Did Bieber live up to Belieber’s expectation?

After weeks of rigorous preparation from the organisers in Mumbai, the DY Patil Stadium finally played host to over 45,000 people who had come from all across the country to be a part of this memorable show. Bieber’s concert was a part of his Purpose World Tour. It was pitched as possibly the biggest live performance ever by an international artiste in India. Pop sensation; Justin Beiber ruled the hearts of his audience during his Purpose tour to India. The 23 year old singer performed at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Beliebers from all over the country ensembled on the grounds of DY Patil Stadium to witness their favourite singer's live performance.

So did Justin Bieber's concert at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on 10 May 2017, live up to the hype?

Let's talk a few best moments from his enthralling performance first.

·         Bieber greeted the crowd saying, "What a beautiful night for me as I am here in this beautiful country for the first time and you people are fav (favourite)"

·         Beiber's performance started with the acoustic versions of his recent hits, 'Col Water' and 'Lover Yourself'.
As beiber thought the beginning of 'Cold Water' sounded dull, he tuned his guitar again with an apology to the audience, explaining, his guitar was affected by the humidity. He started the song over.

·         Beiber managed to keep up the gig as high as possible. he reached out to his audience and one lucky female also got the chance to hold his scarf.

·         Beiber's crew managed to unfurl the Indian flag on stage without having an FIR filed against them. Of course, it's too soon to say this, as there's no telling when someone will get their heads to 'rectify' this oversight.

·         The 23-year old popstar surprised his fans by singing his massively popular single BABY. It made the audience go nostalgic when he took them back to his 12-year old self.

·         The singer welcomed the 100 underprivileged kids he gave free tickets to on to the stage. He hugged them and did some chat.

·         “No matter who you are, how old you are, you have a purpose. I just really love you guys,” Bieber tells his fans, winding down the show. The star walked off the stage, returned only at fans' insistence that he sing his hit 'Sorry'.

·         The popstar has promised to return to entertain Beliebers in India, yet again.

While the concert was fascinating there were also some Ugly moments of the Concert.

Let's talk about it, shall we?

·         The stage area at the DY Patil Stadium was packed with the frenzy beliebers, who had been waiting for their Beiber since pm that afternoon. Pop star was supposed to be on stage at 8 pm.

·         the melee reminded of nothing more than the crowded local trains of Mumbai. But at least the train offers the shelter from the sun; at the venue there was no respite from the scorching May heat of Mumbai.

·         The pop sensation lip-synced his way through most of his performance, that is, about 8 tracks out of 12, and didn;t ven show off his dance moved.

·         The bad organisation. Beliebers and non-beliebers looking for refreshments had to trek outside the stadium, queue at the stalls, and shell out a minimum of Rs. 100 for a liter-bottle of water, which was layer hiked to Rs. 200, then you had to finish it off in one go as you were not allowed to take the bottles inside the stadium, unlike the Coldplay concert in Mumbai which gave away water bottles for free of cost.

·         Really dirty bathrooms and no trash bins. This led to the floor littered with bottles.

·         The long trek home after the tiring concert night. Overpriced cabs, blocked roads were the fate of the crowd. The Uber booths promised by the organisers didn't function well. As for the cellphones, the network jammers ensured nobody could use them to call/book other cabs.

By:                      
Sameer Choudhary and Diksha Sharma

Students, INLEAD

Battle of the Brains May'17

In order to make learning fun and give students a momentary break from their hectic schedules, every quarter INLEAD organises an inter-program Corporate Quiz Competition called Battle of the Brains.

The intra-college Quiz competition was recently held for students from across all departments, EMPR, INBM, INHM and HEAD and saw an enthusiastic participation from all the teams. Though all the teams battle out for the top position, but the winner is actually every participant that has put in their best efforts while competing with each other.

At INLEAD, we always encourage students to read more newspapers and keep themselves well-versed with the happenings in their respective industries and about the economy in general. The quiz competition is an effort in the same direction and acts as a wakeup call for each student to read more and to make themselves more aware.

The competition begins with a written prelim round, which is usually conducted about 3 days before the final event. Two top scorers from each program are selected to represent their program in the Quiz finals. The Prelims comprises a written quiz sheet which includes questions on abbreviations, taglines, etc. to sift out the top scorers and to create teams from amongst them.

