Students of KIAMS reflect on their learning from the recently held Management Conclave

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Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies recently organized a conclave “Attitude Skills and Knowledge (ASK) and employer’s expectations on skills & employability” at its Harihar campus. The event held on the 26^th of September brought together several big names from industry and academia to discuss the attributes that can make successful management professionals of tomorrow. Given the high relevance of the conclave, it was only natural that we talked to some of the students to evaluate its overall success.

Arpit Sharma, B 17 was one of them and he believed that it was a privilege to listen to names like Mr. Swami Nathan Krishnan, Vice-President and Head Marketing, Coach and Mentor – Sasken Communication Technologies, Bangalore. “Since I am passionate about my chosen specialization of Marketing , I was very excited to listen to the stalwart from the industry,” he said confidently. “It has been a valuable experience for me and I hope it will bridge the gap between where I am today and where I want to be professionally.”

This conclave is the first in the series of events KIAMS will be organizing this year, in its Silver Jubilee year. Students like Arpit remain appreciative of the fact that the B School holds seminars and conclaves regularly to offer them hands-on experience. Others like Vinay Kant Maurya, B 17 look at it as a responsibility to learn and deliver. “I won’t let these opportunities go in vain. I will do my best to make the most out of them and interact with professionals from different industries and learn from their experiences,” he says.

When asked if he had any suggestions on the subjects for future conclaves and seminars Vinay Says, “It would be great to hear from professionals in specific areas like finance, operations, and International Business. It would help us with specific exposure for our future careers.” Arpit, on the other hand, wants future seminars to delve into digital marketing, e-commerce, and rural marketing. He believes these areas are evolving and knowledge on the subjects would give them an edge. But for now, they seem thrilled by the takeaways from the recently held conclave.

Hear about the glam and glum of investment banking from alum Vishal Mohal

Vishal Mohal is a young and dynamic professional, serving as a Senior Associate in Investment Banking at Copal Partners. Vishal’s success began with a PGDM program at KIAMS in 2009. “My journey as an investor banker has been very rewarding; and KIAMS, with its perfect blend of theoretical and practical instruction, helped me realize my ambitions” he says. Vishal was always interested in Strategy Management and, as a motivated student, he interacted a lot with the faculty to learn and understand the nuances of the industry. “At KIAMS,” he tells us, “the faculty was very good and the kind of cases they made us go through were very insightful. They actually activated our thought processes and made us think about real-life scenarios, rather than only focusing on the theory”.

He is glad for the practical approach at KIAMS, since he believes it is extremely important in his field. “A business school, very often, teaches you only the principles and the formulas and how to calculate within certain parameters; however, this does not give you the experience and the exposure,” he says. “In India, the stress is on theory – developing a thought process about a task in the future is lacking as compared to other countries.” He also thinks that real-world, in-depth experience helps an investment banker understand his customers’ needs and fears: “The main thing for an Investor is that his investment should be secure and it should be able to generate profits. As an Investment Banker we always have to keep this in mind”. However, Vishal feels that, as a market, India is not yet prepared and presents many uncertainties; and, the Indian Economy, while much improved, still has immense potential to explore. “Theoretically, we are prepared but practically I would say we are not,” he continues. “We are not that strong and we need more people to take up investment banking as a career. It does take a lot of time, as you have to start as an Analyst, but, gradually, you move up the ranks. But, if you are humble and bright enough, then you may find yourself moving up the ladder rather quickly.”

Vishal, however, is a practical man who laughs when the ‘glamour’ of investment banking is brought up: “You might say that it is a glamorous job, but Investment Banking requires a lot of hard work and long hours. A successful investment banker works more than 65 hours every week –but, of course, there are lot of incentives, including the earning potential.”  Explaining his work more he says, “The most important aspect for an investment banker is to identify the right opportunity at the right moment and to assess it with full honesty. He should not be biased. You have to consider each and every factor and you have to determine the merit of that opportunity. That is the most important role and trait of an Investment Banker”.

KIAMS has given Vishal more than an opportunity to build his career – he also found his life partner at the institute. He loves his work life irrespective of the difficult time commitments and the challenges that he faces every day. He believes that the industry is growing in India and offers immense opportunities to youngsters who want to enter the field. Vishal is completely fulfilled and satisfied in his work; however, he believes he would want to come back to KIAMS someday and teach Strategic Management!

