A popular myth among people nowadays is that if they will go for MBA with marketing as specialization, they will end up doing only a sales job. Every day I find some other person posting a query in various educational forums whether he should take finance or any other course  as he do not want to make sales as their career.

What is marketing? According to Mr Philip Kotler,

“Marketing activities, are those activities which makes the work of sales force redundant”.

Well the definition makes it clear that sale is just a part of marketing and it has many other components also. The question is what are the relevant jobs available for the rest of the components of marketing? Let us see these options one by one:

Advertising

In marketing advertising refers to any paid form of non personal presentation & promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

Account Manager – An Account Executive maintains relationships and favorable contacts with current and potential advertising accounts. They spend time developing relationships in order to acquire new accounts.

Advertising Manager – An Advertising Manager develops, implements, and manages the company’s advertising strategy, both from a business, sales and technical perspective. It is their job to Initiate and manage discussion and sales with sponsor and agencies.. They are generally responsible for managing a group of advertising sales representatives.

Media Buyer – A Media Buyer is responsible for purchasing media space or time.

Brand Management

Brand Management is a communication function that includes analysis and planning on how that brand is positioned in the market, which target public the brand is targeted at, and maintaining a desired reputation of the brand. The various jobs in this field are

Brand Manager – A brand manager monitors market trends and oversees advertising and marketing activities to ensure the right message is delivered for their product or service.

They work closely with many teams, including product developers, researchers, marketing personnel and creative agencies to make sure their company brand values and image are followed. They work both for consultancies and in-house marketing departments.

Product Manager – Product managers plan, develop, and direct the marketing efforts for a particular brand or product.

Product Development Manager – A Product Development Manager specializes in the development and planning. They are responsible for finding opportunities in the marketing of consumer products

Market Research

Market research, which includes social and opinion research, is the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organizations using statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision making.

Research Analyst – A Market Analyst collects and analyzes data to evaluate existing and potential product and service markets. It is their responsibility to identify and monitor competitors and research market conditions or changes in the industry that may affect sales.

Business Analyst – BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, proposes the following definition of a business analyst: “An internal consultancy role that has responsibility for investigating business systems, identifying options for improving business systems and bridging the needs of the business with the use of IT.

Public Relation

The role of people working in this field is to often write press releases to promote new products or to keep the investment community informed of business partnerships, financial results, or other company news. If they are based out of media relations they will spend their time responding to information requests from journalist or pitch stories to the media. The various jobs in this field are.

Corporate Communication Manager – A Corporate Communications Manager creates, implement and oversee communications programs that effectively describe and promote the organization and its products. They often assist in the preparation of presentations and/or speeches geared toward employees and consumers.

Public Relation Specialist – A Public Relation Specialist prepares and disseminates information regarding an organization through newspapers, periodicals, television and radio and other forms of media

Retail Management

Managing the activities that involve selling goods and services to consumers for their Personal, Family or Household use. The profile which we can get in this field is

Store Manager – He is the person ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations (or management) of a retail store. All employees working in the store report to the store manager.

Event Management

Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually launching the event. Post-event analysis and ensuring a return on investment have become significant drivers for the event industry.

Event Management – Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects of an event.

Event Manager – The event manager is the person who plans and executes the event. Event managers and their teams are often behind-the-scenes running the event.

Online Marketing

This type of marketing uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers. The jobs involves

Digital Marketing Manager – Develop and implement digital marketing strategies & campaigns with focus on revenue growth and ROI. Manage key marketing channels.

Social Media Manager – Manages the content on Social media and also run campaigns with a focus on revenue growth and ROI.

This is only a small list of job opportunities that one can get after doing MBA in marketing. This is such a huge field that if I start writing about each and every profile, it will become a book instead of an article. So next time when you are confused whether to take marketing or not as you do not want to stick in a sales job, just read this article, it might help you a little bit.

Contributed by Prachi Tewari (Batch 2013, IBS Hyderabad)

IBS Bangalore celebrated their Covocation 2013 on 6th July, 2013.

Shown below is a gallery of images, showcasing the event.

