PARIVARTHANA 2013 – Changing things for the better… changing for the better

– Sikha S. Nair, PGDM,

Batch 2013- 2015

A couple of years ago, while completing my Bachelor’s degree in French from St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, I had the opportunity to be part of an on-campus awareness campaign on AIDS. At the time, I felt that this was the best I could be… That is, till Parivarthana 2013 happened to me. To say that Parivarthana is an amazing experience is an understament. Nothing in my life before SCMS-Cochin had prepared me for anything like this. On the one hand, there is the learning from the life spent before joining SCMS-Cochin School of Business, and then there is this 30-day blitz called Parivarthana. The latter outweighs the former in every possible way. Even when the idea came up, and I was one of the 12 students chosen for the core team, I had not even the faintest of idea how big this was going to be. The process was simple. We, the core team, were to produce a street-play along with the scriptwriter, a fellow-student doing his MBA at SCMS-Cochin School of Business. It was then the job of each of the 12 core team members to mentor and groom other groups and prepare them to perform.

But preparing and performing are two different things…. as we soon realised.

SRV School, Ernakulam is just another government school. But on the 4^th of October 2013, it turned into the first real test of ‘The Fence and the Magical Lamp’ our street play. With butterflies in our stomachs and pounding hearts, we took to the stage in front of a fairly big gathering of more than 200 students of classes VIII, IX and X. The gathering and the response was far greater than we had expected. We tentatively dived into our theme of “Friends of Police” – Do not fear the law enforcers – respect them and be friendly towards them. Soon, accompanied by loud cheers from our young audience, the smiling encouragement of our faculty mentor, Prof Santhosh S, and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baby Vinod, we grew increasingly confident. The street play ended to a loud round of applause and a lot of backslapping. But the job was far from done. The 12 of us quickly broke out, and began interacting with the teens. The questions came thick and fast. “How can one be friends with a policeman? How to call the police in times of need? How to be in constant touch with the police?” Prior to Parivarthana, we too were seeking answers to such questions. But the preparation and interaction with the police at all levels, right up to the IG – Central Zone, Mr. Padmakumar (IPS), had ensured that we answered the school children clearly and confidently.

“A big thank you to the students of SCMS-Cochin School of Business,” said a beaming Mr. Vinod, ACP, Kerala Police, when he took the stage immediately after this interaction. He gave a thumping vote of confidence to all of us. He urged the young school children not to fear the police. The keen students in their turn spoke to Mr. Vinod of their perceptions that even communicating with the police could lead to dire consequences. Mr. Vinod was able to establish that much of this perception was created by the movies, and was far from the truth. He highlighted the ‘Janamaitry’ Police initiative, which allowed people to approach the police anytime, 24×7.

But what really surprised us were the words of the Principal of SRV School, Ernakulam. The Principal of the government school spoke about the Student-Police Cadet Group that had been in existence in the school for some time, pretty much along the lines of the NCC.

“The objective of the group has been to nurture a security-oriented mind-set and create responsible citizens of the future,” said the Principal. “The initiative has not been able to make much headway because of the inherent fear of the Police amongst the students. I’m genuinely surprised and pleased to see the immense curiosity and traction that students of SCMS-Cochin have generated. Earlier, the Police had tried to create a sense of friendliness, but clearly, having students of SCMS-Cochin do this job has been a much better idea, and a lot more effective.”

In 2012, SCMS-Cochin School of Business’ Parivarthana had addressed nearly 75 schools on its Road Safety initiative with the traffic police. This year, we are targeting more than 100 schools. So far, I have been to more than 10 schools since the beginning of Parivarthana. Currently, I’m catching up on my studies, but I can barely wait to get into the act once again! Three weeks ago, I preferred to stay away from a crowd; today I can not only manage a crowd, I can, in fact, control it. Three weeks ago, I steered clear of anything remotely resembling a Police uniform. Today, I don’t just know how they work, but in fact educate others about it. Thanks to extensive notes from our faculty mentors who, in this third edition of Parivarthana, have pretty much seen it all, we’ve been able to surge ahead from where our predecessors left off.

To the outside world, Parivathana truly is an effort to change the image of the Police. But now, when I look within my soul, I see that Parivathana has been of far greater import. It has changed my own perception of myself. I can now see the star within.

 

SCMS Cochin Alumnus Mr. Sajith Nambiar can very well be called a dreamer and an achiever

If there is a clean cut concept of smooth transition then alumnus Sajith Nambiar’s story clearly reflects it. Having tried and tested his mettles from the sales domain to the event management field, Sajith can very well be perceived as a seasoned professional with thorough knowledge of various domains and sectors. He began his career as a professional dealing in the sales of financial products and gradually turned towards a profession that wasn’t even remotely related to it. He is presently deployed as an Assistant Manager in Ernst and Young and is taking care of the Event Management for internal clients of EY GSS (Global Shared Services).

