Vritaanta August 2014
The monthly magazine of SIBM Pune
The monthly magazine of SIBM Pune
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Winner : Badminton<br />
(Women)<br />
Winner : Football<br />
(Men)
From the Director’s Desk…<br />
F<br />
or over three decades, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune has<br />
been the chosen management destination for students aspiring to excellence in the<br />
corporate world. Considering the top-notch course content, highly qualified faculty<br />
and modern facilities combined with a unique education model – balancing unwavering<br />
career focus with holistic self-development – it’s hardly a surprise that there is a business<br />
leader from SIBM Pune in every part of the world.<br />
SIBM Pune prides itself on being a student-centric institute. Students here are entrusted with<br />
resources and responsibilities early on. Continuing this trend, the Information Systems and<br />
Media Relations Team (iSMaRT) has come up with a new initiative in the form of <strong>Vritaanta</strong><br />
– the monthly magazine of SIBM Pune.<br />
The Students’ Council has been in existence for over three decades now, and is invested with<br />
the authority to take important decisions that sculpt their future and that of the institute. It is<br />
one of the pillars on which SIBM Pune functions, and it is only fitting that this first issue of<br />
<strong>Vritaanta</strong> should feature the formation of this year’s Students’ Council in its cover story,<br />
‘What it takes to create a legacy’.<br />
The purpose of this magazine is to inform, engage, inspire and entertain a diverse readership<br />
of alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and other friends of SIBM Pune, by presenting an<br />
intimate, timely and honest portrait of this B-school, its people, its programmes, its history,<br />
its challenges, its resources and its mission.<br />
<strong>Vritaanta</strong> is a Sanskrit word meaning Memoirs, and this magazine will endeavour to feature<br />
all the important events and activities happening on campus in the Ground Zero and Zeitgeist<br />
sections, in addition to articles from the world of academia in our Paathshala section<br />
and focus articles in the White Collar section.<br />
Wishing the team at iSMaRT and <strong>Vritaanta</strong> all the very best!<br />
Dr. Raman<br />
Director, SIBM Pune
White Collar<br />
3<br />
What it Takes to<br />
Create a Legacy<br />
In an institute as student-oriented as SIBM Pune, the new recruits of the Students' Council take centre-stage…<br />
O<br />
ne of the many claims made by print advertisements<br />
for Symbiosis Institute of Busi-<br />
students by the end of the month.<br />
Kaustubh Nagar, a first year marketing student, has<br />
ness Management, Pune (SIBM Pune) is<br />
barely been on campus for a few weeks but already<br />
that it is a ‘student driven institute’.<br />
knows where his future lies. “I am focussed on cracking<br />
the interview for one of the teams as I know that it<br />
So what does it mean to be ‘student driven’? Is it just a<br />
generic line created for an advertisement or is there will greatly complement my academic knowledge.”<br />
some substance behind the statement?<br />
The answer to these questions lies on top of a hill in Lavale.<br />
This is where the students of SIBM Pune reside and<br />
learn their trade for two years. Walk on to the campus on<br />
an unseasonably clear day in June and chances are that<br />
most of the conversations you overhear will be about<br />
‘The Students’ Council’ – the student body responsible<br />
for all the activities conducted for students on and sometimes<br />
off the campus.<br />
These animated conversations are a joy to behold as first<br />
year MBA students talk excitedly about the nine teams in<br />
the Council. The senior members of the teams are already<br />
preparing their agendas for the coming semesters<br />
and getting ready to screen and interview the brightest<br />
The council teams consist of students from both years.<br />
A coordinator is chosen to head each team. These coordinators,<br />
together with the duly selected student<br />
president, form the executive council – a body with<br />
the authority to oversee all activities conducted.<br />
Every team conducts a number of events throughout<br />
the year, some teams travelling to villages nearby,<br />
others to metros all over the country. This means that<br />
from conceptualisation through planning and budgeting<br />
all the way to execution, the only people that the<br />
team depends upon are each other. Once faculty approval<br />
is received, it is the prerogative of the team itself<br />
to ensure that the event’s potential is realised.<br />
Most events are the brainchild of one team but are<br />
conducted in association with other teams.<br />
Flagship events like ‘Transcend’ – organised by the Co-<br />
Curricular Team, ‘Coffee with SIBM’ – organised by the<br />
Aspirant Relations Team, and ‘Imperio’ – conducted by<br />
the Corporate Interface Team are the basis of
4<br />
White Collar<br />
SIBM-P’s great repute. Such is the level of organisation<br />
that exists within the Student Council.<br />
Towards the end of June, the teams (which at that<br />
point comprise only senior students) introduce themselves<br />
to the hushed, excited first year students via an<br />
introductory video and a Q&A session. Each team takes<br />
roughly 20 minutes to elaborate on what they<br />
do for the institute and what kind of<br />
candidates they are looking for.<br />
Almost all the videos receive<br />
standing ovations.<br />
The adrenaline<br />
has already<br />
begun to pump.<br />
Devesh Kumar<br />
Somvir<br />
Singh is a<br />
junior who<br />
is excited<br />
by the Students’<br />
Council<br />
Elections: “I<br />
want to be<br />
part of something<br />
bigger<br />
and improve myself<br />
in the process. I<br />
am glad they expose<br />
us to the Council so early.<br />
It provides us with a<br />
chance to showcase our talents,<br />
while giving us enough time to learn on<br />
the job before the seniors graduate.”<br />
Applications are invited post the introduction session.<br />
Students are required to choose up to four teams which<br />
they feel they best suit. Individual questionnaires are<br />
provided by each team, specific to the type of candidates<br />
they are looking for. Curriculum Vitaes are updated<br />
and sent to the teams as well. At this point candidates<br />
are being screened in earnest.<br />
Interviews start by the fag end of the month of June.<br />
First year students are called to the team offices, one<br />
by one, for 30 minute interviews that can take place<br />
any time in the day.<br />
Some are grilled about industry knowledge, others are<br />
asked about their experience. Some are subjected to<br />
stress interviews. The aim is to weed<br />
out candidates who are not serious<br />
about the process.<br />
As the rest of the<br />
campus enjoys<br />
the afternoon<br />
breeze and<br />
clear starry<br />
skies, first<br />
year<br />
SIBM<br />
Pune<br />
students<br />
walk,<br />
CV in<br />
hand,<br />
from<br />
their hostel<br />
rooms to<br />
the SIBM Pune<br />
academic<br />
block, steely determination<br />
in their<br />
eyes. Their hands twitch<br />
slightly as they walk, constantly<br />
adjusting their formal wear.<br />
They know the journey is not in vain. They know that if<br />
selected they will be part of a team that will change<br />
them forever. They know they will learn things beyond<br />
their years. They know that to be part of the Students’<br />
Council is to be synonymous with excellence itself.<br />
They walk in hope. They thrive under the stress. They<br />
are the future leaders of corporate India. Their grooming<br />
has begun from day one.
White Collar<br />
5<br />
The Student Council comprises nine<br />
teams:<br />
also handles the institute’s IT<br />
infrastructure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Alumni Team, which takes<br />
responsibility for nurturing the<br />
alumni community, ensuring that<br />
SIBM Pune graduates never lose<br />
touch with the alma mater or each<br />
other.<br />
The Aspirant Relations Team,<br />
which is tasked with reaching out<br />
to future MBA candidates who are<br />
looking to join SIBM Pune and<br />
engaging with them in several<br />
ways, months before the course<br />
even begins.<br />
The Corporate Interface Team<br />
aims to provide students with<br />
insights into the business world by<br />
organising guest lectures,<br />
seminars, conclaves, case-study<br />
competitions as well as other<br />
industry-related<br />
activities<br />
throughout the year. Its goal is to<br />
keep students informed about the<br />
latest trends in management.<br />
The Co-Curricular Team’s plays an<br />
integral role in ensuring that life on<br />
campus is not all work and no play.<br />
It affords several platforms where<br />
students can express themselves,<br />
via various art forms.<br />
The Information System & Media<br />
Relations Team (iSMaRT)<br />
provides exclusive coverage of all<br />
events and activities that take<br />
place on campus. It is responsible<br />
for reinforcing SIBM-P’s presence<br />
across a variety of platforms,<br />
including social media. The team<br />
It is now two weeks later. New council members have<br />
been chosen from amongst the first years.<br />
Another council selection process has come to an end.<br />
One can now observe the very same students walking<br />
down the hilltop towards the academic block with a skip<br />
in their step. What was once a look of dread has now become<br />
an aura of achievement – a sense of belonging.<br />
The individual team rooms, once a source of allencompassing<br />
fear, are now a new home for several capable<br />
first year students, eager to make an impression on<br />
future aspirants, touch base with alumni or organise<br />
SIBM Pune’s next flagship event.<br />
Thus we answer the questions posed at the beginning<br />
of this article. To say that SIBM Pune is but ‘student<br />
driven’ would be a gross understatement. It is ‘student<br />
led’.<br />
<br />
The Placement Advisory team<br />
has but one goal – securing final<br />
placements and summer<br />
internships for students.<br />
The Research & Scholastic<br />
<br />
<br />
Development Team identifies,<br />
conceptualises and executes live<br />
industry projects and research<br />
initiatives with the aim of<br />
contributing to every facet of<br />
management education.<br />
The Social Entrepreneurship &<br />
Consulting Cell undertakes<br />
socially relevant and sustainable<br />
projects and acts as a guide for<br />
future entrepreneurs.<br />
The Sports Management Team<br />
organises a variety of sporting<br />
events in order to develop<br />
leadership potential and spread<br />
the mantra of ‘healthy mind,<br />
healthy body’.
