Inauguration of the Annual HR Conclave – Disha 2013

Mr. Raj Narayan addressing the students at TAPMI

TAPMI witnessed the opening of Disha, its Annual HR Conclave which runs from the 31^st of August till the 1^st of September. Disha (which means direction in Sanskrit) is an apt name for the two day mega conclave centered on the critical corporate function of Human Resource Management. The opening Ceremony saw Mr. Raj Narayan, Senior Vice President, Human Resource of Titan Industries gracing the occasion as Chief Guest.

The ceremony began with an invocation song, followed by lighting of the lamp by dignitaries to mark the commencement of Disha. The Director of TAPMI, Dr. R.C Natarajan delivered the welcome address and presented a bouquet to the honourable guest. Dr. Natarajan also welcomed the media, faculty and students. The official logo for Disha 2013 was formally introduced by Dr. (Col) PS James as he emphasized humanism and how humanism can affect productivity. Dr. James gave a wonderful explanation of the logo telling that the hands shown depict the lending of humanism to soft clay enabling to gel well with the hardened clay. He concluded by encouraging everybody to enjoy Disha and have great learning experience.

The guest Mr. Raj Narayan addressed and enlightened the gathering. He stressed upon recreation of human values and its need from an industry perspective. He suggested that in these times with technology ruling our lives we can create communities and thus improve human connectivity. He iterated that HR leaders need to have vision on how the organization should plan its employees’ career growth and envision where they want to be. He emphasized on educating, enabling and empowering environment and the need of HR functionaries to focus on clear review system and reward mechanism.

In conclusion Mr. Raj Narayan narrated a beautiful story with a message – that the answer lies in our hands and that the answers we get depend on questions we ask.

The ceremony ended with the President of the Student Executive Council, TAPMI delivering the vote of thanks for the inaugural ceremony.

Mr. S Sivakumar addresses students of TAPMI

Mr. S. Sivakumar,  Group Head of Agriculture and IT, ITC Ltd, the architect behind the great idea of e-Choupal, delivered a lecture on ‘Inclusive Growth and Sustainability from the perspective of an Industry’ on 29th September, to the Management students of Manipal. This lecture, organized by TAPMI, is the eighth in line of the Silver Jubilee Leadership Lecture Series.

Dr.Shantaram (Trustee and Member of the Governing Council of TAPMI), Dr. Simon George (Dean – Academics TAPMI) and Dr. R. C. Natarajan (Associate Dean, TAPMI) were among those on dais accompanying the speaker. Dr. Natarajan introduced Mr. Sivakumar, as a leader who has won innumerable accolades in his field, a music enthusiast and an avid photographer.

Mr S Sivakumar addressing the students

Mr.Sivakumar started his lecture by addressing three questions – Who is excluded from current growth of market, Why should industry and business have a perspective in this issue and  what action should be taken by them in this regard. He enlightened the students about various aspects of the world that are depleting and tending towards extinction.  He emphasized that sections of population that do not have access to the basic necessities of life and technology have to be a part of this inclusive growth. The worst affected are our posterity who will bear the brunt of our acts. He mentioned that it now takes the earth about 1 year and 4 months to create what we have spent in one year. Hence he said that companies should now indulge in regenerating more natural resources than what they consume.

With increasing income disparity and environmental degradation, he said that there is every reason to supplement societal growth, especially in a country like India. The purpose of an economic citizen is to earn profit and their social duties lie in the taxes that come from their profits. He mentioned that if every company spends a part of its profit on rural development that alone will not be enough. He led by example that ITC practised what they preach, by being a carbon positive, water positive and a company which involves in solid waste recycling. He indicated that by following such methods, companies can achieve profits faster.

Assuming that more companies agree that the socio economic aspect is what they want to engage in, areas and ideas for sustainability open up. His message was clear, we need to create a whole host of business models that can eliminate the conflict between profits and what is right for the society.

Dr. Harish Hande addresses students of TAPMI

Dr. Harish Hande, the founder and Managing Director of SELCO India, and winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2011 for his pioneering work in taking solar energy to the poor through a sustainable business model, delivered a lecture on ‘Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Energy and the Youth’ to the Engineering and MBA students of Manipal. This lecture, organized by TAPMI, is the seventh in the line of the Silver Jubilee Leadership Lecture Series. This initiative is to nurture future leaders by providing a platform to the young business minds to interact with the great leaders of today.

Dr. Harish Hande addressing the gathering

Dr. Harish Hande started his address with humour calling himself a classical product of subsidy. He opposed the view of subsidies being perceived as bad in several MBA institutes and the society by giving examples of Vietnam. He mentioned about how one treats one’s ecosystem and emphasised on the daily acts of judging people more on terms of their profile, job and social status rather than emphasizing on them being treated as equal individuals. He focussed on the Indian education system as putting students into a cocoon, where the overall growth of the individual is hampered. He views India as a paradox of an overdeveloped and an underdeveloped country and suggested that India needs a paradigm shift in various business models.

