FORGING INDUSTRY ACADEMIC TIE-UPS

So the whole world it seems is tuned into the FDI in retail drama that is unfolding in India currently. On the one hand are the politicians having their specific gains which are at stake currently and on the other hand are the retail giants just waiting to gain access to one of the most lucrative emerging markets in the world. Stuck right in the middle are the consumers who will benefit from this revolution. In addition to creating new jobs, bringing in new investments and getting new technology into India, it will also bring about a whole new world of choices for the Indian consumer. 

One look at the last decade in Indian retail reveals that the jobs that are available for fresh graduates in the retail sector require specialised training. Something that a lot of organisations have woken up to. Keeping this in mind most big organisations have already started partnering schools and vocational colleges in imparting job specific training to aspirants. Short term courses are being offered to aspirant keen on joining the retail sector. In my opinion, this is some thing that both the academia and the corporate world have to work together on. The future lies in integrating education and learning and for this to become a reality there has to be greater collaboration between organisations and teaching institutions. At the institute, we have already started such initiatives so that we are able to help our clients achieve greater efficiencies. From partnering banking organisations which train management graduates in basic operations, to research companies which impart practical learning to aspirants, campuses today have become a hotbed of activity for companies vying to corner the best talent for themselves. 

In such a scenario it becomes essential for organisations to put their best foot forward and engage the students by providing them the right kind of opportunities to explore their passions and interests. Today the challenge is not to recruit the best students, but it is to retain them over a period of time, so that they deliver value to the organisation. Attrition today is not just because the youngsters have become fickle minded, the blame must also lie with the organisations as they have not been able to manage the expectations of these youngsters. And by no means am I suggesting organisations to go all out to woo students, I am suggesting that they be honest with the aspirant from the beginning so that they know what they are getting into. Today I think most organisations find it prudent to offer positions to those candidates who will be in the game for the long run. This is the best and in fact the only sustainable model for organisations to assimilate talent. After all how long will companies continue to battle it out to be the first one to offer a position to a candidate? The future lies in understanding the aspirations of these candidates and then aiming to fulfill them as meaningfully as possible for the organisation.

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY, IN AN EMERGING CRISIS

As the European economic woes continue to cause ripples in the global financial markets, the world waits and celebrates the birth of the 7 billionth baby. The crisis that started with Greece has today more or less spread like a wild fire to almost all parts of the continent and threatens to take an ugly turn if immediate action is not taken. France for one wants the developing nations to pitch in with their resources and help bail out the defaulting nations so that a bigger crisis could be avoided. Ironic isn’t it, that these nations want our monies but not our biggest asset, our people.  

Europe will need to embrace this foreign work force into its fold if they want to survive this century. How else will they carry the burden of over 71 % dependent population by 2050 which will need to depend on the age group of 15-64 for all its needs economic or otherwise? It seems that European nations have realized this fact but are wary to act on it. There seems to be no move to attract talent to their shores. As a matter of fact, if anything, they are tightening entry procedures for foreign nationals. One wonders how in such a scenario they will cope with the imminent shortfall in the productive workforce that they have. 

This situation also presents a unique opportunity for emerging markets such as India and China. Both these countries have highly trained manpower and in fact excess of it. Both these countries have economies that are running full steam currently and seem like they will continue to do so in the near future at least. I wonder if there can be a situation where these entities can collaborate and ensure a win-win situation for everyone. Or maybe I am too naïve in suggesting that it is time that we all came together to solve each others problems. International labor trends have always been an enigma to me but I surely know this that problems solved collectively often produce better results than otherwise. 

Keeping this in mind, fresh business graduates of today can also look at international careers for themselves. However before this becomes a reality, they must ensure that they develop their skills accordingly. As it is the reputation of Indians abroad is stellar and with the emergence of quite a few Indian top executives, the stage seems set for us to take the world by storm. In our cover story for this issue of CULT, we have focused on what IIPM does in terms of giving global exposure to its students. We strongly believe that students who are aware of global issues and are equipped to handle them have a much better understanding of the global business environment and can therefore help the organisations that they work for in the international markets. At the institute we have been running global orientation programs for more than twelve years and have found success in all such endeavors. Recruiters who have tasted our talent have been coming back for more year after year and alumni working on international assignments with multi national companies have done us proud and have held the IIPM flag high.

In keeping with the changing times...

