Recent Events

Continuing in its quest to be socially relevant and responsible to the region, IIM Shillong successfully organized a one day seminar on “Improving Health Care Services through Management Information System”. This program was targeted for health service providers both in the private and public sector. Given the difference in the emphasis and span of these two sectors, the seminar was held on the 6th and 7th of October for each of these sectors separately.

Apart from administrators of major private hospitals and government health establishments in Shillong, the seminar drew participants from Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of North East India.

Bearing in mind the fact that Health Care Management requires a palate of information for its efficient functioning, policy decision & intervention for all kind of services, both curative & preventive, IIM Shillong had managed to rope in Shri Debasis Mullick, IT-Consultant, who had been instrumental in implementing a comprehensive Health Management Information System for the Government of West Bengal developed under World Bank funding.

Shri Mullick, the main speaker during the seminar, shared well accepted views on the concept, approach, implementation road map, hurdles, and a real time problem solving experience using Efficient Hospital Management System, and addressed the core issue of optimum utilization of resources & generation of a blue print for effective intervention.

Case after case has shown that lack of information leads to under utilization of scarce resources like – Hospital Beds, Operation Theater, and Diagnostic Tests etc. Hence, effective knowledge of burden of disease helps in effective service planning & controlling of epidemic and endemic diseases. Moreover, effective drug management can help ensure optimal utilization and increases availability therefore reducing wastage.

“Effective HMIS, as a tool in the hands of policy makers & administrators can bring about a significant change in service quality,” stressed Prof Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director of IIM Shillong while speaking during the inaugural launch of the seminar.

From a much broader perspective, the seminar on utilization of an Effective Health Management Information System revolved mostly around issues and concern of health service management, problem solving techniques, implementation hurdles, change management & work flow planning.

At the end of the seminar, the participants thanked IIM Shillong for playing a proactive and supportive role in trying to bring about an effective change in Health Care Services especially in the North East.

22/09/09 to 23/09/09

The Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong in keeping with its vision of imparting quality management education in N.E. Region and with a purpose of inclusive growth and a commitment to social responsibilities, conducted a two – day “Management Program for Local Entrepreneurs and Promoters of Entrepreneurial Activities” on the 22nd and 23rd September 2009. The Program was offered under the aegis of the Accelerated Learning Centre (ALC) of IIM Shillong.

Prof. Ashoke Dutta, Director of IIM Shillong delivered the key note address in which he emphasized the need for local entrepreneurs and self-help groups to understand the concept of business in order to be successful and engage in fruitful endeavors.

The Program familiarized and enhanced the skill levels of the 31 participants - small and marginal entrepreneurs involved in sectors like horticulture, floriculture, traditional handicrafts & handlooms, tourism, scientific farming, animal husbandry, local diary product, bakeries etc. The Program also helped the participants in expanding, refining, and increasing profitability of their units through the well researched tools, case studies, class lectures and business solutions provided in the Program. The objectives of the program were to:

• Understand their existing business scale vis –a- vis their competitor
• Identify competition and ways to diversify business
• Get tips for successful marketing of their products
• Get to know the means of availing financial assistance at lowest rates
• Manage interpersonal relationship
• Understand legal issues relating to business
• Managing money and maintaining Book of Accounts

Participation certificates were distributed to the participants by Prof. Helen Giri.

Prof. Natalie West Kharkongor was the Co-ordinator of the Program, along with Anoop Abraham (Academic Associate) as Joint Co-ordinator.

01/09/09 to 05/09/09

Held amidst varieties of other Management Education programs, the 5 day Workshop on Effective Management organized through the Accelerated Learning Centre of IIM Shillong concluded on 05 September, 2009.

The program led under the Program Directorship of Dr. S S Sarkar, Faculty Member saw a total number of 28 local entrepreneurs, business stalwarts, and eager future managers participating in 10 sessions that aimed at both intense and thought provoking learning to capacitate the participants with knowledge in future prospects of establishing business ventures.

Such programs are organized by IIM Shillong with the concept of being socially relevant. They are primarily targeted at the local youth populace encompassing the entire Northeast where there exists the potential to share various aspects and concepts of management education. Such programmes are necessary to address the need of the growing number of business enthusiasts. Graduates from various disciplines with an aptitude to harness their managerial skills are being encouraged to participate in such programs.

