XLRI-Ensemble: Ethics kick-start XLRI extravaganza

Jamshedpur, Nov 11, 2011 (The Telegraph): Ensemble, the three-day big-ticket XLRI fest, started on Friday on an ethical note, as budding managers were asked to bridge the gap between the rich and poor to stem problems such as Naxalism.

“India has islands of prosperity. The 7 per cent economic growth won’t help the country if it is not equitable,” the chief guest of the inaugural session, Mahindra Group executive vice-president Allen Sequeira, stressed in his address. He also attributed Naxalism as an offshoot of this economic divide.

Quoting Mother Teresa, he said: “Every drop in the ocean creates a ripple.”

Fr Michael Thanaraj, president of Jesuit Society of Jamshedpur, said: “The pursuit of corporate profit should not exclude the less fortunate or the less skilled,” he said.

Calling India a “land of contradictions”, he added that indigenous people were the “worst affected in the country’s pursuit of economic success”. Citing hard-hitting figures, he said: “Despite 16,000 colleges and 6,000 institutions of higher education, one third of the population is illiterate.”

XLRI director Father E Abraham hoped Ensemble, as “a platform for the brightest minds from India’s top B-schools” would help students bridge the economic gap.

Student teams from IIMs of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Ranchi and Indore, ISB-Hyderabad, MDI-Gurgaon, Delhi School of Economics, among others, listened to the insights.

Inaugural session over, it was time to pit their wits in events such as Pallas Athena, a three-day contest to test business acumen. The flagship HR event “War of Wits” saw students getting tested on recruitment strategies.

Crowd-pullers included the outdoor event Quest Adventura as well as a fun Bollywood quiz.

XLRI also saw the opening of the three-day national convention hosted by the Centre for Global Management and Responsible Leadership and the Ensemble team to share case studies on responsible corporate leadership.

XLRI holds Sports Marketing Symposium

XLRI Jamshedpur (Sept 27th, 2011): The Marketing Association at XLRI (MAXI) hosted industry veterans from the area of sports management and sports marketing on occasion of the second edition of MAXI Mindscapes. The symposium which was aptly titled “Dimensions of Sports Marketing” provided tremendous insight into this very nascent field of sports marketing. Not only were the discussions insightful, but they also aided the students’ understanding of the field which was previous considered to be esoteric business.

Former Indian athlete and Arjuna awardee Charles Borromeo graced the occasion by his presence. The winner of the 800m gold at the 1982 Asiad, Borromeo, who now works with the Tata Sports Foundation was a keen listener throughout and lauded the efforts of sports marketers in promoting and patronizing Indian sportspersons.

Mr. Adille Sumariwalla, an Arjuna awardee himself and the working President of the Athletics Federation of India, took to the stage to begin the proceedings. He spoke distinctly about athletics, swimming and gymnastics being the “mother sports” for all other sports and urged the corporates to do more towards these sports.

Mr.Harish Krishnamachar, Senior VP, World Sports Group and an XL alumnus, spoke about the changing sporting landscapes and new business models emanating out of Asia. He stressed on the need for sports marketing firms to become business or ownership partners with federations, events and venues. Mr.Tarun Chaudhari, Group Director – Sports Marketing at Innocean Worldwide spoke very eloquently about the mismatch between a brand’s expectation out of a sport and vice-versa.

The panel also had a very familiar face in Mr.Gauraav Kalra – the Sports Editor at CNN-IBN. Gaurav looked at the business of sports from the perspective of the media as a whole. He very strongly stated that sport needed to understand the role of television in this modern era, and that television has always been receptive to a great sporting idea. Mr.Chandradeep Mitra, an IIMC alumnus and CEO of Pipalmajik provided an academician’s view on the emerging topic. Chandradeep narrated his experiences about teaching sports management as a formal subject in school across the country. At the same time, he emphasized the need for literature, systems and processes pertaining to sports management.

Chandradeep then moderated a very healthy panel discussion which followed a quick break for tea. The discussion mainly revolved around building and developing sporting properties and models suited for television consumption. Some big, brave bets were made on the scope and possibilities of sports marketing on the whole. The panel also answered a lot of questions thrown at them by the audience with consummate ease and eloquence. The whole discussion was interspersed with a fair bit of wit and humour – all in all a very invigorating experience.

