-making have always been closely associated with these managerial aspects. Such qualities are best-depicted through films and therefore, today movie-scripts are often used as case studies in educational institutes and the corporate world. Director- Mr. Ashutosh Gowariker is one such film-maker whose protagonists Bhuvan (Lagaan) & Mohan Bharghav (Swades) changed our perception of the conventional ‘hero’, by bringing about a revolution through lateral thinking, with patriotism as the backdrop.

On 18th February 2011, Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Hinjewadi Pune (SIIB) invited Mr. Ashutosh Gowariker for a guest lecture on “Management & managerial aspects of films and film-making”.

Dr. Rajani Gupte, Director, SIIB and Dr. Vidya Yervadekar, Principal Director, Symbiosis Society, were also a part of the programme.

Mr. Gowariker began the session, with his early experiences as an actor, gradually moving towards film-making, which involved financing, operational issues, film-promotions & marketing, etc. He then spoke about how he zeroed down ‘leading actors’ for his films, based on the character’s temperament. He also threw light on how a film’s success and failure both equally important for a film-maker.

Highlights of the session:

The simplicity, humility & straightforwardness with which Mr. Ashutosh put forth his points, thoughts, ideas and experiences, wrapped in humour, had the audience in splits.

He came down to the level of youngsters which set the comfort level of the audience.

The journey of his gradual evolution from an actor to director, director to a producer and finally from a producer to writer, with confusion and chaos at every stage, is something every youngster faces at this point of time, and could therefore connect to the transition process instantly.

The interaction was the USP of the show, since people actually came out with frank, open queries, and having most of the questions answered much to their satisfaction.

Overall, it was a highly interactive, humorous and interesting session, and the audience enjoyed every bit of it.

End of Kyoto ?

2011-02-23T12:40:00.003+05:30

The Kyoto Protocol set its first step on a social cause, i.e. contributing to ‘Combat climate change’. Today, it has developed into an effective & highly industry driven ‘global business plan’ wherein profits, brownie points (carbon credits) and trading of brownie points go hand in hand. Kyoto involves the developed, developing and least developed nations. India and China are major markets for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

Each element of the CDM, right from the project design document to registration of a project is a business in itself involving positioned tailor-made entities at every stage. Tools like perform trade and achieve, renewable energy certificates, could act as close complements to the Protocol.

In addition, sustainability reporting & corporate social responsibility aimed towards fulfilling socio-economic and environmental obligations could prove to be effective tools of brand building as well.

To summarize, it isn’t feasible for nations to let go of such offbeat, yet fairly consistent sources of income and brand management, just owing to ‘documented’ deadlines. The ‘so called’ end to Kyoto shall only give rise to its closest substitute in the form of a similar, innovative business mechanism, differently named, but ultimately contributing to its principal cause ‘Combat climate change’.

Aarohan 2011

2011-02-23T11:09:00.001+05:30

Aarohan -SIIB's National Level Supply Chain and Logistics Summit will be held this Friday , February 25th 2011. It is the fourth edition of Aarohan, and it has carved a space for itself in the Nation B-school event calendar . Aarohan has from start featured a National Level case study competition focusing on Operations, Supply Chain and Logistics. This year the theme for the case study was the Pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

The Supply Chain Summit is a platform where eminent personalities from the Industry share their views with the students. The theme of this year’s event is “Missing Links in Supply Chains”. Aarohan’11 will also host a Panel Discussion based on the theme “Risks with the Last Link of Supply Chain”. The participants in the Panel Discussion include professionals from both Corporate and Academia.

The preparations for the Pre-Events are in full swing , and for the first time , there is going to be a Post-Event too ( "War of DJs" ) where all can let down their hair after some serious gray cell activity after the Panel discussion and the Finalists of the Case study competition presenting their case solutions to the judges.

http://www.siib.ac.in/contents.aspx?id=197&lid=230&pid=153

The 25 things I learned at SIIB (or thought so)

2011-02-22T19:34:00.006+05:30

It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy

I was once like you are now
and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not

(Son)
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again
It's always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go

(Father)
I was once like you are now
and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not

(Son)
All the times that I cried
keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
If they were right, I'd agree
but it's them they know not me
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
-Ronan Keating ("Father and Son")

Experiences cannot be quantified yet the pages of memoirs are limited.The ink and page should approximate what the eyes saw, the mind thought and the senses felt.My journey in SIIB ends in roughly 20 odd days, so I thought this post should deal at length with some of the things I learned here.

1)In Semester 1 ,it felt good to be back in a classroom after some years of corporate life.One promises to study hard and play harder .Life seems rosy.The world is conquerable in six PowerPoint slides.Or maybe not under the withering glance of wizened Professors who have seen the same trick somewhere else.

2)You promised yourself that this time the mistakes you made as an undergraduate would not be repeated. Ha ! Life's little jokes. So history repeats and will again. Caveat emptor, future SIIBians.

3)Do your own thing anyways , keep your head above the water while doing that "own thing". This needs some further explanation. There is not an exact correlation between CGPA and the job you land , though for certain jobs ,it helps to have an edge.See where your interests lie and if they are not exactly being a topper in academics,but say dramatics : make sure the two years are filled with drama.That may mean you may not be able to attend all the classes,and some assignments may not be as top notch had an extra hour been spent on it.The point I am trying to make is an old one : do not miss the woods for the trees.

4)It is easier said than done to retire by age 35 unless you are Warren Buffet .The quote "do a job you love to do and you will not feel you are working" is not always realizable.One can do financial planning but why would one retire by 35 ?The average Indian lives upto 70 years , what would you do with 50% of your life ?If you can answer that , then you should go all out for that retiring early bit.

5)Income taxes matter, beyond the basics one should know.Irrespective of the specialization one chooses.Yes,even if you are a people's person and could not care about money.

6)Presentation skills matter. So do Excel and PowerPoint.Learn them.Do not exceed time limits meant for Presentations in classroom, it is: a)Bad manners b) Rude c)All of the above.

7)It is good to be silent ,and it is also good to speak out.You are in an academic environment , you are allowed to make mistakes.That is what is so great about being in a learning environment.

8)Make friends with people who do NOT think like you. Group-think is a real affliction.

9)"Group assignment" is an oxymoron , few groups get together to contribute equally or even close to the same to an assignment.Deal with it.Try to visualize how to make the best of a bad situation ,if the groups were not selected by you.

10)You may not understand everything at the first go.It's OK.Make sure you do get the essence.

11)The most productive days were when I went to the classroom without expectations, and listened like a layman . Mental baggage can and does stop effective learning.Learning to unlearn is a continuous process.On the same note, doing the extra reading before a class can help you see what the Professor teaches in 3D 2048 X 1536 resolution while other less prepared see the same class in hazy black and white imagery. Footnotes often contain juicy details.It is good to know, and good to know that you know :old Chinese saying.

12)There will be fads and there will be trends.Social networking is a fad today.Will it be 15 years down the line ? Read science fiction.You will smile.

13)And this is a mistake which I did make : I overslept for most of the days I know out here in SIIB. Which meant I woke refreshed every day,but saw fewer movies.Or read less.So if possible, sleep less.

14)Get involved with the social service activities out here in Symbiosis Infotech Campus, it will humble you to know the unique challenges facing the underprivileged.You will count your blessings and you will see there is so much you can do to help.

15)An empty mind is devil's workshop.Do something, anything.

16)Read research papers for they would define the many tomorrows to come.Having knowledge of obsolete practices is not going to help.

17)I wish I had discovered TweetDeck earlier.TweetDeck allows me to see all my Twitter tweets, Google Buzz and Facebook news feed in a single interface.The amount of time people spend on Facebook is ridiculous ,it is the idiot-box of our generation.

18)I learned that I can live without TV for months altogether.

19)Discover new genres of music.

20)Understand how rural India thinks , it is very different from what the aspirations of city-dwellers are.It takes some time to do this even to a small extent due to lack of readily available documentation.

21)Personal integrity is of surmount importance, never compromise it.

22)I have learned the most out of observing people, and their reactions to situations.Be it in case studies or campus.

23)You may be calmness personified or your temper may have a short fuse : one needs the ability to be professional at all times.

24)The art of explaining well is a prized gift.

25)And the last one : do not believe all you read.If all this sounds pompous and pretentious , that's because it is.I read a draft, and I asked myself :"Who do you think you are to preach?". Yes, self-deprecating humour can be substituted for humility.

Best of luck all ye future SIIBians .
-Aby Johnson (Batch of 2009-11)

The new building in town

2010-10-08T09:46:00.000+05:30

“Every time a student walks past a really urgent, expressive piece of architecture that belongs to his college, it can help reassure him that he does have that mind, does have that soul.”
-Louis Kahn

It is here, some delays surely but it is here.The day when SIIB moves lock,stock and books(the library though is already in place in the new address) to the new building.

The students from the first and the second year will give their first and third semester exams in the new building .

So it began with an exam.

A new building symbolizes the chance to reshape our idea of what the college environment is.A new setting is always a sign of getting ready for bigger and better.

Here's a cheer to the new college campus.

A day at BSE

2010-07-28T19:03:00.000+05:30

Date 19 july

Place class (going on)

Time 1.30 pm

“A workshop at BSE by college on Friday, 23 July. The list of students for first bach is attached herewith. Reporting time 4 am”…hussshh… gimme a break…4 am in d morning? r u sure or have they put ‘am’ instead of ‘pm’ previous day…was d first reaction after reading d mail. Routine discussions after reading the mail began among all of us showing our displeasure towards timing….but there was a relief as well that going one day away from lectures and especially the GFM assignment that we get every Thursday……

Date 22 July

Place room no 507

Time 10.30 pm

Heated discussion was going on ….subject was which games should be included as a part of pre events of Leadership Series this year….and then sudden realization…freak…10.30 pm…tomorrow morning waking time…3 am…meeting wrapped with usual conclusion that a lot to be done and we will decide what to be done next time…..goodbyes were exchanged…..responsibilities of waking up each other were shared…

Date 23 July 24

Place College main gate

Time 4.00 am

“Shit yaar….bus hasn’t come…could have slept for some more time yaar……chod yaar…aa gayi bus………”

Constant rain, empty roads, morning songs on radio and longing sleep didn’t let us know when we reached Vashi and then BSE subsequently.

BSE. Sirf naam hi kafi hai…this is THE most discussed place in the country, the place about which we had been taught a lot and the place which every MBA finance student MUST visit in his lifetime….The stoic faces of traders, strict (apparently) policemen and nostalgic Fort area of Bombay…..stage was set….. The training was scheduled on 18^th floor. The city of Bombay was ready for the day and we could see the hustle bustle on the streets -which was on its peak- from there.

Training began……. as lectures begin. After one good hour of history, geography, (economics, political science,biology…. and what not) of BSE we finally got a break. A tea break. We went upstairs …opened the doors of dining hall…and oh my holy god….freak…this is Bombay….the scene was so exquisite that we forgot the breakfast. On left hand side Hotel Taj and Gateway; on right side you have BMC and CST and right in front of you….just near Arabian sea….u have a long Rajabai tower , competing with clouds ….awesome…we were mystified …that made us forget everything…..simply great….then as usual a lot of information exchange happened and thousands of flashes of digicam …..

Post breakfast session was more interesting one…we were taught the BOLT system and how trading actually happens. This was followed by the mock trading session. This obviously created some time for us to attend to our networks u know…Facebook and Gmail. The trading was interesting. We 30 were to trade among ourselves and generate the profit at the end of the day. The game lasted for 2 good hours when luch time was declared. Again…same scenes of Bombay made our lunch more enjoyable than the actual lunch.

Post lunch session was on trading again but with lot of details….A detailed explanation of the BOLT processes was given by faculty. The session ended with a sudden announcement of the test which will be held after tea break. Though we know very well that how to pass in a test…but still a test is a test….Again same dining hall…same Bombay was waiting for us to be clicked for third time in the same day.

The test occurred…yea….just occurred ….. after appearing for tests by Agashe Sir and Takale sir, this was like a formality. The certificates were distributed. Then we went for a tour of BSE building. The trainer was much passionate @ BSE and its legacy. The portraits of the stalwarts who established it, nurtured it and made it what it is today were really inspiring. We left the building with the same feelng in our minds.

But the visit to Bombay was not over yet, and how would it without a visit to Marine Drive? The bus was turned…and we were happy…. ….the setting sun and the waves of sea generated a sense of fulfillment. We left from there at 7 pm and got introduced to traffic of the maximum city. Unbelievable. We failed to get a single green signal in first attempt. Sometimes 3-4 attempts were needed. The sense of boredom was creeping in and suddenly the idea of DUM SIRAJ was put forward….freak….2.5 hrs…with Radio Mirchi as background music…..we finally reached to college back at 11.45 pm…

Busy day…truly a busy day….3 am to 11.45 pm….but a memorable one….

Mukul( Finance - 09-11)

Wherein started the freshers party ? The Eastern Economy edition.For sale in India only.

2010-07-26T13:20:00.004+05:30

Party animals and early morning classes the next day have as much love lost between them as hare and fox over the last millenia. SIIB's Freshers party for the batch of 2012 yesterday night at St.Laurns and after having attended classes at 9 am the next day prompted a question in one : Freshers party after they have served the symbolic ice-breaking , foot-looseness and mass camaraderie of being at one spot on earth for two years:has it served the same role over the many years Freshers party would have been in place in India under various names at various points in time.

Say, we are in the age of warriors and farmers, the kings and the sorcerers about 900 years back.

The freshers party of soldiers 900 years back would have (if they were recruited during peace time, and not in war time : the ones recruited during emergency possibly would have little luxuries attached to their initial days) included a warm meal and steady source of income.The soldiers would have been given a place to stay and possibly a weapon to practice.At a practice ground , the drill sergeant would have bellowed:

"The glorious kingdom of BlogHypotheticalPlace asks you to do what is necessary to carry our Most Venerable Emperor(or Queen)'s vision.Your life from henceforth belongs to the Army of the BlogHypotheticalPlace, and we expect discipline ,patriotism and the supreme sacrifice,if needed. Eat and drink for tomorrow we fight"( notice the subtle throwaways to Hollywood dialogues).

A gulp or two would have passed down in the young soldier's mind when he heard of phrases like "supreme sacrifice".But hey ,"we are in the Army now" as the song goes.

You're in the army now / Oh, oh you're in the army - now / You've got your orders to shoot on sight / your finger's on the trigger / but it don't seem right

The Royal Chefs would have possibly planned for the young ones who had decided to devote their lives to smells and crunches divine.

"Hey, you there young lad.Yes, I mean you. Chop these forty kilos of onions for today's lunch . After that , it's those bags of onions which need to be peeled.And do not forget to make sure there is enough firewood for the next ten days in the storeroom. By the way , welcome to the Royal Kitchen.At all times never forget that food is our route to the king's heart, and not of the oily-route some foods give.Our food may decide the mood of the king and often may lead to increased taxes for the peasants if we fail to deliver."

The legend of Akbar's khichdee would be then lovingly told to the young recruit.And then it is off to the lowly ranks of peeling and cutting,before some years down the line the young cook would move up a notch to more "value-added processes" in cooking(notice the subtle throwaways to management jargon).

The best(if that is the right word) freshers party would have to be that of the farmer. The family enterprise that a farming family is,it is likely that all the members of the family from an early age would have had a chance to participate in the farming process ( we will exclude the large landowner from this discussion :the life of manor born usually rests on that money can make work-from-an-early-age a needless concept). The freshers party would have been at a very early hour , much before the sun came out. An early breakfast, and the farmer would instruct the young hands of what needs to be done for the day.The mandatory speech:

"Nature expects diligence ,and she mother earth rewards well.If the gods are kind and we have done our duty of working hard before the rains and the right amount of sunshine will give us a bounty. Lads and lasses, this is going to be hard work ,but we will be rewarded at harvest.So gear up and let that shovel move"(Digression: In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers,a theory is presented of how folks from South China are found to be good in maths, and the reason is attributed to the traditional farming practices of the region)

Universities, many centuries down the line of course do not have to give such facts-of-life at freshers parties. Arranged and stage-managed, and the fun is the only operating motto.It is our way of saying:" welcome all ye, new students. We open our doors to the best and the finest, and in celebration we shall make merry."

Welcome SIIB Batch of 2012.

A Month at SIIB

2010-07-18T22:07:00.000+05:30

I have been writing for my blog for quite some time now but this particular article is a little special to me. It was written on the eve of successfully completing my first 30 days at SIIB. I accidentally ran into it while rummaging through my awfully cluttered hard-drive, and on re-reading it I thought it might interest my fellow juniors here. So, this one is for all those of you who have joined this year. Hope your stay is pleasant and you have lots of fun.

