Advancedge MBA

Advanc’edge MBA October 2012 3

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., 1/45 Tardeo A.C. Market, Tardeo, Mumbai - 34. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel,Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kamlesh Sajnani

EDITORIAL

Editor:Aditya Prakash Iengar

Correspondent:Puja Shah

DESIGN

Uma Shirke

ADVERTISING Shahid Malek

Rajashree MurthyTel - 022-6668 0005 / 3301 7777

CIRCULATION / SUBSCRIPTION

Ramesh More

HEAD - PUBLICATIONS

Anand Sutaria

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE

Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications,

A Division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.,E Block, 6th Floor,

NCL Bandra Premises,Bandra-Kurla Complex,

Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Suresh Srinivasan,Yeshasvini Ramaswamy

WRITE TO THE EDITOR AT:[email protected]

Websites: www.advancedge.com,www.imsindia.com

www.advancedge.com

editoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditoreditorfrom the

Aditya Prakash IengarEditor

Aditya Prakash Iengar

Let me start by quoting a cliché. Knowledge is power!

Now let’s do something that management gurus and business gurus and all other kinds of gurus today do to sayings such as this, namely, change it. So here it is. Information is power!

Whichever you want to stick to, can’t both knowledge and information be looked at as the same thing, fundamentally? Both reduce your level of ignorance, period. That is what I feel is most important. Whether it is knowledge or information or wisdom or a thousand other words that mean the same thing, the objective is to know more than you did before. And when you place yourself in the context of today’s world of business and markets, infl ation and economies, human rights and global warming, the only way forward to so called “enlightenment” is to keep learning from everything around you, about everything around you. That’s the only way to survive, and I don’t think I’m mistaken when I say man’s most basic instinct is that of survival.

So with your GDs and essay writing and interviews pretty much behind you by now, you are well on your way to joining a management course. The only way to survive in that world, and the world of corporates that you’ll be graduating into, is to constantly keep learning. If you look at all the people who have made it big (and done it respectably), you’ll notice that their learning has never stopped throughout their lives. It can be anything – from languages to communication to current affairs to a technical subject, what have you. If you’re constantly learning, you will never fall short, and success, as they say, won’t be far behind. Only remember, don’t let it get to your head. For there is no bigger enemy to success and learning than arrogance born of pride and ego.

Now that you’re standing at the threshold of your admission to a B-school, make sure you evaluate your options properly when you’re selecting which institute you’ll study in, and get every piece of information you can about funding your course (if you need it) before applying for bank loans. The more you know, the easier it’ll be to make up your mind. And you will fi nd that you will respect yourself all the more for it.

I wish you the very best, and hope that you fi nd the journey to your future and your success a fulfi lling one.

Cover Story

06 Which call to answer?

10 Ashok Som Associate Dean,

Global MBA, Essec Business school

MBA BUZZ

12 Financing that exorbitant MBA

18 CMAT February 2013 – Test Analysis

Corporate Interview

24 Harish Reddy, VP & Head of India

Centre, CallidusCloud

Travel & Learning

28 MBA in the Netherlands

Success Street

38 Women in management

41 Sramana Mitra, Founder, One Million by

One Million

43 SRM University win the Innovation Challenge

44 Jeremy Hunter, President and Country

Manager, Henkel India

46 Strategies of the corporate jungle

Corporate World

48 Woes of the Eurozone: Who’s fault is it?

50 How social media complements business

53 Banking licences for corporates?

55 Economic indicators

Must Reads

58 Book Review l Good To Great

l The Big Bing l The Hobbit

Study Hour

59 CMAT FAQs

60 Word Dose About polymaths

61 Globescan

62 SuDoKu

www.advancedge.com

Disclaimer : The views expressed in the articles by contributors and others are not necessarily those of the Publishers, unless specifically stated therein. While no effort is spared in ensuring the accuracy of the information published herein, readers are advised to reconfirm the current facts before acting upon any such information. The Publishers regret their inability to accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors of commission or omission in this issue. Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The publishers do not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of any products or services. The Publisher, Printers or Editor shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior permission from the publisher.

Payment to be made by crossed Demand Draft/Cheque drawn in favor of “IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.” For subscriptions and related enquiries write to: Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications, A division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.For more queries e-mail: [email protected]

New Subscription RatesPeriod Issues New Rate1 Year 12 Rs. 480/-2 Years 24 Rs. 840/-3 Years 36 Rs. 1080/-

contents March 2013

FORM IVStatement about ownership and other particulars about newspaper Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen.1. Place of Publication : Mumbai2. Periodicity of its publication : Monthly3. Printer’s Name : Kamlesh B. Sajnani Nationality : Indian Address : 1/45, Tardeo A.C. Market Bldg, Tardeo, Mumbai - 400 0344. Publisher’s Name : Kamlesh B. Sajnani Nationality : Indian Address : 1/45, Tardeo A.C. Market Bldg, Tardeo, Mumbai - 400 0345. Editor’s Name : Kamlesh B. Sajnani Nationality : Indian Address : 1/45, Tardeo A.C. Market Bldg, Tardeo, Mumbai - 400 0346. Names and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the total capital. Kamlesh B. Sajnani, Valhalla CHS, Nirvana, Plot No.151, Corner of 24th & 30th Road, Bandra, Mumbai - 400050.

27Advanc’edge MBA January 2013www.advancedge.com

Indian B-School Profiles

6 www.advancedge.com

Cover Story

Advanc’edge MBA March 2013

Which call to answer?If you end up with calls from more than one institute, you have to ensure that the institute you select is the best one for you. Here are some parameters you might want to look into when choosing your B-school.

The Advanc’edge Team

here’s a popular saying: Nothing’s over until it’s over. Very true.

When you’ve undertaken to do something, you cannot rest until it’s completely finished, every little bit. Whenever it was that you started on your journey to obtain an MBA, the moment of truth has arrived. The CAT has been vanquished, and the group discussions, essay writings and personal interviews too have been conquered. Now, all that remains is to choose the institute where you will spend the next two years. This is perhaps the most important part of admissions. For those of you who have made it to this stage and gotten a call from an institute, all is well. Accept the admission, join the course and you will be on your way to getting your degree. But for the vast majority who get calls from more than one institute, this is the most crucial choice you will make.

Choices – easy and difficultThis question has both simple and difficult answers.

For instance, if you have two calls from two institutes, one of which is in the top five of institute rankings while the other is in the nether part of the top twenty, the choice is quite an easy one – opt for the former.

If there is a particular field you want to specialise in, and you have multiple calls from institutes, choose the one that will give you the most value in that field of specialisation. Consider the following situation, for example. Let’s suppose you want to specialise in Human Resources, and you’ve got calls from several institutes. Again, the choice is simple – select the institute that is known for its HR programme. The same holds for other specialisations as well, like finance, marketing, etc.

The problem arises when you get calls from institutes that come very close when you’re evaluating your options. What if you get calls from institutes that are all very closely ranked, at the top, middle or otherwise? What if you get calls from institutes that offer fantastic

programmes in the special isat ion fields of your choice? What if exorbitant tuition fees are a problem, and you’ve got a call from an institute that charges high fees but is a very well reputed, highly ranked B-school, and another call from a lower ranked institute that charges less? If this is the situation you are in, you must be careful to choose the institute that will be perfect for you.

What should you consider while selecting your B-school?While choosing your institute, there are usually two points of view you have to consider.i. What you want from the

instituteii. What the institute can offer you

What you want Which industry do you want to work in, and what is your profile?As you must have found out during

T

Turn to Pg 8

7Advanc’edge MBA March 2013www.advancedge.com

Cover Story



preparation and sitting for the interview, this is a very important factor you have to evaluate, and you must take your educational background into consideration. If you’re from a computer science or IT background, a role in the IT industry would be best suited for you. If you’ve studied economics, you might want to work in the consulting or banking industry. If you’ve graduated in biology, you could look at a career in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry.

If you have work experience, remember to take that into account, and try and match it with the institute from which you’ve got your calls. Have you worked in an operations role? Do you have work experience in sales and marketing?

Evaluate your future choice based on your educational and professional experience, and it will be easy to convince anyone, including yourself, why you want to do an MBA and work in any industry. If, however, you want to switch fi elds, irrespective of whether you have work experience, you should know why you want to do so, and what you expect to gain from it.

What kind of companies do you want to work for?If you’re clear about the industry you wish to work in, the next step is to fi gure out the major players in that industry. Find out all information you can about the companies that can offer you the best opportunities. For example, if you want a career in the FMCG industry, some of the best companies could be ITC, Pepsi, HUL, Proctor & Gamble, Dabur, Colgate-Palmolive, etc. And after you’ve found out all you can about these companies, go through the placement reports, brochures or

any other source of the institutes where these companies go to recruit. The idea is to select your B-school from the company and industry perspec t ive , and this can guide you in choosing the most appropriate institute for you.

How much will you be paying for your course?This is another very practical factor you have to take into account. Never think short term; always try and evaluate the long term gain (more than eight to ten years). An MBA degree/diploma is a professional qualifi cation, and the education you get during your course will last you a lifetime, and ensure that you always have a forward moving career. So, for example, if you have got a call from an institute that you want to get into, but the cost of the course is quite high, don’t dismiss it immediately. Instead, sit down and evaluate what you will get in return after you complete your course with the amount that you will be paying.

What the institute can offerWhen it comes to what the B-schools you’ve got your calls from, there are a host of

parameters you can use to choose what fi ts you best. In case you do end up getting calls from reputed institutes that are too closely ranked or are equal in several respects, you can try and evaluate them on the basis some of the following factors.

Your peer groupOne of the most fundamental parts of the learning acquired at a B-school is through your interaction with your peers – the people you study with. After all, once you’ve fi nished your MBA course, a few years down the line, these will the individuals who will form your network, and the better and more varied they are, the greater and more benefi cial your network will be. So it is imperative that you select an institute that has a good mix of students from different educational background. Unfortunately, the fact is that the best Indian management institutes tend to have a majority of engineers in a batch. In such a scenario, you can also try and fi gure out the work experience of the previous batches. These will give you an idea about the people you will be spending the next two years with.

AlumniIt is also essential to ascertain the alumni network of the institute. Make sure you select a B-school that has the better, widely spread alumni network, and in the long run, you will appreciate how much this helps.

If you want to switch fi elds, irrespective of whether you have work experience, you should know why you want to, and what you can gain from it.


Institute recognitionAnother point to take into account is whether the institute is recognised by a competent authority, like the Association of Indian Universities or the AICTE. However, this isn’t a failsafe evaluation, as having this accreditation doesn’t necessarily imply that the institute will be of top notch quality. It is a fact that several Indian institutes which do boast of such accreditations lack in some areas, like quality faculty, peer group, infrastructure, or even placements.

FacultyThis is one area that should be given serious thought. Recent trends show that candidates tend to give placements more importance than teachers at the institutes. While placement fi gures are certainly important, equally important is the institute’s faculty, who will be the ones to create

interest in the minds of the

s t u d e n t s , chal lenge

their intellectual boundaries and raise the standards of learning. Ideally, faculty in management institutes should not only be qualifi ed themselves, but should also be writing and presenting papers in different forums, teaching in other quality B-schools across the world, consulting with organisations and be in constant touch with the market and industry.

LocationUsually, location is not really an important factor when assessing premier institutes. Recruiting companies seek out the best institutes and their students irrespective of where they are located. However, in a situation where the calls aren’t from the crème de la crème, location can be an important factor. For example, an institute a little lower down the ranking ladder in Mumbai, the fi nancial capital of the country, should get greater consideration than one in Kolkata or Thiruvananthapuram.

Infrastructural facilitiesAgain, the infrastructure is not a parameter students usually use to whittle out the best B-schools. Remember that large campuses and in-house facilities, along

with ample recreational opportunities, provide an atmosphere more conducive to learning. Also, a

residential programme is more preferable than otherwise. As mentioned earlier, one of the most important, long-lasting factors of the MBA course is the peer group. Residential programmes mean better interaction, more interchange

of ideas and establishing of relationships, and this is amply supported by the fact that most of the best B-schools have compulsory residential programmes.

PlacementsThis is probably the fi rst parameter that students look for in an institute, and one that even the institutes like to play up. However, the truth is that placements as a whole consist of the kind of companies that come to the campus to recruit students, the roles that are offered as well as the pay packets that the students get. As a call getter from multiple institutes, consider all three with equal importance. If there are certain companies that you wish to work for, make sure that these companies are prominent recruiters you will choose. In fact, some companies offer different roles at different institutes, so that’s another factor you can check. Another important placement criterion is the number of students in a batch that have been placed. The best institutes are usually able to place every single student, but a placement percentage of more than 95 per cent is a good bet. Finally, when checking the compensation offered by the companies at the institutes, make sure you look beyond the highest salary, especially the average, median and minimum salaries. That will give you a fair indicator of the compensation you can expect at the end of your course.

So remember to take into account all of these parameters if you end up with several admission calls and can’t choose between them. With a little research and information gathering, you will select the institute that is best suited for you, and it will only help you in the long run. A

interest in the minds of the

s t u d e n t s , chal lenge

the country, should get greater consideration than one in Kolkata or Thiruvananthapuram.

Infrastructural facilitiesAgain, the infrastructure is not a parameter students usually use to whittle out the best B-schools. Remember that large campuses and in-house facilities, along

with ample recreational opportunities, provide an atmosphere more conducive to learning. Also, a

residential programme is more preferable than otherwise. As mentioned earlier, one of the most important, long-lasting factors of the MBA course is the peer group. Residential programmes mean better interaction, more interchange


Cover Story


When deciding which business schools to apply to, MBA candidates have a variety of factors to consider. These

can vary from a school’s most reputed areas of expertise to the geographical location, from the school’s ranking in a given publication to its network of alumni, from the size of a cohort to the credentials of the faculty, from programme content to programme duration and myriad other aspects in between.

Ultimately, the choice is personal. An MBA degree is a major investment, and getting the ROI that you seek will depend on what sort of returns you are looking for.

Do you want to work abroad? Consider a programme at a school with a great reputation and an extensive alumni network in the country or region to which you wish to move. Do you want to start your own company? Look for a school known for entrepreneurship, where you’ll get the business fundamentals to be operational quickly, but also might have access to incubators and start-up support from the school itself. Do you want an intensive programme that will require the minimal amount of time taken off of work? Many post-experience MBAs, including ESSEC’s, fi t their curriculum into twelve months, meaning you can be back on the job market just a year after you left it.

