From The Sun Herald
ISTS Worldwide, Inc., a retail and payments technology services provider announced the appointment of Akash Jain as president of ISTS. The appointment is effective immediately and is a newly created position for ISTS.
In this new role, Akash will be responsible for growing the business in rest of the world outside of North America, Strategy and Development of IP, heading India business and delivery operations.
Akash will report to the CEO, Viren Rana and will be based out of ISTS's India headquarters in Noida, India, while Viren will be based out of ISTS's Corporate Office in Fremont, CA. Having ISTS's two most senior executives based in different corporate headquarters reflects the true global nature of ISTS's business.
*
“I have known Akash professionally for nearly 15 years, and his rich background in Payments and Loyalty will add significant value to ISTS. I look forward to working closely with him and to ISTS becoming a global player with technology and business services in this domain,” said Viren.
Akash brings more than 22 years of professional experience in the software services industry, having worked for companies like MasterCard, Reliance and being an entrepreneur before becoming an IT Strategy consultant in 2009. Over the years, Akash has held various positions in technology leadership. He was instrumental in setting up a captive IT and managed services center for MasterCard in India, and for launching many technology-driven, innovative financial products at Reliance. Akash has also managed independent P&Ls, having built practices from scratch in the US. His early background includes hands-on experience at all levels of SDLC implementations.
Akash is an Economics graduate from Delhi University and holds an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur in India.
“I am happy to be associated with ISTS, an organization that is on the cusp of a significant leap in its services and relationships,” said Akash. “I look forward to working with employees and customers of the organization, most of whom have a long and deep relationship with ISTS.”
About ISTS
ISTS Worldwide (www.istsinc.com) is a domain driven - end to end IT consulting and services organization, providing strategy, custom development, integration and global execution capabilities for the retail-payments industry. Its capabilities span around the following areas: POS, Payment terminals, Acquiring and issuance systems, Card management systems, Payment switches, Loyalty, Mobile payments and ecommerce.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
XLRI students to conduct project to study human behaviour, seek solutions to problems
From The Pioneer
As a unique initiative at the B-School XLRI, the students of the organisational behaviour course for the 1st-year students are taking a social project to learn about human behaviour, and about themselves. Prof MG Jomon has asked the class to break into 12 teams and do a social live project to learn about.
“We have prepared out a list of programmes to be carried out in different areas. Our objective is to help students learn about human behaviour. The students will mingle with the people and try to understand their problems and help them overcome it,” said Madhukar Shukla, Professor, Organisational Behaviour, XLRI.
Professor Jomon said they would soon organise a fun fair at Kalyan Niketan, run by All India Women’s Conference in Kadma.
The first phase of the project will involve identifying an orphanage in Jamshedpur and encouraging the inmates to participate in various fun-filled programmes.
“We will then get into talks with one of the orphanages for organising the event. The logistics will be worked out to evaluate the resources needed and finalise the event's schedule. Funds for organising the event will be collected,” said a student.
The B-school also plans to organise a daylong eye-checking camp for underprivileged children on the premises of Gyan Deep Vidyalaya in Birsanagar. Opticians and doctors would be present at the camp to check the students and to offer them the necessary diagnosis.
“We are conducting a career counselling session, psychometric test to make the students aware of the different career opportunities available to them. It will be conducted among students of class 10 and 12 and their concerns regarding different career paths will be addressed. Moreover they will be guided regarding the suitable career path for them by a psychometric test which will be conducted and a comprehensive study of various career opprtunities will be provided to them through brochures, website etc. We will be in continuous touch with them even after the completion of this project through our website,” said another student.
While another group of students will partner with a school for the visually challenged/an NGO working for the visually challenged and make educational resources available to them. Very books are available in Braille.
The students propose to procure books and make audio recordings which can be played in classes to impart knowledge to the visually challenged.
As a unique initiative at the B-School XLRI, the students of the organisational behaviour course for the 1st-year students are taking a social project to learn about human behaviour, and about themselves. Prof MG Jomon has asked the class to break into 12 teams and do a social live project to learn about.
“We have prepared out a list of programmes to be carried out in different areas. Our objective is to help students learn about human behaviour. The students will mingle with the people and try to understand their problems and help them overcome it,” said Madhukar Shukla, Professor, Organisational Behaviour, XLRI.
