“Implausible will be Plausible with time” said Dr. Ramadhar Singh, Distinguished Professor of Management, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore delivering the first convocation address of MYRA School of Business.
Dr. Ramadhar Singh left the audience enthralled with his insightful talk on the “Role of Business in Society” Tracing the evolution of the role of business in society from the early days of exploitative business practices to the modern day paradigm of Corporate Social Responsibility, he charted the dynamics of the relationship between Business and Society has evolved.
Dr. Ramadhar Singh identified and traced the following four paradigm shifts: Shift from Capital to Labour in business and wealth creation. Citing Shakespeare’s “ Merchant of Venice”, he said the exploitative power of capital, was quite rampant in society. The power of capital and the low tolerance of diversity of any kind whether religion or region giving way to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nation’s paradigm of division of labour leading to greater production. Though the relation between the labour and the masters were still exploitative, there was a definite shift from capital to labour. Spurred by Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, the labour era began with the trade union movement leading to the closure of many companies due to management-labour conflicts. The next paradigm shift was from interest in labour to consumers. The consumerism era was epitomized by Erich Fromm’s famous quote “I am what I have and what I consume”; “If one has nothing, one is nothing.” The nineteen eighties and the nineties were the era of rampant consumerism. The 4
th paradigmatic shift towards Social Enterprise and Social Consciousness began to emerge slowly and steadily. Respecting the Bottom of the Pyramid consumers as advocated by C K Prahalad and profit making going alongside service to the poor and poverty alleviation is a post 1990 phenomena. Alongside silent gravitation towards consumers, unexpected changes in society including the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Globalization, Social media and other phenomena occurred in the last 2 to 3 decades transforming businesses to be more socially conscious and responsible. Today, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is mandated by the Government in India through the clause 135 of the Companies Act 1913.
Modern businesses have become more and more socially responsive and also the over all business context and paradigms have changed and changed for “better” he opined. His key message was “ Impossible will take time, but difficult will be done immediately”
Mr. Ashok Mathur, Regional Chief Executive, Coats and Managing Director, Madura Coats gave the Keynote Address on the “Role of Society in Business.” In his keynote he stressed on the importance of looking beyond profits and focusing on the Triple Bottom Line of “Profits” “People” and “Planet.” Citing some specific examples from the industry especially Coats, he narrated anecdotes of how industries have become more and more environmentally and socially aware and responsible over the years. He also gave examples of innovations and inventions such as biodegradable threads that can reduce the Planet’s environmental issues. He opined “morality” is something that comes from within whether for individuals or companies and needs to be nurtured. He cited the example of a CEO of a large multinational company stated goal of ensuring the safety of employees and customers. The world is moving towards such socially responsible businesses he noted.
On Saturday May 31, 2014, MYRA School of Business, Mysore graduated students of the first edition of its flagship Post Graduate Program for Executives (PGPX). In a short and sweet ceremony at the Taj Vivanta, Bengaluru, Mr. Mahesha Prasad Sahoo, Mr. Mehul Shah, Mr. Murali Mohana Rao Issai, Mr. Nanjunda Prasad, Mr. Rajesh Gaurav, Mr. Ravipprasad Pa, Mr. Tanmay Batabyal, and Mr. H. Venkata Rao received their diplomas. Mr. Ajatshatru Kaushal was given his diploma in absentia. They were cheered and celebrated by their family, friends, and guests from industry and academia, and MYRA staff, faculty, management and trustees.
Dr. Abhinanda Sarkar (PhD, Stanford), Associate Dean (Research) at the MYRA School of Business welcomed the audience. Dr. Shalini Urs (PhD, University of Mysore and Fulbright Scholar), Chairperson of the MYRA School of Business, presented a report on the progress made by the institution.
Dr. Nagananda Kumar (IIMA) Executive Director and Professor of Strategy and Human Resources, MYRA School of Business, gave the vote of thanks. Dr. Wolfgang Messner, Professor of International Business and Customer Care at the MYRA School of Business facilitated the event.
What made the event sweeter for all gathered was that five of the PGPX graduates had accepted job offers from cutting edge companies in the ecommerce and cloud computing industries. They increased their CTC packages by up to 100 percent. Two other PGPX graduates were interviewing with electronic payment systems and steel manufacturers. The remaining two were considering starting their own firms.
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