This Trumpet seems to make too much Noise!

The Gag order on Public Service agencies! Abortion laws to be pared down! Immigrants to be vetted rigorously! Obamacare to be scaled down! The Great Wall to be built! Climate Action dumbed down! People coming from 7 Islamic nations to be deported!

Many ups and downs..that’s how the 15 day CV would look of the 45^th President of United States of America, Mr. Donald J Trump.

The man is delivering on his manifesto promises and how! He has just taken office (20^th of January 2017) and is already creating ripples especially in US foreign policy. His Presidency, which began with a Hitleresque inauguration speech - with the pumping of arms and chants of “Making America Great Again - was indeed expected to be packed with punches. But, Trump has pulled them all a bit too soon. He is riding the great bald eagle and swerving the nation away from globalization towards a more inward looking economy. We all smell protectionism by the way.

Let’s take a sneak peek into Donald Trump’s explosive populist measures which were also a part of his manifesto.

Explosion 1:

First of all, he signed on the “Build the Wall on Texas – Mexico border”, within a day of taking office. The fallout? Mexicans are feeling discriminated against by their fellow Americans; Mexico President, Enrique Pena Nieto has refused to pay for the wall; and the meeting that was supposed to take place between him and Donald Trump has been called following the abominable Wall-decision.

Explosion 2:

Trump on day two decided to move against all pro-abortion laws and has threatened all Planned Parenthood institutions with stopping Healthcare funding if they promote abortion. The Fallout? There are many lawyers who have started taking up causes of abortion of unwanted pregnancies in court.

Explosion 3:

Certain government agencies have been issued the gag order, i.e. to cut down on publishing of content especially on Twitter. The order has been specifically pointed towards the scientists working for the Environmental Protection Agency, now that Trump wants to pare down usage of words like Climate action, Global warming, etc.. The Fallout? Closed door discussions on curtailment of Freedom of Speech have sprung up.

Explosion 4:

Scale down the affordable Healthcare services started in March 2010 by former President Barrack Obama, and nicknamed Obamacare, that’s the ongoing mantra for Republicans. The party is having multiple closed door meetings, trying to figure out ways to bring down the Affordable Healthcare services. The Fallout? This is going to impact millions of middle class Americans, and many have hit the streets in protest.

Explosion 5: And the worst and which created chaos at the airports of US:

Trump passed an order on 28^th of January 2017, refusing entry into US territory of all immigrants and refugees from seven Islamic nations, namely Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Sudan. 

Many people from these nations who have long settled in US, and who were on their way back to US after a holiday back home, were detained at the airports on the 29^th of January 2017. The Fallout? It was only after massive demonstrations outside airports and the Supreme Court interventions on a Sunday that the immigrants were allowed to leave customs and enter US territory.

What we are witnessing is impulsive foreign policy maneuvers which are rather radical in their character. And one hopes that Indians do not get caught in the Trump Hurricane.

By:

Monica Mor

Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

Training Your Way To Long Run

A long run is the perfect challenge for beginner runners who want to get more serious, kick their training and fitness up and prepare for bigger and better challenges down the road. The long run blends the best of short recreational runs with longer more intense ones such as half marathon, offering  challenges (but a challenge nonetheless) which will be fun to work towards. If you feel like this is the next logical step for you, here are some things you should do to get ready for your first 10k.

Form a proper training plan including slow and long run.

If you are not running recreationally until now, it’s likely that your training routine hasn’t been very focused. You may have been going for a short jog each morning and your natural inclination might be to simply increase the distance and speed of your run.

That’s not the way to go about it,

Instead , you should plan a fixed weekly training routine which includes around three runs per week. One of those should be an easy run- slow and for short distance, the next should be slightly more intense run- increasing your pace but maintaining roughly the same distance as with your easy run. The third should be long run where you should aim to spend 60-80 minutes on the runway.

Between each running day, include a rest day to recover. This form of run will help you work on your endurance, speed and technique with little risk of injury or exhaustion.

