RANGNEKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH

July—2014 Volume I—Issue 8

Blue Print

EDITORIAL

’E-Learning’ is revolutionizing the education

system world-over. The USP of E-Learning is

the flexibility it offers, rich, and standardized

content, constant connect with faculty, and

peers, and provides for self-control of one’s

own pace of learning. More importantly, e-

learning provides for swift, and constant con-

tent up-gradation, which on-ground classes find

it difficult to offer. Recently, I heard a very

senior educator saying, “I am not surprised if to

-day’s colleges having their campuses in 100s

of acres, may make-over as shopping malls in

about 5 years.” Education on e-platform has

perfected itself so much, that only through this

methodology, learning needs of students and

professionals could be fully met.” Importantly,

RIMSR is organizing a National Conference on

Cross-Country Net-working; a much needed

exposure to Indian MSMEs. The good news is

that Prof. William S.Lightfoot himself would be

there in the Conference. However, the most

important content in this edition of ‘Blue-Print’ is

the views of the Hon’ble Minister for IT & BT.

Government of Karnataka in the work-shop on

Project management for IT industries.

Inside this issue:

Skill Enhancement Through E-Platform

1

Work-shop on Project Man-agement in IT.

3

5 Communication Techniques to Use On Your Projects

5

Role of MSMEs in Indian Econ-omy.

7

Networking MSMEs For Technology & Marketing

8

Preparing Managers For Success In A Changing World

Skill Enhancement Through E-Platform

Today, IT has become all pervasive, and a necessity to every person.

Be it a college student, professional, Citizen, IT has become sin-quo-

non. It is impossible to imagine life without IT. Our lives are made

much safer, and easier because of use of IT.

Most importantly, IT’s contribution to the education sector is indeed

laudable. Today’s smart classes in schools and colleges have virtually

changed the teaching methodology. Because of this, today’s youngsters

learn much more in terms of skills and knowledge than what the yester-

year youngsters did. With the advent of virtual class-rooms, e-learning,

and webinars, learning has become without borders. There is no neces-

sity now to go for huge investments on traditional class-rooms. Stu-

dents, Professionals can do high-quality learning even under a tree us-

ing technology. Students, Professionals can also double-up by continu-

ing in jobs and additionally continue their skill enhancement using e-

learning classes that are offered by world-class institutions.

E-Learning is rapidly growing. Participants are now able to join on-line

classes from anywhere in the world. Tutorials, Lectures, Case Studies,

Simulation, Webcasts, and Podcasts, can now be accessible at the click

of a button as they are hosted on web and accessible from anywhere at

any point of time. E-Learning ensures standardized content and delivery

with provision for up gradation any number of times. Thus, it is trans-

forming the world of distance education, higher education, and em-

ployee training in an unprecedented way.

BENEFITS OF ON-LINE LEARNING:

It eliminates travel cost;

Fits training into participant’s schedule;

Participant can learn at his own pace;

Advances knowledge without interrupting job-career; and

Provides many choices of courses.

Blue Print— Page 2

BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS

Greater recognition of competence;

Improves team coordination & stay updated;

Greater participation in e-governance;

Enhances skills leading to more efficiency in role & adoptability;

Increases Confidence to meet current day challenges & opportunities; and

Enhances motivation of employees.

BENEFITS TO GOVT. ORGANIZATIONS/ DEPARTMENTS

Creates a Learning culture within the group / organization;

Improves the ROI of government projects;

Reduces delays and improve efficiency;

Improves stakeholder satisfaction;

Creates an engaging career path for officials; and

Increases confidence in citizens to get jobs done on time.

