Prameya -10th Issue

Issue 10 | June 26 - September 24, 2015 | Prameya

/prameya

@prameyaWEschool

welingkar.org

FOREWORD

Foreword - the Voice of WeSchool Bangalore campus, is students’ quarterly newsletter. Every year a new student’s editorial team works on this theme based newsletter to capture and share with all the different events workshops, student and faculty achievements and celebrations conducted together as one family – The WeSchool family. This theme for this issue…. is NEEV- The Foundation Fortnight 2015 and presents the work of the new students’ editorial team of batch 2015-17.

This issue begins with address to the student community from our Group Director Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe and Dr. Anil Rao Paila - Dean and Director, WeSchool Bangalore campus followed by our campus’s achievement of receiving Best B-school award 2015 from the Bangalore Management Association.

WeSchool, Bangalore has been at the forefront of Management Education and conducts workshops and session for leading organization and Industry Association. The articles featured in this issue will facilitate a reader a better understanding of the importance of ‘Continuous Learning’ and its role in helping the different stakeholders of an organization to succeed.

The issue covers the foundation fortnight NEEV 2015, introduces three new sections on: Entrepreneurship; Management Development Cell’s client talk; Gurus Speak- our faculty articles on Luxury Market and Business Design Thinking. Further it covers the various events conducted by the functional clubs at the campus, the roundtables of various verticals, the Wecafe with Ms. Kirthiga Reddy, Managing Director, Facebook India, the visit of Pepperdine University Executive Education group, the students’ internships, faculty and student achievements and the celebrations done at the campus.

Wishing you all a Happy and Progressive 2015, happy reading……

Faculty Editorial Team:

Student Editorial Team:

Editor:

Concept and Design:

Prof. Dr. Sonia Mehrotra

Mr. Roman Rathod Mr. Sino Mohanlal

Assistant Editors: Ms. Shilpa Pathak Prof. Asha Mathew

Editorial Members:

Ms. Flinky Sharma Ms. Samriddhi Jaiswal Mr. Harshal Nandurkar

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 1

CONTENTS

Contents

Issue 10 | June 26 - September 24, 2015 | welingkar.org

Cover page Story

Group Director's and Dean's Address

pg

4

“The cover is on being professional and creative.

Theme: NEEV - WeSchool, Bangalore Campus.”

What?!?! How can you be creative and professional at the same time?

+

Professional

Creative

Creative Inside Professional outside

“Our college teaches us to adapt professionalism yet remain creative.”

pg

NEEV 2015

6

Foundation Fortnight

Events 26th NHRDN Showcase

Knowledge Partner - WeSchool

Start Inc.

From Ideas to Business, Business Design Initiative

Venture Capitalist Pitch Marketing Club, Mpower

Round Tables Valuations

Finance, Arthakul

Making Business of ‘Start ups’ a success.

Make in WeSchool Operation Vertical

2 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

“Ooooooh, I see what you’re doing.”

Foreword

pg

1

pg

14 pg 16 pg 19 pg

20 pg

22

pg

5

Pepperdine University pg Delegates’ visit

27

welingkar.org

pg

We Café

24

Kirthiga Reddy, MD Facebook India

Guruspeak

Awards and Achievements

Design Thinking in Businesses

Summer Internship Competition 2015

- By Prof. Prakash Unakal Sr. Associate Dean - Business Design & Innovation

Luxury Market: Will India beat China?

- By Prof. Dr. Githa Heggde Sr. Associate Dean - Marketing

pg

28 pg

29

Entrepreneur Article The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How about Entrepreneurship.

– An Entrepreneur’s View - By Mr. Siddhartha Goel Co-founder AdsTrak

Faculty Achievements At NHRDN, CII, NEN, AIMS, EFMD, etc.

Student Achievements

Celebrations

pg

35 pg 36 pg 37 pg

38

pg

31

MDC Article Talent Management isn't a Luxury Anymore - By Mr. Ajay Khanna Sr. Manager, Learning & Development, Biocon

Rotaract Club of WeSchool

pg

33 pg

40 June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 3

GROUP DIRECTOR AND DEAN DIRECTOR’S ADDRESS

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

- John Dewey

- Nelson Mandela

Group Director’s Address

Dean & Director’s Address

At WeSchool we believe in a learner centric education that facilitates the making of original thinkers and holistic individuals. Over the two years of their curriculum they are provided exposure to different aspects of learning by use of concept based education, experiential pedagogy, and application oriented experiences.

The idea is to get them ready for the real world challenges as well nurture them to become global leaders with empathy and ethical perspectives. It all starts with their foundation fortnight rightly termed as ‘NEEV’ and continue to build over their two years of association with us.

At WeSchool we are deeply inspired by these words.

I am delighted to share that WeSchool, Bengaluru with its presence in the Silicon Valley of India is well established Business School in the Southern India.

This has been recognized by none other than the industry association such as Bangalore Management Association (BMA) that conferred our Institute with the Best B-school of the year award 2015.

This year the new Bangalore student batch will be exposed to the Global Citizen Leaders program as run for our Institute by the Greensboro, NC, USA based, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). The objective is to make the students aware of self and the social environment, nurture to become a continual and agile learner and give back to society in a positive and impactful manner.

I welcome the students of the new batch 2015-17 to our WeSchool Family.

Dr Uday Salunkhe Group Director, WeSchool

This has been possible under the directional leadership of our Group Director Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe who has guided us to build strengths in the curriculum, faculty, students, corporate connect and infrastructure. The Bengaluru campus has been successfully running AICTE approved three full time PGDM programs and contemporary courses in E-business and Business Design & Innovation. The campus provides the student a plethora of opportunities to learn, interact and nurture their conceptual knowledge and skills by engaging in discussions with faculty team, peer group, industry professionals, prototype design lab, various online and offline learning resources and databases.

Prameya – the campus magazine is a student initiative that captures the events conducted at our campus and provides the glimpses of campus life at WeSchool, Bangalore.

A hearty welcome to the new student batch 2015-17.

Dr. Anil Rao Paila Dean & Director, WeSchool, Bangalore Campus

4 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

welingkar.org

BMA | BEST B-SCHOOL AWARD

Bangalore BMA Best Business School of the Year - 2015

W

eSchool, Bangalore was conferred ‘Best Business School’ of the year by BMA at their 62nd Anniversary, Awards and Member's Day held on August 14, 2015 at Capitol Hotel, Raj Bhavan, Bangalore.

It was proud moment for WeSchool team members to receive this honour in the presence of industry stalwarts of Bangalore.

Faculty Team Members, WeSchool Bangalore Campus receiving the BMA Award. Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director - WeSchool overlook with pride.

At the same function Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus Infosys was awarded the BMA Lifetime Achievement Award for his immense contribution to the Indian IT Sector and for initiating Bangalore’s emergence as the Silicon Valley of the East. There were other awards presented in different industry categories.

BMA is primarily an apex body that promotes dissemination of management principles as applied to the Indian industry environment. This is done by organizing focused training programs/lectures, discussion meetings where experiences are shared, sponsoring specific research projects, forming study groups and arranging goal directed conferences.

The Award was received by Prof. Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Dean and Director, WeSchool, Bangalore from Chief Guest, the Honorable Justice Shivaraj V. Patil (Ex-Chief Justice, Supreme Court India 2000-2005) and Mr. D. Shivakumar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited the Guest of Honor for the event.

Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool was present at the occasion and was proud of his Bangalore campus team. Prof. Dr. Madhavi Lokhande, Prof. Anuradha Mahesh, along with senior faculty members and students were present at the event, the WeSchool team felt honoured and were in jubilant mood.

WeSchool Faculty members and students at BMA Award function.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 5

NEEV 2015 | FOUNDATION FORTNIGHT

NEEV 2015 Foundation Fortnight

A

run can bring upon disillusionment. Also, Mr. Hegde, highlighted the importance of humanity which was sadly depleting in today's society. Mr. Hegde also t Neev 2015 – at WeSchool, Bangalore, we have interacted with the students in Q&A. He was the first designed and conceptualized an intensive two-week speaker at The Centre Stage of Neev 2015. program – termed as Foundation Fortnight where Dr (Prof) Uday Salunkhe, during his interaction with the students learn and develop their roots for the students, mentioned how Bengaluru has been a higher learnings. crucible for innovation. Innovation, in turn does not On June 26th, 2015, the WeSchool fraternity happen overnight. It feeds on consistency, perseverwelcomed the class of 2015-17 and familiarized them ance, insightful thinking and churning of thoughts with core values, essence and spirit of the instiand WeSchool has been playing a leading role, tute. Industry and academic collaboration is key evolving with the times, keeping in sync with the to develop an attitude of learning from differchanging demands of the society and the busient sources to develop a holistic view ness world in the context. It has been trying towards life. to offer the most congenial environment to The two themes of this year’s event were Responsible support innovation and out of box think– “Responsible leaders - Passionately Leaders... ing among the youth. Besides, he curious” and “Corporate Governance” stressed about the importance of integPassionately which are integral values to build rity, passion and commitment to the integrity in one's personal and busiCurious purpose as elementally humane traits; ness life in today’s age. The event was these should be an essential part of greeted by 50 eminent and successful their core thought process and governing speakers from diverse fields - each one of values. As they move ahead in life making them inspired us with his/her life experienctheir mark, they should also keep a careful eye on es and secrets of their accomplishments. The Founthe societal impact of their actions.Exhorting the dation Fortnight was dedicated to Nobel Laureate, Sir students to shift the focus from ME to WE, he advised John Nash - the Nobel Prize winner for his exposithe students to take initiative and be proactive. tion on Game Theory. Mr. John Nash, who was known Further, he said, that being a passive observer would for his brilliance in Mathematics coupled with curinot help one in leading a successful life and that osity for identifying patterns that led to astounding perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. discovery in field of science.

WeSchool, Bangalore had the privilege of hosting the Chief Guest Justice N. Santosh Hegde. Mr. Hegde, is best known for his roles as a former justice of India, Solicitor General of India and finally as Lokayukta – State of Karnataka. Mr. Santosh Hegde, was extended a hearty and warm welcome by Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool and Dr. Anil Rao, Dean and Director, WeSchool, Bangalore along with his faculty colleagues. Mr. Hegde inaugurated the Neev 2015 event and addressed the class of 2015-17 with his inaugural speech. He instilled the importance of an attitude of contentment in the minds of the young students and importance to have ambitious goals to succeed. He stated that contentment will yield boundless happiness and advised students not be driven by greed for 'Money and accumulation wealth' which in the long

6 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

N. Santosh Hegde, Former Justice Of Supreme Court Of India

welingkar.org

NEEV - Foundation Fortnight The NEEV Day planner and the Impact on Students.

