Vista- The Business Fest of IIMB

Whacky Tacky!

2008-10-13T10:16:00.001-07:00

One thing all FII members would not forget is all the fun we had with the walkie-talkies. Some excerpts:

Day 1:
Everyone is working his behinds off.. things are in the initial unstable phase when no one knows anything.. ppl are running hither and thither putting their all into making sure none except the organizers get to know that its a fight.. The walkie talkie network is abound with fast and serious pings.. Suddenly a voice that had been missing since morning crackles into life:
A happy, calm and well rested Sudhakar's voice says "Ladies and Gentlemen... Sudhakar is awake now!"
Aaaaaaaaarrggggghhhh!!
----------------------------------------
"Sudhakar come in.. Control here"..
Santa: "Sudhakar, control wants you" (on the walkie talkie itself)
Duh!
----------------------------------------
"Anshema come in.. XYZ here"
.....
"Anshuman here.. Someone wanted me?"
(no response)
"Anshuman here.. Someone wanted me?"
(still no response)
Anshuman in despair.. No one wants me :( Poor guy didn't realise that his
aged ears were playing tricks on him.
-----------------------------------------
"PDM come in.. XYZ here"
Didn't sound like XYZ.. short pause..
"Err.. Sorry.. XYZ come in.. PDM here"
LoL!
-----------------------------------------
Nachiket (frantic): "Anshuman come here soon.. The banner is falling!!! come soon come soon"
Anshuman (in a lazy drawl): "Arre yaar.. Let it fall.. It's not London bridge!"
-----------------------------------------
"Yadav Come in.. Control here"
"Coming in"..
And he walked into the room..
-----------------------------------------
"All those who don't have their walkie talkies, pls come and collect them"
- Broadcast msg from Yadav ON the walkie talkie!
("All those who're absent, please raise your hands" types :) )

And the winners are...

2008-10-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

Altar Vista - The Vista rolling trophy was launched this year, in a move that's the first ever in the Indian B-fest horizon. The trophy would go the B-school (other than IIMB) that performs best in the fest across multiple events. (Find details of the points system on our website - www.iimb-vista.com).

This year, IIMB topped the charts at the end of Vista, but the topper among other B-schools, and hence the winner of Altar Vista 2008 is...

NITIE Mumbai!
Congrats folks. you deserved it!

Bizarre - The ultimate quiz-a-thon

2008-10-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

The last event at Vista 2008 was Bizarre - the open B-quiz. Attracting participation from over 400 teams, the quiz was hosted by Barry O'Brien in his own inimitable entertaining style.

The teams that got to the dais included those that called themselves

The Usual Suspects
I^3
Swami & Friends
Name 2 Complicated 2 Explain
Tsunami mein Gourami
TM (Barry was not ready to call this team by their full name which, as a participant spelt, sounds very similar to Terry Mecki ;) )

The quiz lasted a good 1.5 hours and was filled with all the usual masala stuff you find in quizzes. But what was quite new was the amount of audience interaction that Barry ensured. There were liberal doses of rounds for the audience while the teams on stage sat and stared agape. And would you believe it if we told you one of them was a round of songs?! And he didn't part with the t-shirts and caps unless people sang the songs.

Among the interesting rounds for the teams were one in which medleys of Ad videos were played and the teams had to identify both. Another was one in which pictures of businessmen and showbiz-men were morphed together and the identification parade was conducted. And then there was the sequential clues round, but the difference was that as the teams exhausted clues, their positive points reduced, but the negatives for incorrect answers increased!

Eventually the team that took the trophy home was Teri M**ki :)

Numero Uno: Finals and Results

2008-10-13T09:12:00.001-07:00

The much anticipated final round of Numero Uno started after lunch on Sunday. After the presentations of the money spinner round, people were anticipating a fitting end to the three day long marathon that tested every trait of the participants. As they say, its takes a lot to be crowned Numero Uno.

The final began with the compere (Sathya, who happens to be one of our ex-students) announcing the names of the six finalists who would compete in the last round of Numero Uno on the basis of their performance in all the rounds conducted till that point in time. Pretty much as expected, the top six included Roberto (Yale University, USA), Sabina (McGill University, Canada), Geet (IIM Bangalore), Nikhil (FMS, Delhi), Hiranjith (Great Lakes, Chennai) and Rahul (IIM Calcutta).

Each contestant had to deliver a self pitch as to why he/she should be chosen as Numero Uno initially, followed by questions from the Judges, a few insightful comments from the compere here and there and some pretty pointed questions from the audience. The order of appearance was decided by draw of lots and as it turned out, our first speaker was Nikhil from FMS. Nikhil spoke extensively about his efforts as a founder of non-profit as well as for-profit organizations and his passion for everything he does. He came across a poised and serious individual, but the charisma that defines a leader was somehow not visible.

The next one up was Hiranjith from Great Lakes, Chennai who also happens to be a national level badminton player. Though he overshot his timing for the self pitch yet after that he was pretty entertaining. The fact that he hesitated to make decisions unilaterally, became pretty evident from his responses to the Judges’ insightful grilling sessions.

Sabina was up next and dazzled the audience with her speech as well as her well chosen replies to the questions she was asked. For a moment, it felt like here was one candidate better than the rest. Just when people started settling down cozily in their seats, confident of having identified a front runner, it was time for Roberto to come up on stage. Probably the least formal of the people present and the most upbeat of the finalists, he was definitely having fun on stage. He even had a dig at Sathya when the time seemed right!

Geet and Rahul were spot-on with their speeches as well but Roberto had already made a deep impact on the audience as well as the judges. Though we have to say that Geet had a distinct advantage of playing on home turf yet there were times when people had to agree that on this day it was Roberto who shone the brightest.

The results vindicated the general opinion and Roberto Jimenez representing Yale University went on to be declared Numero Uno for Vista 2008, the second year in a row when an exchange student has won the coveted title of the Next CEO!

Numero Uno - Penultimate Round: Other People's Money

2008-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

The penultimate round of Numero Uno tested the entrepreneurial skill of the participants, and the inter-personal and resource management ability that go along with it. Each team was given a capital of Rs. 5000 and asked to employ it in any venture deemed appropriate. With minimal guidelines, the teams were given complete freedom to exercise their imagination and maximize profits. However, with limited time (around 5 hours) and limited resources (but human and monetary), the strategizing and execution talents were thoroughly evaluated in this round.

Teams came up with varying ideas. Some sold services, and others peddled products. Many teams leveraged on social causes to attract attention, and gain customer approval. A few also banked on individual talents of team members too. The team that was called upon first used minimal cash and generated the maximum amount of profits. They did so by offering to teach CAT aspirants and sell loyalty cards to willing shoppers. However, the judges questioned their rationale of not using the capital at their disposal.

The next two teams picked up social causes to strike a chord with the consumer. While one sold pens for Bihar flood relief, the other sold T-shirts and mugs to support carbon-emission reduction. The latter idea was particularly impressive for its ingenuity and its vivacity. The team asked passersby to leave their footprint on a banner to support the cause, and willing people were offered the T-shirts and the mugs with their own customized message on it. And what’s more, they raked in a decent amount of profit too while having all this fun.

One issue that was persistently raised by the judges was whether using a social cause amounted to making false promises to the consumer and thus was unethical. This hurdle was also faced by the fourth team, which sold handcrafted bags for a profit which they promised would be used to develop better working conditions for the artisans.

In the end, a refreshing bit of implementation of henna-designing came up with the 5^th team. They rode on the skill of their lady member who was proficient in henna-designs. And all this while, the four other male members were reduced to mere salesmen scouting for potential customers!

Thus the penultimate round had its fair share of fun and knowledge for the audience. It was even better for the participants most probably, and each of them presented a confident and calm veneer that most likely hid a nervous interior. Over to the final round now.

Finesse - The Private Equity Game

2008-10-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning saw the ten finalists of “Finesse”, the private equity game sweating it out in the cold confines of CC. After the preliminary elimination round which tested the contestants on their knowledge of the world of private equity, the second and final round was an altogether different ball game. With the simulation of a real world scenario of 16 companies spread across four major sectors of automobiles, banking, steel and FMCG, the teams had to bid for and then decide the level of investments for growth in each of their companies.

