Lateral placements (placements for those with work experience of around 2 years) have begun in B-schools across the country. However, information technology (IT) firms seem to be keeping away from campuses.
“This year, placements have not been as easy as last year. Lateral placements, which began last week, have been slow. While other sectors have been coming in, IT services companies have been virtually non-existent,” said ND Sharma, placement co-ordinator, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies. Of the 130 eligible students from the batch of 300 in his institute, around 95 students have been placed.
“Last year, TCS recruited around 10 students during lateral placements. This year, the company took only one student. Infosys is not even visiting the campus,” added Sharma.
Sourav Mukherji, chairperson (placements) at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B) said as a part of the cost cutting measures, IT companies are playing safe in case of recruitment. “Fewer IT companies are visiting our campus during lateral placements. Instead of recruiting an average of 10 students, they are recruiting around 6-7 students only this year,” he added.
At IIM Ahmedabad, which is tight-lipped about its placements this year, approximately 120 students are eligible for lateral placements. Last year, around 37 consulting, private equity, real estate, finance, information technology, general management and marketing companies made 103 offers to 112 students at IIM-A.
The institute, however, is moving away from conservative sectors like international banks and consultancy firms and looking at fresh sectors this year. “We are inviting many first-time recruiters to the campus. We are keen to look at new and challenging roles for students. Although firms like consulting firms are among our long-standing recruiting partners, we are looking at a diverse set of sectors and firms this year,” said Mihir Lal, student co-ordinator, placements, IIM-A.
At the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) University, Ahmedabad, around 120 offers from 33 recruiters have been received for 250 students. “We expect another 35-40 recruiters during the next couple of months. IT companies have shown a gradual decline over two years. This year, there is a definite downward trend. Banking has emerged as a prominent sector. The other sectors that seem promising are insurance, media, FMCG, analytics and pharma manufacturing,” said an ICFAI spokesperson.
“Post-recruitment training is getting more importance now. Unlike last year, when we were the beneficiaries of bulk recruitment, recruiters are very selective this year. Moreover, the expectations of companies are increasing and they require candidates who would be able to deliver on the job,” the spokesperson added.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Harvard's hard lessons
“Do you need to get back to rigorous studies?” asked Patricia.”I am getting rusty, and this programme is for people with 20 years of experience,” I replied, hoping she would donate some savings to finance my re-education. She did not.
Anyway, I landed at Harvard, with 150 other managers, directors, army commanders, bureaucrats, from 55 countries, to school for eight weeks.
The first surprise: Young clergyman John Harvard, whose name the university bears, did not donate much money; he bequeathed £779 (50 per cent of his estate), but 400 books! Thus, the Harvard monogram proclaims, “Books Tell The Truth!”
The second surprise: Harvard is a monastery! Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8 and 11 pm. Later, return to your room to revise the next day’s case studies.
Certainly the professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of mega corporations like Microsoft in one simple line. Professor Furhan guided us through labyrinths of international finance.
Dean Light and Nobel laureate Robert Merton explicated the causes leading to the financial meltdown. Professor Vietor reduced complex country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. “Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,” said professor Quelch. Professor Nabil unraveled the mysteries of hedge funds.
To sleep five hours was a pure vision. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. Professor Tushman used case studies on Nike, Airbus and Wal-Mart to usher reality in class. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, and even at the barbers’! It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge.
Professor Kotter lectured a day on leadership, and counseled that though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was: “If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, ‘What are you doing in your life?’”
That was the pivotal lesson: What are we doing with our lives? Do we matter in the lives of the poor, weak, embattled? Marketing, finance and production teach us to sell shampoo, shoe polish, shaving cream. But is that our principal goal in life? How do we build a better community, and become leaders who make a difference?
Five weeks and 2,500 pages later, my eyes were red and swollen. I would sneak out and take long walks in the lush, manicured lawns of the campus, dodging darting squirrels and turkeys. It was fall time, dry brown leaves fluttered in the cold, freezing breeze. I ruminated on why some companies turned monolithic, others atrophied.
We pondered how our lives could have been, had we come to Harvard earlier. Harvard is a factory, producing presidents for countries and corporations — John Kennedy, Bill Gates, Rahul Bajaj, to name a few. Harvard is flush with endowments of $38.7 billion in the treasury. Its mahogany classrooms, carpets, art, living rooms, symposium halls would rate it a seven-star school.
In eight weeks, 150 students from multifarious continents stayed interwoven into a stout community. We willingly gave up preferred pleasures to keep the team bonded. The minds exercised, but the hearts ruled. We knew we could lean on each other, anytime, anywhere. Eight weeks and 900 hours of hard academic labour forged us into caring friends and alumni. I fantasised: cluster/insulate leaders like Obama, Brown, Bin-Laden, Manmohan, Zardari, Ahmadinejad, Peres, under a roof for two months to hammer out a “Peace Plan World 2009”. The Harvard Advanced Management module of work might deliver.
