JULY-AUGUST, 2014
VOL 1 ISSUE 4
NBSCutting Edge
Director’s Message:
Dear Readers,
Editor’s Corner:
The new batch of students have come in – a bunch of young
Dear Readers,
and energetic minds. All of us in NBS are happy to have a
group of fresh minds who are already showing signs of getting
This is the fourth edition of NBS Cutting Edge and we are
groomed to be good managers and agog to face the
happy that our efforts of coming up with a bi-monthly NBS
challenges of business and other endeavors in the days to
magazine is being appreciated. Classes of both new (2014-
come. We also had a successful placement season, where
16) as well as senior (2013-15) MBA and PGDM batches
some of the best minds we nurtured were picked up by some
have started in full swing. Upcoming issues will focus on the
of the most desirable employers. We are sure the fledgling
series of value addition workshops and seminars being
professionals will make all of us proud with their dedication and
planned for NBS students.
performance.
This edition of NBS Cutting Edge also has some interesting
out of the box creativities from our students and faculty
With all my best wishes to my colleagues, students and all the
members. Hope you will enjoy reading. We welcome any
readers,
feedback on the series.
Naveen Das
Nilanjana Sinha
Director, NSHM Business School - Kolkata
Assistant Professor, NSHM Business School (Kolkata)
Important Visitors:
Content
Mr. Cecil Antony, Chief Mentor- NSHM Knowledge
Articles:-
Campus – Synergy Group
Student’s Page
06
Mr. Joydeep Goswami (Executive Director - Group Human
Faculty’s Page
07
Resources at Synergy Group Holdings (P) Ltd.
NBS Events :-
Mr.
Prakash
Pandey,
Industries Ltd., Kolkata
Manager
(HR),
Britannia
Date
6th
-8th
August 2014
29th August 2014
Page No.
Event
Pg. No.
NBS Orientation Program
02-04
Guest Lecture
05
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NSHM BUSINESS SCHOOL |124 (60) B.L.SAHA ROAD, KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL-700053 | www.nshm.com
JULY- AUGUST, 2014
N BSCutting Edge
VOL 1 ISSUE 4
Major Events…
NBS Orientation ProgramFrom 6th to 8th August 2014, NBS had organized an Orientation
Program for its MBA and PGDM (2014-16 batch). The three day
program aimed to give the students an overview about the
Management Program and the corporate sector. The first day
introductory session was addressed by Prof.Naveen Das (Director,
NBS), Prof. Budhashiva Dasgupta (Director, NIMD) and Prof.
Krishnendu Sarkar (Director, MCMT). Mr.Prakash Pandey (HR
Manager, Britannia Industries Ltd.) was the guest speaker for the
day. He spoke to the students about expectations of the corporate
sector from today’s Management graduates.
Prof. Naveen Das addressing the students
Mr. Buroshiva Dasgupta (Director, NIMD) and Mr. Krishnendu Sarkar (Director,
NCMT) addressing the gathering
Dr. Udayan Basu along with Mr. Prakash Pandey (HR Manager,
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a g Ltd.)
e
Britannia Industries
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JULY- AUGUST, 2014
N BSCutting Edge
VOL 1 ISSUE 4
Major Events…
NBS Orientation ProgramOn the second day of the Orientation Program,
we were fortunate to have Mr. Joydeep
Goswami (Executive Director - Group Human
Mr. Goswami addressing the students
Resources at Synergy Group Holdings (P) Ltd.)
as the guest speaker. He spoke to the students
on how to approach work life with positivity and
addressed on the need for being self-driven.
As a part of ice-breaking session, post lunch a
special soft skill workshop was organized by Dr.
Soujanya
Pudi.
The
coordinators
also
addressed the students regarding the program
structure and course curriculum.
Dr.Dr. Soujanya Pudi addressing students in soft-skill workshop
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Prof. Dasgupta speaking about the curriculum
JULY- AUGUST, 2014
N BSCutting Edge
VOL 1 ISSUE 4
Major Events…
NBS Orientation ProgramMr.
