IMPRESS

May 2011 The IMP ERIA Newsletter Vol 6

Editors Desk Whats Inside News from the Press Room! On Campus News Update Readers Corner Management Section Hearty Chat Student Speak The Shining Stars Brain Teaser #4 Imperia Alumni Club Rendezvous with Juneita Shivshankar

As you know IMPRESS is an NIIT Imperia news letter to share whats happening at NIIT Imperia with our student community. We are happy to release the 6th Issue of Impress. During the last one month there have been many things happening at Imperia. This issue shares the New Launch of the MDP programs which is an add-on to the existing Basket of offerings. The management Section covers an exciting topic on

how to deliver an effective sales pitch This is how one can get employee centric
and enable a better workforce. It also covers the visit to IIMC by APMP02 and EPSCM03.The experience is shared by the candidates. A WOW to The Batch toppers examinations conducted in May 2011. for the Holidays @ Imperia 27th Jun 2nd Jul Quarterly Maintenance Holiday

We look forward for your active participation in contributing articles, sharing your experience and of course participating in the Brain Teaser. Happy Reading Juneita Shivshankar

UPDATES
To request for a Recorded session place your request under the service Request option Recorded lecture requests

News from the Press Room!

NIIT Imperia now offers Management Development Programs(MDP)

The Mantra today is management and the keyword is NIIT Imperia. Let me tell you that it is not just the long term programs and the basket of domain programs that we offer but now MDPs are available to corporate and individuals. In addition to our various long term programs, we have decided to add 15 short term (1 month) MDP and 3 Six-month long Diploma Programs in Finance, Marketing & Human Resources from NIIT Imperia. We believe that, being a working professional, these programs will help you to upgrade your skills. The program curriculum has been designed by an expert committee consisting of senior academic and industry professionals. The programs are taught by faculty from Premier Institutes and Industry Experts. Some of the faculty who will be facilitating the program are Prof. Ajay Singh and Prof. Ashok Bhatt from IIML, Retd. Lt. Col. Sharad Dua from IMT Ghaziabad, Dr. Mridula Savitri Mishra from IIFT, Dr. Aman Srivastav (who is a is a trainer for CFA, NCFM and AMFI certification) of National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India and Prof. Jayashree Sundar. She was the President (North) at Leo Burnett and Senior Associate Director at Lowe Lintas and a visiting faculty at top institutes like IIM Shillong. The program helps working professionals enhance management skills in their area of work or interest and helps them learn about contemporary topics in their functional domain.

What are the differentiators of the NIIT offered MDP from other MDP offered?
Accessible and affordable education through NIIT Imperia Classes conducted by faculty from premier institutions/Industry experts. Staggered learning resulting in better retention and application of concepts. Convenient timings - Classes on Weekend Evenings/Or after working hours Campus Visit for select programs

On Campus News Update

The month of May had two batches which had to go to IIMC for campus visit. The Advanced Program for Marketing Professionals (APMP02) had their campus visit from 2nd -4th May and Executive Program in Supply Chain Management (EPSCM03) visited the campus for the second time from 27th April to 29th April. We reproduce some of the reactions below: It is back to studying and interacting with the eminent faculty of the IIMs that is a fascination. Yes that what makes the big difference while enrolling for NIIT Imperia Programs.While the session schedule is jam-packed with the academics, there is also the fun side that makes the trip enjoyable. Meeting up with the batch from across locations and enjoying the back to campus life are key highlights. A day in the month of May gets very hot in Joka. Despite the temperature, water-melon vendors sit in the scorching heat to earn their living, rickshaw-pullers bring out their vehicles from the shade of the tree and the guard is very polite to passers-by who ask for directions. Welcome to Joka, home to Indias oldest Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta in south-east Kolkata. The college is a natural design marvel. The fountain at the front gate gives a warm welcome. Water droplets fall on your skin as you cross by it and that removes all the tiredness of the forty kilometer long journey from the airport. The campus is filled with seven lakes and you always sight at least one lake irrespective of where you are on campus and watching fish move around becomes one of the favorite pastimes. The rich flora and fauna keep you wondering if it is a management school or a bird sanctuary. The mode of instruction was through case study and the pedagogy justified the standards set by the institute. The Financial concepts in marketing and the class on statistics were useful additions to the APMP curriculum, which helped brush up the basics and be well prepared with case preparation. However, some of the students felt that a few management games and a guest lecture by an industry stalwart would have added the necessary zing to the whole course. The hostels and the class room infrastructure were good and well-maintained. However the hotel where the EPSCM students were staying was a bit far from the main campus and hence a lot of time was spent in travelling. Even the professors stayed out of campus and hence interaction outside the classroom was limited. The case method however ensured that a lot of learning came from the peer group. In fact most of the participants wanted to extend their stay for a few more days to facilitate longer discussions. Beyond academics, Joka offers a lot to the dwellers on campus. Bengali food is a musttaste. For non-vegetarians, fish is a delicacy one simply cannot afford to miss. Dadas chai near the front gate is frequented by the students here, however many students had headed for their summer internships. When one goes back to campus so many years after leaving college, you readily cherish the memories running in your mind. It is worth giving the rickshaw puller those extra bucks and having a trip round the rejuvenating campus. A day in Joka is indeed a day well spent.
We thank Ms Priyanka Sharma and Ms Sabrina Fernandes for their valuable inputs.

