Global Institute for Corporate Education

TAMESHWAR KUMAR gladly shares his experience of the Toyota Industrial Visit.

This is my first industrial visit. Before this, I haven’t gone for any industrial visits. First time when I heard about Toyota Company, the first thing which came to my mind was it would be difficult for me to visit such a big automobile giant. But I was pleasantly surprised when GICE announced that we would be visiting TKM. Full credit to GICE because GICE gave me to this opportunity to go this Toyota Company.

On 12th of November, 2011 we, the students of Global Institute for Corporate Education had an industrial visit to the Bangalore location of Toyota Kirloskar Company where Toyota automobiles are manufactured.

The company was established by the founder automobile company Toyoda automatic loom works, in the year 1937, under Kiichiro Toyoda. In India, Toyota started off as a joint venture between KIRLOSKAR GROUP and TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, better known as TOYOTA KIRLOSKAR MOTAR PRIVATE LIMITED (TKM). It mainly focused on development of the automotive industry and the creation of employment opportunities, not only through its dealer network, but also through component manufacturing industries. The company includes 522 subsidiaries.

Toyota initially kicked off as an ambitious venture of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, under the ownership of Kiichiro Toyoda, in the year 1933. Initially, A1 (passenger car) and G1 were the cars to come out under its flagship. However, Toyota emerged as an independent company in the year 1937 and that year stamped the beginning of its glorious history. Originally, Toyota was conceived as an ambitious enterprise of automobile company, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. It was only the result of the initiation launched by Kiichiro Toyoda that Toyota got to see the light of the day.
In 1982, Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales merged to become Toyota Motor Corporation. Later, it entered into a joint enterprise with GM called NUMMI, the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, operating an automobile-manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. After that, Toyota came out with its first luxury class of Lexus, in the year 1989. The nineties saw the company go big with the production of larger and more luxurious vehicles, including a full-sized pickup, the T100 or the Tundra; several lines of SUVs; a sport version of the Camry called the Camry Solara; and the Scion brand, a group of several affordable, yet sporty, automobiles targeted mainly at young adults.

Toyota came up with the world’s best selling hybrid car – the Prius – in the year 1997. In 2002, it collaborated with Formula One works team and established joint ventures with French motoring companies Citroën and Peugeot. Toyota ranked eighth on Forbes 2000 list of the world’s leading companies for the year 2005. The company also grabbed the numero uno slot in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008. Toyota has found recent fame with its smaller models, Corolla and Yaris. Today, cars like Fortuner, Camry, Land Cruiser sums up as its biggest feat.

The various automobile that TOYOTA KIRLOSKAR MOTOR manufactured are-

1. Toyota Innova
2. Toyota Etios
3. Toyota Fortuner
4. Toyota Corolla

The visit helped us to understand, admire and appreciate the work culture, world class manufacturing and quality assurance systems and the values Toyota and Kirloskar Group uphold. But the only regret was that since maintenance work was going on we were not able to visit the assembly line area and we hope that we can see that during our next visit.

It has been rightly said that experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. We, the students of GICE had a very good learning experience by participating in Diakrisi 2011.

Diakrisi is a 2-day, management cum cultural fest organized by the students of Mount Carmel Institute of Management, Bangalore. It is a National level Management meet for Post-Graduate level management students from various B-schools across India. It holds various events which cover wide range of subjects, from Human Resources, Marketing, Finance, Business Quiz and Best Manager to Advertising, Information Technology, Retail, Entrepreneurship and Team Building. All the students of GICE, first years as well as second years, participated in this fest with enthusiasm. It provided us a platform to compete with students from B-schools all over the state and exhibit our Management skills.

Every event that we participated had a good number of almost 35-40 other competitors. So to say, we really did face tough competition from others. It gave us an opportunity to judge where we stand vis-a -vis others who are in the course of management studies. We also got the opportunity to showcase our talent in the cultural round of the event wherein it was a combined effort of all the students to put up a great show.

