Indian concept of war and politics in reference to Bhagavad Gita
Perspective of a student –
During our childhood, we all must have heard from our parents and elders that if we study hard during our childhood, we will reap the sweet fruit of it during our later years of life, but we have many examples in front of us like Mark Zuckerberg who left the Harvard University without even completing his degree but still, he has a net worth of 10,680 crores US $. And one of the greatest examples will be of Steve Jobs, so today most of us will be proud and feel self-satisfied of having the latest model of i-phone with us but this couldn’t have been possible if back in 1997 a college dropout wouldn’t have “THINK DIFFERENTLY” approach and launched an entire series of iMac, iTunes, iTunes Store, Apple Store, iPod, iPhone, App Store, and the iPad.
Education is one of the important factors which might help us to decide our future goals and career paths to lead towards financial success in the future but it is surely not the most necessary component for creativity, innovation, and constructive disruption in society and most importantly for our financial success. The era of Industry 4.0 has demanded an immense need of technical skills which were not there in the existing fundamental formal education structure but since the New Education Policy 2020 came in, it signifies that how important IT and technical skills are, that the government has to include it in the basic curriculum of primary and elementary school children.
The current digital era has brought many new professions that do not require higher education. So even if we consider time duration of the long back but just recently a decade ago, people would have never believed that “vlogging” – making videos and posting them online – would be a future career option. Now, some vloggers pay the bills uploading YouTube videos alone which have given rise to an entirely new segment of “social media influencers”. Irrespective of whether you hold any degree or not it has no impact on your popularity.
Having a formal degree does not directly lead to a successful career. If we look into the current scenario most of the employers place a higher value on experience, which could mean volunteering, work experience, or general experience of life for selecting the best fit for their organization. With a mixture of skills, hard work, and luck, people will do just fine even without degrees.
Even in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a sudden higher drift in the demand of online Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning based technical and behavioral competency-based skill-courses which are quoted as vital to survive and compete in the current job market. As been quoted in one of the recent advertisements that to progress in career, continuous learning and skill-building are also important apart from basic institutional education.
One thing is also clear that most people do not land up working in their dream job aligned with their education even if they have enough skills for such a job or work. Intensive research should also be a mandatory part of the curriculum to reduce the current skill market gap and make our present and future workforce being ready for jobs in the upcoming digital era which will ensure financial stability along with a wider knowledge base as well.
As per an article in Financial Express dated December 26, 2018, India had only twenty- one thousand publications during the last decade which seemed to stand nowhere in the global mark. India holds its heads high in some of the key areas like traditional healthcare facilities existing in Ayurveda and other ancient histories. To survive and get successful in the current globally cut-throat competitive market, we should try to adopt an appropriate mix and balance of our ancestral knowledge along with adding technological aspects to the same.
And all these courses demand deep learning and research on the subject area which can be learned through various sources but just limiting ourselves to textbook knowledge or few restricted sources will never help us in attaining the right results rather we should focus more towards attaining a proper balance of theoretical knowledge along with practical aspect into the same.
So to conclude we can say that formal education should be made mandatory but then it should be flexible enough to let a student explore the creativity, innovation, and technological aspects of themselves. At IILM where I study for my higher education, the nurturing environment has given me the flexibility and freedom to choose from a wide array of electives and soft skills to pursue my passion and creativity and be future ready.
Author – Harshita Jain
MBA, Year II – IILM University Gurugram
“Now that the ice has broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates’ lead,” said President Donald Trump on August 13th, 2020. Having earned his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for allegedly brokering the historic establishment of UAE-Israel diplomatic ties and possibly even the Bahrain-Israel deal as well, he took great pride in getting these done. These are rightfully a big deal, for the world, and the upcoming US elections.
UAE and Bahrain became the third and fourth Arab States to recognize Israel (after Egypt and Jordan). Now it’s a kernel of truth that Israel has informal ties with the Arab World, but to have official recognition and seal of approval is a big step forward given the conflicts in the past along with the ongoing Israel-Palestine issue.
The Arab world and others welcomed this move as a positive step towards stability in the Middle East. This step taken by UAE and Bahrain has come as a surprise given the timing of the deal. Just days before the deal was announced, Israel was leveling Palestine with airstrikes and bombs, so it is not surprising that the treaty was met with widespread condemnation and cries of hypocrisy from Palestine’s leaders, who saw this development as a betrayal.
