Guest Blog

Dancing Market: Optimism or Insanity?

Alumni, Campus Blog Category, Campus Life, Career Development (Placement), Conferences, Faculty, General Blog, Global Study, Guest Blog, IILM Graduate School of Management, IILM Institute for Higher Education, IILM Undergraduate Business School, IILM University, , , , , , ,

In the era of COVID-19 when WHO has declared it as a pandemic. India is under the lockdown for more than sixty days like all other nations in the world. All the economic activities were shuttered down till lockdown 3.0. The future outlook for the Indian economy is not pleasant. Analysts are expecting negative growth for Financial Year 2021. Almost all medium and small-scale businesses are in crisis. Most of them have shut their shops and laid off their employees. Big business houses have announced a salary cut for their employees. For April, the Auto industry first time have observed zero production output. The unemployment rate is at an all-time high. Scores of migrant laborers have moved back to their native places.

In this gloomy scenario across the nation stock market is dancing like anything. Though, it is not at the record height as it was during February but it is not that bad either. Eventually, soon after the announcement of the lockdown market slumped to almost half but this state did not last long. At present, the market is hovering around the level of 2017 which under the present circumstances is quite amazing.

Barometer of Economy?

It is time to evaluate the phrase ‘SENSEX is the barometer of Indian Economy‘. Is it a barometer to gauge the economic activities anymore? The stock market is considered a leading indicator of the economy. It was believed that there is a high correlation exist between the stock market and economy but this correlation does persist?

Fool’s Paradise!

Though the stock market is not a true representative of the economy nowadays it seems like the market has divorced the economy especially to all whatever is happening around us; whatever is the reality of economic activities. The stock market is not showing any concern to the more than fifty-nine lacs corona positive cases around the world and more than forty-seven hundred deaths in India. Stock market and particularly investors are living in paradise.

Future Outlook

There are various explanations for this insane behavior of stock investors. First and foremost, the explanation is that stock prices are always based on the future outlook, not the present. Present stock prices are the discounted cash flows expected from stock in the future. So, the present stock prices reflect that investors believe that economy will have a speedy recovery shortly.

Expectations from Government

Investor’s expectation of a substantially large stimulus package from the government went in vain. Investors have a strong feeling that the government will be able to overcome all difficulties in the economic front. The historic decision of reducing the corporate tax rates and conceptualizing the idea of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is giving hope to the investors.

The central government, as well as Reserve Bank, has already taken measures in terms of various fiscal and monetary policies to infuse the liquidity in the system. The financial year which generally ends on March 31 has been extended till June 30 exhibits commitment of government toward economic measures. Investors are betting on such strong interventions of government to boost the profitability of corporate houses in the future. The first year of NDA 2.0 is rated positively by various analysts which is enough to boost the confidence of investors.

Investment Options

Even more, now investors have not left with more options to invest as the prevailing interest rate on government bonds and all small saving schemes have been reduced. If we adjust the returns from these schemes with inflation, we will get negative returns for almost all investment products. So, the stock market is the only option left for investors to park their excess money with.

Optimism for Vaccine

Stock investors are at present feeling more optimistic about the future than the doctors and scientists who are working on the development of a cure for the Corona virus. Investors are expecting that soon enough a vaccine for the same will be discovered on which the whole world is working.

Black-box Theory

Another theory argues that all investors are operating as a black-box process. No one knows about the future of investments or till when this pandemic end and the road to normality be back. It is just the mere expectations which are leading the market at present. Investors are also active because they fear being left behind. New investors are considering this time as an opportunity to enter into the market at this level which may not come around again.

Parallel with Lehman Crisis

If we draw a parallel between the current crisis with the financial crisis of 2009, we get a hint from there also about this euphoria in the market. In November 2009 when the future of economies was pathetic even then the stock market across the world was mostly up by more than 50 percent from the past year while the economies were only growing by 1 percent for that particular one-year period. People were investing based on their expectations not based on ground reality. So, again history is repeating itself in the market.

