Republic Day Celebrations

The students of SIMSREE could feel the patriotic vibes run through their body right as the Republic day celebrations kicked in with the hoisting of the tricolor marking the 63^rd anniversary of India getting its own Constitution. The rest of the day was filled with power packed action. Two heart throbbing back to back performances, a solo dance and a duet medley captured everyone’s attention to the fullest.

Following which there was a very intense and adrenaline pumping debate competition, organized by the Students Events committee. The topic for debate was “Changes in law will effectively deter exploitation  of women in India”. The debate surely raised a few eyebrows, if not many as it dwelled deeper into the shocking facts of the recent Delhi rape case, an aching wound for each and every Indian, the memories of which will always haunt the bright future of our nation. It was heartening to know that young generation sympathetically responded to the grave tragedy as they showed their deep concern by expressing their views on how to combat disrespect to Womanhood.

Judging the debate were Mr. Rohit Kumar and Ms. Aparna Dubey. Mr. Rohit Kumar, a TISS alumnus is currently leading the Service Learning Program (SLP) at the Akanksha Foundation and Ms. Aparna Dubey, our very own alumnus of ’95 batch, has worked with Reliance Group for 12 years before turning into an entrepreneur. The batch expressed their sincere condolences to the deceased rape victim by offering a minute of silence. 

As the day ended with the National Anthem, all students went home with a renewed sense of belief in the system and a pledge to try and make India as was envisioned by the leaders. SIMSREE would like to thank the events committee for the wonderful experience.

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Guest Lecture By Mr. Gulzar Karim

SIMCON (SIMSREE Consulting Club) blazed its trail by helping students get a better perspective of consulting as a career options its opportunities and expectations. Mr Gulzar Karim, consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP, USA also our Alumni from the batch 2008 proved to be a great harbinger. He threw light on the evolvement of consultancy as a career option. How the well known audit firms recognized the needs of companies requiring consultancy  mainly in the four main domains viz. Strategy, Operations, IT and HR and therefore leading firms to develop individual knowledge centres

Further the working of consultancy firms was elicited as a two dimensional “Grid Structure” depending on domain function and Industry. Consulting firm’s prime resource is Manpower and Time, so he stressed on Consultants having a perceived skill set such as Team dynamics, analytical skills to name a few. These skills are required in all the roles spanning from analyst to senior consultants, thus giving an overview of the hierarchy involved in a consulting firm. Therefore explaining career path and learning curve for a MBA graduate who looks forward for a future in consultancy firms.

Expectations always go in synchronisation with opportunities; Mr. Gulzar Karim’s showcased the perks and perils associated with working in a consulting firm. One important aspect that was discussed from the point of career option was that Consulting is not just limited to those pursuing Marketing, but many  fractions like Public Private Partnership which has gained impetus in recent times gives students having Finance as Majors a new opportunity.

A real touch was added by Mr Karim sharing his experience in this arena, leading to interesting concepts like shadow costing, feasibility study and Competitor analysis. While we reflected upon the amount of study that goes behind consulting, our discussion briefly touched upon the difference in  working of Consulting firms because of different economies, in USA and India. This is now what we call Out of Class learning without actually moving out!

The highlight being that it was an interactive brain storming session helped each one of us to have a candid picture about Consultancy as a career option. It was indeed a great start by SIMCON and we Thank Mr. Gulzar Karim for making it possible. Looking forward for many more insightful sessions in the future

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HUL presents BSA and DEWANG MEHTA AWARDS

In a salubrious milieu of Taj Lands end, Bandra, a conspicuous event was held on 24^th of November, 2012. HUL’s BSA and Dewang Mehta Award is founded by Dr R. L Bhatia, CEO of Fun and Joy at work, alumnus of SIMSREE. The Business School Affaire (BSA) started 19 years back in the form of 4 contests, but as time passed by newer contests were adapted which encouraged the budding managers to show their skills in every managerial aspect. It has been a successful journey of putting together an effort that aims at a leadership development of the generations to come. In the last 6 years the event is dedicated to the memory of Late Dewang Mehta. He was the head of NASSCOM from 1991 to 2001. He is credited with a large portion of India's momentous rise as a "software giant". His vision for India is- Young India which will shape the destiny and the Future. It’s his vision and belief in the young minds of India that forms the soul and purpose of this award.

