Guest Lecture by Mr. Salil Kallianpur

The Corporate Relations Committtee, SIMSREE organized a Guest Lecture by Mr. Salil Kallianpur, Commercial Head – Classic Brands and Established Products, GlaxoSmithKline at SIMSREE on 7th January, 2014. He leads the commercialization of GSK’s off-patent (classic) products and branded generic products in four therapy areas- Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Metabolism and Virology across geography of emerging markets. The topic of interaction was “Changing Landscape of Pharmaceutical Industry”. 

Mr. Kallianpur spoke on the gamut of opportunities available for management graduates in the pharmaceutical sector. He began the session with how the pharma sector had thrived in spite of the global economic downturn. In spite of the presence of about 23000 pharmaceutical companies in India, only 30% of the 1.2 billion Indian population has access to basic medicines. The major reason for this is policy paralysis and the only solution to this is Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

Currently, India spends only 0.9% of its GDP on health care and the government has plans to increase this amount to 1.58% of the GDP in the next five years. However, the WHO recommends that 6% of the GDP should be spent on Healthcare. He explained how the pharma companies thrive despite the increase in the number of essential medicines (whose prices are regulated) from 74 to 378 by the Drug Price Control Order. The concept of Evergreen Patenting (and how ethical is it?) along with section 3D was explained in details. He stated that the top 10 companies together have 39% market share and the leading company enjoys a market share of only 5.1%. In the end there was a Q&A round and he enthusiastically answered all the queries put forth by the students. He also shared ideas about the possible entrepreneurial initiatives in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Corporate Relations Committee, along with the whole batch is thankful to Mr. Salil Kallianpur for taking out time from his busy schedule and presenting an insightful session on the pharmaceutical sector.

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Strengths Workshop for Career Development by Mr. Ganesh Ramakrishnan

The Corporate Relations Committee, SIMSREE organized a workshop on “Strengths Workshop for Career Development” on January 5, 2014 for the first year students. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Ganesh Ramakrishnan who is Senior Director, Human Resources at Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd. He has spent over 24 years in the IT industry in various areas of the business including software development, product architecture, quality management, pre-sales and relationship management. In recent years he has conducted workshops on strengths approach for career development under the aegis of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and HR Infotech Association.

Mr. Ramakrishnan began by giving us an overview on what exactly is the Strengths Approach. It is an innovative and practical tool for helping one with one’s career planning and development over one’s lifelong journey. It provides useful guidelines that are based on research, to identify areas to attain excellence. The workshop involved lots of interesting activities that were done by each participant individually and in groups, to aid self-exploration and self-understanding.

While tracing the path to excellence, he made the citation from the movie ‘3 Idiots’ – ‘Don’t run after Success, run after Excellence, success will follow you’. Building on one’s strengths helps one to achieve excellence. Strength is not having some attribute or ability. In strengths’ approach, strength is a consistent, outstanding performance using the abilities that one is good at or those in which one has a natural preference. Any job requires numerous competencies but if one were to aspire to achieve excellence in all of them one would end up with excelling in none. Mr Ramakrishnan illustrated this with the example of people with outstanding performance in various fields. He emphasized that their excellence stands out in some areas but their performance in other areas is average.

Talents, skills and knowledge are components that make up strengths. Mr. Ramakrishnan elucidated how to identify one’s dominant talents. He stressed that one should be sincere and honest with one’s inner-self and pointed up that self-awareness is a lifelong journey. He expressed that ‘Fixing Weakness is damage control and damage control is not the path to Excellence’. We should overcome them to the extent that we do our job well. But there could still be things that one may find difficult or unpleasant despite the efforts. One should work around our weaknesses and retain enough time to build on one’s strengths.

The entire workshop was extremely interactive and quite unique in terms of the learning methodology.
We all, at SIMSREE are indeed thankful to Mr Ganesh Ramakrishnan for sharing his valuable insights through such an interesting workshop.

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Guest Lecture on “DIGITAL MARKETING” by Mr. Gaurav Sharma

On 4th of January, 2014 Corporate Relations Committee, SIMSREE organised a guest lecture for the first year students. The Guest Lecture was conducted by Mr. Gaurav Sharma, General Manager for Digital and Mobility at Omnicom Media Group, which is the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc., one of the “Big Four Agency” companies globally. Prior to joining Omnicom Media Group, Sir has worked as Regional Head for Digital Ad Sales at Disney UTV. Sir has also worked with likes of Media2Win, C2W Digital and Sony BMG. On this occasion, Sir addressed students on the topic: ‘Digital Marketing and its Magic’.

