The theme of this year's seminar was "Challenges in the Emerging Markets" with specific focus on India, China, other South East Asian countries and the Middle East.
The speakers for Crucible included Mr. Thomas Kuruvilla, the Managing Director – Asia Pac of Arthur D Little, Mr. Harish HV, Partner – National Management of Grant Thornton, and Mr. Amit Kumar, Country Head (India) of Grail Research (a member of Monitor Group).
Says IIM K, "The on going financial crisis has thrown the global economy into turmoil. In these turbulent times, the world is looking towards the emerging economies to provide engines for growth and recovery. These markets have also grown out of their roles, from the early days, of being low-cost outsourcing locations into strategic centres for innovation and consumption. Crucible, in its third edition, took a close look at these and other issues affecting consulting in emerging markets."
The proceedings of Crucible 2008 were set in motion with the eminent dignitaries lighting the traditional lamp. Delivering the inaugural address, Dr.P.R.Bhat (Professor, IIM Kozhikode), appreciated the organizers of the seminar and expressed his views on the relevance of the topic. He noted that today India, China and the middle-east have become important contributors to the world trade unlike earlier times when these were compared unfavorably with the more developed economies. He finished by pointing out to the progress made by IIM Kozhikode as an institute of excellence in just over one decade of its existence and said that IIMK is on track of launching a Exec PGP program soon.
Mr. Thomas Kuruvilla, MD – Asia Pacific of Arthur D Little, delivered the keynote address. He shared some key insights from his wide experience of the counsulting profession, gained working across a wide geography as Middle-East, Singapore, India and China. He spoke about the critical differences across these markets and also the expectations of clients in these specific markets. He appreciated the trust based business environment of the middle-east and said that this allows high flexibility in the various consulting assignment. Talking of China, he opined that it was very different there and though huge opportunities existed it was important to note certain critical factors as language, culture and strict delivery timelines. India, according to him, was dominated by local talent and that it wasn't feasible to take part in consulting opportunities here without having local operations. Singapore, a unique market with government owned entities is characterized by very fixed and descriptive approach and provides good opportunites in operational consulting rather than strategic scope. Answering a question posed by a student, Mr. Kuruvilla stated that though the current downturn would result in increase of cost-cutting assignments, it was necessary to take a holistic view and stressed the increased need of innovation.
Mr. Amit Kumar, Founder and Country Head of Grail Research spoke about consulting opportunities in India and China. He stated that though the growth estimates of these two economies would likely need to be revised downwards in the wake of the current financial crisis, but as they are based on solid fundamentals, they would not be affected as other regions of the world. Speaking about consulting, he elaborated on how consulting was not just about being smart and that a lot of scientific approach to analyzing data and uncovering knowledge was involved in the process.
Mr. Harish HV, Partner – National Management of Grant Thornton concluded the day's events with a short enlightening talk on his views on the current global scenario. He stated that the current crisis was partly panic driven, and that the falling prices of commodities should usher in the next upswing sooner rather than later. He was of the opinion that reform in India has happened more through stealth rather than concerted political will, and also that good governance was the need of the hour to tackle external threats like the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