This quarter, the finalists were the following:

Team 1: Afreen and Ruchika from EMPR, PCEM;

Team 2: Navneet and Rahul from INBM;

Team 3: Rishabh and Nishant (he backed out last moment); &

Team 4: Isha and Praveen

The Runners up was a very surprising Team 3 - Rishabh, who single handedly steered his team towards the finishing line. All alone, as his partner fell ill, he held the mantle very bravely.

The winners were Navneet and Rahul (Team 2) from INBM; who had luck in their favour, as all their guesses worked perfectly for them.

Work as Meditation

When we think of Meditation we visualize pictures of Himalayan yogis sitting on mountains with closed eyes. We associate terms like detachment and surrender to meditation. But the truth is meditation has nothing to do with a place or persona. Meditation has everything to do with you attitude and mindset. It is the way you look at things, the way you take things and how aware and alert you are.

Work can become meditation. When we deeply and totally engross ourselves in work, we lose our ego and embark on a journey of meditation.

Following are few tips on how to meditate in the workplace:

1. Detachment:

You need to detach yourself from your work. You need to do your work with totality without expectations. Detachment means you are not focused on the result and give your complete attention to the action .You don’t need to create an identity for yourself from your work instead you need to lose yourself in your work.

2. Egolessness:

If you are too involved in your self-image and ego you will not be able to give hundred percent to your work. You will be too bothered thinking about your physical and mental selves and will miss totality.

Egolessness means that you surrender to the vision of the organization and work for the common good of the organization

3. Contribution:

The more you give the more you receive. This is a universal law and it applies to the workplace as well. When you are deeply involved in your work you give your total self to the work and you are bound to succeed because with egolessness you will be able to do justice to yourself and your work.

4. Objectivity

You need to be an observer to yourself and your work. You need to detach yourself from your work and observe your thoughts and actions. This will give you an objective viewpoint of your work and you will become more effective and efficient.

By:

Siddharth Anand

Faculty, INLEAD

The Hospitality Industry

When asked to name the basic needs common to all human beings, those which immediately spring to mind are likely to be food and shelter. From ancestral nomads migrating out of need, the twenty-first century has evolved to integrate travel into everyday life as not only a need, but a norm as well.

The word “hospitality” has its roots in the Latin word hospes, meaning host. Without a guest, the host would cease to exist, and vice-versa. Building on this two-way relationship, a booming hospitality industry has developed into the second largest revenue generating sector in the world.

The basis of any popular industry is popular demand. With the guaranteed movement of people and the growing popularity of a dining experience, the hospitality industry has spread like quickfire into virtually every customer-service related business.  From Travel and Tourism, hotels, and airlines to restaurants, hospitals and retail, there are significant areas under the influence of the industry.

It is important to dissect the reasons as to why people travel, and to analyze what activities they engage in when they do. This helps to identify the areas in which revenue can be generated. On one hand, there are those with travel as part of their job description. Work takes them far and wide, and they naturally require accommodation and nourishment. On the other hand, travel has become synonymous with leisure, and abundant holiday makers and tourists are trotting the globe in search of novel destinations and experiences.

Both ends of the spectrum and all shades in between have developed an expectation of the services with which they will be provided, and the respective businesses have succeeded in matching it. The remarkable thing about the industry today however, is the sheer range of clientele it caters to. Those who desire a luxurious, high-end, and expensive experience can just as easily find a place for fulfilment as those looking for an affordable, efficient and simple one. Where the industry has the most scope, is in businesses which require a service experience.

The fact that an experience is intangible adds to its value and overall influence on peoples’ behavior. A good experience will nudge someone in the direction of reliving it, thereby generating a loyalty to one’s brand or business. On the contrary, a bad experience can just as easily sway someone in the opposite direction. Thus, the success industry heavily relies on customer satisfaction. This, in turn, has amped up the quality of customer service and has broadened the areas into which it is integrated.

The hospitality industry will be in existence so long as people move from one place to another. However, even though the industry is vast and seemingly fool-proof, its success inevitably hinges on the presence of a guest or customer, and their satisfaction with the experience with the service. Thus, ensuring a positive experience and building a strong host-guest relationship is the end goal of hospitality. 

To conclude, is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt- “True hospitality is giving the best of yourself to your guests.”

By:

Isha Sahgal

Student, INLEAD

How Green Is Our OT?

The operating room is one of the largest procedures of waste. Studies have estimated that about 20-30 percent of the total waste generated by the hospitals comes from the OT. So, to reduce this hospital must identify a set of best practice, which can along with the reduction of waste also reduce the energy and worker and patient exposure to chemicals.