Classes are over for today and this, is the one hour , in-between the drowsy last few minutes of the Sales & Distribution lecture and the Circus a little later where a handful of future managers will be seen going-off-the –wall at large near the Cafeteria over the AMR presentation due tomorrow….. The cafeteria will soon be filled up with bright sparks gelling and bouncing off each other in about as much time as it takes this elevator to descend the 6 floors….The library comes before anything else but the coffee gets my preference, always. The Wi-Fi here is amazing but (anyway) the rubbish I’ve keep downloading these days is rarely worth a second double-click. Even as I miss my sweet-corn with hot coffee I can feel my grey cells (or whatever is left of them) readjusting to the AMR assignment modifications suggested last Wednesday… and something keeps me from thinking - MJ’s demise was premature. Sometimes, I’m afraid that I’ve started noticing changes in just about everything that I would have called “Normal”, even a month ago…. even the figures that used to hover around inside my tiny head have grown into the numeric sort. I must have Hi-Five’ed and Hello’ed 30 guys since morning without remembering their names, and yes I’ve heard that Life is Beautiful… it has rained today but I found the essence of the beautiful “Dhurba” somewhat missing … it’s as if Kolkata is on the other side of the map …..
Wait!! There’s more to this day …. It’s exactly been a month since our orientation programme, which formally inducted us into SIIB, ended in applause…. Every morning I manage to wake up, somehow, the bleary eyes remind me that “Oye!!! Life has never been so alive…..” Break-fasts skipped and classes missed are a different story that I’ll tell you the day when I explain why “Symbi Rocks!!!”

Cheers,
ION

Hitch-hiking @ Hinjewadi

2010-07-08T18:26:00.003+05:30

It goes like this most of the times..

Step 1: Keep your hands in Aadhi Mudhra, or in lesser mortal terms, pose as if you are the next Akshay Kumar in the road, practising for the next big Thums-Up Commercial

Step 2:If the bike approaching on the road is driven by Adam,

then

Step 2A: If the bike approaching on the road is driven by Eve

Step 2B: Get over the Akshay Kumar image or else you might be frowned upon as a “dude” trying to get naughty

Disclaimer: This conservative approach is recommended, considering the uncertainty of the forthcoming situation. A classic example of Indian risk-averse approach

Step 3: Strike eye contact with the driver, and do the Akshay Kumar Hand Jig, (Ofcourse, only the hand), with the sincerity and likeability of a student

Step4: If the bike stops within the next 300 metres

then

Step 5: Run towards the bike to respect his time and also demonstrate how excited you are to join him for a ride, and above all

Step 6: Look for visual cues to distinguish the IT junta from the rest. These cues decide the language of conversation. It could also be used for conversation starters. For Eg: An infosys bag in the back of the driver should, under ideal circumstances, lead to discussion on something on Finance or Technology.

It is preferable to start with Hindi

Step 7: “Toda Aage jaana hai…”

Let the driver get back to the charm of driving. Wait for the driver to start the conversation.The driver realizes that a stranger is sitting in his pillion seat. Wih a sense of uneasyness, he asks

Hitch-hikeee or Liftee: “Where do you want to go?”

Step 8: “I want to go to Aundh…However, I ll travel as far as you go”

“Muje Aundh tak jaana hai. Aap jitna aage jaayenge main vahaan tak chalta hoon” (depending on the visual and mental judgement of the driver who has been kind enough to offer me lift)

These are the opening steps of my hitch-hikes with hordes of people travelling every day across the Hinjewadi Highway. What started as a necessity, thanks to my adamant ignorance to learn to drive a geared bike stating age-old reasons of true ownership,( in my ego’s words, “I wont drive a bike unless it belongs to me”), has now become a fascinating spiritual phenomenon in itself. Yes, you heard it right. It’s a spiritual phenomenon, as I witness something fascinating in the way every journey unfolds itself into a unique experience while taking me comfortably to my journey. There is a strong sense of uncertainty in this whole experience. I have no clue how and with whom I would make my journey to reach my destination. I have no clue how far the driver is going to be a part of my journey. Often I get dropped in the midst of nowhere. Although I get anxious over this uncertainty, thanks to my obsession with punctuality, often, this uncertainty leads me to a pristine experience where I realize, much to my ego’s dismay, however, to my soul’s gaiety, I have no control over the unfurling of my journey. However, I am cocksure I would be able to reach my place comfortably. This uncertain feeling ,blended with a sense of faith has often left me overwhelmed in happiness! It leads me to a beautiful feeling where I realize, after all, people in this road are travelling only for me!

It makes me wonder, how beautiful my life would be, if it were like this hitch-hike journey! All I have to do is simply sing to my heart’s content to the rhythm of my destiny. How wonderful it would be, if all my relationships with people in this world, turn out the way it happens with these hitch-hikees. You never know who is going to come how far. You simply enjoy the journey as long as he is willing to take you. And yes, you part him good-bye with a big smile from the cockles of a heart swollen with gratitude

Tell me something about yourself

2010-07-07T22:15:00.001+05:30

So ,tell me something about yourself :the answer for years to come, and what should have been.Armchair style.A million paper-tigers clap.

The stallions who run in my head don't have a stable to their name.Our stables are Universities under the stars and the school of hard knocks . They are wild, and have run across many plains and drunk from many pools.They have seen sights, and they and in turn me, believe that if the eyes are the window to my soul, we should see selectively.The stallions have been made to run through race courses with a fixed time-lap before the race ends, and the hooves checked by the experts. The horse-shoe with least wear and tear are what I have kept in front of you as testimonies that I have run the normal paths too.I have chewed from fields of grass where the word on the street was that they would serve one well, and the stallions have also wandered into fields where rude signs said to keep away.They too did not disappoint occassionally.

Yes, you did not expect such an answer.Yet I was expecting this question. The pattern which I am to be tested upon are available in endless rows of books with the title "How to ace an interview", online forums are patterned with endless pages of minuiate. Don't look hither in puzzlement as to what you have done to deserve this. I am telling who I am not in terms of the paper currency to my name, or my ten favorite authors or what my scholastic achievements are : if these are what define me or you would like me to pigeon-hole into, we could have walked many miles and spoke many words but not have really heard what I said.You look puzzled , but my thoughts are clear. You seek clarity of expression, a sense of purpose to all of this. You are already fumbling for the question : "What can you tell me about Argentina", and seek if the stallions can recollect if they have run across the savanna.No , I do not recollect the type of the grass in savanna, and neither would it be possible for me to tell if I know the name of Eva Peron's husband. Ask me however if I saw Argentina crushed by Germany in the football match of a recent calendar, and I will sing you an epic.

I can be sculpted and molded many times both by the stallions running and the extensions by way of hands and feet moving, although not in infinite measure.The mind is supposed to be more open to the sights, sounds and the experiences in years past than in years in future. I am a lesser order sponge , I can whistle ten times before I take a breath.

Lest you think I cannot do the tango to the reasonable tunes of our time : I am team-worker(sic), I am a perfectionist, I can work under pressure, I have been awarded the best worker medal, I have exhibited leadership qualities at school and workplace,and I like to read,especially books with the title:"How to ace an interview".

Thoughts on MBA + Long Letter from "Senior"

2010-07-03T07:50:00.002+05:30

Having completed one year of MBA successfully, I think I have attained sufficient age to begin philosophizing about the whole system of Management Education in India. While this one-year in a B-School has been an eye-opener, drastically changing my perspective towards the World, thanks to several interesting people I met throughout the year, I have also begun to wonder on the uncomfortable existential question asked by Educationists and other bunch of intelligentsia: Is MBA education really necessary for anyone? While government is mulling over creating IIMs in every city, not to forget the slew of foreign universities waiting to descend the shores, it might look like a joke to ask the question of whether a B-School is really necessary. While I was an MBA aspirant, I vividly remember reading articles from various philosophers who advised me not to take MBA program as they felt It doesnt really add value to one 's career. Now, having spent a year, I understand why they mentioned so. After spending considerable period of time in a B-School, one begins to realize that it is actually not necessary. Allow me to indulge a bit of philosophizing. MBA is often like those vicious cycle of Samskaras: You need them as long you realize you dont need them. You need B-School education to experientially realize the obvious thing you were meant to do in your life. Prior to B-School Education, one tends to think along the traditional lines, blurring the individual identity amongst the hordes. B-School is important only if it lets you find what you really wanted to do in life. Although I have been wanting to make my career in Business, I never had my personal choice on the sector where my heart yearned to work. This can be verified easily in India: Ask anyone who aspires to do MBA: Where do you want to work? Almost 80% is expected to answer FMCG Sector. Remaining percentage is reserved for Consulting.

These are bunch of incoherent thoughts, I shall put it coherently some time later. Meanwhile, having become a senior in my college, I decided to write an endearing letter to my B-School juniors. I felt like sharing it in in the Web. It can do with little bit of editing. However, I leave it untouched.

Hello Folks,

Few might have met me in the class. Let me make my introductions, nevertheless, I am Venky, SIIB 09-11 Marketing student. I hate this word "Senior", as it makes the stupid assumption that I know more things than you. I happened to join SIIB a year earlier and had a ball of a time during my first year. I did few mistakes here and there and learnt few things on the way. Also, there were few things I wished somebody told me earlier while I finished my first year. ! While this might come unasked, I felt I needed to share few things with you, so that you could also have more fun during the most precious time of your career.

This time is very precious because 1) you are in the last leg of your student life, something which is never gonna come back 2) you are free from the pesterings of your parents/boy-friends/girl-friends. I dont want to talk bad of them. I love them. However most of the times, they often make decisions for our lives. Now, it is the best time to shape your career as per your dreams and desires, without their influences whatsoever. You might might want to take their opinions. However, you are free to chisel how you want your career is gonna be from here on.

I am sure, most of you might be lost in the break-neck speed of things happening around you, with incomprehensible Harvard Case studies and assignments and non stop lectures and what not. While the college folks have one mission to make you busy with a whole lotta things, often they really dont look beyond: What is that you are busy about?

Time runs faster than Usain Bolt, especially during first year. So, there are chances, that you might get lost in the thick of things and wonder at the end: What the hell did I do in my first year: Let me come to the point without much philosophizing:

Life in MBA is not about these lectures and endless supply of assignments. Its all about finding your voice and finding your pathway. Its more like the Lakshya movie, if I can draw some parallels. So How do you find out your "lakshya"? Simple: Explore the world: Get out of the campus: Go for competitions, meet other B-School Students, see whats happening around. Its a cruel joke played in the campus that our campus is set in scenic hills, distant from the grimy business reality. Business happens there. So go out and explore around..

Few Checklists you could check out

1) Get yourself a LinkedIn Profile and start building your profile and your networks. The whole world is in..Arent you in??

2) Start Blogging. FInd your voice. Express your opinions and thoughts. All books you are asked to read by faculty members are simply their thoughts on business: what are yours?

3) Build brand equity for college. It helps you in million ways

4) Start building rapport with faculty, seniors, alumni. Everyone is networked. You never know who could be of help at any point of time

Thanks for reading my patient mail. You can mail me your thoughts/comments/queries whatever you have on life here to my id, instead of floating it around the group

Cheers
Venky

270 Days

2010-06-21T10:08:00.000+05:30

That is how many days I have left before I step out of SIIB (as per the Academic Manual given out recently, 18 March 2011 is the Stepping Out day for the batch of 09-11).

I guess I should get started then.

Internship Time

2010-04-19T08:55:00.003+05:30

Hey folks,
I am sure most of us must be so relieved after the one month long tiring exams saga. While most of us might have cosily settled into their hometowns, few mus be xplorin new towns where they've landed up for the next interesting phase of MBA life..INTERNSHIP phase. Let us use this forum to share our Internship experiences and other interesting learnings gained during this phase. Looking forward for a meaningful discussion

Cheers
venky

Secret behind the Amazing Dabbawalas

2010-04-19T08:46:00.003+05:30

I recently attended a lecture by the popular Dabbawalas in my college. I was initially apprehensive about this whole lecture thing, as somehow I felt that Dabbawalas had received too much of attention from the media that most of the popular folk could think only of Dabbawalas when they thought of innovation. However my apprehensions and inhibitions withered away in the after glow of the brilliant speech by the third generation family which runs the Nutan Bombay Tiffin Box Suppliers Association. The brilliant speech gave me some amazing insights regarding the secret which makes them so efficient and amazing. Although the founders mentioned the secret so casually that hardly few could have noticed it, it somehow struck a huge chord with me.
Let me come straight to the point without belaboring further.
Dabbawalas belong to a Varakari Sampradaya ( tradition) and the entire 4000 strong work force belong to this sampradaya. This tradition unites them and make them work as organism as compared to an organization. White caps worn by every dabbawalas symbolizes this tradition. Bono makes this point in some interview where he mentions that teams should work as one organism together. U2 is another amazing example which works as an organism
So what makes this tradition so unique and what drives them to work at unbelievable 6-sigma efficient levels? Every member of dabbawala is a passionate devotee of Lord Panduranga((Another avatar of Lord Krishna)

They consider their work as a form of worship to their Lord and they do it so religiously. My friends in Mumbai pointed out that they can be often seen doing kirtans of Lord Panduranga while coming to work. Their passion and devotion towards their work was so evident when the speaker spoke of their jobs in such high esteem during the lecture. Their reverence towards their duty was filled with such fervor that I suddenly felt a sense of gratitude and devotion when I was taking my food in my mess after the session. Most of us, in our fast track lives, do our work so mundanely that such things become a routine mechanical task to us. The secret to do amazing work lies in this reverence. The moment we revere an activity, it takes the entire attention of our mind. We begin to do it with utmost sincerity and dedication. Remember those good ol' days when our parents used to do the preparations for rituals or functions in house. Or think of moments when devout christians prepare the christmas tree or the manger. Or think of the moments when you decorated the room for the birthday party of your beloved. Such work is done immaculately because of the love that emanates from doing the work. I know what you are thinking at. How can I begin to revere my daily mundane work of copying codes in one server or say, testing codes ? Well, with the way the world shaping up these days, it is impossible to be good in the work we do, unless we begin to love it. Any amount of breaks, vacations, trekking arranged by desperate HR folks wont help either. The best part is, the world has shaped to such extent, that the job we would love to do, isn't tucked in fables written by evangelists who live in make-believe world, it is just a click away..
So to put it simply, we have two choices. Choice 1: Love the work we are doing. Choice 2: Find work which we love..
HR folks can really take some lessons on motivation through reverence from these amazing dabbawalas. When work turns into what we really love, work turns into a piece of beautiful art. If you are still sceptical, look at the way Dabbawalas work!!
Another interesting thing which came out during the lecture was the fact that all the workers, irrespective of how many years they worked, get the same share of money from the total share of profits they make. When each and every member is a part of one organism, how can anyone get more than other?.. Looking at the mess we've created in the wake of financial crisis, thanks to all the popular carrot and stick approaches of compensation, one cannot but notice the gem of wisdom that lies behind this.
The best part of the lecture was during the end, when the president ended his speech by letting them do the work they have been doing for centuries and urging us, the future managers of India, not to force or adapt them to the conventional ways of management, we've borrowed from the west.
However what he didnt say was this...
"Its high time you guys embrace our ways of working if you are really serious about getting good results!"

Stepping Out [ from SIIB ] Stepping in [ new world ]

2010-04-07T11:39:00.002+05:30

April 2, 2010 - Stepping Out for the batch of 2008-10.
It's a college "formal" farewell. :)

We didn't realize that it was time. Two years were over. We have learned our share of learning’s and now it was time to make them into use.

Gosh!! Time never stops. It never takes a break. These two years have been enriching in all ways.

The first year was tough. With its fair share of internals,externals,AMR presentations and a whole lot of group studies- it was indeed a time when we worked our a** off.

The second year was a bit more relaxed. With core specialization subjects being flown in people now were split up not into Div A and Div B but Mktg / Fin / SCM / HR .

SIC has always been rocking .Where else you would find a "sweety/rangoli" buzzing with people. Life would have been hell had the “Xerox" shop closed down. From laudries to juice bar to our very own cafeteria - SIC had it all.

The hostels were simply superb. Room cleaning was a regular ritual. And what if anything needed a "repair" the register was at your service and "shoot" it was done.

The view from all around, the three campuses always buzzing with activities. It was all so amazing.