The first ever MAXI Mindscape Symposium resulted in the formation of the interdisciplinary behavioural lab at XLRI. What is the future of sports marketing at XLRI? We’re waiting with bated breath!

XLRI eyes sporty career

Sept 24, 2011 (The Telegraph): No, it’s not all play, but taking up sports marketing management as a career can seem like it. Especially when you get paid for a job that involves professionally managing the careers of idols, ranging from a Sachin to a Saina.

Sports marketing management is on XLRI’s radar. The premier B-school in Jamshedpur is focussing on the scope of careers related to marketing methodologies in sport before launching a full-fledged course on the subject.

Globally, the sector worth around US$ 38 billion, involves innovative commercial plugging of a particular discipline as well as personalities associated with each.

Marketing Association of XLRI, popularly called MAXI, which is one of the societies of XLRI, will host “Dimensions of Sports Marketing” a symposium, which will be a part of the annual MAXI Mindscapes.

The symposium will comprise well-known sports and business personalities.

This is a much-needed warm-up to XLRI’s plans of launching a course in sports marketing management, as experts thrash out the pros and cons of the up and coming career option.

“Though the field is expanding rapidly, it is still relatively an uncharted territory. The meet will thus deliberate on what exactly the field is, what are its strengths and weaknesses. The symposium will also discuss marketing of any sport through various media,” said Sanjeev Varshney, faculty member of marketing and consumer behaviour, XLRI.

Big names who are expected to discuss the dimensions of sports marketing include CNN-IBN sports editor Gaurav Kalra, Athletics Federation of India president Adil Sumariwalla, World Sport Group senior vice-president (South Asia) Harish Krishnamachar, Innocean Worldwide group director (sports marketing and events) Tarun Chaudhry, and PipalMajik chief executive officer Chandradeep Mitra.

“We are seriously planning a course in sports marketing for students, but nothing has been finalised as of now. I hope this discussion helps us take a stand on the matter,” added Varshney.

The symposium will thus be a good opportunity for marketing students to search avenues in the emergent area, discover what management studies refer to as the SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — of any particular enterprise.

The discussions will also enrich XLRI’s faculty members, who can assess the potential of the field before taking the formal plunge.

Divine season with joy of giving

Sept 17, 2011 (Yahoo! News): Durga Puja in the steel city will be celebrated with a touch of B-school philanthropy this year.

Organised by XLRI, Joyfest or the Joy of Giving Week will start on October 2. This year, the campaign will have new initiatives, which aims to promote acts of kindness like giving one's time, money and skills freely to the needy.

The festive holidays will not be a barrier for volunteers from B-school, NGOs and corporate firms who will be taking part in the campaign.

Apart from Vastra Samman, a clothes collection drive, which will be held in collaboration with New Delhi-based NGO Goonj and giving dry ration to the needy, the campaign will also host an eye donation camp through XLRI and Roshni, a city-based NGO.

Another NGO, Cause for Change, has come up with the idea of collecting usable medicines and donating them to those who need them.

"There are many who have unused medicines at home. Most of the time we throw them away even if they have not crossed their expiry date. We will first collect medicines, segregate them and then donate it to primary health centres where they actually need it," said Joydip Paul, one of the partners with the NGO.

A group of XLRI's entrepreneurship students have decided to recycle used A-4 sheets into notebooks, which will be distributed to city and rural schools for the underprivileged.

Management students will also train village women in business development skills.

Kalamandir, another Jamshedpur-based NGO, will distribute mosquito nets in the villages of Dumaria and Potka blocks.

New batch of 390 aspiring achievers join XLRI Jamshedpur

New Delhi (India Education Diary, June 15, 2011): XLRI Jamshedpur, one of the top B Schools in India, announced commencement of the new academic year 2011. A total of 390 students drawn from the following programmes: Business Management, Human Resource Management, General Management Programme, FPM (Fellow Programme in Management) and EFPM (Executive Fellow Programme in Management) joined the XLRI student fraternity. The new batch of students are from diverse backgrounds: engineering, arts, science, commerce and medicine.

