The Edge by IILM Institute for Higher Education

From the

Vice-Chairman

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Is there a case? Let me start the discussion by quoting two contemporary perspectives:

Editorial Board Mrs. Malvika Rai Prof. B. Bhattacharyya Prof. N.Chandra Mohan Ms. Rohini Rode

Editorial team Swati Sehgal Ashima Narwal Shaili Goyal Ashish Rathi Varun Prakash Dhanda Shipra Bhargava B D V Anuroop

Design: www.facetdesignindia.com Published by IILM Institute for Higher Education 69, Sector 53, Gurgaon-122003 Mobile: 9350860132, 9350821438 Printed by Avantika Printers Private Limited 194/2, Ramesh Market, Garhi East of Kailash, New Delhi-110065.

Not long ago, the concerns of ecologists were as irrelevant to business planners as those of ethicists today. “Green” has gone from being a disparagement to becoming a badge that no smart company would risk being without. Ethics are similarly enroute to becoming a strategic imperative.

John Dalla Costa, The Ethical Imperative ÂÂÂÂ

Companies that are breaking the mold are moving beyond corporate social responsibility to social innovation. These companies are the vanguard of the new paradigm. They view community needs as opportunities to develop ideas and demonstrate business technologies, to find and serve new markets, and to solve long standing business problems. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business Review ÂÂÂÂ It is evident that the entire concept of CSR is in a state of continued evolution where the old ideas of philanthropy and a vague social commitment to some social causes are being replaced with a new understanding of how the business should strategise CSR – where it is no longer a cost-centre, not even an instrument of earning legitimacy from the society it operates in, but a way of life, so to speak, for a business entity, in which CSR is not in the periphery but has been effectively mainstreamed into its operations. Niall Fitzgerald, a former CEO of Unilever, a firm which is at the global forefront in this sphere, said: “CSR is a hard-headed business decision, not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it...... because it is good for our business”. If most public and private sector entities respond in this fashion, obviously there is no case for state intervention through legislative provision for mandatory CSR. The recent Ministry of Corporate Affairs initiative to seek such a provision in The Companies Bill 2009 should be seen in this context. Legislative initiative is normally called for when there is a public perception that there is a gap between expectation and actuality which needs to be bridged in larger societal interest. While there are several high profile CSR initiatives in the private sector, in aggregative terms, the performance is below average and that needs to change, either on a voluntary or mandatory basis. B. Bhattacharyya

Contents INHOUSE MAGAZINE FOR LIMITEd CIRCULATION

“Single-mindedly pursue your dreams and aspirations” - Prof. Kak

Marketing to the Millennial Indian

Globalising India: Response of Indian B-schools

Creating a Business School Without Walls

Supply Chain Management at Pantaloons Retail

Kyoto Treaty: A Green Farce?

The Customer is Always Right

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Emerging Concept of Conscious Capitalism Striding The Ladder

Students’ Corner

Campus News

BUILDING BRIDGES

Creating a business school without walls

he IILM leadership team visited the Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Bradford to exchange and implement the best practices of these universities and to bring alive the vision and mission of IILM. IILM’s vision (2015) is to be a leader in value-based management education and business-focussed research. The focus is on enhancing ‘student experience’, providing students with an outstanding experience in inspirational and creative teaching; imparting knowledge and skills valued by industry, encouraging research that flows into teaching and an exceptional learning experience. At Sheffield, the team visited the business school. Prof Chris Booth, Pro-Vice-Chancellor has been associated with IILM and the visit fostered their ties further. The team was taken on a campus tour to present to them facilities that have been put in place for students – from the library to class-rooms to students’ support services. Prof. Booth led the session on vision, strategy, implementation and challenges. The challenges faced

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by both universities in achieving their vision were put forth as well as the various activities undertaken to overcome them were discussed in detail. While the Sheffield Hallam University aims at creating a “business school without walls”, IILM’s vision is of “being a leader in value based management education and business-focused research’. Both of these were taken up to ensure their implementation in day-to-day functioning to maximise student experience. Business advantage, knowledge transfer activities, case studies, implementation and change strategy were issues on the table in the session on business engagement. This session focused on engaging industry effectively to impart skills valued by them. A programme called the ‘Alchemy Exchange’ and ‘Venture Matrix’ was discussed in this connection. IILM has introduced a similar programme for developing skills of students which has been greatly appreciated by industry. To develop employability, value-added programmes, student engagement placements, a session was organised

by Lorna Daly, Assistant Dean, Academic. Dr. Colin Beard threw up a simple question: “How can a student from a town reach the university?” The answers are many but he demonstrated the power of creative and inspirational teaching in the most innovative manner. At the end of the day, a session on team building was organised where the team was split into groups and asked to prepare a three-course meal. Communication and faculty engagement is another common concern for both institutes and this session revolved around engaging faculty in teaching and research. The key take-away of this session was to relate appraisals to training needs and finally connect with employee engagement. The second part of the UK trip was to the University of Bradford. Besides meetings with the Dean, Deputy Vice Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor, the programme also included a series of workshops and presentations by staff from the school together with university. IILM is an associate institute of the University

of Bradford and has ambitious plans for future developments. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss areas of mutual interest in depth, as well as to identify best practices and key issues that IILM needs to address in order to implement its vision. An overview of the Bradford programme was presented, which included programmes offered at the graduate and post graduate levels. This included a visit to the main university and its city campus. Julian Rawel, Director, Executive Education and Associate Dean for Business Engagement participated in the session on Good Work Experience-Services, Structures and Processes at Bradford and Industry Engagement which discussed services provided for students and faculty. The University of Bradford has a very effective learning system, which includes library resources at the university – books and digital media. It conducts many workshops on the various resources available. The focus is on increasing student engagement in learning and participative teaching. The effective learning system also constitutes career development services, which focuses on employability and enterprise. The key learning was the use of some of these resources for effective course delivery and enhancing the teaching-learning interface between students and faculty. Bradford has a learning development unit (LDU) which actively focuses on developing and enhancing the soft skills of students. IILM has also established an LDU. In addition, this LDU actively does psychometric profiling of students and aids in career counselling.

The next session was on performance measurement and management system at Bradford. Quality management at the university applies to all processes like curriculum delivery, learning resources, information and support. Quality gets managed, though the initial approval of the programme, regular monitoring of the operation, assessment process and periodic review are also done. Independent and external advisors contribute to each of these processes. The ultimate question is ‘how does all this improve student experience’, ‘facilitate mutually beneficial employer engagement’ and ‘maximize value add’ The motto is that maintaining quality is everybody’s responsibility. The performance management system at Bradford has undergone a change and become more objective and transparent. A new HR and payroll system has been introduced, where line managers are clearly defined and all people know

who their line managers are. The new HR system underpins all the processes like promotions, rewards and recognition. As we are already aware, most academics have a self-managed career path. The new performance management system takes into account that discussion and feedback on performance in the last 12 months against objectives set at the last review and checking that the job descriptions are accurate and updated for all employees. The need to strengthen performance management system at IILM and simplification of the process were the learning outcomes of this session. Ms. Sapna Popli, Executive Director, IILM, presented in detail the current practices and endeavours at IILM, which was much appreciated by the faculty of the university. The leadership team came back geared to further the objectives in line with the vision and mission of IILM.

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LOOKING AT THE WORLD

IILM launches Advanced Management Programme The IILM Institute for Higher Education launched the Advanced Management Program (AMP) with its first three days module on ‘Global Political Environment’ from 13th to 15th February 2011 at its Lodhi Road campus. This module was conducted by Dr. Shashi Tharoor. Dr. Tharoor has had a stellar career. A prolific writer, peace-keeper, human rights activist, a former Minister of State for External Affairs and now a Member of Parliament from

the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, he straddles several worlds of experience. In January 1998, Dr. Tharoor was named a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland. Dr. Tharoor has been with the United Nations (UN) since 1978 when he joined the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. He served the UN in various capacities before assuming the office of the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information of the United Nations in 2001. Dr. Tharoor left the UN on 31st March 2007. The three-day module provided AMP participants an exceptional exposure and understanding of the political and economic realities of the world by someone who was actively involved in the continuous changing scenario on the international stage till recently. Dr. Tharoor began the module with a brief orientation of the global political environment, historical perspectives, and the role of the United Nations. Thereafter, he actively engaged all the participants with a focus on the following areas: • American dominance and decline • India and the world • Assessing Chinese power • Review of Africa, West Asia, Pacific and Latin America • Review of the European Union • The politics of terrorism “India and the world” was a session close to every one’s heart. As the course progressed, participants realised that while it was good to be upbeat about India’s position, there are many infrastructural as well as governance issues that need to be sorted out before we can achieve sustainable rapid growth and take on the Chinese giant. The session on China provided a deeper understanding of the success and challenges

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that the country faces while it goes ahead like a juggernaut, bulldozing other established economies out of its way. To be sure, there is a major price in human and environmental terms. Participants also debated whether we wanted to be like China at all. The sessions on other regions of the world provided a comprehensive review of the challenges and the opportunities in these parts of the world and introduced the participants to entirely new perspectives. The key issues of debate in this area were energy and food production. Finally, the session on terrorism went beyond popular conspiracy theories and generally accepted truisms and looked at the non-obvious reasons why terrorism is flourishing and how curbing it is a challenge to be managed by the entire global community. The three-day module on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;global political environmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; made all the participants put on new thinking hats and realise that there was a lot more to management than finance, marketing, operations, human resources, risk analysis and information technology. It was a great learning experience for all participants and added a lot of new dimensions to the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heads and hearts. The AMP at IILM is designed with cutting edge content, and taught by a world class faculty. Participants can transform knowledge gained in this programme into results in their organisations. The knowledge sharing approach of faculty in this programme is interactive, dynamic and provides a great opportunity to reflect, build up new perspectives and strengthen skills. Competing in the fast-changing global marketplace with new challenges requires senior executives to update their knowledge base and skill set. The AMP for executives is specifically designed in response to this framework. It aims to develop executives to meet the emerging and unforeseen challenges of global business. Rakesh chaudhry Head, Executive Education IILM, Lodhi Road

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LEADING THE WAY

Imparting modern education at affordable cost

t is only education that can eliminate deep-rooted social and economical disparities by helping every child to explore, nurture and fulfil his or her potential. With this aim, The Banyan Tree School was established three years ago at Jagdishpur, 80 kilometres away from Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh. The school aims to transform every student into a sound personality in thoughts, words and deeds and lead a noble and successful life at an affordable cost. The school was proud to organise its 3rd annual function with Shri Ashok Ganguly, former chairman, CBSE and head of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme in U.P. as the Chief Guest on January 29, 2011. He had

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Shri Ashok Ganguli, Former Chairman, CBSE at The Banyan Tree School, Jagdishpur

the following observations to make in his address to the students and the audience:

“We need to give attitude to every child by maintaining a striking balance between attitude and aptitude, which can only be done through quality education.” “The school makes no compromise in ensuring quality education by providing all the villages, paraphernalia enriching the qualities of hand, head and heart of every child.” “We have never let remoteness and ruralness hinder our moving ahead on the path of progress.” The Banyan Tree School isfast becoming a successful experiment in imparting sound and modern education to rural children at affordable cost – a dream of our Trust, the Ram Krishan & Sons Charitable Trust, New Delhi. Standing amidst the serene and tranquil surroundings of the village, this school is coeducational and recognised by the state government. It is on the way to be affiliated for secondary classes with the CBSE this year. A balanced curriculum on CBSE pattern has been embraced by the school. Since it was established, it has grown by leaps and bounds. The student strength reached more than 700 and will touch the 1,000 mark this year. Empowerment of teachers through seminars, workshops

and daily interactions is a refreshing feature of the school. The Banyan Tree School has over 30 spacious classrooms, laboratories for mathematics, Science, social studies and computers, a complete academic atmosphere that engages, challenges and influences brain development through experiential

learning. We have experts of fine arts and other skills in our team. The school also organises health and awareness programmes for students, their families and the community to ensure a healthy society. Avdesh Kumar Saxena Principal The Banyan Tree School, Jagdishpur

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MAKING MUSIC

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma playing the santoor

Anagha M accompanied by various artists

Young talent launched at the Sangeet Sanatan Sanskriti Samaroh

Sukanya Banerjee performing Hindustani vocals

anatan Sangeet Sanskriti was established by the Ram Krishan & Sons Charitable Trust in 1993 to promote and encourage music, dance and other arts for the sake of harmony, unity and world peace. It is a platform for people to learn and appreciate art. The Sanskriti has constituted tow national awards to be presented annually to artists in different categories. These awards are called Sanatan Sangeet Samman and Sanatan Sangeet Puraskar. Sanatan Sangeet Samman is to honour a senior artist for his/her personal excellence and outstanding

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contributions to Indian classical music/dance. The Sanatan Sangeet Puraskar is to honour a talented artist in recognition of his/her talent and potential for excellence. From 2006 onwards, the Sanskriti has also been awarding the Sanatan Kalakriti Puraskar to a selected artist for his/her contribution in the field of painting/ sculpture.

Event this year The Sanatan Sangeet Samiti 2010 was held at IILM, Lodhi Road, campus auditorium on 26th and 27th of November 2010. The first day of the event had four performances from young talent selected from the country to perform. They were Anagha M (Carnatic. Vocals), Veena Venkataramani (Veena Carnatic), Sukanya Banerjee (Hindustani Vocals), Ankita Kumar (Piano Western). The event started with Ms. Saumya Shirina’s welcome speech. She spoke about the history of the Sanskriti and introduced the young performers.

The first performance was of Anagha M, nine years old who rendered classical music perfectly. Her performance was spell binding, and all the classical music afficionados had a pleasant time listening to her. The perfection and confidence with which she sang was commendable. She definitely is an artist in the making. The new artist was Veena Venkataramani on the veena, accompanied by a tabla player. The “Jugalbandi” and the synchronisation between the two of them were simply amazing. Again, it was a performance which truly impressed the audience as a class act. Sukanya Banerjee followed thereafter. She was accompanied by tabla player Faisal and a harmonium player. She presented different Hindustani classical ragas. The audience was captivated by her and applauded her performance. The last performance was by Ankita Kumar on the piano. She played Bollywood songs along with two accompanists on guitar and tabla

Ankita Kumar playing the piano

respectively. This was the most awaited performance of the evening and was highly appreciated by everyone in the auditorium.

