IIT B-schools to have single online portal for MBA applications

IIT B-schools to have single online portal for MBA applicationsPlan a host of measures to make their MBA programmes more attractive and sought after Disha Kanwar / New Delhi Jan 29, 2012, 00:09 IST

After doing away with the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET) last year and embracing the Common Admission Test (CAT), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are now planning a slew of measures to make their management programmes more attractive and sought after.

Foremost on the list is to merge their application process and adopt a common online portal for admissions in MBA programmes.

“It would be ideal to have a single portal for inviting applications and coordination among all IITs to conduct group discussion and personal interview so that duplication of efforts is avoided and the entire process of admissions is simplified. As 70-80 per cent of the candidate pool is common among the IIT B-schools, it will be in a relief for both the institutes and the students. The IITs will end up utilising their efforts and resources in an optimum manner. Also, the candidates will not have to juggle at multiple places, saving time and expenses,” said M P Gupta, admissions coordinator at IIT Delhi’s Department of Management Studies.

Currently, candidates apply separately to each management programme of IITs, supplying almost the same data to all, with each application costing Rs 1,500.

The IIT B-schools which are planning to merge and have common application portals are Sailesh J Mehta School of Management (IIT-Bombay), Department of Management Studies (IIT-Delhi), Department of Management Studies (IIT-Roorkee), Vinod Gupta School of Management (IIT-Kharagpur) and Department of Management Studies (IIT-Madras). The common portal will be handled by IITs in rotation and in coordination with the IIM organising CAT. In the common process, candidates will be required to mention their preference order for IIT B-schools, probably similar to the B Tech admission process of IITs. With these plans, the next five years will be a period to watch out for these big-league management schools as the IITs.

These schools are also contemplating the launch of a new dual degree: a five-year course combining their B Tech and MBA programmes. The proposal is at an advanced stage of planning and is likely to be launched in July 2013.

IIT students will be given an option to enter the dual degree programme in their second or third year, as most will take time to get the necessary exposure for such a decision. Interested students will be required to go through an internal group discussion and personal interview process, before qualifying for the dual degree.

“Since many IIT students are already going on to do an MBA subsequently after passing out of IITs, why not give them an option to do so here? Also, IITs have the entire wherewithal to efficiently deliver MBA education, making it an easy process to implement,” added Gupta.

These B-schools are also revamping their curriculum. The B-schools want to make their curriculum more contemporary, with a heavy emphasis on global exposure. Another important change for candidates will be review of the admission criteria, with aim to simplify it and give chance to any graduate, not only engineers.

Discussions are also on for offering MBAs with focus on emerging areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, public sector, international business, real estate, media etc. Executive MBA, a common feature of the programmes of major B-schools, is also on the table.

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Maharaja's premium play

Surajeet Das Gupta / New Delhi Jan 27, 2012, 00:33 IST

Maharaja, the kitchen appliances brand, has always been known as a low-priced mass market player. So why did one of the world’s largest appliances company, the $5.2 billion Groupe SEB having such premium brands like Moulinex, Tefal and the top of the line Rowenta, pick up a 55 per cent stake in Maharaja Whiteline Industries, a mid-sized Delhi based company?

Harish Kumar, the 50-something promoter of Maharaja, gives you the answer. He says Groupe SEB wants to straddle the entire Indian kitchen appliances market — products under the Maharaja brand name will continue to be for the mass market and the international brands for the premium segment. Kumar, who is now the CEO and managing director of the company, says “Our aim is to be the largest kitchen appliances company in the country. And our strategy is to straddle every segment of the market”.

Kumar says that the French appliances giant has over 20 product categories. In the initial stages, the plan is to bring at least three of its key brands and segment the market based on price related to design and quality. Maharaja will also add new products such as induction cookers, water heaters, and gas stoves, amongst others.

The company will launch select products such as electric kettles, heating appliances, electric irons, juicers and blenders under the Moulinex and Tefal brands. These will be sold at a premium of at least 15 to 20 per cent of that of Maharaja products. Rowenta products will be even more top of the with a premium of up to 20 per cent over the Moulinex brands.

The new strategy also includes a more aggressive distribution system as the same dealers who sell Maharaja products would not be able to sell the premium brands. So the company will push the premium products through modern trade and large retail outlets. For Maharaja products, Kumar is talking to partners to double the distribution line from 600 to 1200 in the next few months.

Kumar will also appoint about 100-odd dealers initially who will push the premium brands and at a later date may also look at exclusive stores in select outlets. These 100-odd dealers will be located mostly in the metros and the big cities, while the Maharaja dealers will go to smaller towns.

Yet there are some key challenges for Maharaja, and Kumar is clearly aware of them. The home and kitchen appliances industry operates in an overcrowded market with a host of national, regional and even local brands. And there is a flourishing unbranded market which offers products at rock bottom prices. Analysts agree that the entry barriers are limited as the technology is often available off the shelf.

Kumar says he will be able get over the problem by bringing in premium international brands where technology is key and where there is hardly any Indian competitor. It will also be able to get technology which will help him in improving his mass products too.

