Alumni@work second issue

Leader: A person of Strong

Character and Integrity

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CONTENTS

From the President’s Desk 3

Director’s Cut 4

Alumni@work Second Issue April 2013

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Ideas Watch

Future of Managerial Leadership in India 6

Telecom: The near Future 9

Business Education and Expectations of Corporate World 15

Experience

Employee Engagement at HSBC 30

Why no one is Happy? 34

Thoughts for the Day 36

Photo gallery

Convocation 38

Drishti 2k13 43

Holi 46

Kites Day 48

VIP Visits 49

Our Team 50


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From the President’s Desk

Prof. (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

President, Sri Balaji Society,

Chairman, Campus

Placements

Executive Director BIMM &

Dean BITM, BIIB and BIMHRD

Hearty Greetings to all our Alumni on the occasion of release of our second

Quarterly e-magazine “alumni@work”. Our student co-ordinators are doing an

excellent job in collating all the material for this e-magazine.

In the future issues I look forward to inputs from alumni about their jobs,

personal development and their family. I am sure you must be eager to connect

with your batch mates and friends from other institutes of Sri Balaji Society.

I have been sharing my concern on Facebook and LinkedIn about placement of

our students. I call upon all our Alumni to extend their full support by connecting

with our Placement Cell and sharing information about opening for ‘Fresher’s’

in their organization. If you need any special help do not hesitate to contact

Director, Alumni Affairs & Projects Prof.D.S.Kadam.

Email:[email protected] or Phone:

+919881901044.

Looking forward to your contribution to Sri Balaji Society and your inputs to

“alumni@work”.


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Director’s cut

Director,

Projects & Alumni Affairs

Sri Balaji Society

Hearty Greetings from Sri Balaji Society!!!!

Sri Balaji Society considers its each alumnus as its pillar of success and it gives

me immense pride to see them exceling and reaching new heights in different

fields.

This magazine is started as an endeavour to bring the alumni of all the four

institutes (BIMM, BITM, BIIB, and BIMHRD) on a single platform.

It is dedicated towards nurturing and strengthening a long term relationship

between the alumni and the institute and among the alumni fraternity

themselves.

It is aimed to act as a perfect channel for alumni communication where they can

interact with each other, and can share their achievements, their experiences,

thus leading towards a great bonding between them. Therefore we invite the

alumni’s to share with us their achievements, their memories and experiences.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the alumni for all the support

and help you have rendered and would like to request you to share with us any


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opening in the companies that you come across and help your juniors in getting

suitable projects and placement.

May god bless you with all the success in your life.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and would love to hear from

you all.

With warm regards,

Prof. D.S Kadam

Director for Projects and Alumni Affairs,

Sri Balaji Society

Pune


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Future of Managerial Leadership in India Prof Supriyo Chaudhuri

Sitting today in the second quarter of 2013 we

can say that our first spell of reforms is nearly

over after giving us a few years of 8-9% GDP

growth for a few years. The second spell of

reforms is being expected in a few months or at

the latest after the 2014 elections. These changes

will be at the macro level of the country. During

the first spell companies rightly took business

advantage of the integration with the world

economy. During the second spell when the

Integration will be carried further this advantage

will have to be driven further. And Indian

managers will surely do that. After all, the Indian

Entrepreneurial spirit has not been killed by

decades of socialism (Indian variety). Even many

public sector units too did change proactively.

The concern is that though this zeal to push the

business advantage is absolutely legitimate and

justified the companies may ignore or forget the


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need to create the” right” processes inside

themselves. What are these “right” processes?

We cannot deny the fact that most of our

companies have autocratic processes running in

them. These autocratic processes can help in

taking advantage of the reforms but can they

sustain that response in the long run? Only the

CEO and his top team being proactive and

innovative are not enough. In this era of complex

technology which continues to grow more

sophisticated as time passes, innovations and

proactivity will be imperative at every level of an

organisation from the CEO to the humblest

worker. To trigger off such companywide

innovativeness and creativity will require the top

management of the companies to “reform” their

leadership styles and leadership processes. This

requirement is not just based on a preference for

democratic values but on pragmatic reasons. It

has become an accepted fact that organisations

have to become learning organisations to survive

in the “post core competencies” world. This

learning can be fostered by a leadership style

which consciously encourages openness,

creativity, innovativeness etc.

Are the members of our top management teams

in most companies psychologically ready for this

tectonic shift in the way they manage and lead

their companies? The famous American

Organisation Behaviour professor called Chris

Argyris had warned us even forty years ago that

true cultural change does not take place unless it

is simultaneously both at the idea level and at the

behavioural and feeling level. In short what is

being said is that Indian top management will

have to change their mind set and start

leadership reforms along with the macro level

economic reforms.

Changes in the mind set require deep work at the

psychic level of an individual. They are not the

result of only theoretical and intellectual

training. Are our business schools which are

going to provide the future corporate top

management in the country, are our HR

managers, are our consultants dabbling in human

processes in organisations equipped to lead the

“teaching” and the “training” that such changes

will necessitate? Any honest answer will say that

such readiness may not be there in any

significant measure. At best we may find that top

management of companies and these assorted

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prof Supriyo Chaudhuri is basically a student of physical sciences who did his PGDM from IIM Calcutta with

specialisation in OB, OD & HR. He later specialised in Strategic Management while working with Prof Dennis

Encarnation of the Harvard Business School. Their association took place when Prof Chaudhuri had invited Prof

Encarnation several times over to the Tata Management Centre (TMTC) at Pune. Prof Chaudhuri’s last

corporate assignment was as the Director TMTC & VP Leadership Development of the Tata Group. Before that

he was the Head HR of Tata Tea Ltd (now Tata Global Beverages Ltd). He had also worked in ITC Ltd for several

years as a very senior HR Manager. He has written thirteen papers on HR, Business Strategy etc. He has been

teaching these subjects in various Business Schools including at the Balaji Institutes of Management and the

FLAME School of Business at Pune since retirement from corporate life. He also practises as a Consultant to

companies in the above areas.


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agents of change trying to bring about these

changes by giving lectures, injunctions, sterile

jargons etc. The passion and the missionary spirit

needed for this kind of leadership reform can be

very frightening and yet this passion alone can

make these changes real. No wonder in

Mahabharata Lord Krishna had to show Arjun his

“viswarup” to motivate him in his war against

evil, no wonder in Christianity they talk of the

“passion of Christ”.

However let there be no misunderstanding that

we are calling for a religion-like movement. Yes

we are calling for a new leadership movement in

the Indian companies. One can argue that China

has done it so smoothly and so fast without

getting involved in all this emotional non sense

and mess. May be they have done their economic

reforms superbly. Have they brought about

equally superb leadership reforms at the micro

level of their companies?

One seriously doubts it and wonders what will

happen to their companies when they shift from

their low tech. highly productive factories to hi-

tech enterprises on a massive scale like in the US

economy.

India has shown that it can run hi tech

enterprises very successfully though not on a

scale we would have liked. Perhaps our cultural

heritage has helped us so far. Can it continue to

help unless we follow it up by starting the

leadership movement building on the strengths

of our past and avoiding and undoing the cultural

blind alleys much of India is still trapped in?

So we can conclude that our country level

economic reforms will have to be coupled with

leadership reforms at the micro level of our

companies. That will be the only way of ensuring

that India becomes an economic superpower.


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Telecom: The near Future Col. Bharat Jhingon,

Associate Professor, BITM

Introduction

At the outset let me state that this is an

article which is a mix of my personal

opinions (and I may be wrong) and those

picked from perusing various sources that

comment on the happenings in the

telecom industry.

