Recent trends in Facility Management Industry

INLEAD conducted an Industry Expert Session for CAFM July 2012 & Jan 2013 and IHM Oct’12 Batch. The session was conducted by Brig. Ashok Jaitly- General Manager, Knight Frank (India) Training FMS and PMC. He had an interactive session with the students on “Recent trends in Facility Management Industry". Brig. Jaitly has over three decades of experience in the Indian Army in the operations and the facilities management and has been heading the training and development division of Knight Frank India since last 14 years.

The lecture started with an introduction on the growth of Facility Management. He explained how FM is growing & talked about the ratio of growth in FM sector in India & Europe. He explained “The definition of Facility Management, key triggers, challenges & opportunities in the field of Facility Management. The students were informed about on different streams in FM for young Professionals which includes Business Development, Engineering/ O&M/ Technical, Soft Services, Office Support Services and Finance & Asset Management. He also discussed with students the future prospects in the domain of technical FM and Soft Services.

According to Muneshwar Pal and Vaibhav Vashishta of CAFM January’13 and IHM Oct’12 Batch “We got a better & clear understanding of key responsibility areas of Facility Manager and how to tackle any difficult situation."

To conclude the session Brig. Jaitly mentions some of the key traits of an Ideal facility manager that includes Chanakya’s wisdom, a lawyer’s shrewdness, A gambler’s gamble and the most important availability for 48 hours a day.

Event Management: Industry Visit to International Bus & Utility Vehicle Show 2013

INLEAD conducted an Industry visit for Event Management and Public Relations July 2012 & Event Management Jan 2013 Batch. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) organized the third International Bus & Utility Vehicles Show between 15th and 18th of February. The expo took place at the Greater Noida Expo Mart focusing on SUVs, buses and other utility vehicles.

It was an in-depth learning about organizing an exhibition. The students had had an opportunity to witness diverse types of production platforms, new technology based lighting, audio & sound systems. It also helped them to learn crowd management, parking & security arrangements for corporate events. It was a Special Exhibition offering a learning experience for students with events and activities organized to ensure visitors can glean as much information and inspiration as possible. It was a platform where in students got an overview of visual merchandising, kiosks, displays through hoardings, and sponsorship activities for an event. It also showcased various ideas about peculiar flooring for displays in automobile industry. Students had a clear sighted observation from registration counters to exit check systems.

According to students it helped them in understanding the execution of corporate events and exhibitions, about different types of LED’s, audio & video, lighting, platforms etc. and enriching their knowledge base about exhibitions which are done on a large scale. Overall, it was an over-whelming experience of corporate event & exhibition for the students which inherited them with knowledge of 3D environments, stand designs, exhibition displays based on ‘design and build’, creativity, innovation, fabrication, carpeting, hanger designing, branding, lights, signage, floor plan designing, exhibition badges etc.

Role and Importance of PR in Corporate World.

INLEAD conducted an Industry Expert Session for Events Management and Public Relations July 2012 & Jan 2013 batches. The session was conducted by Ms Pooja Pathak- Director and Content Head at Media Mantra. She had an interactive session with the students on “Role & Importance of Public Relations in Corporate". The lecture started with an introduction on Public Relations. She explained how PR is different from other communication tools like advertisement, publicity, events. She explained “The Game of PR”, with a case study of “Nino Bambino: Organic Baby Clothing”. In this, she elaborated on:

•  Is PR about Advertisements?
• Is PR about advertorials or editorials?
• Is PR about publicity?

The connect was taught between PR – Awareness – Adoption – Free Publicity.  A group activity was also the part of the lecture. It was based on review of variant business magazines on the basis of PR Elements. This activity concluded with learning’s & experiences about how does Public Relation functions in various corporate & sectors. To conclude, the students were given a deep learning about the subject from the ground level, classifying various myths about PR and exemplifying each element.