The closed bidding for the various companies was extremely exciting as the participants tried to out think and second guess each other. However, once the bidding got over and the companies were acquired, the teams had to rapidly change their strategy and focus on their future investments in the company, not for just one year but for a period of four years. The performance of the companies was dynamic and depended on the choices of the teams. This made the game more interesting and kept all the participants on their toes. The session ended after 4 hours with all the contestants a little tired but definitely not bored. Needless to say, “Finesse” turned out to be a great game of fun with finance for all the fin enthusiasts.

Investment Workshop

2008-10-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

How many times how you wondered in the past couple of weeks if the stock market is still a viable option to invest in? How many times have you made up your mind to trudge back to the security of the term deposits and national saving certificates issued by the banks and post offices?

Rhetorical questions, but extremely pertinent in the present situation. But some people decided to check out if it was still possible to invest even in this scenario. That’s what the investment workshop was all about. It focused on the methods that may be employed to hedge risks in the present bull market.

The workshop started at 10 A.M. approximately with the CPP 1 classroom almost full. Once again, there was no dearth in interest in financial markets as we have seen in the recent times and people were still pouring in as the session started. Abhijeet Gayen and Shubhash R from IIM Bangalore conducted it.

Going by the turnout, it is evident that investing still remains a hot favourite among people who decided to join the workshop at the cost of missing out on the penultimate round of Numero Uno being held at the Auditorium during the same timeslot.

The workshop got over at 11:30 and it would not be an understatement to suggest that the participants have benefitted immensely from the workshop.

Drishtikone - The debate with a difference

2008-10-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

(From Day 1)

The excitation is quite palpable as the “new found voice of FII” takes center stage to announce the teams who have qualified for the first round of Dhrishtikone – the debate with a difference. The team names sound like the survey of the best business schools in India. How else can it be when the event is Vista, the king of B fests?

I had heard that the teams had spent their nights analyzing a 30 page mammoth case on one of the toughest problems to crack in today’s business world – the problems faced by the airline industry. The scene is dismal not only in india but around the world with the airline industry facing a loss of around $200 billion.

To judge the event, we had Professor Sourav Mukherjee, professor of Organizational Behavior and Strategy at IIMB, one of the most liked professors in the campus.

The first team to present the analysis was from IIMC. Quite a deep analysis of the problems faced by the airline industry without resorting to much graphics. They proved that plain is simple and simple is beautiful. We crossed over to the other end of multimedia in presentations next with IIM shillong starting with a video on problems faced by airline industry. Quite an effort in such a short time. And they went on to solve the problems of environment and people, though they didn’t dwell much on improving the profits of the airline industry.

Numericals, tables and graphs dazzled as the team from XLRI took over. And in 5 minutes they had covered strategies for reviving all the carriers in india. The audience had a bit of information overload with that heavy dose J but their presentation was informative for sure. The team from MDI gurgaon followed it with their talk on managing demand, fleet and finances.

There were two teams from IIMK and the first team presented on multiple aspects of the industry giving both the company and government perspective. Well, I rather liked the title of the other team from IIMK “bit more than it could chew”. ( Well, they should be called the “well” team, given that the presenter started almost every sentence with “Well”. ;-) Oops, looks like I caught on the bug). “ Tail spin” was the title which SP jain team had given to their presentation, and it was very well rehearsed. The two presenters alternated for every single slide as they spoke their well planned lines.

Shyam U & Pritam Sarkar from IIMB took the stage over next to prove that the Indian airlines industry is bleeding. It was a great presentation with Shyam’s oratory skills and deep analysis of the industry. They categorically proved again that the industry is bleeding and went on to give suggestions on how to save it.

With that, it was the turn of Prof Sourav Mukherjee to provide feedback. He was impressed with the overall quality of presentation, but gave some improvement tips. Some of the teams had jumped to the solution too fast and some had given solutions out of the case. Time handling was a critical factor, the teams should learn to take care as most had overshot the limit of 5 minutes.

And the results .. IIMB & XLRI moved on to the next round.. Updates later..

Trojan Horse - Strategy

2008-10-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Vista came up with a winner in Trojan Horse. Having pared the teams (of three) down to 6 following a preliminary round involving a mind-bender of a case study, the finalists were given a taste of the vagaries of the retail market.

Combining operations management and strategy, the teams were taxed to their limits and beyond as they were made to simulate competing retail chains. The simulation covered all aspects from pricing strategies (yes, a chance to apply all those eco fundas you’d thought you could safely tuck away somewhere to grow cobwebs), purchasing decisions, advertising etc.

There were three rounds in all with the final round throwing a pinch of salt into the mixture by allowing the formation of cartels. Tensions ran high as teams mulled over potential strategies and fortunes were made and lost. A game it might have been, but for these people, it was a race to prove themselves and to emerge victorious.

So who did succeed in proving that they’re the kings of retail? In fact, it was the team from NIT Surathkal which ended up sweeping the honours. But never fear, just when we were on the point of despairing about the pointlessness of spending two years here, the second place was captured by an IIMB team, thus restoring our faith in humanity J But all jokes aside, kudos to the NITK team fro a brilliant job and a well deserved win. Who knows, we might have just discovered the retail barons of tomorrow! And with that cheering thought, we bid you adieu. But never fear, there’s still an entire day of fun left at Vista with events that promise to be a memorable end to a memorable fest

Intellectual Property Rights - Workshop

2008-10-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

Did you know that someone out there has even securitized an artist’s copyrights of his music? Probably not but the audience attending the IPR workshop, held on the second day of Vista, sure did. Conducted by Mr. Rahul Mehra from Evalueserve, who has been working in the field of IPR for the last 5 years, the workshop was focussed on how in the present world of fast-changing technologies, intellectual property and its protection has gained more prominence than ever before and the growing trend of monetizing it.

The workshop was extremely informative as Rahul took the audience through various types of intellectual property, differences between patents, copyrights and trademarks and provided both the global and the Indian perspective in the area. The case studies of Xerox and IBM about how they leverage their portfolio of patents to increase revenues made the session very interesting. Probably not many within the audience were aware of facts like Qualcomm earns more than $ 2 billion every year just from their patent licenses or that China currently files more patents than India on a yearly basis. The session was highly interactive as well as the audience posed a wide variety of questions ranging from why ideas can’t be patented, international patents, the patent scene in China, loopholes in the patent system (examples of patents on Basmati and Yoga) as well as questions about costs incurred in maintaining patents.

The session concluded with a discussion about how intellectual property can be valuated and the various valuation approaches. Regardless to say, the workshop was an eye-opener to all about the rapidly changing IPR scene in the country and underscored its growing importance. And yes, for those who are still wondering about the securitized music copyrights, they are no fiction-they do exist and are called Bowie bonds. Just another nugget of info from the fascinating world of IPR.

Milestones - Ops Strategy

2008-10-11T13:14:00.001-07:00

Models, Analytics, Strategies. Numbers and graphs whizzed by as I sat at the MILESTONES event listening to the talented teams presenting their analysis on how to improve the performance of Suguna chicken in the poultry industry. And to judge the event, we had one eminent alumni, Rakesh Rajora, Vice president, Global Operational excellence lead at Accenture.

Suguna Chicks from NITIE, Khushboo and Pragya, ( the only all women team) presented a deeply thought out sensitivity analysis on how the price of the feed affects the cheating behavior in the farmers and why the incentive schemes should be modified to alter that behavior. Team Famous from FMS, Abhinav & Ayesha followed next with their well calculated regression models proving 12 month cyclicity. As Rakesh pointed out at the end, their strategy revolved around 2 anchoring points 1) long term contracts with suppliers of feed and 2) long term contracts with poultry farms.

The team from ISB of Biya & Ashwin followed next with their great out of the box ideas. They suggested buffering through relying on processed chicken, avoiding prize volatility through short futures contracts and penalty for farms with high mortality rates. They also presented an alternative ownership model which shall help reduce the agency problem in this industry.

Matching the import to demand of processed chicken with a 13 week lead time shall give 40% improvement in profits - Aditya Gupta and CPT from IIMB proved this point and many others as they presented on issues in pricing, incentives and supply chain. They talked about the need for cluster farming to reduce expenses in transportation and supply chains.

After the round of graphs and models, it was a welcome change to see the colorful and attractive slides from Gopal Kapoor and Akash Gahni from MDI. They had their share of graphs also but they looked nicer in their presentation.

