School of Management Studies

Punjabi University, Patiala

MAGNATE Volume 1, Issue 1

November 2010

BUSINESS RESEARCH & RANDOMNESS

R
VE (Questioning the Answers)
CO RY
O
ST

t
If Bush hasn’
died in last 50
years, he will
t
not die in nex
50 years.

Mentor Speak CONTENTS

From Heads Desk
Alumni’s Column 2-3

L ast few years have witnessed phenome-

nal growth in the field of management
education in India. Although the number of
In this dynamic world,
students cannot restrict their
knowledge to classroom teach-
Cover Story
10 Secrets of Successful
5-6
9
management schools has grown manifold ing only. They have to come Entrepreneurs
yet only those which have been able to keep out of their cocoons to prepare Time to Wakeup, Future 10
pace with changing environment. School of themselves for this competitive at the stake
Management Studies was established in world. And this Newsletter is a
1969. We are one of the oldest schools in platform which gives students a Book Review, Young 11
Voice, SMS Pulse
the country and boast of keeping our cur- chance to express their views.
riculum and facilities in the most modern We might be late in bringing EDITORIAL BOARD
and updated fashion. out this issue, but I am sure that Chief Editor
We have been getting the benefits of fac- from here onwards
Ranjeet Kaur
ulty and student exchange through our un- “MAGNATE” will be the regu-
derstanding with various international uni- lar feature of SMS. Congratula- Chief Graphic Designer
versities. Beside other activities, house tions to the Team Magnate and Er. Sandeep Bansal
journal and newsletter is an initiative of the all the students of SMS. This is Managing Editors
students outside their normal curricula. their endeavor which is instru- Er. Akash Sharma,
I feel very happy to know that the students mental in bringing out this edi-
tion. All the best, but remember Appurva, Shveta
of SMS are coming out with a newsletter
this is just the start and still Assistant Editors
that exhibits departmental activities. I wish
the students a great success in the endeavor. miles to go…….. Amit, Kulbir
- Dr. A.S. Chawla (HOD - SMS) - Er. Sahil Raj (Asst. Prof - SMS)

BOOK REVIEW * ‘Rank’ and ‘Yank’ - A Critical Evaluation

“THE LEADER * Why Engineers come in Management???..... A True
FACE2FACE
WHO HAD NO Story
TITLE” MR. RAJINDER
* Elements Missing : Point of View
GUPTA
BY * Commonwealth Games: Mismanagement Case Study
(MD-
(MD-TRIDENT)
ROBIN * Survival of the Fittest…..
SHARMA
 Page 2 MAGNATE

‘Rank’ and ‘Yank’ – A Critical Evaluation

*Shaveta Mahajan (Management Trainee - NFL, Nangal)

T
his phrase may seem quite witty, but there is one thing for sure it couldn’t go unnoticed.
While going through the newspaper one fine day I had to strain my mind to discover what
Rank and Yank is all about. Economic slowdown and the entry of MNC’s in new industries
brought with them new forms of employee performance appraisals. Many of them, including
the 360- degree evaluations, have lost their novelty. However, a controversial appraisal system is being
discussed in HR circles today. Although, the idea is not novice, but it is gaining momentum in India .

Organizations today prefer to be lean with optimum employee strength rather than being fat and over-
burdened. They believe in pampering the employees who yield results and leave no stone unturned to
ensure that they are retained.

Rank and Yank involves replacing 10 percent of the employees in organization every year as a matter of
course. Believe it or not, around 20 % of the companies in India -- mostly MNC’s have already put such
a ranking system in place. The leading practitioners of this kind of ranking abroad include Microsoft
Ford, GE, PepsiCo, Coke, Cisco & Sun Microsystems, but a few companies in India are willing to talk
about it openly since the forced removal of substantial number of employees as an annual exercise is
still a highly sensitive issue in India where retrenchment is still to find full acceptance.

Some call it the 'rank and yank' strategy, others term it an 'up or out' policy while Jack Welch , foun-
der of this theory and former CEO of GE has termed it the 'vitality curve'.