Advice for Novice Investors

It can be inferred that expectation of the majority is driving the market than reality. Investors are not acting insane rather they have optimist future outlook. For investors, market timing is really important. For a novice investor, it is time to get into the market with a long horizon. If you have missed the wagon in 2017 then prices are again around that level. ‘Buy with caution’ is the mantra for success.

At IILM, students are being prepared to analyse the economic situation and to identify the trend for investments to be successful. We conduct live trading sessions for better understanding of the same. For more information on stock market one can approach at kumar.saurabh@iilmgsm.ac.in.

Center for Emotional Intelligence

A Psychologist’s Guide to Coping in Uncertain Times

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“Always Expect the Unexpected Because the Only Certainty Is Uncertainty”

Uncertainty in life has many forms. Changes at workplaces, change in priorities, change in rules and regulations. Even if things are safe right now you never know when they would change and you need to be ready to handle that change.

Change is usually not the problem; it’s the discomfort that often bothers us as we are so strongly attached to a particular outcome in life.

When certainty is questioned we usually have a fight or flight reaction and try to safeguard ourselves. Our brain prefers to find a sure shot outcome to the uncertainty we are experiencing. Research proves that anticipating pain soothes us to be calm than anticipating uncertainty only because we know that pain is certain. For example, uncertainty about getting a job is more stressful than actually losing a job.

Now, the question arises what should we do to tackle uncertainty in a way that it doesn’t impact our overall health and well-being.

This is very important for students aspiring to work with multinationals, professionals struggling with changing roles, people disheartened with their job.

  1. Firstly, don’t panic, remain calm and level headed. Living in uncertain times can be discomforting but you can control how to respond to such situations.
  2. Avoid dwelling on things you can’t control. Try changing the habit of ruminating on negative events of life. Why only visualize worst case scenarios. If there is a fear of not getting a job think of ways to enhance your skills. Think positive and believe in yourself. Remember it’s your life and you have the potential to change it.
  3. Add Value to your skills. It’s important to align your skill set to what is currently the need of the industry. Make sure you have those skills that the current time is demanding. Act upon it. Visualize possibilities.
  4. Market Yourself. Do not think I am asking you to boast about yourself; but how would people know your calibre if you don’t tell them about yourself. Get the recognition you deserve. Go for it.
  5. Ensure your profile is updated. Have an eye-catching LinkedIn profile. Express your interest in companies that you aspire to work with. What you post on your profile should be interesting in content and original in nature to attract organizations towards you.
  6. Focus on Financial Well-Being. One tip for life is always having a financial saving of at least six months worth your livelihood. This will be your support during rainy days and you’ll always have time to choose the best opportunity and will never settle for something less in life. Savings are very essential.
  1. Engage in Self care. Healthy routines are magical. Eat well, exercise regularly, just like body needs stimulation so does our mind and thoughts. So feed your intellect with good literature. Practice mindfulness, it makes life a better place and opens doors that you thought were closed.
  1. Risk is real and Fear is optional. Risk assessed is risk management. Understand the uncertainty take calculated risks and overcome your fears to innovate the new you.
  2. Control what you can. We often run for things that are beyond our control. Try making a slight change by focusing on stuff that is within your control. It can be as basic as setting your clothes a night before a strenuous day. Try comforting your days.

If you see your Today. Job insecurity is the “New Reality,” why respond or perceive it as Negative. It might offer better opportunities for your growth and career enhancement.

Take that Extra Mile and prove your worth. Show the world your True Potential. Don’t Stress and rather Invest in this time to uplift your skills and embrace the new shift that the Industries are offering.

This is the only way you can see the New Positive and Let go the doubt and uncertainty around. Be prepared to change with the times instead of resisting to a change. Life’s most treasured moments come unannounced. Instead of being threatened by unexpected outcomes we should learn that they can be hidden seeds of opportunities.