But Maharaja is conscious of the fact that the market for premium appliances is limited – so, of the Rs 2,000 crore turnover target over the next five years, only a quarter is expected to come from premium products. It is also aware that manufacturing rather than importing the premium international brands will reduce costs and of course expand the market. So Kumar says that the decision on local manufacturing will entirely depend on the kind of volumes that it sells. The thumb rule, he says, is local manufacture is viable only for products that sell more than 10,000 pieces a month.

Maharaja will spend Rs 50 crore for promoting the new products – that is 5-7 per cent of its turnover.

For a young man who started his business from a small office in West Delhi many decades ago, (he had earlier sold one of his companies to Electrolux), the SEB deal is covering a long distance indeed. Whether it will make him the country’s appliances king is of course a different story.

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Student's corner

Business Standard / Mumbai Jan 26, 2012, 00:25 IST

Dear Students,

LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think finance sector may not be a favourite with students this placement season?

BEST RESPONSE

The lure of finance sector has lost its dominance with undergraduate engineers who are recruited for their analytical skills while it continues to be favourite with the management graduates. With the glooming economic atmosphere, undergraduates prefer to hold on to their core engineering stable jobs.  Last few years have seen job opportunities gradually declining in finance sector; management graduates with finance interest have to rather scout jobs in other sectors. It would be however incorrect to perceive that finance sector has lost its flavour altogether with the students this placement season.

-- Ankit Bhansali, SJMSOM, IIT Bombay.

OTHER RESPONSES

Among all the verticals, the finance sector has been under pressure since some quarters. Add to that, news like rupee depreciation, various scams, fiscal deficit, GDP growth and euro zone crises leads to added pressure on the financial sector of the economy. Considering this, for a good start in career, students are looking at sectors like FMCG, IT, power and engineering sector instead of finance. Here, news like 100 per cent FDI in single brand in retail sector may add support to students' decisions.

-- Gayasree R Behra, Vidyasagar University, Midnapur.

Despite whatever gloomy scenario being put up globally, finance sector is still the favourite among students for placements this season. On one hand, our government is also launching many good financial schemes day-by-day. On the other, there are reportedly 350,000-400,000 employees who are seeking retirement during 2012-13 in nationalised banks. This provides good impetus to students who are seeking jobs in the finance sector this season.

-- Nirav Dave, Amrut Mody School of Management (AMSoM), Ahmedabad.

There may be gloomy scenario prevailing in the finance sector, be it the Euro crises or political turmoil in Middle East. But for an MBA student, choosing a sector depends on his/her personal abilities and the education institute from which one graduates. If one is good at number-crunching, have a flair for juggling numbers and think one can manage the party well, then finance is the job for him. If one is creative and have a zeal to sell, then there's no doubt one should be in marketing.

-- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial College Of Engineering And Management, (SRMCEM), Lucknow.

The finance sector is going to be less attractive this season but still in our country, there's a huge scope in finance. There is, apparently, huge requirement for professionals in the finance sector.

-- Javed Hussain, University of Pune.

Finance sector will be partially favourite with students this placement season. Sector like IT, textiles, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery are export oriented as the net foreign exchange earnings are very robust and total exports earnings from these sectors are in billion terms which sounds good for placement opportunities. Other sectors like banking and insurance which are already crushed under high RBI monetary policies and European Debt Crisis offer less job opportunities in these sectors.

-- Manav Badhwar, Amity Business School, Noida.

With the changing scenario of markets and instability in the financial sectors, students this placement season are more preferring to go for core sector jobs. For instance, at our institute, many UG and PG students are waiting for opportunities from core engineering companies and not opting for financial banks and related jobs. This trend has come to fore because of changing mindset of students who want to go and utilise their engineering skills in companies and learn from work. More and more students want to work in R&D sector of core companies which are also offering good packages.

-- Anand Kumar, IIT Kharagpur.

The recent mood of hiring-and-firing that has built up in the finance sector is possibly the reason of the recent disillusionment of students from it. There has been a shift in the students' mindset of late. They now acknowledge job security to be equally important, if not more, than the pay package. Resultantly, core-engineering jobs are back in demand and are being viewed as a respectable, more secure option than plum financing jobs. So, students are bucking the recent trends and opting for engineering jobs.

-- Rahul Gautam, IIIT-Delhi

The global slowdown in economies is expected to cast a dark shadow on placements overall and the financial sector in particular. With layoffs in sectors within finance like investment banking, wealth management and equity research, expecting high volume of offers from these areas would be foolhardy. Profiles in retail banking offer little hope; however, financial consulting could logically be viewed as a need of the hour. Traditional profiles in corporate finance could also be a good option.

-- Helga Cardoza, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research.

As the placement season is on, the fresh pass out post graduates are eager to get placed in the top corporates. However, news of European Debt Crisis and financial instability around the world are making headlines. However, as we all know, finance, marketing and HR are interrelated and interdependent. As a result, slow down in one sector will ultimately affect other sectors too in the near future. The wise thing for post graduate is to give his best shot in all the task he /she performs irrespective of a sector.

-- Harsh Mehta, St. Kabir Institute Of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad.