The workshop was designed mainly to cover various facets of management viz. finance, marketing, human resources, economic, legal and ethical issues, information technology etc. The course content elaborated on General Management, Marketing & Research, Human Resource Management, Business Planning and Emerging Financial Services. The inaugural session was taken by Prof. A. K. Dutta, Director, IIM Shillong who interacted with the participants and provided necessary inputs for enhancing managerial effectiveness. Other sessions were taken by faculty members of IIM Shillong and invited guest speakers.

Participants’ feedback reflected the expected outcome of enhancing their respective knowledge base with regards to the latest concept of management and which, in turn, will help them to become better managers and leaders in future.

Prof AK Dutta, founding Director of the Institute presented the participants with Certificates of Participation on the concluding day of the workshop amidst an enlightening speech.

27/08/09

IIM Shillong recently hosted 2 distinguished guests, Mr. Geert Linnebank, ex- Editor in Chief of the Reuters group and Mr. Prabhat Sawian, President of the Shillong Lajong Football Club. They were at the IIM campus to grace the Anniversary Edition release ceremony of IIM Shillong’s Finance magazine, “Niveshak” and also to address the students. Also present at the occasion were Professor SS Sarkar, Faculty Mentor for Niveshak, Lt.Colonel Matthew Thomas, Chief Administrative Officer at IIM Shillong and Professor D K Agarwal, Dean (Academics) and Chairman of the PGP programme.

Mr. Linnebank, a noted figure in the world of media was the Chief Editor of the Reuters newsgroup from 2001 to 2006 and also was the chief architect in the founding of the Times Now channel in association with the Times of India Group. Mr. Sawian is the president of the Shillong Lajong FC that has recently become the first football team from the North East to qualify for the I-League.

The release of the finance magazine of IIM Shillong, “Niveshak” (the intelligent investor) was clearly the highlight of the event. This magazine that is currently circulated in the top 50 B- schools of the country is a symbol of the tremendous progress that IIM Shillong has made within the first year of its establishment. A completely online magazine, the Niveshak team led by its Editor Mr. Biswadeep Parida, second year student of the PGP programme has managed to garner a huge following in this short span of time. The magazine is a completely student driven activity with everything from the designing and editing to the distribution being done in house.

The guests interacted at length with the students of the PGP programme and discussed topics as varied as upcoming trends like social media to ideas for development of football in India. Mr. Linnebank spoke about the state of news media in India and the lack of it that exists between journalism and management parse. Mr. Sawian focused on the sports dimension and talked of the evolution of football in the North East and the Shillong Lajong club that is currently being partnered by IIM Shillong in their effort to win the I league.

06/08/09

IIM Shillong, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, has successfully completed the implementation of the world’s leading student system and alumni development solution for higher education. The institute has implemented various modules from Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Oracle Applications with the help of Citagus India Private Ltd., a leading IT solutions and services company with specialized experience in implementing PeopleSoft solutions. Incidentally, IIM Shillong becomes the first among India’s Centrally Funded Technical Institutions and Universities, which include IITs, IIMs etc., to complete implementation of a comprehensive ERP solution.

“In today’s fast changing and highly competitive environment, we are determined to provide quality education to our students,” said Prof Ashoke Dutta, Director IIM Shillong. “IIM Shillong has taken a big step to implement a comprehensive IT solution with the help of Oracle and Citagus. We have sought to reduce manual processes as much as possible, and provide access to real-time information for students and the college management and faculty. This will enable us to focus completely on education programmes for our students and excel in quality and accessibility. It will put us at the forefront of the technology adoption initiative envisaged by the Govt. of India for higher educational institutions in the country.”

“IIM Shillong is yet another great example of the proven value Oracle can deliver to higher education institutions through our all encompassing PeopleSoft Campus Solutions family. Oracle software has a great track record, successfully being used in more than 800 campuses across more than 20 countries,” said Mr. David Redden, General Manager - Asia Pacific Education Sector, Oracle Corporation. “We are proud to partner with IIM Shillong in their mission to usher in a technology adoption revolution to help drive the enhancement of education standards in India.”