The late night walks around the campus, having coffee , people going to 5th & 6th floor to catch all the unused broadband for downloading , calling up D hostel @ 1 am and telling him an order no less than a birthday party.......I am gonna miss all this :(

We did study. And that too well. Spanish was a clincher and only I know how I managed to clear it in the third semester. We almost did our Ph.D's in Spanish. :P

The faculty, the visiting faculties, the GL’s, the events everything has been so special that you can't picture -this is all over.

People cried, hugged like babies when they were leaving. This is what we call as bonding.And believe me; though we are still doing PG's we still have a child in us.

Well as they say "all good things have to end" - so it be.As all of us embark on a new journey we take these good rememberings with us so that at times we can cherish them.

Also,in life at some point when we meet , it actually brings up a smile on our face.

This is SIIB.This is Symbiosis.

PS-The second semester exams are on for the juniors.And after that they move for summers.So ,the blog would be a little less informed.

Conference on Energy Security & Climate change - Challenges for a developing India

2010-02-14T22:45:00.003+05:30

Climate change & energy security are two major recent issues being discussed not just across the Indian subcontinent, but also on a global level.

The economic growth of a nation is considered analogous to its energy resources & their end use. An evenly poised, equity based energy profile is one of the key parameters while analysing a nation’s progress The real challenge lies in balancing a high energy demand economy against concerns of climate change impacts.

To discuss the intricacies of these issues on a national & global perspective, Symbiosis Institute of International Business in association with ENERTIA, (India’s leading journal on sustainable energy & power) is organising a one day conference on “Energy security & climate change - Challenges for developing India”, on Feb 17, 2010 at Le Meridien Hotel, Pune. Mr R V Shahi, former Secretary, Power, Government of India and Mr V P Raja, Chairman, MERC, Mumbai have kindly consented to address the inaugural function.

The conference will bring together eminent experts in the field of energy policy, technologists, industry experts, policy makers to deliberate on important issues concerning India’s energy security and technology options available for the future.

The highlight of the event is to bring together a “distinctive blend of perspectives of current issues from diverse sectors of energy & environment, on a common platform”.

This initiative aims to channelize the Symbiosis vision of “nurturing a sustainable environment through knowledge enhancement” in the energy and environment sector, thereby hoping to stimulate and empower students towards creating an environment of energy consciousness and developing a low carbon economy for India.

For further details please download the e brochure.

http://www.siib.ac.in/site_images/file/EBrochure.pdf

(Right Click - Save Target As)

3 IDIOTS Review, 3 IDIOTS Movie, Actors, Cast, IDIOTISM WITH A NEW DIMENSION - MouthShut.com

2009-12-29T13:48:00.000+05:30

3 IDIOTS Review, 3 IDIOTS Movie, Actors, Cast, IDIOTISM WITH A NEW DIMENSION - MouthShut.com

COP-hang-en !!

2009-12-18T14:08:00.003+05:30

COP-hang-en….. This is what I interpret from the proceedings at the COP15 at Copenhagen. The tug of war between the ‘Developed nations’ and the ‘Rest of the world’ seems to be worsening day by day.

Will some body tell these guys, it’s not only about the economic activities; it’s about the place we live in, the air we breathe. It’s not about proving their dominance and power but all about the earth, our home. Emissions, Financing, Monitoring and Legal formalities are the main points discussed in the COP.The Developed world is trying to tighten the noose on the developing nations especially the BASIC (Brazil, India, China, and Africa). The central financial body to be created would give least priority to the BASIC. A major thing that limits the acceptance of binding targets is scarcity of funds in these developing economies to facilitate the technological transfer.

These points further strengthen the stand of these developing economies of the World for not accepting the binding targets as well as the peaking year.The total proceedings in the COP have only lead to further confusion and scepticism regarding the post Kyoto scenario of the world.

However, there’s no use, rather no time, to be a pessimist. So, let’s pray…all the bridges are built, gaps are filled, and differences are cleared, in what we call the ‘most important phase of the COP15’.

Hope the DEAL IS SEALED for the good of Mother Earth.

Avinashkumar Rai
MBA (E & E)

IT symposium on “Analytics: A strategic business enabler

2009-12-14T17:43:00.004+05:30

Analytics: A strategic business enabler

What ? : IT symposium on “Analytics: A strategic business enabler”.

When? : 17th of December 2009, 5-7 PM

Where? : Le Royale, Hinjewadi, Pune

The emergence of the wired world has transformed businesses forever. In this networked world, uncertainty has been the rule of the game in business. Managers, deluged by the vast expanse of information available in this networked world, have looked at solutions which would help them distill such voluminous information and aid in making decisions.

Managers have also begun to utilize the business intelligence systems for timely decision making. Analytics industry has grown to meet these demands effectively. The rising popularity stands testimony to this fact. According to IBM’s CIO Global Study, 83 percent of respondents said business intelligence and analytics are a top priority. The old quote, “You cannot manage what you are not measuring” sounds sagacious even in present times when businesses are becoming more complex every day with global linkages being forged across diverse business functions. Although the recent financial crisis threw in uncomfortable questions to question the raison d’etre of analytics industry, the after math of the crisis brought risk analytics to the fore to help managers mitigate the risks companies would face in challenging times.

Analytics has matured over the years from helping line managers take decisions across functional silos to expanding its dimensions across building strategy for the growth of organization. This would entail a paradigm shift as companies will have to move beyond their process driven analytics frame work to fully realize the power of analytics to convert reams of data into business insights for the future.

All this and more, awaits you at the IT symposium 2009. SIIB invites the best minds to debate, analyze, and share insights on “Analytics: A strategic business enabler”.

To register for the event, call Salar Bijili @ 9766909480 (salarbijili@gmail.com)

Denmark agrees to do its bit...

2009-12-10T17:24:00.004+05:30

Denmark (host nation, to the climate summit) is one of the first countries in the world to earmark financing for developing nations to strengthen their capacities to combat climate change in the short run, as per Danish government.

Provided there is a global climate deal and other countries pay their share too, Denmark will fund 0.16 billion euro to help developing countries strengthen their capacities to tackle climate change in the short term (2010-2012).

The Danish funding is in line with EU’s opinion that a deal is needed on both “fast start” financing for developing countries from 2010-2012, followed by a significant scaling up of public and private financial flows to developing countries from 2013. EU has estimated the need for 2010-2012 to 5 to 7 billion euro, according to EU Business.

In a press release, the Danish government states that Denmark in this way would contribute to immediate action taking place in developing countries shortly after the climate change conference.

Ulla Tørnæs, the Danish Minister , stated that their aim is to send a clear signal to other nations that finance is needed on the negotiating table in Copenhagen, targeting the least developed countries that are to be hardest hit by climate change, without which no climate deal would prove benefiicial.

Original Source: http://www.cop15.dk/

Coping with hope

2009-12-09T17:50:00.002+05:30

In view of this climate change campaign, there is a great possibility for the Copenhagen summit to end on a positive note. It would provide a simple & direct solution for the present and future sustenance. In spite of strong opposition pertaining to the summit’s outcome, pressure is certainly intense and too hot to handle.

The leadership lies in ‘how everybody plays their part, in this fight for right’. This is something above the ‘as usual business’, wherein we as a part of nature need to lead and protect it. This is undoubtedly one of the aspects, hovering in the minds of every individual at the money.

Let's cope!!

Satya Venkataraman

EU quiet on 30 percent vow

2009-12-08T10:13:00.002+05:30

The European Union has decided to stay quiet at the moment, on a key issue till the very last moment of the UN conference on climate change(as per Swedish Minister for Environment, Andreas Carlgren). As Sweden holds the rotating EU presidency, Mr. Carlgren is negotiating on behalf of the union.

The EU has already adopted a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. However, the decision also specifies that the union will raise its commitments to 30 percent if other major players undertake “comparable commitments” – without specifying what would qualify as being “comparable”. Sources say this step is to keep up the pressure on major players...US & China

“The EU is ready to raise its commitments from 20 to 30 percent, depending on others countries' plans, especially US and China.

Padmanabh Iyer - MBA (E & E)

South Africa: Aid needed to reach target

2009-12-07T21:53:00.033+05:30

South Africa is fine with reducing their carbon emissions if provided necessary financial and technological support.

Just before the opening of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen on Monday, South Africa announced that it is ready to cut the growth of its carbon emissions by 34 % by 2020 and 42 % by 2025, provided if it gets necessary aid from developed countries to achieve its goals.

"This would perhaps enable South Africa’s emissions to peak between 2020 and 2025, plateau for approximately a decade, and later decline in absolute terms thereafter," as per the statment given by South Africa’s presidency & released on the South African Press Association PR wire, Bloomberg.

"This undertaking is conditional on firstly, a fair, ambitious and effective agreement... and secondly, the provision of support from the international community, and in particular finance, technology and support," the South African statement continued, according to BBC News. South Africa generates almost all of its electricity from coal, Bloomberg said.

Original source: http://en.cop15.dk/

Padmanabh Iyer - MBA - E & E (09-11)

Delegation leaves for ’Hagen

2009-12-07T10:36:00.003+05:30

A 20-member delegation comprising farmers, civil society actors, experts, scientists, mediapersons, policy makers will participate in COP 15 from December 7-18 under the banner of ‘Beyond Copenhagen; Collective Action on Climate Change’.

The members are led by a Jaipur-based NGO — Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON).

The first phase of the campaign had focused on ‘Towards a National Consensus on India’s Position in International Negotiation’, experience of the campaign and the way forward, a shared outcome of the process involving wide variety of stakeholders, including farmers, women, Dalits, tribals, media and policy makers, he added.

Similar regional consultation and workshops were organised in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Bihar prior to Jaipur. The campaign also organised a public hearing on climate change for arid and semi-arid region involving people from over 12 states sharing their stories on how climate change and its wide ramifications have affected their lives, livelihoods, economy and culture.

CECOEDECON was also a part of another national process and campaign supported by Oxfam and other partner organisations which conducted public hearings on impact of climate change in different agro-climatic zones (forests, Himalayan eco system, urban, flood plains, coastal region) finally culminating in national Public hearings (November 11-13, 2009 in Delhi).

CECOEDECON is one of the few accredited organisations with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will organise a side event at Copenhagen on December 11, 2009 under “Why Agriculture Must Be Focused In Climate Change Negotiations”. In this event, speakers include many activists and experts of national and international repute from India.

Original source: Times News Network, 7 December 2009

Padmanabh Iyer
MBA (E & E)

Building COP15

2009-11-27T00:39:00.008+05:30

COP?? What’s it? Is it cost of

production? Is it Coefficient of performance? Yes, you’re right as an MBA Graduate and a techie guy. But, an energy and environment graduate gazes it with a different perspective and comes up with a diverse idea saying that it is something related to climate change talks, Copenhagen, and so on.. Yes, it’s 15^th Conference of Parties of UNFCCC. Parties? It’s not a get-to-gather or some festivity. Parties are the signatory nations to the convention. COP15 which is awaited for is one of the important proceedings in the milestones of Climate change since Berlin Mandate.

While we invariably speak about environment, pollution, scarce rainfall, etc, there is something going to happen to our planet earth in a long run, as a result of Copenhagen talks which could alter the scope and scale of efforts towards Climate Change. Denmark is about to host the conference during 7^th to 18^th of December ‘09 and the countdown has already begun.

How do you think it would be? Something like a congregation? Yes, of course, a congregation of different culture, language, and ethnic background but with a common objective. Though, the parties have a commonality, they have diverse responsibilities in proportion to the emissions they have made so far, an acute felony to our planet Earth which is ironically stated in the convention as “Common but differentiated responsibilities”.

Do you think, the drive behind the mass gathering would be purely concerned towards environment? I don’t think so. Apart from the civil societies, few nations are more rapt to make their pitch for their own economic development and industrialisation rather having an intention to save the environment. Such skewed facts craft suspicions about the success of the conference too.

What ever it may be, let’s not jump our feet to make further comments on it, until a conclusion is drawn out of it. Rather, I’ll make it more interesting for you in a way sharing few things about the pre-conference activities and events happening around the globe which is elegantly called as “Road to Copenhagen”. In other words, let’s see behind the Scenes – the Making of the Conference.

Let’s commence with an important occasion, “World Environment Day” celebrated on 5^th of June ’09. This occasion was a platform for select group who took exceptional feats, high profile expeditions and other innovative acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for one simple idea: Your planet needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change.

Climate heroes are people who take a special initiative, who go beyond the normal responsibilities that we have, who pioneer with unusual initiatives and ideas. They show the kind of commitment, enthusiasm and understanding of how important it is that we all become heroes in order to address climate change,”

To name a few, Roz Savage who is known for her inspirational solo row across the Atlantic Ocean and who now row across the Pacific Ocean and walk from London to Copenhagen with the environmental message to take action on CO₂ levels by inspiring people to walk more and drive less. Her initiative, called Pull Together, calls upon her supporters around the world to Pull Together and match her 10,000 oar strokes each day with 10,000 steps. In October, Roz and thousands of supporters assembled at Big Ben in London and, over a period of six weeks, march more than 600 miles to Copenhagen to address the conference delegates. At this time, she will deliver the results of the initiative, essentially a walking petition, as a symbol of commitment to taking immediate, aggressive action to reduce global CO₂ levels.

David de Rothschild and a cherry-picked crew of adventurers, thinkers and artists set sail approximately 10,000 nautical miles across the Pacific. The boat, called Plastiki, is a distinctive, one-of-a-kind 60-foot (20m) catamaran made out of reclaimed plastic bottles, srPET plastic and recycled waste products. Their mission: to beat waste, raise awareness on the issues facing our planet and be the catalyst to activate change by bringing smart sustainable solutions to the forefront. The voyage sails through a number of exciting, challenging and environmentally-sensitive regions, including the ominously named Great Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, an area six times the size of England where plastic outweighs plankton by 6 to 1 – essentially, the world’s largest waste dump.

Project Kaisei consists of a team of innovators, ocean lovers, sailors, scientists, sports enthusiasts and environmentalists who have come together with a common purpose: to study how to capture plastic waste in the ocean, detoxify, and recycle it into diesel fuel. Every year over 60 billion tons of plastic are produced, much of it for one-time use and less than five percent of the world’s plastics are recycled. National Geographic estimates that over 85 million plastic bottles are used every three minutes. Currently, there are no proposed solutions to resolve the issue of plastics in the oceans.

Charles and Sho Scott (8 years old) This father-son pair are riding connected bikes from Cape Souya in northern Japan to Kyushu in the south, or 2,900 miles (4,700 km), as a campaign to raise awareness on climate change and in support of UN efforts to seal a deal on a climate treaty in Copenhagen in December. Entitled “United to Combat Climate Change—Ride Japan”, the ride passes through 11 of the World’s Cultural Heritage sites along the way. The two-month journey also raise funds for tree-planting efforts with the target of seven billion trees planted by the end of 2009, or one for each person on the planet.

The place which now looks like Moon-base Alpha, will be transformed into 38 functioning meeting rooms to host 2500 meetings over the two-week conference. While negotiators attempt to reach a new climate deal at COP15 in the Bella Centre, people from all over the world will debate how to fight climate change at Klimaforum09 in the heart of Copenhagen.

Thinking about climate change? Don’t keep it to yourself! Klimaforum09, new web-based initiative allows people from the entire world to share their thoughts on climate change up to COP15. Now it is possible to read many of the thoughts passing through people’s minds on the issue of climate change and add your own personal thoughts to the collection of climate thoughts.

Public transport is the main element in the transport plan for COP15, because it’s much more CO₂-friendly than taxis and other cars. Shuttle busses will run from the conference venue to the city centre every five to ten minutes and to Copenhagen Airport slightly less frequently, from 7 am to 11 pm, right from December 6 to December 19. Delegates at COP15 can move around in Copenhagen with a clear, green conscience on bicycles, public transport and in cars fuelled by the first litres of second-generation bio-ethanol produced in Denmark.

The COP15 logo: Visualising the climate challenge. The logo chosen for COP15 is created by a small design duo, who won the popular COP15 logo design competition from an overwhelming 269 competition entries. The logo's network of blue lines suggests how complex the climate question is, and how it affects and involves almost all things on this planet

The most interesting thing is that the University of Copenhagen lights the way to a CO₂-neutral future with new building. What is going to happen in Copenhagen in December is not just talk, but taking concrete action to combat climate change in Denmark – this house portrays that.

