From the desk of EDCOM team

Every person is an exception. Every person has something unique

in them, something that defines who they are and what they do.
That said; every person has a talent. And in the journey called
life, such talents become more than just a hobby; they become an
art. An art of self expression, be it through words, through
portrayal, or from behind the lenses. This means taking the time to
not only appreciate what we see or read, but also to value the people
who gave it to us. With Knowesis, we not only seek to bring such
talents front stage, but also celebrate them.

On our maiden venture, we begin with the blessings of our director

S.N.Ray and the head of the department Professor K.K.Roy.
We would have just remained a dream had it not been for their
encouragement. Thank you, dear teachers. A special thank you, to
Professor R.K Jana, our mentor. You made us believe. We
would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere
gratitude to Anand Chatterjee [MBA(day)-1 year] who helped
st

us out in designing the front page of the very first edition of the e-
magazine and various other technicalities

With articles focusing on the new trends of the age, those looking
for interesting issues can browse through topics that have been
arranged accordingly to the area of specialization concerning them.
But why restrict only to business??? So we added a few articles
that not only are relaxing, at the same time they expand our
knowledge to newer horizons.

2
Want to break the usual routine?? Go back in time to precious
moments spent with friends (and foes!) captured in frames, some
silly, some classic. And those who look for the quizzes and jokes,
yes we do have them!!!

For a magazine on its first edition, feedback is indispensible. And

we do value your advice. So take a few minutes to peruse the
journal and let us know how we can make a difference.
With warmest regards,
The Edcom team.

3
From the Director’s Desk

Greetings to the MBA students from the Director.

I take immense pleasure in sharing the golden moment of publication

of “students’ journal” of our institute, initiated by the students of
MBA (day).

I place on record, my sincere appreciation to all the members of

editorial committee for their initiative to give exposure to all the
students to contribute their inner strength of creativity and talents to
the rest of the students and motivate them to drive forward for the
benefits of the society at large.

I would once again request the committee to continue the effort in

future for improvement and creative ideas for taking our institute to
greater heights.

My best wishes.

Regards,
Dr. S.N.Ray.

4
Message from the H.O.D

Mind is god’s greatest gift to mankind. The more you nurture it, the
stronger it gets. The students have brought forward a platform that
will give everyone a chance to not only share their dreams and
thoughts but also got enlightened in the whole process.
The magazine Knowesis is an amalgamation of fun, entertainment,
information and creativity.
Best wishes for the magazine.
Regards,
Dr. K.k. roy

5
 Contents
Topics Page No.

Management Articles
 Human Resource
Total Rewards Optimization 7
 Finance
Grameen Bank 8
 Marketing
Recent Marketing Trends 10
Rural Marketing 12
 Production and Operations
Logistics in India 14
General
 Will the youth return to Kolkata ? 16
Events Corner
 Insight 2010 18
 Paradigm 2010 20
Book Review
23
Confab (Alumni Interview)
Mr. Ashoke Mukherjee 24
Mr. Abeer Chakraborty 25

Student’s corner
Photographia 27
Achievements 29
Fun Space
Jokes 32
Definition s Redefined 32
Corporate Gags 33
Biz-Covery 34

6
Total Rewards Optimization
By: Prapti Mukherjee
Students Representative, MBA 2009-2011, IISWBM

Can a company calculate exactly how much it needs to spend on

benefits to keep employees happy and still not dent its coffers? It seems
that such a thing can be possible by implementing the Total Rewards
Optimization (TRO) tool.

The concept of TRO was recently introduced to the Indian companies by Tim Glowa
and Ray Baumruk, global solution leads at Hewitt Associates.

The TRO tool is a survey that aims at bringing a voice to the employees when
companies plan their rewards package. The survey helps measuring employee
preferences through the process of trade-offs. The conjoint technique is used to check
on employees‟ preferences for various rewards and benefits. A detailed analysis of the
employees‟ preferences will assist companies to optimize their expenditure on rewards,
segment results for different types of employees and, hence, help them to make better
decisions about the benefits they offer.

Employee retention, attraction of the best talent and enhancement of productivity are
the key objectives behind the implementation of the TRO tool. The TRO sees to it that
the company spends more efficiently as well as effectively on their rewards. It has been
found that many a times; companies spend on rewards, which employees do not
value. This inefficiency can be fixed by reducing the expenditure on benefits that
employees do not appreciate, and increasing it on those that they do. The tool has
been able to identify alternative programs which most of the employees prefer over
what they currently have.

The TRO tool can be adapted to different countries and markets. Already launched in
the US, Canada, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong, the TRO tool is all set to hit China.
However, the proponents of the TRO tool feel that it can be successfully implemented
by the Indian companies. At present, the Indian companies are spending on a core
range of activities, like, salary changes, allowances, medicals. However, they should
start thinking out of the box. Companies should look into next generation features, like,
flexitime, working from home, more opportunities for training and development.

It should be kept in mind that the TRO tool avoids mismanaging employee expectations
or test for things the company cannot offer. In order for the survey to be relevant, it
should be designed to include items which are practically possible for the companies to
offer. This is because, the TRO tool, instead of guessing, brings some empirical evidence
to the companies decision-making on rewards.