Oil, the ‘black gold’ as many people call it, is the most valuable three letter word today. Speaking about India, nearly one – third of the country’s energy supply comes from Oil and it is a heart of the country’s economy. It is interesting to know that in 2011, the domestic work force serving the oil and gas industry numbered 141929 to be precise. Out of this total manpower resource, the majority were employed in the ‘oil Marketing Sector’, followed by ‘exploration and production sector’ and the ‘refining sector’.

To make the picture clear let us have a look at the major players in the Indian oil sector:-

1. Upstream Companies or exploration and production companies: ONGC, Oil India Limited, Reliance India Limited, Essar Oil Limited, Cairn Energy and many more.
2. Downstream Companies or Oil Marketing companies : IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, Reliance Industries Limited, Essar Oil Limited, Shell and others.
3. Transportation and Retail Companies: Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), IOCL, Shell etc.

Oil and gas companies today offer exciting opportunities to young graduates, post graduates, and experienced professionals. Private companies like Shell, Reliance and Essar hire ‘Graduate Trainees’ as well as ‘Management trainees’ from various institutes across the nation and impart them with necessary ‘training and development’ programmes and technical skills. On the other hand, companies like ONGC and IOCL have entrance examinations for fresher’s as well as experienced candidates and also hire on ‘contractual’ basis. Further details on vacancies and opportunities are available on their respective websites.

Some of the key benefits of being employed in the Indian Oil and Gas sector are:-

1. Oil and Gas sector is the back bone of the country’s economy as well as the world economy.
2. High level of International exposure by working in private companies.
3. High level of employee involvement and best pay packages as compared to any other industry.
4. Exciting new opportunities in the form of Shale oil and Shale gas. Once, Shale production starts in India, It will create more jobs and newer opportunities. To know more about shale: http://www.oilandgasiq.com/gas-oil-production-and-operations/columns/exploring-th-potential-of-shale-oil-gas-in-india/
5. Great ways to network with experts and other professionals through various seminars, trade shows and Conferences.
6. A better work – life balance as compared to other industries.

India today stands on a crucial juncture, the Oil and gas sector being the most critical and important part of its economy. It is entirely up to us, whether to be a part of it or not!

Gaurav Agnihotri, an alumnus of IBS Mumbai (Batch 2009-11) has also written a book on Oil, titled:

“Oil – Past, present, future – An Indian Perspective”.

About the Book: Oil, ‘the black gold’ as many people call it, is the most valuable three letter word today. Nearly one third of India’s energy supply comes from Oil and it is a heart of the country’s economy. This book is a one stop reference point for students, professionals and anyone who wants to know the nature, the future and history of the most valuable asset of the world today. The book has been written in simple language and the concepts are easy to grasp. A common man, who wants to know more about Oil and is inquisitive, should find his answers through this book which has been published by New Delhi Publishers.

The Book can be pre-ordered on E-Bay through this link:-

http://www.ebay.in/itm/200931761266?ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649#ht_500wt_1156

The official Facebook page for the book is: https://www.facebook.com/gaurav81184

For further reading, check out his column on ‘Shale in India’ in ‘OilandgasIQ.com’:
http://www.oilandgasiq.com/gas-oil-production-and-operations/columns/exploring-th-potential-of-shale-oil-gas-in-india/ 

Talk to people who want a career in Analytics and one of the first questions they will ask is – ‘how can I have a career in Analytics with no access to softwares like SAS , SPSS etc.??  And my answer is – have you looked at excel 2010 and its capabilities w.r.t analytics? If you are like 80% of the population, the answer is ‘no way’. Excel 2010 ? ?

Let’s do a quick check of our old Excel in its not so new ‘avatar’ – Excel 2010 . As a spread sheet , each worksheet can hold 1,048,576 rows of data and 16,384 columns of data, way up from the 60,000 rows and approximate 110 columns in the excel of old.

There are 403 functions and we can now have 255 arguments in a function and nest 64 levels of functions per formula. So, complex customised calculations become easy.  This makes data cleaning and massaging very easy. You have a plethora of text and numeric functions and lots of date related calculations that can be done, which rival softwares like SAS, SPSS etc. Once the data is in the right form for the project , you can add-in the Analysis toolpak. This contains a set of 19 wizard driven statistical processes to use – from Descriptive stats to Annova to Regression. A judicious use of the functions and formulae and the Analysis toolpak will allow you to get nearly all the commonly used outputs for business decision making.