Excerpts from Mr David Redden’s remarks during the Go live and Press Conference ( Mr David Redden is the General Manager, Asia Pacific Education Sector, Oracle Corporation):

“ I must say we are extraordinarily impressed with how quick this institution has moved to first of all to select this product and then to implement it and my belief is that, this is the fastest implementation of this solution of any other customer in the world. So I think that comes down to the strong leadership from the Professor (Prof. A. K. Dutta ) as well as his very capable team...

....Prof. Dutta, I know that you do a lot of work in U.S. I request you to change the thought of some universities there too. Some institutions carry on for years before taking any decision, and go on for one or two more years to implement the same.... Talking about educational institutions across the world, they face different business challenges. These business challenges are different in different parts of India, different in various types of institution, different in China, in Hong Kong. People are increasingly adopting IT solutions for this....”

Success Stories of IIMS

Coverage of IIMS Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions by www.siliconindia.com

03/08/09

A participant’s feedback to Prof. Ashoke K. Dutta’s speech during Seminar on Export Potential of Mizoram Organized by Exim Bank at AIZAWL on 3rd August, 2009:

“Your speech at the seminar held by EXIM bank & MEN inspired me a lot. First, thank you for your openness towards developing Mizoram.

As you see, Mizoram is a young state and all development activities are at its basic. Most of our potentials are yet to be tapped out…We need mass awareness and political will to succeed in this aspect. To have awareness among the people and press the Government small steps taken by MEN & EXIM Bank yesterday is an inspiring landmark in the history of Mizoram. As for your presence I would like to give you a special thanks to you as Mizo people could greatly benefit from your institution regarding your expertise, experience, knowledge, faculty, advice, recommendation and much more. I hope that you stick to what you are saying.

I on behalf of Mizo people thank you for your enthusiasm to help us. I see that Mizoram can greatly benefit from your help.

God Bless you.”

J. lalbiakthanga sailo

31/07/09

IIM Shillong on July 31st, 2009 organized a workshop on Increasing Profitability of Media Organizations. The one day workshop, an initiation of the visionary leadership, is one of the many varieties of capsule programs organized by the Institute as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility effort.

Participation included CEOs, Senior Managers, Producers and decision makers of various media organizations of the region, wherein deliberation and thought was mainly built around topics such as Understanding Media Business, Revenue Earning Strategies, Cost Reduction Strategies, and New Media and its implications. Intellectual input from Prof Ashoke Dutta, Director IIM Shillong, and Mr.Arijit Majumdar, stalwarts in the field of Media Management, and Dr.Basav Roychoudhury, IT Specialist was well appreciated by the participants.

31/07/09

T S Elliot wisely said “the experience of achievement, like any other experience, is partially translatable into words.” What started as a dream an year ago, has become a reality.

Symphony is a milestone in the journey of IIM Shillong and reflects its ethos in myriad senses. It is an attempt of the PGP participants to further enrich the potential of IIM Shillong to become the Mecca of Management Education. Symphony is a mission to reveal the obscurities of the management science with panacea. Right from its inception, IIM Shillong has focused on the concept of sustainable development. This theme is further reflected in the articles that adorn the pages of our experiences over the past year. The magazine presents the reader with articles covering a wide variety of topics ranging from finance to marketing and from strategy to HR.

The maiden issue of the magazine has been successful in bagging a sponsorship of more than 1 lakh from SBI, United Bank of India, including an international sponsor – the Tolaram Group of Singapore.

Maiden issue of Symphony was launched by Mr. V.K. Abbey Chairman & Managing Director NEEPCO in presence of Guest of Honour, Prof Satyajit Chakrabarti, who is Director of IEM, Kolkata and Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director, IIM Shillong.

Prof. Dutta stressed on more initiatives from participants of PGP for their overall development. Mr. Abbey told that NEEPCO is ready to extend its support for the next issue of Symphony and would like to gain from the expertise of the students of IIM Shillong. Prof Chakrabarti stressed on the importance of 1st and 2nd batch of any Institute in building it. Editorial board told that this is a milestone in IIM Shillong in its quest for excellence.

Also present on the dais was Dr. Naliniprava Tripathy who extended the vote of thanks, and congratulated the Editorial Team for their remarkable effort.

Symphony depicts harmonious combination of sounds and colours which gives a true picture of Meghalaya where it is located. Situated in the serene environment of the North eastern part of the country, IIM Shillong aims to become a global Centre of Excellence for the 21st Century Management Education and Research.

