From the editor

Dear Members, The month of August has indeed been very kind to us, the weather has been excellent and the rains most welcome. The silver lining is that MMA continues to offer flurry of interesting management programmes. Fifty six years ago, the MMA was founded with the objective to propagate management movement in this part of the country. Fifty six years hence, we at MMA rededicate ourselves to the Vision of MMA To be the Fountainhead of Worldclass Management Excellence in India. We will take it forward our Vision guided and supported by the new Managing Committee headed by the President, Mr Venky Rajgopal , Managing Director, Indian Terrain Fashions Ltd and Senior Vice President, Mr Srivats Ram, Managing Director, Wheels India Ltd. The new Managing Committee consisting of experienced professionals and new entrants with vast corporate background would immensely contribute to take MMA to greater heights. I will be failing in my duty if I do not place on record of the great support extended by Mr Ravi Viswanathan, who has been our President for the year 2011-12. He has been a great source of inspiration and support to us towards achieving the objective of MMA. Personally, it has been a unique privilege to be part of his team and my grateful thanks to him for his unstinted support in all our endeavours. We believe that best young managers are always looking for a better gig and probably we are right. Study shows that todays most sought after early career professionals are constantly networking and thinking about the next step, even if they seem fully engaged. The employee development programmes arent making them happy enough to stay. Why this disconnect? We believe its because formal training is costly and can take employees off the job for short periods of time. Employers are reluctant to make big investment in employees who might not stay long. But this creates a vicious circle: organisations wont train workers because they leave and workers leave because they dont get training. The solution is to be part of MMA! We continue to offer promising young managers a more balanced menu of development opportunities, which might boost their inclination to stick around and keep their employers happy. In this direction, MMA has put together a first-of-its kind unique programme: The Round-the-Clock Non Stop Management Conclave. Seize the day! The Conclave is scheduled from 10.00 am on Friday, 14th September 2012 to 10.00 am on Saturday, 15th September 2012 non-stop at SRM University Auditorium, Kattankulathur. The conclave 24X56 aims to bring together students, professionals and entrepreneurs and covers a wide gamut of 56 Management topics to commemorate MMAs 56 years as Fountainhead of Excellence. Each session is intended to yield results in terms of enhanced awareness and skills and in shaping attitudes suited to changing business needs. This unique initiative of MMA is to empower human with Self Development Skills and help the employers in particular SMEs to realize the full potential of its human force. Participation in the 24 hour Conclave is complimentary and by invitation and I take this opportunity to invite all our members to attend this unique conclave and be a part of the history in making. As you are aware, MMA All India Management Students Convention, from its small beginning in the year 2002, has grown into a mission for translating dreams of young men and women into reality. This years Management Students Convention focuses on the theme Entrepreneurship The Road Less Travelled. For those who want to make the most of their opportunities, India is an idea whose time has come: This is a land of entrepreneurship, new ambitions and fresh opportunities. Its now time to unleash the power and potency of Indias enterprise. Towards achieving this Mr K S Ramesh, Chairman, MMA Students Convention Committee has conceptualized and put together a Convention seek to expose the management students to the exciting world of entrepreneurship as they begin making critical career choices. We urge management students to participate in the two-day Convention to explore boundless new avenues of commerce and growth in markets far and near. MMA was privileged to organize a Keynote Address by Dr Andreas Schockenhoff, Member of the German Federal Parliament on the theme Europe at Crossroads Current Political and Economic Challenges on 23rd August 2012 during his visit to Chennai. The Address was very informative and a grand success. The transcription of his address is published in this issue of Business Mandate for the benefit of our members who could not attend the programme. Let me know what you think about everything thats happening at MMA. Send me an email at ed@mmachennai.org Happy Reading!

Gp Capt R Vijayakumar, VSM (Retd)