For best professional practices and how to deal with professional challenges follow my blogs on IILM Blogs and LinkedIn or write to me at megha.kochhar@iilm.edu

We at IILM train students to handle complex situations and be proactive professionals in every situation by focusing on multiple skill development, developing emotional intelligence. There is a Center for Emotional Intelligence at IILM University where training programs help students build self awareness, emotional regulation that helps them deal with uncertainty in personal and professional life.

Optimized-ART THERAPY- DISCOVER YOURSELF

ART THERAPY- DISCOVER YOURSELF

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“Mirror is a reflection of our faces and Art of our Souls”

Art has the ability to change and transform lives, in profound ways. When words fail, we turn to images and symbols to narrate our stories. Through art we can reach out to people with our stories and find a path towards transformation and healing.

As they say there is a lot between the heaven and earth than just dreams. Art therapy has a therapeutic way of rooting the idea of creative expression that fosters healing our soul and leading us towards mental well-being. For years art has been a very communicative way to express our feelings. When we were young we would instinctively use painting, drawing, sketching to communicate and express our emotions, but as we grow, and maturity hits us we often forget the beautiful impact art had on our lives.

Through Art Therapy patients are provided with a safe place where they can explore not very pleasant feelings like fear, anger, aggression, unfulfilled expectations. Feelings that they would otherwise avoid to talk about. Rightly said “Art speaks where words end.”  The field of Art and artistic people has always intrigued me. It feels like artistic people see life through a very different lens. They have immense waves of creativity within and so they life seems so sorted and calm. I wonder how various forms of art give them so much of peace. I guess the only reason why their life is so peaceful is that it’s not humans, but a form of art that is communicated as a Peacemaker and Healer adding the Art Therapy to experience the solace within.

Going back to Ancient history, art has been one of the oldest ways to communicate through wall carvings, sculptures, and paintings right from the Indus valley civilization. It is seen that when a person is unable to speak about his pain, they resort to expressing their feelings through Art.

Healing is totally an internal process which has a lot to do with a sense of positivity and inner strength. Ask an artist and they will enlighten you about the therapeutic impact Art has on them. Art Therapy is a type of expressive therapy that enhances a person’s emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being through the process of creativity. By art we mean everything that stirs our consciousness and inner strength to challenge our mind. This is the process where artistic expression helps lots of people to develop positive feelings, solve problems, change attitudes, boost their self-concept and be more content with themselves.

Art is like a life saving jacket in a world that’s growing crazy. Art keeps you grounded in your roots. It has a meditative impact to develop patience in life. We have to make a choice today either “let Art enter your world or you enter into the World of Art.” Choice is yours to discover the artist in you.

Remember friends Art is not a skill, but an expression and it really does not matter if you think you cannot draw or create. It’s an outlook towards life, which can be seen in the form of a new hobby, learning music, anything that keeps you occupied and for which you feel the desire to create time and it’s  so becoming a part of your life in spite of the busy schedules you have as it heals you from all the stress that you’ve been carrying  as a baggage of life.

It’s practically applicable and as a life skill trainer and therapist, I have seen my students experiencing the magic of art therapy in their lives.  A group of IILM students took this initiative to apply this therapy for the first two weeks and shared such positive results in their level of expression, understanding of situations. One common response was that they learnt to respond rather than react in stressful situations.

Art Therapy gives people medium to express their feelings and problems and tread a happier life that is real and serene in nature. Art as a therapy has proved to be a powerful weapon to combat illness and spread well-being. It allows you to be yourself with no Form and that’s the Beauty. So let’s join hands together to inhale positivity and exhale creativity.

To connect on knowing more about the profound value and benefits of art, colors and visualization therapy write to me on megha.kochhar@iilm.edu

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis

My Journey with IILM continues… by Alumnus Joseph Davis

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The engineer, not by choice, who wanted more from life than just the mundane, regular and ordinary! Relatable much? I’m Joseph Davis, the head of research and insights wing at Consocia Advisory and this is the story of my journey as a management professional.