Veena Venkatramani playing the veena in a “Jugalbandi” accompanied by Faisal on the tabla

The second day of the event was the finale. The recipients of the Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti award Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ms. Navia Natarajan and Mr. Tirthankar Biswas were present to perform and receive their awards. Ms. Saumya Shirina welcomed the guests and the audience. Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma lit the lamp along with Mr. and Mrs. Rai. Pt. Sharma is a living legend and has given new dimensions to the santoor. He started up with raga “Yaman” and said that this was the first raga he learned to play on santoor. He was very humble in saying that every time he played the santoor, he learned something new. He was supported perfectly by the tabla player and a taanpura player. The entire audience cherished his performance and requested an encore, which he obliged. The concert was a big hit. While the concert was going on, Mr. Tirthankar Biswas was simultaneously making a painting of Pt. Sharma and the two accompanist on the stage with him. The painting was a live masterpiece made by him. It was an extraordinary and a marvelous piece

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, recipient of the Sangeet Sanatan Samman 2010 at the IILM Lodhi Road campus

of work. Everyone was amazed to see such a great artistic work. The next performer on the stage was Ms. Navia Natarajan. She is a famous Bharatnatyam dancer. She performed along with three accompanists and had live vocals. The performance was pleasing to the eyes and it was great to see her conviction, dedication and sincerity. The performance was tough, as it had live vocals and a single mistake could lead to the downfall of the act, but everything was perfect. The expressions formed a very important part of the performance as the actions showed the story behind the dance. The tale of Krishna and the Gopi’s was a tale of special mention. She

concluded with the namaskar which is done to end the performance and received a huge round of applause. Then, all the performers were rewarded with the “SANATAN SANGEET SANSKRITI AWARDS” for the year 2010. Mr. Anil Rai and Mrs. Malvika Rai along with a few guests presented the awards to the performers and also spoke a few words about them. This was one of the most special days in the history of IILM and would be remembered for a long time. We await the next year’s awards. Tarun Batra Pgp 10-12 IILM, Lodhi Road

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bUILDING INDIA

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Single-mindedly pursue your dreams and aspirationsâ&#x20AC;? - Prof. Kak Dr. R.L. Choudhary and Mr. D. K. Biswas. The academic procession comprising of Professors, HODs and the Director-CET was led by Senior Director Grp. Capt.(Retd) S.K.Raina.

he Fourth Annual Convocation of IILM-AHL-CET for award of B.Tech, B.Pharma and MBA degrees was held on Saturday, 12th February 2011, at Greater Noida. The proceedings started with the arrival of the Chief Guest Prof. S.K. Kak, Vice Chancellor, Mahamaya Technical University, Noida. Other distinguished guests included Prof. B. Bhattacharyya,

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The Convocation held in the afternoon, on the bright lush green lawns in front of the College of Engineering Technology commenced with the lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest and all the distinguished guests, while the students recited Saraswati Vandana. This was followed by the welcome address by the Senior Director. In his address, the Senior Director introduced the Chief Guest and thereafter welcomed the graduates, parents and other guests. He briefed the gathering of the academic and extra-curricular activities undertaken during the past year. CET had not only reached greater academic heights in the past year, but was also at the forefront in discharging its social responsibilities. In his message to the students, he asked them to single-mindedly pursue their dreams and aspirations, as this would not only lead them to higher levels of achievement, but also make their lives purposeful.

Dr. Meenu announced the names of the students who had qualified to receive their degrees as per the following programmes. • Masters of Business Administration (batch 2007-2009) • Masters of Computer Application (batch 2006-2009) • Bachelor of Techonology (batch 2005-09) • Bachelor of Pharmacy (batch 2005-09) The Dr. Kulwant Rai Gold Medal for securing the first position in their respective programmes was awarded to. • B. Tech: Ms. Ruby Aggarwal • MBA: Ms. Puja Srivastava • MCA: Mr. Srinivas Sandeep Kopparapu • B. Pharma: Ms. Aditi Yadav Dr. Kulwant Rai Silver Medal for securing the first position in the various branches of Engineering was awarded to :

IILM-AHL, Greater Noida student awarded Silver Medal Vibha Verma, student of B. Tech (BioTechnology) of 200610 batch, won laurels for herself and her alma-mater by securing the second position in the overall merit of the UP Technical University. A brilliant student of IILM AHL, Greater Noida, the UP Technical University awarded a silver medal to Vibha Verma during the University convocation held at Lucknow on 7 December 2010. In recognition of her outstanding achievement, IILM AHL, Greater Noida arranged a function to honour Vibha Verma with a cash award of Rs.5,000/- and an IILM memento. IILM faculty and students cheered and felicitated Vibha Verma for her top honours. Well done, Vibha and keep it up.

• B.Tech-BioTechonology: Ms. Ruby Aggarwal • B. Tech-Computer Science Engineering: Mr. Shitala Prasad • B.TechElectronics and Communication Engineering: Ms. Sheena Sandhu • B.Tech-Electrical Engineering: Ms. Eepsita Priye • B.TechMechanical Engineering: Mr. Mohammad Ayub Qareshi

that we live in a rapidly changing society and it is in these times that the values of an individual are tested the most. He encouraged the students to excel in their choosen field with hardwork and honesty.

After the degrees were awarded, the Chief Guest, Prof. S.K. Kak delivered his convocational address. In his address, he urged the students to follow the path of righteousness and fight temptation in order to follow the right path. Prof. S. K. Kak said

The convocation concluded with the singing of the National Anthem by the students of CET, who were joined by the entire audience. In the end, the students assembled for the group photograph which was followed by a sumptuous lunch.

Prof. S. K. Kak said that we live in a rapidly changing society and it is in these times that the values of an individual are tested the most.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Marketing to the Millennial Indian

As IILM seeks to have a productive interaction with industry, a highprofile marketing seminar Mr Rahul Mishra, Head Business Engagement at IILM with the distinguished guests Dr Rajesh Shukla and Mr David Wittenberg was recently organised at its premises in Lodhi Road.

incorporating advanced applications in the areas of marketing to both the rural and urban consumers. It gave an opportunity to learn the importance of consumer-driven strategies and its vital role in achieving competitive advantage.

As India is likely to become the fifth largest market in the world by 2025, surpassing the size of Germany’s consumer market, it is imperative to understand the challenges that this market throws up for future marketers. On a per capita basis, real spending is expected to triple to Rs. 48,632 or $1,065 by 2025 from today’s level. Add the fact that during the next few decades, India will also surpass China as the world’s most populous country, it is obvious that consumer goods companies seeking faster growth must begin to focus on the sub-continent.

The seminar was inaugurated by the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the keynote speaker Santosh Desai of the Future Group. Sapna Popli, Executive Dean & Director, IILM, Rahul Mishra, Head, Business Engagement and Jones Mathew, Area Chair, Marketing followed, with a welcome address by Ms. Popli.

This seminar provided a unique opportunity for young and upcoming executives, faculty and students to hear and interact with the best management practitioners on the strategies for capturing the future Indian consumer, latest trends in innovations and technologies, developing the organisational culture to stay competitive in a consumer-driven market, besides

Panel Chair Mr Bakul Joshi of Dupont opening the discussion with his presentation on “Rural India: The Golden Goose?”

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Ms.Popli observed that in today’s world, when a four-year old phenomenon like Facebook changes the way we network not just socially, but in the way we communicate, the need to understand the various needs of business is all the more critical. She said that the seminar aims to provide a platform to discuss and take inputs and ideas from eminent speakers to think of strategies that will work for the future Indian consumer and understand latest trends, innovations and technologies. The event will therefore help IILM’s students think a little more creatively and innovatively when they pursue a career in marketing. She also introduced IILM and its vision to the speakers and the audience. She said that the dominating theme for our Vision 2015 is facilitating business engagement and providing our students with an outstanding and exceptional learning experience. She emphasised that in our endeavour to strengthen IILM, we have extensively been involved in conducting management developmental programmes, encouraging students to take up live projects with a specific industry and to help solve problems that industry faces.

Mr. Desai in his presentation ‘The Changing Marketing Paradigm for the Next Millennium’ defined the millennial Indian and how his or her tastes and preferences are going to change in the coming decades. He observed that for the first time there was an optimism in the young generation which will define future comsumption patterns. The Indian youth also is more experimental than before and has a greater sense of mobility. They are a great mix of tradition and modernity as it is easier to make people spend money in the name of tradition. For example, Akshay Tritia has become an occasion of massive spending on gold and gold ornaments. He noted the emerging segment of rural youth and the energy coming from small town India; that technology will play an important role in connecting with these segments because traditionally rural India has been an inaccessible part of the country. One of the biggest problems indeed is access to rural India. But this is fast changing. In the last decade, mobile phones have created a non-linear access to rural India. With roads, access is only linear as only x kilometers can be built at a time. But mobile networks don’t go necessarily step by step that way as they open up access across a wide front. In fact, the penetration of mobile phones in rural India is higher than that of primary education! In rural Andhra Pradesh, for instance, people are now applying for jobs nationally because they have access to cyber cafe at their doorsteps. Earlier, they had to go over a hundred kilometres to cyber cafes in smaller towns in order to apply for jobs. This is indeed the beginning of a revolution – during the next five to ten years, rural India will surprise everyone with the pace of change, argued Mr. Desai. The next speaker was Pradeep Kashyap, CEO of Mart and widely known as the father of rural marketing in India. He is also recognised as a thought leader and is a regular speaker at CEO forums in India and abroad. He co-created Project Shakti of Hindustan

While working in rural Andhra Pradesh, we found that people were applying for national jobs, because there were cyber-cafes. Unilever that appoints 46,000 poor women to do door to door selling. Mr. Kashyap acquainted students with the tremendous progress rural marketing has made in infrastructure, awareness and affordability. He observed that rural aspirations are now same as urban aspirations; the difference if any is that penetration levels for most consumer categories is much lower as consumption is much less as the occasions for use are fewer. The second aspect, he emphasised was the number of households buying multiple brands. Till about five years back, many categories were getting introduced for the first time in villages like shampoos. Now, more than 40 per cent of sales of shampoo takes place in rural India. So, therefore the question is not merely about the product, it’s about a category, which have been around for around 4 to 5 years now.

Mr Jones Mathew giving the Vote of Thanks

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Joginder Bajaj, DGM, Punjab National Bank and Sandeep Gosain, CIO, Heuristics Informatics . The discussion covered the role of informatics, innovation and the power of service delivery to overcome the challenges of marketing to the new Indian. The post-lunch session witnessed a highly technical presentation by Dr. Rajesh Shukla, Director, NCAER-CMCR, New Delhi on the demographic profile of India. Some of the research shared by Dr. Shukla were in the public domain for the first time.

Ms. Sapna Popli gives the welcome address

The third fact evident in rural markets is that till about five years ago, people would buy unpackaged sugar, rice and so on. But not any more. Last year, there was a bumper sugarcane crop and the cane growing states like UP and Maharashtra have earned a lot of money and they are buyers of SUVs and other vehicles. Now the villagers visit Hariyali Kisan Bazaar stores to buy packaged rice. It is difficult to believe villagers buying packaged rice and branded Kohinoor! In fact, 90 per cent of all products in rural areas are branded. They may not be necessarily international brands, but they are branded, he added. Detergent powder has become a Rs 1,800 crore industry largely due to rural markets. “Ghari” is not essentially an urban brand. It has become the second largest detergent brand in the country, largely driven by rural demand. So we find, in category after category, it is actually the rural market which is driving the brand business. In today’s highly competitive global marketplace, the pressure on organisations to find new ways to create and deliver value to customers is growing stronger and stronger. There was a panel discussion on “The Marketing Challenges in the New Millennium ” whose members were Subhrat Padhi, COO, Vodafone (Haryana), David Wittenberg, CEO, The Innovation Workshop,

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One of the biggest concerns for marketing to rural India was distribution – in the terms of its sheer size comprising 600,000 villages versus 4,800 towns. Earlier it was only in one product category - radio and transistor where market share was 75 per cent . But, currently, there are 7 products, like bikes, radio, black and white televisions whose share is 75 per cent in rural areas. Dr. Shukla at argued that one should not treat rural India as an extension of urban India. Occupations in rural India have changed a lot in recent years and agriculture is no longer the primary occupation. And if we look at the farm versus non-farm activity, it indicates that in 1970s, the distribution of income in rural India was three-fourths from agricultural income. Currently, it is 40 per cent and the projections are that by 2050, the contribution of agriculture to incomes in rural India will be around 32 per cent with 68 per cent contribution likely to come from non-farming activities. This is a major transformation which is going to happen in the coming years. Historically speaking, agriculture’s contribution in the 1970s to India’s GDP was approximately half and now it is reduced to 18 per cent. So, in the coming years, investing in rural India is going to be less risky and that is a big opportunity for marketers, as non-farm income plays a bigger role. The presentation by Dr. Shukla was followed by a panel discussion on “Rural India, the Golden Goose”. The panel members were Dr. Bakul Joshi from MDI, Gurgaon who is a certified six sigma black belt from USA.

Dr. Joshi is presently working as six sigma trainer for DuPont India and South Asia and also marketing communication manager for DuPont, India. The second member of the panel was Khitish Kumar Pandeya, managing director of Eco Tasar Silk (P) Ltd., a company run by an NGO for purpose of ensuring marketing access to rural producers of silk yarn and related items. Lastly, there was Arun Dass, Head of Services, North, Airtel. The panel discussed in detail the changes coming about in rural India and how it is going to be one of the drivers of demand for products and services and the opportunities all of this is going to create for marketers.

There were a lot of questions from the students, which the eminent guests were happy to answer

Dr. Joshi gave a brief background of the company which has over 58,000 employees all over the world, operating in more than 210 locations in over 70 countries. He said that everybody sitting in the auditorium is using DuPontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products one way or the other - because everybody might have a cellphone which has $8 worth of DuPont material. He said that we have 28 states and 7 union territories, 18 different languages almost 14 are in Indian Constitution, and uncountable number of dialects! India is indeed a country with diversity which is one of the biggest challenges for marketers.

targeting opinion leaders. This is necessary as India has six hundred and thirty thousand villages and millions of farmers canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be accessed simultaneously; so the creation of brand ambassadors is imperative word of mouth very strong tool for marketing. The panel also discussed various other aspects/ challenges in marketing to rural India and concluded that rural India was indeed a golden goose holding a lot of promise for the future. The seminar came to an end with a vote of thanks by Jones Mathew, Associate Professor and Area Chair for Marketing at IILM.

Now after the economic downturn every company is focusing on the rural market but the entire approach is completely different from that of the urban market. There is a scarcity of media in rural markets and they are slow to adopt and give up brands. Incomes are also seasonal depending on the weather. This has resulted in the rural market being information hungry and entertainment starved. The electronic media has not penetrated the rural market. Higher receptivity towards advertising with very low persuasion ability are some of the challenges of rural marketing. Words of opinion leaders are very important in villages. He gave the example of crop protection, and the pioneer seeds-products of DuPont. He said that they have created rice diplomat programmes or brand ambassadors programmes in villages

Kavita Shukla Assistant Professor, Marketing IILM, Gurgaon

Looking at the sheer size of the market of about 60,0000 villages, one of the biggest concerns for marketing to rural India, Dr Shukla said, was distribution.

