Company Visit to NDTV

IILM Undergraduate Business School20 OctoberLekha Mukherjee

A company visit for a group of undergraduate students was organised to the studios of NDTV. The students were very excited because it was the first time any of them had ever visited a live studio. NDTV’s offices are located in Archana Shopping Complex which houses almost all of NDTV’s verticals – NDTV 24×7, NDTV India, NDTV Prime and NDTV Convergence.

The visit started with an orientation of the Production Control Room. This is the room where all the elements of a bulletin are collated on screen and the final product is broadcast all over the world via satellites. The students watched the director, producers and the audio and vision mixers working together to put together the entire show. This was followed by a visit to the main studio where the students watched how the cameras captured the anchor live and how the small space was utilised to give the impression of a huge studio with multiple set ups.

They were then guided to another studio where they saw how the set for another show was put together. The lights, seats and podiums were all being customised to the needs of the particular show that was to be recorded later during the day. They also caught a glimpse of the Video Tape Library, a room full of tapes of old shows that had once been aired on NDTV.

Lastly, the students were shown around the newsroom, where editors worked together to line up bulletins, and the edit bay where all the visuals were put together to air as required. They got answers to their queries regarding TRPs and how they influenced advertisements put forward by companies. Before leaving NDTV they also saw Outdoor Broadcast vans that are often used for shoots in and around NCR. IMG-20151016-WA0013

Overall the students had quite an exciting time. The only disappointment was the fact that they did not meet any celebrities on the premises to click photographs with.

Rush of Job Offers | IILM Placement Week 2015

IILM Institute for Higher Education, IILM University19 OctoberCharu SharmaBusiness School Placements, Career, jobs

The current academic session at IILM has about 3-4 months to go, but for the students it is showering jobs already. The week went by at IILM placement week round two was enthralling for not only students but also for the college management. Some major industries from Banking, Retail and Telecomm made their way to IILM, offering positions ranging from Analyst, Marketing and Finance. The average annual salary package offered till now is Rs 7 Lakh.

The Placement Week Round Two brought a sense of certainty for students in terms of final placements. Ms Samiksha Garg from final year got placed with Grail Research. “I was eager enough to know the expectations from different companies and industries. Settling with Analyst position will certainly be my first step toward to the application of practical lessons,” said a student, with offer in hand.

Taking a few examples of placed students, Ms Aanchal Gaba is ready to start with her corporate experience with Copal Amba. “This is it! My career journey starts as I leave IILM. It is time to apply the lessons on practical grounds.” Meanwhile, Vivek Sirohia with specialization in Marketing is set to take his journey forward with Territory Sales Manager position at Airtel. “I can’t wait to start with my experience at Airtel, this is the opportunity I have been offered under the support system of IILM faculty and existing curriculum.”

The companies visited us with a unique blend of positions and offers for students. This is truly the time for students when they can portray their best efforts, capabilities, and personality to some of the most potential recruiters.

As the day breaks, the college settled with the busiest event around the year. We congratulate our students who are all set to take off their next journey to corporate world. Like every year, we learn new things and experience the unexpected round about. Indeed, it is true; the sole responsibility of every college is to inculcate the courage in students to face the uncertainties ahead of them. The companies and offers takes place with some essential efforts, and all we are ought to do is be prepared to take in what comes next.

Observation Study at Zara & H&M Retail Outlets

Uncategorized18 OctoberAarti SharmaH&M and Zara, IILM Observation Study, Observation Study

Our students had visited the retail outlets of H&M and Zara at Select City Walk Mall, Saket. The students had a different experience by visiting these stores not merely as a customer but as an observer.

We all know that Five years behind Zara, the Swedish high-street giant has opened its first store in India. The Zara comparison has got everyone talking. After five years in the country and with 16 stores now open, this July, Zara became the first apparel brand to cross the $100 million sales mark in India. When the H&M store opened at the end of last month, Indian newspaper Business Standard contrasted the queues at H&M with photos of relatively quiet Zara and Gap stores.

Thus, the purpose of the visit was to conduct an observation study on following parameters and further make a comparative analysis of both the retail stores on the same parameters.

