Category Business Management

How Charles Goodyear’s discovery of the vulcanisation of rubber revolutionised the rubber industry?

In the early 1800s, American businessmen caught the ‘rubber fever. They imported tonnes of rubber from Brazil, hoping to reap riches by turning it into baggage and life preservers. What they didn’t realise was that rubber turned into a sticky mess in summer and became hard and brittle in winter.

Charles Goodyear, whose hardware store went bankrupt in 1830, became interested in turning rubber into a usable material. He experimented by mixing it with various chemicals like nitric acid and sulphur, but with limited success. Once while trying to sell his sulphur-improved rubber at a hardware store, Goodyear became agitated when the owner mocked his product. He gesticulated wildly and the piece of rubber flew from his hand onto a hot, open stove top. While scraping it off, he found that it had become hard yet flexible!

After more experiments, Goodyear finally perfected the process. Called ‘vulcanised’ rubber (from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan), it created untold wealth for the many entrepreneurs who used Goodyear’s idea without his consent, even though he had a patent. Goodyear himself died in 1860 heavily in debt because of fighting and losing many court battles. Much later, his family benefited from the royalties earned from his patent.

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AN INTERVIEW OF YOUNG ACHIEVER VARUN ARORA – FOUNDER AND CEO OF VISARD.ORG

This Class XII student is the founder and CEO of Visard.org, a youth-run, not-for-profit that aims to empower small businesses through technology. Varun Arora speaks about his journey.

What fascinated you to learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

When I was a kid, I was always engrossed in building new things and using my imagination to innovate. I first heard about Al when Intel conducted the Al for Youth programme and got selected for it. I did not have any idea about it, but decided to give it a try and I loved it. I was also intrigued, and so decided to pursue Al on a deeper level.

How was your experience at the Al for Youth programme?

It was a four-month-long programme, and at the end, we were asked to build a project that would be helpful to society in some way and contribute to the welfare of people. Recently, I had the opportunity to present my project to the CEO of Intel, and it was a phenomenal experience! Overall, the programme was beneficial and I consider it the turning point in my journey.

What was your project about?

An Al reading assistant, I made it for kids in the four to eight age group. It aims to develop essential skills in children without any increase in screentime.

You run an organisation called Visard.org.

Our organisation’s main aim is to empower small businesses through technology. We do this through a range of initiatives, one of them being providing solutions such as creating websites for small business owners at rates lower than what many agencies charge. Apart from this, we have various other initiatives that cover areas such as support for artisans, educating/training business owners on tech tools, etc. We have impacted over 100 businesses and have helped small businesses save about Rs. 1 lakh. Additionally, the team size too has grown to over 25. The organisation is also backed by advisors who are alumni of reputed institutions such as Stanford, MIT, NYU, Microsoft, etc.

How do you manage your time between school and your organisation?

Due to the pandemic, my classes have been held online. It was a blessing in disguise because I was able to focus on my project and build my organisation. Once the physical classes start, the actual challenge will begin. But with proper time management and organisational skills, I think I will be able to balance everything.

When we talk about Al, the most pressing question is can humans be replaced by Al.

My answer would be a no. 1 would like to stress the fact that Al is just a displacement and not a replacement. I do agree that in some aspects Al does much better than us humans. We need to understand and accept the fact that it’s going to replace humans in some jobs. But then again, certain jobs such as nursing can never be replaced by computers. For job security in the competitive world, we need to be aware of the latest technology. We need to realise that every day, we are one step closer to the point where humans and robots will coexist, and that this evolution will lead to our co-dependency.

What are your hobbies and interests?

I started cycling recently. With the pandemic locking us inside our homes, there hasn’t been much activity on the road, so why not give cycling a go? I also collect ancient coins and currencies. Other than that, I have been quite busy with school and Visard.

What are your plans for the future? And what would you like to change in society?

My end goal is to be an entrepreneur. I realise that often when we start earning, we stop learning. But it shouldn’t be so, because education gives wisdom too. Also, it is very important to apply what you learn in real life. For example, there is no use in learning to code if you never get to actually code. So the one thing I would like to change in society is the architecture of the Indian education system, which currently focusses more on theoretical concepts than practical application.

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I want to pursue a career in Human Resources

I’m studying in Std XII. I want to pursue a career in Human Resources. What is the scope in this field and the package offered? What are the courses available? Which are the best colleges for these courses in Mumbai?

A diploma/degree course in HR with duration of two years is required to make a career in human resources. The eligibility for this is graduation in any stream. Every large and medium-sized organization keeps a fully functional HRM/HRD/Personnel department managed by HR professionals.