KIAMS Taught Me To Give My 100%

My years at KIAMS were the first ever away from home. Though it was initially difficult to adjust to a life of independence and responsibility, the years at KIAMS are amongst the most memorable ones in my life.

KIAMS was where a shy and diffident graduate like me transformed into a confident, charming and ready-to-take-the road belle. The numerous interviews, presentations, exhibitions, etc. helped me gain the much-needed confidence. The spirit of excellence that was constantly and consistently focused upon by our professors was aided through the research works entrusted upon us. Along the way, I learnt how to work in a group, in coordination with others. My peer group at KIAMS was like an extended family. We celebrated birthdays, had fun and pulled each other through. When  I fell ill, they took care of me. When I was homesick, they extended support. When I was down, they helped me get out of it. The campus was also an integral part of my life at KIAMS. Its greenery and serenity always calmed me down.

I did my summer internship at Indilox. My job profile was of encashing fund management, analyzing balance sheets, computing ratios, etc. This was my first individual interaction with the corporate world. The interactions at KIAMS were integral in preparing me for such a job since even though I had mentors guiding me, each thing I did was for myself. Here I learnt that self-dependence is the key to success. You cannot depend on others; you must believe in yourself.

What I would like to advise you is to give your 100% to anything you do. It is important for you to realise that these are the years that will guide you towards a successful life. When you study, focus. When you play, have fun. These are the years that will change your outlook towards life. These are the years you will miss in future. These are the years that I wish to never let go off.

B-schools Must Provide an Organisational Environment Which Fosters Opportunity, Endeavour, End Growth: Prof Kulkarni

Pinak Kulkarni is a visiting faculty member of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS), which is part of the Kirloskar Group of Companies, one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates. Having joined KIAMS in 2005, his areas of expertise lie in Operations Management and Supply Chain Management.

A self-professed workaholic, he describes himself to be part of the family which stays away from family. Besides keeping a tab on collaborative decision making in modern supply chains, technologies, and other research interests, he is also part of the recruitment and admission process of the college.

When questioned about how do business schools prepare good leaders? , Mr. Kulkarni answers that “A business school and its faculty’s role requires that they focus, channel, and enliven the energies, knowledge and talents of its students.” “The mission and the vision will decide and animate the school’s strategy, policy, and method; and its values will ensure that propriety and consistency of its tactics and actions.” “As a knowledge imparter, therefore, the school must provide an organisational environment which fosters opportunity, endeavour, and growth. I believe all these qualities to be amply present in KIAMS – and no doubt such an environment will harbinger the future leaders of tomorrow” Kulkarni states.

In addition, another important and challenging issue confronting business schools today is the business student’s viability to find a good job. To this Mr. Pinak Kulkarni ratifies that there is in essential three elements to be understood before a grad student tries to enter an industry – one, the need to identify clearly all his strengths, in terms of knowledge and skills; second, the importance of gaining practical industrial experience during college, to understand the realities of the industry and thirdly, contemporary awareness of it.

Kulkarni accredits in imparting indigenous management skills to his 2nd year students, whom he mentors. Students learn from experience and his approach is focussed on a lot of research work which he encourages his students to perform.

Further, a word of advice – Pinak wants students to not make any wrong program choices. Before enrolling for a course he suggests that they go in for an advanced psychometric test to understand their real interests and strengths. Based on the result, they should figure what they’d like to study.

For Pinak, the challenge of being part of KIAMS faculty is to align his personal goals with the goals of the institute, and also the needs and aspirations of its students, and to ensure that this alignment is centred on a crux of ethics, knowledge and morality. Only then, he believes – the
faculty or otherwise can truly lead and achieve permanent positive transformation of its students.

Student Involvement The Aim of KIAMS Sport Committee

The goal of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) Sports Committee Ashwamedha is to integrate all the students into different sporting activities which help them to learn teamwork and to co-ordinate – but it isn’t easy.