During the course of the event we also realized to never let the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about. There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it. And GICEans are proud to have Yogesh Kumar and Heslington Khyriem as winners for the Human Resources event, who put in their best, qualified till the finals and was tough competitors themselves to the rest of the colleges.

Article shared by Anushree Shanbhag

On 8th of October, 2011 we, the students of Global Institute for Corporate Education had an industrial visit to the Bangalore location of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd. (KSDL), where Mysore sandal products are manufactured.
The Government Sandalwood oil factory was established by the Maharaja of Mysore his Highness Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar and Diwan Sir M. Visvesvaraya, during 1916 at Mysore to extract sandalwood oil from sandalwood. The foresight and enthusiasm of Maharaja of Mysore was to keep Mysore state in the global map by introducing the world’s best natural sandalwood oil and to make it as a fragrance ambassador of India. Karnataka Soaps & Detergents Limited has got manufacturing locations at Bangalore, Mysore & Shimoga.

Sandalwood oil – Ayurvedic uses

The woody, sweet rosaceous, fixative nature of Sandalwood oil is well-known in Ayurvedic treatments. The oil is used for emotional and spiritual calming, enhancing mental clarity, increasing devotion and transfer energy for practicing, celebrities and also as a psychotropic drug. The natural Sandalwood oil produced in this part of India is still the best because of its unique significant aroma and is an enduring fragrance ingredient for fine perfumes, deodorants and top-class perfumery. The Sandalwood oil produced by KS&DL is known around the world as the East Indian Sandalwood Oil, because of its unique Aroma.

KSDL is into the Manufacturing and Sales of the world renowned products like Toilet Soaps, Detergents, Agarbathies, Cosmetics, Sandalwood & Sandalwood Oil. The most sought out product with a strong brand loyalty is “Mysore Sandal Soap”.

During 1916, Sri S.G. Sastry had developed the Sandal perfume, which was considered as a landmark in the field of soap perfuming in those days. The first Mysore Sandal Soap was produced by utilizing the natural Sandalwood oil as the main ingredient of perfume and was introduced in the market during November 1918. The Sandalwood oil factory at Shimoga was established in 1944. The Government Soap Factory was converted into a State owned Public Sector Undertaking under the name & style of KARNATAKA SOAPS AND DETERGENTS LTD during the year 1980. The KARNATAKA SOAPS & DETERGENTS LTD., (KS&DL) is the true inheritor of India’s Golden Sandalwood Legacy. KS&DL is one of the largest extractors of Mysore Sandalwood Oil and manufacturers of Mysore Sandal Soap in the world.

Their Sandalwood Oil Division at Mysore is the largest extractor of Sandalwood Oil in India. It is exported to Europe, U.S.A. U.A.E. Russia and Germany, and used by leading perfume houses of the world. Sandalwood oil is known as FRAGRANCE AMBASSADOR OF INDIA and also known LIQUID GOLD. Mysore Sandal Soap was born from this golden legacy, enriched with the PURE NATURAL SANDALWOOD OIL and it is KS&DL’s gift to the Nation. MYSORE SANDAL SOAP is the favourite of millions of people all over the world.

The various products that KS&DL manufactures are:
1. Mysore sandal soap
2. Herbal care soaps
3. Mysore Detergent cake
4. Liquid detergents
5. Mysore sandal talcum powder
6. Hand wash liquids
7. Mysore sandal agarbathies
8. Sandalwood oil and powder

KS&DL is also exporting different varieties of Soaps to different countries i.e. Middle East, European countries, Asian countries, American countries, Australia, African countries. KS&DL also markets Agarbathies, Talcum Powder, Baby Powder, Hand wash, Sandal Wood & Sandalwood Oil.

KS&DL is accredited with ISO 9001-2000 & ISO-14001:2004 certifications for its Quality Management System and Environmental Management Systems.

Jatin Purohit shares his experience regarding the guest lecture by Dr. Janak Shelat, a well known trainer.

Professionals aren’t satisfied with simple completion of the task–they desire to deliver the highest quality possible. This is what describes our interaction with Dr. Janak Shelat, who was a Guest Speaker in the orientation program. Janak Sir talked about Strategic Management Engineering.