6<br />
White Collar<br />
Corporate<br />
Dossier<br />
An interview with Amit Malik, CHRO of Aviva India and Alumnus of SIBM Pune (1999)<br />
What was your greatest learning on campus, whether<br />
inside the classroom or outside?<br />
I think the greatest thing I learnt on campus was<br />
adapting to the situation, whatever you encounter –<br />
whether as part of the placement team, or when you<br />
work in an institute, or as a student, you always have<br />
challenges that come up unexpectedly. How do you<br />
react? How do you respond? When do you lead and<br />
when do you not lead? When do you let the team take<br />
it forward? Those were the lessons of leadership which<br />
I learnt when I was studying at SIBM Pune.<br />
You were a member of the Placement team while<br />
here, and Student President of the year 1999. What<br />
was your experience as a leader?<br />
I believe it was a position of huge responsibility. You<br />
stand for and work for your whole batch. You’re responsible<br />
for the whole batch – SIBM Pune has a lot of<br />
focus on student-driven activities, and in the role of<br />
President you’re the fulcrum which coordinates all activities.<br />
Placement is only one part.<br />
What was your biggest learning once you left the<br />
college and entered the corporate world? Was it<br />
very different from on-campus learning?<br />
It most definitely was! Learnings keep increasing as<br />
you grow in your career. You look at the situations<br />
you encounter there and you encounter similar situations<br />
in the corporate world. Even in the corporate<br />
world, you have to work with different people,<br />
different teams, to get your work done.<br />
The on-campus experience holds you in good<br />
stead, helps you navigate the corporate world<br />
much better, because you’ve already navigated the<br />
institute. It helps you understand how an organisation<br />
works. You interact not just with students but<br />
with faculty, with corporates, with the registrar…<br />
and that really gives you a head start.<br />
You have to coordinate with alumni, and interface<br />
with corporates. You have to look at a lot of things.<br />
There’s a sense of responsibility it inculcates. This<br />
stands you in good stead when you go into the real<br />
corporate world.
White Collar<br />
7<br />
You specialised in Personnel Management, but the<br />
economy is now turning to be knowledge-driven.<br />
What is the impact on the field of HR? How much has<br />
the field really been changed?<br />
The whole approach has changed. When you go into<br />
an organisation in the Human Resource function and<br />
you start working with your employees, you realise<br />
that every employee has a unique need, every employee<br />
has a unique issue.<br />
I think that is what has changed. Even over a period of<br />
time, from 1999 when I started work upto today, the<br />
workforce has constantly changed, workforce motivation<br />
has changed, and the Gen Y concept has come in.<br />
Earlier, when I joined the corporate workforce, work<br />
was an end in itself. It was a part of your identity. Today,<br />
it’s become a means to an end. I want to do<br />
something, hence I work. And that whole change has<br />
happened in the workforce, which HR professionals<br />
need to understand.<br />
In an article with IndiaInfoLine, you’ve referred to<br />
insurance as a people-driven business. But isn’t that<br />
largely true of all sectors, nowadays? Or is it truer<br />
for insurance?<br />
No, I think it’s true of every organisation. You can<br />
have the best strategy on paper, but it is only your<br />
people who can deliver and make it happen. So the<br />
success of the strategy depends on how good your<br />
people are, how well they understand the strategy,<br />
and how well they execute it in order to make it happen.<br />
So it is always a people-driven agenda.<br />
You’ve written an article on “The missing link – Flexible<br />
Work Arrangements”. Isn’t it more important to<br />
get everyone together in the workplace, to engage<br />
better with each other and the organisation?<br />
Flexible work arrangements are important because<br />
you have to understand that work and personal life<br />
have, to a large extent, integrated. The tools have<br />
changed. Earlier, you would go into the office and you<br />
would have a desktop and you would have to work on<br />
that. Today you have laptops, you carry your own devices,<br />
you have smartphones, and you can access information<br />
from anywhere. So that boundary between<br />
work and personal space is kind of greyed out. We’re<br />
moving towards work-life integration, rather than<br />
work-life balance. We’re looking at how to integrate<br />
work and personal life.<br />
Where do you see Human Resources, as a field, in<br />
five years’ time?<br />
I see it changing dramatically! I think the challenges<br />
will only increase. I think the people focus in every organisation<br />
will increase. I also think that it’s going to<br />
become more challenging – and the challenge will become<br />
the interesting part of the job.<br />
It’s going to be all about the value you bring to the<br />
table. That has become critical. Yes, you will be invited<br />
as the HR person, for a meeting. But it’s the value<br />
you bring to that table, the understanding of the business<br />
that you have, for you to be able to link the organisational<br />
agenda to the people agenda.<br />
We have a batch of soon-to-be HR professionals.<br />
What would be the key attributes of an HR professional,<br />
in today’s market?<br />
First, to understand your business. Second is to build<br />
relationships. Thirdly, be cognisant or aware of the<br />
changes happening in the HR function – you should<br />
know about the changes that are happening. And<br />
fourth and most important, I think, is having courage<br />
and conviction to do the right thing. Because you are<br />
the custodian of values and culture of an organisation.<br />
How important is employee engagement with the<br />
organisation?<br />
It is absolutely essential. When someone comes into<br />
work, they don’t just come to work − they bring their<br />
whole selves. They also bring their personal issues.<br />
Similarly, when they go home, work also impacts personal<br />
life. It’s an integration where you bring your<br />
whole self. So employee engagement is very, very<br />
critical.<br />
What is the one piece of advice you would give our<br />
HR students, both seniors and juniors?<br />
Study hard and play hard. Study hard because this is<br />
your time to learn your fundamentals. And play hard<br />
because these days will never come back again.
8<br />
White Collar<br />
Spotlight<br />
An interview with Manika Tiwari, a second year student of SIBM Pune specialising in Finance, who was<br />
voted Best Student Researcher of Symbiosis International University for the year 2013. In this interview,<br />
she talks about research being her passion, her experiences in different competitions, and offers first<br />
year students a few helpful tips.<br />
Tell us a little bit about life at Symbiosis Institute of<br />
Business Management, Pune.<br />
Life at SIBM Pune is a blend of academics and cocurricular<br />
activities. A lot of focus is put on your<br />
overall development beyond bookish knowledge,<br />
which includes encouragement of participation in<br />
various competitions across B-Schools in India. Industry<br />
interaction is also a major part of learning<br />
here.<br />
Guest lectures are organised in various domains,<br />
apart from the set curriculum – and this helps us<br />
learn a lot. Overall, it’s quite a hectic life – filled with<br />
constant learning and development.<br />
Tell us the story behind being adjudged the Best<br />
Student Researcher at Symbiosis International University.<br />
Writing has been my passion since way back when I<br />
was still in high school. My first article was published<br />
in The Times of India.<br />
got back into writing; but my focus changed to business<br />
and economic articles. My first such article was<br />
published in the Finance Magazine of IIM Shillong.<br />
Since then, I have had five other articles published in<br />
various B-School magazines and national Finance<br />
magazines. The topics have ranged from “Inflation<br />
Indexed Bonds” to “GAAR – Devil for Indian Economy”<br />
and “Bitcoin – Will it be able to kill fiat currencies?”<br />
as well as “New Banking Licenses”.<br />
I believe it was this passion for research and writing<br />
that has resulted in my being noticed and being presented<br />
with this prestigious award. I would also like<br />
to take this opportunity to thank my father, who has<br />
been my greatest inspiration when it comes to<br />
writing.<br />
Could you tell us something about your other<br />
achievements while at SIBM Pune?<br />
After I joined the MBA programme, I immediately
White Collar<br />
White Collar<br />
White Collar<br />
9<br />
Our seniors winning so many competitions encouraged<br />
me to participate in as many competitions as I could.<br />
Apart from research-based writing, I love participating<br />
in team-based competitions.<br />
We have been to competitions in colleges like ISB, IIMs<br />
and IMI, and have not only represented our college<br />
with distinction but have also won many prizes. In fact<br />
accomplishment when my dad eagerly awaits my next<br />
article, appreciates it every time he reads one, and<br />
pushes me to get them published.<br />
What tips do you have for the first year MBA students,<br />
when it comes to researching?<br />
Researching, as such, is reading about things happening<br />
around you and having your opinions about it.<br />
When you have such opinions you should feel like<br />
putting them across, through some medium.<br />
I would suggest reading newspapers, building your own<br />
outlook and jotting them down. You really should also<br />
have a passion for writing because it’s not some part of<br />
academics that has to be taken care of. Keep looking<br />
out for opportunities where you can get your articles<br />
published.<br />
Tell us something about yourself as a person.<br />
Apart from writing, I love reading books and cooking. I<br />
have followed my interest of being a part of the fashion<br />
world and worked as a Lakme Fashion Week Model for<br />
a year.<br />
Life at a B-school is lived at a frenetic pace. Yet you<br />
seem to have time for work and your other interests.<br />
Do you have any pointers for first year MBA students<br />
when it comes to time management?<br />
Manika Tiwari receiving Best Student Researcher<br />
award from Padam Bhushan Dr. S.B. Mujumdar<br />
we were just in Semester 1 of our MBA programme<br />
when we defeated MBA II students from institutes like<br />
ISB, IIMs, MDI, NMIMS and SP Jain at a competition<br />
held at ISB. That was a big kick to continue participating<br />
in such competitions!<br />
Participating in similar competitions was a really great<br />
learning experience. Learning from your team mates,<br />
from mistakes you commit there and from coparticipants<br />
is invaluable. This learning helped me a<br />
great deal during my Goldman Sachs interview.<br />
Writing, working on competitions and travelling all over<br />
the place to participate in various competitions in<br />
different institutes do indeed take up a lot of your<br />
time.<br />
