Leader: A person of Strong Character and Integrity
CONTENTS
From the President’s Desk
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Director’s Cut
4
1
Alumni@work
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April 2013
Ideas Watch Future of Managerial Leadership in India
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Telecom: The near Future
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Business Education and Expectations of Corporate World
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Experience Employee Engagement at HSBC
30
Why no one is Happy?
34
Thoughts for the Day
36
Photo gallery Convocation
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Drishti 2k13
43
Holi
46
Kites Day
48
VIP Visits
49
Our Team
50
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April 2013
From the President’s Desk
Prof. (Col.) A. Balasubramanian President, Sri Balaji Society, Chairman, Campus Placements Executive Director BIMM & Dean BITM, BIIB and BIMHRD
Hearty Greetings to all our Alumni on the occasion of release of our second Quarterly e-magazine “alumni@work”. Our student co-ordinators are doing an excellent job in collating all the material for this e-magazine. In the future issues I look forward to inputs from alumni about their jobs, personal development and their family. I am sure you must be eager to connect with your batch mates and friends from other institutes of Sri Balaji Society. I have been sharing my concern on Facebook and LinkedIn about placement of our students. I call upon all our Alumni to extend their full support by connecting with our Placement Cell and sharing information about opening for ‘Fresher’s’ in their organization. If you need any special help do not hesitate to contact Director,
Alumni
Affairs
&
Projects
Prof.D.S.Kadam.
Email:alumni@balajisociety.org or Phone: +919881901044. Looking forward to your contribution to Sri Balaji Society and your inputs to “alumni@work”.
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Director’s cut
Director, Projects & Alumni Affairs Sri Balaji Society Hearty Greetings from Sri Balaji Society!!!! Sri Balaji Society considers its each alumnus as its pillar of success and it gives me immense pride to see them exceling and reaching new heights in different fields. This magazine is started as an endeavour to bring the alumni of all the four institutes (BIMM, BITM, BIIB, and BIMHRD) on a single platform. It is dedicated towards nurturing and strengthening a long term relationship between the alumni and the institute and among the alumni fraternity themselves. It is aimed to act as a perfect channel for alumni communication where they can interact with each other, and can share their achievements, their experiences, thus leading towards a great bonding between them. Therefore we invite the alumni’s to share with us their achievements, their memories and experiences. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the alumni for all the support and help you have rendered and would like to request you to share with us any
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opening in the companies that you come across and help your juniors in getting suitable projects and placement. May god bless you with all the success in your life. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and would love to hear from you all.
With warm regards, Prof. D.S Kadam Director for Projects and Alumni Affairs, Sri Balaji Society Pune
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Future of Managerial Leadership in India ď Ž Prof Supriyo Chaudhuri
Sitting today in the second quarter of 2013 we
Integration will be carried further this advantage
can say that our first spell of reforms is nearly
will have to be driven further. And Indian
over after giving us a few years of 8-9% GDP
managers will surely do that. After all, the Indian
growth for a few years. The second spell of
Entrepreneurial spirit has not been killed by
reforms is being expected in a few months or at
decades of socialism (Indian variety). Even many
the latest after the 2014 elections. These changes
public sector units too did change proactively.
will be at the macro level of the country. During
The concern is that though this zeal to push the
the first spell companies rightly took business
business advantage is absolutely legitimate and
advantage of the integration with the world
justified the companies may ignore or forget the
economy. During the second spell when the
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prof Supriyo Chaudhuri is basically a student of physical sciences who did his PGDM from IIM Calcutta with specialisation in OB, OD & HR. He later specialised in Strategic Management while working with Prof Dennis Encarnation of the Harvard Business School. Their association took place when Prof Chaudhuri had invited Prof Encarnation several times over to the Tata Management Centre (TMTC) at Pune. Prof Chaudhuri’s last corporate assignment was as the Director TMTC & VP Leadership Development of the Tata Group. Before that he was the Head HR of Tata Tea Ltd (now Tata Global Beverages Ltd). He had also worked in ITC Ltd for several years as a very senior HR Manager. He has written thirteen papers on HR, Business Strategy etc. He has been teaching these subjects in various Business Schools including at the Balaji Institutes of Management and the FLAME School of Business at Pune since retirement from corporate life. He also practises as a Consultant to companies in the above areas.
need to create the” right” processes inside
Are the members of our top management teams
themselves. What are these “right” processes?
in most companies psychologically ready for this
We cannot deny the fact that most of our
tectonic shift in the way they manage and lead
companies have autocratic processes running in
their companies?
them. These autocratic processes can help in
Organisation Behaviour professor called Chris
taking advantage of the reforms but can they
Argyris had warned us even forty years ago that
sustain that response in the long run? Only the
true cultural change does not take place unless it
CEO and his top team being proactive and
is simultaneously both at the idea level and at the
innovative are not enough. In this era of complex
behavioural and feeling level. In short what is
technology which continues to grow more
being said is that Indian top management will
sophisticated as time passes, innovations and
have to change their mind set and start
proactivity will be imperative at every level of an
leadership reforms along with the macro level
organisation from the CEO to the humblest
economic reforms.
worker. To trigger off such companywide innovativeness and creativity will require the top management of the companies to “reform” their leadership styles and leadership processes. This requirement is not just based on a preference for democratic values but on pragmatic reasons. It has become an accepted fact that organisations have to become learning organisations to survive in the “post core competencies” world. This learning can be fostered by a leadership style which
consciously
encourages
creativity, innovativeness etc.
openness,
The famous American
Changes in the mind set require deep work at the psychic level of an individual. They are not the result of only theoretical and intellectual training. Are our business schools which are going to provide the future corporate top management in the country, are our HR managers, are our consultants dabbling in human processes in organisations equipped to lead the “teaching” and the “training” that such changes will necessitate? Any honest answer will say that such readiness may not be there in any significant measure. At best we may find that top management of companies and these assorted
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agents of change trying to bring about these
One seriously doubts it and wonders what will
changes by giving lectures, injunctions, sterile
happen to their companies when they shift from
jargons etc. The passion and the missionary spirit
their low tech. highly productive factories to hi-
needed for this kind of leadership reform can be
tech enterprises on a massive scale like in the US
very frightening and yet this passion alone can
economy.
make these changes real. No wonder in Mahabharata Lord Krishna had to show Arjun his “viswarup” to motivate him in his war against evil, no wonder in Christianity they talk of the “passion of Christ”.
India has shown that it can run hi tech enterprises very successfully though not on a scale we would have liked. Perhaps our cultural heritage has helped us so far. Can it continue to help unless we follow it up by starting the
However let there be no misunderstanding that
leadership movement building on the strengths
we are calling for a religion-like movement. Yes
of our past and avoiding and undoing the cultural
we are calling for a new leadership movement in
blind alleys much of India is still trapped in?
the Indian companies. One can argue that China has done it so smoothly and so fast without getting involved in all this emotional non sense and mess. May be they have done their economic reforms superbly. Have they brought about equally superb leadership reforms at the micro
So we can conclude that our country level economic reforms will have to be coupled with leadership reforms at the micro level of our companies. That will be the only way of ensuring that India becomes an economic superpower.
level of their companies?