Team Symphony comprises of:

• Mentor :
  Prof. Ashoke K Dutta
• Faculty Advisor :
  Prof. Naliniprava Tripathy
• Editorial Board:
  Aditya Prakash Gore Asit Jain
  Kumar Abhishek
  Pranab Talukdar
  Rashi Agarwala
  Saugat Das
• Concept Team :
  PNV Kannan
  Manjunath M
• Circulation Team :
  Gaurav Arora
  Sarvesh V Chowdhary
  Tripurari Prasad
• Website Team :
  Harsha Jhunjhunwala
  PNV Kannan
  www.iims-symphony.in

20/07/09 - 24/07/09

• Faculty : Jamie Hendry, Ph.D. Management,Associate Professor,Bucknell University, Lewisburg,PA,USA.

• Goals for the seminar : Participants in the seminar began by exploring how personal and organizational values are relevant to organizational functioning and how various types of cultures influence individuals’ actions. And also explored on how to apply stakeholder theory to manage organizations in ways that benefit the organization, society, and the natural environment.

  Participants identified some of the most significant socio‐economic and (separately) environmental challenges facing humanity and India in specific, looked at ways some organizations are addressing these challenges, and will be prepared to begin thinking about how their own future organizations might take action.

  Participants were able to develop an introductory understanding of sustainability (whether viewed in a personal, community / social, organizational, national, or global context), saw why acting sustainably is vital to the future flourishing of human society, and understood how various types of organizations have roles to play in creating a more sustainable world.

  Areas covered in this seminar :
• History of Organizing and Managing
• Values and Cultures
• Managing for Stakeholders
• Leading and Managing for Sustainability

  • General questions about sustainability
  • Social Challenges
  • Environmental Challenges

  Seminar Resources : In order to model sustainable behaviors and life‐long learning activities, the seminar avoided paper handouts whenever possible, instead employing videos, readings, and cases.

  Seminar Pedagogy : Years of educational research have demonstrated that people learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process; further, more often than not, peers learn and retain information gleaned from their peers better than from those whom they do not consider peers. Thus, participants in this seminar were involved their active engagement in conversations about topics relevant to sustainable management. The professors only did minimal lecturing; they helped stimulate discussion, refocus the class as needed, correct misinformation when appropriate, and otherwise mentored the conversation.

22/07/09

The 1st Cultural program for the academic session 2009-10 called “Spandan” was organized on 22nd July, 2009 by the Cultural Committee of IIM Shillong at the Institute auditorium. It was an evening filled with the traditional colours of Indian Culture as well as the exhibition of the profound talent of the newly arrived 2011 batch.

The evening started off with a welcome address by the Director of the Institute, Prof. Ashoke. K. Dutta. A Rajasthani troupe of Folk Music & Dance had been invited from SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth). The troupe led by Shri Roze Khan Mangiar is internationally renowned for their portrayal of the rich cultural heritage of the Folk music & dance of the vibrant land of Rajasthan. The group consisting of 7 male singers & musicians and 2 female dancers has performed in Germany, France, Holland, UK, Russia, USA, Japan, among more than 50 different countries. The group has also been featured several times on Television by various channels. The far-famed artistes enthralled the audience with a host of song & dance sequences. The music was primarily played with traditional Rajasthani instruments hand made by craftsmen and the two dancers displayed one of the finest forms of dance prevalent today – the Rajasthani folk consisting of dancers balancing up to 7-9 brass pots on their head while showcasing their graceful dance moves, dancing on top of sharp-edged swords and glasses. The male singers, on the other hand, kept the audience’s excitement high with famous numbers like “Nimbuda”, “Padharo Maro Des” and “Damadam Mast Kalandar”.

After an entertaining performance by the troupe, it was time for some local action. The newly arrived PGP batch of 2011 got an opportunity to show what they had in them in terms of their cultural talent. And the performances they gave to the crowd were indeed show-stopping. Be it the sizzling dancers, the rocking singers & musicians, the innate stage actors, they had them all. The scintillating act by a world-class pianist among them is worth a special mention here. The PGP ’11 batch, with their brilliant entertainment, kept the crowd on its feet from start till the end.

