International School of Business and Research (ISBR) Business School and Research Centre took immense pride in organising the first-ever International Conference on ‘Contemporary Challenges in Business Management’ in association with University of Mysore, The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM), Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA) – A SAARC Recognised Body; and Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) on 24th March 2017, at its premises.
The main aim behind organizing such an event was to make the practicing managers aware regarding the various contemporary challenges in managing the business.
INAUGURAL SESSION
The conference began with the Inaugural session. Several eminent dignitaries – Guest of Honor, Dr. S. Shivanna, Chairman & Professor, Department of Economics and Research in Economics and Management, KSOU, Mysore; Guest of Honor, Mr. Vinay N, Director, Silver Peak Global Private Limited and Convener, Education and Training Committee, ASSOCHAM; Mr. C. Ramakrishna, Executive Director, Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA); Speaker Dr. Rajesh Panda, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru, graced the occasion. The conference got enlightened in the gracious presence of –Mr. Manish Kothari, Managing Director, ISBR; Dr. C. Manohar, Chairman, AIMS Karnataka and Kerala and Dean, ISBR; Dr. K. S. Anandaram, Senior Director, ISBR and Dr. T. Karpagam, Director – Academics, ISBR.
The inaugural session started off with the ceremony of Lighting the Lamp. It represents an ode to knowledge, for it dispels the darkness of ignorance and brings with it, the dawn of a new revolution. The revolution of ideas, which holds the key to freedom, from the bondage of incomprehension. This was followed by the felicitation of the eminent guests by ISBR team.
The Welcome Address was propagated by Dr. K. S. Anandaram, Senior Director, ISBR. He introduced the topic of discussion – ‘Contemporary Challenges in Business Management’ to the audience and graciously welcomed the audience.
The Welcome Address was followed by the address of Dr. C. Manohar, Chairman, AIMS Karnataka and Kerala and Dean, ISBR. He spoke about the idea of contemporary challenges in the context of disruption in innovation and technology. He focused on the creation of a pipeline for talent which is required in today’s VUCA ( Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous ) world. He gave prominence to ‘demographic dividend’ as an intellectual asset for the country.
In his inaugural Address, Mr. C. Ramakrishna, Execute Director, Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA) focused on three major contemporary challenges – Digitization, Innovation and Disruption. He insisted on being more alert and aggressive to take up the challenges to withstand the era of change.
Dr. S. Shivanna, Chairman and Professor, De partment of Economics and Research in Economics and Management, KSOU, Mysore made the students to take the below pledge:
“We dedicate ourselves everything for the growth, development, prosperity, peace, technological development for the country’s pride and prejudice. Let us put India on global map”.
He stated that the challenges and competition should be viewed as opportunity. He analyzed contemporary challenges on the grounds of Economic Pressure, Globalization, Change, Innovation, Customer Service and Employer Satisfaction. According to him, A good businessman is the one who possesses three main qualities in order to be successful – Pleasing Nature, Good Command over the Language and Well-Groomed.
Further Mr. Vinay N, Director, Silver Peak Global Private Limited and Convener, Education and Training Committee, ASSOCHAM spoke about the challenges faced by start-ups. He laid stress on working in a Start-up Company to gain some work experience, before becoming an entrepreneur. He highlighted the key concerns over the businesses between Japan and India. He said that Japan converts Soil to Gold, while India converts Gold to Soil. According to him, the available resource must be put to best use.
Dr. Rajesh Panda, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru, highlighted three main aspects: the way the consumers change; the global economic environment; and the structural issues faced by the country. He also discussed the challenges for Advertisers; Automation vs Job Creation; Evolution and Challenges of Start-ups; Spending on Innovation, to name a few.
Representatives from Genpact and White Horse were felicitated by Mr. Manish Kothari, Managing Director, ISBR. Star Invitee from Easy M to M was felicitated by Mr. C. Ramakrishna, Executive Director, Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA).
In his Presidential address, Mr. Manish Kothari, Managing Director, ISBR, highlighted ‘Change’ which is evident and unstoppable. He insisted on considering ‘Change’ as an opportunity.
