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IILM's Hall Of Fame INSTITUTE HOLDS SIXTH CONVOCATION CEREMONY

IILM Undergraduate Business School THE IILM-Undergraduate Business School collaborated with the School of Management (SoM), University of Bradford, UK in 1996 to impart quality education in Management at the undergraduate level. The IILM, in collaboration with SoM, offers a three-year degree programme in Business and Management Studies. The institute follows the same curriculum as SoM with minor adaptations in area like Law and Taxation.

On November 1, 2004, IILM will have its 6th Graduation Ceremony wherein degrees will be conferred on 126 Graduates by Prof Christopher Taylor, Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford.

Every year, IILM students bring laurels to the institute and UoB But this year, our student Yashpal Gugnani has touched new heights by not only standing first in the degree programme at UoB, but also securing the highest ever aggregate of 79.8%.

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He will be awarded the Dr. Kulwant Rai Gold Medal. The second position has been bagged by Vani Raheja who would get the Dr. Kulwant Rai Silver Medal. The Bronze medal will go to Chirag Choudhary.

The procession for the Convocation would be led by the Director of the IILM Undergraduate Business School, followed by other professors of IILM and UoB as also by the Chairman and Chairperson of IILM, University of Bradford, Mace. The ceremony will last an hour and degrees would be conferred on students. Certificates of Honour would be given to students getting the highest marks in a particular subject and to Medal Winners. The UoB will award a separate certificate and a cheque of 100 pounds to the best Project of the Year, which will be awarded to Neha Wadhwa for her project on Strategic Analysis of Maruti Udyog Ltd.

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IILM

Congratulates DR. MANMOHAN SINGH

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R MANMOHAN Singh, 71year-old former Finance Minister who ushered India’s economic reforms in July 1991, has become the 14th Prime Minister of Indian democracy. The IILM joins the nation in congratulating Dr. Singh and wishes him success in all his endeavours.

Dr. Singh's association with the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (IILM) goes way back to October 25, 1997 when he was the chief guest at its second annual convocation.

Addressing the students then, he had said that the economy required something more than just free market. According to him, it needed new vision and it was here that institutes of higher learning, particularly management institutes, could play a critical role in creating requisite attitudinal change to take full advantage of opportunities offered by a globalised economy. Therefore, a healthy and vigorous work ethics should inspire all managers and entrepreneurs to realise the nation's dream, he had said.

Inspired by his vision, the IILM has come a long way in becoming a centre of excellence in management education.

From 1997 to 2004, the institute has grown and diversified, not only in terms of student intake and newer branches at Greater Noida, Jaipur, Lucknow and Gurgaon but also in the number of courses being offered.

The flagship programmes of the Undergraduate Business School and Graduate School of Management have added new, diversified and employment-centric courses to their portfolio in areas like Insurance, Social Sector, Tourism, Computing and BPO Management. The AIMA Survey 2003 has categorised IILM as an A+ Business School, ranked 8th

in terms of Intellectual Capital and 18th in terms of Admissions and Placements. The IILM is among the top 15 business schools in India and the best Private B-school in Delhi.

The infrastructure, especially its computer facilities and library, has undergone massive facelift and is preparing the budding managers of tomorrow with requisite skill sets for success in the workplace.The institute has been investing heavily in faculty development so that the latest trends in the academic arena can be amalgamated in its courses and the in-teaching pedagogy by the 63 full-time core faculty members of IILM. The quest for excellence continues and we at the IILM hope that Dr. Manmohan Singh will take time out to share with us his dreams for the nation and the role IILM can play in achieving the same.

Inspired by Dr Singh, IILM’s quest for excellence continues and we hope that the PM will take time out to share with us his dreams for the nation and IILM’s role in achieving them

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CONTENTS IILM’S BI-ANNUAL MAGAZINE

1ST ISSUE 2004

34

A Rendezvous with Advani

10 13 17 19 22 24 26

The main markers for B-Schools

6 Death of a destination called Success Concludes GN Bajpai, chairman SEBI

38 Titan in a nutshell

Customer is God treat him like one ABCD of XBRL Growth needs three engines Schooling to be different Ps of Social Marketing Learn to converse

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27 29 31 36 40

Education synergy vital

41 44 48 54

Zero not the only old story

It’s all about caring Quality matters Dreamgirl of house loans Company first for this Euroguru

Tribute to Prof. Sumantra Ghoshal

Reading Material Student corner Campus News

EDITOR’S NOTE AN NRI friend once told me a zoke as to how the New York Stock Exchange, while listing a new company Nelson & Nicholson, advised him to change its name into some Krishnaswamy or Ramamurthy for better prospects in the stock market.

The advisory highlights the success story of Indian managers and businessmen who have changed the global perception of our nation from being a pre-medieval country of snake-charmers to a worldclass provider of brain capital.

Nowadays, we talk India when we talk about intellectual capital, social capital and intellectual property rights. None would deny today that as far as intellectual acumen is concerned, we Indians are top rankers.

However, our’s is a case of historically interrupted growth, for extraneous reasons. Most of post-Independence India carried pessimism on its collar. But now, this crippling negativity has given way to Browningish optimism. Shortages are over. Business is thriving and Industry ever so buoyant.

In Education too, India is emerging as an intellectual power. Its universities are producing as many, if not more, graduates as developed nations. There are about 1000 business schools, including departments of business management in Indian universities.

What, however, is lacking is that we produce more managers than entrepreneurs. A big vacuum exists in business management education, particularly in rural, agricultural and small-scale sectors. There’s a large reservoir of social, entrepreneurial and intellectual capital in these regions. But it has remained untapped. The biggest challenge, and opportunity, before management institutes of today is to identify, nurture and catapult this talent on to the global firmament.

One must remember what author Anil Chawla said about our three first-generation entrepreneurs GD Birla, JRD Tata and Dhirubhai Ambani: "None of them knew good English... each one of them would have failed to clear CAT. Birla and Dhirubhai would not even have made it even to a 'C' grade business school.”

Coming to ‘The Edge’, our half-yearly institutional magazine is a humble effort to throw meaningful insight on subjects confronting B-Schools of today. In-depth and analytical articles by IILM’s distinguished experts and academicians are balanced with pulsating ones penned by our students who talk about their fears, their aspirations and their career graphs with a typical youthful passion.

I am specially thankful to Mr G.N. Bajpai, SEBI Chairman, who permitted me to reproduce a chapter from his recent book ' The Securities Market'. I would also like to extend my thanks to Design director Sunil and the editorial team of 'The Edge', comprising Mr Ashok K Singh, Ms Kakoli Sen from IILM and Ms Meenakshi Rao, Senior Editor of The Pioneer.

I hope this issue of ‘The Edge’ achieves the purpose it has been laid out for — creating, building and disseminating analyses of issues that have, for long, been staple food for B-School thinktanks all over the world.

— Director FMS

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DEATH OF A

DESTINATION CALLED

By G N Bajpai Chaiman, SEBI

The world is changing, and changing fast.

To succeed in today’s world, it is imperative that we make success a sustainable prospect — and this can be achieved only if we embark on a continuous journey to excellence

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SUCCESS

UCCESS IS not a destination, it is a journey and alacrity is the price that every traveller in the journey of success has to pay, at all times. Success is a phenomenon that comes into the realms of an organisation's life, as it comes into the life of individuals. And in case that phenomenon is not marshaled appropriately, it disappears. Hence, the struggle for success, supremacy and sustainability has to be continuous.

A study reveals that 80 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies that existed on its list 25 years ago have disappeared from the current one. Some of them do not even exist as an entity. Even in the Indian context, nearly 40 years ago, there were three great industrial empires — Tata, Birla and Singhania. Which among them, continues to be the most successful and progressive industrial houses today? Perhaps. somewhere down the line, the leaders/managers of these institutions forgot that success is not a destination, but a journey that must continue and a phenomenon that has to be lived through. It is in this context that everyone working for an organisation must have a vision, a vision which management pundits describe as an achievable distant dream. It has a direct and proportionate relationship with the macro-economic, social and political scenario, as well as the micro ethos in which an organisation or an individual operates.

We have reached such levels of developments of global society that we have to explore 'Caverns of Opportunity' — and they are plentiful. The first generation economic reforms in India have had their impact on its economy. Here, one needs to

take a look at India’s planned approach — its five-year plans. The last three plans have been a break from the past which was euphemistically described as the Hindu Rate of Growth. It experienced higher growth as a consequence of reforms. If present managers of Indian economy have to achieve what they are determined to — a 10 per cent GDP growth — second generation reforms must be institutionalised, they must incorporate technological developments and, above all, be pegged on policy innovations.

It is also important that today’s vision may not be relevant tomorrow. So, it would be necessary for each one of us on the organisational platform that we re-engineer our vision to ameliorate with the great journey called success. For this, the most significant contributing factor is Human Resources (HR).

Look at the current global economic situation. Until very recently, HR used to move to places and areas where there were physical resources and/or financial resources. This movement has been reversed. Today, physical as well as financial resources flow down to those areas and places where there are human resources — performing qualitatively and quantitatively, at competitive cost. A testimony to this is the spread of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) culture.

With the kind of scientific fervour that we Indians have and continue to develop in core areas of science as well as medical and engineering institutions, in a decade’s time, India might become the research laboratory for the world. But human resources must be able to perform at the

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This appears dichotomous because prosperity in rural India is growing at a faster rate than in urban agglomerates. However, banking business is not growing proportionately in rural India high platform of productivity. It is crucial that these human resources are enabled and competently assisted by technological intervention.

The competitive, quality performance of an individual is facilitated by cutting-edge technology. Due to rapid developments, technology may lose its cutting edge in some years, months and even days. The organisational vision, therefore, must embed HR competence in technological capability. With these twin props, we must move on to a new phenomenon which has already got ingrained in developed society and is seeping into the developing world — the phenomenon of ‘Compete and Collaborate’ — a paradigm shift.

The banking industry provides one such example wherein one bank competes with another and also collaborates. The latter is done by several banks joining to create combined ATM networks. Corporation Bank competes with LIC in harnessing people’s savings. Yet, it collaborates with LIC and reaps opportunities for gains — mutually and exclusively. Why is this happening?

Because each of them is trying to explore exclusive caverns of opportunity. It is the vision of the leader, it is the vision of the senior functionaries in an organisation that enables the deciphering of the caverns of opportunities. Human resources help to harness these caverns. While doing so, one has to look forward to the institutional support that would help decode.

One example of the caverns of opportunity for the banking industry is as follows: In India, the formal sector is highly

competitive but the informal sector has been substantially neglected.

An analysis of banking data reveals that deposits as well as credit levels of rural branches have declined in percentage, though not in absolute numbers. This appears dichotomous because prosperity in rural India is growing at a much faster rate than in urban agglomerates.

However, the banking business is not growing proportionately in rural India.

Possibly, somewhere down the line, our focus on the revenue model of institutions has compelled us to move from those opportunity zones to mere current profitability. While it is true that one must, at all times, remain focused on a high level of profitability, the caverns of opportunity must not be ignored. True, high levels of profitability are necessary, but a method to harness the opportunity zone of the informal sector is to be found without getting

Organisational vision must embed HR competence in hitech capability. With these twin props, we must move on to a new phenomenon which has already got ingrained in developed society and is seeping into the developing world — the phenomenon of Compete and Collaborate The

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Business models have to be re-engineered and in the new model, there has to be an appropriate mix of risk and reward. If any institution wants to be absolutely safe, its growth will be pedestrian unnecessarily, unduly worried about the risks involved and the impact on profitability.

There is a way. A new instrument, available in the Over The Counter (OTC) market — Interest Rate Derivatives — and which is proposed to be put on the trading platform shortly, could be used by banks to hedge the risk that might arise over and above the normal risk that every banking institution has to bear. In fact, there is an opportunity for banks in trying to develop skills to harness potential of derivatives which can bring down risk of urban business as well. In the new global economy, a focus on human beings and the dictum of 'compete and collaborate' are essential.

Business models have to be re-engineered and in the new model, there has to be an appropriate mix of risk and reward.

If any institution wants to be absolutely safe, its growth will be pedestrian. In Continuing with a tradition is case, it wants to good as tradition lends have what is described in manconfidence. However, a break agement terminolofrom it is necessary to grow gy as inorganic growth, it has to faster, to be in continuous tranfind a trade-off sition. In today’s world the only between risk and reward which has a thing permanent is change correlation with the emerging social, economic and political environments.

It is not necessary for an institution to develop products and services only when a need is felt by its customers. The world has moved far beyond. Market leaders imagine and anticipate likely changes and visualise and create a need. Thus, they design and market products and services far ahead of felt needs. Corporation focus has shifted from mere developing and marketing of products and services, to satisfaction and satiation of customer aspirations. And, in this philosophical shift we must bring about, within our organisation, developments that give us The

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clear scope for what is called a 'stitch in time'. If one has the tools and techniques to provide the right kind of stitch in time, an organisation does not get unnecessarily and excessively hurt by complacency or competition, and can continue to prosper.

Continuing with a tradition is good as it lends confidence. However, a break from tradition is necessary to grow faster, to be in continuous transition. In today’s world, the only thing permanent is change. Of all the scientific developments that have taken place in known history of humankind, 80 per cent have been in the last 35 years and 70 per cent of the scientists that have brought about these innovations are still living. Consequently, there is a matrix of innovation as opposed to organic innovations.

When mobile phone technology was invented, it was felt that wire telephony would become obsolete. And, with the innovation of the optic fibre cable, cable technology is proving to be more useful to society with a combination of mobile telephony — Wireless in Local Loop (WLL).

Gone are the days when there used to be a period of stabilisation. The 21st century environment is going to be marginally different from the 20th century, but the difference is in fluidity. The 20th century managers had to climb a rocky mountain before they could hoist their flag of success, and if they had tools and techniques they could be right there. The 21st century environment is also of climbing a rocky mountain, but with a difference. The mountain is moving and fledgy. The manager would not know where he will slip — 2000 metres down, deep into the valley or on hard rock. Possibly, that’s why Mr Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft, in his book, Business At The Speed Of Thought says: “Somewhere, someone unknown and unseen may be destroying your business model.”

Thus, we are all going to be in the phase of continuous transition and in that

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While re-shaping the organisation, there should be an attempt to convert the organisation into a confederation of entrepreneurs and use globally accepted diverse distribution channels process we will have to ensure that all the resources — physical, financial and human — continue to add value to the organisation.

Today, we have an organisational structure and we want everybody to move within the boundaries of that structure. But when you create such an ethos in an organisation, the abilities and capabilities of people to deliver economic value addition gets stunted. Hence, create a structure, but within that structure, permit informality. There should be a facility to move around and act. And this alone can help create the most important thing in any service industry — product differentiation. Product differentiation can be brought about only by innovation and innovation cannot happen in water-tight compartments.

Another specific recommendation for a bank is the use of diverse distribution channels. It is now a globally accepted practice to use diverse distribution channels to deliver product differentiation so as to achieve what is called satisfaction and satiation of customer needs. To organise this, we will have to reorganise the organisation itself. While reshaping the organisation, there should be an attempt to convert the organisation into a confederation of entrepreneurs.

What brings a high level of growth or profitability is entrepreneurial ability. Discipline is important, but flexibility is useful and entrepreneurial skills must not be chained in a rigid structure. While performing and delivering, we must allow individuals to become entrepreneurs, so that they bring to the table all their abilities to create greater good for the institution.

For that to happen, it is important to understand that every human being has a vision. Every woman and man has a vision, and every woman or man is committed to her/his vision. Seniors in organisations, often, do not see juniors' vision

and confine people's commitment. Also, there are some basic competence in every individual which should be strengthened.

There are various processes for strengthening these. But, the biggest process is co-ordination. Whereas we will remain individuals and will have to perform, our own thoughts must get translated into action.

Information is not just power, it’s money.

When I was the LIC chairman, there were certain agencies from the United States that wanted me to share the LIC data with them — data about 9 crore individuals.

They were prepared to pay as much as $ 9 billion for it. Why? Because information is money; because this information would have helped their organisation. It would have enabled them envision the behavioural pattern of those nine crore individuals which, in turn, would have given them a competitive edge.

The point being When I was LIC chairman, driven home here there were US agencies that is of 'The Death Of Destination'. It is wanted me to share the LIC not as if we are data with them — data of working for a mirage, that we about 9 crore individuals. They will continue to were prepared to pay as much chase endlessly and will never as $ 9 billion for it. Why? reach there. A deer Because information is money chases a mirage for water which does not exist. In our case, the water of success does exist. The context is that changes on our planet are taking place at such a fast speed that there is continuous shifting of milestones of success. If these milestones keep shifting, where is our destination?

Well, success is a journey, a phenomenon and not a destination. In fact, we are that fortunate lot of the human race which is living in exciting times. There is so much to see, so much to listen to, so much to Courtesy: The Securities Market by G.N. Bajpai and read, experience and contribute.

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THE MAIN MARKERS FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION: CHALLENGES

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By Dr Irfan A Rizvi Director - Graduate School of Management

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DUCATION has changed, and it has changed forever. This is all the more true for professional education, especially management education.

Among various fields of knowledge, the craze for acquiring management degrees, especially at the postgraduate level, is growing globally. This is a reflection of the importance placed on businesses for socio-economic development of any society today, and how the entire world is moving towards becoming a market economy. In any case, professional higher education has been recognised as a growth engine for development of a nation. In this regard, wealth creation becomes the key and great equalizer in society.

In such a scenario, a knowledge worker who can work at the cutting edge of technology, add value to the bottom-line and provide competitive advantage to business corporation is hot property. And the competence to deliver such goodies is acquired through investment in acquiring an MBA. In tandem with such rapidly escalating demand for MBAs, the number

of business schools in India has grown from 118 in 1989 to 1020 in 2004.

This increase may have bridged the gap between demand and supply for management qualifications, but it has raised issues of quality.

In this paper, I intend to take readers through challenges that management institutions are confronted with.

IMPENDING CHALLENGES Challenge No 1: Curriculum, pedagogy, and technology The major challenges confronting BSchools are what should they teach, to what extent, what should be the teachinglearning process and in what way can technology be incorporated into the academic delivery system.

In any academic institution, the most important place is the classroom and the most important activity, the teachinglearning process. As a teacher, I strongly believe in this. Thus, all B-Schools have to contend with what to teach and how to teach it, and in this regard, find answers to the following issues: Should business schools provide conceptual understanding to students

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Should the course be Classical, Contemporary or Futuristic?

Should the education provided have relevance to character building or be restricted to market demand?

Should the pedagogy be teachercentric or student-centric?

Should the curriculum focus on internal strength of the school or be benchmarked with other renowned schools the world over?

How the progress of students be evaluated — on a continuous basis or end-of-the-term?

To what extent academic delivery in class use case methodology and other methods for imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes useful to real situations?

How the teaching-learning process be improved?

To what extent technology, especially IT, be integrated into the teaching-learning process?

Challenge No 2: Intellectual capital A B-School may have the best of courses, curriculum, pedagogy and high-end technology. But, if it does not have adequate intellectual capital in the form of teaching faculty, everything becomes irrelevant.

Teachers are still the most critical factor in an academic institution.

Through their expertise, they convert knowledge into wisdom, making it applicable beyond boundaries of time.

One challenge faced by B-Schools is availability of high-quality faculty.

It is difficult to define the quality aspect of a faculty as management is an eclectic field of study and borrows its theories and concepts from other disciplines like anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology. To teach such a multi-disciplinary subject, what should be the domain knowledge of its teachers?

The matter gets compounded when

A B-School may have the best of courses, content, curriculum, pedagogy and high-end technology.

But, if it does not have adequate intellectual capital in the form of teaching faculty, everything becomes irrelevant business education is seen as a programme to build professional competence. In such a scenario, it is difficult to identify quality attributes of a management teacher. One should look for: What could be the academic discipline of a quality teacher?

Would s/he have academic grounding or have experience in problem solving and consulting?

What are the attributes of a quality teacher: motivation, commitment, openness, flexibility, search for truth, integrity or autonomy?

It’s a combination of all the above attributes, but then, can one get all these in a single individual?

In an era when a B-School is judged by the size of its faculty, maintaining quality of intellectual capital becomes important. Business schools are trying to retain and attract the best talent. To be able to do so, the issues of people and structure management becomes critical.

Some other issues of concern are: Should academic institutions be managed on corporate lines or have an academic set-up?

