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VANTAGE POINT ISSUE2

The Awesomeness called ‘Kamal’

Everyone was waiting for this moment- the famous Ulaga nayagan being within

arm’s reach. Looking suave in his suit, he was welcomed with a huge roar of

applause and cheers. True to his audience of business students (and faculty and

admin staff), he started off with the relationship between business and cinema.

Explaining how the entrepreneurship spirit kick-started the industry, he brought to

light the immense opportunities we MBA students have in cinema, which is usually

thought to be a far cry from the traditional consulting, finance, marketing sectors.

Proving to be the perfect speaker for our Vista ‘13, he explained what he aspired

the future of cinema to become through the inspiration of technological advances.

He believes that each and every movie-goer would be able to achieve what is the

ultimate entertainment- get exactly the type of movie that he/she desires.

His answers to some questions from our enthusiastic audience revealed various

sides to his persona. His patriotism was obvious when he abated the implication of

an Oscar for an Indian movie. A student asked what his take was on Tamil’s declining

influence, and immediately the veteran actor gave a witty retort that the question

could have been asked in Tamil! Kamal’s humbleness was evident from how he

spoke at length about the influence his favorite actor- Dilip Kumar- has on him. And

finally, his brilliant repartee seen in his statements like "Rome can be vandalized by

Caesar and recreated by vandals" and “My mom is the most beautiful woman

according to me” evoked smiles and laughter from everyone in the audience.

However, as all good things have to come to an end, the Padmashri award winner

left, but leaving our participants more excited about what Vista has to offer in the

next two days, having set such a high standard on Day1.

The Vantage Point team:

Viveka, Udit, Leela Krishna, Soumyak,

Hamsini, Sathya, Vignamitra, Sooraj

Events to watch out for on day2

28th Sep 2013

Smiles for Sale: Make a Wish Tree “But wishes are only granted in fairy tales”. So it is said, but not anymore.

IIMB Vista 2013, in association with Make a Wish Foundation and team

Vikasana, is making wishes come true; wishes of young children who

dream big but are disadvantaged by medical conditions to achieve them.

Simple wishes such as gifting a 12 year old boy a birthday dress or gifting

a drawing set to a girl who wishes to be an artist, is sure to bring immense

happiness and inspire them to realize their dreams.

Through the novel concept of ‘Make a Wish Tree’, people can choose to

sponsor a wish of their choice. New wishes are added frequently and the

tree will continue to post wishes throughout Vista and the Joy of Giving

Week. So this Vista 2013, make a difference, fulfil wishes and experience

the joy of giving. After all, happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but

from what we give. Spread the joy by tweeting and following the twitter

handle #makeawish #iimbvista

2 IIMB | VISTA 2013

Hey there! Glad you picked up today’s Vantage Point. I really wanted to report

something extraordinary I witnessed here last morning. By chance, I had walked

into Vidheyak, the public policy competition conducted by Bharath Society.

Apparently, the participants were supposed to talk about increasing the involvement of the common citizen in elections.

It was an unusual concept for me as we minions are very clear on our agenda of blindly serving the ultimate master.

However, it was a great experience to learn about the electoral process of your country, the current challenges it faces

and more importantly, how they can be addressed.

All the 6 teams that presented showed a great level of maturity in their analysis of the problem. It was clearly evident that

all of them had put in a lot of effort in the collection of primary data, secondary research and synthesis of their results.

What was also heartening was the genuine interest the participants appeared to have in addressing the core problem.

At the heart of the analyses by all teams was a demographic segmentation of the Indian voter, an analysis

of the motivations and barriers for each of these segments to vote and how these can be used to improve

voter turn-out. These were followed by different ways of marketing the need for voting a leader worth

following to power. While each team had a unique approach, some ideas like using Surf Excel

advertisements to encourage voting tickled a few ribs in the audience. I must admit it was a great effort

by both the organizers and the participants and I wish them the best. Just so you know, the bong team

from IIMA was placed first while Team Chanakya from IIMB came in a close second just beating Team Squadron from

NMIMS.

As students of business we are awed by buzzwords like intellectual capital, brand

equity, proforma profit and loss statements and returns on invested capital. While

these strategies are glamorous to talk and make presentations about, they are

hardly tangible. As the saying goes, “It ain’t real unless the money is in the bank”.