“Spandan”, an evening of Indian cultural grandeur and the talent exhibition of IIM Shillong, finally came to an end, with the images of the pulsating evening etched in the minds of the audience for eternity!

22/07/09

On July 22nd, The Operations and Systems club IIM-Shillong (OASIS) organized a video conference session for the PGP 2010 and PGP 2009 batches of IIM-Shillong with Mr. Ramakrishna Potluri, Head of SRM Regional Group, SAP Asia-Pacific & Japan at SAP Labs.

The session was for about 70 minutes and Mr. Ramakrishna explained the various career opportunities available for MBA Graduates in the Information Technology sector, he also explained in detail about the various aspects of IT Project/Product Management. This included the roles and scope available with each career opening for the management students of B-schools like an IIM. He related the discussion to his experiences in the industry and the kind of growth and skill sets required for different roles. This was followed by an interactive Question and Answer session.

Mr. Ramakrishna was appreciative of the various topics and ideas that came up during the course of the session. The students too were very appreciative of the discussion and OASIS efforts.

20/07/09

• Douglas Michele Turco, Ph.D., an associate professor from Drexel University's Sport Management program. Prior to arriving at Drexel University, Turco taught sport and tourism courses at Illinois State University, where he was named the University’s Outstanding Teacher in 2002, and at DeSales University, where he received two teaching awards. Turco is also a faculty at IMC FH-Krems (Austria) and IESE Madrid. He has advised more than 50 students on research projects, thesis, and dissertation committees.
   
  Turco teaches courses on sport event marketing, international sport management, sport tourism, and sport management research. He has authored more than 40 research articles in journals including Sport Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Travel Research, and the Journal of Sport and Tourism. In addition, he has also authored several books, including Sport Tourism (2002, with R. Riley and K. Swart - 2nd Ed. in 2009) and Sport and Event Marketing (2001, with N. Pope), and presented at research conferences in Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Germany, Cyprus, Spain, Poland, Hungary, and Portugal.His current and most recent studies involve the impact of sport tourism at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championship, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2006 Torino Olympic Games, 2005 Little League World Series, and Highland Athletic Games National Championship.
   
  
• What the Programme is all about:
   
  The course is an attempt to equip the participants with necessary Sports Sponsorship Management concepts and tools for developing an appreciation of the function and the value which it can add to the achievement of organizational goals.
   
  Participants will learn to expand upon the skills learned in the program and ultimately develop the ability to:
  
• Apply the fundamentals of business to sport sponsorship management.
  
• Integrate principles of sports sponsorship management to organize people and resources to get results in the sport industry.
  
• Use existing and emerging technologies in the sport sponsorship management field.
  
• Forecast new developments and adapt to the rapidly changing sports sponsorship environment.
  
• Effectively organize, evaluate, improve, and utilize new innovations in the sport sponsorship industry.
   
  Apart from students of IIM Shillong, also keenly present was Mr. Larsing Sawian, General Secretary of Meghalaya Football Association and promoter of Lajong Football Club, the first football outfit from the Northeast to make it to the big league of Indian football — the I-League. Mr. Larsing expressed his excitement on being given an opportunity to learn from Mr. Turco, an expert in the field of Sports Management.
  

15/07/09

The students of IIM-Shillong, had an interactive video conferencing session with the Director-Operations (Mr. V.Khasbekar) and the Senior Manager-Planning (Mr.Amit Agarwal) of Hero Honda Motors Limited (HHML).

The video conference was arranged by the Operations and Systems club IIM-Shillong (OASIS). In a video conference that lasted 35minutes in the board room, with one of the top management person in HHML. The students gained invaluable insight on operational strategy in the face of recession, supply chain issues, vendor management, consulting, business processes and the utility of ERP in the real world applications of an auto-maker that has showed 30% growth in sales despite recession.

The Hero Honda team was happy with the new ideas and perspectives that came up in the course of the discussion. The session ended with a note that the event is a predecessor for more important interactions between companies and IIM-Shillong.

10/07/09

• With sports and its related activities being identified as a potential area for employment generation, RGIIM Shillong has roped in Prof Doughlas Michele Turco, a sports management specialist from Drexel University, USA to discuss and chalk out a framework for generation of employment through sports gauging the potential available in the North East of India.
   