Initiatives to be taken towards teacher's training Building a culture of research and

innovation on campus Workload rationalisation to give the faculty an opportunity to explore uncharted areas and generate new ideas in management education Maintenance of equity between the faculty so as to motivate them and maintain a culture of collaborative and integrated working In addition to identifying and inducting quality staff, a B-School needs to insure that the faculty is retained, motivated and empowered to make optimum contribution. In this regard, the institution's people, management policies and development of structures and processes that could facilitate academic freedom without compromising institutional interest need to be worked out.

The growth of a B-School depends on its academic strengths and not its book value. In this context, the leadership provided by the deans and the directors as Academic CEOs becomes crucial. Such leaders should articulate a clear vision and mission for the institution.

The internal environment best suited to an academic institution is characterised by the following. Academic heads need to ensure development of such an atmosphere in their schools: Atmosphere conducive to learning, innovation and creativity Free and open exchange of ideas A regime of equity and equality A flexible internal system Systemic objectivity Operational efficiency Challenge No 3 : Regulatory regime Education, especially higher education in India, is a concurrent subject. Hence, both the State and Central Governments have a role to play.

As a consequence, various State and central bodies, like the UGC and the AICTE at the Centre and respective bodies at the State level, regulate the functioning of higher education institutions in business management. All B-Schools

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in India come under the purview of perception depends on what an Yet, a B-School can ensure employAICTE which, through its approval institution communicates and how. ment and enhanced employability process, sets the basic guidelines A good image not only differentiates by inculcating the following attributand standards for B-School infra- one B-School from the other, but, es in them: structure, faculty, courses and pass also helps improve the entire input Understanding of subject matter, percentage. output process. sometimes because the job needs However, with a spurt in BA good reputation helps attract specific expertise and often because Schools, every other institution has quality students, a qualified faculty a degree certificate attesting undermanaged to get an AICTE approval, and top corporate houses for place- standing is taken as an indicator of raising questions of credibility. With ments. The first step an institution baseline ability to handle complex new mechanisms under the World should take towards image-building material Trade in Services expected from is to identify and stick to the areas of Skills: Employers today are 2005, unhindered entry of foreign core-competence. eager to see evidence of generic universities would complicate matFocus helps an institution consoli- skills. Subject-specific skills may also ters. date its energies and resources to be required in some instances Consequently, issues of regulatory the cause and lend quality and repu Efficacy beliefs: Self-confident mechanism have been raised and tation to it. Establishing strategic people who believe they can make a the most important one pertains to alliances by forming academic con- difference tend to succeed an appropriate regulatory authority: sortiums and alliances with interna Metacognition: The ability to Should it be Government agencies tional schools helps in positioning an reflect and think strategically like AICTE, State Councils of Higher institution on a global platform.

Some other key personal and profesEducation, the UGC, or should the Bsional skills that enhance employaSchools adopt self-regulation Challenge No 5: Placements (employbility are: Personal attri-butes through a consortium. ment / employability) (self-awareness, self-confidence, If the B-School inde-pendence, education in India emoti-onal intelliIf B-School education in India is to prosper and is to prosper and gence, adaptability, build its reputation globally, the issue of effective stress tolerance, build its reputation globally, the issue of initiative, willingregulation is to be sorted out immediately effective regulation ness to learn, is to be sorted out reflectiveness, immediately, moreso with rapid Management education being a pro- ethics and values) changes expected in the near future. fessional course the world over, the Interpersonal Skills: Communieffectiveness of learning accrued as cation, teamwork Challenge No 4: Building the also the success of a B-School is Conceptual skills: Envisioning, reputation (as a B-School) evaluated on the basis of the quality analytical, problem-solving and creIn a dynamic and well-informed of the placements offered. ativity environment like today’s, students Placement being the prime con- The mute question is how does a Bare not just looking forth to an MBA cern of students and parents, the School ensure that the above attribdegree, but a name which can give issue becomes all the more signifi- utes are developed and sharpened them recognition and fame in soci- cant. Yet, it is widely researched and among its students and how does it ety. Industry also seeks students concluded that placement and future ensure that the wards actually pracfrom institutions which are from a professional success of a graduate tice them in their long professional higher category and grade. does not have much to do with his and personal life.

In a market-driven, competitive intellectual acumen. Several other These are some of the challenges economy with discerning customers, factors play a more significant and that confront business schools in perception about the products and decisive role in this regard. With this India today. Institutions that can find services is an important factor of perspective in focus, is finding place- ways and means of overcoming consideration before actual buying ments for graduating students the these challenges would make a behaviour is exhibited/executed. sole responsibility of the institution? mark on a global scale.

The image of the institution in the If yes, then what can an institution eye of the stakeholders is a reflection do to ensure employment and (The views expressed here are that of its perceived quality and benefits, enhanced employability? of the author and do not reflect the and thus, the brand. And a brand There are no easy answers to this. thinking of IILM)

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The DANTOTSU effect

CUSTOMER

GOD TREAT HIM LIKE ONE IS

customers/users are coming to us?"

Service firms should have the minutest details of user preferences. In today's world loyalty is not the catch word but supremacy is. A supreme service make its users second to none.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A SYNERGISTIC SERVICES-MARKETING MIX? A service company should focus on customer service and keep customer satisfaction levels under constant review. Usually, there is need for a complaint system which allows unhappy customers to be identified and corrective action taken. Above all, a service company needs to stay in touch with the changing customer needs.

In developing a strategy related to customer satisfaction, there is need for counsellor relationships between the various elements of marketing mix.

By Dr Deepankar Mukherjee WHEN WE talk about services, we have to consider who comes first — service provider or service receiver.

The generation of a service may be related to a particular need. But, a need should to be realised before hand for better and improved services.

If you look at the SAS operation, you’ll realise how they started providing services, like airport pick-up or late check-in facilities for business travellers to ease their problems. The value analysis of services is based on reducing time, energy and stress, as also providing enjoyment to the user.

And this concept of relationship marketing depends on two factors.

Counselling and joining: Counselling will offer the best possible vista to the user and joining will speak about caring and sharing about the encounter and experience of the service. All services must be offered with a single vision of empathising. The user must feel that the services are going to enhance one’s performance. From the very first service, it should fructify the path. Apologies for lacuna will not be tolerated by users. One should always direct efforts at improving every new service. The vital question is "why the

Balanced approach: Here, at least two ingredients of marketing mix remains logical and useful to the user.

InteGrative approach: When every marketing mix element remains important to the user and elements play a definite role to give quality service.

Supremacy approach: This is concerned with using each element to the best advantage and support of total service, to make it exclusive.

The task of creating competitive advantage involves outperforming rather than matching competitor efforts. The most important issue the companies should, perhaps, remember is that a The

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customer who is lost through dissatisfaction will be gained by its competitor.

Keeping customers is, therefore, a key strategic issue for all service companies. It provides an excellent management tool for considering the success of quality and customer service programmes.

Retaining a customer allows a company to develop a relationship and encourages repeated and increasingly frequent buying activity. A total quality management approach which strives to attain a service free of defects should be considered an essential part of a customer retention programme The full potential of the elements of a marketing mix is not realised in most of the cases because lack of knowledge of customer psychology/need.

Service firms need to recognise the difference between marketing activity and marketing process. Advertising, MR product planning etc. are part of activities. Marketing processes involve the whole company as processes are the means by which the company continuously maintains a match between its products and customers needs. They should be at the core of all business activity and responsibility for them.

The company's services and practices are continuously compared with the standards of competitors and identified industry leaders in other sectors.

By observing and measuring the best within and outside the industry, it is possible to improve the performance of the company.

McKinsey & Co's 75 must be carefully picked up to gear up marketing mix elements to achieve service quality. Thus, if shared value can be The

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utilised properly, a value-added solution will come out for the consumer.

POTENTIAL ROUTE TO BENCHMARKING A critical aspect of this is the commitment factor. To ensure commitment, the entire organisation must be involved in planning. The process of planning can be very informal or very formal and it should be tailored to meet the needs and cultural norms of the organisation developing the plan.

The most useful strategic and operational plans are based on a realistic set of assumptions about the form and the industry in which it competes.

Firms that are effective planners and implementers tend to be more successful than those who do not plan using standard measures of business success. Firms that ignore planning or develop plans and then get too busy to implement them, tend to be smaller, less viable players in an industry.

STEPS TO MAXIMISE IMPACT OF SERVICE ENVIRONMENT 1. Identify the firm's operational position 2. Identify the appropriate services — cape positions 3. Identify desired behaviours to be elicited by servicescape 4. Identity servicescape factors that will enhance desired behaviour The servicescape objective of firms operating in the cost efficiency operational sector is to reduce costs and increase productivity. For firms operating in the customisation or functional service quality operational positions, the servicescape objectives is to meet the needs of customers. Firms using the technical service quality approach will want to maximise employee efficiency in order to produce a high-quality service outcome.

FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS If the servicescape is designed to focus on the needs of customers, then the service company has three primary goals to accomplish with the servicescape — customer attraction, customer satisfaction and customer retention.

Thus, that "psychology" of being superior drive the users to an exaulted position. For the next best services

marketer takes the routes of Need for Cognition.

Here the service-provider makes his decision on the basis of socio-physiological personality of the user. The users can be rated on a CAD scale.

Compliant people are dependent on the service provider.

Aggressive people are motivated by the need to become something special. Detached ones rate everything equally. In case of Airlines, C will feel good if the cabin crew is very friendly.

A will go for complete service quality and for D is just another way for communication.

Search for potential need-satisfiers will occur following need recognition.

Understanding consumer search can be useful in developing a strategy. How much consumers search and the particular sources consulted during the search can help shape a firm's marketing-mix elements.

The most important challenges for service firms are to keep abreast of customer needs and interest monitor, improve quality to match these evolving needs, embrace the need for constant change and to take the firm to "DANTOTSU" — best of the best. The development of meaningful measures of quality and an understanding of what customers want and need are most important.

SCA: A sustainable competitive advantage is built on a firm providing either superior resources or distinctive skills. Superior resources allow a firm to develop unique capabilities that

are difficult to imitate.

Distinctive skills allow a firm's personnel to offer a service in a unique way. When the two are combined in a single SCA, the competitive advantage becomes even more sustainable.

Each of the marketing mix elements can be developed into a competitive advantage.

A service may decide to expand divergence beyond what the competition offers. The key to developing a customer relationship is not merely obtaining a contractual agreement, it is about developing mutual trust. The customer must be able to trust the seller and know that he or she will provide the service when needed at the quality level desired. The seller must trust to work with the customer in a mutually beneficial relationship. This relationship involves both parties sharing information and working together to solve problem.

Objectives and Goals of Servicescape Decision based on Operational Position.

Business buyers and customers experience various states of satisfaction with a service. These customer satisfaction states are angry, dissatisfied, irritated, OK, pleased and excited. The state of satisfaction is determined by how consumers perceive the service they received compared to what they had expected prior to the service.

Merely satisfying customers is not enough to remain competitive in today's global market

SATISFACTION STATES AND LEVELS OF CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS. LEVELS OF SERVICE QUALITY 1. The highest level of satisfaction would be the excited level. At this level, the perceived level is at or above the desired level of service and close to the ideal level of service. These customers will return and tell others about the fantastic service they received.

It would make sense that consumers excited about the quality of service received will be most loyal and least willing to switch to a new firm.

However, if the four levels of service occur again and continue over several service experiences, then the customer will switch. Also, the more dissatisfied customers become, the quicker they switch to a competitor. .

CUSTOMER VALUE PACKAGE Customers tend to patronise firms that offer the best values. The value may be based on a lower price. It may based on real or perceived superior technical quality. Or, on a higher perceived functional value.

Developing and managing the customer value package requires six steps: 1. Determine the relative weights customers place on each element of the value package 2. Determine the value package your company will offer

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OPERATIONAL POSITION CUSTOMISATION

Servicescape objectives Meet the needs of customer

FUNCTIONAL SERVICE QUALITY

-do-

TECHNICAL SERVICE QUALITY COST EFFICIENCY

Maximise employee efficiency Reduce costs and increase productivity

3. Develop business objectives and mission that will incorporate the value package 4. Communicate the values to all company personnel 5. Develop plans to implement the value package 6. Monitor the marketplace for change Customer retention requires that firms understand how customers view value. It may be different from what companies perceive. Some questions that might be asked to discover the relative weights customers place on price, service quality and image would include the following: 1. What basic requirements must be provided in order for a firm to be considered a variable source?

2. Beyond the basic requirements, what level of performance would give one vendor a competitive advantage over other service suppliers?

3. What additional services or levels of service would a vendor need to provide to add value to his service?

4. What problems do you currently have with your vendor?

5. What needs are not being met by your current vendor?

The decision should be based on what customers want from the particular competitive advantage the firm has developed. Also, the availability of resources. Building a customer value package on a strong competitive advantage will make the advantage more sustainable and the package more attractive. Customers The

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will not continue to patronise firms they don't perceive as offering them a good value. A customer value package is the best combination of price, technical service quality, functional service quality and corporate image.

To effectively manage the service environment, firms must attract homogeneous customers by defusing potential conflicts. If firms will commit

LEVELS OF SATISFACTION Excited Pleased OK... ...

Irritated Dissatisfied Angry

..Ideal ...Desired ...Predicted Levels of Expectations Adequate

time, effort and resources to properly manage the customer compatibility process, satisfaction can be increased and chances of customers returning for future purchases is improved.

Customer defections cost companies dear each year in lost revenue. In addition to lost revenue, defectors normally spread negative word-of-mouth communications which can influence other consumers to purchase elsewhere.

The value of a customer to a firm increases over time. This increase in the profitability of a customer is due

Servicescape Goals Attract Satisfy Retain Attract Satisfy Retain Focus on betterment of employees Maximise customer volume Maximise employee productivity and efficiency

to the following four reasons: 1. Customers tend to use a service more over a period of time 2. Service firms become more efficient over time 3. Customers refer others to the firm 4. Firms can increase their prices because of quality, dependable service To create a zero-defection culture, everyone in the organisation must understand that zero defection is an organisation’s basic goal. Employees must understand the lifetime value of a customer. Employees must realise the importance of satisfying each customer. They must also understand that a customer needs to feel he is receiving good value from the service.

Thus, a zero-defections culture will occur if the management has created a customer service atmosphere within the organisation. Managements must demonstrate by example that customers come first. Part of creating a customer service atmosphere is a management's commitment to providing employees with the resources necessary to serve customers.

When the management provides strong support to service personnel, they in turn provide good service to customers. The goal of the Dantotsu service is to strengthen the bond between the company and the customer.

Reference Books: Service Marketing - Adrien Payne Services Marketing - Kurtz & Clow.

Services Marketing - Bateson Service Marketing - Gonclaves.

ABCD of

HITECH ACCOUNTING

XBRL

A

CCOUNTING communicates business in numbers and text. Today, web-based accounting information is widely used across the world for investment and financing decisions.

Mostly, decision-makers find it difficult to handle web-based data manipulation and integration. In the context of globalisation of accounting and reporting practices, the present form and structure of publishing accounting information on the web does not serve the purpose of stake-holders. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) require a set taxonomy to reflect local (at country level) implementation of standards in order to enable those companies who are reporting under IFRS in different countries. This is required for enhancing efficiency and comparability of accounting information.

With this end in view, XBRL International, a non-profit consortium of 200 major US

companies (including the world's leading accounting, technology, government and financial services bodies) developed XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) to benefit investors, accountants, regulators, executives, financial analysts and information providers.

Though a member of the XHTML (Extensible Hyper Text Mark-up Language) family, XBRL is not a computer language. It is a technology for By Prof. Kamal Ghosh Ray preparing, transmitting and Professor (Finance) and Dean, Graduate analysing financial data. It is School of Management freely licensed to the public. It is a subset of Extensible Markup Language (XML) which is sophisticated and tag-based.

It resembles HTML coding.

The XBRL is used as a reporting structure in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and other forms of reporting for business results, such as tax filing and regulatory reporting. XBRL makes data in a database efficient as it is The

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Future beneficiaries of XBRL would be accountants, auditors, CEOs and CFOs for whom it will be a vehicle for transparency.

According to a study, two-thirds of accounting software vendors have either made XBRL-enabled software or will do so by December 2004

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capable of determining how information is stored and how a software presents, manipulates and exchanges information by using a set of standards and dictionaries.

The manual re-keying of accounting data and information for analysis can be done away with XBRL tags which enable automated processing of business information by computer software. Computers can recognise the information in an XBRL document, select, analyse, store and exchange it with other computers, and also present it automatically in a variety of ways for users.

The XBRL can handle financial data with reduced chances of error and at increased speed. Instead of treating financial information as a block of text (as seen in a standard internet page or a printed document), it provides an identifying tag for individual item of data in financial statements, eg, a company's net profit has its own unique tag.

By using the XBRL data from different companies and divisions, different accounting systems can be assembled quickly and efficiently. Once data is gathered in XBRL, different types of reports using varying sub-sets that can be produced with minimal effort. The finance department of a company can quickly and reliably generate internal management reports, financial statements for publication, tax and other regulatory filings, as well as credit reports for lenders, etc.

XBRL adoption leads to more value-added analysis, review, reporting and decisionmaking.

As XBRL is extensible, flexible and can be abbreviated as 'eXBRLf'.

It can be adapted to a wide variety of requirements. All types of organisations can use XBRL for improving efficiency in handling business and financial information with

reduced cost and time. As a result, channel partners in the financial information supply chain can benefit, irrespective of whether they prepare, transmit or use business data.

Companies can use XBRL to streamline their processes for collecting and reporting financial information. Consumers of financial data, including investors, analysts, financial institutions and regulators, can receive, find, compare and analyse data much more rapidly and efficiently if it is in XBRL format.

XBRL can handle data in different languages and accounting standards. It can be adapted in a flexible manner to meet varying requirements and uses. Data can be transformed into XBRL by suitable mapping tools or can be generated in XBRL format by appropriate software.

XBRL debuted at Microsoft and is being increasingly adopted in several nations.

The future beneficiaries of XBRL are accountants, auditors, CEOs and CFOs for whom it will be a vehicle for transparency. According to an XBRL study, twothirds of accounting software vendors have either made XBRL-enabled software or will do so by December 2004 in view of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 compliance from January 1, 2005.

Domain experts and application developers are concentrating on encoding more precise information about financial reporting concepts in XBRL taxonomies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the US may permit public companies to file financial reports using technology that tags data for easy online searches and analyses. The SEC said it is taking a closer look at the potential benefits of tagging financial results using XBRL and may propose a rule shortly that would allow its voluntary use by public companies, starting with yearend reports for 2004.

India has joined the XBRL club, but, it has a long way to go.

(The writer can contacted at kghoshray@iilm.edu)

SOCIABLE

GROWTH NEEDS THREE ENGINES

W

E ARE living in a world of edge of local context. It enables undergreat challenges and sharp standing of, say, how men, women and contrasts. There’s change children in a Kolkata slum differ from in every sphere. The last those living in Bosnian villages or in few decades have witnessed tremendous Brazilian rainforests. It requires an human and economic development. understanding of power dynamics, culGlobalisation and universalisation have ture and value systems, as well as inforprovided great opportunities for poverty mal and formal societal structures. reduction and growth of human factor.

These issues need attention and planThe flow and utilisation of information is ning for the overall growth of any not restricted to a particular group or

By Dr Anima Sharma community. community.

The process of social development is Still, all is not well. There are deepcontext-driven. Therefore, the global Visiting Fellow seated imbalances threatening sociocommunity has neither recognised one political sustainability. With more than a universal definition nor ascribed unibillion people living on less than a dollar a day, the gap formly to one of the several useful conceptual framebetween the rich and the poor is widening. Millions are works associated with social development. The World affected by war and other forms of violence, and many Bank has carried out researches in various parts of the excluded from opportunities because they lack the capa- globe to understand this process in differing socio-culbilities to make the system work for them. tural and socio-economic settings. It has built its social This demands an indevelopment priorities depth analysis of the principles revealed Social justice has three aspects: Economic, on social sector in the conby operational experisocial, and environmental. Only that devel- ence. According to text for proper management. Therefore, it is it has been opment which manages to balance these them, pertinent to take up the shown inclusion, cohethree groups is sustainable issue of poverty with sion and accountability regard to socio-ecomake development nomic development operations more effecand sustainable development. tive and sustainable.

