10th Issue by Corporate Citizen

Corporate Citizen T he Co ol Side Of Bu sine ss

Website: www.corporatecitizen.in

Dynamic Duo 10

Nita and Raj Bhambhani

Bank-ing on each other ‘Focussing on Organisation Culture’

NHRD Mumbai & BMA sit across the table and discuss

‘Claim’ to Fame Tapan Singhel, CEO, Bajaj Allianz, speaks on an eventful year

An interview with Binod Hampapur, Executive VP, Global Head of Talent, Technology Operations of Infosys Ltd

Volume 1, Issue No. 10 / June 16-30, 2015 / `50

CII’s prize winning Case Studies-3 NEW SERIES

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

Dynamic HRD Minister:

Acting To Action R ome, they say, was not built in a day. However, the media and citizens in our country think otherwise. The HRD ministry under the dynamic leadership of Union Minister Smriti Irani is a sterling example of how the new government is trying to transform the listless education sector, but we are not ready to give reasonable time for the same. While the Narendra Modi government’s completing one year has triggered off a series of report cards on its performance, it is worth noting that as per the CAG report, the HRD ministry has already spent 80 percent of the allocated funds. Which means, things are moving and I would like to add, changing. However, the HRD ministry is under the close and harsh scrutiny of the media, probably because Smriti Irani, who is a celebrity household name, thanks to her legendary performance in the super hit TV serial ‘kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ is at the helm of affairs. However, it would be worth noting the obvious that, at the outset, one individual does not make a decision; it is the government, which has layers of decision makers that involves academic experts, bureaucrats and political leaders, which does. Smriti Irani, the chancellor of chancellors, in her role as the HRD minister is the youngest to hold this august citadel, at the age of 38. Ever since her appointment, she has had to bear the brunt of scathing attacks from the media and others. But thanks to her tenacious and confident nature, she remains unfazed. She had to fling a few stones in self-defence, like saying “I am not a political Cinderella, waiting to be rescued,”’ when she was accused of being one. Ms. Irani, who also has been criticised for not being educated enough to handle such a ministry, has shown mettle, but people need to be patient to see results. Traditionally, scholarly people with high degrees and PhDs used to be designated as ministers of HRD, never mind if they were

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian with RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagwat, during a brainstorming session of education in India

Traditionally, scholarly people with high degrees and PhDs used to be designated as ministers of HRD, never mind if they were paper tigers. The problem is, no one can be qualified to call himself an authority on the various educational courses/specialisations

paper tigers. The problem is, no one can be qualified to call himself an authority on the various educational courses/specialisations. For example, a king need not know about every function of his kingdom. What matters is leadership, integrity, sincerity and the determination to follow policy guidelines given by the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, every move of the HRD ministry is looked upon as saffronization of education through the RSS arm. This includes an existing MoU which terms German as the official third language of India for all central schools. Ms Irani has rightly pointed out, in an interview to the Times of India recently, “As KV chairperson I was told an MoU would come to an end in the middle of the academic year. When I read it, I found it claimed German is a third language of India. Constitutionally, I couldn’t have renewed June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 1

From the desk of Editor-In-Chief

that agreement. I said we can teach it as a foreign language. I was persistently asked why we can’t continue with it as third language. I said I cannot sign a document like that. The controversy erupted because it was fashionable to paint everything saffron. Lots of people went to town calling me regressive.” Incidentally, the Supreme Court, the highest judiciary body, debunked the MoU. Smriti Irani was also under fire for being vicariously responsible for the resignation of Dr. R K Shevgaonkar, IIT director who allegedly was being forced into parting with land for a celebrity cricketer’s sports academy and Dr. Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Bombay over differences with the HRD Ministry regarding the selection of IIT directors. Both have withdrawn their resignations and are working harmoniously towards strengthening the structure of premier engineering institutes. Similarly, a spate of secretary level bureaucrats moving away from her ministry also caught the eye of the media. Every organisation undergoes differences of opinion and patch-ups and 2 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Smriti Irani, the youngest ever HRD minister at the age of 38, has had to bear the brunt of scathing attacks from the media and others, but thanks to her tenacious and confident nature, she remains unfazed hence to make a shrill noise about it seems silly and meaningless. Another stark example, is the recent controversy of the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle. Smriti Irani, in the role of HRD Minister, was nowhere in the picture. The study circle is an informal group of just a

handful of students without any statutory or non-statutory standing. Now, the HRD ministry received an anonymous complaint against this group. The government policy is either to ignore it or refer it to the relevant authority of the institute. Moreover, this is done by the bureaucrat concerned, in the ministry. However, the media made a hue and cry, some alleging that the HRD Ministry had issued the ban and made the outfit resemble an anti-national outfit. This kind of mentality is sick and we need to come out of this myopic thought process. Also, all that the Director of IIT Madras, in his wisdom, did was, to direct the students to focus on their studies and stop unproductive activities. Ms Irani has also gone public stating that she has saved 77,000 students who were pursuing Delhi University’s Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) of a degree that would render all of them unemployed. We need to believe in her conviction as the UGC too had opposed it. The list goes on and would continue for

Keep it up Smriti Irani. You remind me of the late K Kamaraj who had not completed even elementary school, and who hardly knew good English but was the Congress President, a successful Chief Minister and a kingmaker at a critical point of time a woman who has had a meteoric rise and a Midas touch in everything she undertook. When she borrowed two lakh rupees from her father to get designer wear stitched from ace designer Manish Malhotra, to win the Miss India contest, she had to bite her lips, as she was a finalist, but not the winner. With her father’s loan (he ran a courier service), hanging like a Damocles sword, she did not find it demeaning to take up a job at McDonalds in Bandra where, besides being a waitress, she also cleaned floors and tables. Subsequently, she sold cosmetics in Delhi’s Janpath market until she was spotted by Ekta Kapoor, for the iconic role of Tulsi Virani. For a woman of such grit and perseverance, it is unlikely that she would fail in her present coveted role of a Union Minister in charge of the educational field that requires a vigorous shake up. Here, I would like to mention my meeting with RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwatji before the recent Lok Sabha elections. The meeting took place one to one and he asked a lot of questions on the educational scenario of India. He subsequently called other leading educationists of Pune and held numerous deliberations. He was also travelling around the country, to feel the pulse of the existing pattern of education and he wanted to hear it from the horses’ mouths – one of them was luckily, me. I would presume that changes which are being done in the HRD ministry are a fallout of a comprehensive national survey undertaken by Bhagwatji and others. (I am not talking about the higher and technical education which is a matter before the Supreme Court on which even the HRD Ministry cannot take a stand at this moment.) To simply stamp any change as RSS driven saffronization would be unfair.

K Kamaraj

When you elect a new government, can’t it take a decision of its choice? If it can’t, then where is the democracy? After all, people have elected the government for a five year term. If you think it has proved to be regressive, you can throw it out after five years, but you cannot make a mountain out of a molehill each time some decision is taken. The opposition has every right to oppose, in fact it is its privilege, but it should play the role of a constructive opposition and the country’s interest should be kept in mind. Unfortunately, there is little camaraderie for the right issues between politicians of rival parties. For example, former PM Manmohan Singh meeting the present PM Narendra Modi is an example of great statesmanship. It is a well-known fact that leaders share secrets which may not be recorded but are relevant. In states like Tamil Nadu, the animosity between two rival political parties is so intense, that a political party member is suspended if he or she happens to attend a social function of the rival party. I would like to fervently appeal for restraint and patience by the media and cooperation by political opponents. For in this case, it is not about revenge, but it is about the academic progress of a whole future generation that is at stake. It is relevant to mention here that reformation in India started when William Bentinck was the Governor General

between1828 to 1831. It was he who started English education in India. Thanks to him India now has a national language which is the official language everywhere and we should be proud that Smriti Irani who may not be highly qualified academically, is heading the education and human resources development of the biggest populated democracy of the world. Watching her belt out poetic English and rhythmic Hindi, and quick and forceful rebuttals show us that it is only in a democracy can this happen. She is the embodiment of women empowerment in India and we are proud of her. Keep it up Smriti Irani. You remind me of the late K Kamaraj who had not completed even elementary school, and who hardly knew good English but was the Congress President, a successful Chief Minister and a kingmaker at a critical point of time. People like me have seen many HRD ministers who were absolutely corrupt but nothing of that sort has been spoken about you so far. Keep it up. You have miles to go and lakhs of your followers will keep on praying for you.

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian editor-in-chief June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Contents 24

Cover story Dynamic Duo 10

Bank-ing on each other Raj Bhambhani, Joint Managing Director, PhillipCapital India, and his wife Nita, now financial consultant to high net-worth individuals, and runs a Kumon education franchise, was at Bank of America, ABN Amro in India and Barclays Bank in Singapore. These former banking honchos have managed to chalk out their work and life to a fine balance – wielding both as meticulously as they do, their clients’ money and wealth

wax eloquent Who said what and why

Collywood Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World

NHRD Mumbai & BMA meet A one and a half day round table meet that took place on 15th and 16th May at Mumbai, organised by the NHRD Network and Bombay Management Association (BMA), on “Culture – Its strategic significance in the present day business scenario” threw light on several aspects of corporate culture 4 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Volume 1 Issue No. 10 June 16-30, 2015

interview An interview with Binod Hampapur Rangadore, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Talent and Technology Operations of Infosys Ltd

manage money Dr Anil Lamba on Good Financial Management–Rule 2

cii case study CII’s prize winning Case Studies - III

beyond the bottomline Corporate tips from Mom’s lips!

39 46

survey With smartphones becoming more and more affordable, the internet in India is fast evolving from a luxury to a necessity

Profile Tapan Singhel CEO Managing Director, Bajaj Allianz

Source: motherchildpaintings.com

cricket fever Cricket bats don’t come cheap, but the cricket crazy world, including India, has kept cricket bat manufacturers’ coffers ringing

star campus placement-2 Khushi Gupta from IIT Guwahati on her first break

debate Youngsters don’t read anymore: Fact or Myth?

cc alert Know your Maggi Noodles

52 June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Senior Business Writers Mahalakshmi Hariharan Rajesh Rao

bollywood biz The best acting and filmmaking schools in India

Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur Anuradha Shukla / Kriti Sharma

pearls of wisdom Egocentric desire is virus Inspiration The Road Doctor

Pune Bureau Suchismita Pai Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar Kalyani Sardesai

Chief Marketing Officer Subash Krishnan +91 9823021013

mobile apps Get your groceries at your doorstep

health Lose that belly fat

Astroturf Fortune favours the bold & lucky

the last word Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies and Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation on Manage Time; Curtail Meetings

Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh Assistant Editor Joe Williams

Citizen Claps & Slaps Our bouquets and brickbats for the fortnight!

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

Be A Corporate Citizen

How do you like this issue of Corporate Citizen - The Cool Side of Business? Send in your views, news, suggestions and contributions to corporatecitizenwriters@gmail.com We would love to hear from you! 6 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Circulation Officer Jaywant Patil +91 9923202560 Manager Circulation Mansha Viradia +91 9765387072 North : Hemant Gupta +91 9582210930 South : Asaithambi G +91 9941555389 Design & Art Direction Kiyan Gupta, The Purple Stroke Graphic Designer Anil Walunj Photographers B Vijay Kumar / Yusuf Khan Ahmed Sheikh / Prithviraj Mallick Website http://www.corporatecitizen.in/ For Advertising and Marketing queries Email: subash.krishnan@corporatecitizen.in (Corporate Citizen does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. All unsolicited material should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage) Tel. (020) 69000677 / 69000672

feedback

‘The cool side of business’

Corporate Citizen definitely represents the cool side of business! The interviews are substantial; there is a lot you can take home, unlike the runof-the-mill kind, where you are richer for the jargon than for life’s lessons, from the success stories. There is a certain sensitivity in the journalism, both towards the interviewer and the readers. One does realise that the ivory tower concept is a myth, a marketing strategy! Way to go and we are looking forward to seeing Benglurians in the folds of your upcoming editions. - Asha Muthanna Bengaluru, via email

HeaLTH

THE VITAL

Anti-seizure medications - including phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline)

B12

duces the risk of breast cancer, population studies have shown that women who get more folate in their diet have lower risk of breast cancer.

--- Dietary Sources ---

Vitamin B12 is found only in animal foods. Good dietary sources include fish, shellfish, dairy products, organ meats -- particularly liver and kidney-- eggs, beef, and pork.

--- Available Forms ---

Vitamin B12 can be found in multivitamins (including children’s chewable and liquid drops), B complex vitamins, and individual supplements. It is available in both oral (tablets and capsules) and intranasal forms, softgels, and lozenges. Vitamin B12 is also sold under the names cobalamin and cyanocobalamin.

- Jayant Karkamkar (J.K.) (Sr. V.P. - Corporate), Goel Ganga Developments, via email Chemotherapy medications - particularly methotrexate Colchicine - used to treat gout

Bile acid sequestrants used to lower cholesterol; include colestipol (Colestid), cholestyramine (Questran), and colsevelam (Welchol) H2 blockers - used to reduce stomach acid; include cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid AC), ranitidine (Zantac)

As per study by University of Maryland Medical Centre, Vitamin B12 is very essential for your body to combat major illnesses and all round growth but needs to be taken with doctor’s advice and caution

Good collection of stories Vegetarians

I am not into reading hard core and regular business or any magazine, but, Corporate Citizen is really eye catching and very impressive. The first look is very attractive. A timely booster to all corporates and upcoming generation, it is well designed and edited masterfully. I really appreciate the efforts of the editorial team behind this magazine. My special and personal credit to Dr. (Col.) A Balasubramaniam (Our dear Bala) an old time friend. I wish you all the success for this grand beginning which will shine and will last forever. This is of use to everybody who wants to exist and establish as a successful human being. Keep it up. MEDICATIONS THAT REDUCE LEVELS OF B12 IN THE BODY INCLUDE

VITAMIN

itamin B12, also called cobalamin, is one of 8 B vitamins. All B vitamins help the body convert food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which is used to produce energy. These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body use fats and protein. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver. They also help the nervous system function properly. All B vitamins are water-soluble, meaning that the body does not store them. Vitamin B12 is an especially important vitamin for maintaining healthy nerve cells, and it helps in the production of DNA and RNA, the body’s genetic material. Vitamin B12 also works closely with vitamin B9, also called folate or folic acid, to help make red blood cells and to help iron work better in the body. Folate and B12 work together to produce S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a compound involved in immune function and mood. Vitamins B12, B6, and B9 work together to control blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine are associated with heart disease. However, researchers aren’t sure whether homocysteine is a cause of heart disease or just a marker that indicates someone may have heart disease. It’s rare for young people to be deficient in vitamin B12, but it’s not uncommon for older people to be mildly de-

Timely booster

ficient. That may be because their diets are not as healthy or because they have less stomach acid, which the body needs to absorb B12. Low levels of B12 can cause a range of symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nervousness, numbness, or tingling sensation in the fingers and toes. Severe deficiency of B12 causes nerve damage.

Conveys important life lessons Metformin (Glucophage) - medication taken for diabetes

---Others at risk---

Pernicious anemia is a type of anemia that happens when stomach cells are not able to make intrinsic factor. Without intrinsic factor, your body cannot absorb vitamin B12. Symptoms include weakness, pale skin, diarrhea, weight loss, fever, numbness or tingling sensation in the hands and feet, loss of balance, confusion, memory loss, and moodiness.

CC stands apart

--- Heart Disease ---

Many studies suggest that people with high levels of the amino acid homocysteine are roughly 1.7 times more likely to develop coronary artery disease and 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke than those with normal levels. B complex vitamins -- especially vitamins B9, B6, and B12 -- help lower homocysteine levels. However, researchers don’t know whether high homocysteine levels actually cause heart disease.

--- Fatigue ---

Fatigue is one of the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency. One preliminary study indicated that people with chronic fatigue syndrome might benefit from B12 injections, although more research is needed to know for sure.

--- Breast Cancer ---

Although there is no evidence that vitamin B12 alone re-

48 / Corporate Citizen / February 16, 2015

First of all, many thanks for giving me an opportunity to enjoy the ‘Corporate Citizen (CC)– The cool side of business’. This magazine stands apart from the rest. It provides knowledge and insights behind the successful companies and careers to help us understand what these real life heroes have to teach us. The insights are presented with simplicity and elegance. The editing is superb and the language so easy, engrossing and to the point. There is good balance between the technicalities of the corporate side and the spiritual and physical health aspects! The magazine is a fantastic idea and wishing the team a great future! Many thanks, - Virendra Badadare Senior Business Consultant, TechMahindra, Pune, via email

--- Precautions ---

Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, you should take dietary supplements only under the supervision of a knowledgeable health care provider. Taking any one of the B vitamins for a long period of time can result in an imbalance of other important B vitamins. For this reason, you may want to take a B complex vitamin, which includes all the B vitamins. Taking folic acid at high doses can hide a vitamin B12 deficiency, so these vitamins are often taken together. Talk to your doctor before taking more than 800 mcg of folic acid.

It was a pleasure to go through the magazine – Corporate Citizen. It is simple yet conveys important life lessons powerfully. The concept of Parapsychology in your editorial helped me clear some questions I had in my mind since a long time. I am happy to also have been associated with Sri Balaji Society for a very short stint during spread of Swine Flu. This institute instantly addressed its students on ‘Prevention of Swine Flu’ and ordered some of our “GREENLIME Kits” for all. - Seema Agrawal AGM-Marketing, Nilon’s Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, via email

--- Is used for Pernicious Anemia ---

who do Today I saw the Corporate Citizen magazine not eat any animal issue. It is really well done. Heartiest products congratshould take a vitamin B12 ulations to Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian to supplement with water, have started Sri Balaji Society Management preferably after eating Education. All the articles in the magazine are really nice. I quite like the Young Citizen National Survey, topics like Offbeat Career, Women Achievers & Health. These are some of the very important subjects to all. Cheers...!!! - Prashant Hingmire Manager ( Readership Development), Dainik Saamana, via email  Vegans, vegetarians who also don’t eat dairy or eggs -vitamin B12 is found only in animal products  People with problems absorbing nutrients, due to conditions such as Crohn’s disease, pancreatic disease, and people who have had weight loss surgery  People who are infected with Helicobacter pylori, an organism in the intestines that can cause an ulcer. H. pylori damages stomach cells that make intrinsic factor, a substance the body needs to absorb B12  People with an eating disorder  People with HIV  The elderly Folic acid (vitamin B9), especially when taken in high doses, can mask the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency. The danger is that without symptoms, someone with a vitamin B12 deficiency may not know it, and could run the risk of developing nerve damage. Anyone planning to take more than 800 mcg of folic acid should talk to their doctor first, to make sure they do not have a B12 deficiency.

--- How to Take It ---

If your diet includes meat, milk, and other dairy products, you should be able to meet the recommended daily requirements without taking a vitamin B12 supplement. Vegetarians who do not eat any animal products should take a vitamin B12 supplement with water, preferably after eating. Elderly people may need larger amounts of vitamin B12 than younger people because the body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12 from the diet goes down with age. If you are considering taking a B12 supplement, ask your health care provider to help you determine the right dose for you.

Proton pump inhibitors - used to reduce stomach acid; include esomeprazole (Nexium), lansprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec), rabeprazole (Aciphex)

Antibiotics, Tetracycline - Vitamin B12 should not be taken at the same time as tetracycline because it interferes with the absorption and effectiveness of this medication. Vitamin B12 should be taken at different times of the day from tetracycline. All vitamin B complex supplements act in this way and should be taken at different times from tetracycline. In addition, long-term use of antibiotics can lower vitamin B levels in the body, particularly B2, B9, B12, and vitamin H (biotin), which is considered part of the B complex vitamins.

--- Possible Interactions ---

If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications (see box), you should not use vitamin B12 supplements without first talking to your health care provider. Source: Vitamin B12 (cobalamin), University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/ vitamin-b12-cobalamin#ixzz3R6ucfmEA

CC TADKA

SNAKES AND LADDERS ORIGINATED IN INDIA

Earlier known as Moksha Patamu, the game was initially invented as a moral lesson about karma to be taught to children. It was later commercialized and has become one of the most popular board games in the world.

February 16, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Truly enlightening

Corporate Citizen is an enlightening magazine. It widely covers the corporate world. I was reading the January issue and was really amazed, reading about the dynamic personalities and their contributions. I had read about the Fadnavis couple in the newspapers but the cover story on Amruta and Devendra Fadnavis is awesome as it gives detailed information about their work and life. I am impressed with the quality of paper and the contents too. - Abinash Kaur Delhi, via email

Focus on qualities of true leaders Corporate Citizen is informative and I find it

Corporate Citizen T HE CO OL SIDE OF BU SINE SS

CC SURVEY: ASPIRATIONS OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS AFTER GRADUATION

Volume 1, Issue No. 6 / March 1-15, 2015 / `50

Cradle of Leadership: Prof R K Shevgaonkar, Director, IIT Delhi

An in-depth interview with

R Thyagarajan, Chairman, Shriram Group

Chip off the old block:

How scions of prominent business families are venturing into new zones

Star Attraction Dynamic Duo 6

Schauna and Bikram Saluja

a good read. Corporate magazines are usually not my cup of tea, but upon reading CC I must admit there are wonderful people out there who are dynamic and doing a lot for the society. The interview on R Thyagarajan was comprehensive and shows that these people are leaders because of their down-to-earth, practical ways. - Arati Biswal Bhubaneshwar via email

Unique business magazine

Corporate Citizen, with the theme “Cool Side of Business” is a good magazine with simple and lucid language. I like the layout and the theme of different stories. All the stories are told differently. The future of this magazine looks bright. The editorial team is simply doing a great job. Keep up the good work. - R. Unnikrishnan, Retired Bank Official, Kochi, via email

Real insight into corporate world

Corporate Citizen gave me a real insight to the current corporate world. The interviews of all business tycoons really inspired me. Being an active social media user, I found the twitterati page and tech pages really informative. Usually all topics chosen by Corporate Citizen are really interesting. - Rohit Joshi Executive(Sales & Marketing), EaSol Private Limited (http://www.easol.in), via email June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 7

wax eloquent

Cool quotes from corporate leaders that bring you a smile

Twists in corporate branding strategies, CEO spiritual sensibilities, expatriates on the ‘argumentative Indian’ and their views on Indian work culture, empowering women at the grass root levels and also at corporate levels, added punch to corporate chatter Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar

“…I believe we all work for God, not for a boss or for the president of the company. My highest priority is my daily time with God. I make time to pray wherever I may be. When I travel, I have my prayer time on the way to the airport. It’s a 45 minute drive and I start by singing a few hymns and then pray through the ACTS acronym (acknowledgement, confession, thanksgiving, supplication), which is a popular form of prayer. “ – Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware, on the role of religion in his life and success. 8 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

“There is ‘lagaan’ and ‘lagaam’ (tax and control) for farmers but not on industrialists. They need cheaper lands, tax benefits and other incentives and packages to set up industries but a farmer only wants a free market to sell his produce. “ – Tushar Gandhi, Great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi in his appeal to acknowledge farmers and labourers in the government’s “Make in India” campaign for inclusive growth.

“In India it’s easy to form a discussion group. You only have to ask someone something and suddenly five people are around you and you can discuss anything. The preferable subject is politics. “ – Tetsuya Takano, MD of Ricoh India on Indian work culture

“I had moved to alco-beverages from the lifestyle sector and was usually nattily turned out in skirts and boots even when visiting vendors’ warehouses. I remember one of our large distributors sizing me up and announcing that I wouldn’t last in the job for even 21 days.”