The fresher students will take part in a special Orientation Programme which has been outlined to refresh their knowledge base before regular classes commence. A unique feature in the first term will be the Village Exposure Programme as well as the Tata Steel Adventure Programme. Both the programmes have been drawn up to sensitize students to the tough life in rural India, whilst inculcating values of team spirit, fellow feeling, etc.

As a thought leader, XLRI has always been at the forefront of driving innovation and expanding the horizon of modern education system. Village Exposure Programme and the Tata Steel Adventure Programme exemplify XLRI's innovativeness.

Announcing the new academic year Fr. E. Abraham, S.J. (Director) said that, "XLRI is a Business School which concentrates not only on knowledge development, but gives equal importance on personal, spiritual and social development. XLRI strives to offer an education regimen which goes beyond a mere degree and aims at grooming students as leaders for the society at large."

"Recently we have been rated as the second best Business School in India by Economic Times Business School Ranking, which is based on feedback by India's largest conglomerates of the country's top business schools. This rating is a reflection of our efforts at grooming our students as leaders of tomorrow", he added.

XLRI announced the commencement of its new Academic Year at a solemn prayer service event organized at the campus for the new batch in presence of Director, Dean, former Director Fr. E.H. McGrath, S.J. as well members representing the Faculty, Staff of XLRI and Students with their parents. Readings from the Holy Quran, Bhagavad-Gita and Bible marked a special spiritual significance to the ceremony.

Prof. P. Ray (Dean Academics) addressed the students and introduced the faculty across different functional streams of management. Prof Ray highlighted XLRI's continual efforts in molding managers with values. The Dean reminded students that the India growth story will run into turbulent waters if leaders and managers of tomorrow pursue high growth whilst sacrificing values and integrity. He added that it is important to pursue even small chores and tasks in one's daily life with honesty and probity.

MAXI Fair: XLRI plays brand games - 2-day consumer insight fest

Jamshedpur, Jan. 16 (The Telegraph): All work and no play makes brand survey a dull job.

XLRI’s MAXI Fair, an annual survey for corporate brands and consumer behaviour, goes into gaming mode to ferret out people’s insights of what makes certain brands tick and others don’t.

And in its 32nd edition now, the event, organised by its marketing association, has become a respected brand in itself.

The two-day fair that concluded today, has since last year, bagged the prestigious ISO 9001-2000 certification. And this year, it saw participation from reputed companies across diverse industry verticals such as Castrol, Reckitt Benckiser, IDBI Bank and Nestle.

In addition, it also saw participation from academia. And to draw maximum footfall, and hence, accuracy of results, organisers have decided to conduct the fair on two consecutive days, instead of just Sunday which was the case previously.

“With four companies and academic research, the MAXI fair tried to understand consumer behaviour through interesting gaming open for the public. Participation by visitors in various games helps us understand brand preferences affected by many factors,” said Himanshu Joshi, a senior member of MAXI and a second-year student of personnel management and industrial relations.

Around 120 student volunteers worked tirelessly for months to execute every aspect of the fair, ranging from sponsorships and media to logistics and entertainment.

The fair kicked off on Saturday afternoon, drawing over 500 participants within the first few hours of its opening. The evening was pure entertainment with game stalls, rides for children and a concert by XLRI’s in-house band, Bodhi Tree. Food stalls saw brisk business. In two days, footfall count was around 1,000-plus.

The stall researching for Castrol drew youths who discussed bikes and their maintenance. “At the Castrol stall, we hosted bike-related discussions with people that were captured on video. The company will get to know valuable insights into consumer behaviour from the footage,” said Pathik Krit Basu, of second-year business.

The idea of MAXI fair was conceptualised 32 years ago by marketing professor and visionary Sharad Sarin.

Every year since then, major Indian corporate houses bring their market research problems to students of XLRI, who design elaborate games around them. Hosted on XLRI grounds, the fair is open to people who have a good time apart from winning prizes in games. Students, on the other hand, get useful data on public preferences, which they analyse to solve problems faced by companies.