During all these presentations, we had a great amount of learning as Rakesh gave his insights on various concepts such as Swarm intelligence, CRM, ERP, SCM, floatilla, soft selling etc. He also talked about the importance of talking to the people who are actually in the field to take their inputs on the subject. As a concluding remark, he explained the importance of applying the theoretical frameworks we learn in the classes to the actual field issues and of continuous learning. I am sure the participants got great value as they got a new mentor in Rakesh.

The out of the box thinking presented by the team from ISB fetched them the first prize and the team from IIMB followed next to win the second prize. All in all, this was a wonderful event which provided great return on time spent :)

Sparsh - The NGO Event

2008-10-11T13:05:00.001-07:00

Sparsh has teams from all around the country coming up with innovative ideas for touching lives and making the difference to the community. The team from MDI, Daityva gave solutions to Bal Janagraha, a section of the NGO Janagraha. Bal Janagraha aims at imparting education to students of classes 7^th and 8^th about various issues like urban governance, police, electricity, water etc. Daityva used a bottom-up approach to create a buzz among the students. They covered various aspects of marketing and strategy thereby delving deeper into the problems of all the stakeholders.

Udaan, the team from IIMB, suggested connecting school and students to the parents on annual days or through year books. Rolling trophy for a cluster of schools performing well in the Bal Janagraha movement was another creative idea as promoting a single winner can de-motivate others. Udaan also delved into the aspects of roping print media to cover one school every week and interspersing the elements of Bal Janagraha in various subjects during schools. The team advocated the strengthening of bonds between the volunteer groups through orientation and mentoring etc. The methodology adopted by Udaan and its implementation in a time bound manner was appreciated by the judges.

Teams also brain-stormed on Akshay Patra – a programme dealing with mid day meal scheme of school children. The meal costs Rs 4.54 per head and is prepared under highly sanitized environment following ISO certified processes. The scale of the programme is such that even a reduction of 10 paise per meal would mean feeding 22,000 more children per day! Team warriors came up with suggestions for integrating the supply side by sourcing directly from the farmers. They also suggested reducing the costs by hiring the vehicles for transportation instead of owning them. Team Gladiators had very innovative ideas for cost reduction, waste management and improvising on the efficiency of the process. They advocated partnering with retailers like Reliance and Metro to reduce sourcing costs and in return promoting their image for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. The best idea of the lot was using starch to generate methane in a methane generation plant and use it for cooking food. This would impact the cost of fuel to a great extent.

Overall, Sparsh was a great experience and an initiative to touch lives on a larger scale. We are sure, there will be many such editions of Sparsh in the years to come and all of us will be able to make things better for a lot of people in the society.

Bzzwings - The B-Plan Contest

2008-10-10T21:29:00.001-07:00

One of Vista's trademark events - the Bzzwings contest was held on Friday. There were like three hundred and twenty teams who put all the fight in the world to get here...guess it's all the gleam NSRCEL adds to the place?

Anyway, eight teams have made it to the finals, where they have to present their plans to the judges through a presentation. They've been shortlisted by ENI judges by a plethora of criteria....company overview, products or services, market need, market potential, competitive advantage, management, financial forecasts and what not. Anyway its obvious all these guys have really been working hard. (The mosquitoes in Bangalore have been troubling them with lack of sleep too, say the team FaMouS from FMS.)

The IIMB teams stand up to the occasion by offering to present out of turn - which basically means that because other teams were not there, the IIMB guys were presenting first. Will that be an advantage, or will it work against them? Only time will tell.

The IIMB plans
The first plan is from the Aarambh team at IIMB. Tandon, YoungestDML and MR are presenting something on seed distribution. Apparently inspired by a lecture on social entrepreneurship by Prof. Trilochan Sastry! Some people, you see, do listen in class. The next event is even more stunning. Pritam Sarkar runs a one man show with his team mate Smriti exchanging in France. It's on something called Professional Trainers, which intends to bring the world of wellness right at the door steps on every big condominium. The judges actually say there's nothing wrong with his plan.....if that's not a compliment, what is?

The other plans are quite interesting too. The guys from ISB Hyderabad have a plan that talks about allowing people to make railway reservations, using mobile phone credit. That should seriously reduce the people free riding on Bombay Trains eh? They're really ambitious with the way they aim to conquer 50% of the market in five years- and while that invites the judges' scepticism, it shows how ambitious things can get.

The next team up for presentation is from SIIB Pune, with a B-plan that goes - "Let people make their own energy". They have created a mechanism whereby farmers can cycle water out of the ground, bullocks can walk round and round and generate power. That's so cool ! They've got extensive FSA done with allowances made for all sorts of items like Freight charges , and a billion of those financial jargon - methinks they'll win hands down in financial terms!!!

Other interesting plans of the day include the tourism company by X-cursionists,IIMA, B2B marketing based plans for health and wellness consultancy to IT/ITES companies and and DelhiSale.com, a website listing the sales / discounts of retailers across Delhi so people could see where sale was happening.

The event was swept by IIM Bangalore, with Professional Trainers winning the first prize and Aarambh the runners up.

Rime of the diminutive infra-rrior

2008-10-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Enough serious posts for the day. Let’s lighten up the mood a little, shall we?

Now now, we will stick to our promise of not taking names (unlike some uncouth bloggers before :) ), but needless to suffice this tale belongs to the one and only, the diminutive yet indomitable ‘size doesn’t matter’ soldier of infra.

The loyalties of the said man are unquestioned, and an adherence to law even more so. Which probably explains the following sequence of discussion with an invited participant at VISTA 2008. Just for records, we might mention here that the said participant was a good 6’ tall and easily double the girth of our pawn trooper.

Participant: ‘err.. where can I smoke here?’

Our Hero: ‘you are not allowed to smoke here.’

P (taken aback): WHAT! But why?
OH (with a straight face): because smoking is banned in public places.

(P is brooding over his next move.)
OH: actually you need to go to a toilet.

P (stammering): But I am n-o-t r-e-a-l-l-y in n-e-e-d of one.

OH: (utter seriously) ya, just go to a toilet, lock it from the inside, and then u
can smoke inside!

P (about to faint): o-k-a-y!

P (after recovering): I picked up this campus map from the hospi desk, can you tell
me where the audi is located.

OH (looks at the map, scratches his head): actually this map is wrong. You see, our audi is actually in the other corner of the campus, and the mess is…ummm.. not here, but on the other side… Hey! They have drawn everything opposite to where it should be! Quick, give me a pen, I’ll make the changes.

P (thinking): my my, what an… interesting…. Weekend.
(staggers away from the scene)

Our hero, triumphant in his advisory capabilities, returns to the battlefront.

Of course, we will completely give it away when we tell you that our hero was holding the map ULTA!

Media Conclave

2008-10-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Great Indian Media Circus – Just who is watching whom

The discussion starts with Vinay Tewari asking the panelists discussing how much the TV and the newspapers had got it wrong. What followed is relatively reproduced below with some accuracy.

Vinay Tewari: From going from 10 to 180 channels it’s taken 10 years. TV is a 24 x7 medium as opposed to news which gets to go to bed. It’s like an F1 race – and you’re always looking over your shoulder at other channels. Newspapers have a certain level of industry benchmarks and standards because they’ve been around for over 150 years. But there hasn’t been any such thing in television because it’s so new. I have to produce a new edition virtually every hour! And we need to hire people who can take decisions and people who can think laterally and horizontally.

Very senior people are taking decisions in TV who don’t have this horizontal ability – and that is what the big problem is.

Gurcharan Das: I’d like to introduce a dissenting note here. The consumer is not stupid. If someone is doing stupid or making a false move, the remote does the job for the consumer and he never watches the channel again. I think let the hundred flowers bloom - it’s wonderful to see the young people, the body language of a free nation. You get to see this freedom on television and I celebrate this. The industry will destroy the non performers.

VT: That’s actually the note on which we should move on to the next thing. The problem today is that the consumer isn’t necessarily king – and we don’t know if this measurement of TRP is just the right thing to do – or whether it’s being done the right way. (He’s going on and on like a bullet train).

While we do have a remote, today if we find ads in newspapers claiming number 1 or 2, we don’t know what basis the claims are made on!

GD: I remember working as a brand mgr in the US and Nielsen used to measure 60 million homes then.

VT: (interrupts) The complaint to the TRAI is that they should be allowed to improve the technology and...

GD: (again putting CP!): I think the problem is that they want a system that is reflecting the reality.

VT: As an English channel, it worries that no one in the north East or Bihar is measured at all.