7
Grameen Bank:
A Successful Venture in Microfinance
By: Arijit Das
MBA 2010-2012, IISWBM

The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community

development bank operating in Bangladesh that offers small loans
(microcredit) to the impoverished without requiring collateral.
Microfinance refers to a movement where poor and near-poor households are given
access to an appropriate range of financial services including credit, savings, insurance
and fun transfer.

History
Professor Muhammad Yunus a scholar of economics from Vanderbilt University (USA)
and professor at University of Chittagong founded Grameen Bank in 1983. He was
inspired during the terrible Bangladesh famine of 1974.
In 1976, the village of Jobra and other villages surrounding the University of Chittagong
became the first areas eligible for service from Grameen Bank. The Bank was immensely
successful and the project, with support from the central Bangladesh Bank, was
introduced in 1979 to the Tangail District.
An ordinance on October 2, 1983 by the government of Bangladesh,transformed the
project into an independent bank. In the year, 2006 there were 2,100 Grameen Bank
branches. Its success has inspired similar projects in more than 40 countries around the
world and has made World Bank to take an initiative to finance such schemes.

Solidarity Lending
Solidarity lending is a major process of microcredit lending. Each borrower belongs to a
five-member group but repayment is the sole responsibility of individual borrowers. It is
not required to give any guarantee for repayment but no further credit is extended to a
group in which a member defaults. This in turn ensures that in the group every one
behaves in a responsible manner
and no one defaults in repayments.
There is no contract between
Grameen Bank and its borrowers
and the system works based on
trust. It is also mandatory for the
borrowers to save a very small
amount in number of funds like
emergency fund, group funds etc.
These savings help serve as an
insurance against contingencies. By
focusing the lending to women who
constitute over 95% of the
borrowers, Grameen Bank has been
able to maintain a recovery record

8
of over 98% proving that the poor are trustworthy and bankable.

Social Impact of Grameen Bank

One unusual feature of the Grameen Bank is that the poor borrowers of the bank, most
of whom are women, own it. Of the total equity of the bank, the borrowers own 94%,
and the Government of Bangladesh owns the remaining 6%. As of October 2007, the
Bank has a staff of over 24,703 employees and 2,468 branches covering 80,257 villages,
up from 43,681 villages covered in 2003.
The Bank also incorporates a set of values embodied in Bangladesh by the Sixteen
Decisions. At every branch of Grameen Bank, the borrowers recite these Decisions and
vow to follow them. As a result of the Sixteen Decisions, Grameen borrowers have been
encouraged to adopt positive social habits. One such habit includes educating
children by sending them to school. This in turn helps bring about social change, and
educate the next generation.

Sources of Funds
The bank receives its funds from different sources and the main contributors have
changed with time. Initially, the bank depended on donor agencies for funds at a very
low rate. In the mid-1990s, the bank started to get most of its funding from the central
bank of Bangladesh. Currently Grameen Bank also issue bonds for fund collection.

Awards & Recognitions

Grameen Bank received several prestigious awards including the highest civilian award
in Bangladesh, the Independence Day Award, in 1994. However, the greatest
recognition of the bank's achievements came on October 13, 2006, when the Nobel
Committee awarded Grameen Bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, the 2006
Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to create economic and social development.

Criticism
Some of the criticism or problems, which Grameen bank faces, are:
The system creates a perpetual debt trap for the poor‟s and the ultimate benefit goes
to the corporations that sell capital goods and infrastructure to the borrowers.
It has attracted criticism from the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, for
the high rate of interest it demands from those seeking credit, as Grameen's interest
(reducing balance basis) on its main credit product is about 20%.Grameen's Sixteen
Decisions has been criticized as it forces families and borrowers to abide by the rules
and regulations set forth by the bank.

When poor people borrow they often rely on relatives or a local moneylender, whose
interest rates can be very high (exceeding 10% per month). Moneylenders usually
charge higher rates to poorer borrowers than to less poor ones. While moneylenders are
often demonized and accused of usury, their services are convenient and fast, and
they can be very flexible when borrowers run into problems. Hopes of quickly putting
them out of business have proven unrealistic, even in places where microfinance
institutions like Grameen Bank are active.

9
Recent Marketing Trends:
Paving The Way Towards A Successful Business
By: Auroni Ghosh & Ritankar Kundu
MBA (Day) 2010-2012, 1st Year, Sec-A

Introduction

2010 is poised to be an exciting year for marketers; trends that

have been taking shape over the course of the past decade
are creating new opportunities for business owners. The first ten years of the 21 st century
brought economic problems, corporate collapses and environmental disasters.
Nevertheless, it was also a decade defined by a shift in communications, from
traditional media to a worldwide conversation, that flows faster & farther than anyone
would have imagined. Thanks to the social web, such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs,
Online video & so on, news and information travels instantaneously,& that means
marketers have new and exciting opportunities to reach consumers.