The entire process of the NEEV 2015 was divided into 5 main part; the Centre Stage, Panel Discussion, HelloWe, On Your Marks and Management game activities. The entire process was well organized by Neev 2015 core team along with the faculty and staff support. Also there was a session Artshala which provided exposure to different creative fields.

The Centre Stage For the centre stage many eminent speakers from well-known industries visited our campus to give students insights about the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) world and how we have to adapt to this. The first interaction of the students was with Mr. Ramanujan, President & regional Head South, Yes Bank, he informed the students that the Banking Industry in India is growing exponentially and an opportunity awaiting MBA students aspiring to build a career.

Next was Mr. Sanjay Anandaram, Partner – Seed Feed and a Venture Capitalist, who further expounded on the theme of Neev 2015 and also stated that Sir John Nash was a curious and passionate person with a beautiful mind. He advised students to expand their horizon and embrace an open and a curious mindset. He counseled the young audience to avoid constraint based thinking and to think beyond “WHAT & WHY”. He cited the example of Albert Einstein referring to how his curiosity on the possibility of traveling beam of light leads him to establish the Theory of Relativity.

In his closing note, he quoted from the Upanishads -

"You are what your deep desire is, as is your desire so is your will, as is your will so is your action, as is your action so is your destiny."

The Centre stage gave the students an interesting opportunity to interact with Mr. George M George, Director; Muthoot Leisure and Hospitality. Mr. George charmed his way into the hearts of young audience with his interactive and humorous address. He detested the practice of building businesses and then selling it away. He advocated students on social entrepreneurship and how an Idea can expand through collaboration. It is no longer one person's idea but is idea for society's development. He emphasized that importance of branding oneself to sell one's idea. Mr. George, urged students to invest time to develop themselves and nurture a burning desire to achieve their set-goals. He drew a distinction between desire and want and exhorted them to nurture a desire rather than pandering to their wants.

Mr. George M. George

Director, Muthoot Leisure and Hospitality Services June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 7

NEEV 2015 | CENTRE STAGE

"Happiness is a state of mind that is the result of fulďŹ lling your own potentialâ€?

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds, shared the values that his own company had set as a governing framework that goes by the acronym SMILES (Sharing, Mindfulness, Integrity, Learning, Excellence and Social Responsibility).While other values are commonly talked about, he focused on the role of Sharing and Mindfulness with regard to how they directly contributes to happiness - sharing because you are happiest when you are giving and mindfulness because it ensures that you live in the moment and give your best at everything you do. He urged the students to make happiness their ultimate purpose and realizing their optimum potential.

Ms. Rajni Mishra

Chief General Manger, SBI

Prakash Wakankar, CEO, Mahindra Retail gave the students a brilliantly interesting session on curiosity and passion. He also stated that these two by themselves cannot sustain for long, it is the execution of the ideas that makes the difference. Execution with a deep commitment to success is the differentiator for both companies and individuals. He also gave students his background with Coca- Cola and the scenario about coke in Vietnam. With the example of Mahindra Retail getting into a new market in India and in a product category like maternity wear, where a deep commitment to the market and the consumer was called for.

He asked the students to concentrate on academics as well as the environment surrounding us. He stated that, marketing at the end of the day is the application of common sense and we market ourselves every day whether we are in that function or not. He wrapped up with the small advice that is to enjoy life, work hard and think smart.

Ms. Aruna Newton

Former President, ELCIA 8 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

Mr. Ashok Soota

Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds

Ms. Rajni Mishra, Chief General Manager-State Bank of India took over the centre stage speaking on leadership and on its various facets. She outlined that good governance and sustainable businesses are the main objectives for any enterprise and can be achieved through responsible leadership. Transparency, positive attitude, ability to handle stress and equanimity are pre-requisites to the making of a leader. She highlighted the emerging role of e-commerce as a big game changer and asked the students to keep a keen eye on such economic markers. She interacted with the students through a Q&A session on the KingďŹ sher debacle and how SBI handled it.

Mr. Prakash Wakankar CEO, Mahindra Retail

Ms. Aruna Newton, Former President, ELCIA in her address focused on how to survive in the corporate world and eventually become a responsible leader.

She initiated her talk by saying all individuals are different and one must know oneself deeply. Once a critical assessment of oneself is done then one has to improve upon his competencies and develop analytical skills. She cautioned that one must not neglect the power of communication. Quoting Gartner she stated that the world does not belong to the generalist or specialist. It belongs to those with versatility.

Therefore she urged the students to become versatile people and this trait will enable them to adapt to any condition. She reiterated that the world belongs to those who are versatile and one must develop skills and abilities to face any challenge.

welingkar.org

NEEV 2015 | PANELISTS

To relieve the students from the tiring sessions of MBA gyaan, Padma Shri Syed Kirmani, mesmerized the audience by narrating anecdotes from cricket while footage from the world cup 1983 and other tournaments was being showcased to the students. Mr. Kirmani shared his ups & downs and the grit which helped him tide over. He quoted that "Honesty with sincerity is the mantra for success". Whether it is to be a captain of a cricket team or a leader in corporate world dedication, hard work and passion are the pre-requisites for success. He encouraged the students to maintain integrity in whatever they undertake in life. He also shared his experiences in Bollywood Industry and mentioned acting was a natural talent instilled and he enjoyed his brief affair with the film industry. The young audience in the classroom witnessed his knack for Mimicry. His acting performance led to volley of cheers and laughter and students were spell bounded by his energy level and enthusiasm even at this age. He urged the students to have faith in the Almighty, and to look after their parents as they are the real heroes of their lives.

Padma Shri Syed Kirmani Former Cricketer, Team India

The Centre stage also had many other eminent speakers like Ms. Ruchika Gupta, President of Borderless Access, Mr.Sundaresh, Founder Envensys Technologies, Mr. Rajiv Krishnan, Partner and India Leader, People and Org, E&Y, Mr. N Krishna Kumar, CEO – Mindtree, Mr. Vivek Subramaniam, Sr. VP HR, Emids Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and many more.

The Panel Discussions Every day of Neev 2015 was based on various topics which eventually supported the main theme. Nurturing Curious Minds witnessed two distinguished guests-. Puja Kohli, founder-Unfold and .Abhishek Kumar, Founder-Ripples Learning Services for the panel discussion. The discussions revolved around the link between Curiosity, Creativity and Innovation. The panel concluded that curiosity and creativity reflect innovative mindsets and positively guide ones' efforts towards success in life. Panel discussion was moderated by our faculty or one of the panelist took charge as the moderator. The next set of panelists was Ms. Rajeshwari Ramachandran, Sr. Manager- Wipro and Mr. Kiran Patil - HR Head-Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd. Prof. Anuradha Mahesh moderated the session. In this session the panelist discussed about the importance of education and time management.

They focused mainly about developing an attitude for continuous learning. Ms. Rajeshwari, also urged the students to get out of the silo and start connecting with people to build up a g r e a t network of resources and also take up corporate social responsibilities.

Panel discussion on Importance of education and Time Management in progress.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 9

NEEV 2015 | PANELISTS

Prof. Dr. Murli Mohan moderated the session with distinguished panelists like Surendra Shahi - Founder Streetappy, Shashaank Singhal, Founder Tapcibo, Arvind Sivdas - Co Founder and CEO Officeyes.com, Suneel Pillai, Product Manager - Jiyo and Madhur Kathuria - CEO Agivetta Consulting. The discussion pegged on Entrepreneurship. The young and dynamic entrepreneurs shared their entrepreneurial journey with the audience. There was consensus that ‘Vision and Dream’ & 'Risk taking ability' is imperative. The panelist spoke about role models such as Bill Gates and about India's Marwari business community which is known for producing enterprising business and believing in entrepreneurial spirit. The panelists advice to the students who are keen in entrepreneurship is to identify the gap in the market. To leverage on latest and relevant analytical tools and conduct deep research to establish a sound business model.

Alumni of WeSchool sharing their WoW (World of WeSchool) experiences with new batch 2015-17.

The panel which comprised of the Mr. Ram Hari, Ms. Avanti Krishnan, Mr. Ritesh Sinha, and Mr. Hiten Chabbria alumni of WeSchool, shared their WoW (World of WeSchool) experiences with the new batch. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Ritesh Sinha. They said every day for them was a new learning at WeSchool. The also stated that participating in intercollegiate events and extra-curricular activities will help in developing the confidence level as well as in the placement activities. They also pointed out that it is necessary to take the assignment and other related activities very seriously. They also advised the students to develop and connect with peers as peer learning is an important aspect in management education. Avanti shared her experience on how participation in various activities of Rotary Club at WeSchool groomed her interpersonal skills and how hostel life aided her to connect with people and develop networking skills.

The Panel Discussion on Analytics and IT was held between Naveen Kumar V Advisor, Cherry work, Raju Chellaton, Sr. Vice President, Happiest Minds Technologies, Charan Nagaran, - Global Analytics HP (Printing and Personal Systems) and Shravan Kumar, Head- Line of Practice, Business Analytics and HANA, RBEI and the session was moderated by Prof Anita Pillai. The panel discussed the relevance of analytics and big data in business and cited examples of Telecom Industry which relies on vast unstructured data at its end to understand the minds of the consumers and new areas of product development that can be ventured upon on using analytics as a science and a tool to garner business and consumer insights.

Panel discussion on relevence of Analytics and IT in business moderated by Prof. Anita Pillai.

10 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

NEEV 2015 | HelloWe

welingkar.org

Panel discussion on Curiousity to Innovation in progress.

Panel discussion on Curiosity to Innovation was held by experts like Mr. Prashant Subhedar, Director-Bang Design, Ms. Huda Jaffer - Lead Designer - SELCO Labs, Ms. Sonia Manchandana Co-founder and Creative Chief-Idiom and Ms. Gayathri Tirthapura - MD, Kutoohala. The panelists felt that questioning is an important tool for satisfying curiosity. Creative curiosity is not an option but is mandatory. Responding to the question on new learning in a new real world the panelists felt that learning is a continuous process. One should not confine learning to domains nor should set limiting goals; one must learn from everything they see around them. The experts underlined the significance of learning to cope up with failures. As far as innovation was concerned the panelists felt that innovation is only an idea without action. Making ideas work is a necessary corollary of innovation. One has to be emphatically curious. This discussion was followed by a hands-on session creating models with the help of Lego blocks under the supportive supervision of Ms. Gayathri Tirthapura. The session basically tested the creativity quotient of the students. Many more panel discussions relevant to the theme was organized during NEEV 2015.

