Teach me a skill, get me a job

IIPM: The B-School with a Human Face

Vocational courses in Kerala fail to meet industry criteria

For several years now, Kerela has witnessed the mushrooming of institutes offering vocational courses. While they appear to be addressing a very real requirement, the institutes don't measure up to any criterion. They do not follow the guidelines set by government's science and technical education department nor do they offer facilities or expertise that could measure up to the needs of the industry. Most often than not, the degrees or diplomas offered by these institutes have no value in the market.

A student taking a fibre technician's course, for instance, spends roughly Rs 30,000-40,000 for a three months course. In three months, he undergoes around 40 hours of training on how to join a fibre cable. This training requires the student to learn on the machine. Since the cost of acquiring the machine (Rs 5 lakh) is prohibitive, the institutes rent time on machines being used by companies in the field.

Young and unemployed, throng these courses in the hope of landing a well-paid skilled job. They get taken in by advertisements that promise unrealistic salaries and foreign assignments. “Earn Rs 10,00 p.m. in India and Rs 50,000 p.m. abroad” claim most of them. The ground realities, however, are different. An employee of a fibre cable company would get this kind of pay only after 4-5 years of working on the machines.

This is the case with the firefighting course too. The certificates issued are not recognised by the industry. The story repeats itself in other more common disciplines as well. Courses in hotel management lack the facilities and expertise to impart modern management techniques that would be at par with the world's best. Naturally, candidates passing out of these institutes fail to get a sure footing in the industry.

In the resultant chaos, students make use of whatever they have to make their way to other parts of the world. More often than not, the candidates end up doing jobs that are different from the one they trained for or for salaries half of what they could have got had their certificate held any merit.

Read also:  IIPM Reviews, IIPM Faculty's Review on Thoughts and Courage, IIPM Review Ranking/Rankings Across India and Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012 - IIPM ranks 1st, IIPM Review MBA 2012

 

Deepika Padukone: The born diva

IIPM Review Ranking/Rankings Across India

Her restrained style can do little to belie that oomph. Deepika Padukone has quietly but steadily risen up the notches in an industry deemed to be rather tough for the godfather-less. In a chat with TSI, the bright-eyed star reflects on life, career and fame…

Deepika with Akshay

As a model-turned-actor you are one of the rare cases of making it big in the industry after modelling. Did you anticipate it?

How sweet, thank you. I never really advertised it or thought of it that way. I have always been very focused about life, what I want to do and achieve. It has definitely not been easy because I don't have a background in the film industry. My decisions were always my own. I had to take my own calls and at the same time, I learnt the craft and understood the ways of the industry, without really having any godfather as such. I was really lucky to have landed Om Shanti Om as my debut film.

Deepika with Shahrukh

How was it working with SRK in your very first movie?

It was unreal because, initially, when Farah told me that she wanted me to do a film opposite Shahrukh, somewhere it felt like this couldn’t be for real. When she took me to Shahrukh's house to meet him, that’s when reality hit me and that’s when I realised the magnitude of what I was getting into and how big the film was. I think I am very fortunate to have worked with the kind of co-stars and the filmmakers I have worked with.

Your father has been a famous sports personality. While growing up, did you experience fame at any level?

I have had the most normal childhood. In fact, I realised pretty late that he’s famous. I remember when we used to step out, people would come to him for pictures and autographs and I wouldn't understand what it was until I was old enough to understand that there is such a thing as being a celebrity and being famous and that my father is both. It was always nice watching him because he was the regular father at home and he handled fame and success very well.

Deepika Padukone

Didn't you ever consider following in his footsteps?

I think somewhere I always knew that this is what I wanted. I did play badminton and I played pretty well. I even played at the national level. I was doing everything that one should do, but somehow my mind wasn't there. My dad would advise me to take up a profession that I was passionate about. My interests lay in modelling and acting and being in front of the camera. So I pursued that.

You have done two films with Saif and you have a third one coming up. Would you say you share good chemistry?

Yes, I think Love Aaj Kal did well for both of us and people liked us as an onscreen couple. I'm glad that people want to see more of us on screen. My upcoming movie with him is called Cocktail.

There was Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey and then Aarakshan… Is it a conscious decision to do serious cinema?

Oh no, not at all. In fact, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey was completely unplanned. I always go by the script and my gut instinct. At the end of the day, I feel cinema is about entertainment. So, whatever form it maybe in – a love story, an action film, a hard-hitting drama – as long as it's entertaining, that's what’s important.