GD: I disagree with that – people in Bihar and other places consume toothpaste etc – and we are interested in advertising to them. Bhubaneswar and Patna were very important and solid markets even in their worst times.

The video of Shereen Bhan is shown:

Has sudden rise in the number of news channels degraded the quality of news content?

People are only trying harder to come up with innovation and uniqueness and some way of differentiation. At least in the English news space, the content has improved.....

Pramath Sinha: There’s a lot more pressure to generate revenues – and therefore India has become an advertising supported market – which is a numbers game. So I can’t just say I’m going to give good content...because people who are buying are actually advertisers. Once the advertiser walks in, ad agency planners will focus on revenues.

Narender Pani: It’s obvious that advertising has taken over – and rural markets have been left out. Maybe this will turn out to be a disadvantage having left out the rural areas.

GD: My column goes into 8 regional newspapers – and I find that there is a lot of rural readership.

NP: IF we take what happens to Vijay Times – it was the no 2 paper in the state – and its rural branches were closed down.

Raju Narisetti: the fundamental thing is that a newspaper that actually costs us Rs 8.5 to turn out is sold at just Rs. 2. In other countries, horrible papers are sold for the equivalent of Rs. 10. Thus we have degraded ourselves in the eyes of the audience – just as much as the cup of coffee costs in Delhi.

The principle of competition doesn’t kick in because papers like the Statesman are still selling 5000 copies in Calcutta whereas it should have been long dead.

VT: There’s a controversy that a channel like India TV which hardly anyone watches is at the top of TRP ratings, and something like NDTV India is at no. 6. I’ve seen things like “Lift mein Bhoot”, 2 hr shows on the reconstruction of skull and bones in a graveyard – and that particular 2.5 hrs gave them the highest ratings!!!! All this at a time when parliament was discussing the nuclear deal. (His blackberry is buzzing and this is killing the mike system – very very painful indeed J)

GD: just shows that this particular group is not representative and there are all sorts of people in the world.

(Audience: But does that classify as news on a news channel?)

VT: I don’t think it should. But the concept of news has changed. Everything catching attention is now defined as news.

GD: Media looks to people, and also influences people. Bollywood is a very good example of this. One day there was a thaw in the relations between Israel and Palestine. The newscaster on ZTV said – “Aaj middle east mein peace ho gayi” She used 3 words of Hindi and 3 words of Hindi – if this had happened in 1990 DD, she would’ve been sacked. What’s happening is that the media is reflecting the liberalisation of the young person’s mind in our country. Now we call it hinglish because there are really 2 trends. I prefer to call it English with an I because it’s happening at a regional level.

Whether it’s advertising or any area, you cannot be a copy writer and know only English. Even in our childhood we mixed words and language – but it was the lower class trying to mix with the middle class. But now it’s become a fashionable language. We’re doing something like Urdu was created. To me, it is a media interaction where media is deciding the language we speak...

NP: I agree with that. Today you’re trying to influence the viewer by speaking his language. I don’t have to accept any standards – I can just go by what runs in society.

GD: But that's the down side of democracy. Because of that you have to reflect the will of the people, and you have to accept that people are not fools. WSJ is a terrific example of how well things are written.

RN: The good news is that the balance of power is shifting to all of you. In the next few years the audience is going to get more power and that will hopefully rectify the situation. The whole industry is maturing and this is just a changing phase.

VT: There are 2 things in this country no one understands - one is the media and other is Duckworth Lewis.....For e.g. when Ranbir Kapoor’s driver had an accident - they ran it for 15 mins saying that this popular guy must have had an accident or something.

Moves on to Q&A before ending...

Manifestations (Paper presentation event)

2008-10-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

One of the two paper presentation contests of this edition of VISTA, Manifestations (sponsored by Capgemini) was held today. The shortlists were announced beforehand. There were two topics, closely related to the theme of VISTA this year, one of them being, “Identifying Successful HF Strategies for Investing in Emerging Markets” and the other, “Top Five Factors that Institutional Investors Look into While Investing in Emerging Market Funds”. Once again, true to its tradition, VISTA attracted the best talents from across the country as we saw participation from the likes of those B-schools which form the top ten list of the country.

Five teams were shortlisted to present papers on each of these two topics and each team consisted of three to five members. The event started off at 11 in the morning and was followed till the end by an enthusiastic audience, barring a break for lunch. The presentations wrapped up by 5:30 P.M. and the audience had thinned out as the key-note address by Mr. Shekhar Gupta had commenced at the Auditorium by then.

Results were announced a little later and the team from IIM Ahmedabad bagging the honours for their paper on the first topic related to investing in Hedge Funds, while the team from DoMS, IIT Delhi was judged to have presented the most impactful paper on the five factors that institutional investors should keep in mind when investing in emerging market funds. However that competition had been very intense was lucid in the amount of time the judges took to decide on the winner who'd take a lakh of INR back home!

For those of you who are the operations or marketing type, we have another paper presentation competition called Papyrus lined up. Stay tuned.

Numero Uno: The Ice Breaker

2008-10-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

As the eventful day 1 was about to see the twilight, a motley crew of 22 individuals had gathered at the tranquil surroundings of the the Café Coffee Day Outlet here at IIM Bangalore. The event was to help the contestants of Numero Uno – the hunt for the next CEO, to break the ice over a cup of coffee (whoever had come up with the idea!) and get to know each other better. These contestants will be pitting their brain and brawn against each other over the next couple of days vying for victory, recognition, ‘phootage’ and of course a fat package of INR 150000 at the flagship event of Vista 2008.

As our very own ‘awesome big fat guy’ and ‘uber cool intellect with an accent’ got on with the proceedings, things went on as hoped and we were able to break not just ice but probably a big iceberg of uncertainty and anticipation brewing within the minds of these brilliant managers. All the participants were asked just one question – Illustrate the stupidest thing ever done by you! We bring some of the interesting snippets from the conversation.

· Quite a few of the participants had found themselves at the other side of the law in their lives including one who was picked up from a shady movie theatre during a raid in one of the morning shows whilst enjoying a ‘off-beat’ motion picture! And trust us when we say this, the experience in lockup was not very pleasing. Also, one of the contestants is a self confessed Kleptomaniac (read: shoplifter). Trust these blokes to lead their MNCs as CEOs in the future :)

· As many of us would agree, interacting with a beautiful soul from the other sex is not a easy job. We got to see a few more who shared this syndrome. One person ate a plate full of hot pepper to impress the elusive one (we wonder how that would have helped anyways?). Another one got the neighbour’s dog sick enough to throw up on his mom’s favorite carpet when he fed it 2-year old stale beer. One is still regretting the day when he turned down the lady of his dreams when she had proposed going to a rock concert together. Well, these situations do make you do strange things. But this strange? Are we missing something?

· As luck would have it, one of the ladies had the joy (?) of saying ‘I love you’ to a zillion strangers. We wonder whether she found any ‘loved ones’?

· One of the guys, also while at a shady theater (what’s with the choice of entertainment with these people?), ran into the ladies toilet. This leak did prove to be very costly for him.

· We also realized that one of the participants really needs this money by all costs because he apparently lost INR 96000 (rich parents or good job?) in a bet! We just hope he can spend an equivalent amount on treating people if he wins the trophy.

· One guy experienced a severe case of mistaken identity when he went on stage to collect a prize meant for a lady! Even the chief guest was confused with such antics.

On a less lighter note, we found a good number of fellow bloggers, some poets, a karate master, a world traveler and theatre personalities among this group of highly talented people.

All said and done, the evening was well spent getting to know the participants in a informal manner. And since we always plan for contingencies, this time it did prove fruitful when the rain gods forced us to move indoors in middle of the interaction. We hope this session will help the contestants stay cool during the next couple of days when they shall be competing against each other in myriad events, testing their business acumen along with mental and physical strength, to be crowned NUMERO UNO!

Get ready to be blinded by awesomeness as you witness 22 personalities battle it out for fame and glory

Advertising Workshop

2008-10-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Advertisements are all around us, in the print media, television and now on the internet. We have always been fascinated by great Ads, which are compelling enough not just to sell a product, but a concept, a dream.

