Prof. Shukla in the news!

PaGaLGuY.com - B-school professors dot blogspot dot com
Professor Madhukar Shukla of Xavier's Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur (blogs - http://alternativeperspective.blogspot.com and http://inspired-pragmatism.blogspot.com/) puts forth an interesting point when he says, "I am also part of numerous Yahoo! Groups where issues related to coursework are discussed. I have observed that since in a Yahoo! Group the audience is so much more visible, some students prefer leaving comments there rather than on a blog. In my opinion, the potential of blogging has not been explored fully. There are so few collaborative blogs!" he goes on to say.

Rekha Menon featured in MoneyControl.com

How to work at Accenture
Being a passionate runner, she wanted to participate in the Bangalore Marathon 'come hell or high water' and trained on the hard surfaces of Bangalore despite the doctor’s instructions to the contrary.

Black and white world

"Rekha has very strong views on what is right and wrong," says Vijayan. "She has been scrupulously honest in everything that she has done and whatever challenges the workplace has dealt her.

Her attitude to put it mildly is non-compromising. Holding this together is enormous self-belief, which means that she does not give up, sets high standards for herself and her team and leads by example."

Charles Handy the renowned author and philosopher, who specialises in organisational behaviour and management, is someone whom Rekha admires enormously. His works include The Empty Raincoat and The Age of Unreason.

He said, "A portfolio of activities -- some we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, some for a cause… the different bits fit together for form a balanced whole greater than the parts."

Rekha is a strong believer in this, as she is certain that it cannot be one interest at the cost of another. She has taken time off work to look after her children, did not complete her PhD as Vijayan did not get a US visa and still finds time to hike, do long distance cycling and photography, not to forget social causes like working with underprivileged children.

"I changed the balance of my work portfolio as life changed," said Rekha in an interview as she reflected on the various stages in her life.

Xler's Blogging initiative featured in India Toda

Tiyash (BM 2000) gets featured in India Today
Woman: Making a Difference
That’s what Tiyash Bandopadhyay, 32, a management consultant in the USA faced with a young son, trying to balance two cultures. It was an issue she and her friend Priya Nair, 31, realised most mothers faced. And so was born bloggermoms.com, a website where women like them could interact.

The site, says Bandopadhyay, is “an umbrella for parents navigating lives in multicultural mayhem.” For Nair, mother of two, the challenge lay in “maintaining Malayali traditions while enjoying American ones”.


Aquil Busrai and Sajid Shamim get quoted in Mint

Two XLers Aquil Busrai (of IBM), and Sajid Shamim get quoted on an article on how organizations are using social media in Mint,


“What were once thought to be Internet fads are now commanding the attention of people and businesses around the world,” says Aquil Busrai, executive director, HR, IBM India and South Asia.

There’s so much activity, it is all real data for any marketer
SAJID SHAMIM
Executive director, marketing, Reebok India Co
Photograph: Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint
Photograph: Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint
How many hours do you spend on the Internet in a day/week?
I spend 13-14 hours a week on the Internet.
What social networking/social media sites do you visit?
I am a member of the Orkut, Facebook and LinkedIn communities, and spend a total of around 30 minutes on these sites a week.
Have you derived any insights from these websites?
The reason I signed up with these websites is for the marketing insights they provide. People are really into social networking—my friends are constantly updating their profiles, sending photos and sharing information. I see so much of activity and engagement happening, and this is all real data for any marketer.
Have you ever identified a trend by visiting social media sites and then included it in your company’s digital marketing strategy?
It was after I became active on these websites that we strengthened the presence of Reebok on social media sites. We have allocated much of our online budget to social media. We are currently planning an engagement tool in this space—it is currently a work-in-progress, so I can’t share too much on it yet.
Is it important for marketing heads, and marketing departments in general, to be active on digital platforms to keep track of current trends in this space?
Absolutely. Social networking is growing at double the rate of digital advertising, and the number of hours consumers spend on these websites is exceptionally high. These websites give brands a captive consumer base, so it is necessary for marketing departments to know what is happening here to target their communication better. If marketing personnel are not active on digital platforms, they will be left out in the long run.
(Priyanka Mehra)

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