Deepika Padukone

You have been very open about your relationship statuses to the media. Didn't you worry about your privacy being intruded upon?

Well, in my past relationship, we did decide to speak about it because somewhere we believed that if we were honest about our relationship, people would allow us our privacy. But I learnt that’s not the case because there is no end to constant speculation and what people say about you. So I have learnt my lesson and I have reached a point where whether I am in a relationship or not, there is a certain part of my life the media needn't know about.

Would you say that in the last few years spent here, you have become wiser to the ways of the industry?

Every industry has a certain way it functions and I have spent the last few years just figuring out the ways of the industry and the way one works. Even when it comes to deciding scripts, it's not easy when you are being offered many films at a time. It's difficult to choose what works and what doesn't work, but I believe that I should finally go with my instincts and do my work honestly.

Read also:  IIPM Reviews, IIPM Faculty's Review on Thoughts and Courage, IIPM: The B-School with a Human Face and Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012 - IIPM ranks 1st, IIPM Review MBA 2012

IIPM Review: Vision and Employee Engagement

IIPM Review MBA 2012

During a recent interaction with a senior corporate leader who highlighted the importance of aligning the organisations vision with the vision of its leader, one realised how important vision is in rallying all the resources of the organisation together. It is the leader’s job to create, articulate and reinforce the vision that he has for the organisation so that he can then align people with the vision and therefore achieve the organisations goals. Often organisation’s without such a will and vision fail to reach their objectives. I have often heard of inspired leaders who have led their people to attain goals that were seemingly unobtainable. And over the years I have also seen many such examples of people displaying extraordinary efforts to achieve what seemed tough, if not impossible to achieve.

Many might think that vision is overrated and serves no real purpose in the corporate world. However, in my opinion, it tends to be the binding force that gets employees together and keeps them together for extended periods of time. Employees who feel that they are one with the vision of the organisation will most oft en exert extraordinary levels of efforts to achieve more than what is possible. In such scenario’s, it makes sense for the organisation to ensure that each and every employee is aware of the vision and also has a buy in. There are numerous examples of how organisations have achieved this in the past and then have gone on to claim dizzying heights in their industries.

In this issue of CULT, we have featured two individuals whose passion and dedication to the cause of making IIPM a revolution have borne fruits and the results are for all to see. One of them Mr. Amit Saxena a professional who had worked in the industry before coming on and working in IIPM stayed in the institute due to the passion and the connect that he has with the vision of the institute. Having spent time on various organisations, he has seen the difference that one man’s vision makes in the growth and development of the organisation. Mr. Rajat Thareja has been a rock for the organisation as he has stood the test of time and has weathered many a storms. Both Mr. Saxena and Mr. Thareja have worked closely with each other over the years and behind the scenes to give it all that they have. During our interview with them, we found that both of them stressed on the fact that for them the key engagement was due to the fact that they feel a part of the vision that IIPM has. It is this common passion of bringing about a change in the country that iipmites share, and that helps then overcome all obstacles and achieve heights in any orgnaisation that they work for. It is for this same reason that year after year the institute is able to retain the best minds within its folds, and these very inspired and passionate people are the ones who are the reason for the success of the IIPM revolution.

Read also:  IIPM Reviews, IIPM Review Ranking/Rankings Across India, IIPM Faculty's Review on Thoughts and Courage, IIPM: The B-School with a Human Face and Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012 - IIPM ranks 1st

IIPM Cicero's Challenge

WAVES IN THE WAKE 'THE GENESIS AND A RETROSPECTIVE'

Why should a man born more than 2000 years ago seem relevant today? Is it because he still shines like a beacon across time for his passionate commitment to creativity, civil society, an insatiable quest for the truth and above all, for his pioneering ways and devoted dedication to self-expression. And is it also because IIPM as an institution has always sought to nurture and champion these very values in its students? Cicero's Challenge is IIPM's attempt to build a bridge between these ancient immortal values that history has been built on and the nurseries that nurture tomorrow – our schools.

Cicero's Challenge blew the bugle in 2006, and every year since has seen students from the world's best schools congregate and complete, not just to win the great Indian debate challenge but also to test their mettle in a host of other events that pushes them to mine their personalities for every diamond in their depths.

If every student who participates, leaves the Challenge with a newer and deeper understanding of one's potential, objectives, both IIPM's and Cicero's would have been met, and seeds of an undying legacy, nourished and sown... Amen!