Denmark evens out the bumps on the way to COP15 visas. Anyone who has ever struggled with visa forms and deadlines will understand what a huge task it is to make sure that the many COP15 delegates who need a Danish visa receive one in time.

COP15 cycling tour from Kyoto to Copenhagen. Around 200 bicyclists waited outside the Japanese Embassy in Copenhagen on sunny June 14 for the last stage of the cycling tour from Kyoto to Copenhagen to kick off. Since the tour began in Tokyo on May 23, more than 3000 people have joined it on eight routes through neon-lit metropolises to small fishing villages all over Japan.

Now, let’s draw closer and guess what India would propose and expect out of this Conference. India is a country which is and will continue to be severely impacted by Climate Change precisely at a time when it is confronted with huge development imperatives. We would, therefore, expect that the Copenhagen outcome not only provides us with the space we require for accelerated social and economic development, in order to eradicate widespread poverty, but also create a global regime which is supportive of our national endeavours for ecologically sustainable development.

India’s focus would be mainly on

MITIGATION- Enhanced action on reducing GHG emissions

ADAPTION- Capacity building to meet the consequences of climate change

FINANCE- Objectives supported by sufficient financial resources

TECHNOLOGY- Technology transfers from developed nations

Still, few queries that crop up to each one of us are: What are India’s expectations with regard to the Copenhagen outcome? How can an accord be possible, if India and other major emitters refuse to accept responsibility in this regard? Would India be ready to accept a compromise along these lines?

Stay tuned with the happenings and hope for the best!

- Avinash Vijayarangam

MBA E&E (09-11)

26/11: A retrospection

2009-11-22T19:33:00.023+05:30

26.11.08 A Wednesday

Terror struck big time, at its PEAK, that too right in the heart of the ‘city of dreams’, Mumbai!! South Mumbai was usually regarded among the sophisticated, quieter and less trouble-some places of the city, compared to the suburbs. With most of the buildings/ infrastructure built by the British, even the 26th July 05’ deluge didn’t create much damage thanks to their highly efficient planning.

However, the three action-packed days put a drastic end to all perceptions / misconceptions, openly proving the fact that every damn portion of the city is vulnerable to terror and nobody is safe. A group of technically sound, anti-socially influenced ‘kids’, loaded with arms walked right into the city under the security’s nose, and each one of us were at their mercy for 60 long hours. Three of our ‘top’ cops lost their lives combating these kids, right on day one, which was another big blow.

While some news channels played their parts well, showcasing minute by minute updates on the issue, others stuck to TRP oriented links even during such critical times. Some went to the extent of spreading rumours and creating panic among viewers.

Politicians played their usual self, with 100% focus on their respective careers, vote banks and mud slinging as expected. Hats off to the NSG commandos for their valiant & successful effort in putting an end to the dreaded tyranny, which almost seemed like continuing for months together!!

These entire series of incidents threw light on the following:-

1) There are loop-holes in our Indian system, no doubt, but what’s even worse that these limitations are constantly being highlighted to ‘anti social groups’ by ‘fellow Indian traitors’.

2) Whether ‘internal acts of vandalism’ or ‘external terror attacks’, it’s our own people who are directly/indirectly involved.

3) Except the NSG, no other section of the society proved to be well equipped / strong enough to combat any sort of attack whether internal or external.

Dec 03, 2008: Immediate reaction Thousands of people across the nation came out on to the streets with candles, posters, slogans and openly voiced their opinion against the attacks. Most of us, blamed it on the politicians, some condemned the act, while some just silently payed homage to the heros who lost their lives. It was a day when INDIA spoke in one voice !!

Nov 22, 2009: Latest Update
This week, 26.11.09 will mark the first anniversary of India's worst attacks ever. But, has there really been any change ? Well...here are some unpleasant aspects which we need to be aware of.

1) The same set of politicians are in power inspite of elections being conducted. Mr. R.R. Patil who had created raves with his media statement " देश में ऐसी चोटी मोटी बातें होती रहती हैं", and was dismissed with immediate effect, is now back in power as the hon'ble Home Minister Of Maharashtra.

2) Amir Kasab Jamal, one of the main terrorists caught alive, is still undergoing trial, which hopefully is nearing its end as per advocate Ujwal Nikam. At the moment, he's enjoying 'biriyani' in prison.
Its strange that it takes almost a year to decide what to do with a person charged with murder of more than 100 lives. On the contrary, it took 10 mins to gun down Rahul Raj, who only tried to threaten but did not actually harm anyone, for the simple reason that he himself was damn scared !!

3) The Economic Times dated 22 Nov 2009 states that "the bullet proof jacket, ATS Chief Hemant Karkare was wearing, as well as its procurement file, is missing !! CM Mr. Ashok Chavan stated last Sunday that he would investigate the reports of substandard bullet proof jackets. As of now, nobody has been taken to task".

This clearly shows that we are still vulnerable to attacks, and need to be careful.

Frankly speaking, we the people of India are collectively responsible for every loophole in the system to some extent, because being in a democracy we ultimately get what we choose, and we deserve what we get !!

Power and responsibility go hand in hand. Power bestowed upon an individual is best, when used as a strong tool to carry off responsibilities with utmost ease and maximum efficiency. Use of power, simply confined to fulfilment of self-interests, is nothing but nuisance value.

To bring about a change / revolution in the current system, one needs to possess immense qualities such as honesty, selflessness, meticulousness, practical approach, far-sight and above all patriotism.

But, on a positive note, I sincerely hope that the anger & pain in our hearts though subsided at the moment, do not die down totally, and someday, somehow, we the people of India shall be able to constructively & fruitfully transform our emotions into skills for the benefit of the nation.

Jai Hind !!

Padmanabh S
MBA(E &E)

Be the change you want to see in this world - --M.K. Gandhi

Chakra of Life

2009-11-16T23:45:00.010+05:30

The day you were born world stand still,

you goofing around denying to climb hill.

Mugging the numbers & alphabets,

find your teacher biggest mugger or prophet.

life is fun when you catch it on the run X2

Sun shines when buddies around,

day in day out sounding lost or found.

Chic-Flick is common as are the Sci-Fi,

but don't step into Homo Hi-five.

life is fun when you catch it on the run X2

There's a stage when you wipe-off all your sins,

fucking and earning just for beer tin

Now you conceive just to complete the circle,

child in you breaks free to act as uncle........

life is fun when you catch it on the run

Now World laughs at you & you stand still,

you have to jump from top of hill.

We are sad at the end of time,

death takes toll and begins to rhyme.

absence of life is like alarming bell,

kick the Heaven welcome the hell..... X2

coz you left one hell for another hell.......

life is fun when you catch it on the run X2

Asheem Sher (09-11)

Pyar and Marketing

2009-11-07T21:07:00.005+05:30

All marketeers are romantics. They are out there standing to pamper you.. They are out there to serenade you by tempting u to savour all those temptations!! No wonder few puritans, offended by the romantic gooeyness, called all the marketing folks devisl!! Infact if I could sum up marketing in one word: it could be "Pyar" Note, Im not using the traditional four letter word, used so casually to downgrade its status to be throw-away slang or rather a semi-colon. Marketing and to be very precise Branding is all about "Pyar". After all, what do lovers/consumers do, so gobsmacked by their beloved brands, they could do anything for her!!

How can you explain long queues of youngsters braving the long night before I-phone could be released, all just to touch and feel the silken smooth skin of the electronic nymphet, showcased to the world by the greatest lover of all ages: Steve Jobs!! Isnt he the pioneer to bring in hot n sleek electronic chicks right from Macintosh to the latest I-phone!! If Marketing is all about "Pyar" , Steve Jobs is apna Devanand, the king of Indian romance.

If you ever thought branding was so boring, here is a refreshing way to look at it.

Lemme explain the evolution of branding through a simple love story!!

Long long ago, there lived a smart, suave talkative lover. Lets call him old Brander. He was the only Old Brander in town. Inspired by the likes of Shakespeare and Keats, poetry flowed from Old Brander's lips to woo pretty consumers.He gave amazing promises to all those gullible n naive consumers who were swayed by his charm. People believed his promises so dearly as they had no other handsome chap to fall for. They bought all those he showed to buy, without any other restraint. As world began to grow in, things began to change and the tribe of Branders grew. Lets call them New Branders!! These New Branders took themselves too lightly and began to indulge in amorous activities. They grew up to be philanderers. They had multiple relationships with different consumers. They gave different promises to different consumers. They made the cardinal sin of breaking several promises which stood in contradiction to other promises. The naive consumer, perplexed by confusing promises, began to break the relationships quickly with the branders. There were too many breakups.. No wonder Brand Equity paper, few weeks ago, screamed the headline, "The Consumer is an infidel"... Pampered by too many choices around, consumer is now an infidel. Although New Branders are getting new techniques every day( Twitter and Face book are the latest to be added to this list!!) to seduce the consumers, they are struggling to get their relationships right with the consumers. Old style of romance by throwing brand promises across the air will not work anymore. The consumer is no longer naive. She now demands undivided attention on you and expects to u fulfill all the promises given. If you fail once, she ll begin flirting with someone else.

Is it still surprising we see relationships breaking down so quicly in brandspace and real world??

Infact real-life relationships can learn a lesson or two from the concept of branding to solve several problems!!! I guess Im goin too deep into this!! Ill delve into this later!!!

Let me pause at this moment and give you a small tip.

Next time when you open the fat Kotler book and read every chapter, remember, you are reading a beautiful way to create a love story in the mind of a consumer!!!

Venky-09-11

Thoughts of a cricket lover

2009-11-07T17:51:00.003+05:30

Its 2’o clock in the morning. The AMR final report is still only half way through. Birthday Celebrations of a C2Du mate just got over. And its been just one day after the end of semester exams. Something lingering at the back of my mind. Its not about when am gonna finish the report. And not even about the plans for the one last weekend for the next one semester. Yeah, weekends have been officially scrapped for us for the next one semester.

It is the failure of God. He created the whole new world. He created the emotions in people. He united the whole of the community. He has groomed so many of the new entrants to his world.

May be happiness and sorrow are above Him. Else, one cannot overcome so many disappointments. We all know man proposes and God disposes. But what happens when God himself proposes??

Such was the case today. The match was on. India and Australia were fighting for the Top Rank in the ODIs. Indian demi-God was firing all cylinders. The cover drive was as fluent as ever. The leg glance and the paddle sweep were played as if there was no other way it could go.

God comes down the pitch and off goes the ball. Memories go back to the matches when God took two steps in front of Warne and hit him off the ground. Straight on top of the stadium roof. The umpire in the middle asks for a new ball to be taken. Memories linger back to those days when fast bowlers were terrified to bowl short balls against the God. It would for sure land up either in the deep mid wicket stands or it will be a catch offered to a spectator behind the third man rope. All of these came on one day today.

It was more special today as there were not even cramps striking him. Not even after reaching century. How many times in the recent past has God managed that? All were going fine but suddenly out of the blue came the shock.

Sachin dismissed. God becomes mortal again.

My dream of seeing him breach the double century mark still stands a dream. India loses. Cries of “Jeetegaa bhai jeetegaa.. India Jeetegaa..” were all drowned in the TV room. Some of us stayed back for the presentation. Sachin stood there unfazed with pursed lips.

How many times can someone endure the sight of his team losing after a brilliant show personally? Sachin can only answer that. . But in the midst of this, is there some management lesson in the offering.. Learning to be calm and composed even after a stormy emotion filled battle?? A losing battle. I thought cricket’s little master will break down today just as Master FedEx broke down after the loss to Nadal. But No. Not yet!! May be Never!! But let me now get back to some business. My friend thinks I am working on the report work. Let me not fool around anymore.

More about the Sachin miseries:

1) Oz score 284. India needs 254 from 46 overs to win. SRT scores 143 off 131 and gets out in the 43^rd over last ball with score at 242. India managed just 8 in the next three overs.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65773.html

2) Against the arch rivals. Pak scores 329. Sach gets 141 off 135 balls. India goes on to lose the match by 12 runs.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64882.html

Thanks to Cricinfo, so much of data is available for misery!!

Hari G (09-11)

The long and short of inflation data : {Planning Commission, DIPP} vs {RBI, Fin Min}

2009-10-18T12:18:00.007+05:30

India currently publishes the inflation data weekly , and UAE wants to publish it monthly from the current frequency of annually. While one seems to be doing it too fast (provisional and actual data would be separated by weeks), the other in 2008 decided that a wiser move would be to publish it monthly.

Currently, the Indian government releases weekly inflation data with a two-week lag and then releases the final data with an eight-week lag.Current headline inflation data is widely considered to be non-representative due to the continued use of an old base year (1993-94) and an outdated basket of commodities.

The concerns here are that a lag in policy interventions in case data comes in slow(in case of UAE).RBI's view however is that "it would face problems in preparing weekly statistical supplements if inflation data isn’t available with the corresponding frequency."

This Thursday, Montek Singh Ahluwalia put forth an interesting perspective to this debate :"they (government) have been working on it. May be it will come out actually I mean from the professional point of view this will be done, and obviously timing of it is always a matter of some concern because people always think that you are making the change for motivated reason.”

The jury is still out on this one.

SIIB rocks in IIM-A Agri Biz Quiz

2009-10-11T21:23:00.005+05:30

Here is somethin to cheer about!!!

SIIB has won the IIM- A Agri Biz Quiz, beating contenders from IIM- A and JBIMS. "Radio Aktive" team from SIIB won the first prize while Nickel team from IIT Madras bagged the second leaving UV-Rays team from IIM-A with the third prize.
Check out the screen shot below. Do check out in dare2compete.com in Quizzes section!!

The funny part is, we dont know who Radioaktiv is??

Inviting the winner to occupy the hall of fame.. A grand bash is waiting 4 u!!!

Lets all cheer for this team from Agri Biz. Kudos folks!!

Lets rock folks...

Coming back to life

2009-10-07T07:06:00.004+05:30

There was peace all around. The nimbus clouds were dreamily sailing over us. The cool wind continued its soft caress. The silence was weaving a mellifluous melody around us.

The concrete jungle was barely visible. There were some small huts in the near vicinity. Some cattle were grazing around. The other side of the mountain was a showcase of nature’s serene beauty. It was a flush green meadow with trees proudly showing off their green leaves. We were on top of Mount C2(we found these letters written somewhere on the rocks, smaller version of K2 I guess).

It all started while we were sitting on the banks of River Hinjewadi. ‘We’, that day consisted of Arun, Samarth, Vivek, me, OP, Bud, Sid, Hari, Nimesh, Anand (in the order of our PRN numbers).

- ‘Let’s go to that mountain’, said Bud.

- ‘Chalo’, says I. Jumping up, never expecting that he actually intended to climb all the way up that hill. The hill was barely visible from that rivulet.

The rest also sounded their approval with a resounding ‘Aaahuu’(Refer to movie 300). Nimesh was not at all enthused by the proceedings.

- ‘It’s too far yaar’, says he. He was in a philosophical mood. If someone would have given him a pen and paper, he would have started writing ‘Mahabharata Reloaded’ then and there.

He being the miniscule minority was easily overpowered and soon he was trudging along with the rest of us towards that Promised Land. Bud led us like Moses and we followed like the hapless Hebrews, trying to flee from the rigmarole of our daily life.

- ‘Let’s run for some time’, said Vivek.

Two more enthusiasts shared his emotions and before long we could hardly see Arun, Vivek and Hari(in the order of our PRN numbers), they were so far ahead.

We crossed the last visible sign of habitation another 18 mins later. Then came the visibly furious cow. She somehow had something against the section of humanity who tried to cross her and breach the part of the world behind her. Well in front of 10 determined humans a cow hardly posed to be a threat. We breached the final frontier and started advancing towards our green escape. It was a strange feeling. The feeling of freedom creeping into our soul, as we were breaking away from the shackles of MBA life. We could see the hill in front of us now towering into the sky.

I looked back and on the horizon I could see the concrete jungle. It was a awesome sight. Before us lay flush green meadows, trees, clouds flirting with the hills. Behind us was a stream of concrete high-risers lining the horizon.

We were breaking away. Breaking away from pressure, pollution, population, corruption and day to day competition.

On the side of the main hill was a small hillock. We breached that, and set on to conquer our final conquest for the day. Arun with his tall athletic frame was leading the pack. Samarth, me and Nimesh formed the left tail of our group’s normal distribution. Huffing and puffing we continued on our way up. Constant encouragements kept on coming down from the right tail of the normal distribution.

- ‘U can do it guys. Buck up. It’s beautiful up here.’