Now the warming up of Arab-Israeli ties has been in the pipeline for some time, from the energy and weapons trade to diplomatic statements in support of Israel’s right to existence. Even Crown Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia spoke about this https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman-israel.html.
It is well known that any positive step towards Israel would have to be blessed by Saudi Arabia, especially when it comes to countries like Bahrain and the UAE. Given recent developments, it is only a matter of time when other gulf countries follow suit. Qatar, Oman, and possibly Sudan might soon recognize Israel and will support the 2 State Solution, given their diplomatic stature in the Islamic World as well as their well established economic and security-related ties with Israel.
One might be forgiven for being too optimistic and therefore labeling these agreements as deals of peace, goodwill, and development, but these deals might be opportunistic and strategic too. Israel and Saudi Arabia often disagree on many things, but given the recent developments in the Middle East, they have not hesitated to point fingers at Iran as the supposed benefactor of the region’s multitude of issues. With these developments, Saudi Arabia and others not only look to whitewash their conservative image and secure their economic and security-related futures with Israel but to also eliminate their Shia rival, Iran along with Hezbollah, who even Israel don’t take kindly at all, in the long run.
Given the global PR campaign that is being run by Saudi, they will jump at any chance to appear progressive and open-minded. And what better way to do so than to side with the Jewish State itself. Despite hosting school textbooks that often refer to Jewish people as “swines”, there has been a massive outreach program to the Jews, overseen by De Facto leader of the KSA, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to reform its conservative image into that of a modern one… a proverbial UAE 2.0.
It is be noted that the Islamic and checkbook forms of diplomacy that were often employed by the Arab nations are no longer actively used in the building of their international relations and foreign image now. From snubbing Pakistan at the OIC to warming up to Israel, the Arab World has distanced itself from the rigid ideologies that characterized their image. It was either the Islamic connect or resource-rich trade deals that often brought about these relations. But given the tumultuous oil and gas markets along with the prevailing Pandemic conditions, those 2 policies have been defenestrated and a new and unfortunately desperate roadmap of “Follow the money trail” has been drawn up by the big shots of the Middle East. From strictly dealing with the West to now investing in India, actively dealing with Russia and South America, and politically and economic-wise, warming up to Israel and China respectively, massive steps have been taken by Saudi Arabia and other such countries to survive in the more liberal political climate today. With Saudi’s UAE-esque goal of diversification of revenue by 2030, the Arab Big Brother will look to go to any lengths to survive in this current scenario.
Having lived in the Middle East for 13.5 years, it certainly is a remarkably interesting prospect to see Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab World adapt to Israel and the liberal climate today. I always wanted the Middle East (that is dear to my heart) to stabilize and harmonize among themselves and mingle with each other and the rest of the world. The Middle East has much to offer other than stereotypes and oil, it is time for them to step up their game, and if they believe Israel can help secure their future, then more power to them.
Palestine in this case may well be the losers as per these lines of treaties. As of now, the Arab World only has the word of Israel that it would not infringe on the areas of Gaza and West Bank, but only time will tell if they hold to their word, and this is important given how much importance Palestine carries for the Arab and Muslim World, especially Saudi Arabia.
Now although the Arab Big Brother – Saudi Arabia, may not officially recognize Israel any time soon, these changing perspectives that came about with their blessing, will help bring about some form of stability in the region, and hopefully, bring down the curtain on the Israel-Palestine issue (may the 2 state solution come about and end the violence). Despite the overarching questions and conspiracy theories, fruitful results come about with these new ties.
Inshallah! Peace and prosperity shall prevail!
To know more and to apply for the Bachelor’s Degree program in Global History and International Relations at IILM University Gurugram, please visit www.iilm.edu.in
Kavin Ramesh Pillai
BA (Hons) – History and International Relations
IILM University, Gurugram
Profitability and NPA are the two extremes that need to be balanced for banks. Since a long Indian banking sector is on a continuous fight to draw a balance between them. Recently the Central Bank decided to take control over NPAs with a huge capital infusion into the banking sector. But the outbreak of COVID-19 derailed all efforts and the problems of NPAs have been resurfaced and touched the new height which seems to be very difficult for the Indian economy to stand with.
