An enlightening Session on ‘Theory of Constraints’ by Air Marshal Pramod Vasant Athawale (Retd)

How to run your business by its Constraints

Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee has always believed in improving, challenging and increasing knowledge. The department has left no stone unturned to achieve the same. Taking its cognitive approach forward department has successfully organized a guest lecture on ‘Theory of Constraints’ by its esteemed guest Air Marshal Pramod Vasant Athawale (Retd).

                     The lecture profoundly entwined the application of Theory of Constraints in various management decisions. Insights were shared to describe that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link and that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the outcome. Air Marshal Athawale recounted various real life events to explain as how to identify constraints within the system. Various implications of identifying the constraint within the sphere of control and sphere of influence were discussed. The importance of identifying the constraints was explicated in a very simple and perceivable way.

                     The session was full of involving discussions which were followed by exercises to make the students understand the application of theory of constraints and how one can use it to solve various issues one might face in the business. Air Marshal Athawale described the importance of goals and encouraged to manage as per the defined goals of the organization. The session has been really fulfilling to provide a sound perspective to the knowledge of the students. DoMS, IIT Roorkee has always been a hub of knowledge sharing. The same spirit will prevail in the times to come.

' Life is a Sport, Make it count ’ - EXUBERANCE-2014 at DoMS, IIT Roorkee

Mixing up sports with a business school might sound uncanny to someone, but the fact is, there is nothing better than to indulge oneself in the sporting spirit. As sports is not just about entertainment but can serve the purpose of a learning ground, especially for management enthusiasts. Apart from giving a time- out from the hectic routine, it can play an important role in one’s personality development.

From lecture halls to sports complex, DoMS IIT Roorkee has been a great learning place for the students. Its distinguished sports facilities have proved to be heaven for sports fanciers. Sports are in fact the best way to learn about management. Taking this fact into consideration, DoMS, IIT Roorkee organized Intra-departmental sports fest; EXUBERANCE-2014. It was fully loaded with the action packed performances by both 2015 and 2016 batches.  2015 batch emerged as overall winner of EXUBERANCE 2014.
                          

The event met with modest acclamation from both the junior and senior batches. Both batches showed enthusiastic participation to represent their teams. Numerous sports events were organized, like Cricket, Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton, Lawn tennis, Football, Table tennis, Carom, Chess, Pool, Snooker and Squash, taking the panoptic interest into account.

               

The event gained huge applauds. Viewers were as much excited as the players. A healthy environment was created to foster the kinship between 1^st and 2^nd year students. Seniors were encouraging the juniors. True sportsmanship spirit was observed which facilitated the sense of competition between both the batches.

               

The tournament was jam-packed with some exciting matches of Cricket and Football with equally commoving indoor matches like Table tennis, Carom and Snooker. 2015 batch went home with the winning trophy. Exuberance is undoubtedly the most awaited event of DoMS ,which left everybody with endearing memories to cherish, with a tint of excitement for EXUBERANCE 2015.

DoMS Premier League (DPL), the Call of the DPL @ DoMS, IIT Roorkee

In the lights of the DPL, the players and the owners shine the brightest. Behind the scenes, a team of specialists provide their trade to give a franchise the shape of a corporation. It’s known as the businessman’s game for money. DoMS, IIT Roorkee came out with a plan of DoMS Premier League (DPL), to try their hands at different functions like business development, sponsorship, finance, marketing, operations and such.DPL was held during a week long period from 9-15 Sept, 2014.

The player’s auction was held, in which 66 outstanding players were sold after rounds of bidding. After the successful bidding process, DoMS brought a competition, DPL Fantasy League, specifically for people who were not players or owners of any team in the league.

Matches were held during 10-15 Sept, which were of 12 over each. From the winner’s team, Pallav Angrulla from 2014-16 batch scored blistering half-century twice in the series and won ‘Man of the Series’ award.