Nambiar had always been keen on getting into the Event Management field and though he couldn’t do so initially he finally made his dream turn into reality. Today, he is living the life he had always dreamt of and contributes his achievements largely to his learning at SCMS Cochin School of Business. “In today’s world one needs dynamic managers for the growth and development of the firm as well as the society as a whole. A manager must have knowledge about the basic facts, logics and strategies and I personally feel that quality education from a good institute always pays. I am fortunate to be a SCMS Cochin School of Business alumnus which, in true sense, gave me a good foundation for my career”, he states.

Nambiar’s passion for the event management domain and the knowledge he gained at SCMS Cochin School of Business has helped him excel wherever he went. Talking about the role the B-school played in shaping up his career, Nambiar says, “I did get a strong foundation for stepping in to the management world. I can say it was the way we were trained at SCMS Cochin that helped a great extent – the deadlines for project works and assignments, the disciplined life and the positive approach that we were asked to follow made us evolve gradually from students to professionals. I still remember that I was an average student when I joined the school but the kind of exposure that I got here instilled confidence in me and helped me reach where I am today”. Interestingly, he even found his soul-mate at SCMS Cochin School of Business. Thus the place holds even more significance for him.

Though Nambiar has had his share of professional ups and downs, he is content with the way his career has progressed. Besides, working at a good position in Ernst and Young, he is also working on a Big Budget Malyalam movie titled Dolphin Bar. He would be handling the marketing and promotional activities for the same.

Nambiar’s message to the student at SCMS Cochin School of Business: “Each dream begins with a dreamer; we all have within us the strength the patience and the passion to reach where we want to, so follow your heart and live your dreams… better late than never!”

 

Mr. Ram Rastogi Head, IMPS visit SCMS campus

It was a matter of great honor and pride to have Mr. Ram Rastogi Head, IMPS National Payments Corporation of India visit SCMS Cochin School of Business and address the students. He shared his experience as the Founder of a giant company and how it feels having tasted success.

Mr. Ram Rastogi talked about his venture and elaborated the whole concept of- Instant Domestic Fund Transfer System. His talk spanned around IDFTS’s services like 24*7*365 domestic fund transfer, simple and easy to use methods, standardized credit and debit conformation, fast,inexpensive,safe and secure procedures, multiple access mechanism of IDFTS, its role as catalyst to financial inclusions, cloud independence, etc.

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Students of SCMS Group turn goodwill ambassadors for Kerala police

More than 500 schools to be addressed under ‘Parivathana 2013 – Friends of Police’ initiative

 On 3^rd of October 2013, SCMS Group launched its annual CSR initiative – Parivarthana. This month-long activity, conducted every year by students of SCMS Group of Institutions, is credited with sensitising school children about numerous social issues. Parivarthana 2013 is aimed at building a friendly image of the Kerala Police in the minds of young school-going children.

“Parivarthana means transformation,” says, Prof. Dr. Radha Thevannoor, Director-MBA. “It enables change and upliftment for the welfare of our society. This year, the theme selected is ‘Friends of Police’. This is aimed at bringing an attitudinal change in society towards the Police. We want to spread the message among the future generations ‘Do not fear the law enforcers – respect them and be friendly towards them’.”

“There is a general perception that the police force contains bad elements as well as good. We agree. But one must understand that the police is also a part of the society it protects, and it cannot be completely impervious to that which ails society at large,” pointed out Mr. K. Padmakumar, IPS, IG – Central Zone, Kerala Police, at the meeting organised  at SCMS COCHIN School of Business, Kalamassery. He was speaking at the meeting held to kick-start ‘Parivarthana 2013 – Friends of Police’ on the 3^rd of October 2013. “If people are clearer about the role and duties of the police, and how the police force functions, maintaining law and order will become a lot easier”, He said.

As per the traditions of Parivathana, the script of the programme was handed over to the core Parivarthana team members by the Chief Guest. This was followed by a performance of a street play, ‘The Fence and the Magical Lamp‘, by the core team. The audience was thereafter engaged through an open quiz, which made way for a group action song. The inaugural session of Parivarthana 2013 concluded with the administering of the Oath – “I am the custodian of my body, my mind and my soul. I shall promise to protect it, preserve it and to enhance it.” 