Stage set for MAXI Fair, XLRI to conduct market research

January 15 (The Pioneer): The Marketing Association of XLRI, popularly known as MAXI, is set to organise its annual MAXI Fair on January 15. Started in 1979, the MAXI Fair is a unique and innovative approach to conduct market research in a fun format.

Officials of MAXI informed that this year, several companies are taking part in the MAXI Fair. While some wants to understand consumer behavior and preferences their categories others plan to understand the tastes of the consumers.

The idea was conceptualised 31 years ago, much ahead of its time, by Sharad Sarin, Professor of Marketing at XLRI and a visionary. Year after year since then, major Indian corporate houses bring their market research problems to the students of XLRI, who design elaborate games around them.

These games are hosted in the XLRI grounds, and are open to public who visit the fair and have a good time apart from winning prizes. The students, on the other hand, get useful data about public preferences, which they then analyse to solve the problems faced by the companies. This makes the task of conducting the otherwise boring and mundane research easier and interesting.

“This year we planning to make it more academic oriented than fun and fair. We have made special arrangements for the event this year where the students will carry research work,” said a member of the organising team.

It may be mentioned that Brooke Bond tasted success to the tune of `100 crore with the idea of newly packaged tea. Pepsi in 2006 decided to give a new design to its packaging. ITC decided to venture into the biscuit market. These are some of the few success stories of brands which were once just ideas of XLRI students.

XLRI’s National Platform for Youth

Jamshedpur, Jan. 14 (The Telegraph): Social entrepreneurship is high on XLRI’s radar this month.

After the success of its previous two national conferences related to the social sector, the top B-school is hoping for a hat-trick with its 3rd National Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, to be held from January 28 to 30. The theme this year is Youth, Development and Social Entrepreneurship.



The three-day event will bring around 25 prominent experts on a common platform. Padmashree and Magsasay award winner Deep Joshi will give the inaugural address.

“The conference aims to provide a common space to development sector professionals. There will be discussion on what could be improved in various types of social sectors. This year, the conference will focus on the involvement of youth in the social sector,” said Madhukar Shukla, event co-ordinator.

The conference will have three broad categories — challenges, opportunities and getting started — with diverse topics such as involving youths to volunteer, creating markets for marginal producers, promoting livelihood and employment, leveraging technology for social development, options for funding and investments and supporting the eco-system for social entrepreneurs, among others.

“Each session will be addressed by three or four practising social entrepreneurs and development professionals. The participants will also be able to interact with the speakers in a free-wheeling interface,” said Shukla.

The event is open to all. Corporate organisations, NGOs and students will have to pay a registration fee of Rs 8,000, Rs 4,000 and Rs 800, respectively.

Those who want to attend the event can also log in at seconference(at)xlri.ac.in
Details at:
http://3rd-se-conference-at-xlri.blogspot.com/

XLRI Lab to Map Marketing Future

Jamshedpur, Oct. 19 (The Telegraph): XLRI inaugurated its behavioural marketing research lab today and organised a panel discussion — Maxi Mindscapes — to peek into the pros and cons of neuroscience marketing.

The lab, the first of its kind in the country, will delve deeper into people’s minds to know the emotional reasons influencing consumer choices.

The panel discussion comprised of experts from various fields who explained the applications of neuroscience marketing. The meet was aimed at framing a roadmap for the institute and understanding the merits and limitations of the application. The initiative has already got the nod of XLRI director Father E. Abraham.

“XLRI has always been a pioneer in innovations. I hope the initiative will set higher benchmark in knowledge,” said Father E. Abraham.

Planned by Marketing Association of XLRI (Maxi), the laboratory will work on the behavioural patterns of consumers. “We are ready and will start work as soon as we get projects,” said Maxi secretary Vinayak Mehta

Neuroscience plays a revolutionary role in research and marketing. When used with established research techniques, neuroscience-based research can add powerful new insights. By employing techniques of eye tracking, brainwave measurement, et al, marketers might get a whole lot of hitherto unknown information.