That the power of an emotion can be translated into a catalytic series of actions was well proven on Saturday, June 14th 2008 at the SUDOKU Challenge hosted by S P Jain Center of Management, Singapore. Sparked off in an entrepreneurial spirit by the SPJCM EMBA batch under the guidance of Professor KOH SENG CHOON, the scope of the project expanded to much nobler goals. When the EMBA students became aware of the aftermath of the Sichuan Earthquake tragedy in China and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the emotion of humanity, brotherhood and the will to do something came to life in the form of a fund raiser in the aid of the victims. A group of 20 enthusiastic volunteers worked for 8 weeks to organize the Sudoku Challenge, sponsored by Emerson, the aid collection from which was donated through the Red Cross.
SPJCM GMBA and EMBA students, as well as outsiders were invited to participate in the qualifying rounds, and stretch their logic. A warm vibe enveloped the SPJAIN campus as the event moved ahead into the late afternoon at a steady pace. The contestants who emerged as winners in the elimination round- students as well as regular participants, all competed together in the final round for the first prize of SGD $200 and a trophy. Cartoon broadcasts, painting exhibits for sale were other parallel activities available to the participants.
After a nail-biting final round, it was time for the declaration of the result of the challenge. Gracing the occasion was Mr. Arun Sharma, President & CEO of GE Healthcare South-East Asia. The award ceremony began with a truthfully touching audio-visual that captured glimpses of the disaster, with a soulful playback performed live by Ayush, followed by a two- minute observance of silence in respect to the victims. A classical Kathak piece lifted the spirits, only to later tug at everyone’s heart strings with a poignant Odissi performance by Dr. Aruna’s team that showcased the effects of the 1999 cyclone that hit Orissa, India. The dancers, gliding in unison, expressed the joy and sorrow the element of water can bring; the giver of life, the taker in death. The dance was apt for an event which was an appreciation of the triumph of human perseverance against nature’s fury.
The GMBA volunteers opened up their box of talents as Ayush, Ankur and Ashish sang melodious tunes accompanied by Ayush rendering music on his guitar. Bharatnatyam and Jazz performances by Sreedevi, Princy and Gautam concluded the show on a lighter note.
The winner was Ms. Joan Tan, who selflessly donated 50% of her prize money to Red Cross, truly exemplifying the spirit of our fund raiser. GMBA students Neha and Nikhil bagged the Runner’s Up positions.
The Sudoku Challenge can be best described in Mr. Arun Sharma’s words: “something I will remember for a long time to come.” It is events like The Sudoku Challenge that remind us that even though a drop may not make a difference to the ocean, but that the fact remains that it is millions of drops like these grow larger to take the imposing form -that of an ocean.
The satisfaction gained from an earnest act of social responsibility goes beyond the boundaries of nationality, the confines of countries and differences we may harbour, because each individual was bound together that day by a single emotion – compassion.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
it's intermission!
Well, we just finished one half of the program at Singapore and got a break before starting with the grind at Dubai.
Looking back at the rapid fire six months, there are a lot of things that bring a smile on my face. The company of wonderful people, multiple group works going on simultaneously, one course after another and the swirling motion of life. It all went in a jiffy.
Do I miss it? yes, I am sure everyone of us does and will. Singapore is a gorgeous city with beautiful landscaping, greenery, infrastructure and all that an excellent place should offer. The nocturnal visits to 7-11, chatting in front of the reception lobby, sitting in the canteen and talking endlessly about endless issues, we will miss it all.
The faculties left no stones unturned to keep us occupied with each making sure that we have enough to read and process. Some of them were mellow and could be persuaded to ease the load but some would not budge, it all is a part of the game.
The Dean is an extremely respectable figure everyone looks up to. He would not be able to meet the students often but whenever he would, he left questions in our minds we could ponder over and over.
The night safari, the zoo, ministry of sound, the bird park, the bridge to Mount Faber and all encompassing greenery, Singapore is a dream city. I love Singapore and I will continue to love it.
All the best to the present batch and the subsequent batches. Make the best of Singapore experience, it's once in a while after all.
As I look forward to the next session at Dubai, all that transpired in Singapore has been permanently etched in my memory and I am sure, so it has in the minds of all my batch mates.
Looking back at the rapid fire six months, there are a lot of things that bring a smile on my face. The company of wonderful people, multiple group works going on simultaneously, one course after another and the swirling motion of life. It all went in a jiffy.
Do I miss it? yes, I am sure everyone of us does and will. Singapore is a gorgeous city with beautiful landscaping, greenery, infrastructure and all that an excellent place should offer. The nocturnal visits to 7-11, chatting in front of the reception lobby, sitting in the canteen and talking endlessly about endless issues, we will miss it all.
The faculties left no stones unturned to keep us occupied with each making sure that we have enough to read and process. Some of them were mellow and could be persuaded to ease the load but some would not budge, it all is a part of the game.
The Dean is an extremely respectable figure everyone looks up to. He would not be able to meet the students often but whenever he would, he left questions in our minds we could ponder over and over.
The night safari, the zoo, ministry of sound, the bird park, the bridge to Mount Faber and all encompassing greenery, Singapore is a dream city. I love Singapore and I will continue to love it.
All the best to the present batch and the subsequent batches. Make the best of Singapore experience, it's once in a while after all.
As I look forward to the next session at Dubai, all that transpired in Singapore has been permanently etched in my memory and I am sure, so it has in the minds of all my batch mates.
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Best We Have...
This post is dedicated to two professors who moved everybody here. Almost everyone who comes to SPJCM to teach is top-class, but there are some faculties who are just one of their class or may be they are just a class-apart altogether.
The 2 professors I want to dedicate this post to are Prof. Ram Kumar for Marketing Management and Prof Harkant Mankad for Macro Economics
Prof Ram Kumar
What do I write about him, I wonder, he is simply beyond introduction. A sea of knowledge on marketing. It seems that whatever someone does in any part of the world which is in some way special and unique, sends a letter to Prof Kumar. This was just a feeble attempt at humor, but the point is he knows so much that we are left wondering why did not we know this! He speaks at the speed of thought and you only cannot not concentrate if you want to learn anything. He is blunt and to the point, he will not let you not participate because you never know when your turn is coming! I can add more sentences and add exclamation marks at the end of every sentence as he is a perennial surprise and you can not help but respect and admire him for the great personality and wonderful prof that he is. Today, our marketing-2 got over and he said good bye to us. We will miss you, Sir.
Prof Harkant Mankad
Macro economics cannot be taught by many people in the intriguing and thought provoking manner that Prof Mankad does. He would stand in front of you, generally with his hands in his pocket and charm you with facts and stories on the world economy. If the world has changed, he will tell you how and why and what are the likely repercussions. We have developed a craze for the subject because he teaches us and he is definitely one of the world's best, I am sure.
It is an absolute pleasure and delight to listen to him as he keeps on unfolding chapter after chapter on the Indian and World economy from John Keynes to US hegemony to sub-prime crisis. You are glued on to him, it's difficult to move anywhere. Thank you Sir.
Well, there are many reasons which make us feel that we are one of the best business schools and people like Prof Mankad and Prof Ram Kumar only add to our confidence and spirits. They have always charmed their audiences and they will continue to do so wherever they go.
The 2 professors I want to dedicate this post to are Prof. Ram Kumar for Marketing Management and Prof Harkant Mankad for Macro Economics
Prof Ram Kumar
What do I write about him, I wonder, he is simply beyond introduction. A sea of knowledge on marketing. It seems that whatever someone does in any part of the world which is in some way special and unique, sends a letter to Prof Kumar. This was just a feeble attempt at humor, but the point is he knows so much that we are left wondering why did not we know this! He speaks at the speed of thought and you only cannot not concentrate if you want to learn anything. He is blunt and to the point, he will not let you not participate because you never know when your turn is coming! I can add more sentences and add exclamation marks at the end of every sentence as he is a perennial surprise and you can not help but respect and admire him for the great personality and wonderful prof that he is. Today, our marketing-2 got over and he said good bye to us. We will miss you, Sir.
Prof Harkant Mankad
Macro economics cannot be taught by many people in the intriguing and thought provoking manner that Prof Mankad does. He would stand in front of you, generally with his hands in his pocket and charm you with facts and stories on the world economy. If the world has changed, he will tell you how and why and what are the likely repercussions. We have developed a craze for the subject because he teaches us and he is definitely one of the world's best, I am sure.
It is an absolute pleasure and delight to listen to him as he keeps on unfolding chapter after chapter on the Indian and World economy from John Keynes to US hegemony to sub-prime crisis. You are glued on to him, it's difficult to move anywhere. Thank you Sir.
Well, there are many reasons which make us feel that we are one of the best business schools and people like Prof Mankad and Prof Ram Kumar only add to our confidence and spirits. They have always charmed their audiences and they will continue to do so wherever they go.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Leadership Forum
We started the Leadership Forum in Jan08 batch at Singapore, the idea has trickled down from the respected Dean of SPJCM GMBA program.
The purpose of the Leadership Forum is to expose the students to great leaders who have made a mark in their lives and use audio-visuals to really make a connect. We take up the life of a leader preferably a corporate personality and share his past, present and future and then use videos where the personality is speaking so the audience can identify and learn from him.
The 2 personalities we have shared so far are Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group and Motivator Anthony Robbins. The forum has generated positive insights and inspired people to learn from these personalities.
This is an initiative by the students like the Big Picture and we will continue these initiatives to foster a sense of holistic learning so that by the end of the year we emerge as balanced and mature professionals.
The purpose of the Leadership Forum is to expose the students to great leaders who have made a mark in their lives and use audio-visuals to really make a connect. We take up the life of a leader preferably a corporate personality and share his past, present and future and then use videos where the personality is speaking so the audience can identify and learn from him.
The 2 personalities we have shared so far are Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group and Motivator Anthony Robbins. The forum has generated positive insights and inspired people to learn from these personalities.
This is an initiative by the students like the Big Picture and we will continue these initiatives to foster a sense of holistic learning so that by the end of the year we emerge as balanced and mature professionals.
An insider's view of life in campus
Hello to the readers of the SPJCM blog, I am the latest addition to the contributors to this blog and my official name is Amarjeet Singh, though they call me all sorts of things.
Anyways, I want to tell you as a start about life once you are a legitimate student at SPJCM-Dubai/Singapore. I will not tell you what happens, but rather what is happening...
It is precisely 5 minutes past 4 in the morning and I and most of my classmates have not slept, sounds interesting, hun? We have a quiz in the afternoon and a marketing presentation in the first class. I am just telling you, how you interpret is entirely up to you, do not blame me.
Well, yes, this is how it works. That you are hard working is a pre-requisite and does not really give you an edge over the others because almost everyone is working as hard as you are. This is the difference I have faced and you will face if you are a student in SPJCM. Everyone is better than you in one way or the other. You can either choose to be deterred by them or learn from them, the choice is yours, as most of the times in life.
Our marketing professor would say- "one year Jimba yaaar", who chose it? And you know you have no answers. If you come here, you do not bother about sleeping and you will hear this over and over again.
