Workshops, Guest Lectures, Seminars

As a part of our Academic activity we at SIIB conduct workshops for students of the second year. We call Industry experts to give extra input to the students on the current topics as well as the topics which are relevant to their area of specialization.

These are arranged once a week enabling students to acquire insights on various management issues via interaction with the leaders of the industry.

Six Sigma Green Belt Certification

The course was a 4 day intensive course, leading to a green belt certification from Benchmark Six Sigma. It was held from the 11th to the 14th of October, 2008. The 5 phases of Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Change were extensively covered, both in theory and with a lot of practical applications and exercises.

The students worked extensively in Excel and were introduced to a few other softwares too. Analysing in Excel was very invigorating as we were taught various methods of data analysis and interpretation. For the 1st time, we loved statistics! . The course also exposed us to how minutely any process can be divided into sub-processes, causes & effects, and how critical factors can be arrived at. It opened a new paradigm for students that enables them now to see imperfections not as random, uncontrollable human errors but as process failures, and has instilled a zeal in the students to work towards continuous improvement of processes in our corporate lives.

Guest Lecture by Mr. Tanmay Agarwal from Unilever

The “Green Team” organized the guest lecture on 19th Sept where it had the opportunity of welcoming a distinguished guest to SIIB - Mr. Tanmay Agarwal from Unilever. Currently, Mr. Agarwal is heading the Finance & Supply Chain Function of Kimberly Clark Lever Ltd on deputation from Unilever.
Mr. Tanmay Aggarwal gave an insight into the corporate world. The need and impact of ingenuity and self motivation was touched upon and was explained through examples from within HUL’s vast experiences. Mr. Tanmay also gave a few tips and learning lessons on what is needed to be successful in the corporate world through his own personal experiences. Students were amazed at how HUL thru its constant search for refinement, made new break-throughs in business operations.The session was concluded with a short clip on leadership and self motivation. This was a clip from one of HUL’s internal training programs delivered by an Army major. The clip was absolutely phenomenal in the message that it conveyed and the passion that it instilled. All in all it was an eye opening lecture that showed the need to be self starters.
 
Workshop on 'The Workplace Big Five Profile'

On 16th August 2008, a workshop on ‘The Workplace Big Five Profile’ was conducted by Ms Chatura Damle, Director,Chatur Knowledge Networking, Pune.

The speaker gave an  insight into the theoretical aspect and practical usage of the Big Five Model of Personality, which is extensively used in the industry for personality assessment. A lively interaction continued throughout the session.

Workshop on 'Balanced Scorecard’.

On 6th September 2008, Mr. Surya A. Rao, Deputy Manager, ACE, Human Resources, H.P.C.L, held a workshop for the Human Resources batch on the topic ‘Balanced Scorecard’. The Honorable speaker emphasized on understanding the importance of vision and strategy, which is a key aspect of the BSC because where vision provides the purpose of existence; strategies give the direction for implementation of the particular purpose. The speaker also explained the four perspectives of BSC- Financial, Internal Business Processes, Customer and Learning and Growth that tends to bind short-term activities to long-term objectives. The card provides the organization with objective, measure, target and initiative to understand each and every perspective to take steps for counter specializations. This workshop also threw light on various practical aspects of application of Balanced Scorecard in H.P.C.L relevant in terms of Oil and Petroleum Industry in congruence with the environment it is operating on.

Workshop on Management Consultancy

Mr. Amit Agarawal, being an alumnus of SIIB, understood the requirements of the students present and gave them insights into the world of management consultancy. He used his expertise to practically explain the differences between careers in market research organizations, KPOs, management consultancy firms and a management consultancy unit. With the help of a detailed presentation Mr. Agarawal tried to waver away a few pre- conceived notions that the students have regarding the field of consultancy. He gave the students examples of practical, real life situations that consultants face and how they use their logical bend of mind to solve each case uniquely. Mr. Agarwal also encouraged the students to think differently and innovatively. Therefore, the work shop was very informative and was essential for students to clear their understanding of this field.