Finance sector is obviously one of the favorite sectors for students especially when we see the trend with the banking preferences. Most of the students are seen preparing for competitive exams to work with the nationalised banks. This sector requires huge amount of operational capacity in the area of portfolio management, regular operation, credit management, debt analysis, loan sections, insurance, sales and marketing, among others. Hence, a student even with a finance background can identify a positive or negative trend and mould himself accordingly.

-- Sarman Goraniya, Charusat University, Anand.

As such finance is a one of the core activities of any business. Also, when it comes to placements, organisation look for finance people to carry out these activities. Starting from the establishment of a firm, day-to-day running and also for selling out or shutting down finance plays a vital role. Moreover, in order to grow an existing business, the organisation needs a strong financial support with optimum use of resources and no one can do better than a finance guy.

-- Nirav N. Choksi, S. V. Institute of Management, Kadi.

Your responses should reach us at edu@businessstandard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: In a bad job market, do you think B-schools should approach placement agencies to place students?

Sonata takes on small boys

The Tata firm wants to fight unorganised players with India?s cheapest watch brand Preeti Khicha & Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore Jan 27, 2012, 00:31 IST

Sonata, the mass-market watch brand contributing to roughly half of Titan watch division’s turnover, has launched a watch priced at Rs 225. Targeted at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, it is touted as the cheapest branded watch in the country. Designed with cost-effective polyurethane material, the watch has a youthful appeal and comes loaded with features like a stop watch, light, alarm, day-date among others.

The Tata Group’s focus on the ‘value’ segment doesn’t come as a surprise. Across its different businesses, it has tried to unlock value at the bottom of the pyramid, be it through the Nano, Swach water purifier or the Ginger budget hotels.

The watch will be retailed under the ‘Super-fibre’ sub-brand which Sonata introduced in 2008, and for the first time allowed the company to experiment with materials like polyurethane. Explains Titan Industries, managing director, Bhaskar Bhat, “Materials like polyurethane are more acceptable than in the past. We had launched a watch made with a similar material under the Timex brand in 1992. The product flopped as people associated such material with lesser quality. Today, youngsters prefer this material as it is good for the outdoors, since it is waterproof and will not fade in sunlight,” exclaims Bhat. As a senior official who heads marketing for Sonata explains, “Until two years ago, the ‘steel’ and ‘super-fibre’ range contributed to only 10 percent of sales with the bulk coming from the gold collection, but in the last two years this has gone up to 40 percent.
Move away from product based communication and focus on thematic communicationRevamp the look and feel of Sonata counters at multi-brand outlets which bring in 90 percent of brand salesFocus on driving volumes through super-fibre collection and strengthen the steel collection, as it becomes the material of choice among young consumers

But what’s the logic behind a low cost watch? The move is driven to contest the teeming unorganised watch market in India which sells watches in all shapes and sizes. As a Technopak 2010 report on the India time wear industry reveals, in the Rs 4200 crore industry, the organised sector makes up 40 per cent of volume sales. The balance 60 per cent is dominated by the unorganised market which consists of smuggled watches, cheap imported watches, watches assembled by small unorganised players and watch wholesalers. And, it is in the sub Rs 500 price point where the bulk of the unorganised market operates, selling their wares through small watch retailers and repairers. “The trade gets higher margins and discounts from the grey market and hence they encourage this for short term gain,” says Govind Mishra, senior manager (marketing), PA Time Industries which retails the Maxima brand, the second largest selling mass watch brand after Sonata.

Sonata sees enough opportunity in this segment. “There are 16 million watches sold below the Rs 250 price point, and with the new launch even if we capture 10 percent of the market, it is enough to keep us happy,” says Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, Titan Industries.

Bhat is proud that such pricing has been made possible even after paying multiple taxes which include excise duty, central sales tax, Octroi and VAT (value added tax), which the unorganised sector evades. “Typically, a European or Japanese watch with similar features would be priced upwards of Rs 2000, but Sonata has made this possible through efficient sourcing,” says Bhat. The ‘uni-sex’ watch is being manufactured according to the company specifications, by a contract manufacturer in China. The margins from the new range will be much lower than the 8 percent profit before tax margins from the Sonata brand, but that does not worry the company which is in hunt for volumes.

The new launch will piggyback on the brand’s existing distribution network. The 10 exclusive Sonata stores and the World of Titan stores will showcase the new range, but of larger importance are the small watch dealers where bulk of the watch sales in this price point takes place. “Sonata reaches 9000 outlets in the country, and in these outlets, we have 60 percent share of the business,” claims Bhat. Value driven multi-brand stores like Megamart and Big Bazaar will retail the new range as these stores feature on the list of aspirational buyers from small towns who visit such stores in the cities. The company is also exploring another unique channel: non-traditional stores like saree shops or gift shops. “Many of these stores do not have the capability of selling expensive watches. Also, through these stores we can reach out to consumers who come to the city to purchase gifts for occasions like weddings and festivals,” notes Bhat.

While Bhat hopes government intervention will help simplify the duties and taxation structure, to help curb sales in the grey market, the company is targeting one million units of sales for the new launch. This is in addition to the six million units of Sonata watches the company sells every year.

Will the new launch help the Titan Group become the third largest watch seller in the world?

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