The Indian banking sector is reeling under stress for a long time. Indian banks have been tested over the past few years after the RBI forced them to review their assets under strict criteria that eventually resulted a surge in bad loans. To add their woes, borrowings have also slowed due to lockdown. These stresses are more apparent in state-run banks than in the private sector.
According to a few economists, the primary cause of this situation that has slammed all banks are the fall of IL&FS in October 2018 and the ongoing pandemic. India is expected to fall into a recession this fiscal year due to COVID, which has affected over 2.6 million people and caused 70000+ death in the country. It is the most discussed and worrisome topic in the Indian economical circle that there are chances of getting caught in the recession since 1979.
According to RBI, the ratio of non-performing assets total advances could soar to over 12.5% by March 2021 from 8.5% as of end-March this year, prompting the country’s central bank to push banks to raise capital, which now totals over 1 trillion rupees ($13.4billion). Additionally, the Financial Stability Report (FSR), noted the NPA ratio could jump as a high level as 14.7% in the event of severe stress.
RBI Governor advised all banks to improve their governance and sharpen risk management skills. Banks need to raise capital on an anticipatory basis instead of waiting for an adverse situation. It is necessary for both public and private sector banks to build up adequate capital buffers.
As a result, financial institutions are on a fundraising spree via debt instruments and equity offerings. The latest bank to join the fundraising spree is Axis bank which on said had raised 100 billion rupees by issuing shares to Qualified Institutional Buyers for INR 420.10. Other financial institutions, mortgage lenders, HDFC also closed a deal to raise INR 140 billion via various instruments. At the same time, the largest private bank of India, ICICI bank also wishes to raise INR 150 billion. Later State Bank of India, India’s largest lender also joined the league and announced to raise INR 250 billion to maintain its capital requirement. Not only banks but similar signals are also been sensed from Non-Banking Financial Companies which might have to raise money. In total, it is approximately $13 billion could raise to tackle the NPA challenge.
At present, Indian banks are in dyeing need for reforms. The Bank exposure to stressed sectors, loan-loss cover, and pre-provision earnings determine the urgency of their capital requirements, which is more pronounced for state banks. Recently 5 members committee has been formed by RBI under the Chairmanship of former CEO of ICICI bank, Mr. KV Kamath. This committee makes recommendations on the required parameters to be factored into the resolution plans. A resolution to the problem of the corporate debtor insolvency and its consequent inability to pay off debts. The committee will submit its recommendation to the RBI. The central bank will then notify the same along with modification including the restructuring of loans if any in 30 days.
Over the last five years until March 2020, India had pumped around 3 trillion rupees into banks to remain capital requirements. In the future, we may expect more infusion of cash from the government eventually to support the banks and consequently to save the economy.
| Aditya Verma
PGDM 2020-22 IILM, Greater Noida |
Dr. Kumar Saurabh
Asst. Prof-Finance IILM Graduate School of Management, Greater Noida |
I seem to have made a wrong choice! I cannot adjust to my college/culture/country! I am feeling homesick! I am not studying anything useful!
If you identify with any one of the above statements, it is time to take a corrective action. A lot of such thoughts come to young students’ minds when they take admission in a program at a particular college in a different country, different state or even their own home state. So much goes into the college admission that many a times these young students feel stuck with what choices they or their parents have made. When these choices have been made for an international college, it becomes even more obligatory to continue given the time, money and efforts spent on it. But even a well thought out plan of an “international degree abroad” or that “Engineering college” or that “close to home college” decision may not work out the way it was expected to be. Should you then just carry on despite feeling disconnected from within? An undergraduate degree is perhaps the most life changing degree that one undergoes. These are the years that help you discover yourself and gain maturity and a direction in life. What use is that degree that does not educate you, does not help you become a better you, does not make you feel excited and motivated for a bright future? Should you continue in that place and college despite no longer being sure of the choice that you made?
But what happens to the time that I have spent at this college, what about the effort that I have made in studying and clearing my exams, what happens to the credits I earned? Does it all go waste and I have to start afresh? If these are the questions in your mind, the answer is a big NO! What you should look out for, is a college that will recognize your efforts and help you continue your studies without a break in your education. At IILM Undergraduate Business School, every year we get several such students who want to revise their initial decision of having chosen a college and an Undergraduate program but are not satisfied with it. You can transfer those credits and take entry into the second or third year and be part of a 25 year old legacy of the IILM Undergraduate Business School (UBS) that has trained thousands of young students like you and made them successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. IILM UBS helps you develop an unparalleled network, learn subjects that are internationally benchmarked, in a hands-on practical manner that prepares you for life.