So, how do I feel about being here? Well, it is a wonderful place to be at. The twin city model is beautiful because you get to explore something much more than the academics. You get to meet people from these cities, you get to talk to them, understand them, do projects which help you understand the business environment and the list goes on.
Eventually, your take-aways from the program will be different from what somebody else feels but then that is how you make your decisions to learn and do what is more important to you.
I am sitting near outside the canteen to write this and the sounds of many categories of insects is entering my ears, the world outside is quite and I know I am awake and savoring every bit of this experience.
After all, I am a services marketing student and it is all about the experience and mark my words, I will not trade this experience for anything else.
Anyways, I want to tell you as a start about life once you are a legitimate student at SPJCM-Dubai/Singapore. I will not tell you what happens, but rather what is happening...
It is precisely 5 minutes past 4 in the morning and I and most of my classmates have not slept, sounds interesting, hun? We have a quiz in the afternoon and a marketing presentation in the first class. I am just telling you, how you interpret is entirely up to you, do not blame me.
Well, yes, this is how it works. That you are hard working is a pre-requisite and does not really give you an edge over the others because almost everyone is working as hard as you are. This is the difference I have faced and you will face if you are a student in SPJCM. Everyone is better than you in one way or the other. You can either choose to be deterred by them or learn from them, the choice is yours, as most of the times in life.
Our marketing professor would say- "one year Jimba yaaar", who chose it? And you know you have no answers. If you come here, you do not bother about sleeping and you will hear this over and over again.
So, how do I feel about being here? Well, it is a wonderful place to be at. The twin city model is beautiful because you get to explore something much more than the academics. You get to meet people from these cities, you get to talk to them, understand them, do projects which help you understand the business environment and the list goes on.
Eventually, your take-aways from the program will be different from what somebody else feels but then that is how you make your decisions to learn and do what is more important to you.
I am sitting near outside the canteen to write this and the sounds of many categories of insects is entering my ears, the world outside is quite and I know I am awake and savoring every bit of this experience.
After all, I am a services marketing student and it is all about the experience and mark my words, I will not trade this experience for anything else.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
SPJCM - Mission Accomplished: From Engineer to MBA!
This blog is perhaps long awaited. Something about the twin city model of SPJCM is kind of a mandate in this space! It is rather a dream to come to S.P.Jain and so was mine and finally, it did happen (all by the grace of God and my well-wishers) and the entire journey of MBA went on very smoothly. Though few credit courses are still left, it would be over in no time; hence I am totally qualified and justified in putting my thoughts across.
S.P.Jain, Singapore: S. P. Jain gave us the opportunity to see and understand the great city, Singapore (which is one of the twin cities of the model) - a city which can be stated as a perfect example of a city rising from rags to riches. Whosoever has visited the National Museum of Singapore would surely be able to appreciate the fact more than others. What more, we were also fortunate to be a part of their mega independent day celebration (9th August). There was a lot of learning from a great city like that, which inspires one to be like what one wants to be! When you look around the city – the HBD, MRTs, SMRTs, tall buildings, glaring lightings, shopping malls, etc., you would know what exactly a government should be doing to make their people happy. The landscape, infrastructure of world class standards, education (NUS, SMU, and INSEAD) and laws of the land is absolutely amazing! There is no denying fact that India is great (looking at the mere size, diversity and the recent accelerating GDP growth) but so is Singapore! Of course, it’s always easier said than done and there is no way that we could compare Singapore directly with India, but we should take the best practices from a great country and try to implement it slowly and gradually. At the end of the day, I look at it the way a consumer (be it their own countrymen or foreigners) is made happy by providing them the ease and the value for the price that he/she pays. In fact, it’s often said that the Singapore government is more like an Entrepreneur than the kind of government we have known in India. With as little a data as I mentioned above, I hope to have given the bird’s eye view of Singapore.
S.P. Jain, Dubai: Dubai is the 2nd city of the twin city model of S.P.Jain Global MBA program. Dubai is strikingly different from Singapore. Just as Singapore is like “rising from rags to riches”, Dubai is known for building castles in air. Indeed, it is!! Having looked at Dubai, I always wondered how a desert could look so beautiful and modern. If a deserted place like this can be so amazing, this only adds to the conviction that “Nothing is Impossible”. This is how this city is truly inspiring and drives an individual to achieve the incredible. Though the whole city is under construction phase now, the infrastructure that it already has is mind boggling. Dubai is trying to give a true picture of being truly cosmopolitan and everything is just in place to beat the best in the world. The government is constantly encouraging the other economies of the world to come to Dubai for further enhancing their growth. The public transport is bit of a problem here, but the measures have been taken by the government in this regard and the city is undergoing a metamorphic change. The Singapore market is already mature, but Dubai is still growing and has a lot more to offer. Keep a close watch on the city for 5-10 years from now and I am sure Dubai would show what it has in store for the people of the world.
This lifetime amazing exposure is what S.P.Jain has provided to their students and each one of us is proud to have it. This is what we will be carrying with us to provide to the organisations (wherever we have joined) besides the normal bookish knowledge and the rigour what it takes to be a true MBA!
By: Avishek Kumar (Batch of June07 -08 , Retail Management - SPJCM )
Monday, February 04, 2008
SPJCM : "Movies for fun ..no more !!!!"
Arrey yaar vo Dus kahanaiyan lo na..usme chaapne ko khoob milega ......Oye yaar nahi ..usme vo kya to bhi story hain ..chal apan “Guru” lete hain ..google se tipne ko bhi milega .....abbey pagal hain kya ..OB ki teacher maregee ..aur saare number gaye ..!!! vaise bhi class main sunte nahi hain ..isme kuch to chahiye...
Can anyone think what this conversation was all about .....!#@#@ .No this is not any group of friends discussing about which movie to watch on a coming weekend .Hold your Breath ....This is something which is totally out of the blue . Ok i guess i have built enough curousity regarding what this is all about (if not cant help it either)....So the answer is ....(music in the background..) this is a group of people talking about watching a movie as a Case Study !!!
Well never before in my life i had thought that movie watching can be traumatizing .For me movies were always something for fun , and the only reason movies were being watched was to do total time killing .Sadly though thats not the case any more .Needless to say when we were given the task of writing a case study of a movie we were all baffeled and confused . The only thought going on in our minds was ..Movies Case Study !!.... whats the corelation , wats the cost , wats the Utility ..our economics and acct class was also going on simultaneously so brain was total khichdi .
what had to be done had to be, (30 marks dude ) there was no escaping that . So we all ie my current group of 5 people sat together to brainstorm as to which movie to choose. There were a number of options we thought ..some of the best or most memorable ones were "Aaja Nachle " i know i know it was a horribly horrible movie ...and we didnt want to go through double tourture of watching the movie and analysing it so it was outrightly rejected .Another intersting option was "Honeymoon Travels pvt ltd " .Needless to say again these were all your's truly original patented idea's , which mercilessly got crushed :(To cut the short story more short we finally decided on Aankhen ..AB and 3 blind people . But as fate would have had it we were unable to find any time to watch the movie!!! (there was no time for sleep too ) Is it the same me !!!! On a serious note the movie was real good , its the best original authentic idea one could have come up with and hats off to the director who transported this gujju play into movie .The most important point was grouping with a enirely new set of people all from different backgrounds , sitting with them at odd hours just to make sure that we give this task our best shot .There was so much to learn from each one of them in this short span of time . Now i realise the importance of the case study .The punchline .."Nothing is Impossible " . And surely nothing is.
Thanks Mam for this assignment !!
By: Neha Singh (Batch of Jan 08 - 09 , HRM - SPJCM )
Can anyone think what this conversation was all about .....!#@#@ .No this is not any group of friends discussing about which movie to watch on a coming weekend .Hold your Breath ....This is something which is totally out of the blue . Ok i guess i have built enough curousity regarding what this is all about (if not cant help it either)....So the answer is ....(music in the background..) this is a group of people talking about watching a movie as a Case Study !!!
Well never before in my life i had thought that movie watching can be traumatizing .For me movies were always something for fun , and the only reason movies were being watched was to do total time killing .Sadly though thats not the case any more .Needless to say when we were given the task of writing a case study of a movie we were all baffeled and confused . The only thought going on in our minds was ..Movies Case Study !!.... whats the corelation , wats the cost , wats the Utility ..our economics and acct class was also going on simultaneously so brain was total khichdi .
what had to be done had to be, (30 marks dude ) there was no escaping that . So we all ie my current group of 5 people sat together to brainstorm as to which movie to choose. There were a number of options we thought ..some of the best or most memorable ones were "Aaja Nachle " i know i know it was a horribly horrible movie ...and we didnt want to go through double tourture of watching the movie and analysing it so it was outrightly rejected .Another intersting option was "Honeymoon Travels pvt ltd " .Needless to say again these were all your's truly original patented idea's , which mercilessly got crushed :(To cut the short story more short we finally decided on Aankhen ..AB and 3 blind people . But as fate would have had it we were unable to find any time to watch the movie!!! (there was no time for sleep too ) Is it the same me !!!! On a serious note the movie was real good , its the best original authentic idea one could have come up with and hats off to the director who transported this gujju play into movie .The most important point was grouping with a enirely new set of people all from different backgrounds , sitting with them at odd hours just to make sure that we give this task our best shot .There was so much to learn from each one of them in this short span of time . Now i realise the importance of the case study .The punchline .."Nothing is Impossible " . And surely nothing is.
Thanks Mam for this assignment !!
By: Neha Singh (Batch of Jan 08 - 09 , HRM - SPJCM )
Saturday, January 19, 2008
SPJCM - The Big Picture : Impact of Rising Rupee
About Big Picture
It is an event designed and organized by the students of SPJCM to provide a platform for open discussion. It facilitates free flow of thoughts on a particular topic in an organized manner. It was initiated by Dec 06 batch at a small level and is now maturing into a big event. Let me just tell you how this event is organized. The topic is decided and communicated to the students a week before the date of event. It initially begins with presenters giving their views on the topic, then choosing volunteers who want to be a part of debate and then the discussion is left open to the audience and the debaters. The event is very well managed and controlled by the moderators who facilitate the discussions. The topic is looked from every aspect and a ‘big picture’ analysis or post mortem is done.
Till now 7 topics have been covered and the topic discussed below is the 8th one. As we mature, so does our process. So from now on we have decided to summarize the discussion, which is done during the course of the event. The summary provided below captures the important issues and points made in the event and will be a reference for our future batches.
Issue at Hand: Impact of Rising Rupee on Indian Exports
Indian rupee is on a run. A part of it can be attributed to inflation and another to India’s growth story. In the past six months rupee has appreciated nearly 10% against dollar. At the beginning of the year rupee started at 44.20 and it currently stands at a near-decade high of 40.30 against dollar. On the contrary, inflation hovered at around 6.73% in January end and it now stands at 4.27%. Rupee appreciation has been the sharpest in three decades in the April-June quarter this year and analysts expect the rupee to gain further.