This is what operations is all about – bringing real impact to the bottom-line of

companies. Operations’ events have been drawing large numbers to Vista

traditionally and this year has been no different.

Miebach, the global supply chain leaders, continued their association with

Vista by sponsoring and judging the “Miebach Milestones” event this year. The

preliminary round attracted strong participation from B-school students across the

country and consisted of a very interesting optimization case in the e-commerce

industry. Five teams were chosen for the final, two of them from our very own B.

The quality in store was evident as the sponsors started of the event by explaining

that the solutions offered by the students in Round 1 were pretty close to the ideal

solution that they expected. In the final round, contestants were given the chance

to present their improved solution and the variety of thought in display was

astounding. The judges who lauded the solutions given by the contestants

corroborated this. It was also a great learning opportunity for the students. IIM A

walked away with the honors of the winners of the operations challenge while our

very own IIM B team came in a close second. The team from SJSOM came in a

deserved third. But perhaps the greatest tribute for the event was the team from

IIM Shillong who had taken a 60-hour long train to Bangalore.

3 IIMB | VISTA 2013

How to conquer the invincible? How to surpass the insurmountable? How to overcome the impossible?

The answer to all lies in one word – Strategy. There is no better portrayal of the Art and Science of

strategy than the centuries old narration of the Trojan defeat at the hands of the Greeks. This art and

science was on ample display at IIM Bangalore’s Vista’s flagship event Brigade Trojan Horse. The

participants faced the challenge of dealing with a LIVE case, a never-done before opportunity to work

on the Marketing strategy for one of the Top 10 developers in the country – Brigade Group. They came

up with innovative strategies on how to improve its digital media marketing for its hospitality division.

In the course of the event, they also got to interact with the senior Management at Brigade Group who

also formed the judge’s panel. The chance to see the relevant strategies implemented and also

internship/ live project offers for the winners acted as lucrative incentives for the participants and spurred them on to put their

best forth and brainstorm innovative solutions to the problem at hand. But make no mistake- every suggestion was questioned,

counter-questioned and had to be justified right down to the last assumption. A fair number turned up to witness the

strategizing whiz-kids battle it out. The coordinated execution of the event bore testimony to IIMB and Vista’s commitment. In

the end Team “Neo” from Christ University walked away with the grand prize followed by IIMB’s “Magnicient 3”.

Be firm to run your firm: Excelsior Strategy is easily one of the most important concepts that

comes into play every day, yet goes virtually unnoticed.

Right from making one’s ‘To-do’ list to taking multi-billion

dollar business decisions, strategic thinking is crucial to the

point of being inevitable. To commemorate its significance

in business world, IIMB presented ‘Excelsior’ a game to test

strategic thinking in the areas of finance, marketing and

operations, given a firm to lead by yourself. The game

witnessed 5 teams from IIMC, IIML, IIMK, FMS Delhi and

IIMB, battling it out for the position of the ultimate

champions (Excelsior meaning ever upward) in the

battleground of Vista ’13. With each team armed with

specialists from Finance, Operations and Marketing who

were selected by an innovative bidding process, the event

took off to a great start on its first day.

The teams represented different firms whose future lay in

the strategies put forward by these players. On the 1st day

of the event, the functional skills in areas of finance and

operations were tested rigorously by three judges who

were experts in investment banking, M&A and other areas

of finance. The 2nd day of Vista holds in store, even more

competitive rounds in marketing and general strategy.

Being a two day event, Excelsior will come up with the

overall winners and winners in each domain on its 2nd day.

Imbibing the reach of strategy in every functional area, I

must agree with what Leon Trotsky once said, “You may

not be interested in strategy, but strategy is interested in

you”. Indeed.

“This is how our market can be segmented...these are our

target customers”. Familiar words from a still fresh

Marketing course roared back to life as I entered the

MarkGuru finals arena. Present before were hardcore

marketing enthusiasts, 6 of them (2 each from IIM - A, B,

one each from IIMK and PESIT BANGALORE), each as

determined as the other to follow Kotler’s steps (one team

was even called Kotler’s Army!!).

