Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, was supposed to be the Chief Guest for the occasion. Due to sudden illness, he was unable to arrive on the day. Dr. Santrupt Misra, Director HR & Business Head for Carbon Black Business of Aditya Birla Group, delivered the Convocation address on Mr. Birla’s behalf.
At the Convocation address, Dr. Santrupta Misra called the year 2008 as the year of the unthinkable and shared with the gathering of more than 1000 people, what it means – at a global, macro level for business and for entrants to the world of business.
Stressing that development means providing more opportunities of work, Dr. Misra said, “The current times though hard, provided a great opportunity for learning to students and they had to look to varied avenues beyond traditional MNCs, and large corporate firms. Students need to also seek opportunities in mid-size companies, government sector, and regulatory bodies like SEBI, state-financial institutions. They must renounce old assumptions and try to seek new opportunities in un-explored areas of management.”
While speaking on cutting costs and downsizing issues, he said, “Becoming more efficient is only part of the equation. Few businesses become great just by cutting costs or downsizing. If only it were that simple! Over the long run, what counts is building a robust strategic architecture, innovation, creativity, customer orientation and the readiness to take risks-and all of this backed by a great team of talented and totally committed people.”
Dr. Misra further said, “The present global economic slowdown has blurred traditional ideological bases as most capitalist countries are extending massive financial bailouts for their distressed institutions. There has also been reversal in globalization and economic deregulation with countries like US discouraging off-shoring. At the same time, growing interdependence among nations is the need of the hour as the world today is practically boundary-less.” He warned, “Environmental degradation and global warming do not respect artificial national boundaries.”
He urged organizations to challenge the known and embrace the unknown. He said, “No matter how difficult the times, every organization has to work hard to stand by its principles and beliefs”. Success at any cost, and narrow short term performance indicators will not do, he warned.
Dr. Misra urged the new entrants to be positive and upbeat and to fill their cup of life with passion and imagination. He asked them to broaden their canvas, dream the big dream and take the big leap.
He concluded his address by saying, “We, as a Group, have been recruiting from MDI several years now. Our own experience has been that graduates from here, are at par with the best from any other management institution in the country. All of you, therefore, have every reason to transition into the real world full of confidence and the faith that you are equipped with the finest education that this country can offer.”