Sir began the session by briefing students about 'The World of Digital Marketing' with the help of examples like online banking, online coupons, e-library and Instant Messengers. He cited a few statistics to explain how mobile internet usage overpowered desktop internet usage in 2012.

Sir explained the use of Digital Marketing by various brands like Titan, Red Bull, Tesco, McDonald’s, Britannia, Burger King, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, VERTU, Evian and Volkswagen with the help of various engaging videos. He shared interesting insights explaining the effective use of social media to reach the masses. Apart from the use of Digital Marketing by various brands, Sir also stressed on the Digital Campaign by Mr. Barack Obama in 2012 and the use of Digital tools and Social Media for bringing about Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. 

While talking about Digital Marketing, Sir also gave 15 Commandments that could be applied while pitching and commencing sales. He explained them with the help of snapshots and videos from Hollywood movies. He also suggested various Career Opportunities that MBA students can look up to in the field of Marketing. Some of the options highlighted were Sales, Content Writing, Programming, Designer, Client Servicing, etc. 

With his immense knowledge and understanding, Sir addressed various doubts of students on Digital Marketing and its reach. The lecture will not just benefit students in understanding Digital Marketing but also exploring the various career opportunities that they could look forward to in near future.

SIMSREE is indeed thankful to Mr. Gaurav Sharma for visiting the campus and sharing his valuable insights with the students.

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'SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT' Session by Mr. Vishwadeep Khatri

Mr. Vishwadeep Khatri, CEO, Benchmark Six Sigma visited SIMSREE on 27th December, 2013 as a part of SIMCON’s initiative to spread awareness among the batch regarding the relevance of ‘Six Sigma Practices (6ϭ)’ in today’s business world. Mr. Khatri is one of the most renowned trainers of six sigma worldwide, having over 15 years of experience in business process improvements related to service as well as manufacturing industries. He has worked as a trainer, consultant and an auditor. Apart from being a B.Tech and an MBA holder, Mr. Khatri is a ‘Certified Lead Auditor’ by IRCA, UK, an RLA, RABSAQ of Australia, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma by AMT, USA, Six Sigma Black Belt, Morestream University and a member of ASQ.

Mr. Khatri specifically focused on dispelling the myths prevalent in the minds of the students regarding the use of Green Belt Six Sigma certification to branches such as Marketing, Finance and HR. He presented cases of different organizations where the principles of Six Sigma proved to be beneficial in improving the overall processes and the functions of organization. He presented the cases, where in, he showed how Six Sigma improved the market research process at a research consultancy, online payment systems at banks and resume shortlisting process at a HR consulting firm. He emphasized the need for this certification considering today’s businesses to be more complex with stricter deadlines. To back his own statements, he further went on to justify how simple hypothesis testing methods can lead to significant results by providing inputs for process improvement. He also touched the topics such as ‘DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)’ and ‘DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify)’ methods used to improve processes and develop new products respectively.

With his crisp and exhaustive oratory, the entire batch was enthused about the efficacy of Six Sigma. His presentation was complimented well by the batch which offered him a plethora of questions to quench the inquisition generated by his words.

By the end of the session, SIMSREE students seemed to be all the more geared up for SIX SIGMA.

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Dr. Glen Brodowsky at SIMSREE Campus

Students at SIMSREE witnessed the first international guest lecture organised by BUZZ Marketing club, SIMSREE on 27th Dec, 2013. Dr. Glen H. Brodowsky, California State University, San Marcos, CA, USA, (Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo) is a Professor of Marketing at California State University San Marcos.

The lecture started with Dr. Glen quoting Charles Dickens’ views and later sharing about his life. It was primarily focused on how to grow when the economy loses its steam. Quoting live examples from Levis and Coke and how the brand evolved through ages to have its market share, he lucidly explained the preference of consumer centric over product centric strategy. However, he also cautioned that before comparing any two brands, its segment must be kept in mind. Having travelled globally he also gave his insights on how company changed its product line to suit the local market.

Through various graphs he explained that over past few years the company which has emerged as most successful undertook various risks and innovations down the line. Further, he singled out on innovation as the prime distinguishing factor for a successful company. Live examples of Blackberry and Samsung were discussed to drive home the point. However, it was pointed out that it is as good an art as a science to judge the market forces and time the launch of the product.

He also explained the rationale behind consumer behaviour. A consumer in a developed nation might buy a product just because people in other nations can’t afford it. Association of brands with consumer then becomes a part of his identity.