Eventually, you have to set your priorities right and<br />
work accordingly. All these activities are a source of<br />
learning and there is no way you can avoid them. So,<br />
go ahead and set your priorities.<br />
Lastly, could you name another person apart from<br />
your father, who has inspired you along the way?<br />
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is my inspiration. I hold all her<br />
achievements in the highest regard.<br />
What do you think sets you apart as a researcher?<br />
Per se, I enjoy writing. I feel incomplete if I don’t write<br />
for a long time. It’s fun to jot down your opinions on<br />
current happenings. Apart from this, I feel a sense of
10<br />
White Collar<br />
White Collar<br />
Memory Matters<br />
Join one of our illustrious alumni, Mr. Shilip Sant (Business Director—IMEA, Henkel<br />
Adhesive Technologies), batch of 1989, as he takes a walk down memory lane...<br />
Your dream destination<br />
I like the hillside, I like India – it’s as beautiful as<br />
any part of the world. The upper parts of North<br />
India, the Himalayas, are really quite amazing. I<br />
try to go there at least once every five years, if<br />
not more often! I like the peace and quiet, which<br />
you don’t get much in the city.<br />
Your typical Sunday schedule<br />
As a policy, I don’t work on Sundays. I sleep late<br />
and then I like to take a morning walk of 30<br />
minutes or so. Then after breakfast I watch TV<br />
for a while, meet my folks, catch up with all that’s<br />
happened in the week. Then a leisurely lunch,<br />
and I’m fast asleep in the afternoon. In the evening<br />
we usually laze!<br />
Your personal wishlist for the year and beyond<br />
To stay healthy. Health is the biggest challenge.<br />
Your professional wishlist for the year<br />
I look after a pretty big geography, IMEA (India,<br />
Middle East, and Africa). My challenge is to give<br />
this region a single identity, and some direction. I<br />
think it’s taking the best of both those worlds<br />
and making something unique out of it, you<br />
know, something neither Asian nor European,<br />
but IMEAn. That’s my professional challenge.<br />
Your fondest memory on campus<br />
There was this omelette bun maska that I used to eat<br />
for breakfast virtually every day I was on campus! It<br />
may not have been the healthiest or most hygienic<br />
food, but it was delicious.<br />
Your favourite part of SIBM Pune<br />
The energy, the vibrancy in the environment, is what I<br />
really loved. It gave a new dimension to the personality.<br />
It really changed me as a person.<br />
Your fondest memory<br />
One of our colleagues was running a business even as<br />
he did his MBA. He sat in the last bench and always<br />
had his own work to do, which had nothing to do with<br />
what was happening in class. Then one day the Marketing<br />
professor was talking about his work at Bajaj<br />
and how many hours a day he put in. So this classmate<br />
of mine shoots up and says, “Sir, I don’t know how it<br />
was in your institute, but in SIBM Pune it’s not really<br />
the hours that matter, it’s the intent that goes behind<br />
it, the passion.” And a five-minute speech proceeds<br />
from this guy who hadn’t even been listening in class!<br />
Talk to any of my batchmates, and they’ll all remember<br />
this story!<br />
Your biggest driver<br />
To make a difference. To be the best.
Ground Zero<br />
11<br />
Shubh Aarambh<br />
Nothing brings students together as much as a cultural extravaganza… or two!<br />
T<br />
he students of Symbiosis Institute of Business<br />
Management, Pune (SIBM Pune) and its six<br />
Lavale-based sister institutes showcased their<br />
talents in a cultural extravaganza, Aarambh.<br />
Friendly rivalry and fierce support were the order of the<br />
day, with cheering contests erupting at will.<br />
Aarambh, themed this year around the Kaleidoscope,<br />
had the tagline ‘University in Diversity’. Truly, the diverse<br />
institutes of Symbiosis International University<br />
(SIU) united to make something beautiful. Art was born<br />
in the Lavale hilltop Auditorium, that rainy Friday evening.<br />
The theme assigned to SIBM Pune was the colour violet<br />
– which represents “expression, spirituality and romance”,<br />
said Abhishek Tripathi (MBA I, Operations), the<br />
first year student who introduced the theme on-stage.<br />
SIBM Pune put up a scintillating performance in three<br />
parts – music, mime, and dance.<br />
“The music began with soulful melancholy, swelling into<br />
passion and then to joy,” said Abhishek. “The dance was<br />
about romance and pure expression. And the mime
12<br />
Ground Zero<br />
demonstrated another meaning of the colour purple –<br />
old world charm.”<br />
With eight students, four songs, two guitars and a ukulele,<br />
the musicians went up first – and had the audience<br />
on their feet, cheering, by the end of the performance.<br />
The team was entirely composed of first year<br />
students, including one guitarist representing<br />
As the evening wore on, the performers on stage weren’t<br />
the only ones singing and dancing! When a song<br />
was played on stage, regardless of the institute being<br />
represented, the entire audience accompanied the<br />
notes with their full-throated singing. The most popular<br />
songs played on stage were rewarded with something<br />
even better – the audience began to dance in the<br />
aisles.<br />
The theme assigned to SIBM<br />
Pune was the colour violet,<br />
representing “expression,<br />
spirituality and romance”.<br />
– Abhishek Tripathi, MBA I<br />
the new Innovation and Intrapreneurship (I 2 ) batch.<br />
The short pantomime “Thief in the Park”, a hilarious<br />
act telling the tale of a hapless thief being chased by an<br />
even more hapless policeman, was perfectly choreographed<br />
and well-received. Each actor was perfectly in<br />
character, which brought in a new dimension to the<br />
tale – dialogue was not missed.<br />
As for the dancers, their standing ovation began even<br />
before the dance ended. Need we say more?<br />
Although there was energetic competition in terms of<br />
cheering when the teams were up on stage, there was<br />
also a healthy amount of respect shown to the performing<br />
members of rival institutes. The outstanding<br />
performance of SIMC Pune (Symbiosis Institute of Media<br />
and Communication Pune) – who combined the<br />
play, dance, and music into a single act – was rewarded<br />
with cheers and applause from students cutting across<br />
institutes and affiliations.<br />
In keeping with the spirit of vasudhaiva kutumbakkam,<br />
foreign students and Indians alike could be seen coming<br />
together to dance to peppy bhangra numbers.<br />
Uotani Takuya, a student of SIBM Pune from Japan,<br />
said: “I really enjoyed the experience! Since some of<br />
my friends here at SIBM Pune are Punjabi, I genuinely<br />
appreciated the opportunity to participate in their culture.<br />
It was very nice!” Takuya is a student of MBA I,<br />
specialising in HR.
Ground Zero<br />
13<br />
Live it up –<br />
LOUD!<br />
Godrej launches the <strong>2014</strong> edition of unique recruiting drive LOUD (Live Out Ur Dream) in SIBM Pune!<br />
R<br />
epresentatives of the Godrej group of companies<br />
were on campus on July 18 th and 19 th schools in India.<br />
Godrej LOUD is open to first-year students of select B-<br />
to officially kick off the much-awaited Godrej<br />
LOUD. Mr. Parmesh Shahani, Head –<br />
Godrej India Culture Lab, Mr. Robert Menzies, Head –<br />
Driven individuals, Godrej<br />
Strategy and Corporate Planning, GILAC, and Ms. Vandana<br />
Lisa Scolt attended and anchored the session together<br />
with one of SIBM-P’s very own alumni – now a<br />
believes, can bring that<br />
passion to any field – whether<br />
Godrej executive – Mr. Dhruv Talwar.<br />
Godrej LOUD is a unique corporate event at which the<br />
most passionate, innovative business students are selected<br />
through a comprehensive process to become<br />
interns with Godrej’s Gurukul programme – and perhaps,<br />
in time, full-time members of the Godrej family.<br />
The selection process is unique – the students are asked<br />
to name their dearest dream and express their commitment<br />
to fulfilling it; their drive to see it realised. Driven<br />
individuals, Godrej believes, can bring that passion to<br />
any field – whether or not it’s related to that one big<br />
dream.<br />
or not it’s related to that one<br />
big dream.<br />
At a session where the graduating batch of MBA I was<br />
present, Mr. Shahani, Ms. Scott, Mr. Menzies and Mr.<br />
Talwar set the room alight with their infectious enthusiasm<br />
and eagerness to get to know the students. Gift<br />
bags and freebies were given away freely, for anything<br />
from specialising in a unique field to being the first to<br />
tweet a selfie from inside the room!<br />
The best part of the event, to most students, was the<br />
energy that the representatives from Godrej brought to<br />
the stage. And to those representatives, “One of the<br />
best things about working with Godrej is the ability to<br />
take part in unique, innovative opportunities like Godrej
14<br />
Ground Zero<br />
LOUD and the Godrej India Culture Lab,” said Mr. Shahani.<br />
“It’s amazing the kind of energy that each B-<br />
school brings to this event every year!”<br />
SIBM Symphony to<br />
open for Indian Ocean<br />
Godrej LOUD Anthem is a first<br />
time initiative providing students<br />
the opportunity to compose and<br />
play an anthem for the event. The<br />
bands competed for the coveted<br />
spot of opening for Indian Ocean<br />
at the main Godrej LOUD event.<br />
Comprising Kashmira Brahmane<br />
(MBA I Marketing), Mrugank<br />
Chinchkhede (MBA II Operations),<br />
Tarun Shakyawar (MBA II HR), and<br />
Utkarsh Srivastava (MBA I Finance),<br />
SIBM Symphony performed<br />
a song composed by Tarun.<br />
Varnika Shrotriya (MBA I Marketing), who won Mr.<br />
Shahani’s hat for asking the most HAT-ke question!<br />
“A lot of people have the intelligence and the marks to<br />
get into a good B-school,” said Mr. Menzies, “but the<br />
differentiator is something else. And I think that differentiator<br />
is best identified by a unique recruiting drive<br />
such as LOUD.”<br />
So what is it that differentiates a dream for Godrej?<br />
How do they sift through the thousands of applications<br />
to select a short shortlist to present their dreams<br />
at a special event in Mumbai, before dignitaries including<br />
Nisaba Godrej?<br />
“It’s all about the passion,” said Mr. Shahani. “For example,<br />
unlimited numbers of football fans share their<br />
dreams of watching a match at Old Trafford, every<br />
year. (On an aside, why are they all Manchester United<br />
fans?! Where are the fans of Arsenal and Chelsea?)<br />
One of our winners last year, from SIBM Pune, was a<br />
football fan too. But what helped Abhishek differentiate<br />
himself was the way he presented.”<br />
Regarding Abhishek Iyer, MBA II Marketing, Mr. Shahani<br />
had this to say: “He’s one of us now! So many of<br />
our valued executives are from SIBM Pune that I can’t<br />
tell any more where Godrej ends and this institute begins.<br />
I missed out on visiting SIBM Pune last year due<br />
to illness – so I’m very excited to be here this time<br />
around!”