Add uphill runs to your Training Route.

Uphill runs are fantastic when training for a weight loss and training for long runs as it requires more power, strength, it checks and enhances your endurance body limit also improves your overall speed and power. Be aware that this uphill runs should be done at steady pace, stay in control when running back downhill as well.

Add some cross training to your routine.

Between your planned weekly runs, you should also include cross-training if you feel like you have the energy to manage it. Good cross training routines are those which work the muscles involved in running, without extra adding extra stress to your joints. It includes having spin on a stationary exercise bike between training days is a great way of working your quads and calves without risking injury. Swimming is another fantastic option, it includes the muscles of the lower body and upper body also.

So go on, begin that little run sooner rather than later and see how your fitness and your endurance improves!

By:

Aniket Patil

Student, INLEAD 

FESTIVELLE – OF WOMEN, FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN

How unique can an event be? How unique can a cultural festival be? We know of music festivals, literary festivals, and now even grub festivals! All this left us with very little to be creative about. And just when we kind of gave up, voila! along came Festivelle.

What’s so unique about Festivelle?

Festivelle is the first of its kind women’s only festival curated by actors/ entrepreneurs Shruti Seth & Gul Panag. It was a 2 day cultural fest of women, for women, by women. Festivelle envisioned a world in which women were allowed to take a break from their daily routine and cool their heels while enjoying new experiences, both enriching and entertaining; female centric and eccentric.

The event was a culture-led weekender- a two day dress down for women. This was organized to celebrate abandonment of the daily and espousal of relaxation, revelry and quite boldly, happiness with girlfriends.

The never-ending retail therapy, eclectic music & comedy performances by the most renowned women in India, relaxing spa treatments, enlightening conversations, exciting workshops and much more.  The two-day showcase included some of the kickass women performers like Alisha Pais, Manasi Scott, Neeti Palta, Anu Menon, among others.

“Every woman of every age and in every sphere of her life is now ‘labelled’. A daughter, wife, professional, mother, divorcee – she always has to be someone, prove something or be somewhere important.  What if we told you that it’s time to stop? That it’s now time to forget all definitions, chores, whatsapp groups, kids, husbands – even the chatter with our own self-critical selves; to simply pause and escape the everyday,” said Gul Panag, Organiser and Co-curator, Festivelle.

Festivelle was one extravaganza with music, comedy, fun conversations, food, shopping and much more! The decor was designed and executed by Invision Entertainment, keeping in mind the vibrancy and effervescence of women. “Festivelle was about to simply experience something extraordinary. Something that doesn’t judge or care for judgement. A platform to elevate with no glass ceilings to shatter; just come stand under the open sky with your girls and celebrate being a woman with Festivelle!” opines Shruti Seth,Organiser and Co-curator, Festivelle. 

The lawns of Juhu Hotel were a perfect setting for the festival. Draped in colorful fabrics, buntings, flags and ribbons the place looked its best at sunset. Fairy lights and lanterns made the flee market not just a happy place to shop but also a visual delight! The entire setup was magical with the aim to educate, entertain and engage the women of today.

The Festivelle was a great hit! The workshops curated by renowned author Kiran Manral, were educating and enlightening at the same time. The musical, the stand-up comedy, the reading events were marvelously executed, to say the least.

Visitors and and performers were given goody bags and hampers from brands like Pipa  Bella, Style Cracker, AND, Fab India, Bono, Sublime Factory, and The Label Life.

I sure hope that there are seasons of Festivelle. After all, sometimes girls just wanna have fun!

By:

Sakshi Vig,

Faculty, INLEAD

An Insight on Legal Aspects of Multi-National Corporations by Mr. Pranav Mahajan, BBC Global News

Mr. Pranav Mahajan - India Legal Manager, BBC Global News India Pvt. Ltd, recently graced the INLEAD Campus to give INLEADers some useful insights on the various Legal Aspects of Multi-National Corporations. 