In this direction, it is prudent to encourage e-learning by motivating students and working officials to im-

prove their educational qualifications, which in turn helps them to widen their intellectual horizon to study

further using e-learning methodology. This surely helps them to enhance their job-skills, and therefore

their productivity on-job enhances two to three folds. The biggest advantage of e-learning programs is

that it makes physical assets like land, building etc., a myth for higher learning. E-learning envelopes all

and is all pervasive. Students based in rural hinter-lands get educated in the same manner as a city-folk

or an up-town student gets exposed to. In a way, this helps remove social discrimination. Further, e-

learning courses can be quickly customized to each organization, situation, and role, thus making the pro-

grams much more relevant to the persons. Importantly, in a country like ours, e-learning is the best solu-

tion, to abolish divides like ‘rural vs. urban,’ etc.

Today, e-learning encompasses almost all areas and customized programs training programs are offered.

Further, advanced training through e-platform in high-demand areas like Business Finance, Project Man-

agement, Supply-Chain, Procurement & Logistics, Program Management, Health-Care, etc., is a reality. E-

courses can now be offered in Modular Learning Concepts like Diploma, PG Diploma, MBA or Foundation,

STUDY ABROAD — A GLOBAL EXPOSURE PROGRAM

Four Weeks Program on-Campus at Brenau University, Gainesville, Georgia, USA.

Designed to give inputs in ‘International Business,’ thus, widening business horizon.

Provides a platform to meet captains of some of the Fortune 500 Companies.

Certification by Brenau University; a University of International repute.

For Details Contact: Registrar: 080-23409795, 23147407; Email: registrar@rimsr.in; www.rimsr.in

Advanced, Expert Training Modules depending on Organizational/ Departmental requirements.

Realizing the immense potential e-learning has, like the ease of extensively covering the entire or-

ganization, and the cost-effectiveness of training, all most all Fortune 500 Companies, including the

Indian MNCs have adopted e-learning to train their employees all over the world.

But, the concept of e-learning is yet to percolate at the Government level. Considering the immense

utility and provision train employees in huge numbers with a standardized content, it is suggested

that Governments should consider introducing e-learning as part of the training plan for the Govern-

ment servants.

Prof. Harsha Kestur is the Director of Rangnekar Institute of Management Studies and Re-

search, Bangalore. He is available on director@rimsr.in. Dr. Chandrashekar is the Program

Director, Brenau University, Gainesville, Georgia, USA. You can reach him on

pdbrenau@rimsr.in.

WORK-SHOP ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN IT

20TH JUNE 2014 AT 9.30 AM IN ABIMANI VASATHI, DR.RAJ KUMAR ROAD, RAJAJINAGAR

Starting in the 1980s, Karnataka emerged as the Information Technology capital of the coun-

try. About 2,000 companies in Karnataka are involved in Information Technology related busi-

nesses including big Indian MNCs like Infosys, Wipro which are headquartered in Bangalore, and

MNCs like TI, IBM, Accenture, GE, HP, SAP, etc. The origin of the growth of the software industry in

Karnataka, with the entry of Texas Instruments, the first multinational firm to set up base

in Bangalore, goes back to 1985, when the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, Late Sri Gundu

Rao took a progressive initiative by allotting the required land. Since then, the growth of IT in Karna-

taka has never looked back.

Blue Print—Page 3

There are many factors conducive to the development of the IT industry in Karnataka. One of the impor-

tant factors is the proactive policies of the State Government to promote IT and BT sector by giving spe-

cial incentives and incubating them at the appropriate time. To illustrate, INFOSYS would not have set-up

its base in Bangalore, but for the initial support from the Govt of Karnataka in the form financial assis-

tance through KSFC. Secondly, the presence of large number of top-grade Science, Management, and

Engineering institutions like IISc, NITK, UVCE, NIE, SJCE, RVCE, PESIT, IIITB, and IIMB.

The IT industry requires large number of skilled engineers, and this requirement is met by the engineering

colleges established in Karnataka, which are over 200 in number. The presence of Public Sector Under-

takings and Advanced Technical Laboratories like BEL, HAL, BHEL, NAL, ISRO gave ready access to man-

power as well as trial opportunities of newly developed software. The successive State Governments have

continued this support to the IT industry and have been proactive in providing necessary facilities for fur-

ther growth of the industry.