Social issues are intricately related with development.

Inclusive societies promote equal access to opportuThe term ‘growth’ is often used in an economic sense nities. To move toward this goal, societies must alter while ‘development’ encompasses a number of social rules that limit capabilities of the disempowered and issues and processes. The two are different yet insepa- encourage participation of diverse individuals and rable and, hence, often used together. groups in development activities.

In academic parlance, development is understood as Cohesive societies are willing and able to work positive economic change. In the same vein, social devel- together to address common needs, overcome opment can be described as positive social change. Pos- constraints and consider diverse interests. They resolve itive social change refers to transformation that equips differences in a non-confrontational way, promoting peace society to reduce poverty. It is based on a deep knowl- and security.

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Accountable institutions are transparent and serve public interest in an effective and fair way. They are responsive to people’s needs.

Accountability is the obligation of power-holders (those who can exercise political, economic or other forms of power) to account for, or to take responsibility for, their actions.

Inclusive, cohesive societies with accountable institutions are better able to sustain lasting development.

In the general development debate, it is agreed that economic growth is necessary but not sufficient to improve well-being and reduce poverty. Instead, poverty reduction efforts must address economic, human, environmental, financial and social dimensions of development.

In particular, it has become clear that economic and social development is inextricably linked. This has been most clearly articulated in the Millennium Development Goals, which are grounded in "fundamental values ‌essential to international relations in the twenty-first century" such as freedom, equality, solidarity and tolerance.

International commitment to social development has been solid, from the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration to the Social Charter agreed upon at the 2004 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The World Bank's vision and public commitments are consistent with this comprehensive approach to poverty reduction. It needs mentioning here that the World Bank has strengthened its operations through attention to social development and what it will do to intensify those efforts.

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is highly debatable and defies uniform interpretation. The concept keeps continuously changing, extending and refining. According to the United Nations World Commission on Envi-

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Source: Human Development Report 1996, published by the United Nations Development Programme

ronment and Development (UNWCED), development is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

It is usually understood that this "inter-generational" justice would be impossible to achieve in the absence of social justice and if economic activities of some groups jeopardise the well-being of people belonging to other groups, living in other parts of the world.

Imagine, for example, emission of greenhouse gases, generated mainly by industrial countries, which can lead to global warming and flooding of certain low-lying islands — resulting in the displacement and impoverishment of entire nations.

The following figure shows the delicate balance among the economic, social and environmental processes to maintain ongoing sustainable development.

Social justice defined as equality of opportunities for well-being, both within and among generations of people, has three aspects: Econom-

ic, social, and environmental. Only development that manages to balance these three groups is sustainable. Ignoring any one aspect can threaten economic growth and retard development.

Thus, sustainable development (SD) implies economic growth together with the protection of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other.

The essence of this form of development is a stable relationship between human activities and the natural world, which does not diminish the prospects for future generations to enjoy a quality of life as good as our own.

Observers believe that participatory democracy, free of vested interests, is a prerequisite for SD. Others say that the concept of SD should include preserving the environment for other species as much as for human beings.

People must share and care for Earth. Humanity must take no more from nature than what it can replenish. This means adopting lifestyles that respect nature.

This can be done without rejecting the many benefits that modern technology, provided that technology works within set limits. There are over 100 definitions of sustainability and sustainable development, but the best known is the World Commission on Environment and Development's. This suggests that development is sustainable when it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

The term refers to achieving economic and social development in ways that do not exhaust a country's natural resources. In the Commission's words: "... sustainable development is ... a process of change in which exploitation of resources, direction of investments, orientation of technological development and institutional change are made consistent with future and present needs".

It is easy to say which nations are rich and which poor. But indicators of wealth which reflect the quantity of resources available to a society, provide no information about the allocation of those resources — for e.g., about equitable distribution of income, about resources used to provide free health and education services and about the effects of production and consumption on environment.

It is no wonder then that countries with similar average incomes can differ substantially when it comes to people's quality of life: Access to education and healthcare, employment opportunities, availability of clean air and safe drinking water, the threat of crime and so on.

Goals and Means of Development Different countries have different developmental priorities. But to compare their development levels, one would first have to see what development really means and

what it is supposed to achieve.

Indicators measuring this achievement could then be used to judge a nation’s relative progress.

Is the goal merely to increase national wealth or is it something more subtle? Perhaps, it means improving the well-being of a majority of the population? Or ensuring people's freedom? May be, increasing their economic security?

Recent UN documents measure human development by life expectancy, adult literacy, access to education, as well as by people’s average income as a tool to exer-

REFERENCES 1. Asian Development Bank 1995: A Review of Environmental Indicators. Asian Development Bank Report 2. Sharma, Anima (2003) SocioEconomic Development of Indian Tribes. Delhi: Mohit Publications.

3. United Nations 1996. Indicators of Sustainable Development Framework and Methodologies. United Nations, New York.

4. World Commission on Environment and Development 1987. Our Common Future Oxford University Press: Oxford.

5. United Nations Development Programme (1996 & 2003) Human Development Report 1996 & 2003 UNDP Publication: New York 6. http://www.undp.org.in /events/hdr2003/ 7. http://www.gdrc.org /sustdev/indicators.html 8. http://www.worldbank.org /socialanalysis

cise freedom of choice.

In a broader sense, the notion of human development incorporates all aspects of well-being, from good health to economic and political freedom. The 1996 Human Development Report says, "human development is the end, economic growth a means".

It is true that increasing national wealth enhances its potential to reduce poverty. But history offers several examples where economic growth has not been followed by human development. Instead, growth was achieved at the cost of greater inequity, higher unemployment, weakened democracy, loss of cultural identity, or over consumption of resources needed by future generations.

As the link between economic growth and social and environmental issues is better understood, experts tend to agree that this kind of growth is inevitably unsustainable.

To be sustainable, economic growth must be constantly nourished by fruits of human development such as improvement in workers' knowledge and skills along with opportunities for their efficient use: The more and better the jobs, the better will be the conditions for new businesses to grow and greater will be the democracy at all levels of decision making.

Conversely, slow human development can put an end to fast economic growth. According to the 1996 Human Development Report: “During 1960-1992, not a single country succeeded in moving from lopsided development with slow human development and rapid growth to a virtuous circle in which human development and growth can become mutually reinforcing.”

Since slower human development has invariably been followed by slower economic growth, this growth pattern was labeled a "dead end."

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IILM Edge

SCHOOLING TO BE DIFFERENT How to build an institutional image

B

UILDING A powerful image becomes essential to first differentiate and providing world class and then build a distinct image. management education is not Image building is important to: just about getting the right Build a strong institutional brand, difinfrastructure, process and curricula. It ferent from its competitor is about an institute’s differential advan- Attract high-quality students and tage and value. encourage enrollment In a market-driven world, all institu- Induct high-calibre academic profestions hanker for their share of footfalls sionals as faculty and eyeballs. They want to top the con- Attract attention of the corporate sumer's memory set. These eyeballs world for synergetic academia-industry and footfalls are only available when relationship one has created a positive impression.

Correct and change preconceived Why do we all, as connotions about the instisumers, regard everytution thing from the stable of Garner more consultTatas reliable, Sony ing and management technologically best and training assignments Omega worth possessfrom business corporaing? It's because of tions and Government brand power. Hence, institutions communicating 'what Build and strengthen you are' and 'who you alumni loyalty and supBy Ashita Aggarwal port are' is extremely essential.

Establish ties with uniFellow, Marketing Area It is not only corporate versities and institutions entities but also B-Schools that need to abroad attract these eyeballs and footfalls.

Attract collaboration for research with An image is a set of attitudes or beliefs known organisations in India and that a person holds of a specific institu- abroad tion. It is one of the greatest assets of an A positive image is critical in the institution. entire input-output cycle. It Why do management institutions need to ensures induction of the best build image? resource, leading to quality output In the last decade, the number of B- that is appreciated by all stakeSchools has grown three-fold, to around holders.

1030, with each competing for quality Image-building is no easy task. It students, faculty, donors and industry is a complex process requiring attention. For a B-School to survive and great effort. Powerful images do stand out in such an environment, it not happen by accident, but by The

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design. Image-building requires commitment from top management, a clear understanding of how you and your competition are perceived and a set of achievable image goals. It is equally important to understand and communicate 'what your stakeholders want from you' and not what you want from yourself. The ideals and philosophies of an institution have to be translated into message which stakeholders can relate to and desire for.

Image-building has five steps: Step 1: Foundation A B-School has to decide on its philosophy and what it stands for.

An Institution needs to analyse and answer the following before embarking on this journey.

What is the context of B-School?

The focus Competence and strengths The footprint: local, national, global or holistic?

Who are the targeted stakeholders?

What is the role of institutional brand in achieving strategic and financial objectives?

What are the strategic goals?

How will the brand help the institution grow?

Step 2: What to communicate The institution needs to make an effort to communicate the right message to the right set of customers. Now, the question which

that internal stakeholders have consistency in communicating about the institution.

Step 4: Communication process After identifying the institution's core strengths, they have to be communicated. If students do not know of an institution, they can't act on the messages. The message needs to be communicated, using the right medium, appropriate timing and in right frequency. Most institutes use public relations, marketing publications and print and institutes face here is "what should the message contribute in a big way electronic advertising, besides othone communicate". There is no sin- in the formation of institutional ers. The medium has to be decided gle thing which goes into the forma- brand image. The three important keeping in mind the target audition of an institution. Research attributes of designing a message ence. Education services are intanshows that powerful images are are: Accuracy, Clarity, and gible, therefore personal communibuilt on coherence between the Consistency. cations i.e., direct interaction with institution's strengths and its target Accuracy means reliability and representatives and word of mouth audience value. accurateness of the information pro- influence plays an important role.

Communicating attributes a vided. Institutions tend to hype comStep 5: Collecting Feedback B-School can use: munication material. However, if the Even the best of planned mesResources same is not seen or experienced by sages can be misinterpreted by tar Quality of the faculty individuals after coming there, they get audience, leading to faulty Quality of the students would form a negative image of an image-building. Therefore, the Quality of facilities (infrastructure) institution and spread negative institution needs to have a firstProcess hand feel of how it is Teaching-learning being perceived.

With a wide choice among B-schools, it is methodology I feel that the imperative to re-think marketing principles above goal can not National and international exposure to stuachieved in and make an effort towards differentiation be dents absence of a leader Opportunities for who can inspire and internships word about it. It is imperative that motivate, invest time and Research orientation to students the information provided by an insti- resources and identify with the Value-added tution should be accurate, truthful place.

Curriculum and demonstrable.

Over the years, management Focus on skills besides academics Clarity has several dimensions: schools have been teaching their Student self-development Are your individual messages graduates how to build strong Placements clear and understandable? brands. They have been advising The above framework helps an Do people know why they are corporate houses on image-buildinstitution explore its strength and, receiving the messages? ing. Then, why are they not able to as marketing friends would say, After reading, do they know translate these learnings on to 'identify the positioning platform' for what they are expected to do next? themselves? Education has been themselves.

The third, but the most critical thought to be beyond the purview Step 3: Message Formulation component of a strong image, is con- of marketing principles. But today, The core strengths need to be sistency. It helps reinforce the mes- when supply is outgrowing communicated.

Communication sage and thus registers itself strong- demand and so-called customers involves an exchange between the ly in a stakeholder's mind. Many have a wide choice among Binstitution and the audience. studies across the world reflect that schools, it is imperative for instiExchange requires words and visu- different departments and individu- tutes to re-think marketing princials which are tangible. This is a als in a business school communi- ples and make a conscious effort message. Structure and content of cate different things. It is important towards differentiation.

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SHELF MANNERS

OF SOCIAL

MARKETING Ps S OCIAL MARKETING was born as a discipline in the 70s when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realised that the marketing principles being used to sell products to consumers could be used to sell ideas, attitudes and behaviours. Kotler defines social marketing as “differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organisation.

Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviours not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.�

This technique has been used extensively in global health programmes, especially for contraceptives and oral rehydration therapy. It is being used more frequency in the US for topics as diverse as drug abuse, heart disease and organ donation.

Like commercial marketing, the focus is on the consumer — on learning what people want and need rather than on trying to persuade them to buy what we produce.

The planning process takes this consumer focus into account by addressing the elements of the "marketing mix."

This refers to decisions about: The conception of a product Price Distribution (Place) Promotion These are often called the "Four Ps" of marketing. Social marketing adds a few more Ps. Product The social marketing "product" is not necessarily a physical offering. A continuum of products exists, ranging from tangible, physical products (e.g., condoms), to services (e.g., medical exams), practices (e.g., breastThe

24 Edge

By Meenakshi Gandhi Fellow Marketing

feeding, ORT or eating a heart-healthy diet) and finally, more intangible ideas (e.g., environmental protection).

In order to have a viable product, people must first perceive that they have a genuine problem and that the product offering is a good solution for that problem. The role of research here is to discover consumer perception of the problem and the product, and to determine how important he feels it is to take action against the problem.

Price Price refers to what the consumer must do in order to obtain the social marketing product. This cost may be monetary, or it may require the consumer to give up intangibles such as time or effort, or to risk embarrassment and disapproval. If the costs outweigh the benefits for an individual, the perceived value of the offering will be low and it will be unlikely to be adopted. However, if the benefits are perceived as greater than their costs, chances of trial and adoption of the product is much greater.

In setting the price, particularly for a physical product, such as contraceptives, there are many issues to consider. If the product is priced too low, or provided free of charge, the consumer may perceive it as being low in quality. On the other hand, if the price is too high, some will not be able to afford it. Social marketers must balance these considerations, and often end up charging at least a nominal fee to increase perceptions of quality and to confer a sense of "dignity" to the transaction. These perceptions of costs and benefits can be

determined through research, and used in positioning the product.

Place Place describes the way the product reaches the consumer. For a tangible product, this refers to the distribution system — including the warehouse, trucks, sales force, retail outlets where it is sold, or places where it is given out for free.

For an intangible product, the place is less clear-cut, but refers to decisions about the channels through which consumers are reached with information or training. This may include doctors' offices, shopping malls, mass media vehicles or inhome demonstrations.

Another element of place is deciding how to ensure accessibility of the offering and quality of the service delivery. By determining the activities and habits of the target audience, as well as their experience and satisfaction with the existing delivery system, researchers can pinpoint the most ideal means of distribution for the offering.

Promotion The last P is promotion. Because of its visibility, this element is often mistakenly thought of as comprising the whole of social marketing.

However, as can be seen by the previous discussion, it is only one piece. Promotion consists of the integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product.

Public service announcements or paid ads are one way, but there are other methods such as coupons, media events, editorials, Tupperware-style parties or in-store displays. Research is crucial to determine the most effective and efficient vehicles to reach the target audience and increase demand.

The primary research findings can also be used to gain publicity for the programme at media events and in news stories.

Additional Social Marketing Ps Publics: Social marketers often have different audiences that their programme has to address in order to be successful. "Publics" refers to both the external and internal groups involved in the programme.

External publics include the target audience, secondary audiences, policymakers, and gatekeepers, while the internal publics are those who are involved in some way with either approval or implementation of the programme.

Partnership: Social and health issues are often so complex that one agency can't make a dent by itself. You need to team up with other organisations to really be effective. You need to figure out which organisations have similar goals to yours — not necessarily the same goals — and identify ways you can work together.

Policy: Social marketing programmes can do well in motivating individual behaviour change, but that is difficult to sustain unless the environment they're in supports that change for the long run. Often, policy change is needed, and media advocacy programs can be an effective complement to a social marketing programme.

Purse Strings: Most organisations that develop social marketing programmes operate through funds provided by sources such as foundations, governmental grants or donations. This adds another dimension to the strategy development-namely, where will you get the money to create your programme?

Example of a Marketing Mix Strategy As an example, the marketing mix strategy for a breast cancer screening campaign for older women might include the following elements: The product could be any of these three behaviours: Getting an annual mammogram, seeing a physician annually for a breast exam and performing monthly self-

exams The price of engaging in these behaviours includes the monetary costs of the mammogram and exam, potential discomfort and/or embarrassment, time and even the possibility of actually finding a lump The place that these medical and educational services are offered might be a mobile van, local hospitals, clinics and worksites, depending upon the needs of the target audience Promotion could be done through public service announcements, billboards, mass mailings, media events and community outreach The "publics" you might need to address include your target audience (let's say low-income women age 40 to 65), the people who influence their decisions like their husbands or physicians, policymakers, public service directors at local radio stations, as well as your board of directors and office staff Partnerships could be cultivated with local or national women's groups, corporate sponsors, medical organisations or media outlets.

The policy aspects of the campaign might focus on increasing access to mammograms through lower costs, requiring insurance and Medicaid coverage of mammograms or increasing federal funding for breast cancer research.

The purse strings, or where the funding will come from, may be governmental grants, such as from the National Cancer Institute or the local health department, foundation grants or an organisation like the American Cancer Society.

Each element of the marketing mix should be taken into consideration as the programme is developed, for they are the core of the marketing effort. Research is used to elucidate and shape the final product, price, place, promotion and related decisions.

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I

T WAS almost 20 years ago that I met a Director of the Institute of Education, London, at a cocktail which followed his talk earlier during the day. At that time, I was researching the development of ancillary small industries in the vicinity of steel plants of the country, at NISTADS, an institute of the CSIR. One of the issues of the study related to the passing of management skills by large industries to small units through commercial association. The managerial skills of people in large companies could be passed on to the ancillary industries, as they were assisted to produce their goods to the requirement of the large organisations who were their consumers.

In the course of the evening, I was able to speak very briefly to the speaker from the Institute of Education, about certain aspects of education of which he had spoken and their relevance to the kind of situation I was encountering.

The exact context of our discussion is, I am afraid, lost through the passage of years, but I still remember the Director's comment on the essence of education: "Education is a social process," he said. As he spoke, he gestured with his hands to depict a sense of interaction between people. He soon moved on to other people in the room.

After all these years, I am often reminded of this observation, when I come across elements of the massive literature on organisational learning and the many associated

INFORMAL INTERACTION BOOSTS PERFORMANCE

subjects dealing with learning.

I am reminded of this description even more when I talk to my colleagues at IILM in the context of education and learning in the institute, a subject in which many of us have recently been immersed.

Across the world, it is being widely recognised that, in an organisation, people depend heavily on other people for information or knowledge which is essential for the performance of their tasks. To take one instance, it has been recognised that people in the same line of function learn more effective ways of conducting their tasks by talking to colleagues who have performed similar tasks.

The term Communities of Practice has been established to describe the informal networks which foster this form of learning. Such informal groups have been noticed and encouraged (without interference or control which would destroy them) in large organisations in the West. In India too, a discussion with top executives reveal instances they have encountered when employees have been teaching themselves through a network of informal interaction with fellow workers. How much can conversation (as opposed to talk) give us if we create the time and space for meaningful exchanges on issues of concern? More importantly, how much is already happening amid us which needs expansion?

Another way of looking at this is to ask: Is the social process of education alive amid us?

LEARN to CONVERSE

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TALKING POINT

By Prof. Sumantra Nag

CLASS OF 2004

Education synergy vital Role of Government in promoting management education

E

DUCATION IN general, and higher education in particular, are fundamental to a knowledge-based society. Indian higher education has been in the limelight ever since Independence. Knowledge has to keep pace with the very ambience of change.

The economic reform policies introduced in the 1990s contributed to

By Dr. Raj a stupendous increase in demand for educated manpower. India has one of the largest systems of higher education in the world. There has been an increase of 11.5 times in universities, 12.35 times in colleges, 60.21 times in student’s enrolment, 25 times in teachers and 20 times in non-teaching staff in the last 50 years.

The present decade is witnessing phenomenal changes, changes which have established that no nation can isolate itself from the rest of world. Globalisation and economic integration is perceived in terms of opening up of economies, liberal movement of goods and services and factors of production.

Engineering, Management, Architecture and Pharmacy Education, too, have entered the ambit of international competition. Many foreign universities have come into India through a twinning arrangement and are employing new methods to attract students. Though some such arrangements are not approved by regulatory bodies like the UGC Agrawal and the AICTE, it is abundantly clear that competition has become fierce and global.

Institutions of Higher Education At present, there are 273 university-level institutions in India, including 52 deemed universities.

Of these, 162 are traditional, 40 provide education in agriculture, 18 in medicine, 33 in engineering and technology, three in information technology, one in journalism, six in law and 10 are open universities.