Campus Updates for June 2011:

SMP07 second campus visit from 30th June-2nd July

**The complete schedule is uploaded on the Students portal

Readers Corner

In this section, we share with you, review of selected management books.

BEST PRACTICES

By Arthur Anderson

What makes the worlds Top companies so adept at providing stellar customer service? How do they meet the needs of every customer and still turn healthy profits? And most important how can you adapt these practices to fit your business requirement? This is what is covered in a nutshell in Best Practices

THE 3 KEYS TO EMPOWERMENT

By Ken Blanchard

Empowerment! Can it work for you , or is it just another buzzword for the ages? We believe that empowerment (which we link with team members involvement, ownership, responsibility, proprietary interests and pride) is crucial for companies to be competitive in todays business world and certainly in the world of tomorrow. Literally, for companies to succeed in the new world of business, team members must feel that they own their jobs and that they have key roles.

THINK TWICE: HARNESSING THE POWER OF COUNTERINTUITION

Leaders in all fields-business, medicine, law, government-make crucial decisions every day. The harsh truth is that they mismanage many of those choices, even though they have the right intentions. These blunders take a huge toll on leaders, their organizations, and the people they serve. Why is it so hard to make sound decisions? We fall victim to simplified mental routines that prevent us from coping with the complex realities inherent in important judgment calls. Yet these cognitive errors are preventable. In Think Twice, Michael Mauboussin shows you how to recognize-and avoid-common mental missteps, including: -Misunderstanding cause-and-effect linkages Aggregating micro-level behavior to predict macro-level behavior -Not considering enough alternative possibilities in making a decision Relying too much on experts Sharing vivid stories from business and beyond, Mauboussin offers powerful rules for avoiding each error.
(Michael J. Mauboussin)