Folklore builds institutions. The myth around this programme is that, on completion, 60 per cent of the participants change jobs and 20 per cent change partners.
On my return, Patricia queried, “Have you been transformed? Are you promoted? What are your plans?”
I replied, “My plan is to sleep. I suffer from ‘acute sleep-deficiency’. Then, I will labour five years to return my bank loan of $70,000 for my management pilgrimage.”
“Professor Kotter will be desperately disappointed in you,” she ruled. Perhaps.
Rajendra K Aneja is the chief executive officer of a foods company in Dubai.
Anyway, I landed at Harvard, with 150 other managers, directors, army commanders, bureaucrats, from 55 countries, to school for eight weeks.
The first surprise: Young clergyman John Harvard, whose name the university bears, did not donate much money; he bequeathed £779 (50 per cent of his estate), but 400 books! Thus, the Harvard monogram proclaims, “Books Tell The Truth!”
The second surprise: Harvard is a monastery! Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8 and 11 pm. Later, return to your room to revise the next day’s case studies.
Certainly the professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of mega corporations like Microsoft in one simple line. Professor Furhan guided us through labyrinths of international finance.
Dean Light and Nobel laureate Robert Merton explicated the causes leading to the financial meltdown. Professor Vietor reduced complex country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. “Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,” said professor Quelch. Professor Nabil unraveled the mysteries of hedge funds.
To sleep five hours was a pure vision. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. Professor Tushman used case studies on Nike, Airbus and Wal-Mart to usher reality in class. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, and even at the barbers’! It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge.
Professor Kotter lectured a day on leadership, and counseled that though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was: “If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, ‘What are you doing in your life?’”
That was the pivotal lesson: What are we doing with our lives? Do we matter in the lives of the poor, weak, embattled? Marketing, finance and production teach us to sell shampoo, shoe polish, shaving cream. But is that our principal goal in life? How do we build a better community, and become leaders who make a difference?
Five weeks and 2,500 pages later, my eyes were red and swollen. I would sneak out and take long walks in the lush, manicured lawns of the campus, dodging darting squirrels and turkeys. It was fall time, dry brown leaves fluttered in the cold, freezing breeze. I ruminated on why some companies turned monolithic, others atrophied.
We pondered how our lives could have been, had we come to Harvard earlier. Harvard is a factory, producing presidents for countries and corporations — John Kennedy, Bill Gates, Rahul Bajaj, to name a few. Harvard is flush with endowments of $38.7 billion in the treasury. Its mahogany classrooms, carpets, art, living rooms, symposium halls would rate it a seven-star school.
In eight weeks, 150 students from multifarious continents stayed interwoven into a stout community. We willingly gave up preferred pleasures to keep the team bonded. The minds exercised, but the hearts ruled. We knew we could lean on each other, anytime, anywhere. Eight weeks and 900 hours of hard academic labour forged us into caring friends and alumni. I fantasised: cluster/insulate leaders like Obama, Brown, Bin-Laden, Manmohan, Zardari, Ahmadinejad, Peres, under a roof for two months to hammer out a “Peace Plan World 2009”. The Harvard Advanced Management module of work might deliver.
Folklore builds institutions. The myth around this programme is that, on completion, 60 per cent of the participants change jobs and 20 per cent change partners.
On my return, Patricia queried, “Have you been transformed? Are you promoted? What are your plans?”
I replied, “My plan is to sleep. I suffer from ‘acute sleep-deficiency’. Then, I will labour five years to return my bank loan of $70,000 for my management pilgrimage.”
“Professor Kotter will be desperately disappointed in you,” she ruled. Perhaps.
Rajendra K Aneja is the chief executive officer of a foods company in Dubai.
Monday, January 12, 2009
University of Cambridge offers new scholarship for Indians
The University of Cambridge today announced a new scholarship programme for Indian students in honour of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to provide full funding, covering fees and means-tested maintenance, for undergraduate study in any subject at any of the colleges that are part of the University of Cambridge.
A 1.5 million pound (Rs 9.75 crore) fund has been set up to support the Indian students, including a half million pound endowment in perpetuity.
As the programme develops, there are expected to be up to ten Manmohan Singh undergraduate scholars studying at the University at any one time. This initiative will enable more Indian students to study at Cambridge.
The fund will be underpinned by substantial funding from Cambridge Assessment, a department of the University and the parent of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
A 1.5 million pound (Rs 9.75 crore) fund has been set up to support the Indian students, including a half million pound endowment in perpetuity.
As the programme develops, there are expected to be up to ten Manmohan Singh undergraduate scholars studying at the University at any one time. This initiative will enable more Indian students to study at Cambridge.