Choosing a school that offers a robust and demanding academic curriculum will ensure that you really hone the skills you want to tout

at the end of your MBA course. Learning to handle a rigorous workload, work effectively in teams, and prioritise tasks and objectives are all skills that you’ll acquire, in addition to the traditional knowledge acquired in an MBA course.

Making smart decisions about a business school means having a smart perspective about the business world in general. Times are changing, roles are different, companies are multinational before they know it and on an average day, you’ll probably interact with people from different countries and time zones, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Having an understanding of this globalised business environment and being comfortable working in cross-cultural contexts is the key to success for MBAs.

For instance, at ESSEC, we’ve incorporated this new reality into the fabric of our programme. Students work in the classroom with a diverse cohort. This year alone, 14 nationalities are represented. And they spend three of their 12 months as MBA students abroad, at the Singapore campus, in a fi eld trip to an emerging market, and as a team of consultants on the company-sponsored International Immersion Project.

It is essential that the MBA programme focuses on experiential learning, so that students get hands-on and practical knowledge. This is enhanced by regular visits from professionals and executives, by company trips to other cities across the world, and by workshops and personal development programmes that help students get out of their textbooks and grasp the bigger picture.

The business world today is complex and volatile, and every person’s career goals are unique. That’s why determining the business school that is the right fi t for you will vary from person to person. Rankings are just one indicator of a programme’s quality, and they asses a limited number of elements and attributes that are weighted differently according to the publication. More important than just looking at those numbers is investigating what’s behind them, and weighing the various benefi ts on the scale that makes sense to you.

From the horse’s mouth

Ashok SomAssociate Dean, Global MBAEssec Business School



If you are a deserving candidate and have secured admission to a good school on the basis of merit, paying your way through the course may not be as huge a challenge as it is sometimes made out to be. Scholarships aside, there are several banks that offer loans to fund your MBA education.

t is a fact that an MBA degree from a reputed management institute provides the best returns

on investment in the form of high salaries. Over the years, all the top management institutes, including the IIMs, have been raising their fees for their MBA programmes consistently and signifi cantly, and this investment is certainly not a meagre one. Let us take a look at the economic costs of an MBA and at some of the important things that should guide your decision in this respect.

Tuition and living costsTuition costs make up a massive part of all MBA expenses. The fees are different for different universities and vary widely with courses. Once a student decides his budget and passes the necessary tests, he is free to decide the institute of his choice. Tuition fees differ as indicated; some include living costs in their fees, some include the costs of reading material; a few are

inclusive of all expenses. Fees vary from Rs 15.5 lakh at IIM Ahmedabad in 2012 to Rs 9 lakh at IIM Kozhikode to XLRI’s Rs 14.5 lakh. At the same time, you also have VJSOM, IIT Kharagpur which charges approximately Rs 7 lakh for the four semesters. The annual fee at FMS, University of Delhi is Rs 10,500 approximately and is defi nitely one of the lowest in the world among truly high-quality MBA programmes. Living expenses in India are not as high and the cost of living in college hostels is strictly dependent on the college or universities. In government run institutes the costs are nominal; it can start from as low as Rs 6,000 per year but go up to Rs 50,000 per year. The cost of private hostels, too, varies according to the city and the available facilities.

So, fi nancing one’s management education is no longer a cakewalk for all. There have been serious debates in all circles on whether achieving an MBA dream will eventually be restricted to the moneyed lot.

Fortunately, however, fi nances are less than likely to pose a constraint for the truly meritorious, given the options of bank loans.

Bank loansThere was a time when loans for education were not something that the Indian psyche accepted very readily and the general tendency as a student was to shy away from any arrangement that would impose any fi nancial debts. Over the years, this mindset has changed, given the rising costs of professional education, the simultaneously rising returns on an investment therein, and the emergence of a generally bolder and economically more robust generation. Several banks have come forward to help students fi nance their chosen programmes in higher education in the country and abroad through educational loans at really reasonable interest rates these days. An educational loan will allow a student to pay for educational, living and personal


Financing that exorbitant

I

Turn to Pg 14

13Advanc’edge MBA February 2013www.advancedge.com

Cover Story


Advanc’edge MBA March 2013 March 2013

expenses incurred during the course of the programme.

What is an Educational Loan?Essentially, an educational loan provides fi nancial assistance to pursue a college or vocational course in India or abroad. The loan amount will cover the tuition fee, exam fee, living expenses (hostel charges), equipment fee (laptops, study material, etc), travel expenses for passage abroad, etc. A few additional costs may be covered depending on the scheme and the bank that is sought out.

Based on recommendations of a study group constituted by the Indian Association of Banks, a model for an educational loan was proposed and adopted thereafter by all banks in the country that provide fi nancial assistance to students. As per the model devised by the IBA, the government urged banks to implement certain modifi cations, such as excluding the condition of minimum qualifying marks in the last examination from the eligibility criteria and not insisting on margin and security for loans up to Rs 4 lakh. Banks have also been asked to bring in a certain amount of fl exibility in the norms on a case to case basis, especially in terms like eligibility, margin, security norms, etc.

Today, there are quite a few public and private sector banks that also provide loans to working executives who wish to pursue education in the middle of their career. They are called “Career Development Schemes” by a few. For instance, the Bank

of Baroda has a scheme called Baroda Gyan, which is aimed at already employed persons who intend to pursue higher education, vocational courses, trainings, pilot trainings, skill upgradation, diploma or degree courses offered in aviation, hospitality and travel management, executive development, etc. in India and abroad. This is certainly a leg up for future management leaders who wish to acquire higher, specialised managerial skills.

Questions to ask before you apply for a loan What expenses and fees are

covered by the loan? What is the maximum amount

that can be availed? What is the rate of interest? Is a guarantor required? Is any collateral required? If

so, how much? How long will it take for the

loan application to be

processed? What are the pay-back

procedures and terms?

Need for a guarantor and collateralMost banks have done away with collateral requirement for loans up to Rs 4 lakh. For higher amounts, one would need to present details of collateral security, which is valued by a valuation authority approved by the government. This has to be supported with the correct documents. In some cases, depending on the loan amount (usually above Rs 4 lakh), banks also ask for a third party guarantor. The guarantor is essentially a person who knows the applicant well and who could also provide a written guarantee that the due amount will be paid by this person in case the applicant defaults on the payment.

For very high loan amounts, the collateral should be in the form of immovable property or

transferable securities. Having a life insurance policy can be

benefi cial to a student who wants to avail a loan. The bank

also benefi ts from such security; therefore, a few banks provide an insurance cover to a student who avails an educational loan (for instance, the Union Bank of India has provisions for an insurance policy in their

education loan scheme).

Tie-ups that helpMany of the leading banks have tie-ups with premier institutes like the IIMs, IITs, XLRI, etc to name a few. The State Bank of

India and Bank of Baroda are a few such banks. This

is helpful for many students, as they do not have to search


MBA BUZZfor the best loan deal with the lowest interest from a host of banks. These tie-ups provide students easy access to loans and the best interest rates and a reduction in the loan processing time.

Students who secure admission to premier institutes like the IIMs, IITs, XLRI, ISB, or others have certain benefits when it comes to availing a loan. They tend to get lower interest rates on loans. Banks usually have a list of institutes and courses for which they agree to provide finances.

For instance, Allahabad Bank has drawn up a list of over 80 educational institutes whose courses it will finance, and it has special rates for IIMs/IITs/ISB etc. The bank also provides lower interest rates for girl candidates.

To summarise, female students with admission to premier institutes really have an advantage in terms of the interest rates on educational loans. On a more general note, students who have secured admissions to some of the new or upcoming institutes may have to try harder to convince the bank to give an educational loan.

Important things to note before you apply for a loanIt has been a general observation that students opting for professional courses tend to get loans smoothly and much more easily than ones choosing to pursue higher studies in the liberal arts or sciences. As one researches the different educational loans available, it is important to understand the eligibility criteria stated by each of the banks. Each of the banks has its own set of preferences when it comes to assessment of a loan application; some

may stress on good academic record, while others may have age constraints. For instance, it is seen that typically, educational loans can be availed of within a 15 to 35 years age bracket. HDFC Bank, for example, has an age bracket of 16-35 years for its educational loan. Some banks insist on financing only certain kinds of courses or programmes from select institutes.

However, the general eligibility criteria stated by the IBA and followed by most banks in the country are as follows.

The candidate seeking a loan must be an Indian national and he/she must have secured admission to the programme

intended for study on merit, i.e., either based on individual academic performance or the screening test scores (like CAT/XAT/GMAT/SNAP/NMAT, etc to name a few).

Banks also insist that one should not have any outstanding educational loans from other banks/institutes when they state the eligibility criteria for a loan under their scheme.

Following is a list of documents generally needed while applying for the loan (this will again differ between banks):}B-school admission letter

along with details of

year-wise fees and other expenses

}Scholarship letter (if any)}Attested copies of birth

certificate (or any other proof of age) and proof of residential address

} Passport size photo of the applicant, co-obligants and guarantors

}Copies of mark sheets/degree certificates of previous academic qualifications

}Income proof/latest income tax returns of co-obligants, guarantors (if any)

}Details of collateral security along with valuation certificate of government approved valuer (if any)

}Last six months’ bank statements of the applicant/co-obligants/guarantors (if any)

}Copy of passport/visa, cost of air tickets in case of studies abroad

How to applyMost banks now have the provision for an online application for an educational loan. After all the research and information gathering process is complete, one can visit a representative of the nearest branch of the bank chosen.

So, to summarise, management education is booming, recession or otherwise, and recruiters are constantly on the lookout for good talent from the top B-schools. Avenues for funding are ample and one just needs to be aware and informed.

At the end of the day with funds secured, the decision should largely be guided by the rationale behind studying for an MBA and the immediate expectations from it. A

Students who’ve got admissions to some of the newer institutes may have to try harder to convince the bank for educational loan.


MBA BUZZ


EDUCATIONAL LOANS FROM INDIAN BANKS

Bank Base rate (BR) Interest rate per annum

Maximum quantum of loan

(in INR lakhs)Eligibility

Allahabad Bank 10.50%

BR + 2% or BR + 3% (depending upon institute of admission; less

0.5% for girl child)

20 (IIMs, ISB, XLRI); 15 (FMS, IIFM, IITs, IRMA,

MDI, MICA, NMIMS, S.P.Jain,

TISS, SIBM, XIME, JBIMS) 10 for others (consult

website)

Indian national, secured admission to the institute on

merit

Axis Bank 10%

Up to Rs 4 lakh = BR + 7%, Rs 4 to

7.5 lakh = BR + 8%, more than Rs 7.5

lakh = BR + 6%, Girl child = less 0.5%

10


merit

Bank of Baroda 10.25%

Up to Rs 4 lakh = BR + 2.5%, Rs 4 to 7.5 lakh = BR + 4%,

more than Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 3.5%, ISB= less 2%, 1%

concession for IIMs, IITs for loans more than Rs 7.5 lakh

10

Indian national, secured admis sion to the institute on

merit

Bank of India 10.25%

Up to Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 3%, more than Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 2.5%, Girl child = less 1% for loans above Rs 50,000

10


merit

Bank of Maharashtra 10.25%

Up to Rs 4 lakh = BR + 2%, more than

Rs 4 lakh = BR + 2.5%

10


merit

HDFC Bank 9.70% NA 15

Indian national of 16 to 35 years of age, secured admission to the institute on

merit

IDBI Bank 10.25%

Priority sector lending = BR + 1%

(floating current rate = 11.25%)

Non priority sector lending = BR + 2%

10


merit


MBA BUZZ

Bank Base rate (BR) Interest rate per annum

Maximum quantum of loan

(in INR lakhs)Eligibility

Indian Overseas Bank 10.50%

Current floating interest rate; up to Rs 4 lakh = 12.5%, Rs 4 to 7.5 lakh =

13.75%, more than Rs 7.5 lakh = 13.5%

15


merit

Punjab National Bank

10.5%; Term Premium (TP) =

0.5%

For loan tenure less than 3 years; up to Rs 4 lakh = BR +

3%, Rs 4 to 7.5 lakh + BR + 4%, above Rs 7.5 lakh = BR +

3.5%For loan tenure of more than 3 years; up to Rs 4 lakh =

BR + 2.5% + TP, Rs 4 to 7.5 lakh + BR

+ 3.5% + TP, above Rs 7.5 lakh = BR +

3% + TP

10


merit

State Bank of India 9.70%

Up to Rs 4 lakh = BR + 3.5%, Rs 4

to 7.5 lakh = BR + 3.75%, more than Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 1.5%, Girl child =

less 0.5%

10


merit

UCO bank 10.50%

Upto Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 2.5%, more than Rs 7.5 lakh =

BR + 2.25%

10

Indian national, secured admission to the institute on merit, between 21 and 28 yrs for PG courses

Union Bank of India 10.50%

Up to Rs 4 lakh = BR + 3.75%, Rs 4 to 7.5 lakh = BR + 4.25%, above

Rs 7.5 lakh = BR + 3.5%, 0.50% concession for

female students

10


merit

Central Bank of India 10.25%

BR + 2%, less 0.5% for girl child, IIMs/

IITs10


merit

ICICI Bank 10% NA, 0.5% less for girl child 10


merit


MBA BUZZ


CMAT February 2013 – Test Analysis

MAT February 2013 was conducted over a five-day test window from February 21 to 25 across two time slots – 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

Overall, the paper was comparable in terms of difficulty, with the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation Section turning out to be tougher than the previous CMATs. Since there were no sectional timings, one could easily utilise the time saved in the General Awareness section to score more in other sections. Scratch papers for rough work were readily available. The exam is a cakewalk for students preparing for the CAT, except for the GA section, which will be difficult if there isn’t much familiarity with current trends.

Quantitative Technique and Data Interpretation Even though this section can still be rated on a scale of easy to moderate, the average time required to complete the section was greater. While in the earlier CMATs, the average time for completing the section for good students was around 25 to 30 minutes, this time a lot of students needed as much as 40 to 45 minutes to complete the Quant section. Like the exam that was held in September 2012, this section of CMAT had all single questions and no set based ones.

What was interesting was that compared to the previous CMATs, some questions in this section were better framed and tested the reasoning skills of the examinees along with their conceptual knowledge. Quite a lot of focus was given to Number Properties (as indicated in the table above), and it would be advisable for test takers to brush up on these. A few of the questions in this section even reminded one of the easier questions asked in the CAT in the last couple of years. In the CMAT, a test taker needs to have a reasonable level of proficiency in almost all areas of mathematics and cannot avoid leaving out any topic in his preparation for the test.