Ground Zero<br />
15<br />
Interrobang?!<br />
ITC<br />
was on campus to launch<br />
the <strong>2014</strong> edition of Interrobang?!<br />
– its annual case<br />
study competition, open to<br />
MBA II HR students. Through this initiative, the company<br />
aims to engage with students on campus, while<br />
students learn a great deal about the application of<br />
their theoretical<br />
knowledge to real<br />
world situations.<br />
Interrobang, the<br />
punctuation mark<br />
created by a question<br />
mark followed by an<br />
exclamation mark –<br />
?! – indicates excited<br />
interrogation. Precisely<br />
the emotion that ITC wishes to engender in the<br />
inquiring minds of business students across the country<br />
through the fourth edition of this case study competition.<br />
Three contests were launched on July 20 th – Interroquiz,<br />
a daily quiz conducted for students of thirteen<br />
select B-schools across India; Interrojam; and Interrobang?!,<br />
the case study competition. Students<br />
therefore had the added advantage not<br />
only of time, but of interacting with Ms. Manisha<br />
Rana and Ms. Purnima Sethi, HR executives from<br />
ITC, who visited the campus and introduced the<br />
event to the senior and junior HR batches of SIBM<br />
Pune. It is a matter of<br />
pride that both<br />
young executives are<br />
alumni of SIBM Pune,<br />
from the 2013 and<br />
<strong>2014</strong> batches respectively.<br />
In conversation with<br />
the representatives<br />
of ITC, SIBM-P’s students<br />
gained an insight into the practices and<br />
values of the organisation, in addition to the rules<br />
and rewards of the contest. This was a special<br />
visit as this year is the first time ITC has visited<br />
management institutes to launch the competition.<br />
Ms. Rana and Ms. Sethi encouraged the students<br />
to work hard and with sincerity, and to emerge as<br />
winners, leaving the batch enthusiastic and eager<br />
to take on the challenge.
16<br />
Ground Zero<br />
Budget<br />
Symposium<br />
A historic Union Budget was analyzed by an illustrious panel this July.<br />
A<br />
panel discussion on the impact of the Union Budget in ten years. In addition is the fact that<br />
Union Budget on industry was organised the current dispensation came to power on the back<br />
by the Research and Scholastic Development<br />
Team on July 11. Chaired by SIBM- of stagflation caused at least in part by policy paraly-<br />
of promises of economic revival, following a period<br />
P’s very own professor of economics, Prof. Manasi sis. The Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, has described<br />
the Budget as “not the end, but the start of<br />
the story”. With investment expected in various key<br />
infrastructure projects, the panel agreed that it is<br />
very likely that the impact of this Budget will be felt<br />
for years to come.<br />
All four panelists agreed that the NDA’s first Budget<br />
was overall a positive. The consensus rating was<br />
eight out of ten, with Mr. Desai describing it as an<br />
“ideal, intent-driven Budget with direction and a<br />
long-term view”.<br />
Phadke, the panel hosted Mr. Ajay Asati (Associate<br />
Director CRISIL Global Research & Analytics), Mr.<br />
Pawan Desai (CEO MitKat Advisory Services), Mr.<br />
Pradeep Gidwani (SIBM Pune alumnus and highly experienced<br />
Financial Services professional) and Mr.<br />
Amit Merchant (WealthPath Financials).<br />
“The important things for industry to take from a<br />
budget are, what is the government buying from the<br />
private sector? What tax breaks are being offered?<br />
What about infrastructure investment? And most<br />
importantly, how much is the government going to<br />
spend?” Prof. Phadke said, as she opened the con-<br />
The two-hour discussion covered various facets of a<br />
Budget that many see as iconic, as it is the first NDA
Ground Zero<br />
17<br />
versation.<br />
While the restriction of the FDI limit to 4.1 percent of<br />
GDP troubled Prof. Phadke and Mr. Asati, the figures<br />
for projected growth of tax revenues seemed to suggest<br />
an expected GDP growth rate of 5.5 percent, according<br />
to the moderator. “Such a growth rate could<br />
be possible if the SME (small and medium enterprise)<br />
sector kicks off. This sector has always had difficulty in<br />
raising finance. If this is resolved, then 5.5 percent<br />
growth is certainly feasible,” said Mr. Merchant.<br />
Two acronyms were much in evidence during the debate<br />
– PPP and FDI. The Finance Minister laid stress on<br />
proceeding with investment through the PPP model in<br />
various key infrastructure projects. While the panel<br />
largely agreed that PPP was a good way forward, considering<br />
the relative efficiency of private players, Mr.<br />
Asati argued that PPP required clear guidelines and<br />
regulation before it was implemented on a large scale.<br />
enough to entice foreign players to enter the fray, considering<br />
that they would still not hold a controlling<br />
stake in the venture. In the opinion of Mr. Merchant, it<br />
would. “The money [in the insurance sector] will come.<br />
We are a large market; the rural market of India is very<br />
large.” “This will most benefit the private banks with<br />
an established presence in the insurance market,” said<br />
Mr. Gidwani.<br />
Mr. Desai, who retired as a Lieutenant Commander in<br />
the Indian Navy, also pointed out that defence is not<br />
the kind of sector in which 51 percent FDI could ever<br />
be permitted. “India is the second largest consumer in<br />
the world of defence equipment and supplies. We’re<br />
the one big market in the world that’s still growing.<br />
Indigenisation is a problem every year, and with FDI we<br />
can hope that we will not have to depend too much on<br />
the USA or Russia, any more.”<br />
“My biggest takeaway from the symposium was that<br />
“Gold is a dead investment; infrastructure pays back.<br />
Money invested in infrastructure is much more productive,”<br />
he added.<br />
Discussing the raised FDI limits in defence and infrastructure,<br />
Prof. Phadke asked whether the hike from<br />
26 to 49 percent in both sectors would really be<br />
the economy is in safe hands,” said Sonali Mittal (MBA<br />
I Marketing). “The panellists spoke of fiscal prudency<br />
and rated the Budget high on infrastructure spend and<br />
education spend. Plus, the fact that the FM has chosen<br />
to go the PPP route means that he will not have to increase<br />
the fiscal deficit – or worse, raise taxes!”
