Life beyond IIMs

Three lakh students will be making the beeline to take the CAT exam this year. But with less than one out of 300 aspirants making it to the much sought after IIMs, here's a list that will lighten the load off your shoulders. There is a life beyond the IIMs.

Xavier Labour Relation Institute School Of Management

Top of that pile is Xavier Labour Relation Institute School Of Management the institute located in the industrial town of Jamshedpur. It's setting high standards with a separate entrance conducted in the first week of January.
It's an opportunity in wings for those who don't make the coveted CAT list, for some though it was a first choice.

Faculty of Management Studies

The Faculty of Management Studies in the Capital may not be such a bad bet. It's number two on the list after XLRI. Apart from full time MBA, it's known for it's part time MBA programme as well.
As far as specialsations go the best of marketing and finance are the on offer.

Indian School of Business

In Hyderabad, the youngest of the all B schools is Indian School of Business. It's barely 10-years-old but is rising in ranks globally and on the list. A globally accepted GMAT exam along with comprehensive interviews and Group Discussion are prerequisites. But along with that the excecutive MBA requires a two years of work experience.

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research

Also in line is SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. For those with work experience both CAT and XAT scores work for its diploma.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Delhi closes the list of top five B schools in the country.

With percentiles above 95 giving you a fair chance of making it to leading B-schools, all's not lost if you haven't made it to the IIMs.

There are 99 other B-schools that accept CAT scores throwing open another gateway to your management dreams.

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FMS online admission forms

NEW DELHI: Even as Delhi University (DU) mulls over making the admission procedure online, its Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) has already gone ahead with it. FMS will allow aspirants to apply and pay online for the entrance exam to be held in January for the 2009 session. FMS will also implement the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota for the first time from the forthcoming session. The faculty will allow a relaxation of five per cent in the eligibility score for OBC candidates, apart from a maximum relaxation of 10% in the final cut-off.

"There will be a relaxation of five per cent in the eligibility criteria for candidates applying for all earmarked seats. Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) and physically challenged candidates and children of war widows already have this relaxation. We have added OBCs to this list because we didn't want to create another category,'' said FMS dean JK Mitra. FMS could not implement the OBC quota from this year as it was through with admissions before the Supreme Court upheld 27% OBC reservation in April this year. Mitra added the relaxation in the cut-off for the merit list will be decided after the entrance exam on January 11. The entrance exam for MBA part-time programme will be held on January 25. The forms will be available till December 1, 2008.

FMS had got about 61,000 applications last year. With increased number of students expected in the 2009 session, Mitra said the faculty is making the admission procedure completely online for the first time where students can not only apply but also pay the fees online. He further added, "DU has been thinking of making the admission procedure online but it hasn't been feasible because of the large number of students at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. As we are doing it for the first time, we need to see how the students respond to it.'' However, aspirants will not be allowed to download forms or order them by post from this time, Mitra added.

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Leaders must have the vision, passion and integrity: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

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This is one MBA commencement speech that will perhaps be without a parallel for some time to come.While most other B-schools invited corporate honchos to inspire fresh batch of MBA students, Delhi University’s Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) got none other than the former President of India and a respected thought-leader Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to ignite young minds.

Dr Kalam, while inaugurating the academic session 2008-10, delivered a 90 minute lecture for the FMS students. His address titled ‘The Nation and the Dynamics of Leadership’ focused on leadership development, importance of integrity and character-building, and India’s challenges and opportunities in next decade.

Emphasising the importance of leadership development in young MBAs, Dr Kalam offered his eight commandments. He said:

1. Leader must have a vision.
2. Leader must have a passion to transform the vision into action.
3. Leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path.
4. Leader must know how to manage a success and failure.
5. Leader must have courage to take decision.
6. Leader should have Nobility in management.
7. Every action of the leader should be transparent.
8. Leader must work with integrity and succeed with integrity.

Dr Kalam recommended three books to MBA students which he said would help students discover themselves and follow their goals. The books are:

• Michael A Roberto: “Why great leaders don’t take yes for an answer?” “This book discusses managing for conflict and consensus. Particularly read page 233-235, the essence of the book is “Great leaders, of course, behave as great teachers”, said Dr Kalam.
• Stephen R. Covey (Author), David K. Hatch (Author): “Everyday greatness” “This book will give how the difficult social problems have been encountered and defeated through leadership and message of unity – coming together is beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success,” noted Dr Kalam.
• Denis Waitley: “Empires of the mind”

Drawing on details from “Empires of the mind”, Dr Kalam highlighted the “paradigm shift” in management concept in the knowledge society. The authors have taken 10 aspects of the knowledge society of the present 21st century and visualize how it will be. It specially says that “what worked yesterday, won’t work today”. The 10 aspects of change are:

1. Yesterday – natural resources defined power
Today - knowledge is power
2. Yesterday - Hierarchy was the model
Today- synergy is the mandate
3. Yesterday – leaders commanded and controlled
Today – leaders empower and coach
4. Yesterday - shareholders came first
Today – customers come first
5. Yesterday - employees took order
Today – teams makes decision
6. Yesterday - seniority signifies status
Today – creativity drive status
7. Yesterday – production determined availability
Today – quality determines demand
8. Yesterday - value was extra
Today – value is everything
9. Yesterday – everyone was a competitor
Today – everyone is a customer
10. Yesterday - profits were earned through expediency
Today – profits are earned with integrity.