These days patient who seek medical treatment are mostly concerned with the quality and safety of treatment. They want healthcare providers to be preferably accredited by a recognized international organization. International accreditations create a kind of faith in the particular organization who is having them.

As a part of the process, Bureau Veritas conducted independent audits and assessments of the hospitals that focused on prevention of surgical site infections, safe anesthesia, safe surgical teams and equipment and a measurement and quality assurance mechanism.

We have heard about several incidents in our past, where patients have suffered due to lack of safety measures in OT. While surgical procedures are intended to save lives, unsafe surgical care can cause substantial harm.

Green OT Certification Project

The Green OT certification project is a first in the world certification and also the first “Make In India” certification protocol developed by Bureau Veritas in conjugation with multiple hospital stakeholders like clinicians, bio-medical, Green House Gas surveyors, administrators etc.

Green Operating Theater is a certification that will rate the facility as per its quality of safety and medical amenities. It is an initiative to promote sustainable healthcare delivery and creates a benchmark for performance in OT across India.

The idea is to make operation theatres eco-friendly and safe using green measures. The certification will establish uniformity in the safety standard in operation theatres and minimize the risk of infections in OTs.

Parameters Covered In Green OT Concept

• Airflow inside OTs
• Standardized OT set up
• Anesthesia Machine
• Types of volatile agents used
• Filling systems adopted
• Green connotes cleaner technique using modern technology and process with a sensitive approach to environment.
• It will also ensure that emission of carbon dioxide; infra-red rays and radiations are within permissible limits.

Benefits of Green OT

• Prevention of infection in OT
• Safe anesthesia protocols
• Safe surgical teams
• Quality assurance mechanisms

Some other key measures include controlling of temperature by measuring heat, coolness and humidity in operation theatre thereby addressing the issue of perspiration, which is one of the causes of infection in OT.

As we all know how global warming is destroying our beautiful planet earth. And, Green OT concept is a very good initiative by hospitals to do on their behalf to cut down their contribution towards global warming. To name a few hospitals like Max Super Specialty Hospital Shalimar Bagh, Artemis Hospital Gurgaon, Fortis Hospital are all Green OT certified hospitals.

Let’s join our hands together to save our planet. I believe, that every tiny bit counts and we can still make this planet a beautiful place to live .

By:

Dr. Rukmini Paul

Student, INLEAD

And Cash is Back to Being The King!

Well all that hullabaloo about Demonetization and Digitization seems to have faded and people seem to be going back to their cash friendly days. The famous words by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits “Money for Nothing..!” can be rephrased as all that “Drama for Nothing...!” There’s been hardly any accountability for black money and hardly any improvement in internet services to facilitate digital India. But what did happen was UP elections were won, nay, swept up like never before by the ruling central government.

All that hue and cry about PayTm and Bhim App has kind of fizzled out a bit, the sparks for mobile wallets seem to have faded. A recent report by Hindustan Times, dated 9th of March, 2017 states that Digital payments are on the decline. Restaurant and sweet shop vendors that operate out of smaller outlets and whose businesses had been greatly affected by Demonetization, claim that their customers hardly opt for digital payments any more. Even flea market shop owners in places like JanPath and Lajpat Nagar in Delhi have reported a significant shift towards cash payments by their customers.

So much for the huge marketing strategy behind BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) App, which was launched by National Payments Corp. of India, even though it still has a huge subscriber base of more than 125 lakh Indians.

The drop in value and volume of transactions

The digital Transactions in December’16 in India were valued at Rs. 105.04 lakh crores, i.e approximately 9,575 lakh transactions, and this has apparently come down to 7,630 lakh transactions in February’17. With remonetization it’s become quite apparent that cash is the king and the most preferred source of transaction even now. Post remonetization, now the Govt. has withdrawn all restrictions on cash withdrawals from bank accounts as well as ATMs.

While UPIs show a robust usage, the number of credit/debit card, wallet and mobile transactions are showing a declining trend. Not only is availability of cash a reason, but also the taxes levied on card transactions are proving to be party poopers.  As also majority of outlets not having digital payment avenues.

The story revolving around ATM too continues to be that of a flip flop, where some ATMs are still running dry, especially during long weekends. 60% of money has only been replenished in the Indian economy, and that too in a country where 85% of transactions take place in cash. And, combined with the fact that Digital transactions are down, we are at a paradoxical threshold in our economy.