So when Mr. Ramesh Kumar, VP Strategic Planning, O&M came calling to share his views on good Ad-making, the student community was all ears. Addressing a packed house, Mr. Kumar laid out certain maxims which Ad-makers should keep in mind to be more effective. Much of what he said can be laid out in terms of the following truisms:

a) The consumer is not a moron – The customer is getting savvier by the day, with better product knowledge than before. In such times, it’s necessary that advertisements do not seem too artificial and forceful. It’s better to strike an emotional chord with the consumer. The Asian Paints campaign with its ‘har ghar kuchh kehta hai’ tagline is a good example.

b) Create great work that works - Effectiveness is the hallmark of a great Ad. And to ensure that one needs to take care of the communication medium, the target audience, the message sent across and also its entertainment quotient.

c) Less is more. In simplicity resides genius - The iconic Hutch Ad with the pug following the kid is a good example of how a simple message (Good network coverage) is conveyed even more simply. And that is what made the Ad so convincing and appealing.

d) Converse, don’t communicate – In today’s times when we are bombarded by promotional messages from all sides, an effective strategy would be to involve the customer in a dialogue. Dove did this very successfully through their campaign to celebrate ‘true beauty’ in which they engaged the buyer through photo-exhibitions and even a real-time voting system.

e) Status Quo is death – Always try to question status quo and encourage the consumer to ‘go beyond’. Allen Solly tried promoting their casual wear in 1995 through a series of hard-hitting Ads to great effect.

To emphasize what had been said, an Ad-making contest was held to give students a chance to come up with interesting Ads of their own which would be judged by Ramesh himself. Three topics were floated, and teams could choose one amongst them to prepare their pitch.

a) How do you sell a penthouse worth 25 crores?

b) Sell cattle insurance to farmers to insure their cows and buffaloes

c) Convince authorities to keep Bangalore open after 11.30

The teams, up to 14 members each came up with some great stuff which was duly appreciated, both by the audience and Ramesh. And the worthy winner was the team selling cattle insurance. They proposed a combination of radio and print medium to convey the importance of insurance safety, with a healthy dose of humor. The campaign not only chose the apt message, but engaged the audience too – something which good Ad-making is all about.

Operations Simulation Game

2008-10-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

2:30 in the noon and you would expect people to be enjoying their siesta. Guess what, you were wrong!!! The Operation simulation game began in earnest and witnessed overwhelming participation, with over 53 teams taking part in it. L-12, the venue for the event was jam-packed, with eager participants filling every nook and corner of the room. There were couple of teams of exchange students as well who took part in the game.

An interesting production problem about predicting demands for two products A and B and accordingly deciding the production schedules was presented to the participants. The game was held in a dynamic format with each of the teams planning out their production schedules for a single month only after which the actual demand for that month was informed to them. The goal was to decide the firm’s production strategy for the whole year while keeping the costs at a minimum. With laptops not being allowed for the game, people had go back to the old-fashioned way of punching numbers into their calculators and furiously scribbling on sheets of paper.

The interactive format kept the teams on their toes as they had to come up with their production schedules within short time frames of 3-5 minutes. Competition was intense as hardly anyone took a breather for 1 ½ hours, the entire duration of the event. The game culminated on a high note after 12 intense rounds of production planning, with the teams eagerly waiting for the results which are to be announced soon. Without doubt, all the operations enthusiasts experienced what the game promised to them, “Happy Planning”.

Numero Uno - II

2008-10-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

The second part of the first round of numero uno got underway after lunch today. The teams were provided with the results of the market simulation of their business strategies as well as customized data about their competitors’ performances. This round required the teams to analyze their own performance and fine tune their own business plans with respect to their competitors’ strategy.

The scene inside the computer centre was more intense than it was in the morning (somehow, everyone was not as relaxed as they were and discussing strategy in the calm “lets-talk-it-out-folks” tones), there was enough and more data being analyzed and there were product profiles, market response reports and everything under the sun that makes one feel scared of being buried under the unholy cornucopia of numbers. But our men (and the ladies, pardon me) were deep in analysis and as I walked out of the room, I could almost sense the tension in the air.

We are on our way.

Next up on Numero Uno: The ice breaker round

Numero Uno Round 1

2008-10-10T01:24:00.000-07:00

The hunt for the next CEO has begun! Following the weeklong build-up (Profiles and individual weblogs of the 22 competitors up on the Numero Uno blog) when the participants from the competing universities posted their views on different issues facing the world, IIMB saw a handful of young managers from across the country lock horns this morning . This time Numero Uno has truly moved a step ahead of being just another National level competition with participants representing McGill University, Yale and Lahore University of Management studies joining in.

The first round consists of a group event where the participants have been distributed into groups of 4/5 each and they have to put together a market entry strategy for a product starting with some initial product specifications and seed capital. All teams work in the same market and try to sell the base product with certain variations (In case you were wondering). A comprehensive market plan has to be devised by each team during the first round, complete in terms of product specification, pricing, distribution details and advertising and promotion budget. These strategies will be put to test in a simulated market and the teams will be required to put their heads together once again in round two to evaluate and rework their strategies based on the market response and their competitors’ strategies. (And the enlightened ones amongst us would shout, “Game Theory!”)

The intensity of the discussions were palpable with teams huddled around computer screens, discussing strategies and analysing data at the same time and you couldn’t tell that these people had met each other for the first time this morning itself!

First round gets over at midday and the groups break for lunch while their strategies are evaluated in terms of market share, revenue generation, profitability and market capitalization of the stocks of their companies.

That will be the dough for the first round, but if the enthusiasm is something to go by, we are in for a fight unto death! Stay hooked… for we are going to give you the Next CEO.

The Who's Who of Vista 2008 - Part II

2008-10-09T02:41:00.000-07:00

We’re back, with another edition of the Who’s Who at Vista ’08! Last time, we promised you guys a mind-blowing evening with some of the biggest and brightest names in print and television at our Media Conclave. Today, we bring you our esteemed panelists for our discussion on this year’s theme ‘Emerging Economies, Emerging Realities’. With the growing economic influence of the emerging economies on the world stage, we figured it was about time we stepped back and took a good look at the broader picture and where we go from here. With that in mind, we got together a team of experts to see what they had to say about it.

Jayanta Roy has over 30 years experience working for World Bank and the Government of India and was part of the team responsible for the reforms that opened up India’s economy in 1991. Not only that, he has also taught at IIMC and Cornell, among others, and you can find his writing regularly in the Financial Express. You’d have only read him before, here’s a chance to catch him live in action.

Next, we have another giant in his field, Manab Majumdar. Currently Senior Director of FICCI and Team Leader of WTO and Foreign Trade Division of the Federation, he has over 20 years experience, both research and professional, in the areas of WTO, Trade Policy, Regional Integration, Globalization etc.He’s even been invited in the past by Japan and Thailand to share his expertise with them. He interfaces with the Government, private sector, civil society and multilateral institutions and now he’s going to be here at IIMB to interact with all of us.

Morgan Stanley, a name known and respected the world over. Hence, it was but natural to invite Narayan Ramachandran, the Global Head of the Emerging Markets Division at Morgan Stanley, to share his views on the how the new economies will affect the world from a financial perspective. He has 17 years of experience in investment banking and was previously the MD at RogersCasey.

In today’s rapidly shrinking world, communication has a vital role to play. Keeping that in mind, we invited Gopi Gopinath, the Vice President of AT&T, Asia Pacific region to join us and share with us his wealth of experiences in the telecom industry.Last, but definitely not least, we have Dr. Saikat Sinha Roy, a Reader in the Economics Dept. at Jadavpur University, Kolkatta. He has worked with the Asian Development Bank and his areas of specialization are Trade and Development and Open Economy Macroeconomics.

No panel is complete without a moderator and we have IIMB’s very own Prof. Prakash G. Apte moderating this year’s discussion. With a Ph.D in Economics from Columbia University and experience in consulting, industry and research, Prof. Apte ranks right up there with our panelists, thus ensuring that this will an unforgettable evening.

So that’s our panel discussion for this year, folks. We’ve slogged over the last few months to ensure that we bring you the best of the best and now, we can sit back with a sigh and say that yes, it’s all been worth it! So take advantage of this unique opportunity and be there to watch these experts discuss how to reconstruct the world, BRIC by BRIC...

The Who's Who of Vista 2008

2008-10-07T16:09:00.001-07:00

And the countdown continues and we can just feel the excitement in the air as Vista draws ever nearer. So we thought we’d take this opportunity to give the FII seniors a ‘much-welcome’(I’m sure) break from this ever so ‘annoying’ footage and give all of you a sneak preview of the Who’s Who of Vista.