Logical ReasoningThis section had questions that can again be rated on a scale of easy to moderate. The test taker could have got stuck on some questions. It is critical to keep a tab on the time. You might want to mark difficult questions to revisit them later. Here too, there were single questions only and no set based ones.

Overall, the section was quite easy, except for four or five questions (especially the ones in

Arrangements) that were a bit lengthy in terms of the data to be read and analysed, and hence, time consuming. The section was similar to the CMAT September 2012 in terms of the level of difficulty.

Language Comprehension (LC)This section was easy, with a couple of questions in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning having options that were quite close. The section comprised small RC passages (about 10 or 11) with a single question on the passage. Questions were of the following types: main idea/theme of the passage, tone of the author, title of the passage, etc. In critical reasoning, (5 to 6 questions) the questions were the following: which of the following weakens/supports the argument, what can be safely concluded, what is implied, etc. There were single questions on complete the sentence, fact-inference-judgment, similar and opposite meanings of words, find the grammatical error, analogies, choose the sentence that conveys the meaning most appropriately, matching the idiom and word for usage and definition for four possibilities given in the box, etc.

Developing a regular reading habit will significantly better your scores in this section. In verbal reasoning, it is critical to learn the approach to solve the different question types.

General Awareness (GA)The CMAT’s GA section is believed to be the decider section amongst the test takers. This section can be rated on a scale of easy to moderate, with more questions on the easier side. If you read newspapers regularly, you’d be easily able to answer around 9 or 10 questions (which was the total number of questions based on current affairs, with the rest being on static GK). Even some of the questions on static GK, around four or five, were sitters. There were several questions related to politics, science, entertainment, history and sports. The questions seemed quite familiar. However, one has to be careful to not fall into the trap of guess work since CMAT has negative marking.

To ace this section, read newspapers regularly. Keep your eyes and ears open for latest happenings, which could be through TV news as well. Familiarise yourselves with important facts across different areas that are generally covered in General Knowledge books. There is less emphasis on figures and data, which are generally difficult to remember.

C


MBA BUZZLooking at the overall difficulty level, we would

expect the cut off for GD–PI for the top colleges that accept CMAT scores to be around 300-310.Results

The result for the computer based test CMAT February 2013 will be declared on March 13, 2013. Scorecards can be printed from March 13 to April 13, 2013. A

Area No. of questions SpecificsArithmetic 8 to 9 Ratios, mixtures, work, averages, profit & loss, simple & compound

interestNumbers 3 No. of zeros in the product of a number, cyclity rule (to find

remainder of the power of a number), no. of divisors of a numberGeometry 4 Mensuration, quadrialterals, coordinate geometryModern Math

5 Permutations and combinations, probability, Venn diagrams, progressions, functions

Algebra 3 Algebraic equations, inequalities, surdsDI 1 Pie chart

Quantitative Technique and Data Interpretation: A snapshot

Area No. of questions SpecificsArrangements 6 Linear, seating, sequencing, arranging with conditions,

matrix arrangements, circular arrangementCoding 1 -Family tree 2 -Logical puzzles 1 -Groups & conditionalities 1 -True or false 2 -Series 1 -Clocks 1 -Directions 2 -Calendars 1 -Data sufficiency 3 (1 On arrangements, 1 on family tree and 1 on numerical puzzle)Sequential input-output 1 -Syllogisms 1 6 statements – 3 conclusionsConditional statements 1 -

Logical Reasoning: A snapshot

List of colleges that accept CMAT score (No ranking order)

l JBIMS, Mumbail Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

(2 yr PGDM course)l GIM, Goal XIME, Bangalorel Sydenham, Mumbail K.J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies

and Research, Mumbail Prof L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management

Development and Research, Mumbail Praxis Business Schooll SIES, Mumbail N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies,

Mumbai

l Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA)

l Xavies Institute of Social Service, Ranchil IMT, Nagpurl IMT, Hyderabadl IFMR, Chennail IMDR, Punel Alliance School of Business, Bangalorel DoMS, NIT Durgapurl Amity University, Noidal ITM, Navi Mumbail New Delhi Institute of Managementl iFEEL Business School, Lonavala


MBA BUZZ


CMAT AchieversStudent Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GARAGHUNANDAN BOKARE Rank 1 Pune - Sohrab Hall Engineering 298 84 73 79 62SUNNY SADNANI Rank 2 Mumbai - Borivali Non Engineering 292 57 78 62 95ANUP JOSHI Rank 3 Mumbai - Dadar Engineering 288 96 81 76 35SHARVARI DESAI Girl Topper Mumbai - Churchgate Engineering 281 95 87 76 23KUSHAL CHOURASIA SC/ST/OBC

TopperPune - Deccan Engineering 284 82 81 51 70

SimCMAT 11 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GASAAD KHAN Rank 1 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 318 96 85 70 67SAGAR PADAKI Rank 2 Mumbai - Dombivli Non Engineering 283 87 90 60 46ANUP JOSHI Rank 3 Mumbai - Dadar Engineering 279 96 82 71 30SUBHASHREE D.A. Girl Topper & SC/

ST/OBC TopperMumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 275 90 85 75 25

KUSHAL CHOURASIA SC/ST/OBC Topper

Pune - Deccan Engineering 284 82 81 51 70

SimCMAT 10 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GASAAD KHAN Rank 1 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 289 77 75 61 67TARUN SINGHANIA Rank 2 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 281 66 74 41 46SAURABH MISHRA Rank 3 Mumbai - Vashi Engineering 276 90 86 80 30SUBHASHREE D.A. Girl Topper Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 260 80 85 70 25

SimCMAT 9 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GASHAISTA KAS Rank 1 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 281 95 61 30 95SAGAR PADAKI Rank 2 Mumbai - Dombivli Non Engineering 280 95 85 55 45SAAD KHAN Rank 3 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 268 90 59 40 79SUBHASHREE D.A. SC/ST/OBC

TopperMumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 212 72 60 65 15

SimCMAT 8 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GAPUNEET TANDON Rank 1 Mumbai - Vashi Engineering 304 96 76 81 95SAURABH MISHRA Rank 2 Mumbai - Vashi Engineering 292 80 72 80 45SAAD KHAN Rank 3 Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 269 75 66 67 79SUBHASHREE D.A. Girl Topper & Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 261 56 70 90 15

SimCMAT 7 Achievers


MBA BUZZ

21

CMAT AchieversStudent Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GAASHISH GULHANE Rank 1 Pune - Deccan Engineering 245 75 76 36 62SHIVPRASAD M. BHIDE Rank 2 Mumbai - Dadar Non Engineering 238 95 77 31 95ANUP JOSHI Rank 3 Mumbai - Dadar Engineering 232 70 59 80 35SUBHASHREE D.A. Girl Topper & Mumbai - Churchgate Engineering 230 85 57 55 23

SimCMAT 6 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GASAURABH MISHRA Rank 1 Mumbai - Vashi Engineering 305 95 80 85 67SHIVPRASAD MANGESH BHIDE

Rank 2 Mumbai - Dadar Non Engineering 294 100 85 85 46

RAJENDRA NALBALWAR Rank 3 Pune - Deccan Engineering 284 87 81 65 30SHARVARI DESAI Girl Topper Mumbai - Bandra Engineering 241 74 80 70 25SAGAR MAHAJAN VAMAN SC/ST/OBC

TopperBangalore - Indiranagar

Engineering 258 76 91 61 70

SimCMAT 5 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GADIPESH JAIN Rank 1 Mumbai - Bandra Engineering 312 86 90 70 66SAGAR PADAKI Rank 2 Mumbai - Dombivli Non Engineering 311 82 100 80 49SHIVPRASAD MANGESH BHIDE

Rank 3 Mumbai - Dadar Non Engineering 310 92 95 70 53

SHARVARI DESAI Girl Topper Mumbai - Churchgate Engineering 263 83 96 63 21

SUBHASHREE D.A. SC/ST/OBC Topper

Mumbai - Churchgate Non Engineering 263 53 90 80 40

SimCMAT 4 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GAPRATIK MARFATIA BHARAT All-India Rank 1 Dadar Engineering 290 85 70 95 40ANUP JOSHI All-India Rank 2 Dadar Engineering 275 92 68 81 34SAGAR PADAKI All-India Rank 3 Dombivli Non Engineering 270 75 70 75 50SUBHASHREE D.A. Girl Topper /

OBC topperChurchgate Non Engineering 247 56 64 95 32

Gopal Zavar SC Topper Dadar Engineering 225 85 50 60 30

SimCMAT 3 Achievers

Student Name Category Centre Specialisation Overall QA LR LS GASAGAR PADAKI Rank 1 Mumbai - Dombivli Non Engineering 295 86 82 90 37PUNEET TANDON Rank 2 Mumbai - Vashi Engineering 283 86 57 76 64DIPESH JAIN Rank 3 Mumbai - Bandra Engineering 274 82 82 52 58SHIVANI KSHIRSAGAR Girl Topper Mumbai - Dadar Engineering 216 64 61 61 30SHUBHANKAR PRABHAKAR SHENDE

SC/ST/OBC Topper

Nagpur Engineering 203 63 58 67 15

SimCMAT 2 Achievers


MBA BUZZ


his is the time when under-graduation exams and board exams for the 10th and 12th standard are around the corner, and when students evaluate their interests and

passions, and choose their career path. Often, they end up going with the flow, following what is otherwise known as the herd mentality. Now, this mentality dictates that career choices follow only a few known paths – engineering, medical and management are the most common. But something that is quite overlooked is a career in law.

While a few decades ago, law was once a highly sought after future, it has suffered a decline in number, compared to the fields of technology or management. But trends are changing now, and today, law is something that is not only a worthwhile career choice, but also something that is as diverse and richly rewarding a field as any other.

Why consider a career in Law?If you look at the developed nations like the US and UK, law is one of the most mature fields of study. Recent surveys have shown that the average lawyer sitting in the US earns nearly as much, and sometimes even more than, many CEOs of multinational companies! In India too, the mindset is changing. Due to the country’s growth, people today are more resourceful and law compliant than before. Because of these and other socio-economic factors, we are far less anxious about going to court than we were ten years ago, and there is a general increase in awareness of our legal rights and capabilities, giving rise to the need

for legal professionals. For instance, with the rising popularity of intellectual property management, the need for professionals experienced in the field of law is increasing by the day!

Even now, practising in court is not the only option a law student has after completing his degree, contrary to popular opinion. If you look at big companies like Genpact, IBM, Dell, ITC, Wipro, etc, you will see that all such organisations have several lawyers on their payroll. These individuals have all sorts of roles, in litigation to advertising to branding to promoting – there is really no limit. And there are, of course, the big law firms like Amardas Mangalchand, Luthra & Luthra, Trilegal, AZB Partners, etc. Today, a law graduate (fresher) easily commands a salary of anything between Rs 10 to 15 lakh per annum. There is also the option of joining the judiciary. In fact, a proposal for an Indian Judicial Service (IJS), like the IAS or IES, has been put up, and will probably be passed in a couple of years. Then, an IJS officer will be at par with an IAS officer.

Tell us about the universities for law and their entrance exam.Today, we have 15 national law universities (NLUs) across the country, and more than half of them have come up in the last six to seven years. This clearly shows that the demand for legal professionals is increasing. These NLUs are the premier institutions for studying law. The CLAT is the Common Law Admission Test that is conducted for admission into these institutes. It is along the same lines as

How IMS can helpUG – CLAT, BBA students

Even with fields like management being in high demand, a career in law is fast making a comeback, says CLAT guru RAJNEESH SINGH. And this is where IMS can help aspirants like no one else, he tells Aditya Prakash Iengar. As UG Product Manager at IMS, Rajneesh is responsible for the training of over 10,000 undergraduate students across India annually.

T


MBA BUZZthe entrance tests for management, engineering, etc, but apart from testing the aptitude and general knowledge, the test also evaluates the legal acumen of the students.

How can IMS help law aspirants?As far as exams like the BBA/BBM/SET are concerned, for the last decade or so, IMS has been the market leader in training and facilitating aspirants of these exams. We conduct extensive classroom training across the country to prepare the students.

Earlier, the NLUs used to conduct their own exams, but the CLAT was announced as a common entrance test in 2008. We at IMS started our own training programme for the CLAT at the same time as that announcement, and we were the first to make it student friendly.

What does IMS have to offer its students?Unlike many other facilitators, IMS has carefully developed a training module based completely on the entrance exams. For instance, unlike others who invite practising lawyers to train their students, we choose our faculty specifically from those who have passed out from the NLUs. This means that the faculty have sound knowledge on what the NLUs and other law institutes look for in potential students, and they are in constant touch with what is happening in both the industry and academics.

Furthermore, our programme has been designed along the lines of Bloom Taxonomy, which is one of the world’s best models of learning. Our training module is scientifically divided into phases, in which the students are first shown the excitement that comes from wanting to study law. It stands to reason

that only once the students are excited about wanting to prepare and study for the entrance exam will they become more receptive to the learning that we impart from the second phase. We also have a testing phase when the students sit for mock tests. For example, after giving a mock CLAT, the students find comfort and confidence to sit for the forthcoming test.

How does IMS train its students?We have classroom teaching, which is, of course, the best method. There are several programmes a student can opt for. EXTENT is a two year training programme for students in the 11th standard, and it ensures the student’s preparation is sufficiently finished before the board exams of the 12th standard. INTACT is another classroom programme for first year under graduation students. BRISK, a one-month intensive programme, is for 12th standard students who want to take the law entrance exam the same year. Apart from these, IMS is also well known for its mock CLAT test series, which train the students in exactly the way they have to appear for the exam, and a correspondence programme for those who cannot take part in classroom facilitation.

What is GQuest?GQuest is a completely unique online portal, unlike anything else in the market, that we have developed at IMS. For exams like the CLAT, general awareness and current affairs form a large part; for instance, in the CLAT, nearly 30 per cent of the questions are on current affairs or static GK. To obtain this fundamental knowledge of what’s happening around the students, we designed GQuest for them. It is an exhaustive solution for all General Knowledge needs. A


Corporate Interview


Is it true that the first widely accepted form of online activity came in the form of online storage? Can today’s cloud service be looked at as an extension of that idea?When they first started experimenting with the cloud, companies found storage to be the least risky activity to start with. They started with online backup of data; this, otherwise, would have cost them quite a lot when the data would be backed up with regulatory compliances, like not being kept in the same geography/seismic zone, etc. With its very nature, the cloud model eliminated this, through its “sharing” paradigm, and has been prevalent in many industries, such as Telecom. Many companies used online storage as an activity or a stepping stone to the cloud services that we know so well today.