That it was. It was much more than beautiful. It was splendor placed before you on a golden crucible. It is so sad that we have distanced us so much from nature. Mother nature is so, so beautiful.

There was peace all around. The nimbus clouds were dreamily sailing over us. The cool wind continued its soft caress. The silence was weaving a mellifluous melody around us.

Our college building was visible. Yes, and that must be the D-Hostel. IIIT, Infy, CTS, all were visible. Yet we were so far away from all that.

Some leg-pulling, some relaxed banter, some photos being taken, it was time to head back to habitation.

- ‘Let’s go back guys, it’ll get dark soon’, somebody observed.

It was time to go back. Back to the reality called life. Back to the realization that life is a constant journey. A multi-variant, multi-colored canvas, with paintings of various experiences adding color to the canvas every second. Relaxing, and bantering below clouds is not life. Life is about passion, it’s about determined perseverance towards a certain goal. It’s about enjoying whatever you are doing. It’s about giving your best with grit and vigor and breaking away whenever one gets a chance with even greater vigor.

We started climbing down from the momentary high, down towards reality.

- ‘We’ll be back’, said Hari, looking back.

We would surely be back. We were rejuvenated and ready to take on the world head on. We found out yet again that Mother Nature is always there sitting there to comfort and sooth the prodigal son whenever we need. So it is very important to take care of nature as she takes cares about us.

Krishanu Mukherjee (09-11)

Muah muah,I am man of but few words :the PowerPoint remix version

2009-10-04T12:52:00.008+05:30

Prologue

The KISS ("Keep it Simple, Stupid" or the more genteel version:"Keep it Short and simple") should be mandatorily asked for as a gentleman's agreement or the lady's word before the start of any speech to the brethren, classmates or to one who lent his ear hoping it would not be pickled.

"I have fallen in love with my voice, help!!"
"Each person/group shall present for a period not exceeding 20 minutes":In retrospective , for each presentation where this rule is asked for , it is violated blatantly.Elsewhere,the Oscar night acceptance speech hence had to be, by writ of higher beings ; limited to 45 seconds.People , in moments of great glee speak a lot. And in times of distress too.That does not account for the fact that once Fidel Castro just went on and on in the United Nations for many hours.(V. K. Krishna Menon spoke for 8 hours on India's position on Kashmir in the UN Security Council, the transcripts run into 160 pages on the UN website)

The feature creep , as someone who comes from the software industry , is a nightmare one has lived with.The bells and whistles which the client asks for , or the developers feel should go out with that build has to be seen in the light of whether we can meet the deadlines with the new features asked for.Woe be the team member who brings 25 slides for his bit on the group presentation.

And so 52 slides in 20 minutes, is , well ;to politely put it "Asking for the moon at a discount ,and also asking for some freebies thrown in too".Yet , we do see the same in classrooms by beloved classmates who fall in love with the art form of slide after agonizing slide after "when will this end" slide.KISS friend, KISS.The synchronized yawn of 65 odd students is not an Olympic sporting event yet, but after the third group which "exceeds expectations" regards keeping the time limit , one should be prepared to witness.

I am not a big fan of PowerPoint , having read the works of the Yale Professor of Visualization ,Edward Tufte . PowerPoint forces you to think in bullets-framework.Compelling however Tufte's arguments are, it happens that corporate world has fallen in love with PowerPoint . In the book "Who says elephants can't dance", Louis Gerstner describes how in one of the early days after his taking over as the CEO of IBM , Gerstner on a fact-minding mission of where each department stood ; asked for the overhead slide projector to be switched off and asked the unit head to describe in words whatever needed to be presented. Wise man!

Epilogue
If one respected other's time as much she respected hers , the world would have been a better place: trains would run on time ,VIPs would reach the venues where they are the chief guest on time and so on.Yet we persist in exceeding the brief or time limit.So let's KISS and make up for whatever has gone wrong .

Money Life Essay Contest: Dates Extended!!!!

2009-10-02T13:08:00.004+05:30

Moneylife Magazine in association with Reliance Mutual Fund has undertaken a unique initiative to identify outstanding talent through a high profile essay contest among the 70-odd management schools in the Mumbai-Pune region. The initial response is extremely encouraging and we request your support in taking this forward. The details of the contest and timelines for submission of the entries are as follows:

Event Title: Reliance Mutual Fund-Moneylife Big Idea Contest

Topic: Taking Financial Markets to the Masses

Word Length: 3000 Words

Last Date for submission: 15^thOctober 2009

Mode of submission: The essays must be emailed to essays@moneylife.in as an attachment, properly formatted and in double space. Submission must include name of the author, address, name of institution and roll number. The work must be accompanied by a standard declaration of originality as below:

“ I (Name) of (college name), declare that this essay is entirely my own work and has not been submitted in any form to any other publication. I also permit Moneylife to use, alter, edit, publish or display the essay it in print or electronic form with due attribution”.

Prizes

1^st Prize: Two return tickets to Dubai (courtesy Bahrain Air) + cash prize

2^nd Prize: Holiday package for two (2N3D) to Goa from Mahindra Holidays + cash prize

3^rd Prize: Blackberry phone from Media Training Worldwide

Finalists: Top 10 get a Moneylife subscription plus books; top 30 get participation certificate.

Jury

Winners will be selected by a very eminent jury headed by Dr Anil Khandelwal, former Chairman, Bank of Baroda. Jury members: Mr Jagan Mohan Rao, Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Mr Madhu Kela, Head, Equity Investments, Reliance Mutual Fund, Mr Joseph Massey, Managing Director, MCX-SX, Mr S G Kalia, Executive Director, Vijaya Bank, Mr Debashis Basu, Editor & Publisher, Moneylife Magazine.

Prize Distribution Event

The results of the contest will be declared by end October and the winners will be felicitated at a grand function to be held in the first week of December, immediately after the exams.

We hope you would find the event of great interest and look forward to your active participation through your students.

Cordially,

Debashis Basu

Editor & Publisher

The Mahatma and the ad-man

2009-10-02T11:02:00.010+05:30

While many debate the relevance of Gandhian thought in contemporary times ,we shift our attention to the ads Gandhiji features in.The recent controversy featuring Mont Blanc pen ad featuring the Dandi March(nib shown above) made one remember the Rotomac ad done sometime back.

The copyright to all of Mahatma Gandhi's writings is with the Navjeevan Trust, which was established by Bapuji himself. His inheritance went to the Trust.Film footage of Gandhiji is owned by the Gandhi Film Foundation, the Government of India's Films Division and some international networks. The copyright for photographs is owned by Kanu Gandhi's descendants, the Vithalbhai Jhaveri Trust and others who took the pictures. Prasar Bharati, the Broadcasting Corporation of India, owns the audio tapes of his speeches. (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1905/19050970.htm )

In 2002, Tushar Gandhi , great-grandson of Gandhiji signed an agreement with an American company :CMG Worldwide , with the mandate of marketing the image of Gandhiji.

The wittily done ad for Union Bank of India had the byline as "Joint account" with Kasturba Gandhi on the Rs.100 note.

As one ventured for the first bit of Googling today, one encountered the Google tribute , yes ;indeed one wonders what Gandhiji would have said , had he been around today on the hue and cry raised on ads bearing his image.

Dandia Nite at SIC

2009-09-28T10:31:00.004+05:30

All of us had quite a time running footloose on Dandia Nite at the campus on September 26.And one anticipates today's lunch too :the Bijoya Dashami special menu .Ahaa!the festival season is in full swing.

The pursuit of happiness

2009-09-24T12:17:00.003+05:30

It was as if the castle of my heart has been all morose because of her absence. Then there was news that she was coming back. And then she came, with all her grace, with that charming gait, stunning everyone around her with her quintessential beauty.

“She’ll be coming round the mountains when she comes,She’ll be riding six white horses when she comes.

Yippeee yi yi yippee yippee yi”

Everyone rejoices at her arrival. The trees salute her with greener leaves. The clouds, her guardian angels, always roam around to keep her safe and sound.

Monsoon has come!!

The sudden squeak of the microphone breaks my flow of thought. I came back to the harsh reality. The reality of competition, the rat race for jobs, MBA, entrepreneurship, Capital Markets, statistics and bitter ugly rivalry in all spheres of life. There is no time to sit and brood about the beauty of nature. Everyone is running. People are running towards some unknown invisible magnetic force whose nature nobody knows. Some say they are running in pursuit of happiness. Some are running for recognition, fame, money. But at the end of the day all that one wants is happiness. So would it be fair to assume that we are running after happiness. But at the end of the day are we happy? This entire saga of struggle, the study, the competition, the sleepless nights does it all make us happy?

I do not know.

Yes, we are happy when we achieve something. But sometimes I think that it would be so much better if I could leave everything and settle in some small village, with a river nearby. If I could watch sunset sitting beside the river with no worries in my mind.

But reality does not let us paint such a romantic picture. Reality has mosquitoes which tend to come and scare of people who would be watching sunset beside the river.

“Let’s take 10 mins break and then we’ll resume with the subsequent portion.”

People scurry out of the class. Some hurry to the loo, some to grab a coffee to help him combat the torturous boredom of the class. I wait. Wait and watch those incessant drops of rain coming down from the heavens. Yes even the heavens are crying on the sad plight of the human race. The race that had advanced so much, that they have forgotten that the basic right of all beings is the right to be happy. The dark clouds roam about menacingly over our head posing. A harbinger of some great calamity. A possible check to the humans who are becoming menacing to the earth’s existence itself. The heavens keep on crying on man’s plight, on the sad state of God’s favorite creation.

Krishanu Mukherjee (09-11)

Are we really happy??

2009-09-24T12:00:00.004+05:30

Have we ever thought what are we running after?...

Aren’t we running this rat race and ignoring the little things in life which are the real source of happiness.

Do we remember when we made someone smile or made someone’s life better?....Do we remember when we went out in the rains to have a splash?...Do we remember when we had a long walk along a beach?..”Woh kagaz ki kashti , who barish ka paani”

Aren’t we so much engrossed in the petty issues and giving them undue importance. Getting half a mark more than our peer has become a priority, earning a fat pay package is a matter of pride without any clue how to spend that sum.

We have stopped loving each other and running in this mad chaos for better marks, better jobs without realising that we are postponing our smiles and happiness in this journey called LIFE . We strive to get into the best of colleges, in turn to get the best of the jobs; without realising the fact that the end result we aspire for is happiness.

But, happiness does not come just as an offshoot of owning a BMW or a beachside bungalow at Juhu beach.

Vice President ,strategy at Lehman Brothers in New York during the crisis said” At a time when all wealth disappeared overnight for me,the only thing that stood steadfast was the meaningful relationships with family and friends that I had nurtured through a lifetime”

The subprime crisis has brought people back to the roots. The meltdown is a reminder to everyone to put aside the deafening daily din and to put one’s ears to the inner voice and calling of life.

I feel happiness is a factor of relishing small things in life…remember when we were children, played small indoor games felt elated in winning them, when we won our first ever prize in kindergarten , that small prize or that sense of recognition when we were on the top of the world.

But, now we crib on small things in life…crib for half a mark ……or a better job for that matter.

We have become so self-centred ignorant to the fact that we are not happy inside. We have stopped making true relationships and every relationship has become an interest of self-gratification. Its all directed to the self. We have failed to recognise that we have a definite life span for all of us…a day will come when our lives will come to an end.

We don’t realise that we have almost covered 20-25 percent of this life god has bestowed upon us..why not to make the most of what 70-75 percent of what is left now?

Do we dare to ask this once we die whether the world will remember us from the grades we get or the amount of money we have in our bank accounts, but how much we have made changes to their lives?

What matters is the number of smiling faces all around and how much happiness one spreads along the way.

“After all there are things which money can’t buy”

We should get back to our roots ….there is no end to materialistic pleasures.

Samarth Gupta (09-11)

Remember why it started?

2009-09-19T16:08:00.003+05:30

It is going to be exam season soon , end of Semester I for 09-11 batch ; the glorious crib and cram sessions awaits.A rain check here,remember why it started?

So you are at it again
Wiser neither for the years nor the mandate
And you follow the same old, the same very old ways
Remember why it started ?

You thought you had a chance
And believed an unblemished spirit of enquiry would see you through
A glimmer of a knack and a trick up the sleeve
Remember why it started ?

You couldn't see the thorns in the path
Or hear a word of ridicule from the naysayer
You could see why it was worth it all.
Remember why it started ?

Yet as are with such things
The seed of doubt is given an acre
And the constant rain of not remembering
Of why it started.

Remember why it started ?

The all time favourite inspirational tool-kit :-
1)If(Rudyard Kipling)
2)Chicken Soup for the ___ series (Jack Canfield)
3)The Winston Churchill Battle series : yup, not just the generals , the politician too could pack a punch while rallying a nation or the troops to charge on.So these series of quotes pretty much serve as a reminder that humanity has been through worse than a term paper.

A poet in a MBA grad school, of course ;has a different meaning : the non-traditional students who bring a different perspective to the classroom, usually populated by engineers, bankers or information technology specialists

Sketching updates!

2009-09-19T11:33:00.004+05:30

More sketchings on your way...

by Kunal Kanishk(2008-10)

by Vinod Tripathi ( 2009-11 )

When God Speaks

2009-09-17T16:56:00.002+05:30

Wait..This isn't any spiritual/religious stuff. This post is a fan's tribute to my favorite professor God Bole(Now do you get the title of this post..?:)). He has been my newest inspiration in the longlist of amazing people who have enriched my life. His greatest asset as well his signature style, apart from his brilliant clarity of thought, is his temerity built on mastery over the subject, bordering on arrogance, blended with a deceptive simplicity which beguiles his brilliance. Its a treat to watch this contrasting portrayal of intellectual temerity wearing a humble cap through his senile voice. The fragile voice filters out the extraneous effects of his audacious self and makes it so palatable to the ears(I admit , at times, soporific, also).

Its as if arnold schwarzeneger plays the role of a coward person with aplomb, fully aware of his strengths. One often wonders whether his dynamic self is encapsulated in his humility or is it the other way..

Hang on....This article isnt supposed to be psycho analysis of my favorite teacher. Its about his unique method of teaching which makes him a genius.

His teaching runs like the popular zeitgeist movie: Rang De Basanti.

If in case you are wondering how a seemingly soporific lecture would resemble a block buster movie, then read on..

For the uninitiated, Rang De Basanti movie brilliantly portrayed how colonial past juxtaposes with the present times. The director of the movie showcases his genius when the lead protagonists after playing the role of martyrs in a documentary reach the 'epiphany moment' when they realize how the roles they play seem to reflect the bitter truth of circumstances they are forced into.

Similar epiphany occurs during the project presentation when the boring theoretical stuff in the book, written in a monotonous, didactical tone suddenly acquires 'live' dimensions.

For instance, while most of the students were growling during presentation sessions over how can the professor-'manager' can be so vague in his needs, a vacuous statement in the text book on the necessary uncertainty of the needs of the manager suddenly appears so hauntingly real. Several statements in the text book appear real when looked from the prism of the project experience.

His brilliant evaluation techniques by letting us feel the shortcomings of the marketing research techniques to our own judgement makes him a philosopher of marketing research who accidentally teaches the subject too.

Teaching cannot get better than this...!!

I can keep rah-rah ing about various other brilliant facets of his teaching. I shall leave that for another article some time later....

Venky (09-11)

Sketching updates!

2009-09-16T20:08:00.006+05:30

It's been a wonderful experience to see participations from our own SIIBian sketchers, over the last few weeks. And as usual the delay to post the same in the blog( owing to the reason that blogger.com doesn't open in D-hostel ) might have kept many a few anxious about if their work would be ever published here. Am terribly sorry for that, and the constant reminder of Piyeush modi has finally made it possible( ya, just met him a minute ago).

Well, to start off with...

by Shipra(batch of 2009-11):

by Prana( batch of 2009-11):

The burning desire

Flower

woman

by: Rama ( batch of 2008-10 )

For more amazing works of our own picassos...please visit --> "Sketching by SIIBians"

Entrepreneur - The Calvin Way!

2009-09-10T17:58:00.003+05:30

Please have a look at this presentation which was inspired by the topic of our Leadership Series: “Entrepreneurship”. What can better capture the spirit of entrepreneurship than Calvin’s undying energy, curiosity and audacity! Created in what Calvin describes as the right creative mood: "last minute panic":-), this presentation is an entry in the “World's Best Presentation Contest 2009” ofslideshare.com.