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis_4The scary realization of the ordinary life awaiting me if I continued in the path of a chemical process engineer during the time I worked at Aramco’s process design consulting firm Petrocil Engineers, made me choose the management career path, as I dreaded the no-communication work style I was part of. I quit the job, prepared for the management entrance exams and scored well enough to get into some of the best management colleges in the country. Being a Keralite all my life, this was my golden chance to explore my opportunities across India. Thus began the research to find the institute that’s the best fit for my aspirations.

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis_32 months and tons of research later, I was at IILM Greater Noida’s entrance for my interview. IILM’s 3 Palmes of excellence ranking making it officially recognized in the category of “excellent business school with reinforcing international influence” by Eduniversal, making it a top B-School offering a PGDM program, was one prime reason for IILM being my go-to choice after several shortlisting stages. Visiting the splendid campus further reinforced the validity of my choice. My management entrance success ensured a 50% scholarship. Yippee! I interacted with the faculty and as my course ensued, I realized that IILM has a dynamic yet structured program with top notch teaching methodology including the concept of flipped class, where the student gets an opportunity to be the teacher and discuss concepts with the professor being a facilitator to clarify the outcome of the discussion enhanced through case studies and course materials by Harvard and many other global universities.

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis_2The global study program was a high point of the program with the opportunity to visit Dortmund, Germany as a foreign student at ISM, Dortmund for 4 weeks. I for one, used to the opportunity to the max by visiting 7 European countries over weekends, as we had a Schengen visa. The 4 weeks at ISM gave me a deep understanding of international concepts around Intercultural communication, strategic management, International Finance and Operations Management.

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis_5The industry exposure offered at IILM was world class as we had international faculty visiting the campus for specific courses in each trimester apart from the well qualified Ph.D. professors and lecturers coaching and mentoring me to be the best version of myself, both personally and professionally. The experiential learning I obtained as opposed to theoretical ramming one has experienced with the conventional educational system was a game changer in making me ready to face any and all challenges that I would face as a prospective manager and impacted my perception of the corporate world as a seasoned professional. This helped me in my placement at Protiviti Consulting, a U.S based consulting firm as a research associate.

IILM-Alumnus-Joseph-Davis-convoThen came the convocation day. I was awarded the gold medal for the best academic and co-curricular performance over the 2 years at IILM. The grand ceremony hadn’t marked the end of my relationship with this spectacular management institute, but it had evolved into a beautiful connect as an alma mater which I continue to this day. 3 years later, I was back as a guest speaker at the International Sustainability conference representing my company. It was indeed a proud moment being back to impart some insights to the next set of intelligent minds.

My journey with IILM still continues and looking back, I am grateful to the almighty for helping me stick with my decision to choose IILM. To anyone who reads this, life at IILM will certainly change you for the better. Metamorphosis at IILM is real. The question is, are you ready for it?

B-School in Delhi, PGDM Eligibilty

How To Choose The Right B-School

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The right B-school not only paves the way for a great career but also plays a role in helping shape the person’s character, beliefs and thoughts, thereby playing a significant role in shaping his/her life for the future. With admissions to various B-schools in full swing, it becomes essential for students to check out the various attributes of a college before they zero in on it. Studying in a B-school call for a huge investment of time, money and energy, so it is vital that you make sure your choice of business school meets your needs.

To choose the top management college for you, follow the guidelines mentioned below:


Student And Alumni Network:

Look through the profile of students at the university in terms of professional experience, gender, and cultural background. These diverse individuals also contribute to your learning apart from forming your network. Find out how active the alumni group is, as you may want to draw on this network in the near future. This network can provide you with invaluable career information and also help raise funds for your start-up.

top management college

IILM is proud to have a network of over 9000+ alumni, placed both domestically and abroad, that have risen to high ranks over the years. These individuals are invited to interact with students and motivate them through guest lectures. Some also go on to become mentors to the students, providing them with first-hand knowledge and experienced advice. Annual alumni meet are organized on campus, which is an excellent networking opportunity for both alumni and current students.