And then the power pivot free download is a great add-in. This increases the BI capabilities of excel multi folds and allows for merging data from various sources and manipulating the data It uses DAX – Data Analysis Expressions – which is a language that enables more complex grouping and calculations and thus, better analysis . (You can read more about this and download it from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff452206.aspx)

On the data visualisation front , the new features of Sparklines – which are graphs in a cell and give a very quick and ready reading of trends – is a very user  and analysis friendly addition . Since these can be used along with pivot tables, the utility is immense. It is very easy to summarise and draw conclusions to segment the reports that you will create.

Recording and using recorded Macros is much more robust in this edition of excel, ensuring that even non- coders (VBA coders) can use Macros for repetitive tasks, formatting and generation of standard codes.  Simplifying and standardising helps you to move to the next level analysis and spend more time in validation and conclusions rather than preparation.

Sounds good? Yes, and feels very good too. Try it out to get a closer look to this old and free application that we have taken for granted.

This use-ability has led to companies building paid add-ins that work on excel and my favourite is XLSTAT. As the name suggests, it simplifies the more complex statistical processes and makes them button driven . So doing a factor analysis , pareto , decision tree, cluster analysis and logistic regression becomes that much more easier .

You , of course, have to remember that excel is a competent tool for analysis but the conceptual understanding has to be built by you . Thus, the success of the project will depend on your knowledge of the subject and  ability to use the tool

With an extensive online help and many forums dedicated to it, Excel 2010 has finally ‘arrived’!! I strongly believe in the potential of this software and the easy accessibility just adds to its charms .

So all you potential analysts out there – pull up your boots and get cracking …

 

About the Author /  Profile – Subhashini Sharma Tripathi

An alumnus if IBS (2002 pass out), Subhashini has a decade of experience across roles in Analytics in Retail Finance and Banking. These roles have been across Risk Management , Collections strategy , Fraud Control and Marketing in  GE Money, Standard Chartered Bank, Tata Motors Finance and Citi GDM . Her area of interest is the integration of results / outputs of Analytics with Business Decisions – Tactics and Strategy.

She is currently active in the Analytics Training and Consulting arena. For a discussion on careers and training programmes in Analytics you can contact her at 9731107798, subhashinitripathi@yahoo.com.

(Link to LinkedIn profile – http://in.linkedin.com/pub/subhashini-s-tripathi/3/405/77b )

 

Following a slew of leaks and rumours Apple has finally announced the launch of its eagerly-awaited iPhone 5S and the lower-priced iPhone 5C smartphones at a special event held at its Cupertino headquarters on Tuesday 10^th September, 2013.

This particular launch was a trending topic on social media for weeks preceding the launch as the rumours had predicted a ‘cheaper’ Apple iPhone. With the smartphone industry poised to grow greater than ever, the gizmo pundits had predicted that Apple would come out with a cheaper iPhone, to counter competition from Samsung, HTC and other Android based phone manufacturers.

Here in India, the expectation was that Apple would finally launch a phone that’s priced below 25K and steal precious market share from the ever popular Samsung and emerging Micromax, Nokia etc.

Well Apple chose not to do that.

Sticking true to its premium positioning, the new phones were priced as lavishly as the previous iPhones. The entry-level 16GB iPhone 5C without a contract has been priced at $549 in the US. That comes out to a bulky INR 35,000 at current exchange rates. Adding to this the iPhone 5C is only $100 lesser than the iPhone 5S, making us question the need for this cheaper Apple, which isn’t cheap at all!

The only selling point for the iPhone 5C seems to be the various colours it is available in. However, Nokia and HTC were quick to jump on the twitter bandwagon and make few interesting claims.

While Nokia is clearly mocking Apple for introducing various colours for the iPhone 5C, as Nokia was a pioneer with the Lumia series of its smartphones having many attractive colours, much like the latest Apple iPhone.