Dr. Janak Shelat is a highly regarded Academician, Consultant and Entrepreneur who leaves his imprint on whatever he does.

Dr. Janak Shelat started the session by saying that companies today, are operating in an age of discontinuing change, an age of creative destruction. There is a vast concept change from liberalization to privatization and from globalization to regionalization. There is a major change of balance of power shift to consumers.

This is where Strategic Management Engineering becomes one of the most challenging issues of today. Management engineering is a branch of engineering that focuses on optimizing complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials and/or processes. Management engineers strive to improve upon existing processes, products or systems.

Dr. Janak shared with us some of the important Decision Making Models.

1. Classical model: Based on the assumption that managers should make logical decisions that will be in the organization’s best economic interest
2. Administrative model: This states how managers decide, characterized by non-programmed situations resulting in ambiguity.
3. Political model: This is useful for decision making in conditions that are non-productive.

The modeling process is therefore, as follows:

Management situations to decision making to implementation and finally the payoff i.e. consequences of the decision made.

He also shared with us the ethical and environmental foundations of management. There are 4 important social institutions affecting value systems of management. They are:

1. Family
2. Church
3. Educational System
4. Government

This shows that profit maximization is socially desirable and that there should be no long-run conflict between the corporate and the social responsibility that they undertake.

On the whole, it was a very knowledgeable session with Dr. Janak Shelat and I would like to say that Janak Sir is a very simple and down-to-earth person and we are glad to have him as our faculty in this institution.

About the Author
Jatin Purohit is a Second Year MBA Professional (Batch 2010-2012)

Hardik Patel shares his experience of the orientation program conducted by Prof. G Purandaran who is currently working as a freelancer, teaching management subjects in various colleges of Bangalore like Symbiosis, M.S.Ramaiah, IMAC, etc. He has his work experience in the companies like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, ETA General Group, and ICFAI Group in Magnus School of Business.

When we were informed that Mr. Purandaran was going to take our classes, I thought that he would be just like other professors who would come, explain and go, but I was proved wrong. The moment he started teaching, the difference was felt. It reflected very clearly that he knew how to handle any situation and how to handle students, as he was meeting us for the first time. He kept us at ease and I felt that I have met him somewhere before and he knows everything about us. My bonding with him became stronger during the classes. I am always eagerly waiting to attend his classes as he makes class interactive; he makes each and every student participate.

During the classes he always has a personal experience to relate with each & every topic, this helps us to understand the subject better. He also tells “Accepting challenges should be the foundation of life and something you should do it with confidence”. He always tells “It is important to dream and even more important to chase those dreams”.

Mr. Purandaran is passionate about teaching. He believes that spreading humour in class and giving live instances can make a difference in teaching. He justifies this by telling continuous learning and interacting with young minds and transforming them is a most enjoyable career.

I would like to end this article by thanking my college GICE for bringing people like him who himself is a creative thinker and also motivates us to think creative; whenever his class ends I always think of “When will his next class come again”.

About the Author
Hardik Patel is a Second Year MBA Professional (Batch 2010-2012)

Anil Keshri shares his experience of the Orientation Program session conducted by Prof. Nagarajan Seetharaman, with a bundle of technical qualifications in his bucket.

The first thing which comes to my mind when I think of Sir is that he is a person who has a remedy for any kind of problem existing in this world.

I remember the time when I first got an opportunity to meet him during our orientation program where he spoke on management challenges in today’s world.

The session started with a question. “What Corporates are looking for in candidates’? In order to get collective ideas, he asked us to give our inputs for the same. Some students volunteered to answer the question. Team player, adopt change, conflict management were some of the answers. However no one in the class was able to mention the main ingredient which a corporate is looking for and that quality is the ability to solve problems in today’s world.

The first half of the program is revolved around the corporate requirements. Meanwhile during the session I was thinking if I have all the qualities mentioned by him, especially “problem solving “ability. In a sense I can say that he had struck a chord in my mind to think whether I am headed towards the right direction or not, and if not what I need to change in me.