HelloWe HelloWe sessions were held to introduce the students with the various departments of WeSchool namely the Career Management Cell (CMC), Academic Deliverable Cell (ADC), Management Development Centre (MDC), Administration Department, Center of Excellence for Case Development, Assessment Centre and Development Centre, Learning Resource Centre and the Examination Cell. Each department head briefed about the various structures and details about their department. All the rules and regulations to be followed at WeSchool in accordance with the various departments were briefed to the students. Also there was a Namma Bengaluru session by Prof. AKN Prasad which described about the city – Bengaluru, its places, culture, uniqueness and the opportunities it offers.

As WeSchool is one of the pioneers among B-schools to offer programs in Design Thinking. The Design Team at WeSchool introduced their subject to the students in a unique and innovative way as the latter were asked to create a chandelier using thread, fevicol and a balloon. Prof Prakash Unakal and Prof Mohan Chandra were at the helm of affairs during the fun packed session held at WeSchool, amphitheater and the Proto Lab.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 11

NEEV 2015 | Artshala

On Your Marks ‘On Your Marks’, was held to provide a fresher course to the students about the various subjects like Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Management, IT operations, Economics, Market Research and Design Thinking.

These sessions helped the students to bridge the gap between their graduation education and management education. The students attended the sessions with full zest. The faculty took a great effort so that the bridging process took place smoothly and the students also enjoyed it well. At the end of fortnight, a test was conducted for the students.

Artshala Artshala, the creative initiative of Neev 2015 provided the students an opportunity to choose from the various activities like prototyping, clay-modeling, theatre, music and dance. According to their choice the students were divided into teams. In these sessions they were briefed about the various aspects necessarily required in the different arts and also hands on training was organized by various eminent artists. This in-turn helped them to connect with various management skills required in their corporate life.

Theatre Artshala

Dance Artshala

Design and Innovation Artshala

Music Artshala

Prototyping Artshala

12 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

welingkar.org

Hands On On every day of Neev 2015 a Hands On activity was held. This was the most awaited session of the day by the students. In ‘Hands On’ various management games were held. These games were organized to build various management skills like creativity, networking, peer learning, team management, delegation, resource management, time management etc. The students enthusiastically participated in these activities. Various games like treasure hunt, wordsmith, Awake- collage making, etc. were held. Also a video making competition on the theme of Neev 2015 was held during the process This activity invoked the creativity among students also helped them to acquire new skills such as video shooting, editing etc.

The last day of the Neev 2015 was dedicated to students. The students were given a chance to showcase their talents. The Neev 2015 concluded with the address by the Dean and Director - Prof. Dr. Anil Rao Paila. He asked the students to share the learning from the leaders who addressed them over the fortnight.

He quoted the findings from 2014 PWC Survey and spoke about the concerns of Global CEO’s which would give the students inkling about what engaged the minds of world leaders. He elaborated that ‘over regulation’, ‘availability of key skills’ and ‘Government response to key skills’ were the main concerns whereas competition, technology, partnerships and diversity were some of the other concerns. Continuing in the same vein he elaborated on the expectations of the global CEO’s from the future workforce and pinpointed the various skills required to be nurtured. He concluded asking the students to extract as much as knowledge from their 2 years at WeSchool and use this opportunity to transform into new person.

A special round of applause was given to the Neev 2015 organizing core faculty team Prof. Dr. Madhavi Lokhande, Prof. Dr. Hema D., Prof. Shekhar Prabhakar and Prof. Soumya Chakraborty as well as seniors’ batch volunteers.

The curtains to Neev 2015 rolled down with wonderful performances by the students.

We School Faculty and Staff members with Student Batch 2015-17

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 13

NHRDN SHOWCASE

26th National Human Resource Development Network Showcase Knowledge Partner - WeSchool

O

n September 11, 2015, WeSchool Bangalore, in association with NHRDN Bangalore Chapter, hosted the 26th NHRDN Showcase at White Feather Convention Centre.

The event was presided over by Mr. K Ramkumar, President of the NHRDN, Executive Director ICICI Bank Ltd. Mr. Balachandar N, Group Director HR, Cafe Coffee Day, President NHRDN, Bangalore Chapter, and guest of honour ‐ Mr. Marc Effron, President, The Talent Strategy Group and author of ‘One Page Talent Management’.

The corporate Human Resources (HR) Best Practices, HR Service provider, HR CSR Initiative, HR research initiative and HR Start‐ups were the five categories under which the participants were felicitated withcash awards of Rs. 1 Lakh each.

Prof. Anuradha Mahesh Head, Career Management Cell, WeSchool and also executive council member of NHRDN along with Prof.Dr. Savitha GR head HR Vertical, WeSchool provided NHRDN, Bangalore chapter guidance and support for conceptualization of this event. The WeSchool Student team extended full volunteer support on the D‐day for the smooth execution of the event.

Prof. Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Dean and Director of WeSchool, Bangalore campus was one of the invited jury members for the Corporate HR Best practices category.

Prof. Dr. Sonia Mehrotra, Head – Center of Excellence for Case Development, WeSchool was one of the invited jury members for HR Research initiative category.

The corporate that participated in the event, had set up their stalls to exhibit their HR Best practices.The event provided an opportunity for peer to peer learning of new HR practices and initiatives. It also provided the WeSchool students and many other management school students a platform to enhance their knowledge onthe latest trends and practices as adopted in the field of human resources by professionals across the different industrial sectors.

During the event the following parallel workshop sessions were conducted: 1.

“Influence Your Network – Gain Commitment Get Results” by Canter for Creative Leadership (CCL) for Senior and Middle Management professionals.

2. “Talent acquisition: How to implement psychometric assessments in a recruitment process? by Central Test.

3. Demonstrating value of a personality assessment in a recruitment process: The case of Professional Profile 2, by Central Test.

4. ”Employer Branding” by Randstad for Senior and Middle Management professionals.

WeSchool student volunteer team with NHRDN Core team.

14 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

welingkar.org

Sr. No. Category 1.

2.

Best HR Research paper

Best CSR Initiative

Organisation

Title of the Entry

Sindhuja CV & KB Akilesh

Understanding the Nature of high responsibility teams.‐ a case study of emergency medical care.

P Gowri Kusuma

Thank God it’s Monday ‐ An employee engagement.

Mindtree

I Got Garbage

Vasudev Adiga’s Fast Food Pvt.Ltd

Training & employment program for people with disabilities.

3.

Best HR Start‐up

Epoise

4.

Best HR Practice 1

Onmobile Global Ltd.

Developing Capability from within ‐ OLA

5.

Best HR Practice 2

Volvo Buses India Private Ltd.

Team Member to Team Leader ‐ Career Progression Model for Industrial Workers

6.

Best HR Practice 3

METRO Cash and Carry India Pvt. Ltd.

HR as Strategic Partner for Expansion support/Impact on P&L

7.

Best HR Practice 4

Exide Life Insurance Ltd.

Our Employer Promise: Space to perform ‐ Opportunity

8.

Best HR Practice 5

TVS Motor Company Ltd.

Development and Implementation of scientific methods for assessing and improving ergonomics at work space

9.

Best HR Practice 6

First Source Solutions

First Edge Academy

10.

People's Choice Award

Vodafone India

Vodafone India's ‐ Inclusion Journey

Mr. Mark Effron

President, The Talent Strategy Group and author of ‘One Page Talent Management’.

Mr. Balachandar N

Group Director HR, Cafe Coffee Day, President NHRDN, Bangalore Chapter

Mr. K Ramkumar

President of the NHRDN, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd. June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 15

START INC.

Start Inc. T

A Business Design Initiative.

he 4th edition of Start Inc. – an initiative of PGDM Business Design & Innovation, WeSchool was held on September 14, 2015 at our campus. The event titled ‘Quest for the Best' was conceptualized by Prof.

Mohan Chandra, Dean - Business Design & Innovation, and Prof. Prakash Unakal, Sr. Associate Dean Business Design & Innovation. The interactive platform provided the Business Design students to ideate, observe define their business plan and capture the insights gathered and replicate their ideas through prototyping and test the prototype and present to the distinguished audience assembled at WeSchool, campus on this day.

The panelists present at the event were Mr. Raghunandan S V, Chief Enabler at Pranavam People Solutions, Mr. Umesh Kulkarni, Head Strategic Initiatives, CoFounder NewsHunt at Verse Innovation, Mr. Nupam Pareek, Head Organization Capability On Mobile Global, Mr. Dinesh S., Sourcing Leader GE India Technology Centre, Mr. Anand Madanagopal, Founder & CEO – Cardiac Design Labs, MR. Godfrey Sujitraj, General Manager HR, Exide Life Insurance, MR. Praveen Kamath Kumbla, Global Head Talent Transformation, Wipro Ltd, Mr. Karthik Panchapakesan, Senior Manager HRD at TVS Motor Company, Mr. Sukumar Shankaran, Entrepreneur Astuix, Mr.Rumela Bhattacharya, Marketing Manager in Enventure, Mr. Mahesh N S, Head, Manufacturing and Education Verticals at Astutix Learning Pvt Ltd, Mr. Santosh Nandkumar, Founder at Exprsy & Froype, Mr. Sumathi Chari, Head Strategy & Planning, Dr. Ragini Mohanty, Head, Healthcare Management Programs, WeSchool, Mumbai, Mr. Parthasarathy S, Founder The Hub and Mr. Sunil Joshi, CEO Thasya Technologies. PGDM Business Design & Innovation class of 2014-16 presented their innovative ideas in teams. Following are the ideas that were presented during this event: Team 1 : GreenTow Sector : Waste Food Management In this fast moving world, we often ignore the basic fundamentals for betterment of our mother nature.

We also ignore betterment of those who are taking care of the nature. To overcome both the concerns, we at GreenTow are creating an ecosystem where we are

16 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

The Team GreenTow presenting their idea of creating a better ecosystem.

creating an innovative value chain which takes care of waste picking and waste pickers, considering the best possible ways to dispose or reuse the waste food is our vision.

Mr. Harsh Joshi, one the student who worked on the project stated: “He and his team were excited on assigned this project”. The students had conducted a stakeholder analysis and findings revealed helped them to formalize their plans to start a venture in Holistic and Logistic solutions for Food Waste Management in city of Bangalore.

Team 2 : Taste Factory Sector : Food Taste Factory stands for one thing -delivering tasty food at your door step. In any Indian household the discussion post dinner revolves around the activities to be done and meals to be prepared the next day. Taste Factory works on a similar concept where a person can pre order his breakfast for the next morning and the time it has to be delivered at his door step. Currently they are looking to serve the students and employees in electronic city. They plan to expand their offerings not only in terms of the menu i.e. lunch and dinner but looking to expand to other areas of Bangalore.

welingkar.org

Healthy Business Ecosystem.

