KUNWER SACHDEV, CEO AND MD, SU-KAM POWER SYSTEMS LTD. The Gift Of Life

Passion is… involvement and focus.
Processes and systems are important since… they are the only long-term solution.
I am most influenced by… Ratan Tata.
People are my most important asset because… they make or break the organisation.
My idea of a reward for a job well-done is… a pat on the back; appreciation in public.
Employee attrition can be handled by…involving and engaging employees.
The secret for a business’s quantum leap is… continuous evolution and learning.
Leadership is… being the role model.
My most cherished possession is… my company’s R&D.
On your bookshelf, you’ll find… The Drama of The Gifted Child; The Forty Rules of Love; and, Gifted Grownups.
My greatest extravagance in life is… the life I am living.
My dreams for tomorrow are… to try and do things today.
The most valuable lesson I have learnt is… look at things from others’ perspective.
The most important quality that youngsters must imbibe is… stability, be it in relationships or at work. Click here to read more...

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Executive Focus

Q. What is the business agenda for the coming year?
A. Our vision is to continue to build a strong and profitable network of exchanges; to expand and provide liquidity and risk management solutions to the developing and emerging economies of our region; and, to identify national and regional markets for our products. Our domain expertise will enable us to introduce trading in new asset classes on our tech-centric exchange platforms in different regions. We will vigorously pursue our mission of increasing access to markets.

Q. What is the next project you wish to undertake?
A. While my role encompasses technology and operations, my role as the Director of HR is surely the most challenging. Our HR vision is to make our company the most preferred employer, which I am sure we will soon achieve.

Q. What HR initiatives are being taken up for this?
A. Some of our HR initiatives include:

1. DOST (Dedicated to On-Boarding Support and Training): Assigned to every new joinee for three months.
2. AIMS (Acquire, Improvise and Maximise - Skills): In-house learning and development initiative to regularly conduct functional, technical, and development programmes.
3. Group HR Zone: Online HR interface for members to avail various HR resources such as policies, procedures, articles, etc. It also provides information on training and development and performance management activities
4. Listening Post: Dedicated to employee grievances and concerns. A senior HR professional conducts a one-to-one discussion with the employee to understand the concerns. These are taken as action points for improvement. We also have an anti–harassment cell.
5. Employee HRIS: Automated self-service modules such as Leave Management, Payroll Processing, etc.
6. Group interaction events: Such as the recently concluded JOSH 2011, our Annual Sportz Meet.
Our people practices have won us many awards and accolades, such as: award for Innovation in Retention Strategy in the Employer Branding Awards 2009-2010; Global HR Excellence Award 2009-2010 for the most innovative HR practices; and, Excellence in HR through Technology and Innovation in Recruitment strategy at Employer Branding Awards 2011. Our top three goals in becoming the most preferred employer are: a powerful and highly-valued employer brand; high levels of employee engagement; an environment which can engender an unparalleled and global learning experience. click here to read more....

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Moulding Young Minds for a Better Tomorrow

Updating curricula to match the ever-changing industry demands is key to preparing students for future, shares Mr. Ashok Mittal,Chancellor Lovely Professional University, in his over 600-acre sprawling campus. “We are the people producing products for India Inc. We need to change the curricula and make it fit its requirements. So, a university should go to industries, get their requirement and then change the curricula accordingly.” At LPU, he says, the syllabi is updated every six month. The board reviews it on the basis of feedback from students and faculty members. The queries basically revolve around the syllabi and how effective it is. “To top it all, we send our curricula to the industry for feedback. This is why I say industry interface is very important in getting the curricula designed,” says Mr. Mittal. One needs to understand that students have friends studying in various institutions and they have this tendency of comparing the best and the worst things. So, LPU ensures high quality educational system. As majority of the LPU processes are online, identifying students’ needs is no problem, he points out.

LPU recommends and has an instruction plan which ensures that same curriculum, schedules and evaluation processes are being followed in all sections and classes. It has a class strength of 60 and every student has a user name and password. Click here to continue reading....

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She Writes Story Contest winner: Belinder Dhanoa

Belinder Dhanoa is one of twelve winners of the MSN-Random House She Writes a Story Contest', as chosen by our judges. Her story 'A Boston Brahmin' features in the 'She Writes: A collection of Short Stories' published by Random House India and available at all leading bookstores.