Presenters View point: Our presenters covered the topic in almost every respect and gave a new dimension to it. Some of the points which require a mention are as follows:
It is an event designed and organized by the students of SPJCM to provide a platform for open discussion. It facilitates free flow of thoughts on a particular topic in an organized manner. It was initiated by Dec 06 batch at a small level and is now maturing into a big event. Let me just tell you how this event is organized. The topic is decided and communicated to the students a week before the date of event. It initially begins with presenters giving their views on the topic, then choosing volunteers who want to be a part of debate and then the discussion is left open to the audience and the debaters. The event is very well managed and controlled by the moderators who facilitate the discussions. The topic is looked from every aspect and a ‘big picture’ analysis or post mortem is done.
Till now 7 topics have been covered and the topic discussed below is the 8th one. As we mature, so does our process. So from now on we have decided to summarize the discussion, which is done during the course of the event. The summary provided below captures the important issues and points made in the event and will be a reference for our future batches.
Issue at Hand: Impact of Rising Rupee on Indian Exports
Indian rupee is on a run. A part of it can be attributed to inflation and another to India’s growth story. In the past six months rupee has appreciated nearly 10% against dollar. At the beginning of the year rupee started at 44.20 and it currently stands at a near-decade high of 40.30 against dollar. On the contrary, inflation hovered at around 6.73% in January end and it now stands at 4.27%. Rupee appreciation has been the sharpest in three decades in the April-June quarter this year and analysts expect the rupee to gain further.
Presenters View point: Our presenters covered the topic in almost every respect and gave a new dimension to it. Some of the points which require a mention are as follows:
Impact of rising rupee
1) For the FY 07-08, the exports expected to go down from $160 billion to $ 145 billion.
2) Revenue of Textile industry has fallen by 3.5%
3) China textile exports increase by 57%
4) Loss of export competitiveness: A string rupee is hurting the profitability of exporters and eroded their competitiveness by losing their orders to competitors such as China, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia.
5) Effect on Indian outsourcing- Indian outsourcing industry, which gets its all major contracts or projects from US, is losing on margins.
6) NRI in gulf are losing out substantially on the rupee rise and foreign jobs are looking less attractive.
7) Foreign borrowings have become cheaper and companies have started spending on Hedging risks. Infosys has booked a forward contract of $975 million for 6 months and TCS has booked contract of $2.5 billion for 1 year.
8) Imports have increased Competitive worries
% appreciation of rupee stands at number 2 position just after Brazilian Real. Major competitors in Asia pacific include China, Malaysia, Singapore and Bangladesh. The % appreciation of the currency of these countries is just 1-2% as compared to 8.5% in case of India. Currencies of Hong Kong and Taiwan are depreciating. All this calls for a great cause of concern.
Reasons for Appreciation
1) FDI investments have increased to around $16 billion, which is 3 times the previous year.
2) External commercial borrowings for funding domestic projects has increased at a rate of 33% which has lead to the rupee appreciation
3) Raising money through ADRs and GDRs has also contributed to this rise in rupee. Inflows from ADRs and GDRs have increased by 48% year on year.
4) Remittances from huge number of Indians working overseas have also lead to rupee appreciation. Increase has been recorded at 35% from the previous year.
Why RBI is not intervening?
Inflation has long been a concern for the government and in order to control the rising inflation RBI sucked rupee from the market by increasing the CRR hikes which in turn lead to increase of interest rates. RBI wanted to suck liquidity from the market and control the rising prices.
The Bigger Picture: Debate
· Is Rupee rising or dollar falling?
If dollar is falling then there is very little we can do but if rupee is rising then some actions can be taken to balance out things. I think it’s both ways ie rising rupee as well as falling dollar. Dollar has also fallen against euro and other currencies. The aftermaths of US subprime lending market can be seen in terms of falling dollar and the ‘India’s shinning’ growth story can be looked in terms of rupee appreciating.
· Relative rise of rupee and our competitive strength: With the world getting flatter each day, one has to be on his shoes to look around for the changes that has happened or changes that can change the course of action। Our competitive strength lies in providing low cost products to other countries। Be it textiles, pharma or IT related products; we have been competing with the big giants like China and Russia। Now with the rupee rising Indian exports will lose their margins and if they increased the cost of goods in order to improve their margin, they will lose out the competitive edge to other countries. A survey conducted by the commerce ministry between March and June has predicted massive retrenchment and a potential financial loss of nearly Rs 1,00,000 crore due to a loss in value and competitiveness.
This is one side of the story. Looking at the other side ie imports make us feel strong and better. India’s imports exceed its exports. So with rupee rising, our imports are becoming relatively cheaper. The major import commodity is oil and its prices are touching record high every day. Currently as of July 20th the oil is trading at $76-77 per barrel. With rupee appreciating India is unaffected by rising oil prices.
· Efficiency is it a wakeup call: Infosys Chairman Mr। Narayan Murthy said that rupee appreciation was a macro economic issue and it called upon corporates to become more efficient, productive and reduce costs. In order to maintain our grounds of competitiveness, we need to think on measures to improve productivity and efficiency rather than focusing on depreciating rupee. This has to happen someday or the other and the trend as predicted can move rupee further. What needs to be looked here is efficiency, innovation and productivity. IT companies are now thinking to increase the working hours of software professionals and thereby increase productivity. Like China, we need to be efficient enough and devise new strategies to counter this rising rupee effect. Innovation is the key for sustained growth and development of any economy. Govt need to spend more on research institutes and we need to come up with some very innovative ideas and product that will help in keeping us way ahead of other countries.
· Political angle ->Jan prices 6.69% inflation oil at all time high and then UP elections: Over this period, RBI has not intervened in controlling the rupee rise. It is not that FDI inflow has increased too much. Earlier also we used to see huge FDI inflows but those were taken care by RBI intervention. RBI used to suck dollar from the market in exchange of rupee. This increase of rupee balanced its demand against the dollar and controlled the rupee/dollar price. RBI stopped sucking dollar from the market and has let the market forces to decide the price of rupee. This is because the UPA government was keen on reducing the inflation which stood at 6.67% in Jan end. Also, with the UP government elections approaching government didn’t want to lose their control because of rising inflation. Despite of governments/RBI’s effort to curb inflation the UPA govt lost badly in elections. The CRR hike by RBI followed by increase in interest rates by banks has controlled the inflation to a considerable extent. As of July inflation stands at 4.27% levels.
·Our Conclusion
One of principles of economics states “Society faces a short run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment”. If we have to control inflation then we will lose our competitive edge over exports and this will lead to unemployment. And if we try to control the unemployment then wages will increase and thereby liquidity and this will lead to rise of inflation. So we need to balance this inflation unemployment dilemma. What happens in the forex markets in weeks and months to come is still not certain. But the government and India Inc will definitely be watching the currency dilemma very closely. With the economy booming, inflation has to rise. There is very little that we can do about it. What needs to be looked at is striking the right balance between the two. Just like there is a balance of trade between imports and exports, there also has to be a balance between inflation, growth and unemployment.
I would like to end this note by saying that we have to strike this balance by being more innovative, productive and efficient. We should not think of getting business from US but we should strive hard to become another US.
By: Nitin Goyal (Batch of June 07 - 08 , IB - SPJCM )
Friday, October 12, 2007
Life @ SPJCM
This is a video capturing some treasured moments of the Singapore stint of the batch of Dec '07.
It was made by Sourabh Agarwal and Jaydeep Hingne of the December '07 batch to welcome the batch of Jun '08 and to give them a flavour of the times to come.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Entrepreneurship at SPJCM
An exciting part of my first semester was going through the Entrepreneurship course which ran for a whole 3 months as classes for it were scheduled only on Sundays. We had a number of interesting activities that formed a part of it. A versatile and enterprising Mr. Koh Seng Choon, a successful Singaporean entrepreneur took us through it and I must say it was most delightful to interact with him. We not only got a flavour of the Chinese ways but also about their perspective of working with Indians. On the very first day of class, he brought along with him a rattan ball and a marker. He told us that he wanted all of our names to be on the ball by the end of the course. The condition to write on it was to ask him a question in class. He would answer and promptly throw the ball to the person who asked the question. At the end of the course, one lucky person was to get the ball for keeps. This was almost like an election campaign and there was quite a frenzy associated with the event. The one with the maximum number of votes was presented with it by Dr. Vijay Sethi, our Dean. Mr. Seng Choon really put his heart and soul into making the course enjoyable and we all developed a unique bond with him. He also helped some of us get projects with companies for our SGPs. One of the activities that we all did was the “I as the Business” where we each were given a topic and were asked to speak to an audience of investors asking them to invest in our business idea. The focus on brevity was important as he highlighted that in real life, we sometimes get just a minute to convince someone to grant us an appointment.
The next exercise we undertook was called “I as the Investor”. As part of this, we were all given prospectuses of a company. We were to write a one page analysis of whether or not we would invest in it and the reasons for the same. Drafting a covering letter to the management, informing them of our decision, also formed a part of this exercise. We swore not to look up details about the company on the internet or in business papers, so that we would form an independent and unbiased judgement.
The third and most important exercise was to write a business plan – we chose subjects we were passionate about and many of our latent dreams were actually penned down in detail in the form of these business plans. There were restaurants, launderettes, sports parlours and a plethora of interesting business plans. Some of us chose to do it in groups with others having similar interests. I chose to do it alone, and although it was a lot of work to do single-handedly, it was a great learning experience. Again the written plan was accompanied by a 1 min PowerPoint presentation convincing investors to buy our business idea. Mr. Seng Choon went through them in detail and gave us valuable feedback. He liked my concept and I felt satisfied that my hard work had paid off.
As part of the course, we went for two field trips – one to SATS (Singapore Airlines Terminal Services) which is the leading provider of integrated ground handling and in-flight catering services at Singapore Changi Airport and the other to an Indian restaurant in Singapore. Both experiences were enriching.
As I look back now, I realize that the course certainly helped us imbibe an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. Becoming an entrepreneur involves great discipline and self-belief. One has to be prepared to deal with uncertainty and often, one has to undertake multiple roles.
An MBA isn’t only about getting students ready for the corporate world and to lead in established organizations but also to equip them sufficiently to be able to undertake their own ventures, be effective managers and business persons and to make a success of them.
Surely, some of us from our batch will undertake such challenges in the future and when we do, we’ll reminisce about our SPJCM days.
-by Chandrika Kanwar (batch of Dec ’06 –’07)
The next exercise we undertook was called “I as the Investor”. As part of this, we were all given prospectuses of a company. We were to write a one page analysis of whether or not we would invest in it and the reasons for the same. Drafting a covering letter to the management, informing them of our decision, also formed a part of this exercise. We swore not to look up details about the company on the internet or in business papers, so that we would form an independent and unbiased judgement.