Workshop on Overseas Market Research

Mr. R.V. Krishnan has gained an expertise in the field of market research over the last 20 years. Students were able to learn from his knowledge and skill which he shared over the 4hrs of the workshop. The workshop started with a questions and answer round where students were given the opportunity to get any of their doubts or queries resolved on the field of marketing research. The workshop was aimed at ensuring that the students had a clear understanding of the basics of marketing research, the methodology involved, results obtained and the final interpretation of analysis. Mr. Krishnan dealt with the topic of the fine nuances of Overseas marketing research and explained how this process is different from the national marketing research. Students were also made to solve a few practical cases during the workshop which helped them appreciate the intricacies of the field. The workshop in all was a very interesting session where the students enjoyed interacting with Mr. Krishnan.

Guest Lecture by Mr Parth Patel 

A two- hour guest lecture for the Marketing Batch was taken by Mr. Parth Patel, Regional Sales Manager,Johnson & Johnson. Mr Parth, being an alumnus of our institute, was able to give the students a genuine insight into how they should plan for their futures, the present state of the industry, opportunities and threats involved in various fields etc. This lecture in all was a golden opportunity for students to learn from the first hand experiences of an SIIB alumnus who is at an enviable position today in such a short period of time.

.Guest Lecture by Mr. Samit Sinha

A guest lecture on “Strategic Brand Management” was taken by Mr. Samit Sinha, Brand Consultant and Managing Partner with Alchemist Brand Consulting Pvt Ltd for the Marketing Batch. The lecture focused on the basic understanding of the terms ‘Strategy’ and ‘Brand’. Mr. Sinha was able to give the students an industry specific perspective on these concepts. He spoke on topics such as the in-depth understanding of the value of branding, the changing meaning of management concepts, differences between managers and leaders, differences between strategizing and planning, positioning decisions by companies, corporate branding, repositioning and rebranding etc. This lecture helped students take back with them a clearer understanding of the significance of the brand-product fit in today’s scenario.

Guest Lecture by Mr. Sandeep Sonawane

A guest lecture on “Sales and Distribution in the FMCG Sector” was taken by Mr. Sandeep Sonawane from Sab Miller India. Mr. Sonawane, with more than 10 years of experience in FMCG sales, was able to bring forward to the students his first- hand experiences and knowledge about the challenges faced in distribution in the FMCG sector. Mr Sonawane spoke about the practicalities of the value chain in FMCG sector. New concepts relevant to the industry were introduced to the students such as the importance of managing velocity, line-fill ratio etc. 
Mr. Sonawane not only shared his experiences but also threw light on the theoretical concepts used in the industry thus providing students with great insight and value addition.

Workshop on Marketing of logistics services 

First SCM workshop of the year 2008-09 was on the topic: Marketing of logistics services –Air freight which was conducted on July 19, 2008 by Mr. R. P. Iyer. The session comprised of explanation of the logistics models followed by air –logistics What, Why, When, and How, answering all the possible queries from the audience which included students of MBA (IB) –SCM batch of 2007- 09. Along with logistics problems, an insight on Import/Export costing was given.

Workshop on Econometrics  

The first session of Finance Workshop was held on the subject Econometrics by Prof. S. R. Phadke on 16th July, 2008. The students were asked to go through the basics of statistics before this workshop. 

In this first introductory session, Prof. Phadke had explained the students the basics of Statistics to be used for Econometrics. He had explained the concept of Regression, Multiple Regression, Correlation and Partial Correlation. The concept of Estimate, Accurate Value and Error Value was explained and with the help of that the relationship between the accuracy level and the error level was elaborated to the students. Finally, the concept of Hypothesis and then the Null Hypothesis and Alternate Hypothesis was explained.  

Workshop on Econometrics  

In the series of Finance Workshops, 2nd session on Econometrics Workshop was continued by Prof. S. R. Phadke on 25th July, 2008. 

In this session, Prof. Phadke had explained the students the difference between Population Regression Function (PRF) and Sample Regression Function (SRF) with the help of a solved example. The relevance of Estimate and thus the concept of Point Estimate and Interval Estimate were also explained. Next the concept of Error, i.e. the gap between Estimate and Reality, was explained and then how this Error can also be estimated was explained to the students. Finally, the concept of Uncertainty and how Endogenous and Exogenous Variables affect this Uncertainty was explained. 

Thus, the 2nd session on Econometrics Workshop ended with the students asking various questions during and after the session which Prof. Phadke addressed satisfactorily.