18<br />
Paathshala<br />
Innovations<br />
Management<br />
I<br />
nnovation management<br />
is the<br />
invention and implementation<br />
of a<br />
management practice,<br />
process, structure, or<br />
technique that is new<br />
and is intended to further<br />
organisational<br />
goals. In today’s competitive<br />
environment<br />
innovations are not only<br />
Dr. Mallika Srivastava, faculty<br />
SIBM Pune<br />
necessary, but also an<br />
opportunity for organisations<br />
to prevail on the market.<br />
Innovation management theories<br />
Innovation necessity – opportunities through innovation:<br />
Vahs und Burmester, 2005<br />
Increasing global competition, rising customer demands,<br />
rapid technological advancements, and new procedures<br />
and policies pose high requirements for the development<br />
and management of new products and services.<br />
Customer centricity with time and cost efficiency and<br />
innovative development processes is becoming an increasingly<br />
important factor of success for companies.<br />
Legal, social and ecological requirements must be met<br />
through various types of innovations. Innovations are an<br />
important factor of success in an atmosphere of increas-<br />
Fig 2: Innovation Necessity, (Stern und Jaberg, 2007 )
Paathshala<br />
19<br />
ingly intense competition. Figures 1 and 2 present the<br />
connection between the factors and the necessary<br />
innovations.<br />
Innovations management can be defined as innovations<br />
resulting from ideas, if they are implemented in<br />
new products, services and processes, which find real<br />
usage and thus penetrate the market. Innovations<br />
don’t always have to be completely new ideas. The<br />
term innovation rather means the implementation of<br />
something new that results in a noticeable improvement<br />
for the user. They are characterised by clear<br />
originality and a noticeable user benefit. (Disselkamp,<br />
2005)<br />
Types of corporate innovations<br />
1. Product innovation<br />
2. Process innovation<br />
3. Organisational structural innovation<br />
4. Cultural innovation<br />
5. Marketing innovations<br />
Successful innovation management<br />
Based on experiences in innovation consulting for<br />
different branches A.T. Kearney has developed the<br />
House of Innovation. This model depicts the most<br />
important building blocks of successful innovation<br />
management. The roof is innovation strategy, a planning<br />
process that clearly defines for which corporate<br />
goals innovations are necessary and how they can be<br />
supported by resources, processes, technologies and<br />
behaviours within the company. A company aligned<br />
for innovation should also include this goal in its organizations<br />
and corporate culture, next to innovation<br />
strategy.<br />
Other than the house of innovation there are eight<br />
pillars of innovation, which need to be considered before<br />
getting into corporate innovation:<br />
1. Have a mission that you care about.<br />
2. Think big start small.<br />
3. Focus on continuous innovation and improvement.<br />
4. Look for ideas internally as well as externally.<br />
5. Sharing is the mantra.<br />
6. Believe that impossible can be possible.<br />
7. Have open structure.<br />
8. Do not be afraid of failures.<br />
Conclusion<br />
It's not just the big companies that need to do this.<br />
Every business must innovate to compete. This is the<br />
new management paradigm. Processes, functions,<br />
data, inventory turns and speed to market, will force<br />
employees to learn a whole new language called innovation.<br />
Innovation Management is about more than<br />
just planning new products, services, brand extensions,<br />
or technology inventions. It's about imagining,<br />
mobilising, and competing in new ways.<br />
References<br />
1. VAHS, D. UND BURMESTER, R. (2005): Innovations<br />
management 2005.<br />
2. Stern, T., Jaberg, H. (2007). Innovations management<br />
3. CANTON, J. (2006): Institute for Global Futures<br />
in San Francisco<br />
4. DISSELCAMP, M. (2005): Innovations management.<br />
5. http://www.atkearney.com/documents/
20<br />
Paathshala<br />
Incentive to<br />
Smile :)<br />
It’s back again! The Shoppers Stop Annual Sale!! Wednesday<br />
Bazaar at Big Bazaar – Hafte ka sabse sasta din!!! And<br />
then there’s the queen of them all – GOSF, the Great<br />
Online Shopping Festival – created by Google India offering<br />
heavy discounts online, for just a day!<br />
T<br />
he deals are all around us, with an offer that’s<br />
hard to resist. The consumers love it, it’s like a<br />
wand in the hands of the marketing manager<br />
to tide her through a bad quarter. A sales promotion<br />
offer is a good idea in times of boom, when supply<br />
is in plentiful and competition is fierce. But it’s an<br />
even better idea in times of lethargy, when the consumers<br />
are wary and the markets are slow.<br />
Sales promotion budgets have been on a steady rise for<br />
about a decade now. According to a recent study, the<br />
proportion of sales promotion to advertising has risen<br />
from a mere 35 percent in 1995 to approximately 70 percent<br />
in 2013. This phenomenal growth is an indicator not<br />
only of its popularity but also some marked changes in<br />
behaviour amongst Indian consumers.<br />
To provide some background, consumer sales promotion<br />
is an incentive offered during a limited period to consumers,<br />
in order to elicit some action (mostly purchase).<br />
What this essentially means is that ‘sales’, ‘discounts’,<br />
and ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ are all really sales promotion<br />
offers. Additionally, contests, sweepstakes and some loyalty-based<br />
offers may also be classified as sales promotions.<br />
While discounts and sales are value increasing,<br />
non-monetary promotions like contests and such<br />
others are known as value adding.<br />
Trends in sales promotion<br />
1. Value Adding vs. Value Increasing: Marketers<br />
are on the look-out for promotions<br />
that are value adding, over those that are<br />
just value increasing. The reason behind<br />
this is that value increasing promotions<br />
although effective in the short run, tend to<br />
erode the equity of the brand in the long<br />
run. Value adding promotions not only<br />
help to boost sales in the short run but are<br />
also not detrimental to the brand image<br />
and equity in the long run. It is rather considered<br />
a tool to break the monotony of<br />
advertising, giving the consumers an outlet<br />
to participate and build long lasting<br />
relationships with the brand.<br />
2. Bundling: Ever noticed the auto related<br />
promotions or durable promotions? They<br />
almost never have one single sales promotion<br />
offer coming your way. Instead they
Paathshala<br />
21<br />
would have a price-off, exchange offers, warranties<br />
and service schemes all bundled together.<br />
Laptops come with price-offs, accessories,<br />
additional memory and swanky<br />
sleeves. Bundling is a strategy followed by<br />
marketers, mixing value increasing and value<br />
adding promotions in order to create the best<br />
effect. While consumers love a price discount,<br />
a loyalty program increases their bonding with<br />
the brand, thus bundling two kinds of promotions<br />
and multiplying their effects.<br />
3. Online offers: From an era when purchases<br />
were deliberate lists of products to buy, times<br />
have changed… and how! The list may still be<br />
made, but impulse purchases are on the rise.<br />
What’s more, consumers don’t even need to<br />
go to a store to make that purchase. Not only<br />
has information search moved almost completely<br />
onto online media, actual purchases<br />
are going that way too. The success of online<br />
retailers like Flipkart.com, Myntra.com and<br />
Snapdeal.com only show that markets are<br />
now virtual and online.<br />
4. Framing of offers: It’s the story of a glass that’s<br />
half empty or half full, all over again! How the<br />
promotion messages are framed makes a significant<br />
impact on consumers’ response to<br />
them. Take for example your reaction to an<br />
offer that says “shipping charges free” as<br />
against saying “40 INR discount”, on a product<br />
that’s worth 500 INR. Need I say more!<br />
5. Shopper marketing: Shopper marketing aims<br />
at persuading the consumer in the act of shopping.<br />
This could be in the retail outlet or virtually,<br />
on a website. It is based on the premise of<br />
changing consumer behaviour, from a deliberate<br />
and rigid consumer to an impulse buyer. It<br />
is a tool that appeals to the impulse buyer,<br />
with offers at the time of the purchase. Imagine<br />
your surprise at walking into a store and<br />
realising that your purchases for the day are<br />
funded in half by the retailer, simply because<br />
you are their 100 th customer of the day!<br />
6. Exchange offers: An exchange offer is an answer<br />
to the guilt we experience while retiring<br />
a still functional product (such as a one-yearold<br />
mobile phone). It is also the euphoria attached<br />
to getting value for a product that’s<br />
completely worthless (such as old tattered<br />
shoes). But wait – there’s more. It is also a service<br />
of retrieving and disposing products that<br />
are tough to dispose (such as old mattresses).<br />
It is therefore, by far the most effective sales<br />
promotion tool in the durables segment – and<br />
widely used too.<br />
The times have never been better for the value seeking,<br />
deal-prone Indian consumer. Especially when<br />
news of price hikes on rail travel, LPG and other consumables<br />
are on the rounds, the golden ray of hope is<br />
just a click away. So what are you waiting for? Indulge<br />
yourself – it can’t get better than this!<br />
References:<br />
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<br />
Great_Online_Shopping_Festival<br />
2. http://www.shoppermarketingmag.com/home/<br />
3. Janiszewski, C., & Cunhs Jr. M. (2004) The influence<br />
of price discount framing on the evaluation<br />
of a product bundle. Journal of Consumer<br />
Research, 30(4), 534-546.<br />
4. Menon, P., Viyaraghavan, P. (<strong>2014</strong>). Nature of<br />
Exchange Offers and Antecedents of Exchange<br />
Offer Proneness. Samvad, 6(1), 66-73<br />
5. Sheng, S., Bao, Y., & Pan, Y. (2007). Partitioning<br />
or bundling? Perceived fairness of the surcharge<br />
makes a difference. Psychology & Marketing,<br />
24(12), 1025-1041.<br />
Article by Professor Preetha Menon, faculty SIBM Pune
22<br />
Paathshala<br />
On the Wings of Success<br />
(Part One) The Four Pillars<br />
of Self-Belief<br />
T<br />
his article is meant only to give an insight into<br />
a few of those aspects which can be considered<br />
important from the ‘Success’ point of<br />
view, in today’s competitive world, because<br />
one needs to be a strong proponent of ‘Positive Attitude’<br />
and ‘Mental Fitness’ – both ‘proverbial’ states-of-mind –<br />
circumstances and conditions have led me to believe<br />
that if one does believe in oneself, nothing is<br />
insurmountable. I repeat, NOTHING!!<br />
My concept of ‘self-belief’ stems from the four<br />
towering pillars called ‘desire’, ‘vision’, ‘persistence’<br />
and ‘guts’.<br />
Success, to me,<br />
is based on the concept of<br />
‘Self-Belief’.<br />