  The conference organized by IIM Shillong in association with Assam Sports and Youth Welfare Department was attended by sports department officials of the northeastern states of India, viz., Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Assam.
   
  During an interactive session, Prof Turco suggested involvement of other stakeholders including chambers of commerce and tourism department. He added entrepreneurship in sports has increased manifold with non-competitive and recreational sports becoming overwhelmingly popular across the world.
   
  Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director IIM Shillong also elaborated on the potential of the region and said that proper marketing of sporting events, whether professional or indigenous, by roping in competent expertise could draw attention and help create tourist friendly atmosphere.
  

03/07/09

• The induction ceremony, which was graced by Dr. D. D. Lapang, Chief Minister of Meghalaya as Chief Guest was an event where the bright- faced future managers and leaders of the country were blessed with words of encouragement and counsel.
   
  “It has been a long struggle and now dreams have emerged into reality. Meghalaya is proud to have facilitated the start up of a world class IIM in this part of the country. Determination to succeed is your right and no one can take that away from you,” were expressions of Dr. D.D. Lapang during his address, wherein he accredited praise to the visionary leadership of the Institute.
   
  Success and accomplishments should not be our only source of contention. Instead, we should learn to appreciate the unseen activities done by others which leads to a result, were the words of Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong during a stirring gathering on the eve of the Institute’s first anniversary on July 3rd, 2009. Prof Dutta during his address recounted the contributions of past colleagues and friends who urged him forward by able support work.
   
  Earlier during the occasion, the new batch of students were administered a pledge by Prof D K Agarwal, Dean Academic Affairs. Other significant dignitaries present were Shri Rathindranath Datta, Chairman of IIM Shillong, Shri Ranjan Chatterjee, Chief Secretary and Member of the Board of Governors, and Shri Falguni Rajkumar, former Secretary NEC.
  

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Visits by eminent personalities

05/03/10

Mr. Arun Kumar, the head of Human Resources at Godfrey Phillips India Limited, visited IIM Shillong on 5th March 2010 to take a guest lecture. The lecture dealt with various facets of HR in an organization with a focus on performance management.

The session which began with understanding the need for performance management in organizations went on to cover the issues in developing an effective performance management system and how to tackle them. Mr. Kumar elaborated on issues like compensation, goal setting etc. which are needed to design an effective system to manage employee performance. He also spoke on how should an employee be motivated and the role of the organization in employee development process. Managers should try to bring about more objectivity and transparency in the appraisal process which would serve as a feedback for the employees.

He further spoke about how it becomes difficult for the HR department to normalize ratings across various other departments of an organization; when one department is too lenient in rating while the other too strict. Different aspects of effective goal setting were also discussed which would help evaluate employee performance.

Another important point was how at times it becomes difficult to implement even a world class performance management system. Even though the system and processes maybe well crafted, there might be difficulty in implementing the same. Since all these processes ultimately boil down to how individuals implement it, there are chances for biases in the system.

The lecture gave students an insight into how challenging yet interesting the field of HR can be. Finally, Mr. Kumar answered various questions which the students had in mind about performance management in organizations. The students thanked Mr. Kumar for the visit and for sharing his experiences and knowledge on the subject.

26/02/10

Mr. Kailash Kulkarni ,the Senior VP,Sales and marketing, Kotak mahindra asset management, visited IIM Shillong Campus on 26th February, 2010 for a guest lecture. The lecture was based on the financial services industry and its opportunities in India.

“It is extremely difficult to predict what will happen next. That is what makes this field so exciting.”, he said expressing his interest in the financial services market. He explained vividly about the major domains of the industry including Investment banking, Private equity, Commercial banking and Actuarial services. Sharing his ideas about the key to success in this market he said that it is of paramount importance that one is update with the most recent occurrences and have accurate market and product knowledge. Innovation, building relationships, Speed to market and respecting regulations are also aspects he emphasized upon. A query was raised by a student on the presence and viability of Financial services in Rural India. Mr. Kulkarni agreed that the current penetration in India is low and there is opportunity if the products are framed as per the needs of rural market. Answering another question on the complexity of products, he said that the best way of serving customers is to keep the provisions simple and easy to gauge, and that “wrong selling” using complex financial products can only lead to weaning away of market share.

