The department of Industrial and Management engineering hosted Mr. Aniruddha Khekale, Group Human Resource Director, Emerson Automation Solutions India for a corporate seminar on 4^th of August. It was an engaging session on the topic, ‘HR for passion and dispassion’. The seminar commenced with Mr. Khekale giving us a glimpse of Emerson Automation Solutions and its journey from a start-up in mass production to building Emerson platforms, going global.

He began his speech on the topic with a picture of a pulse signifying upward slope as passion and downward as dispassion. Passion and dispassion is defined by business driver however compassion is a human element that we can choose to deal with them. This compassion comes from organization’s values and culture. The speaker asked us for our views on the roles and functions of various facets of a CEO, a COO and a CHRO, what we would expect a CHROs contribution to the company and its decision-making system? It was an engaging moment, with many people coming up with multitudes of different thoughts and perspective.

While defining HR accountability, he spoke about the ideas of a moral compass, with a focus on results and human empathy. In the world of artificial intelligence, it is human empathy that will help a company to grow and prosper. The speaker next went on to discuss a case study about a company struggling to achieve a certain target in a year while having a de-growth in a certain quarter. After 10 minutes of brain storming the student came up with various solutions. Mr. Khekale discussed about how in such a situation that the company was facing, dispassion can be cost containment, restructuring and downward spiral, while passion is the growth which can come only from positive energy that we get from the hope and direction communicated by the top people in business. So, when Emerson faced with a similar situation, they implemented simple steps like empathetic communication, focus, engaging high potential members of various teams and reorganization. Smal steps of wisdom such as Weekly To-Do list or dynamic work allocation went a long way in improving the business ambience as opposed to critical appraisal systems where the productivity may be taken for a long walk under the occurrence of the same.

Mr. Khekale also talked about six step process of ‘Mission’ and ‘Role’ being long term and Goals and plans (To-Do list, Schedule and delegate) to be weekly point of focus. He also talked about the company policies of engaging and re-organizing the high potential people. There were greater than 95% retention and 75+ promotions and job moves. The speaker also spoke about the steps taken by the company in providing the women leaders an environment to work together. He spoke last but not the least about the  skills one should have as an HR which includes, strategic intelligence, energize organization, alignment, balance, speed, strength and compassion. In the world where numbers speak, one need to realise it is the humans to speak with numbers and it is imperative, we take care and value our human resources. After a truly engaging and interactive session, we thank Mr.Khekale for spending time us and sharing real life experiences that broadened our knowledge horizon.

In India, after the explosion of the population bomb, the demand for land has increased manifolds. The price of land has risen to alarming proportions. But it is an open secret that it is one industry where black economy has a lot of presence.   The politico-mafia nexus has also been largely responsible for this dire situation.

Market forces are always good for an economy, but the mafia forces always have a detrimental effect on its overall health. As we all know, much of the real estate industry is operating on speculations. There is more noise than substance in it. Let us understand it with an example. Suppose the property rate in a particular area is 1000 rupees per square feet. Now, within three months, a coterie of powerful people sells their properties at 1500 rupees per square feet to potential buyers by various means, be it by changing the land use or by promoting a big project near it in the coming future or by any other means, the prices in the area are now automatically set at 1500 square feet. This system is only benefitting the high and mighty and is making the plight of low middle class or people even worse. There are no effective regulations to put an end to this dubious system. Recent upheavals in Nandigram and Bhatta Parsaul are examples that arise, as a result of such mismanagement.

Indian property bubble is building up. More and more are flocking to the nearby towns and cities in search of jobs, thereby worsening the problem further. In a country like India with 1.25 billion people, developing industrial hubs near only major metropolis would not solve the problems. Developing industrial hubs, at least, at the divisional level, would be the ideal solution. As a result, a large section of the country would experience the fruits of the industrialisation that is going on in the country.

Now, Let us move towards Seemandhra. After ten years it has to part with Hyderabad and has to develop a new capital. What would the politicians, bureaucrats and other builders do? They would buy huge tracts of land in some remote city at very low prices. They would then convert the land use by various means and then announce this city as the capital of new state of Seemandhra. With the coming of various government and private projects, land prices would escalate like anything, thereby benefiting them hugely . It is the common man that always suffers. We do not need a country where there are two INDIA’s. One is the “The shining one“and the other is the ‘Real Bharat’. Each and every individual should be a part of the growth story.