– Store Overview
Store Size (single floor or multiple floors)
Location in the mall
Display
Current Ambience / Theme in terms of colour scheme, music, spacing and type of lighting
Convenience Shopping for customers (multiple billing desk, spacing, trail rooms, in store lifts / elevators and availability of shopping bags)

– Product Mix
Apparels – Men, Women and Kids
Accessories
Beauty and Personal Care

– Customer Observation
Footfall
Gender
Age group

– Brand Marketing
Demonstrations
Banners, Posters, Digital Display
Promotional Offers
Packaging ( Signature Covers )

– Pricing
– Apparel Colour Scheme and Pattern Study
– Signature Colour / Patter, if any

When two worlds meet !

Uncategorized16 OctoberErika Juliana

Experience @IILM

One day someone said, “”Change your mind, keep your principles; change your experiences, keep intact your root” (Hugo, V). Life is dynamic and is the man who decides what to keep, what to accept, reject, and let it go. My name is Erika Reátiga R, Colombian. Modern Languages student. Ending my career I asked to myself what I wanted to do next I knew that I was very young and that I had and still have gaps to fill, experiences to live and learn, people to meet, cultures to understand, stories to share and listen… so I decided to do my internship in India.

I think that from the first day I arrived, I already had more than two anecdotes to tell. Feel the scorching heat of India, listen the loud horns of the cars, the smells, the colors of the streets and costumes, the music, the dances, the ceremonies and festivals, the food, all of that was just the beginning of a big change in my habits, thoughts, and undoubtedly the discovery to a new life style.

Although the cultural differences I think, that in one way or another, all cultures reflect common human needs. I strongly believe that this set of differences should not us separate; these are only challenges and opportunities to listen, learn, share and create ideas by aligning all the different thoughts toward a common goal, developing the ability of teamwork.

There is something more that goes beyond such differences; it is the sense of understanding and respect for others. I understood that in India the sense of unity is not limited to family or friends, it is extended to support and guide to anyone who may need it.

Come to IILM as an intern, was like to come to an institute that open the doors to anyone. IILM creates spaces for the multiculturalism, it accepts respects and tolerates the difference, and it involves different parties for the achievement of common goals. The support and accompaniment provided by each of the members of the Institute has been always unconditional the quality of people and the quality in the performance of its work is impressive, the process of learning is constant, learn from mistakes, facing new challenges are daily aspects having always there opportunities to learn something new. The culture of discipline, teamwork and excellence is more than evident in their achievements.

IILM not only seeks to promote the academic training of the student, but also cultural, creating spaces for leisure and entertainment, eager to learn and share more days of life and learning experiences with you. I am looking forward to the Dandiya night celebrations on Tuesday !

Dreams do come true !!- Exchange Semester @ LaRochelle Business School, France

IILM Institute for Higher Education14 OctoberNidhi Piplani

Akanksha Lamba along with her classmates Jatin Kapur , Kamandeep Singh & Sonal Aggarwal have been sponsored by IILM for an exchange semester to La Rochelle Business School, France. Studying Luxury brands was always their dream…and there they get their wings to fly…!!

Akanksha Lamba (PGDM 2014-16) penning down her experience..

We got this stupendous opportunity to study at Groupe Sup De Co, La Rochelle France for a semester. Being the first batch of Indian students from IILM on the campus of La Rochelle Business School, we carry a lot of responsibility and sense of pride.

1^st & 2^nd week (1^st Sept- 13^th Sept)– After 24 hrs of journey all filled with curiosity, excitement, planning sessions and mixed feelings we reached this beautiful town in western France, La Rochelle. This city has an atmosphere totally different from New Delhi. It is very calm, quiet yet interesting as it’s a seaport on a part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Vieux-Port de La Rochelle

We have been staying with a host family here and by far it has been a great experience as it helps in getting to know about the culture more closely, the best part being the French deserts we get to eat.

Our session was supposed to get started on 14^th Sept so these two weeks gave us enough time to figure out the places in the city and get used to it. These two weeks helped us to explore the city and try new restaurants and delicacies famous in the city.