At the outset let me also state that my

Telecom Crystal-ball is hazy, full of smoke

and one thing that is certain about the

immediate future of the Indian Telecom

Industry is that it is uncertain. And I feel

that responsibility and authority invariably

goes hand in hand. There is no gainsaying

that the Authority for Indian Telecom is

vested with the Govt of India, and hence

the responsibility for this sorry mess

should also lie squarely with the Govt of

India. It is all so well to blame the Supreme

Court for the cancellation of the 122

licences and attribute this as the reason for

the resulting imbroglio. But should not one

ask the question as to why is the judiciary

being constrained to interfere so often in

the functioning of the executive? My


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humble self feels that it is just because,

maybe, the right measures and policies are

not being adopted by the Govt.

Policy Issues

There is a proposal of increasing the FDI in

Telecom. Great, but the kind of playing-

field which exists, will it encourage fresh

outpourings of wealth. Many Operators

from across the seas have already burnt

their fingers.

There is talk of reverting to the

Administrative allotment of airwaves, the

genesis of the 2G spectrum scam, after the

abject failure of recent rounds of airwaves

sales (operators maintain – due to the

spectrum being highly over-priced). Does

this indicate stability in policy-making. The

silver-lining to the dark cloud, i.e.. the sale

of the entire vacated spectrum and the

resulting business-as-usual atmosphere

which everyone was waiting for, hence,

still appears to be a long way off.

The other looked forward to boost to the

Industry - roll-out of 4G, is also some way

off. And here again the picture is not clear.

With the recent spectrum auctions being

coupled with the “liberalised spectrum”

clause in the 1800-MHz band for 20 years,

some operators, like Videocon, will be

using FDD-LTE technology in this band.

Earlier, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel,

Aircel and Tikona Digital are among the

major Telco’s that had won 20 MHz of

2,300-MHz spectrum in each circle for 4G

services. Bharti has already launched

services in a few cities, while RIL is

expected to make an announcement in

June. These firms and BSNL had together

paid Rs 38,543 crore for three blocks of

spectrum. 4G services in this spectrum use

the LTE-TDD, while in other parts of the

world FDD-LTE is the predominant

technology for 4G services.

And now to add another dimension to the

situation the Govt is considering offering

the operators the option of swapping this

spectrum with the 700-MHz band (using

FDD-LTE), one of the most efficient

spectral bands, with a global ecosystem

already in place. Great, but Govt thinking

about pricing seems to indicate that it

would be more than 10 times the price of

an equivalent amount of 2,300-MHz

spectrum. That would almost neutralise

the lower investment requirement and the

advantages of higher spectral efficiency.

Yet another aspect to this spectrum issue is

Unified Licence. Once the UL framework

comes into force, telecom companies

holding the licence will be able to provide

all services that existing licences permit as

well as share spectrum and other active

part of telecom infrastructure that were

not permitted earlier. Telecom service

providers who want to provide any


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additional service apart from current

offerings will have to go for unified licence.

In case of merger and acquisitions also,

companies need to go for unified licence.

So whereth 4G? Aircel says that the

company’ 4G roll-outs may take longer

time than what they had anticipated, since

the ecosystem is not yet ready. “3G

services were rolled-out two years back

and still the 3G penetration is only 6

percent. On the other hand, the 4G

ecosystem too has not evolved yet

completely and Aircel’s 4G roll-outs may

take much longer time than what we had

earlier anticipated.”

But let’s not be pessimistic, Reliance

Jio Infocomm Ltd., which had earlier this

month signed a Rs 1,200 crore deal to

share Reliance Communication Ltd'sfibre

optic network in the country to roll out its

4G services, and who may also hire RCom’s

32,000 towers for 4G services, will hire

capacity on Bharti's i2i cable network

connecting India to Singapore. Or will they

also have second-thoughts about a 700

Mhz swap? Time shall tell.

So in the recent past we have witnessed operators vacating the scene, mounting job losses, reduction in freebies for consumers coupled with tariff hikes. As Kapil Sibal put it, In 2012, auction of 3G and BWA spectrum fetched the government more than 100,000 crore. The decision to auction 2G spectrum did not result in a

windfall for the government and instead saw some players exiting the market.

"What is the result of this? The consumer

tariffs have gone up. So the consumer has

not benefitted. The sector is under debt of

2, 50,000crore, so the sector has not

benefitted, and the government has got

1,000 crore, so the government has not

benefitted. I would like to know who has

benefitted," he went on to ask.

I ask, where does the buck stop? And

again my humble self says, with the Govt.

Look at a sample of some recent

Headlines:

In a major setback to Vodafone India, the telecom department has denied its request for extension of licences in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata that are coming up for renewal in late 2014. A top communications ministry official said a similar request from BhartiAirtel has been rejected as well.

Show-cause notices to 5

telecom firms for understating

revenues: Govt.

Government sent 102 notices

relating to high mobile tower

radiation.

Telecom firms press for review

of cell tower radiation fines.


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Telecom firms call for debate

before implementing national

mobile number portability and

removal of national roaming

charges.

Mobile phone companies can’t

share spectrum without paying

one-time fee: DoT

Bharti, Idea, Vodafone can't

add new 3G customers till final

order: SC.

'India sitting on over $4 billion

unused Universal Services fund'

Kapil Sibal approves Rs 104 cr

penalty on Vodafone

DoT asks CDMA players to pay

Rs 3,000 cr as one-time

spectrum fee.

Why such an environment of discord?

There has to be clarity about the rules of

the game, and a general consensus on a

just and fair system, such that all

stakeholders stand to gain. And for that, in

my humble opinion, one needs qualified

people from professional backgrounds

from the relevant fields as a Telecom

minister and Telecom secretary. Look at

the credentials of Lawrence E. Strickling,

Assistant Secretary for Communications

and Information and

Administrator, National

Telecommunications and

Information Administration (NTIA), in the

US. DoT and TRAI should also be composed

of people from the Govt as well as the

corporate world. Otherwise what happens,

look how well BSNL & MTNL are

doing???!!!

Immediate Future

Let’s leave this and look at the positives.

Again I takea sample of some recent

Headlines:

MukeshAmbani's Reliance

JioInfocomm gets 10,000

numbers to test 4G services.

MTS India Plans 4G Networks

To Monetize Data Growth.

Vodafone, BhartiAirtel and Idea

Cellular bring millions of rural

customers in their net. GSM

operators added nearly 5.7

million rural customers in

January and February 2013,

when financially stressed

mobile phone companies

tweaked distribution models

and unveiled customized plans

in villages amid slowing sales in

the metros.

Videocon Mobile Services, which operates in seven of the 22 telecom circles, today said it intends to cover the entire country within 2-3 years. Also, as part of its commitment to roll-out 4G services, the company has prepared a roadmap and commenced network planning to provide the next level of mobile communications, The company plans commercial roll-out of 4G services by March 2014.


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Aircel Focuses on Data Services

For Revenue Growth.

Aircel aims to raise VAS

revenues in East zone to 25% in

FY'14. Over-the-top Video Revenue To

Cross $20 billion by 2015.

Vodafone India to invest $ 1

billion in FY 14.

Vodafone plans to shift back-

office work of German arm to

India.

Vodafone India launches

mobile wallet.

Gujarat signs MoU with DoT,

Centre & BBNL for optical fiber

network connectivity.

So, undoubtedly the Indian Telecom

Juggernaut will roll-on, but, stumbling at

times. As per E & Y, the telecom sector

needs about Rs 2.50 lakh crore investment

for meeting the target of 100 per cent

connectivity in rural areas and 60

crore broadband connections as envisaged

in the National Telecom Policy. And this

has to happen, but cautiously, as a study

by Fitch finds that Indian telecom

companies plan lower investments than

their Asian peers in the next two fiscals,

leading to reduced capex, thus slower roll-

outs and capacity enhancements.

