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3Study@Icfai • March 2009

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Even if you are not the best at what you do, you can be the onewho never gave up.

– Michelle C Ustaszeski

Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.

– John Maxwell

What you think of yourself is much more important than whatothers think of you.

– Seneca

Keep improving your skills, and education, and you will greatlyimprove your odds of success.

– Catherine Pulsifer

Your key to freedom lies in your power to control your thoughts.

– Tim Connor

The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined bypraise than saved by criticism.

– Norman V Peale

An intelligent person is one who imagines things, ahead of others.

– MK Soni

Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable, than riskbeing happy.

– Robert Anthony

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a presentand not giving it.

– William A Ward

Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, nomatter how slow.

– Plato

Truly successful decision making relies on a balance betweendeliberate and instinctive thinking.

– Malcom Gladwell

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what youdo are in harmony.

– Mahatma Gandhi

Expect your every need to be met, expect the answer to everyproblem, expect abundance on every level, and expect to growspiritually.

– Eileen Caddy

Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have

– Saul Alinsky

Everyone has something they must learn to master. Some are justmore obvious than others.

– Robert D Hales

Study@IcfaiVol. VIII No. 3 A Monthly Newsletter March 2009

Verbatim

Study@Icfai_March_2009.pmd 3/6/2009, 3:06 PM3

Study@Icfai • March 20094



C O N T E N T S

ARTICLES

Soft Skills

Soft Skills ................................................................. 08

Cover Story

Creativity: A Process of Learning ............................... 11

Cov

er d

esig

n by

S G

anes

h

FEATURES

News Roundup ....................................................... 06

University News

From the Icfai University ........................................... 14



News

ROUNDUPMNCs on a Hiring Spree

At a time when Indiansoftware services companiesare increasingly cutting downtheir hiring targets due toslowdown, MNCs seem tobe on a hiring spree inIndia. Global players suchas IBM, Accenture and Cap Gemini are all set to increasetheir hiring in the country. Accenture has decided toincrease its workforce in India from around 37,000 toalmost 50,000 in one year. Atos Origin, a European ITfirm is looking to double its India headcount from 3,300to 6,000 by 2010. With offshoring a better option to cutcost amidst downturn, Tesco, the world’s second largestretailer, which has around 3,000 employees at its captivein Bangalore currently, is planning to hire few 100 morepeople. The company is saving around $60 mn every yearby outsourcing to India. As MNCs offer attractiveopportunities to the skilled professionals working in IndianIT firms, the attrition rate of Indian firms would cross11-13% and even more. GC Jayaprakash, PrincipalConsultant, Stanton Chase International, opined thatcurrent openings in the IT industry have more to do withspecific skills and for professionals who have five to sevenyears of experience.

Perform or Perish

As an outcome of the globalfinancial turbulence, Infosys hasplaced around 5000 employees or5% of its total workforce under thescanner, globally. About 40-50sales executives have also beenasked to quit in the last twomonths. The Indian IT giant hastold its senior managers to give thelowest performance rating (4 on ascale of 1-4) to the ‘underperforming’ employees 5% as apart of the company’s Consolidated Relative Ranking (CRR).The company has made such ranking mandatory for the firsttime, and the ranks will be given on the basis of theemployee’s appraisals which are done twice a year. Therecommendations have already been submitted this month.

Commenting on the issue, Infosys Vice-President andGroup HR Head, Nandita Gurjar said there was nochange in the policy, and the percentage of employeeswho are ranked four in the scale varies every yearbetween 1-5%. The company has decided to implementa six-month mentoring program for such employees afterwhich it will decide their future based on theimprovements they have made. As a part of thisprogram, each affected employee will be asked to workunder the supervision of a mentor who is a seniorexecutive. “While 50% of such employees come back tothe system, others get the message and quit voluntarilyin most cases,” Gurjar said.

Tackling the Hiring Slump

“Slowdown will impact placementsat IIM-A, and finance will not beas charming and dominant as itused to be in the past. Althoughbeing at the top of the B-Schoolpyramid in the country, we expectto be the least impacted, weanticipate an impact in numbersand compensation packages offered,” said Samir Barua,Director, IIM-A. He mentioned that pre-placement offersfrom the banks were already down to a trickle comparedto the deluge of offers that the previous batches fromthe institute have seen. Till now, it was companies fromthe finance sector that dominated the hiring process bypicking up more than 60% of students. “We have alwaysinvited various sectors to participate in the placementprocess. However, many of them were unable to recruit,as large number of students were lured away by thefinancial sector on the Day Zero and Day One of theplacement season, leaving little for other sectors,” addedBarua.

IIM-A is also concerned over its ManagementDevelopment Programs that generate good revenue for theinstitute, as companies are slashing their training budgets.“It is around this time that corporate decides on theirtraining spends, and in the current scenario, this is likelyto face the first cut,” pointed out Barua. The institute isplanning more innovative programs to counter theslowdown.



