Why distance learning should be a big NO NO!

It is very important for a student to know the plus and minus points before he/ she opts a mode of study.

Despite the popularity of distance learning programs, they have several drawbacks.

Let’s discuss a few disadvantages of Distance learning:

• Distance learning is isolated
• Distance learning lacks social interaction
• Distance learning format isn’t ideal for all learners
• Some employers don’t accept online degrees
• Distance learning requires adaptability to new technologies
• Distance learning lacks student motivation
• Distance learning lacks immediate feedback
• Distance learning might involve hidden costs
• Distance learning involves the risk of fraudulent and invalid degrees
• Distance learning lacks oral communication skills
• Distance learning lacks quality assessment and feedback, which hinders learning]
• Distance learning lacks digital literacy

However, INLEAD offers all Full time courses which are of great advantage to students. Even while recruitments and placements a student who has pursued a full time course is always preferred over a student who has studied from a distance learning institute.

Courses offered at INLEAD are:

      1)      International Hotel Management

      2)      Event Management & Public Relations

      3)      Healthcare Administration

      4)      Infrastructure Management

Why should you choose to study at INLEAD?

•  Full time courses
• 100 % interaction between students and professors
• 100 % knowledge about digital literacy
• Personalized academic progression
•  Format provided ideal for students
• Immediate feedback is provided to the students
• Recognized degree is offered in collaboration with Mewar University
• Extensive industry expo

If you have anything to add then please use the comment section below the article and let us know with what you can help our readers.

EVENT Management and Public Relation INDUSTRY: A Broad Overview

Wiki Definition: Event Management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences.

Wikipedia defines an 'event' as any type of a gathering, ceremony, competition, convention, happening, festival, media event, party or sporting event an exhaustive definition, in every way symbolic of the events industry today.

Events include: weddings, concerts, International Conferences, Seminars, Television Based Events, Exhibitions, special occasions, corporate events, Road Shows, fashion shows, award nights.

Gone are those days when functions, weddings, birthdays etc were self-organized. Today there is a great demand for event managers. From the smallest event like a theme birthday party to a large scale event like a wedding individuals require wedding and event planners to put across the show.

The size of the organized events and activation sector is estimated at around INR Rs.2800 Crore.This value represents the revenue of events, and activation agencies, it also includes the value of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).

Event management at one time was about planning, organizing and executing a project/activity such as parties, weddings, product launches, conferences, etc. Today, it encompasses a wide range of profiles that offer thrilling opportunities to those who have a keen interest in this particular segment.

Celebrations like birthday parties, which earlier were simple family affairs, have now turned into glitzy events where people want theme docor and celebrity appearances. It is the event management company that is helping them put all of this in place, of course at a price tag.

The event industry is no longer considered an organization run by students, kids etc. With the event companies now being rated by bodies like the Conderation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and media houses investing in them heavily, the industry is now organized and run by professionals, an aspect that has brought with it a certain respect to the profession,' shares Thanush Joseph, director, marketing, Seventy Events and Media Group.

Various Sectors---

Wedding Management:

The big fat Indian wedding just got bigger and better. The spending power of individuals has increased like never before. No longer are weddings an average affair put together and managed by members of the family. While Indian weddings have always been larger than life affairs. Indian extravagance has touched greater heights & new frontiers of grandeur. People these days prefer destination weddings in exotic locations, they prefer to appoint the best makeup artist, cuisines like there is no end. However this trend is still largely restricted to the elite and upper middle classes.

Award Nights/ Fashion Shows

Fashion shows since the past decade or even more have always been highlighted in our country. With several fashion weeks Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week, Lakme Fashion Week & award nights like IIFA, TOIFA to name a few. Film and television awards were being instituted in the last couple of years, the demand for event planners who can organise the chaos has a great demand now.

Sports Management:

When you talk of sports how can you forget the emergence of the ‘Indian Premier League (IPL)’,  IPL introduced to cricket a corporate identity which was never seen before.

Post the Commonwealth Games sports like Formula 1, tennis, boxing have gained high popularity.