Talking about the Indian market he said that Rising Domestic consumption, Infrastructure requirements, Outsourcing and a need for social security would be the drivers of Financial services market. He said there is a lot of opportunity in many segments including mutual funds, insurance, Consumer funds, equity broking and Retail Loan.

He also stressed upon the Human aspect of Business as the any organizations’ success is dependent on its employees. “Love your Job. Work with people.” is the mantra he advised the students to follow.

The students thanked him for the visit and the erudite lecture which they found very useful and enriching.

17/02/10

Mr. Sameep Barua, regional head east zone, ITC visited IIM Shillong on 17th February, 2010. He was invited to deliver a guest lecture on Marketing and Distribution Channels of ITC.

His vivid explanation of various concepts related to marketing and distribution presented with a great sense of humor engrossed the students. Supply chain management was an important topic he took up. There was a lively discussion in class on the same. ITC’s unique and flexible supply chain has been a great asset to the company which plays a major role in the FMCG sector. “We have to make sure that our customers get what they want and when they want it. There should never be a stock out situation” said Mr. Barua.

The entire distribution network of ITC was taken up for discussion. ITC uses a unique combination of traditionally used distribution channels as well as the modern means to reach out to its vast customer base spread across the country right up to the far flung rural areas. It gave the students an insight into how to exploit the existing systems and improvise on them by adopting advanced techniques. The other aspects of FMCG sector like Marketing of products, advertising and intense competition in the sector were taken up.

A lot of interesting questions were raised and Mr. Barua addressed each one with great enthusiasm. “ Since 2001 ITC has been diversifying into product categories other than Cigarettes. Is it an attempt by the company to reduce its dependence on Cigarette Market.” asked Pranab Thakur, a final year student. Mr. Barua explained that ITC is trying to diversify its portfolio and also in the long term future intends to increase share of non-cigarette sales vis-à-vis cigarettes. Other interesting questions related to the Company’s product positioning and advertising were raised and were answered with equal interest.

The interaction gave the students a great opportunity to learn more about marketing in the FMCG sector and also about one of India’s most known brands. He was thanked by the students for taking time out and visiting the campus to hold the insightful lecture session with the students.

In the words of our valuable Guest, “I am really impressed by the all round development of your Institute, more particularly, in IT area in such a short span of time.” During his visit, Shri Mitra met with the Director to chalk out areas of common interest for future collaboration.

12/02/10

Synergy Property Development Services Pvt. Ltd. was at the Institute for a meeting on negotiation of rates for PMC. Representation from the Institute during this occasion were the CAO, Financial Advisor, Advisor Constructions (Campus Development), and the Executive Engineer

02/02/10

The PGP participants of IIM Shillong were privileged to have with them ‘A leader with a difference’, Mr. Venkat Changavalli to deliver a talk on “Leadership in NGOs” on February 2nd, 2010. An alumnus of IIM-A (1977 batch), and having a corporate experience of over 3 decades in Indian as well as multinational companies in various positions like Chief Executive, Finance, Planning, Marketing & General Management, Venkat decided to venture out on a new trail. In 2005, he got an offer to take forward the vision of the ‘now-infamous’ Mr. Ramalinga Raju to provide free emergency medical services to the poor of Andhra Pradesh. Considering this as a golden opportunity to give back to the society, Mr. Venkat immediately agreed to quit his high-paying job to become the CEO of EMRI (Emergency Management & Research Institute).

During his talk, Mr. Venkat emphasized the need for ‘value-based leadership’ even in organisations like EMRI. In less than 5 years, Mr. Venkat has taken the vision to great heights. EMRI delivers free medical, police & fire emergency services, through 1-0-8 emergency service, and now runs over 2600 ambulances and has expanded to 10 states, saving more than 1,00,000 lives. Mr. Venkat’s talk also stressed upon aspects of “Leadership in crisis times”, when he spoke about how he sustained the organisation after Raju’s Satyam-confession happened. As Satyam was the main contributor to EMRI’s funding requirements, after the confession, Venkat was suddenly left with no funds to run the organisation. It is during such times that a leader’s true potential comes to the fore, and Mr. Venkat is a living example of how such a crisis situation needs to be managed.