Academic Community:

Before making your choice, find out about the caliber of the faculty, in terms of their expertise and achievements to make sure they give you in-depth knowledge of a company or industry. In addition to this, research about the teaching methods the school uses, such as case studies and consultancy projects with companies.

The IILM faculty members come from leading institutions across the country and are known to be knowledge creators who rigorously peruse research in their fields. The curriculum taught at IILM is benchmarked against the best in the world. It includes Field Courses (as at Harvard), Career Trek (as at Wharton) and Community Experience (as at Yale). Besides this, the 3-month long summer internship and accompanying workshops acquaint students with the demands of the professional world.

Global Experience:

Employers often seek international experience and there are plenty of options to broaden your horizons. Seek colleges that offer study abroad programs or colleges that have overseas partnerships.

In keeping with the needs of the ever-globalizing world, IILM organizes a 4-week global study program in Germany, France, Canada, Finland or Spain, where students are given an opportunity to develop their outlook through industry visits and diverse cultural immersion.

Careers: Another aspect to scrutinize is the institute’s employment record and check the kind of jobs, sectors, and countries graduates go to. It is crucial to investigate the reputation of the careers service of the particular college.

The Career Development Cell at IILM mentors the students on the selection of the right career path in accordance with their preferences and aptitude to check PGDM eligibility. The recruiters comprise of over 300+ companies across the country spanning a wide range of industries.

Fitness Future with Internet

Envisioning a New Fitness Future with Internet of Things (IoT) and Built – In Artificial Intelligence

General Blog, Guest Blog, IILM Institute for Higher Education, , ,

The world is continuously growing and changing. Various advancements have also occurred when it comes to the technology used in rendering healthcare services. The technology has also played a big role in patient registration and data monitoring. Now there are technologies that allow a healthcare provider to monitor their patients in their own mobile phones.Internet of Things could be the driver for health care’s new visage and revolutionize patient care transcendentally.

They are also now capable of sending and receiving patient’s information in their mobile phones and provide brisk alerts at the health threshold alert points. Devices that can help monitor one’s fitness,health and vitals are easily available in the market. As a matter of fact, there are even sensors that are capable of collecting data that would of course help the doctor to be informed in case it exceeds the breakeven point during an aberration case. This extended offering deems to have parity with all stakeholders like hospitals, ICU, ambulatory other than patient and doctor. This allows them to provide the right medication and treatment to their patients fast. On the other hand, although great improvements have been made in the healthcare industry, one can still expect that a brighter future awaits in the next years or decades.Within five years, the majority of clinically relevant data will be collected outside of clinical settings.

It has been said that healthcare in the future would become more personal offering. Thus, one can expect that personalized medicines or medicines that have been created specifically for an individual would be available. The way doctors diagnose their patient’s disease and provide treatment to them would be largely based on IoT paradigm. In the IoT paradigm everything in the world will be smart, allowing them to communicate with each other through internet technology either physically or virtually. IoT allows people and things to be connected Anytime, Anyplace, with anything and anyone, ideally in any path/network and any service.Following are few applications of IoT in healthcare industry.

1) Remote patient monitoring

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) uses digital technologies to collect medical and other forms of health data from one individual in one location and electronically transmit this information to the health care providers. RPM can help reduce the number of hospital readmissions and lengths of stay in the hospitals.

2) Clinical care

Hospitalized patients whose physiological status requires close attention can be constantly monitored using IoT driven, non-invasive monitoring. Sensors are used to collect such information and using cloud this data is analyzed and sent to caregivers. It replaces the need for the doctor to visit the patient over regular intervals for checkup. This will also help to improve the quality of care through constant monitoring.

3) Device monitoring

An IoT connected metal device can notify when there is a problem with a device. This will prevent the device from shutting down and avoid patient rescheduling.