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bUSINESS EDGE

Globalising India: Response of Indian B-schools

O B. Bhattacharyya Vice-Chairman IILM

S. Das Professor IILM

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ne necessary condition for successful globalisation is that the globalising economy continuously improves its competitive profile. Sources of competitiveness are many: traditional, cost advantage, access to factors of production and enabling policy regime have been found to be of paramount importance at the macro level. India has for long leveraged its relatively low labour costs to enter international markets. This strategy has worked because most of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s export industries are essentially labour-intensive. However, a high rate of economic growth along with a high level of inflation of will increase pressures on the labour market and gradually erode the initial cost advantage. In recent times, there has been talk of India benefitting from a

demographic dividend. The argument in its bare essentials means that since most developed countries have a mature population structure, India with the largest share of its population being in the working age group, stands to gain from a large and expanding labour pool. The argument is valid only when the entrants to the labour market are employable, and they possess the skills that the market demands. There is a close link between education, training and competitiveness. Higher degree of schooling raises skills which, in turn, raises productivity which then is reflected in a higher level of competitiveness. Annual data as given in the World Competitiveness Report clearly underlines this co-relationship. * Extract from IILM Research Brief No 2 / 2010

In the actual global market, it is not countries but firms that compete. Recent literature suggests that the main source of sustainable competitive advantage is the development of firm-specific resources that generate knowledge, product/service quality and process innovation, among others. Since the industry is getting increasingly knowledge-intensive, importance of human resource as a source of competitive advantage has shifted from pure cost advantage to the quality of human resources, focusing on innovation, flexibility and motivation. The rising pace of globalisation across the world, India not excluded, requires a cadre of professionals who have a global mindset. This attitudinal attribute needs to be complemented with a rigorous understanding of how globalisation impacts every area of corporate operations, in addition to the macro-economic shifts and policy changes consequent to global developments. Since the management cadre is mostly drawn from B-school alumni, it is obvious that the B-schools bear a primary responsibility in this regard. At another level, the B-schools, like any other institutions, are also subject to the pressures of globalisation. This is especially true because education, especially higher education in business management, has been a global industry for quite some time.

process in terms of redesigning its curricula, programme portfolio and international networking? • To what extent, the vision of the Indian B-schools reflect their global aspirations. On the basis of the data presented in the paper, the conclusion is inescapable that Indian B-schools have responded less than adequately to the vastly changing character of the Indian economy. Looking purely at the internationalisation of the Indian economy, any observer will get impressed with the rapidity with which the entire policy framework with respect to foreign trade, FDI, FII etc. got substantially liberalised. The results of the policy shifts are seen in the increased share of exports and imports in GDP, higher contribution of FDI in gross capital formation and the impact FII flows has on the Indian stock market. At the retail market level, the liberalised import policy has resulted in the presence of almost every major consumer brand. Some, of course, have come through the joint venture or wholly-owned production route, rather than the import route. On the other hand, liberalised policy on export of capital has resulted in massive cross-border acquisitions by several Indian firms, leading to the emergence of Indian MNCs.

• What are the drivers to internationalisation for an institution of higher learning?

Removal of rigid licensing rules and huge reductions in import tariffs have made a large part of the so-farprotected domestic production open to global competition. All these have made the Indian market highly contestable. As a consequence, tactics and strategies that worked in the earlier paradigm cease to be of much relevance in the new and evolving context.

• How have Indian B-schools responded to the globalisation

There has been another major change, which in fact, affects the

This research paper is an attempt to analyse the following:

entire consumer market. The access to global information on goods and services in real time basis have permanently changed the consumer psyche and aspirations. Such massive shifts require a fundamental rethinking in terms of what is relevant management education for the coming generation of Indian managers. In fact, the term ‘Indian managers’ is wrong at least partially because some of them will be global managers, just as some nonIndian managers will be in charge of some parts of Indian business. This is in fact, an abiding feature of corporate globalisation. To address this issue squarely, Indian B-schools have to go through an extensive and rigorous analysis of how the Indian corporate sector, including the SMEs, as well as the economy in general will move, the leadership qualities that would have to be inculcated in the managers, the toolkits and skillsets appropriate to operate in an emerging economy as well as global mindset which is a must, even for survival in the coming years. This will have to be followed by developing an appropriate curricula, new learning materials as well as programme delivery which will allow exposure to global and cross-cultural environment.

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LAYING THE LAW

Changing Facets of Partnership Business

Zubair Ahmed Khan Lecturer, Business Law and State Society IILM, Gurgaon

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A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a duction of LLPs would fill the gap between partnership in which some or all the partners business firms such as sole proprietorship and have limited liability. It is in effect a mix- partnership, which are generally unregulated ture of both partnerships and corporations. and Limited Liability Companies, which are However, unlike a limited partnership, one governed by the Companies Act, 1956. It is partner is not responsible for the acts of oth- a body corporate formed and incorporated er partners. The concept of limited liability under the LLP Act, which is a distinct legal partnership was introduced in order to adopt entity separate from that of its partners. It has a corporate form, which combines the perpetual succession. The word “Body organisational flexibility and tax Corporate” is defined in the Bill status of partnership, with to include LLPs registered unthe advantage of limited der the LLP Act, LLPs inThe word liability for its partners. corporated outside India, “Body Corporate” This Act of Parliament and companies incorpois defined in the Bill to received Presidential rated outside India.The assent on 7th January Bill provides for entry include LLPs registered 2009 and was named of new partners in acunder the LLP Act, LLPs the LLP Act 2008. It cordance with an LLP makes provisions for incorporated outside agreement and exit of the formation and reguexisting partner, with India, and companies lation of limited liability due notice to the Regisincorporated partnerships and for mattrar. The provisions of the ters related to it. Indian Partnership Act, outside India. 1932 has no application to On the recommendation LLPs. The internal structure of of the various corporate law rethe LLP is designed on the lines of forms committees (Abid Hussain traditional partnership. Committee, Naresh Chandra Committee 2003, JJ Irani Expert Committee on Company Law 2005) the long and eagerly awaited The need for an LLP Limited Liability Partnership Bill 2006 was Being an alternative business structure, tabled in th Rajya Sabha on 15th December LLPs are expected to foster growth of the 2006. It was introduced by the Ministry of service sector. The regime of the Limited LiCorporate Affairs but lapsed soon after. Intro- ability Partnership will provide a platform to

small and medium enterprises and professional firms of Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Advocates, etc. to conduct their profession efficiently which would, in turn increase their global competitiveness.

responsible only for his or her own liabilities. It would make partners more accountable to their clients or customers and ensure that all the partners can engage in their business without the concern of having their personal assets at risk, unless there is a specific case of negligence or wrongdoing.

As an alternate corporate business vehicle, limited liability partnership goes some way towards addressing these concerns. The The limited liability partnership is a LLP is a body corporate having perpetual suc- separate legal entity without unlimited cession and a legal personality of its own. It capacity so that an LLP can do anything that shall have at least two partners but there is no a person could do. It has the ability to enter limit to the maximum number of partners. If into contracts and hold property, and all will at any time, the number of partners of an LLP continue in existence inspite of any change falls below two and business is carried on in membership. The LLPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existence as a for more than six months, a person separate legal entity makes it more who is a partner in the LLP is closely akin to a company than cognizant of this fact, he shall a partnership. Unlike sole be liable jointly and severtraders and partners of ally with the LLP be liable ordinary partnerships, the The existence for the obligations of the LLP itself, and not the LLP incurred during individual members, is of LLP as a separate legal that period. responsible for any debts that it runs up, unless entity makes it more closely individual members Changing scenario have personally The traditional akin to a company than to guaranteed a loan to the partnership firm model business. was appropriate when

a partnership.

all partnerships were small and partners were of the same profession working closely with one another. However, unlimited liability for partners became an increasing cause of concern due to various reasons including:

(i) A general increase in the incidence of litigation for professional negligence and the size of claims (ii) The growth in the size of partnerships (in large firm not all partners will be personally known to one another) and, (iii) The increase in the specialisation among partners and coming together of different professions within a partnership Thus, a need was felt for a type of partnership entity in which each partner is

The Government of India should create a greater facilitating environment for entrepreneurs, service providers and professionals to meet global competition. The introduction of LLPs in India is a good beginning towards this long journey. The hybrid structure of LLPs will facilitate entrepreneurs, service providers and professionals to organise and operate in an innovative and efficient manner for effectively competing in the global market. One of the major constrains for professionals in setting up multi-disciplinary partnership is the business structure. They are prohibited from using certain legal forms. The permitted forms of legal entities are also subject to restrictions like number of partners, unlimited liability, ownership, taxation and mergers and acquisitions. The concept of LLP

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can eliminate and reduce these constraints to a great extent.

Some Reccommendations The LLP has its own weaknesses and strengths. Here are some suggestions to ovecome the limitations:

Act is unclear. Under an LLP, designated partners are appointed who are answerable and liable for ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act. However, all the penal provisions of the LLP Act contain the words “the LLP and every partner shall be punishable ………” If every partner is to be held liable for violations than what is the objective behind the appointment of designated partners?

1. First of all, the burden on regulation of LLPs should not have been put on the shoulders of the Registrar of Companies 3) Third, though the LLP Act recognises (ROC) since LLP is a different entity as the LLP as a separate entity (on the same compared to companies and requires a basis as a company), it shifts the burden different focus. There would be a large of bearing the penalties on the designated number of LLPs getting registered partners. Clause 9(2)(b) stipulates and the sheer volume of that “a designated partner shall regulation of these LLPs be liable to all the penalties along with the already imposed on the LLP for any heavy burden of contravention.” Under the regulating companies In an LLP, designated Companies Act, 1956, would be an injustice the company being a partners are appointed who to the enforcement separate legal entity is of both the liable to pay the fine are answerable and liable for statutes. With the (apart from the officers introduction of in default) from its own ensuring compliance with electronic records account. and e-filling the provisions 4) Fourth, the requirements, the recommendations of entire focus of ROC of the Act. the Naresh Chandra would be to supervise Committee should be the implementation by implemented fully. The conducting inspections committee recommended that etc; and this can be done the LLP Act should not have effectively if the functions of covered small business enterprises regulating the LLPs and companies like traders and small manufacturers but are separate. instead should have confined its domain to only professionals like Lawyers, Chartered 2) Second, the aspect of criminal liability Accountants and Company Secretaries. for violations of the provisions of the LLP

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RETAIL RIGOUR

Supply Chain Management at Pantaloons

antaloons Retail India Limited (PRIL) began its operations in 1996 in Kolkata in solo men’s-wear, Pantaloons brand trousers, in a single-store format. Later, the firm sold its trouser brand through franchising to traditional retailers. In 2001, the company changed its focus to family retailing the large mega-store format. Today, PRIL has expanded its business, incorporating joint ventures and subsidiaries across six verticals under the Future Group umbrella: real estate, asset management, logistics, brand management, home solutions, and retail – which is the nucleus. PRIL is the pioneer of India’s modern retail in the hypermarket format and is recognised as an organised multi-format retailer. The firm’s business strategy is to capture a greater share of the consumer wallet by covering all customer segments in all age-groups, in all product categories through multiple retail formats nationwide. The Pantaloons retail business model also incorporates strategic

tie-ups and joint ventures with some of the leading foreign brands. In 2006, the company generated Rs. 19.3 million in business sales and is directly accountable for employment of 14,500 people. Additionally, the company’s array of private labels across several product categories, indirectly create supply demand for small-scale domestic suppliers.

Sumit Rastogi Assistant Professor, Operations, IILM, Lodhi Road

With a surge of interest in the one-stop shopping model, PRIL differentiates itself by keeping a vast range of merchandize with over 2,50,000 SKUs across durables and non-durables under one roof. The company’s six verticals formed through strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and whollyowned subsidiaries act as catalysts to the retail business in rolling out front-end retail stores, managing the supply chain, offering shelf space to exclusive branded suppliers, Anil Vashishit and developing in-house private labels. The Assistant Professor, Marketing, IILM, Gurgaon company’s Big Bazaar (hypermarket chain) cuts across entire customer segments.

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In a Lifestyle store, the average customer footfalls are around 1,000 of which 350 convert into sales transactions. In the value segment, the company attracts an average of approximately 3,000 customer footfalls, of which the sales conversion is between 220 and 250.

End-to-End Value Chain PRIL has tried to incorporate the true pan India model in its expansion strategy, beginning from offering products for the entire family, laying out multiple small kirana -like shops inside its value retail format, to directly reaching and contracting the source

Pantaloons Retail India Limited Business Evolution pantaloons retail india limited Future Brands (Joint Ventures)

Future Capital Holding Ltd. (PRIL stake is 79.14%)

Home Solutions Retail (PRIL stake is 79.14%)

Planet Retail Holding Ltd. (51%) and PRIL (49%) partnership: the company is an exclusive franchisee of Marks and Spencer brand in India; Footmark; a joint-venture with Liberty Shoes (49%) and PRIL (51%) caters to shoe factory stores; Ginny and Jonny Apparels: In kids wear category, this is a 50:50 partnership: Levis Straus and Co.: for signature brand denim wear in Big Bazaar stores; Etam (Italian Lingerie)

Manages financial services business on retail and commercial retail real estate through following subsidiaries: Kshitu Investment Advisory: is Rs. 3500 million venture capital fund on retail and commercial real estate; Ambit Investment Advisory: US$350 million to invest into real estate; Indivision Investment Advisors; is a domestic advisor to mauritius based private equity fund having US $ 425 million; Myra Mall Management Company: formed to acquire premises at Oarel, Mumbai.

Caters to retailing of furniture and furnishing electronic and consumer goods to value and lifestyles retail formats through: Home Town: launched during 2007, will comprise of home textiles, furnishing, home furniture, hlme building material and accessories, home appliances and electronics under one roof; E-zone: electronics durables; Elecgtronics Bazaar: caters to value segment; Collection I: home decor, home furnishing, home improvement to lifestyle segment; Furniture Bazaar: caters to affordable furniture needs.

Future Capital Ltd (50:50 venture Capital Land)

Future Logistics (100% PRIL subsidiary) Supply Chain Management to Future Retail and its subsidiaries

Retail management services to retail malls in metros, mini-metros and tier-2 cities

Future Retail

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Lifestyle Retail (Specialty stores & seamless mall)

Value Retail (Hypermarkets and Discount Stores)

Pantaloons: consists of private labels Pantaloons trousers, Bare Jeans, John Miller, Shristi, Scotsville, Annabelle, Ajile, RIG, Euforia, JM Sport, Akkriti, etc.; Central: is a seamless mall with multiple national and international brands; aLL: caters plus size women ready to wear fashion clothes and accessories; Blue Sky: branded and private label accessories like sunglasses, watches; Fashion Station: fashion products to mass markets; Gen M: is a mobile retail and port offers IT based applications; Depot: retailing books, toys, gift items; Health Village: offers services in fitness, beauty and health.

Food Bazaar and Big Bazaar: caters to a range of products, fresh food and vegetables, groceries consumer durables, clothing; Shoe Factory: stand-alone stores catering footwear; M Bazaar: located with Big Bazaar is a mobile retail stores; Furniture Bazaar: home furniture and furnishings.

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of supply. PRIL was the early retailer who started to sell unpackaged food grains inside its outlet and lease store space to specialty food makers, thus attempting to replicate the traditional shopping experience as close as possible.

Penetration in Key Markets The company largely owes its success to being a multi-format retailer under two business segments: lifestyle and value retailing. Lifestyle includes specialty stores and multiple external brands. The multiple external brands could be stand-alone specialty stores or within the lifestyle segment of stores and centre mall. Value retailing consists of two retail formats, hypermarkets and discount stores, and other wallet concepts like home solution retail which also act as a subsidiary company to PRIL. By gaining the first-mover advantage, PRIL has already made its presence in the urban markets in key cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Delhi NCR. The company plans to open more stores within these cities in every locality in order to achieve scalability and to leverage the common back-end resources at the optimum level. Also, the company is moving to the tier-II and tier-III cities. At present, the company is spending around Rs. one billion annually in leasing property.

