Monday, March 29, 2010

Sad Demise: Debu (BMD88)

Just a piece of information that I got from a common friend. Debu (1988 – BM batch) passed away a couple of days ago in the US due to pancreatic cancer. Those who knew Debu will remember him as a computer whiz-kid. After XL, we worked together at CMC, Mumbai though our paths later took a different direction. Pl join me in praying for his soul and for giving his family enough strength and courage to get over this tragedy. I understand he was not married.

May his soul RIP.

Regards, Gopi

Sunday, March 28, 2010

E Sreedharan @ XLRI Convocation 2010

Do not compare DMRC with Kolkata Metro as a role model: E Sreedharan

From My News

Jamshedpur: India's metroman E Sreedharan, widely written for his examplary work as chief of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) and Konkan railway, today said the country's first metro rail in Kolkata could not be described a role model as the 17-km line took 22 years to complete.

''It took 22 years to start the 17 kilometres long metro rail in Kolkata. So, definitely it was not a pleasant experience,'' he said adding its budget also increased 14 times and hence it could not be termed a role model.

Mr Sreedharan said Delhi metro, on the other hand, stood out for its efficient completion within the project time and budget and could compete with any metro anywhere in the world. If DMRC were able to complete the 125-km long second phase before the Commonwealth Games in October 2010 then it would be a world record, he added. The second phase of Delhi metro would also include a high-speed line that would connect the city centre to Indira Gandhi International Airport.

He said DMRC had already submitted to government a detailed project report on third phase of the metro project and if cleared work on it could begin in November 2010. Once the fourth phase finished in 2020 the national capital region would have metro network of 400 kms, he added.

Speaking after receiving the Sir Jehangir Gandhi medal at the 54th convocation of Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) of Business and Human Resources here, the 2008 Padma Bhushan awardee said Delhi Metro was regarded as one of the best available commuting facilities in the world.

Mr Sreedharan was chosen Man of the Year 2002 by Time magazine for completing Konkan railway and Delhi Metro project within stipulated time and budgetary cost.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Live Webcast of XLRI's Convocation (March 27th, 2pm-5pm IST)

Hello Folks!
 
I am happy to share that the 54th Annual Convocation of XLRI Jamshedpur will be live webcasted on
 
March 27th, 2010, Saturday
2pm - 5pm IST
 
The URL on which you can watch the live ceremony is:
...and in case, this being the new URL, it does not work, please try the altternative:
 
This Convocation will also mark the end of XLRI's Diamond jubilee Year - and so, XL has invited all the previous Directors (Fr McGrath, Fr Ruomold D'Souza, Fr PD Thomas) Deans and the Chairmen of the Board for the convocation... some of them are already on the campus.
 
The highlight of this years convocation (which are in the pre-event press release) are:
 
- Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group will be the Chief Guest
 
- Mr E Sreedharan, CEO of Delhi Metro, will be the recepient of the Sir Jahangir Gandhi Medal for Industrial and Social Justice this year
 
- the previous Chairmen, Directors and Deans of XLRI will be present during the convocation.
 
please spread the word :0)
 
cheers
 
madhukar
===========================
Dr Madhukar Shukla
Professor (OB & Strategic Management)
& Chairperson - External Linkages
XLRI School of Business & Human Resources
CH Area (East)
Jamshedpur 831001
India

Friday, March 26, 2010

XLRI set to see grand diamond jubilee reunion

From The Financial Express

Jamshedpur: XLRI School of Business and Human Resources is geared up for a grand reunion on the occasion of its diamond jubilee convocation on Saturday which will also see conferment of the B-School’s prestigious Sir Jehangir Ghandy medal for industrial and social peace on Dr E Sreedharan, managing director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.

To mark the occasion, the B-School has invited all its former chairmen, directors and deans to be part of the convocation, with the list including its former chairmen Russi Mody and Sarosh Ghandy, former directors Father (Fr) E H McGrath (today an octogenarian), Fr Romuald D’Souza and Fr P D Thomas, as also some if its former deans.

While the convocation will be declared open with a presidentialaddress by Tata Steel vice-chairman B Muthuraman, Kumar Mangalam Birla who heads the $29.2 billion Aditya Birla Group, the global conglomerate with operations spanning 25 countries, will inspire the graduating batch of 2010 with his convocation address.

Dr Sreedharan, who would receive the Sir Jehangir Ghandy medal this year, retired from the Indian Railways in 1990 after a distinguished career spanning 36 years and has been behind the success of the Delhi Metro project.