An often used and quoted phrase from Heraclitus is “Nothing is constant but change”, I wonder how one man could have so plainly and accurately conveyed the one and only absolute truth that governs us all. If we look around us also, the rate at which the world is changing is mind numbing. Here today, changed tomorrow is real and it is the only paradigm that leaders of the world live by. 

I have often heard teachers and educationists commenting on the fact that how the student population is changing. Comparisons are drawn of how students were more sincere and committed earlier than now. I feel, in the light of all that is changing, why shouldn’t the students change. Being a part of the change themselves, they learn and grow as they see the change shaping up around them. It would be unwise to assume anything but otherwise. 

In these changing and dynamic times, education as a concept and an industry needs to change too. Only those institutions that are in touch with the changing times will survive and consequently grow. Today the rate of the change is such that content and pedagogy designed even one year ago becomes irrelevant in the face of the changing times. The economic slowdown of 2008 also brought into focus the relevance and criticality of these issues. When business managers didn’t know how to react, they took decisions that in their limited vision helped their organisations whereas infact, these very decisions proved detrimental to the interest of the organisations that they served.

Many business managers feel that B-schools need to partner corporations in such situations and help them recover from the abyss that they have slipped into. IIPM has been one such front runner which has constantly innovated and enhanced it curriculum based on the ever changing demands of the corporate world. We have also partnered organisations and developed industry relevant curriculum so that these organisations can reap the benefits of these partnerships in terms of trained manpower, brand building in the campus etc. We have been encouraging our faculty and researchers to take on corporate consulting assignments, so that they bring these learning into the classrooms as they take classes. It is due to such initiatives and many more such wonderful programs that we deliver world class education to our students and help them stay relevant in the corporate world. And at the end of the day that is what counts. With changing times, students have also become more aware of what they want for themselves and have also become more assertive of their rights . Today information is available at the touch of a button and with every window, a whole new world of opportunity opens up. The information age has truly brought about an abundant availablity of information and choices. In the real sense of it, the only option is either adapt and change or don’t adapt and perish.

A revolution of ignited and passionate minds

As I sat down to write the first ever editorial of my life, I realized I had a monumental task in front of me. I wondered how one begins to describe in words, what has been one of the greatest impacts in my life. I remember distinctly, the day a young boy of seventeen, stepped tentatively into a auditorium for his all important orientation into the world of business. It has been a 15 year journey full of ups and downs and I still feel that I am just about getting started. And I realize that, the reason I feel this way is because I am surrounded by young and energetic people who never let you slacken or relax. The energy in a campus is infectious, and each day I step into the campus I take a breath and pause just so that I can take it all in.

I sometimes feel, whether there is another career as rewarding, as fulfilling and gratifying as that of a teacher. The change that one wishes to see is all so visible in the canvas that we paint around us each day and it is also visible in the lives of the people that we touch each day. In my opinion an institutions greatest success is its ability to sow the seeds of that change in the minds of its students. And every day as I walk into the corridors of the campus and see students joining IIPM and stepping into classes with anticipation, wondering what new world beckons them, to their metamorphosis into smart, dynamic, confident management practitioners of tomorrow, I feel the power of the change we bring in their lives. I see broader horizons for them to dream in, I see greater intelligence, emotional and otherwise, for them to bank upon and I see the confidence to conquer the world in their eyes. And as I pause to take it all in, I realize the change that IIPM has been able to bring about in India. IIPM is not just a place to study, not just a place to learn, not just another portal of academic excellence, but something greater and more meaningful that most of us can fathom at first glance. The realsiation dawns on me that we have infact created a “revolution of ignited and passionate minds”. A revolution that most certainly has never been created before and perhaps will never be replicated in the future too. And today as I write this editorial I am confident that this is the change that Dr. M.K Chaudhuri wanted to bring about when he established the institute in 1973.

It is with this conviction that we bring to you the first issues of the IIPM alumni magazine “CULT”. CULT is both an opportunity to showcase the stalwarts who have contributed to the cause and also a celebration of the triumphs of these individuals who have demonstrated tremendous resolve, strength of character and steely nerves to overcome all the challenges that life had to throw at them. I salute the spirit with which these people have gone about life, winning every moment of it and living it on their own terms. It will be our endeavour at CULT to bring to you such stalwarts and both document their efforts and applaud their contribution towards making IIPM the only “revolution in management education and thinking”.