The recent RBI study throwing light on these facts, force us to mull about the fact that the entire effort to digitize the economy shouldn’t come to naught and the economy shouldn’t fall back into the limbo as before with a flourishing parallel economy that was proving to be a huge burden to national exchequer.

By:
Monica Mor
Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

Technology Is The Key Driver Today

Like anything else, event planning too needs proper planning and execution. And Bringing in their experts, event managers work day and night in order to deliver a successful event. An event manager has to get into the client’s shoes in order to understand the requirements -from budgeting, accommodation, planning food, selection of venues, acquiring permits, arranging entertainment as per the selection of theme, managing risk and developing a contingency plan.

Technology, in terms of event management, has become more important than ever. From ticketing systems, to tools to measure ROI, User friendly applications etc have streamlined and consolidated our meeting systems, making it this age in which we live is one of innovation through automation in all business fields.

Social media engagement has resulted in events playing a bigger brand extension role. Where previously, many events were observed as standalone activities, they now serve a greater purpose – as conversation starters on social media, lead generators for businesses, data mining tools for CRM, experience centers for brands and engagement hubs for sponsors.

The American Express Meetings & Events surveyed 366 meeting planners and 160 attendees in the first quarter of 2016. The survey shows that 67% of organizers and 55% of participants consider mobile applications in connection with the event as the important factor in crowd engagement and interactive engagement in the event.

There are the 5 most important event technology trends that have a significant effect on the event planning industry:

1.   Live Streaming:  the idea of live streaming is becoming more popular and mainstream by the day as access to the technology has become widely available to anyone. Organizers see free live streaming technology as an opportunity to build FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that will help to build their overall audience and ultimately lead to growth and stronger ticket sales in the long term.

2.   RFID:  RFID technology continues to evolve and offer a wealth of opportunities to organisers. It is a technology that “offers advantages over manual systems or use of bar codes. The tag can be read if passed near a reader, even if it is covered by the object or not visible. The tag can be read inside a case, carton, box or other container, and unlike barcodes. With the reduction in cost of using RFID and increase in reliability, this is fast becoming a favourite way for organisers and exhibitors to interact with attendees and pass information.  

3.   Multi-Use Apps: Event apps have taken the industry by storm in the last few years. Gone are the days where bulky, paper event guides are thrust at attendees to explain different activities, break down the event schedule, and give speaker information. Instead, event apps have incorporated all these aspects, while simultaneously giving attendees access to a committed back channel where they can socialize with other participants, and expand their network, before, during and after an event.

4.   Virtual Reality (VR) :Virtual Reality is another relatively new form of technology that can change the future of events. Virtual information booths are a new trend at meetings and conferences. VR is a great way to disseminate specific booth information to attendees and engagement during events.

5.   Wearable Technology: Wearable tech is now, arguably, mainstream.  They are the smart electronic devices that can be worn on the body as implant or accessories which provide the user access to information in real time, such as biofeedback and tracking of physiological functions.

The levelling effect of technology will see more people experienced in managing events and, events becoming easier to manage .The audience are no longer observers. They are active participants shaping the success of the event – in real-time.

By:

Sakshi Vig

Faculty, INLEAD

The Power of Habit

"Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."-Stephen R. Covey

A habit is a pattern which gets automated after numerous repetitions. Habits are critical in our success. Every thought that we have, every action that we do is important, because it is these thoughts which become actions and at it is these repeated actions that become habits.

Our habits define us. They make or break us. They are the foundation stones of our success. Thus, it becomes very important to make the right appropriate habits.

While creating habits the following three things need to be taken into consideration:

1. Discipline:

Without discipline nothing concrete can get achieved. Discipline is one of the most important foundation pillars of success. With some discipline you can solve some problems, and with absolute discipline you can solve almost all problems. Discipline means you think positive thoughts which lead to resourcefulness and success.

2. Regularity:

You got to do it not once not twice…but again and again and again. Only when right patterns of thoughts and actions are repeated do they create powerful habits. Regularity is a must. The more you do it the better it becomes. So, repeat the right patterns repeatedly so that you overcome your limitations and stride towards success.

3. Drive

You’ve got to be self-motivated, passionate and driven. No one else can motivate or push you towards making powerful habits. You yourself have to be your guide, your mentor and your coach through this journey called life. You have to teach and guide yourself. Do positive self-talk, read motivating literature and think powerful positive thoughts in order to succeed.