Karnataka has always been a forward looking State, which has today made it into the most sought after

IT destination in the country. In Karnataka as well as in India, Bangalore takes the lead as the most pre-

ferred IT destination for its year-round salubrious climate, excellent social, education & health facilities.

Therefore, world-over Bangalore is identified as the ‘silicon-valley of the east.’

While IT exports from Karnataka stood at Rs 1.35 lakh crore during 2012-13, it is expected that this fig-

ure is likely to exceed Rs 1.5 lakh crore during the year 2013-14. About 40 % of the country’s software

export is from Karnataka.

The Government of Karnataka has taken further steps in addressing the growth of IT industries by consti-

tuting a professional working group ‘The Karnataka ICT Group (KIG),’ to examine the global changes being

driven by knowledge economy and to realign Karnataka's ICT policies to meet the challenges of the future

and sustain its growth. The KIG comprises stakeholders who have witnessed the transformation of Karna-

taka from a `Pensioner's Paradise' to the `Technology/Outsourcing Capital of the World' and final report

submitted and necessary actions are being taken by the Government of Karnataka.

Today, IT’s role is not restricted to industry. IT has become all pervasive, and a necessity to every person.

Be it a school kid or a college student, or a working professional, IT has become sin-quo-non. It is impos-

sible to imagine life without IT. Our lives are made much safer, and easier because of use of IT.

Most importantly, IT’s contribution to the education sector is indeed laudable. Today’s smart classes in

schools and colleges have virtually changed the teaching methodology, and I should say that because of

this, today’s youngsters learn much more in terms of skills and knowledge than what the yester-year

youngsters did. With the advent of virtual class-rooms, e-learning, and webinars, learning has become

without borders. There is no necessity now to go for huge investments on traditional class-rooms. Stu-

dents can do high-quality learning even under a tree using technology. Students can also double-up by

taking-up jobs for their living, and additionally continue their education without breaking using e-learning

classes that are offered by world-class institutions.

In this direction, the State Government has formulated policies to encourage e-learning through its insti-

tutions like the Karnataka State Open University. More such institutions are being encouraged to set-up

Blue Print—Page 4

e-based learning institutions to reach the huge population of students who are otherwise going without

quality education. Further, these e-learning institutions should focus more on vocational education so

that youngsters do get trained and acquire job-related skills. In this direction, there is scope for further

assistance by the State Government, and our Government is taking policy initiatives. Importantly, the so-

lution to social divides like ‘rural vs urban,’ ‘rich vs poor,’ ‘girl vs boy,’ etc., lies in emphasizing technology

in education and employment.

I am happy to note that institutions like Rangnekar Institute of Management Studies and Research are

offering training in high-demand areas like Finance, Project Management, Supply-Chain, Health-Care, etc.,

using e-platform. That experts like Prof. Sadagopan are associated with this institution gives credence to

the educational programs run by this institution. I am happy to inaugurate this work-shop on Project Man-

agement for the IT sector to discuss thread-bear on the latest tools and technologies necessary for suc-

cessful project implementation. I understand that RIMSR is also planning an International Conference on

MSMEs on marketing and technology initiatives at trans-national level along with the Govt of Karnataka,

KASSIA, MAIT, and Brenau University, Georgia, USA. While thanking the organizers, and particularly Prof.

Sadagopan for having taken these initiatives, I wish all the participants a fruitful learning interaction.

Five Communication Techniques To Use On Your Projects

Many people think "managing communication" is the most important of the project management proc-

esses. If you think about it, over half of the time you spend managing projects involves some element

of communication. Here are five techniques to help you be more effective.

Use appendices for status report details. You want to focus on meaningful information in the status

report. However, you may find that some of your audience finds meaning in the exceptions while

others find meaning in the details. One way to satisfy both audiences is to write the formal

Status Report as an exception-based document and include the details as appendices

(attachments). If you are emailing the information, you could email the detailed logs and reports

as separate documents.