First up, for all the devoted readers out there for whom no morning has truly begun without their copy of Mint, fresh off the presses and delivered to their doorstep, we bring you Raju Narisetti, Mint’s very own editor. This is the man responsible for keeping you abreast of the latest happenings in the business world. One of the highest ranked Indian journalists and with 13 years experience at the Wall Street Journal, his credentials are formidable indeed!

And of course, once the papers are covered, television can’t be far behind. So here’s a little something for all the quizzers…

Started his career as a reporter with Onlooker magazine
Been editor of Onlooker, Sunday Observer and The Daily
Joined Zee TV in 1992 as Head of News and Current Affairs

Any guesses? Inarguably one of the best known faces on Indian television, he’s earned the reputation of being the voice of the people. His show, Aap Ki Adalat, at 13, is the oldest on India news TV and has set new standards for its incisive and unfailingly memorable interviews. Yes, we are talking about Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV, who will be right here on our very own campus in just a few short days.

But wait! That’s not all! Add the Executive Editor of CNN IBN and a renowned author, consultant and public intellectual and you’ve got the perfect mixture for an unforgettable Media Conclave.

Vinay Tewari, after completing Psychology from Lucknow University and receiving his Post-graduate degree in journalism from the Times Center for Media Studies, has risen from being a reporter with The Pioneer in Lucknow to being the Executive Editor of one of the premier Indian news channels.

To complete the quartet, we have Gurcharan Das, author of the widely popular India Unbound. And for those non-readers out there, you can also catch his column in the Sunday TOI and Dainik Bhaskar. To top it off, he has extensive experience in the field, so to speak, having been both the CEO of P&G India, and the Chairman and MD of Richard Hutchinson Ltd.

Whew! Quite an accomplished set! Enough to give some humble souls like ourselves a definite complex. But then again, where would you get such a chance to interact with stalwarts of the Fouth Estate? Where else but IIMB! So be sure to head down to Bangalore to catch our flagship media event and see these media giants in action, only at Vista ’08.

The irony of life!

2008-10-07T10:29:00.001-07:00

Hey folks..

It's really sad that Blogger has temporarily blocked our Numero Uno blog from publishing. (It can be viewed though) Apparently they think that is a spam blog!!!

We're terribly upset and sad at this turn of affairs. We feel insulted. We spend sleepless nights trying to generate and publish crap on this blog.. And they go and put the other blog under the scanner!! If at all a blog had to be sCRAPped, this was the one!! the one!! the numero uno in Aaaaaaarbit CraP!

Anyway, we've requested for a review. Numero Uno blog should be alive and k(l)icking by tomorrow night.

Until then, solpa adjust maadi!

Numero You Know!

2008-10-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

On an august October evening at Bangalore

Pattering rain makes the heat get lean

As all the smokers remember days yore

Calm and quite paints a picture serene

This is an ephemeral lull before the storm

In 3 days the fights for supremacy commence

To strive, to surge, to transgress the norm

To compete, attain glory in a battle intense

Numero Uno – who is chosen as the best

Without the aid of any red-blue pill

No prophecies, all reputations put to rest

It’s time to prove one’s strength and will

Jacks of trades – prefer to stay away

The search is for the ultimate Master

The stress and pressure drive you astray

A three day ride on a wild roller coaster

Starting with the dreaded Board Room

Provide deliverables with resources scarce

Use fundaes acquired in the Class Room

Battles transcend to personal wars

Market your potential, strategize to excel

Operational hurdles? Use acumen to deliver

Complacency here won’t serve you well

Physical forte put to limits in this endeavor

Six will survive till the last remaining obstacle

The bounty in sight, knocks on the door

As the competition start to falter and wobble

Treasure and glory for the sole survivor

Be there to witness who gets crowned the NUMERO UNO this year.

Only at Vista in IIMB: 10^th-12^th October 2008.

WHAT was that? - Part III

2008-10-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the overwhelming response for the 'WHAT was that' series, folks. In all, 1432 * 0 people have mailed us or commented on the posts.

Ok we just like to believe that you all adore these posts.

Whether you did or not, one person who digged the last one was the man(aw) himself. The wide grin on his face was evident of his self-effacing nature, you thought? Naah.. Dude loved the footage!!

Now on to the story at hand. This is set in one of those dark nights when the whole world sleeps, while the team burns midnight oil planning how to burn more midnight oil. It was almost a serious and sober meeting. With our hero-of-the-post being the reason for the qualifier "almost".

I wont name him, but it would suffice to say that this is the guy Anshuman loves the most in the world. This he-who-I-will-not-name had totally lost it, having downed his worldly sorrows in peg after peg of CH3CH2OH. But the long years he has put in this big bad world have taught him to be sincere at work. So, when duty beckoned, nothing stopped him. Not even in(st)ability.

So our man, known for his creative skills in making Photoshop churn out amazing designs (well, I had to say something good about him; he knows the password to this blog account :( ), by trial, error, and the Almighty’s moral support, seated himself in his chair. The rest of the team stared agape at him, as he attempted to work on a design. That his hands were not listening to him did not matter to him. Dude made a brave attempt – to move IIMB's logo across the workspace.

Refer Exhibit 1.

But, our man, the one whom Anshuman simply adores, was not drunk. He was simply a perfectionist with an eye for detail. How else could you explain the fact that he was trying to move the logo ray-by-ray? Like this:

Till date we have not been able to identify whether that was due to senility or his state of inebriation. And the odds are that we will never know. But that was that.

This whole rigmarole was caught on camera by one of our team members. Our hands itch to post that here. But we have always been taught to respect elders, and that is what is stopping us from doing that. If you are too interested in that, maybe you should just wait till Christmas. Santa Claus might be able to drop a CD in ur hostel room.

That’s it for now. More later, folks!

Psst: Did you know that Anshuman is a narcissist?

WHAT was that? Part - II

2008-10-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Lehman went down the drain,

The Bear is already slain,

Merill was sold, Wachovia is too cold

On P – notes, SEBI did a U turn

RBI put another 50 into the magic urn,

There is more to come, I am told

But there is a new one about to unfold!

Okay. Time to shut up. Enough of business news and those sinking ships. It was just to increase your interest in the article (or whatever mudslinger of a prose you may call it). Did you guys know that we (FII) have a president out there in the middle? Yeah right, there was a small mention of his majesty here [http://iimbvista2008.blogspot.com/2008/09/behind-scenes.html].

Poor guy no? He slogs big time for one year, does all that is required to become a president and all he gets is a mention? So here we go.

Ladies, FII proudly presents before you Mr. Manaw Mohan, the president. Gentlemen, thou shall wait till Vista gets over. Manaw has been in Sponsorship vertical of FII and has done lots of things apart from getting great deals for Vista. We shall disclose one incident when Manaw and KC (yeah we have one guy by this name) went out for some official work – yes, only work.

The high flyer president calls KC and tells him to be ready with spons pitch, posters, video and laptop in 20 mins (so generous of him :) ). They were supposed to reach Bharath Earth Movers Limited (BEML) to pitch to them. KC picked Manaw up from the street and they reached Chinnaswamy stadium. Despite that area having a fast moving traffic, it is not really difficult to locate something as big as BEML. And when your president says that its near Chinnaswamy stadium, it better be there. Well, not always.

This is what actually happened:

KC: "Dude.. You are sure that it was near Chinnaswamy stadium?"
Manaw (with the president’s air of confidence) : "Yes man.. I saw the Light towers"
KC: "Light towers? hmm... DUDE! Are you talking about the Kanteerava stadium? That also has light towers! And thats ANOTHER STADIUM"
Manaw(with all his sentiments, guilt but no remorse): "See man.. I haven't eaten anything since morning. You shud be knowing where BEML is. You are from Bangalore."
KC: "Dude. Murder are there!!"

Well, the president is always right and we are not blaming him for reaching BEML late. It’s just that one night before someone swapped Chinnaswamy and Kanteerava stadia. There are serious problems with Bangalore. Nothing is kept at the right place. Right president? :)

All said and done, the deal was sealed by the president and his best commander. Good for all of us, you know. We need the money to run the awesome show you guys are going to witness soon. But the story doesn’t end here. Given the perfectionist our president is, sometimes all of us witness an overkill. Whenever all of us had a meeting/brainstorming session for publicity plans, Manaw just found out ways to insert the logo of sponsor-who-cannot-be-named somewhere in the middle. Rumour has it, the president has got the logo tattooed on himself which will be displayed during Vista (don’t miss it). Such is the loyalty of Manaw.