– Aparna Batra, an independent brand consultant and former Marketing Head (India) for liquor firm William Grant & Sons, recollecting her earlier days in the highly maledominated alcoholic beverage industry.

“People here wear their heart on their sleeve, which is something I love…The flip side of it is that you can’t criticise someone’s work without visibly upsetting them. If there’s bad news, it has to be carefully packaged. “

– Ben Salmon, a former diplomat with the Australian High commission, and CE0 and Co-founder of Bangalore-based Assetz Property Group, on how expats view Indians and their work traits. “Unlike the West, in India it is very common for employers to probe the marital status and family situation from a woman seeking a job. It is a big consideration in selection, so it is not wrong if women feel discriminated against…A large majority of medium-level businesses don’t have the financial infrastructure for this nor do they feel compelled in any way. After all there is no shortage of men in the work force.” – Shiv Aggarwal, Managing Director of India’s leading recruitment agency ABC Consultants on motherhood and difficulties in retaining of women in the workforce.

“The pool of top talent is relatively shallow relative to the size of our corporate population and there is indeed the need for inclusive thinking and diversity…. Some industries are developing more women leaders, such as consumer. Companies will have to scale up their efforts to attract, retain and develop more women leaders.” – Anjali Bansal, MD, Spencer Stuart India, on the study by ET Corporate Dossier - Spencer Stuart listing of India Inc’s Rising Women Leaders 2015 work in the consumer sector.

Online Grocery Store

“Labor and logistics costs are much cheaper in India than in western markets, so e-grocers here can make money faster.” – Hari Menon, Co-founder and CEO of BigBasket

“If you have something heavy and only two people available to move it, you have to find a way to build wheels on it. In India, you just get six more people.” – Rex Nijhof, the Dutch Chief of the Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai, on how expats view Indians and their work traits.

“Spirits as a category in India is actually a lot more populated with women now than it was even five years back - I myself work in a company where a lady (Stella David) is the global CEO and steering us to many innovations.” – Shweta Jain, Marketing Director (India) at William Grant. sangeetagd2010@gmail.com June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood

People in the news

Religare stake up for grabs?

Pharma billionaire Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder are now planning to exit their financial services flagship. Several private equity buyout funds are in the race to acquire their promoter stake in Religare Enterprises (REL), the integrated financial services platform which has interests in brokerage, asset management, lending solutions, investment banking, wealth management and insurance. As on March 2015, the promoter group owns 50.9 percent of REL which acts as a listed investment holding company for all the different businesses. According sources, marquee global names like Bain Capital, Baring Private Equity Asia and even Renuka Ramnath’s Multiples are among five or six potential suitors who have bid for the asset after early rounds of discussions. Investment bank JP Morgan has been roped in to help in the process. The current market capitalisation of Religare Enterprises is ₹ 6,539.35 crore. Even at today’s price, a 51 per cent stake sale will generate at least ₹ 3,250 crore. The company, however, denied any plans of the promoter selling out.

Microsoft backs Braigo A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy, who made headlines for inventing a low-cost Braille printer, has found a new partner in Microsoft, which will help the teenager to realise his dream of improving life for the blind. Shubham Banerjee, is now working with a Microsoft team to bring an updated version of his Braille printer, which he calls Braigo 2.0, to market. The invention has been hailed as the first low-cost, IoT-enabled, silent and lightweight Braille printer. At the age of 12, Shubham, from Santa Clara, California, became the youngest entrepreneur ever to receive venture capital funding when Intel Capital invested in his startup, Braigo Labs. His invention was featured at the first ever “White House Maker Faire” in June last year to “celebrate a nation of makers and help empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future”. Banerjee was invited to the White House to develop an accessible solution for blind and disadvantaged people across the globe.

Beware of con men, warns Koirala Bollywood star Manisha Koirala has cautioned on her Facebook page about bogus organisations fronting under the pretext of helping people in Nepal after the recent earthquake. “I have been warned that a lot of organisations would be misusing this situation, so I request everyone who wants to help to please double check the accountability and only then offer help,” a post on Manisha’s official page on Facebook read. The actress who hails from Nepal is saddened that people are trying to make money by misusing relief funds meant for earthquake-hit Nepal. “A lot of my friends who want to travel to Kathmandu, please be mindful that too many people are already there n there is a shortage of food n water. We must be prepared for a long span of rehabilitation and relief work (I’m afraid after the initial shock and hence desire to help gets diluted by misuse of help and with time we become numb n start ignoring).” The Himalayan nation was jolted by an earthquake of 7.9-magnitude which brought the region to a halt. 10 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

CEO gifts away stake!

Former Wipro’s chief business officer Doreswamy joins TCS Wipro’s former chief business operations officer Satishchandra Doreswamy, who resigned from the company last month following a massive organizational reshuffle at India’s third largest software exporter that led to the appointment of a chief operating officer, has rejoined his former company Tata Consultancy Services. Doreswamy’s new role and portfolio at TCS is still in the process of being finalized and is expected to be known over the next few weeks, sources said. “Doreswamy’s portfolio and his new duties are being finalized as we speak — he will in all likelihood report directly to Chandra (TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran) in his new role,” said one of the sources. Doreswamy’s exit from Wipro in April marked the

first major top level departure from the company after former TCS veteran Abid Ali Neemuchwala joined the Bangalore-based firm as COO. Doreswamy did not respond to calls and text messages sent on his mobile. TCS did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Doreswamy’s appointment at the company at the time of the story going to press. After Wipro undertook the top level reshuffle that also resulted in the elevation of two executives to the rank of president, some top executives in Wipro’s service lines including Doreswamy who were previously directly reporting to Kurien were asked to report to COO Neemuchwala. (www.economictimes.com)

When politicians and diplomats danced...

Last month, India’s former foreign minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid became the talking point of the capital’s chatterati. He had made his acting debut in the video Lebe Zetzt - Kal Ho Na Ho that went viral on the social media. Khurshid assayed the role played in the original film by Saif Ali Khan, while German Ambassador Michael Steiner took over Shah Rukh Khan’s role and his wife, Eliese, Preity

Zinta’s. The German couple’s innovative soft diplomacy was brought to life by newspaper man-turned-digital story teller Sumit Osmand Shaw. “The idea of this music video originally came from the ambassador,” says Shaw. He wanted to project modern diplomacy which is about connecting with people. He was quite confident that the song Kal ho na ho would work because even the Germans say, ‘Lebe Jetzt’, or live right now. As a journalist, Shaw worked with various publications before joining the BBC World Service Trust in 1999. “Although it was great to be associated with it and learn from it, I wanted to fly free as a creative person. So I formed a company called Baanyan Tree Productions. The idea was to bridge the gap between creativity and what clients wanted,” says Shaw. Shaw describes Khurshid as a relaxed, spontaneous actor and the Steiners as very hard working ones.

After gifting his stake in the company to his employees on Wednesday, Housing.com CEO, Rahul Yadav has now challenged Deepinder Goyal of Zomato and Bhavish Aggarwal of OlaCabs to give away at least half of their stake in their respective companies to their employees. “Now I challenge Deepinder Goyal of Zomato and Bhavish Aggarwal of OlaCabs to continue this noble act and give away half (not full) of their shares to their employees. And I hope both of them spread the nominations further,” he said in a Facebook post. The ‘noble act’ meant the employees will get approximately one year of their annual salaries worth of Housing.com stocks. The company statement said the stake would be worth anywhere between ₹ 150200 crore. The act has made him a cult CEO among the middle class, but there are others who think it is only a PR stunt by Yadav, who had resigned as the CEO of his company challenging the “intellectual capability” of the board members only to apologise and return. But are Deepinder and Bhavish inclined to pick up the gauntlet yet? Most likely not. Deepinder has replied to Yadav’s post with “Awwww. So cute.”

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 11

collywood Lavasa honcho’s salary too high!

Sachin ‘makes’ a BMW!

After bidding adieu to cricket, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, it seems, is exploring new ways to keep himself busy. Recently, Tendulkar, helped by the engineers at German-headquartered BMW’s Chennai plant tried his hands in assembling a luxury car. “I am an avid BMW enthusiast and have been driving BMW cars since a very long time. But the experience of making a BMW with my own hands was unique and unforgettable,” said the legendary cricketer. He helped assemble a BMW 5 series using parts from Indian auto component suppliers. The luxury car maker participated in the Make in India initiative with up to 50 per cent local content in the car assembled at the Chennai plant, which can locally produce up to eight models in two assembly lines. The BMW 5 series car with the engine and transmission fixed by Tendulkar will probably be the single car edition or Sachin edition rolled out by a car maker.

More fashion lines for Pantaloons The Kumar Mangalam Birla-controlled group announced a plan to merge its Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL)-operated fashion retailing business with Pantaloons Fashion & Retail. This will create India’s largest branded apparel player, valued at ₹ 12,000 crores. According to the plan, Madura Fashion (the branded apparel retail division) and Madura Lifestyle (the luxury branded apparel retailing arm of ABNL) will be demerged into Pantaloons Fashions, a listed subsidiary of the group. After the restructuring, Pantaloons Fashion will be renamed Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited, and have 1,900 stores across India. The combined entity will have a debt of ₹ 1,775 crores, after loans of about ₹ 475 crores get passed on from Madura to Pantaloons. 12 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Ajit Gulabchand, the man behind Maharashtra’s controversial Lavasa township, was in the news for the wrong reasons last week: his 2013 salary of ₹ 10.66 crore turned out to be five times higher than the ₹ 1.72 crore approved by the government, and the ministry of corporate affairs made him pay the excess back to the company. The ministry is yet to approve his remuneration for 2014 and 2015. Gulabchand is the group chairman of the Hindustan Construction Company, a conglomerate whose subsidiary Lavasa Corporation Ltd. got into trouble for flouting environmental norms while setting up a gentrified hill city near Pune – a project that is still incomplete. HCC has been in debt for several years and currently owes ₹ 5,000 crore to government and private agencies. Gulabchand’s remuneration came under scrutiny after proxy advisory firms (who serve as executive pay watchdogs, among other things) pulled him up for drawing a massive salary at a time when his company is still trying to pay off its large debts.

tributes to investment guru

Dalal Street’s veteran investment guru, Parag Parikh died in an accident in the United States recently. He was in Omaha for Warren Buffet’s 50th year at Berkshire Hathaway. Parikh, started his career as a sub-broker in 1979 and was looking to become a broker afterwards. But entry into the closed world of the broking community was an expensive affair. His wife and mother sold their jewelry to help him raise the necessary money. Parikh was popular on account of his insightful research. He stayed away from technology stocks through the dotcom era, even as stocks doubled and tripled in a heartbeat. He recently surrendered his broking license in favour of starting an asset management company. Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services (PPFAS) morphed into PPFAS Asset Management Company in 2014. He had a childhood attack of polio but was an active golfer.

Four Indians among powerful women

Four Indians - SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI Bank Head Chanda Kochhar, Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw and HT Media Chair Shobhana Bhartia are among the world’s 100 most powerful women. Two women of Indian-origin PepsiCo Chief Indra Nooyi and Cisco Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior also made the cut into the elite group, list, according to the Forbes’ annual list which is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Forbes’ 12th annual list of the 100 most influential women feature extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary CEOs, politicians, celebrity role models, billionaire activists and pioneer philanthropists who are transforming the world and have been ranked by dollars, media presence and impact. The top 10 include US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (2), philanthropist Melinda Gates (3), Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen (3), GM CEO Mary Barra (5), IMF Chief Christine Lagarde (6), Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (7), Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (8), YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki (9) and US First Lady Michelle Obama (10). The 59-year-old Bhattacharya has been ranked 30th on the list, followed by Kochhar on the 35th spot, Mazumdar-Shaw (85) and newcomer on the list Bhartia is on the 93rd spot.

Murthy exults in Sunak’s victory

Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy exulted in the victory of his son-in-law Rishi Sunak, in his maiden run for a seat in the British Parliament. “I am positive that he will do well as an MP,” Murthy said. “He has big shoes to fill since he is succeeding William Hague,” he added. Hague, Britain’s former foreign secretary, represented the constituency before he quit active politics last July. Rishi Sunak, who has been married to Murthy’s daughter, Akshata since 2009, won as a candidate for the Conservative Party, which beat projections to score a convincing majority in the recent general elections. “It’s a great honour to have been selected as the Conservative Candidate for Richmond for the 2015 General Election,” Sunak said on his web site. “I am very happy that Rishi has won convincingly in Richmond Yorks with such a majority. He and Akshata worked very hard, beat the pavement and communicated his merit, integrity and his vision for his constituency,” Murthy said.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 13

NHRD Mumbai & BMA meet

Focussing on Org A one and a half day round table meet that took place on 15th and 16th May at Mumbai, organised by the NHRD Network and Bombay Management Association (BMA), on “Culture – Its strategic significance in the present day business scenario” threw light on several aspects of corporate culture, including Organisation Culture: How it can be the source of Competitive Advantage? Why Transformation efforts succeed or fail? Corporate Culture and Company Performance; Putting People First for Organisational Success; and Internationalisation of Organisation & Culture Building. Corporate Citizen, media partner for the event, will carry an account of each panel discussion in consecutive issues. This issue brings to you insights on the panel discussion on “Organisation Culture: How it can be a source of competitive advantage”, addressed by top delegates from the HR fraternity.

By Mahalakshmi Hariharan and Rajesh Rao

orporate culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards and beliefs that characterise an organisation and define its nature. Corporate culture is rooted in an organisation’s goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labour, customers, investors, and the greater community. The beliefs and behaviours determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. It is true that culture is the biggest differentiator in today’s world and yes, one cannot buy an organisation’s culture. The session was moderated by M.T. Lakshmanan, Head-Talent Management, Corporate HR at Larsen & Toubro, and the panelists included Judhajit Das, Chief Human Resources, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. & President, NHRDN, Mumbai Chapter, Dr Arvind Agrawal, Management Board Member & President-Corporate Development & HR, RPG Group and Kalpana Jaishankar, Senior Vice President HR, Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. Quoting an example of the famous coffee shop, Starbucks, while visiting Los Angeles, California, Lakshmanan threw light on the culture there. “When you talk about culture… what is so special about the coffee shop, Starbucks? I was curious and wanted to see what was so special about Starbucks that made it so interesting. I looked at its vision—well, its vision is to create a place between work and home. They wanted to create a synergy between work and home. People were seen busy chatting at the coffee shop, there were some working, thereby creating a friendly work

14 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

The culture of an organisation needs to be dynamic as the business context is also evolving. Whilst there needs to be a core set of values which keeps the organisation anchored, they have to mesh with the purpose of the organisation Judhajit Das

atmosphere. The key is that Starbucks will never compromise on the quality of coffee being served and the staff has a very friendly attitude and is very energetic. So the culture of the company is creating such a friendly manner which gets reflected at the point of customer service. I saw that they knew their regular customers well. We kept wondering what was so special about Starbucks. The atmosphere is friendly and always makes you feel you want to go back. They want people to meet over coffee and create a community. I could see the customers related to it completely.”

So what is culture?

Lakshmanan: “Culture is something that you experience…it is not something that you see, touch,

pics: Yusuf Khan

Anisation Culture

Panel discussion on “Organisation Culture: How it can be a source of competitive advantage”-- (L to R) M T Lakshmanan, Head-Talent Management, Corporate HR at Larsen & Toubro, Judhajit Das, CHRO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. & President, NHRDN, Mumbai Chapter, Dr Arvind Agrawal, Management Board Member & President Corporate Development & HR, RPG Group and Kalpana Jaishankar, Senior Vice President HR, Tata Consulting Engineers

hear, smell or feel. You can’t really see it, you can only experience it…just like Starbucks.” In another example, Lakshmanan presented the example of Google as a company, which truly believes that it’s their people who made the culture there. “Look at Google, if you go to their website, it says it’s the people who make the culture there. Everyone talks about the food, canteen and the whole thing is designed in such a way that it reflects the design of innovation. No wonder, everyone talks about Google. So there’s a clear culture and a clear alignment of culture and that’s the strategy at the organisation. When you see every successful company, you see how strategy meets culture and how culture meets strategy and how

well they are integrated. The moment they are integrated, they leverage each other and the result is significantly different --what they experience are synergies in their organisations.” Meanwhile, Judhajit Das, CHRO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. & President, NHRDN, Mumbai Chapter, threw light on the working of culture in an organisation, while also sharing his experiences. “The culture of an organization is created and tested daily at an operating level. For example, what should be the HR response when a star employee comes up and says that she is resigning as she has received a better offer, say, 40 per cent more compensation than what she is getting currently. One option would be to say “We want

you to stay back and we will immediately match your offer” – another option, would be to make a counter offer which may include a combination of role, promotion, compensation etc. but it will be effected with the annual appraisal cycle. Another option would be to simply say, “We would love you to stay back but we don’t negotiate compensation and if you feel you have a better opportunity, you should go ahead”. Each of these responses have implications for the perceptions of dimensions of culture in an organization such as fairness, trust, transparency, meritocracy etc. In the public sector and institutions with strong governance standards, compensation & promotions are based on certain criteria and it is not negotiable. Hence, we don’t hear of too many internal equity June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 15

NHRD Mumbai & BMA issues, it is uniformly fair or unfair as it is based on a set of rules and discretion is not allowed. In my view, the biggest dissonance at work happens because people feel the organisation is not fair and again, this is a question of perception. The management may feel that their actions are fair and reasonable but a large number of employees may feel the actions taken are not fair. Therefore, a set of rules, norms, policies, processes and systems are important to counter perceptions of unfairness and ad-hocism. The challenges we face in our day-to-day work and our response to these challenges determine how we operationalize the culture of the organisation.” Kalpana Jaishankar, Senior Vice President HR, Tata Consulting Engineers, too, gave her perspective on the corporate culture and her experience in Indian companies. “I take my cue from Judhajit when he talked about how one can operationalise culture. When you talk about people leaving the organisation… having been in different organisations, I have seen how different organisations tackle the situation, depending on the ‘culture’. There are organisations which ask its people to leave overnight. They say if you continue to have that person in the company, they will poison the atmosphere. But in today’s context, in India, it is not easy to just get laid off and get a job overnight. There are some organisations which are humane. Again it’s a matter of culture. They may say, ok, you can go…and during your notice period you can work from home or from office. So it just shows the organisation’s trust for its employees where they feel if you are good to your people, they will also be good to you…they are not going to let you down and sometimes after a month if the person asks for an extension, you also provide that. So you can adopt a very cut and dry approach or you can adopt a very humane approach. I don’t say either is right or wrong, but HR people would typically like to see you are fair to the person and as humane as possible. Again, you can always throw the rule book and say, this is the policy and we will not make exceptions. But sometimes when you look at the circumstances, as a person, as a representative of the organisation, you feel that the organisation needs to extend itself and make some exceptions. While you keep all that confidential, when you do it repeatedly for a good intention, it also becomes the culture of the organisation and then people do not question why it is being done to only some people, because there is a very special circumstance around which things are being done. So, as you work in organisations, you experience culture. As you work in organisations, the culture also evolves. So sometimes your strategy also sort of determines your culture…and sometimes the culture becomes a barrier to the strategy you come out with.” With this becoming a highly interactive session, there were a lot of questions from the au16 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

So what is culture? Culture is something that you experience… it is not something that you see, touch, hear, smell or feel. You can’t really see it, you can only experience it…just like the case of coffee shop-Starbucks M.T.Lakshmanan

When you move from one organisation to other, the initial days are difficult when you compare the culture with the previous one, thinking it’s working differently and hoping some of the things are similar. Adaptability of the person is extremely important Kalpana Jaishankar

dience on how one can build a strong organisational culture, is the culture set by the company promoter himself, what is a strong organisation culture, and so on. Talking about the importance of building a strong organisational culture, Dr Arvind Agrawal, Management Board Member & President Corporate Development & HR, RPG Group said, “I am reminded of Xerox, the company I used to work for – a good 12 years. One of their stated beliefs was that they were a very open and transparent organisation and to operationalise that they had decided that all executives will sit in offices with transparent glass, and the door will always be open. Nobody would sit behind closed wooden doors. So it was symbolic -- when you stepped in, you could see your senior directors sitting, you could see what they were doing…you could walk into their office and that was how I got trained in my early years on how you display your openness. I tried to adopt the same when I made a career move to my next company where I ventured towards having glass doors, displaying my attitude for having an open and transparent culture. In a couple of weeks’ time, I heard it over the grapevine that I was seen as a person who was not very trusting. I was taken aback. People told me that having these glass doors made people feel that I didn’t trust them, hence I had initiated this move. While this is a small matter, it shows that what is symbolic of one culture need not symbolic of the same in another organisation. The context could be different.”

Quoting an example of Indigo Airlines, he added, “Indigo Airlines is my airline of choice. Wherever I go, I prefer this airline… it is always on time. Once I asked the HR of Indigo, what keeps it on time all the time? What do you people do differently? He said… ‘we ensure everything inside Indigo is on time…we give increment letters on time, appraisals on time, if someone has a query and we say that we will get back to you in two days’ time, we make sure we get back to them.’ “So these little things give a message to everyone right across the organisation that we mean it when we say it’s on time. Contrast that with an organisation that would have a vision to deliver service to the customer on time, but internally never did anything on time -- most people in that organisation would be unlikely to believe that the management really meant it.”

In that case, how about Google as a company? Was it the culture or was about it making money?

Dr Arvind Agrawal: “First, your intention has to be specified, in terms of your vision and strategy. Then comes the culture. So if Google had a vision of making money, then that would be the first thing, and then they would have had to adopt a culture towards that.” Judhajit Das: “Commercial organisations by their very definition need to be able to generate economic surplus. However, if you want to remain profitable for a long period of time, you will need to do business the right way and deliver value to

Core values are more enduring and they will be there forever, whether it’s fairness, respect for the individual, those aspects are more fundamental and they remain forever, but culture does change and must change to ensure that it is aligned with the strategy Dr Agrawal all stakeholders.”

So how does it go when employees move between organisations? How do they cope with differing cultures?

Kalpana Jaishankar: “When you move from one organisation to other, the initial days are difficult when you compare the culture with the previous one, thinking it’s working differently and hoping some of the things are similar. You also try to understand why things are different. Adaptability of the person is extremely important. A lot also depends on what your personal values are. There has to be a good match between your own personal aspirations/values with what the new culture is bringing. These days people check carefully if they can fit into the culture of the organisation that will be getting into, but if they have not done their homework or something totally unexpected happens, and there is total incompatibility or mismatch, then you would yourself move out of the organisation or at some point of time will be asked to go.” Dr Arvind Agrawal: “The responsibility lies on both sides. As an organisation, you want to bring in people who are compatible with the culture. At the same time, you as an individual need to be adaptable and culturally sensitive to very quickly figure out what would work here and in what way you should conduct yourself differently.”