There are three types of colleges: Government, university and privately-managed colleges which may be aided/unaided by the Government. Out of these, 15 to 20 per cent are Government colleges man-

aged by respective State Governments. Private trusts or societies comprise 70 per cent of the colleges. More than one third of these are in rural areas. During 19992000, there were 11, 00,831 colleges, including 1,520 women’s colleges. Total enrollment of students is 77, 33,612, including 27,41,612 women students.

As per the AICTE, the total number of postgraduate, degree and diploma institutions in engineering, pharmacy and management added up to 4145 during 20022003 and their total intake of students was 5,42,747. The number of autonomous colleges was 131 as on March 31, 2000.

Regulation of Institutions The academic aspects of these colleges are under the purview of the respective universities or another body as the case may be.

The affiliation, disaffiliation, admission policy and fees structure for various courses are regulated by universities, statutory bodies and the Government. As per a recent Supreme Court judgment, the State regulation over unaided privately-managed colleges has been diluted and brought down to the minimum.

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There are apex bodies which promote and regulate higher education in India. These include Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Central Advisory Board of Education, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the All India Council for Technical Education, Medical Council of India.

The challenges and opportunities of global competition in the emerging knowledge economy have placed a major task before the nation. One important need is to understand where we stand in the competitive world.

The major challenge for education is to develop an efficient and proactive quality-oriented education system which fine-tunes itself regularly to meet the changing demands of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is something many institutions all over the world are struggling to achieve.

More than 50 years after Independence, India is still one of the 100s of developing countries. Nearly 300 Indians live below the poverty line and we are yet to attain 100 per cent literacy and health for all.

One way of achieving this goal is to increase industrial and agricultural productivity along with quality. It is important to recognise that India has a population of 700 million young people who are below 35.

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This is a big force. Launching the vision for the nation will bring the younger force into action. The challenges of inequalities resulting through the rise of market forces and the threats doled out by WTO can be reduced by collaborative efforts and private participation.

However, educational establishments have largely reacted to the situation by frequent syllabus reviews, structure diversification and introduction of novel ways of delivering the service, like part-time courses, evening classes, in-service courses, distance learning, online courses, twinning agreements and franchising.

What is needed though is collaboration among Central Universities, State Universities, Deemed Universities, Institutes of National Importance, Central Research Institutes and Apex Chambers of Commerce & Industry like the FICCI, Assocham and the CII. Even industries and top business and engineering institutes in private sector need to come together. Such a grand collaboration will lead to a dynamic, flexible and diversified system with better linkages in agriculture, industry, trade and commerce.

Besides, now more than ever before, a togetherness is needed in emerging special areas like biotech-

nology, biophysics, information technology, microbiology, botany and plant pathology, entomology and zoology, language and communication courses, mathematical modelling, agri-business, agri-meteorology, computer science, environmental sciences, agro-ecology, postharvest technology, conservation of genetic resources, bio-diversity, rainwater harvesting and watershed development, space technology, trade and exports.

A synergy on these will make India competitive and create more employment opportunities at the domestic and global levels. These will also be the steps towards reducing inequalities in enrolment in different courses and would develop a balanced approach in human resources.

India has not been able to achieve its objective to commit six per cent of its GNP because of severe resource crisis and the competing resource demands from other social sectors.

The result has been a serious — under-funding of higher education with very little investment in support facilities for teaching and in research facilities like libraries and laboratories.

In short, the Indian education is under severe resource crunch. The flow of resources into institutions has been inconsistent, inadequate and intermittent. As a result, physical plant and staff development and support facilities for teaching and research have been affected. Resource crunch and the need for wider mobility of educational services across the border as a profit activity give us the rationale for private participation in higher education.

HEALING TOUCH

It’s all about caring

I

WAS in a meeting with my boss Mike: That's excellent… I… mean that's when his phone rang. As always, he very nice of him. turned on the speaker phone, and I Sat: Yes. was able to hear the entire converMike: Listen, that file you have been worksation. Sat, one of our senior programing on, you'll be sending that to me tomorrow mers was on the line. His real name is right.

Satish, but being in the US for some Sat: (complete silence). time, he had become an acronym.

Mike: (After a brief pause) I just get a litIn a rather gloomy voice he broke the tle jittery when we start falling behind news that his father had passed away in schedule.

Yavar Ehsan India and he would not be able to come Sat: Yes sir... I suppose I'll work on it from to work for a couple of days. Sitting four home and e-mail it to you in the morning.

Assistant Professor feet in front of Mike, our boss and coMike: (Regaining composure) That’s wonowner of the company, with just his desk in between us, derful.

I could see the colour of his face change. I felt bad too, Sat: (no response) but apparently, not as bad as Mike. I appreciated his Mike: Sat, you take care of yourself and I suppose I'll see concern until the conversation proceeded further. you at 8 am, Monday.

Mike: Oh my God! I am sorry to hear that…..Are you feeling Sat: Yes sir. alright?

Mike: Ok bye… and don't forget to send me that file.

Sat: I'm OK. Sat: Yes. Mike: Will you be going to India?

Sitting in that room that day I could see right through Sat: Not right now. I was there recently and it is Mike and it was pathetic. I didn't even difficult for me to go again so soon. want to think what Sat must have felt Mike: (Looking up at the ceiling) after such a cold conversation Whew….(not audible to Sat).

Sat: My elder brother is there and he will be taking care of things.

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When a person accepts a job any given employee, productivity is ment to do so. It can create bonds offer, he agrees to the terms and bound to take a nosedive if he is which can fill up many other shortconditions of the job and both par- having serious issues elsewhere. comings of an organization and, ties accept each other on face And if you feel that is beyond your more importantly, help promote value. This bond is similar to a realm, how about personal issues that feel-good factor within the marriage in some ways, because, of an individual at work. company which boosts productwhen you start living with each Mary, one of the secretaries, who ivity. other only then you get to know the was with us for the past four years John is Mike's brother-in-law. He real person behind the façade. and had become the heart and sole used to work for GM as Operations However, unlike a marriage, in an of the company, resigned because Manager. When the company took employee-employer relationship she could not tolerate the cool air off, John left GM to work with many things can be compromised coming from the AC vent located Mike. Why? That’s the whole point, without too much trouble, which on top of her desk in her renovated that feel-good factor. It can make can make a world of difference. such a difference. At a mega corpoTake the case of Sat. In our comration like GM, he knew he could pany with over 200 employees, I never be as comfortable as he believe the number of persons who would be working with someone know his real name are no more he knew and who knew him. than what I can count on my John lost out on many benefits fingers. Expecting that someand had to settle for a salary one would bother to know cut as well. But what was who Satish Kumar is, who is more important to him was in his family, what are his that he got personalized interests, his likes and disattention. likes, I suppose that is askImagine what Mike would ing too much in a time and have done if that phone call age when the only thing that was from John and not Sat. matters is his e-mail id and Certainly, that personal phone number. involvement, concern and relaWe can do our own assesstion can make so much of a difment and look around us for a ference! minute. How many of us actually Managers today have to realise know the people that their perin our compatouch, conToday’s managers have to realise that their personal sonal nies and busisideration and touch, consideration and constructive communication c o n s t r u c t i v e nesses. If that is asking for too communication are tools which come free of cost and end up being much, lets narare tools which much more effective than mere theoretical knowledge come free of cost row that down to our own and end up being from even the best B-Schools in the world department and more effective if that, too, is a bit much, how office. Her repeated pleas fell on than mere theoretical knowledge about people who share office deaf ears and when she couldn't from the best B-Schools in the space with us. We see them every take it any more, she left. world. day for months and years. Does it It is generally the small things What good is your Harvard MBA matter if we don't really know who that make all the difference. Just if the people who matter the most, is behind that suit and tie? asking about someone’s children, who are at the receiving end, those If your answer is ‘no’ then con- or how someone’s parents are who are practically seeing the sider this: An average working per- doing, or inquiring about the out- results of the certificates posted on son spends more of his daily prime come of a car loan for which your your wall —your subordinates — time with his colleagues than with colleague had applied, or inquiring give you an 'F' in management? his family. If you are a manager about a spouse’s health, can work But don't worry, they won't. After and your sole objective is on-the- wonders. The point simply is to all, who wants to peel an onion? job productivity of your subordi- show a gesture of concern. It doesnates, then don’t you feel that for n’t take too much effort or investThe

30 Edge

MUST-DO Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives — William A Foster

W

HY DO we need to discuss, talk or write about something which is a precondition? Isn't quality in management an assumption that students and stakeholders believe they will get from a Business-School? Maybe, the discussion is necessary for the debate that is on between quantity and quality, between the cost of quality and the returns on quantity. I would say there is really no scope for a conflict. The only kind of education we should have is quality education.

Quality is defined in various ways by quality gurus. Juran had defined quality as "fitness for use." For Crosby, "quality is conformance to requirements". Demming defines it as a "function of continuous improvement based on reduction in variation around the desired output". Feigenbaun’s perspective is that "quality is a way of running a business organisation".

Education, on the other, hand derives its meaning from the Latin word educatum, which means ‘to train’. Educere means to lead out, to draw out, to bring up and to raise. This is what education should mean. It should provide enough to the learner to draw out the best in him. The worth of an educational system is determined by the extent to which it teaches young people how to live rather than how to make a living.

Quality matters For management education in particular, quality would mean its ability to give to its students skills, knowledge and attitude that have a long-term value. Education in B-Schools should enhance the personality of the students in a way that allows them to evolve each day, to know who they are, to understand how they fit into an everchanging world, teaches them to value new ideas and new people and imparts them the skill to be able to renew themselves over time to time and, thus, fit into whatever the context or the environment may be.

The US National Science Foundation's taskforce on Total Quality Management has come up with a definition of quality in engineering education which can be adapted for management education as well. It says: "Quality education is the development of intellectual skills and knowledge that equip graduates to contribute to society

By Sapna Popli Assistant Prof.-Marketing

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through productive and satisfying processes used.

Network of collaborators careers as innovators, decision Quality of the value-addition Integrate Institution with makers and leaders in the global process: A learning-centred, cross- community economy of the 21st century." functional and integrated teaching Academic and Industry Quality education demands a environment, a contemporary and collaboration process of continuous improvement relevant curriculum, academic cul Integrate local with global and dramatic innovation in the stu- ture, free exchange of ideas, high Resource mobilisation through dent, employer and society. Profes- intellectual capability of the faculty. research and consulting sional educational institutes can Quality of Output: The output Balance between job market orienachieve this by systematically and quality is usually measured by the tation and social value creation collectively evaluating and refining average salary and growth of stuAbove all, it is visionary leadersystems, practices and culture of the dents in their organisations. The ship that makes the real difference institute. only way of enhancing the quality of in the quality of an institute. The An integrative approach towards output is to enhance the input and Baldrige National Quality Proquality infusion can take a manage- the value-addition quality. gramme (NIST, US) identifies leadment schools to the path of excel- External Environment ership as one of the core criteria lence. Thus, quality improvement Business Schools operate in a for performance excellence in edupractices have to be adopted at all cation. levels and, instead of a static qualiLeaders set directions and create ty environment, the need is to fola student-focused, learning-orientlow a dynamic quality practice. ed climate, clear and visible valQuality education Establishing dynamic quality ues, and high expectations practice would mean making along with creation of stratedemands a process of conquality a habit. A realisation gies, systems and methods tinuous improvement and drathat quality will work for the for achieving excellence, betterment of the institute is stimulating innovation and matic innovation in the student, the road to excellence. The building knowledge capaemployer and society. Professional future direction of quality in bilities. The inspiration and management education motivation for excellence educational institutes can achieve would mean a focus on both comes from leaders who, this by collectively evaluating the internal and the external through personal involveenvironments and a quality ment, communicate their and refining systems, pracapproach in all areas. vision, actions and perfortices and culture of the The focus areas for this are: mance to build values, leaderInternal Environment ship, commitment, and initiative institute Systems perspective: Viewing Bthroughout the organisation.

Schools from a systems perspective Management education, today, and mapping the entire system to aims at developing competent prowork on each process to be 100 per complex and competitive market. fessionals who have the right cent efficient in itself and also as an Managers are expected to operate knowledge, skills and attitude to input to the next process will help and perform in a diverse and work beyond boundaries of time, in not only achieving quality, but dynamic business environment. function and nationality. It needs to also identifying the weak links in The multiplicity and the complexity give the students the right kind of the process. The three main of variables in the operating envi- input in an environment that processes of this system are the ronment make quality in manage- equips them to deal with the cominput process, the value addition ment schools not only very critical plex nature of the changing busiprocess and the output process. but also crucial. Some areas in the ness environment.

Quality can be infused in all the external environment that need to In effect, instead of looking at three by various means: be addressed by management quality with a different perspective Quality of the input: Standardi- schools are: of being distinctive, consistent or sation of the intake process, evalu Regular environmental scanning excellent, a holistic and absolute ating the reliability and validity of for opportunities & threats view on quality would help the entrance tests and other Close contact with all stakeholders business schools achieve quality.

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Q

BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT UOTES

Speed of light used to be the fastest speed known to man. Now it's the speed of the office rumour Every great man of business has somewhere got a touch of an idealist in him A man's accomplishment in business depends partly on whether he keeps his mind or his feet on the desk

Baby-sitting is a big business because it meets a crying need

This is a story of an ingenious young man who desired to present his sweetheart with a gift. He decided that a perfume would be appropriate, but he did now know the brand she used and was too shy to ask. He solved the problem by taking her pet dog for a walk. Taking the animal into a store, he proceeded to instruct the astonished clerk to wave the stoppers of a large number of perfume bottles under the nose of the rather indifferent dog. At last, came a perfume which caused the dog to jump up excitedly and wag his tail. On this evidence, he bought his gift which turned out to be right

A memo is usually something uninteresting, about something unimportant written by someone uninformed to someone uninvolved A good business manager hires optimists as salesmen and pessimists to run the credit department Prosperity is something that businessmen create for politicians to take the credit for Among the chief worries of today's business executives is the large number of unemployed still on the payrolls

During Mark Twain's days as a newspaperman, he was Editor of a small Missouri newspaper. One day, he got a letter from a subscriber stating that he had found a spider in his paper and asking if this was an omen of good or bad luck.

Twain wrote: "Finding a spider in your paper is neither good luck nor bad. The spider was merely looking over our paper to see which merchant was not advertising so that he could go to that store, spin his web across the door and lead a life of undisturbed peace ever afterwards."

The famous tenor Giovanni Martinelli was once asked if he smoked.

"Tobacco! I would not think of it!" said the singer. "But," said one of the reporters, "didn't you once endorse a cigarette and say that it did not irritate your throat." "Of course I endorsed it and it is true that the cigarettes did not hurt my throat.

I never smoked them."

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INTERVIEW

A RENDEZVOUS WITH ADVANI At the moment, I am reading Who Are We? by Samuel P Huntington. It makes me think about the Indian national identity, although the book is on American national identity

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Born on November 8, 1929 in Karachi, Mr L K Advani is known for his sophistication and culture. An avid reader and film buff, he spoke extensively on his love of books and movies to a group of students and faculty from Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi. Excerpts: Which book is a must read for the young generation?

I started reading books when I was a teenager. At that time I was living in Hyderabad, Sindh, now in Pakistan. I was 14 years old when I joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The first question put to me by a senior and respected member of RSS was whether I liked reading books. Since I was interested in reading, he gave me Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. In those times and at that age, it was an extremely impressionable book and it influenced my life and thoughts in many ways. Today, it may not have any impact on me, but it did impress me then.

Another book I liked was Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the points the book makes is that for self-improvement or to become effective or efficient, you need not just sweet talk or remember birthdays. All these sophisticated things are fine, but what matters is basic honesty.

Inner characteristics make you effective. Earnestness counts for more than anything else.

Which book are you reading?

At the moment, I am reading Who are we? by Samuel P Huntington. It makes me think about the Indian national identity, although the book is on the American national identity. The Clash of

Civilisations by the same author was another interesting read. In the last few months, I read two very interesting books — Tuesdays with Mori and Five persons whom I met in Heaven. Both have been authored by Mitch Albom and are very touching. Tuesdays with Mori was more engrossing. I finished it in 3 hours flat.

What about Hindi novelists?

My mother tongue being Sindhi and medium of education being English, I did not know Hindi till I arrived here [in post-Partition India]. After 1947, I started learning Hindi and reading Hindi authors. I have read most works of Sarad and Bankim. Another Hindi author whom I liked was Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi. I have read Munshi's novels Rajadhiraj, Patan ni Prabhuta, and Jai Somnath. He wrote in Gujarati, but his translations were available in Hindi and English. I have also been influenced by Swami Vivekananda's books.

Any English classics?

In 1942, I was in D G National College in Hyderabad, Sindh. There I used to remain in the library reading the literature created by classical writers. I was extensively read authors like Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens and Jules Verne. Dumas

My first movie with Vajpayeeji was Phir Subah Hogi in 1955. We had gone to see it to cheers ourselves up after we lost the by-election to the Nayabazaar constituency despite working hard was a French author who fictionalised historical events and I enjoyed reading him. I found a deep influence of Dumas on Munshi. Munshi's novels were also based on facts of history.

Who is your favourite contemporary novelist?

Jeffrey Archer. I have also read John Grisham, but he’s not consistent. Also I would like to mention Alvin Toffler, whose books like Future Shock and Power Shift left me impressed.

When do you find time to read?

I read when I am travelling. Books are an important part of my life.

How much time do you get for films?

Basically, I watch DVDs at home.

The last movie that I saw was Lakshya at Chanakaya with my daughter. I am also fond of English War movies, my favourite being Bridge on the River Kwai.

Hitchcock is another of my favourites, I have watched nearly all his movies.

I would recommend Birds and Rear Window.

How do you like to watch movies —

with family, friends or alone?

I prefer watching films with my family. The last movie I went for with my entire family was Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

The next day, The Telegraph reported that I was seen buying popcorn and humming didi tera devar diwana. The Press gets too imaginative.

Who’s your favourite actor/actress?

Sanjeev Kumar is an all-time favourite. For versatility it’s Kamal Hasan. Wahida and Devika Rani are my favourite actresses. Tabu and Rani Mukherjee have potential.

What social message should movies deliver?

I don't subscribe to the idea that all movies should carry a message. A movie should have healthy entertainment.

Which was the first movie you and Vajpayeeji watched together?

It was in 1954 or 1955. We had just lost a by-election from Nayabazaar despite working very hard. So we decided to cheer ourselves up by watching Phir Subah Hogi.

Would you want to direct a film and on what subject?

My work and activity have been in the field of patriotism, character and discipline. I would like to convey these messages through my film.

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INTERVIEW RENU SUD KARNAD Executive Director, HDFC

DREAMGIRL OF HOUSE LOANS Renu Sud Karnad has been at the top of the HDFC ladder for a long time. Balancing home and work with finesse, she has emerged as a powerful professional who has contributed in building a thousand homes, just by ‘meeting people’ as she would put it You are the Executive Director of HDFC — is this how you had visualised yourself when young?

Not at all! My success is linked to HDFC’s success. It came in at the right time and place. When we started 26 years ago, there was nobody who would give housing loans. Either you borrowed from your fatherin-law or you waited till you retired.

The HDFC came in... I came in.

With a growing need for housing, the need for a service-oriented organisation made us an instant success.

What role has destiny played?

As a company, we were there at the right time, that’s destiny. But, since then, it has been all sweat and toil. We came in an era when there was only one body which gave home loans, that too in six months or more.

We endeavoured to give it in just six weeks. At a time when customer service was non-existent, we made it our benchmark. It was a difficult task to change mindsets. We ingrained in our young staff that if someone comes for money, don't think you are doing him a favour. Actually, he is The

36 Edge

By Dr. Tripti Pandey Desai the one giving you business.

Considering you had monopoly, how did the motivation to change mindsets come in?

Monopoly never clouded our mind.

We always thought ourselves as service providers. The ‘customer is king’

As a company, we were there at the right time.

That’s destiny. But since then, it has been all sweat and toil. We changed mindsets. We told our young staff, ‘don’t think you are doing the customer a favour. It is he who gets you the business

dictum came down to us from our first chairman H D Parekh.

What we did right was to hire fresh graduates. Imagine, you are 22 and you extend this loan to a man who comes back to you with a thanks and warm note: “My house warming will be incomplete without you for you are the one who gave me my house.” It’s a great kick! Even today I have people saying, "She is responsible for giving me my home!"