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Telecom: The near Future ď Ž Col. Bharat Jhingon, Associate Professor, BITM
Introduction At the outset let me state that this is an
goes hand in hand. There is no gainsaying
article which is a mix of my personal
that the Authority for Indian Telecom is
opinions (and I may be wrong) and those
vested with the Govt of India, and hence
picked from perusing various sources that
the responsibility for this sorry mess
comment on the happenings in the
should also lie squarely with the Govt of
telecom industry.
India. It is all so well to blame the Supreme
At the outset let me also state that my Telecom Crystal-ball is hazy, full of smoke and one thing that is certain about the immediate future of the Indian Telecom Industry is that it is uncertain. And I feel that responsibility and authority invariably
Court for the cancellation of the 122 licences and attribute this as the reason for the resulting imbroglio. But should not one ask the question as to why is the judiciary being constrained to interfere so often in the functioning of the executive? My
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humble self feels that it is just because,
major Telco’s that had won 20 MHz of
maybe, the right measures and policies are
2,300-MHz spectrum in each circle for 4G
not being adopted by the Govt.
services. Bharti has already launched services in a few cities, while RIL is
Policy Issues
expected to make an announcement in
There is a proposal of increasing the FDI in
June. These firms and BSNL had together
Telecom. Great, but the kind of playing-
paid Rs 38,543 crore for three blocks of
field which exists, will it encourage fresh
spectrum. 4G services in this spectrum use
outpourings of wealth. Many Operators
the LTE-TDD, while in other parts of the
from across the seas have already burnt
world
their fingers.
technology for 4G services.
There
is
talk
of
reverting
to
FDD-LTE
is
the
predominant
the
And now to add another dimension to the
Administrative allotment of airwaves, the
situation the Govt is considering offering
genesis of the 2G spectrum scam, after the
the operators the option of swapping this
abject failure of recent rounds of airwaves
spectrum with the 700-MHz band (using
sales (operators maintain – due to the
FDD-LTE), one of the most efficient
spectrum being highly over-priced). Does
spectral bands, with a global ecosystem
this indicate stability in policy-making. The
already in place. Great, but Govt thinking
silver-lining to the dark cloud, i.e.. the sale
about pricing seems to indicate that it
of the entire vacated spectrum and the
would be more than 10 times the price of
resulting business-as-usual atmosphere
an equivalent amount of 2,300-MHz
which everyone was waiting for, hence,
spectrum. That would almost neutralise
still appears to be a long way off.
the lower investment requirement and the
The other looked forward to boost to the
advantages of higher spectral efficiency.
Industry - roll-out of 4G, is also some way
Yet another aspect to this spectrum issue is
off. And here again the picture is not clear.
Unified Licence. Once the UL framework
With the recent spectrum auctions being
comes into force, telecom companies
coupled with the “liberalised spectrum”
holding the licence will be able to provide
clause in the 1800-MHz band for 20 years,
all services that existing licences permit as
some operators, like Videocon, will be
well as share spectrum and other active
using FDD-LTE technology in this band.
part of telecom infrastructure that were
Earlier, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel,
not permitted earlier. Telecom service
Aircel and Tikona Digital are among the
providers who want to provide any
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additional service apart from current offerings will have to go for unified licence.
April 2013
windfall for the government and instead saw some players exiting the market.
In case of merger and acquisitions also, companies need to go for unified licence. So whereth 4G? Aircel says that the company’ 4G roll-outs may take longer time than what they had anticipated, since the ecosystem is not yet ready. “3G services were rolled-out two years back and still the 3G penetration is only 6 percent. On the other hand, the 4G
"What is the result of this? The consumer tariffs have gone up. So the consumer has not benefitted. The sector is under debt of 2, 50,000crore, so the sector has not benefitted, and the government has got 1,000 crore, so the government has not benefitted. I would like to know who has benefitted," he went on to ask.
ecosystem too has not evolved yet
I ask, where does the buck stop? And
completely and Aircel’s 4G roll-outs may
again my humble self says, with the Govt.
take much longer time than what we had
Look at a sample of some recent
earlier anticipated.”
Headlines:
But let’s not be pessimistic, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., which had earlier this
In a major setback to Vodafone India, the telecom department has denied its request for extension of licences in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata tha t are coming up for renewal in late 2014. A top communications ministry official said a similar request from BhartiAirtel has been rejected as well.
Show-cause notices to 5 telecom firms for understating revenues: Govt. Government sent 102 notices relating to high mobile tower radiation. Telecom firms press for review of cell tower radiation fines.
month signed a Rs 1,200 crore deal to share Reliance Communication Ltd'sfibre optic network in the country to roll out its 4G services, and who may also hire RCom’s 32,000 towers for 4G services, will hire capacity on Bharti's i2i cable network connecting India to Singapore. Or will they also have second-thoughts about a 700 Mhz swap? Time shall tell. So in the recent past we have witnessed operators vacating the scene, mounting job losses, reduction in freebies for consumers coupled with tariff hikes. As Kapil Sibal put it, In 2012, auction of 3G and BWA spectrum fetched the government more than 100,000 crore. The decision to auction 2G spectrum did not result in a
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Telecom firms call for debate before implementing national mobile number portability and removal of national roaming charges. Mobile phone companies can’t share spectrum without paying one-time fee: DoT Bharti, Idea, Vodafone can't add new 3G customers till final order: SC. 'India sitting on over $4 billion unused Universal Services fund' Kapil Sibal approves Rs 104 cr penalty on Vodafone DoT asks CDMA players to pay Rs 3,000 cr as one-time spectrum fee.
Why such an environment of discord? There has to be clarity about the rules of the game, and a general consensus on a just and fair system, such that all stakeholders stand to gain. And for that, in my humble opinion, one needs qualified people from professional backgrounds from the relevant fields as a Telecom minister and Telecom secretary. Look at the credentials of Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in the US. DoT and TRAI should also be composed of people from the Govt as well as the corporate world. Otherwise what happens,
April 2013
look how well BSNL & MTNL are doing???!!! Immediate Future Let’s leave this and look at the positives. Again I takea sample of some recent Headlines:
MukeshAmbani's Reliance JioInfocomm gets 10,000 numbers to test 4G services. MTS India Plans 4G Networks To Monetize Data Growth. Vodafone, BhartiAirtel and Idea Cellular bring millions of rural customers in their net. GSM operators added nearly 5.7 million rural customers in January and February 2013, when financially stressed mobile phone companies tweaked distribution models and unveiled customized plans in villages amid slowing sales in the metros. Videocon Mobile Services, which operates in seven of the 22 telecom circles, today said it intends to cover the entire country within 2-3 years. Also, as part of its commitment to roll-out 4G services, the company has prepared a roadmap and commenced network planning to provide the next level of mobile communications, The company plans commercial roll-out of 4G services by March 2014.
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Aircel Focuses on Data Services For Revenue Growth.
RCOM inks Rs 5.3k-crore, 8-year outsourcing deal with Ericsson. 5,000 of its employees would join
Aircel aims to raise VAS revenues in East zone to 25% in FY'14. Over-the-top Video Revenue To Cross $20 billion by 2015. Vodafone India to invest $ 1 billion in FY 14. Vodafone plans to shift backoffice work of German arm to India. Vodafone India launches mobile wallet. Gujarat signs MoU with DoT, Centre & BBNL for optical fiber network connectivity.
Ericsson.