The Inaugural Session concluded with the Vote of Thanks by Dr. T. Karpagam, Director – Academics, ISBR.
PANEL DISCUSSION
The Inaugural Session was followed by a Panel Discussion with Panel Moderator Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Senior Dean and Director, Prin L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Bengaluru. The Panel Members include Dr. Sergio Sgambato, Managing Director, Artimpianti India Private Limited; Professor Ajit Mani, Managing Director, Intervention (India) Private Limited; Mr. V. K. Ramaswamy, Advisor to International Projects and Professor Preeja Sreedhar, Adjunct Faculty, ISBR. The Panel Session was coordinated and observed by Professor NanaiahPattada, Director – Industry Interactions, ISBR.
The Panel Discussion began with the Introduction of the Dignitaries by Professor NanaiahPattida, Director – Industry Relations, ISBR.
Panel Moderator Dr. Anil Rao Paila spoke about disruptions in contemporary world. He emphasized that Real Estate has emerged as one of the major challenges in business and supports the governance model of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.
Professor Preeja Sreedhar spoke about the skill gap as a big challenge for today’s workforce to cope up with the changing world. She also highlighted the need of bringing a positive revolution in classrooms like inculcating practical aspects of the teaching methodology and pedagogy, which would help prepare the practicing managers to be industry-ready.
Mr. V. K. Ramaswamy, Advisor to International Projects, spoke about ERP which integrates the backbone of the organisation. He also gave inputs on the Goods and Service Tax Bill and mentioned to strengthen the basics.
Dr. Sergio Sgambato, Managing Director, Artimpianti India Private Limited, pointed out the major disruption sources – Emotion and Passion. He mentioned that GST is not a disruption rather, it is an opportunity to enter into the world of change. He also asked to be sensitized towards other cultures.
Professor Ajit Mani, Managing Director, Intervention (India) Private Limited, said that Management is both, an Art and Science and must produce positive results. He mentioned two types of arrogance – Engineering Arrogance and Bureaucracy Arrogance and talked about the challenges of Producing Result and Participation.
The Panel Discussion concluded with the felicitation of the guests with a memento and Vote of Thanks by Professor Nanaiah Pattada, Director – Industry Interactions, ISBR.
Lunch was arranged for the distinguished guests, delegates, participants, paper presenters and research scholars.
PAPER PRESENTATION
65 authors have presented the papers related to various domains of business management such as Marketing, Human Resource, Supply Chain Management, Finance etc.
VALEDICTORY CEREMONY
Students from PGDM and MBA performed on various songs with the use of musical instruments. The Welcome Address was conveyed by Dr. Karpagam T, Director – Academics, ISBR. The Guest of Honor, Mr. R. Alexander, Director – Human Resources, Oracle India Private Limited was felicitated by Mr. Manish Kothari, Managing Director, ISBR.
In his address, Mr. R. Alexander, Director – Human Resources, Oracle India Private Limited focused on the 3 P’s – Purpose for the work to be done; Passion to go an extra mile; Perseverance to convert the dreams into action. He said, “Passion will always remain in Fashion”. He also pointed out the 3 H’s – Humility, Honesty and Humor. He urged to value time by saying that everyone has time for Facebook but not for Face-look. He told the students to prepare a gratitude list and practice meditation daily. He concluded his speech by sharing a story from ‘Two Falcons’ with the message of letting go our ego, accepting challenges and inculcating attributes like patience and perseverance.
The participation certificates were distributed to all the paper presenters of various domains of business management. This was followed by the Best Paper Awards in each domain (track). Best Paper Awards were presented to Mr. Pawan Sriram, Professor Shiva Kumar, Mr. Sekhar Y, Research Scholar, ISBR Research Centre, Dr. Debdutta Das, Academic Intern, Indian Institute of Management – Bengaluru (IIIM-B) and Ms. Kavyashree in their respective domains.
The Best Paper Awardees were invited to share their experience about the conference.
The International Conference concluded with the Vote of Thanks.
Prepared by :
Vijaya Chandran Aravind (MBA)
Samir Hasan Ali (PGDM)
Members, Writers’ and Media Club, ISBR