So if your current course and college does not excite you anymore and you are looking for a reputed college in Delhi that will give you an opportunity to correct that decision, write to us at info.ubs@iilm.edu or call us at 9873949490. Our admission counselor will help you identify the best fit for you.
Prof.(Dr.) Kakoli Sen
Student engagement is a multi-faceted construct. It is better understood as a constructive relationship shared among the students, staff and the institution per se. The construct student engagement refers to “how involved or interested students are in their learning and how connected they are to their classes, their institutions, and each other” (Axelson and Flick, 2010).
It simply means to keep the students’ interactions more meaningful throughout the facilitated learning environment. Recognizing the differences among the students, varying issues from over expectations to under expectations are the challenges faced by Institutions. Paying much-needed heed to a topic that requires attention, it is highly essential to adopt a formative approach, targeting the needs of students. To address the issues in hand ABC Model (Attitude, Behavioral and Cognitive) of engagement is adopted, to make sure that more holistic approach is embraced and the students’ overall wellbeing is retained and enhanced throughout their academic life. ABC model works with a notion that the technical knowledge and the non-technical knowledge together can help students to engage and get ready for the industry. Research (Kuh, 2001) NSSE (National survey of student engagement) has identified five benchmarks of an engaged campus:
(a) Student interactions with faculty,
(b) Academic challenge
(c) Supportive campus environment,
(d) Enriching educational experiences, and
(e) Active and collaborative learning.
Understanding its relevance, IILM has continually worked on strengthening student Engagement through Behavioural Engagement, Emotional Engagement and Cognitive Engagement.
The present times have thrown upon us the challenge to constructively keep our students engaged, who are physically at distance and only connected through virtual platforms, through technology. But we at IILM have ensured that the spirit of Learning through engagement never gets dampened. Through a series of well planned, outcome-oriented, student-driven activities, we have kept the student engagement live and kicking. Whether it is activities like Buddy Connect, team Video Making, storytelling or for that matter Art therapy workshop, students have always got to experience being on the campus despite being away from it. Activities such as the first brush with making Video CVs, the curtain-raiser to Entrepreneurship, Social Media hygiene, have given them learning along with the opportunity to work with their seniors and peers.
While developing the framework for the student Engagement in the present times the approaches that are being adopted are –
The idea is to keep it simple and bring the engaged learning forward. The way we engage today lays the foundation of the society that we plan for the future because the students today need to be socially responsible citizens of tomorrow. A positive engagement sets the framework of a society that takes pride in itself and its ability to take all challenges, seen and unforeseen in the true spirit and zeal.
Please write to me at tripti.toor@iilm.edu for more information on student engagement at IILM.
Written by:- Ms Manika Mahajan (PGDM 2019-21, IILM Greater Noida Campus)
Social networking has become one of the most popular communication tools to have evolved over the past decade, making it a powerful new information-sharing resource in society. In every aspect of our lives, social networking becomes a part of nowadays. Some of the widely used social networking sites(SNS) are Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, etc.
We cannot deny ever since social media came into our lives, it has changed the pattern of living- the way we socialize, interact, plan, or execute. Social networking has widely become a part of our education system now. Starting from elementary school up until university graduation, social media has the role to empower parents, students, and teachers on how to use new ways of sharing information and build a community. From finding a summer internship to promoting a success story about how to win the student-loan battle or collaborate on international projects, everything is made possible with these community-building sites. Collective intelligence has become a hashtag trending episode for today’s student-teacher relationship promoting collaboration and sharing of knowledge. Today’s youth is already well equipped with these sites and use this space for building a conducive learning environment and this gives educators a platform to create an online framework for education system #Education 4.0. Users are not just passive observers now, rather they became collaborators and contributors to new sites and fresh content across all platforms. The internet is a research network now which creates knowledge through shared experiences and collaboration of its users.