Features of an event:

• A unique occurrence that does not happen very often
• Held for a purpose
•  Limited duration
• Temporary set up
•  Happens with a live audience

EVENT MANAGEMENT as a CAREER:

An exciting career option, upcoming and a thrilling profession

The career avenues at INLEAD are broadly divided three sectors: 

1)    Event Operations:

• Event planner
• Wedding planner
• Artist Manager

2) Event Marketing:

• Business Development Manager 
• Client Servicing Manager
• Account Manager

3) Public Relations:

• Public Relations Officer 
• Brand Manager
• Corporate Communications Manager 

Pay-Scale

The event management industry is known to pay well

Stipend: 10k-15k PM
Post experience – sky is the limit, you can earn as high as 2 lac per month

Drawback & Challenges:

·         High entertainment tax

·         Lengthy procedure for import of equipment’s

·         Lack of infrastructure

·         Lack of manpower

What drives this industry?

·         Rise of wedding and other family events

·         Increase in sports events

·         Increase in corporate events

·         Increase in below the line activities

Key Trends:

·         Foreign companies entering into India

·         Event Management courses in the offering

We can conclude by saying that it is only the event industry which includes event planners which are helping in fulfilling peoples wishes by showcasing grandeur events.

Event Industry is only going to become BIGGER & BETTER!

Social Networking: Pros & Cons

Social networking today which broadly includes the use of websites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn & apps like whatsapp, viber, tango are considered to be thee most powerful and the fastest mode of communication among today’s generation.

Social Media has become a part of the daily routine for many. Opening Facebook as soon as you wake up is not anymore considered to be an abnormal activity. It’s as important as brushing teeth and having breakfast.:)

In the professional work space these days, Social Media’s presence is being highly accredited. What about education?  Is Social Media a good thing or a bad thing for students?

For most of us indulgence in social media activities includes posting daily status messages, uploading photos, sharing quotes which are uploaded on various fan pages and other nonsensical fun things.. But that’s not it; Facebook can be extremely beneficial at the same time.  

Let’s discuss the pros & cons of being active on the social media front…

Pros:

• Increases student engagement
• Bridges the gap between students and teachers
• Encourages discussion and collaborations
• Spreads awareness / latest  happenings / information
• Excellent and Quickest  mode of communication
• Large coverage to a larger audience
• Great medium to promote business / increase traffic on websites

Cons:

• Distraction and Addiction for students
• Cyber bullying
• Waste of time
• Encourages the use of slang language
• Discourages communication skills
• Excess of information
• Loss of privacy
• Virtual space, cannot replace real communication
• Negligence of family members

After reading the above pros and cons, we come to the conclusion that excess of anything & everything is bad, be it social networking in this case. We must know where to draw a line and absorb only the amount which we think will be beneficial for us as students and ignore or let go of the things which hold not much value to us. There are countries where the use of social networking sites is blocked for example Facebook is blocked in Syria & Iran, YouTube is blocked in Thailand, Turkey, Pakistan, China, Brazil, Iran, MySpace is blocked in Indonesia.

A study also reported that the most censored site was YouTube where we found reports of nine countries that had censored the site over the last few years. We as individuals belong to a country wherein we are given the benefit or privilege of using such sites; in return we should respect the fact and not misuse the freedom given.

Social Media is the FASTEST & QUICKEST medium to reach a particular target audience and nothing will replace this mode of communication in the coming days, months or years.

DO YOU AGREE?

First Day of Internship? Some DOs & Don'ts

Just a couple of hours left, when students of INLEAD first step into the corporate world as ‘INTERNS’.
Today 10^th October at INLEAD we had Mr. Jayant K. Sood, Head – Corporate & Company Secretary, INDO RAMA SYNTHETICS (INDIA) LTD give a talk on what to expect in the corporate world, as for most of the students tomorrow, 11^th October is the first day of Internship. 

Mixed emotions were floating in the seminar hall.  Some were full of anxiety. Some were curious; some looked afraid and hesitant in entering the corporate world. Nevertheless we had students who were extremely excited at the same time. This timely talk by Mr. Jayant K Sood was held in order to make the students understand how they should portray themselves during their internship.

Mr. Jayant  K.Sood started his talk by saying, “Believe in yourself”. Further to which he elaborated by saying that each individual should have a positive notion and shall believe in her/ himself.  He also said, “What you think you become”.