One last bit on some confusing signals

regarding Managed Services. Again some

Headlines:

RCOM inks Rs 5.3k-crore, 8-year

outsourcing deal with Ericsson.

5,000 of its employees would join

Ericsson.

RCom signs Rs 5,500-cr network

deal with Alcatel. The deal will also

help RCom to dramatically trim its

work force, with a little over 4,000

or 15 per cent of its total of around

26,000 shifting to Alcatel within the

next 90 days. Sources in the know

say the savings in cost after both

deals get through could 15-20 per

cent,

BhartiAirtel to buyout Alcatel

Lucent's 74% stake in Indian

managed services JV. Bharti to

bring other telcos as shareholders

in the firm while roping in the

management of their broadband

and fixed-line networks under the

entity just like its strategy with

Indus Towers.

So are Managed Services the panacea of all

ills or not? Frankly, I can’t say.

Career Prospects

So what does a young Telecom

Management fresher hope for? This

answer, I feel, would be best answered by

a senior industry professional. However, as

this component also has to form a part of

this article, I stick my neck out:


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The bottom-line, grab any

reasonable offer that comes

your way.

The IT/ITES Telecom vertical

should continue to recruit,

especially as a lot of their work

is done for foreign clients.

Tata Teleservices Ltd has

wound up operations in the

Jammu and Kashmir, north-east

and Assam telecom areas.

Uninor and Sistema Shyam

Telecom have also trimmed

operations to specific circles. R

Com is also not in a happy way.

So as far as Operators are

concerned, Reliance Jio

Infocomm, Vodafone and

Videocon seem safer bets.

However Data should thrive,

both for Enterprise and Retail.

This could mean B2B

opportunities with all

operators.

The Rural thrust, with a rethink

on the USO Fund, perhaps the

onus could be shifted to private

operators, as BSNL has left a

substantial amount unutilized.

This would also mean

opportunities with all

operators.

VAS, especially with cheaper

smartphones becoming

available, should provide ample

avenues. OTT should be

accepted as a reality by

operators and win-win revenue

sharing models be evolved.

E/m

commerce/money/payments

have to proliferate, and with

their dependence on a telecom

backbone, should be

explored/exploited.

BBNL will be outsourcing a lot

of work to infrastructure

companies, this should be

followed closely and

opportunities created.

In general, roll-outs and

capacity enhancements should

mean more work for

infrastructure, both active and

passive.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I will say, this is a

phase in which the Industry should

take a deep breath, do a deep

rethink, rationalize and innovate

and once again there will be a pot

of gold at the end of the rainbow,

albeit, not that large, for, telecom

in the current day, is as essential as

water or electricity.


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Business Education and Expectations of the Corporate World

Dr. R. R. Manjeshwar

There is an apt adage which says; “when

you know that you do not know, then you

know much more than not even knowing

that you do not even know”!

It is only when the highly competitive

corporate world and business educational

institutes in general and the ambitious and

aspiring students` community, in particular;

know the mutual expectations, there could

be a better blend of interests and

inclinations, imbibing a more meaningful

and mutually beneficial business bond.

Apparently there seems to be a great

perceptual gap not only in the expectations

of the corporate world but also from the

student community as a whole from the

Corporates as well as from the Business

Education, imparted by B- Schools.

First we must understand these gaps then

the remedial actions can better be

executed.


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All the gaps in understanding the mutual

expectations can be effectively bridged and

both the concerned can then begin

productive journey towards business

excellence together, which India, as a fast

developing country is striving to achieve.

Business Education must ultimately sub-

serve the purpose of providing “Marketable

Products” as MBA students to the

Corporate World, striving to survive,

sustain and take steps towards

organizational excellence, surpassing the

previous standards and staying way ahead

of competitors in this post Globalization,

Liberalization & Privatization period.

Educational faculty must feel the pulse of

the people at the helm of corporate

businesses and endeavour to meet their

requirements in exactitude.

Corporate world should also allow more

free interactions with the educational world

and share their concerns and constraints

with the concerned to chalk out effective

plan of actions to achieve the desired

outcome.

Exposure of student community to the nitty-

gritty of the whole business gamut through

venues and avenues of frequent

interactions between the industry stalwarts

along with the faculty through symposia

and specific seminars could certainly bring

more clarity in the minds of all concerned,

which will be then the starting point of

appropriate interventions and innovations

in the curricula.

Unfortunately every contender seems to be

in greatest hurry as if there is no tomorrow.

No organization can really take the pains or

spend resources in grooming the

incumbents on one hand and the students

also want “fatafutt” results on the other.

The concepts of patience and

perseverance are also fast disappearing

from the minds of these eager beavers!

So obviously the onus lies on

Management Institutes to proactively

prepare and provide these more or less

“finished products’ for immediate utilization

and consumption of the customers, by

proper assessment of the requirements of

both the concerned parties.

But sadly these preconditions seemed to

have been not fulfilled from either party,

resulting in the acute situation of mismatch

between the expectations of the employers

( Corporate World ) and the aspiring MBA

students ( churned out through present

state of Business Education.)

This is akin to saying that water is a

compound of Oxygen & Hydrogen and both

are available in abundance in nature. Then

why this acute water shortage at public

taps and long serpentine queues over

there?!!

Similar situation can also be observed in

employment exchange offices vis-a-vis

corporate head honchos lamenting about

the acute shortage of competent

candidates?!

This article is providing some thread- bare

analysis of the current state of affairs, the

root cause of this malady and also further

suggests practical and pragmatic solutions,

as right remedial actions to resolve or at


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least reconcile the mismatch to make the

joint efforts of business and educational

endeavours more meaningful and mutually

beneficial.

MINIMIZING THE MISMATCH

Just take a hard re-look of the

following funny statement

“Water is an ordinary compound of Oxygen

& Hydrogen and both these elements are

in abundance in the atmosphere. But one

good look at serpentine queues before

dripping public taps and we will see the

paradox!”

Sad situation on employment front is not

much different either, as “head –honchos”

& HRD officials rue about the dismal dearth

of competent candidates on one hand and

there you will find a serpentine queue of

highly qualified “Educated Un-employed” in

front of employment exchange offices on

the other.

Is this not evident enough to reiterate the

mismatch between the expectations of

employers and the MBA aspirants?!

To understand and alleviate above

situations, it is imperative to study in depth

the causes and then suggest practical and

pragmatic remedial actions. The author has

made an attempt to analyse these aspects

to introspect.

The very first encounter between the

prospective employer and the probable

candidate is the “process of job interview”.

Here if the very inclinations, vested

interests, aspirations & expectations and

priorities on contender`s profile

preferences of the concerned parties are

drastically different or diabolically opposite,

the whole exercise will turn out to be a farce

in futility.

At worst ,if there is a tacit compromise

either on values or requirements, this will

merely tantamount to a “marriage of

convenience” and the “common minimum

programme”, thus evolved will be only a

short term quasi-quiescence……..the

employee always scouting for greener

pastures outside and the employer eagerly

waiting for the earliest opportunity to get rid

of the misfit!

The author strongly believes that to create

a cohesive, mutually beneficial, long lasting

business bond between the parties is the

collaborative approach based on empathy

&sympathy towards mutual needs.

Let us examine some prominent

parameters to probe how the diverse

perspectives can affect the perceptions

and influence the line of actions, the

implications of implicit decision-making and

the some suggested methods and means

to bring congruence in this match-making

process.