HTC is taking on the design fundamentals of Apple, claiming that only the iPhone components have been upgraded whereas serious innovation is lacking. HTC went on to run a campaign where users can exchange their iPhone devices for minimum $150 rebate on a new HTC One. In a cut-throat environment like the present smartphone industry, these types of rants and ridicules are becoming more and more commonplace.

Coming back to Apple, the iPhone 5C however does seem to be a masterstroke. With everyone expecting a cheap phone from Apple, traditional Apple lovers were very skeptic about how the brand perception might change. Switch from a Premium segment player to a mid-level player would’ve impacted Apple in a significant way! But with Samsung ruling the Smartphone market, Apple had to try and create a new market opportunity. It has done so, with the iPhone 5C.

The iPhone 5C gives the option of opting for a slightly cheaper Apple iPhone to the consumer. The loyalist will go for the 5S and the new finger print recognition that it offers, but a major group of consumers who would’ve gone for a cheaper HTC/Nokia/Samsung will now consider the colorful Apple iPhone 5C.

So will the move work? Will iPhone 5C offer a realistic substitute to some price-conscious consumers? With Nokia having been acquired recently by Microsoft, can we expect some radical twists and turns in the smartphone industry?

How these phones actually perform in the market, we will know, only in due time.

Meanwhile what do you think about the Apple 5C?

 

IBS Mumbai sponspored the BMS Academic Excellence Awards on 10th August, 2013.

100 BMS toppers across various Mumbai Colleges were felicitated by IBS Mumbai.

Guests of honour for the event were:Prof. Y K Bhushan, Mr Ehsaan Noorani (From Shanker Ehsaan Loy Trio) & Prof. Rita Rangnekar.

The awards witnessed a 100% turnout of students with their parents. The event was covered by Educationtimes.com, Big 92.7 FM, Mumbai Manoos & NMTV (mumbai24).

Students of Batch 2015, IBS Ahmedabad with faculty members and staff in old Ahmedabad.

Students were taken for the well known ‘Heritage Walk‘ of Ahmedabad city that helps them to understand the History of the city and the prosperity too.

Shared by Monika Sundrani- Manager Corporate Relations, IBS Ahmedabad.

Are you planning to join your father’s business or start your own business? Do you think that you don’t require an MBA degree for this? Well this article can solve your problem

This is a general misconception among people that management courses only helps in getting a job and that if you want to start your own business or join your father’s you don’t require an MBA degree for that. Following are the reasons why you need to go for a management course

• Improving the general administration of your business – Being the owner of your business you have to take care of all the departments’ right from marketing and human resources to finance and operations. MBA not only specialize you in one field but also gives you a general idea of all the fields in a business. Once you have knowledge of all the departments you can easily monitor and no one can fool you easily.
• Personality Development – MBA helps in grooming your personality so as to make you ready for the corporate world. Since you will be the face of your company, the kind of impression you give to the clients will be the impression of your company. That is why it is very important for you to know how to greet a client, how to behave in corporate dinners, how to behave in a meeting and many other things for which management courses train you
• Case Studies and Role Play – Many management colleges include case studies and role play as a part of their curriculum. Case study helps in understanding the functioning of various fields of MBA in real world by the live examples of success and failure stories of big corporate houses. Similarly role play exercises and strategic games put you in the position of a manager and give you various situations that one has to face while running a business. What is better than gaining the experience of running a business without risking your money?
• Networking – The continuous industry interactions, live projects and industry training helps you to increase your networks. This is very much helpful at the later stage when you are running your own business
• Corporate Experience – Generally most of the people do MBA so as to gain corporate experience by either doing a job for a year after MBA or during industry training for three months while their course is going on. The main notion behind this is that one cannot manage something until and unless he knows how to do that thing. One cannot become the captain of a cricket team without playing cricket as a team member.
• Maturity – Last but not the least MBA brings in you a kind of maturity to handle corporate affairs. This maturity comes automatically because of the above mentioned reasons. You gain knowledge, experience and a change in personality. There is a great difference between a graduate starting his business and an MBA graduate starting his business.

So these are the reasons why I think one should go for an MBA even if they are joining their own business. I hope this article was of any help to you.

Contributed by Prachi Tewari (Batch 2013, IBS Hyderabad)

The Director’s Welcome Address to the batch 2015 was organized by IBS Gurgaon on 10th July 2013 at Air Force Auditorium, New Delhi.