Vieux-Port de La Rochelle

3^rd week (14^th Sept- 20^thSept) – 14^th September being the first day of our college was the ‘Welcome Day’ for the international students. We got to meet a lot of international students. Groupe Sup De Co promotes a great deal of diversity as it has students from all over USA, China, Taiwan, Egypt, Poland, Netherlands, England etc.

During this week we had classes for Geopolitics and CSR. Geopolitics is being taught by an English professor who has done his PhD from Cambridge and has years of experience for teaching in Cambridge University. It is a very different and interesting subject as we are able to gain knowledge about EU not only from Indian perspective but from the perspective of students from different nationalities.

We even got an opportunity to witness the ‘VoilesDeNuit’ event (light show & yacht show) in La Rochelle which is organized every year in the city.

Meeting international students

4^th& 5^th week (21^st Sept- 4^th Oct) – During this week we had classes for the Event sector in which we were divided into groups and had to present the event we planned and created on the given topic. It was fun and involved a lot of creative ideas by the group members.

6^th week (5^th Oct- 11^th Oct) – We have started with our specialization in Premium Luxury Marketing. The faculty here is very captivating and well acquainted with the subjects and the field they are teaching. The atmosphere in the class is very friendly. We have been divided in the groups where the groups have students from different nationality which we believe helps in looking at a subject with a broad perspective.

Light Show at La Rochelle

On 8^th Oct the Mayor of the city addressed all the international students, welcoming and encouraging to visit and study in this beautiful city La Rochelle. We even had the honor to meet the president of the international relations personally.

Mayor Addressing international students

All with the busy schedules at school we even had some great time going on trips and visiting places like Nice, Cannes and Amsterdam.

Moments Captured

So far it has been a learning curve and we are looking forward to exploring and acquiring more from this great opportunity. We thank IILM for making this dream come true !

IILM Global Study Program, EM Normandy, France

Uncategorized13 OctoberDr Radhika Madan

It is exactly two weeks since the Normandy Fall Programme has started by Ecole De Management De Normandie. Our stay has been organized in the campus hostel itself in Caen which is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of Basse-Normandie region. The city has about 113,249 inhabitants while its urban area has 420000, making Caen the largest city in Lower Normandy. Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror (who was buried here) and also for the battle for Caen – heavy fighting during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of then city.

Our tour is a perfect blend of study, industrial visits and happy weekends. I mentioned weekends to be “happy weekends” because it’s the time when we actually get to explore Europe.

From Monday to Friday , our pragramme is scheduled with the classes in which 4 days we have class room learning and 1 day we have industrial visits. It’s really a good experience to study here in France as we get to interact with people belonging to diverse cultures. Here, class room leaning includes knowledge with exact facts, historical backup, practical views ,showing of videos related to the ongoing topic , interactive sessions , presentation of views at the end of every sessions in groups and much more in each session

The modules which we are studying are also perfectly blended and supported by the related industrial visits which transforms the classroom learning to practical learning and hence helps in visualizing the intangible knowledge. Following are the modules which we are studying:

Supply Chain Management

In this module, how the functioning of a company/firm/industry happens in terms of appropriate inventory, logistics ,resources ,workforce and successful supply of product happens. To support this module , we had a visit to Le Havre Port which is one of the biggest port in France which defines a perfect management of receiving & dispatching shipping goods .

Doing Business in France

This module helped us to understand the market conditions of France. We studied that what all it took companies to be in France and what all are they doing. As part of the assessment we were told to do an imaginary merger of a French company with any Indian company which could be profitable to both.

Digital Marketing

By only producing goods, is not a guarantee to a successful business. If we are talking about doing business, profit making is the main objective and in order to make profit a product needs to be sold and for that its important that it should be properly marketed. Now a days, being digitally active and promoting digitally is the need of time and through this module we are trying to get the same.

Business Project

This was the best part of the programme as we were divided in groups with people we don’t know and this project helped us to interact with other people as well. In this project we were given one company and for that we had to report regarding all the marketing strategies adopted by that company and what all did it take for that company to operate and establish itself.

We also experienced 2 industrial visits as of now in which we went to Abeey factory and SS Utensils factory which was experience at the best. We were lucky enough to witness each and every fascinating process and got to see how the factory manufactures its products and what are the steps involved, right from the processing of raw materials till supplying the actual finished products to the end users or the customers.