The session started with Mr. Mahajan speaking about the many legal stipulations in our country and the loop holes that make some of those ineffective. Having experience in many companies including those in the media sector, he was well versed with many norms that impact business in India. While sharing his personal experiences, he helped students understand the legal recourses that need to be taken when there certain violations that take place. 

Legal laws and rules make an organization work ethically and in a better way towards their Stakeholder's. When someone either a company or an individual is bound to a legal Law, it makes a fear of being punished by imprisonment or penalty charges. Mr. Mahajan introduced students to The Legal framework in 3 categories:

· Legislative: Parliament houses(Where laws are being Framed)

· Executives: Parties who implement those laws

· Judiciary: The body which ensures that laws are being followed.

Thereafter, Mr. Mahajan explained about the judiciary framework which India is following, He shared some important facts like there were Approx. 5000 laws in our constitution even though 1500 have been removed.

Some other facts he shared like “If all judges work continuously on the pending cases it would take 365 years to solve one case. And, If One judge solves 1000 cases in an hour then it will be taking 35 years for all the pending cases in India.

Further, Mr. Mahajan shared details on some Important Laws such as:

1. Companies Act,2013

             i.  29 Chapters and 470 sections are in this law.

            ii.  One person can individually start a company.

            iii  A woman director is compulsory in a corporate.

            iv. Corporate social responsibility is mandatory for the large companies.

2. Sexual harassment of women at workplace (Protection, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act.

3.  Tax Laws

4.  Labor/Employment law

5.  Intellectual Property Law

An inspiration called “New Year”

It’s half a month almost into the New Year 2017. And how new do we feel? How hopeful are we still for the remaining 11 months? Questions that rattle our soul and leave us searching for answers... Answers that beguile us and render us helpless, without solutions... Events and turn of events mark days as they go by; some good, some bleak.

And yet it is the New Year that always leaves all with a ray of hope in our hearts, music in our minds and song on our lips which inspire us and motivate us to march on ahead to the beats of time! It’s been a couple of weeks and so much seems to have happened.

A demonetization programme that left the nation baffled and struggling for currency towards the end of 2016, yet was heralded as a breakthrough performance of the current government. As we have turned the corner into Avenue 2017, we see the same supporters have become converts and speak a different language now, of hatred and of despair. Let time tell us what’s right and what’s wrong.

The New Year began with a shootout at Berlin, a bomb blast in Kabul, an air strike in Allepo, Syria, the awful Taharrush type incident in Bangalore. As we have moved into the 3^rd week of 2017, whistleblowers from our Armed forces have used the power of social media to highlight the depraved conditions of their brigade. All of these are shameful incidents and they leave us infuriated and annoyed with the mishappenings!

What we need are injectors of happiness and joy; of singing and dancing like in La La La Land; of Speeches like that of Meryl Streep while accepting her Golden Globe Lifetime Achievement award. They work as balms to our hurting souls and inspire to look ahead to better days and smiles always.

At least it’s snowed in Shimla and Mussorie and Nainital, giving us a lovely white New Year in our city!

Let’s hope and pray for a year that’s delightful with promises and lifts our spirits and leaves us with giddy happiness and rushes of pleasure.

Happy new Year Everyone!

By: 

Ms. Monica Mor,

Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

GoBuzzinga Momos Festival

Go Buzzinga and Delhi Food Walks  recently organized a festival inspired from the street food where different varieties of momos were brought under the same roof at Garden of Five Senses, Saket, New Delhi. We being Event Management students decided to checkout the event and observe the event unraveling. 

The event saw foodies from all over Delhi hanging around and feeding on delicious fusion of momos like Tandoori and Afghani momos, baked, fried, dipped in chocolate momos, vodka momos and what not with some amazing twists. A perfect “momoment” for the momo lovers along with full on entertainment and celebration. We absolutely loved the innovative vendors who had participated in the GoBuzzinga momos festival, “Bigger and Better”.