If you like the presentation, please vote for it at http://www.slideshare.net/nedumudi/entrepreneur-the-calvin-way

Registration takes only a minute. Thanks a lot !!! :)

Prasanth Vijay(2008-10)

Sketches and the Picassos of SIIB...

2009-09-10T16:50:00.007+05:30

This post was a long due, sorry for having delayed. It's the no-prizes-4-guessing-idea of our Dear Ignisense09 coordinator Mr.Piyuesh Modi, to create an online sketches portal by all the SIIBians.

Mr.Modi, who's been instrumental behind all the works for Ignisense09 preparations is also quite a good sketcher and apart from the creativities and crazy ideas that oozes out from him now-n-forth instantenously ( Courtesy, the creativity classes he is so much obsessed with these days ) :)

So, just a humble beginning. Your feedbacks(suggestions/criticisms) are all welcome...

How will this work?

Sketches submitted by all of you would be uploaded in the picasa album created under the siibblogger@gmail.com head ( find the link for album here --> Sketches by siibians )
Selected few of the sketches would be displayed here in the blog...and the rest can be viewed in the album itself.
Send your sketches(if interested offcourse) @ --> siibblogger@gmail.com, or piyeush modi (skyisntlimit@gmail.com ), Venkat Raman( incorrigibleoptimist@gmail.com).

Hope to see all of your participations...

If you've any suggestions of any other stuffs that can be carried out SIIBblog, please feel free to drop a mail @ romele26@gmail.com or siibblogger@gmail.com.

Cheers!

T-shirt Logo Design ?

2009-08-17T06:29:00.004+05:30

The Battery Logo
&

The Simple Logo

Pour in your comments regarding a possible T-shirt design!

SIIB Leadership Series Blog created!

2009-08-15T19:16:00.004+05:30

The Leadership series blog has been created! You can pour in your comments if you want or leave back a mail [ if it's too secret :) ] at - romele26@gmail.com.

FIND THE BLOG HERE --> SIIB LEADERSHIP SERIES

Leadership series being one of the flagship event of our institute, it remains an onus for eachone of us to add to it's success!

Hope to see you all there...Subscribe, follow, and 'thou' shall keep you all updateth! :)

Ignisense Logo -10

2009-08-15T00:05:00.003+05:30

It gives us immense pleasure to unfold the official logo of Ignisense-10 on this auspicious Independence Day.
Team Ignisense

Wanna write in FMS journal of management research???

2009-08-12T07:48:00.003+05:30

Hey folks,

Came across regarding this paper writing competition from FMS. For all those disillusioned mortals who are thinking of doin something unproductive during this vacation, here is a good opportunity.. Carpe Diem!!!

Journal of Management Research (JMR), FMS DU is one of the most prestigious management journal published in India. It includes research work of eminent professors and scholars from all over India and abroad. In our aim of promoting quality research work, JMR is proud to announce its first white paper competition. The topics are:-

I) Financial Inclusion- the outlook, the concerns and the road ahead

Financial inclusion is about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to access the financial services needed to participate actively in the society and to reap the benefits of a growing economy. Though the bottom of pyramid has been neglected by the financial institutions for long, the government has introduced policies to take care of them. Yet the surveys show the other picture. So what are the issues involved and what can be a probable path taken to attain financial inclusion, if at all it is possible.

II) Ambient Advertising- how long will it survive?

The phrase started to appear in British media jargon, but soon firmly established as a standard term within the advertising industry. It appears as messages on the backs of car park receipts and at the bottom of golf holes, on hanging straps in railway carriages, on the handles of supermarket trolleys, and on the sides of egg cartons.

However, some say…Ambient advertising contains the seeds of its own destruction, because once the approach is copied and becomes commonplace, it ceases to surprise.

III) Affiliated Marketing- rebuilding in future

With the increasing hold of internet as the marketing medium, and escalating desires of the people, affiliated marketing comes as an easy way to make money from home, and a win-win situation for both the marketer and the company.

However, with the large number of scams happening around, trust is dwindling and genuine companies are suffering. How can they reapply affiliated marketing to current situation?

Rules:-

· Papers should represent original research work which has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.

· Participants can write on any one of the above topics.

· The number of authors for a paper cannot be more than two and they must be of the same b school.

· The word limit for the paper is 2500 words.

· The subject of the mail should include ,,

· The participants are required to send only a soft copy of their entry to the following mail id:jmr@fms.edu. The soft copy should be in .pdf format only.

· Submitted papers will be property of JMR.

· The last date for receipt of entries is 9'th of September 2009

First Prize: Rs 25000

Second Prize: Rs 15000

Regards,

Team JMR

FMS,Delhi

Kshitij

2009-08-10T10:09:00.007+05:30

Community Development initiative of SIIB - A Curtain Raiser

“He who shares the wealth generated only after serving the people, through work done as a sacrifice for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to frustration and failure.”

Srimad Bhagvad Gita

Everyone in SIIB is aware of the community development initiative as it is a part of our academic curriculum but really few of us know that it has an identity.

Kshitij which means Horizons, is the official name of the community development program of SIIB. The vision of SIIB states that instilling a sense of Corporate Social Responsibility in our future global leaders is an essential step in understanding the role of the corporate contributing to the society. It is not only to inculcate these values but is also a direction to the emerging managers to understand the real voyage of life. Thus, realising its importance, our director mam, Dr. Rajani Gupte enthused students to lead this change and thus Kshtij was born.

The objective of Kshitij is just not to get people only to support change but to give them responsibility for engendering change.

For this, a team comprising of the first year students of MBA-International Business, MBA-Agri Business is formed every year who works under the guidance of our indefatigable mentor, Mrs Viraja Bhat, who is the faculty in charge of the program. To further strengthen the movement, students from first year MBA-Energy and Environment has also joined hands with the team.

There are various activities undertaken right now. The brief description of the ongoing projects is as follows:

· E Evening classes - The charity begins right from our own house. The community development team realized the fact and started a project to take evening classes for the children of the support staff of SIC. The team of 9 students takes classes of 13 children comprising from various classes from 1st to 7th std. A structured curriculum has been drafted after objectively analyzing the requirements of each child. The focus is on the all round development of the kids and so apart from taking maths & English classes the team also takes classes of Communication ,GK, Computers etc.

Wakad - SIIB has adopted a local municipal school. They visit this school twice a week to teach the English and basic computer skills to students of class IX . A structured course curriculum on the basis of the needs of the students has been designed. The benchmark has been set this year with the school, highly impressed with last year performance, has given us a batch of 127 students against 88 last year. Kudos to our seniors for this!

Waste Management - The idea is to utilize the food waste generated in the mess & canteen for productive purposes. The objective is to identify the possible ways of utilizing food wastes, which are ecologically and economically sustainable. The project is handled by the team of students from MBA - Energy and Environment. This is an excellent example of using our core competencies effectively for the amelioration of the community.

Green Team - It is a mass level campaign to save our environment from the clutches of the ever spreading menace of pollution and deforestation.

We also plan to continue our helping hand to the physically handicapped students studying at ―Mahatma Phule Apang Prashikshan Kendra‖ at Mann, a local school at Mann village by imparting the customized computer and Spoken English training. A team of two students is working on finalising the structure of the program for this year.

We intend to grow from the present stage of Ankuran (sprouting) to Pushpan (Flowering) and thus a start has been made, a dream has been seen , which is the assimilation of the ideas of lokasamgraha” (general welfare) ,“karmayoga” (service), blended with “bhaktiyoga” (devotion) leading to our work becoming worship, a “sevayoga" (service)

Let each SIIbian understand the real essence of life and his responsibility to lead the change and become socially conscious managers because

People will forget what you said ...
people will forget what you did ...

but people will never forget how you made them feel...

Prateek Sharma (09-11)

For those walking on Dalal Street...

2009-08-05T22:47:00.010+05:30

Hi Friends,

As all our 1st Sem Students have completed their Capital market course, everybody wants to jump into the arena of trading. Even Finance club guys have started trading competition among groups. Now a day’s people are seen with their laptops ON in their free time and instead of orkuting and chatting they are playing the "MoneyBhai.Moneycontrol" Game.

So for beginners in the stock market, below text is not any other trading tip but a simple story which should be learned by heart before entering this Bhool Bhulaiyya.

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs10. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at Rs10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at Rs20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to Rs25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Rs50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Rs35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for Rs50." The villagers squeezed up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys. Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!!!

Welcome to the "Stock" Market!!!!

Kisan Agrawal (09-11)

Parivartan photography contest

2009-08-04T17:44:00.004+05:30

Attention SIIBians! Team PRAYATNA calls up for all the amateur, professional(wannabes) photographers for a Photography Contest.

Theme: "The Inner Child In You".
( Have a look at the Photo below for more details, and there's prizes you could win )

Email your pictures to : parivartan.magazine@gmail.com ( before Aug 5, 2009 )

Prizes: Rs.500 and Rs.250 to be grabbed! Come fast, unleash the little Devil inside each one of you!

Coke studio

2009-08-02T09:55:00.008+05:30

A music lover's Perspective :

A music lover always feels delighted when he comes across a good piece of music. I had the same feeling when i came across “Coke Studio “ some days ago. I knew, I had found something great to listen to, for years to come.

Coke Studio is a phenomenal show being aired in Pakistan which takes its viewers right into the heart of a recording studio, where they have one of the most legendary musicians performing.

The philosophy of this show is "Fusion music" where they pair up the very famous modern pop/rock singers with classical/sufi singers to bless us with a really beautiful amalgamation of music. They also have in place one of the most handsome bands with instruments ranging from the modern rock instruments to the most traditional instruments like the toomba, dholak, table, sitar and many more which are anonymous to me.

The show is purely magic. The music is exquisite, the singers are mind blowing, the jugal-bandi's are a treat, the songs are made immortal, the atmosphere is electric and the performances nothing less than legendary .

In the Eight episodes aired till now, the coke Studio stage has seen more than 15 musical geniuses including Ali Azmat, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan , Strings , Ali Zafar, Shafaqat Amanat Ali (Fuzon), Josh and Atif.

Fusion music in itself may seem like a known concept of music but in the world of Coke Studio where the artists are masters in genres ranging from Bhangra, to pop, to rock, to folk music, to sufi music, to gazhals , to retro and even jazz ; “Fusion” has immense possibilities.

Some of the top notch performances like the Ali Azmat and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan version of “Garaj Baras Saawan Ghir aayo” are poised to receive a new lease on life at the level of the Eagles, “Hell Freezes Over” version of ‘Hotel California.’ The best of all this is that, Coke Studio has the whole collection on its website free for download including songs, videos and behind the scenes stuff.

Nevertheless, I would plead the SIIB community to abstain from putting more load on our already deceased internet network by downloading videos from the coke studio site. The whole collection sums up to roughly 3 GB which u can easily get from ( MBAIB-0911-Div B : Abhijit, Karan, Abhishek Deobhakt; MBAIB-0911-Div A : Samarth Gupta).

So, I hope everyone enjoys the musical voyage of Coke Studio and hopefully I will see some comments about your favourite songs from the collection.

A Marketer’s Perspective :

Being a management student I attempt here to provide some insights about the marketing repercussions of this show. It should not be forgotten that the name of the show starts with a word called “Coke” and this particular company is known to be one of the smartest and best marketers in the world. Starting with Coke’s association with this show, as we all know , Coke can hardly be counted as a mere “fizzy drink” brand. It goes beyond that. It’s a premium brand. It’s a lifestyle brand. It’s much more closer to its customer’s hearts than a mere cold drink and so is the music showcased in this show. Both these entities match; they complement each other.

Coke, being the ace marketer it is, has not failed to leave a mark on the show. Its the one and only sponsor of the show and brand can be seen everywhere one’s eyes can look.

I think there is some level of addiction attached to good music and when a brand attaches itself to good music , the addiction is transferred to the brand too. We all know how much Airtel and Hutch (Vodafone) have cashed in on their respective ad jingles which were basically very good pieces of music. Here, in Coke Studio, Coke is not only associating itself with these songs but recording them under the brand name of “Coke Studio”. This gives a very powerful branding opportunity as all these songs are stamped with the “Coke” trademark.

Another interesting factor of this show is, its very exclusive. It has produced just 9 episodes (roughly 40 songs) in 2 years. At the same time, it should be noted that the show is broadcasted simultaneously on around 15 different channels at the prime time of 7 to 8 PM. This ensures that a very high amount of people tuned into their TVs are going to watch this show, and history shows they have.

Pakistan, like India is a very young country adopting the western phenomenon like rock concerts and the whole rocknrolla fanfare. So the show is definitely something that appeals to the target audience, The young generation. And as it turns out, the young has shown all its support and appreciation to this show by flocking in numbers to fan clubs and blogs on sites like Facebook and Wordpress.

Another very delicate factor here is that, Pakistan has its own share of Fundamentalists who have raised their voice against this show , circulating hate smses , calling this show “Americanised”. But the show itself has stood this test, the major factor being inclusion of the traditional and highly respected maestros.

What has attracted me most is the novel idea of sharing the complete collection of music to the whole world free of cost on the coke studio website. I somehow relate this to the open sourcing of software done by great brands like Google, Mozilla, Linux, etc and would take the liberty to call this step taken by coke as “Open Source Music .“ Analytically, it does make sense for coke to do so, cause this would allow the music and brand image of Coke to flow out of Pakistan to the world, specially countries like India and other Arab countries. For an omnipresent brand like coke, this is nothing but an icing on the cake.I would invite the readers to share their insights on the marketing side of the story too.

Abhijit (09-11)

Back to Future!

2009-07-31T19:42:00.003+05:30

Samarth Gupta from the batch of 2009-11, shares his thoughts on - 'what it takes to be an SIIBian'!

It’s a hard fact of life that we never pay importance to things until we are deprived of them. The same happened with me, I never paid heed to my college life experiences to a great extent till I joined corporate life where I missed by engineering days badly…………..”Purani jeans aur Guitar…muhalle ki who chat aur mere yaar”……..

After 3 years of grind, God’s been kind enough to give me back those good old days…

Well….today is one of the most vella working days since I have joined SIIB(thanks to the cancellation of one of the classes out of the 2 scheduled for the day)..Hence I have decided to pen down some of the thoughts accumulated over the last 8 weeks at SIIB.

It was 6^th June, 2009 which showed me a gateway to this new chapter at Symbiosis. I was excited and happy to be back to college…some of the reasons were a getaway from the extra formal and contrived corporate culture as well as a relief from wearing formals.

Much to my ignorance, at SIIB we were supposed to follow an extra formal dress code on Fridays unlike the casual wear /cake and coke parties on the Fridays better known as Fun Fridays in the IT firm I was working with. Well, one thing is for sure that life in a B-school is poles apart from that in a corporate. The biggest shock came to me when I realised that I had to share my room with 2 other students unlike my private rented apartment at NOIDA .Much to my despair, the rooms in the 2^nd year are even smaller, but that’s life…”kuch pane ke liye kuch khone padta hai”.(the concept of opportunity cost in the economics class made me realise it even better).

We were put through induction programmes followed by an outbound trip to a picturesque surrounding nearby which a picnic/ice was breaking exercise (I was constantly looking for like-minded people, especially music lovers and luckily I am a part of a big circle of friends…adding new members gradually…). It was full of fun …much to our realisation that there were tough days ahead.

We were introduced to subjects ranging from boring HR to exciting Capital markets…one class after the other and the whole day is gone...phew!!...(we used to talk about work life balance …mind it .weekends is not in the dictionary at any B-school)...We all had a few jitters in a few subjects…but I guess we have acclimatised ourselves to this change…after all that’s what we need to learn …adaptability to change! Whatever exhaustion is caused due to these classes/assignments/presentations gets nullified by the pleasant weather at Pune…unlike the cruel weather at my Delhi where my ex-colleagues are still waiting for a respite….

And for nature and music lovers like me, this is an apt destination wherein I can appreciate beauty (whatever the form be…) apart from other musical and memorable instances at the symbi campus….aarambh , the talent show , a classical rendition organised by Spic Macay and extempore (wherein I had to craft an innovative story within 30 seconds)….hope there are many more to come .Thanks to the various clubs /teams in place.

I hope that I will stop cribbing about the formal wear protocol at SIIB and various exciting and learning experiences will take over in the days to come!

Life after Recession: The beginning of a new world order

2009-07-31T18:59:00.001+05:30

With recession fizzling out after its catastrophic spell on the world economy, experts across the globe are introspecting over the scarred remains of the global financial system. Barring a few prescient financial sages, majority of the lesser mortals have realized the futility of their beliefs only after enduring through the most painful part of the financial karmic cycle, the bust.