Prototyping is essential to test whether the market is willing to accept the idea. At WeSchool campus, a young doctor Dr. Nitin from Ramkrishna Hospital conducted the regular medical checkup for the staff and the faculty present on the campus and it elicited a positive feedback.

Team 4 : Mr. Whistle Sector : Utility Services

Team Taste Factory presenting their business proposal to jury.

Mr. Whistle takes care of your clothes, bags, watches and accessories. They initiate their business as utility service based business to provide quick and affordable services for students and office going people who have a very busy schedule. So, when in a hustle? Just Whistle! It is an app based service provider.

Team 3 : DocOnToe Sector : Health Care DocOnToe bring doctors to companies to treat their employees with respect to their basic healthcare needs. It gives employees flexibility to see a doctor, timely attention to their health and adhere to busy work schedules and important commitments mainly due to which they can't catch up doctors' appointments.

They aim to provide this service targeting Isolated Business parks comprising of many companies and educational institutes going to their premises. With doctors and Business associations readily welcoming our Business model appreciating their efforts to fulfil needs, they are ready to go and achieve Vibrant

Team DocOnToe presenting their business proposal in Health Care sector to jury.

Team Mr. Whistle presenting their business proposal in Utility sector to jury.

Team 5 : EduYogi Sector : Education EduYogi helps young minds across the world dare to dream & achieve their true potential. EduYogi offers a range of student services aimed at enhancing their learning experience and providing professional support for them. These services are aimed at ensuring that students stay engaged with the institution not only while enrolled, but also act as brand ambassadors subsequently. EduYogi offers customised training solutions for industry partners, as well as direct to learner specialised Diplomas and Certificate programs in various fields like Information Technology, Finance and Management. These new business initiatives were presented to panelist from various industries and fields of experience. The panelist divided in groups assessed each business models. Out of the five business initiatives ‘GreenTow’ was voted as the best initiative.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 17

START INC.

Team EduYogi presenting their business proposal in education sector to jury.

The panelist termed GreenTow as an initiative to bring about betterment of the society as well as providing the resource back to the nature.

In their closing remarks the panelist shared few thoughts and exhorted the student to be focused in their research methodology, try to identify a differentiator, be passionate, startups can integrate the ' Make In India' campaign of government, understand the regulatory and statutory norms be compliant to rules' develop their soft skills and bring value proposition to the table. The panelist were so enthused by the energy and determination student showcased, they expressed their desire to mentor the students on their projects and help them to scale it up.

Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Dean and Director, WeSchool Bangalore with Start Inc. jury members.

18 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

MPOWER | VC PITCH

Venture Capitalist Pitch

M

Power the marketing club at WeSchool, Bangalore under its aegis organized Venture Capitalist Pitch for the class of 2014‐16 on August 28th, 2015 at the campus.

The objective of the session was to encourage the students to conceive a business idea, develop a business plan, understand the importance of team formation to start a business, conduct market research, design market strategy and test the business model.

Most importantly, to learn the art of pitching their business plan to a Venture Capitalist to raise seed capital. The event received an overwhelming response from the students and 34 teams participated. The student teams were handed a sample case study of a trial product and the teams had to provide solutions for the problems.

In the first stage on July 29, 2015 two preliminary rounds were facilitated by Prof Dr. Githa Heggde, Senior Associate Dean Marketing Vertical WeSchool and resultantly four best teams were selected for the finale. It was an interactive session and the both jury presented their idea on what a venture capitalist

Mr. Shailesh Rau, Director – Client Engagement at HealthScape Business Solution and Prof Deepak Shyam, Assistant Professor, Marketing Vertical WeSchool judged the finale round held later on August 28, 2015.

looks for while selecting a business plan. The jury selected the business idea on ‘Waste Management’ as the winner.

Batch 2015-17 students making VC Pitch at Mpower event.

The winning team members: Mr. Sudeep Palekar, Ms. Ashwini Kulkarni & Mr. Swapnil Shambharkar expressed it to be an interesting event that helped them to ideate, develop and enhance their analytical and critical abilities to generate a winning pitch to the VC jury.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 19

ARTHAKUL | THE FINANCE CLUB

Arthakul: The Finance Round Table on Valuations September 10, 2015

Valuation is a mind’s game and as connoted by many a view of one’s perception to a market, industry, stock or a product.

T

his set the theme for the first finance RoundTable (RT) of the year 2015 organized by ‘Arthakul’ ‐Finance Club of WeSchool. The RT was chaired by eminent industry stalwarts Mr. Anand Wani-Advisor-Finance CSC, Mr. Angad Rikhy-Venture Capitalist Unitus Seed Fund, Mr. Ajay M.R-Associate Director PWC, Mr. Vishal-Co Founder S Mergers, Mr. R.N. Pillai-Chartered Accountant RNP & Associates etc. The event was hosted by Natasha Chawla and Vaibhav Maniar and the RT presentations were made by Kriti Agrawal, Misha Agrawal and Yukti Gupta.

Team Arthakul (Batch 2014‐16) presented the audience and the distinguished panel a brief on aspects involved in valuation and recent M&A deals such as acquisition of TaxiforSure (Serendipity Infolabs Pvt. Ltd.) by Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd) for $200 Million in cash and other deals in the various industry sectors. The major discussion of the RT revolved around the price and value justified and if not then what went / goes into these sky rocketing valuations.

[

“Price is what you pay.

Value is what you get.”

]

-Warren Buffet.

The panelist at Finance Round Table at WeSchool Bangalore Campus.

Each of the 11 panelists opined on various aspects from: 1.

2.

3.

4.

The difference between the value and the price paid for various deals by the companies.

The cash paid for the company is more important than the shares exchanged as payment for the company.

They advised the students not to read too much into the media reports quoting the price of the acquired companies, as many a time they are exaggerated.

To differentiate between strategic investors and investors for financial gain only.

20 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

welingkar.org

Finance Club Some of the other points raised and discussed were related to the easy availability of money at near zero interest rates, demand and supply situation i.e. dearth of good companies’ vis‐a‐vis supply of large amounts of money etc. While discussing the huge valuations of companies like Flipkart India Pvt Ltd and WhatsApp Inc. the experts felt that these companies had huge futuristic potential to earn enormous amounts of money and therefore the huge valuations.

In the later part, the forum was opened up for questions from the audience. Many interesting questions were posed and other deals such as the takeover of Royal Enfield by Eicher Motors Ltd. were discussed.

The students were enriched by the knowledge they gained via this RT and it gave them a better perspective to look through valuations of any product / brand / firm as prospective Business Managers.

A Session by Finitiatives Learning India Pvt. Ltd (FLIP) New Possibilities of Career Opportunities in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)

‘Arthakul’ –the Finance Club at WeSchool organized an interactive session on Career Opportunities in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) with Ms. Anjali Mullatti, CEO and Managing Director at FLIP. The firm offers India’s largest range of e-learning and certification courses for students aspiring to pursue a career in Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI).

Prof. Vijaykumar Nishtala, Assistant Professor, Finance vertical welcomed the guest for the session and co-ordinated the interactive session. The objective of the session was to familiarize the finance students on the career opportunities in banking sector and also to share the opportunities for ‘Executive Placement’ at FLIP. During the discussion student inquired about the new roles in banking sector and also discussed the emergence of new private banks. It was an engaging discussion and helped students with new insights to explore on their career opportunities.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 21

OPERATIONS CLUB | ROUND TABLES

Operations Making Businesses of ‘Start-ups’ a success August 14, 2015 The idea was to provide the students an exposure of how young and dynamic individuals like them venture into developing their ideas into business ventures establishing their start‐ups. Is the journey as smooth as it sounds later, do the entrepreneurs spend sleepless nights pondering whether their venture will succeed or fail?

Prof. Dr. Murli Mohan, Dean of Operations Vertical, at WeSchool Bangalore, extended a hearty welcome and detailed the rationale for hosting the roundtable on this exciting theme that had attracted the attention of Media and Venture Capitalists to the Silicon Valley of India – Bangalore,also known to be the destination of Indian Start‐ups.

A presentation on ‘start‐ups’ ‐ success was presented by the students to the audience as a precursor to the discussion. The research conducted by student revealed that identifying the right idea, developing a business case and plan, Talent Acquisition and retention, scaling up the business and sustaining it and identifying the risks are important for start‐ups.

The panelist comprised of Mr. Kushal Agarwal, Founder Giftxoxo, Mr. Savan Bellur, Co‐founder at Simplotel, Mr. Shriya Kariappa, Director of Idea Culture, Mr. Anjaneyulu Reddy B ‐ Founder & CEO at Evibe, Mr. Prabhash Nirbhaya, Flipcarbon & Mr. Jayaram, Co‐founder at Pikkol. The panel discussion was moderated by Ms.Talha Salaria ‐ Founder of Lawyers at work.

The panel presented and shared their views on questions raised such as: What factors motivated them to become an entrepreneur, the vision for the company, and the challenges in setting up business models and how they tackle the competition in the market and lastly, do they foresee a bubble emerging in Start‐Ups. The panel was of the view that it is ‘MUST’ for an entrepreneur to have dream to start his own venture.

Also, to start a new business, it was imperative to identity a need gap and to design the business model to implement the strategy. They also discussed the imperatives of prototyping of ideas to test the market and the devise the final marketing strategy. It was agreed, that it is important to identify a right co‐founder who has skill set that are complementing and has a passion to nurture your dream.

22 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

The advice of the panel to student was if an individual plans to commence his business, then as an entrepre neur he should devote 100% of his time and attention and cannot delegate the business to professionals, till the business has scaled up. Also, if the business is not unable to sustain, he should take the steps to wind up and re‐start a new venture with a new idea. The common consensus among the panelist was that the support of the family is crucial in the initial stages of the venture.

The panelists educated students and left them with the message that Prototyping was important, cash should always be considered as gain, be flexible to adapt to changes, reinventing oneself, believe in team work and most importantly to have passion and risk taking ability to become an Entrepreneur.

welingkar.org

Round Tables Make in WeSchool September 9, 2015 The objective of this round table was to understand factors instrumental in introducing the campaign ‘Make in India’ by our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Does his vision have a potential to transform the lagging manufacturing sector of India? Can India become hub for international companies to set up its manufacturing base and leverage on the promising demographic dividend of the country? Finally will all this drive the growth and increase its contribution to India's Gross Domestic Product.

As a precursor to the theme ‘Make in India’, the first edition of ‘Make in WeSchool’ was announced on August 22, 2015. The competition was open for senior and junior batch students. Each team had a minimum 2 to 5 member. Teams had to work on working models/prototype/chart or an innovative idea which reflects and connects with the theme.

On the day of the Round Table, an exhibition at our campus Prototype lab was held to showcase the prototype models designed by students.