4) Outpatient Monitoring

This IoT solution enables doctors to capture health parameters and advice patients remotely. The patient’s hospital visit is therefore limited to visit only on need basis. This solution helps hospitals manage hospital beds and consequently increase revenues while at the same time delighting customers.

The Howard case below highlights the key role of a business model in ensuring the competitive advantage and sustained success of a business venture. It appreciates the market attractiveness and future of wearable technology.

GOQii’s product-service offering of wearable fitness band technology was supplemented with remote personalized coaching. With its launch in the Indian market, and its emergence as a pioneer of a new category of product in the health and lifestyle space had the ability to integrate human assistance with built-in artificial intelligence. Gondal realized that while people were adopting wearable technology solutions for healthy living, there was still a lack of awareness and an air of hesitancy about the usefulness of and need for wearable devices in India. Gondal’s dilemma: whether to continue GOQii’s positioning as “wearable technology with personalized coaching” and aggressively expand globally, or consolidate and broaden his present offering by embracing the customer more fully and focusing on the “customer healthcare journey” in India. Case B picks up from October 2016, by which time GOQii had consolidated and broadened its offering by focusing on the “customer journey” in India. It had successfully on-boarded different service providers such as doctors, a diagnostic center chain, a hospital chain, sports and grocery stores and Axis Bank (for payments) on their platform, thus providing a complete health ecosystem to the GOQii user. By the second quarter of 2016, GOQii had achieved the number one spot in the Indian wearables market. The immediate decision that GOQii core team need to make is whether they should tie up with multiple insurance providers or explore the possibility of partnering with a reinsurer to complete the entire health spectrum services offering on their data platform.

Shweta Nanda
Assistant Professor – Technology & Operations

Austria-Meets-India

Austria Meets India

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As I was the first student from my home university FH Wiener Neustadt (Austria) going to India, I could not refer to any previous experiences or references. That is why I did not know what to expect from my time here. When I arrived in Delhi, I immediately knew that I would like the place and enjoy my time here. I was fascinated by the very different and diverse culture of the country, the great historical places to visit and about how people welcomed me.  IILM Lodhi Road helped me to arrange a nice apartment close to university, provided me with general information about my stay in India and introduced me to their academic rules. During the orientation process, I also got to know the other exchange student and we directly decided to visit some new places in Delhi together. Although I was not sure if people in the class will accept my different mindset, I was very lucky that many people in my courses were very open minded. In the initial days, the buddy mentors gave me good advice concerning academic work and helped me to arrange my first trip. As I was expected to do group work in classes, I got to know other students better and we spent a lot of time together. They showed me the highlights of Indian cuisine, lesser known places in Delhi and gave me a great insight into the culture of the country. Talking about the classes at IILM, they were simply great. The content of the courses was very well structured and comprehensive. During the lecture, the faculty members ensured that students participated in discussions and facilitated a friendly environment. The business school provided not only highly skilled academic professors, but also guest lecturers from partner universities abroad and Indian corporates. Furthermore, I got a chance to participate at the PRME conference which gave me great knowledge about sustainable projects in industries and businesses in India. I could also be a part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of IILM.

Overall, I have to say that my time at IILM Lodhi Road was a fantastic experience. Apart from getting to know different mentalities as I was travelling around India, widened my horizon and won friends for life. I would like to say thank you to everyone that made my stay here unforgettable. India is indeed a magical place.

Changing-Role-of-HR--Perspective-of-HR-Analytics

Changing Role of HR – Perspective of HR Analytics

Career Development (Placement), Guest Blog, IILM Institute for Higher Education, , , , ,

HR analytics, is analysis used to make better decisions about all aspects of HR strategy with the goal of improving business performance.The future of HR analytics depends on integration within a company.The current state of HR analytics for predicting for its future suggests that the future of HR analytics depends heavily on data integration with emphases on integrating business disciplines and centralizing data.According to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report, 86% of Australian businesses surveyed rate HR analytics as being a highly important factor in their workforce planning.