Professor Jomon said they would soon organise a fun fair at Kalyan Niketan, run by All India Women’s Conference in Kadma.
The first phase of the project will involve identifying an orphanage in Jamshedpur and encouraging the inmates to participate in various fun-filled programmes.
“We will then get into talks with one of the orphanages for organising the event. The logistics will be worked out to evaluate the resources needed and finalise the event's schedule. Funds for organising the event will be collected,” said a student.
The B-school also plans to organise a daylong eye-checking camp for underprivileged children on the premises of Gyan Deep Vidyalaya in Birsanagar. Opticians and doctors would be present at the camp to check the students and to offer them the necessary diagnosis.
“We are conducting a career counselling session, psychometric test to make the students aware of the different career opportunities available to them. It will be conducted among students of class 10 and 12 and their concerns regarding different career paths will be addressed. Moreover they will be guided regarding the suitable career path for them by a psychometric test which will be conducted and a comprehensive study of various career opprtunities will be provided to them through brochures, website etc. We will be in continuous touch with them even after the completion of this project through our website,” said another student.
While another group of students will partner with a school for the visually challenged/an NGO working for the visually challenged and make educational resources available to them. Very books are available in Braille.
The students propose to procure books and make audio recordings which can be played in classes to impart knowledge to the visually challenged.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Young India Inc (XLRI) backs needy kids
From The Telegraph
 |
| Preparations for Kshitij are on in full swing at XLRI in Jamshedpur on Friday. Picture by Bhola Prasad |
Jamshedpur, Aug. 20: More than 400 underprivileged students across 40 schools from the steel city have a date with Kshitij, the annual flagship extravaganza with a conscience, to be hosted by the CII’sYoung Indians Team at XLRI tomorrow.
Jusco chairman and Tinplate Company of India Ltd director Bushen Raina will inaugurate the daylong event, now in its third year, at the Tata Auditorium, while prizes worth more than Rs 35,000 will be distributed by East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Himani Pandey.
Tinplate is this year’s official sponsor of the event, which, as its name suggests, seeks to help less-privileged schoolchildren reach new horizons of achievement through a host of competitions such as quizzing, painting, singing and dancing.
Aishwarya Kalyan, a member of the external linkages cell of the premier B-school said that the CII Young Indians network in XLRI was led by student Harsh Jhawar under the guidance of professor M.G. Jomon, and comprised 26 team members across management streams of XLRI. The CII Young Indians’ XLRI chapter worked to provide a leadership platform to young minds at the B-school, with a focus on nation building initiatives, including socially relevant development projects in the areas of education, employability, youth affairs and health.
Kshitij is an important vehicle and platform to fulfill those ends, say organisers, as it actively involves children of vernacular medium schools and project schools of the steel city.
“Kshitij helps boost confidence among students who hail from the economically weaker sections of society. They have talent, but they need opportunities and encouragement to display and hone it. This platform can really help them strive for betterment in their lives,” said a senior professor of the B-school.
Last year’s event had been a resounding success, said the organisers, which prompted them to reach out to more less-privileged students this year.
Members of the external linkages cell said, it was only because of sustained efforts of the Young Indians network at XLRI that Kshitij is being able to help more children every year. Active involvement from the faculty and students at XLRI and generous support from the industry have made this event a success, they said.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Prof. P Venugopal's new book - Marketing Management - A Decision-making Approach
Being retailed at SAGE Publications
A contemporary discourse on the rapidly changing environment of the world of marketing, this book provides the mantra to transform short-run sales into long-term marketing growth. Starting with the basics of marketing, it takes the reader on a smooth journey to understand various strategies of correct 'decision-making' in the market. In doing that, it provides an in-depth analysis of how to build a sustainable customer base in the ever-growing competitiveness and dynamism of the Indian marketing arena.
The author defines marketing to include all activities associated with identifying the needs of the target customers and making them 'want' the product. Thus, the book redefines the need hierarchy, allowing marketers to look at their technical product as more than one marketing product, and develop a marketing product concept.