Dr Kalam added that while he agreed with most of the analysis offered by the book, he also has some different point of views. Said Dr Kalam, “I have analyzed 10 points, many aspects I agree, few I do not agree like point number 7 and 10. The 7th point, my view is, “competitiveness is the key which includes quality, cost effectiveness and just-in time delivery”. In 10th point, my view is, “Work with integrity and succeed with integrity”.”

Upholding the premise of the book, Dr Kalam added, “Japan has very limited natural resources. It imports iron ore and process produces the best of steel competitively for sale international market. Similarly, Finland has very limited resource. Nokia has attained global status and is producing major share of mobile phones for the international market. This shows that knowledge is power!”

Recounting his conversation with IT czar Azim Premji, Dr Kalam said, “After a visit to his establishment, I asked Azim Premji, “Azimji, your organisation and yourself have attained new heights and you are well known throughout the world. Can you tell me the secret of your success?” Premji said, “First, the sweat. Second, I love to delight my customers. Third, a bit of luck.” Dr Kalam added, “I personally feel that the luck will not come unless one works for the first two!”

As is well known, born on 1931 in Tamil Nadu, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s launch vehicle programme. He led to the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State.

In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam’s books - “Wings of Fire”, “India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium”, “My journey” and “Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India” have become household names in India.

Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

The young minds at FMS Delhi couldn’t have asked for a better start to their MBA pursuits!

Dr Kalam is the honorary adjunct faculty member of the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi and has been associated with FMS for a year.

Young managers going places

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The Faculty of Management Studies at Delhi University recently conducted summer placements for its students. With 70 leading companies participating, a whole lot of choices were available to the students.

The highlight was a 400 per cent increase in the number of international offers made by companies. While many new international companies participated in this year’s process, Indian heavyweights also made a host of international offers to studen ts for a variety of roles overseas.
As many as 20 international offers were made to the students pursuing the two full-time programmes: 91 in MBA, and 42 in MBA-MS (Management of Services).
The financial sector continues to lure students in large numbers and as much as 17 per cent of the batch opted for profiles with leading banks.

“The summer internship programme at FMS provides students with an ideal platform to explore the various verticals and domains. We help them make the right decision by offering them plenty of choices with respect to both companies and profiles. The summer placements at FMS this year have broken all past records. The number of international offers by multi-national companies and Indian ones has increased manifold,” said the convener of placements, Madhu Vij.

The FMS Dean stated that the summer internship was the “nursery for the future business leaders to bloom”.

“The type of assignments that FMS interns are being offered by the cream of the corporate world is quite astounding and reflects great faith in the capabilities of our students,” he added.
Vimal Thorat, a reader in the Hindi Department at Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi, has been appointed coordinator of the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Chair on Social Change and Development.

The broad objective of the Chair is to work towards dissemination of ideas and thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar in the areas of administration, Constitutional studies, human rights, religion and philosophy.

The Chair will also undertake research and development programmes in these areas and focus on developing appropriate methodologies to pave the way for Dr. Ambedkar’s ideas as policy instrument.

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, will be conducting a special workshop in December for middle and senior managers of corporate houses and government organisations on “Corporate social responsibility and sustainable business”.

This training will sensitise corporate managers to various issues of CSR and expose them to international developments in sustainable business management.

The workshop, to be held from December 18 to 20, will cover topics like Institutional Environment and Business, Concept of Sustainability: the new broad agenda, Dimensions of Sustainability, Business Ethics and Public private partnership.

The J K group of companies is the latest among corporate houses venturing into academics with the setting up of a Rs.45-crore B-school at Gurgaon.

The institution will initially take up MBA programmes and later expand to other areas like marketing, finance, information technology and international business.

It will also include short-term courses in diverse areas like logistics and supply chain, marketing of financial services, rural marketing, mall management, distribution and sales and brand management.

The wi-fi-enabled campus would also include a state-of-the-art library, computer centre, an auditorium and hostels for boys and girls.

Overseas offers pour in for FMS students

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NEW DELHI: With companies trying to make good the India opportunity as well as Indian companies announcing their arrival on the world scene, overseas offers are pouring in for students of the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi.

The summer placements have just been wrapped up and over 20% of the batch has got the opportunity to work abroad with around 20 students getting foreign offers as compared to only four last year. The highest stipend offered this year was Rs 1.44 lakh by FMC Technologies compared to Rs 1.25 lakh last year.

The average stipend was also up from Rs 22,000 per month last year to Rs 30,000 this year. A total of 73 companies participated in the summers making 170 offers to 91 students. Global companies such as Lufthansa, FMC Technologies, IKEA and KPMG Middle East participated in this process, while Indian heavyweights like Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Tata Administrative Services, ICICI Bank and IDG Ventures made a host of international offers for a variety of roles overseas. This was driven by the companies which are looking at an India entry in a big way and others which are on a huge expansion drive globally.

Seema Rao, secretary, placements, FMS, says: “Indian students are sought everywhere today. It’s only logical for Indian companies to offer them overseas placements in areas they are on an expansion drive. They have known them for years. Besides, foreign companies which aim to capture the Indian market are doing this as they want to build the employer brand in the country through these students.” Other companies which visited the campus for summers included BNP Paribas, Capital Lands, Singhi Advisors, Zeus Infrastructure Funds, Ranbaxy, Vodafone, Frost and Sullivan, Britannia, EXL Services, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Langham Capital, ABN Amro, Accenture, Motorola and Mercer.

A comparison according to the profiles, showed the highest number of students opted for marketing with 39% voting for it, beating finance which had the maximum number last year. This year 36% students took up finance in their summers. About 18% of the batch opted for consulting.