With those economic, cultural, political and environmental events as well as the
advances in technology and the global online conversation in mind, following are the
five trends that affect all areas of marketing from advertising to branding and
everything in between and will shape marketing strategy through out 2010 & beyond.

Five Marketing Trends That Are Hot Right Now:

1. Internet Marketing:

The first on the list of current marketing trends is internet marketing, which is obvious
because people use the internet for almost everything these days .From
communicating with friends to online shopping, internet has made it fast, effective and
easily accessible. The internet has exploded over the last 10 years and even though it
may be obvious, it is the most used marketing method and will be for a long time in the
future.

2. Search Engine Optimization:

Getting people‟s posts high up in the search engines is extremely important for a
business, and that is why SEO is one of the most important current marketing trends. The
higher ones site shows up in the search engines, the more traffic will naturally flow
through the site. There is a learning curve to this, but once one knows how to use SEO
properly, your business will greatly benefit from it.

3. Video Marketing:

10
Using videos to market is one of the hot
current marketing trends right now because
they are easy to make, one can share tons
of information in a short period and they
can bring lots of traffic to a site. Many
people would rather watch a creative,
funny 1-minute video than read a book or a
long article on a subject. You can even
send videos through mobile phones and a
good video spreads quickly so it is definitely
worth looking into.

4. Social Media:

There is a bit of a debate about whether social media is one of the current marketing
trends that is effective, but in my experience, it has proven to be a very successful tool.
It is sometimes associated to viral marketing because it creates a "word of mouth"
system. It is free to low cost and can attract tons of traffic to a website because sites
such as Facebook or twitter are being used by millions.

5. Email Marketing:

Another one of the current marketing trends is email marketing because it is a low cost,
low risk way to reach a large amount of customers. An example can be when someone
shops online; there is usually an option to have emails sent to you about promotions or
upcoming salThis is an advantage to the costumer because they will know about any
upcoming discounts or events, and it also benefits the company by bringing in more
sales.

Conclusion:

Whenever one is changing the strategy to keep up with the current marketing trends, it
has to be kept in mind about the existing loyal customers who are so valuable to the
business, while still targeting new customers. This can be tough, so it can be beneficial
to try various new marketing methods to see which ones are effective for that purpose.
By updating the marketing plan periodically, one will see results and the business will
grow.

11
Rural Marketing
By: Akshita Chamaria
Students’ Representative, MBA (Day) 2010-12, 1st Year, Sec-B

Gone are the days when a rural consumer went to a nearby city
to buy “branded products and services”. Time was when only a
select household consumed branded goods, be it tea or jeans.
There were days when big companies flocked to rural markets to
establish their brands. Today, rural markets are critical for every marketer - be it for a
branded shampoo or an automobile. Time was when marketers thought van
campaigns, cinema commercials and a few wall paintings would suffice to entice rural
folks under their folds. Thanks to television, today a customer in a rural area is quite
literate about myriad products that are on offer in the market place. If television could
change the language of brand communication in rural India, affordable Web
connectivity through various types of communication hubs will surely affect the
currency of information exchange. As the electronic ethos and IT culture moves into
rural India, the possibilities of change are becoming visible.

Earlier, the general impression was that the rural markets have potential only for
agricultural inputs like seed,
fertilizers, pesticides, cattle feed
and agricultural machinery.
There is a growing market for
consumer goods as well.
Because of the green revolution
in India, the rural areas are
consuming a large quantity of
industrial and urban
manufactured products. In this
context, a special marketing
strategy, namely, rural
marketing has taken shape.

A wide array of problems hinders

marketers in approaching rural areas with confidence. The lack of fair weather roads,
widely dispersed villages, low density of population, lack of bank and credit facilities,
multiple tiers, higher costs and administrative problems, and lack of retailers are the
problems in rural distribution. Intelligent way of approaching rural areas is required.

12
The emerging distribution approaches include: Cooperative societies, petrol bunks,
agricultural input dealers, NGOs, etc. Latest approaches include the direct to home
selling methods: network marketing and internet marketing.

A marketer keen on tapping the potential of the rural market needs to understand the
context of the product use and the behaviour of the customer. The marketer has to
have an open mind to understand the rural consumer and have a creative approach
to provide satisfactory offering.

13
LOGISTICS IN INDIA –
JUST A START
Soumyashubha Ghosh

IISWBM (2009-2011), MBA (Day), 2nd Year,

Production and Operations Management

Someone rightly said, “Logistics today is as important for

success in digital economy as it was for Roman Empire
world dominance”. The movement of goods is the main
motive of the concept of logistics. The logistics concept
has gone through a radical change since the start of
education and research in the field of logistics. It started
with transport economy and Material Administration
(MA). Back in the 1970s and 1980s MA was a group of
different methods to optimise the physical flow in
transportation and warehousing. During that, timework
was carried with analytical tools for the transportation
and warehousing problems. During the last decade, the entire concept changed.
Now-a-days we use tools to provide exact solutions to logistics and supply chain.

