A peep through the ?Windows to the future'

Updated on: Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sustainable development, decision-making in adverse situations, measures that would enhance India's competitiveness, fostering of entrepreneurship and responsible leadership for inclusive growth were among the topics emphasised at CRESCITA 2010, the flagship event of the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, in Chennai recently.

Focussing on the theme ‘Windows to the future', the three-day event encompassed a management simulation game, and talk sessions on ‘challenges in HR management', 'career opportunities galore for management graduates', and ‘relevance of MBA education in creation of entrepreneurs.'

Inaugurating the event, Bobby S. Srinivasan, president, Institute of Financial Management and Research, deliberated on the theme, sketching the current financial environments in the world's five major economies: US, European Union, China, Japan and India, and the impact of one's policies on the rest. While India's monetary policies are robust, the tempo needs to be accelerated to match China's progress, he said.

Handling a session on ‘sustainable energy systems,' Toine Van Megen founder of Auroville Renewable Energy Group and co-founder of Auroville Consulting, said successful managers will have to devise strategies that are sustainable to the economy. The sustainable solutions he suggested included electrification of transport, usage of heat pumps, green buildings, and switching from private to public transport.

In a country where 30 per cent of the population was below the poverty line and 40 per cent illiterate, social cohesion, human dignity and responsible leadership were what would ensure inclusive growth of the country, R. Sridhar, senior vice-president, Reliance Industries, explained.

Dialectica (HR Panel Discussion) witnessed unanimity among the panelists that India was facing just a slowdown and not recession. In an appetising discussion on challenges in HR management, the panelists: Muthukumar Thanu, senior vice-president, TAFE; Rajendra Ghag, executive vice-president, HR, HDFC Standard life; and Valliappan, group vice-president – HR, Navia Markets, acknowledged that the main challenge in HR management today was in retaining employees. They explained the futility of tackling the problem through the method of increasing the salary, and the importance of choosing the right people for the right job and creating interest in the job they do. If the organisation has set the basics right by revamping the complete model of recruiting system, it can survive tough situations like employee attrition and maintaining employee loyalty, they said.

Consumer behaviour is dynamic across the length and breadth of the country, and the managers of today must focus on both present and future needs of consumers, they said.

Dinesh Jain, CEO of Hover Automotive India, said. V. Balasubramanian, Chief of Bureau, The Economic Times, Chennai, gave the audience a glimpse of career opportunities in various sectors in the industry and the skill-sets required of management graduates to tap them.

Likewise, the panel discussion on ‘Relevance of MBA Education in creating entrepreneurs' had the participation of Ashok Sankethi, CEO, Kaybase; L. Kannan, Founder and CTO, Vortex India; Anuradha Ramachandran, Venture partner at Ventureeast Tenet Fund; and Jagannathan Seshadri, National Entrepreneurship Network consultant, Coimbatore Region. The panelists analysed the topic from the perspectives of ‘entrepreneurship without MBA', ‘entrepreneurship with MBA', and ‘a venture capitalist's views on entrepreneurship'.

V. Balaraman, Member, Advisory Board, Nokia India, outlined the role of effective leadership in creating opportunities for the future, while Vasimalai, executive director of DHAN Foundation, spoke about his organisation's initiatives to create opportunities for development in the rural sector and stressed the need for practical learning outside of classrooms, while addressing a session on ‘social entrepreneurship'.

The Grail, business plan competition, and Midway Deal, Mergers & Acquisitions valuation game, witnessed enthusiastic participation. Parakrama, the management Simulation Game, had ten short-listed participants calculating the operating costs as per their understanding of the market forces. After three rounds of intense competition, the team from Christ University Institute of Management, Bangalore, emerged winners. The Corporate Quiz, BIM QUEST, conducted by quizmaster Barry O'Brien, was a battle of brains involving various teams from the corporate world.

At the valedictory session, C.B. Bhave, chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), opined that India today is moving towards multi-culturalism consequent to companies going global and creation of opportunities for everyone. He dwelt upon SEBI's three key roles, namely, protecting investors' interest, eliminating hidden subsidies and punishing intermediaries for wrongdoings. Dr. Bhave concluded his address requesting students to achieve work-life balance and give back to society in the form of charity.

The vice-chancellor of Bharathidasan University, K. Meena, presided, and honoured winners of the various competitions with prizes.

A peep through the ?Windows to the future'

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