News

World Suffers Worst Downturn

According to InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), theworld economy will grow byonly 0.5% in 2009, at a worstrate since the end of WorldWar II, as industrial nationsbattle a severe recession that isdragging developing countries down with them, as itslashed its global economic forecasts. Wealthy nations willexperience their worst recession in the post-war period,contracting 2% in 2009 despite massive fiscal stimuluspackages planned by most of the world’s richest countries.The US will contract by 1.6% and Germany—Europe’slargest economy by 2.5%. The growth in emerging anddeveloping countries will also slow dramatically in 2009to 3.3% from 6.3% in 2008. China’s economy will slowto 6.7% in 2009 from 9%, India’s will drop to 5.1% andBrazil’s growth will plummet from 4% to 1.8% in 2009.In its November 2008 update, IMF had forecasted 2.2%global growth for 2009, a contraction of 0.3% inadvanced economies and 5.1% growth in the developingcountries. World growth below 3% is considered a globalrecession. The global downturn continues to be led by thefinancial crisis which began with a collapse in the UShousing market but has since spread to all corners of theglobe. Financial firms are now projected to lose a totalof $2.2 tn before the crisis is over—about $500 bn morethan banks currently have in their reserves.

“Global economic recovery depends first and foremoston dealing with the financial crisis,” said Charles Collins,IMF’s Deputy Director of Research. “Governments stillneed to take more drastic actions to shore up banks, revivelending to consumers and break the corrosive spiralbetween financial and economic weakness,” said Collins.

American International Recruitment Council

American International RecruitmentCouncil, is a new non-profit organizationformed by a group of educationalinstitutions. To join the network,recruitment agents will have to accept acode of practice and get regular training.

The organization hopes that American universities willbe sufficiently convinced of the quality and ethicalstandards of member agencies and will agree to work withthem. Already 35 universities have joined; the figureshould reach 100 soon. The council is working on a trialbasis in Bangkok and hopes to process ‘large numbers’of agents by the end of 2010. If that happens, the market

for international students will be transformed. A surveycarried out by i-graduate, a market research firm, foundthat although few agents recommended Americaninstitutions to their clients, most wanted to. “Agents saidthe UK was the country in which they placed the moststudents,” according to Will Archer, the firm’s Director. Hefurther added “But they said the country in which theywould most like to place students was the US.” Agentsrated America as most desirable for undergraduate,postgraduate and MBA courses, leaving Britain in the leadonly for language and foundation courses, and Australiafor vocational ones only.

Top Business Schools

London Business School (LBS) is ranked in the numberone slot jointly with the Wharton School at the Universityof Pennsylvania. Previously only two of the US schools,Wharton and HBS, have held the number one slot. LBShas been ranked among the top in the world since theinaugural FT rankings began in 1999, when it was placedeighth. Since then, the UK school has climbed up slowly,ranking second last year. As well as having the numberone ranked full-time MBA program, LBS also tops theFT Executive MBA (EMBA) rankings with the EMBAGlobal program that it runs jointly with ColumbiaBusiness School in New York. EMBA programs aredesigned for working managers. The FT MBA ranking2009 was compiled from data supplied by 9,000 businessschool alumni working in 130 countries.

Fine China

The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)in Shanghai has something to celebrate, it has beenaccredited by The Association to Advance CollegiateSchools of Business (AACSB) International, an Americanagency that is the most prestigious of the internationalbodies accrediting B-Schools. The award is important forCEIBS because, despite huge investment and a sectorwhich is growing rapidly, there remains a suspicion thatChina’s B-Schools do not always make up for qualitywhat they obviously possess in quantity.

CEIBS is just the second mainland Chinese school toreceive AACSB accreditation, next to Tsinghua Universityof Beijing. International accreditation is one of the keyways that prospective students judge the quality of theinstitutions to which they are applying. The auditmeasures such factors as the quality of faculty, students,mission and strategy. CEIBS has already receivedaccreditation from European Quality ImprovementSystem, Europe’s primary accreditation agency. n



The need for soft skills has increased manifold over the last few years. Professionals need topossess a high soft skills quotient, apart from the domain knowledge in order to succeed in this

competitive era. Research findings have quite often shown that professionals with better softskills were able to create a marked difference not only in the marketplace, but also within thecompany. Success at the workplace calls for altogether different skill sets and understanding

which might even lead to the academic toppers taking a back seat vis-à-vis their ‘below average’peers in terms of domain knowledge taking a better position. The need of the hour for profes-

sionals is to understand the importance of learning and relearning, which in turn calls for aboveaverage soft skills quotient. This article is a compilation of research findings from a businessschool of Central India, which proved that the students having diverse aptitude, attitude and

command on domain areas were ultimately segregated on the basis of their blendingcapability of soft skills with that of the domain know-how.

Soft Skills

Soft skills have gained much importance in themodern day world. Professionals from differentsectors including managers, entrepreneurs, doctors,

engineers, technocrats, physicians, or even researcherssucceed in their chosen field not only on the basis ofdomain know-how, but rather on the basis of a balancedingredient comprising soft skills and subject knowledge.The challenges offered in a professional environment callsfor more of the soft skills quotient rather than textbookconcepts of any subject. The students become matureprofessionals in the long run not only on the basis of theircommand on any specific discipline, but rather on theirability to be prepared to tackle the unforeseen situations.Hence there is a need for an integrated approach on thepart of faculty members and soft skills trainers especiallyin a business school set-up.