“We are passionate about trying new things and are always discovering best things to do in the city for our GoBuzzinga community through sourced recommendations and curated events.To engage with our community offline we organise events such that explore nooks and corners of vibrant Delhi," says Hunar Katoch, co-founder of GoBuzzinga. 

Maggie cup-a-licious soups was the main sponsor for the GoBuzzinga momos festival, which was also presented by Swiggy. There were plenty more sponsors like Delhi Tourism, The Education Tree, Daily Bhaskar, Spoon University and many more. 

We noticed that on the stage that had been set up, there were many people clicking selfies with the attractive backdrop in the background. The stage worked as a brilliant selfie zone. However, as is the case with all events in Delhi, crowd management was not good and people had to wait a lot for their plate of happiness. In addition, the signages were not placed properly because of which people had to suffer a lot. According to the crowd, the venue was not apt for organising this fest because they hadn’t anticipated such large numbers. But the fact is, if you are having free entry large numbers will turn up!

And as they say, “But all’s well that ends well”; the event ended with some pulsating music which got the crowd dancing on their toes. People were full of excitement and as soon as the DJ took over the event, there was a palpable energy that buzzed through the crowd.

This unique event revolving around Momos, was simply marvellous and absolutely impossible to stay away from. We would love to be a part of more such novel events in days to come.

By:

Shubham Arora 

Kirti Agarwal 

Poonam Yadav 

[Top Image: Cox & Kings]

Bed Time Fables

"Don’t lose sleep over anything" is an age old saying...a nicely made bed, a mattress that you can sink into, a soft pillow and a comforter infused with peaceful and restful sleep can take care of the situation temporarily. What one craves for after a long, eventful and sometimes stressful day is a good night sleep. The bed linen and the mattress industry in India have become highly competitive and price sensitive. Suppliers have seen a sudden rise in budget hotel segment and the demand of the number of keys has also risen to 20, 0000. Owing to the guest preferences in all aspects of hotel amenities and rising consumerism in the country it has forced the industry stakeholders to offer good quality bed products at competitive prices. Not compromising on the guest comfort, sellers make sure that the guest should get a sound sleep and get hotel management team to be well aware about the product features and quality. In a survey, it was found that 70% - 80% of the guest sleep on a hotel bed 3 days in a row and it’s during this period, the hotels and its housekeeping try and ensure the guest get a sound sleep and luxurious feel during their stay.

Hospitality segment in India is showing a steady growth with many international chains starting and functioning in India, the mattress industry is buoyant, and the manufacturers are endlessly bringing in modernism and technology to have an extra edge over the competition. What’s in the offering in this segment is wide range of mattresses to bed linen types and also different types of pillows. In fact, few Hotels today are offering pocketed spring mattresses of height ranging from 10 – 16 inches. Hotel developers are also moving towards procuring global brands. India is emerging as a major production center for bed linen and has attained topmost position as compared to its competitor’s turkey and china. In the recent years US, Japan, South East Asia, Middle East and European countries have emerged as major export destinations for India.

Brands today are centralizing their products as this leads to consistency and experience. The linen whether bath or bed is an important aspect of guest’s personal experience. Housekeeping is becoming more creative. There is a paradigm shift in bed making and the display of towels. Blankets and night spreads are moving out for duvets. Bed making has bed runners, decorative pillows and towels are displayed as pillow art.

Pillows are considered as one of the important aspects of bed comfort. Hotels have different types that are provided in guest rooms’ e.g. hard pillows, soft pillows, neck pillows, memory foam pillows, gel pillows, latex pillow, spinal support pillow, Ayurveda pillow, musical pillow and many more. So, it becomes very important to educate the buyer.

One of the major challenges faced in this segment is with longevity or recycling. Hotels prefer linen that can last to 100 washes or more. Most hoteliers believe thicker the product, better the linen quality, this mind set has to change. Hotels should indulge in softer, lighter and higher thread count; it also saves water and energy.