Report less detail as you get higher in the organization. Always keep the organizational level of your

audience in mind. The organization level helps you determine the level of detail that is required

in the Status Report. For instance, your team members need information that is highly detailed

and highly specific to the work they are assigned. The manager of the project manager needs to

have information summarized and delivered at a higher level. The next higher manager needs

information at a higher level still.

Use the best communication media. When you select the various types of communication that you

need for your project, also determine the best medium for delivering the information. For in-

stance:

Status Reports. These do not have to be on paper. Depending on the person sending and receiving

the information, the status can be communicated via voicemail, email, videoconference or other

Blue Print—Page 5

Blue Print—Page 6

ROLE OF MSMEs IN INDIAN ECONOMY

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) contribute nearly 8 percent of India’s GDP, 45 percent of

the manufacturing output, and 40 percent of the exports. Yet, the MSMEs stand in darkness, unheard,

unsung, and unnoticed. In spite of having dedicated institutions to tend to MSMEs, more or less they are

left to fend for themselves. In terms of share of employment, they stand next only to agriculture, which

provides the largest employment opportunities in the country. One of the authors stated that “MSMEs are

the nurseries for entrepreneurship and innovation.” Not only that; while the coveted sectors like the IT,

and BT, get sops after sops, the MSMEs are the ignored lot. They operate in an “economic test-track;” full

of challenges, issues, and exploitation.

On the other hand, in other developed countries like Germany, France, and the United States of America,

small business houses (that’s how MSMEs are referred to), get preferential treatment over industrial ma-

jors. Particularly, in the USA there is a dedicated department for the governance of Small Business, titled

“The US Small Business Administration” which provides information and support Small Business Houses

in entirety.

Email. Use email for routine messages, information sharing and some marketing related messages.

Spread these out so that you don’t inundate the same people over a short period of time.

Voicemail. Use voicemail to leave simple messages to individual people or to entire departments.

Complicated or long messages are not appropriate for voicemails. These and other mediums can be

used to communicate effectively based on the message and the audience.

Use green / yellow / red indicators to show project health. We refer to green/yellow/red colors as

indicating the overall health of the project. "Health" takes into account schedule, budget and scope,

but also quality, morale, risk and other project indicators. In our model green means you are on

track, red means you are in the ditch and you need to re-baseline and everyone else is yellow.

Place communication activities on your schedule. The project manager should treat communication

events like any project deliverable. You should add the activities to the schedule and assign people

and end-dates so that the team understands when the communication is expected and who is re-

sponsible for creating and delivering it.

There are many elements of communication that require soft skills such as leading, negotiating and pro-

viding performance feedback. But there are other elements that simply rely on having good processes

and good techniques. The best project managers have both the soft skills and the good process skills as

well.

Blue Print -Page 7 collaborative tools.

Knowledge Has To Be Improved, Challenged, And Increased Constantly, Or It Vanishes.

PETER DRUCKER

As an institution with a conscious

social responsibility, RIMSR did a

small survey of the issues that

Indian small enterprises normally

face. Of an array of issues that

were listed, the two issues that

were stated by all the small enter-

prises in our survey were the fol-

lowing:

1. Lack of ability for market

penetration, and

2. Lack of information, and ability

to get modern technology that

cuts costs, and improves pro-

ductivity.

Coincidently, we had the advan-

tage of being an affiliate of

Brenau University, Georgia, USA,

who have done commendable

work in ‘small business develop-

ment,’ networking with other ma-

jors like Georgia Institute of Tech-

nology, Harvard University, and a

couple of other institutions, and

therefore it was RIMSR’s institu-

tion to address these two issues

which every Indian MSME faces.

And, that is how the need for a

conducting a conference dedi-

cated to MSMEs arose, where-in,

problem-solving shall be in focus,

and not ‘board-room’ type discus-

sions. The USP of the conference

is the “hand-shake” sessions be-

tween Indian MSMEs, and the

Small Business Houses in the USA

looking out for partners in their

business. Such inter-active ses-

sions on a ‘one-to-one’ basis pro-

vide a great opportunity to the

participants, & they can build on

further based on such meetings.