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TAPMI

T. A. PAI MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Manipal, Karnataka

About TAPMI T. A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) is a premier management institute situated in Manipal and is well known for its academic rigour & faculty-student interaction. The Institute has been recently ranked amongst the top 1 per cent of B-schools in India & 2nd in the South Zone by The Week Magazine. Founded by the visionary, Late Shri. T. A. Pai, TAPMI’s mission is to provide much needed impetus to the task of building professional management capability in the country. In the process, it has also played a role in strengthening the existing educational and health infrastructure of Manipal.

Our Mission “To excel in post-graduate management education, research and practice” Means:

• By nurturing and developing global wealth creators and leaders • By continually benchmarking ourselves against best in class institutions • By fostering continuous learning and reflection, achievement orientation, creative interdependence and respect for diversity. Value Bounds:

• Holistic concern for ethics, environment and society. PRATIBIMB April-May | 2

DIRECTORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MESSAGE

Dear Students, Pratibimb, through its elite set of articles has crossed several milestones since its inception. It has served as an exemplary platform for writers in TAPMI and other B-Schools to articulate their thoughts. The response and reception for Pratibimb, both among the student fraternity and the faculty has always been overwhelming. I am certain that this magazine would scale new heights in the coming days due to the quality of content that it has always delivered. I am sure that this would definitely augment the existing enviable brand of TAPMI.

Dr. R C Natarajan Director, TAPMI PRATIBIMB | April-May | 3

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK THE TEAM Ex officio editor in chief: Dr Vidya Pratap

STUDENT EDITORIAL BOARD

Chief Editor: Nandita ShyamSundar

Aditya Tirumalai Krishna Chaitanya Y. Krishnakumar S.

Mahesh Ramesh Deshpande Raghunandan Balasubramanian Shweta Varma

FACULTY ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Aparna Bhat

Prof. R C Natarajan Prof. Seena Biju Prof. Vidya Pratap Prof. Vinod Madhavan

Life is a potpourri of success, responsibility, goals, balancing acts, ups and downs, unpredictability and reinventing as you go along. Our careers are a crucial part of our life. However, it is deemed to be intertwined with the other aspects of life only as far as time and money are concerned. This may not be true in some cases. A career in management can teach us quite a thing or two about how to live better. Living right can also guide us in our endeavours to perform better at the workplace. This issue of Pratibimb focuses on this connect between life and management. The articles in this issue of Pratibimb delve and discover the intricate connections between life and various aspects of management. Connections between the five concepts of marketing and being a sociable person, the essence of the Gita and the financial markets, and such apparently unrelated topics have been discussed. An interview based article is also a part of this issue. A “whiteboard” section has been added where students are encouraged to pen down their thoughts on the theme ‘Life and Management’. The objective of this edition is to add a new dimension to the general perception of management. It is also to emphasize that learning one thing can come from observing another area which may seem to be completely disconnected. Hope you enjoy the read! Cheers! Nandita ShyamSundar

Cover Page Design by: Peter Joseph

PRATIBIMB | April-May | 4

Chief Editor for 2015-16, Pratibimb

CONTENTS Cover Story 6

Life and Management Decisions Krishnakumar Shankar TAPMI

Student Chronicles Decoding the Dilemma – “Purpose of Life” Mahesh Deshpande

Parallels between the Gita and Financial Markets Nandita Shyamsundar TAPMI

Relating Our Behaviour and Marketing Concepts Nandita Shyamsundar TAPMI

Corporate Edge Life and Financial Management Interview with Vivek Ramakrishnan, Standard Chartered

14 Whiteboard

TAPMIans pen down their thoughts on the theme ‘Life and Management’

PRATIBIMB | April-May| 5

Cover Story

Life and Management Disciples Krishnakumar Shankar TAPMI The world today is moving at a frantic pace. In this mad race, it is imperative that we humans learn the art of managing our lives efficiently. Effective management differentiates a great life from a good life. So while the term ‘management’ is an ocean by itself, what is it that links this term to our everyday life? From the moment a person wakes up, it is ‘Management in Practice’. Effective time management for instance is one of the cornerstones behind every successful life. People management is yet one another cornerstone that goes a long way in determining the quality of a life lived and the relationships forged. All of this might seem too rhetorical. However, if we pause for a minute and try linking the major disciplines of management into every infinitesimal aspect of our lives, we could actually connect the dots. The money that you earn or yearn for should be effectively managed. The art of wealth management is linked to the broader discipline of management called finance. When a person manages his money well, that person leads a financially secure life. On the contrary, a person who is unable to manage his money tends to be insecure financially.