The round table was attended by experienced industry professionals Mr. B. Indushekar, VP Operations, Volvo Constructions Pvt Ltd, Mr.Manohar Duvvari, Director, Regional implantation group at SAP and Mr. Joyster Pinto, Associate GM, Praxair. The panel discussion for this round table was moderated by Mr. Ashok Rao, Managing Director, KGK Engineering Ltd. The distinguished panel members visited the exhibition and had an interactive session with the students to discuss their ideas that led them to create the prototype models.

Prof. Prakash Unakal, Sr. Associate Dean - Business Design & Innovation was instrumental in guiding the students in the initial stages of developing and designing the models and was the jury for the competition. Mr. Abhishek Puranik was declared as the winner, Ms.Ashwini Gangala & team won the second prize and Mr.Vinit and Mr.Saeesh were awarded the third prize.

A brief presentation on ‘Make in India’ campaign was presented to distinguished panel by WeSchool students:

Ms. Manjari Awte, Mr. Ajinkya Pawar, Mr. Akshay More, Ms. Ankita More and Mr. Sunny Kumar of batch 2014-16.

The presentation discussed sectors in Indian economy that would drive the growth, gross domestic product, employment opportunities, challenges etc. Other significant issue discussed was the campaign ‘Brain Drain’ and the role of monetary and taxation policy.

Also can India emulate China and revive its lagging manufacturing sector and how the campaign can help the ancillary sector in our country were some of the issues raised by the students at the end of their presentation and later debated in the round table by the panel members.

It was an interactive session with students also participating and sharing their thoughts. The few conclusions that the panelist drew were the campaign can be successful if the policies and laws in favour of investors are eased. The campaign has the potential to increase employment opportunities in our country. It will bridge the gap in technology development and bring forth access to technology which is imperative to revive the sluggish manufacturing sector. The panel also suggested that the primary education and the education sector in our country need an overhaul.

Most importantly the investors should not perceive India as a mere market; but an opportunity for growth and expansion.

An engaging panel discussion with the industry professionals reiterating that all the stakeholders in the campaign to ensure its effective implementation and a robust manufacturing sector was vital to the productivity linked growth for India's economy.

Make in WeSchool organising Team along with Dr. Murli Mohan and Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Dean & Director, WeSchool Bangalore June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 23

WECAFÉ | KIRTHIGA REDDY

WeCafé

with Kirthiga Reddy, MD Facebook India

T

he excitement was palpable at WeSchool, Bangalore campus. White and Blue balloons adorned the glass doors at the entrance to campus. An on-looker on the road witnessing the frenzied activity must have pondered, that a birthday party is to be held in the evening.

A party atmosphere had enveloped the campus; it was the occasion of the 20th edition of WeCafé with Ms. Kirthiga Reddy, Managing Director of Facebook India.

The first employee of Facebook India, Reddy holds a Masters in business administration from Stanford University and MS in computer engineering from Syracuse University.

Ms. Reddy had travelled all the way from Pune to graciously accept the WeSchool, Bangalore's invitation to be the guest at our WeCafé. Neither the two hour flight journey nor the long traffic queues at the traffic signals on Bangalore roads had dampened Ms. Reddy’s spirits. Dressed in white that complimented her personality Ms. Reddy’s emanated energy and vigour at our campus.

Dr. Anil Rao, Dean & Director at WeSchool campus and senior faculty members extended a warm welcome to her.

On campus de-tour, Ms. Reddy struck a friendly conversations with students who were keen to showcase their social work and business engagements on FB. She walked gracefully into the WeCafé room where a large audience awaited her arrival.

Ms. Priyanka Ghei, PGDM batch 2014-16, welcomed the guest and hosted the WeCafé evening. Ms. Reddy expressed to audience that she was delighted to be

24 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

Ms. Priyanka Ghei, PGDM batch 2014-16 in conve

welingkar.org

back on the campus!

Ms. Reddy started the lively and interactive discussion by a presentation on FB. She spoke earnestly on how FB has transformed the lives of billions of people on planet Earth. The audience glued to their chairs, watched curiously the Mother’s Day video which FB had unveiled on May 10, 2015.

ersation with Kirthiga Reddy, MD Facebook India.

She went on to detail FB research had revealed that in Egypt and West Asia, the children and young adults are reluctant to reveal the name of their Mother.

Because of the fear that in public their mother would be scorned or disgraced for any wrong doings committed by her children. These startling revelations led the FB to launch the Mother’s Day campaign.

FB users across the globe participated with zest and millions of videos/photos dedicated to show their love, appreciation and gratitude toward their mother were uploaded. Ms. Reddy proudly revealed that 1 billion users are connected on FB today.

Ms. Kirthiga Reddy touched upon how businesses are approaching FB to connect with prospects.

She cited the example of OLA Cab and how the FB team devised the digital marketing campagin to build awareness on OLA's product and services. The success of the campaign was measured when user started downloading OLA Cab application from FB site on their mobile devices.

Ms. Reddy reiterated that FB is impacting every function in business. Mass media and personalization is woven seamlessly on FB platform to connect with users. Each user has a different experience on his FB. She touched upon importance of visual communication – text, photo, videos and to harness innovative technology. FB is a platform for small and emerging business to build their vision.

WeCafé is a platform where apart from business and leadership talks; the 'Personal' life of the guest is unveiled.

As the evening rolled on; many surprises were awaiting the guest who seemed relaxed on the luxurious sofa and was seen sipping her coffee between conversations. Ms. Kirthiga Reddy gazed with interest at the large screen on which images of people associated in her personal and business life spoke vividly about her 'Magnanimity'.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 25

WECAFÉ | KIRTHIGA REDDY

The WeCafé team had travelled to Nanded to her hometown in Maharashtra. Ms. Anuja Kulkarni, her childhood friend fondly recalls her association with Kirthiga, which helped her to become an extrovert.

She remembered the present short hairstyle enhanced her charming personality.

Mr. Vidhayar Kale, her first colleague to join at FB India, said, “She embodies the values and mission of Facebook – openness and to connect with people.

Reddy is just the person to lead FB's operation in India’.

On questioned on 'Power', she responded by saying it is ‘Responsibility’ and ‘Helping others’. She believes in the philosophy that success can be achieved if we focus on our organisation, teamwork and customer service.

“If you aspire to be successful; then make others successful”

is her mantra.

The WeCafé team also interacted with her school teacher Dr. Geeta Latkar, Dean at the engineering college during their visit to Nanded. Dr Geeta recounted how Kirthiga was a bright student and would excel in her studies and other extra-curricular activities.

She applauded her student on her achievement and with pride commented that ‘Kirthiga is a jewel in crown’. These compliments left, Ms. Reddy speechless.

Ms. Kirthiga Reddy was astonished to see her hubby Dev Reddy, expressing his opinion to the audience.

Mr. Dev said, “His wife is a determined person and has innate ability to empower people and make others successful”.

Kirthiga was smiling delightfully when a young and sweet individual image became visible on the screen.

It was her younger daughter Ashna, performing a sonata composition on a piano at her residence in Pune.

She commented that ‘Motherhood’ is an important aspect of her life and she strives to spend quality time with her children.

Earlier, during business trips, Kirthiga’s younger daughter accompanied her. She recalled how her colleagues came forward to babysit her daughter. She believed that nature is conspiring to solve her problems.

Speaking on 'Institution of Marriage' she advised students to select the right spouse and said 'Marriage is about Give and Take, and Support'.

Kirthiga Reddy recalled her days at Stanford University, that she is still in touch with the faculty and administrative staff, who have shaped her career. She counselled the students to sharpen their skills, participate in community activity and stay connected with faculty.

It was revealed that community and social service is deeply ingrained in her personal life. It has cascaded down to her daughters, who accompany their active mother at regular intervals.

After lively discussion, music and a dance performance was staged by students on selected Hindi songs that Kirthiga loves listening in her pastime.

In her closing remarks, Kirthiga Reddy expressed the personalization and experiences witnessed at the WeSchool Bangalore campus are in sync with core values of FB. It had left an indelible impression on her heart.

Ms. Kirthiga Reddy with WeSchool students and faculty at WeSchool Campus, Bangalore.

26 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY DELEGATES

Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management

Executive Programs’ International Session at WeSchool Bangalore

A

September 15, 2015

team of 26 senior executive students from the Executive MBA program of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management visited WeSchool Bangalore campus as part of their International Session on September 15, 2015. WeSchool supported them in corporate contact and meetings with senior executive from Mahindra Areospace, Infosys, Biocon, NASSCOM etc. The team visited these company facilities’ to understand business challenges and strategies in an emerging market and others. The idea was to provide these student executives a platform to think strategically in business terms by connecting them to senior executives from various companies.

Pepperdine University Executive Education Team with WeSchool Faculty members at WeSchool Campus.

With the necessity of today’s executives to have a good understanding of operating in a global environment, the International Session is a formal requirement in both the Executive MBA and the Presidential and Key Executive (PKE) MBA of their programs. The goal of this session is to build or strengthen the students’ understanding of operating in cultures they have had little or no exposure to. Students generally attend this weeklong session during their third or fourth trimester of the five trimester program. The session is treated as a graded course with a required paper being submitted shortly after the end of the session.

The highlight of the International session was the interaction the visiting team had with the WeSchool senior students especially the marketing specialization graduates. The team expressed desire to get innovative inputs and ideas to business problems from the WeSchool interface. The visiting executives enjoyed asking our students for their thoughts on the company and its future directions as well as giving information on business environment in the United States of America.

A short cultural program was put by the WeSchool students for the delegates giving them a taste of Indian culture.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 27

GURUSPEAK

Design Thinking In Businesses

is today Apple – because of design thinking it has applied in its organization DNA – Apple is classic business case example of applying design beyond just aesthetics, but to create strategies around being better than competition and ahead of it. Design no doubt helps at sensory level for users to create better experience but it also has to benefit all the stakeholders, in case of Apple’s iPod/iTunes has helped even all the stakeholders like content creators i.e. music industry, software developers, hardware manufacturer.

Hence looking beyond the skin of offering be it product or services, if effectively applied design thinking can be the game changer for firms. Rather than Steve Jobs acting as Chief designer he ensured that design thinking prevailed in Apple. He also changed name from APPLE Computers to APPLE Inc. A game changing designer like Ive onboard made sense because visionary CEO Steve gave chief designer Jonathan Ive’s design a chance.

P & G has well developed in house programs which help to build and imbibe design thinking in each and every entity of the business.

In fact the current hype built in media and business on Design thinking can be traced to the success P & G had with applying design thinking to generate not only products’ but also in creating new business divisions. By adopting the approach P & G applied to build design thinkers through nurturing in house talent, this can be emulated by almost all businesses seeking to apply design thinking.