For administrative purposes, the entire task force of 285 student volunteers has been organised into 6 batches – 3 from the PGDM and 2 from MBA and one from MCA. Each batch has been further sub-divided into 3/4 groups of 13-15 students each. Starting 4^th of October, 3 to 4 groups from a batch are being sent to two schools each every day, thus addressing 6-8 schools on a daily basis. Every group spends one hour each in the allocated schools.

The first school to be addressed by the students of SCMS-Cochin School of Business under the ‘Parivarthana 2013 – Friends of Police’ initiative was the SRV School, Ernakulam. In the last few years, Parivarthana has sensitised school children on subjects’ likes traffic rules, AIDS, and do’s and don’ts of Internet and mobile technologies. In 2012, Parivarthana reached out to more than 10,000 students. This year, the month-long social responsibility programme is spreading the message of the basic role and duties of the police force to the school students in and around Kochi.

 

SCMS-Cochin School of Business to host Marketing Conclave on 6-7 Dec. 2013 ‘Building customer trust’ to be the focus

SCMS-Cochin School of Business has announced 6^th and 7^th December 2013 as the dates for the prestigious SCMS Marketing Colloquium. The annual marketing conclave of one of the top B-schools in southern India, it is an event keenly anticipated by researchers, students and industry experts, as it invites research papers on the most challenging themes of the times. This year, the SCMS Marketing Colloquium has been titled International Conference on Building Customer Trust (ICBCT 2013), and will invite productive reflections on the theme of Building Customer Trust.  The most outstanding paper will be awarded a cash prize, while the papers presented during the ICBCT 2013 will be published in a special edition of the SCMS Journal of Indian Management – a quarterly international research journal.

The last date for submission of the 250-word abstract has been announced as the 19^th of October 2013. The abstract should briefly describe the scope, methodology and main conclusions of the study, and should be accompanied by a short biography with details of the author, as outlined on www.scmsgroup.org. The abstract may be mailed directly to icbct2013@scmsgroup.org.The date for abstract approval is the 24^th of October, on the basis of which the shortlisted researchers will be required to submit their full papers by the 17^thof November. The final list of participants who will be invited to present their papers at the ICBCT 2013 at SCMS-Cochin School of Business will be announced on the 24^th of November 2013.

“Customer trust is critical in present times, as it helps businesses to develop relationships with customers and earn them long term advantage,” elaborates Prof. Prof. RTR Varma, reflecting on the thought behind selecting ‘building customer trust’ as the focus for this year’s SCMS Marketing Colloquium. “The conference will have sessions based on Game Changers, Co-creation/Co-optition, Customer Insights, Service Orientation, Communicating Values, Cross Cultural Dynamics, Customer Experience, Marketing of Services, CRM, Global Marketing, IT Applications in Marketing, Marketing Financial Services, Brand Management, and Marketing Communication.”

Over the years, the SCMS Marketing Colloquium is known to have brought forth some spectacular research work on the most topical issues ailing industry and business. As in the past, ICBCT 2013 is expected to host prominent practitioners from the corporate world, public sector and academia. The SCMS Marketing Colloquium provides students of the SCMS group, especially SCMS-Cochin School of Business, the opportunity to understand nuances of marketing, from people creating market policies and driving markets.   

 

Innovate or Perish – The new reality for Business Schools

By: Dr. Filomina P. George, Dean – Academics, SCMS-Cochin School of Business

Socrates once famously said that a good teacher is one who burns his notes every year. Given the fast-paced global business scenario, we may soon have to burn our notes every day!

One recalls that the opening up of the Indian economy in the early nineties was closely followed by the launch of a number of management institutes across the country. MNCs were coming in by the dozens and there was an acute shortage of trained managers in the Indian ecosystem. A couple of decades down the line many of these management institutes have either shut down or are just about dragging along. However, a select few B-schools raised during the same time have not only thrived, but have broken into the top league, and have become dominant regional centres of excellence. I believe the difference between excellence and mediocrity in the management education spectrum largely boils down to one factor – ability to innovate.

It is true that SCMS-Cochin School of Business did have the advantage of a good lineage, since it came out of SCMS-Cochin, which was already teaching a variety of disciplines by the early ‘90s. But we knew this was not enough. In the Information-Technology era, there are far fewer constants in business, and business education will simply have to keep pace by adapting and innovating.  Good business schools today recognise Innovation as the key to future sustainability. At SCMS-COCHIN, we endeavour to be leaders in embracing innovation in teaching and training. We approach changes with a positive mind, welcome ideas from our stakeholders as well as the external environment, and – wherever possible – want to be the first movers in adopting changes in curriculum, pedagogy and technological advancement while upholding our core values.