Product Mix Within the two business segments of Lifestyle and Value, PRIL retails a wide range of product categories: branded and private label apparel, footwear, personal care products, leather products, books, music, and toys, consumer durables and home furnishings, and food and grocery products. Food Bazaar stores are laid out in a series of small shops where the customer can shop from one shop to another. This offering is further complemented by cafes, food stalls, entertainment, and health and beauty related services. The wide spread of product

categories incorporates both private labels as well as well known external brands. In the case of food products, PRIL has private labels in 25 food categories, such as butter, cheese, ghee, edible oils, tea, and namkeens; fashion clothing incorporates around 18 private labels; household and consumer durables consists of Sansi air-conditioners and steam irons and Koryo brand microwave ovens, air-conditioners, and multimedia speaker systems.

PRIL was the early retailer who started to sell unpackaged food grains inside its outlet and lease store space to specialty food makers

Product Procurement PRIL’s supply chain and logistics model involves vendor and warehousing management, and relies on IT tools. Future Logistics, one of the vertical ventures of PRIL, is primarily in charge of supply chain management for the Value and Lifestyle segments. The division’s major set of activities involves end-to-end delivery from vendor to warehouses to front-end stores. Further, the company optimises by getting closer to the source of supply across all product categories. PRIL’s sourcing works on a hybrid approach (as shown in the diagram below) between large and small manufacturer suppliers. With large manufacturers and food processors, the company works on direct contract terms with manufacturers. A consolidator works between PRIL and very small-scale manufacturers. As regards food and groceries, PRIL also procures from APMC markets, and other organized rural retailers (ITC, DCM Hariyali, and Adani’s), while in the case of fresh food, however, a farmer’s group also may be directly supplying to the outlet. Sourcing decisions are primarily centralized at the corporate office in Mumbai. The distribution and the logistics centres are networked and on line with the category management division and the merchandise sourcing division. At the consumer’s end, each store manager understands the trends in daily sales based on the consumer’s daily buying pattern, and informs the respective product category

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The central warehouse at Tarapur stands as a hub to 21 regional warehouses across north, west, east, and south zones.

manager, a specialist in a product category in the central office. The category manager in coordination with the store managers analyses inventory stock and gives stock orders to the sourcing division at the central office. Next, the sourcing division releases the product requirement which goes to the warehouse and the respective supplier in the form of stock transfer order. The central warehouse at Tarapur stands as a hub to 21 regional warehouses across north, west, east, and south zones. Inspections take place at the vendor level and at the regional warehouse level. Apart from the inspection, certain amount of testing is carried out on the bags and feeds at the external laboratories. A consolidator plays a value-added intermediary role between all small-scale suppliers and PRIL. The consolidator consolidates goods from small suppliers, fulfills bar coding, labelling, documentation, packaging, and accounting requirements and then supplies back to the firm on a

commission basis. A typical consolidator owns warehouses, keeps inventories and stocks based on projections provided by PRIL’s sourcing division. PRIL is also thinking of connecting its consolidators to its IT system. The consolidator understands the company’s business requirements and enables small and fragmented manufacturers to scale up to PRIL’s demands. PRIL has an active base of approximately 2,500-3,000 suppliers, including consolidators across the country. The Future Logistics Group provides warehousing, infrastructure, transport, and IT networking to the retail vertical working on a hybrid model. Most of the goods are consumed at the various locations where they are produced. In certain cases, when the goods are brought from other regions, they move directly to the regional warehouses, and then from warehouses to stores. Certain products, such as furniture and electronics move directly from warehouses to customers.

Typical Supply Chain: Hybrid Approach Purchase order information flow to supppliers Planning & forecasting information

Dairy foods products directly to the outlets Fresh produce & fruits flow directly to the outlet Distributor

Small Manufacturers Purchase order information flow to suppliers

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Outlet (Food Produce) Good Flow

Regional Distribution Centre

Outlet (Merchandise) Outlet (Clothing)

sourcing division

COLLECTION CENTER

Large Manufacturers

CONSOLIDATORS

Farmers/ Orchard Growers

Regional Distribution Centre

category manager

Large Processor, Mandi Rural Org. Retailers

In the case of food and grocery, products directly move from surrounding consolidators or farmers to the stores in order to avoid handling and freshness damages. For its private labels in the clothing line, PRIL has its own design studio in Mumbai consisting of 38 designers who not only conceptualise clothing design, but also develop logos, labels, and tags. The company has invested between Rs. 600 – Rs.700 million in IT infrastructures in order to gain efficiencies in the supply chain as well as reduce inventory cost. Pantaloons is in the early stage of implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) for storing and remotely retrieving data using RFID tags on the cartons — from vendors to the warehouses. The auto replenishment inventory application works on real time demand and forecasted projections and enables automatic ordering and purchase system. The distribution and logistics set-up are networked with regional managers and merchandise managers to receive real time information in order to deliver merchandise to the store within 24 hours of receipt of the auto replenishment order. The supply chain division has tieups with 12 national-level transportation companies for long distance transportation from warehouse to warehouse, or warehouse to stores. For certain products like furniture and e-Bazaar products, there is a dedicated fleet tie-up with six local transport companies for home deliveries. These tie-ups provide employment for approximately 1,100 people in the third-party transportation fleets. Further, the contractual employment at several warehouses hires another 1,800 people in areas, such as material handling, picking, housekeeping, and security. Thus, PRIL indirectly supports 2,500 suppliers and 2,900 contractual jobs in supporting industries.

At present, the company is working on a commission-based margin with large suppliers as opposed to the slotting-fees position where a manufacturer gets shelf space by paying certain fee structure. Further, the company also optimises by cutting down the intermediary chain and reaching the source through the consolidator. Finally, by buying in bulk it also maximises its gain in economies of scale. So far, the company is getting maximum gains in private labels, particularly in the fashion clothing line of lifestyle segment. In the hypermarket retail format also, the firm leverages high profit margin by selling its own private labels clothing. The average margins range between 48-50 per cent for women’s wear and 50-55 per cent for men’s. General merchandise, plastics products, and household care goods procure higher margins. In the case of general merchandising from large manufacturers, the company is able to get better margins on products from a large manufacturer ranging between 14-15 per cent. This is almost 3-4 per cent higher than what the small retailer of the unorganized retail may gain because PRIL buys in bulk and is able to cut the logistics cost.

Pantaloons is in the early stage of implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) for storing and remotely retrieving data using RFID tags on the cartons – from vendors to warehouses.

The margins are low in food produce, and staples at around 13 per cent. And, in fresh produce, the pricing is decided by benchmarking with the local market in the catchment area. In the grocery food section, the company sells the external brands and

Pricing Strategy Maximising on the gross margins is the key strategy to enhancing PRIL’s profits.

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Promotions and events are an integral part of the value addition to the consumer in creating a unique shopping experience and attracting customer footfalls. Pantaloonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promotional strategy called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;loyalty programmeâ&#x20AC;? consists of nearly 2,50,000 customer members and accounted for more than 50 per cent of sales at the Pantaloons stores nationwide for the fiscal year ended 2006. Challenges: The company faces industryspecific challenges: (i) inter-state taxes and octroi taxes; (ii) MRP law; (iii) rising real estate prices; and (iv) unavailability of land

PRIL plans to generate a business output of Rs. 320 million with an investment between Rs. 50 and Rs 60 billion.

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private labels at the same prices. However, the private label contains 20 per cent more in quantity which enables higher sales conversions of private labels. Unbranded products are also marked up on purchase price. In the packaged food section, the company has a special contract with its large suppliers and sells all products below MRP prices.

USP: By gaining first-mover advantage and building strategic partnerships and subsidiaries around its retail vertical division, PRIL is able to develop multiple retail formats covering all product categories across customer segments in all age groups.

SAVING PLANET EARTH

Kyoto Kyoto Treaty: TreatyAA Green Green Farce? Farce In the late 1980s, countries around the world realised that “global warming is genuinely a global problem”, even though it was a century late realisation! Nevertheless, countries unite at least, in recognizing and acknowledging the presence of a serious problem, which will have far reaching adverse impacts if left unaddressed. World leaders met at the Cancun Climate Summit at Mexico to combat climate change issues. Let us briefly understand the international response to climate change in its present context.

Global Warming – A Beginners Guide Earth’s atmosphere is a precious gift of nature. Atmosphere is the air that covers our planet like a blanket. In the past, Mother Nature was providing the right amount of essential gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, which helped in keeping the earth warm for millions of years. Presence of these gases in the atmosphere prevents heat energy from escaping back into space and to

keep earth at a balanced temperature. The system of trapping heat in our atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect. Hence these gases are aptly termed as greenhouse gases. But now undesirable human activities like cutting down trees, producing more trash, and polluting the environment have resulted in heating up of earth’s atmosphere, by an alarmingly higher level. This process of adverse heating up of the earth’s atmosphere is termed as global warming. Over the last

Dr. P. Malarizhi Professor, Accounting & Finance IILM, Lodhi Road

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Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up substantially due to increased release of greenhouse gases by inadvertent use of new human technologies. 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up substantially due to increased release of greenhouse gases by inadvertent use of new human technologies. As a result, glaciers are melting in Antarctica and other parts of the globe. As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans, it causes the sea level to rise. Land along the coast will begin to disappear under water, like Dhanushkodi, a coastal city in

the southern most tip of India that was completely washed out a few hundred years back. Over the last few years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches, around the world. To understand the science of global warming and to prepare a global plan of action, countries around the world, united through the United Nations. A global effort was initiated in 1988 to combat global warming through the establishment of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by two United Nations organisations – the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The panel doesn’t do its own research but assesses the international research on climate change with the help of several thousand experts drawn from about 120 countries, to bring clarity on the highly political and controversial debate over global warming, its causes and its consequences. In 1990, the first assessment report of the panel confirmed that global warming is a reality, and that it is caused by accumulation of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by human activities. On the basis of this assessment, the UN General Assembly, called for countries to negotiate, an international agreement, to address global warming. Subsequent to this, in 1992 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was convened in Rio de Janeiro. Member countries of the United Nations ratified this protocol on framework and pledge for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through voluntary sharing of information and establishment of national action plans. Industrialised countries too agreed for clean technology transfer

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to developing countries. In 1995, based on, the second assessment report of IPCC, world leaders began international negotiations for a more legally binding agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By 1997, the global warming issue had snowballed enough as a strong political topic that eighty world leaders met in Kyoto, Japan, to agree upon a means of controlling the increase in greenhouse emission by countries. The result was the birth of the Kyoto Protocol on 11th December 1997.

Understanding Kyoto Protocol Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement on its member countries who are originally signatories to the UNFCC. Only these member countries can sign or ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The objective of this protocol is to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous dioxide (N2O), hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), by a percentage of the levels produced in 1990, before 2012. Under the Protocol, each country agreed to reach a national reduction target. The combined effort of all countries is expected to cut total greenhousegas emissions by at least 5 per cent from the 1990 levels by 2008-2012. All 165 countries who are signatories have ratified the protocol thereby agreeing to reduce greenhouse gases, with the exception of United States, which refused to ratify. US is the world’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Signatories to the Kyoto Protocol are categorised into two groups: Annex I countries (industrialised countries) and Annex II countries (developing countries).

• Annex I– Group of Developed Countries

by Annex II countries, eventually they will become Annex I.

Annex I countries agree to reduce their emissions (particularly carbon dioxide) to target levels below their 1990 emissions levels. These countries have three mechanisms to acquire and/ or trade carbon credits towards meeting their reduction targets. They are: emissions trading, joint implementation (JI) and clean development mechanism (CDM). Countries whose actual emission is less than the target .010 levels are allowed by the Protocol to sell their carbon credits to another country whose emission levels are more than the target set. To facilitate this transaction, carbon is turned into a commodity and was permitted to be traded. This is termed as ‘Emission Trading’. Annex 1 countries can thus buy and sell credits amongst each other. Countries that fail to meet its target can always buy their way out through emission trading. JI encourages an Annex 1 country to receive emissions credits for GHG mitigation projects carried out in another Annex 1 country. CDM expects an Annex 1 country to receive credit for financing GHG abatement projects in non-Annex 1 (developing) countries.

United States which emits about one quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, withdrew its support for the Protocol in 2001, quoting inversely proportionate cost–benefit to its economy. It was also expressed by few other countries that both developed and developing countries must equally participate in the reduction of green house gas emissions. George W. Bush’s administration of the US quoted this as one of the reasons for not ratifying the Protocol. To come into force, the Protocol must be signed by at least 55 countries, including enough industrialised countries to account for 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. In practice, this means it wouldn’t work without the agreement of one of the two biggest countries: Russia and USA. Finally, the Kyoto Treaty came into force on February 16th 2005 when Russia joined.

• Annex II – Group of Developing Countries Annex II have no immediate restrictions under the protocol, as they are just beginning to increase their GHG emissions. Hence, developing countries are for the moment exempted from emission cuts. They cannot sell emissions credits to industrialised nations as it would amount to permitting and licensing the already heavy polluters to overpollute. Developing economies can potentially grow very fast and pollution is linked directly to industrial growth. On reaching sufficient development

Critique of the Kyoto Treaty Firstly, a lot of political dimensions are attached to the Kyoto Protocol than handling the global warming at socio-economic and scientific levels. Secondly, energy based economic development of the industrialised countries thrives on fossil fuels which are the principal source of greenhouse gases viz., carbon dioxide and methane. As per the Kyoto Protocol, such emissions must be cut dramatically or eliminated, not immediately, but in the foreseeable future, which is economically and politically not viable for developed nations. This has sparked sharp opposition from several developed countries about the differentiated emission cut for Annex I & II listing of countries in the Protocol. Specifically, US and Japan has called for emission reduction targets in developing countries too.

US energy consumption is about twenty times greater than China or India on a per capita basis and its net national emissions are about double for a far smaller population. Yet, China, the second largest green house gas emitter, with world’s highest population, has registered an impressive economic growth through negative energy emissions. A UK-based research indicates that it will take 1,250 years for oil giant British Petroleum’s renewable energy production to outstrip its oil and gas production. Thirdly, the targets set for reduction in GHG emissions for developed countries are also not realistic. For example, the US was given a target of 7 per cent reduction based on 1990 emission levels, when in fact its actual emissions are expected to be 54 per cent over 1990 emission levels by 2020. US has not ratified the Protocol, which is a different issue. Similarly, the targets set for Russia and Ukraine are beyond comprehension of any logic. Due to the collapse of Russian socialistic economy after 1990, its emission level has fallen much below the base level of 1990. As a result, now Russia has no emission cut targets to meet but only to stabilise its emissions. Fourthly, emission trading has triggered a lot of financial interest in the entire process, leaving the environmental integrity in doldrums. This throws open a lot of ethical and governance issues in the form of double accounting which will weaken the spirit of international treaty that took two decades to see the light of the day. Finally, the recent Cancun Climate Summit in December 2010, in Mexico may provide us an answer, what we still look for in the Kyoto Treaty. Is there a new beginning in the horizon? Or is it going to be a fall out of new beginning?