The third and most important exercise was to write a business plan – we chose subjects we were passionate about and many of our latent dreams were actually penned down in detail in the form of these business plans. There were restaurants, launderettes, sports parlours and a plethora of interesting business plans. Some of us chose to do it in groups with others having similar interests. I chose to do it alone, and although it was a lot of work to do single-handedly, it was a great learning experience. Again the written plan was accompanied by a 1 min PowerPoint presentation convincing investors to buy our business idea. Mr. Seng Choon went through them in detail and gave us valuable feedback. He liked my concept and I felt satisfied that my hard work had paid off.
As part of the course, we went for two field trips – one to SATS (Singapore Airlines Terminal Services) which is the leading provider of integrated ground handling and in-flight catering services at Singapore Changi Airport and the other to an Indian restaurant in Singapore. Both experiences were enriching.
As I look back now, I realize that the course certainly helped us imbibe an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. Becoming an entrepreneur involves great discipline and self-belief. One has to be prepared to deal with uncertainty and often, one has to undertake multiple roles.
An MBA isn’t only about getting students ready for the corporate world and to lead in established organizations but also to equip them sufficiently to be able to undertake their own ventures, be effective managers and business persons and to make a success of them.
Surely, some of us from our batch will undertake such challenges in the future and when we do, we’ll reminisce about our SPJCM days.
-by Chandrika Kanwar (batch of Dec ’06 –’07)
Sunday, July 29, 2007
“The Economies of the Middle East” From boom to bust, and back”
As a part of the ongoing ‘Guest Lecture’ series, wherein some of the most prominent and respected names of the industry encompassing several domains, are invited to the campus to share their valuable experience, knowledge and vision with the students. On 17th of July, SPJCM Dubai was graced with the presence of Dr. Tarik Yousef, a noted economist of the modern times. Our speaker, Dr. Tarik Yousef is currently the Dean of the Dubai School of Government. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and specializes in development economics and economic history with a particular focus on the Middle East. His research and policy experience includes working as an economist at the Middle East Department of the IMF, Visiting Professor in the Office of the Chief Economist in the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank and Senior Adviser for the Millennium Project at the United Nations.
Dr. Yousef enthralled the audience and captivated the students’ think tank as he took them through the evolution, the stagnation, the development (economic) and finally the growth policy in Arab countries in the last 30 years! He started of by detailing the scenario the Arab world witnessed during the 1950s and era following it, which boasted the transition from the closed protective mindsets of authoritarian government to a more liberal outlook which slowly became instrumental in putting the Middle East economy where it is today.
Post 1950s, the economy saw the emergence of a very specific development marvel, a model centered to redistribution, invention and massive deregulation, which was consolidated over a 30-40 year period. Some reasons for the spread-out growth model may be attributed to the consistent interventions in the form of coups and espionages. Strong dictators and military dictators at that emerged, providing a sense of safety that countered an external threat, which was again over exaggerated. Another factor, more than anything else which affected the ME, Saudi Arabia and the gulf, was OIL. The availability of oil wells in the 50s – 70s catalyzed he massive flow of funds, money that one didn’t have to work for. Hence the single monarchies ran the show and won the support by delivering free healthcare, free food, medical services, infrastructure, education and taking away taxation. As the countries became more prosperous, the political gurus thought the model is delivering and no need to open up a space. On the other hand, in exchange of welfare with the other nations, they had to give up their political rights and the dictators would become more powerful, legitimate in the eyes of the population. No right to vote, no political party but people seemed quite satisfied saying “I have a job, a career, a car, my kids go to school, and I don’t have anything to worry about”.
As goes the age old saying, all good things come to an end and nothing of the bonanza of the 70s n 80s could last. Please welcome ‘1997 – The East Asian Financial Crisis’. The Middle East went from a boom to a bust. They were doing really well till now, but post 1985 till the early 21st century they not only touched the lowest trench of all times in history, they even faired worse than all countries, except from Sub Saharan Africa. Reason – OIL PRICES! Suddenly all the welfare programs become very expensive! What was needed was a recalibration of the development model. The resistance to new liberal policies was coming from the fact that this model created a lot of vested interests associated.
Just like Nehru capitalized on the strength of personality and a wide acceptance of the intellect; he also clearly defined that the country needed ‘States’. The idea came from EU and NA to develop economic prosperity and the Arab world is a by product of this intellectual potential. The 1990s – the era of private sector development, trade liberalization, economic deregulation, this in turn gave way to a new phenomena – Globalization!
But nationals in UAE don’t think of the private sector as their first job. Not because they don’t want to work, not because they’ve been programmed but because they have created societies and education systems that did nothing but employed public sector workers for a very long time! Public sector offers job security, benefits and wage increments more competitive than the private sector for all UAE nationals and complemented to this, the degree they get is a perfect for a public sector job and only that! This isn’t a religion, but the way the societies have been created and engineered if one doesn’t have an open political system and allow people to voice concerns, practice constraints and if one doesn’t have such a political process, the reform process is going to be very difficult. Unfortunately many failed to embark on the reforms as because the existing political system didn’t help any space as they thought they would become illegitimate in the eyes of their population. THIS is the story of Dubai!!
Dr. Yousef also drew upon the shifts in economic thinking right from the neo classical era to Keynesian economics when he recited the famous quote of Keynes “In the long run we are all dead.” From where we have come right from the State Controlled era where even the prices of bread that we bought was determined by the state, to the free market economy where the forces of invisible hands interact to form a price-demand-supply mechanism. Finally Dr. Yousef mentioned that the way for the future would be Knowledge Economies. Knowledge driven societies would emerge as the new parlance and would lead the crowd further into the era of globalization. The move in that direction can be witnessed with Dubai placing a strong emphasis on education, a result of which is the Knowledge Village and the Academic City. Thus we ended with the opening question that was posted to us “Dubai, from boom to bust and back?” still unanswered as only time and the macro forces would be able to tell.
It was actually an honor to be a part of this seminar, especially when an issue of such immense gravity was dealt with an equally lucid clarity and an easy transparency, such that all of us could relate to it effortlessly. Dr. Yousef’s intellect, his vision and his critic captivated the audience for over an hour. Dr. Tarikh addressed the questions and the doubts, which the students came up with at the end of his session. Here are some concluding words from and food for thought, enough to keep us ticking for quite some time now…
“The ultimate lesson form the East Asian crisis is the knowledge that a crisis would happen. The real lesson was the speed with which the countries recovered and the path of sustained prosperity that they took. That is the challenge facing Dubai; in order for Dubai to keep propelling upwards, those with skilled degrees, with high value added talent, more voice and more stakes in the system will have to exist and sustain. The key to moving ahead is through research and development and nurturing advancements and innovations across all domains. The battle for talent in Asia is intense and skilled people are going to be in high demand Not only in this part of Asia, but everywhere. Give it more space.”
By
Joydeb Mukherjee (batch of Dec ‘06-‘07)
Dr. Yousef enthralled the audience and captivated the students’ think tank as he took them through the evolution, the stagnation, the development (economic) and finally the growth policy in Arab countries in the last 30 years! He started of by detailing the scenario the Arab world witnessed during the 1950s and era following it, which boasted the transition from the closed protective mindsets of authoritarian government to a more liberal outlook which slowly became instrumental in putting the Middle East economy where it is today.
Post 1950s, the economy saw the emergence of a very specific development marvel, a model centered to redistribution, invention and massive deregulation, which was consolidated over a 30-40 year period. Some reasons for the spread-out growth model may be attributed to the consistent interventions in the form of coups and espionages. Strong dictators and military dictators at that emerged, providing a sense of safety that countered an external threat, which was again over exaggerated. Another factor, more than anything else which affected the ME, Saudi Arabia and the gulf, was OIL. The availability of oil wells in the 50s – 70s catalyzed he massive flow of funds, money that one didn’t have to work for. Hence the single monarchies ran the show and won the support by delivering free healthcare, free food, medical services, infrastructure, education and taking away taxation. As the countries became more prosperous, the political gurus thought the model is delivering and no need to open up a space. On the other hand, in exchange of welfare with the other nations, they had to give up their political rights and the dictators would become more powerful, legitimate in the eyes of the population. No right to vote, no political party but people seemed quite satisfied saying “I have a job, a career, a car, my kids go to school, and I don’t have anything to worry about”.
As goes the age old saying, all good things come to an end and nothing of the bonanza of the 70s n 80s could last. Please welcome ‘1997 – The East Asian Financial Crisis’. The Middle East went from a boom to a bust. They were doing really well till now, but post 1985 till the early 21st century they not only touched the lowest trench of all times in history, they even faired worse than all countries, except from Sub Saharan Africa. Reason – OIL PRICES! Suddenly all the welfare programs become very expensive! What was needed was a recalibration of the development model. The resistance to new liberal policies was coming from the fact that this model created a lot of vested interests associated.
Just like Nehru capitalized on the strength of personality and a wide acceptance of the intellect; he also clearly defined that the country needed ‘States’. The idea came from EU and NA to develop economic prosperity and the Arab world is a by product of this intellectual potential. The 1990s – the era of private sector development, trade liberalization, economic deregulation, this in turn gave way to a new phenomena – Globalization!
But nationals in UAE don’t think of the private sector as their first job. Not because they don’t want to work, not because they’ve been programmed but because they have created societies and education systems that did nothing but employed public sector workers for a very long time! Public sector offers job security, benefits and wage increments more competitive than the private sector for all UAE nationals and complemented to this, the degree they get is a perfect for a public sector job and only that! This isn’t a religion, but the way the societies have been created and engineered if one doesn’t have an open political system and allow people to voice concerns, practice constraints and if one doesn’t have such a political process, the reform process is going to be very difficult. Unfortunately many failed to embark on the reforms as because the existing political system didn’t help any space as they thought they would become illegitimate in the eyes of their population. THIS is the story of Dubai!!
Dr. Yousef also drew upon the shifts in economic thinking right from the neo classical era to Keynesian economics when he recited the famous quote of Keynes “In the long run we are all dead.” From where we have come right from the State Controlled era where even the prices of bread that we bought was determined by the state, to the free market economy where the forces of invisible hands interact to form a price-demand-supply mechanism. Finally Dr. Yousef mentioned that the way for the future would be Knowledge Economies. Knowledge driven societies would emerge as the new parlance and would lead the crowd further into the era of globalization. The move in that direction can be witnessed with Dubai placing a strong emphasis on education, a result of which is the Knowledge Village and the Academic City. Thus we ended with the opening question that was posted to us “Dubai, from boom to bust and back?” still unanswered as only time and the macro forces would be able to tell.
It was actually an honor to be a part of this seminar, especially when an issue of such immense gravity was dealt with an equally lucid clarity and an easy transparency, such that all of us could relate to it effortlessly. Dr. Yousef’s intellect, his vision and his critic captivated the audience for over an hour. Dr. Tarikh addressed the questions and the doubts, which the students came up with at the end of his session. Here are some concluding words from and food for thought, enough to keep us ticking for quite some time now…
“The ultimate lesson form the East Asian crisis is the knowledge that a crisis would happen. The real lesson was the speed with which the countries recovered and the path of sustained prosperity that they took. That is the challenge facing Dubai; in order for Dubai to keep propelling upwards, those with skilled degrees, with high value added talent, more voice and more stakes in the system will have to exist and sustain. The key to moving ahead is through research and development and nurturing advancements and innovations across all domains. The battle for talent in Asia is intense and skilled people are going to be in high demand Not only in this part of Asia, but everywhere. Give it more space.”