The function was attended by all Faculty Members and Staff members of IBS Gurgaon, the Batch of 2015, Student Placement Committee Members and Student Council Members of the Batch of 2014.

This was the first function for the newly enrolled batch where they were introduced to all the Faculty members and the Staff members of IBS Gurgaon.

Prof. (Dr.) OP Gupta, Director IBS Gurgaon, delivered the Welcome Address. In his address, Dr. OP Gupta spoke in length about integration of knowledge from various streams of education to understand, implicate and implement Management Education from a holistic perspective.

He also highlighted the role that IBS plays in the Management Education in the country and stressed on the importance of hard work, dedication, passion and perseverance in the life and in the two years of their study at IBS Gurgaon.

Dr. Manisha Singh proposed a vote of thanks. The function was followed by high tea.

Never thought this journey will bring out the writer in me… that too like this.

It was a real journey into the midst of nature, and where better to find the nature at its best but Mussoorie. It is an hour long journey from Dehradun. The journey was an amazing experience with the nature in its full swing. Moisture in the atmosphere made it even more happening.

We started our journey in the noon and travelled all the way up to Mussoorie better known as ‘Paharon Ki Rani’. The road twisted and turned like a snake.

There are moments in life that change the way we look at life. That moment for me came when I met Mohit sir on the way to Mussoorie, and he questioned me about my DREAM JOB. Till that time I thought that being a Doctor, an Engineer, or striving for excellence in a corporate could only be your dream job. But no – things like being a travel writer, a novelist, a painter, a cook could be your dream job as well. He somehow managed to break the myth, that money-oriented work could only be found in a regular job.

So here I am, trying to pen down my experience of three days in Mussoorie in my own simple way.

At the Venue in Mussoorie

We travelled all the way to Mussoorie, a place about 6000 ft above sea-level to reach our destination – SURBEE RESORT. Once we reached the resort, we were greeted by the Host – Mr.Sumit Osmond, Branch Head for ICFAI Group office in Dehradun. It was a nice gesture shown by him. We checked into our respective rooms (pre-allotted). I rested for a while. Then we were told that, a stupendous lunch was waiting for us in the restaurant at the resort. Right message for me 🙂 as I was really very hungry – given my hectic, almost non-stop 15 hours train journey from Allahabad to Mussoorie. I quickly took a shower and reached the spot where lunch-buffet was waiting for me.

Meeting with Team and Food for Life

I saw people with bigger designations than me, like Regional Managers, General Manager and Registrar for ICFAI Group already present in the crowd to helping themselves with the buffet.After wishing all my seniors, I could not hold myself back and grabbed a plate for myself, as the smell of the food has already made me more hungry. Within no time I had my plate filled with all kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian stuff. I settled in the corner of the restaurant and enjoyed the feast. I tasted all items on offer. Once my stomach was full, I took the sweet-dish and went back to my room.

Team on Mall Road

It was already late afternoon, and team decided to take a quick trip to the famous Mall Road. It was a welcome idea. I was ready to explore the beauty of nature and experience a culture different from what is there in UP. BMs from UP – Mr. Prankur Jain (Agra) and Mr. Abhishek Bajpai (Lucknow) and I got together. On mall road, we were left to explore the beauty of mother nature. We did not want the seniors to see how we were moving around, so three of us took the road all by ourselves. There are some protocols that need to be followed even in informal events 🙂

We started at one end of Mall Road and went till the other end, enjoying the nature at its best. We saw all kinds of people from different parts of the world and also locals. There was a stretch of shops offering all kinds of famous and ordinary things to the people visiting Mussoorie. Alas there was nothing that we could buy, so we ended up taking a rope-way to the top most point in Mussoorie. This adventure was a bit scary in itself, as I have a fear for heights. I kept on reciting Hanuman Chalisa, till the time the trio reached to the top. Once we were there, we saw a small market with various small stalls. There were things like eating joints, showrooms, and shops for fun activities. We tried our hands on ARCHERY. In this, I won 100 bucks for hitting the bulls eye, I thought that with the aim set right in my eyes I could even hit the Bulls Eye in IBSAT Campaign (sorry but IBSAT was not going out of my mind).