The fund will be underpinned by substantial funding from Cambridge Assessment, a department of the University and the parent of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Salaries drop at IIFT
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade(IIFT),one of the premier B-schools in the country, has seen a 30 to 40 per cent drop in average packages offered at its lateral placements that concluded about a fortnight ago, and expects a similar trend in the upcoming fresher placements in January, owing to the downturn.
Around 50 students appeared for the lateral placements this year out of a total strength of 180 across the two IIFT campuses in Delhi and Kolkata and the institute has tasted 70 per cent success including pre-placement offers. "While the average package for lateral placements in the last academic session ranged between Rs12- 15 lakh per annum(pa), this year the average package offered is down to Rs 6 to 8 lakh pa. This could further go down during the fresher placements in January.", admitted K Rangarajan,head of IIFT Kolkata campus and Centre of MSME Studies at the institute. "As businesses try to focus on reducing overhead costs including expenditure on human resources, the package sizes offered have gone down.", he added. Sources in IIFT claimed that corporates are also trying to make the most of the current situation to avail cheaper manpower. Some students, it is learnt, have turned down offers.
"Around 40 to 45 per cent of the visiting companies are from the manufacturing sector this time.This is significantly more compared to other years when the balance was steeply in favour of service sector firms that comprised nearly 80 per cent of the portfolio.", Ranagarajan informed.
Around 50 students appeared for the lateral placements this year out of a total strength of 180 across the two IIFT campuses in Delhi and Kolkata and the institute has tasted 70 per cent success including pre-placement offers. "While the average package for lateral placements in the last academic session ranged between Rs12- 15 lakh per annum(pa), this year the average package offered is down to Rs 6 to 8 lakh pa. This could further go down during the fresher placements in January.", admitted K Rangarajan,head of IIFT Kolkata campus and Centre of MSME Studies at the institute. "As businesses try to focus on reducing overhead costs including expenditure on human resources, the package sizes offered have gone down.", he added. Sources in IIFT claimed that corporates are also trying to make the most of the current situation to avail cheaper manpower. Some students, it is learnt, have turned down offers.
"Around 40 to 45 per cent of the visiting companies are from the manufacturing sector this time.This is significantly more compared to other years when the balance was steeply in favour of service sector firms that comprised nearly 80 per cent of the portfolio.", Ranagarajan informed.
US universities sell executive courses in India
Faced with a severe downturn at home, several US universities have now turned to India to sell their executive education programmes.
A team of professors from nine universities, including The Ohio State University, George Washington University and Northeastern University, is currently in the country to meet top companies for this purpose. Some of the companies this team plans to meet are Siemens India, RPG Enterprises, GlaxoSmithkline, Mphasis and Infosys Technologies.
“Our university has lost corporate clients to the slowdown. We are in India to build a relationship with the companies here,” said Professor Sumit Kundu, faculty director of E-MBA and coordinator (department of management and international business), Florida International University.
In the past, executive education programmes have been a good source of revenue for universities in the US. In some cases, their contribution to the annual revenue was as high as 40 per cent.
Until some months back, companies in the US used to fully reimburse the students who went for such programmes. Thanks to the meltdown, the same companies have now decided to slash the subsidy by 50 per cent and more. As a result, there are few takers for these programmes. “Certainly, revenue is suffering,” said Kundu.
India, to be sure, could be a good hunting ground for these universities as there is a shortage of executive education programmes in Indian business schools. Though there are over 1,500 business schools in India, only the Indian Institutes of Management and other quality B-schools offer such programmes. In contrast, around 500 universities in the US run executive education programmes.
“This serves as an opportunity for us to reach out to the business education market in India,” said V Kanti Prasad, Dean and Bostrom Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The US universities however have not slashed the executive education fee, in spite of the slowdown. For instance, Florida International University charges around $50,000. It is looking at charging around $100 per hour as executive education fee from Indian companies.
It helps that six quarters of contraction makes it that much easier for a positive uptick since the base effect kicks in. There is, though, he admits, no one number that captures the shift in mood as yet – the unemployment numbers later this week could well show a hike.
Unlike former Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan, who was featured in this space yesterday, Chaudhuri remains bullish on India and forecasts growth of a little over 7 per cent this year and a little under 7.5 per in 2009-10. The maths? Consumption demand, he asserts, is by and large unaffected except in segments like automobiles (more on that later); exports will continue to fare badly, but since imports will also fall because of the lower crude oil prices, the net effect on GDP growth will be negligible and may even be positive (think GDP=C+I+G+X-M).
Chaudhuri sees investment falling in the first half of 2009-10, but once confidence returns (aided by the fact that, once global markets revive, India Inc will find it easier to raise funds overseas), it will rebound in the second half. Don’t forget, he says, Indian companies are raising debt even now – and a very low Libor means, even at higher spreads, the rates are attractive. Debt, of course, is one end of the spectrum, and Chaudhuri acknowledges that unless markets revive, there will be no equity – so, return of confidence is the key.