For the uninitiated, here is how the karmic cycle works. Financial stability creates confidence in the minds of the investors. With air filled with optimism, they begin to take risks. They place unshakeable faith in the markets in such euphoric times. Walter Bagehot, Editor of the Economist during the twentieth century, puts it succinctly. “All people are most credulous when they are most happy”. Optimism soon turns farcical, descending towards recklessness. In the end, it turns sinister, leading to the bust. Fragile institutions built over it collapse. After purging the market of its excesses, financial stability resurfaces and the cycle continues.

Is it possible to liberate the world economy from these vicious karmic cycles? Can there be a financial nirvana? These questions might sound like a philosopher’s rant with pressing problems in fiscal management and what not. However, looking at the way the medication of the crisis is taking us irrevocably towards it again, it is important to revisit several fundamental levers which manage the world economy. This would help us to establish the ambitious, “new world order” effectively.

The concept of risk needs to be demystified in simple terms, devoid of the baggage carried by mathematical models. These mathematical models borne from academia acquire different dimensions altogether whenever they are transported to the real world. The assumptions holding those models become more potent. This basic misunderstanding has had devastating consequences for the world economy. For instance, the popular Value at Risk Model assumes that the volatility of the asset prices and their correlation of the prices remain constant. This is a dangerous assumption laden with far reaching implications in assessing the original value of risk. Add this with the basic human fallacy which equates recent trends with future. A perfect recipe for disaster is created. Managers of the “new world” have tremendous responsibility to weigh the risk accurately rather than pushing them aside.

It is equally pertinent to understand the concept of innovation, especially in this globalization age. Although innovations have been the survival mantra during difficult times, they can also be an albatross around the neck when they tend to complicate things and make us naively believe in their sophistication. Several financial products which were built on mind boggling mathematical models stupefied the common investors and regulators alike. Globalization, with its present avatar, has brought the chaos theory to life in our everyday lives where the actions of a banker in one corner of the world affects our day to day lives. Innovation should strive to simplify this highly networked world created by globalization. This would equip us with the much sought commonsense to confront the challenges of the globalized world.

Recession, in a broader sense, is similar to the pralaya metaphor of the Hindu mythology. Pralaya signifies dissolution and cosmic flood, with its ambit expanding far beyond Joseph Schumpeter’s creative destruction. Creative destruction refers to a revolutionary idea destroying an old idea, changing the rules of the game, whereas Pralaya decimates the playing field and we are let with no option but to start the game afresh. Every Yuga (unit of cosmological time, equivalent to 1000 years) comes to an end with a pralaya signifying the end of the most cherished philosophies of the times. Just like the early nineties busted the bubble of communism with its utopian ideas of equality, 2008 has laid bare the flaws of capitalism.

The ongoing recession has brought to end the Greed Yuga which deified greed as the panacea for poverty and other ills of the world. Greed is no longer good. Experts of the West who had derided savings as an essential trait of the conservative east have begun to extol the virtues of savings. Alan Greenspan, former Federal bank chairman of US, who once condescendingly wrote that “only insecure people of developing nations….need to save”, in his book The Age of Turbulence, has admitted that he was wrong in his presumptions, looking at the “once in a century” financial crisis. Several investment gurus and eminent journalists have begun to question the ludicrous logic of borrowing to spend. It’s true that consumption spurs growth by increasing demand. However, isn’t it too obvious to note that consumption needs to be balanced by adequate savings?

It will be sagacious on our part to look at this recession as an essential pralaya that was bound to happen to break the crutches we placed on the ‘irrational exuberance’ of the markets. Something drastic, beyond the shores of imagination, had to occur to break the arrogant egos and confront our fears long forgotten in euphoria. This pralaya perspective although might not compensate the common investors who have lost their wealth in the market meltdown, will definitely stop the nasty blame game that is happening in the media circles across the world. It’s indeed shameful to see ugly accusations being made on the reputation of the economics profession as a whole without proper understanding of the fundamentals.

We need not be so apologetic about this recession as long as we learn the lessons taught by them and understand the new reality we are living in. At the foremost, we need to re-evaluate our priorities towards finance in our economy. Finance should not be the prime mover of the economy. Entrepreneurs, the original risk taker, engineers, scholars rather than bankers, should be the helmsmen of the economy. Finance should return to its original duty of managing the checks and balances of the economy. They however should be understood by everyone. Finance is too costly a subject to be left understood by bean counters, investment bankers and economists alone. Financial education should begin right from the day we put pocket money in piggy banks. Ignorance can never be an excuse for any disaster, no matter what.

I would be living in utopia if I were to assume that recession would never occur in the “new world”, with the vast expanse of information that is being disseminated across the world through summits, documentaries, et al. We will do mistakes again, although not in the immediate future. I earnestly hope that we don’t make the same mistakes again (although history has several contradictory evidences to offer). New bubbles will be created, burst and there are chances that we might have to be awakened again with another pralaya.

My spiritual guru’s words, “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” resonates well for markets and individuals alike. Rather than hoping against hope that such cataclysmic events will never occur, it will be wise to look at how we are going to respond towards them. I am optimistic enough to believe that with proper sadhana (read as prudent financial actions) and commonsense wisdom, financial nirvana isn’t difficult to achieve.

Venky (09-11)

Aarambh - The beginning

2009-07-31T15:26:00.004+05:30

Nisha Solanki, from the batch of 2009-11, shares her Experience in "Aarambh - Inter SIC college cultural extravaganza"

A month before when we joined SIIB, we felt b-school was all about tough competitions, arguments, debates and presentations. The month passed by struggling for market research grades, speculating capital markets surprise tests, understanding eccentric economic fundas, simplifying statistics, greeting each other in Chinese, French, German and Spanish, along with endless discussions, tremendous brain storming and challenge of putting forth winning arguments. For freshers it was all about coping with the intimidating work-ex guys and for the work-ex guys it was time to leave the comfort of the cosy ergonomic chair and get back to the real world.

Then came the responsibility of representing SIIB at Aarambh - the joint cultural fest of SIIB, scmhrd and SCIT - completely written, edited and directed by the students and produced by Symbiosis. It was an opportunity to prove ourselves as enthusiastic, energetic and enigmatic juniors who not only make break through presentations but also give path breaking performances. The rock show, modern dance number, traditional bhangra, skit and fashion show rocked the evening. Slogans of "IB rocks! IB rocks!!" filled the auditorium.

Aarambh introduced us to the best things in a b-school - late night slogging, real life planning, strategising, co-ordinating your own events and highlighting the creative streak in you. Aarambh brought forth the leader, organiser, co-ordinator, motivator and performer in each one of us. Aarambh marked the beginning of a new journey - a journey which promised tonnes of masti and loads of management gyan. Welcome to one of the best b-schools.

Welcome to SIIB!

Case Study:Lean Supply Chain Management,Tesco

2009-07-30T23:57:00.002+05:30

The Tesco supermarket chain in Britain has been a pioneer in retailing for more than a decade. In the mid-1990s, as he looked at the opportunities for retailers provided by the emergence of lean logistics, Graham Booth, Tesco’s supply chain management director (now retired), had a very simple insight: A rapid replenishment system triggered by the customer would work in any retail format. What’s more, it would work even better if the same replenishment system, using the same suppliers, cross-dock distribution centers, and vehicles serving many stores, could supply every retail store format. Booth saw that there might be very little difference in real costs in supplying the same item through any store format.This was because the purchase price from the supplier could be negotiated for the whole network, not by format,and the same replenishment system making frequent milk runs to larger stores could also stop at small stores to share logistics costs. The cost disadvantage of smaller outlets, due to weak supplier leverage and expensive logistics, would largely disappear.

Booth approached Dan Jones and his research group, asking how Tesco could benefit from Toyota’s supplier logistics methods to reduce time and effort. Dan suggested “taking a walk”—examining a typical provision stream, in this case the one for cola soft drink products. He urged Graham to invite the other functional directors at Tesco—retail, purchasing, distribution, and finance—along with the operations and supply chain directors of Britvic, the company supplying the cola. On a cold day in January 1997 this group set out, walking back through the provision stream for cola from the checkout counter of the grocery store through Tesco’s regional distribution center (RDC), Britvic’s RDC, the warehouse at the Britvic bottling plant, the filling lines for cola destined for Tesco, and the warehouse of Britvic’s can supplier.

Along the way, Dan and his team from Cardiff kept asking simple questions: “Why are products missing from the shelves? Why does a sales associate need to re-sort products from roll cages that have just come off the truck from the RDC? Why is so much stock needed in the back of the grocery store, at the Tesco RDC, and at Britvic’s RDC? Why are there huge warehouses of cans waiting to be filled near the bottling plants?” And so on. The walk was an eye-opener. When Tesco and Britvic directors analyzed the map they drew of the process as they walked, they could see waste at every step, along with huge opportunities for saving costs while increasing the satisfaction of the end customer. As Booth looked at the situation, he realized that practically all of Tesco’s practices for getting goods from the supplier to the shelf would need to change. The first step was to hook the point-of-sale data in the store directly to a shipping decision in Tesco’s RDC. This made the end customer at the checkout point the “pacemaker” regulating the provision stream. Tesco then increased the frequency of deliveries to the retail stores. After several years of experimentation, Tesco’s trucks now leave the RDCs for each store every few hours around the clock, carrying an amount of cola proportional to what was sold in the last few hours.

At the RDC, cola is now received directly from the supplier’s bottling plant in wheeled dollies. They are rolled directly from the supplier into the delivery truck to the stores. And once at the stores, the dollies are rolled directly to the point of sale, where they take the place of the usual sales racks.This innovation eliminates several “touches,” in which employees moved cola from large pallets to roll cages, to the stores, and then onto dollies to reach the shelves, where they were handled one last time. (In drawing the provision stream maps of the original process, Tesco discovered that half its cost in operating this provision stream was the labor required to fill the shelves in the store.For fast-moving products like cola, the Tesco RDC is now a cross-dock rather than a warehouse product, with goods from suppliers spending only a few hours between their receipt and their dispatch to the stores. To guard against sudden spikes in demand, a buffer stock of full dollies is still held aside. But because of the frequency of replenishment, the buffer is very small. Back at the cola supplier, even larger changes have taken place. Britvic improved the flexibility of its filling lines, so it can now make what the customer has just requested in small batches with very high reliability. This means that there are practically no finished goods awaiting shipment in Britvic’s filling plant.

The final logistics step is for Tesco’s delivery truck to take the dollies several times a day from the RDC on a milk run to a series of Tesco stores. At each store it collects the empty dollies and then visits several suppliers to return them. At each stop it also picks up full dollies and then returns to the Tesco RDC to restart the cycle. That may sound like a good way to increase truck miles and logistics costs, and many traditional managers, including those at Tesco and Britvic, have assumed it must. However, in practice, these methods substantially reduce the total miles driven along with freight costs, while also reducing total inventories in the system.

The consequence, in terms of performance, is remarkable.Total “touches” on the product (each of which involves costly human effort) have been reduced from 150 to 50. The total throughput time, from the filling line at the supplier to the customer leaving the store with the cola, has declined from 20 days to 5 days. The number of inventory stocking points has been reduced from five to two (the small buffer in the RDC and the roller racks in the store), and the supplier’s distribution center for the items has disappeared. As he grasped the logic of lean logistics, Booth realized that his simple insight was valid: A rapid-replenishment system triggered by the customer would work in any retail format. What was more, it would work even better if the same replenishment system, using the same suppliers, crossdock distribution centers, and vehicles serving many stores, could supply every retail format.

Using those insights, Tesco set out to create a range of formats, beginning in Britain, so that households could obtain fast-moving consumer goods from a complete variety of outlets. This has led to tiny Tesco Express convenience stores at gas stations and in busy urban intersections; Tesco Metro stores (at the small end of the “supermarket” range) on busy streets and in high-density urban areas; traditional Tesco supermarkets in urban and suburban areas; Tesco Extra on the suburban perimeter as an answer to “big boxes” retail stores operated in Britain by Wal-Mart’s ASDA subsidiary; and Tesco.com for the Web shopper. The strategy has worked quite brilliantly, permitting Tesco to establish the lowest cost position among British retailers (including Wal-Mart) while posting progressively higher margins and steadily increasing its share in every format. But this is just the beginning. By offering households a range of formats for every circumstance and pioneering the use of loyalty cards, which give discounts to frequent shoppers, Tesco is in a position to know everything a household buys during the course of a year at all formats, and where and when they buy it. In fact, 80 percent of items currently bought in Tesco stores are bought by loyalty-card holders. These loyal customers obtain close to 100 percent of their needs at the range of Tesco outlets.

Source: James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, “Teaching the Big Box New Tricks,” Fortune, November 14, 2005.

QUESTIONS

1. What key insights of Tesco’s SCM director Graham Booth helped revolutionize Tesco’s supply chain and range of retail store formats? Can these insights be applied to any kind of retail business? Why or why not?

2. How did Dan Jones and his research group from the Cardiff Business School of Wales demonstrate the inefficiencies of the Tesco and Britvic supply chains? Can this methodology be applied to the supply chain of any kind of business? Why or why not?

3. What are the major business and competitive benefits gained by Tesco as the result of its supply chain initiatives? Can other retail chains and retail stores achieve some or all of the same results? Defend your position with examples of actual retail chains and stores

Case Study : Finance

2009-07-30T21:27:00.000+05:30

The Hunt Brothers and the Silver Crash

In early 1979, two Texas billionaires, W. Herbert Hunt and his brother, Nelson Bunker Hunt, decided that they were going to get into the silver market in a big way. Herbert stated his reasoning for purchasing silver as follows: "I became convinced that the economy of the United States was in a weakening condition. This reinforced my belief that investment in precious metals was wise . . . because of rampant inflation." Although the Hunts' stated reason for purchasing silver was that it was a good investment, others felt that their real motive was to establish a corner in the silver market. Along with other associates, several of them from the Saudi royal family, the Hunts purchased close to 300 million ounces of silver in the form of either actual bullion or silver futures contracts. The result was that the price of silver rose from $6 an ounce to over $50 an ounce by January 1980.

Once the regulators and the futures exchanges got wind of what the Hunts were up to, they decided to take action to eliminate the possibility of a corner by limiting to 2000 the number of contracts that any single trader could hold. This limit, which was equivalent to 10 million ounces, was only a small fraction of what the Hunts were holding, and so they were forced to sell. The silver market collapsed soon afterward, with the price of silver declining back to below $10 an ounce. The losses to the Hunts were estimated to be in excess of $1 billion, and they soon found themselves in financial difficulty. They had to go into debt to the tune of $1.1 billion, mortgaging not only the family's holdings in the Placid Oil Company but also 75,000 head of cattle, a stable of thoroughbred horses, paintings, jewellery, and even such mundane items as irrigation pumps and lawn mowers. Eventually both Hunt brothers were forced into declaring personal bankruptcy, earning them the dubious distinction of declaring the largest personal bankruptcies ever in the United States.

Nelson and Herbert Hunt paid a heavy price for their excursion into the silver market, but at least Nelson retained his sense of humour. When asked right after the collapse of the silver market how he felt about his losses, he said, "A billion dollars isn't what it used to be."

Source: G. Christian Hill, "Dynasty's Decline: The Current Question About the Hunts of Dallas: How Poor Are They?" Wall Street Journal, November 14, 1984, p. C28. Republished by permission of Dow Jones, Inc. Via Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 1984 Dow Jones and Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Entrepreneurship Cell - An introduction

2009-07-30T19:05:00.000+05:30

"When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure."

- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics .

"An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it.

- Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries.

“Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!"

- Madam C.J. Walker, America's first black female millionaire.

We at SIIB are formally inaugurating the entrepreneurship cell on 31^st July, 2009.

What does entrepreneurship cell stand for and what are our aims and objectives ? Let’s start from the very basics. Who is an entrepreneur?

Cambridge dictionary defines it as “someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks.”

So, why should someone venture into something which by definition includes ‘risk’ as an integral part of it? The question is very aptly answered by one very successful entrepreneur, Steve Jobs. He says, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. ”

Why Entrepreneurship?

Ensuring that you are the architect of your prosperity and your achievement is ultimately the responsibility of one person and one person only - you. In other words you are the master of your true self. Running a business may be hard work, but that’s certainly not what you are rewarded for. Often at times, burning the midnight oil is simply the bare minimum requisite for entering into business. You earn your returns by working smart, quality of your ideas. While working a regular job isolates you from the risk of no return on bad ideas, it virtually nullifies the incredible return on good ones.