This vision was well conceptualised, and the witness to it would be a roaring participation across pan India, including the top Management schools. The room was filled with a sense of pride for their respective colleges, and the energy that students and professors showcased was magnified throughout the function.

SIMSREE also exhibited its presence by bagging three prizes, SIMSREE known for its Student-driven approach bagged the award for "Business school which encourages innovations that lead to better development" and special kudos to our own SIMSREE-ites, Pranav Koli and Prathamesh Bhute for securing 1st Place in Presentation contest on the topic Brand Reputation-Present and future, and also to Nupur Khare and Vinit Arondekar for 2nd Place in Research based Paper Presentation on the topic Brand New World, emerging trends of marketing were well highlighted by both the teams.

At such an event it is not just about winning; it is about the participation and efforts that were put. Above all this, it mirrored the potential and new ideas we as budding managers have to offer to this industry, where it is not all about survival of the fittest!

This event was a great success because of Dr. Prasad Medury’s (Partner-AMROP India Consultants Pvt Ltd) selfless effort and dedication and the Patron Harish Mehta’s(Chairman and MD, Onward technologies) vision in developing future leaders through his efforts. This event was indeed dedicated to the spirit of Young India!

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Guest Lecture By Mr.Patrick Bieg

On the 12^th of January 2013 SIMSREE students had the pleasure of interacting with Mr. Patrick Bieg accompanied by SIMSREE’s 2009 batch alumnus, Mr. Ravindra Dolare. Mr. Bieg, who achieved his masters in finance from Germany, has previously worked with multinationals like Hugo Boss, Audi and is currently working with Volkswagen in Germany.

The sole purpose of his visit was to guide and educate the students regarding opportunities that are available abroad and how one should go about taking up different courses if one has an interest in working abroad. He broadly spoke on three things: International environment, Personal development and Cultural differences. He spoke on how globalization has changed the face of the world. He spoke about the GDP trends of different developing nations and the growing trend in the students flying abroad for higher studies. He explained how India is facing fierce competition from China.

He went on explaining in detail how one must plan their visit to a foreign country and the importance of planning. He explained the fundamentals of studying in a foreign country starting right from the plethora of various options (courses) available to preparing a proper budget. He informed the students about the mentorship programs available abroad. He deciphered the apprehensions regarding the high costs involved in studying abroad and various other option that are available like scholarships and even free education.

He further clarified that top designations in most of the big & reputed companies around the globe are not achieved by mere hard work, but won by very strong networks that one makes and how one can be benefited by study programs abroad in creating good networks. He demystified that the percentage of hard work that goes into big promotions is just around 20, while the rest is determined by how strong network one has, ones academics, how well one markets oneself and many such parameters.

He further spoke on the cultural differences that one has to cope with and how one should go about researching a country’s different cultures beforehand. He explained about the prospect of growth and the scope for personal development that one has in a study program abroad. He later went on answering some of the most practical queries & apprehensions that students had in their minds regarding studying abroad. The doubts in the mind of all the students were cleared to more than satisfaction.

 All in all it was a really interesting lecture and the students will surely look forward to more of such lectures in the future. SIMSREE would like to thank Mr. Ravindra Dolare’s sincere efforts to make this lecture total success.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Vaibhav Tembulkar

Retail industry forms one of the strongest pillars of Indian economy contributing to almost 15% of the GDP. Since late 90s organized retail is growing phenomenally; and with the onset of online retail it is definitely one of the most lucrative career options for MBA Graduates. Hence, SIMSREE students were very thankful to Mr. Vaibhav Tembulkar, Trading Head, Non-food, HyperCITY retail (India) Ltd; for his session on Modern Retail – A New Innings and Supply Chain Challenges. Mr. Tembulkar, an alumnus of 1997 Batch has a diverse experience, having worked with organizations like Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, Prestige and Wadhawan Retail (P) Ltd.