Mr. Jayant K.Sood addressed the students by mentioning some of the do’s and dont’s that they should keep in mind while entering the big bad world – “The Corporate”.

Firstly he stated that, to rise in any organization you must keep your integrity high leaving behind your ego, hatred, jealousy and other negative elements which might hamper your individuality and growth.

Dos:

      1)   Set targets

      2)   Punctuality

      3)   Ask Questions 

      4)   Plan your day

      5)   Observe

      6)    Maintain Balance

      7 )  Focus

     Don’ts:

      1)   Be negative

      2)    Restrict yourself to one vertical

      3)    Pass Remarks

      Mr. Jayant K.Sood further concluded the two hour session by saying that individuals/ students having a   strong belief system can survive and reach great heights in any organization. They need to understand that wherever they go, they can become No.1 and when you are disciplined, focused and a good planner nothing in this world can stop you and sky is the limit for those who come from the same school of thought.

      

      Towards the end, the students had a smile on their faces and looked super enthusiastic for the big day which is tomorrow.

Quality in Healthcare (Mr. Mehernosh B. Dittia, Vice President Talent Development (HR) at Max Healthcare)

INLEAD facilitated an Industry Expert Workshop for HealthcareAdministration - MBA (L) Apr '13 , MBA (L) Jul '13 and MBA (1st Year) July '13 Batches. The workshop was covered by Mr. Mehernosh B. Dittia, Vice President Talent Development (HR) at Max Healthcare. The topic for the session was Quality in Healthcare.

The speaker elaborated on the importance of quality in healthcare. He explained that Quality measurement is a relatively new science and requires a large amount of resources to develop and collect the information. Fully developed and tested measures are only available for reporting on some of the most common conditions or processes of care. Over the past few years, an increased interest in this science has occurred which may increase the rate of quality measurement development and reporting over time. But there is some quality information you can use right now to help you compare your health care choices. He discussed how many public and private groups are working to improve and expand health care quality measures. The goal is to make these measures more reliable, uniform, and helpful to consumers in making health care choices. The students thoroughly enjoyed the talk. They were participative and were curious to know more about the subject. 

Healthcare Administration: Sustainable Quality in Healthcare – FICCI Conference (Healthcare Batch)

32 students from Healthcare Administration - PGD Jan' 13,  MBA (L) Apr '13 (Q2) & MBA (L) Jul '13 (Q1) & MBA (1) July '13 (Q1)  attended the conference - Health Enterprise and Learning (HEAL) 2013 on September 2 – 3, 2013 at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Federation House, New Delhi. 

India's healthcare sector has become one of the country's largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment. Some private hospitals provide world class facilities, so much so that people from third countries come here for treatment giving impetus to medical tourism. On the other hand, is the lack of access to even basic medical care for many people particularly the poor and disadvantaged.  Our medical healthcare system has to be developed to cater to medical requirements of all sections of society, both in rural and urban areas.” Keeping this agenda in mind Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organized  a two day conference Health Enterprise and Learning (HEAL) 2013 on September 2 – 3, 2013.

The conference threw light on the prevailing quality of Healthcare Industry as a whole highlighting the affordability, accessibility and assurance of health services in and around the nation. Issues of Hospital Planning that should be kept in mind for establishing a hospital were also discussed. Day 2 mainly stressed on Patient Safety standards and Claims Fraud Management which highlighted some 10 major common claims on documentation, billing and the emergency department. One of the sessions highlighted the importance of paying attention to maintenance of quality standards and their application. The day ended on a note talking about Telemedicine and the transformation that we can bring in by application of Information Technology in Healthcare with another presentation on innovating low cost methods in Medical Technology with solutions that Industry is capable to provide.

According to Ms Ginny Kaushal, Faculty (Healthcare Administration) - INLEAD: “It was certainly a great exposure and a great platform where in our questionings were handled with all the attention”.

According to Mr. Ashish Dhankar (PGDM in Healthcare Administration April ’13 Batch): “I would like to thank INLEAD for the on-going and the consistent efforts that the institution has always put in to make us aware of the present trends in the Healthcare Industry which actually plays an important role in our careers”.