The presentation was followed by a brief Q&A round where Dr. Brodowsky was asked both sector specific and general questions. Dr. Brodowsky, with his immense knowledge and understanding of the sector, answered them promptly with a humour element added to it, taking examples from amongst the students. The students were left in awe for the simplicity and humble attitude of Dr. Brodowsky. We all, at SIMSREE thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule and adding to our learning.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Chandrasekaran Ramamurthy

The SIMSREE students witnessed a guest lecture by Mr. Chandrasekaran Ramamurthy, Chief Reinsurance Strategist, Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited on 26th Dec, 2013. Mr. Chandrasekaran has more than three decades of experience in domestic and international insurance and reinsurance industries, spanning India, UK and Middle East. Previously he has worked as Director, RCS Managing Consultants Private Limited, Member of IRDA Sub Committee, Senior DGM – Technical Operations, Kuwait Reinsurance Company, Kuwait, General Manager, GIC of India, Asst. General Manager, International Business Development, Manager, Aviation. He spoke in detail about ‘Insurance Sector in India’. 

Starting with a brief history of the sector, Mr. Chandrasekaran spoke about how the Indian Insurance business was in a nascent stage prior to the year 2000, as it was mainly restricted to the public sector. The period was marked by lack of marketing efforts and ineffective distribution practices. Post 2000, the insurance sector in India opened up for private players as well. From then on until now, it has grown by around 7 times. He opined that it is a sector with high growth potential. In terms of turnover, he expects it grow to INR 1 Lakh Crores by 2015, INR 3 Lakh Crores by 2020, and as high as INR 10 Lakh Crores by 2025. In short, the insurance sector in India is poised to touch great heights.

He further stated that if all the insurance companies in India aimed to contribute up to 1% of the GDP, it would be a big achievement for the insurance industry. He also sounded positive on the growth of reinsurance business in India, saying that India is soon to become ‘Reinsurance Hub of Asia’.  ‘Reinsurance’ means ‘Insurance for the Insurance Companies’. 

Delving into numbers to back his statements, he pointed out that there is a cap of only 26% on FDI in Insurance sector in India. This means that the remaining 74% of the Indian insurance pie is handled by only the domestic companies. There lies a huge opportunity of utilizing the money generated through insurance business for the development of Indian Economy. 

Moving on to a related and highly relevant topic of ‘Customer Complaints’, he said that like any other sector, there are unsatisfied customers in this sector as well. Most of the claims are related to motor and health insurances. The key areas of customer complaints are as follows:

i) Policy, Endorsement not received: 16%
ii) Display in claims settlement: 22%
iii) Policy Data Errors: 9%
iv) Repudiation of claim: 8%
v) Dispute in quantum of claim: 9%
vi) All other claims: 36%

The lecture was very beneficial as students gained a lot of insights regarding the insurance sector and its potential. Taking full advantage of the opportunity to interact with such a senior industry professional as Mr. Chandrasekaran, the students posed him a gamut of questions, to each of which he gave elaborate answers and explanations.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Mahesh Balasubramanian

At SIMSREE, continuing the tradition of guest lectures by eminent industry personalities, Mr. Mahesh Balasubramanian addressed the first year students on Thursday, 26th December. He is the Executive Vice-president, Kotak Mahindra Bank and also an alumnus of the institute from the 1991-92 batch.  The topic of the guest lecture was ‘Ring side view of Retail Banking’.

Mr. Balasubramanian elaborated on how the banking industry has moved from a ‘product-centric’ approach to a ‘consumer-centric’ approach: ‘Every customer is a segment’ is the essential of the approach.  “The banks are now taking a holistic view of the customer’s overall profile and what banking products he/she wants to use. The bank tries to keep the overall revenue from the cumulative products’ earnings at the maximum, thus in turn keeping the profits maximum. He elaborated how capturing an account has become easy, but retaining that account has become more difficult, in the changing conditions. This is where the ‘Relationship Managers’ come into picture: it is a bridge that connects the bank with the customer. With about 7,000 branches opened in 2013 alone, the opportunities in this sector are enormous.”

 Mr Balasubramanian also explained ‘the Kotak way’ that has delivered in last few years to make the bank to figure amongst the top five in private banks total capital category even though having lesser customer base. The bank thus plans to achieve more and more as it grabs and retains more and more customers.

The presentation was followed by a brief Q&A round where Mr. Balasubramanian was asked both sector specific and general questions. Mr Balasubramanian, with his immense knowledge and understanding of the sector, answered them promptly with a humour element added to it, taking examples from amongst the students. The students surely benefited from these valuable insights.

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