Blending is the Need of the Hour

Let us see some instances from a business school. Ashokhas passed MBA with distinction and got an excellent offerfrom a leading Blue-chip company. However, he had toquit the organization owing to the lack of competitive spiritto create the difference in the marketplace. Sandya, astudent in HR with sound theoretical knowledge in laborlaws, joined an IT major with a lucrative package. Butshe somehow could not measure up to the expectationsof her superiors, as she lacked good interpersonal skills,while functioning in a team. David Wilson joined anFMCG giant in the logistics department after securing agold medal at the postgraduation level in management.His employer was happy with his performance till it wasnoticed that he did not have a balanced approach leadingto his overreaction most of the times, which further

Soft Skills

created lot of rift amongst his group of subordinates.

David was counseled a number of times. However, hischange in personality and conduct was momentary, finallyresulting in losing his plum job.

What do all these instances have in common? It ispretty clear that domain expertise which lacks theadequate mix of soft skills inputs has led the studentsshaping their career with a myopic vision, thereby losingtheir identity at the workplace. Most of the studentspassing out of professional programs such as engineering,medicine, management are unable to reach the stars, notbecause they lack domain knowledge, but because theymiss out on important yet neglected characteristics likepunctuality, verbal and non-verbal communication skills,interpersonal skills, appropriate attitude-aptitude mix, lackof go-getting attitude and competitive spirit, inadequatekiller instinct in a challenging environment and the like.

Most of the institutes offering professional programseither have a lackadaisical approach or teach soft skillsas a stand-alone subject. In either of the cases, studentsfail to understand the importance of soft skills in theircareer growth. Companies at times prefer to opt for acandidate having a slightly less command of the domainknowledge over the so-called domain experts, onlybecause the former is better in terms of soft skills.

Harish Baweja, an HR manager of an American retailgiant, makes it clear that his company prefers candidateshaving the requisite soft skills quotient in terms of attitude,aptitude, good interpersonal skills, and team dynamicsover the ones who have good command only on thedomain areas like Marketing, HR, Finance, IT, etc. Hefurther corroborates by saying that a candidate having theright proportion of soft skills but lacking in domain areas



Soft Skills

can very well be groomed as per the organizational needs.He is right in saying so as survival and growth, in themodern day competitive era, is only for those who knowthe importance of learning, unlearning and relearning,which calls for above average soft skills quotient.

The Right Mix and Approach

Blending domain learning with soft skills is quite achallenging task, mainly in a business school set-up. Itcalls for a perfect coordination on the part of domainexperts and soft skills trainers, coupled with continuousobservation, mentoring, counseling and aggressive follow-up. Establishing a rapport and coordination with variousinner circles of a student like parents, teachers, friends,classmates, and relatives would go a long way in makinga candidate adopt holistic approaches.

Practically, it might seem to be a difficult propositionto involve all in imparting complete professionaleducation. However, once the significance of this involvedapproach is explained to all concerned, the same can beeasily implemented. Figure 1 explains the relationship thestudent needs to have with all stakeholders in making atrue professional, capable of withstanding every professionalchallenge.

The figure very well explains the importance of theformation of a bond amongst all stakeholders from the

perspective of career building. Gone are the days whenit was solely the teachers who were responsible to chartout a career graph for an aspirant. Modern day careerplanning and implementation require active cooperationfrom all concerned, namely the teacher, parents, peers(classmates and other friends), relatives so that valuableinsights pertaining to the candidate can be recorded fromvarious platforms like parent-teacher meetings, mentoringsessions, social get-togethers, professional associations,counseling sessions, etc. It would provide the teachermany inputs about the student’s behavior at differentforums, which in turn can be blended along with thedomain knowledge, while involving them in sessions andextracurricular activities.

As depicted in the figure, the need to blend domainknowledge with soft skills is of paramount importance inorder to get better results from composite and holisticlearning. If the process is put in place, a soft skills trainerin a business school set-up can act as a facilitator whiledomain experts from various disciplines can blend theirteaching and training approaches with soft skills. Theeffectiveness and advantages of such an approach wouldbe manifold as it would result in the student understandingthe significance of soft skills, instead of considering thedomain subject as the most essential to succeed in theprofessional life.

Figure 1: Holistic Learning Keeping all Stakeholders in the Loop

Student

Teacher

Relatives

Parents

Peers



Blending domainlearning with softskills is quite achallenging task,

mainly in a businessschool set-up

Findings from Observations

The faculty members of Marketing, HR, Finance, IT, alongwith the soft skills trainer of a business school in centralIndia, conducted a study on the MBA batch of 60students of the class of 2006 from the beginning ofSemester I till the completion of the first year of theirservice in different companies after the placement process.The observations revealed startling facts and figures whichcalled for a collaborative approach on the part of allstakeholders (from the student’s perspective) for makingthe students placement worthy. This batch of studentswere placed in a wide range of companies across FMCG,banking, consumer durables, aviation, financial services,insurance, pharmaceutical and real estate sectors. Thesalary offered was in the range of Rs. 1.8-7.0 lakh perannum, depending upon the sector, company andcapability of the students.