The concept of logistics has changed from been only analytical to more problem
oriented. It has paved the way for successful development of business solutions. Now
logistics is just not only centred on providing transportation and warehousing solutions
but has involved a lot many dimensions. The emphasis has been laid on improved
productivity, cost reduction and long term contracts with simultaneous value addition
services such as packaging, labelling, systems support and inventory management.
Later in the late 90s, logistics picked up a lot more momentum and incorporated more
and more value added services Some of them are export/import management,
customs clearance, freight forwarding, customer service, rate negotiation, order
processing, assembly/ installation, distribution, order fulfilment, reverse logistics etc.
Consulting services like distribution of network planning, site selection for facility
location, fleet management freight consolidation, and logistics audit etc.

The annual logistics cost of the world is about 3.5 trillion USD. For any country the annual
logistics, cost varies from 9% to 20% of the GDP. The global logistics dominance has seen
a huge growth from 10 billion USD in 1992 to 333 billion USD in 2003(according to US
based Armstrong & Associates). The US is supposedly the largest market of logistics,
occupying nearly a third of the world share. However the largest LSPs (Logistics Service
Providers) are based in Europe. The top three global logistics providers – DHL, Kuehne +
Nagel and DB Schenker operate from Bonn, Switzerland and Berlin respectively.

The logistics industry has to be a very global industry to maintain its existence. The front-
on employees have to mix and interact with the native people to deliver the customers

14
what they need. The interaction with the local community is of utmost importance
because it importantly tells the LSPs what to deliver, how and when.

The logistics industry is still in a very nascent stage in the world. According to the same
above-mentioned report, only about 10% of the entire US market has been tapped.
There is huge amount of growth possible especially in the 3PL (three Player Logistics)
sector. If we look at the developing nations then the stage is wide open for the global
Logistics service providers to increase sales. DHL – the global number 1 in providing
logistics solutions is expanding its business very rapidly in the Middle East and the Asia-
Pacific. Kuehne + Nagel have been operating in the developing countries for a longer
time. However, since recently almost all global LSPs have shown keen interest in
expanding into the untapped developing world market.

In India, the logistics market has hardly been tapped. The annual logistics cost to the
annual GDP is approximately 14%, around 140 billion USD considering India to be a
slightly bigger than 1 trillion USD economy. Out of these 140 billion USD industry around
99% of it is in the unorganized sectors (i.e. owners with less than five trucks, affiliated to a
broker, small warehouse operators etc). Just about 1.5 billion USD is in the organized
sector, which reflects the state of the world logistics indA reduction in the logistics cost
can bring about a huge savings for the economy as a whole. A drop of 5% (from 14% to
9%) will enable Indian economy to save around 5 billion USD. The Indian government
and the Indian professionals have already undertaken the process of reduction.

Many large Indian corporate such as Tata and Reliance Industries are attracted by the
potential of this sector and have established logistics divisions. They started providing in-
house logistics services, and soon sensing the growth of the market, have started
providing services to other corporate as well.

Large express cargo and courier companies such as Transport Corporation of India
(TCI) and DHL have also started logistics operations. These companies enjoy the
advantage of already having a large asset base and an all-India distribution network.
Some large distributors have also forayed into the logistics business for their clients.

Since logistics, a service that can be provided without assets, there is growing interest
among entrepreneurs to venture into this bus Indian shippers are gradually becoming
more aware of the benefits of logistics outsourcing. They are now realizing that
customer service and delivery performance are equally important as cost to remain
competitive in this global economy.

The Indian government has focused on infrastructure development. Examples include

the golden quadrilateral project, east-west and north-south corridors (connecting four
major metros), Free Trade and Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) in line with Special Economic
Zones (SEZ) with 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit and public-private
partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure development. The North-South and the East-West
freight corridors have also started functioning. It connects Amritsar to Kanyakumari and
Ahmadabad to Visakhapatnam. The road density in India has increased from 0.64 in
the early 90s to 1.03 now. Nine super expressways have been built during this time and
multi lane concept adopted. Infrastructure development would boost investments in
the logistics sector. There is immense potential in this sector which needs to be tapped
well.

15
WILL THE YOUTH RETURN
TO KOLKATA?
Satadruta Mookherjee
MBA (Day), 1st Year, Sec-A

LOCATION: SOUTH CITY MALL, FOOD COURT

TIME: 6:00 PM

Four friends Avi, Sanj, DK and Sats, all from the same B-
School, were sitting around a table munching on KFC
burgers. They had their placements coming up and all were
tensed.

Avi: Hope good organizations visit this time…

Sanj: Do you people want a job in Kolkata?

DK: I want to go out of this city at any cost.

Sats: Why it is so? It is your hometown after all…

Avi: What is in Kolkata? Tell me. It is a dead city. There will not be any improvements
due to the cheap politics.

Sats: It is easy to blame a city and its system. However, do you ever ask yourself what
have you done to change it?

Sanj: Right!! I agree…

DK: So, what do you suggest? Take up a colored flag, get out in the streets, and shout
change?