The session was getting excited with each and every thought shared by him. His real example amazed me a lot and was mesmerized by these instances. In between I heard some of our friends require a break to refresh themselves, however I was thinking who wants a break, as I was already rejuvenated by the interesting session. Some of us stayed back in the class in order to interact more with him.

Nagarajan Sir also stayed back in the class along with us and he enquired about our background and what one did in his or her graduation. I told him that my name is “Anil Keshri” and I graduated from Calcutta University. He asked me how I find Bangalore and I stammered and told him that Bangalore life is better as compared to Kolkata. Seetharaman Sir added that there is nothing like that and told that every city provides equal opportunity; it is just how one perceives and grabs it. This statement of “Sir” has totally changed my perception to view things. Before I used to view every situation as a problem, and now I see solutions to every problem.

The session resumed after the break and I was eagerly waiting to find what more he had to offer. In the second part of the session he talked more about interpersonal relationships and communication as a major tool to become successful in the corporate world. At that time I thought “I am not very good in these aspects”, however, at the same moment I decided to overcome this hurdles by using his mantras.

In the last half an hour of the session we have Q&A round, where we asked questions to him covering all the aspects which one need to create wonder in the corporate. After the session I told Sir, that the session is wonderful and will look forward to have him again.

After a week, I came to know that he would take our Information Technology class, and I was pretty excited about that. I thought now this is my chance to change my current situation and learn all the possible qualities, which will lead to a successful life.

It was 1st August, the day of Nagarajan Sir’s first class and I was curiously waiting for that moment. The class started at 10 o’clock. Our subject is BPR (Business Process Re-engineering). He began with the introduction of BPR and I was thinking in my mind aahhh… I have studied this in my last trimester MIS (Management Information System) paper and kind a confident that I know all aspects of this thing. I was such a fool to think life that as I found different side of the same thing which is unknown by me before.

From this incident I had decided to collect all the information about a topic. With every passing minute in the class I had been discovering new aspects of all the topics which I think I know before. These discoveries of mine came to an end at 11AM and then we headed for Q&A session in which we were allowed to ask questions ranging from GK to FDI, IT to corruption.

Sir’s style of teaching is very new to me and I am enjoying every bit of it as it is a combination of syllabus with current happenings in and around the globe. With every new day I am eagerly waiting for his classes to get thrilled and explore new ways of viewing the problems.

At last, I am glad to have him as our Professor and I wish that I acquire at least 20% of his qualities in my life. Thank you Sir, for coming in my life as a savior

About the Author
Anil Keshri is a Second Year MBA Professional (Batch 2010-2012)

By Dr. Manu N Kulkarni (manukulkarni@yahoo.com),
Professor Global Institute for Corporate Education, Bangalore

Teaching Human Relations to students of Management and making them to practice what has been taught in their professional careers is becoming more Challenging for both the teacher and the taught. The traditional areas of HR like transactional analysis propounded by Psychologists like Dr Eric Berne , mother-daughter invented Myers-Briggs Type Indicators of people and personalities, promoting interpersonal relations through JOHARI window analysis for analyzing temperament of staff of the enterprise –all intended to inspire the employees towards higher efficiency and effectiveness is turning out more and more outdated and out of tune with the rapid explosion of innovative technologies. With rapid globalization, human relationships are increasingly getting blurred and with paradigm shift in the management of global enterprises the practice of HR is increasingly dependent not on the psycho analytical tools like MBTI but on the staff perception of the leadership qualities of the CEO and the Team leaders. The nature of business is getting global and local at the same time and with fast changing digital technologies the nature of HR is also changing. It is unfortunate that the contents designed by the Visweharaiha Technological University at Belgaum which prescribe the Curriculum of the BBA and MBA streams in many of the Management Institutes in the State are found to be not in sync with the changing HR practices that are emerging around the world.