B- Schools have no relevance if they do not update themselves and are not ahead of the times; there is nothing to manage that is already past. We need leaders to manage the present and the future. Therefore, if you continue living in the past you are IRRELEVANT as a B-School. There is no space for such B-Schools. However, one are that does not change with the times are the core values and principles that a B-School holds dear; a good B- School should not become myopic about its ethics in the rat race to become “modern”. 

At SCMS-Cochin School of Business, innovative ideas bounce mostly off the spring-board of interactions between faculty, students, parents, industry and academia. The most prominent area where SCMS-Cochin School of Business has demonstrated innovative strength, I feel, is in its programme design and delivery of courses which encourage an active learning experience, engaging both the students and faculty. I would like to mention one innovation in particular – the IMLP or Integrated Managerial Learning Programme. The IMLP has complemented the academic sessions in classrooms, and is more-or-less a student-driven programme, where students judge, help and push each other to nurture soft skills and knowledge. It’s a regular co-curricular activity now. The beauty of the IMLP is that every student and faculty member of SCMS-Cochin School of Business believes it is his/her baby, so strong is the sense of association.

Innovations like the Finance Forum, FDPs/ MDPs and Outbound Training have taken root within the SCMS-Cochin School of Business ecosystem, while Social Immersion for students is an innovation in-sync with our core values. Under this, students are engaged in socially relevant activities, working in teams as ambassadors who propagate social and civic sense. Budding managers of SCMS-Cochin School of Business reach out to the younger school-going generation through ‘Parivarthana’, thus participating in nation building.

SCMS-Cochin School of Business was recently lauded for its association with coconut growers of Kerala. Under the aegis of CDB (Coconut Development Board, Kerala), we conducted a week-long capsule for coconut growers – especially for their grassroots leadership – giving them basic management education and sharing knowledge through case studies. The objective was simple – if countries like Sri Lanka can thrive on coconut by-products, Kerala should not miss out. This small capsule has paved the way for Reach Out. Under Reach Out,we will be lending a hand to those whohave a well-defined business idea, or have launched a start-up, but have missed out on a formal business education. SCMS-Cochin School of Business will be mentoring and hand-holding these ventures to enable the transition from start-up to entrepreneur level; or to scale up from micro, to small, to medium enterprise level.Reach Out will involve dynamicstudent engagement and interventionby SCMS-Cochin School of Business. To begin with, we will be focussing on women entrepreneurs.

Finally, a word of caution. While any innovation may be able to reap some quick returns, the ones designed with a myopic, short-term view will not stand the test of time; only integrity-oriented innovations can produce sustainable value.

 

Global Giant in sports goods, DECATHLON SAS INKS enters a training and recruitment partnership with SCMS-COCHIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Whether to enter a business alone or with a partner is a never-ending debate. However, when you are a global giant looking to penetrate local markets, it makes sense to go with a formidable partner. In a sterling example of ‘think global, act local’, Decathlon SAS – the France based sports manufacturing global giant – has signed an MoU with SCMS Group of Educational Institutions for mutual cooperation. The MoU was signed in a low-key event at the SCMS campus, Kalamassery, on 13^th August 2013. The signatory for SCMS was Prof. Pramod P.Thevannoor (Sr. Group Director, SCMS) and Thomas DeLizaso (Regional Manager, Decathlon Sports India Ltd.). Dr. V.Raman Nair (Director, SCMS-Cochin School of Business), Dr. Filomina P. George (Dean, SCMS-Cochin School of Business) and Prof. Sreekumar B. Pillai were also present on the occasion.The move gains greater significance in light of the fact that Decathlon SAS is currently in the process of establishing a major sports retail outlet covering a massive 30,000 sq. ft. at Kalamassery, Kochi. This MoU will clearly allow Decathlon SAS access to the budding managers of SCMS-Cochin School of Business, which produces some of the best managerial talent in the country.

“For SCMS-Cochin School of Business, the MoU is aimed at building a long term partnership for training and development of our management students specialising in retail marketing,” pointed out Prof. Pramod P. Thevanoor, Sr. Group Director, SCMS, while solemnising the MoU with Decathlon SAS. “The association between the two institutions will also facilitate internships, placements and the development of a new industry-based curriculum.”

In recent times, there has been a spurt in interest shown by global corporate conglomerates in Kerala, and more specifically, Kochi. The renewed interest is the direct outcome of the ‘Emerging Kerala – Global Connect 2012’meet, held in September last year. The mega-event, which showcased Kerala as a global business destination, saw the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister, Shri A.K. Anthony address the global corporate and political fraternity, spelling out why India perceives Kerala as the next big business hub and the possibilities that Kerala offers. As a part of the organising team for ‘Emerging Kerala’, students of SCMS-Cochin School of Business garnered immense appreciation for their efforts.