The students were classified into threecategories—students who got more than70% aggregate marks (in their MBA) asA, 65% to 70% as B, and below 65%as C. The completion of the placementprocess skewed the result in favor of thestudents graded as C, as they consistedof 60% of the students to be placed ina salary range of Rs. 3-7 lakh. Grade Bwas the next lot comprising of 30%students placed within a bracket of Rs.2.5-3.0 lakh package, whereas the oneswho were academically sound (grade A)consisted of 10% of the students placedin the salary range of Rs. 1.8-2.5 lakh.

After the completion of the placements, most of theHR recruitment executives and managers commented thatthey preferred to select people with a balanced approachrather than those tilting more towards academicperfection. They also added that these academicallysound students are often found lacking in soft skills as theirsense of false ego because their academic achievementsprevent them from welcoming change. The appetite forlearning reaches the nadir for this category of students asthey develop a feeling of ‘we know everything’.

The second part of the study threw even moreinteresting insights when the batch of 2006 wasobserved after the completion of one year of theirservice. It was observed that a minuscule (27%) numberof students could stick to their first job by sustainingprofessional challenges in the form of stiff deadlines,

peer pressures, target achievements, changing as per thetime, standing up to the expectations of the superiors,etc. Interestingly these 27% students had the followingbreakup: 12% from Grade C, 9% from Grade B, anda paltry 6% from Grade A.

The HR recruitment teams of various companiesexpress their views that the ones who survived thechallenging first year of their service were those whopossessed sufficient amount of soft skills with or withoutadequate domain knowledge. The so-called scholarswithin the B-school campus were found to be corporatemisfits and their solid domain grasping did not come totheir rescue when they encountered diverse challenges atthe workplace. They also lacked the ability to leverageupon their learning and open mind approach inimplementing the classroom concepts in real business

environment. In this case, it can be saidthat “backbenchers in the classroom areoften the frontrunners in the industry”.

Conclusion

Soft skills are most of the timeconsidered to be a filler vis-à-vis domainsubjects like marketing, IT, finance,systems, operations, etc. However, it issoft skills which decide whether one canharness one’s abilities in the workplace.In an era of privatization andglobalization, a penny saved is a pennyearned, which means that no professionalorganizations would like to fill theiropenings only in terms of quantity. They

are interested in quality, which unfortunately at times, isat loggerheads with that of a teacher, a parent or evena peer member’s lexicon.

The employer defines quality in terms of soft skills,whereas teacher, parent and peer member try toclassify quality on the basis of the marks scored. Didanyone say bookworms have no place in the practicalworld, as industry needs a cocktail of soft skills anddomain knowledge? Are the new generationmanagement teachers and trainers along with theirgeriatric tribe listening? n

Manishankar ChakrabortyManagement Trainer and Consultant.

Dubai, UAE. The author canbe reached at [email protected]

Soft Skills



Creativity: A Processof Learning

Creativity is the by-product of cognition needed for any organization in today’s challenging world.Earlier, the scope of creativity was restricted to fields of art and science, and is understood as intelli-gence. But today, the nature of creativity can be understood more in depth and scope. This being the

fact, creativity should be given more scope to grow and its importance should be emphasizedthroughout the education system so that everyone can have divergent ideas to a particular viewpoint.

And, teaching is a two-way learning. This article emphasizes the need to have arelook into the education system so that India’s rich human resource can be highly creative.

Creativity is an aspect of human nature that is to be founduniversally in all human beings.

– Abraham Maslow

Creativity is a very important aspect of learning.This is defined as the use of one’s intellect toproduce novel and meaningful ideas (Morgan,

1993). Creativity enables an individual to have an edgeover others. Earlier, the scope of creativity was restrictedto fields of art and science and understood to be the sameas intelligence, but today, the nature of creativity can beunderstood more in depth and scope. Its application iswidespread to all spheres of life. At any point of time,it is opined that creativity can be enhanced with an abilityto perceive things differently. It can be harnessed for thedevelopment of one’s own self, family and also theorganization to which she/he belongs. A researchconducted by Morgan in 1993, shows that college studentsspecializing in such fields as Math/Physics are on the vergeof their most creative period. Major innovations in thesefields, most often, come from people who are in their 20s.It is a known fact that, one requires a long time to unlearnanything which has become a habit. Hence, it is wise tolearn in the right manner.

In the present challenging world, creativity is the by-product of cognition, which is most needed in anyorganization. Unfortunately, the importance of creativity/creative thinking is emphasized more in the later stagesof an individual i.e., at the undergraduate/post graduate/employed stages. This can be substantiated with anobservation. In an MBA institute, during the counselingsession, most of the students had an average/borderlineaverage score on creativity. Creativity is one of thesubscales of 16 personality factors’ test which wasdeveloped by Cattell (1974).