HR practices are just not concerned with recruitment, retention and morale building but also linked with leadership practices and empowerment .It is not just about OD and OB and how the staffs cope with the good and the bad OB practices. It is also not about theory X and Theory Y propounded by McGregor or Maslow’s need hierarchy and so on
Today Giant enterprises like Enron failed not because of technologies or money but because of bad leadership .Ideally all the best of HR practices should culminate in the best of leadership outcomes and HR is just not about “feel good” in the job but also “feel great” so that the enterprise as a whole “feels great”. We have benchmarks on financial management, quality control of processes and products, supply chain management and so on but there are no benchmarks for assessing good leadership practices or HR practices. When can we say that X Company has the best leadership practices on board?

Can we say when the bottom lines are great the leadership of that X company is also great? Can we also say that when the profits and Stock prices are soaring the enterprise has made it despite the fact that it has a bad record of environmental stewardship?

The traditional HR curriculum designed by VTU and other autonomous Institutes for the MBA students does not include, what are called SEER issues (Social, Environmental and Ethical Risks issues) an enlightened Employee has to be good in managing SEER.

A model based on a Fortune Management today have most admired 500 US and 250 UK companies showed a direct correlation between reputation and financial outcomes – a share price and credit rating ! A US Study published in February 2004 indicated damaged reputation could take up to 4 years to be restored.

Another shortcoming of the traditional HR curriculum is in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the triple bottom line – profits, people and the planet. CSR has to be weaved into the HR curriculum and not left to the whims and fancies of the Faculty in Marketing or the Financial and Capital Management Faculty Associates. All HR practitioners when they get into the real world of business have to have not just a conceptual framework of OD and OB but also a “feel” for the fast changing CSR and global challenges cutting across all borders and cultures.

It is here where the practice of Adaptive leadership as propounded by Prof Ronald Heifetz and Prof Marty Linksy of the Harvard University John F Kennedy School of Government becomes relevant and needs to be weaved into all HR curriculum of the MBA programme so that when students get out of the learning situation and get into the practicing world they could practice what has been taught to them. Today in the words of Heifetz and Linsky, “To lead is to live dangerously whether you are in business or politics or in a society. Why? Because real leadership –the kind that surfaces conflict, challenges, and long held beliefs demands new ways of doing things – causes pain .And when people feel threatened they take aim at the person pushing for change. As a result leaders often get hurt both personally and professionally” (See Leadership on the Line –Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky Harvard Business School Press, Boston,Mass USA 2002)

Without learning new ways – changing attitudes, values and behaviors – people cannot make the adaptive leap necessary to thrive in the new environment. To sustain a change depends on having the staff/employees with the problems internalize the change itself. These skills cannot be taught in the classroom but has to be developed on the job itself.

The challenges of HR practice lie in the wide ranging areas of psychology, sociology, economics, technology and what have you. Most importantly HR is all about people, processes and passion for change.

Acquiring an MBA degree is now for professionals who are already specialized in their domain or vertical. Whether it is Finance, Marketing or HR, it is very imperative for these professionals to hone their already acquired skills with a tinge of management skill. This is in order to strengthen the expertise and grow steady in the corporate world.

Every top level employee need to meet with the rising demand of having an MBA certification. This does not translate into high level professionals quitting their jobs and enroll into an MBA program. It simply means an Online MBA course. Pursuing an Online MBA programme equips the student with the liberty of acquiring formal education with a balancing act of both work and education.

An Online MBA program is advantageous with its role-specific curriculum with a special focus on developing management capabilities. Thus, helping the ever demanding corporate world, get efficient and capable management employees.

Global Institute of Corporate Education offer Online Corporate MBA program. Write to us for more information.

Heslington shares his experience of the Orientation Program session conducted by Mr.Chippy Gangjee, a well known artist, wine taster, Food Critic, Writer, Theater personality and a great Friend in deed.