Do you think there was a turning point when businesses started using cloud computing? What made them switch from contemporary conventional means?The cloud services market was initially nurtured by companies like SalesForce.com, VMware, etc, to name a few. They were able to demonstrate successful utilisation of this model, and showed others like CallidusCloud that this model is a highly viable option. This, coupled with the economic recession of 2008, when companies were pressed to reduce their capital expenditure without affecting operations, gave a sudden impetus to the cloud market. The cloud today is seen as a viable opportunity to extend as well as kickstart businesses with minimal capital expenditure.

How do you think the cloud can help businesses, both established and comparatively new ones?From the business perspective, one of the most important aspects of the cloud is that it

With cloud services becoming more and more popular in the running of businesses big and small, it is only a matter of time before it is universally accepted across the world, says HARISH REDDY, VP & Head of India Centre, CallidusCloud.

Turn on Pg 26

31Advanc’edge MBA December 2012www.advancedge.com

Profile Page

Pro

of l

NeICITok

Em

For

We

(Est

Dual EPracticPartici

oviding

leading

ew IndiICI, , SBkyo, HD

32 acreModernInsuranResear

ScoFor

mail: adm

r furthe

ebsite: w

tablish

The A

Expertical Appipation

Interna

g Insura

a AssurBI LifeDFC Er

es Pictun Classnce Arcrch & P

ores of Crm Subm

mission

er inform

www.n

hed un

TW

Apex I

ise in Iproach

n in Sem

ational

ance Co

rance Ce, Swissrgo, GM

uresquesroomschives

Publicat

CAT, Xmission

ns2013

mation

niapune

nder th

WO-YE

Institu

nsuranh to Leaminars

Exposu

ompani

Compans Re, CMR, BA

e Camp

tions

XAT &n last da

@niapu

visit

.com

T

he Join

EAR F

te for

nce andarning and C

ure thro

es, Reg

ny, NatCognizaAI(Mau

us

& CMAate: Ma

une.com

The U

nt aegis

FULL

Educa

d Mana

Confere

ough ac

gulators

tional Inant, Acuritius)

ATarch 31

m

Unique

NA

s of M

100

L TIME

ation, TIn As

agemen

ences

ctive pa

s & Var

nsuranccenture, Aetin

1st, 201

NATIO

25, BaNIA PTel: +9Interac

Prog

eness o

Sel

ATION

Ministry

Ove

% Pla

E RES(AIC

Trainisia, Afr

nt

articipa

rious ot

ce, Unie, IBM,s(Mala

13

ONAL

alewadi.O. Pun91 20 2ctive M

gramm

of Nat

lectio

NAL I

y of Fi

erseas

aceme

SIDENCTE A

ng, Rerica &

ation, in

ther Pro

ited Ind, TCS,

aysia), N

L INSU

, Banerne, 411272040

Mobile R

me Hig

ional I

n Cri

NSUR

nance,

Study

ent sin

NTIALAPPRO

esearch& Midd

RIE

ndustry

ofessio

dia, OriMillim

Nexus(D

SDHS

RANC

r Road,045 (IN17 / 272

Respons

ghligh

Insura

iteria

RANCE

, Govt

y Tour

nce Inc

L PGDOVED

h, Pubdle Eas

RigorouInsuranExperie

visits a

onal bod

ental Inman IndDubai)

State-ofDigitalHostel rSports &

CE ACA

NDIA)204092se Syst

ts

ance A

a

E ACA

t. of In

r

ception

DM PD)

blicatiost Regi

us Curnce Labenced a

and inte

dies.

nsurancdia, Syn

and m

f-the-arLibrary

rooms w& Recr

ADEM

2 / 2720tem : 0

Acade

ADEM

dia an

n

ROGR

on andion

rriculumboratorand Qu

eraction

ce Comntel Ltdany mo

rt IT paywith moreations

MY

04000 /040710

my

MY

nd Pub

RAMM

d Consu

mryualified

ns with

mpany,d, Infosyore.

ark

odern as

/ 27204015137

blic Sec

ME 20

ultanc

d Facul

h Senior

GIC, Tys, HCL

ameniti

4444(Toll F

ctor In

013-15

cy in In

lty

r Execu

Tata AIGL, Aon

es

Free)

nsuran

5

nsuran

utives

G, Bajan Globa

nce Com

nce

aj Alliaal, Edelw

mpani

anz,weiss

ies)



is defi nitely a model for every business that is trying to utilise its resources optimally. Now that the model is available and there are so many companies from across sectors using cloud services, it is only a matter of time until every business will embrace it.

Imagine a company paying for computing resources based solely on usage. There is nothing better than that, instead of locking capital on infrastructure which on a median will always be used less than 50 per cent of capacity at any time.

There are still fears that the cloud isn’t secure enough. Do you agree? If so/not, why?Yes, there are still concerns about security. But this concern has not translated into a go or no-go situation. The primary concern is about keeping data, potentially sensitive and otherwise, outside the company fi rewall. This concept of keeping data elsewhere had never been envisioned by companies before cloud. But such challenges are good, in the sense that they are propelling further innovation around that concern.These kind of concerns have been experienced by other industries in the past, but none of these concerns have ever come in the way of that industry progressing. Take the case of c r e d i t cards being used online a few years ago. From

that era, online transactions have come a long way today.

In the context of cloud services, how can start-ups or would-be entrepreneurs benefit?Start-ups and would be entrepreneurs have benefited quite a lot from commercially available cloud services like Amazon, SalesForce, etc to name a few. Today, if you have an online business idea, translating that to a viable business is very less capital

intensive. There are working models of many a start-up around us. The advancements in the cloud services will make such offerings much more affordable, reliable and viable.

Many management institutes today have cloud services in their curriculum for students specialising in the relevant fi eld. Do you feel that students with an IT/Computing background will necessarily have an advantage over others?Cloud provides opportunities to everyone, as more and more industry domains keep embracing cloud services. For example, in genome mapping, scores of new graduates are being used. However, the fact remains that having a background in IT will certainly be an advantage as far as cracking the learning curve is concerned.

With the phenomenal advance of technology in the last decade or two, it begs the question: What next after the cloud?Context- aware computing or services are being seen as the next wave by many in the industry. It will be an offspring of the integration of various contexts like the social context, process context, user context and the enterprise context. In a way, it can be seen as the ideal defi nition of personal computing, i.e., computing tailor-made for each person. A

progressing. Take the case of c r e d i t cards being used online a few years ago. From

will certainly be an advantage as far as cracking the learning curve is concerned.

With the phenomenal advance

The cloud today is seen as a viable opportunity to extend as well as kickstart businesses with minimal capital expenditure... it is only a matter of time until every business will embrace it.


Corporate Interview


Travel & Learning


Puja Shah

Coming up as a popular destination for business studies, the Netherlands, also

known as the orange country, offers students an interesting mix of history,

culture and commerce. DUTCHGoing

29www.advancedge.com

Travel & Learning


he colour orange. Bicycles. Coffee shops. Tulips. Windmills. All of them

have one thing in common – the Netherlands.

Also known as Holland, the country is a fascinating one, so it’s not surprising to find

that people associate it with so many different things like these. Yes, there are all of the above, and travellers would not have to hunt for art and history. But for me, the Netherlands is all of this and much more. For a country that has legalised prostitution, soft drugs, same-sex marriages

since 2001, abortion on demand until viability since 1981 and euthanasia since 2002, the words “tolerant” and “forward-thinking” seem to describe it perfectly, especially in the strife-ridden world of today. In almost every instance, I’ve found Dutch culture to be a unique blend of liberal thinking and respect for national tradition.

The Dutch strive for an egalitarian society, where everyone expects to be treated with respect. The standard of living is high, and according to the Dutch Statistics Office, unemployment is only about 7.2 per cent (in December 2012), which is lower than many other countries of the European Union (France’s unemployment rate stands 10.7 per cent as of October 2012, Spain is at 26.2 per cent as of November 2012, and the rate for EU as a whole stands at 11.4 as of August 2012). The rate of crimes is quite low, with virtually no violent crime, especially in comparison to other European countries and the United States. In fact, interestingly, traffic violations are the most common “crime” in the Netherlands! The country is also one of the very few that let resident aliens vote in local elections, and the privilege may even be expanded to national elections.

The orange country is full of intriguing contradictions: it retains a traditional and an old-world feel, but its people are forward-thinking and sophisticated. The Netherlands is one of the world’s most densely populated countries (405.5 per square km, compared to the EU’s figure of 116.2 per square km), but its people lead a tranquil and relaxed pace of life. The country’s laws are some

T


Travel & Learning


of the most permissive, but its crime rate is almost negligible compared to other such countries. Whether you’re looking for culture or night-clubs, cosmopolitan cities or rural seclusion, the Netherlands has everything to offer, and is a truly unique nation with an endless capacity to surprise. There are a large number of art museums in the country, commemorating the works of numerous legendary Dutch artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer, and history museums like Anne Frank’s house. As you might expect, soccer is very popular in the Netherlands, and the Dutch enjoy an active daily lifestyle – cycling is a popular means of getting around. In fact, this

might be the reason why the Dutch are known to be

the tallest people in the world!In May 2011, the Netherlands

was ranked as the “happiest” country in the world, according to results published by the OECD. It is also one of the richest Euro nations, having the tenth-highest per capita income in the world.

Called the Gateway to Europe, the Netherlands has waterways linking it to Belgium, France and Germany. Its name is derived from the word “nether”, meaning lower in position, and comes from the fact that much of the country is flat, with around 27 per cent below sea level.

The country is also called the world’s legal capital, owing

to the fact that it is home to five international courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Education systemThe Netherlands has one of the oldest and highly respected systems of higher education, dating back to the 16th century. The 2012/13 QS World University Rankings includes 13 Dutch universities in the world’s top 500, and 11 in the top 200. It also has comparatively lower tuition fee rates and plenty of courses conducted in English (the Dutch are generally known


Travel & Learning


for their fluency in English as a second language).

The nation also boasts of a wealth of great student cities – all of which are a bicycle ride away from their picturesque countryside. All of these are the reason more and more international students are planning for higher studies in the Netherlands.

Management education in the NetherlandsSince the Netherlands occupies a geographically advantageous position, it acts as a gateway to Europe. Many countries such as Paris, Madrid and Brussels are within easy reach. The Netherlands rates among the world’s top ten exporting countries and in

the top five of the European Union, and therefore is a very popular business location for international companies. Dr Dianne Bevelander, Associate Dean of MBA Programmes at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, states, “Management education in the Netherlands

is at a very high level. Due to the Dutch tradition of trade and commerce, this type of education was established more than 40 years ago. Today, it enjoys highly ranked education and research. Surrounded by renowned international corporations, business school students in the Netherlands can network with a high number of experienced and globally-minded executives.” Of the number of highly acclaimed business schools, the highest ranked (in the Financial Times Global MBA list) is the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University at number 30.

Economic scenarioAmsterdam is the financial and business capital of the

Recruiter demand for MBAs in Western Europe has risen by 5% in 2012, while remuneration levels are amongst the highest in the world.

Turn on Pg 34

CAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

CAREER WATCH

Advanc’edge MBA July 2012www.advancedge.com 31


Travel & Learning


Netherlands. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX) is one of Europe’s largest and the world’s oldest stock exchange.

Its geographic position gives the Dutch prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. “The Netherlands ranks fourth in Bloomberg’s 2012 Best Countries for Business, and the country is within easy reach of Europe’s largest markets. It enjoys an entrepreneurial spirit and is very strong in trade and commerce,” says Dr. Bevelander. It has a flourishing agricultural as well as industrial industry. It is renowned for its agricultural products such as flowers, fruit and milk. The beers of Heineken and Amstel are sold all over the world. The Netherlands is also where multinationals such as Philips, Shell and Unilever were born, as well as reputable Dutch financial institutions such as ABN AMRO Bank and ING Group.

Other important parts of the economy are export, which contributes as much as 80 per cent approximately to the GDP, banking and transport. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. In recent times, the economy has experienced a slowdown due to the euro crisis, but the structural reforms implemented in the labour market have created conditions for potentially healthy economic growth that offers room for investments in knowledge and innovation. This is why the country, despite the economic slowdown, continues to maintain its low rate of unemployment.

More to the point, a recent QS report has revealed that recruiter demand for MBAs in

Western Europe has increased by five per cent in 2012, while remuneration levels are amongst the highest in the world.

AmsterdamWith meandering canals, beautiful architecture and multi-coloured tulips, Amsterdam is one of the most eye-catching

of European cities. Everywhere you look, you’re bound to see a landmark, and I’m not just talking about the famous (or infamous, as it were) cafés. Amsterdam is a unique cultural gem with a rich tradition of elegant and bohemian flair. To appreciate the true serenity of Amsterdam one must take a canal cruise that’s on offer

throughout the city. If you are a culture buff, you’ll definitely be in the right place: Amsterdam has around 42 museums — the Rijksmuseum houses some important art collections in Europe, the Van Gogh Museum showcases masterpieces by the country’s great painter Vincent Van Gogh, and the Anne Frank House is a poignant monument, a constant reminder of a dark chapter in its past. Amsterdam has much to offer in the way of night life too. It has some chic and some downright outrageous nightclubs, making it a favourite destination for party revellers. The 2012 QS Best Student Cities ranking has placed Amsterdam at number 36 and it houses the country’s highest ranking university, Universiteit van Amsterdam (62 in the 2012/13 QS World University Rankings).

Rotterdam Home to Europe’s biggest port, the Netherlands’ second city stands out from the others because of its bold modern structures, which are the result of damage incurred during the Second World War. Rotterdam is particularly renowned for its music, its nightlife and its

Rotterdam School of Management is at the seventh position in the Financial Times Global MBA, and among the top 10 in Europe.


Travel & Learning


multicultural social scene. The city’s North Sea Jazz Festival is a genre-spanning musical festival that has featured music from New Orleans jazz, swing, bop, free jazz, fusion, avant-garde jazz and electronic jazz, to blues, gospel, funk, soul, R&B, hip hop, world beat and Latin. The festival spans three days in July, with gigs spread across numerous venues throughout the city, so no matter what kind of music you love, you’ll find something to get your toes tapping.