With discipline, regularity and drive, you can create powerful habitual patterns which will lead you to success and a lifetime of enriched existence.

By:

Siddharth Anand

Faculty, INLEAD

Orientation Week April 2017 Batch

Last week, INLEAD opened its doors to the new April 2017 Batch. Every quarter as INLEAD welcomes a new batch of students, it puts together an Orientation Week full of multiple activities and workshops so as to encourage the newly christened INLEADers to get to know the institute, the faculty members, and most importantly their batchmates. The Orientation week is very essential to encourage students to let go of their inhibitions, to get accustomed to a new institute and to get oriented with their daily activities at INLEAD. 

Here's a day to day breakdown of all the fun, sessions and workshops that took place last week during the Orientation week for the April 2017 Batch.

Day 1 to Day 2 was all about Registration, Orientation about Life at INLEAD, as well as Corporate Orientation. There were sessions conducted by the Dean, Mr. Deepak Sharma as well as by subject faculty members who introduced students to the various streams they had taken admission in. This was followed by two days of Ice Breaking sessions comprising activities in the domain of Team Dynamics and Mental Abilities. 

Day 4 was when students were required to get ahold of their teammates and compete intensively with other teams to win hampers. This session was a celebration- A beginning of a new journey for all the students present.

The session began with the INLEAD Cheer, where students participated fully with enthusiasm and energy. Mr. Siddharth initiated the session by addressing the students on team dynamics and team culture. Thereafter Ms.Monica initiated the first activity titled-Land Mine. One student from each team was blindfolded and had to, with instructions from his team members, collect as many plastic balls as possible. Students participated enthusiastically and the atmosphere became full of creativity and energy.

The next game was- Guess the Price. Articles such as scissors, sketch pens and staplers were shown to the teams and the team which guessed the correct price won the article. Students enjoyed the activity and actively participated with full gusto.

Next, the students engaged in a craft activity where with newspapers, scissors and a scale they had to create circles, squares and triangles, and the team with the most number of shapes won. Students united as teams and came out with innovative and intelligent ideas to maximize their team score.

Overall, the Orientation Week and the Team Dynamics session was a grand success and a great start for all the students paving their way towards the road less travelled and beyond.

Practicing Presence

The human race is obsessed with thought. All throughout the day we are thinking thousands of thoughts and the mental chatter never  stops. We are either thinking about past events or are imagining about the future and this is the delusion.

In fact there is no such thing as past and no such thing as future. These are mental constructs which have no significance or basis. When thinking about past events and happenings we try to make an image out of what we went through and how people treated us and when we think about the future we are thinking about what we can achieve or become-basically about salvation.

Past and Future are constructs of the mind and they do not exist .That means we are continuously living an illusion, we are not facing life as it is. There is only one reality and that is the Present. Whatever happens happens in the present and the present is all there is everything else are just thoughts, memories and imagination.

To be present means you are responsive to the present moment. Not just the content of the present but to the presence and spontaneous existence of the present. Now is all there is and there is nothing else. We if we stay rooted in the present we will face life as it is.We will experience the brilliance and exuberance of the present moment.

Whatever happens…happens in the Now so be totally anchored in the now. While dealing with our colleagues we often think about the past that is how they treated us or what they said or did in the past and this dents our relating and relationships with them.

When you meet a colleague or a friend always be rooted in the present moment. Don’t Judge…don’t expect …just share you presence with everyone.

The moment we understand that thought is the delusion and you are not the thinker we are freed from the chains of past and future and we start dwelling in the magnificence of the present moment.

By:

Siddharth Anand

Faculty, INLEAD

Healthcare System in India

In India, we don’t have a National Health Insurance or a universal healthcare system for all its citizens, because of which private healthcare sector is getting more importance. Mostly urban population is availing the services from private healthcare sector as majority of rural population are unable to afford the expenses. According to the World Bank, only about 25% of India’s population had some form of health insurance in 2010. But, a 2014 Indian Government study found this to be an over-estimate, and claimed that only about 17% of India’s population was insured. Public healthcare is free for those below the poverty line.

The Ministry Of Health was established in 1947. The government then introduced a series of five- year health plans. The National Health Policy was endorsed by Parliament in 1983. In order to bring Universal access to health, Indian Government launched the National Rural Health Mission in 2005.