Management Section

Irrespective of how eloquently you speak, how effectively you use visual aids or how persuasively you use body language, none of these skills really cut the mustard in a sales pitch unless you actually close the sale. This month's presentation tip looks at how you can deliver a sales pitch that not only wows prospective clients with your delivery skills, but also has them filling in a PO before you leave the building. Ban Canned Presentations You've heard it a thousand times before, but it's true you really can't re-use a generic sales presentation if you want to deliver an effective pitch. The problem with using a canned presentation is that the focus is on you your company, your product, your features and your benefits. To really connect with a prospect, you have to make it about them their problems, their needs, their company and their situation. No matter how amazing your product is, no one's going to buy it unless it's relevant to their business. Dig for the Dirt OK, we've established that you need to tailor your pitch for the situation, now how do you go about it? Get on the phone (or e-mail) and start asking your potential customers questions. What are their needs? What problems do they hope to solve with your product? Is there any background information that you could use? What other solutions are they considering? Ask about anything and everything that might be relevant. Remember, most people will only give you a broad overview of the situation. You have to really dig if you hope to uncover the reason why your product/service is the solution to their problem. Tailor the Pitch for the Customer Once you have this information, it's time to create your presentation. Take their problem and turn it into an objective that identifies a mutual goal for you and your customer. Achieving this objective should be the central theme of your presentation. For example, if you're selling meeting productivity software, investigate the current state of meetings in the organization. If their major problem is meetings that drag on forever, your pitch should focus on trying to impose strict time limits on meetings. Once you identify a central objective, the rest of your presentation should focus on how the organization can benefit if they achieve this objective and how your product can help them do so. Tell a Story A great way to really make your presentation resonate with the audience is to integrate a story into your pitch. People love real-life stories, so tell them a story about a client who had similar problems and the measures they took to overcome those obstacles (including how your product managed to save the day). Your story should be exciting, emotive (yes, it is possible even if you're selling software or manufacturing components) and relevant to the current scenario. For example, if you're selling educational software, you could tell the story of an inner-city school who installed your software and the following year, eleven members of the graduating class received full scholarships to Harvard (you get the point). Or if you're selling engineering components, tell the story of a competing firm who purchased your wrench system and increased production speed by 68%, and became the market leader in the category. Just make sure your story is relevant to the audience otherwise it sounds like you're bragging about past successes instead of entertaining a future customer. Wrap It Up Bottom line all this effort is futile if you don't walk away with the sale. Recap the highlights of your presentation, and then ask for the close. Try not to leave the presentation without some sort of commitment from the prospect. This is probably the closest you're going to get to the customer, so make the most of the good will you've established over the course of your presentation.

Hearty Chat Student Speak

This column is to express the success stories of the NIIT Imperia Students and Alumni. Write to Juneita.Shivshankar@niit.com if you want to express your success.

Rakesh Prasad is an Alumni from SMP06 he is working with Jindal Pipes Ltd.& Maharashtra Seamless Ltd. As General Manager( Business Development & Communications)

Juneita: Can you give a short Brief about yourself? Rakesh :Senior Management Executive , with 25 years of strong, decisive executive leadership having worked with well known organizations( Larsen & Toubro Ltd / Aditya Vikram Birla Group / Ceat / Apollo Tyres / 3M ) . Extensive background in complex and challenging environments with proven ability to represent the company with Customers and Channel Partners. Strong business acumen with skills to remain on the cutting edge; drive new business through conceptualizing strategies, augmenting & streamlining Channel networks, implementing product promotions etc. Excellent communication and people management skills that have been honed through managing multi skilled teams. Exceptionally well organized with a track record that demonstrates self motivation, creativity, and initiative to achieve both personal & corporate goals. Juneita: How would you describe your educational background? Rakesh : A Science Graduate From Delhi University , Kirori Mal College , Backed up by A Post Graduate Diploma In Marketing & Sales Management , From Institute Of Management Studies , Delhi . Juneita: What are your current responsibilities? Rakesh: I am heading Business Development & Communication, with the largest Steel Pipe Manufacture in the country, Jindal Pipes Ltd. + Maharashtra Seamless Ltd, (Rs.4000 Crore Company). Strategic Business Communicator + Brand Development, in order to Create New Business Revenue Streams, and ensure sustainability. Formulating and implementing business plans for achievement of organizational goal in terms of revenue and profitability targets. Developing sales plans and value added solutions designed to assure achievement of agreed to volume, market share and profit objectives.