Avi: Hahaha. Good one DK! In addition, Sats its right that I am not able to bring any
change. Nevertheless, how can one bring changes if there is so much political turmoil?
The economy cannot develop if there are so much personal opinions of each party.
The townships and rural areas need serious improvement, yet…moreover that is
increasing the urban immigrants to Kolkata each day and propounding the
unemployment problem of the city.

Sats: But you always have a choice.

Sanj: If you believe in something fight for it.

16
DK: Fight what? The politicians? You will end up wearing some of their colored jerseys.

Avi: Look at the other cities… Does Kolkata at all deserve the name of a metropolis?
Where does it stand with respect to other metros?

DK: Yes! What improvement has there been in the last one decade?

Sanj: No there has been many changes. IT hubs have developed, so many malls, real
estate…

DK: Hahaha…. Go and see all other metros. IT is larger in Hyderabad and these malls
and real estate‟s are not even profiting here. It‟s vastly different in other cities.

Sats: That‟s true but it can be improved. May be its still behind other metros but there
has been some improvement certainly in the last one decade.

Avi: Look at the roads. Look at people‟s attitude. You still get the same treatment when
you visit a Bengali shop, and a much different courtesy in Non Bengali shops. Bengalis
are nowhere in business!

Sanj: But what are we doing to change it?

DK: How can one change it? It is the mindset. Do your MBA, get a job and get out of
this city. There are many opportunities outside. Why else would I think of leaving my
hometown?

Sats: Why can‟t opportunities be created?

Avi: Hahaha. How? That day PDG quoted rightly at Facebook “Pizza reaches our home
faster than police” and someone added “also faster than fire brigade.”

DK: Yes. Look at those people spitting tobacco on roads littering around. In addition, no
proper bins arranged at the roads.

Sats: Well, an approach was undertaken by Radio sometime back. They went and
humiliated those kinds of people and tried to bring some change. At least if we do take
some small initiatives like this it may snowball and bring about a bigger change.

Sanj: Right. If someone dear is sick, you do not desert him or her. You try to cure…

DK: Sometimes cure is beyond scope.

Sanj: I think Kolkata still has hope. But if the youth perceives it to be hopeless, it will not
work. There has to be a solution.

Avi: But how?

Sats: Find it out. That is the challenge. Why else are you an MBA?

17
Events
INSIGHT 2010 – COGINIZANCE
ELEVATED
Shahid Pervez & Koumudi Chakraborty
IISWBM
Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management in association with The
Telegraph organized its annual corporate panel discussion-INSIGHT 2010 on 29th and 30th
September 2010.

The two day event saw discussion on

the four different streams of
management viz Finance,
Marketing, Human Resources and
Production Management where
eminent corporate citizens
representing companies like ITC,
IMRB, SBI, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra
Bank, Idea, IBM, Exide, Vodafone,
Mackintosh Burn, Acclaris, K&A
Securities, Wishlist Capital, Radio
Today and UB Group participated.

The event was declared open by the institute‟s director Dr. S.N Ray. The first day
witnessed discussion on Finance and Production and Operations Management, with
Mr. Samir Saran, GM, Central Accounts, SBI beginning with an opening address.

The topic for Finance discussion was: Can Kolkata be the Next Financial Hub? The
panellist raised many positive points where they stressed on the fact that Kolkata has a
“talent pool of good quality”. The esteemed panellist gave the corporate viewpoint on
the Investment Climate prevalent in West Bengal and suggested ways by which West
Bengal can market itself as an Investment destination in order to make Kolkata the next
financial hub.

The session was followed by the Production and Operations discussion, the topic being
„The Dark Factory: are we there yet? The audience witnessed an engaging discussion
on automation gradually overtaking human resources in industrial production. The
scope of such technology as well as its implications to the society was thrown light
upon.

18
The second day started with a keynote
address from Mr. Chandrashekhar
Ghosh – CMD of Bandhan
Microfinance, who spoke at length on
the prospects of microfinance in our
country and its benefits.

The keynote address was followed by

Human resource Discussion where the
panellists discussed on the Current
trends of HR- Outsourcing of Human
Resource. The discussion aimed at
uncovering the significance of
outsourcing as an important HR tool in
the current industrial set up. Outsourcing, as one of the panellists rightly put, dates back
to the era of the „Mahabharata‟ and the „Ramayana‟. Examples and statistics galore,
various aspects of outsourcing were spoken of in the much gripping discussion.

This was followed by the Marketing Discussion, the topic for which was: Sustaining Brand
Differentiation. The Indispensable Element. The esteemed panellists gave a new insight
to the dynamics of Brand by discussing on the challenges the current marketers face
while positioning their product and the important role Promotion and Innovation plays in
overcoming those challenges and the other business strategies, which can be used to
sustain brand differentiation and connect with the consumers.

The event was indeed a learning experience for the students as it enhanced their
perceptions about the industrial world giving them an INSIGHT into the different realms
of management.