Apart from professional qualifications, an HR professional should be a good listener and a good decision-maker. Being a good judge of competencies and personalities certainly helps, especially during recruitment and promotion process. Several institutes/universities all over India offer courses in HR. Some of the institutes in Mumbai are: Tata Institute of Social Science (TSS), Mumbai; NMIMS School of Business Management, Mumbai; S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research.

 

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I want to do an MBA in International Business

I have done B.Com. (CA). I want to do an MBA in International Business. As far as I’ve heard from people who have done this course, they say that in the first year of MBA you have to choose some courses and in the second year the specialization. Which course will be related to MBA (IB) in the first year? Does Christ University, Bangalore, offer these courses? Which are the other colleges that offer this course? What are the skills required? How do I get admission?

An MBA programme in International Business teaches about procedure and documentation involved in export and import, methods of approaching customers in foreign countries, currency conversion and fluctuation, raising capital from international market and distribution market. It also includes language and culture curriculum.

Many institutes all over India offer this specialization. Admission is either through CAT, or their own entrance examination. Christ University, Bangalore offers this course as a dual degree programme in collaboration with University of Applied Sciences, Wurzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany (FHWS). In the first two trimesters there are compulsory subjects, which all MBA students study. The next two trimesters are taught in Germany. The last two trimesters have subjects according to your specialization.

The selection process involves Group Discussion (GD), Micro Presentation (MP), Written Assessment (WA), Verbal Assessment (VA) and Personal Interview (PI). Skills required are interpersonal, teamwork and communication.

 

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I want to pursue my career in Business Management

I am a student of Class 9 and want to pursue my career in Business Management specifically from Harvard Business School. Please tell me about the qualifications and the process by which I can get admission.

Harvard Business School (HBS) attracts the best and the brightest MBA applicants from across the world, basic qualification for which is graduation. T’s better to go for B. Tech. as a large number of Harvard students have a technical/engineering background. Then work for few years. The average work experience for Harvard MBA is over 4 years. Without experience, it will be very tough to get in. then prepare well for GMAT. Harvard’s median GMAT score is 730. The selectivity rate for the Harvard MBA is 12%. So be prepared to work hard and remain focused as the path is long.

 

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What are the benefits of doing an MBA? What can I do after an MBA? What kind of job can I take up after that?

An MBA degree offers many professional as well as personal benefits. Whether you work in technology, finance, management or manufacturing, an MBA degree will open opportunities for greater responsibility, career advancement, and increased financial reward. From a personal aspect, an MBA will improve your communication and leadership skills which are vital to professional success.

But remember that all this depends upon the institute from where you do your MBA. There are over 3500 registered B-schools/universities/colleges in India which offer the MBA/PGDM/PGP. If you do it from the Top 25 B Schools, there will be higher chances of having the above benefits.

 

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Managerial mettle

I am student of B.Com final year. I want to know more about MBA. I want to know whether I should do MBA after graduation or after giving the CAT entrance in 2006 and which field I should choose for doing MBA. I would like to clear that I am not so good in maths, so which field would be more suitable for me and what are the chances of placement after doing an MBA. Also tell me about the different entrances conducted for entering a management college.

You need to understand what MBA is. Master of business administration is a postgraduate course in management, which, as the name suggests, you can do only after graduation or an equivalent qualification. But some leading management instructions (or B-schools) providing a course in business management / business administration offer a post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM), AND NOT MBA. CAT is the entrance test for admission to Indian Institutes of Management and several other B-schools. So it’s not a matter of choice that you can do an MBA either after doing your graduation o after CAT.

Yes, there are several other exams besides CAT for admission to B-schools, like XAT for admission to Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur, JMET for admission to management programmes run by IITs, CET for admission to Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, and so on. Those who aspire to join a B-school don’t appear for just CAT (though the first priority for anyone would be an IIM, of course), they appear for all the major tests.

As regards maths, while comfort in maths is no doubt an asset, but a lot of people from non-maths background have also cracked these exams successfully.

 

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Managing choices

I am a third year BE mechanical engineering student. I am interested in pursuing an MBA from a well-known business school, but I need some guidance on the specialisation to opt for. Please help.

 

You would be making use of your engineering education if you join production or systems management. People often talk of ‘hot’ options. But no stream remains hot forever. However, the ‘hot’ choice for you should be where your heart lies. All the five broad areas of management are on par. The key areas of management are on par. The key areas of management are marketing, finance, human resource management, systems management and production.

Marketing: No doubt, marketing is the most popular area among students of management. There are four specific functions:

  •  Sales and distribution management.
  •  Product/ brand management.
  •  Advertising.
  •  Market research.

The opportunities in sales and product management in particular are vast.