Conceptualizing & implementing strategies for acquiring business from clients and effectively using the potential of existing accounts. Client Relationship Management / Product Development / Product Marketing / Corporate Communications Etc. Juneita: What inspired you to take up the SMP program? Rakesh: The Business Environment Around us has been changing quite fast. To Track developments on various fronts , like Leadership , Marketing , Customer Interface , Product Marketing, Supply Chain Management etc. , and various paradigms shifts taking place , and in order to keep pace with all these , I was inspired to go in for SMP . Juneita: How do you plan to benefit from the specialization? Rakesh: I plan to take the following route: Challenge outdated assumptions and explore Business Challenges from the new vantage points. Build on Core Functional Competencies. Shift to a new leadership paradigms and behaviours. Understanding and contributing to a discussion of Emerging Business Issues. Develop a network of peers and experts and join the ranks of IIM C Alumini, throughout the world. Juneita: How is the program helping you become a better manager? Rakesh: The SMP Has prepared me for taking on the challenges of a changing world. With the increasing Complexity & pressure of Business Today, the space between a customer and a choice, a deal and a disaster, an idea and an invention, has been reduced to the width of a light beam. Technology, Globalization and constant organizational transformation have made the job of leading a business, more exciting, yet more complex and demanding. I have learnt to maintain a critical focus and a open mind to have a clear vision of the ever widening, ever changing big picture. My plan about my team is to empower them, to make more mistakes, and create MORE & MORE. Juneita: What is your take home from the program? Rakesh: I am taking with me the understanding and perspectives on the key Business Drivers of Success, understanding Financial Levers, creating Shareholder Value, becoming Market driven, assessing the impact of Information & Technology, Delivering Value for Customers, and sustaining Competitive Advantage. SMP IIMC has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. The experience has been analogous, with peeling away the layers of an onion. This forced deep introspection, which created an unbelievable level of renewed self awareness. I realized how outdated, many of the tools that I used in Business Had become, some needed replacement and some required Sharpening. I left, a far more complete and better human being, than when I arrived. Juneita: What are your comments on the VSAT Technology? Oh!! It is As good as attending the real classroom session. Its quite exciting to go thru the latest Learning Technology. Thanks To NIIT Technology, education is no longer confined to the class rooms of the Universities + Colleges alone , I could have never dreamed of doing a course from IIM , without the Technology available from NIIT. The Technology brought the Faculty & the Student together, one could interact, ask questions. The only differential being is that the Faculty and the student are not collated.

Installment Reminders
The Installments due for Payment in the Month of June 2011 are for the following programs

Certificate Program in Management of Software Development (CPMSD05) Executive Management Program( EMB0102)
Kindly ensure adequate funds in the bank a/c for the PDC realization, If PDC not submitted please pay before the last date to avoid a late fee of Rs 500 and Re-instatement charge of Rs 2000 plus applicable Service Tax

The Shining Stars

They sparkle and shine, in twilight they dine In a constellation they move to higher heights Oh yeah they are the Shining Stars. Yes they are the toppers in the batch And Shine away to glory they do Oh yeah they are the Shining Stars for May
EMB0102 MM Internal Assessment
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EMB0201 RM Internal Assessment

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PANKAJ SHARMA PIYUSH SHETHIA PREETI KANKONKAR PRIYANKA KOLATE SHABNAM MEHTA SHIVAJI MAITRA SWAROOP DILIP PANDIT S THIRUVENKADASAMY S SUNDARARAJAN SHABNAM MEHTA PAWANKUMAR JETHANAND NATHANI

EMB0201 CSR Internal Assessment

ATUL BARJATYA AVINASH KATORE NALIN SHARMA / PANKAJ PATIL PIYUSH SHETHIA PRAMOJ CHANDRASEKHARAN ATUL BARJATYA BINIL KOCHUVILA NIKHIL B KRISHNAN

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EMB0201 MIS Internal Assessment

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EPAF06 CF I Main Exam

GERALD ASUDAS RAIVELLUR ABHINANDAN SHARMA DIVYA HP TIWARI RITESH SAHA PRASHANT KAPAHI

EPMBD02 FSA Main Exam SMP07 OMF Exam

AMIT PANT ASHISH GOYAL B KUMAR BECKY MARY THOMAS BIJAY KETAN SAHOO GAURI AMIT SAMANT HIMANSHU G BHATT

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MANJULA MANI NISHA SUBODH DESAI PRASANNA PATTAM PRASHANT TRIKHA PRAVEEN SRINIVASULU TIRUCHIRAPALLI RAJESH D JAKHOTIA

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RAVI RANJAN SRINIVASA RAO BALIVADA SUDEEP GHOSHAL

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UDAY BHINDWAR VENKATESHWAR RAO KM VIVEK ADHOLIA

Brain Teaser #4
#4 Pick your brains by answering the following: 1.

1- Fill in the missing numbers with the digits 1 to 9. A diamond shape in the middle means that the four numbers around
it add to 20. Each uses a different way to add to 20, i.e. if there is already 1 + 3 + 8 + 9, then there will not be another using the digits 1, 3, 8 and 9 (in any order). The same digit isn't allowed to touch, even diagonally.