1. PAY: Money minded MBA

aspirants dream of a five figure starting salary pay packet, as in the present context where money is perceived as a sole measure of achievement in this materialistic world. Obviously “Salary” becomes


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the prime mover and also the motivator of the incumbents.

The basic law of economics of “demand &

supply” in a given market is often

overlooked. This alone should determine

the right price tag on candidature. Many

Management Institutes go all the way out,

even using unscrupulous means to put

their products in premier corporate

businesses.

Higher “Pay Packet” and a very high

placement record is what is considered the

“measure of success” by these institutes

and their students alike.

In this effort, participants are groomed

more to impress through presenting and

not expressing themselves through their

work competence. Obviously, the basic

assimilation of body of knowledge is put on

the back burner and lopsided stress given

to “showmanship”, which gets exposed by

utter ignorance of even fundamental

theoretical concepts and subsequent

substandard performance on actual jobs.

More often these MBA aspirants have

unrealistic visions of their work

environment, assuming themselves to be a

cut above the rest and at times even have

utter disregard to the every basic principle

of “ behaving like a Roman in Rome”,

thereby also lacking in interpersonal

interactive tact with other class or cadres of

colleagues.

Very often, the students have a

misconception that they will be started off

with A/C/ cabins, cars and laptop

computers (if not secretaries!).They will get

the rude shock when many a times, their

first assignment is in facilities room to take

out requisite Xerox copies of the minutes of

the meeting held by their bosses, recently!

To avoid such serious “cognitive

dissonance”, students need to be briefed

by the management institutes as well as

the employers during induction that in any

organization all jobs are important, if not

equally. Precisely for this reason, Pay

compensation is never equal but at most

only equitable, commensurating with parity

of authority and responsibility.

“Dignity of Labour “is utmost important as

urgent tasks must be somehow completed

before the ‘dead lines’. If need be,

incumbents must roll-up their sleeves and

apply brawn as well as brain when the

situation so demands.

Jobs are accepted more as a “waiting

room” to bide time till better options are

observed outside.

Such “honeymooning’ can be very costly to

the employers who had already invested

enough resources in their induction.

From the employers` perspective,

PERFORMANCE (Returns) are paramount

as the cost to the company meter has

already started ticking from day one. ROI,

the business measure, is also applicable in

this respect.

Employers are aware of the above true

intentions of the competent candidates.

They have also realized by now that “if you

dole out peanuts, you could only attract

monkeys”.


19

Hence they are only too willing to pay

lavishly to attract (if not to retain) talent but

none-the-less expecting “a pound of flesh

as value addition for an ounce of food as

CTC!)As a consequence, cases of “burn-

out” or flaunting a false front, even with

fraudulent practices to achieve short -term

pseudo results are rampant. Either way this

only leads to further mismatch.

There is also a marked mismatch in

attitudes too.

Students explore “what is there in for

me?””Pahala daam ,baad main kaam”;

“Even “Pahala kaam ,baad main daam”

is fully justifiable. But the employers

expect the candidate to be “daam main

kum magar kaam main dum” (value

addition to be in multi-folds of cost to

the company) .This is not very much out

of place in current cut throat

competition.

Nine-to-Five is out; twenty four –by-

seven is in! We must take cognizance

of these paradigm shifts and be

proactive.

There is an urgent need to impress on

MBA students that the days of earning

“easy money” are over and that there is

no alternative to hard (better still smart

work) and there are no more “short-

cuts” to corporate success. In this

present scenario of turmoil and travails

it is not only getting a lucrative job but

how to retain it in such circumstances is

even much more important than mere

pay packet alone. Stress should be

more on how to achieve job stability

than to think too much about being

anxious to get a raise.


20

2) PERKS: Most learned

candidates would prefer perks to basic pay due to “hidden advantages” The strings attached to the basic pay would have been the main issue of attraction but not any more now. As here too there is a serious limitation imposed by IT and “under the table” perks are difficult to administer.

Again any facility/amenity once given

becomes a right, as an extension of salary

and withdrawal under adverse situations

becomes next to impossible, leading to

withdrawal symptoms of concerned

candidates!

From the employers` perspective, these

perks are only feasible if the tenure of the

incumbent is long and stable and the

organization is also in expansion mode.

Else they will land up with hardly used

items as cars or fixtures with not much

resale value or worst still the incumbent

who resigns may not vacate the rented

accommodation provided as perk by the

company…..a case for unnecessary

litigation.

Shrewd employers may show many things

as perks, making candidates sign under

dotted lines with applicable conditions in

small print! Therefore, MBA students

should be alert and wary before signing

such work contracts.

3) POSITION: unfortunately the

mis-concept of status is carried forward right through the educational systems. The obvious outcome being students would

rather prefer the title of “General Manager” in an insignificantly small organization rather than the post of a “Manager” in a substantially large organization. Such overly “Status Conscious” students will not like the title as a ‘foreman’ in a multinational company but would easily fall for the designation of an “executive” in any mediocre organization.

MBA aspirants are highly conscious of this

aspect, little realizing that no organizational

position of authority can make them

effective. They simply cannot demand

respect from their subordinates who often

are old timer, work horses and comparable

in age of fathers of these newly appointed,

so-called MBAs to boss over them! There

is an apt saying in Marathi which states that

“by simply smearing ‘shendoor’ to a stone

will not convert that into a God head, unless

the worth is proved beyond iota of doubt.

Students must realize right in the beginning

that they need to develop their “stature’

through their own KSA (Knowledge-Skills-

Attitude) capabilities that alone will help

them command respect out of sheer

competence, communication and

congeniality.

There is a dire need to duly emphasize that

MBA aspirants are required to play

“multifarious roles” simultaneously and

smoothly. They need to perform in the

capacity of a subordinate, as a boss, as a

colleague, as a counterpart, as a vital link

between management and other stake-

holders as customers, government officials

or unions. Any undue interest in any one

particular role at the neglect of other will


21

make the candidate totally ineffective and

even unpopular. ( e.g. While playing the

role of a subordinate, if the equally

important role as a colleague is overlooked

they will pull his legs and even label him as

“boss`s yes man!” .At worst this may

succeed in “agree- culture”!!!!!

For a well-balanced role play, the exact role

requirements as well as the various

expectations from these interfacing entities

must be found out or anticipated. Then only

there will be no lop sided attention to the

interacting influence.

You may call this a 360 degree”

performance –cum- potential appraisal” to

create an effective job –holder and avoid

rude “future shock” of mismatch when

placed in such work ambience of conflicting

interests and inclinations.

It is very uncommon that such ‘common-

sense’ tips are given to the students even

by most proactive and professional

management institutes.

Most MBA students lack this outlook and

depend on their employers to provide them

these conditions who are rather wary of

“rocking the boat” at initial juncture.

To avoid such mismatch, students need to

develop their leadership qualities as co-

curricular activities with equal fervour and

flavour.

From employers` perspective, it is the

POTENTIAL (Versatility) that is of real

consequence.

Before placing the candidate in any

suitable position in the organizational

hierarchy, there is a dire need to ensure

that they have the requisite potentials

(even if latent) more than the so-called

proven performance of doing the same

things. The need of the hour is doing

different things and often multi-tasking with

equal ease. In this era of ever –changing

business environment ,traditional theories

and conventional approaches are of little

help in comparison with innovative ideas

and entrepreneurial abilities of immense

utility in face of obscure and uncertain

situations.

Out-of –box thinking & out-of –

organizational-chart-box way of working is

vital for quick adaptability.