Cecil
Antony
(Chief
Mentor-
NSHM
Knowledge Campus – Synergy Group) was the
guest of honor on the third day of the
Orientation Program. Mr. Antony spoke to all
the students individually and welcomed them to
NSHM family. Along with sharing some of his
Mr. Cecil Antony (Chief Mentor- NSHM Knowledge Campus – Synergy
corporate
experiences,
Mr.
Antony
also
Group)
addressed the students on the need for
management education in today’s scenario.
The students were also given insights on the
different disciplines of Management – Finance,
HR, IT, Production and Marketing Management
by the respective subject teachers.
Prof. Somnath Banerjee giving an overview on Financial Management
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Dr. Supriya Biswas giving an overview on Information System
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Major Events…
Guest Lecture:
On the 29th August 2014, Calcutta Management Association had organized a talk by Dr. Kunal Banerjee, (Associate
Professor of Management, East Michigan University) at JD Birla Institute. A group of fifteen students from MBA and
PGDM program accompanied with Dr. Supriya Biswas (Professor, NBS) attended the session. Mr. Banerjee spoke
about the need of aligning business models with organizational missions and on the importance of management
commitment and competency building in uplifting service quality.
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Student’s Page
NBS Cutting Edge
Pros & Cons of Globalization on Human Resource Management
Kush Lahiri [MBA (HR) 2012-2014 batch]
As globalization continues to expand, employees fear being replaced by a cheaper workforce overseas and executives are
required to learn the various cultural differences and regulatory environments in which they operate. But none of the departments
are affected as much as human resources that must manage the workforce at home and abroad. Technology is available that can
help HR professionals manage the processes involved in globalization, but there are downsides for the managers who must deal
with languages, time differences and employment rules around the world.
Job Functions Redefined - One of the positive aspects of globalization on human resources is redefining the role of HR
professionals within multinational organizations. Instead of managing the minutia involved with the administration of employee
benefits and payroll, which is increasingly being outsourced, HR professionals play a larger role in the company by being involved
with strategic planning and developing programs to train and improve the workforce, according to the Science Journal of
Management.
Recruitment Potential Grows Substantially - Human resource professionals are no longer bound by the physical
boundaries of their local area when their company moves into the global playing field. As a result, HR’s recruitment efforts become
easier and more diverse. They have a wider pool of talent from which to draw. The larger employee pool is especially notable in
the higher-skilled categories where there often is a gap between supply and demand. Businesses may thrive with competitive
products and services, but cannot survive globally without the right mix of talented employees.
Essential Technology Changes Occur - For companies that retain benefits, compensation, payroll deductions, employee
training and performance evaluations in-house, HR professionals increasingly are tasked with operating new computer systems
required to manage a global workforce. Hundreds of vendors can provide global companies with the appropriate software
programs to deal with the numerous HR tasks, but someone still has to operate the systems
Challenging Cultural Differences - One of the most challenging aspects of globalization on human resource professionals is
the need to discover and learn the cultural differences at play with their new global workforce.HR in the home office must build
working relationships with frontline managers to communicate company policies, ensure new hires understand the parameters of
their employment and translate company directives for workers. They need to develop an understanding of the living conditions
and training processes in other countries and follow foreign employment regulations, labor relations laws and organized labor
issues, as well as figure out how to create effective performance appraisals from afar. More than ever, human resources must rely
on the supervisors on the ground to communicate vital HR information, rather than relying on their own training and abilities.
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Faculty’s Page
NBSCutting Edge
The Japanese Dilemma
Prof. Shampa Chakraberty, Assistant Professor
Most of the Japanese companies in India today are facing labour unrest - what is the reason for this?