It is a ranking method in which the best and the poor performers are identified. It is also called the 20-
70-10 model which says that “top 20 per cent” of the workforce is the most productive, “vital 70 per
cent” work adequately and remaining “10 per cent” are non productive. Specifically (in accordance with
the 20-70-10 model) the top executives are divided into "A", "B", and "C" players.

"A" players "B" players

♦ Filled with passion
♦ Committed to "making things happen"
♦ Open to ideas from anywhere , blessed with
lots of "runway" ahead of them,
♦ Have charisma, the ability to energize them-
selves and others,
♦ Exhibit the "four E's" of leadership:
Very high Energy levels
Can Energize others around common goals
The "Edge" to make difficult decisions
The ability to consistently Execute, or de-
liver on their promises
"B" players may not be visionary or the most
driven, but are "vital" because they make up the
majority of the group.
"C" players
"C" players are non producers. They are likely
to "enervate" rather than "energize", Procrastina-
tion is a common trait of "C" players, as well as
failure to deliver on promises.
The poor performers are given reasonable time
to improve their performance and in case of fail-
ure they are asked to leave the organization and
a severance package is offered to them. How-
ever, if they refuse their services are terminated
and no compensation is offered to them.

**Obama’s stand regarding no tax breaks for firms that create job overseas would affect the Indian service industry but as per the statements
from NASSCOM this policy shift has no direct impact on industry in India.
 Volume
Volume 11,, Issue
Issue 11 Page 3

Merits:- It motivates the best employees, removes deadwood, and helps develop strong leaders. It
forces the managers to shed off the extra fat from organizations carried in the form of underperformers
due to which organizations face downturn otherwise. But at the same time employees cannot be just
asked unreasonably to leave. Their performance should be re viewed for three quarters. After the first
quarter counseling and mentoring should be given to underperformers for improvement; again after the
second quarter performance review i.e. if employees do not perform they should be given training and
even after all this if they are unable to show signs of improvement they should be asked to leave amica-
bly.
Demerits:- Some critics believe that the 20-70- 10 model fails to reflect actual human behavior cause
an employee may fail to give his best in some cases...reasons could be many. While some critics think
that it undermines team work, encourages employees to go into wasteful game playing to prevent
themselves from coming in the 10 per cent slot and results in lack of job security to employees, thereby
reducing the employee commitment.
Consequences:- This system promotes vitality in the firm, theoretically allowing only the strongest
performers to reach leadership positions. The style may make it more difficult for employees to cross
rate from one division to another. For example, a "C" employee in a company's Customer Service divi-
sion would be at a disadvantage applying for a job in Marketing, even though he or she may have tal-
ents consistent with an "A" rating in the other division.

In a nutshell, ‘Rank and Yank’ appraisal method has both pros and cons and organizations should try
taking maximum benefit out of it by making employees more productive keeping in mind the suitabil-
ity factors and legal constraints. At the same time it’s essential for the employees to realize that with
the times now and ahead they cannot afford to take a back seat and if they want to survive in the corpo-
rate world they need to yield results. Thus, a mutually competitive behavior from the side of both the
parties can surely make the ‘Rank and Yank’ method a grand success in the present industry.

WHY ENGINEERS COME IN MANAGEMENT? – A TRUE STORY

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below.
She descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet
him an hour ago but I don't know where I am."
The man below replied "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground.
You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am", replied the man.
"How did you know?"
"Well, answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I've no idea what to
make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If
anything, you've delayed my trip even more."
The man below responded, "You must be in management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where
you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you've no idea how to keep, and
you expect people beneath you to solve your problems?!!"

BOTTOM LINE: That’s why Engineers are coming in Management, so that we can have answers to
those questions that originally have NO ANSWERS. *Akash Sharma (MBA-II Global)

**The employers in the organized sector would be denied tax deductibility on wage payment if they will not go for group health insurance schemes
for their employees. The employer and the employees both will contribute towards tax premium which can be exempt from tax.
 Page 4 MAGNATE
MAGNATE

ELEMENTS MISSING : POINT OF VIEW

Water, water everywhere... but not a drop to drink
Jobs, jobs everywhere...but not ‘employable’ candidates

A re you an MBA student? Do you want a placement after your full time two year course? Then you
can’t just be so careless to skip this!