As a student in Rotterdam, you’ll find that the city has plenty to offer all year round. Arguably Rotterdam’s coolest attraction is the Euromast, a soaring tower featuring an observation window 100 metres high up, offering a stunning panoramic view of the city. Don’t be satisfied with just looking, though – if you’re daring enough, you can abseil

down the building or, if you really feel the need for speed, jump on Europe’s fastest zip-line, reaching speeds of 100 km per hour!

Rotterdam School of ManagementThe Erasmus University in Rotterdam is named after the city’s most famous personalities and has one of the best business schools in the world. Well known for educating Europe’s business elite, the Rotterdam School of Management is highly ranked amongst European business

schools, coming in at the seventh position in the Financial Times Global MBA, and among the top 10 in Europe. RSM is among the one per cent of business schools worldwide that possess the distinguished Triple Crown Accreditation — AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB. In addition, RSM’s MiM programme is rated among the top 10 in the world by the Financial Times ranking. According to Dr. Bevelander, “Thanks to RSM’s conventional courses, initiatives and global spirit, MBA graduates have outstanding career prospects in supporting organisations to utilise their highest capacities. In addition, RSM’s graduates join an active alumni network, which counts more than 28,000 members across the world. This creates opportunities for lifelong learning, networking and staying connected.”

TiasNimbas Business SchoolThe TiasNimbas Business School of Tilburg University, established in the late 1990s, is also close to an hour’s driving distance from Rotterdam. The school offers a broad portfolio of internationally recognised management programmes that are designed to address the specific educational needs of individuals and organisations in the evolving world of business. The Financial Times

Rotterdam School of ManagementStudent Profile:Percentage of female students 33%Percentage of international students 94%Average work experience 6 yearsAverage students’ age 29Average GMAT score 670

Programme Profile:Accreditations AACSB, EQUIS, AMBAStart dates January onlyAverage programme duration 12 monthsTotal tuition fees(excluding living expenses)

€44,000

Teaching methodology Action-learning

Post-MBA employmentAverage base salary $88,000Average bonus $11,000Percentage of students employedwithin three months

81%

Scholarship Financial Aid:School-sponsored scholarshipsbased on

Merit


Travel & Learning


ranks TiasNimbas Business School at number 26 in Europe. Its International Executive MBA Programme (IMM) was ranked by the Financial Times at number 4 in Europe and number 11 worldwide.

MaastrichtAt Netherlands’ southern border lies the city of Maastricht, of which not much is known. It is even thought by some as an afterthought to the greater known cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. But Maastricht

is a highly recommended destination for gastronomes, as it is renowned for being the culinary capital of the Netherlands.

Located near the Belgian and German border, the city

is quite cosmopolitan and sophisticated, with a distinctly international flavour. Ruins of ancient Rome and Spain lie alongside breathtaking historical architecture, giving it an antiquated feel and reflecting Maastricht’s status as one of the Netherlands’ oldest cities.

Maastricht School of ManagementAs one of Netherlands’ major educational centres it has numerous top universities, so it’s no surprise that Maastricht enjoys a buzzing student scene. The Maastricht University is one of the most internationalised in the country, with over a third of its students coming from overseas, putting it just outside the top 10 in the world in this regard (its overall rank in the 2012/13 QS World University Rankings is number 107). The University’s business school, the Maastricht School of Management, is one of the country’s oldest international B-schools. A

Maastricht School of ManagementStudent Profile:Percentage of female students 50%Percentage of international students 97%Average work experience 5 yearsAverage students’ age 30Average GMAT score 500

Programme Profile:Accreditations ACBSP, AMBA, IACBE,

NVAOStart dates SeptemberAverage programme duration 12 monthsTotal tuition fees(excluding living expenses + books)

€14,975

Teaching methodology 60% case method and 40% lecture based


Merit

TiasNimbas Business SchoolStudent Profile:Percentage of female students 49%Percentage of international students 92%Average work experience 8 yearsAverage students’ age 31Average GMAT score 610

Programme Profile:Accreditations AACSB, AMBAStart dates SeptemberAverage programme duration 12 monthsTotal tuition fees (excluding living) € 37,500Teaching methodology 60% case method and 40%

lecture based

Post-MBA employment (data captured for 2010)Average base salary $52,000Average bonus €8,900Percentage of students employedwithin three months

87%


Merit


Success Street



Women are gradually moving towards managing businesses as well as homes. So it’s no surprise that the number of women in management is increasing.

WOMEN in management

Yeshasvini Ramaswamy

www.advancedge.com38 Advanc’edge MBA March 2013 www.advancedge.comwww.advancedge.comwww.advancedge.com

Women are gradually moving towards managing businesses as well as homes. So it’s no surprise that the number of women in management is increasing.

WOMENmanagement

Yeshasvini Ramaswamy


Success Streett would be nothing new to say that women have come a long way in the last couple of

generations. While getting a full-time job has been the norm for many women in the last few decades or so, this desire has always been influenced by factors such as marriage and children. These have, for the longest time ever, been considered to weigh against the reliability of women in the workforce of an organisation. Pushing them up the corporate ladder, many have thought, is not the right decision because with time, their families may take priority over their numerous responsibilities at the company.

Opening up to more women managersThis particular mindset, however, is undergoing a change. The change is not sudden, but rather something that has been in the making for a while now. Take the case of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who is currently the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company, at the age of 37 years. She was, in fact, signed on for the job when she was expecting a child.

Closer home, we have several young women who have broken the staid mould and come forth – Roshni Nadar, CEO and executive director of the HCL Group, Akhila Srinivasan, MD of Shriram Investments Ltd, Ekta Kapoor, creative director of Balaji Telefilms, Preetha Reddy, MD of Apollo Hospitals, Devita Saraf, CEO of Vu Technologies and director at Zenith Computers, and Jayanti Chauhan, CEO of Bisleri. In fact, the Guinness world record for the youngest CEO is held by Sindhuja Rajaraman from Chennai, a 15-year-old who heads Seppan Entertainment, an animation company. Being aspirational in itself, this clearly shows the world is taking women in managerial roles very seriously.

Research of late has shown that an increasing number of women are choosing to head out of their homes for jobs and move all the way up the corporate ladder. There is an increasing demand for women in managerial positions. This has come about from a rising access to information and opportunities. The job market is getting highly innovative and there is a need

for managerial abilities in almost every kind of business line – from hospitality to the medical field to automobiles, and in just about every line of work that you can think of. Pursuing an MBA degree after a professional course like being a doctor, engineer, hotelier, finance professional, etc has become a norm.

There is also an increase in entrepreneurship, wherein several family businesses have been honing the skills of their young women in the family to take over the reins and give the business a more professional direction and fillip. There is an increased encouragement to step out of the home, explore and use one’s talent to the maximum. This shift in focus has seen several young women come to the fore. More women in management todayThere was a time, not too long ago, when women were hired at managerial positions to handle the silent quota factor. This was a way to appease forces demanding the presence of women in such positions. While it may have started this way, today there is an openness to hiring more well qualified women in what was once a male bastion.

Conversations with those who work on par with strong women on the managerial side of affairs at the workplace say that such women bring almost all the same skill sets to the table as their male counterparts, but what is different is the impact they make. Women tend to be good listeners and are more able to apply theoretical knowledge practically, compared to the men. This allows them to come

I

Source: GRANT THORNTON IBR 2012

Percentage of women in senior management


Success Street


up with suggestions that are vastly different in perspective compared to others who may have been doing this for generations and are known to stick with tried and tested formulae.

Possibly stemming from the woman’s role in the household, women are never scared to ask tough questions when it comes to the workplace, thus opening up situations for debate. Moreover, several research studies have been conducted that show that their ethical standards can be much higher than those of men.

On a lighter note, it is felt that most male CEOs tend to share office debates with their wives or even mothers and often seek and follow counsel from them. This makes it easier for them to accept well thought out viewpoints from women in managerial positions.

Finding every hidden opportunityNot all opportunities come to you on a platter. As a woman with the desire to work and create a name for yourself, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration. First and foremost, the foundation you create for yourself has to be really strong, especially when you reach the managerial level or are aspiring to get there. There has been an increase in the number of women enrolling in management courses. Some studies put this figure at as high as 75 per cent more than the figure it stood at a decade ago. Today, almost 44 per cent of the MBA degrees handed out go to women.

A management degree can work for you in several ways. If you feel you are stuck in a dead

end job, a degree will definitely take you a notch higher. There are a number of courses that offer you the flexibility of studying and holding down a job or even managing your responsibilities in a home. Take advantage of them.

There are courses over the weekends or similar short term courses that give you the credentials needed to climb up the corporate ladder. In fact, there are several so-called elite educational institutions that have recognised the need for such flexible courses and are offering them alongside their regular programmes.

You will find that the degree is useful not only in helping you in the current line of work, but also if you want to branch out on your own. Several women have begun to use this degree to start NGOs as well as fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams. For many, such degrees open up several other windows of opportunity like consulting. For

a woman with experience, this can be the start of a whole new career opportunity.

To make the most of an opportunity, understanding your niche interests is important. Most courses, especially short term ones, are rigorous and expect you to come armed with a certain level of knowledge and expertise. Examine the courses that you feel are best suited to you and take the time out to check the credentials of the college and the faculty on board. Where and from whom you learn is as important as getting your degree certificate at the end of the day.

Women have several things going for them when it comes to making full use of the career opportunities that come their way. The ability to multi-task is one of them. Being able to create a harmonious balance is what you should aim for, but keep in mind that no one is super human – take the time out for yourself as well.

The journey has only half begun, and we are not far away from a day when there will be no distinction made between women and men in the workplace on the basis of gender, and instead, the emphasis would solely lie on merit and performance. We are to witness a paradigm shift in the corporate world in the coming future, with more number of women calling the shots. A

It is often felt that most male CEOs tendto share office debates with their wives or even mothers and often follow their counsel.

Yeshasvini Ramaswamy is the MD at e2e People Practices. She has trained more than 3,000 people in leadership principles, self management, managing people in a dynamic environment, personality development, certification awareness programmes, etc. In 2012, Fortune/US Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership selected her to promote women leadership/entrepreneurship in India.


Success Street

Changing the world,One Million at a time

Tell us about yourself, your background, education, etc.I grew up in Calcutta, India, and came to the US in 1989 for college. I finished my Masters at MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) in 1995. I started my first company, DAIS, while I was a grad student at MIT.

Tell us about your journey till before One Million by One Million.I have lived the life of a serial entrepreneur, having started three technology ventures between 1995 and 2000. After that I was working as a consultant, for almost a decade. In that time, I wrote five books, a column for Forbes and was always writing on my blog. Finally, in 2010, I founded 1M/1M.

What prompted you to start 1M/1M?I have always been interested in Development Economics. I have a Bachelors double degree in CS and Economics. And I have always been interested in entrepreneurship as a vehicle for economic development.

I have also studied Mohammad Yunus’s work in microfinance closely. Finally, my own research at MIT was in scalable computing, so the notion of a scalable entrepreneurship development system was a problem that I have been thinking about for a while. Over time, I have observed that Silicon Valley is a highly vibrant entrepreneurial hub, with a great eco-system, but the problem as I could see it was that it is very localised, and it is quite difficult for outsiders to penetrate. It is almost like an elitist club. I wanted to democratise the knowledge and network of entrepreneurship. I found my answer in the form of 1M/1M, and it focuses on addressing that problem.

What kind of challenges did you face along the way?Like any new concept, getting people to adopt an online programme takes time. People are still not quite used to learning online, perhaps even more so on their own. It is a paradigm shift. But I am absolutely sure that the world will embrace online learning over the course of this decade, and we will

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant, SRAMANA MITRA is the founder of One Million by One Million, a global virtual incubator that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She has run three companies as CEO, been a columnist for Forbes from 2008 to 2010 and is the author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series. She speaks to Aditya Prakash Iengar on 1M/1M.


Success Street


be at the forefront of this movement to educate millions of people around the world using high quality, standardised systems.

As someone with an Indian background, how different did you find the US system in which you started 1M/1M?In India, even today, entrepreneurs are generally less mature, and considerably less courageous than what we see in the US, especially in Silicon Valley. The ecosystem in the US can handle big ideas much better than what the Indian ecosystem can handle at this point. This scenario will certainly change in due course, I’m sure. I fully intend to empower the Indian entrepreneur with the tools and resources with which to mature and hit their strides through 1M/1M.

You’ve seen many individuals coming to you with ideas. Why do you think the ideas that didn’t achieve fruition fail?Entrepreneurs typically succeed when they solve real problems, cater to real customer needs. We have recently published a showcase of the kind of ideas that we see in The Million Dollar Club.

What kind of hurdles do these entrepreneurs usually face? How do you help them overcome these hurdles?The biggest gap I see today is a lack of knowledge among would-be entrepreneurs. It is something quite basic – which foot does one put forward before the other? I feel that proper and comprehensive mentorship is the only way that these individuals can find the right way forward. To that end, I believe we provide one of the best mentoring programmes in the world to help them.

How can someone from another part of the world take advantage of your programme?Our programme is 100 per cent global, and 100 per cent virtual. It is because of that virtual nature that anyone sitting in any part of the world can take part in our programme. It is designed for entrepreneurs to use globally. We have entrepreneurs from all over the world in the programme. They log in to the online system and have access to the curriculum. They can get live mentoring through our Webex

strategy roundtables. It’s very easy to join and use.

Do you think management institutes have a valid role to play in developing and encouraging entrepreneurship? Are they performing that role to its fullest extent?In my opinion, management institutes are trying. However, the issue is that most such institutes don’t really have faculty who have had actual hands- on entrepreneurship experience. Therefore, these faculty teach theory. Unfortunately, I have observed from experience that unlike a subject like Physics, for example, entrepreneurship is best taught as a laboratory science, instead of as a theoretical science. And that is what we do. We run 1M/1M as an incubator where entrepreneurs actually build companies.

What kind of response and interest have you seen from India? Do you think the trend of going down the entrepreneurship route, as opposed to other more conventional and arguably safer avenues, is changing in India?India is our second largest geography. We’ve seen huge response from individuals there. Yes, the trends are improving, but as I mentioned before, India

still is a risk-averse culture. So it doesn’t have the numbers that other regions can boast of.