19
PARADIGM 2010 –
This year, Paradigm 2010 was organized on the 18th of December at the IISWBM
campus, Kolkata. Held in the institute itself for the second consecutive year, all alumni
members were enthusiastic and excited at the opportunity of interacting with their
beloved faculty members and reminiscing about those wonderful memories of their
student life at IISWBM. The event was inaugurated by the Director Dr. S.N. Ray and the
Head of the Department of MBA (Day) Dr. K.K. Roy. This was followed by an interaction
session where the alumni shared their experiences, their distinct memories of every nook
and cranny of the Institute, places where they used to hang out and bond with
batchmates and incidents which evoked both fun and nostalgia. Gift hampers
sponsored by Keventer were distributed throughout the session.

The students of the present batch also participated in the session through a unique
standup comedy act which had everyone roaring with laughter. Also fun games like
the Star Game kept the spirit of interaction alive between the alumni and the present
batches.

The evening continued with foot tapping music by DJ Dits which kept everyone glued
to the dance floor. This was followed by dinner and drinks and finally the evening
ended magnificently with a lucky draw with bumper prizes sponsored by Rene.

The event brought forth many new relationships and reinforced and strengthened the
old ones as well. Old memories were revisited, new memories were created. Memories
were unplugged.

Shreya Dasgupta

Evenrts Committee, IISWBM

20
21
22
 Book Review
Stay Hungry Stay Foolish
- Rashmi Bansal
Tithi Ray
IISWBM (2010-12), MBA (Day), 1st Year, Sec-B

Steve Jobs has always been an innovative thinker and while

sharing his own story at Stanford University 2005 he ended his
speech with these words "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”, which means
he wanted those young graduates to keep seeking for
opportunities and not settle. This book has nothing to do with Steve
Jobs, just that his speech inspired the writer to name her very first
magnum opus. The book is a repository of inspiring stories of 25 IIM
Ahmedabad graduates who treaded onto the rough roads of entrepreneurship.

Rashmi Bansal interviewed these top notch

entrepreneurs to know what led them to set
up their own businesses. This is where dreams
came into play. This book would definitely
help young management graduates to look
beyond placements and high salaries.The
writer has aptly chosen eminent personalities
who are diverse in age, outlook and industries
(Retail, BPO, Education, Healthcare, etc just
to mention a few). The stories are broadly
classified into three sections:

•The Believers – This section contains ten

stories where the people knew that
entrepreneurship was the way to go. They took the plunge straight after MBA or after a
few years of work.

•The Opportunists – This section covers eleven stories where the people did not plan on
it but snatched the chance when they got it.

•The Alternate Vision – This section covers stories of people who are using
entrepreneurship for social impact or their own creative expressions.

If you start off with this book chances are you will not stop without finishing it and hence
this book is definitely a recommended reading and worth preserving for future
reference.
23
 Confab
Mr. Ashok Mukherjee

Vice President, Human Resources

Tata Consultancy Services
(IISWBM Alumnus)

Q: It is often said the recipe for success lies in building a strong foundation, how did
IISWBM help you to build such a foundation?

A: Undoubtedly IISWBM management education played a pivotal role in laying a strong

foundation for my career. Apart from academic education, we had the privilege of
brushing shoulders with top-level executives of both Public and Private sector co. The
exposure gave a glimpse of how organizations function. Theory was supplemented by
the lectures based on practical experiences from industry leaders. This helped me to hit
the ground running when I started working in a packaging industry MNC.

Q: Enlighten us with some of the major challenges you faced being in a prestigious
position of one of the elite organizations of the software industry and how did you
handle them?

A: Rising from the ranks in TCS was an all round wonderful experience. With the
phenomenal growth of software industry from mid-nineties it was a memorable journey
of achievements. It broadened one‟s horizon on regulatory requirements and
multicultural exposure.

Q: How would you define human resource management in an IT environment?

A: Its consists of managing the Human Resource Supply Chain Management and
managing the employee life cycle starting with acquisition of talent and ending with
separation formalities. Apart from normal employee life cycle function and HR
administration, the challenge lies in adding value to business.

Q: What are you expectations from future managers?

A: Future managers must have the capacity to learn unlearn and relearn. In a fast
paced environment where knowledge skills obsolescence is the order of the day this is
one important talent that will help the managers to cope with the environment.

Message to the Students of IISWBM

Do a self-analysis SWOT. Broadly, the recruiter will judge you on three factors Technical
knowledge, communication ability and personality. In this knowledge economy stay
updated on all issues locally, nationally and globally. For this read a local, a pan India
newspaper and an International magazine like The Economist, Newsweek or Time. This
preparation will boost your performance and help you to stand out in an intensely
competitive environment.

24
Mr. Abeer Chakraborty
CEO, Bates 141
(IISWBM Alumnus)

We reached there on time, the office of Bates 141 in Park Street. This was to pay a visit
to the one of the most well known personalities who stepped out of the realms of
IISWBM in the first batch of MBA day1978 (graduated with B.Com from St Xavier‟s
College after schooling from Jamshedpur). After a very friendly reception when we met
Mr Abeer Chakraborty he unfolded before us his knowledge, perception and
invaluable experiences……

Q: What was the journey after MBA which brought you here today?