The harsh reality is that most of the 2,000 MBA schools in India are running on 20-40 percent place-
ments. During and after campus, most MBA students appear in at least three-six interviews but often fail
to get a decent job. Why is this happening?

The current education system in India has an inherent flaw that it offers degrees but not jobs. The indus-
try needs certain skills beyond the AICTE/university curriculum before it can hire a candidate.
Corporate world continues to have jobs but keeps complaining that there are not enough “employable”
candidates. And students keep complaining of lack of jobs despite degrees. Water, water everywhere,
but not a drop to drink...
The gap between the industry requirement and academic curriculum lies mostly in the nine areas of:
♦ Attitude: Often students say no to target based jobs, or have unrealistic first salary expec-
tations or have pre conceived notion about sectors like insurance.
♦ Big picture thinking: Most students from tier II business schools are unable to grasp big
picture business issues.
♦ Grooming/personality/confidence: Due to lack of exposure, students find it difficult to
fully articulate their views and are often not confident enough while facing clients.
♦ Corporate exposure: knowledge of what’s happening in the industry and understanding
the real world corporate requirement is missing.
♦ Domain knowledge: Practical skills in marketing, finance, IT, operations and a deep
knowledge of core concepts is completely missing.
♦ Sales and customer service: While most entry-level jobs involve either sales or customer
service, most students lack practical, street smart skills required in it.
♦ Basic managerial skills: Critical skills like accountability of results, ability to work in
teams, openness to feedback etc. are missing.
♦ Ethics: Companies immediately reject candidates if they have a slightest doubt on their
moral fabric. But often students try to bluff in interview to act smart.
The good news is that these skills can be taught. But it requires a concerted attempt and a very structured
scientific process. For example, the basic managerial skills like the ability to work in teams can be de-
veloped by organizing regular group discussions, team based competitions etc.

Similarly, attitude of students change but requires understanding of the brain-based learning
model. Our brain’s limbic system – responsible for behavioural changes – learns only through constant
motivation, extended practice and regular feedback. So a 10 minute story telling based pedagogy by an
inspirational faculty when continued every day for six months can bring about a change.

So friends, get ready and be prepared in your quest to hunt for that dream job, and start preparing TO-
DAY......
~Paras Rattan Sharda (MBA - II D)

**Direct Tax Code 2011 has been cleared by cabinet and likely to be tabled during the monsoon session of the Parliament. The new provisions will
be major relief for salaried class. The new DTC will be effective from April, 2011.
 Volume
Volume 1,
1, Issue
Issue 11 Page 5

BUSINESS RESEARCH AND RANDOMNESS

COVER STORY (Questioning the Answers)

W
e can talk round and round about the sophisticated definitions of management, but the moral
of the story says that management is nothing but a science of taking accurate decisions.
Every manager always has huge responsibility of taking difficult decisions. But what’s the
big deal in that, we all take decisions in our daily lives also, for example- Going to a movie after bunk-
ing the class, selecting a particular outfit over many alternatives, going to library all these are also deci-
sions. So, everyone should be designated as a manager only. But calling yourself a manger in business
context is not a child’s play.

Actually, the importance of a decision lies in the worth of that decision. At business edge we can’t make
a decision for opinion sake, because every decision possesses some crucial consequences. These conse-
quences can be positive as well as negative. But unfortunately no one can predict the impact of a deci-
sion because it will always be about the future. Business research is like a blessing for the managers that
really facilitate the complexity of decision making.

No matter its Marketing, finance, HR or operations, Business research finds applications in every aspect
of management. On the basis of logical research design, variable analysis, statistical testing, indices plot-
ting and normal distribution curve, Business research produce answers to many questions.