How do you function, as an individual and as the person at the helm of a company?I work incredibly hard. I have a clear vision of where we want to go as a company, and I ensure that my team knows exactly what that vision entails. We work steadfastly towards that singular goal. When obstacles arise, we work on removing them. We treat one another with respect. That’s all there is to it!

Where do you see yourself, and 1M/1M, ten years from now?Our goal is to help a million entrepreneurs around the world reach and surpass the one million dollar mark in annual revenue. I fully intend to get to that goal. Our achieving that goal will help build a trillion dollars in global GDP, and also help create 10 million jobs. A

The biggest gap I see today is a lack of knowledge among would-be entrepreneurs. Which foot does oneput forward before the other?


Success Street

SRM University wins Innovation Challenge

Puja Shah

Two students of the university have been declared winners in the national finals and will compete in the global finale of the 6th Henkel Innovation Challenge that

is scheduled to be held in Shanghai later this year.

ditya Yadav and Harshvardhan Pande from SRM University have been declared

winners of the national finals of the sixth chapter of the National Henkel Innovation Challenge. They will represent India in the global final, which will be held in Shanghai. The finals will see participation of students from 27 countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Netherlands, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, USA, etc. The theme of the competition was “Triple the value you create.

Create a sustainable world for the year 2050”, and 800 teams from institutes across the country had registered; of them, 10 made it through to the national final, which was held in Mumbai.

In the Innovation Challenge, students are given the chance to try the role of a creative business development manager and develop a concept for a product or technology for the future. The global winners will be given an opportunity to be absorbed into the company. The best teams from all participating countries present their ideas first to a national jury of Henkel managers for evaluation.

The national finals witnessed an impressive display of innovative ideas across cities. With students from IIMs, IITs, NITIE, MDI and other renowned colleges, the competition was an interesting viewpoint of what 2050 might have in store for us, if their products see the light of day. The 10 teams’ products ranged from everyday hair colour products, pressure electricity generating chips, to a spray that negates organic dust, but what worked for the winning team, named Radical, was that they had actually created a prototype of their concept and presented it to the jury.

The winners, both electronics and communication engineering students of SRM University, invented an illuminating device. In an interview to Advanc’edge, they explained their concept, “We have created a future product for illumination so that the energy crisis that will definitely hit with world by 2050 will be minimised. Our product can be used to illuminate many things like houses, roadways, etc. It is cheap and saves power.” Harshvardhan was inspired when he saw no lit street lamps in his hometown one night. “My radium watch was glowing, and it occurred to me that if we could make something similar, it

A

Jeremy Hunter, Country President, Henkel (second from left) and Ranjan Das, HR Director, Henkel India with the winners Aditya Yadav and Harsh Vardhan Pande from SRM University.


Success Street


would negate the need for street lights and be cost effective too,” he said.

The team started working on developing a low-cost product that would emit light after absorbing it. Since radium is radioactive, they had to look for an alternative material that could absorb light from any source and emit it during darkness. After a year and a half of research, their prototype managed to glow continuously for an hour after being kept out in the sunlight for only about five minutes.

The winners faced tough competition from the NITIE team, Sibling Rivalry. Their concept made use of piezoelectricity to generate power. Sudhesna Gupta of the NITIE team explained, “Our concept was based on harvesting energy for the future and at the core of our concept is piezoelectricity. It is an innovative technology making use of floors, tiles, roads, skyscrapers, etc. A coating of the piezoelectric layer would be placed on buildings or

underneath roads or any such place, where one can generate electricity through pressure.” She went on to say that the concept, if used, would allow roads, building, houses, et al to generate their own power.

Both teams said the challenge was a learning experience, with Aditya Yadav saying, “The challenge is a huge platform for us to showcase our talents abroad. We want to show the world what Indians can do.” A

This is the 6th year of this innovation challenge – how is this year different from the others?Well, what we have found this year is that more and more teams want to participate in this challenge. This means that the event is starting to build a reputation among the students as one to participate in.

What did you think of the participants this year?Everyday I’m encouraged by the future of this country. I think the calibre of the people is first class. The ideas that came out

this year were fantastic. The participants impressed me, not just with the work they put into their concept research and presentation, but I found all the students to be very capable and articulate.

What is the whole aim behind this innovation challenge?

It’s a two-fold thing really. The first is to brand Henkel. In Germany, this is easy to do as it is a household name, much more so than in India or other markets. The second was to get some really great people to work for us.

Do you think that innovation is the urgent need of the hour?Absolutely. The cliché is “innovate or die”, and I know which one I prefer.

So do you see it as a remedy to end the recession?In these times, the only thing one can do is to keep

Innovate or dieJeremy HunterPresident and Country Manager,Henkel India

www.advancedge.com


Success Streetlaunching new products that can keep customers happy, because it is a very, very tough and competitive market that we operate in. So, unless we keep one step ahead of our competitors, we are going to end up getting eaten up by them.

Your company feels strongly about sustainability. What initiatives have been taken by Henkel in this regard?We have a 30 year sustainability strategy, which is to triple the productivity from our current footprint. In other words, we want to be three times more effi cient than we are currently. Simplistically, with this strategy we will have the same input of energy, water, etc to produce three times as much shampoo, adhesive or detergent. We want to be good corporate citizens as well as make money.

How do you think the Indian consumer goods market has evolved since the time you joined Henkel?I’m only involved in the consumer goods market in a peripheral sense. But from what I can see, in the short term that I’ve been here, is that the middle class is emerging and the consumption of

packaged goods has increased. The shape of retail will only continue to change once the FDI starts to roll in. From our selfi sh perspective, we are seeing fantastic growth in our adhesive products that go into packaged goods, diapers, bottle labelling, etc.

So, do you think that FDI in retail is a good thing to have happened in India?I think deregulation is generally a good thing, and I believe FDI will defi nitely help the country. For me, it’s a shocking scandal that 25 to 30 per cent of food is lying wasted between the farm and the city, and for sure, any country and India in particular, can’t afford to waste any food. Wastage is not good anyway.

What qualities, do you think, are needed in management graduates today?I’m impressed with quality of education that graduates have today. But what I admire most is the attitude, spirit and enthusiasm in students. I believe that we can train the skills, we can teach them about our business, about adhesives and our products, but we can’t teach attitude. And that’s what we look for when we recruit. A


Success Street


Now that you are on the threshold of the management world, you should know a few corporate truths that will help you survive the big bad jungle of corporate life.

Strategies of the corporate jungle

ou may be thinking that you can be yourself, an authentic and unique person, in the

corporate world. While there are some exceptions to this, the sad truth is that there is a lot of politics in business (the bad kind of politics). It would be different if business truly was about the bottom line, or if more companies used a moral compass.

Here are some tips that the most sincere person could stomach, in order to thrive in the corporate world:} You will not win as the lone

ranger. There are no lone rangers. The ones who think they are lone rangers are stupid or incompetent. This may seem contrarian, but if you are a person who cannot take people along either through your ideas or other qualities, then you will not survive for long. You can try your luck elsewhere, but ultimately the answer is the same, sooner or later. Being a lone ranger is good in the movies, but bad in business.

} Second related truth. Your team will not win as the lone ranger either. Nothing can

get done as one person or one team. Different people, different strengths, different skills - all come together to create a team… Unless you have a great team with you or you put in conscious effort to create a great team, not only will you not win, your team will lose too. The effort spent in creating a team and calibrating their strengths and allocating work as per their strengths is worth it.

} The jungle is all about thriving - not survival. This might seem obvious or counterintuitive depending

on whom you ask. But if you focus on survival, your strategies will be limiting, close minded and even detrimental to the company. The moment you think of thriving - you will open your mind, take risks and think about the good of the company overall. Think about it - you head a new team that might get shut down - it is well known. Think how you will go about it in a survival mode or a thriving mode. Yes, the latter has more risk. But without risk, can you get anywhere?


Y


Success Streetcan you get anywhere?

} Which brings us to the next related truth. Take Risk. Because, not everybody can or wants to. Everybody out there is busy playing the survival game, playing by the rules, kissing up, pleasing people. Get out, take risk. Be that square peg in the round hole - bend the rules, stretch the boundaries, but don’t break the rules or scale the boundary. There is a lot of space there, I assure you.

} Your work will not talk for itself - not in the way you expect to - unless it fits in with the objectives of the firm. Your work is required for you to showcase your manager. Your manager’s work will showcase for his manager and so on. Each of you better add “deltas” to the other’s output so that the final product is impressive, but every person’s effort has to segue into the next person’s effort. If you are working in different directions, it is diffused effort and will not get you anywhere. But everything you do gets noticed. Everything you don’t do gets noticed. Every work you do is a stamp of you at work - it may not be a Michaelangelo sculpture, but it will bear your stamp. And if your work is anywhere as collectible as his sculptures, it better have that stamp.

} Reputation travels fast, real fast. But if you focus on building a reputation it will not work. Whichever way your work heads: success or failure, one thing it will keep adding to is your reputation. Reputation is a byproduct of the work you do. Each piece of work you do, builds your

reputation or takes a brick down from it.

}That other thing is Perception. Reputation and Perception are what gets created out of your work. Your Perception and Reputation can go hand in hand if you are lucky, but it can be at loggerheads to each other too. For instance, you reputation may be that of a tough task master, but people may perceive you as being pushy. How will it work? You will find resistance while working with people and they may not share their best output with you.

}Play to your strengths - not to someone else’s strengths. Figure out what your strengths are and build them. A stronger strength is always more useful than a patched up weakness.

}Unlike the real jungle, you can make mistakes. You are allowed to make mistakes. Provided you don’t repeat the mistake, and admit it right away and put in processes to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. If you are lucky to be in a place where you get a second chance to succeed, then take it with both hands and give it all you have.

}Last but not the least, stick to your values. This might seem obvious, but you will realise that many of us don’t know what our values are and if at all we have any. Whatever are those values, stick to them and they will stick to you. And expect your team to stick only to those values they see you enact - not preach. Hopefully you will not have to preach - nobody likes it anyway. Walk the talk or better still, walk the walk. Whatever else you do or don’t do, make mistakes or not - your values are what you will be known by.

}Finally, burn a few bridges if you want to, but don’t burn all of them. No man is an island and you will need bridges to take you where you want to be. A

Burn a few bridges if you want to, butdon’t burn all of them.No man is an islandand you will need bridges to take you where you want to be.


Corporate World


Woes of the Eurozone: Who’s fault is it?

The Eurozone crisis doesn’t seem to be ending, with the jury still out on the debate on the Euro as strong economies in the EU keep dishing out help to the ones in

trouble. But how will it all end, and what can be done to improve the situation?

Dr Suresh Srinivasan

he European economy has been marred by economic problems over the last few years. This

has, in fact, been one of the major threats for the overall growth of the global economy. In this context, we hear about the European Union, the Eurozone and Euro, the common currency. Let us understand these terminologies clearly so that we can appreciate the precise problem that Europe is tackling and its current status.

The European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political congregation of 27 European countries which have come together to further trade through creating a common market. Most of the major European countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) are members of this union. The Eurozone, however, is a different entity – it is a group of 17 nations (mostly European Union members) that consciously decided to share the common currency, the Euro. For example, the UK is a member of the European Union, but not a member of Eurozone, and it uses its own currency – the Pound – while France and Germany are both European Union and Eurozone members using the

common currency Euro. The Eurozone members came together in 1999 and decided to discard their own currency and adopted Euro as their sovereign currency. That is why Eurozone is often also called a “monetary union”.

The start of the crisisBy 2010, there were some serious challenges facing many of the Eurozone countries, as their economies seriously deteriorated on the back of the 2008 sub-prime financial crisis that originated in the United States of America. Their deficit (primarily excess of imports over exports) sky rocketed and the governments resorted to excessive loans in order to bridge this deficit. The primary causes

for the large deficit were the high government expenditure in salaries to public sector organisations and disproportionate pensions paid to senior citizens, lack of productivity and competitiveness resulting in reduced exports, all of which go to increase the deficit.

The Eurozone became the epicentre of a “sovereign debt crisis”, which means the fear of the governments’ defaulting, especially since loans taken by the Eurozone countries substantially increased. This is serious because, in international monetary parlance, banks can default, but in such situations the respective governments “step in” and compensate for the default. But when the government itself is defaulting, it is considered to be a signal of the bankruptcy of the country!

Some of the Eurozone member nations like Portugal, Greece and Spain have come close to bankruptcy, but have been bailed out by healthier Eurozone members like Germany. But the problem is that the economies of many other Eurozone members like Ireland, Italy and even France are extremely fragile and may require financial support, in the short to medium term. If these happen, and the economies of the sick Eurozone nations further

T


Corporate Worlddeteriorate, will Germany have the wherewithal continue to bail out failing Eurozone members? This is the fundamental issue facing the Eurozone!

So what is the root cause for the Eurozone problem? It is important to note that the economic health of a nation decides the strength of the country’s currency. Unfortunately, the Eurozone shares a common currency, but has no control over the economic discipline of the member countries.

The modality in which the Eurozone came into existence and the weak foundation on which the monetary union was built is the primary cause for the structural problem that the Eurozone is facing today. While the currencies of the member states were unified under the control of the European Central Bank, very little was done to unify them economically and set out coordinating mechanisms to steer the health of the Eurozone economy. These were primarily left to the political leadership of the individual member countries.

Given this backdrop, politicians in Eurozone member countries preferred to take the easier path, that would be popular and vote-bank friendly, rather than taking harsh but pertinent decisions that were economically justified. This started plunging the economies of many Eurozone members into high deficit, resulting in large scale government and private borrowings, with a serious fear of potential default.

Due to this, a diverse array of countries like Germany, which is productive and competitive with a strong economy, has to live in the Eurozone together with inefficient countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal and bail them out through large scale

fund infusions. Unfortunately, countries like Germany do not have any other option, as they don’t have any control on the politics and economic regulation of these individual countries, in order to manipulate the economic principles of these inefficient nations; these will continue to fall prey to bad politics, bad economics and financial distress!

The Eurozone crisis reached a serious magnitude during 2012; it was expected that one or more members like Greece may actually break out from the Eurozone. It was also speculated that Germany may pull out of the Eurozone. These

were signalling the fact that the Eurozone would eventually break up at some point in the medium to long term future! However, things have started to marginally lookup during the beginning of 2013.

What’s the solution?As of now, economic reforms of individual member countries seem to be the only way out for the Eurozone. Taking all efforts to reduce government expenditure, increasing productivity, taking bold political decisions that will be in the best interest of the country (even though not popular among the vote-bank) and above all, the citizens of the country accepting the reality, compromising their living standards in favour of the well

being of the following generation seems to be the only hope for an economically strong European Union. To a certain extent, this has already started to happen.