RCom signs Rs 5,500-cr network deal with Alcatel. The deal will also help RCom to dramatically trim its work force, with a little over 4,000 or 15 per cent of its total of around 26,000 shifting to Alcatel within the next 90 days. Sources in the know say the savings in cost after both deals get through could 15-20 per cent,
BhartiAirtel
to
buyout
Alcatel
Lucent's 74% stake in Indian managed services JV. Bharti to
So, undoubtedly the Indian Telecom
bring other telcos as shareholders
Juggernaut will roll-on, but, stumbling at
in the firm while roping in the
times. As per E & Y, the telecom sector
management of their broadband
needs about Rs 2.50 lakh crore investment
and fixed-line networks under the
for meeting the target of 100 per cent
entity just like its strategy with
connectivity in rural areas and 60
Indus Towers.
crore broadband connections as envisaged in the National Telecom Policy. And this
So are Managed Services the panacea of all
has to happen, but cautiously, as a study
ills or not? Frankly, I can’t say.
by Fitch finds that Indian telecom companies plan lower investments than their Asian peers in the next two fiscals,
Career Prospects
leading to reduced capex, thus slower roll-
So
outs and capacity enhancements.
Management fresher hope for? This
One last bit on some confusing signals
answer, I feel, would be best answered by
regarding Managed Services. Again some
a senior industry professional. However, as
Headlines:
this component also has to form a part of
what
does
a
young
Telecom
this article, I stick my neck out:
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The bottom-line, grab any reasonable offer that comes your way. The IT/ITES Telecom vertical should continue to recruit, especially as a lot of their work is done for foreign clients. Tata Teleservices Ltd has wound up operations in the Jammu and Kashmir, north-east and Assam telecom areas. Uninor and Sistema Shyam Telecom have also trimmed operations to specific circles. R Com is also not in a happy way. So as far as Operators are concerned, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Vodafone and Videocon seem safer bets. However Data should thrive, both for Enterprise and Retail. This could mean B2B opportunities with all operators. The Rural thrust, with a rethink on the USO Fund, perhaps the onus could be shifted to private operators, as BSNL has left a substantial amount unutilized. This would also mean opportunities with all operators. VAS, especially with cheaper smartphones becoming available, should provide ample avenues. OTT should be accepted as a reality by
April 2013
operators and win-win revenue sharing models be evolved. E/m commerce/money/payments have to proliferate, and with their dependence on a telecom backbone, should be explored/exploited. BBNL will be outsourcing a lot of work to infrastructure companies, this should be followed closely and opportunities created. In general, roll-outs and capacity enhancements should mean more work for infrastructure, both active and passive.
Conclusion In conclusion, I will say, this is a phase in which the Industry should take a deep breath, do a deep rethink, rationalize and innovate and once again there will be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, albeit, not that large, for, telecom in the current day, is as essential as water or electricity.
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Business Education and Expectations of the Corporate World Dr. R. R. Manjeshwar
There is an apt adage which says; “when you know that you do not know, then you know much more than not even knowing that you do not even know”! It is only when the highly competitive corporate world and business educational institutes in general and the ambitious and aspiring students` community, in particular; know the mutual expectations, there could be a better blend of interests and
inclinations, imbibing a more meaningful and mutually beneficial business bond. Apparently there seems to be a great perceptual gap not only in the expectations of the corporate world but also from the student community as a whole from the Corporates as well as from the Business Education, imparted by B- Schools. First we must understand these gaps then the remedial actions can better be executed.
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All the gaps in understanding the mutual expectations can be effectively bridged and both the concerned can then begin productive journey towards business excellence together, which India, as a fast developing country is striving to achieve. Business Education must ultimately subserve the purpose of providing “Marketable Products” as MBA students to the Corporate World, striving to survive, sustain and take steps towards organizational excellence, surpassing the previous standards and staying way ahead of competitors in this post Globalization, Liberalization & Privatization period. Educational faculty must feel the pulse of the people at the helm of corporate businesses and endeavour to meet their requirements in exactitude. Corporate world should also allow more free interactions with the educational world and share their concerns and constraints with the concerned to chalk out effective plan of actions to achieve the desired outcome. Exposure of student community to the nittygritty of the whole business gamut through venues and avenues of frequent interactions between the industry stalwarts along with the faculty through symposia and specific seminars could certainly bring more clarity in the minds of all concerned, which will be then the starting point of appropriate interventions and innovations in the curricula. Unfortunately every contender seems to be in greatest hurry as if there is no tomorrow.
April 2013
No organization can really take the pains or spend resources in grooming the incumbents on one hand and the students also want “fatafutt” results on the other. The concepts of patience and perseverance are also fast disappearing from the minds of these eager beavers! So obviously the onus lies on Management Institutes to proactively prepare and provide these more or less “finished products’ for immediate utilization and consumption of the customers, by proper assessment of the requirements of both the concerned parties. But sadly these preconditions seemed to have been not fulfilled from either party, resulting in the acute situation of mismatch between the expectations of the employers ( Corporate World ) and the aspiring MBA students ( churned out through present state of Business Education.) This is akin to saying that water is a compound of Oxygen & Hydrogen and both are available in abundance in nature. Then why this acute water shortage at public taps and long serpentine queues over there?!! Similar situation can also be observed in employment exchange offices vis-a-vis corporate head honchos lamenting about the acute shortage of competent candidates?! This article is providing some thread- bare analysis of the current state of affairs, the root cause of this malady and also further suggests practical and pragmatic solutions, as right remedial actions to resolve or at
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least reconcile the mismatch to make the joint efforts of business and educational endeavours more meaningful and mutually beneficial.
MINIMIZING THE MISMATCH Just take a hard re-look of the following funny statement
“Water is an ordinary compound of Oxygen & Hydrogen and both these elements are in abundance in the atmosphere. But one good look at serpentine queues before dripping public taps and we will see the paradox!” Sad situation on employment front is not much different either, as “head –honchos” & HRD officials rue about the dismal dearth of competent candidates on one hand and there you will find a serpentine queue of highly qualified “Educated Un-employed” in front of employment exchange offices on the other. Is this not evident enough to reiterate the mismatch between the expectations of employers and the MBA aspirants?! To understand and alleviate above situations, it is imperative to study in depth the causes and then suggest practical and pragmatic remedial actions. The author has made an attempt to analyse these aspects to introspect. The very first encounter between the prospective employer and the probable
April 2013
candidate is the “process of job interview”. Here if the very inclinations, vested interests, aspirations & expectations and priorities on contender`s profile preferences of the concerned parties are drastically different or diabolically opposite, the whole exercise will turn out to be a farce in futility. At worst ,if there is a tacit compromise either on values or requirements, this will merely tantamount to a “marriage of convenience” and the “common minimum programme”, thus evolved will be only a short term quasi-quiescence……..the employee always scouting for greener pastures outside and the employer eagerly waiting for the earliest opportunity to get rid of the misfit! The author strongly believes that to create a cohesive, mutually beneficial, long lasting business bond between the parties is the collaborative approach based on empathy &sympathy towards mutual needs. Let us examine some prominent parameters to probe how the diverse perspectives can affect the perceptions and influence the line of actions, the implications of implicit decision-making and the some suggested methods and means to bring congruence in this match-making process. 1.