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VIEWPOINT

The Customer is Always Right

rong! Like all other human beings, the customer can be wrong too..….right? But how can the situation be turned into a win-win case when the customer is wrong? We got the answer from our own experience, when my wife and I as customers had a difficult experience. Actually, the circumstances did not need to go so horribly wrong if the person who dealt with us was more sensitive and discerning, as every one of us ought to be at our individual work place. Since we had to attend to some urgent business in Ludhiana the next morning, I also booked two tickets for our trip from Amritsar to Ludhiana the same day again by the Shatabdi Express that leaves Amritsar around five in the evening. It was meant to be a pleasure-cum-work trip, and I found the timing of Shatabdi trains were just right for paying our obeisance to the Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple at a leisurely pace and have a good night’s rest at a Ludhiana hotel. However, it was a mistake committed by me while booking a railway ticket online sometime ago. Let me give you the details first: We

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wished to visit the Golden Temple at Amritsar, and booked two tickets in the Executive Class in the early morning Shatabdi that runs from New Delhi to Amritsar daily. The morning trip to Amritsar was uneventful, though I found travelling by Executive Class in a Shatabdi doesn’t make any sense any more – in fact, it is a waste of money these days. The Railways, having worked on an excellent concept with its Shatabdi services decades ago, has not bothered to maintain the coaches or upkeep the services any longer---a sure case of complacency arising from monopoly in business. A few of us lodged our complaints in the designated complaint book. The rest of the day went off well. The temple complex helped instill a calmness and serenity in us. We felt blessed. A stroll inside the age-old Jalianwalla Bagh too had the desired effect – we witnessed the inhumanity of the British ruling class as we had read in our text books. Following a good lunch at `Bharwan da Dhaba’, we proceeded towards the railway station, and upon spotting the Shatabdi waiting on the platform, boarded the train. The journey to Ludhiana too

DR. SUJIT SENGUPTA Associate Professor, Marketing IILM, Lodhi Road

The Railways, having worked on an excellent concept with its Shatabdi services decades ago hasn’t bothered to maintain the coaches or upkeep the services any longer — a sure case of complacency arising from monopoly in business.

appeared to be uneventful--at least so we thought. Things didn’t remain hunky dory for long. The ticket collector came into our compartment and approached us. Most of the seats at that time were unoccupied and we recognised the uniformed ticket collector: he was the same person who was there during our onward journey to Amritsar. However, one look at our tickets and he said in Hindi, “Aapka booking to morning train ki hain” (You booked your tickets for the morning train). Perplexed, I took back the computer prints and looked at them myself, and before I could fathom what was wrong with them, he said again, “Paanch paanch ka Shatabdi ke liye hain yeh, jo aaj saberey Amritsar se start hui thi,” (Your ticket is for the five minutes past five o’clock Shtabdi, and it left Amritsar station this morning). It took some time for the situation to sink in, but I soon realised my mistake. While applying for reservation online, I had chosen the 05-05 train instead of 17-05 one. There is another Shatabdi leaving Amritsar for New Delhi in the morning as well and I had booked two tickets from Amritsar to Ludhiana by that train. I looked at the collector’s face and nodded in admission, and before I could utter any word, he said, “Aap dono isi train mein Dilli se Amritsar aye the aaj, to subeh train miss honey ka to koi sawal hi nahin hain, lekin mere liye to aap abhi without ticket travel kar rahein hain, hain na?” (I can see it’s a genuine mistake on your part as you two were in the morning Shatabdi from Delhi today and it’s a case of missing the morning Shatabdi from Amritsar and travelling by the evening one instead. It’s not intentional, but as far as I’m concerned you are caught travelling without a valid ticket, isn’t it?”

There won’t be any concession for our getting down at Ludhiana – we were ticket-less travellers according to the law. I offered to buy a fresh set of Amritsar-Ludhiana tickets, and requested him not to charge any penalty; after all, he knows that we were not trying to cheat. But he said that we had to pay double the actual Amritsar–Delhi fare by Executive Class as per the rules. There won’t be any concession for our getting down at Ludhiana; we were ticketless travellers according to the law. Well, the rule book and the law were on his side. However, the ticket checker spoke very casually while checking up other passenger’s tickets and went ahead with his job as usual, without even glancing at us further. Was that his way of condoning my mistake? We found it rather strange, and waited for him to come back.

However, he didn’t show up. We shrugged and thought that, he was actually a kind hearted soul. The train soon came to a halt at Jalandhar. A few got down, but many more boarded the train and occupied the vacant seats. Soon, a couple came looking for our seat numbers. We realised that they had valid tickets and so vacated the seats and moved out of the coach and stood in the corridor. There soon appeared the ticket checker, and said, “Arrey aap bahar kyon chaley ayey? Main hoon na” (Why are you standing outside? I am there to help you out). Looking at my wife he said, “Madam, aap aiye, please idhar baithiye (Madam, you please sit there)”, and gestured towards the other side of the corridor where the ordinary chair car bogey was located. Turning towards me he asked, “What’s your decision?” I realised that he was in no mood to show us any concession. Yet, I tried to coax and cajole. “I know you have a proper rule book, but surely you could use your discretion and help me out,” I said. “Why don’t you just charge me ordinary chair car fare for two from Amritsar to Ludhiana? That way you

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don’t break any rule, and I won’t be penalised like a criminal – you know I did buy the tickets and wasn’t trying to cheat the railways. It was an oversight!” He did not budge. He didn’t argue anymore and came to the point straight - `Aap dhai hazar rupaye penalty ke samet de do aur chair car ka ticket banalo,” (Give me Rs.2500/- for chair car ticket with penalty),” “That’s the rule” he smugly said. Again it took some time for me to comprehend fully what he was asking me to do. “Will you give me a receipt?” I asked him. He simply looked at me. “Achha thik he aap Rs.1000/- de deejiye,” (Ok give me Rs.1000/-) and walked away leaving me in a state of quandary. Either you pay a bribe or be a law abiding citizen and pay heavily for a mistake that has been committed inadvertently. As scams, grafts and bribery take centrestage of our public life, I realise what ails our society. It is lack of training of our human resources, a a significant chunk of whom are being nurtured in Government and public sector organisations that have monopoly in certain businesses. It is worth quoting Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group that runs Virgin Atlantic among other service providing enterprises. He wrote in a syndicated article, “….staffers should treat the rules more as flexible guidelines, to be followed as the situation demands. The customer is not always right, and neither is the rule book.” According to him, a well documented rule book is a must when cash and accounting are the issues. At the same time, he acknowledged, “sometimes rules really are made to be broken.” In the service industry, how far can one go to please a client is always a question as there is a risk

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After all, good service is when your customer feels he is right, or he is not wronged, even when the rule book says he is. of compromising one’s business? Branson’s answer is simple: empower the staff to use their common sense when handling questions and problems. “Resolving problems this way has multiple benefits for both the customer and the company,” he says. I remember a similar experience that I had had a few years ago while travelling from London to Norwich in Northern England by train. On my son’s advice, we started from home one hour in advance as traffic jams were quite common on London roads and reached the station quite early without facing any on our way. After some time, we heard an announcement that the Norwich bound train was waiting at a certain platform. We located the platform and boarded the coach whose number was mentioned in our ticket. However, we didn’t check our wrist watches, nor did we confirm the waiting train’s timing of departure at the information counter. We had boarded an earlier train than the one in which our tickets were booked. As the ticket collector approached us and we handed over the tickets after our train had covered quite a bit of distance, our mistake was brought to our notice by the checker. We looked at him helplessly – we were not only in a foreign country, but we were also at a disadvantage if we had to pay a penalty, considering the exchange value of rupee in terms of Pound Sterling. But the British employee said nonchalantly, “Don’t commit

the same mistake on your way back,” (ours was a two way ticket) and went about his job without a fuss. Didn’t the British have rule books? They did, but their employees also had their mind and common sense which they applied to address situations in the right way. If the ticket checker back home had accepted my suggestion of issuing a fresh set of Amritsar-Ludhiana tickets by chair car, the Railways wouldn’t have been a loser. I had already paid for the Amritsar–Ludhiana trip, and I was paying extra by way of a penalty for my mistake. Moreover, he had already accepted that we were not trying to cheat the Railways. In this situation, my problem would have been alleviated by paying less. This could have been the ideal win-win situation for the service provider and the customer. After all, good service is when your customer feels he is right, or he is not wronged, even when the rule book says he is!

NEW MANTRA

Emerging concept of conscious capitalism

arshad Mehta’s swindle in 1993 to Saytam Ramalinga Raju’s confession in 2009, the episodes shook the world all over. In the awake of frequent fraudulent activities happening and impacting the globe, it called for something that could be more transparent, responsible and socially oriented. In the past, businesses were aligned to profit maximisation (shareholder’s wealth maximisation), but gradually evolved to social maximisation (corporate social responsibility), and at present, it is shaping into something advanced and sophisticated, termed as conscious capitalism (stakeholder’s investment maximisation). The expression ‘conscious capitalism’ was formulated by Muhammad Yunus, the recipient of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his creation in 1983 of Bangladesh’s pioneering micro lender, Grameen Bank. Conscious businesses are formalised on the following three approaches: 1. Insightful Vision: It is based upon providing multi-stakeholder wealth maximisation.

The expression ‘conscious capitalism’ was formulated by Muhammad Yunus, the recipient of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for

2. Stakeholder Direction: It is reflective on not exploiting but maintaining harmony in interests and provides value-based service to its stakeholders. 3. Conscious Leadership: Management adapts conscious leadership and control, cultivating it as an organisational culture and mechanism. As it directs the company towards organisation’s profound purpose and passion, conveying worth to its related parties and associations, and centreing upon all over societal benefits, rather than pure business promotion. The concept was developed to grant social and ethical transparency, promote training, learning and development and improve stakeholders lives. The company wanted to maintain and sustain its SPICE (Society, Partners, Investors, Consumers, and Employees) of business to itself. The company transformed its stakeholder’s policy of prioritising shareholders to valuing society as its first risk-holder. The companies are now focussing on triple bottom line—People, Planet

his creation in 1983 of Bangladesh’s pioneering micro lender, Grameen Bank.

RACHNA MADAN Lecturer, Economics and Sustainable Development IILM, Gurgaon

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and Profits from its traditional shareholder-centric approach and are becoming more caring, sustainable and long- term; companies understand the essentiality of interconnection and interdependence of all people and all living beings. Companies are not anymore driven by profit-orientation and conventional control only and command leadership strategy, they are stepping towards altering the system through revolutionising its purpose and amending its associations, mutually dependency and information flows within its operations and organisational culture. Moreover, organisations are also attempting to master the domain about collaborative teamwork and profound areas of shared purpose and corporate transparency. The concept of conscious capitalism endows companies with passion and purpose to capitalise on shareholder’s wealth, employee participation and engagement as also fostering consumer experience and delight with companys processes, people, products and services and offering all over societal wellbeing and benefit. Consequently, it assists companies to add value to stakeholder’s financial, social, emotional, spiritual and intellectual wealth and affluence. According to the book, ‘Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion & Purpose’ (2007) authored by R.S. Sisodia, J. Sheth and D. Wolfe— following companies involved in conscious capitalism were listed who initiated the model: Many Indian companies like engineering company — Forbes Marshall has adopted a four-point based plan put forward by the Confederation

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Companies Amazon BMW CarMax Caterpillar Commerce Bank Costco eBay Google Harley Davidson Honda JetBlue Johnson& Johnson Southwest Airlines Starbucks Timberland Toyota UPS Whole Food Market Container Store IDEO IKEA Jordan’s Furniture LL Bean New Balance Patagonia REI Trader Joe’s of Indian industry, focusing on primary and secondary education, direct employment, improving employability and developing entrepreneurship, so as to improve facilities and opportunities for the underprivileged in the society. Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra has assisted farmers in enhancing their agricultural produce and education through launching an agricultural information advice mechanism programme called ‘Samridhhi’, meaning prosperity. It has already benefited 50,000 farmers in the last two-and-half years.

Business Online retail Luxury cars Car trader Heavy equipment Bank Wholesale retail Online retail Technology Two- wheelers Cars/Light trucks Airlines Medical products Airlines Coffeehouse Footwear and apparel Cars/Light trucks Courier Retail(food) Storage solutions Commercial service Home products Furniture Catalogue shopping Footwear Outdoor clothing Outdoor clothing Retail/ Grocery Other companies like PepsiCo India, FMCG company Marico and steel major, Tata Steel are following and representing conscious capitalism and taking it forward as a foremost concept in the corporate world. Thus, the conception of conscious capitalism assists companies to move beyond social responsibility and converge with ‘SPICE’ interest and consciousness. It helps businesses to commit itself towards sustainable societal improvement and advancement.

Striding The Ladder I Their achievements so far:

• Participated in the Business Plan contest conducted by IITMumbai where we are in Level 6 of 9, which is still going on. • Ranked in Top 50 (International Level) in the B-Plan competition organised by IIT-Kanpur. • Participated in The Power of Ideas Contest conducted by IIM, Ahmedabad and The Economic Times. • Participated in the Business Idea Contest conducted by IIT, Madras.

• Won the 3rd Prize at National Institute for Fashion & Technology (NIFT), New Delhi for Business Plan. • Won the 1st Prize in Accman Business School, Greater Noida for Business Plan Contest. • Won the 2nd Prize in Galgotias Business School, Greater Noida for Business Plan Contest.

ILM-GSM’s Amardeep Bardhan and Vaibhav Jaiswal participated in the Best Eco-Business Ideas Contest (Green Business Idea Contest) organised by BYST which is supported by the Prince of Wales Trust, UK and is managed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

A high-level panel comprising of prominent experts from the government, industries, financial and educational institutions did the final selection and this panel interviewed candidates at the Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The BYST regional jury processed the entries and short listed 15 Best entries. The final list of 15 best eco-friendly green business ideas were generated by the participants from Delhi, Haryana, Pune, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Out of these entries, a national expert jury chaired by S. Raghupathy, head, CII-Green Business Centre and his team finalised the three best entriescreative ideas that could be shaped into profitable micro ventures. Amardeep and Vaibhav were awarded by Prince Charles (Prince of Wales), along with the Governor of Punjab ShivRaj Patil and the CM of Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal at the Governor’s House of Punjab, Chandigarh on 4th October 2010. A press conference on the 3rd of October was also organised where the students were asked several questions on their plans and achievements. Their journey started in their first year at IILM-GSM, when they met and found that they could march in the

direction of saving the environment and at the same time earn money. It all started with the concept of social responsibility. The students thought of manufacturing something which is used in day-to-day life. Then they realised that they could do that by minimising the use of plastic and plastic products which takes a century to degrade itself. They said that in many parts of India the use of plastic bags is being banned, so why not make effort to convey and convince and make it a united effort to help the environment to use ecofriendly kitchen accessories along with disposable plates and bowls, that can be used extensively in street food stalls.

They chalked out what can be done in this process of manufacturing kitchen accessories and came up with the idea of making kitchen accessories with arecanut leaves, which are found abundantly in North-east India. As Amardeep Bardhan is from Assam, he is conversant with the place, the availability of raw material and so on. The best part was that with abundant raw material, the procurment cost and the cost of labour came down. So the students did a primary market research as they visualized the future of the project. The other partner, Vaibhav Jaiswal has got his own family business and has a fair amount of knowledge, experience and contacts in international trade. They thought that they can play in the domestic as well as international market too. He also has good relationship with an NGO – Dhriiti, which promoted this business.