Chalk and Blackboard form the two most important elements of a classroom in our education system for decades. A teacher seems to be incomplete without these. Education 4.0 says “My lord, this statement is not true”. A teacher may ask its students “Discuss the Impact of covid19 on the Indian economy” on twitter by using two hashtags. Won’t it be a more innovative, up to date and interesting way for students to learn? There is always a complaint by parents “My son spends a lot of time on Facebook”, pondering on it Education 4.0 says “why not take Facebook as a source for learning?”. Facebook has many pages related to courses or areas of interest of students. Teachers and students can both join that page and debate on the posts in the comment section. Is it not helpful for collective intelligence? The answer is yes, it will help the student to be in touch with teachers and the latest updates in the mode they are comfortable at. In this way, they will learn and retain more.
The use of social media in education provides students with the ability to get more useful information, to connect with learning groups of their interest and other educational systems that make education convenient. Online classes on YouTube to web-based courses are helpful to create an anywhere- anytime learning environment for students. All it requires is the student’s own efforts to use these tools to learn beyond the classroom too. Social networking helps to reduce stress and increase satisfaction among students. It allows each student (slow or quick) to study at their own pace and speed (self-pacing). It helps in building strong teacher-student relationships as the student becomes more comfortable with interacting with teachers in both online and offline platforms. Allowing the use of technology and social networking sites in the classroom to read content and participate more is still not applicable in every school/college’s education system because of the fear that it would distract the student. And it is true in some cases but to focus on the purpose of using it in the desired way depends upon student’s willingness to learn and improve.
To hear some scholars speak we have-The use of social networking tools has impacted positively through creating diversification between different categories of people and has supported them in both their personal and academic lives . There are four fundamental social software tools: 1) Connectivity and social rapport, 2) Collaborate information discovery, 3) Content reaction, and 4) Knowledge and information aggregation and content modification . These affordances have helped learners access their knowledge easily and share them anytime and anywhere. Social networks, such as e-learning technologies, provide an opportunity for educators to revise their content quickly and maintain control over it, learn the sequence pace of learning, time – and often media, which allows them to gain experience to meet their learning objectives . Klamma illustrated that one of the most important advantages of social networking is the ability to manage knowledge and learning by connecting with different experts and knowledgeable people to share common processes, activities, tools, concepts, etc.
In today’s society, we face differences between Generation Y(the students who grew up using upgraded technology) and Generation X(the teachers who were forced to use this technology). Being a generation gap between the two brings forward different mindsets and perspectives. The famous author Blankenship,believes that technology in education should be focused on what students use instead of what the school or teachers want. He also believes that when the students become the stakeholder, it will be geared towards their needs, avoiding the need for collaboration between different generations of educators and students. Social networking becomes a medium for such integration. There may be certain training and time required for teachers and students to get well equipped with this new education system, but once applied the efforts are worth it.
Social networking in education also proves to be a good medium in times of emergency. The best example is the current scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world. The situation has forced us to stay home but it didn’t force us to stop learning. Social networking sites became the medium to study far from institutions too. It helped teachers and students to stay connected and complete their studies and even learn more than the school/college curriculum. Live online lectures, recorded online video classes, new online courses, online assignments and projects have helped students and educators to not let the studies and careers of students get harmed in these tough times.
Some may highlight the cons of social networking by saying it can be a reason for the distraction of students, privacy, and security issues are there, internet connectivity may be a challenge at remote locations, etc. To some extent their concerns are right. But with the improvement in technology day by day strict privacy and security are being taken in making the applications more safe and secure. And as far as the distraction of students is concerned, educators should channelize student’s skills and energy in a more productive way that they tend not to be distracted. They can be given challenging tasks from their area of interest and the online/offline platform they are comfortable at to prove their worth and can be equally appreciated and awarded for their performance. This will build up their morale and boost enthusiasm.
Student interaction is at the core of a constructive environment and Social Networking Sites provide a platform for building collaborative learning communities. By their very nature, they are relationship-centred and promote shared experiences. A range of activities should be inculcated in the education system where students get to interact more and gain experiences. Knowledge and shared experiences become a base for students to develop and social networking is the channel for building that base. Both students and educators have to understand that social networking is not merely a leisure facility but it is much more than that. They should find out the deep potential which this facility holds so that it can be used in the best and most productive way possible. And this has to be done now because we are rapidly moving to a fully digital era and this potential is to be used now to be a helpful tool for the future years. At IILM campus, we have such networking amongst students, alumni and professors through various virtual networking applications. Thus, Education 4.0 is the superman for the youth of today. If its powers are well researched and presented to students and teachers, they are going to be the biggest fan of it.
What is Toxic Empathy?