Cover Story

Teachers, educationists and the concerned shouldretrospect the whole issue of the education system interms of technique and delivery of teaching. It is theright time to pose some fundamental questions toourselves such as, are we in the right direction withregard to education system?/are we providing stimulatingenvironment?/is it appropriate to continue with chalkand talk technique in the elementary level?/is it in anyway possible to bring some changes? If yes, thenshould it restart at home or at the school level witha different perspective? What is the role of parents andteachers? These are some of the issues the author triesto address in this article.

Understanding Creativity

In simple words, creativity can be understood aseverything that we do and which is not a habit. Like anyother concept, this term is also defined in various waysby different psychologists and educators using a varietyof framework and range of conceptualizations ofcreativity. Robbins (2002) defines creativity as “the abilityto combine ideas in a unique way to make unusualassociations between ideas”. The National AdvisoryCommittee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE)defines the term as “imaginative activity fashioned so asto produce outcomes that are both original and of value”.Creative thinking is, as defined by Greeno, in 1989, “acombination of flexibility in thinking and reorganization ofunderstanding to produce innovative ideas and new ornovel solutions.” From the above definitions, it is clear thatcreative thought has originality and appropriateness.“Creativity is an essential life skill, which needs to befostered by the education system(s) from the early yearsonwards” (Craft, 1999). This definition has to be taken



Cover Story

seriously, throughout the education system, consideringthe present situation.

Creativity involves four stages—process-preparation,incubation, illumination, and verification. There is a greatneed for teachers and educationists to emphasize on thesestages of creativity in all the learning that children areengaged in. Based on the three-component model ofcreativity, suggested by Amabille (1988), creativityencompasses expertise, creative thinking skills and taskmotivation. The interplay of these three components oftenresults in decisions that are far more creative thanexpected.

Determinants of Creativity

A creative person has many personality traits. One strikingtrait is that desire to actualize oneself is highly comparedto others along with curiosity, sensitivity,entrepreneurship, independence,experimentation, persistent striving fordistant goals, etc. The desire to excel isso much that they will come up with amasterpiece. The product of creativityblossoms in a safe environment that ismarked by openness. In an organizationalset-up, a certain amount of intellectualplayfulness and respect for each other’sideas give way to creativity. TheAmabile’s model suggests that individualcreativity may be affected even by veryminor aspects of the immediate socialenvironment. Creativity may be impededwhere rewards are determined in advance, where there isundue time pressure, over-supervision and competition orwhere choices are restricted in terms of approach orworking materials or where evaluation is expected. “If themind is extraordinarily clear without a shadow of conflict,then it is really in a state of creation: It needs noexpression, no fulfillment and no publicity” (Krishnamurthy,1999). According to Sanskrit writers, inborn talent andacquired talent are the two types of creative talents. Theinborn talent is one which is there in the human beingby virtue of her\his past birth and can be brought tolimelight with external stimulation, whereas, acquiredtalent requires proficiency and practice to evolve with anoriginal piece. (Panduranga Bhatta, 2006).

And the role of the context or subject domain has beenincreasingly emphasized since early 1990s. This is one ofthe reasons, why the work environment is given enormous

importance in any organization to harness the creativedecision making of their employees. Ryhammar (1996)carried out a study on 130 university teachers to measuretheir creativity and personality aspects in specificorganizational parameters. One of the questionnaires wasa measure of the creativity aspects of the social climate.It was found out that climate and resources seemed toexert the strongest influence on the creative outcome. Thatclimate worked in the organization as a lever for leadershipand as a manifestation on the behavioral level of theorganization’s culture, defined as basic values. The moreconfusing results were that some organizational parameterswith positive influences on climate, nevertheless, seemedto have suppressing effects on creativity, and otherparameters with negative impact on climate seemed tosupport creativity.

Approaches to Creativity

Howard Gardner (1993) has used “casestudy method” to analyze creativepeople. He found that creative peopleare creative in certain areas but poor inother areas of intelligence. This approachanalyzes creative persons profoundly insome areas and in a poor way in otherareas of intelligence. It providesinformation about the development,personality, motivation and other aspects.Gardner proposed multiple intelligencetheories and opined that all humanbeings have eight intelligences. “Whatmakes life interesting, however, is that

not all of us have the same strength in each intelligencearea, and don’t have the same amalgam of intelligence.Just as we look different from one another and havedifferent kinds of personalities, we also have different kindsof minds.” (Excerpt from the interview).

The second and newest method is the “cognitiveapproach”, which makes use of cognitive mechanisms inunderstanding creative thinking. Many creative peoplehave reported that use of mental imagery is vital tocreative thinking. This involves images, withoutwords\mathematical symbols (Finke, 1993). Thus, thecognitive approach involves analyzing the working ofmental imagery and its relationship to creative thinking(Plotnik, 2002). This is one of the frequently usedtechniques by managers while making the creativedecisions. The other techniques are “guided imagery”,“self-hypnosis”, “journal keeping” and “lateral styles ofthinking” (Weston, 1993).

In an organizationalset-up, a certain

amount of intellectualplayfulness andrespect for each

other’s ideas giveway to creativity



It is a well-known fact that, more and moreorganizations are realizing the importance of creativedecision making. Be it an idea generation or a newproduct launching, creative decision making is highlyappreciated and organizations are making use of manytechniques available such as empathic design technique/delphi technique/group decision making/nominal grouptechnique. These techniques are used at different levelsof decision making to maximize output and also expandthe scope of the job profile.