PAY:
Money minded MBA aspirants dream of a five figure starting salary pay packet, as in the present context where money is perceived as a sole measure of achievement in this materialistic world. Obviously “Salary” becomes
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the prime mover and also the motivator of the incumbents. The basic law of economics of “demand & supply” in a given market is often overlooked. This alone should determine the right price tag on candidature. Many Management Institutes go all the way out, even using unscrupulous means to put their products in premier corporate businesses. Higher “Pay Packet” and a very high placement record is what is considered the “measure of success” by these institutes and their students alike. In this effort, participants are groomed more to impress through presenting and not expressing themselves through their work competence. Obviously, the basic assimilation of body of knowledge is put on the back burner and lopsided stress given to “showmanship”, which gets exposed by utter ignorance of even fundamental theoretical concepts and subsequent substandard performance on actual jobs. More often these MBA aspirants have unrealistic visions of their work environment, assuming themselves to be a cut above the rest and at times even have utter disregard to the every basic principle of “ behaving like a Roman in Rome”, thereby also lacking in interpersonal interactive tact with other class or cadres of colleagues. Very often, the students have a misconception that they will be started off with A/C/ cabins, cars and laptop computers (if not secretaries!).They will get
April 2013
the rude shock when many a times, their first assignment is in facilities room to take out requisite Xerox copies of the minutes of the meeting held by their bosses, recently! To avoid such serious “cognitive dissonance”, students need to be briefed by the management institutes as well as the employers during induction that in any organization all jobs are important, if not equally. Precisely for this reason, Pay compensation is never equal but at most only equitable, commensurating with parity of authority and responsibility. “Dignity of Labour “is utmost important as urgent tasks must be somehow completed before the ‘dead lines’. If need be, incumbents must roll-up their sleeves and apply brawn as well as brain when the situation so demands. Jobs are accepted more as a “waiting room” to bide time till better options are observed outside. Such “honeymooning’ can be very costly to the employers who had already invested enough resources in their induction. From the employers` perspective, PERFORMANCE (Returns) are paramount as the cost to the company meter has already started ticking from day one. ROI, the business measure, is also applicable in this respect. Employers are aware of the above true intentions of the competent candidates. They have also realized by now that “if you dole out peanuts, you could only attract monkeys”.
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Hence they are only too willing to pay lavishly to attract (if not to retain) talent but none-the-less expecting “a pound of flesh as value addition for an ounce of food as CTC!)As a consequence, cases of “burn-
out” or flaunting a false front, even with fraudulent practices to achieve short -term pseudo results are rampant. Either way this only leads to further mismatch.
There is also a marked mismatch in attitudes too.
of these paradigm shifts and be proactive.
Students explore “what is there in for me?””Pahala daam ,baad main kaam”; “Even “Pahala kaam ,baad main daam” is fully justifiable. But the employers expect the candidate to be “daam main kum magar kaam main dum” (value addition to be in multi-folds of cost to the company) .This is not very much out of place in current cut throat competition.
There is an urgent need to impress on MBA students that the days of earning “easy money” are over and that there is no alternative to hard (better still smart work) and there are no more “shortcuts” to corporate success. In this present scenario of turmoil and travails it is not only getting a lucrative job but how to retain it in such circumstances is even much more important than mere pay packet alone. Stress should be more on how to achieve job stability than to think too much about being anxious to get a raise.
Nine-to-Five is out; twenty four –byseven is in! We must take cognizance
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2) PERKS:
Most learned candidates would prefer perks to basic pay due to “hidden advantages” The strings attached to the basic pay would have been the main issue of attraction but not any more now. As here too there is a serious limitation imposed by IT and “under the table” perks are difficult to administer.
Again any facility/amenity once given becomes a right, as an extension of salary and withdrawal under adverse situations becomes next to impossible, leading to withdrawal symptoms of concerned candidates! From the employers` perspective, these perks are only feasible if the tenure of the incumbent is long and stable and the organization is also in expansion mode. Else they will land up with hardly used items as cars or fixtures with not much resale value or worst still the incumbent who resigns may not vacate the rented accommodation provided as perk by the company…..a case for unnecessary litigation. Shrewd employers may show many things as perks, making candidates sign under dotted lines with applicable conditions in small print! Therefore, MBA students should be alert and wary before signing such work contracts.
3) POSITION:
unfortunately the mis-concept of status is carried forward right through the educational systems. The obvious outcome being students would
April 2013
rather prefer the title of “General Manager” in an insignificantly small organization rather than the post of a “Manager” in a substantially large organization. Such overly “Status Conscious” students will not like the title as a ‘foreman’ in a multinational company but would easily fall for the designation of an “executive” in any mediocre organization. MBA aspirants are highly conscious of this aspect, little realizing that no organizational position of authority can make them effective. They simply cannot demand respect from their subordinates who often are old timer, work horses and comparable in age of fathers of these newly appointed, so-called MBAs to boss over them! There is an apt saying in Marathi which states that “by simply smearing ‘shendoor’ to a stone will not convert that into a God head, unless the worth is proved beyond iota of doubt. Students must realize right in the beginning that they need to develop their “stature’ through their own KSA (Knowledge-SkillsAttitude) capabilities that alone will help them command respect out of sheer competence, communication and congeniality. There is a dire need to duly emphasize that MBA aspirants are required to play “multifarious roles” simultaneously and smoothly. They need to perform in the capacity of a subordinate, as a boss, as a colleague, as a counterpart, as a vital link between management and other stakeholders as customers, government officials or unions. Any undue interest in any one particular role at the neglect of other will
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make the candidate totally ineffective and even unpopular. ( e.g. While playing the role of a subordinate, if the equally important role as a colleague is overlooked they will pull his legs and even label him as “boss`s yes man!” .At worst this may succeed in “agree- culture”!!!!! For a well-balanced role play, the exact role requirements as well as the various expectations from these interfacing entities must be found out or anticipated. Then only there will be no lop sided attention to the interacting influence. You may call this a 360 degree” performance –cum- potential appraisal” to create an effective job –holder and avoid rude “future shock” of mismatch when placed in such work ambience of conflicting interests and inclinations. It is very uncommon that such ‘commonsense’ tips are given to the students even by most proactive and professional management institutes. Most MBA students lack this outlook and depend on their employers to provide them these conditions who are rather wary of “rocking the boat” at initial juncture. To avoid such mismatch, students need to develop their leadership qualities as cocurricular activities with equal fervour and flavour.
From employers` perspective, it is the POTENTIAL (Versatility) that is of real consequence.
April 2013
Before placing the candidate in any suitable position in the organizational hierarchy, there is a dire need to ensure that they have the requisite potentials (even if latent) more than the so-called proven performance of doing the same things. The need of the hour is doing different things and often multi-tasking with equal ease. In this era of ever –changing business environment ,traditional theories and conventional approaches are of little help in comparison with innovative ideas and entrepreneurial abilities of immense utility in face of obscure and uncertain situations. Out-of –box thinking & out-of – organizational-chart-box way of working is vital for quick adaptability.
4) POWER:
This indeed is a very heady concept and every one may like to have or even usurp power, it is no more a domain of politicians alone! But what more important to understand is the very basic mental makeup of the person concerned. Those who want to be where the centre of “attraction” is and not where the centre of “action” is, such popularity seekers or “people – oriented” students cannot handle power or tough assignments where they have to be necessarily totally task –oriented.