But as Einstein once said “Flaws are most essential clause in any scientific knowledge”. These days
many experts are questioning the answer itself. According to modern researchers the concept of business
research is inappropriate specifically for predictive purposes. Markovian matrix and distorted distribu-
tion curves are few amendments made by statisticians to retain the worth of the concept.

Business research stands on the concepts of trend analysis and normal distribution curve, but Nassem
Nicholus Taleb claims in his recent book that “no previous patterns exist and ND curve if in fact a GIF
i.e. Greatest Intellectual Fraud”. The phenomenon of randomness does participate in every event occur-
ring in this universe.

THE BLACK SWAN AND ITS IMPACT

Before the exploration of Western Australia, everyone was sure that swans are only white in colour
(previous trend). But in Western Australia some explorer found swans that were black in colour (trend
proved wrong). This exploration became the example of breaking the myths. Theory of randomness says
that we all believe and survive in myths of logical analysis, but in reality a black swan is always there,
best illustration to prove this attribute is behaviour of stock markets.
Throughout the world many investment bankers use techniques of predictive
business research to conclude future of the marketable securities. But so far
no predication has proved to be invincible. If an investor is making money
from last many years from stock market on basis of trend analysis, then a re-
verse black swan event will always be present in surrounding environment
with 10% probability of occurrence. This black swan event will prove all his
analysis tools inappropriate and markets will show un-predictive behaviours.
The investor will lose twice of the money he/she generated from markets
from last many years due to that rare black swan event. This usually happen
due to the factor of luck and randomness present in every sort of research.
 Page 6 MAGNATE
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Take an example that if there are 10000 investors each one having 50% probability of making money
from the market in one financial year then at the end of first year 5000 of them will generate handsome
amount of money, (other 5000 will be the losers and let them wave off from the game). Now in next year
under same situation, 2,500 investors will make money. Similarly in the end of 5th year there will be 313
damn sure investors who will make money for 5 continuous years, no matter how markets behave, no
matter how world behaves, no matter how they themselves behave and no matter how the trend analysis
tools behave. These investors will be chosen through the sample path provided to them by the random-
ness present in surrounding environment. Different paths have different results, similarly while conduct-
ing a research, researchers will follow a certain path (choice of this path is not in their hands); the chosen
path will only provide the chosen results.

Situation is even more intense in behavioural research where researchers have to rely on the responses
given by the people with variable behaviours. Researchers have developed techniques to smoothen the
risk and probability of randomness in the results, but further research in this area has shown that those
who are intensely resistive against the risk of randomness are never able to make huge benefits in busi-
ness, on the other hand those who are less resistive against the risk of randomness they will have 90%
chances of success but in remaining 10% chances their all research tools and analytical approach will get
inactive and they will lose 400% of pervious benefits, chances of this occurrence is 10 in 100. So, al-
most everyone is fooled by the randomness.

Future was un-predictive without the research and its un-predictive even with the research, but now
penalties of wrong predications are extremely detrimental and randomness assures that there will al-
ways be 10% wrong predictions in any environment and in any scenario.
*Akash Sharma (MBA-II Global)

What’s your call on present approach

….!
! of fairness cream advertisements?
O U T
AK ING
SPE I find it really funny when they claim that if you want to be a player or an actress
or a scholar, what you need is just a tube of cream that will make you as white as moon
thus guaranteeing your success. So, current approach of these advertisements is wrong and somehow
it’s like mental exploitation of the consumers.
-Richa Kaura (MBA-II A)

Companies are making fool of people by advertising such ideas and products. I think awareness pro-
grams should be run by Advertising Standards Council of India to make people aware and conscious.

- Karanvir Kalra (MBA-II B)

These advertisements are fair as well as unfair in approach. They claim that using this cream will make
you the most beautiful girl in the world, if this was possible then every girl would become Aishwariya
Rai, or Karrena Kapoor or Angelina Jolie. So, it’s all a fallacy but after all purpose of an advertisement is
to attract the consumers, and these advertisements are quite successful in doing that. It’s the consum-
ers who have to pick one between the dreams and reality.
-Kamal Khurmee (MBA-II GB)
 Volume
Volume 11,, Issue
Issue 11 Page 7

COMMONWEALTH GAMES : Mismanagement Case Study

T
he final countdown has begun for the mega event of “Commonwealth Games”. Everyone is
excited about this event but few things that happened in the recent past are troublesome &
might prove disastrous for the games.