Encouraging creativity in organizations will not onlyenhance the market share but also serve to ensurehigher levels of commitment from employees. The roleof creativity in business and innovative organizationshas been acknowledged and described by many (Fatt,1997, 1998). It is also acknowledged by some thatculture shift in small companies is asignificant challenge in fosteringinnovation and creativity in the economy(Vaux, 1999).

Importance of Creativity

A study of lifetime creativity of 461 menand women found that less than 1% wereexceptionally creative, 10% were highlycreative and about 60% were somewhatcreative (Morris, 1996). This suggeststhat majority of them have creativepotential, if we can learn to unleash it.Another study on creativity, by Stoycheva(1996), suggested that very able pupilsare from Bulgarian secondary schools. Those highlycreative pupils have self-perceptions, values and motivationsthat differ from those of other pupils, which can createproblems for them in seeking peer acceptance. In addition,it was found that teachers tend to devalue independenceof judgment and also the involvement of emotion, whichare the two factors associated with personality studies ofcreativity with a high creative potential. It was also foundthat teachers put a very low value on creativity traits withinthe social environment and that their perceptions ofcreativity were centered on its intellectual aspects andproblem-solving processes.

However, Woods (1995) and Woods & Jeffrey (1996)explored teacher’s creativity, and Craft (1996) looked athow to nourish the creative teacher. Beetlestone (1999)documents practical strategies for fostering creativitywithin the primary stage curriculum, using examples from

a large variety of early years’ contexts. Woods & Jeffreywork through in-depth case studies to document ways inwhich a small group of teachers operate creatively in theface of a wider context which arguably suppresses thecreativity of the teaching profession. Craft explores deeplythe perspectives of 18 educators involved in a holisticpostgraduate course, specifically designed to nurture theirown creativity.

Current Challenges

From the recent studies, the importance of creativedecision making in educational/organizational set-up isreiterated. Hence, it is very crucial that teachersreconsider and provide a facilitating creativeenvironment and sharpen both inborn and acquiredtalent, during the early stages of childhood itself so

that children can take leaps in theirthinking and reasoning instead ofschooling their imagination/creativity.At this juncture, it is very crucial todwell on the lines of Mark Twain—“Never let school interfere with youreducation”. It is a well-known factthat, learning is not just confined tothe four walls of the classroom. Itshorizon is broad and it is important tonurture the celebration of awareness.Schools should not just becomealphabetization of knowledge. Teachersshould take up the roles of facilitatorsin child’s life. And the child would

definitely develop perspective for its noble impulses.

Conclusion

The present education system should foster creativity fromthe very primary level, so that every child gets anopportunity to express her/his ideas without any fear ofright or wrong answer. With such an encouragement, thechild will have a lot of freedom to express her/his ideasand will be able to analyze the self for its unique interestinstead of yielding to parental pressures. We can lookforward for a better and a more creative human resourcein India. n

Encouraging creativityin organizations willnot only enhance themarket share but alsoserve to ensure higherlevels of commitment

from employees

S AshaCounselor, The Icfai Business School,

Bangalore. The author can be reached [email protected]

Cover Story



University News

From The Icfai University

March 01, 2009

r Examinations Schedule in India

Examinations are scheduled only on Sundays in India.Examinations are conducted on four Sundays in themonths of April, July, October and January. Thenext examinations scheduled in April 2009 are on05, 12, 19 and 26.

r Registrations for April 2009 Examinations

Online Examination Registration for the April 2009examination without late fee was 28 February 2009.

r Registration with Late Fee

Students can register for April 2009 examinationbetween March 01, 2009 and March 03, 2009, byremitting late fee of Rs.200/- per group.

r Communication with SSD

For prompt communication between the StudentServices Department (SSD) and the students, thefollowing channels of communication are available.

Toll Free No’s: 1800 425 2911 (MTNL/BSNL)

1800 103 0303 (Airtel Mobile)

Email Id : [email protected]

(Note: The toll free numbers will be active from 8:00AM to 7:00 PM on all working days)

r Assessment Year for the Examination

The applicable Assessment Year for calculating thedirect and indirect taxes in different subjects will be2009 – 2010 for the examinations conducted duringJanuary, April, July and October 2009.

r Formats of Question Papers of various Programs

Formats of question papers of various programs areattached for ready reference.

r Need for Timely Updation of Personal Informationheld with SSD

Student services like courseware, query clarificationand other important information are rendered tostudents either through courier, post, email or mobile-

based SMS. It is noted that students do not updatethe information immediately, whenever there is achange. As various dispatches are sent to addressesavailable on records, incorrect/incomplete informationin the database may cause delays in dispatches.

Students are to intimate the updated detailsimmediately on change to improve the services fromheadquarters.

The details to be updated are postal address withcorrect PIN Code, email ID and mobile number.

r Feedback

We hope you find this newsletter informative. Yourfeedback will help us to customize our services to meetyour needs. If you have any suggestions please feel freeto write to us.