What is the training system like?

A lot of in-house training. At Lonavala, we have the HDFC School. It’s actually classroom training where trainers are our employees and trainees our freshers. We spend a lot of money and management time on training.

What are the qualities you seek in your team members?

We have never had a thing for qualification, like IIM-A. Housing loans aren't rocket science! You just need people who are pleasant and who like to meet people. Seventy per cent of our jobs are frontline jobs.

If the attitude is right and you have

basic training, we want you!

What were your skills?

I got into HDFC as a law graduate in its legal department. A year later, I moved to appraisals. What made me do well was exactly what I mentioned earlier — I liked meeting people and interacting with them.

Are managers born and not made?

To some extent, yes! You can learn some bit, but most of it is innate! As a manager, you must be willing to share your success. You need to be there when there is a problem. You are either born these traits or they are just not there.

You have to be empathetic and, at the same time, firm. The moment your team is comfortable with you, as in they know you aren't competing with them, your job is done.

Is there anything peculiar to this industry that so many women have made it to the top?

The number of women is more in Finance than in manufacturing.

Women getting into MBAs, Law and Finance has been the case even before I went to college.

Is there a glass ceiling and what can be done to break it?

With the huge number of women coming into the Finance Industry, its

Degrees are important but attitude is far more so. Be positive and have the fire in your belly to succeed. Love your job.

Remember, money is important but it is not everything. a good manager is one who can share success and make his team comfortable not going to be easy to keep the glass ceiling. My concern, however, is that a lot of women drop out for their children. Worrying about their wards’ education, they begin to think if it is worth it. If these women were to stay on, where would the glass ceiling be?

How many children do you have?

I have a daughter and a son. My daughter is in LSR, studying Economics Honours, and son has just gone to Perdu University for engineering. I wouldn’t have made it if I didn't have security. Fifty per cent

of my success goes to my mother-inlaw and the rest to my husband.

Is a supportive spouse an essential for a woman managers’ success?

You need a spouse who’s supportive and encouraging enough to make you think that you are somebody and you shouldn't give that up.

How much Work- Family conflict did you encounter?

I didn’t have to worry about the day-to-day caring of my children. It was more of a mental thing: ‘Am I there when my daughter is growing up? etc. My daughter was 8 when, one day, she returned from a friend’s house and announced: ‘We played HDFC’. That was the best compliment I ever got.

Which leadership qualities can a woman boast of?

Women nurture! They soften the men at the workplace.

Where from here?

Five years down the line, I wish to get involved with a cause — shelter and employment for women.

What’s your message for young management graduates?

Degrees are important but attitude is far so. Be positive and have the fire in your belly. Love your job. Money is important but not everything!

Renu Sud Karnad talking to Alok Kumar and Jyotika Dayal, PG II students from IILM The

Edge 37

PERSONABLE JRD TATA

TITAN IN A

NUTSHELL IN HIS younger days, JRD Tata had a scrapbook. Langston Hughes’ poem Dreams features in that scrapbook: Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That can not fly Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow JRD HELD on to his dreams. His dreams intertwined with the emergence of modern India in which he played an important role. He pioneered civil aviation on the subcontinent, funded Homi Bhabha's ambition to catapult India into the nuclear age and initiated the family-planning movement much before it became the official government policy.

The most understated success of JRD was to found TELCO in 1945 which later became the largest producer of commercial vehicles in India. Recognising JRD’s contribution in nation-building, the Government bestowed on him the nation’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna. He is the only businessman ever to have got that.

Born in Paris on July 29, 1904, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the second child of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife Sooni. The young Tata spent his early years in Hardelot, a beach town in France.

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By Rahul Mishra

JRD joined the Tata group at its group headquarters Bombay House to work under John Peterson, director-in-charge of Tata Steel, in 1925.

In 1938, on the death of Sir Nowroji Saklatvala, chairman of Tata Sons, JRD Tata was catapulted to the head of India's largest industrial empire. He was barely thirty-four then.

The Tata group, with its 14 companies, had a turnover of Rs 17 crore in 1938 and when JRD left its chairmanship in 1991 , it had touched a whopping Rs 10,000 crore. And, there were 95 companies in all important sectors of the economy.

During the last half of the 20th century, Tata entered several new businesses, many of them uncon-

ventional. They produced a vast range of products — from airlines to hotels, trucks to locomotives, soda ash and other heavy chemicals to pharmaceutical and financial services, tea, air-conditioning and even cologne.

The group seemed to make everything and do everything. One of Tata’s earliest achievements was to cajole 10 rival cement companies to merge and form the Associated Cement Companies (ACC), run by the Tatas.

JRD strengthened existing businesses such as steel, power and hotels. He guided the destiny of India's largest business house for well over half a century. In 1939, Tata Chemicals started its struggle towards pioneering a self-reliant, basic inorganic chemical industry for India. In 1945, Tata Steel promoted the Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (Telco) with the objective of making locomotives for the Indian Railways.

Today, Telco has emerged as the country's largest commercial vehicle producer.

He pioneered the commercial flying in India and his passion for flying was fulfilled with the formation of the Tata Aviation Service in 1932. He was made chairman of Indian Airlines and Air-India even after nationalisation of these two airlines in 1950s. He continued on this post till 1978.

Over the years, JRD helped establish many new enterprises.

I thank you for your letter of August 6, 1965 enquiring what have been the guiding principles which have kindled my path and career. I do not consider myself to be an illustrious personality, but, only an ordinary businessman and citizen who has tried to make the best of his opportunities to advance the cause of India’s industrial and economic development

His management philosophy was to let professionals run the company. According to him, the crux of the matter lay in finding a person with a deep sense of values and then giving him the latitude to carry on with his job.

JRD's management philosophy can be summed up in his own words. It is worth pondering over.

It sums up his personality and the values that were dead to him. Writing to an educationist at age 61, he said: “I thank you for your letter of August 6, 1965 enquiring what have been the guiding principles which have kindled my path and career. I do not consider myself to be an illustrious personality, but, only an ordinary businessman and citizen who has tried to make the best of his opportunities to advance the cause of India’s industrial and economic development. Any such guiding principles I might unconsciously have had in my life can be summarised as follows: That nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard work That one must think for oneself and never accept at face-value, slogans and catch phrases to which, unfortunately, our people are easily susceptible That one must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in any task however small, and never be satisfied with the second best That no success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and honest means Good human relations not only bring great personal rewards but are essential to the success of any enterprise.

How many managers work with this sense of commitment to work and country? I wonder. But then everybody can't be as legendary as JRD Tata.

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TRIBUTE TO PROF. SUMANTRA GHOSHAL

Company first for this Euroguru

By Kakoli Sen Professor Ghoshal was a beloved member of the London Business School community and his loss will be felt deeply by all of us for a very long time — Dean Laura Tyson on the demise of Prof Sumantra Ghoshal

P

ROFESSOR GHOSHAL died of a brain haemorrhage in March 2004 at Hampstead at age 55.

Born in 1948 in Kolkata, after graduating from Delhi University, Sumantra Ghoshal rose through the management ranks at Indian Oil Corporation for 12 years before moving to the US on a Fulbright Fellowship in 1981. As a Fulbright Fellow, he produced two Ph.D dissertations — one at MIT's Sloan School of Management and the other at Harvard Business School.

Next, he joined the INSEAD Business School at France and became a Fellow of the Advanced Institute of Management Research (AIM) in the UK. In 1994, he became a Professor of Strategic and International Management at the London Business School where he catalysed the creation of the Aditya Birla India Centre. He served as a member of the Committee of Overseers at Harvard and was Founding Dean of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Eulogised by The Economist as Euroguru, Prof. Ghoshal put forth the '525 rule' which meant that 25 per cent of a company’s sales revenue should accrue from products launched during the last five years.

He was recognised for his research on strategic and managerial issues confronting global companies.

Prof. Ghoshal penned 10 books, over 70 articles and several awardwinning case studies. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution, which he co-authored with Christopher Bartlett, has been listed in Financial Times as one of the 50 most influential management books.

It is in nine languages.

The Differential Network: Organizing the Multinational Corporation for Value Creation, co-authored with Nitin Nohria, won the prestigious George The

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The work that he did with Chris Bartlett on multinationals is a seminal piece of work — Tarun Khanna, Professor of Strategy, Harvard Business School I found Sumantra a wonderfully brilliant man. I always admired his deep commitment to India — Azim Premji Chairman, Wipro Sumantra Ghoshal has enriched many young minds all over the world by his books and articles, providing an insight to business, industry and management. His contribution to world institutes, including London Business School, is most noteworthy and his theories and philosophy will live forever, guiding future generations — Anil Ambani, Deputy Chairman and MD, Reliance Industries (One of Prof. Ghoshal's earliest and best known case studies was on Reliance Industries) He was the rare management guru who brought with him a unique mixture of theory and practice. His death is a big loss to academia and industry throughout the world — NR Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys

Terry Book Award in 1997. The Individualized Corporation won him the Igor Ansoff Award.

His last book, Managing Radical Change, won the Management Book of the Year Award in India. He continued to write for Corporate Dossier over the years, in many cases showcasing some of his research for the Indian audience. As a leading management theorist, Prof. Ghoshal was on the board of several companies, including McKinsey and Company, Committee of Overseers at Harvard Business School, Mahindra British Telecom and Duncan’s Goenka.

His model corporation is free from SBU mindset, places value on teamwork and emphasises that knowledge and technology belong to the organisation. According to him, new global companies have the following characteristics that set them apart from traditional ones: They view themselves as value creators rather than value appropriators They are continuous innovators They are not just economic en-

tities but social institutions.

How can one explain the emergence of such organisations? Prof.

Ghoshal’s answer was: Managers in these organisations had gone beyond strategy to purpose, beyond structure to processes and beyond systems to people. Strategy, structure and systems are still there but these three Ss had yielded ground to the three Ps — purpose, people and processes. Prof. Ghosal’s replacement of the Ss with the Ps are bold contributions to strategic management.

While Marx saw in the 19th century working class a progressive force that would usher the change from a market economy to a socialist economy, Prof. Ghosal saw in the managerial class of the 21st century the harbinger of a change from market to organisational economy.

Prof. Ghoshal, noted management thinker and Robert P Bauman professor of strategic leadership at the London Business School, will always be an icon of India’s most potent export — intellectual power — to the West in LBS.

ZERO NOT THE ONLY OLD STORY

1. Most great discoveries and inventions Europe is so proud of would have been impossible without a developed system of mathematics and this, in turn, would have been impossible if Europe had been shackled by the unwieldy system of Roman numerals.

The unknown man who devised the new system was from the world's point of view the most important son of India. His achievement, though easily taken for granted, was the work of an analytical mind of the first order, and he deserves much more honour than he has so far received.

2. The earliest example of the use of the Indian zero is in AD458 when it appeared in a surviving Jain work on cosmology.

But indirect evidence indicates that it must have been in use as early as 200 BC. At first, it was denoted by a dot. Later, the familiar circular symbol, 0, replaced the dot. The Indian decimal system was a regular one with each level ten times the previous one. Zero also acted as an operator. Thus, adding a zero to the end of a number string effected multiplication by 10 just as it does for us.

(A. L. Basham, The Wonder that was India, P- 498, pub-1989, Rupa & Co. New Delhi)

(From John D. Barrow 's book The book of Nothing; Pages- 35-52)

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3. The Indian system of counting is, probably, the most successful intellectual innovation ever devised by human beings. It has been universally adopted. It is the nearest thing we have to a universal language. When the Chinese encountered the Indian system in the Eighth Century, they adopted the Indian circular zero symbol and a full-place value notation with nine numerals (John D. Barrow 's The Book of Nothing; Pages 35-52)

4.In 628 AD, Indian astronomer Brahmagupta defined zero in this way and spelled out the algebraic rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying and most strikingly of all dividing with it. For example, "When shunya is added to a number or subtracted from a number, the number remains unchanged; and a number multiplied by shunya becomes shunya."

(From John D. Barrow's The book of Nothing; Pages-35-52)

5. We have seen that our numerical Zero is derived from shunya, meaning void or emptiness. In Sanskrit it is the name for the mark denoting emptiness or shunya-bindu, meaning an empty dot. This developed between the sixth and eighth centuries. By the ninth century, the assimilation of Indian mathematics by the Arab world led to the literal translation of shunya into Arabic — sifr, which also means empty or the absence of anything. The Arab word sifr was first transcribed into Medieval Latin in the thirteenth century in two forms — cifra or zefirum — and into Greek as tau — an abbreviation for zero. In the fourteenth century, Italians changed it to zefiro or zefro or zevero, which was eventually shortened in the Venetian dialect to zero, which we still use in English and French.

(From John D. Barrow 's book The Book of Nothing; Pages 35-52)

6. No description of ancient Indian mathematics can be complete without reference to the Shulva Sutra, which belongs to the literature of Vedic times (c.1500-c.200). Of the six parts of the Vedas (Sad-Vedangas), the sixth was Vedanga Kalpa. The name itself means rules of measurement. It is interesting that since lengths were measured by ropes, the word shulva later came to be known as rope. The origins of the sutras can be traced to the Vedas and they may have been known at least eight to nine centuries BC.The yajnas (sacrifices) were performed in Aryan/Vedic times to propitiate the divine powers or more generally as parts of religious rites.

The size of the platform for yajnas and other related issues provoked questions of measurement and hence of geometry. Shulva Sutra contains, for example, Pythagoras' theorem but not the proof of the theorem, as Euclid’s Elements does. Nevertheless, as a correct result, the statement should be renamed as the shulva theorem.

(Jayant V. Narlikar, The Scientific Edge Page 4-5, pub-2003, Penguin Books, New Delhi)

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7. Indian astronomer Brhamagupta defines infinity as the number that results from dividing any other number by zero and sets up a general system of rules for multiplying and dividing positive and negative quantities.

(From John D. Barrow's The Book of Nothing)

8. Earlier mathematicians had taught that x/0=x , Bhaskara proved that it was infinity. He also established mathematically what has been recognised in Indian theology at least a millennium earlier — that infinity, however divided, remains infinite, represented by the equation (A. L. Basham’s The wonder that was India)

9. Good approximations of irrational numbers like pie and ^2 were known to ancient Indian mathematicians. Again we find these expressions given without proof. For example, the Shulva Sutra gives the following approximation for ^2 but without explicit proof: 1+1/3+1(3x4) - 1/(3x4x34) For pie, Aryabhatt gave the modern approximate value of 3.1416, expressed in the form of a fraction 62832/ 20000. Later Indian mathematicians improved the value of pie, much more than accurate than that of the Greeks, to nine places of decimals. (The scientific Edge and The wonder that was India) The Baudhayana and the Apastambha Sutras belonging to the Krishna Yajurveda describe indeterminate equations of the first degree, more commonly known as Diophantine equations because of their Greek origin. The Greek discovery, however, came much later and it is more appropriate to recognise their origin as coming from the Shulva Sutra.

10. In 1881, an unexpected find was unearthed in the village of Bakshali about seventy kilometers from the archeological site of Takshashila near Peshawar. This is a seventypage manuscript written on bhoorjapatras (birch bark) in the shrada script and in the gatha dialect of prakrit, which was prevalent in that part of India during the reign of the Kushnas and dates it to around 200 B.C. The manuscript contains mathematical results of high order including quadratic equations, finding square roots of numbers that are not perfect squares and arithmetic geometric progressions. The Bakshali script therefore gives a fair idea of the advanced level of arithmetic and algebra in India of two millennia ago.

(J. V. Narlikar, The Scientific Edge)

11. The precession of the equinoxes was known, and calculated with some accuracy by medieval astronomers, as were the lengths of the year, the lunar month, and other astronomical constants. These calculations were reliable for most practical purposes, and many cases more exact than those of the Graeco-roman world. Eclipses were forecast with accuracy and their true cause understood.

(A L Basham’s The wonder that was India) Courtesy: Eternal India -Indices of Emergence, A title under publication by IFF The

Edge 43

READING MATERIAL

A scathing chargesheet on modern journalism

By Ashok K Singh Dean FMS

THERE IS a story about how America’s CBS News launched its famed television news magazine 60 Minutes. In 1967, CBS News president Bill Leonard asked a young producer Don Hewitt to prepare an hour-long daily news programme.

Pleasantly surprised, Hewitt wanted to know how he was to go about it.

"Make us Proud" was the simple guideline Bill had. The rest is history.

For nearly four decades, people who matter have felt proud to appear on 60 Minutes.

But, journalists, today, are assailed by what they perceive as decline of journalism into celebrity-worship, sensation, inaccuracy and commoditisation. Why, they ask, do media magnates chant the sole mantra of profit rather than emulate Bill’s advisory. And, this is a global concern. Commercialisation of the media has robbed journalism of its primary role: Of being the watchdog of democracy.

A journalism professor at Cardiff University, Hargreaves’ book, Journalism: Truth or Dare, is a scathing chargesheet on modern journalism. His concerns are ethical and moral but in no way imbued with unwarranted idealism. He say it’s bad but he also says there’s hope.

For, Journalism is developing sinews to overcome its identity problems.

He quotes Thomas Jefferson

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44 Edge

declaring in 1787 that “... were it left to me to decide whether we should have a Government without newspapers, or newspapers without a Government, I will not hesitate to prefer the latter.”

Contrast that with the desperate attempt of the Bush administration asking the emir of Qatar to apply pressure on Al Jazeera to make its reports more sympathetic to American interests.

In survey after survey, journalists are said to be

BOOK REVIEW

JOURNALISM TRUTH OR DARE?

By Ian Hargreaves Oxford University Press Pages:294 Price: Rs 575

losing self-esteem. Same with politicians. Is there a symbiotic relationship between the two? Or are both victims of a common ailment?

Contemporary American intellectuals find the new wave of democratisation and marketisation hitting both politics and journalism.

They feel, it is a race to appeal to the emotions, to the lowest common denominator that tends to compromise news. Media barons hide their profit-making greed in the name of the people, just as politicians justify their misconduct by claiming that they understand the pulse of the people.

Hargreaves blames the phenomenon of “spin doctoring” for plummeting standards. Journalism, he says, has become a plaything between PR forces and spin doctors. Politicians blame journalists for mixing facts. The other side retaliates by having on the rolls spin doctors to correct the imbalance.

Ultimately, the media turns into a battlefield for rival political ideologies and politicians.

Hargreaves, however, sees hope in the plurality and diversity in dissemination of news. The slogan of the on-going communications revolution should be "plurality, diversity and trust."

According to the author, hope lies in what Matt Drudge, the Hollywood-based one-man-bandreporter who was doing star gossip till one day in 1998, did to change the face of internet journalism.

On learning that Newsweek had held back an account of President Clinton's sexual liaison with Monica Lewinsky, Drudge scooped the story on the net and created history.

Newsweek’s publisher Washington Post later admitted that Drudge sent more readers to washingtonpost.com than any other site connected to the portal. Indeed, the Internet has empowered every citizen to be a reporter, to take on the powers that be.

All said, public interest journalism and reliable, accurate and truthful journalism are the only antidotes to the virus that is eating up modern journalism.

Hargreaves has another powerful message for concerned people.

"Democracy needed journalism to get started. Journalism needs to reabsorb the values of democracy into its own self-conduct if it is to function effectively: To open itself to scrutiny and challenge. Above all, don't doubt your ability," advises the author with loads of optimism.

Thin on research but heavy on social capital

By Dr Rachna Singh Associate Professor

SOCIAL NETWORKING is a concept on which most traditional societies have depended for economic and political reasons. The term has gained significance in the last decade. The manifestation of social capital in India is evident in social networks through the institution of family and membership of a local community (caste or village), regional identities and so on.

The effect of these networks is reflected in organised business as well. Editors of Creation and Returns of Social Capital offer a keen analysis of 'social capital'.

They have explored social relationships and networks theoretically as also a methodological tool to understand human interactions in terms of predicting the effectiveness of these networks.

The hypotheses presented here hold that those with better social capital are better able to realise goals. The book seeks to interpret how social capital is distributed, how it is created and what are its returns. It comprises a collection of 12 original essays which build up a theoretical integration, standardisation of measurement instruments and co-ordinate empirical research on the significance of 'social capital'.

The term social capital is defined as a network of social resources that an individual or community builds up and sustains. Significantly, this is applicable almost everywhere

where there is interaction for goal achievement.