By
Joydeb Mukherjee (batch of Dec ‘06-‘07)
Freshers' Party
13th July, 2007- The date should go into the history of the SPJCM- Singapore. The day saw an exciting Fresher’s Party for the junior’s given by our revered “So-Called seniors” as they modestly called themselves. The day was anything but cool for both the juniors and the seniors as the classes in the morning were running one after the other with very small intermediate breaks.
There was an “Entrepreneurship” class starting at 11 am for the juniors. Also, a special lecture was going on in some corner of the campus of which few were not even aware!! Then, all of a sudden an announcement was made in the class that a representative of a software firm-3I has come for short listing the students for the SGP. The students were absolutely not sure of what they wanted to attend or not. Also, the seniors had the regular lectures. On top of that even they had some unscheduled lectures and some campus recruitment interviews.
The life of SPJCM never fails to rock inspite of such busy schedules. Rather, the students take them in very high spirits and enjoy every bit of it. I firmly believe in what i just said and so will all the other SPJCM-ites because after all that happened, the most hectic moment was still to come namely- Fresher’s Party.
Some background about the party is required at this point of time. The fresher’s party was initially postponed for some reason (blame the ultra busy schedule here!!). Conventionally, fresher’s party should have been arranged (in a week or so) just after the juniors arrive at the college campus. But, things at SPJCM happen differently. The fresher’s had arrived before the seniors in the college awaiting for the humble and royal seniors to arrive and throw a welcome party. It happened and so the meet; but it was all restricted to “Specialization Group” meets. But Then—some noble soul came up with the brilliant idea of the fresher’s Party. And Man!! What an idea it was!! The time and venue was mailed to all of us as the day finally came.
All decked up in the party wear—some very bold and some casual, but mostly formals. The events were announced. Some had very funny but creative names. They started with an audio/video of the time they had spent in Dubai with the message as in what should be done and what not inside the campus at Dubai-SPJCM. Following which, the juniors were invited on stage for the various regions of India for performing some Skit. The groups were given some items, which they had to use in the skit. The show was absolutely fabulous!! Next came the event of “Mr/Miss SPJCM”! The people in our batch are so shy that the seniors had to pick for themselves. Few were chosen on spot by demand. This event was a very long one as it had a number of stages to go through. Each stage was very meticulously planned. There was screening in every stage and the judgement was fair enough!! In between, few performances were going on simultaneously like mimicry, dancing, singing, etc. Few of the talents were known just that day, who used to be so silent in the class. Hardly people recognised them. Even if they knew them, it was limited to only few of the friend circle. The events were not only absorbing but trying as well. There was so much of energy dissipation in the form of hue and cry. People from the back were commenting constantly on the gals and the guys making a huge effort in the process to form “Genuine Pairs”. The energy was losing fast as ever as people were shouting at the top of their voices. Somebody from the back prayed for the Dinner...as it was gracefully accepted by our seniors. The food was mind-blowing as well!! It simple showed that the seniors had taken a lot of effort to organise the most important need of life and make their juniors feel more energised for the active participation in the events. After, we resumed from the break with our belly satisfied and placid, the results of the short listed candidates were announced. There were few Challenges made to the judges, which was rightly rejected by the Company (remember the Hypothesis sum in QT??) This event went far more serious when the contestants were asked to speak for a minute on very weird topic given to them on the spot. Finally, there was a Q&A round, which would decide for beholder of the prestigious award. The decision was very fair and simple at the end and was unanimously accepted y all of us. The winner deserved that!! After all the events were over, the stage was made open for the DJ dance Party....All the guys and gals were right up there making all sorts of movements(good or bad, i leave it to the dancers), which even the best of the dancers would think of doing it!! One of our batch mates presented an audio/visual clip for our seniors as a tribute to their awesome performance!
Everybody made merry and departed to their rooms full of praise for ours seniors. We all talked about the unity among the batch mates of our seniors, which was vividly evident in the show. Back in their rooms, people discussed and compared with our batch of students. We were all inspired and fired up to do something similar, if not better for our juniors. Once again three cheers for our seniors...HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY , HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY, HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY!!
-by Avishek Kumar (batch of June 07-08)
There was an “Entrepreneurship” class starting at 11 am for the juniors. Also, a special lecture was going on in some corner of the campus of which few were not even aware!! Then, all of a sudden an announcement was made in the class that a representative of a software firm-3I has come for short listing the students for the SGP. The students were absolutely not sure of what they wanted to attend or not. Also, the seniors had the regular lectures. On top of that even they had some unscheduled lectures and some campus recruitment interviews.
The life of SPJCM never fails to rock inspite of such busy schedules. Rather, the students take them in very high spirits and enjoy every bit of it. I firmly believe in what i just said and so will all the other SPJCM-ites because after all that happened, the most hectic moment was still to come namely- Fresher’s Party.
Some background about the party is required at this point of time. The fresher’s party was initially postponed for some reason (blame the ultra busy schedule here!!). Conventionally, fresher’s party should have been arranged (in a week or so) just after the juniors arrive at the college campus. But, things at SPJCM happen differently. The fresher’s had arrived before the seniors in the college awaiting for the humble and royal seniors to arrive and throw a welcome party. It happened and so the meet; but it was all restricted to “Specialization Group” meets. But Then—some noble soul came up with the brilliant idea of the fresher’s Party. And Man!! What an idea it was!! The time and venue was mailed to all of us as the day finally came.
All decked up in the party wear—some very bold and some casual, but mostly formals. The events were announced. Some had very funny but creative names. They started with an audio/video of the time they had spent in Dubai with the message as in what should be done and what not inside the campus at Dubai-SPJCM. Following which, the juniors were invited on stage for the various regions of India for performing some Skit. The groups were given some items, which they had to use in the skit. The show was absolutely fabulous!! Next came the event of “Mr/Miss SPJCM”! The people in our batch are so shy that the seniors had to pick for themselves. Few were chosen on spot by demand. This event was a very long one as it had a number of stages to go through. Each stage was very meticulously planned. There was screening in every stage and the judgement was fair enough!! In between, few performances were going on simultaneously like mimicry, dancing, singing, etc. Few of the talents were known just that day, who used to be so silent in the class. Hardly people recognised them. Even if they knew them, it was limited to only few of the friend circle. The events were not only absorbing but trying as well. There was so much of energy dissipation in the form of hue and cry. People from the back were commenting constantly on the gals and the guys making a huge effort in the process to form “Genuine Pairs”. The energy was losing fast as ever as people were shouting at the top of their voices. Somebody from the back prayed for the Dinner...as it was gracefully accepted by our seniors. The food was mind-blowing as well!! It simple showed that the seniors had taken a lot of effort to organise the most important need of life and make their juniors feel more energised for the active participation in the events. After, we resumed from the break with our belly satisfied and placid, the results of the short listed candidates were announced. There were few Challenges made to the judges, which was rightly rejected by the Company (remember the Hypothesis sum in QT??) This event went far more serious when the contestants were asked to speak for a minute on very weird topic given to them on the spot. Finally, there was a Q&A round, which would decide for beholder of the prestigious award. The decision was very fair and simple at the end and was unanimously accepted y all of us. The winner deserved that!! After all the events were over, the stage was made open for the DJ dance Party....All the guys and gals were right up there making all sorts of movements(good or bad, i leave it to the dancers), which even the best of the dancers would think of doing it!! One of our batch mates presented an audio/visual clip for our seniors as a tribute to their awesome performance!
Everybody made merry and departed to their rooms full of praise for ours seniors. We all talked about the unity among the batch mates of our seniors, which was vividly evident in the show. Back in their rooms, people discussed and compared with our batch of students. We were all inspired and fired up to do something similar, if not better for our juniors. Once again three cheers for our seniors...HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY , HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY, HIP HIP, HURRREEEYYYY!!
-by Avishek Kumar (batch of June 07-08)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Sentosa Island – A Sandfilled Treat – Part I
It was always at the back of my mind to visit Sentosa. But it never happened earlier. Finally I took the courage and the time off my schedule(which was in the week when we did not have any lectures) and headed off to Sentosa. Seeing Sentosa is like seeing gateway of India in Mumbai. Your visit is never complete until you see it, or I thought so. But unlike Sentosa, gateway of India doesn’t offer you a wow effect.
We took the usual Bus No. 93 to Harbour Front and then took the Tour 6 package(the only one available at 04:00pm) which included cable car round trip, underwater world, dolphin show & 4D Magix & of course Café Del Maar(which is implied).
The cable car ride is a thing to experience, for the 1st few seconds you do feel a rush of blood as you are plunged from the insides of the 15th floor of Harbour Tower into the open sky and the initial contact with mother earth gets the blood rushing down your spinal cord (just for the record I am not a person afraid of heights).
Anyways, after 6 ½ minutes we finally arrived at the one and only Sentosa island. The entrance to Sentosa(a brilliant marketing strategy) is through a convenience store that sells almost everything that a person would demand for a day well spent at a beach picnic. So invariably even if you are carrying stuff it is difficult to pass buy without lightening your wallet a bit. There are 3 lines of buses that run (blue, red & green) that take you to and from different places on the island.
Our 1st stopover was the magnificent underwater world. You arrive at a place that makes you feel that it was built to house marine life. The surroundings and the ambience give it a perfect blend to the aquatic life that it captures around. As you enter there is a huge pond which is home to some fresh water fish and gigantic turtles.
At the entrance is the touch area where you can touch fish that are swimming in a small pool of water. I was surprised that amongst many of the fish was the sting ray(the one that killed Steve Irwin – the crocodile hunter) At the beginning of it there are different types of fossils displayed as well as over fifty species of crabs. Some of the prominent ones being the spider crab that stretches to almost 2 feet(end to end). As you keep moving ahead you come to the real underwater world. This is what Sentosa is all about.
It’s an underneath walkway through a huge pool filled with fish and marine life. You stand on the travellator and it ferries you through an 83-meter long tunnel which is made up of bullet & sound proof acrylic in a semi-circular form that keeps away marine animals from the land animals (assuming that man is an animal). There is just one word to describe the experience – “Magnificent” Yes!!! That’s how I felt being there looking around on what was the largest collection of aquatic splendor that I had ever seen. Sentosa lets the ocean come to life in front of your eyes and every moment of it is breath taking. As you move through the oceanic jungle you just can’t help wonder at the sheer magnitude of living organisms that reside beneath us. Finally underwater world which houses over 2500 marine species offers immense fun & educational value.
Across different packages that are available from the reception counter perhaps underwater world is the only one which is common across all six of them and for obvious reasons. It is a place that you can’t and shouldn’t miss and any visit to Sentosa is not complete without a tour of this. All right folks, that’s it as far as the 1st part is concerned. In the 2nd part I will cover the dolphin show, 4D magix, sounds of the sea, night life @ sentosa and yes!!! The much talked about Café Del Maar. So keep reading.