Finding the perfect woman is easy

If you hate having clammy hands, nervous chatter and going home to an empty bed, listen up: this is your guide to finding the perfect woman. We all know that finding love is a tricky business, but remember it is like a game, and there are many tactics you can use that will help you score. So, let’s begin:

Scare her

Scaring your girl is not on the usual dating to-do list, but if you’ve still not found the one yet then maybe it’s time you used some alternative methods. Now, we’re not suggesting you do anything sinister, but research has shown that when people experience fear on a date they often misinterpret that feeling as love. Therefore, why not take your girl to a theme park and ride some of the adrenalin-inducing roller coasters? Or go to a zoo and pop into see the spiders, snakes and bats. Although this may not sound like the most romantic of dates, you can take flowers, a picnic and even some champagne. These dates are also great fun because conversation is easy to make and the environment is less formal than a traditional restaurant scenario, which will allow you both to relax.

Out of your league?

At some point, we’ve either been there or seen it – a beautifully stunning girl is after a guy, and you know they are out of their league. Although it’s tempting to pucker up and go for it, research suggests that reaching for the higher-end beauty queen will only lead to unrequited love. Researchers found that we are attracted to people who share a similar level of beauty to ourselves. If you luckily “catch” one of these stunners, research suggests that once they deal with their self esteem issues you will eventually be ditched. Harsh words from the psychologists. So although we all fantasise about the hot catwalk models, the glamour girls and the Miss Worlds, it would seem that these thoughts should stay just that; a fantasy.

Smell her dad

As disgusting as this sounds, be brave and get sniffing guys. At the University of Chicago, Dr Martha McClintock found some very interesting, if somewhat smelly, findings. After asking women to take a whiff of some sweaty t-shirts she discovered that women ranked those men that smelt similar to her dad as being more attractive than the fellers who did not, or those who smelt too similar. To get your girl, what you need to do is figure out a perfect balance between being an identical match and being the complete opposite. Finding out her dad’s scent is probably going to be quite a challenge. Remember though, if you do succeed we suggest you don’t bring up the day you smelt your in-law in your wedding day speech.

Stare at her

The eyes are very powerful tools when it comes to dating. We’ve all seen it in the films, that Lady and the Tramp moment when two eyes lock and love is bound to ensue. However, it would seem that for once the films aren’t too far removed from reality. A psychologist from New York, Professor Arthur Arun, studied the dynamics of love. He found that staring into one another’s eyes has an incredibly powerful effect on people’s romantic relationships. Professor Arun conducted a study where he asked complete strangers to reveal intimate details about their lives to each other. He then asked the pair to stare into each other’s eyes for four minutes. The couples revealed after the study that they felt a strong bond with the other participant – so much so that two even got married.

What women want

It’s the age-old question; what do women want? Admittedly, we don’t have the answer, but we do know that your witty chat-up lines aren’t on their list. According to recent studies we decide if we fancy someone within 90 seconds and 4 minutes after we meet them. How we decide whether we fancy each other is based on simple criteria: 55% is through body language, 38% is based on the tone and speed of our voice and only 7% is taken from what we talk about. So if you want to impress women, stand tall, don’t cross your arms or your legs. If you want a long-term girl, then it would seem that women prefer higher toned voices, but if you want a short-term fling then lower your voice to a husky, John Wayne pitch.

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Learn basics of new business from its foundation...

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

MR. CHARUL MADAN, MANAGING PARTNER, EXECUTIVE ACCESS
BATCH: 19985-1997

SHARES HIS SUCCESS SAGA WITH ARCHANA SHARMA

As we met Mr. Charul Madan, one is easily impressed by the swanky office located in the heart of the city, Saket, New Delhi, It was indeed a pleasure to get to know him as a person, going back to his student life and then taking in his future plans. His composed & charming personality leaves you awestruck. His intellectual appraoch, verbosity, focus and sophistication separate Mr. Madan from his contemporaries. He also happens to be an excellent orator and his ability to connect with people has helped him reach new heights in his corporate career. Right from his college days to the present, he was weaved his learning in the best fashion as per the latest trends in the global market. He always dreamt of being the best and this relentless pursuit of excellence has lead him to carve a niche for himself in this competitive world. After a 3 year tenure with Planman consulting in the Training & Development division, he switched to an executive search and consulting firm, Executive Access, a global boutique, established in the year 1988. Understanding the solution from the client's perspective is one of his key strength and this also happens to be a part of his company's philosophy. Mr. Madan has also been a co-founder and Director of Pro-P technology and an angel investor in “Mama's little donut”. Mama's little donuts is a store that appeals to mothers who are in search of the best quality toys for their kids. It's an attractive store located in one of the post areas of Delhi and is now building an online platform. Mr. Madan has varied interests and passions, he lives his life to the fullest, he loves to spend time with daughter, he plays squash and goes for horse-riding. He is keen on travelling and has been to a large number of countries across the globe and has picked up the culture and trends unique to the regions that he has traveled to. Apart from being a thorough professional who is dependable, quality conscious and extremely high on integrity and ethics, he is also an all-rounder who gives equal weightage to the other 'Fun' dimensions of life.