Toxic empathy is when a person over-identifies with someone emotions, feelings and takes them on as their own personal. Although, if the other individual’s anxiety and stress keep you from your current tasks and responsibilities, it is called toxic empathy.
Toxic empathy is when you do not just replicate and reflect another person’s emotions or feelings, you also experience and consume them. Consuming someone else’s problems can cause you to become equally overwhelmed or even more so. When you replicate another person’s emotions as your own, you make them your emotions too even though you are only empathizing or putting yourself in that person’s shoes.
People who are overly-empathetic or hyper-empathetic may gradually lose their own wants, needs as the feeling when overshadowed by another person’s emotions. These people experience others’ emotions to an extent where they lose themselves and feel the pain or negativity and in some cases positivity of another person. This diverts them from their own path and their life and onto someone else’s.
Regular over empathizing can lead to a reduced capacity of making one’s own decisions as per their best interest. They may also experience draining feelings physically and mentally since they draw away from their own feelings. People who give greater importance to others’ lives and needs above their own experience general anxiety and even mild depression at times. They don’t think of themselves often and are fully consumed by others’ sentiments they report feelings of emptiness and meaninglessness. They mostly look at situations from another person’s perspective rather than their own.
Some signs you may be experiencing toxic empathy are:
Managing toxic empathy
Emotional Hijacking
Emotional hijacking is when another person’s thoughts and feelings have control over your emotions and feelings. People who have a high empathic quotient and are prone to toxic empathy may experience emotional hijacking during a process like venting. They can absorb the other’s frustrations and replicate them. To prevent this, you must observe what emotions you feel when someone is expressing their feeling to you and remain calm, relax. Composing yourself later on and relaxing gradually will allow you to release the other individual’s emotions and empathise in a healthy way.
Healthy relationships
In mutually healthy relations both parties’ emotional needs are given proportionate importance. It uses the give and take method where both parties act as listeners and speakers as well. Every healthy relationship has a well defined boundary where everyone’s needs are met and an equal amount of support is given to both individuals. Communication is key and is necessary in order to fully express and let go or relive yourself from some of the negative emotions you are feeling. Communication in a healthy relationship would make you feel heard, lighten your mood and deepen your connection with the other individual.
In a healthy relationship, boundaries are extremely important since they help you distinguish between your own needs and the other person’s needs which allows you to shield yourself from toxic empathy.
Psychologists near me
If you feel that you are always overwhelmed with your emotions, listening to others’ problems causes you to stress, seek the help of distinguished Psychologists at IILM would be happy to guide and counsel you. Our faculties can help you understand the causes and help you balance empathizing with others, managing your own emotions and forming healthy relationships.
Please feel free to write to us at megha.pushkarna@iilm.edu The distinguished Psychologists at IILM would be happy to guide and counsel you.
ANANYA PANDEY FROM BA YR II Batch 2019
Blogpost By:- Prof Sonika Sharma (OB & HR), sonika.sharma@iilm.edu
Ongoing pandemic has changed our world in many terms. The community of nations has come to realize, how vulnerable it is to a crisis like COVID 19. Despite having all the economic muscle, robust industrial ecosystem and military might, the powerful and mighty countries are found helpless and they are forced to have a rethink about their capabilities. This crisis has blurred the stereotype distinction between developed, developing and non-performing economies. Needless to say here, India is not left untouched by the impact of COVID 19. A country which was on its way to address the core problems like basic education, health for all, raising farming income, rural infrastructure and employment generation has been distracted from its path.
As the old adage says, there is an opportunity in every crisis. India is given a chance to remodel its policies and strategy about developing its huge human resources. A population of 1.35 billion with over 65% under the age of 35 is wealth in real tangible terms. If we take our lessons well from history, we find that Europe rose from the ashes after the Second World War. Japan became an economic powerhouse after nuclear destruction and South Korea joined the club of the developed world.
This pandemic has provided a window to us for raising the quality of our educational institutions who are preparing our students in the fields of scientific research, engineering, medicine, agriculture and management as these are the core areas where a lot of qualitative changes has come and still yet to come. If India desires to be counted amongst the nations having a world-class workforce, this is the time for a serious re-look at our education sector. Best of our students get admission in the premier colleges and universities across the globe and this is a testament to their mettle.