It is expected that the Eurozone’s economy will contract by around 0.3 per cent in 2013, as several Eurozone economies are currently in recession. Unemployment is at its highest at more than 12 per cent. Spain and Greece are on the verge of collapse, with unemployment rates greater than 25 per cent. Germany, the strongest economy in the Eurozone, has managed to hold flat and show signs of economic recovery; it is the anchor that is currently supporting the entire Eurozone! Germany is mainly concerned and wants to ensure that individual member countries effect economic reforms and improve their economic health. The problem is the trade union strikes all over the Eurozone against austerity measures and expenditure cuts, which is bad news for Germany and a healthy Eurozone!

But the 2014 forecast for the Eurozone is encouraging, as it is expected that more countries will seriously implement economic reforms as they do not really have any other option. The last few months indicate that things are showing signs of improvement. If the European Union nations continue this trend that is currently emerging, the prospect for the recovery of the global economy is encouraging. Many of the Asian economies like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea came out of their crippling economic crisis during the late 1990s purely through effecting economic reforms. So there is certainly hope for the Eurozone, and 2013 will be all the more important a year to set this future course right! A

Unemployment is at its highest level at more than 12%. Spain and Greece are on the verge of collapse, with unemployment rates crossing 25%.


Corporate World


ome of the recent e x p e r i e n c e s demonstrating the importance of social

media include the uprising in the Middle East, especially in Egypt, where social media has played a vital role in the large scale mobilisation of people and public opinion, even in the midst of media censorship.

During the re-election of Barak Obama as the President of the United States of America, a sophisticated social media campaign conveyed his message to millions of Americans that he was the “single hope” in the midst of a flat economy and rising unemployment. That he came out victorious can largely be attributed to the fact that his opponent, the Republican c a n d i d a t e Mitt Romney, was unable to effectively leverage the social media as Obama did. When the Obama team figured out that the difference between success and failure

would lie in making people come out of their homes to vote, they were tweeting constantly, requesting voters to stay in line even if polling stations had officially closed. Romney’s team, however, missed this opportunity.

India too has not been far behind in this regard. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has also been extensively using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, of course, the legendary 3D projections, for his re-election.

F o l l o w i n g O b a m a

and Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, Modi also hosted a political conference on the video chat platform Google Hangout, which turned out to be enormously successful. These social media initiatives instantly connect them to the population and bring in a perception of accessibility and accountability, something that appears to be largely lacking with the other politicians.

Social media in businessToday, platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and others no longer seem to be a choice we have, but are highly integrated

into our daily lives!

How social media complements business

Once only a pastime of teens, social media has grown to encompass nearly everyone with access to the internet. Companies too are following suit, using the platform as

leverage to increase their customer connect and keep growing their business.


S


Corporate WorldCompanies have already started using social media to gain competitive advantage, capture and gain market share, and thereby deliver shareholder expectations. Many Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks and Coke, are pioneers in this regard. Research has shown that more than two-thirds of the hundred largest companies maintain and actively pursue Twitter accounts. However, this is just the beginning; there are a host of companies which have shied away from using the social media and continue to underestimate its potential.

Traditionally, many companies use social media as a marketing tool. “Marketing” is nothing but conveying the value proposition of the company’s product or service to the customers; more specifically, it is how the company’s product or service is uniquely different from that of the customers and how the company adds value to the customers better than its competitors. Generally, companies use media such as the television, radio, or similar “above the line” mass marketing strategies to achieve this. However, a sound social media strategy helps companies to become much more focused in these marketing initiatives, where the company’s staff is encouraged to pass on stories about the company’s accomplishments, which, when “in sync” with those of the other advertisements and promotional campaigns of the company, become compelling propositions to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Beyond marketingSocial media can also be used

in the new product development process. It is a powerful tool to monitor the trends among customers and secure feedback on which aspect of the product is being liked, and which is not. This provides a number of pointers to the direction of the company’s research and development initiatives. For instance, the “trending” aspect in social media gives tremendous insights to theatre owners and distributors during the release of new movies.

Companies like Ford have started moving beyond the traditional marketing arena and using social media; the objective is to maintain a constant dialogue with the customers and the target group to capture customer preferences ahead of

the competition. Ford provided, free of cost, one hundred of its 2009 make of their Fiesta cars to potential customers, who were carefully chosen based on their “following” on the social media. They were allowed to use the car for six months and asked to air their driving experiences and views to the company and their friends through social media. Within a short span, Ford observed that more than fifty thousand posts were made, close to five million YouTube views recorded, with all of these culminating into more than fifty thousand sales leads and resulted in close to forty thousand test drives. Ford indicated that a result of such magnitude is generally the outcome of a very expensive marketing campaign, which the social media was able to achieve in a far smaller amount comparatively – a mere five million dollars. This example perfectly highlights the cost effectiveness of social media in marketing and understanding consumer preference.

However, organisations have realised that social media is far more than just a marketing avenue; it has now become a strong tool to shape the

Companies are using social media to gain competitive advantage, capture and gain market share, and thereby deliver shareholder expectations.

Barack Obama Narendra Modi


Corporate World


culture of companies as well. More specifically, it is turning out to be a vital link in change management initiatives, which are important for dynamically aligning the company with its environment. Furthermore, it has been seen to improve corporate communication, increase employee engagement and facilitate individuals to work in line with the overall corporate goals.

Let us look at Four Seasons Hotel, a classic example of how the entire culture within an organisation is focused towards “customer service”. The company does anything – at any cost– to provide the highest level of customer service, which is its unique value proposition as

compared to its

competitors. In order to achieve this, Four Seasons closely engages with its customers on Twitter to capture their views in a timely manner. On one occasion, a very important guest checked into the hotel and was tweeting, as she entered her suite, that the music on the radio of the hotel was “depressing”. Incidentally, she had a very high fan following on Twitter, and her tweet was

naturally quite damaging to the reputation of the hotel. Given the culture of the hotel, its employees were also closely following the guest on Twitter, and seeing this message, immediately rushed to her suite, and changed the music to one which suited her liking. The guest immediately tweeted, appreciating the quick response from the hotel staff, which then turned out to be an extremely positive review for the hotel’s customer service. Publicity at virtually no cost!

In today’s business scenario, skill sets are a scarce commodity, and intelligent and cost effective “skills acquisition” spells the difference between success and failure in

compan ies . Social media is now becoming an important tool to facilitate this skills acquisition. Recent surveys have indicated that less than 10 per cent of the total recruitment used to be done through social media a couple of years ago, which has now increased to nearly 70 per cent; social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are helping companies locate their potential employees.

Social media also acts as a strong “knowledge management” tool within organisations. Knowledge has always been power, and it is especially more so in today’s business. Companies create, accumulate, store and dissipate knowledge across the organisation in an efficient manner, which can be a key differentiator from the competition. In today’s global organisation, competencies are sourced across the globe and delivered seamlessly across boundaries; social media and the ability of the staff to instantaneously connect among themselves comes in very handy in achieving this

objective. At the

e n d of the day, social media is deeply entrenched in today’s younger generation. A recent Cisco survey highlights that close to half of young professionals across the world prefer unrestricted access to social media at their work place over a higher salary. This is an important signal for companies to get their social media strategy right! Are the corporates listening? A


Corporate World

he Parliament has recently amended the Banking Regulations Act, which will permit

entry of new players into India’s commercial banking sector. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to come up with the final guidelines regarding the eligibility criteria that will determine which of the new entrants will set up banks.

Corporates as banksOne of the fundamental points of the ongoing debate is whether existing corporate and industrial houses like the Tatas, Bajaj Group, Reliance, Larsen&Toubro, Mahindra&Mahindra, Aditya Birla Group and other similar players should be eligible for securing a banking licence (currently no corporate house operates commercial banks). Before answering this question, however, it is important to understand the basic functions of a commercial bank.

The role of commercial banks is to primarily accept deposits, as a facilitator for savings in the economy, and pay interest on such deposits. From the pool of such deposits that it has mobilised, it is expected to provide loans, driving development in the

economy, and secure interest such that there is a positive spread between the “interest received” and the “interest paid”, from which the bank will manage its cost of operations and earn a margin that will provide a return on its investments.

In emerging markets like India, there is a social expectation as well. Banks also have a responsibility to lend a portion of its loans to the priority sector, which includes the rural households and businesses. Given such a broad landscape and the associated risks involved, especially the sensitive subject of handling public monies, it is of the utmost importance for the promoters of the banks to have a solid financial standing, unquestioned credibility and an ability to infuse large amounts of equity.

Given the above parameters, the question is: Will large industrial groups and corporate houses engaged in their respective businesses, and themselves ‘cash hungry’ to grow their core business, be in a position to achieve the above objectives, especially within the social dimensions of banking that is vital for India’s growth? Critics call this a conflict of

interest — if corporate houses have operations related to real estate, brokerage, stock market or related businesses, there are a number of opportunities for these corporate houses to divert public monies into their private business activity!

Conflict of interestThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has strongly criticised India’s move to issue licences to corporates, in view of the potential conflict of interest. The American experience in the last century shows that a large number of banks that have a close linkage with business houses made efficient control and monitoring mechanism of the regulators a veritable nightmare. For example, Investment Banking is an activity that helps corporate clients in raising financial capital through guaranteeing the capital that is to be raised. In case, there is a shortfall, investment banks subscribe and take over the capital, all of these services being offered for a fee.

In this type of activity, and other similar activities performed by investment bankers, there are a number of areas that conflict with the pure commercial banking objectives. For example,

Banking licences for corporates?

In a recent amendment to an existing law, new players like major corporate houses will be allowed to enter the commercial banking sector. But will giving them a

banking licence only open up a Pandora’s box?


T


Corporate World


in investment banking operation, the bank recommends its corporate client on a particular course of action, and is also involved in financing the same course of action. This would mean that the investment banks not only provide capital to a client (like a commercial bank), but also actively take part in the client’s business decision-making process, as to where the capital must be deployed (which should not be an objective of a commercial bank).

With an objective to increase capital disbursements (which is the main function of a commercial bank), investment banks could start advising clients to take higher levels of risk, which eventually could increase the probability of default from the clients as funds are increasingly channelled into more risky investments! In order to avoid this conflict of interest, banking regulators in the US clearly segregated “commercial banking” from “investment banking”, and prohibited commercial banks to engage in both these activities simultaneously.

In India, during the late sixties, the issue of the conflict of interest worked in a slightly different way. Before India nationalised its banks, large corporate houses controlled a number of commercial banks, which diverted a major portion of their funds to large industrial operations and inter-related businesses, but ignored small-scale and agricultural sectors, which were considered to be priority sectors in those times. Especially with India’s wealth still concentrated in a few large industrial houses, handing over banking licences to them could aggravate the issue and widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

The good sideThe fact remains that the other side of the argument cannot be ignored either. There is a compelling need for more banks to be allowed to operate in India. Banking penetration is minuscule — more than 40 per cent of India’s adult population does not have a bank account. The public sector banks, which are predominantly owned and managed by the government, are not proactive enough to expand their operations to reach the lowest strata of the economy. Given such a situation, there is a line of argument questioning why the corporate houses, which have rich experiences in distributing their traditional product and services across the length and breadth of the country, including the rural areas, shouldn’t be allowed to spearhead banking in the country. They also bring in “management depth”, better governance and best practices, which will tremendously help revitalising the banking sector in the country.

This may sound logical, but there is a catch! Critics argue that this is not an excuse to issue licence to corporates. Instead, the public sector banks should be fully privatised and management control be given away to credible financial services specialists, so that with efficient management,

banks can penetrate deeper into the economy!

Furthermore, analysts also question the “conflict of interest” line of argument, and contend that many countries around the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, France, Malaysia, Germany and Canada currently do not have specific restrictions for corporate houses to enter commercial banking!

Given both sides of the view, it is expected that the RBI will tighten the screening process by introducing stringent eligibility criteria. Ownership of the licensee would not be allowed to be concentrated with one or two large business groups, and sound credentials and a track record of integrity and ethics would be a pre-requisite for securing a banking licence. Moreover, it is expected that the licensee will not have any direct or indirect interests in real estate and capital market operations. Most importantly, they are expected to have strong capital raising capability and should be in a position to bring in a minimum of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crore of capital.

In this backdrop, more than 20 Indian contenders are keen to secure the licence, but it is expected that the government may not consider more than only a handful of licences, say three or four. But the RBI will definitely be cautious in its selection process and leverage the learning from its earlier experience during the early 2000s when new licences were issued. Only a handful of those licensees are still operational today (ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank) while many including Centurion, Bank of Punjab, Global Trust Bank have shut shop! A

The International Monetary Fund has strongly criticised India’s move to issue licences to corporates, in view of the potential conflict of interest.


Corporate World

Global economic update: The US economy, post avoidance of the Fiscal Cliff, is temporarily looking up. The GDP ended almost flat. Key economic indicators like consumption, business and housing investment showed marginal improvement, suggesting that economy is showing signs of looking up. Manufacturing has strengthened to the highest levels in the last nine months. Unemployment rate has increased only marginally to 7.9 per cent, pointing to a reasonably healthy economic situation compared to the last two quarters.

The Eurozone survived a major storm in 2012, when speculations were rife that weak countries like Greece or strong members like Germany may exit the union, but this did not ultimately happen. Still, 2013 is likely to keep the Eurozone economy weak and nimble, as individual nations are busy sorting out their political differences so that economic reforms can follow. This is an extremely challenging phase, as in the absence of a political consensus, good economic policies are unlikely to emerge. Such a situation again exerts pressure on strong economies like Germany that would be called upon to bail out inefficient economies like Greece. Another problem is the wide disparity between the Eurozone members; while businesses in Germany sustained a healthy rate of growth, Greece, France and Italy are struggling both politically and economically.

There has been a divided opinion within Britain on whether the country should exit the European Union, although the British Prime Minister is strongly in favour of Britain continuing as a part of the European Union.

Signs of growth are also emerging in China, Asia’s largest economy. The region is, however, still facing the global heat of the Eurozone crisis and has to navigate through a number of domestic issues, including high deficits, inflation and high interest rates that are keeping growth prospects low.