Dr. Hande brought into light the differences between needs and wants, emphasizing that we have not created models on the needs of the poor, and suggested that we should focus more on creating models based on innovation, which other developing countries like Africa can follow. India should become leaders of 4 billion people rather than taxing the classic model of sustainability by focussing more on the markets of classic business models of McDonald’s and Wal-Mart. Stating that needs vary based on geographic location like in various states in India, he explained that they cannot be explained if we choose such classical business models giving an example of the 5 trillion-dollar case of the Hindustan Lever Ltd.

He questioned the true meaning of Sustainable Development in India in reference to Salt workers of Kutch and Coal miners of India. He said that we need a decentralised approach of energy and mentioned about the sensitivity of breaking the barriers between banks and people including the poor. He mentioned that the rich India is hiding behind the poor and living on the subsidies of the poor, which can be turned around at the advantage of the rich and see how it can be utilized in creating sustainable energy and development. According to him, the poor cannot be faulted for contributing to environmental threats because the society as a whole is responsible for not providing them with the optimum solutions.

He concluded by showing his disappointment in the youth of today by holding them responsible for the future unsustainability of the country. According to him, the best form of protests is to create solutions today for which the youth are being educated and not make excuses. Hence, he put it as a challenge to the youth of today to make a difference by providing a solution and not by following a solution set by others.

Indian Foreign Secretary enlightens students of TAPMI

Smt. Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, delivered a lecture on ‘India’s Foreign Policy – Dilemmas, Challenges & Action’, as a part of the Silver Jubilee Leadership Lecture Series organized by TAPMI. The Silver Jubilee Leadership Lecture Series commemorates TAPMI’s 25 years of excellence in Management Education.

Mrs. Nirupama Rao addressing the audience

The Foreign Secretary was welcomed by Dr. Ramdas M. Pai, Chancellor, Manipal University, and Dr. Saji Gopinath, Director, TAPMI. She spoke on various aspects of India’s foreign policies, and elaborated on the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships with the world. She also talked about the contributions made by India in maintaining peace, which would project India as the front-runner in gaining a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council within the coming years.

Smt. Rao spoke about the importance of environmental diplomacy in this era of climate change, as there is a definite disparity in the steps taken by the developed and the developing nations on this front. In this context, she said that India’s National Action Plan about climate change and also our participation in the G20 summit about global climate change, was well appreciated by the international community.

Talking about the global economic architecture, Mrs. Rao highlighted India’s unique position in the world, being both a recipient and a donor of economic and political diplomacy. She also stressed on the fact that the channels of communication with Pakistan, with whom we have had troubled relationships in the past, must remain open. Mrs. Rao concluded by stating that India’s foreign policy aims to support the cause of the common man.

‘Entrepreneurship is a process, not an event’

Mr.Manish Sabharwal at the TAPMI Leadership Lecture Series

Mr.Manish Sabharwal, a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of TeamLease Services, delivered a lecture on ‘Entrepreneurship as a career’ to the students of TAPMI on the 2nd of April 2010. Mr.Manish Sabharwal is an MBA from Wharton and had co-founded companies like IndiaLife, ICap India and India Insure Risk Management. This lecture marked the third edition of the Silver Jubilee Leadership Lecture Series.

Dr. Ramdas M. Pai (Chancellor, Manipal University), Dr. Simon George (Dean-Academics, TAPMI), Dr. Saji Gopinath (Director, TAPMI) were present on the occasion along with students and faculty of TAPMI.

Prior to the commencement of the talk, an awards function was held to recognise the academic achievements of students. Mr.Sabharwal gave away the following awards to the students:

• Dr.A.S.Iyer award to the best finance student- Mr.Vivek Didwania, PGDM 2008-10
• Dr.S.Dhandapani award for first rank in PGDM- Mr.Vivek Didwania, PGDM 2008-10
• Prashant Kulkarni award for best MIP- Mr.Muthusubramanian, PGDM 2008-10
• Jaspreet Sebastian award for achievements in 1st year–Ms.Kanika Gupta,PGDM-2009-11
• The Top 3 Brandscan 2009 projects were also awarded:
  • 1st – Mr.Tuhin Guha and team for shaadi.com
  • 2nd – Mr.Tanmoy Sarkar and team for Wildstone
  • 3rd – Mr.R.Srikanth and team for GCMMF(Amul)

The second issue of TAPMI’s Research newsletter was also released by the guest speaker. Mr.Sabharwal in his talk took the audience through his initial experiences as an entrepreneur. He mentioned that there were no golden rules in entrepreneurship. He emphasized that entrepreneurship is not about a brilliant idea, but about a commitment and determination to see the existing mechanisms with new eyes, and pursuing your dream.

He also viewed the allocation of resources such as capital and human resource as an important decision for an entrepreneur. He said, “Money should be spent as little and as late as you can, whereas a good team has to be chosen as early as you can”. He pointed out that as an entrepreneur, one should value diversity in a team, since different skills are required at different phases of business.

He then explained the scenario of entrepreneurship in India, where India can be seen as a market base or a production base. He concluded his talk by suggesting to the students to take a long term view of money and life and to consider entrepreneurship as a viable alternative after graduation.  He later answered the queries raised by the students on social entrepreneurship, challenges for entrepreneurs in India and learning entrepreneurial lessons from both success and failure.

– Media & Public Relations Group