Sayak Ray from Class 2016 Shares His Placement Experience

In terms of my background, I completed my schooling in Kolkata and my B. Tech in Computer Science & Engineering from SRM University, Chennai.

Prior to joining FORE to pursue my PGDM in Marketing and Finance, I worked as a Techno-Functional Associate for Tata Consultancy Services. I have a total experience of 44 months in the IT industry, based out of Chennai and Kolkata. During my tenure at TCS, I worked with esteemed clients, both from the BFSI sector as well as the Energy & Utilities sector. I was also the Junior Head of the Recreational Committee at TCS and helped manage official excursions and client visits.

Placement

Preparation for the Cognizant interview

Cognizant was the first company I appeared for and they were offering a profile that would enable me to leverage my work experience and reap its advantages to the fullest. Given the excellent fit, I wanted to be fully prepared for the interview and give it my best. One lesson that I had learned over the years (both at work and at FORE) is that no matter how confident you are, never walk under prepared into an interview. Honing communication skills, confidence and technical knowledge are usually a given. Additionally, knowing the organization that one is interviewing with and the industry to which it belongs definitely adds value. Keeping with that, I had done my homework on Cognizant and its achievements in the IT industry. I had also been following trends and events across sociopolitical spheres, as well as the advancements in various industries, especially the IT industry. All these put together definitely gave me the edge while cracking the Cognizant interview.

How learning at FORE helped me

In terms of academics, I had opted for two electives at FORE: “Business Transformation” and “Business Development in IT”. I took these courses in the fourth and fifth trimesters, respectively. These two subjects helped me immensely in understanding the intricate details of business development/analysis. This was exactly the role that I had interviewed for at Cognizant and eventually got selected. Generally speaking, the overall course pattern at FORE is designed in such a manner that a student acquires an holistic understanding of Management.Apart from academics, I have been serving as the Coordinator and Head of the FORE Alumni Network, the Alumni Relations Cell of FORE for around a year now. This position of responsibility has given me ample scope to interact with FORE’s esteemed alumni who have been successful across industries and sectors, in addition to providing an opportunity to help the student body. FORE has always worked to strengthen the bond and the connection between the institute and its alumni. Being a part of that great legacy has definitely helped me shape my own goals.

This understanding cuts across industries and specific roles, which is vital in the services industry. It is essential for a management graduate to be aware of the basics of all domains of management, be it Finance, Marketing, Operations or HR. Here at FORE, this basic essence is so deeply ingrained in the overall culture of learning and development that a student is naturally prepared for the job he/she is about to face, and I am no exception.

 Finally, my advice to fellow students

• Be extremely clear as to which specialization you wish to pursue. There is no point in choosing a specialization just because it is in vogue and everybody else is choosing it. Go for it only if you are passionate about it and see yourself doing it for the rest of your working life.
• Choose your electives wisely in the second year as per your specialization choice. If you are eyeing a specific industry like IT, electives relating to business analysis/development are a must. Please ask your seniors.
• Keep yourself abreast with the latest events and trends in the world. Be politically aware, nationally as well as internationally. Try to keep yourself up-to-date with the latest industry trends as much as possible. READ THE NEWSPAPER.
• Be thorough about the organization as soon as you know the date they are visiting the campus. Gain knowledge about their structure, mode of functioning and anything else which you could lay your hands/eyes on. If it is listed, the Annual Report is a great place to start.
• Know your resume inside out. Also, try not to use a standard resume for all companies / industries. Tailor it for the role, highlighting relevant aspects – DON’T FUDGE.
• Hone your communication skills. You should ooze confidence when you face the panel. But remember, it should not reach the point of overconfidence. Identifying the thin line between confidence and overconfidence is up to you.

FORE School of Management to host an engaging MDP on the 5th Dimension of Leadership

FORE School Of Management, New Delhi is hosting a Management Development Programme, “Nurturing the 5^th Dimension of Leadership” on the 26^th and 27^thof November, 2015. The two-day programme to be held in the Institute, aims to understand the different dimensions and levels of Leadership. The emphasis will be on the all-important question: “Can a leader with a fierce resolve to win, strike a chord with humility?”It is possible with the 5^th dimension of leadership, propounded by Jim Collins. But what do experts in academia and industry have to say about it? That will form the crux of the discussions during the programme.

The renowned B School strives to create successful managers and leaders who can go on to shape the future in their own right. But then, who is a real leader? The leader who hands down orders and tries to solve all problems single handedly is not really leading. A real leader is the one who helps others learn how to solve problems and develop solutions. Leadership has changed over time and it is no longer about unilateral power. These and many other evolving ideas about leadership will be discussed in the programme convened by Dr. Anita Tripathy Lal.Her expertise lies in the areas of Business Communication, Leadership & Entrepreneurship. She is a PhD from IIT Kanpur and has about 19 years of work experience in the areas of teaching, training and research. She is also a ‘certified mentor’ from London Business School, Dr. Lal is able to create an ideal blend of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Communication in her training programs, few of the most potential skills critical to creating success stories for Organizations in today’s uncertain times.

Clearly, there is a lot in store for all the participants attending the programme, which will help them,enhance their emotional quotient and become empathetic listeners, yet another important attribute of a level five leader. Some of the other facets of the programme include striking a balance between the levels of leadership and the emotional selfto manage multiple roles and nurture the seeds of level five leadership to communicate effectively while delivering captivating speeches and conducting creative business meetings through power sharing. These are some of the highlights of the two-day programme. According to Dr. Lal, this programme is relevant for, “Senior level executives from Public Sector, Private Sector, Multinational Organizations, Government Departments and other sectors like Tourism, Hotel, BFSI, Advertising and Hospitals, etc. To keep things interesting and engaging for the participants, the sessions during the programme will be highly interactive. Activity based sessions will be at the forefront along with self assessment inventories, case studies, group discussions, role plays, presentations and theatre, as well. Thus, it will make the most out of the new age methodologies to drive its message across to the participants. FORE School of Management offers a certificate of participation on the conclusion of the programme. But, of course, for the participants, the takeaways from the programme would be the crucial lessons on how to nurture the seeds of level five leadership as they achieve their professional goals.