Workshop on Technical Analysis 

The speaker for the day, Mr. Deepak Mohoni is a top rated Indian market strategist. He is a graduate from IIT Kanpur and did his MBA from IIM Calcutta, is famous for coining the word 'Sensex'.
He popularized the use of technical analysis in India with his pioneering columns in the Economic Times and Business World, and appears regularly on CNBC India's programs. He has also appeared on BBC, Star TV, Doordarshan, and Reuters TV. His comments on the market are often quoted by business newspapers and magazines. He has also been quoted in the Financial Times.

Technical analysis is a financial markets technique that claims the ability to forecast the future direction of security prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. In its purest form, technical analysis considers only the actual price behaviour of the market or instrument, on the assumption that price reflects all relevant factors before an investor becomes aware of them through other channels. Technical analysts may employ models and trading rules based, for example, on price transformations, such as the relative strength index, moving averages, regressions, inter-market and intra-market price correlations, cycles or, classically, through recognition of chart patterns.
Critique: Lack of evidence
The random nature of curves cannot be always predicted. For example, Peter Lynch once commented, "Charts are great for predicting the past."

Workshop on Technical Analysis 

The speaker for the day  was Mr. Vikram Babulkar, a graduate in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and a Chartered Accountant by profession. He had worked with Garaware Securities in the past and currently heads the Equity – Dealings at Dolat Capital, Mumbai an Equity Research firm.

In the series of workshops held, this was the second workshop on Technical Analysis. While the first one acquainted the students with the meaning and use of Technical Analysis in the present day markets, this one gave them a sound knowledge of the basics of Technical Analysis along with a complete overview on how it is used in the stock markets by various parties. The guest speaker covered various aspects during this session.
The basic terminology such as High Top High Bottom, Low Top Low Bottom etc was first explained. He then elaborated on technical terms such as acceleration, decline, saucers, head-and-shoulders, and candles etc which are used by analysts. The faculty went on to use various charts, diagrams and other forms of graphical representations to highlight the bull and bear runs which Indian stock markets have gone through from 1991 till today.
Towards the end Mr. Babulkar picked up 12-15 different stocks listed on the SENSEX, on popular demand (some of them being TATA Motors, Reliance Power, SAIL, Suzlon, etc.) and depicted their movements during the above mentioned period using arithmetic as well as logarithmic scales their patterns, trends, characteristics and other peculiar movements.

It was a very interactive session on the whole with more relevance for those who actually trade in stocks. Subjects such as these can be better understood with the guidance of people with practical expertise.

Workshop on Negotiations

The workshop was conducted by Mr. Vikas Bhure who is presently working as Dy. General Manager – Sourcing at CIL, Pune.
The workshop dealt with various aspects of negotiations like the groundwork that should be done before going for the negotiation, looking for the win-win solution, understanding the important aspects other than price on which negotiation should be done, the persuasion techniques, understanding the basis for negotiation and not negotiating for the sake of it, setting targets before the meeting etc. 

The workshop also dealt with some deadlocks which Mr. Vikas Bhure faced in his career and how he resolved them with the help of the negotiation techniques.

Workshop on Marketing of Shipping Services 

The workshop  was taken by Capt. Ashish Samarth who is Managing Director of Samson Freight PVT. LTD. 
The workshop mainly focused on solving the cases which dealt with various problems that might occur while shipping goods from one country to another. The process of selecting a career for the goods based on freight rates, services provided by the shipping companies and also the routing schedule was discussed.
Also an insight into the options available to make careers in shipping and logistics were explored.

Some of the eminent guest speakers who visited SIIB are:

Mr. Rajesh Mehta
Senior Executive, HR Partner, IBM India

Mr. Pramod Jain
Managing Partner, S Global Consulting

Mr.Gururaja Rao
Ex-Joint Director General of Foreign Trade.
 
Mr. B. G. Deshmukh
Ex-Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India.
 
Mr. Rajesh Ramakrishna
V P Marketing, PepsiCo India.
 
Mr. Rajeev Bhattacharya
Associate Principal, eClerx Virtual Team.
 
Mr. Mukesh Malhotra
Managing Director, Weikfield Group of Companies.

Mr. Shubendu Amitabh
President, Corporate Affairs & Development, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd.

Mr. Alexander Geharmann
Sales & Marketing Manager, Weikfield Group of Companies

Mr. Sharad Gangal
GM - HR, Cadbury