So, is it that the culture of an organisation is set by the promoter and cannot be changed? Judhajit Das:“Every organisation has a core

which is defined and set by the promoter or the founder and usually doesn’t change much. Without a core set of values to anchor the organization, everything will be ad-hoc and this will lead to dissonance and perceptions of unfairness. We are living in a volatile, fast changing world and when there are changes in the environment, like technological changes one cannot say that we will not change and adapt. It becomes an issue of survival.” Dr Arvind Agrawal: “Core values are more enduring and they will be there forever, whether it’s fairness, respect for the individual, those aspects are more fundamental and they remain forever, but culture does change and must change to ensure that it is aligned with the strategy, and strategy cannot be the same forever. What is working today may not be the relevant strategy tomorrow because the marketplace is changing, new technologies are coming in, and therefore you will adopt new strategies.”

How does a jobseeker uncover the culture of a potential employer?

Dr Arvind Agrawal: “It is not unusual for people to reach out to friends, family members. These days, everybody checks the company background before getting in. Company websites are great places to find cultures, even though you may not know the operating culture.” Kalpana Jaishankar: “When I had some offers in hand, I had to make a choice on which organisation to join. At this stage, it was not the compensation, but the culture and what you are getting into. You have LinkedIn, Glassdoor, available to you. So you can make a decision.”

Can culture be measured? Are there tools that can measure an organization’s culture?

Kalpana Jaishankar: “There is the Cultural Transformation Tool developed by British thought leader Richard Barret, used to map the seven levels of organization culture. It is a model that map’s a system-approach to cultural transformation by assessing values, desired culture of the organization, and what you want the organization to be like. Looking at gaps, you work towards a desired culture. So, this tool is an automated toolsome companies use it as a certified model.” Dr Arvind Agrawal: “Once you itemize what those behaviours are and measure those specific behaviours, you can develop a questionnaire around those behaviours. Administer the questionnaire if you want to know the culture of a particular department in an organization, or the whole company. You can very quickly know at any given point, what the culture is. You can even be more specific, if you want to know the displayed culture by the leadership team. You can convert the same questionnaire into a 360 degree feedback to know how aligned the culture is. I find the simplest part of the culture is the measurement.”

Judhajit Das: “One of the roles of an HR manager is to sense what is happening and make meaning of what is being said. Anything that detracts from achieving goals or creates challenge in delivering performance is dysfunctional. Not having optimal levels of team work, trust, accountability, cohesion can all lead to impairment in performance and while one can use instruments to seek feedback and measure, a critical role that HR Managers can play is to surface the dysfunctional behaviours or discourse in the organization and ensure alignment to the desired purpose, culture, values and business goals. Usually, lack of performance is not poor strategy, it is about how the strategy is or is not executed.”

Is there a value that can be created out of culture? Can you elaborate the relation between culture and corporate governance?

Dr Arvind Agrawal: “Value adding culture is the culture which is aligned to the strategy. If it is out of sync with strategy, then that culture is of very little value. A lot of weightage goes into the intangibles of such points, because sustainability comes out of these intangibles. Corporate governance may be the element of the culture. The key issue is how you believe in the governance. If you believe, then it is part of your culture, then you will actually have practices to ensure governance.”

In your experience, have you seen the good and bad times of culture in a company?

Judhajit Das: “The culture of an organization needs to dynamic as the business context is also evolving. Whilst there needs to be a core set of values which keeps the organization anchored, they have to mesh with the purpose of the organization.” Kalpana Jaishankar: “I have seen that when a company goes through bad times, its culture gets reinforced. If you hold on throughout, strategies change, but the values remain the same.” Dr Arvind Agrawal: “Yes! Strategies are different in bad times and different in good times. To be in in sync with strategies you have to have different cultures.” Mahalakshmi.H@corporatecitizen.in

tadka

India’s diamond studded legacy Diamonds were discovered in India for close to 6000 years now. India was the first country to discover diamonds, and until as late as 1986, the only place where diamonds had been officially found was in India.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Pic: Sanjay MD

18 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Interview

The power of

Manpower planning Binod Hampapur Rangadore is Executive Vice President and Global Head of Talent and Technology Operations of Infosys Ltd. Based in Bengaluru, his responsibilities comprise Recruitment, Education, Training and Assessment, Talent Planning and Global Immigration, Information Systems, Information Security Group and Commercial and several others. He has over 30 years of industry experience and has held several leadership positions at Infosys. He joined the company in 1993 as the Head of Manpower Planning. Binod HR took on the role of the Global Head of Commercial and Corporate Relations functions in 2010. As a responsible corporate citizen, Binod has funded the establishment of a 150-bed hospital for Sri Sringeri Mutt. In an honorary role, he is the Chairman of the Board of Governors at Rangadore Memorial Hospital, which is named after his father, the late H.S. Rangadore. Corporate Citizen spoke to him about his enriching career and life for young engineers at Infosys. By vinita deshmukh Pic: Sanjay MD

After your short stint in manufacturing and sales, you joined Infosys in the 1990s as Manpower Planning Manager. Tell us about your career span here?

I joined Infosys in 1993 but not before several rounds of discussion with the then boss N S Raghavan and followed by a psychometric test. Curious, I asked him whether he found me mad, but he said the kind of job I was getting into was manpower planning which would result in a lot of conflict on a daily basis and hence the need for psychological analysis. After the test was over, I asked the HR manager to share with me the outcome and how he perceived me. He said I had a tendency to take things to heart, which was true. My boss told me to change and moderate that a little. Then I had a second round of interview with Mr N R Narayana Murthy and Mr Nandan Nilekani, which was a very interesting one. It was taken during Mr. Murthy’s lunch hour. Nandan had just then come from abroad; he was jetlagged. With Mr Murthy, any question had to be answered with a lot of data points in it. He asked me what was the most difficult and challenging job I had handled in the past. I seemed to have given a satisfactory answer, as I got the job. I started as

Vehicles are banned from entering the premises. Around 3,000 bicycles are provided to the employees to facilitate mobility from one block to another.

‘All of that land acquisition happened because of the Infosys tag. Every govt knew that Infosys was a company driven by values and they would not take them for a ride. They knew we would not amass the land to use it for some other purpose.’ June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Interview the Manpower Planning Manager in this company. That was my first foray handling people, because I had never handled HR, though my name incidentally is Binod HR. After recruitment, all the software engineers were under this umbrella. Basically I used to make teams and break teams -- allocate people to various projects, depending on their skill and the new requirements. At that time there were around 1200 people.

How was the transition from engineering to HR?

When I asked the HR person, as to how I would fit into this role, he told me that since I was earlier in sales, I would have a sales mindset, so I was required to be a bridge between sales and delivery. So, I would have to call the sales folk on a daily basis to get an understanding of our clients’ requirements. Then I would go and find the right kind of person and marry the two. Because it is a movement of people here and not material, it was termed as Manpower Planning. So, it is equal to a Production Planning and Control function (PPC), in engineering company parlance. It was very interesting, but then they realised we were treating people like machines. We were not taking care of people’s aspirations. So then we had to change that model a little, where we distributed

the 1200 odd people to three different units and put them under their respective managers. By virtue of this though, I became jobless. So then Mr Murthy asked me to go and set up a Pune office; that was in 1995. Until then, Infosys was located only in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). So we took two floors of a building on rent in the Oswal Bandhu Samaj building on Shankerseth Road in Pune. Infosys was not really known to the landlords and they were worried whether we would be able to pay the rent or not. I set up that office and came back after six months. When I came back, the manpower department was in a mess at all the three locations. Promptly, I was handed back Manpower Planning. So again I dealt with the strategy as to how it had to be distributed, and built systems using some in-house resources and then again distributed the manpower functions. This streamlined the department so I became jobless again. So I told my boss, if it was difficult for him to ask me to leave, I would myself look for a job and go. But then, immediately, the founders grouped together and in less than half hour, they gave me six options. Mr Murthy withdrew my choice of going back to Pune as I said I would not be able to shift my family. Then Nandan Nilekani assigned me to the banking division of Infosys. At that time we

used to have the so called “Banks 2000” software division, which is now famously known by the name `Finacle’ -- 85 percent of India’s banking transactions happen on this platform, created by Infosys. I was in charge of handling customer support and headed the implementation group which implemented this banking software at various banks. In 1998 Mr Murthy called me back into the corporate office, to head the Purchase division. So I was made the Commercial Officer of this company. After sometime, one of my colleagues who was handling Facilities had quit, so I became responsible for both Facilities and Purchase. By virtue of being a procurement head, I went about acquiring land for Infosys at all the locations. Be it Hyderabad, Mangalore, Trivandrum, Pune, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, I used to travel a lot to achieve this. It was a very interesting time during the growth phase. Today, I take care of about 11 functions. Basically I head the talent fulfillment function, it’s called TAFF, it is about recruitment, education, training and assessment, global immigration, and talent planning and deployment. Apart from that, I head Technology Operations, where the CIO of the Communications department and the Information Systems department reports in to me. It

‘Infosys (then) was not a very well known company. Over a period of time people started recognising Infosys, as it became the darling of the stock market. At that point of time young minds wanted to be associated with Infosys.’ Pic: Sanjay MD

The 22,000 employees with an average age of 27 years work in this lush green campus of 85 acres

20 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

‘Basically I used to make teams and break them -- allocate people to various projects, depending on their skill and the new requirements. At that time there were around1200 people.’ Pic: Sanjay MD

The food malls in various blocks of the Infosys campus reflect the enormity of the workplace, teeming with India’s bright youngsters, 99 percent of who are engineers with 1st class degrees

also includes heading the Information Security and Purchase group. I am at the helm of India Business. I also handle the Computer and Communication Division. Along with this I do some work for the Infosys Foundation. There is one initiative called Value Global Delivery Model or VGDM which is also done by me. So all of these put together comprise my daily job.

Could you give us some interesting experience/anecdote while acquiring land?

During our land acquisition process in Pune, I was shown a barren piece of land in Hinjewadi. I was surprised it was meant for the cultivation of sugarcane, when no plant would grow on such a rocky piece of land. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had identified that land to set up a tech park. Since we were their anchor client, the CEO of MIDC would receive us at the airport, drive us to a star hotel for lunch before taking us to various land sites. At that time the access road from the national highway to Hinjewadi tech park site was very narrow. In the absence of any infrastructure, Mr Murthy had concerns on the ability to make a high class road in a short span of time but I had a firm belief that MIDC would build the roads, knowing how they had developed roads at the Ranjangaon industrial area on the Pune-Ahmed-

nagar highway, in just eight months. I insisted with the MIDC that they build a bridge across the national highway, which would be a useful link for software engineers as well as the local farmers. Then the MIDC Deputy CEO went to Delhi and got approval for the bridge within two days. The plan was to build the bridge and also widen the 12 kilometre stretch from Pune University (now Savitribai Phule Pune University) circle all the way to Hinjewadi. When the plan was announced during a meeting at the Pune District Collector ‘s office, the engineers present there started giving reasons why the project could not be done. They said that 8.2 kilometres of the stretch was within Pune Municipal Corporation jurisdiction, 4.26 kms within Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation jurisdiction, and some parts under other jurisdictions. I asked the MIDC officials if I was called all the way from Bangalore to be told why the bridge could not be done. I insisted on being told when the bridge would be ready, as the link was necessary for the IT Park and the industry it was serving. Capitalising on my proposition, the MIDC CEO asked if anybody had a problem if the MIDC built the road, at which everyone backed off. So immediately the MIDC took over and finished the road work within the next nine months.

On the day of the Bhoomi Pooja, Mr Murthy fixed the date for the inauguration. This brought pressure on the system to build the initial buildings on the 25 acres land within 10 months. It was a wonderful experience for the Infosys people who were working at breakneck speed, to interface with government officers who had a positive mind-set. After the success of the Pune project, for the next project in Sholinganallur, Chennai, Mr Murthy gave us a deadline of only seven months. It was tough to get the 20 acres of land from the government but our patience paid. Luckily the land was not rocky and we were able to complete it very much on time. I have had very interesting sessions with Chief Ministers of various states during the land acquisition processes. Once in Jaipur, they showed me three land sites and brought me back to the Rajasthan chief minister, who asked me if I liked any of them. I asked if the CM wanted a political answer or an honest answer. The CM said honest answer, and I said none of them. This upset the CM and ordered the industry secretary to put me in a helicopter and fly me over Jaipur for an aerial view. Whichever land I proposed, the CM promised to see how fast it could be done.

Did the Infosys tag help in speeding up the land acquisition process with various governments?

All of that land acquisition happened because of the Infosys tag. Every government knew that Infosys was a company with the philosophy of `Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values’ and they would not take them for a ride. They knew our honesty and that we would not amass the land to use it for some other purpose. All of them had faith in Infosys and that was its power. The land acquisition was done at breakneck speed and we were pioneers in whatever we did. Once, the then Andhra Pradesh government had immediately invited us and offered us 1000 acres of land to move Infosys headquarters to Hyderabad. I had to say no to move the headquarters like that. We finally negotiated 500 acres of land in Hyderabad close to the airport, but had got into some litigation. The chief minister stepped in and told us to identify some other land and promised to get it done. Luckily we identified land in Pocharam. The only government that did not trust us was the West Bengal government. We bought a piece of land, we paid for that land, but after that they told us they would not give us the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status. I can’t blame them for their doing that, because one of the election June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Interview What is your advice for youngsters and for educational institutes?

Advice for youngsters is that there is no short cut in life. One has to work very hard and not worry about the rewards or awards, and success will come automatically to them. Today’s younger generation looks at quick fixes. It is OK you have had a school dropout who went on to become the chief of Microsoft or a big entrepreneur but those are rare stories. Otherwise, most of us have to work hard to make sure we add value. Actually when you work hard, you only become better and once you become better, people will start recognising you, otherwise they will not.

How do you see the IT industry five years from now?

Binod Hampapur Rangadore with Bill Clinton

‘There is no short cut in life. One has to work very hard and not worry about the rewards or awards, and success will come automatically to them.’ manifestos on which the state government came into power was that it would not encourage SEZs, and not encourage land acquisition for SEZ.

Coming back to this Bengaluru campus of 22000 employees, mostly young, with an average age of 27.5 years, what is your opinion about the young generation that works on this campus, in such large numbers?

Around 1993-94 Infosys was not a very well known company. People would join us without knowing what Infosys was. Over a period of time after 1995-96, people started recognising Infosys, as it became the darling of the stock market. At that point of time young minds wanted to be associated with Infosys. Mr Murthy’s theme of `Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values’ was very well accepted and understood by youngsters. Also, Infosys used to be a big employer of people. We were recruiting 20,000 to 30,000 people. Somewhere along the line the sheen was lost and after that we had to strive a little to make people join us. Till then salary was not a differentiator, the Infosys brand itself was a differentiator. Then we had to start paying slightly higher to attract people. There were a lot of companies doing the same kind of work and paying higher than us. So they started attracting a lot of youngsters. I have been here for 23 years now and I feel a part of this company. However, today’s generation moves with the trend of changing jobs at the drop 22 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

of the hat. They believe in working for a couple of years and then begin looking out for an opening in another company. It is slowly resembling the western economy. In Infosys, we have created space and a conducive environment to work in. They initially say `wow, fantastic’ about the campus but slowly realise they have to deliver. When the challenges seem ardous for the youngsters, many a time they try to change the job rather than changing their mindset.

What are the strengths you see in today’s youngsters?

Today, everybody has a smartphone with access to information and so they are very informed. Younger people today are probably a little more firebrand. They don’t take things for granted, I mean they don’t assume it has to be this way. They want to know why this way, why not that way. So that is the difference. At Infosys, all the people who are recruited other than HR, Finance and some specific functions, are engineers who come from all branches of engineering. As long as they secure 65-70 percent in their academic career and pass our test they are part of our family. Our business is providing business solutions using technology, so we need the engineering skill. Then we transform that person in about 17 weeks to a software engineer at our foundation training programme at Mysore (now Mysuru). Once they are done with that, they get into projects and start working on planned projects.

Today the kind of IT work that is done by various companies is very similar in nature. If this continues, it is only going to be difficult for all these companies. Probably, automation is going to be the future. So you will be relevant if you have this culture of learning and automation in you.

Will India continue to be the hub of outsourcing or is that also going to change?

If you look at the demography of people in the world, the only people with a pair of hands that can work in western countries with zero population growth or negative population growth, would only be Indians and Chinese. Of these two, Indians have the added advantage of knowing English. Any person in India speaks three languages - English, Hindi and their mother tongue, so it is not difficult for that person to pick up one or two more foreign languages.

What is the philosophy of your life?

One is to leave this world a better place than we came into. Second is, life is short, make it sweet and always be happy. Bring happiness to others too. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in (Transcribed by Rajesh Rao)

tadka

Now this is employee-centric According to Forbes, if a Google employee passes away, “their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a cheque for 50 percent of their salary every year for the next decade. This is above and beyond any gratuity or compensatory package the employees are entitled to.

manage money In the previous issue we had discussed what a Profit & Loss Account is, what it contains. In this article let me dwell a bit on the Balance Sheet. By Dr Anil Lamba

Good Financial Management – Rule 2 Let’s continue our discussion on the second rule of Good Finance Management, that I began in the previous issue. In the case of Balance Sheet A, out of a total asset base of 1,000, the owners’ contribution, direct plus indirect, is to the extent of 75 percent. In the case of B the direct contribution of the owner is merely 15 percent, and including reserves, it works out to 25 percent. The bulk of the funding has come from outsiders. If B gets into trouble, the outsiders stand to lose far more than the owners. A lender must also take into account the worst case scenario before making a decision. What is the worst thing that can happen once you have lent the money? The business may fail. If this happens, the only way to recover the money would be by selling the company’s assets. The total of the Assets’ side in both cases is 1,000. However, when a business closes and there is a distress sale, assets often fetch a value that is far lower than their book value. It’s also possible that some assets which appear on the Balance Sheet do not even have a resale value. (On the other hand, of course, there is also the possibility that the business possesses real estate which has appreciated in value, and this may fetch amounts substantially higher than the book value). B owes outsiders 750. If the assets fetch a price lower than 750, which is quite likely, the creditors of the organization may not be able to recover their money. A, on the other hand, owes outsiders only 250. Even if the assets can be disposed of at one fourth the book value, the lenders will be able to recover all their dues.

Let us now understand Rule II and in the process also learn how to read a balance sheet. So far you have seen that in a typical Balance Sheet there are four items on the left and two on the right as shown here. Balance Sheet Liabilities Assets Share Capital Fixed Assets Reserves & Surplus Long-Term Loans Current Assets Current Liabilities

1,000

Instead of Current Assets on one side of the Balance Sheet and Current Liabilities on the other, you will often see Net Current Assets that is, Current Assets less Current Liabilities, appearing on the Assets’ side of the Balance Sheet. These are also called Net Working Capital. Balance Sheets are actually made up of far more numbers than you see here. But to make Balance Sheets easier to read and more meaningful, many items are clubbed together and reduced to six headings, four on one side and two on the other. It is possible that you will come across a Balance Sheet which has numerous items on each side. Don’t get confused. If you study each of them you will find that they can all be classified under one of these headings. An example of a Balance Sheet detailing the different items under the six heads is shown at the end of this chapter. If you wish to read a Balance Sheet make sure it has not more than four items on the Liabilities’ side and not more than two on the Assets’. ...to be continued

Although I may have over-simplified matters a bit, I gave you this example only to show you that, whether or not you realize it, you already know to a certain extent how to read a Balance Sheet! Reading a Balance Sheet from the Rule II perspective

Dr Anil Lamba is a corporate trainer of international repute on finance management. His clients comprise several hundred large and medium sized corporations across different countries of the world. He is the author of the bestselling book Romancing the Balance Sheet. He can be contacted at anil@lamconschool.com

Balance Sheet (A) Liabilities Assets Share Capital 450 Fixed Assets Reserves & Surplus 300 Long-Term Loans 200 Current Assets Creditors 50 1,000 Balance Sheet (B) Liabilities Assets Share Capital 150 Fixed Assets Reserves & Surplus 100 Long-Term Loans 650 Current Assets Creditors 100 1,000

750 250 1,000

750 250

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Cover Story Dynamic Duo 10

Nita and Raj Bhambhani

Bank-ing on each other Raj Bhambhani, Joint Managing Director, PhillipCapital India, earlier worked with HSBC in Hong Kong, and India. His wife Nita, now financial consultant to high net-worth individuals, and runs a Kumon education franchise, was at Bank of America, ABN Amro in India and Barclays Bank in Singapore. These former banking honchos have managed to chalk out their work and life to a fine balance – wielding both as meticulously as they do, their clients’ money and wealth By Vinita Deshmukh

ita and Raj Bhambhani, who started off their careers as top notch bankers in multinational banks, are a picture of humility and youthful disposition. Full of zest and good-heartedness, this very dashing couple has balanced work and home with the time tested tools of organisational skills, time management and deep sensitivity to family life. They have taken admirable command of their professional lives, with Nita aligning her jobs to the growing-up needs of their son Jai. Both also share a passion for fitness which manifests in their healthy eating habits and fitness regime. Presently, Raj Bhambhani is the Joint Managing Director of PhillipCapital India,which offers derivatives trading across various assets classes such as equities, commodities, foreign exchange and bonds including execution and 24 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

clearing service. He is also on the Board of other Phillip Group companies in India and the Middle East. A gold medallist in Engineering from IIT- BHU, and an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj, Raj started his career with HSBC in Hong Kong and then in the Head Office in India . Nita Bhambhani pursued her MBA in Sydenham College, Mumbai and worked in senior managerial positions at the Bank of America and ABN Amro for 13 years. Currently, she is a financial consultant for several high net worth individuals. She has also embarked on a unique educational enterprise, and set up a franchise of Japan based Kumon education, an internationally acclaimed English and Mathematics, after-school programme. This activity, which she has set up in the heart of South Mumbai at Breach Candy helps children become eager and independent self-learners. Corporate Citizen spoke to this charming couple to find out how life can be filled with love, fun and happiness without the burden of corporate life weighing heavily on one’s head.