Belinder Dhanoa is a writer and an artist, with a Masters in Fine Arts in Art Criticism from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda, and another MFA in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester, New York. She is the author of Waiting for Winter and her second novel Echoes in the Well is due to release soon. She has also written several books for children and researched and documented Contemporary Art of Baroda, which was published as a book by the same title. She is currently involved in developing and teaching post-graduate courses in creative writing at the New School for Culture and Creative Expression at Ambedkar University Delhi.

read an extract from belinder dhanoa's story 'a boston brahmin'
If her fate had decreed that she be a world leader or a teacher, or even an official in the tax department, Rina believes, then she could have ended up as the Prime Minister or the Principal of a school, or even an official in the tax department. But she is the stay-at-home wife of a junior Vice-President of an investment bank who sometimes wishes that she had more control over the circumstances of her life. This is just her fate. Or so she thinks.

Rina shrugs off her dissatisfaction. Her surroundings are really so beautiful after all, that it is difficult to remain discontent. Sailboats on the river, puffy white clouds floating with carefree abandon across the blue sky, and all those wonderfully healthy-looking people-walking, running, even sunning themselves so purposefully. She watches the scene with gratification and does not notice the grime etched into the wooden bench on which she sits or the plastic bag with leftover lunch thrown under it. She does see the dazzling ripples of the water, and she does feel the cool breeze. She sees the fresh green of new leaves pushing against the blossoms to make their presence known. And she feels all the satisfaction of knowing that she is where she wants to be. Rina is in Boston. Or technically, as she might put it, in Cambridge, sitting alone by the Charles River, and enjoying a glorious mid-spring day all by herself.

'I will manage to spend the days by myself here with ease,' she thinks. 'It's so gorgeous; I could sit here all day, or at least half the day. Time will just fly. And then there's the shopping I have to do for dinner, and the cooking. I could maybe do without a maid and clean the house every other day by myself. That should keep me occupied. Then I could read a little, and watch a little TV. Who knows, I may even make a few friends and we could meet over tea or go out for a movie.' A chilly southern breeze bursts her little bubble of thoughts, making her pull her cardigan tightly across her chest. She stands up and slings her handbag on her shoulder, looks quickly around to make sure she hasn't dropped anything, and then waits for the lights to change so that she can cross Memorial Drive. It is a short walk to their apartment, a modern two bedroom, two bathroom set in a large complex close to the MIT.

in her own words: belinder dhanoa Have you always been a writer? What made you start writing? Yes, I have always been a writer, but it took me a long time to call myself one. I believed, you see, that only those with the talents and abilities of a Marquez or a Faulkner had the right to call themselves writers. Today I don't feel the necessity to define or restrict myself within any categories, but I do believe that if you write every day and it is your primary focus, then you are a writer - a good writer or a bad one is another matter.

What inspired you to enter She Writes?
I can't for the life of me remember how or when I entered the She Writes competition. I do know that I saw the call for stories a few days before I was to leave for a vacation, and I assume I must have written up and sent the story in before leaving. I am a little disturbed to find that I remember so little of how I entered the competition.

Why did you choose the category you did?
I did not think of a particular category when I wrote my story, and if the phrase 'frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' had not fitted into my story seamlessly, I would not have used it, and not sent the story in. The phrase, however, allowed for so much scope in its use, and also for so much irony that it was easily worked into my story.

Do you have a writing routine - e.g. do you have favourite places to write/favourite times of day/do you write longhand or on a computer? I write on my computer - though did not start as a writer on a computer. My first manuscripts were handwritten and then typed. My novel Waiting for Winter was typed, (on a precious Olivetti 'laptop' equivalent) and submitted, rather rashly, without a copy in my possession. Fortunately there were no problems.

I do not have a writing routine, but do write at my desk at home. You won't see me working on my laptop in cafes or other public places.

Who is your favourite author?
I have several favourite authors - among them William Faulkner, Doris Lessing, Saul Bellow, Milan Kundera - my current favourite Murakami. At different times the works of different authors have have enriched my life. While reading Dostoevsky as a young adult I never believed I would be as moved by any other writing - but I have been.

Which book has inspired you the most?
If I were forced to pick out one book that has inspired me, it would be Thomas Wolfe's 'Look Homeward Angel'. That definitely stands out among the many 'books I wish I had written.' Another is 'The Grass is Singing' by Doris Lessing. I do not enjoy the process of listing - and especially not of books and authors I love and respect - and everytime I write one name, another one jumps into my head. 

Which key piece of advice would you give to any other budding writer?

I would tell young writers - write every day.