-by Amit S Mehta
We took the usual Bus No. 93 to Harbour Front and then took the Tour 6 package(the only one available at 04:00pm) which included cable car round trip, underwater world, dolphin show & 4D Magix & of course Café Del Maar(which is implied).
The cable car ride is a thing to experience, for the 1st few seconds you do feel a rush of blood as you are plunged from the insides of the 15th floor of Harbour Tower into the open sky and the initial contact with mother earth gets the blood rushing down your spinal cord (just for the record I am not a person afraid of heights).
Anyways, after 6 ½ minutes we finally arrived at the one and only Sentosa island. The entrance to Sentosa(a brilliant marketing strategy) is through a convenience store that sells almost everything that a person would demand for a day well spent at a beach picnic. So invariably even if you are carrying stuff it is difficult to pass buy without lightening your wallet a bit. There are 3 lines of buses that run (blue, red & green) that take you to and from different places on the island.
Our 1st stopover was the magnificent underwater world. You arrive at a place that makes you feel that it was built to house marine life. The surroundings and the ambience give it a perfect blend to the aquatic life that it captures around. As you enter there is a huge pond which is home to some fresh water fish and gigantic turtles.
At the entrance is the touch area where you can touch fish that are swimming in a small pool of water. I was surprised that amongst many of the fish was the sting ray(the one that killed Steve Irwin – the crocodile hunter) At the beginning of it there are different types of fossils displayed as well as over fifty species of crabs. Some of the prominent ones being the spider crab that stretches to almost 2 feet(end to end). As you keep moving ahead you come to the real underwater world. This is what Sentosa is all about.
It’s an underneath walkway through a huge pool filled with fish and marine life. You stand on the travellator and it ferries you through an 83-meter long tunnel which is made up of bullet & sound proof acrylic in a semi-circular form that keeps away marine animals from the land animals (assuming that man is an animal). There is just one word to describe the experience – “Magnificent” Yes!!! That’s how I felt being there looking around on what was the largest collection of aquatic splendor that I had ever seen. Sentosa lets the ocean come to life in front of your eyes and every moment of it is breath taking. As you move through the oceanic jungle you just can’t help wonder at the sheer magnitude of living organisms that reside beneath us. Finally underwater world which houses over 2500 marine species offers immense fun & educational value.
Across different packages that are available from the reception counter perhaps underwater world is the only one which is common across all six of them and for obvious reasons. It is a place that you can’t and shouldn’t miss and any visit to Sentosa is not complete without a tour of this. All right folks, that’s it as far as the 1st part is concerned. In the 2nd part I will cover the dolphin show, 4D magix, sounds of the sea, night life @ sentosa and yes!!! The much talked about Café Del Maar. So keep reading.
-by Amit S Mehta
Monday, May 14, 2007
Selling the “Salesman”
I have been in sales for more than four years now and have worked in different environments in more than one country. It hasn’t always been an easy ride nor has it been a claim to fame. But so far I have loved the challenge and the thought of being a revenue generator for my organization. The reason I am writing this is just to share a bit of give and take of sales. Be it any company that you are working for and any product that you are selling, provided you are working in a company that works and operates in today’s world of competitiveness, what I have observed is that a Sales Culture would have the most non-humanitarian approach to its employees. I mean the way the managers drive work out of the people is almost unbelievable. Delivery is a must and should happen in all conditions. One eats, drinks and sleeps “dhanda.” Sometimes the pressure is almost suicidal. Sales is by far the most ruthless department to work for, but that is where the risk return tradeoff happens, cause it is also the most rewarding one. In my current organization without naming it an average sales guy takes home almost as much as his manager and the “stars” gets away with the package comparable to a VP(salary+incentives). But all of this certainly doesn’t come for free. First of all it’s a shameless approach. There are early morning hurdles whereby your boss takes you for a ride and by the time you are done you realize you have nothing left. There are comparisons done and if you are on the wrong side of the numbers you feel like a jack ass carrying all the load. It’s a quantitative game and the language is “numbers.” Even if you have done well you really haven’t done well. And for the performers also the euphoria doesn’t seem to last long. One months worth of “khoon” and “pasina” ends up with hearing “you could have done better.” Another feature of sales is that it starts with zero every time so no matter how much you would have cracked, next month you are back to square one. So even if you pulled up a terrific job last month you boss says, “tell me bout today cause last month is history”. The maximum burnout also happens over here. And it also has the highest employee turnover ratio. You get the feeling of being sandwiched, stuck between your boss and the client. In retail business there are daily wars to be won. Each day is a new challenge. Each month is a new puzzle. And when the pressure is on you then a client meeting is like having sex with the orgasm being the client signing “The Dotted Line”. In front of the client a salesman is like a joker who does his tricks to entertain the client. He is like a dog waiting for his cheque(bone). And all this makes sales even more exhilarating. And it uplifts the role and the value of a salesman. Its sales that drives the business. The engine that feeds revenue into the franchise. The department that justifies salaries for all others working in a support function. The Blood-Line of a corporation. So even if you have to face the wrath of your boss, or the “golibazzi” of your client or face signs like “Dogs and salesmen not allowed” you still walk away head high with the feeling of being the “money maker.” So as the new saying would go some 20 years from now “if customers are the Kings salesmen are the Emperors.”
-by Amit Mehta
-by Amit Mehta
Thursday, April 26, 2007
A balancing act
Its been nearly four months since our batch arrived in Singapore. Less than two months for this stint to get over and for us to head to Dubai. Time really does fly. These few months have been packed with activity- there are a lot of things one can choose to do apart from class work and making the right choices can be a balancing act.
An MBA experience has a lot to do with one's peers or batchmates. A great amount of learning comes from one's interaction with them. Our batch here is packed with enthusiasm and has spearheaded a number of new initiatives.
One of these is the 'Big Picture Series'. As part of this we meet once a week. A few persons volunteer to make a presentation on some subject or area of importance after which there is a dialogue between them and the audience and an exchange of ideas, opinions and different perspectives. The rationale behind this initiative is to think of the larger picture and to see things in perspective.
Another initiative is the establishment of a Toastmaster's Club within SPJCM. A sizeable number of students have enrolled for this to sharpen their public speaking skills and to get a forum for networking.
A fortnightly newsletter called 'Archaeopteryx- The Missing Link' covering finance, business and technology related articles has been rolled out. The team coordinating it sees it as a vehicle to bridge the gap between what is taught in class and what happens in the real world.
Our seniors left a couple of weeks back. They've been a friendly bunch and were ever willing to share their insights with us. The elections and interviews for the various committees we have in SPJCM were completed by them.
The Entrepreneurship and Networking Club has organized a few networking events already.
The importance of networking has been stated time and again by everyone who has been through the MBA experience.
Apart from the quizzes, classes, project and group work sessions everyday, there really is a lot one can do. It really depends on one's priorities and juggling between them to reach a balance.
Many of us are eagerly waiting to get over with this and begin earning and working again. But the best thing to do would be to savour each moment while we are here. I know our seniors are missing the time they spent here immensely. Nothing we've done in the past and nothing in the future can replicate this experience. So lets live it up!
-Chandrika Kanwar
An MBA experience has a lot to do with one's peers or batchmates. A great amount of learning comes from one's interaction with them. Our batch here is packed with enthusiasm and has spearheaded a number of new initiatives.
One of these is the 'Big Picture Series'. As part of this we meet once a week. A few persons volunteer to make a presentation on some subject or area of importance after which there is a dialogue between them and the audience and an exchange of ideas, opinions and different perspectives. The rationale behind this initiative is to think of the larger picture and to see things in perspective.
Another initiative is the establishment of a Toastmaster's Club within SPJCM. A sizeable number of students have enrolled for this to sharpen their public speaking skills and to get a forum for networking.
A fortnightly newsletter called 'Archaeopteryx- The Missing Link' covering finance, business and technology related articles has been rolled out. The team coordinating it sees it as a vehicle to bridge the gap between what is taught in class and what happens in the real world.
Our seniors left a couple of weeks back. They've been a friendly bunch and were ever willing to share their insights with us. The elections and interviews for the various committees we have in SPJCM were completed by them.
The Entrepreneurship and Networking Club has organized a few networking events already.
The importance of networking has been stated time and again by everyone who has been through the MBA experience.
Apart from the quizzes, classes, project and group work sessions everyday, there really is a lot one can do. It really depends on one's priorities and juggling between them to reach a balance.
Many of us are eagerly waiting to get over with this and begin earning and working again. But the best thing to do would be to savour each moment while we are here. I know our seniors are missing the time they spent here immensely. Nothing we've done in the past and nothing in the future can replicate this experience. So lets live it up!
-Chandrika Kanwar
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Redefining Success of MBA
Recently I finished my MBA. As I landed myself a job during the placement week at my college, I guess I didn’t do badly by the conventional Indian definition of success at B-Schools. But is getting the job at the end of the term the only criteria for success in MBA? My experience says that getting a job is just one of the important parameters, especially in the Indian context. But then, is there more to MBA than getting the job? Yes, there is. MBA as a course is an experience worth going through. A course that teaches you valua ble lessons in teamwork and interpersonal skills – something most of the courses cannot boast of. Having gone through this experience before the multitude of you aspirants of MBA, I technically become your senior. Seniors are like classics – the books that everyone appreciates but no one reads. We seniors are like those priests who preach what they themselves don’t practice. Let me share with you some such gyan atleast some of which I might not have successfully exercised but on the hindsight, I wish I had.
Soft skills courses are important - We need to change our smug ‘know-all’ attitude towards soft-skills courses and those that deal with Human Relations. The problem, according to me, is that we perceive them to be synonymous to Communication Skills. And isn’t our selection into one of the premiere B-Schools of India proof enough of our good communication skills? But it is this very haughty attitude which is our undoing, especially because communication skill is just a part of the whole and not the be-all and end-all of it.
Groups – There are two ways a group can be formed: either college decides your group or students decide their own groups. This second group is more coherent since people generally handpick the ‘apparently’ better students of the lot. But such a selection has two problems the first of which is a proverbial aphorism – “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The second problem is that people tend to choose only those they are comfortable and friendly with. So, the friendly, humourous and fun-to-be-with people get picked up faster while those perceived as nagging, inquisitive or overly-studious recluses are left out. This precept sometimes falls flat on its face because of the second rule, “The most sincere and knowledgeable people are not often the best people to hangout with.” Students realize their fallacy when they find that people who are pompously fun-to-be-with are not the best assets in a team. Flamboyance, in most cases, ends up being antagonistic to sincerity since the people who actually work in a group are rarely high profile. It is here that the group formed from the “left-overs” who were partners more out of compulsion than choice do a better job by working silently and sincerely, as is their wont. You need truckloads of serendipity to end up with a good group where almost everyone contributes. However, it’s only human to have a black-sheep in a group of six. So think twice before forming the group. The reserved, boring, next door nerd, & not the Mr. Flamboyant, might just be the right guy who’ll save your project.