However, the challenge for the players who performed was to find ways to get consistent, as the format demands that players constantly think on their feet. The rapid pace and the sequence of games in the DPL tested the emotional-management skills as well, as there are bound to be a lot of ups and downs, collectively and individually. Besides, players had to upgrade their technical and mental skills regularly.

Among individual players, Pallav Angrulla, Amit Gangwar, Sri Chandrashekhar, Vikas Sangwan and Amar Keshri were the favorites to get the highest bid. DPL in addition to providing entertainment to a huge amount of people also provided an opportunity to brush up the management skills. DoMS, IIT Roorkee is proud to have organized such event and is looking forward for such riveting events in future as well.

Saving three lives at a time - Blood Donation camp at IIT Roorkee

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow men.

- Herman Melville

Blood donation campaign by National Service scheme at IIT Roorkee Hospital on 7th September was very well laid out. Students, faculties and staffs came up for this cause in big numbers.

Massive participation was observed and long queues predominantly comprised of enthusiastic youth who made their little and appreciable attempt to save someone somewhere. Throughout the day, the hospital was equipped with donors. Firstly, body mass index was properly checked and other requisites and precautions were considered. The collecting agency identified whether the blood is type A, B, AB or O and the donor’s Rh (D) type. Proper instructions were given during pre-and-post durations of blood donations to each individual. Volunteers distributed pamphlets of Do’s and Don’ts. Further, the screening of blood samples includes testing for diseases that can be transmitted by a blood transfusion, including HIV and viral hepatitis.

Blood transfusion is vital during pregnancy-related complications such as bleeding cases before, during or after delivery, for patients during surgical operations such as cardiovascular operations and organ transplant surgery, victims of accidents, cancer patients, patients with blood diseases etc.

Far flung impact of this blood drive proves that the finest gesture one can make is to save life by donating Blood. Blood donation is something you can do anytime, not just when there is an emergency, and be sure that you have helped someone. It takes only 45 minutes to donate 450 ml (one unit), which can save three lives. Do consider the fact the next time you see a blood donation camp. After all, we cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.

‘Bringing Branding back to the boardroom’, Marketing insights shared in DoMS, IIT Roorkee

Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee conducted a session on Marketing insights on ‘Bringing Branding back in the boardroom’. The session was conducted by Mr. Sunder Madakshira, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, SAP India. Along with Mr. Madakshira, Mr. Mohammed A K Rao, Manager - Marketing & Communication at SAP Labs and Mr. Rohan Sinha, Senior Software Engineer at SAP Labs India Pvt. Ltd also shared their experiences with the students of DoMS.

 In July 2012, The Fournaise Marketing Group released a statement on business unit alignment. For their 2012 Global Marketing Effectiveness Program Report, they interviewed more than 1,200 CEOs from across the globe and found that a staggering 80% of them admit they do not really trust and are not very impressed by the work done by marketers. So, what went wrong between marketers and the decision makers? Mr. Madakshira, throws light on what needs to be done to handle such situations as to make the marketing count.

“Marketers should always portray the real picture so that a more pragmatic approach should be followed. Some of the grave realities that every marketer needs to accept are, real prices of the product will always come down, customer will redraw the value equation all the time, competition at all levels is forever increasing and marketing ROI will always be difficult to demonstrate. Only if we keep these facts in our mind that we could actually think about how to deal with them instead of avoiding them”, said Mr. Madakshira.

The session was very interactive; each and every student got involved due to Mr. Madakshira’s engaging way of knowledge sharing. He very well pointed out the Brand managers shortcomings like over analyzing the situation, advertising in desperation and planning without execution. ”Brand managers should focus on developing strong customer insights, building strong chain to deliver value and extending global footprints”, said Mr. Madakshira.

At the end of the session, he provided some useful pointers for upcoming marketers. Some of the suggestions were that the marketer should have ears of a snake so as to know the customer very well. He should be an exceptional analyst like a hawk and an enthusiast who focuses on networking for building strong relationships.

All in all, the session was very enlightening for the future marketers. Students of DoMS, IIT Roorkee appreciated it whole heartedly and showed interest to carry on such informative sessions in future as well.