Private and Public healthcare system

There is a great discrepancy in the quality of healthcare services provided by private and public healthcare system. In public health hospitals, there is lack of physician, diagnostic appliances, apathetic behavior of the healthcare providers and unhygienic environmental conditions. These above factor play a major role in footfall as people below poverty line don’t have any choice and are bound to avail healthcare service from the public health hospitals due to their economic conditions.

 In contrast to that, people from good economic background will avail the services from private hospitals as their quality of service is far better than the public hospitals.

Challenges of healthcare system in India

There are many challenges in Indian healthcare sector, few most important are:

1. Lack of skilled healthcare providers
2. Lack of resources
3. Lack of infrastructure
4. Low budget by Government for healthcare sector
5. Rural population is neglected
6. Improper implementation of health awareness program.

Solution to Above Challenges

Fund, resources, infrastructure, skilled professionals are very important but the most important aspect is awareness. Unless proper awareness of health is not there, no one from rural population will come and avail the services. So, first and foremost thing is awareness, for that we need lot many volunteers who can take initiative to bring awareness about health and benefits of healthy life style among rural population.

Volunteers we can get through Government initiative via CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Under CSR, corporate are required to spend some amount in social cause. So, government can make it mandatory that Rural Health Awareness should be one of the most important aspects of CSR.

We need to start from the scratch, right with the people from slums who are living in very pathetic condition. If they do not have any work for their livelihood, then how will they think of their health and hygiene? So, the literate percent of Indian Population will have to take responsibility of uneducated and illiterate group of people. This is not a One Man show; together we all can make a difference.

SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN launched by our honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is a very good initiative towards hygiene and health. As we all know health and hygiene are two sides of a same coin. Hygiene keeps you healthy. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will be worthy if we implement this in our day to day life.

Implementation along with creation is very important to make your creation a successful endeavor.

By:
Dr. Rukmini Paul
Student, INLEAD         

Mango People Maketh a Mango Nation

I would be understating if I wouldn’t say that India is obsessed with mangoes! India has been the single largest producer of mangoes globally, growing over 40% of the world’s total supply, according to Forbes emagazine. Be it Alphonsoes, which are world famous, be it Sinduri, Malda or Safeda, the variety of mangoes that are found in India is unbelievable and enough to satiate the mango appetite of all and sundry. Dussehri which is the favourite of people from Lucknow gets its name from the mother tree which is located in the village of Dussehri, and is the only mango that has a Geographical Indicator tag and hence is now a brand name. Then there are the, oh! so sweet Malda mangoes. There is a place in Patna, Bihar called Digha Ghat where the soil on the banks of the river Ganga are of a special kind that gives the Dudhiya Malda the flavor that has made it one of the most exported mangoes from India. India exports mangoes to America, UAE, Sweden, England and several other nations.

And now that we are aggressively moving into super-hot Summer days, mangoes will be the flavor for everything we consume, from soufflé to ice cream to cake and juices, the list is endless.

So what are the new launches this season in India?

India’s century old FMCG company, Hamdard Laboratories has forayed into ready –to-drink beverage segment with the launch of RoohAfza Fusion, a combination of RoohAfza’s popular rose syrup and pure fruit juice; and one of the flavor’s is Mango, but obviously. Maaza from the Coca Cola portfolio and Slice from the PepsiCo portfolio are also going aggressive in their promos pan India. Simultaneously, Hector Beverage’s Paper Boat brand and Parle Agro’s Frooti are also on a marketing overdrive.

This brings me to the product category of confectionery where mango candies have also given us the label of Candy Nation. While talking of candies can we forget to talk about Pulse?

Pulse is a candy from the DS Group, a Noida-based company, that is now considered to be a phenomena among FMCG brands. The name has been on everybody’s lips as also the flavor, kaccha aam. The company has ensured that the product-placement is at 60% of the retail shelves and now is moving into TV commercials in a big way. According to Brand Equity, a supplement of Economic Times, dated 12th April 2017, the hard-boiled candy segment comprises nearly 40% of the overall Rs. 6,600 crores sweet candy market. It is growing at an average rate of 20% year-on-year. Mango comprises almost half of the hard-boiled candy market, of which raw mango is 26% and sweet mango the remaining 24%. The Pulse campaign with the tag line “Pran jaye, par Pulse na jaaye!” , has also caught the fancy of the target youth audience.

It is thus inevitable that Mango continues to reign as the King of Fruits and India with its humongous population is the largest consumer of the fruit.

By:
Monica Mor
Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

A Passion for Communication

Today in this intensely competitive world, communication is critical in getting that extra edge. Communication is the key differentiator for interviews, appraisals and promotions alike.