Such candidates could have been much better in PR, CRM, Event Management tasks because of their personal charisma and compromising or conceding attitude in conflicting situations. “Peace at any price” is of prime importance to them rather than
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confrontation, competing in such situations, lest they should be labelled as “hard boiled” from earlier “goody-goody “image. Therefore, it is essential and imperative from the employers` perspective that the personality/basic characteristics of the concerned must be compatible with work culture where the trainee is placed. In our Bhagwat Geeta, it is clearly mentioned that “Swadharma” is always beneficial and safer than “Par dharma, which may ‘prima- faci` appear very attractive and lucrative! The basic characteristics and the character tendencies must be given due stress during any such placements. This can often be a very serious mismatch, often irrevocable with colossal cost of undesired consequences if the position of placement needs to be revoked! Such things can never be fully covered in regular curricula and therefore injecting such vital inputs in new incumbents through extra-curricular assignments and mentoring by a person in power are a must to avoid such mismatch. Gone are the days when bosses believed that they were indispensable and all decisions must be ratified by them. But due to the sheer competitive pressures; “Empire –Building” is out, traditional broadbased pyramid structures are out, rightly replaced by flat, bell-shaped structures of command and control, making it imperative that the subordinates must be developed, empowered and motivated to embrace the challenges of “self-discipline & self-
April 2013
management”. The “Moment of Truth” has thus arrived. Decentralization is the order of the day. Delegation means even ‘giving rights to be wrong’ at times. However, when “the stakes are high and mistakes mean die”, close, meticulous monitoring by the mentor is essential, as being absolutely accountable he cannot conveniently abdicate his responsibility under the guise of delegation to the inexperienced and even immature student entrants. In such circumstances, two aspects are of utmost importance to implement the above: One is the process and best practices of “Delegation” must be made to be understood by both the employers and the MBA s employed, even as trainees for smooth transition of power. Second point is students must be assessed not from the marks alone(which can be scored by mugging like a parrot and forgotten within a month of our traditional exam methods) but necessarily they must be subjected to stimulating “simulated situations” with more emphasis on case studies, role plays, “inbasket” exercises either conducted as workshops in their institutes or in induction programmes of the corporate HRD interventions, so as to avoid the mismatch between the expectations by replacing “mugged acquisition” with “experiential learning” ,thus.
5) PLACEMENT): not only above is a core consideration but it is equally essential to assess the student suitability and inclination to be also a wanderlust and not just someone smug and content within
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the confines of his “Comfort Zone”. To many, personal space and geographical placement carries much meaning. Particularly in this post GlobalizationLiberalization-Privatization period, where the accent is on “thinking globally” and “acting locally”, with seamless and boundary-less, cross-cultural corporate functional requirements arisen out of mergers and acquisitions; flexibility to adapt new ways, adopt new methods and embrace the challenges of changes ,cheerfully, competently and confidently is placed with a very high premium. Relocating plant operations to remote, mostly rural areas is not at all uncommon these days. Not only the officials provide most infrastructural facilities, sops as tax holidays etc., but the organizations can reincarnate themselves with new eager beavers, new norms, more stream lined systems of command and control and thus can create a sharp competitive edge in this cut throat business competition. When creation of such uneven playground for the sake of survival and striving to succeed, Are our MBA students willing to relocate themselves and start their initial careers with little hardships, forgoing their creature comforts and so called “standard of living”?!
Further ,instead of overselling the organization to the gullible , prospective candidates during campus interviews, through slick PPT presentations and glossy
April 2013
brochures, the company representatives and HRD officials should assign this task to the past student of that set up ,who has joined that particular organization and happy about the working condition in such remote areas. This will lend more credibility and compatibility to the session when such person puts up the case to the alumni. To remove mismatch in expectations, employers must clarify at the onset that the future is for the adventurous students who are willing to be the part of the start of such bold business ventures. Higher the wellconsidered hardships and greater the calculated risks, higher are going to be the returns and rewards. Else the initial advantages of BPO/Out – Sourcing can be wiped off easily, if efficient and effective student entrants are unwilling to lift the challenging gauntlets! Fortune favours those, who are ready to go off to far flung places and rough it out. From the employers` perspective, PERSPECTIVE (Maturity) is of equal importance. A person getting seasoned from the first-person experiences from varied situations, who has developed his “Situational Leadership “skills sufficiently through being sensitive and also sensible in responding to even subtle changes in the surroundings appropriately can certainly be spontaneous, suave and slick in dealing with different environments he is placed. It will be a safe bet to place such a person not only as an ambassador of the company but also as a diplomat of the mother country he hails from.
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As students who find particular subjects in syllabus tough or tricky join extra coaching classes ,without a second thought ,same way such courses conducting classes on manners, etiquettes, personal grooming ,finishing ,including familiarization with any spoken foreign language must also be made mandatory by the management institutes as the students are unable to understand the long term impact and implications of such interventions. It is often noticed that in “Group Discussions” students try to brow beat others, stress being laid more on impressing than expressing. What the assessors from employers also overlook is that the very exercise of such group discussions is to create a laboratory condition to replicate the actual work situation where there need to be meeting of the minds, not filing the minutes of the meetings and wasting hours of valuable time. Free, frank, factual exchange of ideas, experiences based on facts and figures (and not figures alone!) and certainly not whims and fancies. Consensus needs to be arrived at to reach conclusive time bound action accountabilities, by pooling authorities and not splitting responsibilities!!!! What is said is more important than who said it. Here, the Management Institutes have to take the lead in introducing “Value-Add- on Programmes” with equal zeal, zest and seriousness as awarded to subjects for exam schedules. Institutes should take up the responsibility of the holistic development of the student
April 2013
community to make them versatile in all aspects of business as well as life. These are the days of generalists and not so much of specialists to maintain balance and increase employability. Even the emphasis on dual specialization these days is an ample evidence of the above requirement... Corporate stalwarts must actively associate themselves, even as a social obligation, with academics& varsities to indicate the expectations of the corporate world in exactitude and also constructively suggest ways and means and their own commitment in supplementing and complimenting the varsity efforts in making the programme structures, syllabi and systems of dispensing knowledge to make it more relevant to the ever changing realities of the external business environment in this free market and globalized functioning. Varsities and student community also must recognize the concrete contributions made by such industry representatives in modernizing educational endeavour. It is high time for the tradition –bound Universities to drastically change their pattern of thinking and functioning, else they will by overtaken or taken over by more dynamic and down-to earth foreign varsity affiliations, autonomous programmes and mushrooming “Deemed Universities” which at least keep themselves abreast in latest trends in imparting teaching and put meticulous efforts to meet the expectations of their corporate customers.
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6) PROSPECTS:
MBA students are not merely content with the initial pay packet and above other considerations, but they are more concerned with their future prospects, personal & professional developmental avenues made available to them, succession or at least the career plans and learning venues while earning.
No more can employers bluff here; “sky is the limit!”….. .and they may be telling the truth as in a stagnating, supersaturated organization, by the time a person is likely to reach that limit, he might have already reached the sky, having expired!!!!! Students are not gullible any more to such overselling of jobs by the exploitative companies, as they too normally do homework and exit interviews to understand sufficiently the exact health of the business organization, they aspire to associate with. As from the employers` perspective, it is the PRIME FORCE (Initiative & drive): that an individual person can display. This has to come as an intrinsic, internal and implicit self-motivation, coupled with a strong sense of urge and urgency to achieve and even excel. Indeed, it is up to the individual incumbents to take the lead in this respect.