The book is divided into six parts.

However, the scope of 'social capital' has not been identified exhaustively and definitive answers have, thus, failed to emerge.

A substantial contribution has been made towards the development of the thought on social capital.

Much research is yet to be developed on the course that has been set by this book.

Part two discusses dis-

BOOK REVIEW

CREATION AND RETURNS OF SOCIAL Edited By Henk Flap and Beate Volker Published by Routledge taylor and Francis Group, 2004 tribution of social capital wherein Bonnie H Erickson focuses on gendered social capital in Canada.

Erickson builds on the premise of network variety where people with a variety of contacts are positioned well in society. She concludes that gender does not play a significant role in the distribution of social capital which is, in any case, unevenly distributed.

Degenne, on the other hand, presents a descriptive and exploratory study based on a French household sample. He concludes that support networks do not significantly improve living standards in lowincome households but definitely do so among young adults and elderly

through housekeeping services from relatives.

The third part of the book is all about creation and return of social capital. Arno Riedl and Frans Van Winden question whether people deliberately invest in social capital or is social interaction an inherent habit in the community?

In part four, Anne Bert Dijkstra, Rene Veenstra and Jules Peschar study social capital in education while Volker and Flap address the effects of networks on performance at work in The Netherlands.

In their study the authors have drawn results that are varied and admit that more research is needed.

Part five deals with methods used to measure social capital, which have so far been ad hoc and unorganised. Martin Van der Gaag and Tom Snijders argue that it is imperative to understand the sub-dimensions of social capital before an attempt is made to measure it.

The sixth part deals with social capital and collective level where consolidated effects of research can be interpreted at a collective level. Martin Paldam and Gert Tinggaard Svendsen establish here how authorities can induce people to trust each other and work together. Michel Forse says that the type of social capital a person accesses impacts him on the job front in terms of salary and status.

According to Forse, mobility in social status can be attained directly or indirectly by accessing social networks in which an individual is born or has studied.

The book brilliantly captures the discussion on social capital. However, much of the research presented is inconclusive and needs strengthening. Therefore, the book can at best be a platform for discussion. All said and despite its limitations, the book establishes that social capital as a vital area of study and, as a methodological tool, full of potential.

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Edge 45

2

POINTS REVIEW

A

dvertising is losing its original sheen. This despite, and if one may say because of, more and more companies increasing their advertising budgets.

The book analyses how the rise in advertising volume has resulted in a decline in effectiveness and credibility with the focus being solely on creativity. Advertising agencies assume wrongly that marketing is a battle of advertisements, not a battle of products. The consumers perceive it to be biased and more often than not, it is viewed as the selfserving voice of a company anxious to make a sale. There's no way for a consumer to independently verify the accuracy of the claims laid out in an advertisement.

Such statements all through the book establish beyond doubt that advertising is in big time trouble.

Consider this: All recent marketing successes like Starbucks, Body Shop, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, e-Bay, Palm, Google, Linux, Playstation, Harry Potter, Botox, Redbull, Microsoft, Intel and Blackberry are not advertising, but PR successes. Advertising, thus, needs to reassure its customers that it is still the most powerful brand-building tool. This is proved by the shift of funds from advertising to promotional activities (both consumer and trade). In packaged goods, a long-time advertising bastion, advertising percentage of the marketing budget fell from 60 per cent in 1977 to about 30 per cent today. There's heavy pressure to find alternative media since it isn't working well. That's why you see blimp, beach, bathroom or book advertising.

Advertising is not about brandbuilding. That's the role and function of PR. Advertising is about

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A pain for advertising

By Naushad Mullick Asst. Professor

The book establishes beyond doubt that advertising is in big time trouble. All recent marketing successes like Body Shop, e-bay and Microsoft are not advertising but PR successes. The ad world has lost client trust

brand maintenance. A brand is born with the capability of creating news. This is the essence of a new brand. But what happens when a brand grows up? It runs out of its publicity potential.

Advertising can only deal with an existing perception in the mind. Advertising can only deepen that perception, not change, modify or broaden it. Skillfully handled, however, that deepening strategy can pay big dividends.

Authors of this book suggest that if you want to launch a new brand today, you need a message that gets media attention. First, you have to win the PR battle before you can launch an advertising war. Advertising as a brandbuilding tool is dead. But advertising has a second life as a brand maintenance tool, once the brand has been established and credibility created, it can be reinforced to remind the prospects.

The ad agency of the future will, therefore, need to build "follow-up" campaigns using ideas and images already planted in the mind by PR campaigns.

PR is essentially a two-step game.

(1) up the mountain and (2) down the mountain. When you are building a brand, you are pushing it up the media mountain. You don't start at the top, nor is the ascent easy.

When you get to the top, when you have a mighty brand like Microsoft, your strategy should change, too.

You become selective. You don't place phone calls, you take them.

You turn down many more media requests than you accept. Your turn down many more media requests than you accept. Your strategy is not to publicise the brand but to protect the brand from negative publicity.

THE FALL OF ADVERTISING & THE RISE OF PR

T

HIS BOOK has been written by the writer duo of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding fame at a very appropriate time when Public Relations has become popular among advertising and marketing people.

It provides good reading material for Management, Advertising and PR professionals. It discusses the multiple dimensions of PR and Advertising and describes the advantages PR enjoys over advertising.

The writer adroitly establishes that it is easier to convince the customer through PR than to advertising. "You can't launch a new brand with advertising because advertising has no credibility" they call advertising the '…self-serving voice of a company anxious to make a sale', the writer says.

On the other hand, he adds, “you can launch new brands only with publicity or PR as PR allows you to tell your story indirectly through third-party outlets, primarily the media'.”

The book is broadly in five parts. The authors take up the issues of fall of advertising in the first part, followed by the rise of PR. In the third part, they discuss the new role for advertising.

A major chunk compares advertising with PR, followed by postscripts for management, advertising and PR in the fifth or last part.

Though ample case studies support the text, the way the role of PR has been lauded throughout the book and advertising kept at the receiving end, shows a definite bias. Though as per the title, a reader assumes that he would

By AL Ries & Laura Ries New York: Harper Business (2004). Price: $10 Pages: 295

A paean for PR

By Dr Anima Sharma Visiting Fellow

The postscript balances out the discussion, but with an obvious favour for PR. There are a few tips for management professionals who are advised to deal with advertising cautiously so that is does not become dull or boring

be reading a lot of in favour of PR, at many places authors go into detailed criticism of the basic principles of advertising and call it a weak link in the four-step strategy of marketed products and services.

It would have been better if they had given a more balanced picture of both. It is mainly because of the undeniable fact that advertising came first and PR next that I feel that we can expect better results if we have a combination of both in the market.

But, at the same time, we can not ignore the fact that Al Ries has considerable influence over the thinking of the marketers and when a person of his stature puts forth a challenge like this one, it provides food for serious thought.

Moreover, the way the authors have compiled so many examples is, indeed, appreciable. It shows the effort and time contributed to this research.

The book’s postscript, balances out the discussion with an obvious favour for the PR. There are a few tips for management professionals who are told to deal with advertising carefully so that it does not become dull or boring.

They emphasise on the need of 'reminder' advertising instead of 'creative' advertising so that it becomes provocative, entertaining, exciting interesting, dramatic, well-written, well-acted and well-produced.

On the whole, it is a good book for marketing professionals and students pursuing careers in market research.

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Edge 47

CORNER

STUDENT

Working the system What’s being a leader all about? There ployees always look up to their leader. was a time when the most ruthless However, the world has changed so businessman was respected the most. much that a lot of these ideals and duBut, definitions have started to ties have been misshapen. As an exchange, seemingly for the better. pert said: "…changes on our planet are In today’s globalised world, the ontaking place at such a fast speed that ly thing constant is change. Somethere is continuous shift of milestones times, there are small changes like of success; and if the milestones of newer packing methods and somesuccess keeps shifting, where is the Akshay Dhar times, big ones like the invention of destination?"

UG IInd Year the rail system. Each has its own imIn today's warped speed work enpact in the long run. One hallmark of a good vironments, tenure is a thing of the past. Busileader is the ability to see these changes and adapt nesses merge and downsize at a moment’s noto them. tice and the amassing of money has become the The crisis of leadership that I see in businesses overriding goal, whatever the cost. Markets are today is akin to a crisis of conscience. The mod- driven by uncertainty and cut-throat competition ern definition of a good businessman is more in and no one is above passing the buck. One busiquestion than ever. Is he the man who gets the ness student told me that leadership means injob done come payday? Or, is he the boss that fluencing someone else to do your dirty work; anlooks out for all who depend on him? The other other said it was the best way to get rich. obvious question is: How do you reach your tarThese trying times have put all conventions of get profit while ensuring your social and ethical leadership to test and many have failed where it obligations? And, how Important is profit to you? counts. But like with any test, they have also givThe oldest definition, one sign of a good leader en rise to a new breed that is learning to improve is his willingness to look after his people. Em- the system.

India’s 24x7 brigade and its lows A FAMOUS eatery in Bangalore bustinuously with headphones makes tles with young people, all in the 18 them deaf. to 27 age group. The time is young Not just physical, but even the too — 3 am! And, it’s not someemotional health of this brigade is body's birthday. The group has just under severe strain. Commitment finished work and is having dinner. phobia is crippling relationships and This is a common sight in Banganeed-based ties have taken centrelore, thanks to the booming BPO instage. dustry. Not just Bangalore, the call The problem worsens if one is staySubhashish Banerjee centre nightbirds have been out and ing with family. On work days, the PGDBM-I about in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, family hardly gets to see you, so they New Delhi, Chennai and Bhopal to name just a want to spend time with you on your off-day, few cities. Indeed, the service industry has leaving no scope for an outing with friends. changed the way Indians used to work.

No wonder then that a call centre population’s Call centres need young people who can work behavioural pattern is getting to be scary. Suiin odd shifts and are quick learners. The salary cidal tendencies have crept in, especially with is handsome and is mostly treated as unprece- relationships failing. Besides, the altered work dented amount of pocket money. In business for culture needs time, a lot of it. And, the first casome time now, the BPO wave has started show- sualty of this is the Indian family system which ing its flip side. too needs time, but, is not getting it anymore.

For one, the young workers have been batAll, though, is not so bad about this new work tling with the fallout of their biological clocks culture. At least, it is grooming youngsters to being altered due to constant night shifts. A re- grow in a group; teaching them to give value cent report said call centre workers were more for time and making them adept at handling prone to throat cancer and that listening con- pressure.

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Women have a cutting edge — Multi-tasking THE "GREY" suits can take a backseat charge. because the corridors of corporate InStill, the list of women at the top dia are now turning colourful with the of the corporate ladder — women on crackle of bangles and hustle of chifthe board of directors of top Indian fons. If Fortune magazine has two Incompanies — is a small one: Anu Aga dians — Naina Lal Kidwai, MD of HS(Thermax), Ranjana Kumar (Indian BC, and Vidya Chhabria, CEO, Jumbo Bank), Ravina Raj Kohli (Star News), Group, — in the world's top 50 corLalita Gupte (ICICI Bank), Renu Karporate women list, it goes to show nad (HDFC), Shehnaz Husain Jayati Ghose that women have certainly cracked (Shehnaz Group) and Ekta Kapoor PGDBM-I the glass ceiling.

(Balaji Telefilms) are a few. Women When Kiran Mazumdar Shaw became India's attribute this to the fact that they find it diffiwealthiest woman following the initial public of- cult to take time off from families to network fer of her biotechnology company Biocon, it with their male colleagues outside office. marked yet another milestone in the growing Which is why conversation at all women meets emergence of female role models in India's cor- is replete with stories of friends who worked porate world. If Hewlett Packard has Carly Fio- hard only to see the male colleague walk away rina as the boss, Sulajja Firodia Motwani is do- with the promotion. This happens because, many ing wonders for Kinetic Engineering as its JMD. a time, participation in a golf game or sharing The liberation of Indian economy, the in- beer can make all the difference! creased role of the private service sector and the However, according to changing perspectives increasing number of multinationals springing in the Indian corporate scenario, one of the up over the past few years are breeding a slow, strongest skills in favour of women managers is albeit definite, rise in the number of women their multi-tasking ability. And that’s what is our managers and entrepreneurs who are taking cutting edge.

Straddle action & inaction. It’s good for a brand WHY DO brands die? Here’s a So, what’s the solution? Well, post-mortem examination of this keep changing them every 18 ticklish question: Brands are meant months for starters. to live on forever. Brands don't die.

The second brand sin is perpetuInstead, they are murdered by ated by a jumpy brand manager Brand Managers. The over-zealous who wants to prove a point. He is and the lazy ones alike! young and raring to go. Right from Most of the time brands are done day one, he is on the go. He marto death by stubborn brand-folks ket-researches and wants to march Manish Kumar who just don't see the future unfast. He is in urgent need for PGDBM-I raveling. Emotional brand managers change. The BPS (Brand Positioning are responsible too.

Statement) needs tinkering and advertising Their inability to adopt (embrace) change is needs an overhaul! He wants to bring in 82 difone reason. Their lack of flexibility adjustment ferent changes in the brand before he goes! to a changing market scenario that is unpre- Beware. He is dangerous. dictable is another. Perhaps, our managers do Final Say: An intelligent brand manager is a not know that brands traverse the trajectory guy who sits between these two points of acof slow death as soon as rigidity in manage- tion and inaction. One who can gauge how soment styles step in. ciety is metamorphosing. One who will psychoBrand Management is dynamic, as dynamic analyse the consumer of today and hopefully as society. Brands need to change and adapt tomorrow too! to their customers and consumers with ease.

Brands also die due to neglect. Due to a lack They need to be in sync with the psyche of their of accepting change. Due to stubborn, age-old target segment. Rigid brand managers are the thoughts. Managing brands is an art, a scibiggest liability to the brand in this context. ence…. and a philosophy as well!

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They’ve got the whole world in their hands A FEW months ago, a cover story in As a result, we have healthcare prodBusiness Week asked: Is Wal Mart too ucts which are saving lives. We have PCs powerful? After all, it is responsible for which have changed the way in which the closure of thousands of stores. On society works and interacts professionthe positive side, Wal Mart is responsially and personally. ble for keeping the US inflation rate The Mercedes and the Rolex are more from rising, through its low prices. than just a car and a watch — they are There’s a lot of focus on corporate bestatus symbols. Companies are standhemoths like Wal Mart, Microsoft and ing in line to provide products which give Arijit Banerjee Monsanto. People feel that with powan identity. If we talk about jobs, everyPGDBM-I er and influence these companies are one knows that working in Microsoft, threatening to take over the world, that corporates rather then a local software firm, is not just about have too much clout and that world governments money, its about status. should restrict their march.

So why talk about just Monsanto and Wal Mart?

To me, "dome corporates" is an understatement. They are just tiny parts of a complete picture. When The entire corporate world controls us — in more we talk about power here, we are not talking about ways than we can imagine. something new. We are looking at something, A corporation is basically about size. A company which has come about as a results of changing sohas huge funds at its disposal. Therefore, it can pro- ciety. duce more, take more risks and is much more reCompanies are part of the fabric of society itself. silient than smaller businesses.

The only place where one won't find the influence The company can produce in huge volumes and of a company is usually outside areas of human keep low margins. It has the tremendous capacity settlements. Companies can't take over the world to fund inventions and splurge billions on Research in the 21st Century — they already did that in the and Development of a single product.

20th.

Say ‘I am the best’ and the battle is won THOSE SLEEPLESS nights, those butare victims of career anxiety. But reterflies in the stomach, the anxiety member, we are not the only ones. Parpangs, all these lead to a larger quesents feel equally insecure as they take tion: "How well are we going to be up huge loans for their child’s career. placed in our lives?" I guess, every stuOne of them said: "I wonder whether dent goes through it. This uncertainthe job my daughter gets will substity about one's future while stepping tute the loan amount." out into the world after those careEven teachers are sceptical. A manfree college days. It’s even more difagement professor says: "We can onIshita Yashvi ficult for students not passing out of ly help you get a placement. UltiPGD-FMS so-called elite institutes. mately, it depends on how you imThere are two categories of students. The first press." category is of that class which comes from rich But, despite the uncertainties, there are students families, knowing that lucrative businesses are who move ahead. Who believe it's hard work and waiting for them. They get a professional degree strong will that’ll get them to their goal. Yes, the (mostly an MBA) merely for an impressive resume. answer lies within us. So, believe you are the best The second category is of students who are not and that you can and you will. It’s not important from very affluent families and who start their lives where we got our degrees from. What matters with education loans for higher studies. is how much did we put into them.

This one is all about the anxieties of the secWhat I am trying to put across is that it's not ond category. The most common fears are: Will only the IIMs that produce the best MBAs and it's I get a decent placement? How well will the col- not only Jamia that gives out the best journalists. lege place me? What if I end up without a job The right attitude and confidence can take you after taking so much of loan? How will I repay? places. In short, what we need is more people This piece goes out for all such students who who specialise in the impossible.

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For woman managers, it’s lonely at the top WOMEN ARE better educated and hold ies suggest, they are better managers bemore jobs worldwide than men. But, cause of their conciliatory nature. gender differences still exist.

With changing times and business From Jhansi ki Rani to Biocon's Kiran practices, the old warrior leader model Majumdar Shaw, the Indian woman has of unquestioned authority has given way shown that she is confident, able and to a new model requiring skills at which a keen decision taker. women excel: Co-operation, nurturing, Yet, today, she continues to suffer consensus-building and team work. from segregation at the workplace and The myths about women managers Shefali Chaudhary rarely breaks through the so- called glass are: (a) women do not want to be inPGDM ceiling separating her from top level ternational mangers (b) companies do management positions. not want to send women abroad (c) Foreigners are An ILO report says that most woman managers prejudiced against women expatriate managers. are barred from top posts worldwide, whether in However, a survey says that being a woman is acprivate or sector. And, even if she manages to reach tually an advantage because, (a) foreign clients are the top, she always earns less than a man. The prob- curious about women; (b) women have interpersonal lem lies in the perception of men at work. They use skills; (c)The 'halo effect' which means local managers clichés like "women are distracted by motherhood", assume that women expatriates would not have been "they are not sufficiently committed" and "they are sent unless they are 'the best'. unable to travel or work overtime". Yes, balancing Sad then, that the number of women in MBA has work and family is an issue, but, it stings women lingered at 30 per cent for a decade. For them, it’s on the fast business track. still lonely at the top. But once in, a woman manWomen are efficient managers because they are ager should demand eqaul pay with men and zero capable of achieving solutions to workplace prob- tolerance to harassment. At home, women should lems. They think more rationally under stress. Stud- negotiate for equal child-rearing from spouses.

Every man is what his situation makes him Situation: My mother was starving stantial in life. Where, what, how, and my father on death bed. I was when, and why shape action. jobless and too idealistic to cope with Through the above mentioned inmanipulation at workplace. dividual, one can draw a logical sumResult — Jobless mary of the relationship between The above example is of a person ethics and situation. To put it into a whose elders were demanding imsaying: "Ethics is the by-product of a mediate, and perhaps sustained, given situation". medical attention. But, to his dismay, A person may be high on ethics but Nidra Naik his so-called ethics and principles can succumb to a difficult situation.

PGDM-I stood in the way of him having a job His perspective and beliefs tend to that could have funded his personal require- change. ments.

No, I am not asking you to be judgemental.

But one day, this individual spots a wallet of that’s the duty of a judge. But the least you can currency notes. What will his next step be? do is not judge a person by his actions because Caught up between ethics and the need to save he may have been guided by some situation. his near and dear ones, he simply picks up the For example: When you top your exam, you wallet and utilises the money to nurse his par- are on cloud nine. You fail and life seems colourents. less. This "You" is highly affected by situation. SitNow assume that this individual’s parents were uations bring smiles and situations bring tears. healthy, wealthy and wise. Would he have then Finally, can you rule the situation? picked up that wallet? No, not at all. Why? BeIf you can get on with the situation because cause he would have needed the money des- you are the "Master". perately enough to get over his guilt.

But if you can’t, just be human — and respect The short of it, is that everything is circum- the situation of others.

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In youth, there’s safety and progress POLITICS HAS always been the talk of The Congress, on the other hand, the town. Be it the uproar over BJP’s has come up with just the right age India Shining campaign or heated demix — it has both experienced and bates over Congress’ Aam Adami fresh politicians to lend verve to the counterfoil. But, for me voting was a party. With fresh faces like, Jyotiraditya choice between the bad and the Scindia, Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, worst.