A recipient of “Padma Shri” in 2001 and "Padma Vibhushan" in 2008, he has since been spearheading efforts to provide Metro systems in other state capitals including for Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kochi and Kolkata (where it is planned to be extended), with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation involved in these projects as interim/prime consultant.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Gautam Ghosh (IR 99) - One of the top 100 Influencers in HR

John Sumser has profile Gautam (better known as GG) as One of the top 100 Influencers in HR in the world.

John has profiled GG on the top 100 influencers blog

He ends by saying Gautam Ghosh is a role model in his home country and around the world. A decade of demonstrating that alternate career paths work while focusing on big ideas and implementation gives him a platform for influence all over the world.

Congratulations GG :)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Ankit Kumar (2011 batch) starts Green Leaf Energy Private Limited

I have started my company, "Green Leaf Energy Private Limited", working in the renewable energy space. The company objectives are to provide employment opportunities, arrest migration, alleviation of poverty, improve the living standard in rural Bihar and produce renewable energy.

The company has been provided support and guidance by the XLRI Entrepreneurship Development Centre. I am presently working on Bio-diesel and have set up a nursery of Pongamia (Bio-diesel yielding plants), growing 1.2 lakh plants in Kothwara village of Gaya, Bihar.

The company has conducted awareness programs in rural areas of Bihar for utilization of wastelands by doing Pongamia plantation.The company has also formed a contract with 200 farmers over 500 acres of area in Gaya, Bihar. We are looking to scale up the plantation area to 1 lakh acres of wasteland in Bihar.

The company will set up its Bio-diesel extraction unit to produce Bio-diesel, as per the National Biofuel Policy. The company will also set up Bio-gasifier power plant unit generating power from the shells of Pongamia plants for rural electrification.

The project has already been appraised by NABARD, Indian Oil and PNB for technical and financial support.

Connect with Ankit on Facebook

Friday, March 12, 2010

XLRI Placements see 20% increase

From Economic Times

AMSHEDPUR: Pharma major Novartis offered the highest placement offer of Rs 50 lakh (USD 1,10,000) at the XLRI School of Business and Human
Resources here for its prestigious HR leadership role at Basel, Switzerland.

The highest domestic package was Rs 26 lakh made by a consulting firm for its Mumbai desk whereas the average domestic package was at Rs 14.2 lakh, a 20 per cent increase over last year's figure.

The placement process attracted 75 companies giving a total of 205 offers to a batch of 120 Business Management and 60 Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (HR) students, XLRI Placement Committee Secretary Venkatesh K told reporters here last evening.

The campus recruitment programme 2010 saw 90 per cent of the batch accepting offers made by some of the most coveted organizations for their Indian and international locations followed by a strategically planned rolling process which enabled 100 per cent placements, Venkatesh K said.

XLRI, Venkatesh K said, maintained its position as a destination for premier finance roles as 28 per cent of the total offers came from the financial sector such as Goldman Sachs, Nomura Holdings, Edelweiss, Deutsche Bank, Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, ICICI, Axis Bank and YES Bank.

He said marketing has drawn renewed interest from the students and was the most sought after profile with 30 per cent accepting offers.

A total of 25 per cent of the students received top notch consulting offers.

"XLRI has once again reinforced its long standing supremacy as the best B-school in Asia-Pacific for Human Resources Recruitments continues to be robust and growing with the participation of major firms in this sector."

Honouring Fr McGrath - Contributing to his Dream - Human Life Centre

Forwarding this message from Prof Shukla.

Folks!
Fr McGrath has been an icon for so many XLers and to XL as such - an institution by himself...
Human Life Centre has been his dream to continue contributing to the society.. one way to honour him would be to support the cause he has been nurturing
I am forwarding Mario Lobo (77batch)'s mail below, please circlate it
maybe our time to pay-back...

thanks
madhukar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mario Lobo


Dear Madhukar,

To honour Fr Mc Grath for the contribution he has made to the lives of most of us, who have had the honour of knowing him and especially to continue the good work he has initiated for the weaker sections of society I am sending in my contribution of Rs 1 lakh. I would actively encourage each one of you to send in whatever contribution you wish to make directly as indicated below. Following is the note I received from the HLC office with the instructions.

The information below will be very helpful for XLRI alumni wanting to give donations to Fr. McGrath - both in India and abroad. It will take care of "wire transfer" in India as well as alumni based abroad who will need the Swift Code and other code details. To be on the safe side, you can mail them the FULL DETAILS below. This way they
will have the complete information.