The three important issues that came into limelight are security, mismanagement of public funds and the
failure of the few Indian players on the basis of the dope test. As far as “security” is concerned few play-
ers of the European continent & Australia raised their voice against the security arrangements in the In-
dian subcontinent. This issue was baseless because the Govt. is making stringent norms and there is not
any loophole left for the safety of the players and in addition to this our country has never witnessed any
such security related issue for the mega event like asiad’s (Asian Games 1982) or the cricket world cup
of 1996. Therefore, there is not any need of raising the issue of “security”.

Mismanagement of the public funds is an area which requires special attention. For every stadium built,
for every flyover, footbridge & sidewalk constructed spell a gross mismanagement of the funds. The ap-
proximate budget for the CWG is about 40,000 crore out of which 2400 crore has gone to the organizing
committee which faced serious charges of corruption & mismanagement of the funds. It was argued that
the rest of money has gone for the extension of metro, dressing up the airport and for the other basic in-
frastructure needs. We are on the verge of having a transformed look of our national capital Delhi but
the question arises whether a games driven development of city is the best way to bring changes?????

For the past few days we have been hearing a lot about the failure of our
athletes against the Dope testing. Till now 12 of our athletes have failed in
it. Apparently the mentors of the players came up in defence & said “we
didn’t know this was banned”. “Methylhexaneamine” is banned against
the dope mechanism & if the coaches are coming with such lame excuse,
then it shows their sincerity about their team & the sports. These were the
persons who were supposed to represent the Indian Sub continent. A ma-
jor chunk of the future athletes consider them their idols. A very bad pic-
ture has been portrayed by these players which are harming the interest of the nation.

At last we can say that there is a need to unite together for the pride of the nation. Time is ticking away,
all we can hope for is that the venues & the basic infrastructure would be ready before the mega event
but the lessons from the games must not be forgotten when the country will again come up with the host-
ing of another mega sporting event.
~ Ramandeep Kaur (MBA-II C)

 Ethiopians welcomed the year 2000 at midnight on 12 September 2007. The coun
try’s Christian Orthdox church uses a calendar that has 13 months and is 7 years behind
DO the rest of the world, most of which uses the Gregorian calendar.
YOU  The Mayan Pyramid at Chichen Itza Mexico which is also one of the 7 Wonders of
KNOW the World is known as Time Pyramid. It is built around 1050, has four stairways, each
with 91 steps and 1 platform. This makes a total of 365, the number of days in a Year.
???? The Stairways also divide the 9 Terraces of each side of the pyramid into 18 segments,
representing the 18 months of the Mayan calendar.
~Payal (MBA-I C)