Registrar

Form IV1. Place of publication : Hyderabad

2. Periodicity of its publication : Monthly

3. Printer’s Name : H Sitaram

Nationality : Indian

(a) Whether a citizen of India? : Yes

Address : M/s. ICIT Software Center Pvt. Ltd.,

# 1, Technocrat Industrial Estate,

Balanagar X Roads, Hyderabad500037.

4. Publisher’s Name : E N Murthy



Address : # 52, Nagarjuna Hills,

Panjagutta, Hyderabad 500082.

5. Editor’s Name : E N Murthy



Address : # 52, Nagarjuna Hills,

Panjagutta, Hyderabad 500082.

6. Name and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and holding morethan one percent of the total capital – The Icfai University Press, # 52,Nagarjuna Hills, Panjagutta, Hyderabad 500082.

I, E N Murthy, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best ofmy knowledge and belief.

Date Sd/-

March 2009 Signature of Publisher



Format of Question Papers for Various Programs and Description of Formats

University News

A. Details of Format of Question Paper for Various Programs is as Under:

Program Groups QuestionPaper Format

MCQAll papers of Group Alpha, Beta and Gamma

Paper-I of Group Delta, Epsilon, Kappa, Lambda and Theta

Paper-II of Group Delta, Epsilon, Kappa, Lambda and Theta

All papers of Group Sigma

All papers except Management of Banking Companies-II of Group J

Management of Banking Companies-II of Group J

All papers of Group A – I

All papers of Group A – K

All papers of Group A, Group B and Group CBoth papers of Group D, Group E and Paper “Mutual and other Funds”of Group FPaper “Professional Ethics and Case Studies” of Group F

Both papers of Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D

Both papers of Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D

Both papers of Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D and Group E

Both papers of Group A

All papers of Group A – H

All papers of Group A, B, C, D, E and FAll papers of Group G, Group H and Group IGroup electives in different disciplines i.e.,F – Finance; IT – IT Systems; OP – Operations; M – Marketing;H – Human Resource Management; IB – International Business;INV – Investments; INS – Insurance; and B – Banking; GM – GeneralManagement.

Both the papers of Group J

All papers of Group A – J

All papers of Group A, Group B and Group CPapers of Group D and Group EAll Papers of Group FAll papers of Group A, Group B and Group CPapers of Group D and Group E and Paper I of Group FPaper II of Group FAll papers of Group A, Group B and Group CPapers of Group D and Group E and Paper I of Group FPaper II of Group FAll papers of Group A, Group B and Group CPapers of Group D and Group E and Paper I of Group FPaper II of Group F

MS (Finance)

ABC

ABC

Case Study

MS (Banking)

D&E

Case Study

MS (Insurance) ABC

MS (Accounting)

CBM

C-RIM

Master of ComputerApplications

Master of BusinessAdministration

Chartered FinancialAnalyst (CFA)

Certified PublicAccountant (CPA)MSF

Master of PublicPolicy

Master of RetailManagement

Master of TelecomManagement

Master of AviationManagement

ABC

MCQ

ABC

Subjective IV

ABC

ABC

ABC

MCQ

Case Study

ABC

Subjective III

ABC

MCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

ABC

ABC

Master of FinancialServices Management



(Contd...)

University News

All papers of Group A, Group B and Group C

Papers of Group D and Group E and Paper I of Group F

Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F



Paper II of Group F

All papers of Treasury and Forex Management and Investment Banking.

All papers of Investment and Tax Planning, Information Systems Audit,Strategic Financial Control, Financial Engineering, AccountingStandards and US GAAP Accounting, Forensic Accounting, BusinessFinance.

All papers of Certified International Investment Analyst.All papers of Global Strategic Management.

All papers of Banking, Insurance, Project Management, Export andImport Management, Enterprise Risk Management, Management ofE-Business, Marketing Management, Retail Management, CustomerRelationship Management, Marketing Communications, MarketingFinancial Products, Industrial Marketing, Brand Management, HumanResource Management, Training and Development, Leadership andChange Management, Performance Management, Supply ChainManagement, Quality Management.Papers of Project Management – IV, Brand Management – IV andEnterprise Risk Management – IV.All papers of Cyber Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, IntellectualProperty Rights, International Business Law, Environmental Law,Securities Law.

Master of MediaBusiness Management

Master of Agri-Business Management

Master of HotelManagement

Master of LogisticsManagement

Master of AutomotiveBusiness Management

Master of PharmaBusiness Management


PG Diploma inFinance Programs

PG Diploma inManagementPrograms

PG Diploma in Law

ABC

Subjective III

Descriptive

ABC

Subjective III

Case Study

Master ofInfrastructureManagement

Master of HospitalAdministration

Subjective I

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

Subjective III

MCQ

Case Study

Subjective III

MCQ

Case Study

Subjective III

MCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study

Subjective III

MCQ

Case Study

Subjective IIIMCQ

Case Study



(Contd...)