The art of people management and choosing one’s companions can inevitably be linked to the Human Resource Management. In today’s world, the term ‘networking’ is more relevant than it has ever been in the past. So a person who can network well enough to tap into a mutually beneficial relationship, scales the ladder of success quickly. On the contrary, a person who chooses to neglect the power of a strong network is left out in the race. PRATIBIMB | April-May|

Amidst this growing competition, it is extremely important to ensure that we as humans differentiate ourselves from our counterparts. This differentiation ensures that you create a class, and choose to leave behind the mass. There was a time when the term ‘brand’ was associated with a firm, now the same term is also associated with an individual. So, this is where we can link the discipline of marketing with our everyday life. While it could be misconstrued as an attempt to boast of one’s prowess, in reality, it is just an attempt to stand up and differentiate a person from the majority that surrounds him or her. Last but not the least, the discipline termed ‘Operations’ can be linked to various aspects of a person’s life. From maximising your daily goals to effectively managing time, ensuring a proper work-life balance and a host of other things, operations can be associated with all of the above illustrations. A manufacturing firm might want to minimise ‘idle time’ and increase throughput. Similarly, a person would want to maximise his achievements and minimise time spent on doing things that wouldn’t contribute to his long term success. It is often remarked that ‘The Mahabharatha’ is the perfect bible for management. And yet, if you pause for a minute and look at your own life, you could see the dots that connect this term ‘management’ to every minute aspect of your life, making your own life, the bible of management. Both go hand in hand, and more than often good management is instrumental in creating a life of purpose. So, go ahead and manage your life if you haven’t done so already. Success will inevitably follow. On a lighter note….

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Student Chronicles

Decoding the Dilemma – “Purpose of Life” Mahesh Deshpande TAPMI I was introspecting different aspects of my life a few days ago, reliving the moments that gave me happiness and the moments that saddened me. I asked myself, what was the energy that kept me driving – driving through the odds, driving and forcing me to take the road less travelled? I am sure each one of us would have tried this. So, did you happen to find the purpose of your life? Our brain generally gets confused between the goals, ambitions and purpose of life. In the race to achieve the short term aims and ambitions, we tend to forget the real goals of our lives. Certain mortals who do realize the goals tend to ignore the purpose of our existence – our life. A management career was our choice but it wasn’t a goal. It was an ambition. A handsome salary, a house in a tier 1 city again falls in the same criteria. A long and satisfied stint in the industry you would long for can form the goal of your life. And so would be having a perfect family life. Philanthropic associations you would have again would fall in to the same category. Combining this aspect with the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, money would form the lowest of the pyramid. The materialistic pleasures would then follow and spiritual enlightenment would be on the peak. The question to ponder is - Would Self Actualization be the sole purpose of life? Is it true that we would be satisfied only after reaching the pinnacle of this pyramid? In the hunt for an answer, I am sure, each one of us has fathomed deep into the bottomless well of our mind. Sometimes we would have hit a target and sometimes the excavations would have rendered useless. We would have few answers lines up in the sulci and gyri of our brain saying yes – these might be the probable reasons of my existence but for us, the lesser mortals it is difficult to interpret “Iddham Ittam” – this is it – My purpose of life. When we take a lead in a project we determine how a win should look like and how to carefully understand the course that it would take, and take the steps required to achieving it. You will define the success and this will gradually change as the project proceeds. Can the same principle be applied to life? PRATIBIMB | April-May | 8