4) POWER: This indeed is a very

heady concept and every one may like to have or even usurp power, it is no more a domain of politicians alone! But what more important to understand is the very basic mental makeup of the person concerned. Those who want to be where the centre of “attraction” is and not where the centre of “action” is, such popularity seekers or “people –oriented” students cannot handle power or tough assignments where they have to be necessarily totally task –oriented.

Such candidates could have been much

better in PR, CRM, Event Management

tasks because of their personal charisma

and compromising or conceding attitude in

conflicting situations. “Peace at any price”

is of prime importance to them rather than


22

confrontation, competing in such situations,

lest they should be labelled as “hard boiled”

from earlier “goody-goody “image.

Therefore, it is essential and imperative

from the employers` perspective that the

personality/basic characteristics of the

concerned must be compatible with work

culture where the trainee is placed.

In our Bhagwat Geeta, it is clearly

mentioned that “Swadharma” is always

beneficial and safer than “Par dharma,

which may ‘prima- faci` appear very

attractive and lucrative! The basic

characteristics and the character

tendencies must be given due stress during

any such placements.

This can often be a very serious mismatch,

often irrevocable with colossal cost of

undesired consequences if the position of

placement needs to be revoked!

Such things can never be fully covered in

regular curricula and therefore injecting

such vital inputs in new incumbents

through extra-curricular assignments and

mentoring by a person in power are a must

to avoid such mismatch.

Gone are the days when bosses believed

that they were indispensable and all

decisions must be ratified by them. But due

to the sheer competitive pressures;

“Empire –Building” is out, traditional broad-

based pyramid structures are out, rightly

replaced by flat, bell-shaped structures of

command and control, making it imperative

that the subordinates must be developed,

empowered and motivated to embrace the

challenges of “self-discipline & self-

management”. The “Moment of Truth” has

thus arrived. Decentralization is the order

of the day. Delegation means even ‘giving

rights to be wrong’ at times.

However, when “the stakes are high and

mistakes mean die”, close, meticulous

monitoring by the mentor is essential, as

being absolutely accountable he cannot

conveniently abdicate his responsibility

under the guise of delegation to the

inexperienced and even immature student

entrants.

In such circumstances, two aspects are of

utmost importance to implement the above:

One is the process and best practices of

“Delegation” must be made to be

understood by both the employers and the

MBA s employed, even as trainees for

smooth transition of power. Second point is

students must be assessed not from the

marks alone(which can be scored by

mugging like a parrot and forgotten within a

month of our traditional exam methods) but

necessarily they must be subjected to

stimulating “simulated situations” with more

emphasis on case studies, role plays, “in-

basket” exercises either conducted as

workshops in their institutes or in induction

programmes of the corporate HRD

interventions, so as to avoid the mismatch

between the expectations by replacing

“mugged acquisition” with “experiential

learning” ,thus.

5) PLACEMENT): not only above

is a core consideration but it is equally essential to assess the student suitability and inclination to be also a wanderlust and not just someone smug and content within


23

the confines of his “Comfort Zone”. To many, personal space and geographical placement carries much meaning.

Particularly in this post Globalization-

Liberalization-Privatization period, where

the accent is on “thinking globally” and

“acting locally”, with seamless and

boundary-less, cross-cultural corporate

functional requirements arisen out of

mergers and acquisitions; flexibility to

adapt new ways, adopt new methods and

embrace the challenges of changes

,cheerfully, competently and confidently is

placed with a very high premium.

Relocating plant operations to remote,

mostly rural areas is not at all uncommon

these days. Not only the officials provide

most infrastructural facilities, sops as tax

holidays etc., but the organizations can

reincarnate themselves with new eager

beavers, new norms, more stream lined

systems of command and control and thus

can create a sharp competitive edge in

this cut throat business competition.

When creation of such uneven playground

for the sake of survival and striving to

succeed, Are our MBA students willing to

relocate themselves and start their initial

careers with little hardships, forgoing their

creature comforts and so called “standard

of living”?!

Further ,instead of overselling the

organization to the gullible , prospective

candidates during campus interviews,

through slick PPT presentations and glossy

brochures, the company representatives

and HRD officials should assign this task to

the past student of that set up ,who has

joined that particular organization and

happy about the working condition in such

remote areas. This will lend more credibility

and compatibility to the session when such

person puts up the case to the alumni.

To remove mismatch in expectations,

employers must clarify at the onset that the

future is for the adventurous students who

are willing to be the part of the start of such

bold business ventures. Higher the well-

considered hardships and greater the

calculated risks, higher are going to be the

returns and rewards.

Else the initial advantages of BPO/Out –

Sourcing can be wiped off easily, if efficient

and effective student entrants are unwilling

to lift the challenging gauntlets!

Fortune favours those, who are ready to go

off to far flung places and rough it out.


PERSPECTIVE (Maturity) is of equal

importance. A person getting seasoned

from the first-person experiences from

varied situations, who has developed his

“Situational Leadership “skills sufficiently

through being sensitive and also sensible

in responding to even subtle changes in the

surroundings appropriately can certainly be

spontaneous, suave and slick in dealing

with different environments he is placed.

It will be a safe bet to place such a person

not only as an ambassador of the company

but also as a diplomat of the mother country

he hails from.


24

As students who find particular subjects in

syllabus tough or tricky join extra coaching

classes ,without a second thought ,same

way such courses conducting classes on

manners, etiquettes, personal grooming

,finishing ,including familiarization with any

spoken foreign language must also be

made mandatory by the management

institutes as the students are unable to

understand the long term impact and

implications of such interventions.

It is often noticed that in “Group

Discussions” students try to brow beat

others, stress being laid more on

impressing than expressing. What the

assessors from employers also overlook is

that the very exercise of such group

discussions is to create a laboratory

condition to replicate the actual work

situation where there need to be meeting of

the minds, not filing the minutes of the

meetings and wasting hours of valuable

time. Free, frank, factual exchange of

ideas, experiences based on facts and

figures (and not figures alone!) and

certainly not whims and fancies.

Consensus needs to be arrived at to reach

conclusive time bound action

accountabilities, by pooling authorities and

not splitting responsibilities!!!! What is said

is more important than who said it.

Here, the Management Institutes have to

take the lead in introducing “Value-Add- on

Programmes” with equal zeal, zest and

seriousness as awarded to subjects for

exam schedules.

Institutes should take up the responsibility

of the holistic development of the student

community to make them versatile in all

aspects of business as well as life. These

are the days of generalists and not so much

of specialists to maintain balance and

increase employability. Even the emphasis

on dual specialization these days is an

ample evidence of the above requirement...

Corporate stalwarts must actively

associate themselves, even as a social

obligation, with academics& varsities to

indicate the expectations of the corporate

world in exactitude and also constructively

suggest ways and means and their own

commitment in supplementing and

complimenting the varsity efforts in making

the programme structures, syllabi and

systems of dispensing knowledge to make

it more relevant to the ever changing

realities of the external business

environment in this free market and

globalized functioning.

Varsities and student community also must

recognize the concrete contributions made

by such industry representatives in

modernizing educational endeavour.

It is high time for the tradition –bound

Universities to drastically change their

pattern of thinking and functioning, else

they will by overtaken or taken over by

more dynamic and down-to earth foreign

varsity affiliations, autonomous

programmes and mushrooming “Deemed

Universities” which at least keep

themselves abreast in latest trends in

imparting teaching and put meticulous

efforts to meet the expectations of their

corporate customers.


25

6) PROSPECTS: MBA students

are not merely content with the initial pay packet and above other considerations, but they are more concerned with their future prospects, personal & professional developmental avenues made available to them, succession or at least the career plans and learning venues while earning.

No more can employers bluff here; “sky is

the limit!”….. .and they may be telling the

truth as in a stagnating, supersaturated

organization, by the time a person is likely

to reach that limit, he might have already

reached the sky, having expired!!!!!