Naveen Jindal, Milind Deora and Jitin However, after our nation acceptPrasad to name a few, Pollywood has ed a deserving gentleman as Prime definitely undergone a sea change. SeSheli Arora Minister with a parade of youthful nior politicians are ready to pass on PGDBM-II faces behind him, my faith in politithe baton to the youth, and why not? cians has made a dramatic comeback. Yes, now The young ones are educated and committed. The I do see a ray of hope in India becoming a de- "I have a dream" brigade will change India for veloped country. good.

It was only after hearing of the Aam Adami camLegendary US president John F. Kennedy had paign that I realised our downtrodden need to once said: "Political action is the highest responbenefit from India’s progress. The country needs sibility of a citizen." I sincerely hope that the reto think beyond the BPOs, rising stock exchange sponsibility that this country has vested in these index and soaring foreign exchange reserves. We young politicians, is well taken care of. need to focus on vital issues like, clean drinking The newly elected Members of Parliament have water and employment. already set an agenda — exposing the corrupt, Thousands of farmers committed suicide dur- poverty eradication and free computer education. ing the NDA regime. Benefits of development did As a young citizen of this country, I welcome not reach the poor. In fact, the gap between the these initiatives and pray that they take the counhaves and the have-nots widened. try forward.

Summer training maketh a manager “MY MIND has touched the farthest maketh a manager. It gave me a real horizons of imagination and reaches feel of how businesses operate. Unever outward to embrace infinity. less you spend time on the roads unThere is no knowledge beyond my derstanding consumers, the air-concomprehension, no art or skill on this ditioned cubicle you are wanting to sit entire planet that lies beyond the masin will be a mirage. Also, I made a firm tery of my hand....” These were my conclusion about something I always thoughts as I was penning down my believed in: Networking. The more report for the summer training at a people I met, the more contacts I Anupam Pahuja, renowned IT-MNC. made. Being a student, I felt proud carPGDBM-II My experience of those eightrying the business card of a famous weeks has changed me. It has helped me evolve company’s CEO in my wallet! as a person. It has exhorted me to exercise all my The deadlines and the regular updates were alinterpersonal skills to get things done. The pro- ways breathing down my neck. Working under ject assigned to me involved a market survey. stress was a little tiring at times, but it made me Though I have always liked meeting new people, more organised which, I am sure, would bring in this was different. I had to actually convince them rich dividends in the future. about answering my questionnaire. Sometimes, Than came the test of knowledge. Whatever I security guards in some companies would not let had learnt in the past year of my management me enter an organisation for research work. But, studies: organisation culture, analysis of data, marat the end of the day, I learnt how to handle them. ket study etc, was put to a rigorous test. I can now I will not deny that asking for a light or a smoke stand up as a more confident person. was sometimes the best way to build a rapport To summarise: My experience of summer trainwith the guards. ing was a perfect blend of learning and underI believe now that the scorching summer sun standing corporate life.

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Forgotten heroes: Down with hypocrisy ON JUNE 11, 2004 was historical. Afcricketers, similar fate awaited Prakash ter 40 years, the Olympic torch was Padukone, Pullela Gopichand and back in India. But, the very same day, Leslie Claudius. Couldn't they have figIndia witnessed yet another show of ured anywhere in the list of the 105 hypocrisy. Among the torch-bearers torch-bearers? If the torch symboliswere top filmstars like Amir Khan, es the spirit of Olympics, shouldn't it Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Aishhold true for its torch-bearers too? warya Rai, Bipasha Basu and cricketers How could the sports fraternity deem like Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kuma Bipasha Basu or a Rani Mukherjee Vijay Kr. Agarwal, ble, Sehwag and Pathan. Among the more symbolic than a P. T. Usha? How PGDBM-II forgotten lot were the players who could an Amir Khan or a Rahul Dravid should have actually been there but were not — replace Prakash Padukone, Gopichand and the athletes like P. T. Usha, badminton greats like gold fetching hockey players?

Prakash Padukone and numerous others who have Yes, the event was high-profile. But it only remade India proud against fiercest of foes. flected the money splurged on it. No, I am not The organisers did send P. T. Usha a last-minute against funds for such events. It is, indeed, necinvitation, but only as an after-thought. The essary prelude to our dream of hosting the 2016 woman who personifies India’s Olympic spirit, the Olympics. The question, however, is: Are enough woman who fetched the nation several Golds at funds being raised to train our athletes? Are prestigious meets in the 80s, the woman who enough funds being raised to motivate the new missed a medal by a 100th of a second in the 400 generation to take up athletics? Why does a m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angles Olympics, the youngster of today want to become a cricketer, woman who put India on the world map of sports. a filmstar, an MBA, a doctor or an engineer and That woman was ignored. not an athlete, even if he has the potential?

With the nation glamour struck by cinestars and These are questions we need to ask ourselves.

It’s all about managing in a maze of questions ALL THE world's a stage and the men rience moulds their outlook towards and women merely actors. They have life and people. Preparing to face protheir exits and entrances. Each one life fessional challenges and the stress plays many roles in life. which comes with them, these If Shakespeare were to capture the wannabes are forced to change their complexities of today’s life in its difattitudes and mindsets. ferent stages — from birth to death Then there are provocative issues like — he would have lot to deal with, esethics and societal constraint to conpecially for the stage of youth. tend with. Someone once said, "ManGulrez Alam Youth is a mesmerising and heady agement is the art of getting things PGDBM-II state, a time when everything is in its done." A statement of such a nature prime, when one is confident of oneself at one forces the mind to think whether ethics should moment and weak the very next, when everything be compromised to get things done? Is it a "by seems so achievable, yet so distant. hook or by crook" theory that works well in toIt is this time of life when vital decisions have day's world? to be taken, decisions which can make or mar your The answers are equally complex. However, life. With formal education coming to a close and keeping in mind the solid educational diet that a plethora of activities awaiting him, the young has gone into these managers, they do keep ethics manager of tomorrow gets all the more baffled. in mind even while compromising on a few of With ambitions to conquer the world, these young them. So, one can safely say that even though they ones set out to improve their mettle in whichevdon't break the rules completely, they don't refrain er field they can, which is precisely the question from bending them somewhat. here: What to choose and how to go about it?

What remains unanswered though is, do they Aspiring go-getters have to deal with a lot of abide by the sense of responsibility towards the changes at this stage. The varied learning expe- society? Think about it.

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Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) OVER the past few years, development management has emerged as an important area for various Governments, multilateral international organisations and NGOs. In keeping with its trend of being the frontrunner in catering to industry requirements, the IILM has launched a full-time two-year programme — Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM).

Apart from conventional areas of Management (Finance, HR, Marketing and Information Technology), the programme offers specialisation in diverse areas like Healthcare Management, Urban and Infrastructure Management, Insurance and Risk Management, Media Management, Natural Resources & Environment Management and Social Sector Management.

The Healthcare Management programme will bring out efficient health programme managers for planning

programme on Fundamentals of Environment and Natural Resources Management (ENRM) in a management school is a very timely initiative, especially when, the corporates are getting more & more socially responsible. ENRM was totally unknown to us. We never thought of taking it as our specialization in coming trimesters. When we heard of ENRM, we thought of something boring and irrelevant. But the classes were so interactive and mind-boggling that we developed an interest in the subject. To mention some of the things that kept us gined to this class: ◆ We were glad that we had a teacher who was fully conversant with the subject. ◆ We developed an interest because of the way the whole course was structured and presented. ◆ The sessions were interactive with

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and running healthcare systems efficiently. Urban and Infrastructure Management will deal with the dynamics of urbanisation and urban growth.

Through Media Management, the students will get a good understanding of media economics in the Indian perspective. The Insurance and Risk Management programme will help students acquire gainful insights into the Insurance sector.

The Natural Resource and Environment Management programme will develop managers who would operate on a new ethos of peoplecentred, growth-oriented governance and management of environment and natural resources with practical management tools. Social Sector Management students will acquire knowledge, skills and attitude for designing, implementing and monitoring social development programmes.

WHAT THE STUDENTS SAY...

plenty of examples from around. Technology was a big help. We watched films in the classrooms with our friends and teachers. This led to brain-

stroming sessions which left us all enriched. ◆ Diverse topics were handled in a very interesting manner. Experts were brought in as guests who provided an insight into the hitherto unknown areas. we also developed e contacts through them. ◆ There were guest lecturers who were experts and had practical experience in the field. We got an opportunity to meet them and thus developed e contacts. ◆ We look forward to “Out of Class” experience. ◆ we all are now more aware of our surroundings and we do hope that each of us would do our bit to protect our environment.

(Anvar Husain, Megha Jain, Pankaj Agarwal, Sumit Narayan, Sajju Sanu, Arti Mittal, Tarun Kumar Garg

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Team-building programme

Project formulation programme

The IILM organised its second five-day training, sponsored IILM conducted its third five-day special training proby the Union Department of Personnel and Training for gramme for IAS officers on "Project Formulation" from IAS, Central and State Civil Services officers on 'Team BuildJune 21-25 , 2004. IILM has been identified as the Ining' from February 9-13, 2004 on its campus. stitution by Dept of Personnel & Training, Govt of InThe training programme was inaugurated with the cerdia, to conduct training programmes for IAS officers. emonial lighting of the lamp by Mr T IAS officers with 20 to 30 years’ exK A Nair, Chairman, Public Enterprises perience attended the programme.

Selection Board (PESB). In his inauThe resource persons in the design, gural speech, Mr Nair talked about content and delivery of the prohow in Government departments, ofgramme were eminent professors ficers are given teams to work with but from IILM: Prof. V. R. Murali Mohan, have no say in chosing those teams, Dr. Kamal Ghosh Ray, Prof. Sandeep often ending up acrimony.

Biswas and Prof. T. P. Ghosh.

He highlighted the importance of The training programme provided knowing and understanding one’s participants an insight into the critteam well to work as a cohesive unit. ical issues, aspects and techniques involved during ProIILM director Mr K.R. Nair welcomed the participants ject Formulation. and the first session was taken by Dr. Rizvi, Director of The programme was inaugurated on June 21, 2004 Graduate School of Management, Professor OB & HR, on

by Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Former Cabinet Secretary ,Govt. understanding Teams and Team Behaviour. of India. In his inaugural address Mr. Prabhat Kumar The programme covered various aspects of team work emphasised the importance of Project Formulation, their viz. knowing self, characteristics of an effective team, role implementation and different approaches of their evalanalysis and responsibility charting, role of teams in fauation depending upon the nature or type of the procilitating change, team dynamics and intra-team trust ject. He shared his experience of how lack of impropbuilding, managing team er Project Formulation conflict and leadership and implementation recommunication. The results in a delay in comsource persons were Prof. missioning a project Tripti Pande Desai, Prof. which adds up to the Jyotsna Bhatnagar, Prof. N. project cost. The conseMoitra and other eminent quential time overruns professors of the IILM. has cost the country Rs The interactive training 78,000 crore or so and was conducted with the the magnitude of losses right mix of concepts, case due to projects being studies, situation analyses abandoned for above reaand games which the parsons could be much ticipants thoroughly enlarger.

IAS officers in an “team building” training workshop joyed and shared their field Dr. Rama Kashyap of experiences. The sessions were interspersed with sessions DANIDA was also invited to on interact with the participants on Social Cost benefit ● Work and Health by Dr. S. Sarin, Professor and HOD, analysis.

Gastroenterology, G.B. Pant Hospital, Delhi The valedictory ceremony was held on June 25, 2004. ● Managing Public Relations by Dilip Cherian, Media perMr. K. S. Sarma, CEO, Prasar Bharati, was the Chief sonality guest who handed over the certificate of participation ● Dr. V.K. Agnihotri, IAS, Secretary Ministry of Parliato all officers who attended the programme. mentary affairs, GOI, Mr R.C. Sharma,Director CBI ( Retd.), Dr. Kamal Ghosh Ray Dean, GSM, proposed the vote Mr S.S. Dawra, Secretary( Personnel),GOI (Retd.), Dr. Irof thanks to the Chief Guest, the participants, the refan Rizvi, Professor OB & HR participated in panel dissource persons and to everybody who contributed tocussion. wards making the programme a success.

TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR THE

IAS

CENTRAL AND STATE SERVICES

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GUEST LECTURES ◆ Mr. Ashok Bhattacharya, Executive Director (HR), Dalmia Cement, addressed students, on "Strategic Human Resource Management in India: Issues and Concerns". ◆ Mr Rahul Goswami ,Vice President- Strategy, Ranbaxy delivered a lecture on the "Global Pharma Industry - Paradigm changes and responses of various players." ◆ Mr Neeraj Nanda, GM Alsthom elaborated on the "Matrix Structure and its implications" in an interaction with students. ◆ On 3rd March, 2004 Dr. Shikha Sharma, MD, Clinique de Rejuvenation, conducted a very interactive and interesting session with the Students on “Health & Nutrition" where she talked about the importance of breakfast and how junk food slows us down. ◆ On 4th March 2004, Dr. M.K. Pandhe, President CITU (Center for Indian Trade Union) addressed the students on the "Role of Trade Unions in the 21st Century". ◆ On 5th March 2004, Ms.Chanda Kochhar, Executive Director, ICICI bank addressed the Students on "The future of Banking in India." She took the students back to how ICICI had a small share of the pie and how it has strategised and diversified over the years to become the market leader today. ◆ On 15th March 2004, Mr. Nitesh Sahay, associated with IDRC, Canada, addressed students on "Application of econometrics in real time business problems.” Mr. Sahay took help from a very interesting movie clip from Sherlock Holmes to co-relate it to the concept of correlation. A case study of Japan based financial corporation named LAKE regarding the marketing of credit cards was also discussed. ◆ On 12th April, Subrata Burman, Consultant, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, conducted a lecture on "An overview of Management Consulting" and how to manage a consultancy business. The speaker defined consultancy as knowledge management with support of technology. He talked about the relevance of consultancy, its scope in India & China and took up a case to explain Business Development & Execution Plan for overseas acquisition of assets.

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Seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) A seminar on "Corporate Social Responsibility" was jointly organised by IILM in association with British Council and New Academy of Business, UK, at the IILM Auditorium on March 31, 2004.

BACKGROUND Generating wealth in a manner that is socially and environmentally responsible, and thus sustainable, must become a common goal of the domestic and international business community. With the opening of the world economy, rise in strategic importance of stakeholder relationships, knowledge economy, brand reputation, repositioning of government activities and privatisation, it is becoming increasingly important to do business ethically, morally and with concern for the society. By combining social action with good community relations and employee development, businesses provide solutions to social problems, strengthen the local economy, build goodwill towards their companies and achieve business goals.

AIM The basic aim of the seminar was to raise awareness on issues of corporate social responsibility and impact of busi-

ness in building a society based on equality and justice.

OBJECTIVE To promote links between academics, students and corporates through practitioner experience and engagement with local communities SEMINAR CONTENT ● Overview of CSR ● Video-based discussion on CSR ● Demonstration of on-line learning module on CSR ● Promoting CSR initiatives with a focus on role of students and youth The key resource person for the Seminar was Dr David Murphy, Director, New Academy of Business, UK. He has been at the forefront of thought and practice concerning the role of business in development and global corporate responsibility.

He presented his ideas before the IILM community in an impressive lecture which was followed by an interactive session.

The event served as an opportunity to sensitise budding managers on various perspectives of CSR and was highly appreciated by students and faculty alike.

The event was co-ordinated by Ms Vineeta Dutta Roy and Ms Kakoli Sen.

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Faculty Development Programme for IILM Faculty IILM organised a comprehensive faculty development program as part of its quality improvement efforts on the IILM premises . IILM has been increasingly recognising the importance of continued education and people competitiveness. The FDP was a natural outcome of IILM's mission to impart quality education in the area of management.

OBJECTIVE The main focus of the FDP was to create general awareness in the field of management as well as to develop sensitivity to the teaching methodology of case method in various areas of management.

The programme was offered in two phases: ◆ The first phase (June 7-9 2004) covered modules on Accounting, Production & Operations Management and Organisational Behaviour ◆ The second phase (June 1416 2004) comprised of modules on Finance, Marketing, and Human Resource Management.

The four-day gap between the two phases helped the participants to assimilate the contents of phase one which acted as building blocks for phase two.

The six modules were handled by following former and current faculty members of IIMA. Accounting Prof. I.M.Pandey

Production & Operations Management Prof. V. Venkata Rao Organisational Behaviour Prof. Mirza S.Saiyadain Finance Prof. Ramesh Bhatt Marketing Prof. Abraham Koshy Human Resource Management Prof. Mirza S.Saiyadain The cases and reading material were provided in advance. The sessions were highly structured, informative and well received by the IILM faculty members. There was a distinctive case methodology employed by all IIM faculty members. Cases from national and international organisations had been carefully selected and served as an incomparable tool in sensitising IILM faculty to the core concepts in the various functional areas.

The FDP provided the faculty members relevant exposure to contents, concerns and issues in the given functional area and the integration of functional knowledge from other areas to impart a holistic approach in tackling managerial issues of operational and strategic nature.

Use of case methodology in developing diagnostic, communication and conceptual skills of students Revival of the spirit of learning and using opportunities like FDPs to benefit from the rich and diverse experience of esteemed colleagues.

INTERNATIONAL

TIE-UPS

AN agreement of cooperation has been signed between the College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and the State University of New York, Syracuse, New York.

The MOU sets out the following programmes in environment and natural resources management (ENRM) that both ESF and IILM have agreed to develop jointly in order to play a role in ensuring a healthy, productive and environment conscious world for future generations. Both institutions are committed to the concept of sustainable human development and recognise that management of environment and natural resources are important to achieve this goal.

Both the institutions look forward to exchange programs for students and faculty. The student exchange programme as proposed would (i) enhance the knowledge base, (ii) help develop skills in specific areas, (iii) provide field training in specific aspects of natural resources or environment related issues and (iv) help them in decision making.

The MOU outlines that opportunities would be explored for developing collaborative research programs between IILM, its’ affiliated institutions and SUNY-ESF and its affiliated institutions including Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute of SUNY-ESF. The research topics will be identified on the basis of common interest. Further, it was agreed that initially it might be appropriate to identify research program in areas of corporate social responsibilities, natural disaster management, urban waste management and natural resources and environment management.

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Changing seasons – a journey to new awakening

ON March 26, 2004, at 3.30 pm, the companion, mentor and guide. curtain went up on a play put up by The sub-plot of the play deals with the students of Film and Media the lack of values and morals in toSchool, IILM, in the auditorium. Ti- day's youth and how it is contled, "Changing Seasons", the play tributing to the degeneration of was the culmination of a 20-day the- society. atre workshop conducted by theatre All the students of FMS participersonality Mr. Rajesh Bali. pated in this creative endeavour "Changing Seasons" was based on and evolved through a long process, a story by the Director, FMS, Mr. Di- which took them through many na Nath Mishra, and the script was phases of fun, despair and ultievolved by the mately elastudents as a tion. We look THEATRE SHOW BY IILM part of learnFILM AND MEDIA SCHOOL forward to ing process seeing many during the workshop. Juxtaposed more similar activities and enagainst a background of harsh courage our students to keep up winter merging seamlessly into a this spirit of creative genesis. fragrant spring, the story traced the The students who participated in journey of a city-bred girl from a val- the play were-Aliesha Shukla, ueless, trivial existence to an intro- Rahul Jain, Neha Aggarwal, spective and deep spiritual Tajpreet Madan, Vishal Sonkar, Saawakening. tendra Sharma, Prashant Ashok, The catalyst in this transforma- Rahul Dahiya, Aakanksha Seth, tion was a humble, small-town Shilpa Mishra , Sangeeta Johal, and youth, who, by his virtues, can be Himanshu Mishra .Video Coverage taken as a symbolic "Ideal Man". of the play - Aji Chacko, Pawan and He becomes the main character's Gyaneshwar.

Salu! Cva - Cva bien, etua..

WELCOME TO Parry.... yes my dear friends this is French. Let me take you around on a journey with l’ etudiant (myself as a student) to "ESC- Groupe, Grenoble Ecole de Management", Grenoble, France Away from Delhi's sweating & humid heat, among snow showers, I found myself right in the middle of a beautiful valley with one of the world's most popular mountain ranges, Rhone Alps, encircling the city.