Let me start with the word “wow”. I have never come across such a great speaker in my life to interact with me face to face. I heard a lot about him, seen his photos & videos but never met him, until one day he gave us a surprise visit. I stood up like everyone does, but still can’t believe it was him. Through his voice, tone & body language, he communicates to us. To be honest, I was very nervous in the first 15 minutes of the meeting. I was not comfortable and I said to myself beware with the words if he asks any question. I have heard many good speakers in my life that really moved me, but Chippy Gangjee Sir was not an ordinary one. His presence can be felt through my entire body. After some time my nervousness turns into excitement, I’m slowly starting to become more comfortable and eager to hear more and more from him. The first meeting lasted for only 30 minutes but the impression has already been made. My friend who is sitting next to me said, “me to gaya” (m’ gone). I said to myself this is the beginning of the journey to improve our communication.
The next day I was picked to fetch him as he was coming to our college as a special guest of honour for the orientation class. I was very happy and excited to meet him again. This time the meeting lasted a little bit longer. They said “speaking with an intelligent man is like reading a thousands books”, it’s true with Chippy Gangjee Sir. He has already got me, and also has understood my mentality of how I see things and what I lack. He told me about what I required in life and how I can improve, that I should see things in a broader way not in a narrow way. I am really impressed by this man, not only that I found him as an amazing speaker with a great personality but a person whom I think can make a difference in my life and the lives of my class mates too. He’s jack of all trades and master of all. He is different from all the men I met in life, I have met many wise and mature men in my life who speak about the truth and reality of life and the necessary things to do in life to be successful, and Chippy Gangje Sir speaks about the same thing but I learned something more from him, that there is no hard and fast rule to be successful in life. All we need is ‘DREAM, PASSION and BELIEVE IN OURSELF. There is no secret to success, all you need is the above three things. I could understand how Sir sees the world in a very different and better way than I do, his ideas, experience and knowledge helped me understand more and more about the reality of life. He’s a person who has worked with many great men, such as the great Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachan, and a friend of legendary artist and painter Mohammed Hussian. He’s a person who has seen the world, and has a lot of exposure and hence learning from him will definitely help us to prepare for the corporate world.

About the Author
Heslington Khyriem is a Second Year MBA Professional (Batch 2010-2012)

Mr. Jayraj Menon is working in Kranium HR Services Ltd as the HR Director for the past 6 years. Yogesh shares his experience about the orientation session conducted by Mr. Jayraj Menon.

I still remember the evening when Our Dean Mr. V.N.M Nair told us that the very next day we have a guest Lecture by Mr. Menon who is the director of Kranium HR Services Ltd; I thought that this lecture would be like any other lecture. The day came and as I entered the room I was followed by a new unfamiliar-face. The first thing that came to my mind was”Is he the director? He is too young for that, a very impressive person. This was not enough, as he introduced himself to all of us, I could see his confidence and zeal. “Hi, I am JAYARAJ MENON”… the words echoed in the room. He was unlike all the other people I have come across. Undoubtedly every individual has a genre but for me Mr. Menon was different from all others.

He was there to help us by making us understand what we expect from us and what Corporates demand from us. The session was very interactive. Every one in the room was excited to ask him questions, I was among them. I had so many questions in my mind and I was baffled as to which one to ask first. I could feel the goose-bumps. Will he notice me? With my shoulder laid on by expectations, I raised my hand to ask him my first question and probably the most crucial one… IS HR A GOOD OPTION AS SPECIALIZATION (especially for boys)? Well he being an HR guy was the best person to answer the question. He gave me the best conclusive and favorable answer with suitable reasons. I got my start and my first question was followed by numerous other queries. He was there for all the answers. They say the session lasted for 2 hrs before the first break, trust me for me it lasted for a second. When he gave us a breather of 15 minutes, I was like ‘who wants a break, lets continue it further”.

The room was full of positivity. Mr. Menon was driving the zeal and confidence in all of us. Not an individual was left untouched. He told us about the expectation laid upon Management trainee’s like us. He shared his story with us, the challenges he faced. He told us the importance of KRA’s (Key Result Areas), Leadership and most importantly learning from our own experience, the importance of Network, the importance of knowing people around, interacting and networking. It was 5:00 pm, when he was about to leave … Before he went, he wished us luck. I was left with just one wish “hope to see u again”.

About the Author
Yogesh Kumar is a Second Year MBA Professional (Batch 2010-2012)