Mr. Tembulkar started the session on a light note reminiscing about his days at SIMSREE, contrasting his experiences with what he saw today. He was happy to see the tremendous improvements in infrastructure. He went on to ask the students a few questions about retail industry and their views about FDI and its impact on the existing players. He made sure that all the queries that were gnawing the students’ minds about retail were properly addressed.

Mr. Tembulkar emphasised on the importance of having an efficient supply chain for an industry like retail, where optimum utilization of inventory has a major impact on the bottom line. He started the discussion by comparing the level of organised sector in India which is around 6% of the total as opposed to Countries like US where almost 85% of retail is organised. He touched upon the various inefficiencies in the supply chain and the immense wastage that it leads to especially for perishable items like food. He also said he viewed the FDI in retail more as an opportunity than threat as this move would definitely improve the back end infrastructure and supply chain leading to a more inclusive growth for everybody in the value chain.

Mr. Tembulkar definitely surged our interest in the industry, and we look forward to more such sessions with him.  

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Kalyan Prasath

On 9^th January 2013, SIMSREE had the pleasure to have Mr. Kalyan Prasath, Sr. Vice President & Head Information Technology at ICICI Prudential AMC Limited on campus. Mr.Kalyan joined ICICI Prudential AMC in June 2001.Mr.Kalyan Prasath holds a Diploma in Business Management from ICFAI and Post Graduate Diploma in Systems Management from NIIT. He has 27 years of experience across industries like IT, manufacturing and banking & financial services.

Mr. Kalyan Prasath started his interactive session by asking the students about their expectations from the session and their doubts. He kept his promise and successfully answered the queries of the students in the entire session.

First he talked about planning and the risk associated with it. He said that mitigation is very important and should be a part of the plan. Then he explained that there are three types of risks; mitigable, minimizable and unavoidable. He emphasized on the concept of ‘Plan B’ and its importance. Moving forward, he talked about the technological advancements and said “Technology, IT is an open ground and can be used as a pitch for playing different games.”

When asked about the success mantra for growth of oneself in an organization he rightly answered that the CEOs and the upper management are concerned with the outcomes more than the technical details and the processes, so for a successful transition to the upper designations, one should learn how to speak in the language of the seniors. He also emphasized on efficient decision making and said that successful people are highly decisive and for decision making, managers should not float on the surface but should deep dive. He also further threw light on the role of IT in a financial organization, ERP packages in the banking industry. He also explained the role of IT in supply chain management.

This interactive session solved a lot of queries of the students of SIMSREE. It was a very insightful session and we look forward to more such sessions.

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Coffee With Alumni - Inaugural Session with Mr. Ashish Bhasin

The Alumni Committee has taken a step forward to increase alumni-student interaction by creating a complete new avenue 'Coffee with Alumni'. It is a session of alumni-student interaction over a cup of coffee. Students can meet very senior alumni and get inspired by their views and thoughts. Students can ask queries, get their views validated and spend quality time in a meaningful conversation.

It was a golden opportunity for 8 students of SIMSREE batch of 2012-14, to interact with Mr. Ashish Bhasin, alumnus of 1988 batch and Chairman India & CEO South East Asia at Aegis Group plc., during the inaugural session of ‘Coffee with Alumni’ - an initiative by the alumni committee. The discussion revolved around the past, present and future scope in media, advertising and marketing fields.

The conversation began with a brief introduction on media sector in India and how it differed from the other Asian economies. Mr. Bhasin said that the basic emotions remain same across these countries but marketers need to know the basic nuances which are different. Also, he shared his experiences - through various ups and downs during economic slowdowns during the past 2 decades. According to him, the three most important things to survive and progress in the media sector are having resilience, having the ability to withstand stress and being well read. He told that one of the problems faced by the sector today is to find quality people.

Mr. Bhasin explained how emotions play a role in advertising through examples of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and luxury cars. He told that, today, digital marketing has become a fast-growing & powerful tool for marketers to communicate and reach customers. He also said that people management is one of the key factors in determining one’s success because apart from managing people it involves managing situations too.

It was indeed a very insightful session and students had valuable takeaways from it. We are definitely looking forward to have many more such conversations in future. 

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