as also a hard core optimist, because it pays to be one.<br />
You will see how, in the next part of this article.<br />
To many, ‘Success’ is a manifestation of a number of<br />
things, which apparently fell into the right place and at<br />
the right point of time. Success, to me, is based on the<br />
concept of ‘Self-Belief’. The fact that I have donned the<br />
wonderful olive-green uniform of the worthy armed forces<br />
for a little less than a quarter of a century, could perhaps<br />
be one reason for this strong statement. I am not<br />
for one moment going to mention anything about my<br />
‘adventures’ in the varied fields of ‘battle’, but I’d be doing<br />
great injustice if I did not acknowledge the fact that<br />
Desire... it is that ‘everything’, which comes from<br />
life, and it comes from really wanting it. It is that<br />
fire in the belly, which cannot be put out, no matter<br />
what. You need to have this kind of desire for<br />
what you seek. Only then can you accomplish it.<br />
Desire then gives way to vision. Robert Schuller<br />
had this to say about ‘vision’. “You never have a<br />
money problem, only a vision problem”. If you<br />
have a vision for something, you will attract the<br />
money needed. Vision, to my mind, is that grand<br />
spectacular plan that sees the big picture, paints it<br />
for others and draws them along. We need to have<br />
a vision for what we want to accomplish. Can you<br />
see it even if it isn’t there? Can you hear it? Smell<br />
it?<br />
Persistence is the third pillar. Nothing in the world
Paathshala<br />
23<br />
can take the place of persistence. Talent will not –<br />
nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with<br />
talent. Genius will not – un-rewarded genius is almost<br />
a proverb. Education will not – the world is filled with<br />
educated derelicts. Persistence and determination<br />
alone, are almost omnipotent. We need to persist<br />
when the ‘going gets tough’, for it is only then that the<br />
‘tough get going’.<br />
I say this because I think of myself as that spirited<br />
young commando two and a half decades ago, doing<br />
the gruelling 40km speed march, when my morale<br />
was in my shoes and ironically, those same shoes had<br />
seen better days and when this caption or slogan – call<br />
it what you will – sprang up in front of my eyes, it gave<br />
me that much needed boost and confidence and the<br />
remaining part of the speed march did not seem all<br />
that gruelling after that.<br />
anyway. When others did the disappearing act, these<br />
guys forged ahead. It made all the difference. So if you<br />
have these ‘pillars’ within you, nothing will stop you<br />
from being an ‘achiever’.<br />
That’s a word and I’d like you to keep this in mind<br />
whenever you are faced with a situation, which you<br />
find difficult to handle. You really need to have this<br />
ally called self-belief and I assure you, you will have all<br />
the resources you will ever need to live life, as you<br />
have always dreamed of.<br />
You really need to have this<br />
ally called self-belief and I<br />
assure you, you will have all<br />
the resources you will ever<br />
need to live life, as you have<br />
always dreamed of.<br />
Many a time it seems as if the goal is still a long way<br />
off and will take even longer in arriving, but does one<br />
quit and go elsewhere, or does one ‘attack’ with even<br />
more vigour? Ask yourself, and you will get your answer.<br />
What about courage, bravery, nerve, valour? Do<br />
you have them? Do you indeed have the guts to look a<br />
risk in the eye and not blink? Yes, the fourth and most<br />
important of those four pillars. Guts!! All the great<br />
men and women in this world were never handed this<br />
‘add-on’ on a platter. They all had their moments of<br />
unadulterated fear and terror. What separated them<br />
from the rest is that they had the guts to go forward<br />
Colonel Sunil Brijkrishan is visiting faculty at SIBM<br />
Pune will be sharing his thoughts in this column<br />
every month.
24<br />
Paathshala<br />
Rail Fares Hike<br />
Stand Justified<br />
Taken from Professor Manasi Phadke’s blog, which can be found at manasiecon.wordpress.com<br />
We will have to look aggressively at increasing our revenues, despite the Railways having a social, inclusive<br />
theme.<br />
I<br />
liked the rail budget (presented on July 8). I liked the choice. India also has some of the highest average<br />
freight revenue per tonne kilometre globally<br />
the candid talk, the way constraints were presented,<br />
the constant talk of making the Railways gen-next indicating that further increments in freight rates<br />
friendly, the simple representations of the financials.<br />
The Rail Budget spoke about operations, aesthetics in the current fiscal where good growth momen-<br />
may be detrimental for revenue growth, especially<br />
and financials in a very candid fashion, which is more tum is yet to set in.<br />
than one can say about the la-di-dah Lalu budgets or the Passenger traffic contributes only 30 percent to<br />
moody Mamata ones.<br />
rail revenues, because passengers underpay – they<br />
It makes sense to do an ABC analysis and prioritise a few stand cross-subsidised by the freight traffic. A look<br />
projects rather than create more projects. This makes at the figures is telling. The average passenger fare<br />
even more sense when you consider the operating ratio to freight rate ratio for China stands at 1.2, for Malaysia<br />
at 0.8 and for India at a meagre 0.3. The Rail<br />
of the Railways (ratio of expenses to earnings), which<br />
stood at a healthy 75 percent in FY64 and has deteriorated<br />
to 93.5 percent in 50 years. The writing is on the wall – fares was a compulsion and a correction that the<br />
Minister underscored that the increment in rail<br />
our revenues have not kept pace with rising costs. This Government had to undertake. It’s astonishing to<br />
means that we will have to look aggressively at increasing<br />
our revenues, despite the social, inclusive theme of tre changed by only 1.3 percent in 6 years (FY07 to<br />
note that the average rate per passenger kilome-<br />
the Railways.<br />
FY13) whereas the average rate per tonne kilometre<br />
changed by 3 percent. In FY14, there were<br />
Where do the revenues come from? 70 percent of rail revenues<br />
come from the freight traffic. Freight traffic on the<br />
some increments that the UPA government enactrail<br />
has been facing serious competition from road carriers<br />
in the past five years. It’s not that rail transport per<br />
kilometre is more expensive; however, when one adds<br />
logistics delays, booking issues, and lack of point-topoint<br />
services, one can see why road transport becomes
Paathshala<br />
25<br />
ed out of necessity created by a 9.5 percent inflation<br />
rate. The correction of 14 percent in passenger fares<br />
will have to be seen as a cumulative effect of the corrections<br />
not done by the UPA Government, even<br />
when the inflation levels were soaring from 2009 onwards.<br />
The 14 percent hike hits the common man directly. It<br />
contributes directly to increased cost of living and increased<br />
inflation, for those people who use these services.<br />
So, what in the world happened to the “Ab acche<br />
din aayenge” model? It is important for us to realise<br />
that the pay-if-you-use model has a lot of advantages<br />
to it. Were this fare hike not implemented, it<br />
would have shown up as a loss, eventually adding to<br />
the fiscal burden, further leading to money creation<br />
and hence to inflation, for everybody across the<br />
board, for users and non-users alike. It’s just not a<br />
great idea to ask the non-users of railways to pay an<br />
inflation tax to subsidise the users for their travel. An<br />
across-the board inflation hurts the public more since<br />
it feeds into the dearness allowances, setting off a<br />
wage price spiral that is truly difficult to control. So,<br />
while it looks like the 14 percent hike is bad news, we<br />
need to understand that it could be worse.<br />
Benchmarking the fare hikes to the fuel prices also<br />
seems necessary, because it allows for an automatic<br />
correction tool. End of the day, it’s important for the<br />
consumer to understand that paying more is a part of<br />
reality. If we don’t correct specific prices as the days<br />
go by, we will have to factor in a generic price rise that<br />
will harm all of us more. Bitter medicines are an infinitely<br />
better deal than prolonged painful illnesses.<br />
Prof. Manasi Phadke is a visiting faculty at SIBM<br />
Pune and will be sharing her thoughts in this column<br />
every month
26<br />
Paathshala<br />
Divergent Views -<br />
Employer<br />
Branding<br />
The collaboration with HR allows marketers<br />
to be seen as a key contributor to the structure<br />
of the entire organisation.<br />
The HR perspective<br />
Employee Value Proposition: Andrew Collett of Edelman<br />
Australia, employer brand specialist, states that<br />
the first step is to develop an Employee Value Proposition<br />
(EVP). To be truly successful, an employer brand<br />
needs to reflect who you are as an organisation and<br />
needs to be incorporated into every aspect of the employee<br />
experience. The EVP serves to define what the<br />
organisation would most like to be associated with as an<br />
employer and defines the ‘give and get’ of the employment<br />
deal. EVPs have become closely related to the<br />
concept of employer branding with the EVP being used<br />
to define the underlying ‘offer’ on which an organisation’s<br />
employer brand is based. EVPs are the set of attributes<br />
that employees and the labour market perceive<br />
as the value they gain through employment in the organisation.<br />
Developing social capital: Organisations should not<br />
forget in this era of continuous change and uncertainty<br />
and the individualisation of employment that employer<br />
branding should be concerned with developing social as<br />
well as human capital. It is the interactions between the<br />
person, the group and the internal and external networks<br />
that leads to increased intellectual capital in the<br />
‘extended’ enterprise and therefore, to continuous<br />
innovation.<br />
What Marketing can learn from HR:<br />
Influencing business behaviour and strategy. As a<br />
marketer, the person often has a tangible product<br />
and/or brand communication platform to sell its<br />
product or service. By working alongside HR, marketers<br />
have the opportunity to understand employee<br />
engagement, behaviours, beliefs and challenges.<br />
The collaboration with HR allows marketers to be<br />
seen as a key contributor to the structure of the entire<br />
organisation.<br />
Putting people first. Marketing can learn from HR<br />
that the organisation exists first internally and then<br />
externally. Indeed the brand lives through its employees’<br />
thoughts, communications and behaviours.<br />
Human Resources can help Marketing gain<br />
answers to various important questions. Together,<br />
marketers will uncover the answers to the above<br />
and deliver authentic ways to communicate the true<br />
value of your organisation. That purpose will spark<br />
innovation and marketers will impact the people,<br />
the customers and stakeholders alike. This will<br />
shape the future of the organisation.