**New WPI (old base year 1993-94, new base year 2004-05) in force in which lower weightage is given to more volatile food items, caused inflation
down to 8.5% as compared to 9.5% under the old series.
 Page 8
FACE2FACE WITH MR. RAJINDER GUPTA, MD-TRIDENT
“An Encounter with
Success…”
Deepinder Rana (MBA-I A)
I
t was not just other day in our lives; we had
all come from our homes to Barnala, just a
few hours back, called by an evening call
that, Mr. Rajinder Gupta; Trident’s MD, wants
to see us at dinner next day. So like a soldier
whose country was at war we were reporting at
urgency. And yes it was Holi, that day.
It had just been a week we had joined Trident,
after rounds of interviews and a series of psycho-
metric tests. WE, yes there were fifteen of us se-
lected for Takshashila Batch-1X. All masters in
one art or the other.
In this past week we had heard a lot of things
about him, he’s cunning, sharp, short tempered,
loads of attitude blah-blah. We imagined a pro-
fessional business man, with top notch black suit
and an attitude to touch the sky. But when he en-
tered our training room, a simple man, in white
shirt and blue jeans, about average height in
maybe in his early 40`s, very calm, a faint smile
with bright eyes. A man behind the Rs 1,500
crore (Rs 15 billion) Trident Group was in front
of us.
So, this was my first in person meeting with a
“Padmashree” awardee; 2007 and winner of Dis-
tinguished Entrepreneurship award; 2005. Well
he gave his brief introduction and welcomed us
all into The Trident Family.
While examining the trainees in the room he
asked us to put up questions, queries to ensure a
two way process. Some flashes of an awful inter-
action are given here-
**Monetary Policy Review: Interest Rates to Rise
The first six weekly review of monetary policy has been done on 16.09.10 and repo rate was raised to 6% from 5.75% and the reverse repo rate was raised by 0.50% to 5%.
MAGNATE
MAGNATE
“Critical success
factor comprise a
customer focus
and global com-
petitiveness”
“How come you be so successful in so less
time”?
With smile he replied “There are no excuses for
success, follow the path that is laid in front of you
but of course luck can’t be ignored”
“How come you create so much in so less
time”?
Again with a smile he said “I make people and
people make assets, in fact it’s all about trusting
people, understanding their ability and giving
them a chance.”
“RG we had heard that Trident had some really
hard times, and even you were forced by circum-
stances to reconsider your business options,
what made you refrain from making that deci-
sion”?
This time with a serious note he said, “The only
thing that forced me to keep on moving was the
thought that every day 10,000 people get ready to
earn there living through this organization”.
Well with some more fascinating discussion and
flow of ideas, the meeting was closed for the time
being. After this encounter I realized that those 60
odd minutes were most enlightening in my career
so far, which were worth all the toil and sacrifice
that day.
 Volume
Volume 11,, Issue
Issue 11 Page 9

“10 SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRENEURS”

R unning a one-person business is a creative, flexible and challenging way to become your own
boss and chart your own future. It is about creating a life, as it is about making a living. It takes
courage, determination and foresight to decide to become an entrepreneur…

Is there a way to determine whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or you are better off to work
for somebody else? Alas, there is no formula for success! However, most successful entrepreneurs share
these ten characteristics. Check if you possess any one of them:
1. Think Success:- To attain the desired kind of success, 6. Work Hard! Every successful entre-
you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big preneur works hard, hard and hard. No
dreams. You need to have a clear vision of what you want one achieves success just by sitting and
to achieve. You should actively visualize success in your staring at the wall every single day. Brian
mind that you can almost feel it, touch it or it is within Tracy puts it out this way, "You work
your reach. eight hours per day is for survival; every-
thing over eight hours per day is for suc-
cess."
2. Be Passionate With What You Do:- You need to de-
velop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the 7. Constantly Look for Ways to Net-
way things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes work:- In business, you are judged by the
easily if you love what you do. If you hate your job right company you keep - from your manage-
now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in ment team, board of directors, and strate-
a million years! You may plod along, even become compe- gic partners. Businesses always need as-
sistance, more so small businesses. To
tent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it.
succeed in business, you need to possess
3. Focus on Your Strengths:- Let's face it; you cannot be good networking skills and always be
everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths alert to opportunities to expand your con-
and weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your tacts.
strengths and concentrate on it. Seek help or assistance in 8. Willingness to Learn:- To succeed,
areas that you may be poor at. To transform your weakness you must be willing to ask questions, re-
to strength, consider taking hands-on learning or formal main curious, interested and open to new
training. knowledge. This willingness to learn be-
comes more crucial given the rapid
4. Never Consider the Possibility of Failure:- Ayn changes in technologies and ways of do-
Rand, in her novel ‘The Fountainhead’, wrote, "It is not ing business.
in the nature of man - nor of any living entity, to start out
by giving up." As an entrepreneur, you need to fully be- 9. Persevere and have Faith:- No one
lieve in your goals, and that you can do it. Think that what said that the road to success is easy. De-
you are doing will contribute to the betterment of your en- spite your good intentions and hard work,
vironment and your personal self. The more you can de- sometimes you will fail. Your courage to
velop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more persist in the face of adversity and ability
to bounce back after a temporary disap-
rapidly you can attain it. Successful entrepreneurs are those pointment will assure your success.
who analyze and minimize risk in the pursuit of profit. As
they always say, "no guts, no glory." 10. Discipline Yourself:- Thomas Huxley
once said, "Do what you should do, when
5. Plan Accordingly:- You need to have concrete goals you should do it, whether you like it or
that will provide the stepping-stone towards your ultimate not." Self-discipline is the key to success.
vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just makes The strength of will to force yourself to
them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in pay the price of success - doing what oth-
such a way that your every action contributes to the attain- ers don't like to do, going the extra mile,
ment of your vision. Plan, plan and plan - because without fighting and winning the lonely battle
this failure is guaranteed. with yourself.
~Kamalpreet Kaur (MBA - ID)