28/01/10

A B.Tech (IIT-Kanpur) and a PGDBM (IIM-A), the next destination normally expected is some Investment Bank but not for this person who is currently an MP from Sikkim. A person worth emulating - Mr. P.D. Rai paid a visit to IIM Shillong and gave an enthralling and inspiring speech to the participants which was followed by a short Q&A session.

Encouraging the participants to devote their time and energy towards the country was the essence of his speech. He talked at length about his experience during his political years and showed his concern towards the entry barriers in politics. He said that India has been deprived of some great leaders because when the engine of growth started working, people started to pick the fruits. Mr. P.D. Rai joined politics in 1994 and became M.P. in 2009 emphasizing the quality of perseverance and patience normally found lacking in youngsters these days. He accepted that politics is a difficult ground field for a business oriented mind. There are a lot of uncertainties due to numerous variables that are present while dealing with people. For the same reasons he accepts interns under him so that they can see what makes a politician tick.

In reply to a question about the role of media he focused on the dependency of the politics and media and said that both are married to each other and it’s not possible for either of them to survive without each other. In his opinion there are umpteen good things happening as well but they remain unnoticed. When a question about the inefficiency of the government was raised he defended the government saying that it is not apt to expect each and everything from the government’s side when the citizens themselves are not responsible enough. He asked everyone to remember that even the ministers have just 24 hours in a day and that the government can’t control all the variables in the society simultaneously.

There was also a discussion about the role of microfinance institutions in the development of the backward regions. Concluding the speech he urged the participants of IIM Shillong to actively participate in the development of the North-East region and become the brand ambassadors of the region not just in the country but also in the whole world.

18/11/09   

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO of Infoedge (parent company of Naukri.com) was on a visit to IIM Shillong campus on 18th November and these words of wisdom were part of a presentation he made to the students about his journey thus far in life which he called “Wisdom in Hindsight”. His informal style, filled with humor, instantly engrossed the students listening to him. As he talked about his life, career and how he built his small start up into the highly successful business that it is now, one could gauge the visionary behind the humble personality. He mentioned about the small businesses he did prior to 1997 when he launched Naukri.

As Sanjeev said, “Best businesses are built on deep consumer insights” – Naukri was also positioned on a keen insight of consumer needs. He narrated the course of his business and asserted to the eagerly listening students the importance of persistence, hard work and innovation in building an enterprise. To conclude he advised the prospective entrepreneurs that they should focus on solving a hitherto unsolved problem and address a scalable opportunity.

10/08/09   

Visit of Mr. Piyush Gupta, General Manager, Capacity Building & Knowledge Management, National Institute for Smart Government(NISG), along with Prof Subhash Bhatnagar, Advisor NISG to discuss on One - Year Full Time Residential Diploma E-Governance Program for Executives.

In principle agreement with the National Institute for Smart Government was reached. Announcement to this effect was made at the e-Governance Leadership Meet held on August 11th, 2009 at the Meghalaya Secretariat to start a One - Year Full Time Residential Diploma E-Governance Program for Executives, starting from January 2010.

27/05/09   

19/05/09 and 20/05/09

27/04/09

17/04/09   

05/04/09

04/03/2009

The High Commissioner had an interactive session with the faculty and students on providing expertise to IIM Shillong in enhancing environment friendly business practices and look at educational collaboration between UK business schools and IIMS.

His Excellency also had a press meet and inaugurated the RGIIMS Dura-Tuff conference hall donated by Mangalam Timbers, Kolkata.

On the occasion an MDP programme “Sustainable Global Enterprise and e-Marketing” under the ALC was also formally launched by the High Commissioner.

31/01/2009

Shri Bandopadhyay interacted with the Faculty and exchanged his views at length. He also   encouraged management students to shift their focus from the corporate world to the Govt. Sector.

23/01/2009

Dr. Prewo, during his visit emphasized the need to explore the possibilities of exchange programs between IIMS and his organization.

07/01/2009

The Professor interacted with the Director at length and was interested in knowing about the teaching culture of IIMs in India.

05/01/2009

Dr. Radhakrishnan interacted with the Director and faculty and spoke on the need to inculcate a sense of confidence amongst all ranks of individuals in any organization, and that ‘mistakes’ are to be shared without fear, as learning from them contributes to overall achievement.

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