Mr. Charul Madan a alumnus of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, belongs to the Batch of 1997 and comes across as one of those rare individuals who have a great combination of ambition and humility. In our conversation with him, Mr. Madan revealed to us his spectacular journey in the corporate world and IIPM's significant contribution to his achievements.

Mr. Madan belongs to Dehradun and arrived in Delhi to pursue his MBA at IIPM. A completely different city as compared to Dehradun, Delhi's big city environment was very new to him. However he feels it gave him immense exposure, something he would have missed out completely in the sleepy town of Dehradun. It has been close to 16 years now and he has not moved out of the city and has fallen in love with it!

Mr. Madan maintains that Delhi and IIPM gave him just the right exposure not only in terms of National issues but also International perspectives. IIPM is very close to him and he still has a strong bond with the institute and its faculties. He fondly recollects the classes conducted by Arindam Sir and reminisces most of his teachings. He also found his soul-mate at IIPM and very emphatically maintains that a lot of what he is today is because of IIPM.

He shares that those days, the classes at IIPM were held at Lodhi road campus and there were about 60 students only in his batch! Back then when the institute was just in its 20^th year, the campus was not very large. Mr. Madan feels that the bond one builds with a small or a evolving institute is always strong. He initially worked for Planman Consulting and was one of the first employees. His shift to Executive Access was initiated with the help of a colleague who was an employee there. Executive Access, is one of the region's largest and most successful Executive Search firm with a big focus on financial services apart from other successful practice appears, with over 25 years experience in recruiting senior executives across the globe. They are headquartered in London with multiple office in USA, Canada and Asia.

However in the period between Planman and Executive Access, Mr. Madan also co-founded his own entrepreneurial venture. It was a joint venture with a Swiss company and primarily catered to the Railways in India.

They diversified and expanded their business with 120-150 odd customers and then sold it off. Mr. Madan shares that in spite of him having close to 5 years of corporate exposure, he began his career at EA as a research associate. He believes that this decision was spurred by his attitude that he wanted to learn the basics of this new business from it very foundation. And today after eleven promotions, he currently serves the company in the position of Managing Partner.

A managing partner, responsibility is to continuously build the equity of the firm apart from practice development. They have twenty eight partners world-wide. Even though they are global in nature they are very 'boutique' at heart. They carry a lot of nimbleness on how they provide solutions, build relationship with clients, and deal with the clients. This is the sole reason why he started off as a research associate as Executive Access is globally research focused.

As a Managing Partner of the firm, Mr. Madan is responsible for drawing overall vision of the company along side the Country MD not only from the Indian perspective but also from the global perspective. The major part of his role demands him to see that there is consistent profitable growth for the shareholders as well as the other partners. He also has to ensure that each practice area develops enough knowledge, information, and client solutions so as to remain on the top and then there is the issue of people management..' On asking about how classrooms are different from workstations he says that there is a vast difference between the two. At first, they both cannot be compared as a classroom involves theoretical study of subjects nowadays IIPM has evolved a lot in case-study based classes like Harvard and other B-Schools does. It does help a student prepare for the corporate world but workstations are something completely different as a person entering a Sales job does not even have a workstation. He feels that people should look at their role in a larger perspective of how the company operates and constantly look at avenues to contribute.

“What are the success factors of the organization? How are you contributing to those success factors and how passionately you are building that business? How driven are you and how goal oriented are you?

This is what makes the difference and matters the most,” comments. Mr. Madan draws inspiration from his former Chairman Mr. Rajan Marwah. Mr. Madan shares the fact that Mr. Marwah left for Hong Kong with just 300 dollars and built a multi million dollarfirm is a great inspiration for him. An ardent squast lover, he loves playing the game daily. On weekends he spends time with this daughter to go horse-riding. He says, though corporate grooming is largely dependent on the work environment and the role, it is critical to a professional success. Being a strong communicatior is extremely important and how you structure your conversation and how you present your cases will be dependent on your communications skills. His advice to the young professionals is that “to be passionate about your work, be driven, have a sense of goal and never wait for people to motivate”. Three Cheers from Cult to this dynamite.