Name of Account : Human Life Centre

Bank Account No : 0160301000003770

Bank Name & Address : The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd,
Plot No. 622 - B, Janpath,
Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar 751007

Bank Code No. (SWIFT CODE) : LAVBINBB

IFSC Code (for RTGS/NEFT) : LAVB0000160

Bank's MICR Code No. : 751056002

Madhukar, it would be good if you can forward Fr Mc Grath's address and Bank details to other XLers whose email addresses are available with you. This will enable many more to make their contributions.

With Best Wishes,
Mario

An evening with Abhijit Bhaduri in Bangalore

XLRI Alumni Bangalore Chapter is happy to host XL Alumnus and author Abhijit Bhaduri( currently with Wiro,Bangalore) at the KGA on Friday evening March 19th from 7.30PM onwards

Programme: Fellowship, book reading and  Q & A with Abhijit-featuring excerpts from his latest book, Married but Available. .Abhijit is trying to get books through his publisher at a discount for this event which he will sign for all those buying a copy, but this is subject to confirmation.

Those who attended the last HH, a few years ago, featuring him after his first book, will recall it as a very enjoyable evening.This will be followed by cocktails and dinner.

http://abhijitbhaduri.com/category/best-seller-lists/


Venue: First Floor Party Hall at the main clubhouse, plenty of parking is available.

Dress Code: Casual-shoes and collared T shirts are fine, open neck T-shirts are not allowed

Cover charge,Rs 250 per head including dinner and soft drinks, liquor available at extra charge

Please email me confirmations since we need to make arrangements for the dinner. If anyone has any questions please ask.

Thanks
George

P.S. Important: This is likely to be the last HH before the Summer Alumni Dinner in May, and we welcome any volunteers who can help direct the effort to make this summer's dinner a big success..

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Anurag Malik (IR 98) interviewed in HT - Mr Fix-It

When I opened the paper, I realised it was a familiar face staring back at me, albeit after 8-9 years.

From the Hindustan Times

Meet Mr Fix-it


Anurag Malik finished his MBA in 1998 from XLRI Jamshedpur and joined a consulting firm after working for a few years in the corporate world. “When I was doing my MBA, a consultant’s career was always an aspiration. But I wanted to get a good grounding in the corporate world, and spent a few years working in it. Those years have given me a good perspective of the mindset and concerns of people on the other side. I believe it has helped me connect better with clients, speak their language, understand their concerns better and recommend solutions that can be implemented,” says Malik, partner – people and organisation, performance improvement, Ernst & Young.


Today, many MBAs and   graduates from other fields, including engineering, prefer management consulting jobs. Mohit Kant, an engineering graduate from a private college in Gurgaon, works in one of India’s top consulting firms, but – for gaining experience –  joined a smaller company first. “An MBA degree from a premier college is supposedly a definite passport to a consulting job. However, engineers, if competent enough, can also make the cut,” says Kant, who also runs an online knowledge and networking portal, consultingnetwork.co.in. 

“The recent years have seen a shift in mindset and consultancies are keen on picking up graduates from good colleges. At Ernst & Young, we lay a lot of emphasis on grooming graduates to take on additional responsibilities. Some graduates who perform well can (even) outdo people with higher qualifications,” says Malik.

“Consulting is probably the only job where you can implement the entire learning you accumulate in a B-school. Every project demands a different approach. No wonder then that all top rankers in management colleges give the thumbs up to jobs in consulting,” says Gyanesh Sinha, a final-year student at Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, who interned with Arthur D Little, a  consulting firm, last summer. He recently got placed at Accenture Business Consulting. 

One of the major reasons  why MBAs are so keen to take up management consulting is the exposure it offers. “Learning and professional growth aspects are quite extraordinary. Arguably, one year of management consulting is expected to be equal to multiple years in a traditional business environment,” adds Malik.
The wide scope of a consultant’s work profile makes the job enriching as well as intellectually stimulating. The major thrust is on ensuring maximum returns on investments for one’s clients. Many a time, the fee a consulting firm charges depends entirely on the profitability it commits to the client. For example, when a consulting firm commits that the client’s sales will grow by 20 per cent after their suggestions are implemented, the firm would charge an “X” amount.

This would increase if the sales jump is of 30 per cent.
This makes consulting as demanding as a sales job. “You have to deliver results, without which consulting has no meaning. Sometimes, we also have to execute the plan to prove that the said plan will actually work,” says Sumit Sagar, an associate at a big consulting firm in Delhi.