Finally, when it comes to weekends, exploring Europe is what no one wants to miss. Visiting the city of love “Paris”, Belgium, Amsterdam & Switzerland was such a nice cross culture experience as this was the time when we had the opportunity to visit these places and also we met different people, got to know their lifestyles , their cultural values which is drastically different from India.

2nd Placement Week at IILM from Oct 5th to Oct 9th, 2015

IILM Institute for Higher Education12 OctoberShivani KhuranaBusiness School Placements, college placements, IILM, IILM PGDM, IILM PGDM Placements, Placements

IILM helps students in exploring placement opportunities by inviting companies for campus recruitment .The final placements at IILM are a culmination of systematic and continued interaction with industry and ongoing and enduring career counseling as well as grooming of the students by mentors and Career Development Centre.

Placement week is an initiative that offers students the opportunities to interact with senior representatives from corporates , to know the work culture, the performance expectations, the job opportunities available and the remuneration offered by recruiting companies.

IILM organized its 2nd Placement Week from Oct 5th to Oct 9th. First and second year students of PGDM from Lodhi Road, Gurgaon and Greater Noida campuses participated in the placement week with great enthusiasm and excitement.

Industry personnel from Grail Research ,INTEX, Naukri.com, Protiviti , HDFC, Edelweiss, Kotak Mahindra, Oxigen, Tybros, Keysight Technologies (off shoot of HP), Oyo rooms, PWC, Floret, Evoque, Bonton Cables, Icons , Fortis Heath care, Methodix Systems, Yes Bank, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited visited IILM and interacted with the students.

The Industry personnel’s experience, their expertise and the aspect of knowledge sharing was the high point of the sessions. The underlying idea was to
acquaint the students with the companies, their culture, the domain, how they differentiated from their competitors, the job roles , growth rate, the expectations from students, the selection process, required skill sets and other aspects needed to build a lasting career.

After interaction, Grail Research and Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited completed their final placement process also.

Face to face interaction with industry people added value and knowledge to the understanding of job market among students. Pre placement talks were an eye opener for all the students and would help students to take right decisions while choosing companies for their final placement.

Exchange Semester @Burgundy School of Business, France

IILM Institute for Higher Education11 OctoberNidhi Piplani

In order to reward all rounders and provide them with an International Exposure, IILM sponsored top 25 % of the 2014-16 batch for an exchange semester to our partner Institutions across the globe.

Sharing the experience of one of our student groups who are studying at Burgundy School of Business, Dijon, France

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From New Delhi to Paris

Beginning from New Delhi Airport, we all were bright eyed and bushy tailed for what was coming forth and a bit sad for leaving home for a long time.

Backpacks, strollers, headphones, music, excitement, tire complementing each other was our journey to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Dijon was still a long way to go, ready to leave from Gare de Lyon train station at Paris, we gained possession of our seats in TGV, the fastest bullet train in France and in a blink of an eye we reached Dijon.

@My ESC

ESC Dijon- our IILM in France, organized an induction week for all the International Degree Seeking and Exchange Students. It was a diverse group of students from USA, China, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic etc. Beginning from a brief about ESC by the Dean of International Office Relations Mrs. Marie Jose ALBERT-BATT, followed by Rules & Regulations, Assessments and other academic concerns at ESC.

Student life Abroad

There is a big difference in staying home and staying abroad. At home we get everything what we desire, Staying in Dijon was a completely different scenario. We cook, clean, wash, launder, buy groceries, household items, utensils almost everything what we never did at home. Quite unusual but a new learning experience for all of us. Parallel to this we have to manage our studies too which all in all becomes tiresome.

Beginning of the Course

The first session at ESC was of Corporate Governance, which was conducted by the most cheerful professor Mr. Emmanuel ZENOU. We were divided into groups for our final report. The subject involved studies about corporate laws, descriptive and cognitive views of a board, shareholders, board of directors, experimental investigation, independent director, regulations, supervisory board etc.

The other session was of Business Ethics which was conducted by Professor Shahar AYAL and Shalvi SHAUL who were invited from Amsterdam. The two professors delivered lectures about their research on ethics followed by videos and games which can even be used in any Business.