This is a place to be, amidst 42 nationalities in my batch, an experience, wherein when you walk past the corridor, God alone knows what is it that

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you heard — could be French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese or Arabic for that matter.

This place gave me a truly international experience in terms of faculty, food, fun, people, dogs, cats, skin colours and dressing styles. This is the skiing station of the world.

And study too was fun. With all our schedules well planned, we had plenty of opportunity to travel on student discount pass and enjoy Europe endlessly. Though nothing beats the Great India, a change is always welcome. The professional approach to education is cool — no concept of extra classes, no

YOUNG INDIA

SUMMIT ON March 10, about 60 students from the IILM attended the Inaugural session of Young Indian's Summit - "Unleashing the India Opportunity" at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Mr. Nand Kishore Singh, IAS Officer 1964 batch, currently Member, Planning Commission, India delivered the keynote address. Mr. Singh has held responsible positions as Revenue Secretary & Expenditure Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He spoke on challenges before Yi & the world at large, on Demographic divide 2010, Global migration, Efficiency of factor knowledge, gainful employment & Inequity.

Yi is a group of young and successful Indian professionals cutting across vocational streams, looking at developing young leaders of tomorrow and bridging the distance towards a developed India. The primary focus of the Yi movement is to invoke pride in being Indians, for building Brand India. Eminent people like Anand G Mahindra, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra, addressed the summit.

special cases, no extension of deadlines, no penalties. Equipped with one of the most modern teaching aids, nothing could be better ... as anything you put on starts off without trouble.

The computer centre and the library are open everyday till late for you to stay connected to the outside world. The cafe is a place to be with amazing sound tracks, parties and what not — enjoy in a different manner with different food or music or fun organized by several student associations of the school.

Our visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of the school which called for several events. However the best one was to have champagne from Champagne. Merci Boku, Awaya!

Nishit Jain, Jainnishit@rediffmail.com

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PEPSI BOTTLING PLANT

The Undergraduate IIIrd year marketing students visited Devyani Beverages Pvt Ltd, Pepsi Bottling Plant, Greater Noida on April 6, 2004. It was aimed at providing the young students a practical experience of materials research, processing and component manufacturing in an industrial environment. The students were told of the production processes and the technology used for filtering ground water.

The exciting method of the actual production, the manufacturing of syrup and bottling of the same fascinated the students. They were taken through the production process of the Slice Juice plant and the tetra packing of the same.

The students were also apprised of recruitment policies. The visit was rounded off with a visit to the quality inspection unit for a quick look at quality standards for achieving excellence.

BASMATI RICE MILL

India is a land of 30,000 rice mills with 95% of them run manually. a visit by the undergraduate IInd year students on 2nd April 2004 to the KRBL (formerly known as Khushi Ram Bihari Lal), country's largest rice processor and exporter of premium quality Basmati rice with

Industrial Visit a whopping 10% market share overseas was a visual treat. KRBL is also a Guinness Book of World records entrant with 40,000 people eating 'Biryani' made from its processed rice in the Gulf on a single day.

The Undergraduate IInd Year Product Innovation students witnessed a state-of -art plant with unique features like a “Soft Logix” based control system with frequency drives and soft starters.

The system enables users to operate the plant on a simple computer key board and mouse. e-manufacturing has helped KRBL increase production by 400%, boosting hourly processing to 10 tons over the typical 2 tons per hour capacity , reduction in power consumption and savings on energy costs.

The visit helped the students gain an insight into the importance of Process Innovation by adoption of a mosaic of technology, value for customers and benefit propositions of products in the market.

BADARPUR POWER UNIT

PGDBM Ist year Students visited the

Study tour to University of Bath, UK From June 15-Sept 23 2004 Faculty Impressions I represented the British Council's CSR network for IILM, Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi. The tour introduced me to the M.Sc. Course on "Responsibility and Business Practice" a course which looks at the complex relationship between business decisions and their impact on local and world communities and economies, on the environment and on the workplace itself.

The course is innovative, includes new economic theories for sustainable development and socially responsible business practices. The course emphasizes on in-

quiry and self-reflective learning. It has drawn its expertise in this form of learning from Centre for Action Research in Professional Practice with the help of experts in the area Judy 'Marshall, Gill Coleman, David Murphy, Chris Seeley, David Ballard and Rupesh Shah.

The students brought with them experiences of different companies, governmental and non governmental organizations from middle management to senior management positions. Addressing the students on "Educating for corporate citizenship: Perspectives from India was

National Thermal Power Project Badarpur Power Generation Unit on 24th March 2004. The trip was to provide practical experience of generating thermal power in an industrial environment. There was a range of technologies and material applications demonstrated by the Plant.

Seventy per cent of the total installed capacity of electricity generation in the country is from coal based thermal power plants. The NTPC thermal plant at Badarpur is an example of one. It is among the 11 NTPC units that have bagged safety awards. (Source: Financial Express, August 30, 2000.) The station employs about 2,000 people. The Power produced by the Badarpur plant is transported by Delhi Transco Ltd and supplied to the Indian Capital.

The students observed the subprocesses in inventory management of coal, moving processes of coal to boiler, generation of steam and its management, steam pressure at the turbine inlet, shaft, generator, the Control Panel Room, and finally transmitters. The students also got an opportunity to know the management of dry ash. The visit gave them an opportunity to apply tools and techniques learnt in class sessions.

an intellectually gratifying experience for me.

Visits to Rio Tinto, GWR at Bristol and Buro Happold at Bath exposed me to corporate views about social role & responsibility of business. Rio Tinto is an oil and mining major, GWR is a local radio-station and Buro Happold an architectural and engineering firm with interests and projects in several countries. Their views provided an insight into the local business environment., their attitude and commitment to the society.

IILM through a partnership with the Council and the New Academy of Business would cover new grounds in the study of CSR. — Vineeta Dutta Roy, Fellow-Marketing

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IPS Officers' Training Programme August 23-28, 2004 A six-day vertical interaction programme on Human Resource Management was conducted for IPS officers at the IILM campus.

The programme was sponsored by the Bureau of Police Research & Development's (BPR&D) Mr R C Sharma, The former CBI Director inaugurated the programme.

The valedictory address was rendered by Mr K.G. Singh, DG BPR&D. Issues relating to Interpersonal dynamics and communication, team building, performance appraisal, motivation, leadership, stress management and work-life balance were covered by the programme. Eminent person-

alities like Mr. Sankar Sen, (IPS Retd & Former Director if the National Police Academy), Mr D.R. Karthikeyan (Former CBI Director) and Mr Sarabjeet Singh (Former DG, BPR&D) took sessions on police work environment, Human Rights and handling pressures.

The resource faculty from IILM included Prof Mirza S. Saiyadain, Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi, Dr. S. Baskaran, Dr. Tripti P. Desai and Dr. Shiri D. Vivek.

The Programme Director was Dr.. Rizvi and the academic and administrative coordinators were Ms. Ashita Aggarwal and Mr. Sachin Saxena, respectively.

IAS Officers Training Programme October 4-8, 2004 A five-day training programme on team building was conducted at the IILM campus between October 4 and October 8, 2004. This was the second one after the one conducted for IAS officers in February. The programme covered issues relating to understanding self and teams, building team collaboration and trust, inter and intra team dynamics, leadership, role and responsibility charting, teams and strategy

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and team culture. The sessions were conducted by Prof. Mirza S. Saiyadain, Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi, Dr. S. Baskaran and Dr. Tripti P. Desai. Mr. Arvind Varma, Former Secretary Personnel, Government of India, was the guest of honour at valedictory ceremony. The Programme Director was Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi and the academic and administrative coordinators, Ms. Ashita Aggarwal and Mr. Sachin Saxena, respectively.

Getting fresh: A party to remember A FRESHER'S party that bent all rules, a celebration that’ll go down in golden words. No! It's no exaggeration! For the first time in the history of IILM, a fresher's party was organised on the campus and successfully at that.

The celebration which marked the entry of a fresh batch of aspirants into the management jungle, created quite a stir.

Freshers got a glimpse of all that's in store for them at IILM — loads of fun!

But hey! That's just the tip of the iceberg. The show was a hit, but, only after a lot of work by organisers Anupam, Rohit, Gulrez and Ruchika. After mulling over the venue, the gang zeroed in on the campus. A decoration team was pressed into service for doing up the stage, a la Taal. Draped in red and black, it signified the party’s theme.

Among the invitees were five students from Germany who are here under the Students Exchange Programme. Two of them were judges for the Mr & Ms Fresher contest. The dampener, however, came in the slim attendance of the faculty — only one per cent!

The show kicked off with a troupe shaking a leg on the Dhoom number. Presenters Prathna and Tafseer kept tickling the funny bone with one-liners.

The main draw was for the Mr & Ms Fresher contest. There were two rounds — one for introduction and mimicry and the other for Q&A to assess the participants' WQ (Wit Quotient yaar!). The men’s crown went to Manu Sharma and the lady in limelight was Afshan Shafi.

The evening came to a grand finale with a rocking DJ party and sumptuous dinner on the lush lawns of the IILM, a rather romantic escapade for seniors freshers who started an impromptu romantic songs contest which ran deep into the night. Indeed, the 'saints' have come in marching and its up to us to help them march out as managers of tomorrow!

— Gulrez Alam

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INTERNATIONAL

GUEST

TIE-UPS

IILM and the School of Business,Stockholm University have signed an exchange agreement which covers not only exchange in terms of faculty and students but also implementation of joint training,seminars, research and development activities.Stockholm University was established in 1878 and offers courses to over 34,000 students today. The School of Business is the University's largest department with close to 4000 students undertaking graduate, post-graduate executive and doctoral programs. The school has been awarded the highly acclaimed EQUIS accreditation for educational quality, internationalisation and co-operation with the business community.

IILM and PHDCCI, with support from AICTE, organised a two-day National Workshop on Targeting Business Research for Excellence in Management Education — Business Schools Perspective" at PHDCCI, New Delhi on 24-25th Sept 2004.

Prof B. Bhattacharyya was the Director and Dr. Raj Agarwal was the co-director of the workshop. The workshop was divided into seven technical sessions covering various aspects. It was attended by 38 facul-

LECTURES

Demand & Supply - estimation issues by Dr. Kiran Wadhwa Public provision Vs private provision- Solid Waste Management by Mrs.Usha Raghupati Transport - Planning & pricing for urban transport by Mr. Akshay Kumar Sen Real Estate Development - Planning for real estate by Mr. Tanaji Chakrabarti Technique for Appraising Urban Infrastructure Sector by Mr. Satyanarayan Financing of urban infrastructure by Mrs Sujatha Shrikumar

WORKSHOP ty members from 20 business schools.

It was addressed by more than 15 senior academicians and industry representatives, including Dr P.L Sanjeeva Reddy, Director, IIPA ; Prof Abid Ahmed ,Ex-pro Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi; Mr T. K. Bhumick, Sr. advisor ,CII; Sh. Deepak Pahwa, President , Bry-air(Asia) Pvt Ltd; Mr. S K Mitra, Assistant Editor, The Econom-

ics Times. The major conclusions that emerged from the workshop include: ◆ Business Research should be one of the focused areas in B-Schools. ◆ There is a need to identify contemporary, relevant and productive issues for research. There should be emphasis on diagnostic and strategic research. ◆ B-Schools should share and develop intellectual resources through networking. ◆ There should be strong interface of academia with industry.

Workshop on Targeting Business Research for Excellence in Management Education in Progress

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FACULTY

NEWS

ASHITA AGGARWAL ❙❘❘ Granted funding for writing a case study on Corporate Social Responsibility from UNDP-CII-AICTE-MDI. The case selected is titled "Environment Sensitivity: Waste Treatment in a government hospital". The case is jointly submitted with Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi. ❙❘❘ Consulted Rahat Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. on “marketing and branding Strategies” for starting a new mall in East of Delhi. ❙❘❘ Paper titled "Global Branding for Management Schools: An Indian Perspective" published in Research Journal, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Volume III- Issue 3. The paper is co-authored by Dr Irfan A. Rizvi and Ms Sapna Popli.

B. BHATTACHARYYA ❙❘❘ Distinguished Professor, IILM, invited by the UN to act as a resource person-cum-advisor for the UNCTAD World Bank Training Workshop on Trade and Poverty held during May 24 -27, 2004 at Geneva.

GUNJAN MITTAL ❙❘❘ Research paper titled “Measuring the Efficiency of the Public sector Banks in India in View of Growing Competition and in a De-regulated Environment” has been accepted for presentation and publication at the international conference ‘Emerging Financial Markets & Services in Asia-Pacific’ Conference in Sydney from May 27-28, 2004. The conference was organised by a consortium of Australian universities, namely, Macquarie University RMIT University and University of Western Sydney.

HARSH SHARMA ❙❘❘ “Isolated HR Initiatives Leading to Chaos: A Case Study of ITI, Raebareli’ published in Amity Business Review (July-December 2003) ❙❘❘ ‘SAL Limited - A Case Study’ pub-

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lished in Delhi Business Review (JanJune 2004).

DR. IRFAN A. RIZVI ❙❘❘ Attended annual conference of Deans and Directors organised by European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) at Lisbon, Portugal in January 2004. ❙❘❘ Addressed senior officers of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on “Communication Skills” and “Team Building” in February 2004. ❙❘❘ Represented IILM in the Annual Conference of AACSB International at Montreal, Canada in April 2004. ❙❘❘ Half-day interaction with a group of senior government officials and others from various countries on “Leadership and Influence Process” at Academy of Public Administration, Nainital in May 2004. ❙❘❘ Visiting professor or Organisational Behaviour at National Graduate School of Management (NGSM), Australian National University (ANU) in June 2004. ❙❘❘ Conducted a case study on “Corporate Social Responsibility” along with Ms. Ashita Aggarwal. The case study is being sponsored by UNDP-CII-AICTE-MDI. DR. KAMAL GHOSH RAY ❙❘❘ A paper and a case presented and published in Strategic Management Forum’s 7th Annual Convention and International Conference on Strategic Management of Innovations: Perspectives from Developing Countries in May 2004. The papers are titled: ❙❘❘ “Governance in SMEs in India”, ❙❘❘ Case study on “ABB Flakt India Merger”.

DR. RAJ AGRAWAL ❙❘❘ "WTO & Higher Education", a paper entitled, published in July-Sept, 03 issue of "Productivity" a journal of National Productivity Council (NPC).

❙❘❘ "GATS and its Implications for the Accountancy Sector in India", an article published in the May, 2004 issue of the Journal "The Chartered Accountant", a Journal of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi ❙❘❘ "Emergence of Private Health Insurers in India and Its Impacts on Hospital", a paper accepted for presentation in the 8th Annual Conference of the Asia- Pacific Risk and Insurance Association to be held in Seoul, Korea ❙❘❘ "India and ASEAN: The Economic Partnership in Progress", a paper has been accepted for presentation in Asia Pacific Economies and Business Conference 2004, organised by University of PUTRA, Malaysia ❙❘❘ Invited to deliver the talk on GATS and Accountancy Sector in the 45th National Cost Convention 2004, organised by Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India. ❙❘❘ Nominated member in "Mentor Advisory Panel of Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) of CII. Ritu Gupta ❙❘❘ Invited by School of Management, University of Liverpool, U.K., to deliver a Guest Lecture to the Final Year students specialising in “International Marketing” on 6th February 2004. ❙❘❘ Case Study Titled “Distemper Dilemma” accepted at the “Hawaii International Conference on Business”. ❙❘❘ Article titled 'Direct Attack: India Under Perspective' accepted for publication by the SAMC Journal of Indian Management, Cochin in June 2004.

SANDEEP BISWAS ❙❘❘ Presented a paper at an International Conference on Strategic Management of Innovation (Perspectives from Developing Countries) held at IIM, Indore titled "Intellectual Cap-

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ital Management: a strategic paradigm for Innovation in an enterprise" co authored by Manish Chandra, IILM Academy, Greater Noida.

SANDHYA PRAKASH ❙❘❘ Presented a paper on "Governance in SMEs in India" jointly with Dr. K. G.Ray at the 7th Annual Conference conducted by IIM-Indore in May, 2004.

DR. TRIPTI PANDE DESAI ❙❘❘ Featured and interviewed in the International "Sloan Work and Family Research Network”, along with internationally renowned researchers in the field of Work -Family Conflict. ❙❘❘ Invited as participant to the Second Workshop of the International Work-Family Conflict Research Team held in Istanbul in February 2004. ❙❘❘ Presented two papers in the 19th Annual conference of the 'Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychologists' held in April 2004 at

Chicago, Illinois, USA. ❙❘❘ Visiting Guest professor at the University of Guelph, Canada for a lecture on 'Work Family Conflict the Indian Dimension' jointly funded by the Centre for work and Families and 'Centre for International Studies.' ❙❘❘ Co-editing a book on Contemporary issues in Organisational Behaviour ❙❘❘ Empanelled On the Panel of Reviewers for the International conference of SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS-US PROF. V. R. MURLI MOHAN ❙❘❘ Participated in a conference organised by Strategic Management Forum (SMF) and IIM, Indore at Indore. Presented papers on 'Lessons from Innovation Management in the context of India' and a Case Study on 'Customer Care at Airports Authority of India (AAI)'.

PROF.SUMANTRA NAG ❙❘❘ Paper entitled "Human Network-

ing and Organisational Growth" accepted for presentation at the 33rd IFTDO WORLD CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION ON 'VALUE CREATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THE EMERGING DIMENSIONS', November 22-25, 2004, in New Delhi, India. ❙❘❘ Invited as panellist for a discussion on "Is Inflation Here to Stay?"

by ASSOCHAM on 26 August 2004. ❙❘❘ Member of the ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on Economic Affairs DR RACHNA SINGH ❙❘❘ Article Women's Empowerment: A Comparison of Oral Traditions with a Literacy Approach, published in the Journal of Engaged Pedagogy, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 2004 ❙❘❘ "Women in India: Current Socioeconomic Status and Educational Policies" in Doing Business with Europe, a publication of the Indian European Studies Centre, by the Chambers of Commerce in Paris (CCIP).

Call of the Illuminati ILLUMINATI — A journey of thousand miles — can be achieved only when you make your first step. And this first step has been taken by IILM’s Illuminati too, in order to enhance intellect. Illuminati, a management club, is a forum for organising business quizzes, debate competitions, inhouse discussions and many more knowledge gaining activities.

The club has been formed

by PG-I students with the support of Ms Sapna Popli, Dean ,PGDBM. The first event held

by Illuminati on September 10, 2004, was an in-house discussion on ‘Price War Between HLL and P&G’. As it was Illuminati’s the first event, there was excitement all around. The event started at 4.30 pm with the welcome speech of Kumar Sambhav Singh (PG-I).

He introduced the speakers,

Manish Kumar and Nisha Mary John (both from PG-I). Manish started the discussion with a comparative study of the price war between the two marketing biggies, replete with statistics. Nisha took off from where Manish left. The analysis of these two speakers was appreciated by faculty members.

And then it was time for a question-answer session. As a large number of PG & UG students had turned up, a rapid-fire question round was beautifully answered by eminent faculty members who also value-added with a complete analysis.

As all good things come to an end this event too was concluded by Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi, Director, IILM Graduate School of Management. He applauded the student effort to have started such a forum.

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BUTCHER watching over his shop is surprised to see a dog coming into his shop.

He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices that there’s a note in his mouth.

The note reads: "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please". The dog is also carrying money in his mouth. The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten dollar note there. He takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth.

The butcher is impressed and since it's about closing time, he decides to shut shop and follow the dog.

The dog trots down the street and reaches a level crossing. Here, he puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button.

Then he waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way.

The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable. By this time, the butcher is in complete awe of this wonder pet. The dog checks out the timings,

and then sits on one of the seats provided.

Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the front, looks at the number and goes back to his seat. Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it's the right bus, and climbs on.

The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him on to the bus. The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog looking at the scenery.

Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then, he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth.

Well, the dog and the butcher then walk along the road, and the pet turns into a house.

He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the doorstep. Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it throws himself against it.

The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door and starts abusing the dog, kicking and punching him and swearing at him.

The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are you doing? The dog is a genius.

He could be on TV, for the life of me!" To which the guy responds: "You call this clever?

This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."

SORRYBOSS! You may continue to exceed onlookers' expectations but shall always fall short of your bosses' expectations