Wherever you are, whatever role you have been assigned, communication plays a major role in your personal and professional success. Whether it is meetings or presentations, interviews or delegation, proper communication is the key to success.

Communication helps you in building and maintaining relationships. It helps you develop rapports and engage in constructive innovation through idea generation and on the feet thinking.

Communication is important because:

1. It helps you win
2. It helps in negotiations
3. It helps in survival
4. It helps in rapport building
5. It helps in Delegation

Communicating in interviews involves marketing yourself as a brand and selling the best qualities you have. The Company is only looking towards whether you fit the bill and how you can contribute to the company-personally and professionally. So, you should talk about your educational qualification, industry exposure and professional experience.

In negotiations, talk less-mean more, works the best. Listening is the key and short crisp sentences are required to get an advantage. In true dialog both parties are willing to change. So accommodation, adjustment is critical. Your language should be closed ended so as to focus on the key criticalities and not waste or lose time.

In your personal relationships you can be more open ended and you can use casual language or slang but you should avoid obscenities or touching upon sensitive topics like race, religion, nationality or gender.

Role playing is critical in professional success. Your communication should be apt to the situation and depend upon the level of employee you are dealing with. With seniors you should be submissive and cooperative speaking slowly and in a low volume and with colleagues you can be assertive. Your communication should be assertive not manipulative. Never shout. As someone beautifully put it, “you should raise your words and not your voice.”

By:

Siddharth Anand

Faculty, INLEAD

White Belt Six Sigma Workshop, March’17

INLEAD recently hosted a White Belt Six Sigma Workshop for its students, which was conducted by Mr. Mukesh Nauhar, Black Belt Champion from Indian Statistical Institute at INLEAD’s Gurugram campus. Six Sigma certification entails learning the appropriate subject matter, passing a written proficiency test and displaying competency in a hands-on environment. These certifications helps one become a specialist in process improvement and enhances their career’s standard and credibility. But apart from benefits held in common with many other certifications, there are unique advantages that make Six Sigma certifications wonderfully useful.

Mr. Nauhar is a Certified Master Black Belt from Indian Statistical Institute and has been training INLEAD students since years. He believes that Six Sigma certification is a confirmation of an individual’s capabilities with respect to specific competencies. Just like any other quality certification, however, it does not indicate that an individual is capable of unlimited process improvement – just that they have completed the necessary requirements from the company granting the certification. Not only did Mr. Nauhar delve deeply into the inception and the theory behind Six Sigma, but he also shared his journey to becoming a Black Belt champion.

The session at INLEAD commenced with Mr. Nauhar delving deeply into the inception & the theory behind Six Sigma. He shared not just many examples about companies that have been successfully using this tool like Siemens and HoneyWell but also his journey to becoming a Black Belt champion.

He took students through the journey of 6 sigma across decades and how its evolved as one of the most sought after quality tools across organizations. There was a time when it was used primarily in manufacturing companies but overtime has become a critical part of many service companies as well.

Throughout the entire day session, students sat through lectures and videos of 6 sigma’s utility. They then answered questions on what they had learned and also attempted the questions which would, if correctly answered, make them White Belt certified.

Who Ordained Trolls With Moral Authority?

I have been quite upset of late by the vociferousness of the unintelligent and the rastamuffins, who seem to have chosen the path of destruction as their way forward! In this blog, I share my opinion on this disturbing trend in our society.

The natural political discourse of our nation these days has become rather polarized. Views are no longer views; they are acceptance and rejection of a narrative. The simplicity of debates has taken gargantuan proportions of verbal wars. And yet, we barely see the warring parties facing off each other on a dais especially set up with proper accoutrements and an atmosphere of innocent sparring. The platform for opinion sharing these days has funnily become social media, and a formidable actor has taken centrestage under the moniker “Troll”.

These Trolls on Twitter, FB and elsewhere have literally taken it upon themselves to be the flagbearers of everything in the superlative. They are, morally, politically and emotionally, the ones with a “holier-than-thou” character. They apparently characterize the epitome of all that’s supreme and inevitably have the irreverence to comment on everybody’s right to live! They condemned Karan Johar for his sexuality, they threatened Gurmeet Kaur for her invocation of peace not war, they slammed Anushka Sharma for her mere presence in a stadium! They choose to judge, to incriminate, to demonize and to sing a verse of nationalism no one has heard before. Their description of nationalism is incomprehensible and simply unacceptable.