The demand for domain experts will give birth to a whole new class for employment. Students from engineering, medicine, manufacturing and management sectors will have immense opportunities as both government and private sector employers will be willing to pay better remuneration to the aptly skilled manpower.
India can only go upwards from this level of economic health in every sphere. It will be logically correct to say that a whole generation of working professional shall be rendered useless when faced with the new, demanding technological advancement in every field. Revolutionary up gradation in skillset will be the key to success for growth and survival. A very promising future awaits the management students, equipped with the right kind of knowledge and specialization. Next three decades and going to be the growth period for service and manufacturing sectors in India and resultantly the country will become a big employer.
Since 1993, IILM is contributing to India’s growth story by providing responsible education across its 6 campuses with a global alumni network of over 12,000+ members. Today, after 25 years of its inception, IILM has been delivering superior quality education consistently and incessantly. The IILM ethos is focused on identifying and nurturing the next generation of thought leaders through intuitive education and experimental learning.
Written By:-
Prof Sonika Sharma (OB & HR)
sonika.sharma@iilm.edu
For the world’s most beloved brands like Apple and Ikea, Design thinking has been the reason behind their intentional and human-centric products. Design thinking encourages the business to be more empathetic in their approach in rendering a solution/product by putting themselves in the customer’s shoes to understand the needs, desires, and potential problems. It is about providing a solution by visualising the product, telling a story rather than selling a feature.
To explain, I will share two real stories.
The first one is about the company GE Healthcare*
Those of you who have undergone an MRI Scan or got it done for a family member would know that the scan machines, however sophisticated they look, have the ability to scare. Having an MRI Scan is generally not a pleasant experience for adults, let alone children. Children often struggle to stay still during the process (often crying) given the frightening experience. The Chief Designer at GE Imaging Machines was shocked by this and felt as though something had to change. By applying Design Thinking, he decided to observe children going through the scanner while also having conversations with not just children but doctors and educators. Through the conversations and observations, he found that rather than being seen as an elegant piece of technology, the MRI Scanner was considered to be a scary machine by young children. As a result, CT Pirate Island Adventure was created. The MRI scanner was made to look like a pirate ship and it transformed the traumatic experience into a kid’s adventure story where the patient had the starring role. This transformation brought about a dip in sedation of children prior to the scan by 70% Another story is about Starbucks*. The food and the beverage industry were experiencing a drop in sales and poor margins. Starbucks decided to interview hundreds of customers to better understand what they expected from their coffee shops. Through the insights gained from these interactions, it was evident that the customers were expecting an atmosphere and ambience that gave them a sense of belonging and relaxation. As a result, Starbucks positioned round tables strategically to make solo coffee drinkers more comfortable and less self-conscious.
Design thinking is a process that helps us to solve complicated business problems. The concept of Design Thinking questions the prescribed process and steers the designer to be conscious and mindful of the methods that help to get him/her unstuck. It requires a drastic change in mindset to ensure successful application and that itself is a difficult task. The mindset that needs change are about answers that are not clear from the start, the failures that are powerful tools for learning, the focus on human centricity and making the iterative process a way of life for unexpected solutions.
Some of the strategies or mindsets that can help to apply design thinking are :
Human Focus: Your customers are not sheer numbers and therefore it is an imperative to understand their feelings, hopes, fears, and unique stories. Once you get to know and empathize with them, you may think of your product/solution and how you market it, in a completely different light. Ethnographic research and quantitative market research will set your intuition for informed decisions.
Flare-And-Focus: In design thinking, using divergent thinking, or “flaring,” helps to discover opportunities and explore ideas. This helps to broaden the base of thinking and consider different stories before arriving at a solution. Once you have a variety of themes or concepts, using convergent thinking or “focusing,” helps to narrow down choices and make informed decisions. Using flare and focus catalyses your creativity with a focus to deliver the project within time and resource constraints.
Iterative Process Focus: Imagine investing in a big campaign, only to discover that it did not resonate with your customers after having spent so much time and resources on it. For instance in product design, the cost of failure significantly increases further along the process. One of the ways to lower these risks is by constantly testing our hypotheses, by making our concepts tangible and testable with users from the initial stages until the very end. Knowing how to give and receive feedback leads to a culture of openness and constant improvement.
To summarise, I would state that your intention for business changes when you view it through the lens of the customer. In Design Thinking, you solve problems that meet the customer’s need and that for any business is the sole objective of being in business.