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STUDENTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CORNER

CSR: Simply an Eyewash? Sometime back, corporate India witnessed the Satyam Saga. Its then Chairman wrote a letter to the Board of Directors conceding falsifying the accounting books of the company. He confirmed the fraud amounting to US$ 1.6 billion. This four-page letter sent by Ramalinga Raju to SEBI put even an audit clerk to shame. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision making and honouring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profit. The concept is not new to India: Groups like the Tatas and Birlas have been espousing the case and cause for social good in their operations for decades. Despite, such successful life size examples, CSR in India is at a very nascent stage and in some ways, possibly just an eyewash. Precisely put, it refers to the corporate world realising their social obligations and coming out of their myopic objective of just profit maximisation. Unfortunately, much of the emphasis is not on social good but rather on a policy that just needs to be on paper. Satyam is a classic case that occurred in India. Other such international cases of Enron, Lehman Brothers and some top American banks make it quite clear that preparing the audited balance sheet is just window dressing. In fact, the dubious and shameful revelation of the CEO of Satyam, unaudited books of Subhiksha (yet another well respected corporate) lack of ethical standards in some of the famous Big 4 Auditors and tolerance

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of unfair practices of management could be just a trailer of the calamitous events of the future. Take ITC for instance, The company is generating employment for the farmers with their E-choupal initiative, thereby clearly benefiting the society. But I personally believe that this benefit is just another byproduct. I think that the ulterior motive of procuring agro-products at a lower cost from these farmers is not fully clear. And this raises the question: Is this real Corporate Social Responsibility? The notion that companies donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even need to blow their own trumpets as the media does it for them is encouraging them to indulge in such practices just for the publicity that it garners. Profit rules their decisions, not values, not principles and certainly not ethics. CSR needs to be much more than just eyewash to impress the customers or act as a medium for brand-building. Companies need to realise that CSR is more a matter of mental outlook than a set of procedures. The solution lies in the intrinsic coming together of all stakeholders in shaping a distinct route for an equitable and just social order. However, the reality is dark and desolate. It seems that corporates are striving towards being an island of prosperity in a sea of deprivation. Prerna Dangi 12 A The Banyan Tree School

Freedom of Media: Boon or Bane?

he media is often referred to as the fourth pillar in a democracy. A strong and independent media acts as a watchdog in a democracy and keeps a vigil on the functioning of the executive, legislative and judiciary. The role of the media is especially important in a country like India where the bureaucracy is hostile to the general public and prevents the free flow of information. In recent times, the media has played a stellar role in keeping a check on the working of various institutions in the country. For example, in the recently held Commonwealth Games, the media showed up the tardy preparations of the Organizing Committee by turning the spotlight on it thereby putting pressure on the Organizing Committee as well as the government to carry out the work in an efficient manner at a rapid pace. The media has also acted as a messiah for the common man by helping him in his fight for justice. The outrage expressed by the media in the cases of Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo and Nitish Katara galvanized public opinion and turned the heat on the judiciary and the police to ensure that the guilty did not go away scot free and were brought to book. Also, the media has brought to the fore the corruption in various institutions in the country as reflected by the exposes in various scams such as 2G, Adarsh Housing Society, Commonwealth Games, Tehelka etc. The revelations made by the media have forced a reluctant government to order investigations and take action against the accused. Therefore the importance of the media in our country cannot be overemphasized. However certain instances have come to light in which the media has not exactly covered itself in glory. A case in point is the sting operation carried out by a TV news channel against an MCD school teacher, accusing her of being a pimp who pushed school children into prostitution. The sting operation later turned

The media has also acted as a messiah for the common man by helping him in his fight for justice. out to be a fake one and the channel was forced to backtrack and issue an apology. The role of the media was also criticised in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks as it was pointed out that the detailed coverage by the TV news channels gave away the positions as well as the strategies of the Indian Army thus hampering the operations. In the light of such events, many people have called for curtailing the freedom of speech of the media, specially the use of sting operations to catch the guilty, calling the method unethical and an invasion of privacy. However these objections are superficial as in these cases national interest overrides the right to privacy of an individual. Also, while the media may have overplayed its hand in the 26/11 attacks, part of the blame must be shared by the government for not issuing guidelines to restrain the media from carrying such coverage. Therefore, while the media may have been in the wrong in a couple of cases, it does not warrant a curtailment of the powers of the media. Doing so would be an injustice to the country as well as the common man for whom the media can play such an important and defining role. Avjyot Singh Chawla PGp 9-11 IILM, Lodhi Road

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The Exchange T he Banyan Tree School has joined the Global School Partnership Programme (GSP) under the British High Commission, New Delhi. Our school has joined hands with the ten schools of Punjab and Chandigarh for a student exchange in the Birmingham district. The partnership involves an exchange of thoughts and ideas among the students and I will be one of them.

we had to discuss our task and talk about various ideas collected by the group members and then implement them viably. The delegates met the students and were curious to know the concept of an Ashram. They were interested to know about Gandhiji and the concept of ‘Non Violence’ and ‘Satyagraha’. They appreciated us when we explained all these concepts to them.

taught mathematics through dance. Students made a square with each side having four children. To the count of three they made a triangle, each side with three students. When the Principals asked questions on these figures, they were so pleased with the students having understood mathematics through dance that Mr. Nolan actually danced with the children. The next step was a one to one exchange. I could not believe my ears when I heard a foreign voice saying “Hello Friend” to me on the internet. He was from our partner school -The Holyfield in Sutton Coldfield. In a short while, I realized that he was a student just of my age seated in a foreign land and trying to exchange his ideas and thoughts with me. It was worth the experience for me.

Then, the Principals of the two schools along with the two other delegates from the British Council and other Principals of our partner schools visited The Gandhi Ashram – a workshop being conducted by the teachers of our school. The workshop was based on the concept of an ashram where the students lived like members of a family. Various tasks were performed by students like farming, weaving, cooking, baking and managing the Ashram.

We also impressed the delegates with the handmade paper, made from our old newspapers and greeting cards available in school. Students also showcased their project depicting the diversity of our country and showing the unity underlying this diversity. Students dressed themselves beautifully in their traditional costumes belonging to the different states and even had a dance performance. Few of my friends also spoke about the physical features, transport, natural resources and the staple food of the various states in India. It was then, that the delegates said that they had learnt more in our school about this country than what they had known before. They were surprised to know about the vast diversity of our motherland and how in spite of all cultural, linguistic and religious differences among Indians, they all stand as one. Then they tasted the hand made cuisines of the different states that the students had got from their homes.

My group had chosen the job of managing. I was the group leader and

They were then escorted to our stage where children were being

We were very excited when our Principal told us about the visit of her counterpart from the High Commission. We learnt that they would interact with the students to know about the educational programmes of our school. Hence, we prepared and eagerly waited for their arrival on the 13th of October, 2010. Upon reaching our school at 11a.m., they were greeted at the reception with a bhajan sung by students and were given dyed duppattes made by our students.

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Hollyfield has sent us their school file. They want to know about our festivals. We are also preparing our school file and our entire Annual day called “Celebrations” will be on the festivals of India. We shall send them our file, some memorabilia of the school, hand made cards and a CD of our programme. This project will vary from time to time. It will be a four year project and I am looking forward to visiting their school. Sukhsimar Singh Class VI The Banayan Tree School

Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News

Campus NeWs

Spic Macay at IILM

wonderful performance of the classical dance form – Kuchipudi was organised for us at the IILM, Lodhi Road campus. The dance was performed by Guru Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao. I am fortunate to have witnessed a performance by these exponents of Kuchipudi for the second time. I attended a performance by them some six years back at school, when I was a member of the organising committee for SPIC MACAY events. The ambience in the college auditorium brought back memories of my school days. A similar feeling of awe engulfed me once again, as I was mesmerised by this performance. Kuchipudi is the classical dance form from Andhra Pradesh. The dance is performed as a combination of dance and drama. This is due to the fact that classical dance forms follow the concept of “Abhinaya” which means acting. The three major components of Abhinaya are – Natya, Nritta and Nritya. Natya means communicating a story through the dance; Nritta refers of all the bodily movements and Nritya is the the combination of the story and the bodily movements with the “bhav” or the mood and the sentiment which is being communicated. It generally presents mythological tales and scenes from Hindu epics. I enjoyed the performance of the Dashavatar and the Shiv-Parvati sequence during this performance the most. Dashavtar refers to the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu over various time-periods. These incarnations are Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narshimha (half-man, half-lion), Vamana (dwarf man), Parshurama (man with an axe), Rama (moral man) and Krishna (philosophical man). The tenth avatar, Kalki is yet to manifest. The duo performed a story of the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu – Vamana.

Legend has it that the Vamana incarnation was taken by Lord Vishnu to restore Lord Indra’s authority over the heavens that were forcibly taken over by Bali, a descendant of Hiranyakashyap and the son of Prahlad. Vamana is the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the human form, as a dwarf. The dwarf requested the king to give him three footsteps of land to live in. When the king agreed, the dwarf grew enormous in size to the Vamana incarnation form, covered Heaven to Earth in one footstep and Earth to the Underground (referred to as Pataal in mythology) in the next footstep. The king was unable to fulfill his promise of the three paces so he offered his head for the third step. The Shiva-Parvati sequence performed by the duo was equally enchanting. It is believed that Lord Shiva was challenged to a dance competition by his wife Parvati. Shiva was to perform a dance that Parvati was to recreate; she claimed that she could replicate Shiva’s every move with equal grace. She eventually lost the competition as Shiva very cleverly made a pose which was inappropriate for a woman to make. Together, the Shiva-Parvati dance communicates the masculine vigour manifested in the “tandava” and the feminine charm manifested in the “lasya”. Besides, the duo also performed a dance on a copper plate which was very fascinating to watch. They interacted with the audience, showing them the various hand and foot movements slowly to help them understand the postures. They also answered various questions asked by some students regarding Kuchipudi. It was a wonderful evening and I look forward to more such events in the future. Swati Sehgal PGP 10-12 IILM, Lodhi Road

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Equipping staff with skills to improve teaching

ILM Institute for Higher Education has initiated a post graduate certificate course in teaching and learning which will provide training to it’s faculty members and academic associates, leading to a certification at the end of the program. The objective of the programme is to provide participants useful knowledge, understanding and skills which will assist them in their teaching career, which in turn will broaden their horizon in the emerging field of teaching and learning in higher education. It would also help the participants to combine the perspectives of practitioners, policy makers and researchers along with an understanding of the major themes, issues and debates in the field of higher education, teaching, learning and assessment. The course broadly covers themes like the context of management education, the pedagogy used for effective and enhanced delivery in classroom, course design and assessment which would enhance their ability to understand student

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learning, and make judgements about their practice and wider academic practice.

• Combine the perspectives of practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

The Aims and Objectives of the certification programme are :

• Know about and have an understanding of major themes, issues and debates in the field of higher education teaching, learning and assessment.

• Provide opportunities for participants to gain useful knowledge, understanding and skills which will assist them in their teaching careers. • Offer a map of the broad and emerging field of teaching and learning in higher education.

• Be confident about constructing arguments about higher education pedagogy based on evidence and theory.

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• Be able to formulate and investigate worthwhile research questions about university education. Topics covered in this programme are: Understanding the Context of Management Education, Understanding our Learners, Understanding Students and Class Room Behaviour, Pedagogy of Teaching, AACSB Standards and Assurance of Learning, Design of Curriculum and Courses, Design of Assessment, IT Enabled Resources and Services, Importance of Scholarship and Professionalism in teaching. Certificate course in Staff Training – An initiative by IILM The IILM Institute for Higher Education has taken an initiative towards a ‘Certificate Course in Staff Training’ for it’s staff members beginning in January 2011. The objective of the programme is to equip its staff with skills, which will help them in increasing their efficiency at work. It is a 100 hour programme which is being conducted at Lodhi Road Campus, Gurgaon Campus as well as Greater Noida Campus simultaneously. The programme will consist of modules on Emotional Intelligence, Working in Teams, Providing Better Services, Time Management, Anger and Stress Management and so on. The trainers will be a combination of inhouse faculty members and outside experts. A certificate on completion will be issued at the end of the training programme. Some of the topics covered in this Programme include: Orientation to the Program-Vision & Mission of IILM & Understanding Self, IT-Enabled Communication & Team Working, Emotional Intelligence at Work & Work Attitudes, Working in teams, Secretarial

Training, Selling Skills, Basic IT Skills & Excel Training, Basics of EtiquetteNet Etiquette & Telephone Etiquette and grooming, Communication SkillsOffice Communication, Effective Presentation Skills, Customer Service, Excellence, Time Management, Stress and Anger Management

These programmes will also talk about Total Quality Management and Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits.

Vinusha Khannan Academic Associate, OB & HR IILM, Gurgaon

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Social Media: A contemporary tool for HR

panel discussion in the area of human resource on the topic, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Social Networking: A Contemporary Tool for HRâ&#x20AC;? was organised at the Gurgaon campus of IILM. The panel consisted of industry experts and students. The industry experts were from diverse fields like finance, HR and marketing. Professionals from Aircel, Sony Ericsson and Halonix were invited as well as an entrepreneur in Automatic Information Systems. The discussion was moderated by faculty Dr. Tripti Desai. The panel discussion provided insights into best practices and innovations in HR and related areas. The discussion began with introductions of the panelists and their views on social networking and its usage. The panelists were then questioned by the students and contradicted strongly. The exchange was very enthralling and had the audience engrossed and involved. The industry panelists shared various insights through their thoughts

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and opinions. The enthusiastic participation of the students was appreciated by the industry experts.

The industry experts were from diverse fields

The aspects of popularity of social network being a phenomenon to contend with came forth. Facebook was also spoken about as being the third largest country and still growing. However, the popularity of usage of social media was countered by issues of ethics, security and official usage which still remain unresolved. The most important one being frameworks and policies that need to be put in place in the industry for usage of these networks. The entrepreneur on the panel shared that after this interaction with the youth and their strong views, he was evaluating incorporating social networking in his organisation for HR and marketing.

forums of discussions, undoubtedly, facilitate our students to become future managers who set trends for organisations and bring back pride to their Alma Mater.

The discussion was a good learning experience for our students as it honed their management skills further. Such

Pragya Sonawane and Priyanka Anand Lecturer, OB & HR IILM, Gurgaon

like finance, HR and marketing. Professionals from Aircel, Sony Ericsson and Halonix were invited as well as entrepreneur in Automatic Information Systems.