India economic update: India’s GDP growth is likely to stabilise to around 5 per cent for the current year (India achieved 6.2 per cent in 2012, at an average of 8 per cent over the last 10 years), which is one of the slowest rates of growth in the recent past. This is being attributed to both weak global economic conditions as well as some specific domestic problems like high inflation, fiscal and current account deficit.

India has to make challenging decisions and demonstrate extraordinary political will to enact difficult and unpopular economic policies and reforms, without which growth cannot be kickstarted again. Unfortunately, this happens to be the election year (2013-14) and hence the probability that such bold reforms will come through seems to be a very distant possibility!

The most worrying issue is the rising fiscal and current account deficit; finance minister P. Chidambaram has provided a fresh road map to bring the deficit back to acceptable levels by 2017. This seems too far away, and enough damage could be done to the economy in the meantime.

Economic indicators

Japanese economy: The Japanese economy is still struggling to achieve growth and take-off. While there has been a marginal rise in private consumption, exports are yet to pick- up; this is the biggest concern as Japan is primarily an export oriented economy.

One of the biggest reliefs for the Japanese economy is the weakening trend of the Yen, which has been strengthening for the past few years. A weak Yen against the US$ is very conducive for an export oriented economy like Japan. Japanese car makers and other manufacturers now expect their performance to start improving. Another question that is being raised is whether the Japanese industry is losing the competitiveness it used to enjoy earlier. Large innovative Japanese corporations like Sony and Toyota are steadily loosing to competitors from Korea, China and the rest of Asia. The political friction between Japan and China with respect to disputed island is also causing a setback.


Corporate World


Key knowledge for aspiring managers


Corporate World

Key knowledge for aspiring managers


Corporate World


Good to Great’ by Jim Collins, is the fruit of an exhaustive study tracking the performance of 11 Fortune 500 companies over a 30 year period, researching companies that had an average of 15 “good” years

followed by 15 “great” years. During the latter years, their market valuations leapfrogged their industries by at least three times. The book is primarily based on the question – why certain companies make the leap from good to great while others don’t.

The book shows that there is no shortcut to corporate success. Companies that make the cut do things the hard way and are willing to stick it out despite what naysayers say. By emphasising the hiring of good people, building of robust cultures, and implementation of rigorous and disciplined systems, it provides a good road map for companies willing to bite the bullet and do what it takes to

succeed in the long term.Definitely highly recommended for any person wanting to lead an

organisation some day.

Author – Jim CollinsPublisher – Random HousePrice – Rs. 429Genre – Non-fiction

A mandatory addition to the library of everyone who works for a living (or would like to). The Big Bing provides a corporate mole’s-eye view of the society in which we all live and toil, creating one of the

most entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain funny bodies of work in contemporary letters.

Rules and tools for the business road, sold amusingly but on a depressing foundation of inanity, this collection of pieces grazes wittily upon the workplace’s human dimensions, with all their annoying, grand, and bizarre displays. There is enough fresh, unvarnished, cruel wisdom in these pages to set business students agog and trembling. Do these pieces gel into a philosophy? Only if you can juggle a sense of humor, a sense of paranoia, and a sense of venality, all the while keeping your nose alert to the atmospheric conditions. Maybe the best advice is to learn to pull your own leg.

One of the best examples of the corporate world, but written in a unique way, unlike any other book of the same sort. A must read for those who need to look at the lighter side of life.

Author – Stanley BingPublisher – HarperCollins Price – Rs. 690Genre – Non-fiction, Humour, Business

Written before the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins who is a Hobbit that gets taken on an adventure by a wizard and 13 dwarves. They travel on their ponies and they meet trolls,

a creature called Gollum, goblins, wargs, orcs, elves, mega spiders and Smaug the Magnificent Dragon.

Before the Hobbit, no other book had brought together so many elements: humour, an understanding of children and mythology. Altogether a thrilling, yet gentle read that will take the reader through Middle Earth and give a glimpse into what brought about the epic trilogy to come later. Hidden amidst the story are countless examples of courage, power and its perils, ownership, and a profound sense of responsibility.

In my opinion, this is a book that must be read, not only to understand the genesis of the Lord of the Rings, but also because it is a timeless classic that will transport you from our world to another one without you even realising it, and you will enjoy the book all the more for it.

Author – J.R.R. TolkienPublisher – HarperCollins Price – Rs. 299Genre – Fiction, Fantasy

Author – J.R.R. Tolkien

t ead

Study Hour


Q. Do separate forms have to be filled up to apply to institutes, such as JBIMS? Ans: For management institutes that are under the purview of a university, there is a centralised admission process. For example, JBIMS comes under the University of Mumbai, so they will have the admission process like they do every year; the DTE will come out with a notification regarding this soon. So one has to fill one common form for all MBA programmes under the university.

Q. What about applying to autonomous programmes, such as at Welingkar B-school?Ans: For institutes that have autonomous programmes which accept admissions through the CMAT, there is a separate application process.

Q. Are there sectional cut-offs?Ans: As such, there are no formal sectional cut-offs, unlike the CAT. However, for autonomous programmes, institutes are within their rights to demand a certain cut-off per section.

Q. If there are no formal cut-offs, can I ignore an entire section and only concentrate on the remaining three sections?Ans: It would be unwise to ignore an entire section, even if there are no stated cut-offs. Foregoing attempting a section would mean letting go of around 100 marks, which will definitely affect your overall score adversely. So focus on your strengths, but don’t skip answering a section.

Q. If I score well in Sep CMAT, is it necessary to take the Feb CMAT?Ans: The AICTE has decreed that the better of two scores obtained in the CMAT in one academic year will be considered during admission. This means that if you take both September and February CMATs in one academic year, the higher score will be the one considered. If you have performed up to or beyond your expectations in the September CMAT, and feel that you won’t be abl e to improve your score in the February exam, there is no need to retake the test. However, if you feel your September CMAT score isn’t good enough, you should take the test again in February. If you can improve your scores even marginally say 5 marks, you should take the test

since every mark counts especially when you are targeting good institutes.

Q. Which states are going to accept the CMAT score?Ans: The states that have declared they will accept the CMAT score are Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Goa. Only for this year, the AICTE is planning to conduct a third CMAT in May for the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Q. Will the TANCET (Tamil Nadu) and ICET (Andhra Pradesh) take place this year?Ans: Yes, the notifications are out for both these exams. However, you can always take the CMAT if you are open to studying elsewhere in India.

Q. What should my CMAT score be for a top institute accepting the CAMT score, such as JBIMS?Ans: For an institute like the JBIMS, 99.99 percentile is required for admission from the open category. Therefore, you should target a score of over 310.

Please refer to the below table for an idea on the scores and corresponding percentiles. This is only for indicative purposes.

Q. How close is IMS’s SimCMAT to the actual CMAT exam?Ans: Students who took IMS’s Open SimCMAT 1 held on 16th September 2012 shared that the September 2012 CMAT was very similar to our test. A

CMAT FAQsIn this section, our experts at IMS help you solve your queries.

Percentile score mapper for September 2012 CMATPercentile Total score Percentile Total score

100.00 321+ 98.00 245+99.99 310+ 97.00 237+99.95 295+ 95.00 224+99.90 290+ 93.00 214+99.75 278+ 90.00 202+99.50 269+ 85.00 185+99.25 263+ 80.00 171+99.00 258+ 75.00 158+

If you have any queries, doubts or problems and require advice, write in to [email protected]

60 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA March 2013

About polymaths

M AT C H T H E W O R D S W I T H T H E I R M E A N I N G S1. Stressed

(stress-d) (v)2. Polymath

(pol-ee-math) (n)3. Courtier

(kohr-tee-er) (n) 4. Detached

(dih-tacht) (adj)5. Nonchalant (non-shuh-lahnt)

(adj) 6. Bearing

(bair-ing) (n) 7. Showy

(shoh-ee) (adj) 8. Unstrained

(uhn-streynd) (adj)

9. Gentlemanly (jen-tl-muhn-lee) (adj)

10. Courtly (kohrt-lee) (adj)

11. Piety (pahy-i-tee) (n)

12. Obligations(ob-li-gey-shuhn) (n)

13. Spontaneity (spon-tuh-nee-i-tee) (n)

14. Affectation(af-ek-tey-shuhn) (n)

a. aloof and objectiveb. a person’s way of standing

or movingc. chivalrous, courteous, or

honourabled. a person of wide knowledge

or learning in several fields of study

e. an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment

f. (of a person or manner) feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm

g. the condition of performing as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus

h. a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen

i. not forced or produced by effort

j. give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing

k. the quality of being religious or reverent

l. behaviour, speech, or writing that is pretentious and designed to impress

m. having a striking appearance or style, typically by being excessively bright, colourful, or ostentatious

n. very polite or refined, as befitting a royal court

Baldassare Castiglione’s guide stressed the kind of attitude that

should accompany the many talents of a polymath, an attitude he called

“sprezzatura”. A courtier should have a detached, cool, nonchalant attitude,

and speak well, sing, recite poetry, have proper bearing, be athletic, know

the humanities and classics, paint and draw and possess many other skills,

always without showy or boastful behaviour, in short, with “sprezzatura”. The

many talents of the polymath should appear to others to be performed without

effort, in an unstrained way, almost without thought. In some ways, the

gentlemanly requirements of Castiglione recall the Chinese sage, Confucius,

who far earlier depicted the courtly behaviour, piety and obligations of

service required of a gentleman. The easy facility in difficult tasks also

resembles the effortlessness inculcated by Zen, such as in archery where

no conscious attention, but pure spontaneity, produces better and more

noble skill. For Castiglione, the attitude of apparent effortlessness should

accompany great skill in many separate fields. In word or deed the courtier

should “avoid affectation ... (and) ... practice ... a certain sprezzatura ...

conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort

and almost without any thought about it”.


1. The Indian fi nancial system comprises which of the following:

a) Urban cooperative banks b) Scheduled commercial

banks c) Non-banking fi nancial

institutions d) All of the above

2. To which party does the newly elected railway minister Adhir Choudhury belong?

a) Trinamool Congress b) BJP c) Congress d) Samajwadi Party

3. Virender Sehwag’s innings knock of 219, the highest runs scored in an ODI innings, was against which team?

a) England b) Zimbabwe c) South Africa d) West Indies

4. The national song of India was composed by _____

a) Rabindranath Tagore b) Bankimchandra

Chatterjee c) Iqbal d) Jai Shankar Prasad

5. What is the name of the political party founded by Arvind Kejriwal?

a) Aam Aadmi Pradarshan b) Aam Aadmi Party c) Aam Aadmi Pratishthan d) Aam Aadmi Prarthana

6. Which of the following cars was launched in 2012 by car

makers Maruti Suzuki? a) Kizashi b) Figo c) Ertiga d) Punto

7. Which mobile company launched an emergency alert service for the subscribers in Odisha, Bengal and Kolkata on 1 February 2013, directed primarily towards women?

a) Vodafone b) Bharti Airtel c) Aircel d) Idea

8. Who was appointed as the group spokesperson and brand custodian of TATA Group on 6 February 2013?

a) Cyrus Mistry b) Ratan Tata c) Manushree Khaitan d) Mukund Govind Rajan

9. Iran on 28 January 2013 announced that it had successfully sent into space a primate. Which primate did it send into space?

a) Worms b) Monkey c) Turkey d) Mouse

10. Name the only Indian private airline to launch its fl ights to Guangzhou, China(in February 2013).

a) SpiceJet b) Jet Airways c) Kingfi sher Airlines d) Indigo Airlines

11. Which electronics company sold the audio and video

business to Funai Electric of Japan in a deal which exited it from consumer electronics completely in India?

a) Bajaj Electronics b) Philips Electronics c) Sony Electronics d) Samsung Electronics

12. In the third week of January 2013, Volkswagen unveiled its new advertising campaign called ____

a) Fast Track b) Fast Speed c) Fast Pace d) Fast Start

13. In its update to World Economic Outlook on January 23, 2013, the International Monetary Fund projected that the global economic growth rate would be how much in 2013?

a) 2.9 per cent b) 4 per cent c) 3.5 per cent d) 4.2 per cent 14. Name the fi rst woman chief

Justice of Sri Lanka, who was removed from her offi ce following the process of impeachment.

a) Srimavo Bandaranaike b) Vivimarie Vanderpoorten c) Shirani Bandarnayake d) Chandrika Kumaratunga

15. US President Barrack Obama’s half-brother Malik Obama decided to launch his political career in the third week of January 2013, announcing that he intended running for the gubernatorial

A quiz to boost your General Knowledge

62 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA March 2013

How to PlayFill in the grid so that every horizontal row, every vertical column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating the numbers in the same row, column or box. You can’t change the digits already given in the grid. Every puzzle has one solution.Hint: Don’t fill in numbers at random. While filling a particular square, write numbers 1-9 on a pad and start eliminating those numbers that already appear in the same row, column or 3x3 box.

seat in the country in elections that will be held on 4 March 2013. Name the country?

a) Zimbabwe b) Kenya c) Algeria d) Sao Tome and Principe

16. Name the astronaut of Indian American origin who took over the command of International Space Station on September 2012.

a) Rakesh Sharma b) Kalpana Chawla c) Sunita Williams d) Tessy Thomas

17. World Trade Organization (WTO) has ranked India as the _____ largest player in the global service trade.

a) Fourth b) Fifth c) Sixth d) Seventh

18. Whose 300 year old textbooks were recently discovered in a school in Staffordshire, UK?

a) Isaac Newton b) Johannes Kepler c) George Washington d) Vincent Van Gogh

19. Which famous personality was selected as part of the Chinese parliament in the fi rst week of February 2013?

a) Li Bingbing b) Jackie Chan c) Donnie Yen d) Zhang Ziyi

20. The world’s largest prime number was discovered on February 8, 2013. How many digits does it contain?

a) 14,000 b) 98,000 c) 17 million d) 2 million

SuDoKu

Solution, tips and computerprogramme at www.sudoku.com

ANSWERSGLOBESCAN

1. d 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. b6. c 7. b 8. d 9. b 10. a11. b 12. d 13. c 14. c 15. b16. c 17. d 18. a 19. b 20. c21. b

1. j 2. d 3. h 4. a 5. f6. b 7. m 8. i 9. c 10. n11. k 12. e 13. g 14. l

WORD DOSE

21. Which major airlines operator had to ground all six Boeing 787 dreamliners after the US federal agency asked it to do so in January

2013 citing safety hazards? a) Indigo b) Air India c) SpiceJet d) Lufthansa

Advancedge MBA

Documents

Transcript of Advancedge MBA