CEO of Procter and Gamble Mr.Lafley’s approach was to build design friendly organization without controlling the design process leaving this to experts.

Herman Miller is consistently recognized as one of Fortune Magazine's "Most Admired Companies", having placed at the top of the list for Furniture companies for the past 18 consecutive years.

28 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

-By Prof. Prakash V Unakal Senior Associate Dean, PGDM Business Design & Innovation WeSchool, Bangalore

According to CNN Money, as of March 2011, Herman Miller is ranked as the second most admired company in the Home Equipment, Furnishing division. They also scored first in Innovation, People Management, Use of Corporate Assets, Social Responsibility, and Quality of Products/Services.

In Quality of Management they scored second place, third in Long Term Investments, fourth in Financial Soundness, and ninth in Global Competitiveness.

Herman Miller is yet another firm which has embraced Design Thinking in its strategic think tank. They go one step ahead and believe that they know better than the customer about the new solution they are designing. It means that their confidence in value of design applied correctly is enormous. In an ERA when Executive signaled their status by sitting on largest, most padded with luxurious upholstered chair they came up with…new Design of Chair called “THE AERON”.

The downside of not applying design thinking is that the organization will loose out in long run once the competition starts catching up – hence if firm’s ability to build in house teams which can not only solve problems and develop new products/services but also identify new business opportunities for the firms to be in the business is very much dependent on nurturing design thinking in-house.

Lots of compa- nies like Videocon, Onida, Bajaj etc. paid little attention to use design thinking for long term sustaining the market have lost out on not all their leadership position but even its major market share.

As much design thinking is the new designerly way of solving problem be it business or any other, if not applied appropriate it would lose its significance as it might be misused or used as jargon. Hence design thinking makes sense only if it is living entity in organization not just one more method or tool. In short design thinking is not TRICK but TREAT …TREAT meaning T for Thinking, R for Reflection, E for Empathy, A for Applying and T for Testing.

Design Thinking is TREAT if one can apply with right intent and intensity otherwise it can become a TRICK for non-passionate types.

welingkar.org

LUXURY MARKET* WILL INDIA BEAT CHINA?

Indian consumers have started gravitating towards luxury goods and services that connect with their aspirations.

W

With the changing lifestyle, especially of the growing middle class, the luxury market in India is bound to grow manifold. The increas-By Prof. Dr. Githa Heggde ing malls in tier I and II cities in India is creatSenior Associate Dean ing more and more brand-conscious youth Marketing and many older consumers as well. India is a WeSchool, Bangalore hot destination for luxury goods because of India’s growing number of high net-worth individuals, the number of the wealthy grew by 35 per cent between 2008 and 2012 to about 1,70,000 and that number will increase to 4,50,000 by 2015, according to the Euromonitor International Asia Pacific.

The rising consumerism has impacted the need for luxury products. Indian consumers have increased spending on new clothes, holidays and vacations, home improvement, technology products, out of home entertainment etc. India is thus a potential market for luxury goods. The luxury market in India and the newfound spending power of the Indian consumer garner huge attention. Indian consumers have started gravitating towards luxury goods and services that connect with their aspirations. Yet, in comparison with the world luxury market, though India being the world’s fastest growing economy is still surprisingly small. India, a market of contrast, contradictions and extremes have entered into the early phases of development in luxury market from its nascent stage. Many Indians prefer shopping abroad for expensive goods such as leather bags, designer wear and watches than in India. The dynamics of the Indian luxury market challenge international luxury companies to develop an India-driven strategy as the luxury market in India is pegged to grow at 25 per cent on a

year-on-year basis between 2013 and 2015, the market size to grow from $8billion to $15 billion, according to an Assocham-Yes Bank study.

The question is where we stand in comparison with the China luxury market. As elite members of the BRIC club, India and China are poised to take a dominant position in the global luxury market, while currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global luxury market. The startling fact is that, while China makes up an estimated 10 per cent of the global luxury market, India accounts for less than 1 per cent, or a market worth around $1.3 billion. On the supply side, the gap between the two Asian giants is also vast: of the world’s leading 500 global luxury brands, only around 30 per cent have an Indian presence, compared to China’s 70 per cent, according to Altagamma. China is on the track to become world’s second largest luxury market in five years after the US; but India is not far behind. Would India beat China in this market?

Chinese luxury market is growing rapidly and an equally fast-growing segment of manufacturing goods is also there that is counterfeiting. The counterfeit operations are secretive, resilient and geographically dispersed.

Chinese market has unique characteristics, Chinese are fast to take the luxury brands and are more aware of the popular luxury labels and a high brand awareness. Chinese admire expertise, power and status. They perceive products as attainable or attractive. In spite of the home-grown counterfeit goods, Chinese are price-conscious yet they want

*This article was originally published in Indian Management, A Business Standard Publication (The Journal of AIMA-All India Management Association), Volume 52, issue 3, March 2013 and is reproduced and reprinted with permissions from the Author Prof. Dr. Githa Heggde.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 29

GURUSPEAK

authentic products. In China, shopping has been adopted as a leisure activity than need.

Travelling is also an aspect wherein the people would prefer to buy from the European showroom than the Chinese market. As the Chinese market matures, there exist new trends and challenges for the market.

Chinese shoppers, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, are shifting away from typical emerging market preference for logos and other visible signs of luxury spending, and shifting to a global mindset of uniqueness, high-quality and understatement in luxury items. Brands now must focus more on the specific tastes and preferences of the consumer. Shoppers are experienced with luxury shopping in other markets. Therefore, luxury brand stores in China need to deliver the same consumer experience in China as in France and Italy, or risk further deferral of spending to tourism.

The experience challenge is critical since luxury banners in China are struggling with same-store sales.

New consumers are defining luxury in China.

Chinese consumption is shifting from businessmen to younger shoppers and to “power women” with their own spending power and a taste for edgier fashion content.

On comparing both the markets, we find that the Chinese market is still more conducive for the luxury brands than the Indian markets.

But the hope is that there are many factors for rapid growth of luxury market in India, high net-worth individuals, increase in disposable income as purchasing power is an important aspect for computing chances for growth of luxury market. Indians have become obsessed with buying high-end luxury product making room for more and more luxury brands to come to India because of saturation in foreign market. The growth rate of luxury market seemed to be flattered now in western countries. Thus they are heading towards eastern countries. India recently allowed 100 per cent foreign investment in single-brand retail and 51 per cent foreign investment in multi-brand retail, with the provision that 30 per cent of the raw materials have to be sourced from local firms.

Demographics by 2020 India would be younger than China, increasing brand awareness and the improved purchasing power as compared to the past. Changing consumer attitude, relaxation in import duties and emergence of high-end shopping destinations are some of the key reasons catalyzing the growth of this market.

30 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

The value-conscious shopping is ingrained into Indian mindset. Indians will absolutely shop around for the best deal and luxury consumer is no different. With increasing brand awareness amongst the youth and purchasing power of the upper class in tier II and tier III cities in India where luxury cars, bikes and exotic holidays and privatization of airports would help to expand the stores of such luxury brands. Increasing price parity in the luxury products with other international destinations like Singapore or Hong Kong, and customized product offerings would indicate that the luxury market in India would evolve quickly.

Customized traditional wear by famous Indian designers are the first choice for big events by the affluent shoppers who have no qualms about the price. Witnessing the popularity of Indian traditional wear/designs, Hermes introduced saris as its limited edition collection in 2011, and Jimmy Choo launched the limited collection of clutches “Chandra” especially for the Indian customers, which was a huge success. This shows that the brands are serious about the Indian Market.

There are challenges that we need to face in order to be at par with the Chinese market. India’s luxury market is among the country’s least developed sectors, its development being hindered by several factors such as: legislation which limits Foreign Direct Investment, a high level of corruption and lack of awareness of luxury-branded products and shortage of appropriate commercial real estate, the grey market that refers to products brought to India by individuals, mostly purchased in duty free stores, therefore, bypassing taxation and VAT. This is the case especially for luxury watches and jewellery. The grey market in India, although in an incipient phase, if uncontrolled, can reach alarming levels within the next two to three years.

If these challenges are overcome, Indian luxury market is a potential gold mine for international luxury brands. With thorough market research, prudent marketing strategies and the right local partner, global luxury players can unearth the sea of opportunities that India represents. Though India has just started to witness luxury at mass level, and doesn’t compare to the other success story of China; India, at present, is the second fastest growing economy, which shows promising growth and progress in this sector. With the numbers of luxury brands entering India at present, it sure is going to be a major luxury hub. Challenge always comes along with an opportunity; similarly, high duty taxes and not-so-easy government regulations are major factors that hold back the brands from expanding tremendously. It, probably, also is a problem for brands to understand the fast- changing consumer behaviour and them not being loyal to one brand. Also there is a big problem with the attitudes of the Indian consumer. In the long term, there is very possibility that India will become a bigger luxury market which will give very tough competition to China.

welingkar.org

ENTREPRENEUR ARTICLE

The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How about Entrepreneurship – An Entrepreneur’s View

I

-By Siddhartha Goel It’s a pleasure writing for the MBA students of Co-founder AdsTrak WeSchool. India is an entrepreneurial nation with 50 million Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). As an MBA student, you are on the path to generating wealth and jobs for yourself, your associates and the nation at large. You should seriously consider taking the responsibility of being an Entrepreneur.

Let me focus this article on Bill Gross’ talk on Entrepreneurship. Wannabe entrepreneurs’ first excuse about not being able to start is lack of funds. It was my excuse as well. But I realized that the skills I gained in B-school place me in a better position to shake aside excuses and startup.

Bill Gross studied 130 companies, mostly US-based startups, to determine the degree of importance of the 5 variables: idea, team, timing, funding, and business model. Bill Gross’ findings are very interesting. We would all assume that funding is the most important factor that makes a startup successful. This is contrary to the belief.

Let’s pick up the same examples Bill Gross does: let’s look at YouTube, a hugely successful startup. YouTube’s timing was so right: in 2006, in US, high speed internet caught on, video cameras miniaturized, consumers were used to creating and consuming user generated content (content blogging had already exploded). Z.com is a YouTube predecessor, we haven’t heard of. YouTube’s success is largely because it was well timed.

Let’s consider another example. Apple came out with Newton a touchscreen Personal Digital Assistant. It was released in 1993 and discontinued in 1998. A decade later, the device was re-designed and re- engineered, when users became used to carrying small cellphones in their pocket, having access to a data plan and accessing internet on the move and came out as the huge hit called iPod Touch. Apple’s Newton is an example of poor

timing.