And yeah, all you ladies, he is still single. As mentioned, he will be kept on display during the event. Use this opportunity to fully explore the technical details of our president. In case, you are worried with the sentimental and emaciated part – be rest assured, he is eating a lot these days. We promise to beef him up. Gentlemen, you please bear with us – we need to get footage for our president during the event. After that, he is all yours.

Vista – 3 days to go. See you there :)

The magic of creation

2008-10-04T04:26:00.000-07:00

Vista is the effort of hundreds of coordinators and volunteers getting their hands dirty. And it's not always that things are like a walk in the park. But working around hurdles is what makes it all so endearing.

Here's what Tony has to say about his volunteering experiences hitherto:

Having been out of college for long 8 years, I had forgotten what it feels like to be in the midst of a college festival! .. And now at IIMB, I have once again found out what it takes to the create the magic and when the magic is at the scale of Vista, the effect is indeed surreal.

Last week, as I walked to the class, across the majestic corridors of IIMB, I used to wonder who creates these wonderful graffiti, - collages, posters, banners – splattered against the awe inspiring stone walls of the campus and what would have gone into making stuff like this happen. And then I joined the internal publicity team and got the first hand experience of it. The first night, Gazal mailed me saying we will meet at the mess after the “Networth Talk”. The networth talk was supposed to end at 12:00 and me being the sleepy guy, decided that I will set an alarm to wake up at 12:00 and join the team. The alarm never went off unfortunately, I ended up waking up at 3:00, rushing to the mess and seeing collages around me . Aah, I had missed being part of the fun. The next night, I made it a point to tell 3 people to call me, so that I do not miss out.

The work started with Gazal, our lead creationist, explaining what needs to be done. You need to cut out thermocol sheets, paste it on acrylic sheets and recreate the vista logo.. it sounded so simple J. Well first we need to get the thermocol sheets from the infra room and the folks who had gone to collect it called up to say the lock could not be opened with that key. Nobody knew what went wrong but we had to finally get the lock broken in the middle of the night :( Murphy was sure around to play spoil sport.

Cutting out the thermocol sheets was not an easy task as it sounded at first, but with many experts in our midst, we got quickly trained and etched out the vista logo. Now, it was time to learn painting with water colours, my hands acquired the wonderful hues of vista in a matter of hours but I had acquired a new skill- To paint on thermocol where the paint tries to run away from the surface. Putting together the logo on the acrylic sheet , we set that against the rocky walls. Wow .. the vista logo looked so much more wonderful after we created it once again with our hands :)

Now it was turn to create the “vista cube” to showcase the daily updates .. all of us had got trained sufficiently in painting and got to the task quickly. It was a time of great fun with each one calling out how perfect his colour stood out on the board until the Bangalore weather played spoil sport .. torrential rains at 3:30 AM in the morning .. Aaah .. we had to run and take cover taking all the material and soon Yagnesh’s bed got converted into the vista storage. The rains showed no intention of stopping and we finally decided to call it a day and continue the next night.. It sure was Mr Murphy’s day. Wonder where Yagnesh slept yesterday with all the material spread across his bed and room .. And now I am awaiting night fall to start work again.. I want the cube up ASAP and see our creation in all glory.

WHAT was that?

2008-10-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Planning and putting together an event of the size of Vista is quite an exhilarating experience. The sheer amount of work to be done is a back breaker. And what keeps us all going is the abundance of folly and futility in our midst. The "WHAT was that?" series aims to capture all those moments of glory for posterity here.

Here's what Vishwa has to say about an experience of his:

Corporate publicity can be a very exacting thing. Especially when you are working with a contact list of the previous year in the blind hope that someone somewhere has not changed
a) companies, and
b) mobile numbers
in the last one year.

I started my day with bright plans of calling up everyone on that list dated xx-xx-2007. I did have my reservations about the validity of that plan, and I did raise them to Prahalad. But big boy said "so what?". When someone the size of a Hummer says that, you don't talk back. Unless you are..... Well no. You don't talk back whoever you are.

So I obeyed his orders in letter and spirit.

Call No. 1:
"Hello, am I talking to Ms. XYZ from ABC Company?"
"Errr.. I am XYZ.. But I am not with ABC anymore.."
"Oh. Doesn't matter, may I know whom you are with now?"
"None. I stay at home."
Drat. Was not so auspicious a start.

Call No. 2 was good in one sense. The number was at least with the same company, though the person was on leave.

Call No. 3 was a test of my itsy bitsy knowledge of Kannada. The moment I heard the word "maadi" and "illai" in the same sentence in a robotic intone, I cut maadi.

Call No. 4 is produced verbatim below.
"Hello, am I talking to Mr ABC from XYZ company?"
"........Yes"
"Good morning, Sir. I am so-and-so from IIMB. This is regarding our business festival Vista that's coming up next week. This year we are increasing our focus on corporate participation. There are quite a few events that are open for executives like you, Sir. We would like to talk to you about it for 15 minutes in person in the next week. Will that be fine, Sir?"
"..........Yes"
"Err.. I meant we need an appointment of yours, Sir"
"...........................Yes"
"Sir, I meant I need details of the date, time and venue of our meeting. Can you please tell me when you are free for this?"
".......................................... I.. am.. not.. learning.. English"
I was about to reply "Of course not Sir, you are talking to me right now", but realization struck me a wee second before I let slip anything like that.
"Oh!!! Ok, thank you Sir. Hmmmm, I mean sorry actually. Good day"

Phew.....

Stories on the walls

2008-09-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have always worried about IIMB walls not being painted, need fret no more. We have ensured all walls have a dash of everything from #000000 to #FFFFFF!

Vista thru' the ages

An assortment of event posters

The entrance to the hostel blocks

VISTA through the ages

2008-09-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, as the sundry new year resolution takers would vouch, the old must be ringed out to ring in the new. But before we sweep the past under the carpets of nostalgia, let us dust up the pensieve and cast a glance into the glorious past that has been – the quantum leaps that Vista has taken year after year to catapult itself to the status of being THE Business fest of the nation.

Vista began its illustrious journey 5 years ago, inspired by our Hon’ble former first man’s inspirational words of making a “New India” through his “Vision 2020”. As the premier B-school of the country, IIMB took up cudgels to ensure they lead the future business leaders of the nation into shaping this ambition into concrete reality. In the backdrop of a nation that was galvanizing like never before, Vista took its first steps and entered the scene not with a whimper, but with a BANG. Need we say – “One tiny step for Vista, One giant leap for businesskind”

Innovation was the buzzword of 2004, and Vista was at the forefront of it. The box was shattered left, right and center as in-the-box was out and out-of-the-box was in. Vista 2004 epitomized the “Strategize-Execute-Innovate” anthology and ignited the fire of innovation in the future business leaders of the world.

As India was bursting on to the global stage in all its glory, Vista was mirroring the exuberance of nation by the T. Dreams were dreamt, realities were explored and the thin wall separating the two was shattered to naught as India Inc. realized that it was time for it to cut loose and drive itself into the next orbit. Vista 2005 verily personified “India Unbound”

No wall is wide enough, if you are willing to stretch your arms. And no hurdle tall enough if you are ready to take the leap. This was what Vista 2006 stood for and proved in equal measure. Walls separating the customer and the organization, the culture and the market, the specialist and the generalist were all torn down as the world awoke to the synergy that these symbiotic associations liberated. Barriers were transcended, both in the mind and in reality.

Come 2007 and Vista was now in full bloom. In a world that was reinventing itself to meet the needs of the new era, Vista upheld the masthead of rebusiness – doing business differently. The theme struck an instant chord with the corporate world & the media alike. The emerging new gamut of business practices was invoked and business leaders came together under the umbrella of Vista to chart the future course of business in a way that had never been done before.

The slow one will later be fast
And the present now will soon be the past
The order is rapidly fading
The first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changin’…. (Bob Dylan)

As a new sun looms over the business world, the world is awaking to a paradigm shift. From corporate titans to the scribes of the journalism, the ‘Emerging Economies’ phenomenon, until now a textbook phrase has become a buzzword.