A: The MBA saw me placed in Bata as a management trainee and next as a market
researcher in Metal Box. Spent around 5 years in HTA Advertising also had a business. I
went on to work with Keventers as a Consultant where I had an important assignment
to launch Frooti. After being spending few years as a Consultant in database marketing
of CRM moved onto become the CEO of Bates 141 on 2nd June 2005.

Q: Give us an insight into the advertising world.

A: The most important knowledge is behavioral science. Understanding people plays a

crucial role since this business demands dealing with various kinds of people from
creative personalities to business personnel. Clear communication, understanding their
needs and triggering fulfillment of those needs by giving right kind of stimuli are the key
methods.

It‟s also important to understand business, the ground realities of business in order to
create. A liberal and stimulating environment is encouraged to bring out creativity. In
this industry the salary might not be attractive but the empowerment especially of
young minds instigates motivation. The variety of products and brands provides the kind
of fun and excitement the youth look for in work, thus helping in better retainment.

Q: What is the primary requirement in this business?

A: Creativity can be highlighted as the crux of the business. Research helps in narrowing
down the area of study by determining the size of market and other quantitative
details. Though research narrows down risk creativity remains the most important
criteria.

Q: What are the competencies required to be in this sector?

A: The most common job would be client servicing which would involve writing creative
briefs, acting as an interface between the client and the creative department and
25
responsibility towards client. This requires creativity, linguistic efficiency, knowledge
about market, competition, data; efficiency to interpret and timing.

Q: Did you always want to belong to advertising?

A: (smiling) “didn‟t have a clue” when passed MBA. Mainly did hard-core selling in initial
stages however was keen on the tourism industry. The journey from a salesperson of
shoes and package boxes somewhere took a turn to researching and advertising.- “life
is what happens to you while you are busy making plans.” Actually, everything in life
has a purpose.

Q: What is the new thing the industry is looking onto?

A: More advanced technology would be the key to advertising, so new media would
be something the advertising industry would look forward.

Q: What was your significant achievement/challenge?

A: Brooke Bond came up with a project, which involved making a film to promote their
product Blue Tea Pot in Egypt. In that case, visiting the new country, understanding the
consumers and creating an ad film for them could be an example.

Q: How were your days in IISWBM?

A: Admission in IISWBM was through CAT. The institute was not so famous then and had
a class of about 60 students only but had good faculty and provided good placements
as well. Even though one of the renowned professors taught statistics, could not help
hating it. (Chuckles)

Exams and results were always on time unlike the typical Calcutta University tradition.
Although campus life was greatly missed the fish pond up on the roof , the Blue room,
the chicken stew at canteen and the entire college street environment added to the
experience of studying in the institute.(smiles)

The only complaint was that there were too few girls as opposed to boys making the
competition stiff (laughs).

Message for the IISWBM students

“Whatever you get, give it all you got.”… One cannot dictate life but one day you
realize everything has a purpose.

The interview ended with general cordiality and as he strolled back to his job after
bidding us goodbye leaving us staring at the example he had set for us

26
Photographia

27
28
-: Achievements Section :-

Akshita Chamaria

I have been an active member of the International Award for Young People (Duke of
Edinburgh‟s Award) since 2003 and have received their Bronze Standard in 2006. As a
part of the organization, we are required to show our dedication in four fields- Physical
Recreation, Social Service, Skills and Expeditions. As a part of physical recreation, I have
taken up rowing and participated in a number of competitions. I am a very sincere
social worker and work as a part of the Lions Club International that helped me fulfil
their service aspect. As a part of my skills, I have undergone a training program in
Brainware Computer Academy on Adobe Photoshop. I have been to a number of
camps to fulfil the expedition criterion where I have passed the introductory training on
parasailing, rock-climbing, kayaking, trekking etc. The organization being extremely
satisfied with my effort and achievement awarded me their prestigious Bronze Medal.

Er. Shoaib Mohammed

- Excerpt taken and adapted from
‘The Origin of Islam in India’,
Authored by: Er. Shoaib Mohammed,
MBA, IISWBM.

God’s Own Country

“The state of Kerala in South India is known as God’s Own
Country. Have we ever given a second thought as to why it
is called so? For that, we need to know the origin of the
word Kerala. The word Kerala is derived from the Arabic word Khairallah. Khairallah is a composition of
two words Khair and Allah. The word Khair means excellent and the Arabic word Allah means God. In
context then the word Khairallah means the excellent land of God, or God’s land which He has Blessed,
or God’s Own Country.”