Table of Contents
This is Prof. Venugopal's THIRD book release for SAGE after
1. Sales and Distribution Management, Response - An Indian Perspective
2. Managing your Sales Force - A Motivational Approach
From XLRI Jamshedpur - News and Latest Updates
Prof P Venugopal is a Post Graduate and Fellow in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, is currently the Dean (Academics) and Professor (Marketing) at XLRI, Jamshedpur. He has been a Marketing faculty at XLRI, Jamshedpur, since 1994. He was the Dean (Academics), XLRI during 2004-2010. Prior to his stint at XLRI, Prof. Venugopal held managerial positions for 10 years in the marketing divisions of two agribusiness companies.
Professor Venugopal has authored four books, including “Marketing Channel Management: A Customer Centric Approach” and “Input Management, The State of the Indian Farmer: A Millennium study”, and has also been involved as a consultant with several projects for both the profit and non-profit sectors.
A contemporary discourse on the rapidly changing environment of the world of marketing, this book provides the mantra to transform short-run sales into long-term marketing growth. Starting with the basics of marketing, it takes the reader on a smooth journey to understand various strategies of correct 'decision-making' in the market. In doing that, it provides an in-depth analysis of how to build a sustainable customer base in the ever-growing competitiveness and dynamism of the Indian marketing arena.
The author defines marketing to include all activities associated with identifying the needs of the target customers and making them 'want' the product. Thus, the book redefines the need hierarchy, allowing marketers to look at their technical product as more than one marketing product, and develop a marketing product concept.
Table of Contents
| 1: UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS: Needs, Wants and Need Hierarchy | |||
| Marketing Product | |||
| 2: UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET: Marketing Environment | |||
| SWOT Analysis | |||
| Purchase Process | |||
| Competitive Advantage: Building Entry Barriers | |||
| 3: THE DECISION MAKING: Segmenting and Targeting | |||
| Positioning / Marketing Planning Process |
This is Prof. Venugopal's THIRD book release for SAGE after
1. Sales and Distribution Management, Response - An Indian Perspective
2. Managing your Sales Force - A Motivational Approach
From XLRI Jamshedpur - News and Latest Updates
Prof P Venugopal is a Post Graduate and Fellow in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, is currently the Dean (Academics) and Professor (Marketing) at XLRI, Jamshedpur. He has been a Marketing faculty at XLRI, Jamshedpur, since 1994. He was the Dean (Academics), XLRI during 2004-2010. Prior to his stint at XLRI, Prof. Venugopal held managerial positions for 10 years in the marketing divisions of two agribusiness companies.
Professor Venugopal has authored four books, including “Marketing Channel Management: A Customer Centric Approach” and “Input Management, The State of the Indian Farmer: A Millennium study”, and has also been involved as a consultant with several projects for both the profit and non-profit sectors.
Friday, August 13, 2010
XLer's Social Venture Products @ The Red Bean, Hyderabad (Aug 12-17)
Folks,
one of our '04 batch alumnus, Malavika Sharma, now runs a social venture, RAICO, at Ranchi - which is in rural handicraft sector; RAICO works with 360 rural women, provides them with training and design.
RAICO products will be on sale during the Indian Food Festival at THE RED BEAN in Hyderabad as part of their Indian Food festival – 12th August to 17th August
THE RED BEAN,
Level 3 & 4,
“GACHIBOWLI CENTRAL”,
Vinayak Nagar, Near Subway,
Gachibowli, Hyderabad
Product lines (hand embroidered and Zardozi work):
Kurtas – for ladies and gents / Suit pieces / Saris and stoles / T-shirts / Dokra work / Chawoo masks / Jewelry (bead jewelry – shell, wood, glass etc) and lac bangles / Madhubani paintings and garments etc
for a sneak peak to the kind of saris please goto the URL:
and for Gents kurtas:
RAICO also takes orders – so you can order at the stall or directly send your request to Malavika (malavika_s0 [at] yahoo.com )
You can contact Manjesh at +91 9507037903 who would be managing the stall – for more details.
ciao
madhukar
Dr Vanita Viswanath @ XLRI
From The Pioneer
‘Innovation important for promotion of woman enterprises’
PNS | Jamshedpur
Vanita Viswanath, the CEO of Udyogini, in an interaction with the students of XLRI on Wednesday said that to make the ventures of the women entrepreneurs sustainable, it is more appropriate to focus on helping the women enterprise groups to systematise and innovate business processes for efficiency and cost-cutting, than on merely increasing the “turnover”.