The problem is also the worsening the disparity in the incomes of the various regions of the country. Let me quote the example of my state i.e. Uttar Pradesh. If you look at the real estate prices in NCR region i.e. Noida , Greater Noida etc. , it has gone out of the reach of common man . Even the upper middle class cannot afford it without the ‘vicious’ support of the banks. The cities are becoming inaccessible, as far as , housing and rentals are concerned . This is a problem of deep concern. It has also led to dissatisfaction in other regions of the state. People nearby NCR region are benefitting by the huge rise in the land prices, but the other parts are still reeling under acute poverty. I want to ask a question.  Do only the people of NCR have a right to higher standard of living?  What fault has people from other regions have committed? Either the land prices should be regulated or the development curve should shift to the other regions as well. Otherwise the demands for new states and developmental authorities would not subside. The Eastern UP, even with cheap labour and one of the most fertile lands in the world, is reeling under serious poverty. The land prices in the region are either growing very slowly or have stagnated.

The situation is also worsening the overall productivity of the population. We always emphasize that India should be a manufacturing nation. We should contribute things of real substance to the world, but the fact is that the path chosen towards that goal is very ambiguous. People in large metropolis and cities have taken property dealing as a safe option. They fail to understand that this honeymoon period will not go on endlessly.   The fizzling of the US and Dubai real estate bubbles are good examples of that. Money is a thing that needs to be circulated in the economy. People in the country just follow the safest option. They invest their money in real estate thus capturing a huge amount in it. If that money was circulated in the economy many people would have benefitted from that.

Housing is a basic necessity. Every family needs a home to sustain its life. But the craze for real estate is making them blind. They go on and on investing without thinking of the plight of others who cannot afford it. Such a situation cannot continue for long.

It is high time that we look into and refresh, whenever needed, our land reforms system. A central authority should be set up which should look into the real estate prices at pan India level. The disparity between the prices of various regions should be not huge. A proper structure needs to be put into shape to look at the various pitfalls of the real estate industry. The Land Acquisition Act and REITS i.e. Real Estate Investment Trusts are good measures taken by the government in this regard. But a lot still needs to be done. Low cost housing, as a concept, should be promoted in a big way.

Housing is a necessity.  Let it remain a necessity. It should not get converted into a dream.

By: Abdul Baree

“There are those who advocate, and those who do. I’m not trying to slight my peers, but there is a difference between using a soapbox and actually getting your hands dirty.”

-Bon Jovi

Likewise, if you are not making your hands dirty by facing some real challenges through case based problems, you are definitely not going to feel the real pulse of an MBA Program.

Standing at this juncture of fast changing 21st century world, IIT Kanpur MBA program, with a vision to create world class business leaders of tomorrow is also no exception. The eminent faculties here believe entirely in class discussion and case based approach of study, rather than throwing management jargons and theoretical mug ups. The students also participate in class like a corporate house discusses its problems to reach solutions. The unique ways of discussing the cases and analyzing them from various points of views have made the teaching methodology of IME , MBA  a unique one.

With resources and case materials directly available from Harvard Business Review, IMD, Ivey Business School, Kellogg School of Management, the classes become a lively experience to visualize the real time business problems.  With every passing day, the students also look forward eagerly about the next case and the expected learning, obtainable from that. Even at times, we at IIT Kanpur face case based exams in end and mid semester evaluations.  The very lucidly written and informative cases also help us to understand in a more deep way about the industry, the company, the people, the business strategies, and marketing strategies and so on. In an essence, a case gives a complete overview of a business scenario, which is no inferior to a real life problem. In fact the cases are actually prepared from the real industry problems, with an aim to solve the situations by different approaches.

So, to conclude, every time when we face a case challenge, we have to put on the shoes of the manager of the firm and have to try out different ways. The case based teaching / problem based approach is the most contemporary and appropriate way to develop and nurture tomorrow’s business leaders. After all, business is done with clear understanding and experience and not by some theoretically gained knowledge. Yes knowledge should be gained definitely, but at the end it’s only the wisdom and ones sense of surroundings and experience that get counted.

By- Kinsuk Ghatak

In the streets of greater town there lived an eagle and a crow, they were best friends and used to spend most of the time together. One day the eagle fell ill and requested the crow to take care of the baby eagle. Crow being the best friend promised the eagle that she will take care of the baby eagle. So the time passed by, the eagle died and the baby eagle grew in the same nest with crows. An eagle for your knowledge flies very high and very fast while a crow flies low and slow. By nature, eagle is fearless while crow lives its entire life in fear. As the baby eagle grew big, it learned to fly like a crow, it feared flying high and never took a big leap, and it lived its entire life like a crow and died one day.

The moral is simple, we live the life we learn to live and not the one we are capable of living. Ask a child what he wants to do in his life and you will be amazed by his imagination and then meet him 25 years hence and he will be living a life entirely different from what he thought he would in his childhood. Napoleon Hill, the father of motivation and author of the best seller ‘Think and Grow Rich’ says that all limitations are set in mind, if we can free our mind from the limitations we can free ourselves to live a life we are capable of living.

The big question though is how? Let us try to explore.