MBA in Infrastructure Management: Career Opportunities & Growth Prospects in the Infrastructure Industry

INLEAD facilitated a workshop for Infrastructure Management Jan’13, April’13 and July’13 batch students on 29^th August 2013. The workshop was delivered by Mr. Neeraj Mishra, Sr. Manager – Admin, Birlasoft. He had an interactive session with the students on “Career opportunities & growth prospects in the infrastructure industry and Advent & impact of digital security systems in Built Infrastructure."

The session comprised of several discussions on Administration and its components, the organizational hierarchy, various salary packages offered, access control systems which are utilized and the various industries in which biometric reading is used. In a very detailed session, in depth discussion was held on soft services and hard services within administration. The details regarding the scope and area of work under the administration was very insightful. Whether it was regarding vendor management or the outsourced or insourced component of administration, it gave all the students a sense of understanding on how the industries worked. Detailed discussion regarding the organizational hierarchy and the approximate compensations offered at different levels will enable the students chalk out their career plans in a more systematic manner. The session was very insightful and definitely gave the students a closer glimpse into the industry.

According to Deepesh Songara – MBA in Infrastructure Management July’13:  “It was a very good expert session today by Mr. Neeraj Mishra. It was a good learning about infrastructure soft and technical skills. The viewpoints regarding the industry and the entire session were very insightful and knowledgeable”.

MBA in Healthcare Administration: Rockland Hospital - Industry Visit (Healthcare Administration Batch)

INLEAD facilitated an Industry Visit for students of Healthcare Administration July 2013 Batch (MBA 1^st year & MBA Lateral) on 28^th August to Rockland Hospital, a 505 bed super specialty hospital at Manesar, Gurgaon. The intent of the visit was to get an overview of the hospital and its departments. They were accompanied by their faculty Ms. Ginny Kaushal.

Rockland Hospital Limited is currently running three hospitals:

·   100-bed facility at Qutub Institutional area

·   103-bed facility at Dwarka launched in July 2012

·   505 bed super specialty hospital at Manesar, commissioned in Jan 2013 – IP opened in April 2013.

The hospital has experienced management team with extensive exposure of running and managing large chains of hospital. The visit started with a welcome by the HR representative followed by a facility tour of the Hospital. The various areas covered during the facility tour were as follows:

1.    Front Office & Reception

·   Reception

·   Lobby

2.    Accident & Emergency Department

·   Resuscitation Area

·   Waiting Area

·   Triage

·   Nursing Station

3.    Out Patient Department

·   Registration

·   Preventive Health package

·   Consultation Room

4.    Overview of O.T. Complex

5.    Overview of Intensive Care Unit

Ms. Ginny Kaushal, Faculty HealthcareAdministration said “Students got an insight into different clinical, administrative & support services of the Hospital which will help them to get a fair idea of the working in these areas”.

According to Mr. Rohin ( MBA 1st Year) “The visit has given us an insight into the functioning of the hospital and inter-relationship between the various departments”.

According to Ms Mansha (MBA 1^st Year) “Since the hospital is in its initial stages it will give us an idea about the planning considerations of a hospital.”

INLEADers @ Indian Badminton League 2013

INLEAD organized an industrial visit to Indian Badminton League on August 14^th & 15^th 2013 for Event Management & Public Relations  and International HotelManagement students of July’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 sports events in the country. Students were accompanied by their T&P officer Mr. Navdeep Dalia.

On behalf of IBL, a briefing session was taken by Mr. Ajit Menon - Chief Operating Officer at The Niche Group (IBL’s Hospitality Partner), before all of them were put to some real time work.The students had an exposure to a stunning, electrifying on-stage spectacle from International artists. The students had an opportunity to procure the knowledge of creativity and cutting edge technology that goes behind in creating an Entertainment Extravaganza.

They witnessed a glimpse of Sports personalities like Ms Saina Nehwal, Ms Jwala Gutta, Mr. Pullela Gopichand. They also saw a scintillating and a spectacular performance from Bollywood Singer Ms Niti Mohan. The students had a chance to learn the art of event conceptualization & execution. Mr. Mika Singh, a very well know Bollywood singer had also come to embrace the occasion and to cheer the audience.

Infrastructure Management: How to fare better in the Infrastructure Industry.