“For me, if there is anything related to banking, especially technical issues, I seek her guidance. I admire her banking intelligence and knowledge’’ Raj Bhambhani ---------‘‘He was a gold medallist from IIT; his genius reflected in the Rubik’s Cube that he solved with amazing ease. He used to keep challenging me to do it and made me learn it’’ Nita Bhambhani June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Cover Story It all began with a bet

What happens when you lose a bet? Sometimes, it can translate into a win-win situation, as it did, in the case of Nita Bhambhani. It happened sometime in 1997, when she was working at Bank of America at Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai and Raj was working in HSBC in the nearby Fort area, after a short tenure with the bank’s office in Hong Kong. Says Raj, “At that time, the foreign banking sector was a very closely knit one. Five of my classmates of the 1992 batch of MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute had got jobs at this Bank of America office, and one of them was my roommate. So I used to visit the bank often to meet them, and that’s when I got to know Nita. I found her to be extremely well informed about the intricacies of bank work and I would often reach out to her for advice or guidance. That’s how our interaction became deeper.” One day, Bank of America had published an advertisement in a newspaper which both Raj and Nita happened to discuss. Says Nita, “We were talking over the phone about this ad which pertained to an asset product of Bank of America. Referring to a particular item in the ad, Raj said it was in the ad, and I said it was not, so we decided to have a dinner bet. After the call, we both went back and checked the ad, and I realised I had lost the bet.’’ So Nita took him out for dinner at Mings Palace in Colaba, and yes, she paid for it! But if you thought Raj let chivalry die, you are mistaken. Being an army officer’s son, he knew it was not right to let a lady pay for the meal, and that too, at the first such outing. So he reciprocated by taking her out for dinner a few days later, at Three Flights Up, a restaurant famous for its soups and salads. Says Raj, “We started as friends and then the two dinners were followed by more dinners. That’s how it all started off.’’ So, what was Nita’s first impression about Raj? Says she with a coy smile, “My first impression was that he was cute with his dimples and everybody in the bank also used to keep saying he was so cute.” Raj interrupts to cheekily ask, “Do you know what one of the meanings of ‘cute’ is? – Ugly, but tolerable.” Nita dismisses and adds, “Besides, he was fun to talk with, he had a great sense of humour, so was not a serious kind of person. Also, we had a lot to talk about as we were both from the same field and so we shared a lot of common interests.” What about Raj’s first impression about her? Says he, “For me, if there was anything related to banking, especially any technical issue, then I would seek her guidance. She would help me out because she was very well versed with the intricacies of banking and I admired her for her intelligence and knowledge.” 26 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Pet Passion States Raj, “Being in the army we always had a pet with us. We have had many dogs, a rabbit, a deer also and even a monkey for a short while. Nita was never fond of pets. After ten years of marriage, Jai and I finally made her agree to get a pet at home. That’s how we got our pet dog – Sunny. Initially she used to be scared of him. Today we believe she loves him the most and the feeling is mutual from Sunny’s end too. When we shifted to Singapore in 2010, he came with us. When he arrived in Singapore, we had to keep him in quarantine for 30 days. That was tough for us, because we were at home and he was in quarantine. We used to go every weekend and visit him and play with him in the gardens in the quarantine area. There were lots of other dogs also there. It was something we still remember. Nita also found his company intellectually challenging. “He was a gold medallist from IIT and his genius reflected in the Rubik’s Cube that he solved with amazing ease. He used to keep

challenging me to do it and made me learn it. I appreciated the fact that somebody was making you work for something better. Even with my career, he would keep guiding and encouraging me. Even now, if there is anything new to be done, I can’t take a decision without speaking to him.”

Of food and spice

Three years of courtship later, they got married in 2000. Sometime in 1999, Lings Pavalion was the venue when Raj’s father, Brig. M L Bhambhani and his sister’s family had a formal meeting with Nita. During their courtship, Raj used to stay at a rented place and it was Nita’s mother’s delicious food that added spice to their relationship. Confesses Raj, “As a bachelor you would always look for home food. So I would land up at her house and enjoyed her mother’s food which was the best.’’ And then cheekily he adds, “Surprisingly, it stopped after marriage. Before that, it was there in abundance.’’ The aroma of home cooked food also inspired Raj to shift from Cuff Parade to Breach

Candy, where Nita’s parents stayed. Adds Nita, “My parents were my support system. We moved back to Breach Candy in a place which was walking distance from my parents place and then five years later we bought an apartment in the same building as my parents.’’ During courtship, were there any ups and downs, or was it a cool story? Says Nita, “We had our ups and downs. We used to have fights and we continue to keep having our arguments. Once I don’t remember what we fought on. I remember there was a movie we had to go to in the evening which we didn’t go and he was not taking my call. What was the bone of contention though, I cannot recollect.’’ Again, Raj peppers the conversation with his humour, “During the courtship period there could be one or two days we would have argued... A1fter marriage, though, we can tell you lots…’’

Work-life balance

Nita: Nita’s high profile banking career comprised working in senior managerial positions for 13 years, first at the Bank of America and then at ABN Amro Bank. Says Nita, “Thereafter, I moved on to an investment banking company called Ambit, to set up a private wealth business for the company alongwith my earlier boss at the Bank. It was a team that catered to ultra high net worth individuals -- you handle all their investments and investment advisory. You work on asset allocation, so it’s pure financial advisory. After that we moved to Singapore, as Raj was posted there. So, my last assignment was with Barclays Bank Singapore Here too, I was a part of the private banking team, positioned as Director, in 2011. We returned to Mumbai in 2013. After that I had enough of banking and wanted to change. I still handle a lot of my old clients, but on a purely advisory basis.’’ Nita’s latest foray is a unique educational enterprise through a Japanese education venture. Elaborating on it, Nita says, “I set it up at Breach Candy. It’s a company called Kumon, which is into an enrichment programme for children in Mathematics and English. I thought it was important to give back to society, after so many years of banking experience. We started it just a few months back and it has received good response. It is a different kind of a concept of learning for children between the age group of 4 and 15 years. This is an alternate method of teaching after school hours and has been in existence in Japan for more than 40 years . Mathematics and English are two universal subjects which are taught in a novel and fun way. No blackboard teaching is involved and a child is taught as per his comprehension and ability, and the child progresses steadily. We have taken the franchise rights for the programme. Plus I put in my

Every Sunday, at 2 pm Nita and Raj hold a weekly meeting at the dining table with their son. It is a unique concept in which all of them express freely about all that happened in the week that passed by own time commitment into it. The classes are held between 2pm and 6:30pm. That gives me enough flexibility to handle home and work. Raj: I work with PhillipCapital, which is headquartered in Singapore. We have businesses in almost all the well-known developed markets in the US, Europe, Asia and Middle East. Sitting in India we look after India and the Middle East business. We undertake all financial asset services like equities, commodities, foreign exchange and bonds. Our markets work 24 hours and hence it is not a 9 am to 5 pm job for me. We take a full break on Saturdays and Sundays. We have a head office in Lower Parel, Mumbai from where I operate. We have offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Dubai. Typically my work schedule is 9 am to 6 pm at office and then I operate from home.

And a son is born…

Nita was working at ABN Amro bank when their son, Jai, was born in 2002. Says Nita, “Despite my taking four months maternity leave, it was very challenging for me to handle both work and home. My boss said I could extend my leave, but the guilt of leaving the baby back home was overpowering. I am an emotional person, so the concept of leaving him bothered me and being a meticulous person, I needed to sort out everything so that Jai was not neglected. I was very clear that I didn’t want to leave my small baby at home with maids. “So we evolved a system where my parents would be present when I went to work. I had staff at home as I did not want to bother my mother, who was also aging. I ensured that I went back home latest by 5.30-6 pm. I used

to carry back work home. The bank was very supportive and they used to allow me to work from home. Then my work became more and more challenging because I had a large team at that time at the bank. Then I thought of an alternate assignment in order to balance both home as well as my job, because I didn’t want to quit working. That was when the private banking world was opening up in India and ABN Amro had opportunities there, so I moved into the private banking team. That helped me because it was a new venture which had just started emerging at that point of time.’’ “Raj, of course, has been very helpful. Whenever I had meetings, I would call Raj and request him to be at home. I knew his priorities, but if something did come up that I could not avoid, I would tell him.” Adds Raj, “We definitely time-shared. If she had a busy day on a particular day then I would chip in and be there. Weekends, I would be with him more, but on a normal Monday to Friday weekday, it was only at night that I would be present. Nights, I would look after him, and mornings, she would be there.’’

A time to tell all

Every Sunday, at 2 pm Nita and Raj hold a weekly meeting at the dining table with their son. It is a unique concept in which all of them express freely about all that happened in the week that passed by. Says Raj, “We ensure to meet up at 2 pm on Sundays and we call it a family meet, where each one of us gets a platform to speak. Jai airs his complaints whether it is about his mother, or about a certain issue I was unaware of. Sometimes we June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 27

If women who have quit their jobs are happy looking after their home and children, then it is good for them. Your inner self has to realise what makes you happy and you should do that. If that does not make you happy, then there is no point sitting at home and cribbing; then you might as well go out and do what you like -Nita also point out something about him. ‘‘ Raj: My upbringing was as an army officer’s son, and hence discipline has been a part of my life. I guess I’ve adopted a mixed approach -trying to discipline Jai and at the same time also making sure he has all the fun of childhood. We always make sure that as far as education is concerned, seriousness is maintained. Apart from that, whatever he wants, sports related or otherwise, we have been quite liberal. He is interested in sports and right now is majorly into cricket. We do swimming together very often on weekends and also play tennis and cricket. Jai is a very intuitive child. I take all my technology issues to him. He thinks differently. There are times when he surprises us. Nita: I think we both are doting parents and I’m quite okay with it. People have told me that my child would get spoilt, but over a period of time they do graduate. For example, he now understands a lot of things. He tells me to stop mollycoddling him. He is mature enough to understand that though we do love him, when things are not under control and we want to pull it back from him, he knows we can do that. So he has that fear as well for both of us.

Be happy

Nita: One challenge as a working woman is that you have to adjust your life. Everybody talks about adjustment, but actually you have to fine tune your mind to whatever you are doing. If you are happy, there is no right or wrong answer, that is what I have realised over the years. If women who have quit their jobs and are happy looking after their home and children, then it is good for them. Your inner self has to realize what makes you happy and you should do that. If that does not make you happy, then there is no point sitting at home and cribbing; then you might as well go out and do what you like. Even when you are back home from work, you are still thinking in terms of what needs to be done the next day. But when you have a kid at home it is very easy to switch off. It happened to me. Before Jai was 28 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

born, I would carry work home, but once Jai was born, when I reached home, I switched off. Then I only had time for him.

Not a mere dummy

Nita: I think SEBI’s mandate for a woman director is good, but how well and judiciously it will get implemented is the key question. You shouldn’t have a woman just as a dummy director on the board. If you are taking in a woman director, then it should be in the true sense, because then you will have somebody who will have valuable inputs for the organisation. By just trying to do it from the compliance perspective will not work. The only thing to be careful about it is nowadays along with compliance issues, responsibilities will come with it. Unless you know the company, unless you know the management, unless you know you are going to play a key role in it, you should be careful. A lot of these companies are family owned and mostly male dominated. But we are beginning to see a change in second and third generation business families -- more women taking charge, incrementally.

For the young and eager

Raj: My message to today’s youngsters would be that, independent of which institute you are coming out from, while joining a company, first look at the industry you want to get into. Check out who are the top five players of the industry and then work towards getting a job in those, independent

of the compensation they give. I am a mentor to some youngsters in my organisation as well as few working outside, and I always tell them that they should follow their career path; the money will eventually catch up and follow. But if you follow the money line, your career line will deviate, and down the line you will see the downfall.

Loyalty counts

Raj: I have majorly worked in MNCs. If you see the top man in an MNC, be it at the country or at the global level, it will always be a person who has worked for at least ten years in that company. In Indian firms too it is the same. For example ICICI, which we have seen grow enormously in a short period of time. The current MD, who is also a Bajaj alumni had the first job in ICICI straight from the management institute and is currently at the top most executive position. In the long run, loyalty will always overplay, as long as you have that aboveaverage intelligence. You cannot be dumb and loyal and think you will survive. If you are smart and loyal, you will strike over another person who may be smart but not as loyal.

Banking makeover

Raj: Let’s go back to 1992-93. At that point of time, banking was a job, where we used to sit in rooms on fancy desks and client used to walk in. That was the case in HSBC and other MNC Banks. I used to start my day at 8 am, have a lunch break for one or two hours, leave

for home at 5 p m, go to a club, and the next day worked out similarly. Then the revolution happened with private banks coming in, with HDFC and ICICI taking a lead and others following suit. The trend changed. Bankers started going out to clients as competition increased with the increasing number of banks. Then with Kotak Bank and Yes Bank, competition intensified and that was when banks moved from their traditional business of lending and borrowing, to a fee based business. Banking is basically taking money from clients who have extra money and giving it to somebody who needs it, and as far as you are concerned, you earn interest. But since the margins reduced and competition intensified, they started going to fee based business by trying to earn from clients through advisory; trying to give them products and earn through those products; selling insurance products, etc. That was when the individual client, particularly at the mid-level, started getting the feeling that he was getting over charged. Whether it was maintaining a minimum balance or anything else you did, there was a fee behind it. The regulators eventually stopped it to a large extent. We still believe that old banks in the traditional model do fee business purely on the product that they want to offer. Some banks who have moved heavily into retail, probably made this their core business and that is where customers feel they are being over charged or there has been a case of mis selling.

Open, with tech

Now with mobile communication and technology, you don’t have a banker coming home. You don’t visit the bank. You just need a cell phone or an iPad or a computer. It is a very non-personalised way of doing a transaction. Technology has definitely made banking more transparent. That’s also one of the reasons why banks have pressure on their bottom lines, because charges, transaction, exchange rates, all have become transparent. Banks made a lot of money in foreign exchange. With the foreign exchange market having become so transparent, banks can’t earn as much as they did earlier. Technology has helped the client, may have helped bankers due to larger volumes, but reduced their spread. It has become citizen friendly.

Don’t fall into credit

From a savings economy we are slowly trending into a credit economy, in the same way that USA and Europe had moved – so we need to be cautious. It is a standard statement we give to our own clients -- if your earning is x, make sure that you save 20% of that every month or every year. The balance, you decide what you want to do with it, invest, or expense. But save means ‘save’, not even invest. Which clearly means that you cannot go on the credit side. Whether it is SIP, provident fund, fixed deposit, save it as cash. With the rest, depending on your earning capability and expenditure, you can decide what you want to do -- which clearly means, definitely don’t go on credit.

Managing money

Nita is the banker in the house, so she looks after all the domestic money matters. I am more in the market side and since you are so deeply involved in it, you don’t put your money in the equity market. We normally put it in real estate. Gold is a natural hedge against any calamity, any scare in the capital market or in any country. From that perspective, yes, I would recommend that some part of investment should be in gold. Depending on the age profile, if you are in your formative years, you can take a little exposure to the equity market. Over a period of time equity does give you good returns. I am not talking about one-two-three years but a good five-six-seven years. So about 20%-30 % can easily be held in equities. About 50%-60% can be in investments like fixed deposit, mutual funds, or various other capital market products. After that, go for alternate investments like real estate, art, gold and cash. The percentages can vary. You should hold around 10%-15% in liquid cash, from where you can withdraw easily. You should have cash in case you get any opportunity to invest in the market. Do youngsters have any money sense? Says Raj, “In the first 5 to10 years of their careers they do not, after that they start understanding. If they start doing it early that would be better for them. With a couple, it varies. The first thing they want, is to buy a house. Once you achieve that then you can focus on other things.”

Underlying credos

Raj: In whatever you do, strive to be number one, or two. Secondly, however much you have grown in life, never lose your hunger for growth. So there should be no end to what you have achieved. For us, we say success is not a destination, it is a journey, a journey which you have to continue. Thirdly, in life there is give and take, so if you are getting so much, you have to ensure that you give back a part of it. How much and to whom is not important. Unless you do that, you will never have a balance. Nita: You can’t judge people. When somebody is behaving in a certain manner, then you ought to realise that he is doing it for some reason.

Why not the army? Why didn’t he join the army? “The option was always there. At least when my time came, I was eligible to give the NDA entrance examination and even applied for it. We were in Bareilly and the closest test centre was in Lucknow that year. However, on the day of the NDA test, I had a very important exam in school because of which I had to skip the NDA entrance test. Then after that I got into the IIT, so I guess it was just the way things flowed. I would still like the army life a lot if I had the choice to change.

Fun and fitness

We love to go on holidays. Weekends are meant for some sport activity or the other. We realise that as we are going 40+, our health is important. So we are quite conscious of that. vinita.deshmukh@corporatecitizen.in (Transcribed by Rajesh Rao) June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 29

cii Case Study-3

JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. Time for a Change? by Praveen Rattan, Visiting Faculty and Raju Varghese, Senior Faculty / Academics n Institution n Sadhana Centre for Management & Leadership Development (SCMLD), Pune

CII Western Region EdgeFarm-HR Case Study Writing Competition

2nd Runners Up

Author: Praveen Rattan

Mr Praveen Rattan has a rich corporate experience of 36 years which involved all facets of Business Operations with overall Profit Centre Responsibility, and has been acquired within India, as well as overseas, with leading MNCs. Some of the assignments have involved extensive application of Turnaround and Startup skills. His last assignment was as Director & Country Head with Amcor Rigid Plastics (a global leader in Packaging) from 1997 -2010. Prior to that, he spent long stints in the FMCG sector, with Marico Industries, HSA Group in Saudi Arabia, GSK Consumer Health Products, and Philips India. Mr Rattan opted for early retirement in 2010. Mr Rattan completed his BE (Hons) Electronics Engineering, from BITS Pilani in 1972, and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Calcutta in 1974. He is the Core Faculty at SCMLD, Pune & Visiting Faculty at SIMS, Pune – Courses taken include Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Case Method, Leadership, International Marketing. For the past four years, he is also actively involved with NGO’s working towards providing education and empowerment for the less privileged segments of society. Presently, he is working on a voluntary basis, with “ A.V. Sindhu Vidya Bhavan” – a school for children with special needs, mentally challenged (affected by Autism, Down’s Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy), and struggling with learning difficulties . 30 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Author: Raju Varghese

Mr Raju Varghese is the Asst. Director, Academics, with Sadhana Centre for Management & Leadership Development (SCMLD), Pune. His subjects involve Basics of Marketing Management, Consumer Behavior and New Product Development. He has also designed training content for corporate trainings for companies like General Motors, Pune, Neosym Ltd. United India Assurance, GIT etc. Mr Varghese has done his M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry) and M.B.A (Marketing). He has also cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR/UGC. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from Dr. D.Y. Patil University on “The reasons for industrial sickness in family run small / medium business units, business community wise.” Raju Varghese’s hobbies include music, travelling and philately. He is also passionate about writing. He has done case studies and also written some articles on entrepreneurship.

cii Case Study-3

Introduction Late in the evening, Shyam Birade sat in his office, a thoughtful look on his face, and worry lines clearly visible on his forehead. The company he had built up from scratch and single handedly, seemed steadily to be losing its momentum. From a healthy growth in the initial years, turnover had shown a declining trend in the previous two years. New and aggressive competition, together with the mild recession in the industry, had steadily eaten into his company’s market share. The Order Books, which should have been full by this time, revealed an idle capacity of almost 30%, and if this did not change fast, drastic action would be inevitable. And to compound it all, his mind was filled with doubts about his team’s ability and motivation to turn things around. Was it really time for radical, surgical changes? As he got up and started pacing up and down, numerous thoughts raced through his mind -- of reduced production shifts, of possible layoffs, of a complete overhaul of his second line, who seemed incapable of delivering his vision, of the dent to his company’s reputation, and of course the blow to his ego. He knew he needed to come up with some answers, and fast. Corporate Citizen, the Exclusive Magazine Partner of the event, will publish the series of eight top Case Studies, one by one.

Background

JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was established in the year 1998. They are into the manufacture of Sintered Bronze Filter, Sintered Bush Bearings, Sintered Self-Lubricating Bushes, Sintered Copper Bushes, Sintered Iron Bushes, Sintered Bronze Bushes, Aluminium Components, Hydraulic Lift Bushes, Composite Bushes, and Flange Collar etc. Owing to their sturdiness, low maintenance, resistance to corrosion, easy usage and longer service life, these products are extensively demanded by the clients. Since establishment, they have been involved in manufacturing ferrous and non-ferrous self-lubricating sintered bush bearings. The products they offer are manufactured under the valuable guidance of quality controllers and have a remarkable quality. Their entire assortment is manufactured using finest quality bronze powder, iron powder and other material that are sourced from certified vendors. Owing to the sophisticated infrastructure and dedicated employees, they were able to offer customization facility to the clients. Some important clients are Ashok Leyland, Videocon, BHEL, L& T, and Crompton to name a few. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. is an active member of the MCCIA, CII and various other Associations Under the able guidance of their chairman, Shyam Birade, they have gained a formidable position in the market. Shyam had completed his B.E from BITS Pilani and was awarded with Best SSI Unit Award. His wide experience of working with Tata Steel, Jamshedpur helped in his understanding of all aspects of business operations. His vast experience of 30 years and brilliant managerial skills, helped pave the way for the stupendous success for JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. Some distinct advantages the company has are as follows:l Large production capacity l Sound financial position & TQM l Experienced R & D Department l Stringent quality-testing parameters l Planned manufacturing process

l Customization facility l After sales CRM facility l Large product line JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. is an ISO-9001:2000 accredited organization that lays utmost emphasis on the quality of products. All the products manufactured are examined by following a stringent quality control system. The entire range of products is manufactured using optimum quality bronze powder, iron powder and other material that are sourced from authentic vendors. Moreover, they also maintain a technologically equipped quality-testing laboratory at their premises. They conduct hardness, dimensional and density checks on the entire range of products.

Shyam Birade

Shyam Birade has won numerous awards which include – The Maharashtra Rajya Gourav Chinha, The Udyog Patra for being the self-made man from the former President Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Shyam is a self-made man. He had to migrate from his home town of Dhule due to subtle differences with his father. He rebelled and left his house and never ever depended upon his parents for any support financial or otherwise. He continued his education and went on to graduate from BITS Pilani. One of the most memorable events in his life was getting his first job at Tata Steel at Jamshedpur. Most of Shyam’s training here would go on to shape his future. He learnt the nuances of management and honed it with the technical skills he already possessed. Tata Steel was a hard taskmaster and an excellent learning resource for young Shyam. He would go on to learn, managerial and team handling skills, target and goal orientation, organizational development, design and most important the value of the term ‘deliverables’ from an organizational perspective. Shyam also had the privilege of working with some of the stalwarts at Tata Steel and he went on to become an out and out ‘production’ man. Shyam valued the insight of his co-workers with whom he June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 31

cii Case Study-3 Organisations are about targets and deliverables and there would be no place at all for sentiment, emotions, if they would interfere with the deliverables. Once a major accident took place on the shop floor. Two senior workers were injured badly and had to be taken to the Hospital for treatment. The morale on the floor was down and there was also a target that had to be delivered to in the same shift. Shyam rallied around the workforce, pepped them up, insured that target was met worked. He had been taught that there was a difference between knowing science or technology and actually learning while doing. He would appreciate the small, insightful tips that he would get from the seasoned workers. Shyam was young and the workers always treated him as an apprentice sharing their experiences and knowledge with him. They never felt threatened by the presence of Shyam. Slowly, with time Shyam became an integral part of the shop floor. Two virtues which were drilled into Shyam at that time were the importance of ‘time’ and that of ‘targets’. Shyam learned that time was an asset that was to be used judiciously to achieve the target. Once time was lost or wasted- it would never come back. Similarly organizations were about targets and deliverables and there would be no place at all for sentiment, emotions, if they would interfere with the deliverables. Once a major accident took place on the shop floor. Two senior workers were injured badly and had to be taken to the Hospital for treatment. The morale on the floor was down and there was also a target that had to be delivered to in the same shift. Shyam rallied around the workforce and pepped them up and although he had to work hard, he insured that the target was met.

Birth of JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd

Shyam worked with Tata Steel for 15 years. He had developed an interest in the domain of sintered products. He had interacted with a lot of vendors, national and international, and hence was aware of the current technology which was relevant in that area. After giving it careful thought and then utilizing his resources he started JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. in 1998. This was a SSI unit and was situated near his home town of Dhulia in the local Industrial Development Corporation Area. (MIDC). MIDC provided the basic amenities for a production unit i.e. land ( 99 year lease), electricity and water and at the same time there were incentives from the District Industries Centre (DIC) as Dhulia was backward area and the state promoted setting up of industrial units in such areas. Shyam had an amount of Rs.10 lakhs in savings and the rest was taken up as term end loan from State Bank of India, Dhulia Branch. Some of the workers who had earlier worked with Shyam and 32 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

stayed near Dhulia decided to leave their lucrative jobs at Tata Steel and come with Shyam to Dhulia. These were experienced workers and Shyam felt morally responsible for their financial and opportunity losses that they would be facing. The workers had blind faith in Shyam and left their jobs without a moment’s hesitation. They were willing to undergo the turmoil, toil and uncertainty with Shyam. Four workers namely Aditya, Garibnawaz, Satyajit and Vinay and one clerk-Narendra left Tata Steel to join Shyam at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. in Dhulia.

JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd had number of advantages:

u Cost of Production was less, being an SSI unit. But, production capacity was also limited. v Shyam had the unique advantage of having clients from his earlier associations and they would all vouch for Shyam’s quality consciousness and hence a ready base of customers was available for the products of JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. The drawback was that they were used to expecting service quality of the Tata Steel. w Three new employees were hired at the plant with a work experience of 2- 4 years. The necessary support staff, receptionist, office attendants etc. also joined in. x Trial Production started on 21st June, 1998. Life at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was tough in the earlier days. Work was hard and orders were fine due to Shyam’s previous associations with Tata Steel. Most of the companies wondered if Shyam would be able to focus on the same quality level as before. Shyam and his team worked very hard. Every order was treated with immaculate urgency and yet it was ensured that there would be no cause of customer complaints. Shyam was a workaholic and it was almost as if he had a new mission in life. He would be in the plant and there were separate arrangements made for his stay overnight, which was often. His team shared the passion and worked with the same zeal. The newer recruits would slowly go through the ‘baptism by fire’ and there would be a lot of stories of Tata Steel and how the team had conquered the unconquerable, many a times. Energy level at the plant was very high. Shyam had to ensure that none of his team felt the lack of security of leaving Tata Steel. However, they were all so engrossed in the building of JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd that the thought never crossed their minds. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. gradually emerged from the shadows of its founder and the illustrious past of Tata Steel and became a name for itself. The company JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd had to stand alone as an entity rather than as an extension of Shyam. By the financial year 2002, JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was considered to be one among the top five names in its domain. The company turnover had shown a healthy increase. The loan from State Bank of India was to be setup for an overhaul. The turnover of the company and the loan amount did not match. Production capacity had to be increased because of the orders flowing in. Things were looking up. The hierarchical structure of the organization had not changed

cii Case Study-3 Life at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was tough in the earlier days. Work was hard and orders were fine due to Shyam’s previous associations with Tata Steel. Most of the companies wondered if Shyam would be able to focus on the same quality level as before. Shyam and his team worked very hard. Every order was treated with immaculate urgency and yet it was ensured that there would be no cause of customer complaints. Shyam was a workaholic and it was almost as if he had a new mission in life. His team shared the passion and worked with the same zeal Exhibit-1

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5

Year Turnover (` million) 1998 7.5 1999 12.55 2000 22.5 2001 50.11 2002 62.55

much. It was as follows:-

In order to meet the increasing order requirements, it was felt that the following needed to be recruited urgently: l Operations Manager l HR Manager l Workforce- Skilled- 50 l Workforce- Unskilled- 25 The Operations Manager was to report to Satyajit and the HR Manager to Narendra. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was scaling up its operations. In the meanwhile, Shyam went on to win numerous awards both at state and country level. From 2003 till date, the turnover increased dramatically. At the financial year ended, 2010-11, the turnover of the company was Rs.2500 million. Shyam was an independent decision taker. He would take decisions and then depend on his team to back him up. No one from the immediate team had ever questioned his decisions. Even if there was discontentment, Shyam would either talk them over or apply Martial law and say – That was it. Shyam’s experience would be an enabler and he was very well read and also aware of the current trends in the industry. In short he was

the pioneer or the leader. He was self – motivated, self-driven, focused, objective and matter of fact. He did not mince words when he wanted work done. The team (old and new) was in awe of him. Shyam was also a highly creative person. He would experiment with processes and some innovations that he had made were up for getting patents as well and had earned him worldwide reputation. His technical acumen was very sharp. IIT Delhi & BITS, Pilani- his Alma matter, had sought his assistance in guiding their students. He had also undertaken a number of consulting assignments both nationally and internationally on major projects. By temperament, he would never distinguish between his central team and co-workers. All had to face the music, if there was a deviation from work. He hated anomalies and took very harshly to the same. He would always say-“Don’t listen to me, but understand the purpose”. His staff also reacted to him similarly. He was the boss. They had a healthy respect for him and at the same time would keep a safe distance. Interactions would be only if Shyam wanted. Shyam was process driven. According to him if the process was correct the outcome would be correct and consistent. He would go on experimenting with new processes and at the same time discard older ones. He was radical in thought as well. He was more of a creator and an inventor. Sometimes set rules and paradigms would challenge him. This sometimes, would result in problems as well. Well set rules would be replaced with new ones and that would create an element of unease in the organization. Whether Shyam did this to keep everyone on their toes, was any one’s guess. The reputation of JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. and Shyam Birade grew phenomenally. In fact, a survey that was conducted by ICRA before Shyam wanted to go public also mentioned the fact that JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. did not have an existence beyond Shyam. According to ICRA, this was not a healthy sign as there should have been a team in place to handle routine issues and Shyam should have been left alone, clutter free, for strategic decisions. This was the least that could be expected of an organization that was almost 16 years old. Unfortunately ICRA did not rate JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. highly, although all processes at JKN were highly appreciated. Narendra had pointed out to Shyam that in the financial years - 2011-12 and 2012-13, the turnover was Rs.2380 million and Rs.2090 million. There was a decline. The current year was also not progressing well. Narendra estimated that they would be reasonably lucky to touch the Rs.2000 million mark. This was the third year where the turnover was going down continuously. It was a worrying trend. June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 33

cii Case Study-3 Narendra was seasoned and analysed that the deficit was because of the following reasons:u The manufacturing and the automobile sectors were in a recessionary phase and it was expected to continue in the current year as well. v The number of manufacturers of the similar products had gone up by 20 percent pan India in the last three years. This was eating into the JKN’s market share. w There was further competition internationally from the Shougang Group in China.The group was planning to open a plant in Noida, near New-Delhi. They were fiercely competitive and the margins for Indian companies would go in for a toss. x If the trend continued, JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. would have to cut down one shift of production from the daily schedules. y Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the shop floor was nowhere near electric. There were mistakes happening in planning and execution, rejection rates were also creeping up slowly. Narendra, hence decided to meet Shyam and called up his secretary for a personal meeting. Following is the gist of the conversations that took place between them during the meeting:Narendra: This is the third consecutive year that the turnover is down. Not only that, it is declining every year. Shyam: Yes, I know I had predicted that too. Employee complacency and the market trends are the two basic factors. Narendra: Sir, the employees are almost ten year old, they are loyal. Shyam: Loyal yes, productive no. You know my ex-boss at Tata once told me this paradigm-“People change or Change People”. Our staff has become very resilient. They are taking things for granted. How can you explain rejections and unsatisfied customers? Are they unsatisfied because of me? I have brought these orders. Narendra: Yes Sir, you are correct. Complacency could be one of the reasons. They are doing the same thing time and again. Redundancy does set in. We need to expand or change the scope of the older workers and the younger ones are not ready as yet to take the challenges. Any way Sir, shop floor rejections are a meagre 2.1%. Shyam: Will you take a salary cut of 2.1%? Would you appreciate cooking gas less in the gas cylinder by 2.1% and that too when you have paid price for the full cylinder? Will you like a dosa that you have ordered to be smaller in quantity by 2.1%? Your attitude and that too after you have undergone a training at IIMM is pathetic. This is shocking. Narendra: Sorry Sir! Shyam: Please note that I have never worked like this. I have also been an employee. I have worked 100%...always. If this persists, Narendra, we will all be looking for new jobs. Think, if you want to do it. Narendra: I am sorry sir. I will ask shop floor to be more careful. Shyam: Tell them to do it for themselves and not for me. I am a survivor and I will survive. What will they do if something happens to JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd.? I am seeing that 34 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Shyam felt that if JKN had to survive, may be a third / neutral opinion may be required. Shyam did not like the concept, as most of the consulting firms would then be privy to most of the organisations strategic advantages. That left him feeling exposed, but he felt that in the larger interests of the organisation a review of the institution and what needed to be done would be nice this will happen. We may have to close….if this continues. Mark my words. End of conversation Meanwhile, there were a number of events happening in parallel. u The newer workforce that had come in, post 2003, was a separate group of people. This group distanced itself from the founding members. They aspired to be a part of this group, but there was a divide. v The founding members had worked so very hard to achieve glory, however there was now a growing impression that if they had remained with Tata Steel, it would have been better because now it had evolved into a world brand with many M & As. They were financially well off, but still Tata Steel was Tata Steel. w Shyam, meanwhile, had started exploring other avenues, markets and was looking at opportunities from a global perspective. He was the main driving force behind JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. He had matured and the exposure had evolved him. He was now in his late fifties. x The organization remained dependent on him for strategic decisions. y The current market trends were not positive. Expansion of any sort was out of the question. Sustenance was the new mantra. In spite of his abruptness, the earlier conversation with Narendra had an impact on Shyam. An element of self-exploration had started. Shyam felt that if JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. had to survive, may be a third / neutral opinion may be required. Shyam did not like the concept, as most of the consulting firms would then be privy to most of the organizations strategic advantages. That left him feeling exposed, but he felt that in the larger interests of the organization a review of the institution and what needed to be done would be nice. Shyam then decided to contemplate upon a suitable consulting firm and on the basis of his earlier contacts at Tata Steel and acquaintances then, the organization ICRA was selected. The ICRA team visited JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. and were in the plant for one month, understanding the processes, interacting with the staff, monitoring all deliverables and comprehensively carrying out the audit. This audit was divided in to the following parts-(This was based on their one month stay at the company and sectorial analysis) u The balance sheet for financial details which carried a weightage of 50%.

cii Case Study-3 v The top management and its contribution / involvement which had a weightage of 20%. w The Industrial sectorial analysis which had a weightage of 10%. x The last variable was People, Processes, and Deliverables which had a weightage of 20% This was also based on the immense audit experience of ICRA that was spread across various sectors. Shyam, although reluctant, also felt that that a third party intervention would prove to be impersonal and insightful, although with reservations and unease. Finally the ICRA report was ready to be tabled. Their preaudit observations were as follows:

Part-I: The Financial details

u The balance sheet analysis, past financial analysis indicated that the growth of the company till the year 2011 since inception in 1998 was nothing short of exponential. The company was also in a good and healthy financial condition with all its loans and installments on target as on date. (M/s. State Bank of India had already hinted to Shyam that they were willing to go for a

Part-II: The Top Management

u The top Management is Shyam and Shyam and no one but Shyam. He is an example of an energetic goal driven entrepreneur. He has conviction and backs the same with processes at the work place. v He has also become an icon. He is a technological expert and is well abreast of most of the contemporary happenings in his sector. His alternate personal career as a consultant also means that he is exposed to both technical and managerial issues. That makes him evolve as an entrepreneur and a problem solver. w On the floor Shyam is more of a process person and less of a people person. His unique management idiom is – “If the process is correct the outcome will be as per the laid out norms”. He believes that processes that have stood the test of time for endurance, sustenance and productivity need to be adhered and if at all a change is required then the same should be carefully rethought. Hence any deviation from the process is dealt with firmly, seriously and swiftly. x Shyam considers himself and the plant- M/s JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. as two separate entities. He does not like

On the floor Shyam is more of a process person and less of a people person. His unique management idiom is – “If the process is correct the outcome will be as per the laid out norms”. He believes that processes that have stood the test of time for endurance, sustenance and productivity need to be adhered and if at all a change is required then the same should be carefully rethought. Hence any deviation from the process is dealt with firmly, seriously and swiftly loan enhancement, considering the better performance of the company). v They current ratio of M/s JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was also very close to the ideal 2:1. In fact their asset to liability ratio was slightly in the surplus indicating unutilized surplus cash. At this point of time M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. was cash rich. w The company was planning for an overseas expansion project in China and is like to come up with a public issue shortly. This might take at least a year in the foreseeable future. x The current trend over the last two financial years is disturbing. The turnover is going down and at the same time, so is profitability per unit. The reason that this does not have a visible impact on the balance sheet is that the loans from banks and credit from the suppliers is very well managed. The bank loans have been updated only once and that too marginally. The company has a distinct advantage of being in market where there is limited credit offered to end customers. Receipt of payment is on delivery of the order. Hence the company remains cash rich. The cash reserves will take a hit because of the decrease in turnover over the last two and now the third year. y Another notable feature is the increasing rejection rates in the plant. It was at an all-time high of 2.1%. Although a very small percentage, it had started hurting.

personalization at work. Hence his immediate relatives, older staff do not get any differential treatment, but a shop floor worker who delivers, would be considered in high esteem by him. y The ICRA review team had a few pertinent questions:a) What is the future of M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. after Shyam? He was almost into his late fifties. b) Does the company have an efficient management team to take over? The obvious answer is no. There are departmental / production heads by virtue of experience but none have been trained to take over or groomed for the same. ICRA considers this to be the weakest strategic area for the company. c) Although the person concerned – Shyam, is a pioneer in his respected area, working in a dynamic environment requires everchanging managerial skills. Hence a one man centric company although good as a startup, requires separate skill sets once the company matures. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. does not have this management team to take over from Shyam d) Why is it that leaders are not evolving from within? Is it because they are only technically competent and not managerially equipped. If so why was corrective action not taken? e) There has been no indication that someone from Shyam’s immediate family is interested in taking over or at least be in a groomed for the same. June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 35

cii Case Study-3 Part-III: The Industrial Sectorial Analysis

u Lack of a future markets. The product was a technological breakthrough at one point of time. It was a radical innovation. Subsequently the product has lost its sheen. There are other newer technologies that are in the development process and a breakthrough was expected soon. v Intense competition which would result in a corroded market share and lesser margin per unit. w International competition from China was also expected to come in with a strategic cost advantage in their favour. x There were nine major competitors for M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. within the country. Out of these nine, five companies had a sales turnover that was almost similar to M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. Their production capacities and technological backgrounds were also similar. The remaining four were comparatively smaller in turnover and had a regional presence.

Part-IV- People, Processes, and Deliverables

u M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. Is a process driven company. The processes also translate into deliverables. v The People are divided into two factions. These are clear and well defined factions. The older faction is more responsible,

be either at 2.00pm or at 2.00am.The seniors felt that the juniors were very time conscious while working. They were the typical 9.00 to 5.00pm workers. y The seniors although mature were also not adhering to conventional rules. They would not be coming on time, sometimes leave early and also the discipline level was dismally low. They were however accountable and would deliver when it mattered. Overall, the entire Group, from Shyam down to the lowest level, was just not functioning as a Team, as a “well-oiled machine” z ICRA distinctly feels that ‘people’ are coming in the way of ‘processes’ and this is affecting the deliverables. The ICRA report clearly indicated the following gray areas: ICRA had the following observations regarding team JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. u With time as the original team matured, work became routine and mundane and interest levels started declining. An observation was – “There were no challenges.” v “Lack of ownership” related to the organization. The ownership quotient was high in the older lot and less in the relatively newer lot. w Following were the areas that ICRA found the L2 and L3 staff wanting-

International competition from China was also expected to come in with a strategic cost advantage in their favour. There were nine major competitors for M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. within the country. Out of these nine, five companies had a sales turnover that was almost similar to M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. Their production capacities and technological backgrounds were also similar. The remaining four were comparatively smaller in turnover and had a regional presence but undisciplined. The younger faction lacks “sense of ownership”. It is high time these factions became – TEAM- JKN (ICRA Update). There is also an atmosphere of mistrust on the shop floor. This does not auger well for M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. ICRA has clearly observed two lobbies in the work force on the shop floor. The senior lobby comprising of the original founding members and the second comprising of all the employees who joined in subsequently. There is an underlying tension between the two always. The senior lobby feels that the younger lot is casual. The younger lot feels that the seniors are getting a lot of undue benefits. w The older lot has become a part of the DNA of M/s. JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. They understand the organization, its ethos, the vision and mission perfectly well. They were the founders. There is a thin line of distinction between the organization and the founding members. This is the greatest advantage and also the greatest disadvantage for JKN. x The younger lot is more professional, they do measured work, do not stretch beyond their –‘job profiles’. It was mandatory and an unwritten rule at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. that work would always get preference. The seniors would be unmindful of time. If a dispatch was scheduled they would see to it that it would be delivered before they left and this would 36 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Team Building l Soft Skills l Leadership Skills l Resistance to Change l Interpersonal Skills x ICRA felt that the above issues need to be tackled on an urgent basis through precise OD Interventions. These interventions would have to be carefully planned and executed. They felt the need for a seasoned Training & Development firm to analyse these issues and impart training accordingly. Conventional interventions would not work was also an observation. These interventions would have to be holistic and at the same time be individual specific. ICRA feels the future of the organization depends upon this intervention activity. The sense of urgency has been conveyed to the Top Management. The report was nothing out of the world. Shyam expected the same and was working very seriously on a seasoned outfit which would carry these trainings for the staff at JKN. Finally after a lot of deliberations with ICRA, a local management college was roped in to administer the training. Shyam felt that this management college had a lot of advantages. These were as follows:-

cii Case Study-3 Team Building, ICRA felt that this issues need to be tackled on an urgent basis through precise OD Interventions. They felt the need for a seasoned Training & Development firm to analyse these issues. Conventional interventions would not work was also an observation. These interventions would have to be holistic and at the same time be individual specific. ICRA feels the future of the organization depends upon this intervention activity u This management college - Saraswati Management Centre (SMC) was a part of an old educational group in Dhulia. The group also had an engineering college which was the oldest in the region. The institution had a reputation of trying to solve local industry specific issues with careful deliberations and at the same time the students there of both engineering and management schools would be exposed to real world problems. v SMC understands the psyche of the staff at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. as they are mostly locals. w SMC also had a Consultancy Division which would design the training module that would be company specific. x The think tank at the Consultancy Division had experienced industrialists, teachers and other experts from numerous subject specific domains and also the government. y Finally, Shyam had a number of rounds of discussion with this Consultancy Division of SMC. Shyam liked the attitude of the core team which felt that local problems require creativity and indigenous solutions. It felt that the problem and the solution were both region specific and hence would have to carefully

crafted. There was no sense approaching a third training firm outside as they would not understand the people of that region. z This Consultancy division of SMC had solved a number of issues at the local level and hence Shyam felt that they had the necessary credentials to help JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd. { A senior Professor of HR- Dr. L.R. Dixit was hence appointed as the head of the OD Interventions at JKN Sintered Products (P) Ltd.  Dr. Dixit was a veteran. He and his team met the management of JKN, were on the shop floor of JKN, in and out for the last two months, to understand the ‘people’ at JKN. Finally after a lot of deliberations and also taking the top management into considerations the following interventions / training sessions were designed /proposed.

PROPOSED TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR JKN

Time duration - 3 months Employee Interactions- Every Saturday (This was the off day at the Plant)

The Training ScheduleSr. Nos.

Training Pedagogy

Expected Outcome

Outbound Programmes- To be organized at a holiday resort an hours journey from Dhulia. ( the families of the staff were invited as well) A three day – two nights out bound programme. This programme would comprise ofDynamic Meditation sessions-2 rounds Team Building Exercises - (The teams would include people who did not get along well with each other-deliberately) Some SSY training exercises. Yoga A Self Exploration technique that was unique to SMC.

Break the ice between the seniors and the younger lot.

Communication-Verbal and Non-Verbal-These sessions had role plays, interventions through drama, conventional training in languages and communication exercises. Venue-SMC Training Hall

To make staff understand the importance of ‘correct’ communication that was precise, specific and purposeful and not just sharing of sentiments / thoughts.

Leadership- To lay the foundation for inspirational leadership. Venue- Dhulia Museum

To understand leadership, the role of a leader in the present context, his roles and responsibilities.

Team Building Exercises-Games Venue-SMC Training Hall

One man is not a team and can have limitations. But a team is a blend of personalities, likes, dislikes conflicting interests. How the goal drives the team? June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 37

cii Case Study-3 5

Change Management -Role Plays & Case Studies

To overcome resistance to change, understand the role of change in an organization and identify the correct, ‘change agents’.

Interpersonal Skills- By trainers from Chennai –Manashakti. This would be an exclusively designed training programme for JKN to help participants understand group dynamics

To bolster understanding of self and others in the organization.

These training programmes were successfully implemented at JKN. Dr. Dixit was also entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring post training sessions, if necessary.

JKN – Post Training

The training programme had the desired impact. The staff could empathize with the management and vice versa. To a large extent the old vs new battle that was there at the shop floor subsided or at least was reduced. The staff understood perspectives and viewpoints from both the arguing sides. A Team JKN which was lacking had started to emerge. A number of older policies that had lost its practicality were changed. The work force had a greater say in the designing of processes. In fact a team comprising of Shyam, Narendra and three other staff were created to monitor policies. The team would vet the policy before the same was implemented. In short the shop floor atmosphere had changed. If the same would be retained and if so how long was anybody’s guess. It was also decided that Shyam would be the face of the organization for the external world because of his vast experience and exposure. Shyam would get the orders and Team JKN would implement. The rejection rates had also started going down.

M/s. JKN Sintered Products Pvt. Ltd. As on date

For the first time in its history, the company is contemplating or is rather compelled to reduce its shift from three to two, due to lack of orders. The turnover in the last financial year has just scraped to the Rs 2,000 million mark, only barely. If this trend continued, the company would have to lay off a sizeable number of its staff, leading to inevitable demoralization of employees. The team spirit which had shown an improvement after the various initiatives a couple of years ago, based on the ICRA report seemed to be waning. A feeling of insecurity amongst the employees prevailed, and last week only, Narendra, an old and trusted employee had come and spoken of his intention to resign. He no longer felt motivated and had to drag himself to work every day. He had not found an alternative job and said he wished to be free and think about his future before taking up anything else. His loss would be deeply felt by the organization as he was almost as integral a part of the Company as Shyam. Shyam knew he could maybe persuade Narendra to change his mind; he also knew he could use his network, call on favors owed to him and maybe fill up the gaps in his order book, which would give him some more breathing time. But deep in his heart, 38 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

he also knew these were merely Band-Aid remedies. There were deeper issues that needed to be addressed such as making his employees more result-oriented, more in tune with his vision. Why were they so irresponsible, so casual? Did they not realize that it was their work that provided them their livelihood? How could he deal with the challenges of the environment with a suboptimal team? Moreover, newer technology up gradation had made the current technology irrelevant. It was only matter of time when the same would be commercialized. If JKN implemented this, it would have to dig deep into its reserves and the overseas expansion plant would have to put on an indefinite hold. The environment was getting hostile and some serious pro-active thinking was necessary. After all, JKN’s survival depended on it. He knew he needed some serious and sound advice from an unbiased party. He remembered, amongst his numerous contacts was a very experienced, very sensible and down to earth consultant, who had helped turned around many sick companies. As Shyam headed home, he made up his mind to give the consultant a call the next day, retain him, and seek his counsel.

A. Suggested Readings:

Literature on Leadership Models, especially EI Leaders, and mistakes that leaders make. u Innovation & Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker. v Business Sutra by Devdutt Pattanaik. w Resonant Leadership by Richard Boyatziz. x Level 5 Leadership by Jim Collins. y The Three Pillars of Leadership by Hagberg Consulting Group.