April 2013
An organization, projected as equal opportunity place will have less occurrences of mismatch on this account. Earlier adage preached; “A rolling stone never gathers moss” but our present student community and gen-next understands too well that “it may not gather moss but who cares as long as there is enough moolah”!
7) PROSPERITY:
It is said success breeds success. If the students/incumbents are given the initial sweet taste of success, their motivation can be sustained to strive for further, more challenging projects. Summer placements, specific project assignments as cocurricular activities can give the students some feel of the scheme of things they will face in later on the job situations. Only during this time with no direct personal accountability, under the able guidance of a senior mentor can mould the incumbents to take up the actual responsibilities in professional lives, cheerfully, competently, confidently and concertedly with their colleagues.
The employer needs to ensure that the students are never put to tough situations with higher probability of failure in initial tasks and assignments, lest they should loose their self confidence in their capabilities.
Organizations must also put in place, transparent & perceptible windows of opportunities for the self-starters.
They say success has many fathers but a failure is an orphan!
When opportunity knocks, many may still grumble of its noise!!
There is no point in playing blaming games, “witch hunting” and inventing alibis. The employer representatives must proactively
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act as a mentor and not a tormentor in guiding and supporting the student/trainees so that such situations do not arise and mismatch due to incorrect assessment and not necessarily due to inadequate capabilities will not occur. From the employers` perspective, PRAGMATISM (Practicality) is more consequential. People must dream big but to realize them they need to wake up first in the light of realities! No harm in being a visionary and keeping the head above the clouds to think globally but feet must be planted on the ground to act locally. At the same time we need to be not only firm but also fair and flexible in our thinking and approach to remain practical in any given situation. It is humoured, “show me a guy with both feet firmly planted on the ground and I will show you a guy who does not have his trousers on!!!!” Thus to avoid being a mismatch the relevance of our stand and stand point needs to be reviewed and validated, continuously.
April 2013
time and accuracy, if they do not want to suffer from “paralysis by analysis”.
These things are not taught in most business schools or even in “in –company” induction or orientation programmes. None –the –less, to avoid mismatch on this count, it is better to count on imparting basic concepts of Time Management & Creativity in Problem-Solving, in a structured manner in management institutes as well as in organization to avoid “bottle-neck” situations due to such conceptual mismatch.
Everyone wants to join a “Winning Team”. What is important to accept is that a new MBA entrant is made the captain of the team by virtue of his acquired management qualification but he really has no choice what-so-ever to select his team members, who are already present on the scene much before his advent and who could even be of his father`s age. This is quite akin to saying that we have no choice in selecting our parents!!!!!!
A perfectionist with impractical outlook can do great damage to any organization. A pragmatic person is the one who is content with optimal solutions and not best ones, particularly where time is the very essence ,some actions are better than inaction as long as they are not irrevocable( in case of need for any damage control ) Both employers and MBA students must realize that they have to trade-off between
The real challenge is to get “extra-ordinary output from ordinary” people, where lies all the leadership skills put to severe test thus.
Employers must also understand that in such situations a mere theoretician and academically successful candidate could be a mismatch as the qualities demanded
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in such predicaments are the perseverance, patience, persuasive personality to carry colleagues along through convincing and not coercion. This is entirely a different ball game as compared to R&D or staff specialists` functions. If initial care is taken either in selection or in mentoring, then infantile mortality and mismatch can be avoided as not only the expectations are explicitly known but also enough reinforcements are provided.
8) POPULISM PURITANISM:
VERSUS
except for the values and virtues which got imbibed in us during the formative years of our existence by special efforts of parental figures, nowhere these are revised or reviewed.
“If you want to make quick buck, then honesty is not necessarily best policy” many may observe! If we want to save our skins (and perhaps even jobs) then we must be adept in “telling true lies”, people with short term success may thus preach. In every socio-political issues such moves can be seen predominantly, which may further confuse the students of impressible age regardless whether they are MBA students or school-going children. When such value conflicts emerge and wrong signals on “role models” are perceived, utter confusion, chaos and cluttered actions are evident. Often the easiest way is to imitate and emulate these ways……as it is much easier and effortless to form bad habits!
April 2013
Worst still, the puritanical persons may not fight with the corrupt system but will take a flight or fade away from the scene or such situations, perpetuating the rot in the business or society at large. It is only with numerous frauds & filth seen so obviously in business entities and also society at large, the mass awareness , hue and cry for environmental protection, social obligation, pruning unscrupulous politicians` powers and preserving the age old values & business ethics, cherished by our own culture have re-emerged. It is only recently industries, politicians as well as educational academies are hoarsely calling it foul and trying to reintroduce the age –old value systems back in business, truly self-sustaining “Sanatan Dharma”. Pendulum has now swung back to the other extreme. Even if these new subjects now introduced in the syllabi by varsities are preached by those who have also practiced them before, the faith of the MBA students will be re-established and this major mismatch can be averted if all concerned parties take note and act expeditiously on this.
9) PEACE:
In the present scenario of tensions, travails and tribulations, peace of mind and a serene work ambience is what persons will opt for. Whether students or employers all will realize and sooner the better that after all, it is not the accumulation of worldly materials which are absolutely worthless to us after the expiry period of our existence. No amount of
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assurances of there-and-then will matter but what really matters, here-and-now is the peace with oneself and serenity within. Employers may consider poise and equanimity as prime virtues of effective contender but these again will get ingrained in student populace who are ambitious and rearing to go and in heart - racing rat race indeed. But earlier they realize or made to realize that even if you finally win the rat race you are still a rat or at worst a spoilt brat. Students must look up to set stretchable and higher tasks to fulfil their ambitions, which will keep them motivated while striving to achieve them. But at the same time a habit of review ,respite and rejuvenation must also be cultivated so that compulsive ,unproductive efforts can be eliminated and all concentration can be now diverted to Key-Result –Areas or key success factors ……..pursuing these vital few are more meaningful and gainful than running after trivial many. Discretion in using discriminatory power of separating grain from chafe` is called for. In case, immediate success as per expectations are not forthcoming then students
April 2013
must be taught virtues of self-restraint so that they will not be disillusioned, dejected or demoralized. In such situations they must be trained to look below them so that they will realize that there are even worse cases than them and therefore, they should count their blessings (even when they may come in disguise).Their failures or set backs are not because of them but in spite of them due to discouraging environment operating at that time. Again these thought are never taught in management institutes. Students do not grasp the step of “self-actualization “in Maslow`s theory on motivation. There is therefore a dire need to educate the restless youth the importance of our age-old wisdom of yoga, meditation, company prayer meetings etc. to maintain harmony, health and happiness which all of us are striving to accomplish.
Holistic development of student community even through camps of “out-bound training” must be organized by the Management Institutes to imbibe above truths in a more meaningful way in sylvan surroundings of Mother Nature.