We as successful individuals need a sound career; we also do look for a good family life. Then is the “Work/Life balance” the answer to this? Work-life balance can be worshipped as an ideal at its best and can be ignored as a complete myth at its worst. Many of the senior professionals have realized this though their hard experiences the importance of having the work life balance and strategize both to have the right fit. Families tend to be the right source of inspiration when the team mates and colleagues fail to be. Your laughing child will definitely remove the frown you had after a long hectic day. So is the answer to the purpose of life – Striking the right balance between work life and family? We tend to be happy after a promotion. We are happy even after a fine dinner with colleagues. Our family as well makes us happy. And so is making a successful pitch, getting the right leads, successfully completing the implementation. What is common in all these aspects? Aristotle exclaimed the cultivation of these small virtues in the daily life is essential to have a great day. If such great days can be aligned together and we begin cultivating them, it would lead to a series of great days spent.

Imagine yourself on a holiday. The ambience around you, the newer sight, the newer moments change your behavior. These small aspects actually made you happy, made you smile and that made you conclude, you’re freshened! So, is the purpose of life to have flow of these small events and keep us happy? Is the purpose of life being happy? Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist liberated from Nazi concentration camps beautifully writes in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ - “the last of the human freedom - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." And the question arises again, is the purpose of life – staying happy? The answers cannot be deciphered easily. But the question is surely imperative.

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Parallels between the Gita and the financial markets Nandita ShyamSundar TAPMI Introduction/Disclaimer: Dear reader. You might be surprised, confused, intrigued or even appalled after reading the title. Please be assured that the intention is to merely recognise certain parallels and not attach religious connotations to market movements. Though the Gita is deemed to be a part of Hinduism, the essence of it throws light on how to live. Living and living right is common to all, irrespective of religion. Also, these parallels are purely the writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view and therefore arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t factual in nature. Hope you enjoy the read. I am That I Am: There is one cosmic energy. There is one 'I'. There is one 'One' (reminded of Richard Bach?). This is there in each and every one of us and in one way, we constitute it. Similarly, there is one entity called the 'financial markets'. Since the market is driven by perception and opinion (behavioural finance), the market is in each and every one of us. And undoubtedly, we constitute it. Value creation through different forms of the One: Though there is only one supreme energy, it can be in different forms like various gods and goddesses, angels, religions with different powers and specialities. This again is a human perception. But the ultimate aim is the same - to live as a good human being with strong values. Similarly, there are stock markets, debt markets, currency markets, derivatives and so on. These are clearly manmade based on perceptions/predictions (foresight). The products are fundamentally different in nature but the ultimate aim is to preserve/earn the value of money. Their interdependence can be compared to the oneness of different forms of energy.

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Timelessness and Cycles: At a broader level, the concept of time doesn't hold. However, we have pasts, presents and futures. Everything is in cycles. The Yugas, birth and death of civilisations, empires, human beings and humanity as a whole. For an investor, the precise time of investment does not matter as long as he invests right. However, at a closer level, timing plays a very important role in speculation. Markets go through ups and downs. The bull-bear cycle exists always. To Conclude.. Universal cosmic energy is in me, is in you, is in every single thing. As emphasized by Prahlad, the Almighty is in everything from a huge pillar to a tiny speck. The market is in the minds of people. Thoughts get converted to actions which influence and are influenced by others' thoughts. All the results of the perceptions are aggregated and reflected as the market. The market is in banks, financial institutions, regulators, HNIs, companies, countries and international organisations; the market is in me, the market is in you! “He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings and all beings in his own Self” – Buddha

PRATIBIMB | April-May | 11

Relating Our Behaviour and Marketing concepts Nandita ShyamSundar TAPMI

Introduction At some point or the other, every MBA grad would have come across the five concepts of marketing. These are pretty much the Famous Five of marketing. Apparently, marketing is not the only thing which they can teach us. We can learn a thing or two about the consequences of our behaviour. Your curiosity as to how will be quenched at the end of this article. Production concept A product, however simple it is, if produced, will have a demand in the economy. A person, irrespective of how he/she is will form a part of society.