The rise of these economies in the Asian and South American continents is touted as the beginning of the end - of the hegemony of the global superpowers. These countries have caught everyone’s imagination prompting a beeline to set up shop. A wave of acquisitions and innovative corporate structures is emerging as these economies grow from strength to strength.

‘Emerging economies. Emerging Realities’ is the theme of the 2008 edition of Vista. The theme explores the beginnings of the ‘Emerging Economies’, their ascension to global prominence and amidst a crisis of epic proportions that threatens to derail the global juggernaut, their struggle to keep their exalted positions alive in the midst of a worldwide upheaval.

For India, this reality check is of paramount importance. With unprecedented economic growth coupled with the recognition from the powers that be, India was seemingly at the cusp of global economic might. The realities today, however, point elsewhere… the specter of inflation, plummeting capital markets and the instability of the political system have slipped a cloak of gloom on its once - splendid future. Will India emerge from this fog? Will it regain its former resplendence?

These, and more, are some of the questions that Vista 2008 will seek to answer.

The Visual Identity of Vista 2008

2008-09-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Ok this one is just about our logo. But we thought using words like "visual identity" makes it look much more serious than it actually is :) Clever we!

Well, seriously. The logo of Vista 2008 aint one of those abstract collages of lines and curves that we so often come across. The logo has something to say. Something profound. Something deep. Something non-superficial. (Drat. I've forgotten what it is. And am buying time. You didn't realise that, did you? Ha ha ha)

The theme for this year is "Emerging Economies. Emerging Realities". It's a reference to the complements of heady successes and dreadful apprehensions that have plagued the emerging economies in recent times. When we say 'emerging economies' we mean BRIC - Belgium, Romania, Indonesia and Chile.

Backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace backspace.

Brazil, Russia, India and China.

As you can see, the logo (right behind the theme) represents the twin forces that drive economies towards better and worse economic health at the same time. (Pushmi-Pullyu, anyone?).

And what is to happen of the vector sum of these forces?

Vista 2008 wil endeavour to answer this question.

Behind the scenes

2008-09-11T15:26:00.001-07:00

Well, they say that a war is as good as the army fighting it. In true style Trojan analogy, if VISTA is the war, then these are the warriors.

The team (from left to right, starting bottom row):

Aayush (the F&O wizard who can dazzle you in his sleep with his adroit Fin skills)

Arun (the Carnatic singer’s knack for ideating would make people wonder if Edison invented the bulb to be perpetually lit over his cranium)

Debarun (the silent killer who would amaze you with his style of simplifying complexity)

Murugesh (his logo designs are being put alongside MF Hussain’s paintings)

Sethi(the Happydent smile is the power-horse or rather the mai-baap of all the events)

KC (his lively temper will strike you out, he is a one man army who dabbles with both events and sponsorship)

Raghavan (FII has neither voice, nor sight without him giving us the means)

PDM (the enthusiastic kid who can work as hard as he can booze or dance or sleep)

Sathya (his breakneck speed would put Schumacher to shame)

Nachiket (the diminutive fellow says less with words, and more with work, looks surely deceive)

Das (the master of all trades, it is not debatable that all girls in IIMB claim to “know” this debator)

Sagar (the guy who all girls in IIMB actually know)

Sudhakar (the infra GOD who gives FII the means of subsistence & existence..and yeah…)

Nitin (our very own Daddu whose convincing skills are as amazing as the accent he uses it in)

Sahni (all Wall Street honchos know this guy by know, including Mike Bloomberg)

Oleti (the ‘jackass’ of all trades)

Monomita (the grand old lady of Events)

Sarab (the funda goddess has only 2 hobbies – getting sponsorship with a 100% conversion rate and kicking people’s posteriors with her pointed footwear)

Nikita (sponsors can’t say no to her charming demeanor and excellent speaking skills)

Manaw (the FII president leads by example, be it working or boozing)

Santa (publicity becomes a cake walk when you have a public personality like Santa in your ranks)

Yadav (a master of many games – on and off field, this guy can amaze you with his eye for detail)

Vishwa (apart from his characteristic lungi, this amazing dancer & publicity champion also dabbles as the official photographer for FII)

Gazal (the creative brain of FII, whose dexterity in posters qualifies her for the Designers’ hall of fame)

Prahalad (the giant kid who can dig out coast to coast contacts in a flash)

Anshuman (witty writer and speaker, poster gawd, and a harsh taskmaster when it comes to Publicity work)

Pushan (the “chacha” of sponsorship is an epitome of operational efficiency, ask the FMCG giants about it)

Rads (the publicity goddess whose energy levels and knack for eyeing audience response can stun any & every one)

DD (the sponsorship generation machine, whose composed and simple style can disarm all and sundry)

CB (FII’s khajaanchi who has an omnipresent smile and ravishing ideas apart from the FII coffers, at his disposal)

Swati Aggarwal(the new found “voice” of FII, no event is complete unless she has delivered the vote of thanks)

Anshema (the glib talker whose splendid ideas for social entrepreneurship are sure to dazzle Vista this time round)

Swati Verma (the desi firang whose smile is as effective as her ability to convince)

Missing from the pic: Gautam (the quiz wizard whose online aemons gave IIMB junta the demons, you can catch him in the pic in the post below this one)

Team VISTA 2008 prides itself in having some of the most talented and hard-working souls inhabiting the planet. The sheer variety of individuals constituting FII makes it a motley group that epitomizes unity in diversity.

Team work works!

2008-09-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

That was one hell of a night guys! Three dozen people scurrying around with cello tapes, scissors, chart papers, plastic sheets and cold coffees.

Manuj, Gautam and Oleti.. Phootage for you guys.. You owe us one! :)

Team Vista

2008-09-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

We make Vista happen!

Vista is IIMB's business fest and it's an event that is cherished by everyone on campus. Given its scale, this fest is made possible only with the contribution of every club on campus. Forum for Industrial Interaction or FII is the club that is responsible for conducting Vista. Other clubs on campus, namely MaSH (the Marketing Club), Icon (the Consulting Club), EnI (the Entrepreneurship Club) and NetWorth (the Finance Club) pitch in, with events of their own. And, of course, the jazz and informal element is added by the Cultural Committee and the Dramatics Society. To sum up, Vista is where all of IIMB comes together to display its might to the world!

Some Vista statistics!

FOOTFALLS : The number of footfalls has been increasing over the years. Last year, we had 10,000 footfalls. This year, it is expected to be more.

ONLINE PRESENCE: With more people logged onto the net, the numbers visiting the Vista website have also increased. Last year it was a phenomenal 5 million clicks.

CORPORATE PARTICIPATION: Vista draws huge corporate population as the business fest is seen as a forum for interaction between the academia and the corporate. More than 60 companies in Vista’07

STUDENT PARTICIPATION: Vista has registered participation of students from more than 150 colleges across India as well as the incoming Exchange students at IIMB.

Come and be a part of this phonomenon called Vista!

IIMB presents its business fest Vista!

2008-09-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Emerging Economies. Emerging Realities.

IIMB's business fest Vista is schedule for October 10th, 11th and 12th this year. Through its plethora of events, Vista will explore the Emerging Economies phenomenon and more importantly, will focus on the realities that are emerging.

So what exactly is the theme all about?

The rise of economies in the Asian and South American continents was much touted as the beginning of the end - of the hegemony of the global superpowers like the United States. These countries caught the imagination of the behemoths in various industrial sectors, which in turn set up shop in these fledgling economies. A wave of acquisitions and innovative corporate structures emerged as these economies grew from strength to strength.

However, the picture is not quite so rosy today. The emerging economies are plagued with problems, and are struggling to live up to their names.

Where does Vista come in?

‘Emerging economies. Emerging Realities’ is the theme of the 2008 edition of Vista, the business fest of IIM Bangalore. The theme explores the beginnings of the ‘Emerging Economies’, their ascension to global importance and now, their struggle to keep their exalted positions in the midst of a worldwide upheaval.

For India, this reality check is of paramount importance. With unprecedented economic growth coupled with the recognition from the powers that be, India seemed to be growing into a force to be reckoned with. The realities today, however, point elsewhere… the spectre of inflation and the instability of the political system have slipped a cloak of gloom on its once - splendid future. Will India emerge from this fog? Will it regain its former resplendence?

These, and more, are some of the questions that Vista 2008 will seek to answer.

Keep reading this blog for important updates on Vista, inside info on the Vista team and the flurry of activities leading up to one of the biggest business fests in this part of the world!!