Beyond Boundaries

Many people think that the role of HR is limited to the Human Resources Manager and the team in that office. In my opinion, nothing is further from the truth. The engagement of associates is the top priority of all leaders in a hotel. This philosophy has inspired a strategy that has been a turning point in the engagement of the team at the Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon.

It occurred to me that the middle management and supervisors, while being consulted, were in fact not critically involved in the decision-making process. However, these same people were charged with the execution of strategies, whether they believed in them or not. I could not think that if you had no ownership in a programme, you were in a position to sell that to the team at the coalface. I sensed there was disconnect in associate engagement on this Supervisory level. I felt I was missing the part of the team who were accountable for everything but responsible for nothing.

I decided to roll out a programme wherein every Supervisor in the hotel meets with me in a committee environment three times a week for 30 minutes.

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Wealth Creation or Crony Capitalism?

from nano to sezs; from aviation to telecom, india inc. is a tale of state patronage

Some time during 1998, the media went into a tizzy. For the unthinkable had happened. First, the Delhi Police raided the office and residence of the Group President of Reliance Industries Ltd. V. Balasubramaniam. There were allegations that Balasubramaniam (or Baalu as the legendary lobbyist of the late Dhirubhai Ambani was famously known) had ‘violated’ the Official Secrets Act. Then again, officials of CBI raided the office of Reliance at Nariman Point in Bombay and even the fabled residence of the Ambanis called Sea Wind. All sorts of rumours flew thick and fast at that time. There were dark whispers that Baalu was in trouble because someone finally had the guts to nail him for getting access to the Union Budget even before it was presented to the Parliament. Most business journalists presumed that to be true; even though the allegations have never been proven. More than the raids, it was the political context of the time that had raised eyebrows across all and sundry. A government led by the BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister was ruling India. Hacks, lobbyists and pundits were writing and talking extensively about how the rise and rise of the BJP and the decline and fall of the Congress had dealt a crippling blow to the ‘connections’ that Dhirubhai Ambani could boast of in New Delhi. Many had thought that the salad days of Reliance Industries, when it comes to getting ‘favourable’ back door benefits from the government at the centre were over.

They were conclusively proven wrong. It was under a BJP-led government in 2001 when Reliance made a classic back door entry into the mobile telephony sector of India – without a valid license! Mobile phone service providers like Bharti cried foul and loudly complained against this unfair treatment and asked for a level playing field. The matter went to the Supreme Court and Reliance was effectively given a back dated license after it agreed to pay a license fee. Then again in 2008, rivals cried foul when Reliance Communications, now led by Anil Ambani, was given licenses for launching GSM services across India. This time under the UPA government, but as we said, that debate is no longer relevant.

For some things never do change in India and for India Inc.!

When it comes to covering India Inc., the media has clear perceptions about entrepreneurs and business houses. It is taken for granted that the Ambanis are unmatched when it comes to ‘managing’ the environment in North and South Block. Of course, the Ambanis are also admired for the ‘wealth creating’ skills; but there is always that touch of cynicism when one mentions their name in the list of India’s top business houses. But no such sniggers are heard when it comes to discussing ‘clean companies’ like Infosys and business houses like the Tatas.

Unfortunately, like most perceptions, these pre-conceived notions are merely manufactured myths. The reality is: everybody takes advantage of ‘State’ patronage to create an aura of entrepreneurship and innovation. Take India’s most respected business house Tata. When Ratan Tata unveiled the dream car Nano in January, 2008 in New Delhi, the media went simply hysterical. Even the foreign media, which is usually condescending towards most things Indian, lauded the Nano as a modern day marvel. So hyped was the coverage that you would think Ratan Tata might get the Nobel Prize for leading a team of innovators that could make a car for less than Rs.1 lakh.

Amidst all this, someone like Mamta Banerjee was branded a spoilsport as she was protesting the acquisition of land in Singur in West Bengal for the Nano factory. Bristling when some media outlets gathered the guts to say that the manner in which Tata Motors was acquiring land would sully the good name of Tatas, Ratan Tata made a melodramatic statement to a TV channel: “ If I believe that we were doing something wrong, then I will be the first one to pull out… You put a gun on my head and pull the trigger or take the gun away, I won’t move my head.” Move he did. Both his head and Tata Motors’ factory moved lock stock and barrel from West Bengal to Gujarat. But even as it was shifting base, Tata Motors approached the Calcutta High Court requesting an order to stop the Right to Information Commission from revealing details about the tacit agreement it signed with the West Bengal government.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 

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Can Ratan Tata Salvage his Nano Dream?