The HR perspective is presented by<br />
Professor Deepika Pandita, faculty SIBM Pune<br />
The Marketing perspective is presented by<br />
Dr. Kaushik Mukerjee, faculty SIBM Pune<br />
Paathshala<br />
27<br />
Some companies (like John Deere,<br />
AMDOCS, Godrej etc.) have tied up with<br />
Symbiosis to offer executive diplomas in<br />
management for their high performers.<br />
The Marketing Perspective<br />
Employer Branding is about creating an image of the<br />
organisation that endears prospective employees<br />
and assuages the present employees that they are in<br />
good company.<br />
Methods of employer branding :<br />
Testimonials: IT service companies are faced with<br />
the challenge of attracting and retaining talent. Several<br />
software companies like HCL and IBM have projected<br />
their own people and created an aspiration<br />
among the prospective employees to join these companies.<br />
Associating with social causes: By associating the<br />
brand with a social cause, employer branding can be<br />
made effective. By highlighting the social initiatives<br />
undertaken by the company, the image of the company<br />
can be enhanced. This creates positive feeling<br />
for the brand among prospective as well as the current<br />
employees.<br />
Highlighting employee benefits: Companies highlight<br />
certain special benefits given to employees and<br />
the same can also help in employer branding. For<br />
example, onsite child day-care centres can be a commendable<br />
benefit for attracting and retaining women<br />
employees. Likewise, for IT companies facing<br />
high attrition rates, offering employee stock option<br />
plans and highlighting the same in the advertisements<br />
can help the cause of employer branding.<br />
Providing learning opportunities: When companies<br />
provide new learning opportunities for employees, it<br />
can be highlighted to achieve the purpose of employer<br />
branding. Some companies (like John Deere,<br />
AMDOCS, Godrej etc.) have tied up with Symbiosis<br />
to offer executive diplomas in management for their<br />
high performers. This can also motivate prospective<br />
employees if the same is highlighted through advertisements<br />
or on social media like LinkedIn and Facebook.<br />
Community: Employees like being part of a vibrant<br />
community and employer branding can be given a<br />
boost through social media campaigns on Facebook<br />
or LinkedIn. There can be some lively debates on hot<br />
issues concerning employees. The organisation can<br />
also get a deep understanding into the psyche of employees.<br />
New suggestions can come in from employees<br />
and they can be used for employer branding<br />
though posters, newsletters etc.
28<br />
Zeitgeist<br />
New beginnings and<br />
cherished memories<br />
E<br />
very journey has a beginning. For the thirtyseventh<br />
batch of MBA students of SIBM Pune,<br />
this journey started on June 5 th , on a<br />
warm, sultry midsummer morning. Smartly<br />
turned out in their best formals, the students filed dutifully<br />
into the auditorium – they had no information on<br />
what to expect.<br />
An address by the Director and staff soon cleared that<br />
up. The new batch would be welcomed to SIBM Pune<br />
through an induction process that would spread over a<br />
week and a half – ten days of introduction, interaction,<br />
and initiation.<br />
On the very first day, the students were divided into<br />
groups and subgroups for a number of ice-breaking<br />
sessions, the fundamental purpose of which was for<br />
the students to get to know each other. Two years of<br />
togetherness began with sessions where students were<br />
asked to introduce themselves to each other in two<br />
minutes, remember various facts about each other and<br />
create a crafts project depicting a social cause. More<br />
than one lasting friendship was born in those first short<br />
hours on campus.<br />
Cultural performances<br />
June 6 th – Within twenty-four hours of their arrival on<br />
campus, the first year MBA students were encouraged<br />
to showcase their creativity with a three-part cultural<br />
performance.<br />
Part one of the performance was to highlight two major<br />
learnings that could be gathered from the phenomenal<br />
success of Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial campaign.<br />
Part two was to present a skit dealing with a single<br />
social issue; and part three was left completely<br />
open to the group for music, dance, poetry, rap, or any<br />
other cultural performance of their hearts’ desire.<br />
Some brilliant performances depicted Modi’s<br />
humble origins, his oratory, and his positioning<br />
as a man for the masses. There were also depictions<br />
of various fictional debates between Modi,<br />
Rahul Gandhi, and Arvind Kejriwal.<br />
The social issues addressed ranged from peer<br />
pressure and eve-teasing to suicide. The loudest<br />
applause of the event, however, was reserved for<br />
the various song and dance routines.<br />
The audience was, of course, composed of the<br />
students themselves – and not only did they vocally<br />
appreciate each other’s talents and ideas,<br />
they bonded as well.<br />
Corporate interactions<br />
June 7 th – A corporate interaction was organised<br />
with representatives from Pidilite, Cognizant,<br />
and Reliance Jio visiting the campus and interacting<br />
with the students. This was the first time the<br />
young brigade had the opportunity to interact<br />
with industry professionals having years of experience.<br />
The student body gained insights on efficient<br />
operations and effective advertising, on<br />
various issues facing today’s workforce – and, to<br />
a large extent, on what was required of them as<br />
B-school students.<br />
Examination<br />
June 9 th – An examination was conducted on four<br />
subjects that lay the foundation of the MBA<br />
course – economics, statistics, accounts, and
Zeitgeist<br />
29<br />
Visit to an NGO<br />
June 12 th – A B-school is not all about business – or at<br />
least, SIBM Pune is not. The heart of SIBM Pune was<br />
revealed when the students were taken on visits to various<br />
NGOs in Pune – Matoshree Vrudhashram,<br />
Niwara, Shirdi Sai Baba home for aged blind<br />
women, Janaseva Foundation, Ishaprem Niketan,<br />
Prayatna, Niwant Andh Mukta Vikasalay and<br />
Schizophrenia Awareness Association.<br />
This day was an eye-opener for many students<br />
interacting with residents and officials of various<br />
NGOs, as they realised the value of love and<br />
compassion. The visit also enabled students to<br />
witness first-hand how NGOs go about ensuring<br />
sustainability.<br />
principles and practices of management. These tests<br />
were conducted on the basis of texts provided well in<br />
advance of joining, in the form of pre-induction study<br />
material. The fact that students had already covered<br />
the basics even before arriving on campus would definitely<br />
simplify regular<br />
classes, when they began.<br />
Fun-filled team building<br />
June 10 th – An outbound<br />
learning programme was<br />
organised in association<br />
the agency Wren and<br />
Pecker. The day-long<br />
programme saw students perform various physical<br />
group tasks, where the values of discipline, team work<br />
and coordination were reinforced.<br />
Corporate visit<br />
June 11 th – The students, accompanied by faculty, visited<br />
various companies like Eaton, Kirloskar, Gowardhan,<br />
Volkswagen, Brintons Carpets Ltd, Mahindra &<br />
Mahindra, Dana Spicer & Mahle Behr. There, they were<br />
introduced to the operations of real, functioning manufacturing<br />
companies and learnt about the management<br />
of real-time processes – getting a quick glimpse<br />
of real-world corporate operations before the session<br />
even began. This was the first time that corporate visits<br />
were organised with the new batch of MBA I students.<br />
The induction programme<br />
was a raging<br />
success. It ensured that,<br />
by the end of the period,<br />
strangers had become<br />
friends. It provided<br />
an opportunity for<br />
new students to understand<br />
what was required<br />
of them. It gave the untried<br />
first years a platform<br />
to interact with<br />
members of the corporate<br />
world.<br />
Takuya Uotani, a first year student from Tokyo, said:<br />
“It was the perfect way to start a new beginning. We<br />
played various games and introduced ourselves in a<br />
totally unique manner. The sessions helped me discover<br />
new friends, and to be confident as I begin this challenging<br />
journey.”
30<br />
Zeitgeist<br />
The answer lies<br />
within us<br />
M<br />
an in the twenty-first century needs<br />
quick solutions for everything. Even the<br />
food he eats is ready instantly without<br />
any kind of physical effort, the clothes<br />
he wishes to wear are delivered to his doorstep by the<br />
click of a button, children who yearn for parental attention<br />
are showered with exorbitant gifts, because that’s<br />
easier and quicker than taking time out to be with them.<br />
Though many may argue that the latest technology is to<br />
be utilised for our benefit, the inevitable side effect is<br />
lethargy, physical and more importantly mental.<br />
We’d rather choose from something that is served to us<br />
on a platter rather than work hard for it and enjoy the<br />
sense of accomplishment. So also in the decisions that<br />
we take in our lives; we’d much rather “Google it” or<br />
consult one of the many godmen out there for the answers<br />
to spiritual peace, when the answer is within us all<br />
the while. But we need to invest some time into it.<br />
I believe in God and not godmen/godwomen, and I’m<br />
convinced that we have been wonderfully created with<br />
more power than we would like to accept. Every human<br />
being has been blessed with the innate ability to differentiate<br />
right from wrong.<br />
For instance, any person who is in an unhappy relationship<br />
knows exactly the reason for it, whether it is the<br />
partner or something that they themselves have done.<br />
Similarly, some people achieve their goal while others<br />
see it only in their dreams because the former consciously<br />
dedicate time every day to work towards<br />
their goal while the latter are drowned in a sea of<br />
things and attempt to do them all, without prioritising.<br />
We know all this and we have heard these things<br />
before, but the problem lies in the fact that we do<br />
not sincerely try to change our thought process.<br />
Why? Because we’re too lazy!<br />
In a nutshell, life is beautiful and full of opportunities.<br />
Let us take an oath to be energised every day,<br />
with the confidence that we have it within us to<br />
tackle every obstacle that comes our way!<br />
This article is written by Deepa Jacob, MBA II (HR), SIBM<br />
Pune<br />
“What lies behind us and<br />
what lies before us are tiny<br />
matters compared to what<br />
lies within us.”