University News

Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial StatementAnalysis, Auditing, Financial Markets, Financial Management,International Finance, Financial Services, Mergers and Acquisitions,Financial Risk Management, Financial Institutions, Equity Valuation,Debit Valuation, Derivative Valuation, Security Analysis, PortfolioManagement, Mutual Funds, Financial Planning, Money and Banking,Central Banking, Commercial Banking, Credit Management, InternationalBanking, Bank Marketing, Banking Operations, Life Insurance, GeneralInsurance, Health Insurance, Insurance Marketing, Insurance Underwriting,Claims Management, Insurance Operations, Insurance Investments,Actuarial Principles and Practices, Reinsurance, Business Law, DirectTaxation, Indirect Taxation, Business Strategy, Business Economics,Business Research Methods, Business Communication, OperationsManagement, IT in Management, Management Control Systems,Business Ethics, Sales and Distribution Management, MarketingCommunications, Services Marketing, Consumer Behavior, StrategicManagement, Global Business Environment, International Business,Multinational Corporations, Organizational Behavior, ManagerialEffectiveness.

M.A. : All papers of Group I to VIM.Sc. : All papers of Group I to VIM.Com. : All papers of Group I to VIL.L.M. : All papers of Group I to VIM.Ed. : All papers of Group I to IVM.L.Sc. : All papers of Group I to IVM.J. : All papers of Group I to IV

All papers of Group I to Group IX except English of Group I

English of Group I

B.A. : All papers of Group I to IX, except English - I of Group IB.Sc. : All papers of Group I to IX, except English - I of Group IB.Com. : All papers of Group I to IX, except English - I of Group IB.B.A. : All papers of Group I to IX, except English - I of Group IB.G.L. : All papers of Group I to IX, except English - I of Group IB.Ed. : All papers of Group I to VIIIB.L.Sc. : All papers of Group I to IVB.J. : All papers of Group I to IV

English–I

All papers of Group A – L, except English of Group A

English of Group A

Papers of Group I, Group II, Group III, Group IV and Group V

Question paper pattern of dual programs will be similar to their respectiveindividual programs. Eg.: MBA + CFA. The pattern of question papersof MBA component will be similar to question papers of individual MBAprogram and those of CFA component will be similar to individual CFAprogram.

PG

BS

UG


Bachelor of ComputerApplications

B.Com (CMT)

PG Certificate Subjective III

Subjective I

Subjective I

Subjective II

Subjective I

Subjective II

Subjective I

Subjective II

Subjective I

Dual Programs



The papers under this category contain all multiple choice questions whichhave 5 alternative options out of which students have to select the bestone. The students are required to mark their answers in the OMR answersheets by darkening the relevant circle.

The papers in this category contain three sections viz., A, B and C.

Section A contains 30 multiple choice questions, each question carries onemark. Each question has 5 options and students have to select the correctoption and mark it in the OMR answer sheet by darkening the relevant circle.For attempting section A, 30 minutes are allotted (10.00 AM to 10.30 AMin the morning session and 2.30 PM to 3.00 PM in the evening session).The invigilator will collect these OMR sheets after 30 minutes from start ofthe examination. Students will not be allowed to attempt section A thereafter.

Section B contains approximately 5 to 6 problems and/or 2 to 3 caselets.50 marks are allotted for this section.

Section C will have 2 to 3 applied theory questions. 20 marks are allottedfor this section.

The papers in this category contain two sections viz., D and E.

Section D contains case study and 4 to 5 questions pertaining to it.50 marks are allotted for this section.

Section E contains some caselets and 3 to 4 questions related to eachcaselet. 50 marks are allotted for this section.

The papers under this category contain 1 or 2 case studies and 3 to 4questions related to each case study. Each paper will be of 100 marks.

These papers contain 3 to 5 problems and/or caselets in each of the3 sections of the question paper. Each section carries 60 marks and a totalof 180 marks is allotted.

This category of question papers contains 3 sections viz., A, B and C.Section A has a weightage of 40 marks spread across 2 Questions.Section B has a weightage of 20 marks spread across 2 Questions.Section C has a weightage of 40 marks spread across 2 Questions.

This category of question papers contains 4 sections viz., A, B, C and D.Section A has a weightage of 20 marks spread across 2 to 3 questions.Section B has a weightage of 20 marks spread across 2 to 3 questions.Section C has a weightage of 30 marks spread across 2 to 3 questions.Section D has a weightage of 30 marks of objective questions.This category of question papers contains 2 sections viz., A and B.Section A has a weightage of 60 marks and will consist of 6 questions.All questions are compulsory.Section B has a weightage of 40 marks which consists of questions/problems/caselets based on the subject.This category of question papers contain 2 sections viz., A and B.Section A consists of Professional Ethics and has weightage of 20 marksspread across 2 to 4 questions.Section B consists of Case Study and has a weightage of 80 marks spreadacross 7 to 8 questions.

Subjective II

Subjective III

Subjective I

Descriptive

(Contd...)

MCQ

Paper Format

ABC

D and E

Case Study

Details

B. Description of Question Paper Formats is as Under:

University News

Subjective IV


Documents

Telugu Vyasa Parishodana - IUP Publications - MagazinesICFAI March 2009.pdf · Study@Icfai • March 2009 3 Editor E N Murthy Managing Editor G R K Murty Consulting Editor N Janardhan