FORE School of Management organizes its International Operations Conference 2015

About the Conference

Globalization, new technologies and a rapidly changing business environment has forced organizations to react speedily to sudden changes in demand or supply, adapt over time as market structures and strategies evolve and utilize big data analytics to leverage business performance and reduce uncertainty. The concepts of lean and project management and the specific paradigms of sustainability and social media in this dynamic world have to be integrated to make operations resilient and robust.

With this in mind, the Conference specifically targets the academicians, research scholars, practitioners and industry professionals who work mainly in the research domains of business analytics and operations research. The theme of the conference is “Competing through Operations Excellence: Agility, Adaptability, and Analytics”. Prof. Mohita Gangwar Sharma, who is the convener of the conference, said “the conference provides a common platform for bringing together participants researching this diverse area. It becomes a place to network in the academic community and to develop ties to collaborate for the future. It also initiates the research scholars in the academic community wherein they can get feedback from the learned community and test their body of research to get feedback. Such conferences also enhance the social capital and propel collaboration among people”.

The Conference will be held from November 26-27, 2015 at FORE, New Delhi and the school has called for original research papers for the conference. This includes conceptual papers, empirical papers, review papers, case studies, surveys, mathematical modeling and analytical research papers.Judges will decide on the Best Paper Award wherein the three best papers will be awarded INR. 20,000; INR. 15,000 and INR.10,000 respectively. Best papers that meet the criteria will also be published in the special issue of “Abhigyan” – Management Journal of Foundation for Organisational Research and Education Abhigyan 2015. The institute will issue a certificate of participation to the authors for presenting their papers at the conference.

Who should attend

Participation in the Conference is open for academicians, research scholars, corporate delegates, practitioners, consultants, students and all those interested in updating the best practices and contemporary research in operations management.

About FORE School of Management

Foundation for Organisational Research and Education (FORE) is committed to the advancement of Management Education, Research, Training and Consultancy. Incorporated in 1981 as a non-profit institution, FORE has been working with industry and academia in developing new domains of managerial thought and education and contributing to building leaders in today’s global business environment.

Program contacts:

MDP office, FORE School of Management

“Adhitam Kendra”

B-18, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016

Phones: 91- 011-41242424 to33 (10 lines), 46485550

Conference website: http://www.fsm.ac.in/con_abouttheconference.html

FORE School of Management, New Delhi, organizes event on Development Through Technology

On November 16^th, FORE School of Management, New Delhi, in association with ASSOCHAM, organized an event titled ”Developing the Nation Digitally” under the Government of India’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ program. The event was inaugurated in the distinguished presence of Dr. Jitendra Kumar Das, Director, FORE School of Management, New Delhi; Shri Narayan Bandekar, President, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI),  Chairman ASSOCHAM Council on MSME; Manguirish Pai Raiker, Regional Director, ASSOCHAM; Shri Bharat Kumar Jaiswal, and Shri Nagraj Prabhu Borkar, President, Goa IT Business Association (GIBA). The event was supported by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

The one-day event focused on the societal transformations and economic growth opportunities brought about by developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).  Experts also discussed the effective use of ICTs to foster inclusive growth and deliberated on the challenges ahead.

The welcome address of the seminar was delivered by Dr. Jitendra Das, Director, FORE School of Management, New Delhi and Chairman, Organising Committee.
“Technology has improved and enhanced the delivery of all types of services to different strata of society. More importantly, slack in the system has been put to more productive use. This has made optimum utilization of resources possible,” he began. “We are heading towards a modern era democracy through technology. A democracy in which there are no secrets, no privacy and everything is transparent. With the pace of change that we are experiencing, in the very near future we should be able to reach that stage of democracy.”

Stating that technological changes have brought about phenomenal changes in our daily lives, Dr. Das sighted examples of the effective use of technology from a diverse span of users, from huge corporate houses to small-time vegetable vendors.

He continued his address with a focus on the benefits of technology and how it can continue to provide opportunities to citizens worldwide. “In the earlier phases of technology deployment, people, more specifically governments, were apprehensive about the effectiveness and contribution of technology to development. There was once this CM who cynically asked how technology could possibly help him stop floods and aid in the development of the people! But over the years, ICT innovations have proved these apprehensions wrong. Now, technology is used in each and every sphere of life. It helps us understand things in real-time and make predictions, as well as take preventive measures. Technology has introduced new benchmarks in customer satisfaction. The focus needs to be on finding ways and means of leveraging technology for the well-being of the people at large.”

Highlighting the negative side of technology, he said. “It is pervading the psyche of human beings – more specifically youngsters, who are seen falling prey to technology’s negative impact”.

He also applauded the Goa Government’s commitment in using ICT for development.

The seminar reflected on the contribution potential of technology in all spheres of life including healthcare, education, and environmental preservation, in addition to the finer details of enhancing productivity, customer experience, and growth through technology.

Shri Narayan Bandekar, President, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI),  Chairman ASSOCHAM Council on MSME; Shri Manguirish Pai Raiker, Regional Director , ASSOCHAM, Shri Bharat Kumar Jaiswal; and Shri Nagraj Prabhu Borkar, President, Goa IT Business Association (GIBA) also spoke on the occasion.

The seminar culminated with the ‘ASSOCHAM Awards for Excellence in ICT Deployment’ handed out by the dignitaries present.