She also discussed the challenges in developing rural women entrepreneurs. She shared that scale and making the products available in large volumes is a major challenge. The key to overcome this is to create and target intermediate level markets (e.g, markets at block or district levels), rather than markets with large volume buyers.
Low education, illiteracy among the women, and dependence of professionals (who come at a high cost) are some of the other challenges. Viswanath described Udyogini’s initiative in Jharkhand, and specifically talked about the Udyogini School of Entrepreneurship which is being started in Bundu on Jamshedpur-Ranchi highway. The School will be supported by Intel.
After the interaction with the students in the class, Vanita Viswanath, who was accompanied by two of her colleagues from Jharkhand field office, also discussed possible collaboration with the students and faculty of XLRI in terms of research, internship and involvement in the Udyogini School of Entrepreneurship.
Vanita Viswanath also shared Udyogini’s experience with various initiatives such as formation of women’s trade-based enterprise groups in various parts of country, e.g., workingVanita Viswanath is a PhD from University of Texas at Austin (USA), and has worked for more than 20 years in the field of women’s issues and micro-enterprises. Before joining Udyogini has served as consultant and advisor to many international agencies. She was also micro-enterprise consultant with the World Bank in early 1990s. She has also written many books and articles on gender issues in development, micro-enterprises, and poverty alleviation.
Udyogini was founded in 1992, and works to empower poor women in secluded rural areas through helping them to create their own micro-enterprises, provides them with training and capacity building, credit and market-linkages.
At present, Udyogini works in seven States of the country (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam). Though started recently, its Jharkhand field-office has become the second largest, after Madhya Pradesh.
Udyogini works with a target of 6-8 years support to the rural women who want to become entrepreneurs during which time they must become sustainable ventures, and become entrepreneurs in their own right. It does so by promoting women enterprise groups to achieve scale of produce (e.g., textiles, crafts, agriculture produce, NTFPs, etc.)
‘Innovation important for promotion of woman enterprises’
PNS | Jamshedpur
Vanita Viswanath, the CEO of Udyogini, in an interaction with the students of XLRI on Wednesday said that to make the ventures of the women entrepreneurs sustainable, it is more appropriate to focus on helping the women enterprise groups to systematise and innovate business processes for efficiency and cost-cutting, than on merely increasing the “turnover”.
She also discussed the challenges in developing rural women entrepreneurs. She shared that scale and making the products available in large volumes is a major challenge. The key to overcome this is to create and target intermediate level markets (e.g, markets at block or district levels), rather than markets with large volume buyers.
Low education, illiteracy among the women, and dependence of professionals (who come at a high cost) are some of the other challenges. Viswanath described Udyogini’s initiative in Jharkhand, and specifically talked about the Udyogini School of Entrepreneurship which is being started in Bundu on Jamshedpur-Ranchi highway. The School will be supported by Intel.
After the interaction with the students in the class, Vanita Viswanath, who was accompanied by two of her colleagues from Jharkhand field office, also discussed possible collaboration with the students and faculty of XLRI in terms of research, internship and involvement in the Udyogini School of Entrepreneurship.
Vanita Viswanath also shared Udyogini’s experience with various initiatives such as formation of women’s trade-based enterprise groups in various parts of country, e.g., workingVanita Viswanath is a PhD from University of Texas at Austin (USA), and has worked for more than 20 years in the field of women’s issues and micro-enterprises. Before joining Udyogini has served as consultant and advisor to many international agencies. She was also micro-enterprise consultant with the World Bank in early 1990s. She has also written many books and articles on gender issues in development, micro-enterprises, and poverty alleviation.
Udyogini was founded in 1992, and works to empower poor women in secluded rural areas through helping them to create their own micro-enterprises, provides them with training and capacity building, credit and market-linkages.
At present, Udyogini works in seven States of the country (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam). Though started recently, its Jharkhand field-office has become the second largest, after Madhya Pradesh.
Udyogini works with a target of 6-8 years support to the rural women who want to become entrepreneurs during which time they must become sustainable ventures, and become entrepreneurs in their own right. It does so by promoting women enterprise groups to achieve scale of produce (e.g., textiles, crafts, agriculture produce, NTFPs, etc.)