There was also a discussion on: PLUNGING INTO THE WORLD OF PR, focusing on:

•         Media Monitoring
•     Industry story tracking
•     Competitor mapping
•     Client servicing
•         Devising PR Plans for the Clients
•         Follow up with the media
•         Weekly and monthly dossier

According to the students:

•  Jatin Gulati (Event Management and Public Relation, July, 12) :“It was a transparent and practical way to know the PR Industry ”
•  Supriya Sikka (Event Management and Public Relation, Jan 13) : “PR is one of our subject in the curriculum and thus the lecture helped us, as practical examples of the industry were shared”

To conclude, the students were given a deep learning about the subject from the ground level, classifying various myths about PR and exemplifying each element.

Healthcare Administration : Industry Orientation & Corporate Expectation

INLEAD conducted an Industry Expert Session for Healthcare Administration for July 2012 & Jan 2013 batches. The session was conducted by Mr. Sachin Chaudhary on the topic “Industry Orientation & Corporate Expectation’. The lecture gave students deep insights into the various aspects of Healthcare industry and the scope of services for future prospects. Mr. Sachin Chaudhary, founder & CEO of Medical Second Opinion Company, is a dynamic professional with an experience of leading Healthcare practice for Asia Pacific region for Genpact. Prior to which, he has worked with Ernst & Young, Infosys Healthcare Consulting, Wockhardt & Apollo Hospitals. He has more than 10 years of extensive experience of managing healthcare business across India, US & Middle East.

Mr. Chaudhary threw light upon the various verticals of Healthcare Industry, apart from Hospitals, like Health Insurance, Medical Tourism, Healthcare Consultancies and Healthcare Information Technology. He explained in brief the trends in these sectors & how students can prepare themselves for these options. He focused on the need of recognizing the area of interest at the initial stage & plan the career accordingly by doing the On Job Training (OJT) in the same field. He also mentioned that the projects can be taken up in the same sector during the OJT so that the students understand the corporate expectations and can get themselves groomed accordingly.

The lecture also dwelled upon the need to understand the Profit & Loss statements of various organizations in the Healthcare Industry so that students have fair idea about the Return over Investments & they can easily streamline the entire process on the basis of Cost Benefit analysis. Mr. Chaudhary also touched upon the future prospects of Healthcare Analytics. He mentioned that there is a scope of Healthcare analytics market to reach $10.8 billion by 2017. He talked about the concept of “big data” — where vast quantities of information can be cheaply stored and analyzed at leisure by organizations, due to the growing digital world.

International Hotel Management: Industry Visit - Galaxy Hotel, Jan'13 IHM Batch

INLEAD organized a hotel orientation trip to the Galaxy Hotel, Gurgaon for the International Hotel Management and Corporate Administration and Facility Management  students of Jan’13 batch. An industry orientation helps a student apply their theoretical learning with their practical exposure during the hotel visits. The students were accompanied by Ms. Bindu A Menon, Faculty- International Hotel Management, INLEAD, Gurgaon. The orientation informs the student about the category of the hotel and also the segment it caters to. The Galaxy Hotel is a contemporary styled five star hotel offering spacious and rich warm, hospitable services for business and leisure guest. 

The students began their property tour with Ms. Neelam, Banquet Sales Executive with Galaxy Hotel. The students were shown Zinnia, the largest banquet hall of the hotel measuring 12,000 sq.ft and other meeting spaces for social gatherings and conferences. The students were appraised about the various banquet set-up’s, pre- function area, buffet counters. The total banquet space available is 21,000 sq.ft.   Following this was visit to the Food and Beverage outlets. First on the list was The Monk- a modern Zen setting restaurant serving Oriental cuisine. The students came to know about the concept of a live kitchen and the fact that the restaurant does not accept and prior reservations. Next was Howzatt- India’s first cricket themed pub brewery serving fresh styles of beer with an exclusive snacks menu.  They also were briefed about Bean Stalk- café and pastry shop and Axis- a multi cuisine restaurant with an exhibition kitchen.

The guest room tour was coordinated by Mr. Deepak Khatri, Asst. Manager Front Office. The students learnt about Standard Operating Procedures to be followed while on guest floors. They were shown three categories of room: Deluxe Rooms, Spa Rooms and Suite. Mr. Deepak was very helpful with sharing information and details about room and bathroom amenities, services and the tariffs.