Lectures for each session lasted for 2 hours for which we are not habitual, a 20 minutes break was given after every session. The timings for our sessions were 8:00 am and it was very hard for us to get to the classes in the unfriendly cold mornings.

French food and Wine Experience

The French cooks are one of the best cooks in the world, but the French food wasn’t that tempting to us as the Indian food is.

French food includes mainly Sea food, Beef, Pork, Chicken, Pizzas, Pasta, and Breads etc. Spices and Salt are absent in the French food which forced us to cook food ourselves. The Wines from Burgundy, Chateaux and Bordeaux are very popular in France and sometimes there are fests at the hypermarkets for the promotion of wines.

First Exam and Project

Our assessment for Corporate Governance was divided into 2 parts, one was a written exam and the other was an Experimental Investigation & Project.

The Experimental Investigation was something which none of us had done before, we had to compose a board on the basis of Age, Gender, Experience, Nationality and Educational Qualification which was based on a case study within a defined time and the top 10 students would be awarded with 20 Euros each. The written exam had 4 questions based on the lectures delivered and the project was to prepare a Board diversity considering various factors and raising a question as how a particular factor influence a board diversity.

New Courses

In the following week of our first exam, new courses Managing Diversity and International Marketing Management were introduced.

Managing Diversity is delivered by Professor Sabine MUELLER, which involves various group activities, play and a few exercises to separate us from drowsiness as our class is in the morning 8:00 am on Mondays. This course teaches about managing a diverse group in an organization, company, schools etc. and is taught by various video clips, discussions, guest lecturers.

International Marketing Management is delivered by Professor Mathieu Claude CHABOUD, which involves basics of marketing and its impact in international context i.e. from marketing to international marketing, explains the major difference between International marketing & Global marketing.

A weekend in Paris

The following week was the same as the previous, classes from morning to evening was very tiring for us and we decided to visit the capital city Paris and Disneyland.

From Dijon Gare to Paris Gare de Lyon, the journey was short and the TGV was too fast. The first evening we went to see one of the most famous attractions in the world, the symbol of Paris, “Eiffel Tower”. The view from the top of the Tower is one of the most spectacular views, located at the side of river Seine, the Eiffel Tower stands 324m high and looks astounding at night.

The very next day we went to a whole new world, “Disneyland”, the characters and cartoons we saw in our childhood were now standing in front of us, shaking hands, clicking pictures, dancing and running etc. The Disneyland Park was a home to bumpy rides, roller coasters, gigantic castles, Mickey Mouse’s shows, restaurants and cafes etc.

Catacombs of Paris, an underground museum which holds the remains of around 6 million miners was one of the most thrilling places. Our visit to the catacombs was unforgettable and the place is one of a kind.

We are very excited and look forward to each day as anew experience. We thank IILM immensely for gifting us the best time of our lives !!

-Karandeep Suri (PGDM 2014-16)

Company Visit to Viney Corp – Manufacturer of Auto Parts for BMW , Rolls Royce

IILM Institute for Higher Education, IILM Undergraduate Business School11 OctoberNidhi Piplani

Our company visit to “Viney Corporation Limited” was an enriching learning experience for all of us. It was a well planned visit by Mr. Anant Aggarwal, Director of Viney Corp, Student of SBS Stage 1. Viney Corp was established in 1989. This company is a leading manufacturer of various auto-parts which includes wiring harness, terminals, connectors and wires. It has 11 manufacturing plants in India and 2 in Europe employing around 3000 skilled and semi-skilled laborers. The company has shown immense grown in the last few years through both organic and inorganic ways. In 2011, the growth rate of the company has drastically gone up by acquiring 70% stake in shareholding of an Italian based company named “Vimercati SPA”.