The decisions we make determines the life we live, the decisions are based on our thoughts, so now the question is who controls these thoughts? May be this is a wrong question, the question to ask is where do these thoughts come from and the answer is that they come from our learnings, by learnings I mean they come from some external source, the source can be a positive source or a negative source, it can be a visible source like our parents, teachers, siblings, friends or it can a be a hidden source like a movie, a novel or someone else. Before going any further, let us try to see the importance of thoughts in our life.

Once upon a time, in the city of hoppers, there lived thousands of frogs. One day few of them were playing hide and seek when two of them fell in a deep pit, soon the frogs gathered around the pit and cried at the misery of their mates who couldn’t come up, they shouted “you can do it guys, just jump higher”, “come on-come on” the voices became louder but alas the frogs couldn’t jump their way out. As few hours passed by everyone bowed to the fact that the two frogs will soon die, “Don’t give yourself more pain, and accept the death”, “it’s ok, Die peacefully” shouted the group now but the two frogs kept trying, after all no one wants to die, hours went by and the frogs got tired, one of them lost hope and accepted his fate and died but the other one kept trying even though his mates kept begging him to give up and get rid of the pain and then after 3 more hours of constant trying  he made a leap and jumped out. The frogs were amazed, they started rejoicing and congratulated each other, “How did you do this?” asked the eldest frog. The frog didn’t reply, soon they learned that the frog was dumb. All this while, when the frogs kept shouting to accept the fate and die he kept thinking that they were cheering him to keep trying and that made him persist for so long even when his companion gave up.

Moral is simple, the thoughts that surround us determine how we will react under various circumstances and thus makes us who we are. Our potential is not what we think it is, in fact it is limitless. The limit to which one can believe that is the limit one can achieve, so now the question is how do we start to shift the limits of our belief on our self? The answer though is simple to know but tough to execute. If one wants to go beyond limits, one needs to be dumb to all those things that constantly remind him of his false limits, for example a score in the exam, a promotion, a rejection, a success, a failure etc all are false indicators of one’s limit. The only way to be dumb and blind to these limits is to be self involved, to have self belief based on knowing yourself rather than judging yourself.

Let me conclude by going to the title, What if ‘I’ were ‘Me’?  I may be able to live a life like an eagle –Fearless, I may be able to persist like a dumb frog and achieve the unthinkable, I might be able to live to my potential, the potential that is unbound, and the potential that is limitless. I here is not me, it is You, It is every one of us, If we can be ourselves wonders can happen. I will end with an observation that always fascinates me.

When I see the 100 meter sprint on TV , As all the participants take guard and the whistle blows everyone starts with almost the same speed and within a matter of seconds the speed of few drops, I always wonder that can’t they run for 10 seconds with the same energy with which they take guard and start and then I get my answer in the thoughts that must cross their mind within 2-3 seconds of the sprint, some of them might feel that they can win as their opponents are about to be left behind while some of them might feel they can’t match their opponents and they slow down and loses the race just when it begins, the point is that it is the thoughts that make them behave the way they do, what if there is a tiger 500 meter behind them will they still slow down after 2-3 seconds, of course not, till the time tiger is in striking distance no one will give up and will in fact become fast with every second.

‘I’ can be ‘Me’ and ‘you’ can be real ‘you’ only if you let the limits set in your mind free.

As Brian puts it “The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channelled toward some great good”

By- Ishaan Singh

Let’s look at some facts about Maggi. Maggi brand was born in Switzerland in 1872, and came under the Nestle umbrella in 1947. However, rendezvous with India happened in 1982-83. With more than 30 years of its existence, it is still among the most recognized brands in India. Brand Finance, the London-based consultancy firm, ranked (i) Maggi 23rd globally, with a value of $2.4 billion and (ii) Nestle, at the top of the list, with a value of $21.2 billion. These figures were however, quoted by the consultancy firm before the major recall this year. According to sources, the category of “prepared dishes and cooking aids” of Nestle India, which broadly translate into Maggi, accounted for 31.5 per cent of sales in 2014. The Maggi unit saw 8.1% rise in value at Rs 21.4 billion in 2014. Its “value market share” has been stable at 80 per cent in noodles. With such a strong presence in the lives of Indian consumers, what can Maggi or any brand do to bring back its glory?

It all started when a sample from a small town in Uttar Pradesh, was found to have very high levels of lead, which resulted in FSSAI banning its further production, sale and export. This is not something unique that happened to Maggi. There are several instances from the past, such as that witnessed by Cadbury when in October 2003, just before Diwali, customers in Mumbai started complaining of worms in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates costing huge damage to the brand.