Students are not gullible any more to such

overselling of jobs by the exploitative

companies, as they too normally do

homework and exit interviews to

understand sufficiently the exact health of

the business organization, they aspire to

associate with.

As from the employers` perspective, it is

the PRIME FORCE (Initiative & drive): that

an individual person can display. This has

to come as an intrinsic, internal and implicit

self-motivation, coupled with a strong

sense of urge and urgency to achieve and

even excel.

Indeed, it is up to the individual incumbents

to take the lead in this respect.

Organizations must also put in place,

transparent & perceptible windows of

opportunities for the self-starters.

When opportunity knocks, many may still

grumble of its noise!!

An organization, projected as equal

opportunity place will have less

occurrences of mismatch on this account.

Earlier adage preached; “A rolling stone

never gathers moss” but our present

student community and gen-next

understands too well that “it may not gather

moss but who cares as long as there is

enough moolah”!

7) PROSPERITY: It is said

success breeds success. If the students/incumbents are given the initial sweet taste of success, their motivation can be sustained to strive for further, more challenging projects. Summer placements, specific project assignments as co-curricular activities can give the students some feel of the scheme of things they will face in later on the job situations. Only during this time with no direct personal accountability, under the able guidance of a senior mentor can mould the incumbents to take up the actual responsibilities in professional lives, cheerfully, competently, confidently and concertedly with their colleagues.

The employer needs to ensure that the

students are never put to tough situations

with higher probability of failure in initial

tasks and assignments, lest they should

loose their self confidence in their

capabilities.

They say success has many fathers but a

failure is an orphan!

There is no point in playing blaming games,

“witch hunting” and inventing alibis. The

employer representatives must proactively


26

act as a mentor and not a tormentor in

guiding and supporting the

student/trainees so that such situations do

not arise and mismatch due to incorrect

assessment and not necessarily due to

inadequate capabilities will not occur.


PRAGMATISM (Practicality) is more

consequential.

People must dream big but to realize them

they need to wake up first in the light of

realities! No harm in being a visionary and

keeping the head above the clouds to think

globally but feet must be planted on the

ground to act locally. At the same time we

need to be not only firm but also fair and

flexible in our thinking and approach to

remain practical in any given situation.

It is humoured, “show me a guy with both

feet firmly planted on the ground and I will

show you a guy who does not have his

trousers on!!!!”

Thus to avoid being a mismatch the

relevance of our stand and stand point

needs to be reviewed and validated,

continuously.

A perfectionist with impractical outlook can

do great damage to any organization.

A pragmatic person is the one who is

content with optimal solutions and not best

ones, particularly where time is the very

essence ,some actions are better than

inaction as long as they are not irrevocable(

in case of need for any damage control )

Both employers and MBA students must

realize that they have to trade-off between

time and accuracy, if they do not want to

suffer from “paralysis by analysis”.

These things are not taught in most

business schools or even in “in –company”

induction or orientation programmes. None

–the –less, to avoid mismatch on this

count, it is better to count on imparting

basic concepts of Time Management &

Creativity in Problem-Solving, in a

structured manner in management

institutes as well as in organization to avoid

“bottle-neck” situations due to such

conceptual mismatch.

Everyone wants to join a “Winning Team”.

What is important to accept is that a new

MBA entrant is made the captain of the

team by virtue of his acquired management

qualification but he really has no choice

what-so-ever to select his team members,

who are already present on the scene

much before his advent and who could

even be of his father`s age.

This is quite akin to saying that we have no

choice in selecting our parents!!!!!!

The real challenge is to get “extra-ordinary

output from ordinary” people, where lies all

the leadership skills put to severe test thus.

Employers must also understand that in

such situations a mere theoretician and

academically successful candidate could

be a mismatch as the qualities demanded


27

in such predicaments are the

perseverance, patience, persuasive

personality to carry colleagues along

through convincing and not coercion. This

is entirely a different ball game as

compared to R&D or staff specialists`

functions.

If initial care is taken either in selection or

in mentoring, then infantile mortality and

mismatch can be avoided as not only the

expectations are explicitly known but also

enough reinforcements are provided.

8) POPULISM VERSUS

PURITANISM: except for the

values and virtues which got imbibed in us during the formative years of our existence by special efforts of parental figures, nowhere these are revised or reviewed.

“If you want to make quick buck, then

honesty is not necessarily best policy”

many may observe! If we want to save our

skins (and perhaps even jobs) then we

must be adept in “telling true lies”, people

with short term success may thus preach.

In every socio-political issues such moves

can be seen predominantly, which may

further confuse the students of impressible

age regardless whether they are MBA

students or school-going children.

When such value conflicts emerge and

wrong signals on “role models” are

perceived, utter confusion, chaos and

cluttered actions are evident. Often the

easiest way is to imitate and emulate these

ways……as it is much easier and effortless

to form bad habits!

Worst still, the puritanical persons may not

fight with the corrupt system but will take a

flight or fade away from the scene or such

situations, perpetuating the rot in the

business or society at large.

It is only with numerous frauds & filth seen

so obviously in business entities and also

society at large, the mass awareness , hue

and cry for environmental protection, social

obligation, pruning unscrupulous

politicians` powers and preserving the age

old values & business ethics, cherished by

our own culture have re-emerged.

It is only recently industries, politicians as

well as educational academies are

hoarsely calling it foul and trying to

reintroduce the age –old value systems

back in business, truly self-sustaining

“Sanatan Dharma”.

Pendulum has now swung back to the

other extreme. Even if these new subjects

now introduced in the syllabi by varsities

are preached by those who have also

practiced them before, the faith of the MBA

students will be re-established and this

major mismatch can be averted if all

concerned parties take note and act

expeditiously on this.

9) PEACE: In the present scenario

of tensions, travails and tribulations, peace of mind and a serene work ambience is what persons will opt for. Whether students or employers all will realize and sooner the better that after all, it is not the accumulation of worldly materials which are absolutely worthless to us after the expiry period of our existence. No amount of


28

assurances of there-and-then will matter but what really matters, here-and-now is the peace with oneself and serenity within.

Employers may consider poise and

equanimity as prime virtues of effective

contender but these again will get ingrained

in student populace who are ambitious and

rearing to go and in heart - racing rat race

indeed. But earlier they realize or made to

realize that even if you finally win the rat

race you are still a rat or at worst a spoilt

brat.

Students must look up to set stretchable

and higher tasks to fulfil their ambitions,

which will keep them motivated while

striving to achieve them. But at the same

time a habit of review ,respite and

rejuvenation must also be cultivated so that

compulsive ,unproductive efforts can be

eliminated and all concentration can be

now diverted to Key-Result –Areas or key

success factors ……..pursuing these vital

few are more meaningful and gainful than

running after trivial many. Discretion in

using discriminatory power of separating

grain from chafe` is called for.

In case, immediate success as per

expectations are not forthcoming then

students

must be taught virtues of self-restraint so

that they will not be disillusioned, dejected

or demoralized. In such situations they

must be trained to look below them so

that they will realize that there are even

worse cases than them and therefore, they

should count their blessings (even when

they may come in disguise).Their failures

or set backs are not because of them but in

spite of them due to discouraging

environment operating at that time.

Again these thought are never taught in

management institutes. Students do not

grasp the step of “self-actualization “in

Maslow`s theory on motivation.

There is therefore a dire need to educate

the restless youth the importance of our

age-old wisdom of yoga, meditation,

company prayer meetings etc. to maintain

harmony, health and happiness which all of

us are striving to accomplish.