Hence, the most important factor in a startup’s success is timing. Let’s consider all variables, ranked based on Bill Gross’ research: 1. Timing, as we’ve seen, is the most important factor, i.e. when market forces align. Only an entrepreneur can see the market in a different way than it is today. And the entrepreneur acts on it. The bigger the vision, the bigger is the wave to ride, and larger is the impact on the market.

2. Team is the second most important factor, i.e. the founding group of individuals.

Entrepreneurs should have a. some relevant experience in their industry, whether as interns/ employees/ consultants/ vendors, it implies they understand the market/ players/ variables/ constraints/ metrics… b. be ‘teachable’, open to listening, accepting, unlearning, and learning and adapting both himself/herself and the business as needed. c. Should get along well with team members, can break down tasks, delegate, negotiate and trust. d. ‘Believe’ (this is big), an entrepreneur needs to believe and be passionate about the business even when everything around him/her isn’t and e. finally, be educated enough to possess the right vocabulary, and understand the concepts that determine whether the right decisions are taken and best opportunities are utilized.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 31

ENTREPRENEUR ARTICLE

3. Idea is the third most important factor, i.e. the product/service to be offered to the market in question. The choice and articulation of the idea determines what is built and what your customers know your business for. The bigger the idea, the easier it is to capture the market or even create one around it. Like Bill Gross mentions, ideas are first ignored, then ridiculed, but then when they live through it, they become self-evident.

In a way, a great entrepreneur will never be afraid of going after a ridiculous idea.

4. Business model is the fourth most important factor, i.e. how the business makes money. There needs to be a clear identification of who will pay, how much and why. Identifying price points, paying customer base, hence revenue streams, and having a handle on the costs, both capital and operating. If unit economics are not established, the business could bleed to death. Otherwise, if unit economics are healthy, funding can come in and bridge the gap to a stable, long-term sustainable business.

5. Funding is the fifth most important factor, i.e. external pools of risk capital. There are Angels and Funds looking for the next big idea to bet their money on. The knowledgeable and passionate entrepreneur sells his/her idea to investors who bring in much needed capital to create/grow the business. These investors are willing to share the Entrepreneur’s risk because they can foresee better returns on their capital than other businesses would give for the same risk. Funding takes the business to profitability. Fund raising can happen in multiple stages as the business grows, the final stage of equity financing typically being an M&A or IPO. As a corollary to the above, a business cannot succeed, if there is no market need, the business is running out of money and cannot raise capital in the stipulated time, or if the execution

32 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

ABOUT THE AUTHOR My name is Siddhartha Goel. I co-founded AdsTrak.

Every day I get to work with a wonderful group of dedicated individuals who want to improve the way Indian companies are marketing their businesses.

I graduated from IIT-Kanpur (in Computer Science), completed an MS from Purdue University, published technical papers at HRL Laboratories (formerly known as Hughes Research Laboratories), California, completed an MBA at IIM-Calcutta, and this is my second startup in Bangalore.

team didn’t know enough, work well together or just perform at all.

Finally, I sincerely hope, in your journey you find what you like to do, that you are good at what you do and that you make good money at it in the process. I hope you build good / strong / large / stable businesses in your career. I hope you have the patience, courage and determination to take on the world and create products / services / platforms / organizations that serve not only the haves but the have-nots and make your dent in this country and planet, so it becomes a better place to live in.

welingkar.org

MDC ARTICLE

Talent Management NOT a Luxury Anymore*

I

Increasing complexity of business and unprecedented focus on realizing greater market values has made it extremely difficult for organizations to operate conservatively. Achieving competitive advantage today is not about having better brands or technologies anymore. It goes much beyond this. Investing in people on their development is clearly emerging as a strong strategic need. Yet for a myriad reason this important aspect of business is being completely neglected or handled ritually or as an afterthought. Personally I believe that the biggest challenge organizations face today is retaining the top talent which is clearly attributed to the absence of a clear career path and lack of learning opportunities.

Current Challenges:

Mr. Ajay Khanna Sr. Manager, Learning & Development Biocon - Branded Formulations Autor’s Blog: khannausv.wordpress.com

With an estimated attrition rate of about 30‐35%, the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry virtually operates with 1/3rd new employees every year. Getting the right people in the first place is a mammoth task. With such high attrition rates, HR invests about 60% of time scouting for people. Contrary to our beliefs that employees leave for better salaries, the truth revealed during exit interviews is, lack of engagement at work and absence of exciting career opportunities. Attrition data also reflects that employees leave due to lack of a clear vision of their goals/ objectives or the larger goals of the organization itself. This holds true even more for younger employees. Data reveals maximum attrition happens in the first year itself which clearly reflects on the point that I made above.

Infant mortality, as it is called is highly prevalent in dynamic functions like sales and marketing. This is sometimes attributed to weak on boarding and not meeting expectations of the job role itself.

We need to appreciate and understand the consequence of this in the longer run. High employee turnover not only adds to the operational cost but also slows down the organizational growth momentum. It is a serious business concern and needs to be addressed likewise.

Attracting talent is not the only task in hand for the organizations, it is the greater task of retaining and keeping the talent motivated.

Talking about employee motivation, several organizations across the world have employee reward and recognition systems to motivate the workforce.

In his 2009 book Drive,author Daniel Pink examined decades of social experiments that described the phenomenon in terms of “extrinsic” and “intrinsic” motivators. “Extrinsic” motivators are the traditional carrot & stick reward mechanism on which most organizations work these days. The “intrinsic” motivators are internal factors which pushes an employee to do successful work which is appreciated. Pink states that “extrinsic” factors are less effective motivators however, majority of our managers rely on this mechanism of motivating their teams.

Solution: We operate in a complex knowledge based business environment and not keeping pace with changing times and increasing customer needs can cause us dear. The market success as I said earlier is not necessarily driven by product or technological advantages, personal effectiveness of the employees could be a game changer. The more the spotlight is shifting on execution excellence, the more important improved people

*This article has been contributed by Mr. Ajay Khanna, Sr. Manager Biocon, WeSchool Management Development Centre’s (MDC) client.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 33

MDC ARTICLE

capabilities are becoming. Having an upbeat people strategy is becoming as crucial as any other financial or marketing strategy. Developing the work force competence is no more a bureaucratic exercise, it is an active engagement strategy which complements organizational vision. Building a culture of learning enables Talent to foster and grow within the organization. It not only provides stability to the operations but it also reduces manpower cost.

While continuous learning is an answer to keep high potential employees engaged, providing clarity on the job role during the hiring process and having SMART goals would help to set the expectation right of the new hires. Once an employee’s journey in the organization starts on the right note and on clearly set objectives, it is easier for them to understand the value add their role makes on the larger purpose of the organization. This hits the 2 prime reason of attrition across the world – No Vision and No Connection to the big picture. Forbes states that “Successful managers sell their employees on a vision of the future.”

Although our industry is still on the cusp of recognizing this as a foremost challenge, there are companies who have proactively taken it up on a strategic level. We too at Biocon appreciate and strongly believe in the fact that our people are greatest assets and investing in them without doubt is an answer to achieving a strong competitive edge.

Being a young enterprise, we at Biocon have an advantage of being able to adapt to the needs of the changing times quickly. We have a multipronged approach to keeping our people engaged through quality learning interventions at every stage during the employee life cycle. From a robust induction to online learning to specific, need based interventions for identified set of talent, we offer the best of learning opportunities.

Talent Development @ Biocon Talent development at Biocon is a strategic intervention with leadership completely behind it. In a short span of time the initiative has gathered great response. Biocon’s BioRise is truly an answer to the increasing development needs of employees. BioRise

34 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

was conceptualized by a team of passionate L & D professionals headed by Associate Director ‐ L & D, Mr.Srinivas with a clear objective of providing a clear career path and need based support to enable employees to progress within the organization. The initiative is targeted at 5% of the top performing employees and nurturing them to the next levels.

Unlike the complicated talent processes, BioRise selection process has been kept simple and transparent. After the identification of talent based on their performance rating, they undergo a simple competency assessment for future potential. HiPOs are segregated based on the assessment rating and are finally they get into BioRise with recommendations from business unit heads.

These sets of employees undergo a specially crafted learning program at WeSchool Bangalore campus. The training modules comprises of standard management practices with added Biocon flavour. It is a unique program as it leverage on benefits of classroom learning and on job training. In between 2 classroom modules, a field project is assigned to all participants. During this period the participants are supported through mentoring by senior professors from the institute.

While these participants continue to apply the learning of the classroom they get regular guidance from their mentors on any challenges that they face.

Choosing the right talent development strategy is as crucial as choosing the right talent. In a hypercompetitive scenario when you cannot pull people out of work and still want to offer a world class learning support, training teams must focus on customization to fit into both organizational and employee needs. Most business schools offer short term management courses. These courses of‐course bring along a lot of value but no or less scope of modifications could lead to higher chances of non‐achievement of end objectives. BioRise certification program have been specifically designed to address specific competencies with complete focus on global management practices. The flexible approach of WeSchool education to be able to customize a world class learning program for Biocon has helped bridge the gap based on the exact business needs. We cherish our academic partnership with WeSchool and hope to add value and impetus to achieving our organizational vision.

Today we proudly claim to be an organization with complete focus on all spheres of employee development. The existing Talent pipeline serves as a great resource and we have already 25% of BioRise participants already moved into next roles and the rest making it to the Talent Pool.

A recent internal employee survey has led us to know the excitement this program has created amongst them and how willing they are now to be part of this program in this year.

BioRise has not only helped us in streamlining our talent management process, it has also acted as a strong business enabler.

SUMMER INTERNSHIP COMPETITION

welingkar.org

Summer Internship Competition 2015

T

he Career Management Center (CMC), at WeSchool, Bangalore, hosted the 3rd edition of summer internship competition on 26th August, 2015.

The summer internship period at WeSchool, Bangalore is between the 8 weeks of the months of May & June. It is during this period that the students get their first exposure to the corporate environment. The summer internship competition is the culmination of their learning and experiences and a platform to showcase.

The students during the competition were judged on parameters of their communication skills, project work and content of the presentation.

The competition had two rounds primary and finale.

In the primary round they made presentations of their summer internship projects to their specialization heads and vertical faculty members. Based on their scoring the best projects were shortlisted for the presentations in the finale round.

The final round was held with distinguished industry professionals as the members of the competition jury panel. The panel comprised of Mr. Praveen Kamath, Global Head, Talent Transformation (BPS Division), Wipro Ltd, Ms. Kirti Vikrana Lal, Talent Management Lead, Titan Industries Ltd, Mr. Diwakar Menon, Co‐founder, Last Mile Consultants, Mr. Girinarayanan, Country Leader, Terex India Pvt Ltd. Ms. Aparna C, HR at Twam Global, Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, Quadmo Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mr. Anjan Dutta, Inflexon Point and Mr. Sandeep MK, Infosys Technology and Ms. Shoba, Genpact.