My question to them is who ordained these trolls with any moral authority? They behave like political stooges who have chosen the easy path of being “The Ones”; The Ones who have converted a pen into a sword and who more often than not hide behind archaic ideologies to propagate their hate crimes.

It’s time the so called intelligent bourgeois need to step out of their safe zones and show the self-proclaimed Golaiths that in the final battle, David defeated Goliath. Its time someone told the Trolls and the so-called upholders of nationalistic virtues to choose who they really are, the Protagonist or the Antagonist of this stage called “World”. As Shakespeare once said, “The world is a stage and we all have a role to play”! So everybody get your acts together and let’s build a truly great nation, not one polarized by the haters and by the moral gendarmes.

By:

Monica Mor

Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

Disaster Management & Emergency Preparedness Workshop, March’ 17

Disaster, especially the natural ones, come unannounced. The least human beings can go do is, be prepared. In order to make INLEADers more alert in all walks of life, INLEAD recently organised a Disaster Management Workshop at its campus in Gurugram. Mr. Munish Kumar, who is a Certified Trainer for Safety Circle and has been training working professionals and students since quite a few years, was the designated speaker for the workshop. 

Mr. Munish commenced his training session by providing students the theoretical background of Disaster and Disaster Management. He then proceeded to train them through certain drills.

The session was very essential for students, especially since students in general seem to carry a casual approach towards everything in life. 

The speaker delved deeply into the inception & the theory behind Disaster and Disaster management. He told them that Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters. During the workshop, INLEADers came to know about different aspect of Environment, health and safety (EHS). He further told them about classification and types of Disaster, disaster preparedness, medical and public and public health response, public Health impact of Disaster, disasters in India. 

There are two types of disasters:

Natural Disaster

Natural Disaster Include such activities; Meteorological, Topographical and Environmental. Meteorological includes -: Floods, tsunami, cyclone typhoon, snow storm, blizzard and hail storm; Topographical includes Earthquake, volcanic eruptions, landslides etc.

Manmade Disasters

Manmade Disasters are Technological, Industrial and Warfare. Warfare comprises Global warming, Solar flare etc. Manmade Disasters also include Transport failure, Public place failure, fire, Chemical spills, War, Terrorism and Civil unrest etc. 

After the theoretical session, Mr. Munish then did some drills and preparatory exercises with the students, including Medical and Public Health Response systems.

He then wrapped up the session by talking about Communications during Emergency and Incident Assessment. According to him, Communication is one of the key issues during any emergency, and that pre-planning of communications is critical. Miscommunication can easily result in emergency events escalating unnecessarily. 

Mohit, Jul 2016, INHM: “I have never been in a critical situation and this session gave me immense clarity on Disaster Management.”

Amit Yadav, Jul 2016, INBM: “In times when we are witness to frequent earthquakes, I think the least we can do is be prepared for such contingencies.”

What is Success?

For most of us, the way we are conditioned, we believe success to be financial and social. We think, money will buy us happiness but when we become rich we realize that money can’t bring in happiness. Money can bring comfort and safety but not joy and bliss.

So, that means we are getting more comfortable day by day but are not finding happiness. What is it that can bring us happiness?

1. Contribution-Giving Back

Someone beautifully said, that life is given to us to give it away. We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness. The more you give, the more you receive- this is the Law of Karma.

But, you have to give without expectations for a return. You have to give unconditionally. Giving doesn’t mean only giving things and food, but also giving your knowledge, attention and presence.

2. Sharing

Sharing is natural. If you are in tune with life, you will automatically share. The more you share, the more happy and blissful you will become. Joy when shared multiplies. If all of us start sharing, there will be no lack of anything and most of all there will be no lack of love.

3. Self-Actualization

Tich Nhat han once said, that there are more possibilities in the present moment than you can imagine. We all have tremendous potential-immense possibilities. We can flower in a thousand different ways. We should seize opportunities to actualize our potential and that will give us happiness, joy and satisfaction.

4. Positive Attitude

You should understand that it’s not what happens to you but your thoughts about it which make all the difference. You should realize that the glass is always half full. Looking at the positive side of things makes your life fuller and happier

5. Follow Your Heart

Always listen to your heart. The heart is the lamp for the soul. Focus and follow your feeling. As you mature, you will realize that emotions are critical and the most important.

Dream, because only those who dream realize their dreams.

By:

Siddharth Anand

Faculty, INLEAD