 “Like in every organization there is a hierarchy to go through, convince and get an approval from,” said the co-ordinatiors, “similarly every event has to be clearly permitted by our senior management and given a no-objection certificate. Students at KIAMS come from different parts of the country and have a different mindset. Making them get on the same platform has been a challenge.”

The committee itself consists of three senior representatives and three junior representatives, a mixture of male and female, and selected by senior sports representatives based on their physical capability and their understanding of how to manage and co-ordinate sporting activities for the current batches.

They chose co-ordinators to lead the club, rather than have a designated leader or a president.

“A president is someone who enforces a system where a co-ordinator is one who has power and power simply means the ability to influence. This is the factor we co-ordinators utilize to make things happen in the world”.

Organizing KIAMS Premier League (KPL) (inspired by the Indian Premier League) it also conducts Ashwamedha which consists of different sport tournaments between senior and junior batches.

The club has also introduced a Frisbee game with some innovative ideas and also is also playing outside the campus for KIAMS, currently with Grasim Industries.

Co-ordinating the club has been a learning experience which complements their studies at KIAMS.

The co-ordinators say the experience has taught them how a simple idea can be built into a big event.

“It has taught us how to bring people together and make an event happen. Every event we have conducted at KIAMS has been a project – a learning project that has its goals, objectives, milestones and limitations.”

By serving as co-ordinators, the group has learned how to put theories learned in the classroom into practice.

“In our classroom we are taught principles, ethics, system and boundary conditions,” they said. “These things have been implemented by us in conducting every event. We have understood the importance of a sporting activity.”

The role KIAMS faculty plays in the sports club is one of encouraging maximum participation by students, whether in an active or passive role.

“Our faculty encourages us, or rather demands from us, that we create events which do not only engage the students taking part, but also encourages the students to join in as spectators and supporters,” said the co-ordinators.

Their words of advice for future co-ordinators? “Work is to be done – not avoided.”

KIAMS Marketing Club Aims to Provide a Competitive Edge in The Business World

Learning more about marketing to gain a competitive edge in that area of the business world is the aim of Kirloskar Institute of Management Studies’s (KIAMS) Marketing Club.

Along with two coordinators, the senior club consists of around 15 active members and among the juniors, there are three coordinators and 20 active members.

The purpose of the club is to improve students’ knowledge of the world of marketing and it plans all activities accordingly. The club has organized events such as visits by guests or alumni to share their experiences and visits to different alumni offices to see how things are done.

It plans to have the students work on different real-time scenarios and give their analysis of the situation – one such analysis of the FDI situation has already been printed in Chanakya (KIAMS Newsletter) – and aims to do weekly sector-wise organizational marketing strategies analysis and to be displayed on a social networking page and notice board to grab everyone’s attention.

Some of the events the club conducts are: Marketing Quiz, Ad-Mad Competition, case studies, article analysis and presentations.

Organizing such activities itself is a learning experience for club members, as they take the concepts learnt during classroom sessions and apply them to real-life examples of marketing. The activities of the club also give members experience in managing people and tasks and in meeting requirements,  expanding their outlook and broadening perspectives.

Club members discuss contemporary case studies or issues in the marketing world and try to analyse them using related theories and to get practical exposure. In events such as the Ad-Mad competition, before doing concept designing for ads, members first look at them from all perspectives derived from theoretical knowledge.

The biggest challenge in running such a club is to keep students motivated enough to attend meetings on a regular basis. To meet that challenge topics of discussion for each meeting are decided by group consensus. Because club activities are a student initiative, not an individual effort, instead of having a president, the club has coordinators whose job is to communicate with members and decide on meeting times and schedules. The coordinators, along with the rest of the members, decide on topics for meeting discussions or decide on future activities.

Again, the club being a student initiative, faculty are usually not involved, but act as guides whenever any difficulty arises in understanding or accessing any resources. At times, the club invites them as judges for competitions.

Since assuming their responsibilities, today’s club coordinators have learnt a lot and to future coordinators, they say this responsibility requires a lot of patience and effort. At times, students may not agree with what you think and at such times, the objectives of the club have to be given paramount importance. Their advice to those who will fill their shoes: Be practical and realistic in your approach. Make sure you have your fundamentals in place before moving further.