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About the Author Dr. R. R. Manjeshwar has a corporate experience of over 40 years in specialized functions & positions as O.B., P.P.M., Production Mgt., Materials Mgt., OR, Industrial Eng. & Management Consultancy. He has authored a book on “Managing the Boss”, has created & acted in set of 24 DVDs on Personal Effectiveness. He is actively associated with various professional bodies& has been on different panels of experts/resource persons and a visiting faculty on 25 premier management institutes. He has a wide corporate training experience, conducting workshops /seminars / programmes for all classes and cadres with over 135 corporate clients in India and abroad. He has also worked as associate with 4 world renowned consultants abroad. He is also, is ISO 9000 certified lead assessor from U.K.
He has presented/published various technical as well as managerial papers in International conferences/premier journals.
He is a poet and also a prolific writer.
Thus, the author firmly believes that with consensus of the concerned and with cohesive and concerted actions by all the stake holders ……..corporate employers, MBA student community, society at large, institutional agencies, law makers, influence leaders et al to bring greater awareness of above causes and suggested remedial actions should eliminate or at least reduce to start with, such mismatch between employers and MBA students, more in particular. We must know that we are all sailing in the same boat. Here is no point in pointing accusing fingers at each other and being ‘nosey’ about other`s affairs, but it is indeed high time that all noses must be in the same direction, which calls for total integration of interests and inclinations of all concerned
and the same fingers be used to plug the holes in the bottom of their boat, instead! As it is said, “The maximum strength of any chain is its weakest link” The time has come to pool in ideas, resources by one and all to eliminate such mismatches which are very costly in our stride towards 10% GDP growth and putting India on the world map not only as a developed country but also as an international hub for “Globally marketable MBA Products”.If
we have to ride the band-wagon of industrial growth then it is high time to get rid of these serious and severe mismatches between the expectations of the employers and the MBA student community.
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Employee Engagement at HSBC ď Ž Dr. P.N.A. Rao
Human resource is one of the major factors of production for any business organization. A business success is directly linked to the commitment of the employees. It involves treating employees as valued assets and a source of competitive advantage through their commitment, competency and high quality of performance with globalization and increased opening up of economies, the concept seems to attract the other side of the world especially developing countries. As globalization and growing economic interdependence among service sectors takes place, where the management people increasingly become a vital issues in service sectors. Therefore, the key issues in the HSBC is
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recruiting, retaining and nurturing the best talents and a focus on the individual role performance by measuring ‘employee engagement’ which is made up of three components: job satisfaction, intention to say and a willingness to recommend HSBC as a great place to work which is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. This paper examines the factors of motivating and developing individuals to provide sustainable competitive advantages at global level at HSBC.
Employee engagement is the level of
INTRODUCTION
commitment, involvement and dedication Employee engagement is one of the key
that an employee has towards their
factors for success of every business. A
organization to increase the productivity.
sense of ownership, passion and pride
Employee
would mark the characteristics of engaged
multidimensional
employee. The employees should feel that
cognitive,
their ideas and views are not only heard
components
but also valued and implemented.
A
performance (Alan Saks, 2006). According
survey conducted by Gallup’ views that on
to The Gallup organization, engaged
an average only 20% of the people in a
employees are those who “work with
team is fully engaged and passionate about
passion and feel profound connection to
their work. And, how can be utilized the
their company. They drive innovation and
rest of 80% of source? What can one do to
move
scale up performance in the short term,
“Employees
and more importantly, sustain it over the
organization when they find personal
long
employee
meaning and motivation for their work,
Employee engagement
receive positive inter-personal support,
term?
engagement.
It
results
engagement construct
emotional
the
of
and
that
engaged
a has
behavioral
individual
organization feel
is
role
forward in
their
results in increasing employees’ trust in the
and
organization, creating a sense of loyalty in
environment. Paul Bernthal points out that
a competitive environment and improving
employee engagement are all about
overall
getting the employees “give it their all “.
organizational
effectiveness.
operate
in
an
efficient
work
Attraction and retention is a fundamental function of engagement.
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About HSBC
Employee Engagement at HSBC
The HSBC Group is one of the world’s
Employees
largest banking and financial services
satisfied,
organizations a full range of tailored
sustainable value for their shareholders
financial products and services through the
and communities. Employee satisfaction is
HSBC Bank. It offers a wide range of wealth
vital measure of the effectiveness of their
management
advisory
people strategies and of the impact on
services for high net worth individuals and
customer satisfaction. Even more useful,
families with local and international needs
however,
including banking liquidity management,
Engagement’ which is made up of three
investment services, custody services,
components: Job satisfaction, intention to
wealth
fiduciary
stay at HSBC, and a willingness to
wealth
recommend HSBC as a great place to work.
philanthropic advisory services . In addition
It is found that colleagues who exhibit high
HSBC Private Banking professionals HSBC
levels of engagement also provide better
manages its global banking and marketing
service to customers and are more likely to
operations are able to leverage HSBC’s
stay with us.
global capabilities, resources and expertise
among all staff members every year. The
– including capital marketing, commercial
results are measured against a financial
real estate etc., The Group serves
services industry bench mark and a global
customers worldwide from around 6,900
high performance benchmark. HSBC aims
offices in over 80 countries and territories
to raise the average level for 2010-11 and
in Europe, the Asia – Pacific region, North
will continue to report progress on this
and Latin America, and the Middle East and
measure.
services,
and
planning
specialist
trust
insurance
,
and family
North Africa, With assets of US$ 2,721 bn at 30 September, 2012. HSBC and their employees have partnered with many nonprofit organizations to provide financial resources and volunteer assistance in hundreds of communities across the country. We support programs focused on community
development,
financial and the environment.
education,
ensure
their
enabling
is
to
them
measure
clients to
are
create
‘Employee
HSBC conducts a survey
Employee Engagement Surveys 201011.Employees 1,20,000.
invited
Response
to
participate
percentage
67%.
Average level of engagement in employees surveyed 69%. HSBC works hard to engage their employees and in turn decide on the level of engagement, they would offer their employers. It was found that, engaged employees are also normally
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perform better and more motivated. There
advantage. It is very important to keep the
is significant link between employee
mind that the organization should believe
engagement and profitability. However,
that its core competency lies in the
HSBC
HR
knowledge, skills and abilities of its own
management and plays vital role in talent
people. A sense of ownership, passion and
retention. HR department dreams to get
pride would mark the characteristics of
the best out of every employee willingly
engaged employee. The real challenge in
and happily. However, HRD initiate the
today’s workplace is having an effective
performance of every individual interest to
and courageous leadership for fully
learn new things for promoting, awards
engaged each team member as a valued
and rewards etc., It was found that good
individual.
takes
initiates
through
interpersonal relationship, communication net
work
worldwide,
and
good
performance review at HSBC. HSBC is proud to celebrate their employee’s involvement and community to local community and global society. It works with their employees to development innovative reward programs that allow them to give to local communities in a meaningful way.
Conclusion An effective corporate culture that drives employee engagement is not only about providing the employees with pleasant surroundings, It is about making employees feel engaged in their daily activities, making them feel devoted to their work and enabling them to achieve their goals. Companies interested in developing engaged employees should first practice the philosophy that human resources provide sustainable competitive
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Why is no one happy? 
Y.Markande yulu
The answer why we are not happy or really
used to visit more temples, many friendly
very unhappy is very simple. Technology is
families on the way and we used to reach
killing all life. When you use a bicycle you
our place at 4 pm. The breeze throughout
use your legs less. If you use a car then
was very pleasant and the forests were
most of your limbs become redundant.
lush.