Holistic development of student community

even through camps of “out-bound training”

must be organized by the Management

Institutes to imbibe above truths in a more

meaningful way in sylvan surroundings of

Mother Nature.

29

Thus, the author firmly believes that with

consensus of the concerned and with

cohesive and concerted actions by all the

stake holders ……..corporate employers,

MBA student community, society at large,

institutional agencies, law makers, influence

leaders et al to bring greater awareness of

above causes and suggested remedial

actions should eliminate or at least reduce to

start with, such mismatch between

employers and MBA students, more in

particular.

We must know that we are all sailing in the

same boat. Here is no point in pointing

accusing fingers at each other and being

‘nosey’ about other`s affairs, but it is indeed

high time that all noses must be in the same

direction, which calls for total integration of

interests and inclinations of all concerned

and the same fingers be used to plug the

holes in the bottom of their boat, instead!

As it is said, “The maximum strength of any

chain is its weakest link” The time has come

to pool in ideas, resources by one and all to

eliminate such mismatches which are very

costly in our stride towards 10% GDP growth

and putting India on the world map not only

as a developed country but also as an

international hub for “Globally marketable

MBA Products”.If we have to ride the

band-wagon of industrial growth

then it is high time to get rid of

these serious and severe

mismatches between the

expectations of the employers

and the MBA student community.

About the Author

Dr. R. R. Manjeshwar has a corporate experience of over 40 years in specialized functions &

positions as O.B., P.P.M., Production Mgt., Materials Mgt., OR, Industrial Eng. & Management

Consultancy.

He has authored a book on “Managing the Boss”, has created & acted in set of 24 DVDs on

Personal Effectiveness. He is actively associated with various professional bodies& has been on

different panels of experts/resource persons and a visiting faculty on 25 premier management

institutes. He has a wide corporate training experience, conducting workshops /seminars /

programmes for all classes and cadres with over 135 corporate clients in India and abroad. He

has also worked as associate with 4 world renowned consultants abroad. He is also, is ISO 9000

certified lead assessor from U.K.

He has presented/published various technical as well as managerial papers in International

conferences/premier journals.

He is a poet and also a prolific writer.


30

Employee Engagement at HSBC Dr. P.N.A. Rao

Human resource is one of the major factors of production for any business

organization. A business success is directly linked to the commitment of the employees. It

involves treating employees as valued assets and a source of competitive advantage

through their commitment, competency and high quality of performance with globalization

and increased opening up of economies, the concept seems to attract the other side of the

world especially developing countries. As globalization and growing economic

interdependence among service sectors takes place, where the management people

increasingly become a vital issues in service sectors. Therefore, the key issues in the HSBC is


31

recruiting, retaining and nurturing the best talents and a focus on the individual role

performance by measuring ‘employee engagement’ which is made up of three components:

job satisfaction, intention to say and a willingness to recommend HSBC as a great place to

work which is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. This

paper examines the factors of motivating and developing individuals to provide sustainable

competitive advantages at global level at HSBC.

INTRODUCTION Employee engagement is one of the key

factors for success of every business. A

sense of ownership, passion and pride

would mark the characteristics of engaged

employee. The employees should feel that

their ideas and views are not only heard

but also valued and implemented. A

survey conducted by Gallup’ views that on

an average only 20% of the people in a

team is fully engaged and passionate about

their work. And, how can be utilized the

rest of 80% of source? What can one do to

scale up performance in the short term,

and more importantly, sustain it over the

long term? It results employee

engagement. Employee engagement

results in increasing employees’ trust in the

organization, creating a sense of loyalty in

a competitive environment and improving

overall organizational effectiveness.

Attraction and retention is a fundamental

function of engagement.

Employee engagement is the level of

commitment, involvement and dedication

that an employee has towards their

organization to increase the productivity.

Employee engagement is a

multidimensional construct that has

cognitive, emotional and behavioral

components of individual role

performance (Alan Saks, 2006). According

to The Gallup organization, engaged

employees are those who “work with

passion and feel profound connection to

their company. They drive innovation and

move the organization forward

“Employees feel engaged in their

organization when they find personal

meaning and motivation for their work,

receive positive inter-personal support,

and operate in an efficient work

environment. Paul Bernthal points out that

employee engagement are all about

getting the employees “give it their all “.


32

About HSBC

The HSBC Group is one of the world’s

largest banking and financial services

organizations a full range of tailored

financial products and services through the

HSBC Bank. It offers a wide range of wealth

management and specialist advisory

services for high net worth individuals and

families with local and international needs

including banking liquidity management,

investment services, custody services,

wealth planning trust and fiduciary

services, insurance , family wealth

philanthropic advisory services . In addition

HSBC Private Banking professionals HSBC

manages its global banking and marketing

operations are able to leverage HSBC’s

global capabilities, resources and expertise

– including capital marketing, commercial

real estate etc., The Group serves

customers worldwide from around 6,900

offices in over 80 countries and territories

in Europe, the Asia – Pacific region, North

and Latin America, and the Middle East and

North Africa, With assets of US$ 2,721 bn

at 30 September, 2012. HSBC and their

employees have partnered with many non-

profit organizations to provide financial

resources and volunteer assistance in

hundreds of communities across the

country. We support programs focused on

community development, education,

financial and the environment.

Employee Engagement at HSBC

Employees ensure their clients are

satisfied, enabling them to create

sustainable value for their shareholders

and communities. Employee satisfaction is

vital measure of the effectiveness of their

people strategies and of the impact on

customer satisfaction. Even more useful,

however, is to measure ‘Employee

Engagement’ which is made up of three

components: Job satisfaction, intention to

stay at HSBC, and a willingness to

recommend HSBC as a great place to work.

It is found that colleagues who exhibit high

levels of engagement also provide better

service to customers and are more likely to

stay with us. HSBC conducts a survey

among all staff members every year. The

results are measured against a financial

services industry bench mark and a global

high performance benchmark. HSBC aims

to raise the average level for 2010-11 and

will continue to report progress on this

measure.

Employee Engagement Surveys 2010-

11.Employees invited to participate

1,20,000. Response percentage 67%.

Average level of engagement in employees

surveyed 69%. HSBC works hard to engage

their employees and in turn decide on the

level of engagement, they would offer

their employers. It was found that,

engaged employees are also normally


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perform better and more motivated. There

is significant link between employee

engagement and profitability. However,

HSBC takes initiates through HR

management and plays vital role in talent

retention. HR department dreams to get

the best out of every employee willingly

and happily. However, HRD initiate the

performance of every individual interest to

learn new things for promoting, awards

and rewards etc., It was found that good

interpersonal relationship, communication

net work worldwide, and good

performance review at HSBC. HSBC is

proud to celebrate their employee’s

involvement and community to local

community and global society. It works

with their employees to development

innovative reward programs that allow

them to give to local communities in a

meaningful way.

Conclusion

An effective corporate culture that

drives employee engagement is not only

about providing the employees with

pleasant surroundings, It is about making

employees feel engaged in their daily

activities, making them feel devoted to

their work and enabling them to achieve

their goals. Companies interested in

developing engaged employees should

first practice the philosophy that human

resources provide sustainable competitive

advantage. It is very important to keep the

mind that the organization should believe

that its core competency lies in the

knowledge, skills and abilities of its own

people. A sense of ownership, passion and

pride would mark the characteristics of

engaged employee. The real challenge in

today’s workplace is having an effective

and courageous leadership for fully

engaged each team member as a valued

individual.


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Why is no one happy?

Y.Markandeyulu

The answer why we are not happy or really

very unhappy is very simple. Technology is

killing all life. When you use a bicycle you

use your legs less. If you use a car then

most of your limbs become redundant.