Zeitgeist<br />
31<br />
Happenings on<br />
the Hill<br />
Every month through this column, we solicit student input on campus life, whether inside or outside the classroom – outside preferred!<br />
We inaugurate this column with write-ups from Prateek Rajbir Singh (MBA I Marketing) and Supreet Vidya Lakhotia (MBA<br />
II Marketing). For all issues to come, please do send your inputs to prteam@sibmpune.edu.in – at least one student response<br />
from each batch will be published every month.<br />
O<br />
ne month at SIBM Pune is enough for you<br />
to feel smarter. As new members of the<br />
boys’ hostel, we have already come up<br />
with a concept called the ‘36-hour need’.<br />
We believe that a day should have 36 hours instead of<br />
the regular 24, so that there is enough time to finish<br />
projects, work on assignments, add animations to our<br />
presentations, socialise, eat and get at least 4 hours of<br />
sleep amongst it all! As things stand, I guess it’s time to<br />
order some Diazepam.<br />
On to first impressions. I think the first thing a new student<br />
notices is how beautiful the campus actually is.<br />
The weather has changed towards the end of the<br />
month and it makes for a stunning backdrop for studying<br />
economics and statistics, if one can actually take<br />
their eyes off the scenery that is visible through the<br />
large windows.<br />
With the entry of a new MBA Program, ‘I 2 ’ i.e. Innovation<br />
and Intrapreneurship, SIBM Pune has indeed made<br />
a mark in the field of academia. An ingenious and<br />
ground-breaking opening was attended by Dr.<br />
Raghunath A. Mashelkar, the Head of National Council<br />
of Innovation of India. As a member of the student<br />
body I think I can safely say that we are all very proud of<br />
the efforts of our distinguished faculty.<br />
The enthusiasm with which our seniors approach various<br />
student council initiatives has shown us the love<br />
and respect this institute engenders.<br />
T<br />
he first weeks back are all about catching up<br />
with long-lost batchmates, be they tanned<br />
marketing folks or mumbo-jumboed Finance<br />
guys… visiting old joints around campus…<br />
discussing summer experiences and project mentors.<br />
And beneath it all is an undercurrent of gauging the<br />
batch of students who have just joined us.<br />
The new first-years have chosen SIBM Pune, and ask<br />
questions on every aspect of their life here. Which specialisation<br />
to choose, which councils to join, which<br />
books to buy, how many hours to sleep, which joints to<br />
hang out at – or any tiny little scrap of information that<br />
could come their way on placement. They network with<br />
the senior batch on the basis of hometowns, on the basis<br />
of undergraduate degrees, on the basis of mutual<br />
Facebook friends. Just to gain an extra insight from the<br />
seniors, any small edge. We all have been there… but<br />
from this distance, their concern seems uncalled for.<br />
We do our best to ensure that their fears are assuaged<br />
by mentoring the juniors on how to choose the right<br />
specialisation, advising them on case competitions, and<br />
organising talent hunt events. The results are impressive<br />
and immediate, with the SIBM Pune football contingent<br />
winning the National Championship at XLRI.<br />
This year, the initiation has been a little tough owing to<br />
the effects of El-Niño and poor monsoons in the month<br />
of June. We feared that economic counters nation-wide<br />
would be low.<br />
To sum up, our first month at SIBM Pune has been enjoyable,<br />
extraordinary, unique, and superb!<br />
Prateek Rajbir Singh<br />
But nothing has dented our spirits and now that monsoons<br />
are back in full sway, I can reiterate – life’s picturesque<br />
at SIBM Pune.<br />
–Supreet Vidya Lakhotia
32<br />
Zeitgeist<br />
The big-screen<br />
experience<br />
T<br />
his year, the football season kicked off with<br />
a bang as FIFA Football World Cup matches<br />
were screened live at the SIU Auditorium.<br />
SIBM Pune had its own football team selection<br />
under process during the World Cup. FIFA just<br />
added to the excitement!<br />
Seeing the FIFA fever spread across<br />
campus, the institute arranged to<br />
screen the matches in all hostels, and<br />
the big three in the main university auditorium.<br />
From the start of the tournament on<br />
June 12 th , the match between Brazil<br />
and Croatia, to Germany winning the<br />
cup… our football enthusiasts experienced<br />
and enjoyed every moment of it.<br />
The common rooms were full irrespective<br />
of the time, be it 0030 or 0330, and<br />
the experience was thrilling.<br />
As the tournament progressed, we<br />
reached the semis and the final stages<br />
of the match, and the corridors echoed<br />
with discussions of Neymar and Messi. It was really<br />
delightful to see our B-school arrange for the screening<br />
in auditorium.<br />
Matches<br />
July 10 th , <strong>2014</strong>: 0130 – Semi-final 2, Argentina vs<br />
Netherlands<br />
July 13 th , <strong>2014</strong>: 0300 – Final<br />
The entire group gathered at least<br />
half an hour before the start of every<br />
match. The cheering started before<br />
the game even started. For both semi<br />
-finals, there were at least 200 football<br />
fans gathered in the auditorium…<br />
cheering and whistling at every goal.<br />
There was a clear demarcation of the<br />
fans supporting the battling teams.<br />
Every goal, every miss, and every controversy<br />
was lived and cheered for.<br />
It was an absolutely amazing experience<br />
on the big screen. In fact, we felt<br />
for the commentators, stuck watching<br />
the same thing on a much smaller screen!<br />
July 9 th , <strong>2014</strong>: 0130 – Semi-final 1, Brazil vs Germany
Zeitgeist<br />
33<br />
The late night experience outside hostel was an experience<br />
of its own.<br />
Every goal, kick, or close-up on the giant screen<br />
meant that we did not miss a single moment. It was<br />
more engaging than a movie.<br />
Then came the final. The auditorium was jam packed<br />
– at least 400 fans had turned out. The environment<br />
was thrilling. Students had come in team jerseys. Girls<br />
had painted their nails yellow and green. Others had<br />
painted their faces, which gave us a real stadium feel.<br />
There were people in big colourful hats and whistles…<br />
and of course there were a few like me who just went<br />
there for the experience!<br />
People had come prepared with chips, chocolates,<br />
sodas and snacks. It was indeed a once in a lifetime<br />
experience. During halftime, the auditorium was filled<br />
with fans murmuring about second half strategies.<br />
Every one of them donned the expert’s hat and commented<br />
on play in the first half.<br />
The score was 0-0, and then came the goal after extra<br />
time. The excitement experienced at that moment<br />
cannot be expressed in words! Germany won the<br />
World Cup, in style! A memory to be cherished for life.<br />
Amidst the pressure of exams, assignments, projects<br />
and competitions this was a welcome change… and<br />
an opportunity for relaxation and bonding with our<br />
fellow football enthusiasts.<br />
Shekhar Rai (MBA I Marketing)
34 Food for Thought<br />
Zeitgeist<br />
Efficiency is<br />
intelligent laziness<br />
Every month, we give you an idea. Something to chew on; to digest; and, on some occasions, to spit<br />
straight out! This month, we bring you this thought – ‘Efficiency is the mother of laziness’. This inaugural<br />
column shares an opinion on the subject from iSMaRT’s very own Paras Kumar (MBA II Marketing).<br />
Let us know what you think. Agree? Disagree? Neutral? Where would you place yourself on this Likert<br />
scale? Write in with your views, on the same idea, to prteam@sibmpune.edu.in – at least one student response<br />
will be published every month in this column.<br />
Time and again we have heard the saying “Laziness is the<br />
mother of efficiency”. I, for one, agree with this almost as<br />
much as I disagree. In any form of mathematical or logical<br />
model it is not possible to quantify the term ‘laziness’. The<br />
next genuine thought process that pops up is – “If you cannot<br />
measure the extent or degree of laziness how can you<br />
relate or rather correlate it to efficiency?”<br />
Agreed! Right now I am as confused about understanding<br />
the value of correlation coefficient between the two as you<br />
technical terms, laziness reduces your overall energy<br />
expenditure and thereby helps you to focus more on<br />
relevant aspects. Just recall your energy level during<br />
semester exams after a lethargic prep-leave period.<br />
Ah! That was a far-fetched enlightenment indeed.<br />
However, this does emphasize the point that it may or<br />
may not be feasible to calculate the correlation coefficient<br />
between laziness and efficiency but there is definitely<br />
a cause and effect relationship between the<br />
are. But this does not overturn the fact that ‘being lazy’ is<br />
an intrinsic human tendency that cannot be voided. Be it<br />
procrastinating till the last second for completing assignments<br />
or be it lying down and avoiding everything on a<br />
sleepy Sunday morning, laziness presents itself in one form<br />
or the other. Successful individuals differentiate themselves<br />
on the basis of their response to this very human<br />
propensity.<br />
two. I will leave the ball in your court and let you decide<br />
– is laziness the mother of efficiency? or is efficiency<br />
intelligent laziness?<br />
Laziness, therefore, can prove to be a virtue if handled intelligently.<br />
It’s difficult to imagine laziness to be a virtue. In