The e-commerce market has also opened new channels for distribution and has made it easier for sellers to reach out to audience. Despite the stiff competition, the market is growing and it will be an interesting watch to see how the industry players will adopt technological advancements to stay ahead.

By: 
Ms. Bindu Menon
Sr. Faculty, INLEAD 

INLEADers @Ambience Mall, Gurgaon

Ambience Mall, Gurgaon is a premier mall in Gurgaon, which is the millennium city in Haryana. It contains an area of 19, 97,378 square feet. It’s a mall where every class of people are allowed, for relaxation, shopping and entertainment. Ambience Mall, Gurgaon has more than 230 stores and food outlets. It also has a very large parking space which can park about 4000 vehicles. The mall was opened for public in 2007 and became a great attraction for people from all walks of life. It has many national and international brands like Gap, H&M, Jamie's Pizzeria, Mc Donald’s, Nautica, Charles & Keith, Zara and etc.

In order to provide our International Business Management students of Oct'16 batch a greater understanding about Organised Retail, Mall Management and Zoning of stores in a mall, INLEAD recently facilitated an Industry Visit for them to Ambience Mall, NH8, Gurgaon.

Since some of the students had never been to a mall before, doing a comprehensive tour of a mall, which houses such huge number of international brands was quite an eye-opener for them. The knowledge about zoning and roster duties was new for them.

The tour commenced with Mr. Kanwardip Singh, AGM Operations, Ambience Mall explaining about zoning, what zoning means and how it’s done. Zoning refers to the division of mall space into zones for the placement of various retailers, for example, at first floor, for gadget freaks and commoners alike, there’s a dazzling range of gadgets at the Gadget Zone, comprising Jumbo electronics, Relianace Digital, etc..  Then the students were explained about mall management, i.e. how a mall is being managed. Mall management encompasses operations, facilities management, security, accounts, common area maintenance, marketing, leasing and all the other functions related to a mall.

Students were also allowed into a restaurant, to understand it’s operations. They went to the extremely popular Dine Restaurant, Chilis where they were even allowed to ask questions from the restaurant manager. For instance, full hall bookings are not being done by Chilis  for say hundred people because  they don’t want their other customers to be waiting. 

The students also got to know about the sundry services which the mall provides, which are highly appreciable, like that of ATM, Ambulance on call, ample parking, baby feeding room, baby stroller, bag and shoe repair, car wash, courier service, currency converter, doctor-on-call, fun cart for kids, golfcart, handicap washroom, kids play area, pharmacy, reserved parking for women, amongst the many others.

Post the two hour guided tour, students then congregated at one of the Mall management office’s conference room for an interaction with the GM, Mall Operations. He handled all queries students had regarding every aspect of the mall from store location, to security management to parking requirements. Overall, students came out well versed with the detailing that goes in mall operations and store locations.

                                              

10 Motivational Quotes To Inspire Success in 2017

On Saturday midnight, we flagged the onset of Year 2017. For many, a new year is similar to a new slate, a new diary in which they can welcome new opportunities, do away with bad old habits and start a new journey towards success and happiness. What better way to start the year than take some inspiration from quotes by some of the most successful and insightful human beings on Earth.

Here are 10 quotes that will help you start the year 2017 on a bright note: 

1)  “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” -Winston Churchill

2) “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”- Rob Siltanen

3) “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”- Og Mandino

4) “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.”- Maya Angelou

5) “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.”- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

6)  “Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.”- Theodore Roosevelt

7) “We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action.”- Dr. Henry Link

8) "Our best friends and our worst enemies are our thoughts. A thought can do us more good than a doctor or banker or a faithful friend. It can also do us more harm than a brick." — Dr. Frank Crane

9) "Make it a life-rule to give your best to whatever passes through your hands. Stamp it with your humanity. Let superiority be your trademark." — Orison Swett Marden

10) "Feed your mind. Sharpen your interest in two major subjects: life and people. Learn how you can better interact with others." — Jim Rohn