The Small Wonder has been Struggling to Match The Demands of its Target Group after The Settlement of the Initial Hype. The Storm is over. B&E gives a Detailed Analysis of The Past Issues and The Future that Lies Ahead for The Nano

Though the small nano uses less gasoline than many larger cars, the enormous potential numbers could mean an equally enormous environmental impact, an exponential rise in carbon emissions as well as other kinds of pollutants. The United Nations’ top climate scientist, Indian economist Rajendra Pachauri has said he is already “having nightmares” about precisely this scenario

”This was a prominent blogger writing soon after the launch of the Nano in January 2008

And of course, there was the brouhaha over the traffic jams, the pressure on Indian roads and what not. I remember my Editor-in-Chief Arindam being slightly baffled by the extraordinary hype generated in Indian as well as global media in January 2008 when a proud and beaming Ratan Tata wowed everyone by saying “A Promise is a Promise” while unveiling the Nano at the Auto Fair. The promise he was referring to was the one to keep the price of Nano at Rs.1 Lakh(0.1 million). Arindam was baffled because he was perhaps the only person who had written a stinging article in 2007 lambasting Tata and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya for the ugly mess at Singur, the original site chosen for the Nano factory. He had also logically argued how and why a Rs.1 Lakh(0.1 million) car was actually a chimera. Of course, not many alleged pundits of corporate India paid much attention back then. I remember journalists – who otherwise display better sense on some rare occasions – forecasting that Indians will buy more than 1 million Nanos a year very soon.

Sooner or later, reality has a nasty habit of catching up with hype. In early October this year, I sent a fairly long SMS to the Editor-in-Chief basically saying that it is perhaps time for a big story on the Nano since there were persistent and unflattering reports about the actual volume of sales of the Nano. In my SMS, I pointed out that July 2010 was the best month ever for the Nano with sales of 9,000 units. And sales started heading south after that – even though the Indian auto industry was in the midst of an unprecedented boom. We both agreed that it was time for an analytical story on the seemingly inexplicable inability of Tata Motors to increase volume sales of the Nano despite the hype around the brand.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
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Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
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Indian B-Schools might fall short

Indian B-Schools are Facing an Acute Crisis of a Faculty Crunch and if Steps On War Footing are not Undertaken, Indian B-Schools might fall short of their Own Quality Benchmarks Themselves

When I teach “reverse innovation’, that is the idea I created. Therefore, I am going to teach it at a level of depth, which may not be possible for someone who reads my article and teaches from it” says Govindarajan. When Honourable Union Minister for HRD, Kapil Sibal, wrote the cover story in our sister publication The Sunday Indian this year, the dearth of faculty and the lack of focus on research were two of the key critical structural issues he brought out. And the issue is recognised not just at the high forums. When B&E stretched across India, educationists far and wide realised the issue. From professors like Deepa Shimpy (Professor at Symbiosis Centre for Distant Learning, Pune) to faculties like Prof. Krishnaswamy, Dean of Social Science for Higher Studies, Christ College, Bengaluru, the issue that top academicians shared with us was similar – the quantity and quality of faculty has gone down phenomenally since the coming up of many management institutions in India.

As per National Knowledge Commission, “The number of researchers in India was 112 per million inhabitants compared to 633 in China and 4,374 in the USA in 2002. The growth in the number of doctorates has only been a modest 20% in India during 1991-2001 compared to 85% in China during the same period.” And since it is mandatory in almost all top institutions in every field in India to hire only PhDs for the position of permanent faculty, the faculty crunch becomes inevitable. Secondly, the single biggest factor that B-schools in India do not have the requisite number of quality faculty is because of the fact that the investment in R&D in Indian institutes of higher learning is abysmally low and is thus, a deterrent to students going for PhDs and also for PhDs entering the teaching profession. In fact, as per a statistic, not even 1% of the MBAs go on to be doctorates in India. A May 2008 Assocham survey of 258 faculty members of B-schools revealed that 89% of the respondents were unable to state the country’s GDP growth rate in 2006-07, and less than 10% were aware of the subprime crisis in USA.

However, with the Foreign Universities Bill to be tabled in the parliament soon, the faculty crunch problem could be tackled with an iron hand as the setting up of foreign university campuses in India will bring many more NRI and PIO professors from B-schools in the West to India. But it’s high time that B-schools realise that however strong one’s course contents might be, until and unless the deliverer (nee, the Professor) is competent, the message simply doesn’t get across. Institutions and most importantly the government has to tackle this issue right here, right now.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links

IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face