Then we took the same rope-way down to the Mall Road. It was an exhaustive evening. I was now waiting for the party organized in the resort. We quickly dragged ourselves to the meeting point, where we were carried away to our resort.

Fun at Night. All of Us are One.

In evening, time came, when all the designations across the departments in the organization break down and people mingle as a cohesive and collective unit. Yes it was the time for much awaited party to get underway. The venue was the conference hall in the resort and it was 8pm (not the other 8PM, but time). The moment I entered into the hall I saw snacks laid out, but my eyes were reaching for the main ingredient – you know what I mean (I am sure most of the attendees were having the similar feeling). As the saying goes that if you are desperate to find something, you will find it soon – same happened, I saw a waiter standing in the corner with the stuff I was looking for. I took no time in understanding that it was my destination for the evening. I almost forgot everything and went to the waiter. The moment he asked me – which one sir, I took no time in saying – one large… It looked as if I was just waiting him to ask. I took my share and went down to see a place for myself where I can relax and enjoy. I found one for myself. I sat there and was enjoying the party, which was in full swing with the DJ playing at the centre-stage. With the disco lights, in the full swing, my drink kept on decreasing in my tumbler. I cannot recall that how many glassed I was down with, as I was enjoying the party with the dance performances from the Chandigarh BM and few singing acts by other members. With the corner of my eyes, and to my surprise – in my own senses, I could see image of our Registrar – Mr. RR Reddy, General Manager – Mr.Raghab P Panda, and Regional Managers sitting on the centre table and enjoying the show to the fullest. It was an event which paved way for all the attendees to share a common platform, as we all had a common motive to make ICFAI reach to new heights. So, it was quite entertaining informal environment.

Then was the time for the dinner to be served. As most of us were quite exhausted and down with the drinks, few of the attendees could enjoy the super dinner that was lavishly decorated with all kinds of cuisine. I had my share, as I could not hold myself back from eating, and having a sweet tooth could not leave the ice-cream that was served as sweet dish. We all departed from the dining hall one by one after finishing our dinner.By the time the day ended for the attendees, we had already made friends out of the people we only see on IBS Marketing Group Facebook page. All the people used this platform, of an informal gathering, to develop relationships and exchange numbers. The day ended, but not before friends were made out of the regions.

Presentations: Experience Sharing and Learning

The next day was the most awaited and the REASON why we all were there. You guessed it right, It was the day for the PRESENTATIONS. In the morning everyone ready to step into a more serious affair of discussing the area/branch/region etc. Everyone in the morning was shining bright with the IBS B-School T-Shirts. They were new and ivory white. Each one of us enjoyed the breakfast – fast, as we had to gather for the discussion about the campaigns and the strategies to be undertaken.

The venue was Conference Hall. I was amused to see the same hall as the hotbed on brainstorming and day long discussions, which were about 12 hours witnessed full swing of masti and maza. It was a completely metamorphosis.It was smartly organized, with The Registrar and The General Manager and the Regional Managers taking the centre seats in the back, and Area Managers sitting with their respective BMs on the two ends of the arrangements. It was the D-Day, which started with the presentations from the BMs on parameters like what was their learning from recently concluded  campaign (IBSAT-12 & PGPM-13), what changes could be made, what are the targets (branch-wise), and what measures could be taken up to achieve those numbers.

Firstly it was the turn of Delhi NCR team to present their views and learning under the guidance of Mr. Avneet Bagga (AM) &Mr. Brijesh Arora (AM). It started off well with Ms. Rakhi Gupta (BM, North Campus), the lone soldier representing the female category in the entire Annual Meet – 2013. Then the stage was taken up by UP & Uttarakhand Team under the guidance of Mr. Vishal Singh. With the exchange of ideas, people new into the system got to know their roles and responsibilities in more clear fashion. Then we took a break for the award presentation ceremony, which was presided over by the dignitaries from ICFAI University, Dehradun. The awardees were felicitated and those who did not get an award took it as a real challenge to give the winners a run for their money in the upcoming campaigns. So, it was a gaining situation for every attendee.