Love blooms – It is only natural that clouds part, flowers blossom, angels sing and bells ring when a guy meets a gal. Please apportion a buffer for such an eventuality. God save the groups whose members fall in love with one of the batch-mates. No amount of coaxing, rebuking or imploring can get them out of their self-imposed honeymoon for they prefer to stay in that self-denial state of romantic hangover. After some initial altercations, you’ll learn to ignore and not expect from them. The faster your accept and adapt to this change, the better for you.
I want to Top – Our Indian education system has so deeply entrenched in us the association of self-worth with the marks and ensuing recognition that we almost forget that MBA is a different ball game altogether. You’ll find people who’re crazy after marks and those who just don’t give a damn. I would say, it is dangerous to stay in either of the camp. Going too much after marks would force you to stop looking for what you like and what would you make a career from. Your view of success would simply be a short-sighted rank. We have in our batch some commendable people who’ve been toppers all through their lives. But they say, they’re here not for rank. They’re here to discover what they want out of MBA. That should be your aim. At the same time, it is dangerous to lurk at the bottom of the pyramid. You need to ensure that you don’t let your ‘lack of concern for marks’ trickle you down to the bottom. Only a fine line separates being not concerned and being careless. Make sure you don’t cross that line. Staying somewhere in the middle should keep you in good stead and help you focus on what you want to do.
Teamwork - The Indian schools and Undergraduate Institutions are partly to be blamed for laying no emphasis on teamwork. We need to inculcate the importance of teamwork in children at an impressionable age. In their quest for ‘individual’ marks and
grades, Indian students have forgotten to work for the holistic good. It is amazing what you can achieve if you don’t care who gets the credit. But in the corporate world, your progress depends on your visibility. So how effectively you balance the two contradictions will decide how far you go. We still need to ensure that we communicate to our teams that while claiming credit for something is welcome, plagiarism is not. Soft-skills, ironically, have a very important role to play here.
Presentations – No matter how tempting it is, don’t get into a quid pro quo arrangement with the class to avoid challenging questions post presentations. It is important to learn to answer critical queries without getting defensive. You should be able to achieve this easily if your focus shifts away from marks.
Zero in - Zero in on what you want to do post MBA. Every subject being taught here is a potential career for you. Find out which subject appeals to you most, irrespective of your specialization. Don’t worry if you don’t know what role to get into post mba. Most people don’t and you’ve a huge company here. But look at every subject with an eye for picking your career out of it. You may choose to focus more on the subject of your interest and delve deeper into it.
Competitions - Without fail, take part in the B-school competitions. They’re not just important for you as a person, student, businessman or a manager but also for your college. These competitions will improve the scope of your thought process if not anything else.
Hope all the future MBAs can learn from my experiences and mistakes. I note this down on this blog so the future batches of MBAs have a different set of mistakes to commit and learn from them rather than reinvent the wheel themselves.
With this article, I hand over the baton to my junior Chandrika Kanwar.
Soft skills courses are important - We need to change our smug ‘know-all’ attitude towards soft-skills courses and those that deal with Human Relations. The problem, according to me, is that we perceive them to be synonymous to Communication Skills. And isn’t our selection into one of the premiere B-Schools of India proof enough of our good communication skills? But it is this very haughty attitude which is our undoing, especially because communication skill is just a part of the whole and not the be-all and end-all of it.
Groups – There are two ways a group can be formed: either college decides your group or students decide their own groups. This second group is more coherent since people generally handpick the ‘apparently’ better students of the lot. But such a selection has two problems the first of which is a proverbial aphorism – “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The second problem is that people tend to choose only those they are comfortable and friendly with. So, the friendly, humourous and fun-to-be-with people get picked up faster while those perceived as nagging, inquisitive or overly-studious recluses are left out. This precept sometimes falls flat on its face because of the second rule, “The most sincere and knowledgeable people are not often the best people to hangout with.” Students realize their fallacy when they find that people who are pompously fun-to-be-with are not the best assets in a team. Flamboyance, in most cases, ends up being antagonistic to sincerity since the people who actually work in a group are rarely high profile. It is here that the group formed from the “left-overs” who were partners more out of compulsion than choice do a better job by working silently and sincerely, as is their wont. You need truckloads of serendipity to end up with a good group where almost everyone contributes. However, it’s only human to have a black-sheep in a group of six. So think twice before forming the group. The reserved, boring, next door nerd, & not the Mr. Flamboyant, might just be the right guy who’ll save your project.
Love blooms – It is only natural that clouds part, flowers blossom, angels sing and bells ring when a guy meets a gal. Please apportion a buffer for such an eventuality. God save the groups whose members fall in love with one of the batch-mates. No amount of coaxing, rebuking or imploring can get them out of their self-imposed honeymoon for they prefer to stay in that self-denial state of romantic hangover. After some initial altercations, you’ll learn to ignore and not expect from them. The faster your accept and adapt to this change, the better for you.
I want to Top – Our Indian education system has so deeply entrenched in us the association of self-worth with the marks and ensuing recognition that we almost forget that MBA is a different ball game altogether. You’ll find people who’re crazy after marks and those who just don’t give a damn. I would say, it is dangerous to stay in either of the camp. Going too much after marks would force you to stop looking for what you like and what would you make a career from. Your view of success would simply be a short-sighted rank. We have in our batch some commendable people who’ve been toppers all through their lives. But they say, they’re here not for rank. They’re here to discover what they want out of MBA. That should be your aim. At the same time, it is dangerous to lurk at the bottom of the pyramid. You need to ensure that you don’t let your ‘lack of concern for marks’ trickle you down to the bottom. Only a fine line separates being not concerned and being careless. Make sure you don’t cross that line. Staying somewhere in the middle should keep you in good stead and help you focus on what you want to do.
Teamwork - The Indian schools and Undergraduate Institutions are partly to be blamed for laying no emphasis on teamwork. We need to inculcate the importance of teamwork in children at an impressionable age. In their quest for ‘individual’ marks and
grades, Indian students have forgotten to work for the holistic good. It is amazing what you can achieve if you don’t care who gets the credit. But in the corporate world, your progress depends on your visibility. So how effectively you balance the two contradictions will decide how far you go. We still need to ensure that we communicate to our teams that while claiming credit for something is welcome, plagiarism is not. Soft-skills, ironically, have a very important role to play here.
Presentations – No matter how tempting it is, don’t get into a quid pro quo arrangement with the class to avoid challenging questions post presentations. It is important to learn to answer critical queries without getting defensive. You should be able to achieve this easily if your focus shifts away from marks.
Zero in - Zero in on what you want to do post MBA. Every subject being taught here is a potential career for you. Find out which subject appeals to you most, irrespective of your specialization. Don’t worry if you don’t know what role to get into post mba. Most people don’t and you’ve a huge company here. But look at every subject with an eye for picking your career out of it. You may choose to focus more on the subject of your interest and delve deeper into it.
Competitions - Without fail, take part in the B-school competitions. They’re not just important for you as a person, student, businessman or a manager but also for your college. These competitions will improve the scope of your thought process if not anything else.
Hope all the future MBAs can learn from my experiences and mistakes. I note this down on this blog so the future batches of MBAs have a different set of mistakes to commit and learn from them rather than reinvent the wheel themselves.
With this article, I hand over the baton to my junior Chandrika Kanwar.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Either You Sell or you Don't !! There are no two ways about it !
Ah... Another refreshing Marketing experience! Kind of brought back memories from the World MBA tour held last december
The occasion was the Career 2007 expo held annually by the Education Devp Board, Govt of Singapore. Growing rapidly in size and strength every year, the CAREER Expo Series has become the Largest and Longest career and educational event inSingapore
This year there were 3 different pavilions in the education sector:
Renowned Local & Foreign Institutions and Universities (S P Jain, NUS, NTU, UNSW etc.)
The European Pavilion (Les Roches, IMI, Switzerland etc.) and
Special Interest Pavilion (the most popular being the Casino Training Institute!!:-)
It was a kind of a totally different experience for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, we had never met so many people (more than a thousand) belonging to different races, ethnicity, occupations, countries and backgrounds; all in a span of just 3 days
Second, the event gave us a wonderful opportunity to model and develop our own elevator pitch for S P Jain and I can safely assume that by Day 3 we were able to optimise the pitch to 100% effectiveness.
Third, it taught us how to focus and market to the target audience.
Forth, it taught us much needed endurance in a typical sales role. It was very tiring to stand and interact with the seemingly never ending queue of visitors... (I almost crashed out after Day 3!! :) )
Some funny incidents...
It happened a couple of times that when we tried pitching the S P Jain, 1-year Dual City MBA model to a parent, he heard me out patiently and then said... "Dude, you know what? You have just sold my own MBA degree back to me!" I was flabbergasted! "How on earth can that be!!" I wondered...
“Yeah! I am an MBA from SP Jain, Mumbai - Batch 4, 1985, now working as a MD with a leading financial institution!", came the quick, assertive reply followed by a appreciative grin. :-)
And then there was this cute Chinese girl on day 1 who came to our stall and uttered "Easpee P ee Jaineee?" I took off with my elevator pitch for the next one minute or so, she listened intently and then after I had finished my pitch, she innocently said "no Englisaa... only Chineseee.... la"
"Uh Oh!!" How I wished I vanished somewhere that very moment!
And then there were many interesting people I got a chance to work with... Nirmala Ma'm, who has got a helluva lots of enthusiasm that is utterly contagious (wow! she sold helicopters at one point in her career! How cool!!), Neethu, with whom I worked with for the World MBA tour as well, and many other including a 20-strong team of budding MBAs who just joined the S P Jain GMBA program.
I met some very famous people too... the Education Minister of Singapore , head of the EDB, an industrialist from Pune (India ), a journalist from India
The occasion was the Career 2007 expo held annually by the Education Devp Board, Govt of Singapore. Growing rapidly in size and strength every year, the CAREER Expo Series has become the Largest and Longest career and educational event in
This year there were 3 different pavilions in the education sector:
Renowned Local & Foreign Institutions and Universities (S P Jain, NUS, NTU, UNSW etc.)
The European Pavilion (Les Roches, IMI, Switzerland etc.) and
Special Interest Pavilion (the most popular being the Casino Training Institute!!:-)
It was a kind of a totally different experience for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, we had never met so many people (more than a thousand) belonging to different races, ethnicity, occupations, countries and backgrounds; all in a span of just 3 days
Second, the event gave us a wonderful opportunity to model and develop our own elevator pitch for S P Jain and I can safely assume that by Day 3 we were able to optimise the pitch to 100% effectiveness.
Third, it taught us how to focus and market to the target audience.
Forth, it taught us much needed endurance in a typical sales role. It was very tiring to stand and interact with the seemingly never ending queue of visitors... (I almost crashed out after Day 3!! :) )
Some funny incidents...
It happened a couple of times that when we tried pitching the S P Jain, 1-year Dual City MBA model to a parent, he heard me out patiently and then said... "Dude, you know what? You have just sold my own MBA degree back to me!" I was flabbergasted! "How on earth can that be!!" I wondered...