Disclaimer:

n The views expressed in the published CASE STUDIES belong to the Author / Co-Author (s) of the respective case studies, and not necessarily those of CII’s. n The copyright of these case studies, however, belong to CII. Reproduction, in any matter, without prior permission from CII is expressly prohibited. n NOTE : CII has given exclusive permission to CORPORATE CITIZEN to publish the CASE STUDY only, in full, and without any changes/ modifications. n Reproduction in parts is not allowed. n For further information, please contact: Sangita Das, Head - Policy, Industry & Practices, CII Western Region, Email: sangita.das@cii.in

Beyond the bottomline

Corporate tips from Mom’s lips! You can never judge a book by its cover - or people by their appearances and their resume. Successful leaders learn to look beyond the fancy window dressing and the looks By Suchismita Pai

So what did she say that became liquid gold in your hands?  How do you know you don’t like it till you try it? Starting out with preconceived notions often is the death knell of many good business ideas. Be open to ideas. Velcro was rejected many times before it became a runaway success.  You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it. Everyone needs to hear this sometime. When we have bad days, our ideas do not take off as expected or we experience a small bump in the road. Push limits and you can do more. Every success story is about following a dream passionately and making it work. Business empires have been built on perseverance. J.K. Rowling was published after 12 rejections.  Don’t talk with your mouth full. How often have you wanted to chew over an idea? Or digest one? Management gurus tell you to ‘focus’ on what you are doing. Pick one thing and stick to it.  If everyone jumped into a well,

Source: motherchildpaintings.com

hat moms are management experts is no secret. They also commonly find a place in award acceptance speeches and have a day dedicated to them this month. But maybe it is time to celebrate them in our everyday successful corporate careers. Because you may not know it, but you apply her little tips every day in the boardroom.

Early bird gets the worm. This is a true favourite especially of Indian moms and no truer mantra exists. If there are any guarantees of success in the complex world of business, getting a head start on everyone else is it would you do it too? There can be no stronger lesson about not following the herd. The world of business rewards risk takers and those who stand out. Be bold. From Henry Ford to Bill Gates success came to those who did not take the standard path.  I am going to count till three. Set limits. Demarcate boundaries. Give people the time and ask for results. Limits and deadlines reiterate your expectations from your team.  Eat your veggies and you’ll

grow strong. Sweet success follows bitter struggles. In keeping with the philosophy of being prepared and doing your homework well, doing some not so pleasant things is mandatory to attain your goals.  This too shall pass. This might seem rather simplistic, but it bodes well in the corporate board room to remember that good times often are followed by the not so good. You have to deal with the bears just as you deal with the bulls.  I do not care who started it. Ever had to deal with a blame

game when things do not go as planned? As a boss you might need to mediate between members of a team. While listening to all your team members is very important, pointing fingers, tattling tales and passing the buck is a ‘no-no’. The job at hand is paramount.  Early bird gets the worm. This is a true favourite especially of Indian moms and no truer mantra exists. If there are any guarantees of success in the complex world of business, getting a head start on everyone else is it.  Finish your food, there are children starving everywhere. A holistic view of all we do. If there was ever a statement that showed the inter connectedness of business, this statement nails it completely. Business is never in isolation and needs to account for the tastes and needs of people everywhere.  You can never judge a book by its cover - or people by their appearances and their resume. Successful leaders learn to look beyond the fancy window dressing and the looks. They learn to appreciate people for qualities like hard work, loyalty, dedication etc.  How many times do I have to tell you? “As often as it takes” is the implication, going by the many times moms then proceeds to repeat themselves. Mothers may appear nagging but in repetition lies the key to their success. Patient communication is often the key to business success.  Money does not grow on trees! This is an absolute keeper for the board room. Companies have often collapsed from reckless spending and not having enough reserves. So make your mom’s mantras yours and celebrate her in the boardroom! paisuchi@gmail.com

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 39

Cricket Fever

The Story of the Willow Cricket bats don’t come cheap, but the cricket crazy world, including India, has kept cricket bat manufacturers’ coffers ringing. Germany might not be a cricket playing nation, but they manufacture bats by the brand Puma which is recognised all over the globe

By Joe Williams

o one knows when or where cricket began but there is a body of evidence, much of it circumstantial, that strongly suggests that the game was devised during the Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands in south-east England, across Kent and Sussex. It is generally believed that cricket survived as a children’s game for many generations before it was increasingly taken up by adults around the beginning of the 17th century. Possibly cricket was derived from bowls, assuming bowls is an older sport in which the batsman tries to stop the ball from reaching its target by hitting it away. Since then this game, which is also known as the gentleman’s game, has come a long way, and many corporates have encashed on it in different ways. One major class of people to have made it big is the manufacturer of the bat across the globe, and India is not far behind. Madras Rubber Factory, better known as MRF, is the lone branded cricket bat manufacturer from India. Founded in the year 1949, MRF is the leading brand used in the country by cricketers. MRF bats do not come cheap as each of these bats cost not less than ₹ 24,000 -- which can hit the pockets of domestic cricketers who are yet to make the cut. “Players do find it hard to have the best branded bats and they need at least five bats per season. This is especially true for the regular playing eleven,” said Riaz Bhagwan, of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA). He went on to say that it all depends on the player’s action on the 22-yard. If he plays all 40 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

the matches of the season including the knock out in all the forms of the game, he will have to have at least six bats which would cost over ₹ one lakh. The state association does not provide anything. But the cricket crazy country is ready to shell out anything for the game. “It was difficult in the beginning, but once he made his presence felt, we did get some sponsors,” said Mahadev Jadhav, father of Kedar Jadhav, the Maharashtra Ranji player. There are some who find god fathers. There are ten top brands in cricket bats, and MRF is the only brand from India. West Indies legendary cricketer Brian Lara, Indian Sachin Tendulkar and Australian Steve Waugh were the top brand ambassadors for MRF. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are the current brand ambassadors. The price of the original MRF bat in India is ₹ 24,199. Germany might not be a cricket playing nation, but they manufacture bats by the brand Puma which is recognised all over the globe. This German cricket company was established in 1980. It was one of

Cricket bats were first manufactured in 1624, and were used in back and reverse ridge shape. According to the ICC, a cricket bat should weigh a maximum of 1.1 to 1.4 kilograms and the length should not be more than 38 cm and its width a maximum 4.25cm

the most popular bats during the ICC World Cup 2003 and 2007. Cricket bats were first manufactured in 1624, and were used in back and reverse ridge shape. According to the ICC, a cricket bat should weigh a maximum of 1.1 to 1.4 kilograms and the length should not be more than 38 cm (965 mm) and its width a maximum 4.25cm. There are ten bat manufacturing companies who design the shape and size of the bat so as to give more advantage to the batsman. The oldest among these manufacturers is Spartan, which was founded in the year 1893, while the latest entrant in the market is Adidas who debuted in this area in 2007. India’s lone manufacturer to get into this market was MRF, founded in the year 1949.

1. Spartan: Spartan was founded in 1893. The Spartan bat was, for the first time, used in the Australia and England ICC Test match by England wicket keeper Matt Prior. Matt Prior is the first brand ambassador for the Spartan cricket bat. Spartan bats are of four types -- Intro, Club, Pro and Elite. Besides Matt Prior, MS Dhoni, Michael Clarke , Chris Gayles and Mitchell Johnson are the other brand ambassadors for Spartan. Spartan bat prices range from ₹ 5,000 to ₹ 20,000. 2. Adidas: Adidas cricket bats became popular in 2007. Adidas cricket bats are priced at around Rs 22800 in India. The Adidas bat was used for the first time by Sachin Tendulkar in an ICC World Cup Tournament. 3. Kookaburra: Kookaburra bats were

first manufactured in 1890. Kookaburra bats are best suited for ODIs and Test cricket. The main markets for Kookaburra bats are South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and UK. AB De Villiers, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Ian Bell and Martin Guptil are the brand ambassadors for Kookaburra bats. Kookaburra bats cost from ₹ 28,749 onwards, in India.

4. Puma: This German cricket bat company was established in the 1980s. It was one of the most popular bats in the ICC World Cup events, 2003 and 2007. Andrew Flintoff of England and Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist had the Puma Willow. Brendon McCullum is the current brand ambassador for Puma bats. Puma bats cost about ₹ 22,399 each.

Some of the most common breakage causes with cricket bats Dry willow (without oil) Letting the bat get wet Playing poor shots regularly Poor preparation in terms of oiling the bat and knocking it in Lack of maintenance Not stored in proper place Excessive oiling Using cheap hard balls at net practice 5. MRF: MRF started manufacturing bats in India in 1949, and since then have been one of the top brands in the country. West Indies legend Brian Lara was the first brand ambassador. Sachin Tendulkar and Australia former captain Steve Waugh are among the list of brand ambassadors for MRF cricket bats. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are the current brand ambassadors. The original price of MRF bats in India is ₹ 24,199. 6. Gunn & Moore: Gunn &

Moore bat price in England is £230 (around ₹ 21,515). This bat was first manufactured in 1885 by Thomas Jame Moore. These bats are the most expensive in the world. South African captain Graeme Smith, Jonathan Trott and Shane Watson used these bats.

7. Slazenger: British Sports Company Slazenger was founded in 1810. Australian cricket legend Sir Don Bradman and West indies captain Sir Garfield Sobers and the famous hard hitter Sir Viv Richards used this bat. Now these days England player Eoin Morgan and South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis use the Slazenger cricket bat. Slazenger bat is priced at ₹ 15,749 in India.

8. Gray-Nicolls: L J Nicolls is a British sports cricket bat company established in

Madras Rubber Factory, better known as MRF, is the lone branded cricket bat manufacturer from India. Founded in the year 1949, MRF is the leading brand used in the country by cricketers. MRF bats do not come cheap as each of these bats cost not less than ₹ 24,000 -- which can hit the pockets of domestic cricketers who are yet to make the cut 1876. G-J Gray started their company Sons & G-J Gray in 1885. These two companies were merged in the 1940s to form Gray Nicolls. England captain Alastair Cook and Australian players David Hussey and Cameroon White used this cricket bat. Now David Warner uses the bat in international cricket. Gray-Nicolls price in India is ₹ 9,944.

9. CA Sports: CA Sports began the manufacture of cricket bats in Pakistan in 1958. CA cricket bats are of world class quality . Pakistan middle order former cricketer Inzamam Ul-Haq and Sri Lankan Dilshan Tilakratne used these bats in ODI and T20 formats. CA bats cost ₹ 23,880 (USD $379.9) 10. SG: SG was established in 1931. The

company’s full name is Sanspareils Greenlands. It is the world’s best quality bat. These willows are priced at ₹ 12,799. joe78662@gmail.com

tadka

Largest film industry India has the largest movie industry in the world.The first Indian movie was a black and white silent film “Raja harishchandra”, released in 1913,and since then there is no stopping it. We produce close to 1,000 movies a year, almost twice that of Hollywood.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 41

42 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Survey

India Online India may have woken up to the internet a bit later than the rest of the world, but it sure is catching up fast! With smartphones becoming more and more affordable, the internet is fast evolving from a luxury to a necessity. Today, India has the third largest number of internet users worldwide, only trailing the US and China. By the end of 2015, India is set to overtake the US to become the second largest base of internet users with over 30 crore people online. Corporate Citizen brings you a fascinating survey by Arnab Mitra, the managing editor, LIQVD Asia, on Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insatiable appetite for the Internet, prepared by the brand strategising team of LIQVD . By Neeraj Varty

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 43

Survey

ndia’s love affair with the Internet is unlike any other. Within five years from 2010-2015, India added over 20 crore first time Internet users. Earlier considered an urban luxury, the perception of the Internet has fast changed. Today, while 18 crore internet users are urban, rural India’s internet users aren’t far behind at 11 crore. India is seeing a year-on-year growth of 32 per cent, which is the highest in the world. Mumbai has the highest number of Internet users at 1.6 crore, followed by Delhi (1.2 crore), Kolkata (60 lakh), Bengaluru (59 lakh) and Chennai (55 lakh). While 61 per cent of internet users are male and 39 per cent female, 96 per cent of internet users in India come online at least once a month, while 14 per cent come online at least two to three times a week. While desktop users have remained constant, mobile users are increasing exponentially. India has over 90 crore registered mobile connections, out of which 14 crore are smartphones. Smartphones are cheaper and easier to maintain than desktops, which is the reason they are the most important medium that has boosted rural internet adoption. Emailing remains the most used internet feature on mobiles, with 83 per cent of mobile internet users swearing by it. Indians are also fast adopting multi-tasking, with an average of 17 apps on their smartphones for various activities related to social networking, browsing, games and reading ebooks. India has taken to social networking in a big way. Popular instant messenger Whatsapp has over 7 crore users in India, forming nearly 15 per cent of its 50 crore worldwide user base. India currently has the second largest number of Facebook users, and is expected to overtake the US to become Facebook’s largest market by 2017, with over 1 billion users. With the advent of 4G LTE and wider availability of 3G, online

India on internet 2015 India is on the internet, and there are some truly remarkable statistics that point to explosive growth India on internet India is projected to overtake the US by the end of the year to become the second largest base of Internet users. Not just that, India is also expected to become the world’s 2nd largest Smartphone market by overtaking the US in the coming months. It is currently only second to China in both aspects

60cr

64cr

26cr 28cr

30cr 28cr

China USA India ---------2014---------

China India USA ---------2015---------

India is projected to overtake USA by Dec 2015 to become the 2nd largest nation with 30 crore internet users after China

INTERNET’S PHENOMENAL GROWTH India has added a phenomenal 20 crore internet users from 2010-2015, and it the number is expected to double by 2017 alone. 40% of these users use Smartphone internet, and that number is likely to double by 2018.

300 Mn 200 + Mn 100 Mn 10 Mn

2000

2010

2014

Total universe of 27.8 crore

2015

20 Crore within 5 years 32%

The Indian rural internet user base is fast catching upto its urban counterpart. It is growing at the rate of 37% year-on-year, faster than the national average of 32%. The acceleration of internet growth in India can be gauged from the fact that India took 10 years to move from 1 crore to 10 crore. It took 3 years to move from 10 crore to 20 crore , whereas the next 10 crore milestone was achieved in just 1 year. Even if the same growth is maintained, India will reach 50 crore users before end of 2016.

44 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

06 05

Urban

17.7 crore

04 03 02 01

Rural

10.1 crore

00 Y-o-Y increase in internet users since Oct, 2013

DEMOGRAPHIC

Mumbai 1.6 cr

61% Men

Dehli 1.2 cr

39% Women

Kolkata 60 lakh

Bangalore 59 lakh

Chennai 58 lakh

Mumbai leads the internet user brigade in India with 1.6 crore users. The rest of the metros aren’t too far behind though. Women users, too, are expected to grow from 39% now to close to 50% in 2017. Tier two cities are also showing phenomenal growth and are expected to mirror the growth patterns of tier 1 cities in the next few years.

ONLINE VIDEO VIEWERS Online video consumption has doubled as compared to last two years. In 2013, India’s total video audience grew 74 percent to reach 5.4 crore viewers with an average viewer watching 18 percent more videos. India’s high online advertising market is worth $375 million and 7.5 crore Indians are accessing the internet via mobile phones, providing evidence to India’s high online video consumption.

3.1cr

Google sites

1.8cr

Facebook

80 lakh

Yahoo

60 lakh

Vdopia

99% increase in online video consumption

OVERALL ACTIVE INTERNET USERS 26.9 cr

Active internet users (Users who access the internet atleast once a month) are set to reach 26.9 crore by June this year. When it comes to frequency of internet usage, the report finds that a good 61 percent of users are daily users. About 18 percent access internet several times a day, 10 percent users atleast once a day and 33 percent access on all 7 days.

23.2 cr 21.3 cr

Oct 2014

Dec 2014

June 2015 (Projected)

900

The Mobile Factor With over 90 crore mobile subscribers in India, mobile internet is set to explode in the next few years. The average monthly mobile bill has increased by 13 per cent to ₹ 439. The proportion of this amount spend on mobile Internet was 45 per cent last year and has increased to 54 per cent this year.

In 2014, e-commerce was a $3 bn industry, which is poised to get a 400 percent growth by 2016 by becoming a $15 bn industry. Electronics and apparels form the bulk of e-commerce purchases, at 34 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. India has witnessed a 99.9 per cent increase in online video consumption in the past five years

Milions

Unique Mobile Subscriber

405 Milions

the mobile ecosystem

Registered Mobile Connections

760 Milions

Active Mobile Connections

video consumption has increased manifold. YouTube has over 31.5 crore regular viewers, Facebook has 1.8 crore, and Yahoo has almost a crore video viewers daily. India has witnessed a 99.9 per cent increase in online video consumption in the past five years. One of the industries to benefit the most from the internet boom in India is e-commerce. In 2014, e-commerce was a $3 bn industry, which is poised to get a 400 percent growth by 2016 by becoming a $15 bn industry. Electronics and apparels form the bulk of e-commerce purchases, at 34 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. India is on the brink of digital superstardom. This is a truly exciting time to be an Internet user in India, which is highlighted in this fascinating survey. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 45

Profile

‘Claim’ to Fame

At a time when the insurance sector in India is raking up losses, Bajaj Allianz recorded the best ever profit for FY 2014-15 under the sterling leadership of Managing Director and CEO Tapan Singhel. Corporate Citizen caught up with the dynamic head honcho on insurance, leadership and life! By Neeraj Varty

If you consider the Indian economy, the priorities were different earlier. Consider our parents. If they could educate their children, build one house and buy one car, they would consider that they had achieved their life’s financial objectives. There would not be any surplus income after these investments. If you look at today’s generation, there is a lot of surplus income. They are able to buy a house and a car by the time they are 30. If you look at human psychology, once people secure the essentials, then the next segment they invest in is brands. They buy the BMWs, Louis Vittons, Audi’s etc. Once they splurge to their hearts’ content, then they look at what essentially should have been a priority investment – security. Our earlier generations concentrated on just making ends meet, today’s Gen-Y is spending on brands as well as diverting whatever disposable income they have on insurance. Today, our purchasing power is on the rise and with that, there is a tendency to turn towards insurance. India is still grossly under-insured, but thankfully, the situation is fast changing. In my estimation, in the next 20-30 years, the number of insured persons will match global numbers, or close to them at the very least.

The insurance industry has received its fair share of criticism for not being too customer friendly, and the claims process being too complex. 46 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Pic: Vineet Kapshikar

Indians are some of the most under-insured people in the world. In fact, less than one-fourth of our population is insured. What’s the reason for that?

Is that perception changing now?

Actually, I think it’s the opposite. The insurance industry as a whole loses more money than it makes, because we pay out more claims than the revenue we make. During the Jammu & Kashmir floods and the Hudhud cyclone in Andhra Pradesh, we settled claims worth ₹ 962 crores in a three-month period. In fact, we had set up a special toll-free helpline number and a special team to handle all claims and related assistance cases in the affected areas. So the industry is customer friendly and we understand that during a crisis, the process of settling claims has to be speedy and transparent. The criticism that the industry received is due to old policy conditions. When insurance was new in India, there were policy conditions that would be obsolete in today’s day and age. Let’s say that someone took an automobile policy. Automobiles use a lot of fiber parts, as opposed to metal parts used decades ago. The depreciation on plastic and fiber is 50 percent. When a customer files a claim for ₹ 1 lakh and gets ₹ 60,000, he feels cheated. But the reality is that is what he paid for. In this case, the expectation gap for the customer was huge. The challenge for the industry is to make products simple. The customer needs to be explained what he or she is buying, and the same has to be delivered when the moment of truth comes. Customer delight is what is going to take the insurance industry to the next level.

customers, which translates to higher sales and increased profits.

The Maggi noodles fiasco is in the news lately, and you tweeted about it, expressing that Indian companies are now being conscious about product liability. Do you believe Maggi’s response was adequate? How would you have handled it? It’s good to own up. A company should always be genuine, honest and straight. A crisis can come, sometimes due to your own mistake, and other times due to external factors. The important thing is not be unfair or unethical. Whatever the case, when a crisis comes your way, stand up and own it. Genuineness towards your customers, standing up where you have goofed up and taking corrective actions are the only things that can work.

‘Never be afraid of failure. I failed in my B.Sc and then went on to top my class at M.Sc. Failure is not the end. It teaches you a lot of things. Do not worry too much about failing. Worry about not trying.’

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has reported 37 per cent rise in net profit at ` 562 crores for 2014-15, despite settling claims worth ` 962 crores. What or whom do you credit for this exemplary performance?

If you look at Bajaj Allianz, we are one of the most profitable companies in this sector, and we are also capturing market share. I believe in the philosophy that if you are obsessed about your customers, obsessed about delivering value to them, the customer is happy to purchase your product. As a company, our obsession with not just our customers but also our employees is high, and that results in greater efficiency internally and an enhancement of brand perception amongst our

You are a very social media savvy CEO, who tweets and blogs regularly. How important is it for a CEO to directly engage with his customers?

When I started using social media, many people urged me not to do it, because they felt that there will be no buffer and that people could post whatever they felt like. The reality, however, is that the role of the CEO has changed. It is no longer about being on the top of the pyramid and sitting aloof, it is about sitting with the masses. Today the pyramid is inverted and the customer is at the top. The CEO is the embodiment of the company. If people feel that the CEO does not speak with them, is not responsive, or not a genuine human being, they will not go for the company’s product. Times have changed now, and the glamour of being a CEO has gone. The CEO must appear completely approachable and humble and only then will people interact with him or her.

Moving on to lighter ground, what do you like to do in your free time?

I love spending time with my daughters and my wife. My family is the most precious thing to me and unfortunately, due to my hectic work schedules, I have not been able to devote as much time to them as I would have liked. But I make the best of the time I get. This is something I would like to convey to young-

sters. I asked some youngsters what they do when they reach home by 6.30-7 p.m., and they said watch TV with the family. What kind of family time is this? It’s not about the quantity of time you spend with your family, but about the quality of it. Even if I spend one hour with my family, I don’t think of anything else while I’m doing that. Time is an asset, make sure you don’t waste it.

Do you like to travel?

I love to travel. Also, it is one of the necessities of my job. I love traveling in India. I think our country has a lot of beauty that can satisfy any kind of traveler. If you love deserts, you can go to Rajasthan. If you love to ski, the slopes of Gulmarg can match Switzerland. India has something for every kind of traveler.

Any advice for young corporates and students?

Absolutely. Don’t worry too much about where you are going, just sit back and make the most of your journey. When I started off, I wanted to be a scientist, and accidentally landed in the insurance sector. When an opportunity comes, grab it even if it wasn’t in your initial game plan. I also want to advice students to never be afraid of failure. Youngsters are under so much pressure these days, and some don’t even hesitate to try to commit suicide when they fail. I want to share something. I failed in my B.Sc and then went on to top my class at M.Sc. Failure is not the end. It teaches you a lot of things. Do not worry too much about failing. Worry about not trying. When you make it into your career, be humble. Don’t be enamored by power and position. Just be passionate about what you can do. Don’t get too obsessed about the results. Challenge the status quo and come up with solutions that benefit the customer.

neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

tadka

The world’s largest montessori school According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, has 50,000 pupils and 2,500 teachers, making it the world’s largest montessori school. The school has been ranked 6th in the “most respected secondary schools” in India list compiled by IMRB in 2007 and has received numerous awards.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Star Campus Placement-2 Khushi Gupta, IIT Guwahati class of 2014

Stay strong & do your best.