**India, China tie for top spot in Forbes Asia’a Fab 50 List with 16 Firms each.
**Mukesh Ambani with net worth of $62 billion would be the richest man on earth in 2014 according to Forbes Magazine.
 Page 10 MAGNATE
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E verything on this earth, is dynamic, day to

night, different seasons, they all symbolize
change.
But is it present in all the directions? Have the
paradigms of every sector has changed? This
question is becoming an important aspect if we
talk about the education curriculum of the univer-
sities of Punjab (India). There hasn’t been any
change in the curriculum and that is what becom-
ing a bitter guard for the management students of
the most of the universities and colleges of north-
ern region.
What are the causes of being at a status quo?
The first reaction to this question is lack of brain-
storming done on this sector in Punjab, more over
if it happens, the ideas never take a real shape or
neither are the universities interested in doing so.
Therefore, universities showing lack of interest
and also an irresponsible attitude towards the
growing needs of the change. Market has devel-
oped a lot with MNCs coming into, but due to
lack of foreign intervenes in the university struc-
ture there hasn’t been any change in the education
practice.
Now the most important aspect of a status quo!
The crowd in northern region and the research and
development being done in this area are the two
most prominent factors which need due considera-
tion.
Most of the northern universities lack profession-
alism and due to an orthodox attitude towards the
change in the society, our education system has
gone down to bushes. Students’ grooming at the
graduation level is of utmost concern but being
neglected most of the time by almost all the uni-
versities while framing the curriculum.
Universities have not opted for research or devel-
opment in their systems; most of the universities
in the northern region haven’t adapted to this
changed scenario. Research & development is
the main aspect where most of the universities
are suffering. For this the following things are
required: a commitment, special departments or
cells, a good financial assistance and most im-
portantly people who can take this research
through and can implement the aftermaths. Most
of the universities have tie ups with foreign uni-
versities but still they haven’t been able to evolve
which shows a lethargic commitment and the
lack of sincerity towards the future generation.
So what’s next!
Nowhere to somewhere, the universities need a
big change and for that we need to step ahead,
take solid actions, influence and convince more
people as nothing is perfect we need to make it
perfect. So let’s make our future may be not per-
fect but still better!
*Gurdev Singh (MBA-I A)

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST… *Richa Kaura (MBA-II A)

L
ong back in 19th century Darwin came up with a bril-
liant theory of “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST”. Today the world is technology
This principal gave a direction to the evolution related driven and only one thing is per-
studies. But surprisingly this theory is not just limited to the manent in nature i.e. change. Eve-
study of Zoology but it’s equally applicable to other streams rything else is so perennial that
of life including the business management. In current busi- with a blink of an eye black is
ness scenario only fittest one can dream for the survival. green and green is brown. Every
business is facing competition,
Gone the days when management followed a specific hit now this competition can be direct
formula, in reality the old granny’s recipes of success are in nature like Coke and Pepsi or it
now replaced by the out of box cuisines. The competition is can be indirect in nature like
cut throat and each of the new and old brand is pondering Gopal sweets and McDonalds.
hard to take the share. New promotional policies, latest Not just the new entrants have to
technologies and creative marketing are the tools that corpo- fight with the established ones but
rations are now exploring in search of long lasting excel- the existing market leaders are
lence. The management people are required to be proactive also required to adapt and evolve
and over the heels all the time. They are now required to continuously in order to retain
experiment with all those management practices that were their position in the market. And
once unimaginable and unachievable. The war of businesses the winner is the one who is the
is at its full pace and the only objective of each warrior is - fittest and who understands the
survival. Darwin suggested that the one who is the fittest changing markets.
and who will adapt to evolve will survive this battle…

