Daikin Vice President (Sales) talks about Marketing Strategies

About the Speaker :: Mr. Rajesh Jain, Vice President Sales at Daikin Air Conditioning India Pvt. Ltd.

Worked as General Manager, Marketing at Voltas Limited

Worked as Customer Business Unit Head, Consumer Electronics at BPL Ltd

Worked as General Manager at Carrier Aircon Limited 

As part of IIM Raipur Corporate Interaction program, Mr. Rajesh Jain, Vice President (Sales), Daikin, visited the campus on 13^th September 2011. He briefed students about their marketing strategy in India. Daikin, a Japanese brand headquartered in Osaka is the global leader in air conditioner market. He initially informed about how acquisition of Italian brand McQuay have helped Daikin strengthen their presence in Chillers market.

Limiting his marketing discussion to Asia Oceana market, he cited the example of Singapore where in spite of stiff competition; Daikin has been able to capture a high market share of 40% due to its high quality promise. He informed that to increase their lead at the top they are concentrating on three major markets – China, Brazil and India where air conditioning industry as well as economy is in growth phase.

Coming onto Indian discussion, he talked about the 40 acre state of art plant at Neemrana Rajasthan, the only Daikin plant in India. He informed that Daikin is one of the very few brands which develop all kinds of air conditioning systems including Chiller systems for grand buildings. He cited the example of prominent Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai where it has been implemented. In India, he cited examples of EON free zone in Pune, Mumbai high court and Infosys building where Daikin VRV systems have been implemented. He also informed that EON free zone in Pune is the first water cooled building with LEED Platinum certification. He told that although the share of Daikin in Indian residential air conditioning segment is only 11% but in VRV segment it has strong presence with 60% market share.

Daikin as a brand has been present in India since last 10 years but the marketing operations have gained momentum in last one and half year. Earlier Daikin had a niche segment in high class customers and corporate offices but now they are targeting the growing middle class who demand high value for their money. He informed that in a developing country like India it is very difficult to sustain on high end customers only. They have changed their advertisement campaigns to specifically target middle class families comprising of husband, wife and two children. Along with it they are highlighting the minimum noise levels of their air conditioning systems. The number of dealers has increased from 300 to 800 in last 18 months most of whom now provide 0% finance. As part of promotional campaigns they have the largest billboard of India in Gurgaon on Delhi-Jaipur highway. Apart from this they are using radio cabs and residential colony gates for advertisement boards. They were one of the sponsors of cricket world cup 2011 and they also organized a promotional event in Mumbai in partnership with Economic Times. They also held VRV awareness seminars in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Some other means of marketing for them have been their newsletter and media clips. Mr. Rajesh while answering the questions of students insisted that they are not going to lose focus on the premium segment and they will regularly be coming out with cutting edge technology products.

Book Review Competition by OPEP

OPEP, the operations club, organized the book review competition for the popular business novel “The Goal” by late Dr. E. M. Goldratt. Reviews were invited from the students around a month back. The participation was overwhelming with both first and second year students showed great enthusiasm regarding the competition.

Among the many entries received, the best three were shortlisted and the students were invited to present their book reviews in the presence of a judging panel and all the students of the institute. The members of the panel were Prof. O. S. Vaidya and Prof. Naval Bajpai. The event was graced with the presence of Prof. B. S. Sahay, Director, IIM Raipur.

The event proved to be a very good knowledge-sharing experience, where the basic fundamental ideas presented in the book were discussed at a length. The final results of the competition are as follows:

• First Place – Mr. Anshu Katiyar, PGP-2013
• Second Place – Mr. Akshay Agarwal, PGP-2013 and Ashwin Kumar Narayankar, PGP-2012

The Director congratulated the OPEP club and the students for organizing such a lively and useful event and urged them to continue with such efforts in the future.

The Book Reviews of Akshay and Ashwin have been posted on the OPEP blog.

http://opepiimraipur.blogspot.com/2011/09/goal-process-of-ongoing-improvement.html

http://opepiimraipur.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-goal.html