What can the government do to raise confidence? Chaudhuri ticks off the usual infrastructure spending and lower interest rates; he then adds that RBI needs to ‘rebuild competition in the domestic credit sector’.
In a nutshell, the truck/construction-machinery/two-wheeler industry, for instance, is largely financed by NBFCs which are facing a liquidity problem thanks to the pressure on mutual funds –RBI has already taken measures to provide them refinance windows and needs to keep a vigil on this. “Once NBFCs are liquid, a large part of the demand will return.” A tenth of incremental credit in the economy comes from this sector. Chaudhuri doesn’t think there is any need for a large stimulus package of the sort several of his brethren are calling for, primarily since India’s fundamentals and demand remain intact and the corporate sector is in very good shape.
The joker in the pack is the next government. He is convinced, however, that even if the BJP or the Congress pre-election coalitions are unable to get enough seats, neither will extend support to a possible Third Front government, given the levels of tension with Pakistan and even the possibility of war. What if he’s wrong and a Third Front comes to power? Will India Inc still invest? “Tear up everything I’ve said on the economy, make a rocket and fly it.”
A team of professors from nine universities, including The Ohio State University, George Washington University and Northeastern University, is currently in the country to meet top companies for this purpose. Some of the companies this team plans to meet are Siemens India, RPG Enterprises, GlaxoSmithkline, Mphasis and Infosys Technologies.
“Our university has lost corporate clients to the slowdown. We are in India to build a relationship with the companies here,” said Professor Sumit Kundu, faculty director of E-MBA and coordinator (department of management and international business), Florida International University.
In the past, executive education programmes have been a good source of revenue for universities in the US. In some cases, their contribution to the annual revenue was as high as 40 per cent.
Until some months back, companies in the US used to fully reimburse the students who went for such programmes. Thanks to the meltdown, the same companies have now decided to slash the subsidy by 50 per cent and more. As a result, there are few takers for these programmes. “Certainly, revenue is suffering,” said Kundu.
India, to be sure, could be a good hunting ground for these universities as there is a shortage of executive education programmes in Indian business schools. Though there are over 1,500 business schools in India, only the Indian Institutes of Management and other quality B-schools offer such programmes. In contrast, around 500 universities in the US run executive education programmes.
“This serves as an opportunity for us to reach out to the business education market in India,” said V Kanti Prasad, Dean and Bostrom Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The US universities however have not slashed the executive education fee, in spite of the slowdown. For instance, Florida International University charges around $50,000. It is looking at charging around $100 per hour as executive education fee from Indian companies.
It helps that six quarters of contraction makes it that much easier for a positive uptick since the base effect kicks in. There is, though, he admits, no one number that captures the shift in mood as yet – the unemployment numbers later this week could well show a hike.
Unlike former Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan, who was featured in this space yesterday, Chaudhuri remains bullish on India and forecasts growth of a little over 7 per cent this year and a little under 7.5 per in 2009-10. The maths? Consumption demand, he asserts, is by and large unaffected except in segments like automobiles (more on that later); exports will continue to fare badly, but since imports will also fall because of the lower crude oil prices, the net effect on GDP growth will be negligible and may even be positive (think GDP=C+I+G+X-M).
Chaudhuri sees investment falling in the first half of 2009-10, but once confidence returns (aided by the fact that, once global markets revive, India Inc will find it easier to raise funds overseas), it will rebound in the second half. Don’t forget, he says, Indian companies are raising debt even now – and a very low Libor means, even at higher spreads, the rates are attractive. Debt, of course, is one end of the spectrum, and Chaudhuri acknowledges that unless markets revive, there will be no equity – so, return of confidence is the key.
What can the government do to raise confidence? Chaudhuri ticks off the usual infrastructure spending and lower interest rates; he then adds that RBI needs to ‘rebuild competition in the domestic credit sector’.
In a nutshell, the truck/construction-machinery/two-wheeler industry, for instance, is largely financed by NBFCs which are facing a liquidity problem thanks to the pressure on mutual funds –RBI has already taken measures to provide them refinance windows and needs to keep a vigil on this. “Once NBFCs are liquid, a large part of the demand will return.” A tenth of incremental credit in the economy comes from this sector. Chaudhuri doesn’t think there is any need for a large stimulus package of the sort several of his brethren are calling for, primarily since India’s fundamentals and demand remain intact and the corporate sector is in very good shape.
The joker in the pack is the next government. He is convinced, however, that even if the BJP or the Congress pre-election coalitions are unable to get enough seats, neither will extend support to a possible Third Front government, given the levels of tension with Pakistan and even the possibility of war. What if he’s wrong and a Third Front comes to power? Will India Inc still invest? “Tear up everything I’ve said on the economy, make a rocket and fly it.”
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