**Banks tightening norms for education loans because of the rising NPAs.
 Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 11

BOOK REVIEW
Compiled By:-
Ranjeet Kaur (MBA-II C)
Regardless of what you do within your organization
and the current circumstances of your life, the single
most important fact is that you have the power to YOUNG VOICE
show leadership where you are planted and play at
Do you support Government’s decision to
peak in all you do. ‘The Leader Who Had No Ti-
include caste in the ongoing Census?
tle’ by Robin Sharma, a renowned author for the
last fifteen years, shows how to claim that staggering
power. And transform your life—and the world
around you—in the process. This book in hand
teaches the readers:-
• How to work with and influence people like a
superstar, regardless of your position.
• A method to recognize and then seize opportuni-
ties in times of deep change.
• The real secrets of intense innovation.
• An instant strategy to build a great team and be- Do you think India should host more In-
come a “merchant of wow” with your customers. ternational Sports Events in near future?
• Hard-hitting tactics to become mentally strong
and physically tough enough to lead your field.
• Real-world ways to defeat stress, build an un-
beatable mind-set, unleash energy, and balance your
personal life.

The book tells the story of Blake, a dissatisfied of-

fice worker who is offered a life-altering opportu-
nity: spend one full day studying the lessons of a
mysterious group of teachers and learn the secrets of
limitless success at work and in life. Along with
Blake, readers are introduced to the four inspira-
tional teachers—a maid who proves that every job
CARTOON CORNER
can be done with deep passion; a surfer who demon-
strates how important it is to rise to the riskiest chal-
lenges in turbulent times; a former CEO who ex-
plains the value of great relationships; and a shoe
shiner who proves that excellence begins within.
Each offers a lesson to show that the most powerful
leadership comes from within—and anything is pos-
sible when those skills are put to use. ‘The Leader
Who Had No Title’ is powerful, engaging, and
packed with real-world lessons that will help any
business person realize extraordinary results and
reach their potential in uncertain times.
By:- Akash Sharma
Illustration By:-
 SMS PULSE
 SMS-PCMA 7th international conference held on
September 4-5, 2010 on topic “New Paradigms in
Management Theories and Practices”. Delegates
from India and All over the world participated in the
conference.
 Students of SMS conducted Teachers’ day celebrations
on 5th September, 2010 at Kala Bhawan, Punjabi
University, Patiala to pay regards and reciprocate the
love and affection of their teachers. Function was
inaugurated by Dr. A.S. Chawla, HOD, SMS with a
lamp lighting ceremony.
 Second year students have given a warm welcome to their juniors by organizing a grand Fresher’s
on 01 Oct, 2010 in University premises. Presence of honorable faculty members added grace to this
enticing event.

MISS AND MR. FRESHER 2010 MISS AND MR. TALENT 2010
 Rasdeep Singh. Anurag Bishnoi and Gurdev Singh of MBA-I participated in “FIESTA-2010” held
at Institute of Productivity & Management, Meerut and won “Over All Trophy”.

 School of Management Studies, Punjabi

University, Patiala have signed a MoU
with HDFC Bank on 27/09/2010 under
which HDFC Bank will provide training
to SMS students and they will be
preferred for the campus placements
and will be placed as “Management
Trainee” with HDFC Bank. They have
shortlisted 51 students for the training
programme.
Compiled By:- Gurinder Singh & Karampaul Brar

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA
Email: sms.magnate@gmail.com Website: www.smspup.ac.in

School of Management Studies does not assume any responsibility for the information furnished and view expressed by the individuals.