It’s an amazing feeling to start with nothing and end up with something absolutely amazing.

It’s hard to be born rich or inherit the family farm, but business unlocks a path to real wealth potential. But that’s only a small part of the whole story. The main thing is satisfaction.

Entrepreneurship and Economy

The role of entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture in economic and social development has often been underestimated. Over the years, however, it has become increasingly apparent that entrepreneurship does indeed contribute to economic development.

Transforming ideas into economic opportunities is the crux of entrepreneurship. History shows that economic progress has been significantly advanced by pragmatists who are entrepreneurial and innovative, and are able to exploit opportunities and willing to take risks.

Entrepreneurs create solutions that fly in the face of established knowledge, and they always challenge status quo. They are risk-takers who pursue opportunities that others may fail to recognize or may even view as problems or threats. Whatever the definition of entrepreneurship, it is closely associated with change, creativity, knowledge, innovation and flexibility-factors that are apparently becoming important factors of competitiveness in a globalized world economy. Thus, fostering entrepreneurship means promoting the competitiveness of businesses.

Private sector development and entrepreneurship development are essential ingredients for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty. While sound macroeconomic policies and providing market access are crucial, emerging markets need to nurture and develop entrepreneurs who are able to take advantage of opportunities created by globalization.

For many developing countries, private sector development has been a powerful engine of economic growth and wealth creation, crucial for improving the quality, number and variety of employment opportunities for the poor.

Economically, entrepreneurship invigorates markets. The formation of new business leads to job creation and has a multiplying effect on the economy.

Socially, entrepreneurship empowers citizens, spurs innovation and changes mindsets. These changes have the potential to integrate developing countries into the global economy.

Entrepreneurship in SIIB

We in SIIB want to develop lateral/horizontal thinking and encourage other youth to explore entrepreneurship and self-employment through the recognition and development of their inventive, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. To facilitate out of the box thinking and developing that skill is to recognize a genuine opportunity when you come across one. This will enable us to be life-long partners in building and supporting the environment of entrepreneurship in the community.

Entrepreneurship means lot of hard work, it means relentless optimism and fighting for one’s own belief. Winston Churchill once said,’ Success is walking from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm.’

We, in entrepreneur cell of SIIB would strive for such a commitment and belief and uphold the spirit of entrepreneurship in its truest sense.

“The critical ingredient is getting off the beaten path and doing something. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”

-Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari & Chuck E. Cheese’s

Krishanu Mukherjee (09-11)

Sangrah( Marketing Casestudy): Fairness Wars

2009-07-30T11:01:00.000+05:30

Who's The Fairest of Them All?

In June 1999, the FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)1 announced that it would offer 50% extra volume on its Fair & Lovely (F&L) fairness cream at the same price to the consumers.

This was seen by industry analysts as a combative initiative to prevent CavinKare's3 Fairever from gaining popularity in retail markets. HLL's scheme led to increased sales of F&L and encouraged consumers to stay with F&L and not shift to the rival brand. In December 1999, Godrej Soaps4 created a new product category – fairness soaps – by launching its FairGlow Fairness Soap.The product was successful and reported sales of more than Rs. 700 million in the first year of its launch. Godrej extended the brand to fairness cream by launching FairGlow Fairness Cream in July 2000

· 1] HLL, a 51.6% subsidiary of Unilever Plc, was the largest FMCG company in India, with a turnover of Rs114 billion in 2000. The company's business ranged from personal and household care products to foods, beverages, specialty chemicals and animal feeds.

· 2] Initially HLL offered Rs. 5 off on F&L. This was followed by 20% extra volume for the same price, which was later increased to 50% extra volume.

· 3] In 1983, C.K. Ranganathan (Ranganathan) established Chik India, with an investment of Rs.15000. Chik India was later renamed Beauty Cosmetics, and then went public in 1991. In 1998, the company was renamed CavinKare Ltd.

· 4] Godrej Soaps' major product lines were toilet soaps and detergents, industrial chemicals, cosmetics and men's toiletries. It had interests in several other businesses such as real estate, agro produce, etc through its subsidiaries.

In April 2001, the consumer goods business of Godrej Soaps was demerged into a new company. The chemicals division remained with Godrej Soaps, with the new name, Godrej Industries.

By 2001, CavinKare's Fairever fairness cream, with the USP of 'a fairness cream with saffron' acquired a 15% share, and F&L's share fell from 93% (in 1998) to 76%. Within a year of its launch, Godrej's FairGlow cream became the third largest fairness cream brand, with a 4% share in the Rs. 6 billion fairness cream market in India. The other players, including J.L. Morrison's Nivea Visage fairness cream and Emami Group's Emami Naturally Fair cream, had the remaining 5% share. Clearly, the fairness cream and soaps market was witnessing a fierce battle among the three major players – HLL, CavinKare, and Godrej – each trying to woo the consumer with their attractive schemes.

Background:In 1975, HLL launched its first fairness cream under the F&L brand. With the launch of F&L, the market, which was dominated by Ponds (Vanishing Cream and Cold Cream) and Lakme (Sunscreen Lotion), lost their dominant position.

The dominance of HLL's F&L continued till 1998, when CavinKare launched its Fairever cream in direct competition with F&L. Within six months of its launch, Fairever captured more than 6% of market share.The success of Fairever attracted other players. Every product in this segment was witnessing growth higher than the overall personal care product category growth

The fairness cream market was growing at 25% p.a., as compared to the overall cosmetic products market's growth of 15% p.a. In 2000, there were 7 main brands in the fairness product market across the country.

Fair (Ness) Wars!

In 1998, CavinKare launched Fairever fairness cream. The company took care to stick to the herbal platform that its consumers had come to associate with all CavinKare products. Fairever seemed to be an instant success. Fairever's market share jumped from 1.23% in 1998 to 8.13% in 1999. The brand was expected to grow from Rs 160 million 1999 to Rs 560 million in 2000. Its success attracted many players, including Godrej (FairGlow) and Paras Chemicals (Freshia). Existing products like Emami Naturally Fair and F&L were promoted with renewed vigor.

In December 1999, Godrej launched FairGlow fairness soap and created a new product category. The soap claimed to remove blemishes to give the user a smooth and glowing complexion. FairGlow was positioned as a twin advantage soap – a clean fresh bath and the added benefit of fairness. In early 2000, Godrej Soaps launched Nikhar, which was based on the ancient Indian formula of milk, besan and turmeric. Though Nikhar and FairGlow were positioned differently – Nikhar targeted fairness and FairGlow claimed to protect skin naturally – the objective of both was the same, get more of a stagnating market.

In April 2000, HLL introduced Lux Skincare soap, positioned on the sunscreen platform. Priced at Rs.14 for a 75gm cake, it was able to garner only a 0.5% share by 2000 end. In comparison, the mother brand Lux had a share of 14%. Retailers claimed that sales for the Lux variant were poor as it promised only protection from ultraviolet rays.

While this soap prevented one from growing darker, it did not promise to enhance the complexion. By 2000 end, F&L cream seemed to be losing ground not only to other creams but also to FairGlow soap. The switch from cream to soap was largely because soaps were perceived to be less harmful to the skin than cream. HLL did not have a product in its soap portfolio for this segment, and this was where Godrej seemed to have gained

However, in 2001, HLL followed Godrej's footsteps and launched Fair & Lovely Fairness Soap. This intensified the competition. F&L's extension into soaps was in tune with HLL's strategy to develop and grow the premium segment of the market. Since the growth in the toilet soap market had slowed down, the industry felt that premium soaps would re-energise the market.

Sangeeta Pendurkar, Marketing Manager, HLL, said, " We are targeting the 50,000 tonne premium soaps market with F&L. We believe F&L soap will synergise with F&L cream as research reveals that the usage of both will deliver better fairness." Analysts felt that though FairGlow had the first mover advantage, F&L soap's growth potential could not be underestimated given the strong equity of the mother brand. In 1999, HLL and CavinKare hiked the price of F&L and Fairever by Re. 1 from Rs.25 and Rs.26 respectively.

In 2000, Fairever was back to its original price to maintain price parity. Many stockists said that this was done to push the product against F&L. A stockist commented, "The company was trying out this price to compete with F&L and other new brands that have come in. But we did not see higher sales due to this and the company reverted to its original price." F&L too followed suit. During 2000-01, while the fairness cream market was growing at an average of 15% Fairever's growth had slowed down. Analysts felt that this was mainly because Fairever was priced higher than competing products. Meanwhile, in January 2000, HLL filed a patent infringement suit for Rs.100 million in the Kolkata High Court against CavinKare Ltd.

HLL alleged that CavinKare was using its patented F&L formula without its knowledge or permission. HLL obtained an ex-parte stay on CavinKare, but CavinKare got the stay vacated in a week's timeIt also filed a patent revocation application in the Chennai High Court and defended the suit on the grounds that HLL's patent was not valid.CavinKare further claimed that the ingredients contained in the composition were 'prior art' and that the new patent was not an improvement of the earlier patent, which had expired in 1988. In September 2000, the companies suddenly opted for an out-of-court settlement.

CavinKare gave an undertaking to the court that the company would not "manufacture and/or market either by themselves or by their agents any fairness cream by using silicone compound in combination with other ingredients covered in patent no. 169917 of the plaintiff (HLL), namely Niacinamide, Parsol MCX, Parsol 1789, with effect from September 15, 2000." HLL also gave an undertaking that it would not interfere with the sale of the cream manufactured on or before September 15, 2000, lying with the wholesalers, re-distribution stockists, and retailers.

Promotional Wars:

During 2000-01, with major players entering the market, the existing products were promoted with renewed vigor through price reductions, extra volumes, etc. Many products were marketed aggressively. While F&L advertisements projected fairness comparable to the moon's silvery glow, FairGlow offered the added benefit of a blemish-free complexion. But Fairever, which sold at a higher price, did not initiate any promotional activities. B. Nandakumar, President (Marketing) CavinKare, explained, "We will not tailor our product to the competition. We'll do so for the consumer. Freebies are not the only way to garner sales." However, analysts believed that CavinKare did not undertake any promotional activities due to lack of financial muscle.

On February 14, 2000, as a part of its promotional activities, Godrej Soaps announced the 'Godrej FairGlow Friendship Funda'5 in various colleges in Maharashtra. In August 2000, it launched the 'FairGlow Express,' the first branded local train in India, in Mumbai, in partnership with Western Railways. In December 2000, Godrej took its FairGlow brand to the web by launching www.fairglow.com. Later, it launched a unique online promotional scheme – 'the FairGlow Face of the Fortnight.' Every fortnight, one winner was selected and showcased on the website. The winner also won prizes like perfume hampers, gold and pearl jewellery, holiday for two etc. In early 2001, Godrej Soaps also launched its FairGlow cream in an affordable sachet (pouch pack). The 9gm sachet was priced at Rs. 5, and claimed to give around 15-20 applications per pack. It was initially launched in South India, and was expected to enter other markets very soon.

The Wars Continue Unabated:

In early 2001, three major players – HLL, CavinKare and Godrej – competed fiercely to penetrate the market further with their attractive schemes. A growing number of pharma and OTC drug companies like Emami, Ayurvedic Concepts, Paras etc. also entered this segment.

Companies were also facing competition from Amway, Avon, Modicare etc., which were into direct selling. The market was seeing a major convergence of product categories with the emergence of more and more variants to fill every conceivable niche. This heightened competition forced companies to increase their advertisement spends. HLL re-launched F&L and quadrupled its advertising expenditure.

CavinKare more than doubled its ad spends from Rs.215 million in 1999 to Rs.500 million in 2001. Godrej and Emami too planned to raise their ad spends. But even as ad spends increased, fakes entered the market. Fair & Lovely's fakes were rampant with names like Pure & Lovely and Fare & Lovely. Fairever's copies were Four Ever, For Ever or Fare Ever.

In early 2001, HLL launched Nutririch Fair & Lovely Fairness Reviving Lotion to protect its brand from any threat in the premium segment. The new product was claimed to be scientifically formulated to protect the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays and enhance natural fairness. The new formula, containing Triple UV Guard Sun protection system and the fairness ingredients Vitamin B3 and milk proteins, promised to restore and protect the natural skin colours from the sun's darkening effects. The product was also claimed to contain Niacinamide making it the only patented formula fairness cream. It was targeted at women in the age group of 18-35 and was priced at a premium.

A 50ml pack was priced at Rs.38 and a 100ml pack at Rs.68. HLL also launched 'Pears Naturals Fairness cream' at the same time.

By mid 2001, the fairness concept was no longer restricted to creams and soaps, but had expanded to talcs also. Emami was test marketing a herbal fairness talc in the South.

The rapid expansion of the fairness business had two consequences: cutthroat competition and a flurry of copycats. Every company - from the market leader to the new entrants – was forced to rethink its marketing strategies, spend lavishly on advertisements, and even seek legal action against unfair claims.

Even though there was no scientific backing for the manufacturer's claims that their products enhanced fairness, prevented darkening of skin, or removed blemishes, sales of fairness products continued to gallop. Dr R.K. Pandhi, Head of the Department of Dermatology, AIIMS, Delhi, said, "I have never come across a medical study that substantiated such claims. No externally applied cream can change your skin colour. Indeed, the amount of melanin in an individual's skin cannot be reduced by applying fairness creams, bathing with sun-blocking soaps or using fairness talc." In 2001, the organised market of branded fairness cream products was worth about Rs 6 billion. The unbranded and fakes market was estimated to be Rs 1.5 billion. The market was big and the potential was even bigger. In India, beauty seemed to be associated with fairness more than with anything else. With such an attitude firmly entrenched in the minds of millions of people, the fairness products market would see fair days ahead.

Questions:

1. Identify the chinks in the HLL armour that made it loose the lion’s share in the Fairness market.

2. If you were the marketing manager of HLL what strategies will you adopt to handle the increasingly intense competition?

Contributed by: Megha & Arti

Team Sangrah (marketing)

Credits:http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/Fairness%20Wars1.htm

MBA Life

2009-07-28T17:07:00.000+05:30

"Always tell to yourself, if I can't then who can. Afterwards be humble enough to say, if I can then who can't"-Anonymous.

I quote the first part of the quote to myself everyday. That happens to be purely my personal way to motivate myself. The first month was off, even before I had time to comprehend its arrival. I had been wallowing away in my 'home sweet home' for a month, after tendering my resignation another month before. Well, I wanted to work till the last day, but somehow my manager seemed very relieved the day I announced my intention to resign. And due to some sinister reason he released me a month earlier than what I expected. Recession I guess.

Anyways, the pace of the MBA course gave me a sudden jolt. We were expected to be studying 13 subjects all in one go. In engineering we had 6 subjects/semester. Somehow I could never remember the names of even those six. And now I had 13 to remember. The number 13 scared me.It reminded me of friday the 13th. It's the unlucky number. The teachers scared me. Surprise tests and all. My peers scared me. They seemed to know everything under the blue sky. It was amazing how every week we had classes of 13 different subjects. So much of knowledge was continously being bestowed on my hapless self that I always felt six feet under a stack of incomprehensive information. I felt as if I was in the open seas in a derelict canoe facing 13 tsunamis coming towards me.

I guess 3 years of smug life in a cubicle had made me too comfortable. Because within 2 months I found that it was not all that scary after all. The people around me were human too. A bit of smart time and resource management was all that was required. Well it happens to be a fact that there seemed to be lots tornados and eartquakes waiting for us during the next two years. But all that was needed was some sincere hard work. After all, as Thomas Alva Edison once said,“Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration".

B-School life is all about living life to the fullest. There is hard work; along side there is lots and lots of fun. College life just for another 2 years! Couldn’t be better. In a span of around one and half month, we had had outbound trips, cultural fest cum competition (our very own AARAMBH), classical music programs, rock shows, extempore competetions, the list is already quite big.

It is all about enjoying whatever you are doing and doing whatever you enjoy. Umpteen number of activities is always going around in a B-School. It is all about getting involved and bringing out the best in you. B Schools are said to be grooming ground for budding managers. Yes, that is the ultimate goal, but the bottomline is to groom yourself. To find out what you are really good at, if you have'nt done that already, because more often than not, this is the last platform you will ever get to experiment with yourself. This is the ground to plant the seeds of ambition, bestow upon them the water of innovation, groom them with sincere determination so that the budding managers can bloom with grandiose. It is time to try out something that you have never tried out before. And always tell yourself if I can't then who can.

Krishanu Mukherjee (09-11)