Consulting jobs also help people when they choose to become entrepreneurs. “In a few years’ time, one can learn everything there is to know about running a business and can even start one’s own enterprise. Coming back to a corporate job is also not difficult,” says Prof Ajay Singh, who teaches HR management at IIM Lucknow’s Noida campus.  “In a consulting firm, you end up learning a lot about  how businesses are run. After that, entrepreneurship is a very logical shift for any successful consultant, especially when one discovers that one’s strategies are bearing fruit in companies across different sectors,” says Kant.

What's it about?Management consultants help organisations improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing business problems and development of plans.
Organisations hire management consultants to seek external, objective advice and access to the consultants’ specialised expertise. Consultancies also provide organisational change management assistance, development of coaching skills, technology implementations, strategy development, or operations improvement services.

Clock Work
9 am:      Meeting with team to decide plan of action for the day/ week/ project
10 am:    Conduct thorough research on the industry vertical
2 pm:      Study company reports and analyse them
3 pm:      Share the results with mentor to assess the plan of action
4 pm:      Resume study, analysis, try and figure out solutions to solve ‘X’ company’s problem
6 pm:      Leave for home
7 pm:      Read books and journals to know more about the changes in the industry vertical

The PayoffInitially one can earn as much as Rs 5 to Rs 8 lakh per annum and take home Rs 10 lakh to 15 lakh per annum in a few years time. The salary increases rapidly with experience. “If you are a high performer in this business and have the zeal to succeed, the sky is the limit. A high performer, within 10 years, can clearly aspire to take on a leadership position,” says Anurag Malik, Partner - people & organisation, performance improvement, Ernst & Young

Skills
.
    You need to have an analytical mind as you will be required to study and analyse industry trends and identify company-specific problems
.    Stay calm and give hundred per cent to your work as it can be quite strenuous
.    Have various fields of interest as you will be made to work on projects belonging to completely different domains. One project could test your knowledge in
     marketing, while the other might test your skills in operations
.    You’ll require excellent communication skills as you have to be clear in conveying your ideas and thoughts to clients, listen to them and  provide guidance
.     Industry experts need to have excellent learning skills as they have to update your knowledge on a regular basis

How do i get there?
A management degree from a premier institute is a sure shot way of bagging a consulting job. You can otherwise take up engineering and join as an analyst. After an MBA, you generally get placed at a senior position, like an associate or a consultant

Institutes urls
.
    Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahemdabad, Bangalore Calcutta, Lucknow and Indore
     (www.iimahd.ernet.in) and others
.    Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi
     (www.fms.edu)
.    Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
     (www.mdi.ac.in)
.    IMI, Delhi
     (www.imi.edu)
.    XLRI, Jamshedpur
     (www.xlri.ac.in)
.    IMT, Ghaziabad 
     (www.imt.edu)

Pros & Cons
.   Good money makes it one of the most attractive career options for MBAs
.   Allows exposure to different domains of business, which makes consulting an enriching job
.   Very demanding. It’s highly result-oriented and you have to perform well consistently. You can’t afford to make mistakes

What other qualification (besides an MBA) can help aspiring management consultants?
Most client problems require holistic business understanding and appreciation. Given this nature of consulting, mostly people with diverse backgrounds are valued. It’s common to find MBAs, CAs, psychology graduates, PhDs etc in consulting firms. More than a particular educational background, what is required is a problem-solving attitude, a passion for working in a certain area, working with different sets of issues and other such skill sets.

There are several management graduates who take up consulting because it looks like an attractive career from the outside, but later they find they are not suited for the profession.

Is life as a management consultant quite hectic? The life of a consultant can indeed get hectic at times. Working with multiple clients, tackling different sets of issues each day, dealing with different teams and people on a regular basis, busy travel schedules, stringent deadlines etc, can get to you at times. But then, these are the same things that make up the charm of being a consultant.

What are the growth avenues like in this sector? Where can one reach in 10 years?
Growth in consulting is quite rapid. Much of this is because of the steep learning curve in consulting. In 12 to 15 years, bright candidates go on to become partners in consulting firms.

What about the future of consulting in India?
India is amongst fastest growing economies in the world. There is tremendous amount of work to be done at every stage in ‘India Inc’ to create expertise and skill sets for the next levels. Consultants have a huge role to play in the years to come. India will continue to be amongst the fastest growing economies and that bodes well for them.

Rohit Jain, business leader, north and east India, consulting, Hewitt Associates Interviewed by Vimal Joshi

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