As mentioned by the Wharton marketing professor Barbara Kahn, companies can take a slow and steady approach to brand repair, or a swift “silver bullet” solution. One can start by associating the company with more nutritious offerings and slowly move the image in a believable way. Companies should focus on communicating their core value like innovation or leadership or target some emotional appeal. With each baby step one can extend brand meaning but the important point to remember is that the customer should also be willing to take that jump. According to Wharton management professor Katherine Klein, when people hear of a brand/ product crisis, the questions that come to their mind are: What is the nature of the scandal? Who was hurt and how badly? I will add a few more questions to this list such as (i) is it true? (ii) Is it a publicity stunt or politics? (iii) What are my friends and other experts saying about this? (iv) Can I as a consumer face this situation again? (v) What are the substitutes available? (vi) Are other substitutes safe? Getting answers to these questions is important to design the right strategy to face the crisis. Lou Rubin, managing director of DPrime Consulting, a unit of Omnicom Group, the marketing communications firm, says that successful brand rehabilitation begins with openness and honesty, “The first issue is, you can’t hide. You must acknowledge the problem. People want to
forgive, and contrition is an accepted part of our culture. Lying is not.” So accepting the fault, and showing that you are committed to health and safety of customers is important to win a lost battle. Combining a research study done by Greyser (2009) and a study published in MIT Sloan Management Review (2010) evaluating a situation should be done based on these dimensions: a. Is the crisis real? b. Severity of crisis? c. Do customers identify with the brand? d. Brand elements

In the case of a highly severe crisis, especially when people connect with the brand strongly, like in the case of Maggi, the top management should apologize quickly, sympathize with the customers and accept responsibility. All bad news (whether coming from customers during/ after product purchase/ consumption or laboratory tests) should be communicated sooner and in one shot. Slow communications at intervals keep reminding people of the crisis and can worsen the situation even more. The top management and owners of the brand should come upfront to explain the lapse as customers really look up to them for their reaction and to see them in action. The company should ensure that all the laws, safety measures, standards are in place and be strictly followed. The same has to be communicated to public at large without using flowery language. Keep it simple and crisp. In case of product recall there should be clear instructions on how to return the product, and replacement
and compensations. Brand advertising and PR activities should follow apology. Sometimes a company can also adopt “not just me” attitude and explain to customers that this can happen with any product in the market. This would help appeasing not just the distressed loyal customers but also potential customers, who should not make even stronger negative associations about this brand in their mind. In a discussion I got to know that some components like mono-sodium glutamate/ lead cannot be completely removed due to contamination and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. In that case print a statutory warning on the food packets, also the action that the company has taken to minimize the effects of such chemicals.

To conclude, in the eye of storm, a company should safeguard on all posts. The brand revival steps should be taken with respect to all stakeholders. Nestle should communicate with all stakeholders and adopt integrated marketing communication strategy encompassing all types of media (TV, print ads, social media, online, radio, events, etc.). The important part is to win back the trust of all: consumers, investors and government.

The company should try championing some social cause to get positive reviews and good media coverage. Work with the retailers and kirana stores for cooperative advertising and to maintain the relationship. At regular intervals, the companies should perform independent tests as well as in conjunction with government agencies and publish the test results. If some issue is found, take corrective action right at the inception rather than waiting for the whistle to be blown. Some NGOs should also party in this cause. Also, companies should keep upgrading their quality standards and see the utility, performance and accuracy of different machines and equipments in their factories.

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Priyanka Sharma

PhD, IME Department, IIT Kanpur

People’s Republic of China is the second largest economy of the world. Its official currency ‘Renminbi’ is the eighth most traded currency in the world. The famous ‘Yuan’ is the basic unit of Renminbi, but usually referred to as Chinese currency in international contexts.

Earlier Yuan was not a free floating currency. The PBOC had many checks on it and ensured that the Yuan traded within 2% range on either side of the reference line. This reference line is the official rate at which PBOC wants Yuan to be traded against US dollars which is set at 9:15
am every day in Shanghai. This balance was maintained by selling or buying US dollars as the need may be. This is in line with bringing Chinese economy in a more market oriented direction so to get a widespread acceptability for Yuan at global level.

However, the world has a different perception. Chinese Industrial data has shown exports to be declined by 8.3% in July 2015 as compared with previous year. China has been alleged to manipulate Yuan so that it could push its exports and eventually imports will hit which could undermine its trading partners. This implies that Chinese economy is on a downturn. However, China has been continuously putting aside these allegations.

India’s trade with China has reached $72.3 billion in 2014-15, with trade deficit of around $48.5 billion. In the short run, this trade deficit might increase but our economy is based on strong fundamentals with a hawk eyed RBI which has economic armours in its arsenal which will shield India from any global meltdown.

The whole incident has made the world to think regarding the linkage between currency value and trade agreements. Economists have advised the countries going into trade agreement; they should have a zero tolerance clause for currency manipulations so as to prevent any contingency.

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Arpit Jain

MBA 2015-17