29
Achievements @ BRIO 2010-11 (ICFAI
B-school Fest)
Finance game: Finertia

1st Position 3rd Position

1) Ankit Golecha 1) Priti Bihani

2) Preiti Suchanwala 2) Ashish Goyal

3) Sourav Bhowmick 3) Nitu

HR game: Gravita

1st Position

1) Shreya Dasgupta

2) Pranshul Rawat

3) Enakshi Podder

The Entrepreneurship Game:

Evolate

3rd Position

1) Akshita Chamaria

2) Vibha Keshri

3) Payel Pal

Marketing game: Ad-Venture

3rd Position

1) Souvik Bandhopadhyay
2) Debashish Pal
3) Arshad Salim

The Last Samurai:

3rd: Ankit Golecha 5th: Surya Sarathi Ghosh

30
Quiz: Clash of the Geeks

1st Position 2nd Position

1) Palash Mallik 1) Purbashish Chakraborty

2) Santanu Das 2) Shubhadeep Majumder

Debate: Spitfire

Best team: Atreyee Mukherjee and Wrik Banerjee

1st Best speaker: Atreyee Mukherjee

3rd best speaker: Wrik Banerjee

Achievements

Kamal Sharma

IIM Indore Youth Conference

Symposium on „Employment Generation‟

Position - 2nd

31
 JOKES
1. Two friends were catching up with each other.
One asked,” So you have got your own company, how lucky you are!”
Other replied. ”Just a small one, nothing to be proud of”.
Disbelieving the first asked.” Small ? How many people work in your company?”
The other ruefully answered “about half of them”.

2. Two reasons why people do not mind their own business.

a. No Mind
b. No Business

3. Accountant returns home from office. Wife‟s eyes are swollen and face reflects
pain.
Wife: Look, I lost my contact lenses in the drawing room. I searched for it all day.
My eyes are watering now.
Husband rushes to the room and come s back with the lenses in less than five
minutes.
Wife: how did you find it so fast?
Husband: You are searching for a piece of glass while I searched for the lens that
had cost me 4000.

DEFINITIONS REDEFINED
MARRIAGE: IT‟S AN AGREEMENT WHEREIN A MAN LOOSES HIS BACHELOR DEGREE
AND A WOMAN GAINS HER MASTERS.

OFFICE: A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN RELAX AFTER YOUR STRENUOUS HOME LIFE.

CIGARETTE: A PINCH OF TOBACCO ROLLED IN A PAPER WITH FIRE AT ONE END

AND A FOOL AT THE OTHER.

CONFERRENCE ROOM: A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE TALKS, NOBODY LISTENS, AND

EVERYBODY DISAGREES.

BOSS: SOMEONE WHO IS EARLY WHEN YOU ARE LATE, AND LATE WHEN YOU ARE
EARLY.

SMILE: A SWEET CURVE THAT CAN SET A LOT OF BITTER THINGS STRAIGHT !!

32
 Corporate Gags
“You have done a great job” actually means “More work is ready for you”

“We are working on it” means “We have not started working on the same”

“Tomorrow first thing in the morning” means” it‟s not getting done...at least not
tomorrow”

“There was a slight miscommunication” means “We had actually lied”

“Let‟s call a meeting and discuss” means “I have no time now, we‟ll talk later”

“We are on the right track but there‟s a need to be some extension of deadline” means
“the project is screwed up and we cannot deliver on time”

“We are a team” means “I am not the only one to be blamed”

“That‟s actually a good question” means “I don‟t know anything about it”

Last but not the least “All the best” inside an office surely means “You are in great
trouble”.

33
 Biz-covery
1. Though he was the heir to his family's rice wine brewing business, he decided
to pursue his interest in consumer electronics and was the co-founder of the
Tokyo Tshushin Kyogu company.

a) Eiji Toyoda
b) Akiro Kurusawa
c) Taichi Ohno
d) Akio Morita

Ans: Akio Morita of Sony Corporation

2. His first book, "The End of the Economic Man" was published in 1939.

a) Peter Drucker
b) F.W. Taylor
c) Michael Porter
d) Philip Crosby

Ans: Drucker

3. Identify this Gen-next girl of Indian Inc

Ans: Roshni Nadar, CEO HCL Corporations

34
 4. All of the following products belong to Hindustan Unilever except:
i) Lakme
ii)Lux
iii) Fa
iv) Sunsilk
Ans : Fa

1) In 2008, it signed a US$1.5 billion deal to produce films with India's Reliance ADA
Group. Which Hollywood studio are we talking about, also name the founder.

- Dream Works Studio, Steven Spielberg

2) Roy Raymond created the first store in 1977 and after clocking revenues of $6
million it was sold to „The Limited Brands‟. Currently the revenues have surpassed
$5 billion. Name the Company.
- Victoria‟s Secrets

3) Name the parent owner of these world famous auto brands Audi, Bentley, Bugatti,
Lamborghini, SEAT, Škoda - Volkswagen

4)Connect

-the india today group

35
5) **This organization was established in 1960 by an American who was previously working
as a buyer for Macy's, New York .He left his position and came to India working for the Ford
Foundation. This organization started with exports , before stepping into domestic retail in
1976, when it opened its first retail store in New Delhi, and is now managed by his son . The
products are mainly sourced from villages to provide rural employment in India. Name the
organization and the man who started it.

- JohnBissell, fabindia

6) Which company invented „Valentine‟s Day‟

- Hallmark

8) He invented Dynamite and now a prize named after him is the most coveted one in
the world

– Alfred Noble

9) He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, assault and second-

degree kidnapping during his teenage years, challenged the Government of India,
brought the controversial Fashion TV in India, married his mother‟s friend. Name the
Gentlemen

– Lalit modi

36
37