Is it to do with the Japanese way of thinking, which pushes workers limitlessly, with inflexible processes and uncaring attitude
towards local nuances? Osama Suzuki, Chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation said cost reduction and improvement is a
continuous process. However Japanese companies in India are nowhere near Japanese benchmarks on costs, shop-floor
practices, the yen for hard work and perfection, discipline and consensual decision making. Japanese firms invest a lot of
money into our industries and if the market is capable of giving them these returns they will keep pushing relentlessly. This
continuous improvement bore fruit in India as Maruti Suzuki gained 50% of the market share. They could churn out light and
fuel efficient cars by reducing the weight of car components every year. This fits into the continuous improvement framework
of the Japanese. The Japanese abhor static situations, hence are constantly trying to enhance intellectual property or increase
profits for the parent company. The labour turmoil evident in most of the Japanese firms in India can be attributed to the
aforesaid mentality of punishing work ethic, unyielding deadlines, the widespread practice of unpaid overtime etc. Darius
Mehri who worked with the Toyota system in Japan wrote in a book titled “Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in
Japan” (2005) about the sophisticated "culture of rules" and organizational structure that combine to create a profound control
over workers. Mehri described a surprisingly unhealthy work environment, a high rate of injuries due to inadequate training,
fast line speeds, crowded factories, racism, and lack of team support, a culture of intimidation, subservience, and vexed
relationships with many aspects of their work and surroundings. This situation has given rise to a condition called ‘ karoshi’ or
death by overwork and ‘ karojisatsu’ or suicide due to over work and stress with over 10,000 karoshi deaths and over 31000
suicides annually in Japan.
The same situation applied in India when Maruti Suzuki builds a swanking new plant at Manesar in 2006. The workforce
chosen were mostly contractual workers hired through contractors. The Maruti management in Japan did not trouble to get
acquainted with the local ethos and cultural mores. The young workers from Haryanvi families were placed in pressure cookerlike assembly line situations of high production efficiency. Leave requests were disregarded; even toilet breaks were frowned
upon. A disaster was waiting to happen and it did happen in July, 2012 with the death of the HR manager. Communication gap
between the Japanese management and the workers resulted in the Japanese managers being afraid to interact with the
Indian workers, fearing that a wrong move will jeopardize their career and a recall to Japan. The Japanese feel they cannot
commit any mistake because of their Japanese upbringing. They spend an enormous amount of time in planning and seeking
consensus on issues; but become very rigid after this. Hence a Japanese Managing Director in India has very little leeway to
act on his own even when situations outside the plan emerge. They don’t like to work with many variables as it impinges on
quality. Indian managers are also culturally attuned in such a way that they cannot say no to their bosses and just follow what
the Japanese want. Since they are the interface to the Indian workers they too may be held responsible for the impasse in
which the Japanese companies are in, since whatever may be the ground realities Indian managers always say ‘it can be
done’ (The Economic Times, 2014, 27th March, 2014, p 14,).
Reference: Bhargava R.C. and Seetha (2010). The Maruti Story: How a Public Sector Company put India on Wheels. Collins Business,
an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, Noida. pp. xxi + 383. Economic Times The, 2014, Japanese Companies in India: 27th March, 2014, p 14,
Mehri, Darius. (2005). Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan; Cornell University Press, Ithaca, xviii, 231 pages.
People’s Union for Democratic
7 | P a g eRights Report (2013). DRIVING FORCE- Labour Struggles and Violation of Rights in Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Wikipedia- Maruti Suzuki- retrieved on 16th July, 2013.
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Time for Creativity...
.
January-February 2014
VOL 1 ISSUE 1
Sketch and Paintings by Nupur Sanghvi, MBA (2012-14 batch)
Photographs as taken by Shirshendu Chakraborty, MBA (2012-14 batch)
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JULY- AUGUST, 2014
N BSCutting Edge
VOL 1 ISSUE 4
Brainstorming Session
These captions / taglines are of which brand……….
1. Even More Car per Car
2. The Ultimate Driving Machine
3. The Edge is Efficiency
4. Profit from it
5. The Name India trusts for News
6. The World’s Local Bank
7. Do More with Less
8. The Power of Knowledge
9. Connecting India
10. Eat healthy, think better
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Solutions:
Solutions:
1. TATA MOTORS
6. HSBC
2. BMW
7. WINDOWS XP
3. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
8. The Economic Times
4. CNBC
9. BSNL
5. Hindustan Times
10. Britannia
NSHM BUSINESS SCHOOL
124 (60) B.L.SAHA ROAD
KOLKATA
“Management is doing things right,
WEST BENGAL-700053
www.nshm.com
Leadership is doing the right things.”
Peter Drucker
If you have any comment or suggestion with respect to the
contents of the NBS Cutting Edge, please feel free to contact us
at the below mentioned email id. To subscribe for a free copy of
NBS Cutting Edge every bi-month readers can mail us at [email protected]
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