When you use calculators, computers etc,

you stop using your brain. Technology is

making our organs redundant. To enjoy

you need your body. But you are losing

most of it. It cannot enjoy and it needs

tonics, medicines etc. just to exist. We are

living without life. And we are killing every

life form.

We have poisoned land, water, air and

space in the name of development. More

money means more gadgets and more

redundancy. When I was very young we

used to go to our native village which was

just twenty miles away. We were woken up

at 4 am and asked to sleep on the very

comfortable beds arranged on the bullock

cart. The cart went slowly on a country

road full of forest. At 6 am we used to frolic

in a lake. The journey resumed for two

more hours. We used to go to a temple and

there we took tasty Prasadam or meals like

heavy eat. After resuming our journey we

used to visit more temples, many friendly

families on the way and we used to reach

our place at 4 pm. The breeze throughout

was very pleasant and the forests were

lush.

Now the forest is gone. The temples are in

ruins. The travel to the village takes less

than an hour by bus. But the pollution on

the way makes us feel very sickly. We

rarely go to the village as most of our lands

have been grabbed illegally. Instead of

pleasant tales, music etc. we get episodes

about quarrels, factions, elections etc. To

get back our happiness we have to change

the Indian Institutes of Technology into

Indian Institutes of Thought. Thoughts do

not need technology.

The so called science-economics is the

biggest disaster that befell on the

biosphere. It provides the justification for

destroying nature. Its worst word is

competition. The 10000 trillion cells in your

body do not compete. They cooperate,

coordinate, harmonize to make you live

healthily. They do not fight each other.

Now technology is destroying that gigantic

cell-society by bringing in various practices


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to which the cells cannot synchronize. We

are destroying the nature within us. We

are busy destroying the nature outside us

by poisoning the land, water, air and space.

Can you show one industry that does not

poison water? To start a steel plant, paper

factory or any other big factory you need

plenty of water that gets polluted

permanently. The logic of the machine--

the technologic has no feelings, sentiments

or empathy. Its language-mathematics

cannot measure your feelings. It cannot tell

in miles, kilos etc. the happiness or

unhappiness you are undergoing. It cannot

quantify any emotion. But your life simply

means emotions and feelings.

Mathematics miserably fails in this vital

area of existence. It is inanimate and

deadly.

My God, we are now in a stage where the

concept of the Brahman, the ultimate

stage in enlightenment is made into a foul

word thanks to the caste wars. We are in

the era when a person like Sri Subash

Patriji, who is trying to revive the tradition

of Dyana or meditation is scandalized by a

TV channel! We do not need the

equilibrium analysis. We need to revive

holistic feelings.

The Universe is based on symbiosis,

synthesis, cooperation, coordination and

harmonization. It is not based on

competition. Modern Science had a very

grisly beginning. René Descartes the father

of the analytical approach started his

science by nailing big animals like bulls etc.

to wooden logs, open their entails etc. to

prove his mechanical paradigm. He

contended that animals are just machines

and that as lifeless creatures they cannot

feel any pain at all! Thus started the butchery

of all life forms in the name of science!

Today the routine massacre of nature is called

the economic activity. Economic growth simply

means the growth in the destruction of nature. In

life sciences we do not study the life forms while

they are actually living. We kill them, open them

up and then study the engineering structures

within them just like studying the parts of a

motor bike. If we really want to bring back

happiness we have to make nature alive and

smile. For that we have to first redefine profit.

Profit must mean, profit to the environment, to

the biosphere, to the society and lastly to the

trader. Accounting has to be changed totally.

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Thoughts for the day

Never deprive anyone of hope; it could be the only thing a person owns.

Don’t make decisions when you are angry.

Watch your posture.

Don’t pay for a job until it’s finished.

Beware of who has nothing to lose.

Learn how to say “No” courteously and promptly.

Don’t expect life to be fair.

Don’t hesitate to lose a battle if it helps you win the war.

Don’t procrastinate. Do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” and “I’m sorry

Watch the sun rise at least once a month.

Look people in the eye.

Say “please” and “thank your” often.

Spend less than what you earn.

Do onto others as you wish others did onto you.

Learn how to keep secrets.

Own up to your mistakes.

Always tell the truth.


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Don’t repeat all you hear, don’t say all you think.

Don’t criticize people, praise them.

Learn how to listen, it’s an art.

Don’t believe all you hear.

Enjoy beauty.

Choose your spouse well, most of your happiness depends on it.

Don’t lose control at any time; take a deep breath

You are the way you breathe.

Meditate for thirty minutes every day.

Enjoy your free time!

Cherish your friends.

Be honest, earn people’s respect.

You have the right to be happy!

Shed hate and rancour, they hurt you more than they do others.

There are things you can’t get back: the spoken word, the time that has gone by, and

lost opportunities.

Do only one thing at a time.

Immortality exists, it’s called knowledge. Ask what you don’t know and remember it

for when you’re asked.

Discover pleasure in simple things: eating, breathing, walking, tasting, touching,

seeing, sleeping…

Happiness is like a piggy-bank, put in it as much as you can.

One day you will be able to go over what you discarded and die laughing …..


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Convocation

Photo Gallery


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Convocation Day is a day of celebration. It is a day of excitement, a day of smiling

faces, a day of unusual (some might say) ceremonies, a day of anticipation and

optimistic expectations for the future. It is a day of recognition of great achievement;

the future is today. It has arrived. It is a day to celebrate family success, though

clearly the student is the star of the show. The whole University turns its focus to its

reason for being. We salute as well, the success of our Faculty. With fine and

somewhat peculiar robes having colourful hoods, with odd hats, speeches (seldom

too long) and almost always inspirational, this is a day when we all take satisfaction

in seeing the results of hard work and successful achievement, a day for moving

forward with confident purpose.

"Carpe Diem!" (Seize the Day)


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Drishti

Drishti is a cultural event in which all the four management institutes of Sri Balaji Society compete for the

“Aiyaswamy Trophy”. This yearly event involves cultural sports and management games/other relevant

competition, which are judged carefully. It gives an opportunity to every student to take part and

showcase their talents.

This year, BIMM won the “Aiyaswamy Trophy”.


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Holi

Holi, Fagwa, Dhol Jatra or Basant Utsav, call it what you like to; the students & faculty of Sri

Balaji Society know the true meaning and significance of the festival of colours. It's celebrated

every year within the campus with great zeal and passion.


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Kites Day

Symbol of happiness & prosperity, Makar Sankrant the festival of harvest is a rich tribute to

the farming community of India. The festival is known by various names across India and is

celebrated each year at SBS. SBS signifying the true essence of India and glorifying the spirit

of "unity in diversity", celebrates Sankrant each year by hosting kite flying competition among

students.


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VIP Visits


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Our Team

From Left:

First Row (sitting):

1. Prof. Dimple Saini, Director (Corporate Relations), Sri Balaji Society

2. Prof. (Col.) A. Balasubramanian, President, SBS,

Chairman, Campus placements,

Executive Director BIMM & Dean BITM,BIIB

and BIMHRD

3. Mr. Yeshwant Moodlier, Advisor, Alumni Affairs, Sri Balaji Society

4. Mr. D.S. Kadam, Director (Project & Alumni Affairs), Sri Balaji Society

Second Row (Standing): Alumni Coordinators

1. Bhushan Shetty

2. Harshal Dafe

3. Pranita Singh

4. Akanksha Gupta

5. Yugal Hinduja

6. Varun Pokale


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Help us to report issues of your interest. Send your suggestions to [email protected]

Yeshwant Moodlier

Advisor, Alumni Affairs

Sri Balaji Society

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Alumni@work second issue