We simply adore our teachers

A million computers can’t replace one outstanding teacher. And Great Lakes Institute of Management has a brilliant constellation of professors.

 

Gladiators with Prof V K Murthi

“Sales is not about FMCG”, “Strategic sales management is not just about bathroom products, it is much more than that!” These are the most striking quotes from the man who changed our perspective of Sales – Mr V K Murthi. His brilliant insights into who should be targeted, how to pursue customers, how to manage salespersons and how to keep the cash register ringing have enthralled all of us. A class of over 200 try to grasp every statement of his lecture sessions. His well crafted and crisp sentences with extraneous words chiselled away are a mark of his in-depth and pin-point detailed knowledge. 24 years of industry experience in managing sales and distribution, training at Harvard business school and a long legacy at SPJMR makes Mr. V K Murthi a true blue diamond in Great Lakes’ assortment of visiting faculty.

Mr. B Venkatesh explains all the financial jargon in the most lucid language and at the same time keeps us on our toes. His highly interactive sessions and real life simple examples made us understand various investment concepts. With every class becoming an enriching experience, many opted for Finance as their majors. Mr. Venkatesh is founder and Managing Principal of the wealth-mapping firm, Navera Consulting and also a well known Hindu Business Line columnist. After Investment analysis and Portfolio Management as a core course, the saga continues with Options and Futures, as enthusiasts delve into niche financial areas. We simple adore him for making every session so engaging and rewarding.

Marketing and Finance are incomplete without the truss of Operations. Logistics & Supply Chain Management may be perceived to be as boring as History by most. But this perception gets busted by the charismatic and energetic Prof. Prasad Chakravarthy. In his own words, “I don’t want you to take jobs; jobs were for 60s and 70s. Be consultants, solve industry problems and claim your share in their profits” His assignments, famous for the depth and scope of Operations knowledge covered, tame the subject for us.  The icing on the cake is the examples that he quotes in class derived straight from the ocean of industry experience and his mode of delivery:  thought provoking and hilarious at the same time!!

Learning one’s own choice of electives with such invaluable professors is truly an amazing experience at Great Lakes!

-  Amit Choudhary & Surabhi Gawde

MAC Konnect: Marketing simplified!

It is amazing how a group of creative thoughts can bind and rejuvenate your spirits even on a tiring day. Here is an instance that takes you through the magic of creativity and curiosity.

 You might think, it’s almost impossible to attract students for a voluntary academic discussion given that their day was packed with a Human Resource Management Quiz, a mammoth Managerial Accounting assignment and a three-hour class apart from a visit to the nearby villages as part of their Karma yoga course. Not humanly possible, isn’t it?

But hey, at Great Lakes, we are witnessing the emergence of a new species. Driven by curiosity and the desire to excel more than 100 Gladiators came together to experience marketing in a new avatar. The Marketing Acumen Club (MAC) organized its first official Knowledge Meet, Konnect on the 5th of July and it proved to be a resounding success. Here is a snapshot of events as they panned out.

The hype

 The curiosity started building up, right from the day before the event. Gladiators (Class of 2011) were intrigued by some interesting illustrations placed in strategic locations depicting a whole new interpretation of marketing concepts. While everybody knew that it was Siddesh’s (our very own R.K Laxman) creative genius that was behind the illustrations, there was some confusion, as far as the source of the thought was concerned. All the illustrations drove attention to the date and venue of the event and the turnout was a testimony to the success of the campaign.

 GDP meets Marketing

 As the seats filled up, the show began with the setting of an interview room with our very own GDP (Gayatri Deshpande) finding herself in the last round of HUUL’s placement process. The interviewers (Ujjawal and Nitin) looked in good spirits but little did they know of the catastrophe that awaited them. The next 5 minutes found the audience go crazy with laughter as GDP redefined Marketing to the world leaving the interviewers in a sate of delusion. The 4P’s found a whole new meaning with Presumption, Pomp, Presentation and Promise replacing the obsolete ancient framework.

 

Soccer and Marketing

 The interview culminated to set the stage in order, as it was now the turn of Marketing and Advertising fundas to find a place in the packed soccer stadiums of South Africa. The trilogy of creativity, stars and strategy left the audience spell bound as Atul, Rahul and Priyambad took the audience through the enthralling campaigns of Nike, Adidas and Pepsi targeted to leverage the global appeal of the Soccer World cup. Not only did the audience enjoy the presentation but also vehemently expressed their views about the strategic nature of the campaigns and whether they assumed critical mass of generate a significant RoI.

 Quiz and the brands dominating Great Lakes

Next in line was an attempt to highlight the Stars at Great Lakes who have already created a brand for themselves. Right from the ingenious efforts of our very own Newspaper Hero, Narendran to the Mach 2 speaking speed of Shefali, the branding satiated the glamour desire of our stars, at least for the evening. Hey, how can a MAC event go without testing the wits of the participants? Priyambad came up with a short, yet intriguing quiz that touched different tenets of the marketing function. Right from strategy to creativity, almost everything found a mention and guess what, the Gladiators were up for the challenge. One reply after the other, the three teams (total audience was divided into three teams) were at their competitive best and the result was a fantastic show that revealed a lot that was unexplored and stimulated learning, that, only a quiz can pull off.

The Fate of Nokia

Next on the menu was the ‘intellect’ heavy Nokia case study prepared by Ujjawal and Vishal that highlighted the strategic dilemma of the global giant in the present context. The case description got the Gladiators thinking and the managerial acumen reached its pinnacle as the moderators left the floor open for discussion. Right from the technical imbroglios of the Symbian Platform to the pricing dynamics of the premium segment phones, the professional diversity and thought leadership of the Gladiators found an apposite platform to express itself. The event ended with a thunderous round of applause from the audience that made all the effort of the MAC team worth it. It is these special days, thoughts, people and the camaraderie that make Great Lakes, an experience, so magnificent.

Nitin Pahuja