IIM Raipur to become a nodal center for SPIC MACAY

IIM Raipur students had the opportunity to witness the dance performance of Sangeet Natak Academy Fellow, Smt. Geeta Mahalik who is now counted as one the greatest danseuse present in contemporary classical dance scene and has devoted over 30 years of her life to Odissi. The occasion was the inauguration of IIM Raipur as the nodal center in Chhattisgarh for SPIC MACAY, the foundation which has done pioneering work to promote Indian Culture amongst the youth of the country. Smt Geeta Mahalik, dressed elaborately in the traditional attire for Odissi, first spoke about the heritage of classical dance in our country giving an outline about the various dance forms that prevail in our country. She than told how Odissi originated from the temples of Lord Jagannath at Puri where girls called Mahari would dance as a mark of devotion to Lord Jagannath. Smt Mahalik stressed on the importance of classical form of Odissi to maintain the dance in its purest form. The performance began with Mangalacharan, as a mark to devotion to Lord Jagannath and her Guru and also to the audience. She then pointed out the various forms of Odissi, namely Pallavi and Abhinaya. Her first performance on Pallavi on Raag Basant was complemented by drizzles outside. The audience was enthralled by her intricate gestures, complementing movement of the eyes and her lucid body movement. She than enacted the story from the life of Shri Krishna, in which he is first teased by Balrama that he is not the  son of Yashoda, her depiction of Yashoda and her maternal affection towards Krishna moved everyone who were spell bound by the Bhaav that were so meticulously brought out by her. She later told that the sculptures inside temples of Jagganaath  are the inspiration of various Mudras of Odissi. She also enacted the Emancipation of Kalia Serpent by Lord Krishna, the rage in her eyes while depicting Lord Krishna’s victory over Kalia was the highlight of her rendition. She then told the nuances of various dance forms of India, how Odissi was different from other classical dances and later she recollected her most memorable performance, which was at Brindavan where the audience was so moved by her performance of Radha pining for Krishna in full moon light that the people actually came and touched her feet for bringing Radha to life on stage.

The Director Mr B S Sahay, a student of founder of SPIC MACAY Dr Kiran Seth, thanked Smt Mahalik for giving providing students an opportunity to understand their roots and hoped that with the establishment of Nodal Center here at IIM Raipur the citizens of Raipur would get an opportunity to witness some of the greatest performances by legends of classical music in this country. The event coordinator Ranjit Ram, second year student of IIM Raipur, added that such events would now be organized with the help Bilaspur Chapter of SPIC MACAY and the students, both at school and college level will see such performances in the near future. 

Teacher's day Celebrated

The students of IIM Raipur celebrated teacher’s day with fervor. After regular classes in the morning, the program started in the afternoon with a small presentation on ‘Credit ratings’ given by Tarang Singhal, student of first year PGP. The presentation covered the basic aspects of what is a credit rating and how it influences the various stakeholders ranging from countries to common people. The impact of S&P downgrade and how it has influenced everyone, including a call to redesign the industry were taken up.

The presentation was succeeded by a short mime performed by students of PGP first year on ‘A day at IIM Raipur’. The mime brought many moments of laughter to the audiences and was applauded with prolonged claps at the end. The participants received a trophy as a memento for their performance. The third event was the case study competition of one hour duration in which participants had to provide answer to two questions based on case. The event concluded with  a business quiz organized by the quizzing club of IIM Raipur. 

Blood Donation Camp in Association with Indian Red Cross Society

Thursday, September 1,2011

Today IIM Raipur in association with Indian Red Cross Society organised blood donation camp in its campus. It was coordinated by the members of ‘Kartavya’ -The Corporate Social Responsibility club of IIM Raipur under supervision of Dr. D.V.Baghel of Indian Red Cross Society. The students of IIM Raipur enthusiastically participated in this event. About 80 students donated blood. 

                     The event started at 10 am. Dr. Baghel came with his team of 9 members from the Red Cross Society. They properly examined the health status of the participating students. On the basis of Hb%, Blood pressure of the students, the students were selected for donation of blood. Doctor and Red Cross members very much appreciated the effort of students and said that it feels proud watching students are coming forward and taking their social responsibility.

                    The students of IIM Raipur were enthusiastic and felt  proud in donating blood for a good cause. Many of them were first time blood donors. Joe and Vivek, 2^nd year students, felt delighted after their first blood donation and pledged to be regular donors. Girls of IIM Raipur also showed their keen interest in donating blood. Kiriti, Pooja, Aparna, Kanika and many more donated blood and helped in breaking the myth that girls are behind boys in donating blood. Many students who were afraid of blood donation come forward this good cause and actively participated in the event. Kudos to Kartavya members- Dutta, Varun, Abhas and Nadeer for organising such a good event in the college campus, we hope such events are organized regularly. The students felt satisfied after performing their social responsibility and were ready to do it again . 

Session on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Management

Mr. Nikhil Parulkar, Head of Risk Containment Unit at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mumbai provided us with the basic insights into the world of risk management with respect to monetary transactions on 30^th August, 2011. He is a certified forensic expert, a proven hand in examining fraud cases, and adept at recognizing the loopholes which can give room to fraud, in the banking industry. He has dealt with many fraud investigations . He has worked with Indian banking big wigs, such as ICICI and HDFC , prior to joining Kotak Mahindra apart from devoting his invaluable expertise with consulting big wig Ernst & Young. 