Ms. Vishnupriya Varma, of PGDM E-Business program was declared as the ‘Winner’ for her marketing project on ‘Sales Order Cycle’ at PUMA, Bangalore. Her project comprised interactions with Sales Operations, Sales and Marketing, Merchandising and Sourcing business to map their business. On completion, of mapping process, the findings were verified with set Standard Operating Procedures and recommendations provided for the identified gaps in the value chain. This internship helped her to enhance her analytical and personnel skills.

Mr. Ajinkya Gupta, PDGM program secured ‘Second winner position’ at the competition for his operations project on ‘DAZO APP’ at Tapcibo, Bangalore. Dazo is

The winners of the Summer Internship Competition with the jury and faculty at WeSchool campus.

an android app to order food on demand. The menu is curated and users are given option to choose from different menu items for lunch, snack & dinner. A user can order his menu with three taps on the mobile app.

At the back end, delivery executives carry smart phones with delivery app installed and real‐time tracking to get the food from the neighboring restaurant delivered directly to homes or office address of the customer.

During the field visits the student accompanied the delivery boys to study and understand the process of delivery. The observation gathered, helped the student to identity the gaps in the process. During the peak hours, the food orders were delayed. When there was multiple meal order the delivery boys were unable to take informed decision regarding the best route to reach a particular restaurant to complete the order. To find a solution the problem, the student developed an algorithm which automatically identifies the shortest route to reach the nearest restaurant, hence guides the delivery boy and automates the order assignment process.

Mr. Akshay Agnihotri, PGDM Business Design & Innovation, was selected the ‘Third Winner’ for his summer project on ‘Business Development’ at Tata Elxsi Ltd, Bangalore. The student had to identify underperforming offerings: User Interface & User Experience (UI/UX) of a business unit and reposition the offering by identifying the potential sector, so as to enable the company to have a first mover advantage. The student developed integrated communication links with prospect clients and designed and presented the company’s credentials through client engagements.

The student also acquired a new client for the company in the Healthcare sector and the project helped the student to develop skills in business consulting and B2B consulting.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 35

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Achievements Faculty Achievements and Awards

Prof. Dr. Anil Rao Paila Dean and Director

Prof. Dr. Anil Rao Paila is appointed as National Treasurer for Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) 2015-16. He is also appointed as Assistant Governor and Advisor, Rotary Youth Exchange 2015-16. He is on the Advisory Board of National Human Resource Development Network (NHRDN), Bengaluru, Chapter 2013-15.

Prof. Dr. Githa Heggde was appointed Co-convener, at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s Indian Women Network (IWN) 2015 Learning and Development Task force, Bangalore. Indian Women Network an initiative of CII provides a networking platform for working women.

Prof. Dr. Githa Heggde

Associate Professor – Retail & Head Career Management Cell

Prof. Anuradha Mahesh is appointed as Executive Committee Member of NHRD Network, Bangalore chapter for 2015-17.

Senior Associate Dean – Academic Delivery Cell/ Finance and Organization Eco-System

Prof. Dr. Savitha GR presented a co-authored case study titled ‘Mission Mode, Public Policy and Strategic Perspective : The Role of Management Institution’ at the Annual AIMS Convention 2015. She won Silver medal in the Case Study Competition Category.

Sr. Associate Dean- Marketing

Prof. Anuradha Mahesh

Prof.

Dr. Madhavi Lokhande is appointed as Member of Advisory Board at Christ University, Bangalore since 2014.

Also Member of the Mentor group – National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) ; Member of Editorial Board, CMR Journal of Innovation & Research at CMR University, Prof.Dr. Madhavi Lokhande Karnataka.

Prof. Dr. Savitha GR Associate Professor HR

Prof. Dr. Sonia Mehrotra won two international awards at the EFMD* International Case Writing Competition 2014. The results declared in June 2015 this year awarded her two co-authored cases ‘SEWA: Ela Bhatt (A&B)’ and ‘Moser Baer and OM&T: Choosing a Strategic Partnership Mode’ in the categories of ‘Responsible Leadership’ and ‘Bringing Technology to Market’ respectively.

Each award carried a prize money of Euros 2000. Member Core Committee, National Human Resources Development Network (NHRDN), Bangalore Chapter, Academic Initiatives for the years 2015-17. Also she is Member Core Committee, CII Western Region Case Writing Competition 2015.

Prof. Sonia Mehrotra

Associate Professor Head - Center of Excellence for Case Development

*EFMD is an international membership organisation, based in Brussels, Belgium, with over 800 member organizations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 81 countries. A unique forum for information, research, networking and debate on innovation and best practice in management development and recognized globally as an accreditation body of quality in management education with established accreditation services for business schools and business school programmes, corporate universities and technology-enhanced learning programmes.

36 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

& Awards Students Achievements and Awards Mr. Nitin Kulkarni, Mr. Supriyo Ghosh, Mr. Sharan Hiremath, Mr. Suraj G.S., students of PGDM Business Design & Innovation (batch 2014-16) participated in CII – Yi Challenge Competition held in the month of August 2015, in Bangalore. Their start-up plan on ‘Taste Factory’ was shortlisted one among the top ten ideas at the competition.

Ms. Kirti Agarwal, Mr. Vishal Gaonkar, Mr. Rahul Singh and Ms. Priyanka Ghei - students of PGDM (batch 2014-16) participated in AIMS- Best Student Paper Award, held at Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, in August, 2015. The presentation paper on ' Study on Ease of Doing Business in India' was selected and the student team received ' Silver Medal' and Appreciation Certificate.

Mr. Sharmad Keny (In the photo second from right.) - student of PGDM Business Design (batch 2014-16) had participated in Summer Competition organized by K.G. Somaiya, Mumbai in August, 2015. The student won the consolation prize of Appreciation Certificate and a cash award of Rs. 4000/for his summer project on ‘Process Improvement Using Lean in Warehousing, MRP & DRP Planning’ at Nestle India.

June-September, 2015 | Prameya | 37

CELEBRATIONS

Celebrations 69th Independence Day September 15, 2015

T

he Independence Day was celebrated on August 15, 2015 at our campus. The Day this year was dedicated to Late Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, for his contribution to science and technology and his deep affection for teaching. He was remembered fondly by all - the students, faculty members and the guests.

The Chief Guests for the Day were was Prof. Rajaram Nagappa -Ex- Associate Director of Vikram Sarabai Space Centre and Mrs. Rama N.S., CEO, Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA), Bangalore. After the flag hoisting ceremony, the students presented a small cultural program comprising of patriotic songs and a skit on ‘Women Empowerment’.

Chief guests hoisting the National Flag on Independence Day at WeSchool Bangalore Campus

Ganesha Chaturthi

Dance performance by students of WeSchool Bangalore on occasion of Independence Day

The festival dedicated to ‘Lord Ganesh’ the giver of wisdom was celebrated on September 17, 2015 at the Yoho Student Living (previously named as Woodstock Ambience)– WeSchool Residences for students with great pomp and show. It was a celebration for students away from home and each one participated in the celebrations with enthusiasm. Each year the idol is one inch tall then the previous year. The celebrations went on two days and students followed all the traditional rituals: Pransthapana of Bappa, Aartis that were held both in mornings and evenings, followed by distribution of ‘Prasad’- sweets. On the third day, the students performed the puja followed by immersion procession ceremony which Students performing a skit on Women Empowerment ended at the Begur Lake. The students danced to the Indian dhol beats and paid their final respect to Lord Ganesh saying...

“Ganapati Bappa Morya’.

38 | Prameya | June-September, 2015

welingkar.org

Teachers’ Day

WeSchool Faculty and Staff on Teachers’ Day.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

-William Arthur Ward September, 5, 2015 was celebrated as Teachers’ Day at the WeSchool, Campus. To express their profound gratitude to their ‘Gurus’, the students organised a fun-filled evening full of games, fashion show, dance show and paper competition.

Prof. A.K.N Prasad, Head, MDC - Executive Education, WeSchool and also faculty for our Operations vertical, has immense love for western and Hindustani classical music. On this occasion he was gracious enough to play the ‘Mouth Organ’ instrument and entertaining everyone with old sweet melodies of Hindi classic movies. Prof. A.K.N Prasad further made an announcement of donating a new ‘Drums Set’ to the Institute for the benefit of student community interested in pursuing their diverse music interests along with their education. His gesture was applauded by all present.

Faculty and the staff presenting the Paper art model on Teachers’ Day

ROTARACT CLUB

Rotaract Club Installation

T

he prestigious event of the installation of Rotaract Club of WeSchool was held on August 15, 2015. The occasion was glorified by dignitaries from R.I. District 3190. Our Dean, Rtn. Dr. Anil Rao Paila and Faculty Members of We School also graced the occasion with their presence. All Rotaractors were welcomed by the dignitaries of Rotaract Club.

The meeting was called to order by Rtr. Yash Mehta, immediate past President Rotaract Club of WeSchool, Bangalore (2014-15), following that he also gave a welcome address to the gathering. Dean of WeSchool, Rtn. Dr Anil Rao Paila gave an inspiring speech on the contribution of Rotaract clubs to the society. A collection of past year records were displayed as an array of motion pictures, presented by Rtr. Vishnupriya Varma, immediate past Secretary of Rotaract Club of WeSchool (14-15).

The installation of the current Rotaract President Rtr. Afreen Aziz was by Rtn. Prakash Belavady, DRCC. She highlighted that she brings along a vital experience of being a former Rotaractor of Rotaract Club Dist. 3140 and expressed her desire to bring out the best with the her current team and set new benchmarks for the upcoming year. She also emphasised on the need for “T.E.A.C.H” program initiated by Rotaract.

From left-right : Vijay Karthickeyan R B (Secretary), Nikhil Motwani (PR), Baijayanta Das (Vice Secretary), Mahalakshmi K. (Editor), Asavari Waichal (PR), Ankita Soni (Club Service Director), Afreen Aziz (President), Rasika Urdhwareshe (Internationa Business Director), Rutuja Ganoje (Vice President), Akansha Thakur (Community Service Director), Ashwini Kulkarni (PR), Swapnil Shambharkar (Sergent at Arms), [Not in Photo] : Ankit Vyas (Treasurer), Sanchi Kumar (PR), Ajitha Prabhu (Professional Service Director).

Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research Bengaluru Campus: 102/103, Electronic City Phase I, Next to BSNL Telephone Exchange, Hosur Road, Bengaluru - 560 100, Karnataka Telephone: +91-080-42678300 Website: www.welingkar.org