You will get where you need to be!

Khushi Gupta, who completed her studies from IIT Guwahati last year, is today successfully placed with Adobe Software, Bengaluru. She takes us through her journey from being a student with the prestigious IIT, to getting placed in one of the leading IT firms, her goals in life, while also giving a piece of advice to the juniors

ne minute you are a carefree student at IIT Guwahati and the next you are a responsible software developer at Adobe Software, Bengaluru. All thanks to the magic spell cast by the words ‘Campus placement’. Essentially, I’m still trying to be a fully functional, well-adjusted working adult and while there are many life lessons I am yet to learn, one lesson I will never forget from placement time is that you have to plod on, give your best day after day, and stay strong in the face of rejection. Growing up in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, I was privileged to attend some of the best schools in the country. Always a decent student, I never thought much of it and it was only during high school at Delhi Public School Pune that I first felt that maybe I was inherently smart. Maybe it was the people I met or my teachers, but I felt impelled to prepare for the IIT-JEE. What was just a whim soon morphed into a sincere goal, thanks to the support and encouragement I received from friends, family and teachers. My incredibly supportive parents even made sure I had enough fun while I was preparing for it. The efforts paid off and soon I was at IIT Guwahati, a wondrous new world, where I was exposed to people and ideas from all over the country. After Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, Guwahati seemed almost rustic. Separated from the main city by the Brahmaputra, getting to the campus was an adventure that included some walking, taking what is called a ‘trecker’ (a glorified, often overstuffed auto-rickshaw), crossing the river via a ferry, walking some more and then taking a bus. The faint of heart took a direct bus from the campus to the city that usually meant a two hour wait. Good non-canteen food and the occasional movie were the only draws. Our campus gave a Yash-Raj movie set a run for its money with lakes and mountains in the 48 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

as everyone is united by their effort to bag as many offers as possible. Students with firm offers help with interview questions or ensure that those still in the race eat and sleep right. The ones with PPOs become points of contact for their respective companies, ensuring the maximum number of people get hired.

the campus ) with her friends at Khushi (3rd from left

I never felt pressured or overworked, except maybe when assignments were due midnight and bugs were found at the last minute. I never experienced the bitter heat of competition and more often than not, relied on my batchmates for all I needed backdrop and apart from a couple of months in summer, it was heavenly. It was the perfect place to introspect and I was forced to confront, accept and embrace so many different things. I learnt to not judge a book by its cover, literally and figuratively -the thinnest of textbooks were the hardest to go through, got rid of my stage fright, learnt how to understand an entire semester’s worth of course material in one night and realized just how good a cook my mom is. I debated, joined the swimming team, participated in multiple clubs and societies and had the time of my life. I even switched my major from Electrical Engineering to Maths after my first year. The Maths department had a brilliant faculty and I enjoyed every course in my curriculum. I never felt pressured or overworked, except maybe when assignments were due midnight and bugs were found at the last minute. I never experienced the bitter heat of competition and more often than not, relied on my batchmates for all I needed. Undergraduates are encouraged to take up internships in their junior and pre-final years to build their research profile and gain a little work experience. Also, many corporates extend pre-placement offers to interns in their pre-final year. Should you accept the offer, you are allowed to apply to just one other company as per the official policy. I secured an internship with Adobe and was offered a PPO that I eventually accepted. The placement phase itself is gruelling mentally, physically and emotionally. Corporates

are provided slots to interview students and the ones offering the best packages get the first slots (Day 0 or Day 1) and the pick of the students. The slots are highly confidential, but to put it into perspective, my initial offer fell in the range of 20 – 25 lakh per annum which would be equivalent to a Day 0 or a Day 1 placement. The jobs on offer during campus placement at Guwahati are split between the coding/software development profile and the non-coding profile. The interview process too then varies but all corporates set a base CPI (Cumulative Performance Index) as a pre-interview cut off. The coding profile has an initial screening test where you have to solve 3 - 4 standard coding questions within a certain time. Typically 3 4 elimination rounds of technical interviews are followed by one with Human resources which may culminate into an offer. The screening test and technical interviews test standard concepts and algorithms in Computer Science while some ask logic / probability puzzles. Corporates with the non-software development profile have similar procedures with more generic aptitude tests. Group discussions which sometimes replace screening tests have topics ranging from a trending issue to a very abstract ‘Houston, we’ve got a problem’. Placement and interviews are synonymous and you not only give back to back interviews through the day but at times through the night as well. There is no time to mope over rejection as you have to come back the following day and go through the entire harrowing process again. Fierce competition vies with great solidarity

A few useful pointers Know your CV and talk confidently about all the projects/ courses mentioned in it. Keep communication lines about probable questions open with seniors and friends in different colleges. Most interviewers are helpful and guide you if you get stuck, so think out loud and talk to them. Never hesitate to ask for clarifications or extra information you need. Some interviewers deliberately leave subtle details out to test you. I believe that placement is the most important of all your college experiences, not only because you need to earn your bread and butter, but also because you emerge stronger, capable of handling whatever life throws at you. There is no breather from the intense pressure and you have to recover from failure quickly and learn to disassociate from the disappointment you feel. Getting rejected is not catastrophic and if you are confident, it is only a matter of time before things work out. I too had applied to Goldman Sachs and did not make the final cut, but came out right on top. It is something everyone must go through. My mantra for my juniors Companies that pay the most do not necessarily have the best work, so the money on offer should not be the only determinant in choosing your place of work. Be confident. Have faith in yourself. Be polite but be firm. Stay strong and do your best. You will get where you need to be! (As told to Suchismita Pai)

tadka

Tax benefits vows You cannot claim tax benefits on payment of life insurance premium of your parents even if they are financially dependent on you. But, you can claim the same for payment of life insurance premium under Section 80 C for your children even if they are not financially dependent on you.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 49

in their city, in their state, in their country, and even internationally. That not only makes them well aware, but better future leaders and managers. It also helps them to develop a well-defined personality. Reading should not be just confined to what is required for the job, but one must also regularly read books that are interesting and suits their taste. That is what helps them to widen their horizon and helps to enhance their wisdom.â&#x20AC;?

Navin M Raheja

Chairman and Managing Director, Raheja Developers

eading is knowledge. Unless and until we are well read our overall personality is not fully developed. In the age of the internet when all information is available at a click, most youngsters do not feel the need for regular reading. The mistake that most people, especially youngsters make, is to substitute information for knowledge. The internet can give us information, but if we do not make reading a habit, that information never gets converted into wisdom. Only when information combines with knowledge, can one attain wisdom. It does not matter whether we read digitally or in print. I feel youngsters must be aware of what is happening 50 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

Richard Fernandes

Founder, Brendon Taekwondo Academy

t is sad the reading habit is slowly drifting away. Nowadays one sees youngsters with mobiles and not with books, especially while travelling. I would say, blame it on technology. There were days when books were a part of our

travelling kit, now it has been replaced by the latest gadgets. This habit was once considered the most morally edifying of all habits, hence itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to catch the children young by introducing them to it. However, research has shown that millennium children are wired a little different. They have been bombarded by electronic images and vast amounts of information that have nothing to do with reading way before they even enter school. They have already learned that reading is not the only way to get information. Further, reading requires concentration, and many children have not developed that concentrated stream of thinking. Schools do not provide time for solitude-reading, and society is too busy trying to figure out how to make the learning curve even quicker. Reading simply is too slow for the current world that is trying to be faster. How do you get the message of a book faster? You turn it into video! I do not blame one invention, but progress in general, and then it is really not blame that I place. I think people are reading, but they are just not reading as much print material. I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth considering that while people may be reading less books, I would suspect people read more information overall as the common medium has shifted from physical to

Debate

Youngsters don’t read anymore: Fact or Myth? One most doled out advice to children and youngsters is to read more. There is an old saying, which goes “If you want to lead, read!” How accurate, though, is this idiom? In the age of 50” LED TVs and cutting edge smartphones, does today’s youth really read? Does the art of reading face impending extinction? Corporate Citizen asks India’s leading corporates about the reading habits of India’s youth, and their advice to an entire generation waiting in the wings By CC Team

digital. Especially considering the wealth of free to access information available on the web. Yes, going to the library is free too, but searching on Google is far easier and far more accessible on a global scale.”

Vinit Deo

Chairman& MD, Posiview Consulting Partners Pvt Ltd.

find television very educational. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into another room and read a book.’ -- Groucho Marx “I guess these words best sum up the sentiments of my 30-something generation that saw the first TVs being brought to their homes. From those early days where Chitrahaar and the Sunday movie were such a treat, we have witnessed

the ‘big bang’ of the media over the last two decades. From the cable and satellite TV revolution that pandered to different tastes to cartoons for the kids and spirituality for the elders, to live coverage of global terrorism and local scams around corruption, the TV remote literally put the power of knowledge in your hands. Slowly, things got more evolved—and today’s social media sees you participating on multiple levels… as audience, critic, poet, photographer—the list of mantles you can don is endless. Best of all, it does not cost much. You can control what you read and write and connect with like-minded souls online to share what drives you. So does this ‘always connected’ world pose a threat to the traditional reading habit as we understand it? In some ways, it has been impacted—as is evident in the post Y2k generation and younger crowd. People do not read as much as they used to for the simple reason that multiple stimuli compete for their attention. And therein lies a promise. The new media have brought all the available fountains of human literature on a single platform—well within our reach. Thanks to social media I now get to know what my peers are reading, browsing online for subjects of both

information and entertainment and being able to order stuff instantly—be it e-books, regular paperbacks or apps. I do believe elders, teachers and those in a position of responsibility can focus on the potential of technology to give a new lease of life to reading. The future of reading, at the risk of crystal ball-gazing, is therefore quite bright. To tweak an old English phrase that advocated continuity and seamless transitions, ‘Reading is dead; long live Reading.’”

Saket Khanna

Co-founder, Mealtango.com LLC, Pune

en Z is the most technology savvy generation yet. And any product that’s not digital is facing stiff competition from digital counterparts. The good old hardcover book which survived millennia is no exception. Kindle, e-books, audio books, Wikipedia, YouTube and the web in general are all eating into the humble paperback market. Reading by itself hasn’t diminished, but the preference has definitely shifted from print to digital. Perhaps just like the CRT TV or the Rotary phone, the book will soon gather dust -- not in libraries but in museums.”

tadka

The Silent Killer Alcoholism, the chronic and progressive illness associated with alcohol consumption, along with alcohol abuse, binge drinking, and underage drinking, comprise a panoply of alcohol problems in the USA. Overall, about 100 crore Americans older than 18 years are estimated to have an alcohol use disorder. In 2013, more than 30 lakh million people between 12–20 years of age reported binge drinking, with well over a 10 lakh young people in this age group reporting being heavy drinkers.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 51

CC Alert

Know your Maggi Noodles Explainer: If Maggi says it has no MSG and less lead, why is FSDA alarmed?

very packet of Nestle’s Maggi Noodles says, “No added MSG”. Yet the Food Safety And Drug Administration (FSDA) in Lucknow says that it has found Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), and the metal lead, beyond permissible limits in the samples it tested. The FSDA also states that the amount of lead in it is beyond permissible limit. Nestle denies that too.

How can this be possible? Here is what we think is happening. First, what is MSG? MSG is a flavour enhancer that is added to food products to bring out the savoury taste. The “glutamate” part of MSG is the key element. In several countries including India, there are strict controls over its permissible limits. Maggi Noodles has no MSG in it as such. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in its regulation says MSG cannot be used in pasta or noodles. But if you look closely at your pack of Maggi Noodles, and you will find in the list of ingredients, “Hydrolysed groundnut protein”. Hydrolysed protein contains free glutamates in it, and it is known to be the same type as in MSG. Now since there is no ‘added MSG’, but there is hydrolysed protein which contains glutamates, Nestle could get away with saying “No added MSG”, and at the same time FSDA could have found traces of glutamates in the Maggi. It’s not just hydrolysed proteins. Other flavour enhancers, like E635 which is present in Maggi Noodles, are also added to compliment food with existing glutamates. These other enhancers create the same flavour as that of MSG when combined with glutamates. The FSDA lab results also showed an excess of the metal lead present in Maggi Noodles.

52 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

A report by NDTV states that the lab results showed that Maggi Noodles contains 17 parts per million (PPM) of lead, whereas the permissible limit of lead in food in India is a mere 0.5 ppm. Nestle has denied these claims, and says that they continuously monitor levels of lead. If Nestle is right, then where is the lead coming from? One possible answer to the mystery could lie in the packaging material used. A report by the New York State Department of Health states that lead can be present in wrappers and drinking water. Possibly, the wrappers used for packaging noodles have high lead content. The US Food and Drug Association have set an action level of 0.5 ppm for lead in products intended for use by infants and children. In fact, the European Food Safety Authority states that dietary exposure for average adult consumer in 19 European countries ranged from 0.36 to 1.24 ppm per day. An excess in the exposure of lead can lead to many health hazards which include neurological effects like seizures and fatigue, gastrointestinal effects like nausea and constipation and can increase reproductive problems like stillbirth and reduction in sperm count. (Story source:www.thenewsminute.com)

Nestle denies there is MSG in Maggi Noodles

In several countries Hydrolysed Groundnut Protein in Maggi Noodles including India, there are strict controls over its permissible limits. Maggi Noodles has no MSG in it as such

Claps & Slaps

Corporate Citizen claps for Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which has been declared the world’s best airport for the year 2014, among those handling 25 to 40 million passengers per annum Congratulations! The Delhi airport scored 4.90 on a scale of 5 points measured by 300 members of the ACI ASQ benchmarking programme. IGIA bettered its ranking from second position for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 to emerge on top in 2014. Their score was 3.02 in 2007. “We are honoured to represent an Indian airport at a highly acclaimed international forum as ACI. Our IGI Airport partners and employees have consistently delivered a memorable and distinct experience to our customers, enabling us to achieve the coveted world number one position,” said I Prabhakara Rao, CEO of Delhi International Airport Pvt. Limited, which manages IGIA. Airports Council International (ACI) presented the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award to IGIA at a ceremony of the ACI AsiaPacific/World Annual General Assembly on April 28 in Jordan. ASQ is the key to understanding how to increase passenger satisfaction and improve business performance, said Angela Gittens, director general of ACI World. As many as 40 million passengers used IGIA to reach 58 domestic and 62 international destinations in 2014-15. During the period, the average flight movements were 885 per day while 696,000 metric tonnes of cargo was handled. IGIA hosts six domestic carriers, 56 international carriers and also has the capacity to handle the gigantic Airbus A380 aircraft. The airport serves as a hub for leading Indian airlines Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet. Delhi International Airport is a joint venture between the GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, Fraport and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The airport was developed under the public-private partnership mode with the mandate for DIAL to finance, design, build, operate and maintain the Delhi airport for 30 years, with an option to extend it for another 30 years. ACI, founded in 1991, is a trade association of the world’s airports.

Corporate Citizen slaps the government and other relevant authorities for neglecting one of the wonders of the world The Taj Mahal

Sadly, the eighth wonder of the world—The Taj Mahal has become a victim of environmental pollution. India’s tourism icon and a symbol of earthly love, the Taj Mahal is losing its sheen due to unchecked vehicular pollution, tourism and several other reasons. The Taj Mahal is a victim of both nature and man. If the monument looks sick and pale to visitors, the reason is the dry and heavily polluted Yamuna that once formed an integral part of the Taj Mahal complex. Even as measures – one after the other – are taken to stop the Taj Mahal from turning yellow, a recent analysis by Down To Earth (DTE), the science and environment fortnightly, says that the exact causes for the monument’s discoloration have not been established yet. “We will not be able to fix the problem unless we know the underlying cause,” says Down To Earth editor and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) director general Sunita Narain. The administration’s efforts to undo the damage hits people’s livelihoods and local economies – as does the recent move to close petha-making units. The petha makers have been asked to either switch from using coal to LPG or shut shop; the move has left many people jobless. This observation came despite studies which attributed the discoloration to reasons as diverse as microscopic algae, deposition of dirt, and application of resin used to preserve the monument – anything but pollution! The Court order led to a range of measures to control pollution. But the continued discoloration has meant that either the Court’s orders remain unimplemented, or that “there is something new and different that needs to be addressed”. The DTE analysis questions why the Taj should still be under threat. “In Agra and Mathura, vehicular traffic has increased manifold. The cities have not invested in public transport and even though compressed natural gas (CNG) is available, they have not made optimum use of this clean fuel,” says Narain. June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Bollywood Biz

The Best acting and filmmaking schools in India

For those passionate about it, acting and film-making are more than just jobs. They are serious career choices, albeit with a slim success rates. For those that do achieve success, however, Bollywood offers perks like none other. It therefore makes sense to be well prepared before venturing into this elusive profession. That’s where elite acting and film-making schools come in. Just like in any other career, these schools provide the very best training required to ace the craft and maximize your chances of success. Corporate Citizen highlights the best acting and film schools in India to polish your chops and prepare you for a bright career in B-town. By Neeraj Varty Film and Television Institute of India

For decades, FTII has been the de-facto choice for students interested in the film and television industry. Since its inception in 1960, FTII has become India’s premier film and television institute, with its alumni becoming the biggest known actors and directors in the Indian film industry. It has been accorded the status of ‘Institute of national importance’ by the Government of India. The institute offers three year post graduation diploma courses in film direction, editing, cinematography and audiography; two-year courses in acting, art direction; a one and a half year course in computer graphics and animation; a one-year course in feature film scriptwriting. One-year post-graduate certificate courses in direction, electronic cinematography, video editing and audiography are also available. FTII is equipped with cutting edge filmmaking technology including two film studio floors and two television studios and the sound department is exclusively equipped with a Harrison audio mixing console. It has a 54 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

spacious film and video library with a colossal collection of films and videos from all around the world. A computer library also has been set up recently. FTII has a long list of notable alumni including actors like Naseerudiin Shah, Om Puri, John Abraham, Shabana Azmi and Mithun Chakraborty, directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Sriram Raghavan, and a host of film and television technicians. FTII courses are also easy on the pocket. A three year post graduate course will cost you less than ₹ 2 lakhs, two year courses cost ₹ 1.5 lakhs and a one year PG course is for ₹ 85,000.

Whistling Woods International Institute

Whistling Woods is a leading film, communication and media arts institute located in Mumbai, promoted by film maker Subhash Ghai. It is affiliated to Deakin University and Griffith University in Australia, Bradford

College in the UK, Syracuse University in the United States and New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. In fact, about 20 percent of WWI students are international. The institute offers a plethora of training programmes which include B.Sc in Filmmaking, certificate course in Screenwriting, MBA in Media and Entertainment, as well as signature courses in acting. Whistling Woods alumni include stellar technicians like Anil Mange, Shashank Khaitan, Abhishek Jain and Nakul Sahdev among many more. Its alumni have been employed by companies such as Zee, Ashutosh Gowariker Productions Pvt. Ltd., Aamir Khan Productions, etc. Murali Krishna, Kavan J. Ahalpara and Supreet Singh of Whistling Woods International were a part of the Oscar winning movie Life of Pi, while Karan Butani worked as the chief assistant director with Tigmanshu Dhulia on movies like Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster and Paan Singh Tomar. As the saying goes, quality doesn’t come cheap. A diploma or degree course at WWI can cost anywhere from ₹ 8-16 lakhs. WWI has some great placement tie-ups with leading studios like Balaji, Dreamworks, Fox and Amir Khan Productions, so the price of entry may be well worth it.

FTII is equipped with cutting edge filmmaking technology including two film studio floors and two television studios and the sound department is exclusively equipped with Harrison audio mixing console Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares

Actor Prepares is an acting school for people who wish to pursue careers as actor-performers in the entertainment industry. It was established in 2005 by actor Anupam Kher. Actor Prepares offers three-month full-time diploma courses, one month parttime certificate courses along with personalized training programmes and acting workshops. The institute has competent in-house training faculty who are accomplished at their craft. Each student receives individual guidance and counselling from Anupam Kher throughout the programme. The school has a roster of Bollywood celebrities who come as visiting faculty, including stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Robert Di Niro as well as directors like Imtiaz Ali, Danny Boyle and Shekhar Kapoor. Actor Prepares has a stellar list of alumni including Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Ali Zafar

and Varun Dhawan. Actor Prepares charges approximately ₹ 2 lakhs for a full-time three-month course, while part time courses can cost anywhere from ₹5000-50,000.

Asian Academy of Film and Television

media present in day to day life. All modern facilities needed for the curriculum are present at AAFT, which includes six shooting floors, conference rooms, rehearsal hall, film club, library, private screening rooms and 16 air conditioned class rooms. The faculty of AAFT guide and help the students with their placement in the industry. Students are also given the opportunity to work under Mukta Arts Ltd., Venus Ltd., Tips India Ltd., Maruti International and also B.A.G Films. AAFT has a reasonable fee structure, starting from ₹ 55,000 for a three-month course to a maximum of ₹ 5 lakhs for a three year course.

MIT school of Film and Television (MITSFT)

The well-known MIT group is launching the MIT School of Film and Television (MITSFT) at Rajbaug near Pune, with admissions open for the year 2015-16. The new school, has been established on the banks of the river Mula-Muth on land that was once owned by legendary film maker, actor and producer Raj Kapoor. The school will conduct 3-year full time courses in Direction, Cinematography, Editing and Sound Engineering and 2-year full time courses in Screenplay Writing and Art Direction. A 12-month course will be conducted in Television production. The intake per course is 20 students. Well known theatre and film personality Dr Jabbar Patel is the Chairman of the new school while film academician Samar Nakhate is the chief coordinator. With such solid credentials, MITSFT definitely has a bright future ahead. neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

Another popular option is the Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT), Noida. It has been training students in the art and craft of filmmaking since 1993. The Academy was built as an alternative to formal film schools and since then has established itself as one of the best film institutes in India. It is the only film school in this part of the world to be certified by ISO 9001:2000 (International Organisation for Standardisation). AAFT offers four types of courses – three-month courses, one year diploma, two year diploma and three-year courses. These programmes take into account the impact of

tadka

Indian women trailing Of the 136 countries listed in the Global Diversity Benchmark (2013), India has the lowest national female labour force. The current statistics are 23 percent in organised workforce, and only five per cent as board members. Women representation in the higher echelons of the organisation is still lesser in comparison to the male workforce.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Pearls of Wisdom

Egocentric desire is

virus

Ego is deadly. It creates waves of disparity and disharmony in the society. The foolish are victimised by their own ego. You must ensure you do not fall a prey to it

56 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

By Swami Parthasarathy

he virus that attacks the character of human beings is one’s ego and egocentric desires. The ego is an exhibition, overemphasis of one’s person. An exaggerated projection of oneself over others. The ‘I’ that wants to get bigger and bigger. Craves to be known and idolised. In the process one develops insatiable desires to maintain and inflate the ego. Most of these desires remain unfulfilled to cause mental agitation, frustration, stress. The ego manifests in a person in three distinct ways:  I am supreme  I alone exist  I am the doer. In the first manifestation of ego the person considers himself supreme. Feels intoxicated with an air of superiority. Suffers from a superiority complex. With pride and vanity he puts himself on a higher pedestal and regards others inferior to him. Thus estranging himself from his colleagues. You must be careful you do not develop this noxious trait. It segregates you from the rest and ruins the spirit of cooperative endeavour in the organisation.