INLEAD facilitated an Industry Expert Workshop for January, April 2013 and July 2013 Infrastructure Management batches on 13th August. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Sandeep Sharma, Vice President HR – Earth Infrastructures. . He had an interactive session with the students on “How to fare better in the Infrastructure Industry."

The session comprised several activities which were based on setting Goals in Life, Importance of listening, etiquette and basic communication skills, hence giving all the students a sense of understanding on how all the industries work and what are the prerequisites to be a successful professional in this competitive corporate world.

In his passionate discourse Mr. Sharma discussed on several personality traits and importance of aptitude and attitude in an individual’s life. According to him one should never assume things in the corporate world and should never be judgmental either, both in their personal and professional life. He shared his views on basic and effective intelligence and the significance of fast and steady growth in the corporate working environment. He also discussed the 90/10 principle and how important it is for an individual to respond to a situation rather than reacting.

The session ended with an activity based on personality test where students had to draw a rabbit on a piece of paper and based on the position and the orientation of the rabbit their personalities were determined. Over all it was an interactive session and involved several activities which made it a lot of fun for all the students.

• According to Mr. Shahzeb Khan – July’13 Batch: “It was a really nice experience and very knowledgeable. Mr. Sharma gave us valuable insights regarding our decision making ability and the way we would evaluate ourselves.”
• According to Mr. Sohail Akhtar – July’13 Batch: “The class was very interesting. It was great to know the viewpoints regarding the industry and the entire session was very insightful.”

International Hotel Management: Overview of Hotel Management Information System

INLEAD facilitated an Industry Expert Workshop for April 2013 and July 2013 International Hotel Management batches on 14^th August. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Tarun Dua, Associate Director- HR & Training, Country Development and Management Services Pvt. Ltd. He had an interactive session with the students on “Overview of Hotel Management Information System."

The session began with a brief introduction about the speaker sharing his work and the profile that currently he is handling. Country Development and Management Services Pvt. Ltd, is an outsourced management firm working with Carlson Group who is on a management contract for the 21 properties of Country Inn Suites and Resorts.  The students were given a brief outline on the concept of Management Information System. A management information system (MIS) provides information that organizations require to manage themselves efficiently and effectively. 

The workshop also covered the importance of Reports and Data Generation. It gave the students an understanding on the importance of these two in any business to reach a Break even analysis and get their ROI. The students were introduced to the working of Hotel Management System and Point of Sale, the benefits of MIS and the elements of usable MIS and how does MIS contribute to the growth for various operating departments.

Hospital Management: Overview of Hospital and its Services (Industry Visit – Healthcare July 2013 Batch)

INLEAD facilitated an Industry visit for Healthcare Administration July 2013 Batch (MBA 1st year & MBA Lateral) students to Max Hospital, a 504 bedded super-specialty hospital located in Saket, New Delhi to get an overview of a hospital and its departments.

Located in the heart of South Delhi, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket (a unit of Devki Devi Foundation), is one of the premier names in health care domain in the world. It is a 504 bedded super-specialty hospital divided into the east and west Blocks. The visit was concluded by a short question answer session addressed by Ms Geetanjali, Manager, Training. The visit started with a warm welcome by the HR representative followed by a facility tour of the East- Wing of the Hospital.

The various areas covered during the facility tour were as follows:

1.       Accident & Emergency Department

·         Resuscitation Area

·         Waiting Area

·         Triage

·         Nursing Station

2.       Front Office & Reception

·         Pharmacy

·         Lobby

·         Cafeteria

3.       Out Patient Department

·         Registration

·         Preventive Health package

·         Consultation Room

4.       Overview of O.T. Complex

5.       Overview of Progressive Care

6.       Overview of Intensive Care Unit

7.       Overview of High Dependency Unit

• According to Mr.Aditya ( MBA in Healthcare Administration 1st Year): “The visit has given us an insight into the functioning of the hospital and inter-relationship between the various departments”.
• According to Ms Roumina (MBA in Healthcare Administration 1st Year): “The facility is a state of art facility in healthcare”
• According to Ms. Ginny Kaushal, Faculty Healthcare Administration: “Student got an insight into different clinical & administrative services of the Hospital which will help them to get a fair idea of the working in these areas”