Finance: This function is concerned with the efficient use of money. There are seven career paths for people who have specialised in finance;

  •  Consumer banking.
  •  Investment banking.
  •  Institutional banking.
  •  Merchant banking.
  •  Development banking.
  •  Non-banking finance.
  •  Corporate finance.

Human resource management: It involves activities like performance appraisal, employee counselling, training and motivation programmes. Handling union problems and labour disputes could also be part of your work profile. The broad areas of work are:

  •  HRD.
  •  Personnel management.
  •  Industrial relations.

System management: The job market is very good. There are four career options in this field:

  •  Systems consultancy: Systems consultancies recruit MBAs for their teams which provide consultancy to their client organisation.
  •  Business development and sales and marketing account management: Organisations specialising in hardware/software solutions recruit MBAs for business development and sales and marketing functions.
  •  Project management.
  •  Systems departments of organisations: Since information technology is an integral part of every business today, organisations require managers for their systems departments.

Production: Many production theories and techniques have been developed by management schools. How to mange production and make a production unit more efficient is the crux of this area. This field is particularly relevant to engineering graduates. The basic functions are:

  •  Productivity improvement.
  •  Quality control.
  •  Inventory control.
  •  Production planning.

You have to take the decision based on the job profile in each area, and on your own interest and aptitude.

 

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In awe of English

I am a Hindi medium student. My knowledge of English is weak but I am keen to learn the language. I am not comfortable with long sentences, essays and reports. I find many errors in my sentences. I wish I could read, write and speak English fluently. How do I achieve this? Can you recommend some books and authors?

It will require a consistent and long drawn effort. Don’t expect immediate results. The first step is to increase your vocabulary and grammar. Improving vocabulary needs a very good reading habit. Start borrowing novels of good authors and reading them. Understand how words and phrases are used (it is not possible to pick up a dictionary for each word). Mentally try to make a sentence with the new word you have learnt. Vocabulary will not improve by mugging up a list of words. Instead, you would have to learn the usage of words and phrases in different contexts. This would be possible only if you read extensively.

To improve your grammar you could go through grammar books and solve the exercises. Wren & Martin is the Bible of grammar. You grip on grammar will improve with steady practice. But again, continuous reading will also help you understand grammar and sentence construction better.

Once your understanding of English improves, you will get the confidence to speak too. Don’t hesitate to speak English, even if you make mistakes in the beginning. It’s better to seek help of a teacher or a relative in this regard. Also listen to the English news regularly, to understand where to pause, how to pronounce a word, etc. If you feel that you will not be able to work on your English on your own, you can even join an English improvement class, after checking its credentials.

 

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I am in B.Com III year. Please guide in detail regarding MBA program.

I am a B.Com final year student pursuing my degree from Maharshi Dayanand University, Ajmer. I am interested in getting an MBA degree after graduation. But I have a few questions. What exams do I need to take to join an MBA programme? What is the procedure regarding entrance forms, exams? Where do I get application forms from? Is coaching required? What are the affiliated colleges? Can I get direct admission to an affiliated college without taking an entrance exam, such as in Symbiosis Institute, Pune? Do graduation marks count in the admission process? Please clear my doubts.

Your questions has come at a very appropriate time. To begin with there will be just one admission test for management programmes from the forthcoming year. The exact nature of the test, the time-schedule and other modalities are being worked out. The new test could be an amalgam of CAT and other entrance tests that take into account your general awareness too. So, until the structure is decided you should be ready for any kind of questions that are asked in all the entrance exams. As regards direct admission to Symbiosis, well, even SCMHRD and SIBM have entrance exams before admission. To the best of our knowledge, no Indian B-school admits students without an entrance test. And as regards marks, you have to get the qualifying marks in college. Marks in college might be an issue when you are being interviewed but it is up to you to convince the interview panel as to why you did not get, say 60 per cent.

 

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Improving English

 

I am a final year student of physics. After graduation, I want to do MBA from an IIM. But I find it as my English and GK are not good. Please tell me what can I do.

For admission to IIM, you will have to appear for CAT. But that will test your reading comprehension and verbal ability. Your proficiency in grammar, word usage and verbal logic will also be put to test. English will also be useful in the interview and group discussion.

To improve your English, read at least one newspaper daily. You should concentrate on five sections- the front page, business pages, world news, editorial page and the op-ed page. Make notes about each article you read, noting down new words, usage of words and phrases. Newspaper reading will not only increase your speed, it will also improve your general awareness.

Apart from that, read good books to improve your vocabulary. One such book is Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. Also go through current affairs magazines do not hesitate to speak in English. Don’t expect that your English will improve overnight. Only sustained efforts will help.

 

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