Product concept A product with add-ons, features or other improvisations will have more demand in the economy than a plain Jane product. Being a friendly, effervescent person will increase the prospects of having a good peer group. Selling concept A push is needed to facilitate the sale of products. One needs to be at least a little outward in order to make their presence felt. Marketing concept The product must be produced only after taking notice of the considerations of the target market in order to generate revenue. Considering othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; situation(s)/issues and acting accordingly while maintaining oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individuality will make him/her a better person in the eyes of the people. PRATIBIMB | April-May | 12

Social marketing concept One has to consider the wellbeing of the overall society in order to sell and sustain a particular product in the economy. A person who is a giver to society will leave the maximum positive impact on people. Conclusion Drawing lines between two apparently unrelated topics can help us learn and understand the laws that govern either or both topics in a different perspective. It can also help us identify the relationships between other areas. Such a paradigm can ultimately make us lesser apprehensive of collaborative activities.

PRATIBIMB | April-May | 13

In a Dialogue with Mr. Vivek Ramakrishnan Standard chartered As spoken to Nandita ShyamSundar

The name Standard Chartered commands respect not only in the banking industry but in the entire financial and economic world. Being a part of the management team of an esteemed and powerful institution is exhilarating. Vivek Ramakrishnan tells us how business decisions are not so different from life. Fundamental Analysis: Between fundamental and technical analysis, which do you prefer? I prefer fundamental analysis. ‘Fundamental’ itself signifies something long term. Just like career or marriage, anything that is good in the long run will not let you down even if there are minor ups and downs here and there. Like Warren Buffet said, if you won’t invest in a stock for 5, 8 or 10 years, do not invest in it even for minutes. Fundamentally strong companies will do well irrespective of the time of investment. Risk management: How do you identify and manage inherent risks present in operations? Risk is present in everything. Even sitting simply is risky because you are exposed to someone hurting you, natural calamities, sudden health emergencies and what not! The same goes for a company. In every single aspect of operation, risk is present. It is wise to identify and classify risks as business and financial and chart out the best way to mitigate or manage the risk considering the company’s constraints. Risk appetite: How do you decide a company’s risk appetite while investing? It depends on how much risk you are willing to take. Whether you want to down the next drink in spite of knowing that you have to drive back home in the middle of the night or you want to pass on it depends on how much you are willing to risk for the enjoyment oriented to that next drink. Similarly, for a company it depends on how much risk it is willing to take given the business PRATIBIMB | April-May | 14

environment, constraints and need for additional returns. Though the risk appetite is an individual decision, it is heavily influenced by the environment in which the company operates or the circumstances of the particular individual entity in concern. Regulation: What is your take on regulation, especially in the banking industry? Once, people felt that regulators were too lax. Now, many are saying that it is over-regulated. India has a strong regulatory framework. The central bank has been praised many times for its prudent decisions. The human want for money is endless. However, some checkpoints either in the form of parents, mentors, friends or others need to ensure that a person doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get carried away and hurt others in his/her pursuit to make more and more money. Similarly, a bank, like any other business organisation wants profitability. A regulator wants to ensure stakeholder satisfaction and long term stability. To concludeâ&#x20AC;Ś Taking care of a business is not very different from nurturing a family. You need to have faith and belief in yourself and your company just like you have to trust your family members. Value systems have to be in place for the organisation to do well in the long run. Risks must be taken depending upon how much risk the company can take, whether it is worth the return and whether other factors are in place to support and manage the company.

“The Whiteboard” Pratibimb from this issue gives the budding writers a chance to express their thoughts in a crisp format. We call it as “The Whiteboard”. This platform is for the writers to conceptualize their thoughts about the theme of the magazine. The moments you live in life and the corporate life are not that dissimilar. All it requires is perspective. Every decision you take, defines your next action both in life and your work life. The heroes and villains you see around you, who inspire you and help you decide how to tackle life are present as your colleagues and competition who affect all your work. At the end of both battles, you will either be forgotten or you will live on as an idea forever in people's thoughts. So life and the corporate is not that dissimilar. All it requires is perspective. - Sidharth Madhavan Management is about asking the right questions. Many a times in life, we look for answers to "wrong" questions and end up with jinxed up solutions. Management teaches you to avoid them. Management is about prioritizing critical decisions. Life again, is all about priorities. Management is also an art of decision making. Life shapes around the decisions you take. - Achala Bhat As the great philosopher John Lennon once said "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans", management helps you plan better. - M. V. Anirudh A similarity between life and finance is how we learn to attach a value to different things. In finance, we often attach a numerical value in order to make important financial decisions. PRATIBIMB | Apr-May|