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IIPM: Exposure beyond the classroom sessions...

UNIVERSITY EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES CAN NEVER BE CONFINED ONLY TO THE CLASSROOM SESSIONS...ITALIAN STUDENTS ON A RELIGIOUS EXCURSION.

Students from various Universities across the globe visit IIPM every year as a part of very interesting concept, the 'Exchange Programme'. The concept of such education exposure is an effort to understand management in one of the world's fastest growing economy. One such group of ecstatic Italian students from the University of Brescia and University of Torino, came to IIPM New Delhi in the month of August. After conveying a cheerful welcome, these students were taken for a religious tour. Such exchange programmes are enhanced through exclusive excursions to the beautiful cities of Delhi, Amritsar and Agra.

At the onset of the gorgeous religious tour, the students where taken to Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, followed by a visit to the holy St. James Church. The location of a Gurdwara just opposite the church in the heart of the capital of a country highlights how harmony is at it's helm in India. From there we moved on to the impressive Jama Masjid & Lotus Temple and all of these places were being described by a group of students from IIPM. These brilliant students branded the concept of divinity in all of these places in an exclusive way to the European students. For example at the end of the journey we went to the elegant Isckon temple, where one of the student from Winter-Batch of IIPM, extensively explained the fanatic & fantasy behind the flute & freedom with God. The Greatness of religion was paid heed in this trip and we looked forward to historical intellectuality , our next journey.

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IIPM DELH INDUSTRY VISIT, HINDWARE

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Hindware is a renowned company in India and a visit to such an organizations really gives the student an opportunity to understand management from very close quartes. IIPM students were taken on a visit to Hindware and it was a great learning experience for the group. Students learnt a lot about the products of the company including sanitary accessories, tiles, kitchen appliances and faucets. Students were able to observe closely the manufacturing processes and the efforts to keep quality in check. They also understood the issues of raw material sourcing and inventory management. Students got to see how by simply boiling calcium sulphate and using mud moulds, one could create such beautiful products.

The Manager at the Plant took time out to share in-depth details on the processes and answered the questions. The entire visit was truly a knowledge able one.

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IIPM DELHI: STUDENTS EXPOSED TO PRODUCTION & EXPORT DIVISION ON VISIT TO PARLE

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Benjamin Franklin once rightly quoted, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.” Parle Biscuits Pvt.Ltd. Is one indian company that lives by the same credo. Students at IIPM learnt more about this path-breaking company when they visited them on 5th of November 2011, The management students look forward to these industrial visits as they play a vital role in understanding the workings of large scale organizations.

Once the students reached the Parle premises which was fully decorated and promoted with its own products hoarding, everybody could instantly identify it's famous and all time favorite Baby Mascot. They were then shown a wonderful documentary on Parle products followed by a visit to the production area. These activities gave the students a whole lot of important information about Parle Biscuits, a brand they have loved, and grown up with!

Since 1929, Parle has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits & confectionery. It has been the maker of the words largest selling biscuits “Parle-G” and a host of other very important brands. Over the years the 'Parle' name has come to symbolize quality, nutrition and great taste. Parle has also been awarded with the Monde Selection Award. Parle also takes due care about its Hygiene by sanitizing its employees on fixed intervals and students were able to get a very clear understanding of these processes. “Parle-G” being the core brand of the company fetches 50% of the profits for the company all alone and this is due to its high brand loyalty and remarkable brand equity. Parle products are highly demanded in case of natural calamities especially Parle-G. The only threat for the company is its “own products demand and production capacity mismatch ” rather than its competitors and students were made to understand the importance of production scheduling.
Also the visit allowed the students to understand the recent focus of the company on Automation which will ultimately increase its production. Currently this is about 200 tonnes per day per factory.

The students were also exposed to the export division of the company. They were briefed on the fact that the highest exports were done to Africa. Also, they were briefed on the strategy Parle adopted to start its own plants in Nigeria and Cameroon to reduce high trade taxes and maintain market cost leadership. The students were thus completely briefed on pricing strategies, marketing strategies, order processing, inventory control, distribution processes and other processes of Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd.

In the end, visiting Parle gave students the real understanding of how brands function and the efforts taken behind the stage to ensure that it stays on the top at all times, And, this exposure truly counts a lot!

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