According to Ms. Bindu A Menon, Faculty- International Hotel Management, INLEAD: The students really enjoyed their visit to Galaxy Hotel, more since it was their first industry visit for most of them; it was their first trip to a five-star hotel. The team coordination at the hotel was smooth, well organized and most importantly they were shown around all the Front ending departments of the hotels with all question answered.

Event Management : Industry Visit - Kingdom Of Dreams, Jan'13 batch

INLEAD organized an industrial visit to Kingdom of Dreams on January 30^th, 2013 for Event Management students of January’13 batch. It was their first visit to give them hands on experience as to what goes behind the working of one of the biggest entertainment extravaganza. Students were accompanied by their Events Management faculty Mr. Sandeep Bhandari. On behalf of Kingdom of Dreams, a warm welcome was accorded by Ms Anjali, Guest Service Associate- Kingdom of Dreams.

The students had an exposure of a stunning, electrifying on-stage spectacle. The students had an opportunity to procure the knowledge of creativity and cutting edge technology to create an Entertainment Extravaganza. The students were briefed about the sprawling setup at Kingdom of Dreams which included both Nautanki Mahal and Culture Gully. An elaborate culture, arts, craft and food boulevard, from visiting the backwaters of Kerala, the taste buds in the style in Lucknow, the beaches in Goa, an insight of the royal splendor of a Rajasthani Palace, the Mumbai local, the live kitchens….. They witnessed a glimpse of Legends of Kung Fu, a spectacular martial arts ballet, performed by artists who had come all the way from China. A brief visit to IIFA buzz café, a glamorous themed Bollywood VIP lounge, was also one of the key learnings for students as it allowed them to have knowledge of extravagant set up for various entertainment events. The students had a chance to learn the art of event conceptualization & execution.

According to Jaswant Singh, Manager HR, KOD: “The Industry Visit of INLEAD Students to KOD has now become an integral part of their learning. It is always an overwhelming and gratifying experience to have INLEADers at KOD as they are very keen to learn and I must appreciate their grooming standards which are at par with Industry Standards”

According to Sandeep Bhandari, Event Management Faculty, INLEAD: “The students had a great experience at Kingdom Of Dreams. It was an activity full of learning and fun, where students got to see one of the greatest infrastructures and event venues of Delhi NCR. The students were overwhelmed with the guidance offered by the staff”.

Hospital Management: Industry Visit - Pushpanjali Hospital HCA Jan'13 Batch

INLEAD conducted the first industry visit for its Healthcare Administration Jan 2013 batch to Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, a tertiary care facility located in Ghaziabad on 1^st Feb. 2013 The visit gave them deep insights into the practical aspects of healthcare delivery and the inter-relationship and significance of each individual department of the hospital.

They were accompanied by Ms. Ginny Kaushal, faculty, Healthcare Administration, INLEAD. The day started with a welcome from Dr. Vijay Aggarwal. He is the Healthcare Administration Program Director at INLEAD and the Executive Director of the Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital. The other members present were Dr. T. S. Jain, Medical Superintendent, Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital and Ms. Garima Prasad, GM Operations Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital. Dr. Aggarwal   briefed the students with the corporate expectations of the healthcare industry and addressed the various queries of the students related to the myths and beliefs associated with the healthcare industry. He explained the importance of having a human touch while providing healthcare.  He elaborated on issues like medico legal obligations of the organizations, the role of the health manager in hospitals and significance of working as a team with the solitary aim of patient care.

The students were taken for a facility tour under the guidance of Ms Samarika, Manager-Operations, Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital. The areas covered were:

•     Registration & Admission
•     Accident and Emergency Department
•     Out Patient Department 
•      In Patient Department
•     Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD)

According to the students :

•    "We liked the way we were given the orientation and explained everything in detail by the hospital staff”
•   “What we were taught in our classes was completely relevant and in connection with practical application. Theory+Practical= Balanced Form”

The entire experience was enticing and enlightening for the students.