Mr. Nikhil took a daylong session packed with students of first and final years. Mr. Nikhil started off by explaining “what is fraud and what kind of frauds occur in the banking sector”. He pointed out the existence of frauds in history specifying the case of Al Capone who has been credited with being the reason for the coin of the term “Forensic Accounting”. He then went on to explain the different measures needed to be taken to avert fraud and the various ways to improve process transparency for the minimization or elimination frauds to the largest extent possible. It was an interactive session with a volley of questions from the students about the measures needed to be taken to make an organization foolproof to frauds. Students also enquired about the role of auditors in scrutinizing the reports and successfully giving early warning signals.

Mr. Nikhil started by explaining the definition of fraud. He notified the lack of proper meaning attached to the hazard known as “FRAUD” as no such peculiar definition of “FRAUD” has been underlined as per the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India better known as the ICAI. The only law that recognizes it as a wrongdoing is the IPC-420 which is for cheating. He then went on to define “FRAUD” as per the Common Wealth which involves ethics and intent as the parameters along with other factors. He explained the terminology focusing on “the guilty mind” and citing the example of Satyam.

  Mr. Nikhil then pointed out the various characteristics of “FRAUDS” apart from explaining every aspect of it. He brought to light the several consequences of the problem and the reasons affecting the susceptibility of major organizations to “FRAUD”. Here he came up with the significance of forensic accounting. Nikhil questioned whether a company falters or does not falter due to the DNA of the company or the DNA of the people who make it. He then went on to discuss the fraud triangle, fraud diamond (which is an addition of a new dimension to fraud triangle), the capability dimension, which has been the most notorious dimension, having debilitating effects as seen in the recent past. He enumerated the dimensions of fraud triangle, perceived pressure facing the individual, opportunity to commit fraud, person’s rationalization and integrity.

Towards the end, the students were asked to work on a case study and scrutinize the decisions which were taken by the board of a company and the feelers the decisions send as a precursor to the imminent debacle. The powers being always vested with the management is a driver towards the unethical task, if not over seen by the highest authority in an organization. It is the responsibility of the higher management to set high corporate governance standards and they should lead by example, which instills a sense of ethical behavior in all the fellow colleagues to practice utmost highest standard.

“Inside Job” an informative movie was screened post completion of the session, which is based on the chronicle of events and decisions which led to 2008 financial meltdown/crisis, the root cause of the financial crisis and the role of persons vested with power, how they can influence the systems was insightful and a discussion followed over the good and bad of the decisions sensitized the students towards the importance of ethics and role of corporate governance. And a pledge was taken by all the students that they will follow highest corporate governance standards where ever they work and see that their subordinates and superiors follow the ethics by being an example.

Independence Day celebrated

IIM Raipur witnessed the 64^th Independence Day anniversary with Prof. B. S Sahay , Director of IIM Raipur, hoisting the flag followed by National Anthem. The quiet misty morning turned into a morning full of spirit with students of the institute chanting of “Jai Hind” and “Vande Mataram”.

The Director in his speech addressing the students made them understand the significance of the word “Swatantra” which meant Self-control and how one could achieve his goal with the power of self control.  Everyone was their saluting the spirit of independence.

Prof. Sahay said that the institute has been growing leaps and bounds. IIM Raipur would be starting its Doctoral Program along with 4 Research Centres next year. He has always been a visionary and assured the students , of the aura of the Institution and it being a hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship .  IIM Raipur in the coming years would  be recognized for quality research and a centre for Supply chain management, he said.

IIM Raipur would be coming up with its own campus at Naya Raipur in a few years time. The new IIM Raipur campus would be a State of Art campus which would create a wave of enthralment in anybody who visits the campus.

Prof. B.S Sahay also came up with the idea of holding an International Conference on Humanitarian Logistics. Raipur being a logistics hub, the importance of leveraging its resources is very profuse in paving the way for the road to development.  

The flag hoisting ceremony was followed by a cultural event organised by the students of the institute.  The whole campus roared with brimming enthusiasm of the students who performed on songs like “Chak De India” , “Aey Mere Pyaare Watan” and “Mohe Rang De Basanti Chola”. The  group song “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” just added to the already nice ambience , depicting the spirit of “ unity in diversity”.  Everyone was busy, either in preparing for their acts aor anticipating those of their friends. The anxiety and happiness was for all to see. The students also organised and conducted a skit showcasing the present state of affairs in the nation. They depicted the strange behaviour of citizens towards their heroes in their respective fields. This was more on the serious note. To lighten things or so as to put some humour on the day students came up with stand up acts such as “Hasya Kavita”. Their was this deep happiness on everyone’s face which was very satisfying to see.  Everyone was completely engrossed in  the spirit of Independence day. 

The Independence day celebrations were carried forward smoothly with Independence Quiz , Antakshari and JAM sessions.  The eventful day coming to a grand end with the inauguration of Intra College Table Tennis Tournament.