In the second manifestation he feels himself all-important. As though he alone exists. And everybody and everything is meant to cater to his person. Totally self-centred, his interest and conduct is directed to his wellbeing at the expense of others. A third way, the ego manifests as the notion of doership: I am the doer, I do everything. A sense of arrogating every piece of work done to one’s sole effort, none else. Such a person fails to recognise the contributions of many others towards his achievement. Without which it would not have been possible for him to accomplish it. Take an example of the designer of the latest model of the Mercedes Benz. No doubt he has produced an excellent car. But he must realise that thousands of varied technicians have contributed their expertise

perceive the great plan of nature. Fails to look at himself as a part of the whole. Develops the petty ego and suffers. You must get wiser than that. Understand that everyone in this wide world possesses a talent of his own. And you are one such. Why do you have to compare yourself with others. Just play your life’s role without an air of superiority or inferiority. Live your life in a spirit of dispassion. Remember, all the world is a stage and all men and women mere actors playing their different roles. None important, none unimportant. The great American philosopher-poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson drives home this thought in his simple poem: The Mountain and the Squirrel The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel; And the former called the latter “Little Prig.” Bun replied, “You are doubtless very big; But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together, To make up a year And a sphere. And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I’m not so large as you, You are not so small as I, And not half so spry, I’ll not deny you make A very pretty squirrel track; Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; If I cannot carry forests on my back, Neither can you crack a nut.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson An Extract from Governing Business & Relationships by Swami Parthasarathy.

in the past and present towards its creation. To ignore all their inputs and arrogate the new model to his sole effort is the play of the ego. His ‘I’ sticks out more than his work. Ego is deadly. It creates waves of disparity and disharmony in the society. The foolish are victimised by their own ego. You must ensure you do not fall a prey to it. Learn to look at the world dispassionately. Not egoistically. Try to understand how nature works. How the animate and the inanimate are knit together to form the universe. How all of them act as spokes in the wheel of life. Each one playing a distinct part. So must you play your part. He that is ignorant of this phenomenon does not

For details about Swami Parthasarathy’s corporate seminars and retreats email corporateseminars@vedantaworld.org. For more information visit www.vedantaworld.org

tadka

Mango tidbits India is the 5th largest mango exporter in the world, with over 12 million tons of mangoes are grown and exported each year. That’s the equivalent to the weight of over 2,400 Asian elephants.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Inspiration

The Road Doctor Meet the Hyderabad man who quit his job to fix potholes with his pension money. By Nitin B

angadhara Tilak Katnam looks like any other 66-yearold man. White hair, bespectacled, he was born in a farmer’s family in Yernaduem village in the West Godavari district.But Tilak is a man on a mission. Since 31st July 2011, the retired senior section engineer of the Southern Railways has been travelling the city and filling every pothole he spots. Tilak has filled a staggering 1,124 potholes so far. “After working for the South Central Railway for 35 years, I retired in October 2008 and spend some time off in 2009, also travelling to the US to meet my son. In January 2010, I came back and settled down in Hydershakote in Hyderabad and took up a job as a consultant in a software agency,” says Tilak, talking about his beginnings. It was during his job with the software firm that Tilak’s idea for his future initiative called ‘Shramadaan’ or ‘Offering physical help’ grew and took root. “I was driving to my first day of office when I ended up splashing dirty mud water on school going children after my car fell into a pothole on the road. Then a few more accidents followed at various places,” he says. At each accident, Tilak kept telling the police that the accident could have been avoided if the pothole was fixed but it was one incident that made him take matters into his own hands. “It was near Langer House in the Old City area and I had already seen an accident occur there four days ago. An RTC bus rammed an auto, crushing one person to death immediately. I was horrified by what I saw and realized that if someone had filled the pothole after the previous accident, a life could have been saved,” he adds.

Gangadhar Tilak Katnam voluntarily fixes potholes of Hyderabad as his post-retirement hobby

It’s the ‘nothing can be done now’ mindset that limits a lot of people. This attitude need to change From then on, there was no turning back. Some spare empty gunny bags were always kept in his car and he collected tar lumps from foot paths and started filing potholes as he traveled to and fro from work. After one and half years, it had got to the point that Tilak could

58 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

not sit at work and used to skip lunch to fill potholes during his lunch break. “After that, I quit my job and for the next one year till June 2012, I spent my pension money on fixing roads. This naturally upset my wife, because she didn’t want to see me work in the hot son and she called my son down from the US to talk some sense into me,” says an amused Tilak. But the son saw his father’s determination and decided to help him out instead and even created a website and Facebook page for Tilak’s cause. That was the birth of ‘Shramadaan’ - a voluntary initiative run by Tilak where students and young adults meet and repair potholes. They even have a helpline where people can call and inform them of potholes in a particular area. Tilak’s son also approached the GHMC commissioner and told him about Tilak’s work. The Commissioner tried dissuading Tilak with an assurance that they would fix the problems. However, Tilak refused to budge and the GHMC joined hands with the initiative.

From June 2012, The GHMC is providing Tilak and his initiative with resources and materials required to fill potholes. Tilak agrees that there is a serious change in mindset required in the general public with their attitude to their surroundings. It’s the ‘nothing can be done now’ attitude that limits a lot of people, he says. Tilak also adds that though his initiative has grabbed the attention of the media, it has not drawn any attention from politicians, who are supposed to be the real people who bring change. Tilak also does not accept any donations or funds and does everything from his own pocket. He has also been given the title of a “Doctor of Roads” by those familiar with his work “I used to spend Rs 25,000 per month but after the GHMC started providing materials, I only spend around Rs 15,000 of my total Rs 20, 000 pension. My son takes care of my household financial needs,” Tilak adds. (Story courtesy-www. thenewsminute.com)

Mobile Apps

Get your groceries delivered to your doorstep with these Smartphone Apps Today’s working professionals are hard pressed for time. Which is why over the past year, several mobile apps have emerged which allow you to order fresh essential food items at the tap of a button. Corporate Citizen brings you the best mobile apps to bring the freshest fruits, vegetables and fruits right to your doorstep. By Neeraj Varty

Big Basket

Jiffstore

Homeshop18

Rating: 

Big Basket is India’s biggest online grocery store. It is currently active in 6 cities - Bangalore, Chennai, DelhiNCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. It offers over 1000 different products from a huge selection of brands. Right from fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, daals, spices and seasonings to packaged bread, bakery and dairy products and other branded foods – they have it all. Apart from locally grown vegetables and fruits, Big Basket also offers international vegetables like zucchini, broccoli and bell peppers, which aren’t available at your local vegetable vendor or kinarawala. Big Basket delivers in flexible time slots between 7.00 am-10.00 pm at your convenience. It accepts all debit and credit cards, netbanking and also cash on delivery. You can also visit their site at www. bigbasket.com

Jiffstore has innovated a unique concept wherein it connects you to a network of your nearest kiranawalas and has your order delivered from the one nearest to you for a speedy service. There is a uniform price so you don’t have to worry about discrepancies in that regard. What jiffstore is essentially doing is converting the unorganized retail sector into an organized one. Out of all the apps highlighted, Jiffstore is the fastest to deliver due to its unique tie up model. Jiffstore has tied up with thousands of local kiranawalas and supermarket to ensure that all kinds of groceries are available for you. Jiffstore is currently operational in Bnagalore and Mumbai and plans to expand to other metros are ongoing. Jiffstore can be accessed on www. jiffstore.com/

Homeshop18 is a television shopping network which is well known in most parts on India. It has recently ventured into the online groceries space. While the range of groceries (especially vegetables and fruits) currently available is not as extensive as big basket, homeshop18 has an already established presence which allows them to enjoy the benefits of economy of scale. Simply put, since they buy in bulk, they are able to offer larger discounts on items as compared to newer startups. For example, Rajhdani Basmati rice which retails for an MRP of ₹ 900 for 10kg at your local kiranawala or supermarket is available for ₹ 799 on the app. There are many such discounts available on the app. Happy hunting. Visit their web store at http://www. homeshop18.com/

Localbanya Rating: 

If you live in or around Mumbai, LocalBanya is the best option for all your grocery needs. Localbanya has a very intuitive user interface with easy-to-browse aisles, stretched across a wide array of categories. LocalBanya stocks over 14,000 products – ranging from everyday essentials like salt, rice, flour, sugar & pulses to specialty products like organic mangoes, frozen waffles, pepper spray, baby care, international brands & more. The USP of this app is that it offers free delivery irrespective of the amount of purchase. Unfortunately, LocalBanya is currently available only in Mumbai, but it plans to expand to other metros in India shortly. You can also access LocalBanya at www.localbanya.com/ neeraj.varty@corporatecitizen.com

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 59

Health

Lose that

belly fat Being somewhat overweight may not necessarily be a health risk, nor would some fat under the skin. But excess fat under the waistline, or belly fat spells trouble, but there are some sure-shot ways to get rid of it. Wanna try?

By Kris Gunnars

verweight does not necessarily equal unhealthy. There are actually plenty of overweight people who are in excellent health. Conversely, many normal weight people may have metabolic problems associated with obesity. That’s because the fat under the skin is actually not that big of a problem (at least not from a health standpoint… it’s more of a cosmetic problem). It’s the fat in the abdominal cavity, the belly fat that causes the biggest issues. If you have a lot of excess fat around your waistline, even if you’re not very heavy, then you should take some steps to get rid of it. Belly fat is usually estimated by measuring the circumference around your waist. This can easily be done at home with a simple tape measure. Anything above 40 inches (102 cm) in men and 35 inches (88 cm) in women, is known as abdominal obesity. There are actually a few proven strategies that have been shown to target the fat in the belly area more than other areas of the body.

Six ways to lose belly fat

Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages

Added sugar is extremely unhealthy. Studies show that it has uniquely harmful effects on metabolic health. Sugar is half glucose, half fructose… and fructose can only be metabolized by the liver in any significant amount. When you eat a lot of refined sugar, the liver gets flooded with fructose, and is forced to turn it all into fat. Numerous studies have shown that excess sugar, mostly due to the large amounts of fructose, can lead to increased accumulation of fat in the belly . Studies show that sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to a 60% increased risk of obesity in children. Keep in mind that none of this applies to whole fruit, which are extremely

60 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

healthy and have plenty of fiber that mitigates the negative effects of fructose. The amount of fructose you get from fruit is negligible compared to what you get from a diet high in refined sugar.  Bottom Line: Excess sugar consumption may be the primary driver of belly fat accumulation, especially sugary beverages like soft drinks and fruit juices.

Best way eating more protein

Protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to losing weight. It has been shown to reduce cravings by 60 per cent, boost metabolism by 80-100 calories per day and help you eat up to

441 fewer calories per day. If weight loss is your goal, then adding protein to your diet is perhaps the single most effective change you can do. Not only will it help you lose… it can also help you avoid re-gaining weight if you ever decide to abandon your weight loss efforts. There is also some evidence that protein is particularly effective against belly fat. Many of the studies showing protein to be effective had protein at 25-30 per cent of calories. That’s what you should aim for. So… make an effort to increase your intake of unprocessed eggs, fish, seafood, meats, poultry and dairy products.  Bottom Line: Eating enough protein is a very effective way to lose weight. Some studies suggest that protein is particularly effective against belly fat accumulation.

Cut Carbs From Your Diet

Carb restriction is a very effective way to lose fat. This is supported by numerous studies… when people cut carbs, their appetite goes down and they lose weight. Over 20 randomized controlled trials have now shown that low-carb diets lead to two to three times more weight loss than low-fat diets. This is true even when the low-carb groups are allowed to eat as much as they want, while the low-fat groups are calorie restricted and hungry. Low-carb diets also lead to quick reductions in water weight, which gives people near instant results… a major difference on the scale is often seen within a few days. However… if you need to lose weight fast, then consider dropping your carbs down to 50 grams per day. This will put your body into ketosis, killing your appetite and making your body start burning primarily fats for fuel. Of course, low-carb diets have many other health benefits besides just weight loss. They can have life-saving effects in type two diabetics, for example  Bottom Line: Studies have shown that lowcarb diets are particularly effective at getting rid of the fat in the belly area, around the organs and in the liver.

Consume foods rich in fiber

Dietary fiber is mostly indigestible plant matter. It is often claimed that eating plenty of fiber can help with weight loss. This is true… but it’s important to keep in mind that not all fiber is created equal. It seems to be mostly the viscous fibers that can have an effect on your weight. These are fibers that bind water and form a thick gel that “sits” in the gut. This gel can dramatically slow the movement of food through your stomach and small bowel, and slow down the digestion and absorption of

nutrients. The end result is a prolonged feeling of fullness and reduced appetite. One review study found that an additional 14 grams of fiber per day were linked to a 10 per cent decrease in calorie intake and weight loss of 2 kg (4.5 lbs) over four months. The best way to get more fiber is to eat a lot of plant foods like vegetables and fruit. Legumes are also a good source, as well as some cereals like oats. Then you could also try taking a fiber supplement like glucomannan. This is one of the most viscous dietary fibers in existence, and has been shown to cause weight loss in many studies.  Bottom Line: There is some evidence that soluble dietary fiber may lead to reduced amounts of belly fat, which should cause major improvements in metabolic health.

Aerobic exercise is effective

Exercise is important for various reasons. It is among the best things you can do if you want to live a long, healthy life and avoid disease. Getting into all of the amazing health benefits of exercise is beyond the scope of this article, but exercise does appear to be effective at reducing belly fat. However… keep in mind that I’m not talking about abdominal exercises here. Aerobic exercise (like walking, running, swimming, etc) has been shown to cause major reductions in belly fat in numerous studies. Exercise also leads to reduced inflammation, blood sugar levels and all the other metabolic abnormalities that are associated with central obesity.  Bottom Line: Exercise can be very effective if you are trying to lose belly fat. Exercise also has a number of other health benefits.

It is often claimed that eating plenty of fiber can help with weight loss. This is true… but it’s important to keep in mind that not all fiber is created equal. It seems to be mostly the viscous fibers that can have an effect on your weight. These are fibers that bind water and form a thick gel that “sits” in the gut. This gel can dramatically slow the movement of food through your stomach, slow down the digestion and absorption of nutrients

Keep track on eatings

What you eat is important. Pretty much everyone knows this. However… surprisingly, most people actually don’t have a clue what they are really eating. People think they’re eating “high protein,” “low-carb” or whatever… but tend to drastically over- or underestimate. I think that for anyone who truly wants to optimize their diet, tracking things for a while is absolutely essential. It doesn’t mean you need to weigh and measure everything for the rest of your life, but doing it every now and then for a few days in a row can help you realize where you need to make changes. If you want to boost your protein intake to 25-30 per cent of calories, as recommended above, just eating more protein rich foods won’t cut it. You need to actually measure and fine tune in order to reach that goal. (article source: www.authoritynutrition.com)

tadka

Best bonus ever! The Chinese conglomerate Tiens Group treated 6,400 of the company’s employees to a four-day trip to France. The massive tour group, which Reuters reported is expected to spend ` 100 Crore total, filled 84 planes to Paris where they packed into 4,000 rooms across 140 hotels and and booked the louvre museum for a full day for a visit.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 61

astroturf ideas. Keep in mind that success in life holds true if your personal and professional life is well balanced. Health needs careful monitoring. Finances will be much improved. Good opportunities are expected for the job seekers.

Aries

Mar 21- April 20 The planets are this month in their lowest nadir, which means lowest point in your chart, the body may be seemingly asleep but your mind will be working overtime as your internal forces are stirring and visualizing. Your career can progress in the direction you want, so be very clear and precise. Focus on getting your domestic life in order as chances are that career opportunity may knock anytime from now.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 20 This can be a stressful aspect, those born between May 19th to May 21st are going to be very stressed out and feel the downward energies strongly. Take care of your health be careful of what you eat and of course pay adequate attention to your health. Your financial planet throws good aspects and is in your money house this entire month.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21 Love life continues to improve wherever there is money honey is bound to follow. Singles will encounter excellent romantic opportunities. You need to make things happen and be at the correct place. This month the challenges are mostly to do with the career scene. Your work planet Pluto is undergoing a stressful aspect. Health and energy will remain good over all.

CANCER

Jun 22 - July 23 You will experience internal growth and would be keen on expanding your inner life. You will experience a vivid and intense dream life. You will experience supernatural uncanny

Fortune favours the bold and the lucky

Your attitude is your altitude, says Dolly Mangat, our renowned Astrological Expert and believes she helps people create their own prophecies rather than live predictions experiences. The invisible world lets you be aware of its presence. Health and energy remain good.

LEO

July 24 - Aug 23 Career and love opportunities will be at your door. You will exude confidence and success in your personality. Technically this period is a prelude to your happiness and success. Apart from blue and gold Green is a color for your success this month. Good emotional health is important too resolve issues if any as fast as you can. All your hopes and dreams should materialise the way you want.

VIRGO

Aug 24 - Sept 23 You need to carefully monitor your health as your energy levels keep dipping off an don. Slowly and steadily your situations will improve by the end of June for sure. Haste does make waste just be calm and patient.Your career goals more or less will be achieved Social networking will appeal your senses, and this is the perfect time to expand.

LIBRA

Sept 24 - Oct 22 The main highlight of this month is your career, it will be very ac-

62 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

tive and successful. Family will be important yet you need to focus on your career. Your promotions need to happen any time now. Your love life will also be happy and supportive of your career. You will be meeting important people. Yet you need to maintain and retain working hard as there is no substitute for it. You will be attracted by power and prestige.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 22 You need to do much introspection and review your personal as well as professional life. You need to just take a break, rest relax and then focus. Now is the time not assert yourself in any way let others have their own way as long as they are not destructive. An excellent transit for you for personal transformation and reinvention. The spouse or partner does prosper at this time and can expect windfalls and financial opportunities.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 23 - Dec 22 An important shift from the lower half to the upper half of your horoscope. So this makes the perfect time to give your career the push it needs. You could make your dreams and visions into concrete reality. Start giving actions to your

CAPRICORN

Dec 23 - Jan 20 There has been a lot of introspection going on in your personal life. You may experience a lack of direction, could feel as if you are going backwards instead of forward. Not to worry just get mental clarity before you reset your goals. Your love and social life is the main focus this month. Take care of your health

AQUARIUS

Jan 21 - Feb19 This is a happy and prosperous month. Concentrating on your work issues will help build your self-confidence and self esteem. Love remains happy even though situations remain serious. It’s a kind of honeymoon period. Love and romantic opportunities are encountered at work place. An old flame can also come into the picture either literally or symbolically. This is a wonderful period for those who are seeking some kind of work or job.

PISCES

Feb 20 - Mar 20 Even though health still needs watching, yet one sees and feels improvement over the last few weeks. Enhance your health through proper diet and disciplined regimented exercise. Strengthen your family ties. Job seekers find job opportunities easily, those already in the job will get promotions. Address: 143, St Patrick’s Town, Gate# 3, Hadapsar IE, Pune-411 013. Tel.: 020-26872677 / 020-32905748 Email: connect@dollymanghat.com / info.dollymanghat@gmail.com

SUBSCRIPTION FORM

MROF NOITPIRCSBUS

24 Issues : `1400/-

NAME:

ADDRESS:

PIN CODE:

Phone No.: (Office):

(Resi):

Mobile No:

E-mail Address:

DOB:

(m m)

(d d)

(y y)

Profession:

Designation:

Company/Organisation:

Payment details: (

)

Please find enclosed cheque number dated for `1400/- favouring Corporate Citizen.

(

) Cash. (Only by hand)

Please fill in this order form duly & completely & mail it with your cheque payment (Do not send cash) to Corporate Citizen, Krishna Homes Housing Society, Flat No 2 & 4, Bulk land No 4, Near Iskcon Mandir, Sector 29, Ravet, Akurdi, Pune 412101. Tel. (020) 69000677.

June 16-30, 2015 / Corporate Citizen / 63

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

he biggest bane of our country’s culture, particularly in the way business is transacted is the wasteful time spent before and after meetings in drinking tea, chatting about inconsequential niceties and beating around the bush. This culture also pervades in the Middle East, where as my first JV partner in Bahrain told me “you use the first meeting to talk about family, the second to speak about business in general and only state your purpose in the third meeting.” Fortunately in the IT sector in India, we have all become used to the more direct American culture where a majority of the business is transacted through mails and telephone calls, and face to face meetings or presentations, when they do happen tend to be very focused and to the point. My own training in time management started early when I joined Crompton Greaves as a management trainee in the eighties. The Managing Director, KK Nohria was a role model for all of us and one of the most important things we learnt from him was time management. KKN, as he was known would never schedule meetings for more than fifteen minutes and in the fifteenth minute he would actually get us from his chair, signaling unambiguously that he had heard what you had to say and if you didn’t use the time productively, you had only yourself to blame. In the last twenty years, I have made this a practice at Zensar and my previous company, APTECH. In a case study that was written about Zensar and is taught regularly at Harvard Business School, one of our VPs at the time is quoted as saying that the

Manage Time; Curtail Meetings

Getting more done in less time, is truly an art that can massively enhance the productivity of the corporate world and needs assiduous practice and planning

team knows they have limited time to state their case but the discipline gets them quick decisions and has become a culture across the organisation. I am seriously considering how to make stand-up five minute meetings the new norm for the organisation! Getting more done in less time is truly an art that can massively enhance the productivity of the corporate world and needs assiduous practice and planning. In my office, the first thing a guest is asked is about his tea or coffee preferences because one of the most unproductive realities of meetings in India, whether in corporate, government or the social sector is the wait for tea to be brought in well after the agenda of the meeting is completed. There will always be times when the short meeting norm cannot be upheld and there is no purpose served by being dogmatic about this,

but eighty percent of meetings completed in half the usual time provides the window for important discussions to replace the urgent! The virtue of brevity can also be extended to all other forms of communications. Avoiding the use of presentations in a multi- participant panel discussion at a conference always enhances the conversation and leaves adequate time for audience interaction. Frowning on long business mails with voluminous attachments ensures that people who want a decision summarise their thoughts and asks into two succinct and wellcrafted paragraphs in an e-mail. And limiting the time available to every presenter in a conference to six to eight minutes in a predetermined and agreed format ensures that the messaging is crisp and outcomes are easier to achieve. There are many individuals in all walks of life today who embody

these values. Mr. KK Nohria’s son Professor Nitin Nohria, the first Indian Dean of Harvard Business School is a role model for many HBS alumni with the precision of his thought processes and the focus in his verbal and written communications. Pune’s Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar, CII President for Western Region Sanjay Kirloskar and NASSCOM President Chandrasekhar are all practitioners of the effective art of time management. And none better than Prime Minister Modi to show that much more can be accomplished by robust action than excessive deliberations in committees and councils. The time has come for all of us to make more productive use of time – our own and everybody else’s! (Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Technologies and Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation)

Printed and published by Suresh Chandra Padhy on behalf of Sri Balaji Society. Editor : Suresh Chandra Padhy. Published from : 925/5, Mujumdar Apt, F.C. Road, Pune - 411004, Maharashtra. Printed at Magna Graphics (I) Ltd., 101-C&D Govt. Industrial Estate, Hindustan Naka, Kandivali (W), Mumbai - 400067.

64 / Corporate Citizen / June 16-30, 2015

RNI REG. NO. MAHENG/2014/60490