In life we attach emotional value so as to make "life" decisions. Valuation is a common thread which runs across both life and financial management. Unless we see value in a particular idea, a decision taken along those lines would not be viable. - Avinash Chandrasekar LIFE...a four letter word but a very heavy one at that. Right from the moment you come into this world, life throws so many challenges at you, one after the other, be it in the form of a struggle to even turn your head as a new born or be it managing and leading a successful life as an adult. The past one year at TAPMI has been an eye opener to me in terms of what I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know. Now, I have learnt so much more about the smaller things in life that give you so much of happiness. One should not think of getting the bigger things first, but rather its the smaller things that ultimately lead to your bigger aspirations in the long term, collectively. TAPMI has taught me that no matter how much of work load you have, you still can make time out for everything that matters to you. You can still make time for your friends, your family and to do the things that you enjoy doing the most. Thats how life teaches you to manage things. So enjoy your life. Cherish whatever you have now and live in the moment. And remember LIFE is your biggest teacher. - Abhash Chatterjee Life is a precious gift given to living beings. Some beings live life led by their impulses while humans have evolved into superior species by learning to manage their life. The trick is to link the teachings of life and applying it to manage our path in life to be more fruitful. Life teaches us that there are unpredictable situations that require ingenuity and courage to tackle. Management teaches us how to prepare for the expected as well as the unexpected. Life is limited by passage of time and learning to manage our time better is the way to a better life. PRATIBIMB | Apr-May|

life. Thus, learning to manage our time and planning for the unexpected is the way to success. - Aishwarya Shetty The day you realize you have more clothes, accessories, and supplies than the days on your calendar and space in your closet you realize need for lean management. The day you realize that not every expense is an expenditure you will find some spare pennies for another pizza. The day you learn to inspire the world will follow you. - Kanika Lungani Life is completely unrelated to management. Management is science. Life is art. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t design life. You live it. Management in fact, would be detrimental since it would bring in a sense of rules or limits to life, a certain framework to live. Life is beyond that. Life is limitless and the future cannot be planned. It can only be experienced. - Sunil Prasad Life is all about management - people, places, experiences, changing times. We may not realize it but we spend every second of our lives managing nothing but life around us! Theoretically, every person is a manager, but since we're receiving a degree in 'management', we better be making sure that our lives ahead are managed with just the right amount of work, play, adventure and laughter. - Naomi Raphael Management is thinking of future, turning worries into thinking and solutions. If life is managed then we will never complain of the want of anything and it's wonderful how much can be achieved. - Sahil Gupta PRATIBIMB | Apr-May|

Successful managers are often judged by their time management. Likewise, time is a valuable asset in our lives. The best of managers know to live their lives with a plan. - Shulin Satoskar Quoting from the famous movie Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never what you are going to get" . Management is about knowing how to get the chocolate that you want ! - Adithya Bharadwaj From the time we are born, we manage. When we are babies, we learn that crying can make our parents understand that we are hungry. That's management. As we grow up, we learn that time management in studies can fetch us good marks and peace of mind. That's management. Today, we are adults and we have learnt that this fast paced world is all about management - managing our careers, our personal lives, in short: managing our own little world. Life is all about management. It has always been. It always will be. - Richa Sarma

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PRATIBIMB TAPMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bimonthly e-Magazine, is primarily intended to provide insights into the plethora of knowledge that relate to the various departments of management and to give an opportunity to the students of TAPMI and the best brains across country to exhibit their creative cells. The magazine also strives to bring expert inputs from industries, thereby bringing the academia and industry together. Pratibimb is committed in continuing this initiative by bringing in continuous improvement in the magazine by including quality articles related to various management issues and eventually creating a more engaging relationship with its readers by providing them a platform to showcase their talent. We invite all the best brains across country to be part of this initiative.

Visit: Team Pratibimb pratibimb@tapmi.edu.in TAPMI 20 PRATIBIMB | Feb-Mar |