Form here we had a lunch session, where again the Surbee Resort lived up to their image to serve the best what they have got. It was again lunch worth for every single penny spent. It would not be wrong to say that the resort was worth putting in the money. People took this break as a lifesaving medicine from the presentations that were becoming monotonous, with almost same thing in presentation after presentation. Anyways, the learning was of high quality.

After lunch, we again gathered in the Conference Hall, where the turn was of UP & Uttarakhand to start and then followed up by the teams from North – II and East Regions.

With the inputs from the distinguished guests – The Registrar and The General Manager, the session proved to be of immense learning. If I talk about myself, I got to learn a lot from the people old in the system through their experience and learning. The session ended up with a brief speech from our respected Registrar and the General Manager. The session wrapped up with the seniors wishing the team members all he best for the upcoming campaigns.

Another Party. More Fun.

Then it was time for another party. This time it was a bit different from the one, the day before. This time everyone was a kind of free from the mental stress of presentations and all, as it had gone all well. Hence, the time to enjoy the drinks, a free mind and fresh attitude.We gathered into the same CONFERENCE HALL, which gave another new look from what it was during the presentations, it was time for us to carry from where we left 24 hours ago. Once the bar was open, people took the tables by a storm. It got difficult for the waiters to cater to such a big crowd, all wanting their share of drinks. Within no time, everyone was with their glasses filled to the brim and enjoying the arrangement that was done this time under open skies. The music got into full swing with the dance numbers. Slowly and gradually the drinks started to show on the members. Then came the ANTAKSHARI round initiated by Mohit Sir, and being a referee for the same. People came and joined the team irrespective of which region they belonged. They just could not hold themselves back from singing. There was no winner in the end from the event, but everyone won the friendship in an informal gathering.

The masti got to its peak when even our Registrar – Mr RR Reddy and General Manager – Mr Raghab P Panda, could not resist the foot tapping music, and joined the team to showcase their style of dancing. Once people saw the dignitaries joining the dance everyone joined in and we had people enjoying both – the drinks and the music.

The day ended with the dinner served for our team. As most of us were out with the heavy consumption of drinks, so many refrained themselves from having dinner. Poor fellows, they can not imagine what they were missing on. I had my share and really enjoyed the feast, sharing the table with RR Reddy Sir, Raghab Sir and Jatin Sir.

Early Start. Time to Bid Adieu.

With the early dawn of the day, everyone in their respective rooms were busy with packing their bags for it was the time to leave the HEAVEN. As and when the people got ready, they got down to have their breakfast and boarded the vehicles which were to take us to ICFAI University campus at Dehradun. Most of the people had their eyes grey, as we never wanted to leave the scenic beauty that Mussoorie had in offer, but as the saying goes – all good thing come to an end.

The Annual Meet was soon about to end. Quickly we all had our breakfast and boarded our respective vehicles. We started off with our journey back and again we encountered the snake like roads that twisted and curled into the greenery. The entire view during our course of journey to Dehradun was beautiful, or should I say it was second to none.

At IBS Dehradun, on our way back home.

After about an hour, we reached ICFAI University, Dehradun. There we meet the students, faculty, admin staff and exchanged thoughts. This visit added to the learning that I picked up during the Annual Meet – 2013. I learned a lot with the experiences of the faculty and students. Managed to meet students from across India. Then in the cafeteria, the lunch was served, and it was the last event of our Annual Meet – 2013. The lunch again served our stomach well and we were full.

We all then gathered at the University entrance to bid adieu to the friends that we made during the event. I did not want to leave, but then there was a team in Allahabad, that was waiting for their leader to come and guide them through thick and thin. I cannot leave them alone.The feeling of parting from the members who are now friends was making me sad, but then as one poet has said –

“..woods are lovely dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep”

……… I had to move on, which I did.

Change for Good. Aiming for Excellence.

The Annual Meet – 2013 has brought good changes in me. I am a bit more mature as far as the learning goes. I am striving for excellence for me and my team (by seeing the awardees) and more than that I have made friends from different regions, who at one point of time were not more than a picture in IBS Marketing Group.

Contributed by Lalit Prakash, Branch Manager – Allahabad (IBS Marketing Team)