2. 3. 4.

2-What is represented by this Brain Bat? solitude 3-Can you place ten coins into 5 rows, with each row containing 4 coins, without placing any coin on top of another coin. 4-These words had their vowels removed, can you replace them to find some animals Ttr Chth Plr Br Grff Frrt Hdghg Tdpl Lprd Pnd Sln

5-What is it that the person who makes it doesn't need it? The person who buys it does not need it for themselves and the person who uses it doesn't know it? Please send in your answers to Juneita.shivshankar@niit.com latest by 31st May 2011. Please mention your Student ID, batch code while sending in your answers. The 1st correct entry will have their name and photograph published in the next edition of the magazine. The Answers to the Brain Teasers #3 1- Take out a ball from the box labeled one black and one white, the color of both balls in that box will be

the color of the ball drawn. Say the color of the ball drawn is white then both balls in the box labeled one black and one white will be white. Then the box labeled two whites will be having two blacks and the box labeled two blacks will be having one black and one white. 2- The next number in the sequence is 1113213211, because the rule for creating the next number is to simply describe the previous number. For example, you start of with 1, with is simply one 1, so the next number is 11. Now you have two 1's, so the next number is 21. Now you have one 2 and one 1, so the next number is 1211. The solution is to simply continue describing the previous number using only numbers. 3- Mailbox

Bravo and Best Wishes to all the pass outs for April 2011

The Pass Out Of the Advance Program in Social Media Marketing (APSMMO3)
The Social Media Marketing batch graduated May 2011. This was the 3rd batch to successfully complete the program .Certificates have been issued to successful pass outs.

The Batch Toppers of APSMM03

The NIIT Imperia Alumni Network @ www.alumni.niitimperia.com is a close knit forum exclusively for the Imperia Alumni. You are free to participate in the common discussions initiated, create your own blog, make your batch communities, create events, upload information Videos, post and access jobs and share your suggestions. Now the forum has more than 900 corporate professionals and as its members, thanks for your participation. If you have not received an invitation for joining the Alumni website do write to Juneita.shivshankar@niit.com.Looking forward to your contribution to the Alumni League.

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Rendezvous with Juneita Shivshankar A Hearty chat over a cup of coffee and share your views on what inspired you to take up the Imperia program

Name: Neha Tyagi Student ID: S11MMMMM01456 Program Name: EPAF06 1. A brief about yourself and your career I work with ERNST & YOUNG PVT. LTD. As a consultant in the government advisory practice. I have completed my MBA and have been working for past 4 years in the consulting industry. I love travelling and my work gives me ample opportunities to visit new places and understand their culture and lifestyle 2. What inspired you to take up the imperia program and how it has helped you achieve your career goals? I work in a very versatile sector i-e consulting which requires you to have an understanding of all the business areas and sectors. Basically to be jack of all and master of at least most of them after working for 4 years I have decided to brush up my finance skills through a course that could help me in advanced applicability of finance in my applied finance. Thus course is helping me with my project deliverables and is making me understand the applications in my work and how could I deliver better. I think it is a wonderful program which is conducted very professionally and is definitely going to help professionally like me in doing our job better. Student Name: Ritesh Saha Student id: S11MMMMM00357 Program Name: EPMBD02 1. A brief about yourself and your career? Cumulative experience of 9 and half years in multiple domains including retail banking, Enterprise Marketing management, database marketing have worked across the top organization across the world From NPOWER in UK to Citibank in Singapore and currently with American express in India have always Been a go getter and have tried to make the best of the opportunity presented to me. I am an MBA with a certified project manager from PMI 2. What inspired you to take up the imperia program and how it has helped you achieve your career goals?

My professional requires me to extensively analysis customer data and makes decision and provides Recommendation on the appropriate product to be offer to the right customer. This course not only helps me in recognizing and appreciating the impact of the decision that we make but also provide additional insight of how we could invest to come up with better behavior forecasting Of a customer .given that the course was offered by IIM-C , provided an extra bit of identifying Recognition that would go a long way to turn my appreciation in to reality

EXPRESS through IMPRESS - Send your expressions to Juneita.shivshankar@niit.com

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