This Vista Flagship Marketing Event required teams to

design a go-to market plan for Atomberg Technologies – a

company that operates in the field of remote monitoring

and control. The teams had to develop target segments,

positioning themes and also had to deliberate on the

various applications they felt Atomberg Technologies

should focus on, including a separate market study on

Smart Water Meters. Each team chosen for the finals had

the chance to interact with the company directly and

improve the content they had presented for the prelims.

The entries were then presented before a panel of judges

from Atomberg Technologies.

Laced with marketing jargons and faced with tough

questions, each team literally fought a battle to strike the

right chord with their rationale. Finally one team from IIM-

A and one from IIM-B came out scathed but barely alive to

be adjudged the winners.

4 IIMB | VISTA 2013

Day 2 Schedule:

Time Slot Event Venues Event Description

09:00 - 21:00 Excelsior C-22 After an action-packed first day, the second promises to be even better!

09:00 - 12:00 Sparsh Finals L-22 An event with a social angle, Sparsh gives opportunities to work live with NGOs to solve their current problems.

09:00 - 12:00 Drishtikone - Round 2 & 3

L^2 Watch Presidential style debates to settle issues between contestants as they show great astuteness and persuasive skills to get the deal.

09:00 - 11:00 Street Smart Finals K-12 It’s all about numbers in this one. Watch participants convince PE managers of their investment ideas

10:00 - 13:00 Bzzwings Finals C-21 The finale of the biggest B-plan event at Vista. Don’t miss this one!

11:00 - 14:00 Master the Market CC - This event tests the portfolio management skills of participants.

11:00 - 12:00 *On-spot

Ex-Sell Prelims L-11, L-12,

For all those marketing enthusiasts who didn’t get the chance to test their skills on Day 1, your wait is over! Go through a preliminary marketing quiz followed by an interesting product sales pitch to a CEO. On spot registration with teams of 3. Prizes worth INR 15,000

12:00 - 13:00 *On-spot

Barter Prelims L-Cluster Bring to the table your negotiation and trading skills, skillfully procure raw materials from other firms, estimate demand, strategize manufacturing and finally sell your products. May the best negotiator win! On spot registration. Prizes worth INR 20,000

12:00 - 14:00 Numero Uno - Round 4

L-Cluster Numero Uno saw amazing response in Day 1. Cheer your campus representatives on as they are tested in further grueling challenges.

13:00 - 16:00 Barter Finals L-11 The finals stages of negotiation. Whose product will sell?

13:00 - 15:00 Corporate Czars Finals

L-12 Strategy is what makes companies click. Watch contestants mull over key decisions that will determine the success of a big player

14:00 - 16:00 Get Nashty Finals K-21 The culmination of the game theory events that was much-enjoyed by the contestants on Day 1

16:00 - 19:00 Numero Uno - Round 5

Things are hotting up as eliminations begin and the victory is that much closer!

16:00 - 18:00 Bizzare Elimination Round

Audi A Quiz with a twist – it is quirky in all respects, starting from the quizmaster, a doctor at a B-school to the formal.

18:00 - 20:00 Bizzare Finals Audi

18:00 - 22:00 Ex-Sell Finals L-11, L-12

The finals of this marketing event that makes participants sell ‘n’ number of products to companies and complete the sale

20:00 - 21:00 Creative Mind - Director's Cut Final

L^2 Watch the only video-making event at Vista. To get the taste of the creativity on display, follow the videos on the facebook page

21:00 - 00:00 Numero Uno - Round 6

C-21 The battle finally winds up as the most eligible CEO is crowned. Are you ready to cheer him/her on? Be at C 21 to see who will get the bragging rights of having the most charismatic leader in Vista

21:00 - 00:00 Bidwiser Finals L^2 This is a one of a kind event that gives the finalists the chance to experience the thrill and the pressure of a live auction. Watch them bid their way to building their dream team for their company as they put their strategy and nerves to the fore.

23:00 - 00:00 Pot Pourri Elimination Round

L-Cluster Relax and unwind at our very own L^2! Dumb Charades, pictionary, WTGW - you name it, we got it. Piece of cake, you think? Ah ha, not so soon! They come but with a business twist, so be sure to watch out! Prizes worth INR 15,000 to be won!

00:00 onwards Pot Pourri Finals L^2