Companies can easily take advantage of a single platform that supports a full range of HR processes, including talent strategy and planning; sourcing and recruiting; performance management, learning and development; talent review and succession planning and compensation.

Analytics can also give HR professionals a better understanding of how effective their actions are. For example, analysts can look for patterns in HR data that can help companies improve hiring or reduce attrition, or pinpoint areas where labour-related savings can be achieved.

Analytics can also be used to support training, development and other activities that are more closely tailored to individual employee needs – thereby helping HR deliver more customized options for employees. As the Accenture research notes, HR can use analytics to segment employees in much the same way that marketers segment customers. For instance, companies can group employees by a wider range of criteria that include learning styles, values, personality, wellness profiles, mobility, behavioural patterns, and networking and communication styles.” Using that approach, HR can customize programs for smaller and smaller segments, helping to increase employee performance, engagement and retention.

Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) are the databases, software and computer systems that companies use to maintain their human resources: payroll, time off, employee records, benefits, and more.HR metrics is the data used to quantify the cost and the impact of talent management programs and HR processes and measure the success of HR initiatives.

R is the most used HR analytics tool. R is great for statistical analysis and visualization which is very suited to explore huge data sets. It enables you to analyse and clean data sets with millions of data.

R-Studio is an open source and enterprise-ready professional software package for R. It basically does everything that R does but has a friendlier user interface. The interface contains a code editor, the R console, an easily accessible workspace, and history and room for plots and files.

Microsoft’s Power BI It makes the aggregation, analysis, and visualization of data very simple. With Power BI, it’s a cinch to connect to multiple source systems, like SQL databases with people data, a live twitter feed and/or machine learning APIs. All these different data sources are then combined in Power BI. This simple aggregation process enables you to combine multiple data sources in one large database.

Some of the other HR analytic Software which are hugely popular are – Oracle HR Analytics, Talent Soft Analytics, People Insight, Sum HR to name a few.

In short term there are and will be start-ups in specialist areas, like in team or network analysis, engagement, performance, strategic workforce planning etc and the cloud-based HR management systems (delivering most of the data). These two areas will soon see the consolidation into larger systems and service offerings.
Finally, the costs of these technologies will reduce which will help spread the use and demands for analytics as smaller organizations will be able to afford to deploy this.

top MBA colleges in Delhi

My MBA Experience at IILM

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An MBA is not merely a degree. It is not merely a course that allows us to gain an entry ticket into the world of corporate functioning and entrepreneurship. It is a pool of experience that we dip into time and again to gain valuable pearls of wisdom and insight.

My reflections may resonate with those who have graduated from the best MBA colleges in India.

Developing Business and Relationships:

Even as I embarked on my MBA journey in one of the top MBA institutes in Noida I was aware that I would be specializing in entrepreneurship. My greatest learning during my time at IILM, however, was developing relationships. Closely interacting with the faculty and business leaders was an eye-opener.

Add to this the fact that each one of my peers added to the wonderful network I was developing. While I did have some idea about the work of an entrepreneur, I was soaking in all the aspects of business development.

Career Growth:

My MBA experience at IILM, refined my views on career development. One of the greatest mistakes that our generation makes is to equate ambition with shortcuts to growth. Even for those who achieve a phenomenal amount of success in their careers in a relatively short time, life is never a bed of roses.

Setbacks, struggles, and an occasional failure are inevitable. Getting past career hurdles is something that I would not have learned without spending the time I did studying the nuanced lives of various industry leaders and pioneers during my MBA. The course equipped me with the skills that I require to get ahead in my career.

Personal Development:

The time I spent at IILM pursuing my MBA degree was not only a defining phase as far as my career goes but was also instrumental in shaping my own personality, my personal ambitions, and outlook. It taught me the value that we add to goods and services by way of our work is not defined by the profits we rake in, but by the difference we make to the lives of people across the globe.