When you use calculators, computers etc, you stop using your brain. Technology is making our organs redundant. To enjoy you need your body. But you are losing most of it. It cannot enjoy and it needs tonics, medicines etc. just to exist. We are living without life. And we are killing every life form.
Now the forest is gone. The temples are in ruins. The travel to the village takes less than an hour by bus. But the pollution on the way makes us feel very sickly. We rarely go to the village as most of our lands have been grabbed illegally. Instead of pleasant tales, music etc. we get episodes about quarrels, factions, elections etc. To
We have poisoned land, water, air and
get back our happiness we have to change
space in the name of development. More
the Indian Institutes of Technology into
money means more gadgets and more
Indian Institutes of Thought. Thoughts do
redundancy. When I was very young we
not need technology.
used to go to our native village which was just twenty miles away. We were woken up at 4 am and asked to sleep on the very comfortable beds arranged on the bullock cart. The cart went slowly on a country road full of forest. At 6 am we used to frolic in a lake. The journey resumed for two more hours. We used to go to a temple and there we took tasty Prasadam or meals like heavy eat. After resuming our journey we
The so called science-economics is the biggest disaster that befell on the biosphere. It provides the justification for destroying nature. Its worst word is competition. The 10000 trillion cells in your body do not compete. They cooperate, coordinate, harmonize to make you live healthily. They do not fight each other. Now technology is destroying that gigantic cell-society by bringing in various practices
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to which the cells cannot synchronize. We
competition. Modern Science had a very
are destroying the nature within us. We
grisly beginning. RenĂŠ Descartes the father
are busy destroying the nature outside us
of the analytical approach started his
by poisoning the land, water, air and space.
science by nailing big animals like bulls etc.
Can you show one industry that does not poison water? To start a steel plant, paper factory or any other big factory you need plenty of water that gets polluted permanently. The logic of the machine-the technologic has no feelings, sentiments
to wooden logs, open their entails etc. to prove his mechanical paradigm. He contended that animals are just machines and that as lifeless creatures they cannot feel any pain at all! Thus started the butchery of all life forms in the name of science!
or empathy. Its language-mathematics
Today the routine massacre of nature is called
cannot measure your feelings. It cannot tell
the economic activity. Economic growth simply
in miles, kilos etc. the happiness or unhappiness you are undergoing. It cannot
means the growth in the destruction of nature. In life sciences we do not study the life forms while they are actually living. We kill them, open them
quantify any emotion. But your life simply
up and then study the engineering structures
means
feelings.
within them just like studying the parts of a
Mathematics miserably fails in this vital
motor bike. If we really want to bring back
area of existence. It is inanimate and
happiness we have to make nature alive and
deadly.
smile. For that we have to first redefine profit.
My God, we are now in a stage where the
the biosphere, to the society and lastly to the
concept of the Brahman, the ultimate
trader. Accounting has to be changed totally.
emotions
and
Profit must mean, profit to the environment, to
stage in enlightenment is made into a foul word thanks to the caste wars. We are in the era when a person like Sri Subash Patriji, who is trying to revive the tradition of Dyana or meditation is scandalized by a TV channel! We do not need the equilibrium analysis. We need to revive holistic feelings. The Universe is based on symbiosis, synthesis, cooperation, coordination and harmonization.
It
is
not
based
on
35
Thoughts for the day
Never deprive anyone of hope; it could be the only thing a person owns. Don’t make decisions when you are angry. Watch your posture. Don’t pay for a job until it’s finished. Beware of who has nothing to lose. Learn how to say “No” courteously and promptly. Don’t expect life to be fair. Don’t hesitate to lose a battle if it helps you win the war. Don’t procrastinate. Do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” and “I’m sorry Watch the sun rise at least once a month. Look people in the eye. Say “please” and “thank your” often. Spend less than what you earn. Do onto others as you wish others did onto you. Learn how to keep secrets. Own up to your mistakes. Always tell the truth.
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Don’t repeat all you hear, don’t say all you think. Don’t criticize people, praise them. Learn how to listen, it’s an art. Don’t believe all you hear. Enjoy beauty. Choose your spouse well, most of your happiness depends on it. Don’t lose control at any time; take a deep breath You are the way you breathe. Meditate for thirty minutes every day. Enjoy your free time! Cherish your friends. Be honest, earn people’s respect. You have the right to be happy! Shed hate and rancour, they hurt you more than they do others. There are things you can’t get back: the spoken word, the time that has gone by, and lost opportunities. Do only one thing at a time. Immortality exists, it’s called knowledge. Ask what you don’t know and remember it for when you’re asked. Discover pleasure in simple things: eating, breathing, walking, tasting, touching, seeing, sleeping… Happiness is like a piggy-bank, put in it as much as you can. One day you will be able to go over what you discarded and die laughing …..
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Alumni@work
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April 2013
Photo Gallery
Convocation
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Alumni@work
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April 2013
Convocation Day is a day of celebration. It is a day of excitement, a day of smiling faces, a day of unusual (some might say) ceremonies, a day of anticipation and optimistic expectations for the future. It is a day of recognition of great achievement; the future is today. It has arrived. It is a day to celebrate family success, though clearly the student is the star of the show. The whole University turns its focus to its reason for being. We salute as well, the success of our Faculty. With fine and somewhat peculiar robes having colourful hoods, with odd hats, speeches (seldom too long) and almost always inspirational, this is a day when we all take satisfaction in seeing the results of hard work and successful achievement, a day for moving forward with confident purpose. "Carpe Diem!" (Seize the Day)
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Drishti Drishti is a cultural event in which all the four management institutes of Sri Balaji Society compete for the “Aiyaswamy Trophy”. This yearly event involves cultural sports and management games/other relevant competition, which are judged carefully. It gives an opportunity to every student to take part and showcase their talents. This year, BIMM won the “Aiyaswamy Trophy”.
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April 2013
Holi Holi, Fagwa, Dhol Jatra or Basant Utsav, call it what you like to; the students & faculty of Sri Balaji Society know the true meaning and significance of the festival of colours. It's celebrated every year within the campus with great zeal and passion.
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Kites Day Symbol of happiness & prosperity, Makar Sankrant the festival of harvest is a rich tribute to the farming community of India. The festival is known by various names across India and is celebrated each year at SBS. SBS signifying the true essence of India and glorifying the spirit of "unity in diversity", celebrates Sankrant each year by hosting kite flying competition among students.
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April 2013
VIP Visits
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April 2013
Our Team
From Left: First Row (sitting): 1. Prof. Dimple Saini, Director (Corporate Relations), Sri Balaji Society 2. Prof. (Col.) A. Balasubramanian, President, SBS, Chairman, Campus placements, Executive Director BIMM & Dean BITM,BIIB and BIMHRD 3. Mr. Yeshwant Moodlier, Advisor, Alumni Affairs, Sri Balaji Society 4. Mr. D.S. Kadam, Director (Project & Alumni Affairs), Sri Balaji Society Second Row (Standing): Alumni Coordinators 1. Bhushan Shetty 2. Harshal Dafe 3. Pranita Singh 4. Akanksha Gupta 5. Yugal Hinduja 6. Varun Pokale
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Help us to report issues of your interest. Send your suggestions to alumni@balajisociety.org
Yeshwant Moodlier Advisor, Alumni Affairs Sri Balaji Society
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