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FDP on Project Management

usiness Engagement is a key theme at IILM to provide opportunities to students by constant industry interface. A report presentation competition was organised for the undergraduate students at IILM Gurgaon. The students presented reports on various sectors in the industry like automobile, hospitality, BPO, IT & ITES and FMCG. The presentation was assessed by professionals from American Express Bank, HSBC and Professor Ruchi Shah from the area of marketing. Students presented the sector undertaken by them with immense understanding and analysis. The report discussed the past and present, issues regarding the sector, growth trends and the future of

the sector. They were interjected extensively by the judges and audience as the areas selected by them were broad and evoked active exchange of ideas. It was enthralling to see them put forth their arguments with relevant referencing and quotation of statistics to support their views. The arguments on how the BPO industry in India is flourishing and the competition faced by Philippines and China impressed the judges. The students also played upon the emotions of the audience by referring to the 26/11 attacks while discussing the hospitality industry. The emphasis on the IT & ITes sectors brought forth aspects of geographic penetration and numerous players in the market. Automobile has always been a popular choice among the

youth. Updation and competition in this industry was the key driver. The team had small dinky cars on display to prove their points and grab the attention of the panel. The overall confidence and enthusiasm with which the students came forth was appreciated by the panel. The students were nervous while preparing but after their performance the feedback given by the judges was the turning point for them. They were elated to have accomplished this objective. These opportunities create a platform for students to align themselves with the industry growth patterns and forge ahead with confidence. Priyanka Anand Lecturer, OB & HR IILM, Gurgaon

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Project Management is the discipline of planning, organising, securing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.â&#x20AC;? Project Management as a subject was introduced at a faculty development programme was organised at the IILM Gurgaon Campus. This FDP was conducted by Dr. Ravi Shankar who is Professor at Group Chair of Sectoral Management, and Faculty Coordinator of MBA (Telecommunications Systems Management) at IIT, Delhi. Dr. Ravi Shankar gave a detailed session on all the aspects of Project Management i.e. Scope, Cost and Schedule. He explained the inter-relation of all three parametres and their effect on the project goals. The session was conducted with help of a study on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) project. Optimum utilization and availability of resources at the right time is the key for any project and to achieve these goals the required techniques were explained in the session. In the last session Prof. Shankar conducted training on MS Project with the help of Dr.Vanita Ahuja. Dr. Ahuja is a project management consultant and trainer. She gave a detailed session on using MS Project software for project management and it can be used for increasing the efficient allocation and optimal utilization of resources. Amanpreet Faculty Associate IILM, Gurgaon

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Campus NeWs MARKETING CARNIVAL A Marketing carnival was taken up as an outside classroom activity for marketing management. Student teams were to present a company and its marketing mix through a â&#x20AC;&#x153;CARNIVALâ&#x20AC;?. The objective of the carnival was to use an unconventional way of applying what they learned in marketing management. The other aim was to induce excitement and cheer amidst students and create confidence in their presentation making skill and to encourage team spirit and healthy competition among the teams. Students were given competitor brands to encourage comparative learning and these were as follows: Hindustan Unilever Limited was pitched against Proctor and Gamble, Maruti against Hyundai. Students dressed up in accordance to the brand colours and carried props and colourful chart papers to visually present the marketing mix. Theory learned in the class was smartly implemented and creatively represented through quiz, theme-based visual presentations, role plays and performances and brand jingles. Student teams were able to bring out the best of their creativity and team-spirit in the form of carnival. They were well prepared with the information on marketing mix and applied it in a creative way. They enjoyed each others performances and gave feedback on presentations. The main learning outcome was the discovery of major differences in the marketing of competitor brands. Deepti Wadera Assistant Professor, Marketing IILM, Gurgaon

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Best Manager Event As the purists would put it, a manager is one who “uses his management skills or holds the title of manager in an organisation”. However, as we all know, with the complexities of the managerial world, the definition has changed drastically over time. An organisation today requires a person, in the role of a manager, not just to be single skilled but be a “jack of all trades and master of all as well”. With an endeavour to find a few of the budding Buffets, Mittals and Ambanis among our ranks, IILM Institute of Higher Education organised the BEST MANAGER EVENT during its annual I-FEST. The event had entries from various B-schools like MDI, Gurgaon, S.G.B.T Khalsa and of course our very own IILM (all 3 campuses). The event was presided over by our esteemed judges, Atul Mittal, Associate Director, PWC and Manoj Gairola, Senior Editor, Hindustan Times. It began with preliminary rounds comprising of quiz and personal interviews. After the initial rounds, two teams made it to the final round comprising of a debate competition and an extempore. The 2 teams were Team A Team B Dolly Sharma Nath Kakani Yash Agarwal Harsh Kumar Kesarwani They in turn were divided into two groups each speaking ‘For and Against’ the motion. After the debate competition, the real battle was between Dolly Sharma and Nath Kakani. The extempore competition that followed brought out a new side of the participants as the battle intensified ten-fold. The participants were judged on the following parameters: • • • •

Clarity of thought Flow of information Presentation Body language

Due deliberation took place between the judges to finalise the winner and deservingly enough Dolly Sharma of IILM LR was declared the winner and won the coveted “BEST MANAGER” title. The judges congratulated the winner and the runners-up and spoke a few words of encouragement. Finally, the event was brought to a close with the judges being presented mementos as a token of appreciation of their kind gesture in sparing their valuable time to judge the event.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS Pallavi Ghosh • Presented a paper on “Behavioral Skills for Sustainable Employability, Success and Happiness” in the Eighth AIMS International Conference on Management on the theme “Management Education in 2020: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities” held from January 1 - 4, 2011 at IIM, Ahmedabad

Sangeeta Yadav • Presented a research paper titled “Globalisation and Agricultural Exports — A Study of Economic Asymmetries for Indian Agriculture”, which has been accepted at the International Conference on Economic Asymmetries and Globalisation: Challenges and Opportunities, December 16th to 18th 2010, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. • Research paper titled “Empowering through Sustainable Economic Development — A Case of Indian NGOs” accepted for poster presentation for the track” Role of NGOs/SHGs towards empowerment” for the International Conference on “Challenges to Inclusive Growth in the Emerging Economies”, December 15th to 17th 2010, Strategic Management Forum in association with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. • Conducted a one day MDP “Pricing and Costing Decisions in Domestic and International Markets at CII, New Delhi, on Wednesday 24th Nov, 2010 along with Mr. Rahul Mishra and Ms. Pooja Talwar. • Conducted a one day MDP on “Costing & Pricing Decisions in International Business” at PHD CCI - Lucknow, on Tuesday - 23rd Nov 2010 along with Ms. Pooja Talwar.

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IILM’s social initiatives

ILM aims at the integrated development of its management students and firmly believes that business is not just a profitmaking opportunity; it however should aim to give back to the society its due. ICHHA, the NGO society at IILM was set up in January, 2010 where the members look forward to work with various NGOs and reciprocate by promising a strong commitment towards the organisation. Like last year, ICHHA again organised

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various events and undertook many social initiatives.

Buy Some Wishes The efforts of shaping up ICHHA’s goal of enlightening the mass about the need to improve the lives of those who have been secluded from the basic course of life seemed to be touching the point of accomplishments and successfully marked its track with its very own NGO Fair – Buy Some Wishes. Everyone was highly enthralled by the involvement of various NGOs like Maximizing Employment to Secure Handicap (MESH), Tatsat, Sign Foundation and Alcoholics Anonymous who helped us enormously by

Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News their set of exhibition in terms of themes which were brightened up further with some essential offerings. Specifically talking about some of volunteers who have been actively participating towards the movement called Roshini, it was a great deal of excitement and fun for them to drive the kids towards greater creativity and innovation by motivating their expertise in making some beautiful articles and handicraft materials. The fair opened to all with high level of participation and zeal. It included food and game stalls, competition by photography club, stalls from all the participating NGOs, faculty walk, street play and most essentially, ICHHA’s volunteers belief and efforts with careful coordination and great deal of expectation among each of the coordinators to make it a grand success.

Campus NeWs as a part of the ‘serve for a cause’ initiative of the NGO Club. Another purpose was to meet with supervisors and the programme manager on other possibilities of serving the school. The visit was a great learning experience. The students were warmly welcomed by the local people. The Panchayat and the Sarpanch of the district were also present with us. The teaching centre is operating under IIMPACT and SARD. The school is for Girl children, and provides education till Class 5th.

A documentary based on AIDS awareness was screened followed by a candle lighting ceremony in the evening.

IIMPACT was started in 2003 by the Alumni of 1978 batch of IIM(A), as a single window response to the problem of out of school girls in the villages of India. IIMPACT runs 560 single teacher schools, called

Overall it was an event filled with fun, excitement and enthusiasm to help the society. Everyone did their bit by “Buying Some Wishes”.

Awareness Run on World Aids Day ICHHA continued with its initiatives on “World’s Aids Day” and in order to spread awareness about AIDS, everyone at the institute tied a crossed red ribbon on their shoulders as a symbol of solidarity for people living with AIDS and to show our fight against the disease. A documentary based on AIDS awareness was screened which was followed by a candle lighting ceremony in the evening.

Visit to IIMPACT Centre at Mewat A visit to Block Tauru, District Mewat(NCR), Haryana was organised. The district Mewat in Haryana is among the worst affected areas when it comes to the education of girls. The visit helped us explore the possibility of our students teaching the girls of Mewat

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Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News hours. The subjects taught are Elementary Computer Basics (which also cover practical knowledge), Art and Craft. Currently, the total numbers of students are around 150. Every coordinator gains a lot of valuable experience from the same. Not only do the coordinators get confidence due to class presentations in Roshini classes, but also imbibe a sense of responsibility of being a teacher. The children are also given occasional assessments to make sure that they are learning and following classroom studies. Every coordinator tries to relate the subjects to real life situations and help the children as a guide. They strive to impart learning by fun-filled activities. It is the love and respect that a coordinator gets from the children that makes him love this experience. It’s like the wet mud that a potter shapes to mould it into a fantastic piece of art. ICHHA plans to increase the number of subjects being taught. The student enrollment is increasing every year which makes us satisfied and shows that we are on the right path.

IIMPACT LEARNING CENTERS, in over 500 villages in 10 districts of 7 States. The team performed a street play showcasing the utility of education. It also crafted tattoos and played games with the children, thereby getting a chance to interact with them.

Roshini School: Charity Begins At Home Roshini was one the first initiatives taken up by ICHHA. The Roshini Project are evening classes run by IILM specially for the children of poor section of society in The Banyan Tree classrooms after school

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ICHHA also undertook an initiative for the upliftment of people by starting a campaign called “EACH ONE DONATE ONE NOTEBOOK” where note books were collected, for the students of the Roshini School in order to support the education of those students who cannot support it financially. Another campaign called “SHARING WINTERS” was also taken up where woollens were collected to be distributed to needy people.

ICHHA creates awareness among the students on Volunteerism ICHHA organised a guest lecture delivered by Ms. Sumedha Nair, President, Joining Hands, to discuss about the “Volunteerism for NGO’s “. Joining Hands is an organisation which works on the principle of volunteerism and creates a synergy between volunteers and

Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News NGOs by sensitising and facilitating internship with NGOs of students from various institutes across the country. It acts as an interface between their partner NGOs and the aspiring individual or corporate who wishes to contribute as a volunteer to come together on issues which engage them to work towards a common cause of social upliftment. IILM with a purview of providing social internship to its students wishes to work with Joining Hands to provide social internship to its students where students would have an opportunity to influence positive social change through an exchange of ideas, knowledge, skills and learning by volunteering in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s social and development sectors.

ICHHA Volunteers work for SAKSHI IILM has a deep affinity towards brightening up the path for the children of our country to see a better future. It recognises the fact that a child mis-educated is a child lost. ICHHA again took the responsibility of sharing the social responsibility and is committed to work towards the upliftment and prosperity of the underprivileged sections of the society, by volunteering in the efforts of Sakshi Centre for Information, Education and Communication. Sakshi has been working towards the care and rehabilitation of slum children of

Campus NeWs all religions for the last 15 years in Okhla and Jasola Village. It has primarily worked in marginalised Delhi slums which are greatly underdeveloped in terms of educational and health facilities. IILMs students are involved in various projects for Sakshi which includes database management of their volunteers, preparing documentaries on various operations at its care centres, and writing success stories for their website.

ICHHA: The Road Ahead ICHHA plans to further drive initiatives towards social upliftment in the future as well and would continue to do its good work in times to come and wishes to gain more projects from other NGOs. It aims at providing more social internship to all its students in forthcoming batches.

IILMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students are involved in various projects for Sakshi which includes database management of their volunteers, preparing documentaries on various operations at its care centres, and writing success stories for their website.

ICHHA through social internship would like to make sure that every student at IILM at least spends 36 hours of his or her life at IILM for the betterment of the society. Students would do different projects on various management heads across their first 3 trimesters. For the achievement of this objective, ICHHA wants to improve its NGO database so as to ensure one social internship for every student at IILM. Team ICHHA

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he NGO and Environment Club organised a fair in the college, where many NGOs from in and around Gurgaon were invited to come and sell their articles in the college premises. The fair started at 3 pm and went on till 6.30 pm. Various game stalls were put up, where students could participate

and win prizes. Quizzes were held on topics related to the environment. Rangoli competition was held followed by a painting competition. Food stalls were set up and delicacies were served. Faculties and students of IILM College, and students of Banyan Tree School were invited to come and enjoy the fair.

Members of the NGO and Environment Club worked for a month to ensure that this event was a success and the outcome was satisfactory. The team members made sure that all the things required for the event were in place and on time. Posters were made, stalls were set and decorated to make the campus look lively. The various NGOs that participated in the event were — Roshini, Mesh, Navjyoti, AADI and Samarpan Foundation. These NGOs set up their stalls of different items namely – candles, diyas, notepads, gift packs, purses, jewellery and more. Students had a good time shopping from these stalls. What was encouraging to see was the number of enthusiastic participants who registered themselves for various competitions and games. They made beautiful rangoli designs and paintings which were judged by teachers and the winners were declared accordingly. Also, there were a lot of participants for different games and quizes. People bought T-shirts, candles, home-made paper bags, along with other stuff the stalls put up by the NGOs. Throughout the event, the members made sure that everything ran smoothly. They took charge of various stalls and games. Many volunteers assisted the core team. Along with the students, many faculty members also participated in games and quizzes. It was not just an NGO fair, but was a ‘funfair’. Thanks to all the members who gave their best to make this event a success in every way possible. Jyoteshwar Dua Lecturer, OB & HR IILM, Gurgaon

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o say that the IILMs I-fest happens to be an event extraordinaire is an understatement.

For one, the I-fest successfully brings out the otherwise innate creativity of students along with ensuring that the overall spirit of the affair remains inviting, entertaining and enthralling. I-Fest at IILM is one of the most awaited fiestas for students and faculty members alike and can be called, in all fairness, the new face of excitement on the campus. Spearheading the cause of promoting talent and originality, the I-fest gives graduates a much-coveted platform to showcase what is best in them. This year, the festival included many exciting activities and contests like Broadcast Work Culture, the Best Manager event and the Corporate Walk.

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Participants from various colleges in teams enacted the case study which showed their excellent communication and analytical skills and such talent was appreciated by both the judges and faculty members. The most interesting part was the role play of the case, which made it easy for everyone to understand the marketing problem thoroughly and the application of theory to practical problems made it very interesting. The role play was very useful to the audience and judges because they were facing the case for the first time. Also, the detailed case analysis talks by judges and the query session delivered valuable marketing knowledge which was apart from gaining theoretical

knowledge. The feedback from the judges accompanied by participants view made the whole event a good learning experience for all of us who were present there. Next in line was another event called Broadcast Work Culture. The importance of work culture in every organisation has become significant in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s age. It is now being noticed and taken into account by one and all. This potential was realised by the post-graduation students at IILM and to bring the topic to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notice, a documentary competition was conducted at the I-Fest. This competition required the participants to enhance their knowledge of the subject, pick up their creative palette and present the reality.