From our stakeholders to colleagues, from those in need of our solutions to the common man of our nation – our dreams must necessarily be from the growth and development of everyone around us. Our growth lies not only in our own prosperity but in the growth of all the lives we touch.

My MBA experience at the IILM was an exceptional one that opened up numerous avenues for me to explore through my professional life. It also connected me with many brilliant people who had made their mark in the business world or set out on the wondrous journey with me.

book-review-IILM-Blog

Book Review : The Geography Of Transport Systems

Guest Blog, IILM Institute for Higher Education, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Book Review
THE GEOGRAPHY OF TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

By
Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Claude Comtois and Brian Slack
Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) (2016)

Mobility is fundamental to the socio-economic development of a geography. Transportation has become such an integral part of our daily lives that we as consumers are not able to clearly see transportation as a separate function. Various corporates are heavily dependent on efficient logistics to grab a comfortable portion of the market. Acknowledging this importance of transportation systems, the authors Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Claude Comtois and Brian Slack have worked on this book – The Geography of Transport Systems – to address various areas of concern that the managers and policy makers related to transportation face at present.

Divided into ten chapters, the book focusses on Transport Geography which is defined as a sub-discipline of geography concerned with movements of freight, people and information.

In the first part the authors present a new angle to look at transportations systems. They opine that transportation must be understood as having a spatial network structure and having close relation to commercial geography. In the next section, the authors talk about the necessity and the challenges related to various modes of transportation. The focus of this section is on inter-modal transportation which falls in line with the spatial network concept talked about in the first part. The chapters towards the end of the book describe the relation of transportation with economy, energy & environment and policy. The last chapter focuses on methods of analysisin transport geography.

The beauty of the book is that all the basic concepts of logistics and transportation viz. various modes, network models like hub and spoke, cross-dock, etc. have been covered. However, they have been presented and discussed in a non-traditional way, that links these concepts to the subject of transport geography. The authors mention that transportation is of no value unless it transforms the geographical attributes of freight, people or information, from an origin to destination, conferring on them an added value in the process.

According to authors, transportation plays a major role in international trade as well as at local urban level. It is associated with adding the maximum value in terms of time and location; whether it is passengers or goods that are being transported. The authors analyse urban logistics or city logistics using the concept of Urban Sprawl. This is defined as the spread of city buildings and houses into an area that was earlier a countryside or a less densely populated area.

A unique feature of the book is that it has a separate dedicated chapter on addressing the environmental concerns arising out of transportation. The authors mention that environmental impacts of transportation can be classified as direct, indirect and cumulative impacts. To understand the link between transportation and the environment, the managers must look at the main environmental dimensions of transportation – causes, activities, outputs and end-results of transport systems.

Transportation is a value-adding activity and to do so, it consumes energy just like any other commercial activity does. It accounts for 25 per cent of the world’s energy demand and 61.5 per cent of all the oil used each year. It is important therefore, that technological development in transportation must not only focus on economic and service level performance but also at minimizing fuel consumption and reducing the negative impact of transportation on the environment. This will help in making transportation truly sustainable.

The book clearly distinguishes policy from planning. Policy involves making strategies while planning involves implementation. The outcome of policy and planning is creation of suitable transportation infrastructure, by both public and private agencies. However, the challenge is that policies and plans are continuously changing as they address key changes in society and contemporary issues.

An essential feature of the book is the large number of case studies. Since the authors explain the concepts from new perspectives of transport-geography and sustainability, the inclusion of cases to demonstrate this was imperative and extremely useful. Each chapter has about three case studies incorporated.

This book is a suitable read by practicing managers and academicians who actively engage in research and consulting. However, it is not recommended as a text book for beginners or students in their management course, as to understand the perspectives present in the book, a basic and simple understanding of logistics and transportation is desired. It can definitely be picked up as a reference book.

Ms. Pragya Arya
Assistant Professor – Operations
IILM Institute of Higher Education
Lodhi Road, New Delhi