“Yeah! I am an MBA from SP Jain, Mumbai - Batch 4, 1985, now working as a MD with a leading financial institution!", came the quick, assertive reply followed by a appreciative grin. :-)
And then there was this cute Chinese girl on day 1 who came to our stall and uttered "Easpee P ee Jaineee?" I took off with my elevator pitch for the next one minute or so, she listened intently and then after I had finished my pitch, she innocently said "no Englisaa... only Chineseee.... la"
We had a really good time I must say! And although our batch of 2007 is at the fag end of our mba life, I'd like to have the opportunity of an encore.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Spirituality of Business
“Never talk to me about profit, Jeh, it is a dirty word,” snapped Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, at JRD Tata, India’s premier business Tycoon of the yesteryears, when the latter tried to explain that Indian public sector needed to make profits.
Business and ‘profit-making’ ideology have been the favourite ‘whipping boys’ of our society since time immemorial. While philanthropy was always admired as an epitome of altruistic virtues, business was relegated as a nadir of selfish vices.
In ‘The Wealth of Nations,’ Adam Smith, regarded as the father of Economics, says something to indirectly corroborate this thought of the society: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
A deeper dissection of any person’s actions would reveal that the final purpose of every human action or inaction is to find happiness for himself or herself. Why does a kind hearted person help others? Why does a selfish man help himself? Why does a crook cheat? Why does a lazy person believe in inaction? Why do people fall in love? Why do people run after money? Why do businessmen hanker for profits? Whatever be the intermediate motive in the above actions or inactions, their final aim is happiness. It is in this final purpose of any action that the difference between philanthropy and business starts to dissolve.
The glaring and obvious difference between business and charity is that the overt beneficiaries of business are the owners while the same for charity is the society at large. But what misses our eyes is that for business the covert beneficiary is our society. Since happiness is the common denominator and the final aim of every action of every human being, a philanthropist becomes as much a covert beneficiary of his own act of charity as community becomes for business. And so - when both are working for their own happiness - why should a businessman be denounced and a philanthropist be eulogized? What society as a whole has failed to realize is that business and charity are not antagonistic but complementary to each other. Whether explicit or implicit, both cater to the betterment of our society in totally ‘antagonistic’ ways. Businesses directly impact the “employable” workforce through which the benefits trickle down to their families. But businesses don’t bother about the downtrodden. Charity and non-profit organizations pick them up and make them employable, from where some businesses absorb them. Consequently, both business and charity are the obverse side of the same coin. They’re like two brothers where one is ruthless in execution while the other is mild hearted and caring. But the contribution of one over the other towards the betterment of society cannot and should not be underplayed. Interesting it is to note that ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) is gradually blurring this difference between business and charity at the intermediate level as well.
Thomas Edison invented the electric bulb. However, had it not been for the business interest of someone, the society would not have found an efficient way of distributing it to the larger mass. History is abound with scientific inventions that changed the face of mankind. But without the able support of businessmen, inventions would never have become commodities we have so gotten used to. Ironic as it may sound, the beauty of business is its ruthlessness. If markets are left by themselves, only the most efficient and the most effective businesses – barring a few exceptions like monopoly or unscrupulous practices where government regulations become antidotes - would survive; and efficiency introduced in business processes leads to a betterment of human society in the longer run. This is where businesses start touching the spiritual chord of philanthropy: “Service to mankind is service to God.”
Philanthropy and spirituality believe in serving people irrespective of their caste, religion, race or any other form of discrimination. Business precept also commands serving the customer by turning a blind eye to any of these discriminatory factors. The essential idea behind Globalization is that businesses don’t recognize the political boundaries and divisions that countries form. A business will go and spread its roots to countries where it sees an opportunity - political rivalries notwithstanding. For example, when Nato was bombing Serbia in 1999 both sides could eat at McDonald’s during the breaks. A business knows no divides.
McKinsey’s Eric Beinhocker in a brilliant, thought-provoking book, ‘The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics,’ states that “The economy is a marvel of complexity, yet no one designed it and no one runs it.” ‘For any living creature,’ he adds ‘the evolutional game involves obtaining resources to live long enough to procreate and rear its young. Business is humanity’s successful effort at obtaining those resources.’
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs proposed in his 1943 paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ contends that as humans satisfy basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy depicted here as a pyramid consisting of five levels.
The basic concept is that the higher needs in this hierarchy come into focus once all or most of the lower level needs are satisfied. As mankind satisfies higher needs, it’ll find a need for self-actualization which is the essence of spirituality.
So successful have businesses been that much of humanity no longer has to focus on staying alive. Thanks to business, our basic existential needs are satisfied and we’re moving towards higher needs leading up to self-realization. Business is hence an indispensable cog in the wheel of human ascension up the spiritual journey.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Marketing Gap
This article lists my learning from Prof. Ram Kumar’s Marketing sessions and my thought extrapolations on the same. The professor left us with a few ideas and hints to provoke our thinking. This article is an attempt to finish the thought that he kindled.
Scenario 1:
How much does an average middle class person spend for the trousers and jeans he wears? Say Rs. 800 to 1000
How much does the same person spend for a shirt, T-shirt or a top? Say Rs. 500 to 700.
And how much does he/she spend on the undergarments? Hardly Rs 30.
The discrepancy is for all to see. People spend 70% of their life in their undergarments. Some people spend even more time in them; they take them off only during ablution and defecation. The undergarments are essential for our comfort and hence make the foremost contribution towards making us confident. If you doubt the confidence part then try wearing a misfit. Also, wearing a good quality undergarment prevents you from so many disorders. And yet we spend so less on them than the outer clothing we wear.
My take:
Isn’t this ‘individuality’ and ‘healthful living’ a marketing gap that undergarments companies should try to tap? Shouldn’t these companies appeal to every individual’s ‘dormant’ desire of living the life for himself or herself for a change?
Scenario 2:
On a normal day, how much time do we spend in the
washroom? 15-30 mins.
drawing room? Max 1.5 to 2 hours
Kitchen? Gender specific but say max 3-4 hours
Bedroom? Assuming a normal person sleeps for 8 hours, we spend atleast 9 hours there.
Now the critical question: which part of our house do we spend maximum on?
Undoubtedly it is the drawing room, right? We spend the most on that part of the house where we don't even spend our maximum time. Compare the money we spend on the drawing room sofa sets and their smooth velvet cushions with the amount you spend on the bedroom mattresses and pillows. Guests come and sit in the drawing room. That is the place that needs to be at its best then. Why should we spend on our bedroom where we go only to sleep? Isn’t it a stark contrast that speaks volumes of the neglect we subject ourselves to? Don’t we pay the price of this through stiff neck at best and spondylosis at worst? Isn’t this the kind of gap that furniture and mattress companies like Ikea need to tap?
My take:
As a society, we’ve evolved giving too much importance to others. We grew up getting conditioned to doing what our parents recommended and not doing what they forbid us from doing. Parents learnt those lessons from their parents and so on. But the essential basis of all those dos and don’ts has been the perspective of others towards our actions. People in our society have evolved wondering what other person in the society would think if they do this and not that. This overbearing importance given to others has forced us to undermine the importance we ideally should’ve given to ourselves. Somewhere, the huge disparity in our spending on our personal comfort through undergarments vis-à-vis the outer clothing or on our personal feel-good factor through bedroom spendings vis-à-vis those on drawing rooms is a fallout of this societal psychosis.
Scenario 3:
How much would the following people cost per month?
A good cook: Rs. 1000
A washerman: Rs. 800
A 24*7 house cleaner: Rs. 2000
A sex worker: Rs 10000
A Personal Relation manager: Rs 10,000
A 24*7 nanny: Rs 7000
A secretary to remind you of your important appointments and deadlines: Rs 6000
Now compare and contrast all these against the cost of a housewife.
My take:
Ergo, can the contribution of a housewife be considered as the sum total of all the above costs that you save? What about the intangible gain of peace of mind that comes from not having to worry about these scores of daily chores which helps you focus better on your core competence which is to become an efficient bread-winner for the family. Pardon me for the crudity of the comparison. While comparing the monetary value of house-wife is the last thing one should do, this comparison nevertheless brings out the stark contrast like none other. If only we could realize the qualitative value that a house-wife brings to our life, we would start looking up to her and give her her due rather than relegating her to a position of nonentity. The housewives themselves need to realize what they’re to the family. That would help them value their self-worth and respect what they do.
Marketing helps change people’s outlook. Certain things were never meant to be a certain way. But societal dynamics force people to make rules out of exceptions and vice-versa. There are always some innate human desires curbed under societal forces. Companies that identify such rules that conflict with the innate human spirit need to bring out and emancipate those souls hankering to break the shackle by attacking that dormant, implicit need. Companies need not go too far to innovate in terms of new products that generate newer needs. There are enough dormant needs that are curbed under the societal forces. The sooner the companies target them, the happier the society at large would be.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Welcome To Singapore !!
Well, we are in Singapore now. Here are the latest updates in a nutshell. Both the Dubai and Singapore Cohorts have now swapped campuses smoothly as per plans and are all set to begin our 2nd term in their respective 'classy' cities.
The Dubai batch landed in Singapore first on 19th November, both the batches spent time together for about 2 weeks. This was the time when we interacted personally for the 1st time and got to know the diversity in the entire Batch (we’ve a lawyer, a doctor and one from the Merchant Navy too). And then it was time for the original SPJCM Singapore batch to bid Goodbye to Singapore and fly off to Dubai for the next six months... Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Probably, no other college in the world follows this model of exchanging its own mba students across the two most vibrant economies of the world.
Before coming to Singapore, we flew back home from Dubai for a very short 14 Day break, completed our SGP formalities, met up with some friends, did some pre-departure shopping etc... and finally landed in Singapore on 19th Nov.
But hey! What else did we do after coming to S'pore? Hmm... Well just one thing that comes to our mind. Explored... explored... and just explored this tiny little but extremely well planned City State. And let us tell you; it was FUN!! The Beautiful College campus (featured above is the library building snap taken from a 6th floor Hostel apartment), VIVO city Mall, Harbor Front et all... Singapore is very much like India and its so much 'Unlike' Dubai. Even the names of some places are like India... Crawford Market, Little India, Dhobey Ghaut, Hyderabad Road and Mustafa Market to name a few.
Singapore is such a happening place. It rains a lot and yet there is always something happening all the time. We also got a chance to have very informative interactions with a lot of Students from various nationalities studying at leading Universities like NUS, NTU and they have helped us in understanding the local culture better and very quickly. Singapore feels like a home away from home. It definitely has something that makes you feel at home... that welcome feeling which you will only get in some serene Indian cities like Pune, Bangalore etc.
That's it for now... We will keep you updated.
Catchya soon!!
P.S.: Here's the link to some snaps I uploaded on Yahoo! Photos... Check 'em out.
Click here for Hemant's snaps
and here for Easwar's snaps!
Cheers!
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