The objective of the visit was to understand the manufacturing process of auto-parts. This company visit gave us insights into the manufacturing process of wiring harness, connectors and wires. The live manufacturing process of the wiring harness was shown which starts with cutting wire through automatically operated machines, which further goes into dye’s which are used in machine. Furthermore, the live manufacturing process of the various car switches and connectors were shown. In addition to this a lot of detailing was given to us on the machines and its manufacturing process. All the products manufactured in this plant are assembled and given a finished shape in its Italy plant. The company has gone into backward integration to reduce its cost over a period of time. Other learning experience of the visit included discussion on the cost of machinery, handling of labor, CSR activity, inventory system, clientele, growth process and cost reduction. This company visit was truly a mind-boggling and thought provoking experience for all the mentors and mentees.

Dr. Geetika Arora & Ms. Nidhi Piplani

Book Review:An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions

Alumni, IILM Graduate School of Management, IILM Institute for Higher Education, IILM Undergraduate Business School, IILM University09 OctoberTaruna Gautam

Authors: Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen
Published by Penguin Books ( 2014)
ISBN No. 978-0-141-97582-5

An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions is published by Penguin Books in 2014 , wherein the two economists Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen pose a question that who are the actual beneficiaries of this growth. The book is an eye opener on two fronts one that the growth is not participatory and two public sources generated by economic growth have not been able to improve the living conditions of people at large.
There has been a lot of discussion on the caste, religion, gender discrimination, regional disparity and languages. But, ever increasing income inequality has often been obscured in all these discussions. In modern India this seems to be a major concern area wherein there has been a widening gap between the deprived community and ever growing opulent rich class. This book by Dreze and Sen narrates this divide between the privileged and ignored society as one of the biggest challenge which has seldom been highlighted in all the literature which has been creating a hype of ever growing and prosperous India.
An Uncertain Glory thus, is equally of interest for readers coming from economic, social and political background as it reveals the story of India’s development. There has been an implied notion amongst political and economic logics which believes that the benefit of economic development will eventually trickle down from the higher levels to the grass roots leading to development with a broader base. But, the fact here is that neither the colonial past nor the policies post independence addressed the issues of poverty, illiteracy and inequality effectively.
The country has overseen the rapid rate of growth which has successfully employed the skilled people and wealth accumulation for a few corporate. There has been a surge in the living standard of middle class. Despite this fact, India has experienced a lack of political will which could utilize growing resources for improving ‘education, healthcare, nutrition, social facilities, and other essentials of fuller and freer human life for all.
The authors demonstrate that “India is not doing well at all in many respects even in comparison with some of the poorest countries in the world” outside of sub- Saharan Africa and even in South Asia though ahead of neighbors in terms of per capita income, India’s developmental indicators stand ahead of only Pakistan, a country with a perpetually disturbed political situation.
Dreze and Sen have strongly raised an argument that markets cannot allocate the resources effectively in the area of education, healthcare and infrastructure services due to inherent externality effects and the state intervention thus becomes inevitable. But, along with that the public services in India have been suffering with the malaise of corruption and lack of accountability .These problems somehow are a major cause of ever increasing inequality in the country. Dreze and Sen have thus spoken about education especially at a higher level as an escape route for the unheard millions. This might curb the established practices viz. corruption and bribery.
The book becomes more relevant in the context of understanding the economic development process as there are solutions been given for global and local issues. The authors have emphasized upon the fact that high level of human development in Europe, Latin America or East Asia – plus others even among India’s South Asian neighbors such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are a result of prudent and rationalist intervention of the government. Although some of the state government like Kerala Tamil Nadu or Himachal Pradesh have successfully been able to provide public services like education, administration and addressing economic inequalities as compared to states with poor governance like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odhisa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In these states living standards are no better than some of the poorer states in Africa.
The ability of the government to hasten poverty alleviation, secure gender justice and produce a corruption-free society can only be ensured by informed political selection. While much has been made, and rightfully so, of India’s democracy, evident in the size of the country, the variety of political parties, a largely free press as well as in the ability to sustain the democratic process amidst vast poverty, Dreze and Sen stress India’s need “to make much greater use of the democratic system.” It is in this optimism, which recognizes that India indeed possesses the means of achieving broad development for all, that An Uncertain Glory maintains a tone of hope amid grounds for despair.
The book by Dreze and Sen is a powerful, thought provoking and strong narration of pertinent issues which have been ailing the country since long. The book highlights the range of both the contradictions and possibilities inherent in the country.