Support XLRI Alumnus Relief Work in Leh
Folks,
I am writing with an appeal to support the relief work which two of our alumnus - Gargi Banerji (88batch) and Sunil Pillai (87batch) - are doing. Their venture www.Pragya.org has been involved with sustainable development for the indegenous communities in the Himalayan region for more than a decade - and has earned international recognitions for their work.
Will be grateful for your support. Mail by L Prabhakar (88PMIR) is pasted below.
ciao
madhukar
=========================
You must be aware of the pioneering work being done in the Himalayan region and at Leh by PRAGYA (www.pragya.org), a not-for-profit organisation started by Gargi
(XL-88) and Sunil Pillai (XL-87).
The on the ground situation is truly bleak after the recent natural calamity.
To give you an idea, a migrant worker camp in Phyang village (one of the places where PRAGYA delivers education and health services) had 250 inmates, of which only 104 have survived. Several villages have been destroyed and many families have lost everything - houses, crops, belongings - and half their members as well.
PRAGYA has taken up rescue and relief operations through its field office in Leh. Pragya Leh staff and members from Gurgaon / other offices have put together a volunteer team that is carrying out rescue and evacuation of survivors to hospitals in the area, and supply of essentials (medicines, blankets, food, hygiene kits, etc.). There is enormous work to be done for reconstruction and helping the people of Leh get back on their feet.
They could do with additional help from every quarter.
Contributions could be in cash and kind. They have a list of relief requirements for the immediate relief (essential supplies)- but those who would want to
contribute in kind would need to check the need status on the day of contribution.
Contributions in cash could be be to following account:
Account name: Pragya R
Account no.: 002105000370
Bank: ICICI Bank Ltd.
(The above account is valid only for in-country contributions)
The Pragya Leh Relief Team is being coordinated by Nimisha Srivastava (office:
0124-4574518, mobile: 9213136468), and those interested in helping may contact
her.
In case, you are not able to get through, please do drop a mail to
Gargi (gargi@pragya.org) or L Prabhakar (prabhakarlinga@yahoo.com)
Thanks and regards,
Prabhakar (XL-88)
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Apollo partners with XLRI to conduct management programmes
From Vebtoday.com
Hyderabad, Aug 4 : Apollo Hospitals Group has announced its partnership with XLRI Jamshedpur to conduct management programmes for Apollo’s practicing managers.
Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Director (Operations) Sangita Reddy and XLRI Jamshedpur Director Fr E Abraham S J have signed the MoU yesterday to mark the partnership at Apollo Health City here.
The tie-up is a part of Apollo’s Talent Management Programme that aims to nurture in-house talent.
’’This unique tie-up is a path-breaking initiative to address the need for professionally trained hospital managers, which is being increasingly felt in Indian healthcare,’’ Ms Reddy said.
She said professional training for practicing managers will be an important step to improve standards in managerial and functional areas of healthcare, which in turn will go a long way in boosting operational excellence and care delivery.
According to a CII report, employment in healthcare is expected to increase by at least 2.5 million by 2012, which is indicative of the demand for professionals in this space.
Currently, India has about 400 healthcare managers graduating every year, while the need is for 8,000.
Hyderabad, Aug 4 : Apollo Hospitals Group has announced its partnership with XLRI Jamshedpur to conduct management programmes for Apollo’s practicing managers.
Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Director (Operations) Sangita Reddy and XLRI Jamshedpur Director Fr E Abraham S J have signed the MoU yesterday to mark the partnership at Apollo Health City here.
The tie-up is a part of Apollo’s Talent Management Programme that aims to nurture in-house talent.
’’This unique tie-up is a path-breaking initiative to address the need for professionally trained hospital managers, which is being increasingly felt in Indian healthcare,’’ Ms Reddy said.
She said professional training for practicing managers will be an important step to improve standards in managerial and functional areas of healthcare, which in turn will go a long way in boosting operational excellence and care delivery.
According to a CII report, employment in healthcare is expected to increase by at least 2.5 million by 2012, which is indicative of the demand for professionals in this space.
Currently, India has about 400 healthcare managers graduating every year, while the need is for 8,000.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