Flagging off the I-fest was a case study analysis competition called Decode. The venue was converted to board room where our future managers showcased their organisational and decision-making skills. The case studies were mailed in advance and they were given ample time to analyse and discuss the case.

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Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News Campus News The competition focused on three topics: Human Resource, Organisational Behaviour and Corporate Social Responsibility. Students were divided into four teams and their creativity quotient was judged by two well-known judges, Ms. Mrigaleshi and Ms. Sakshi Chadha , both the dignitaries being well associated with the media industry. The first team (Algol School of Management, Gurgaon) presented a documentary on an old age home in Gurgaon where they recorded a question and answer session with the owner, Father Rajan. The second team (IILM Greater Noida) documented the crucial topic of development: Will India Be Developed in 2020? They used an interactive video filmed in the slums of Tugulpur depicting hope and love that existed in the face of poverty. The third team (IILM Lodhi Road) presented a video on the social cause of ‘Tigers’. The video, which was a montage, included a self-composed song and other clippings taken from the internet. It rode high on emotions and touched the hearts of audience members. The last team, also of IILM Lodhi Road, did a documentary on the topic ‘Simply Karan’ which focused on the importance of Hindi. The judges found the decision of choosing the winner very challenging as each team had performed up to their expectations, but finally decided to declare Team 4 as the winner and Team 3 as the Runner Up. They also addressed the audience to encourage them and gave them a few pointers on how to improve, develop and advance their creativity within the same field. Another competition that was a perfect blend of enthusiasm and professional skill was the Best Manager event.

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Corporate Walk was another extravaganza that lived up to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations. Fashion is not just beauty, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also about great attitude. Taking this thread forward, the Corporate Walk event organised by the HR Club---Ethnos was a spectacular event. An intercollege event organised to showcase professional clothing was worth a watch. Perfection was unleashed by participants from over 10 different colleges including those from Delhi University. Clothing being sponsored by S. Oliver, the participants created the perfect ambience for the evening. The winning team were students from IILM, Lodhi Road. The perfect attitude, the perfect walk and the show of talent, everything was present profoundly. It clearly exhibited the talent of professional dressing in the youth of today. With the Gen-Y putting up a perfection personified show, the progress of these youngsters in the years to come is sure to make heads turn. All in all, the I-fest was a celebration of sorts with something for everyone participating in it. Varun Prakash Dhanda PGP 9-11 IILM, Lodhi Road

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Vivekananda Memorial Debate

Judges

This debate was adjudged by Mr. P.N.Vijay, Managing Director, P.N.Vijay Financial Services Ltd. and Mr. Sattish Jha, President & CEO, OLPC India Foundation at OLPC.

he Tenth Vivekananda Memorial Debate (VMD) was hosted by SANSAD – IILM’s Debating Society, as a part of the I-Fest. The stage was set for speakers from some of the most prestigious colleges in India like the IIMs, the IITs and Delhi University. The audience witnessed some exciting, some thought-

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Rachna Biyani and Azar Zia, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, Winners of the Tenth Vivekananda Memorial Debate.

provoking and some impassioned speeches from the participants over the two-day event held on the 18th and 19th December, 2010. The first round of the debate was the preliminary round. Nineteen teams debated on the motion, “Wikileaks, Creating Transparency”. Eight teams including those from IIM-C,

St. Stephens, IILM-IGSM, Sri Venkateshwara, Hindu, FMS, KMC and IIT-R reached the semi-finals. This round of debate was on the motion “Social Networking is a Boon”, held in the august presence of Mr. Abhay Kumar Sinha, Assistant Regional Director in Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council, Mr.

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Akash Kashyap, Hindu College, Delhi University, Best Interjector at VMD 2010.

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Rachna Biyani, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, Best Speaker at VMD

Judges

Kewal Khanna, Founder President, Agilent Technologies and General Management Consultant and Mr. Tathagata Malakar, Assistant Vice President, Genapct (Banking & Financial Services). The teams from IIM-C, Sri Venkateshwara, Hindu and FMS contested in the finals of the VMD on the motion, â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the aging of world population, euthanasia is socially desirableâ&#x20AC;?. This debate was adjudged by Mr. P.N.Vijay, Managing Director, P.N.Vijay, Financial Services Ltd. and Mr. Satish Jha, President & CEO, OLPC India Foundation (at OLPC). Our esteemed judges highly appreciated the quality of discussion and applauded IILM for setting up such a platform for self-expression by young minds.

The tenth Vivekandanda Memorial Debate in progress at IILM, Lodhi Road campus

The winners of the VMD were Faculty of Management Studies, which bagged the trophy, a cash prize of Rs. 51,000 along with the Gold Medal. Hindu won the Runner-Up Shield with prize money of Rs. 20,000 along with the Silver Medal. The Best Interjector Award was taken by Mr. Akash Kashyap from Hindu College worth Rs. 5,000. The Best Speaker award of Rs. 10,000 went to Ms. Rachna Biyani from FMS. Swati Sehgal Pgp 10-12 IILM, Lodhi Road

A member of the audience interacting with the speakers

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IILM's learning and development unit activities

sychometric assessment tools are widely gaining popularity in the workplace for selecting and developing employees. These tools are also sought after by individuals to identify the right job profile for themselves. The Learning and Development Unit (LDU) took the responsibility to help the students in selecting the right profile for themselves by better understanding what type of work they should be doing to achieve job satisfaction, happiness and success. LDU offered all students an opportunity to take a personality test to help the student assess the match between his/her personality type and required job profile. The test also gave them an insight into “how” to better understand and work with others, resolve inter-personal conflicts and get support and cooperation from others – an important skill needed by all for becoming effective in their personal and professional lives. The sharing of personality profile with each student individually was another step taken to guide the students in this direction. An action plan was also shared with each student to work in their areas of development. They appreciated the institute’s effort in introducing this activity and requested

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that more such activities should be introduced.

Based on the scores received from the psychometric test, the reports of the MBA final year students were prepared and shared with their mentors. The reports gave a brief description of the areas of development identified for each student and a guideline for the mentors on how to help the students in those areas. The reports were prepared with an intent to train students in areas which are directly related to one’s effectiveness and efficiency at work. Another important step was taken by the LDU was by inviting students for focused group discussions. We consider it our responsibility to understand their perspectives, needs and concerns; to guide them the way they would like to be guided and identifying ways of empowering them. So we decided to hear it from the youth themselves. The interactive nature of discussions helped the students to talk openly about their worries, apprehensions and matters which were important to them. The issues varied from poor time management to unhealthy competition to communication gap with the authorities. The concerns

were broadly classified into three categories of self, parents and others. These discussions worked as therapy sessions where students learned from each others experiences. Students willingly voiced their concerns and showed an enthusiasm

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to get the issues addressed. This is what the students had to say after the discussions. “.. got the freedom and opportunity to express all our problems and challenges ..” – Ankita Kanwar “.. glad to know that I am not the only one facing such problems ..” – Mritunjay Kumar “.. it was nice talking to someone so positive and understanding ..” – Bhanuprira Rathore “.. it’s great to know that somebody that is there to help ..” – Kriti Sachdeva “.. its really nice to have someone to talk to whenever needed and to be sure that we will be guided in the right direction..” – Kritika Singh We, at IILM also strive to provide students a learning experience which is beyond the classroom – learning that they can apply in the real world. In our effort to extend classroom learning to an experiential learning, a three day outbound training programme was organised for the post-graduate students near Dehradun. The objective was to connect theory with practise. With each activity, students discovered aspects of self and learned to work with others with a positive attitude. The experiential learning fostered quick understanding and absorption of required skills for communicating and working effectively in groups. The activities helped develop, sharpen and fine tune behavioural skills and qualities of students which they can apply in every situation for effective performance. Interactive sessions, creative activities, trekking, leadership and team building exercises, camp fires etc. were the appealing dimensions of the programme. Students were seen demonstrating essential behaviours for reaching at the top of the ladder like motivating self and others in a

difficult situation, giving and seeking help proactively, thinking out-ofthe-box to achieve desired results, collaboration over competition, trusting and sharing mutual respect while working in teams. The success and failure in these activities were real and helped in self evaluation. The on going training programme would help the students in identifying and overcoming blocks that come in way of realising one’s own potential. Ms. Rajni Arya, Head, LDU was invited as a panel member and to present a talk on ‘Developing Values and Life Skills through School Curriculum’ on November 19, 2010 at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The one day training workshop organised by Prabhaav Learnings Pvt. Ltd. (PLPL) aimed at equipping principals and teachers with the necessary skills and expertise to design assessment tools and action plan to implement life skills and value inculcation in their schools. The programme focused on developing a perspective in Life Skills, Values and Attitudes and the techniques of integrating them in the overall assessment of the students. Honourable Chief Minister of Delhi and NCR, Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Dr. (Mrs.) Shyama Chona and Ms. Uma Sharma were some of the others dignitaries who shared their perspectives on Life Skills and Values in the workshop.

Ms. Vishakha Bhatia, Counsellor, LDU got an opportunity to attend a two day summit on “Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Leadership” on November 23 & 24, 2010 at The Claridges, Surajkund. Dr. Daniel Goleman, the legendary name in Emotional Intelligence and Leadership and author of many bestsellers addressed the audience on Day 2. The summit was organised by the Forum for Emotional Intelligence and was supported by the Government of India and Hindustan Petroleum. The objective of the seminar was to learn ‘Inspirational Leadership’ and to develop oneself and others for improved individual and organisational performance and effectiveness. It was quite an experience listening to Dr. Goleman himself. He shared how the concepts of EI – leadership styles and its impact on organisational climate can be applied in educational settings. He disclosed the ingredients of a ‘Star Performer’ competencies for developing EI- which has already been introduced to our budding managers. Dr. Goleman also introduced the concept of ‘Ecological Intelligence’ – the ability to adapt to our ecological niche. Some of the new learnings from the summit would be imparted to the students in PDP. LDU Team

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n the hectic world of business, team management and team building are very important for any organisation. A good team makes for a good organisation that helps it reach the pinnacle of success.

The team was warmly welcomed by members of the outbound trips Jungle Live Inn Club, better known as Eidos Learning Systems, which included their directors Phr Virendra and Harman Pal Singh.

Keeping this in mind, ‘Phoenix’, the Adventure Club of IILM, Lodhi Road, organised an adventure outbound trip to Chail, Shimla Kufri Hills on 22nd-23rd October, a first of its kind event in the history of the institute.

For performing adventure activities, the students were divided in four groups of ten each. All the teams were asked to select a name for them. The four names selected were Mountain Raiders, Dabang, D-warriors and Brilliant Brats.

The trip to Chail kicked off in early morning of 22nd October, 2010 when 41 students from the PGP 09-11 batch accompanied by - Sachin Sharma and Vishakha Bhatia, boarded a train to Chandigarh from the New Delhi Railway Station. The bus finally reached Chail in the evening.

At the crack of dawn students assembled, for a brief warm-up session to prepare for the activities that lay ahead – rappelling, commando net, nature walk, balancing on the ropes, crawling, Mowgli swing, Burma bridge and valley crossing. Most of the activities were designed, keeping in mind team building and management skills. The

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activities were exciting and physically and mentally challenging and were overseen by the facilitators who were talented individuals, skilled to ensure safety. The students performed all the activities in their respective groups with verve and enthusiasm. They displayed a wonderful mix of physical and mental strength to pull off the activities. Apart from adventure activities, the students had a great time exploring the mountainous paths and natural scenic beauty of Chail. At the end of the event, certificates were given to all the students by the trainers for participating in the programme. Gifts of appreciation were also awarded to a few students who displayed special qualities. The biggest takeway from this trip was the building of team spirit and self confidence of individuals and developing good inter-personal relationship at all levels. The students had the experience of a lifetime and will have fond memories of the trip in their future. Harneet Singh PGP 9-11 IILM, Lodhi Road

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR My congratulations once again for the wonderful annual convocation of IILM. I am glad that you had my friend Raju Kanoria and Prof. S.L. Rao as distinguished guests on that occasion. I wish you all the best. Sudhir Jalan Former President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry I really appreciate your sending me a copy of the IILM Convocation brochure. I would like to once again express my gratitude to you for having invited me. RV Kanoria Industrialist and Senior Vice President, FICCI I am very grateful for keeping me in mind and sending me IILMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journal, The Edge. I am impressed by the convocation address given by Shri Raju Kanoria. It was a very useful guidance for students and a well thought-out address. Prof. Dixon, Prof. Lucas and other dignitaries also spoke well, all of which was very relevant for the growth of students. My congratulations on the great success of your business school. I am sure, all the activities being conducted shall continue to enhance knowledge and improve the quality of future managers. I would feel obliged if copies of The Edge are also sent to our business school as well.

With best wishes, Govind Hari Singhania Chairman, JK Business School, Promoter, JK Organisation

Thanks very much for sending me the latest issue of The Edge. I was happy to read its contents. The magazine is coming out well and its excellent standard is being maintained. My compliments to the editorial team. Dr Abid Hussain Former Indian Ambassador to United States and currently Chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad You have graciously kept me in informed of the affairs of IILM. I see from The Edge that the institute is making good progress. I was associated with IILM in its early years and it gives me great satisfaction to learn, from time to time, that it is flourishing. With warm regards and every good wish, MK Rasgotra Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Former Foreign Secretary

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Happiness in Contemporary Times Super-technological societies have been carved out with passage of time and finally have brought comfort, safety, easy-to-do things and vis-a-vis happiness. Yet happiness is not universal or for every one and at every time. We know it from the disturbing news of contemporary world that people are living in miserable conditions, they often are weeping, crying, depressed. Many of them are terribly dejected in the hopeless lives they are leading. According to the Webster Dictionary the word Happiness is defined as ‘Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.’ People when they think of happiness, they think having good and positive feelings in their psyche. Happiness does not only imply a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that comes in our paths. There is no such thing as a problem-free life; difficulties and sorrows are unavoidable. But how we experience and react

to our problems depends on individual’s mind set. Buddhism teaches that we are each responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness. Our vitality the amount of energy or “life-force” we have - is in fact the single most important factor in determining whether or not we are happy. Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, in Gitanjali (poem; 36) conceptualizes the gist of happiness in the following words; This is my prayer to thee, my lord – strike, strike at the root of my penury in my heart. Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows. Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service. Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might. Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles. And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.” John D. Rockefeller, III

“Happiness is unrepentant pleasure.” Socrates

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” Mark Twain

“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“The secret of happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible.” Bertrand Russell

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” William Blake

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.” Maxim Gorky

“Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds all they have had, all they have now, and allthey expect to have.” Edward Everett Hale

Â Â Â ÂÂ Â Â ÂÂ Â Â ÂÂ Â Â ÂÂ Â Â ÂÂ Â Â ÂÂ Â Â Â Conceived and Compiled By Prof. Kailash Tuli Inputs By Varun Prakash Dhanda PGP 2009-11 IILM, Lodhi Road

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