Part A:
Big. What is a big company? How does one define a big company? If the company operates and stands by the 6 pillars of the corporate image, i.e,
i. product and service quality
ii. vision and leadership
iii. workplace management
iv. financial performance
v. operating style
vi. social responsibility,
it is a big company. If the company takes care of its employees as much as it takes care of its customers, it is a big company. If the company constantly involves in innovation and does not restrict itself to a single market/strategy, it is a big company. Last but not least, when the company has presence all over the world and is one of the top 3 private sector conglomerate in a country like India, it is definitely a big company. Aditya Birla Group (ABG) has managed to achieve heights that today one could only dream of. From real estate to fashion, carbon black, and telecom services, ABG has presence all over the country now. ABG is a global leader in carbon black, aluminium, and also possesses India's largest fashion retailer outlet. It is truly unlikely that with such a massive global presence, one is still left to use a product, or travel a road, or visit a site where ABG has not contributed in some way.
ABG owns brands like Allen Solly, Peter England, Van Heusen, Forever 21, Pantaloons, etc in the fashion domain under the name of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL). It is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats. ABFRL has India's largest fashion network with over 11,000 points of sale, which include around 2,500 exclusive ABFRL brand outlets across 750+ cities and towns, 4,900+ multi-brand outlets and 4000+ department stores across the country. It has ~22 million loyalty members as of 31st March 2018, and I'm proud to say that I'm one of them. My first go-to place for shopping is usually Pantaloons. It meets my needs perfectly and fits well in the price range. The fashion vertical of ABG has very deep roots within the industry. A strong foundation followed by strategic decisions to expand the company has resulted in such humongous presence all around.
Hindalco Industries Limited is the world's largest aluminium rolling company and is also a global leader in copper production. It owns various brands which include Birla Balwan, Hindalco Everlast, Eternia, Freshwrapp, Superwrap, etc among others. It turns out that I have used the Freshwrapp branded Aluminium foils for myself for a long time. The shopkeeper used to keep only this brand in the Aluminium foil and it actually came out to be pretty convenient to use and had decent quality. One interesting thing that I'd like to point out that ABG has managed to create a terrific brand-recall value among the people. One knows its brand names and also tends to remember what the products from different brands are used for.
After the merger of Idea and Vodafone, they had a bigger market share and became the 2nd largest network in India. They have a tremendously large customer base and the company is doing a commendable job in running and managing this side of the business. I was a user of Vodafone at the moment the merger happened. And yes, ABG got me tied to itself once again. I am still enjoying their services and it is a bliss to use these services without any interference.
So, ABG plays a huge role in affecting people's lives for the better by its extraordinary products/services. It is a big company, apparently, considering the size of its workforce all over the world (120,000+) in 35 countries. It is an extremely significant feat to achieve by any of the companies. Although it is already a very well known brand among the people, I wish for ABG to grow in the future too.
Part B:
So, I got admitted to a mediocre technical college for my graduation (Btech) in Computer Science. Our college was by the name of JRE (Joint venture of Raffles & Educomp). It went quite well until the end of the first year. Then there was this word in the air that the college is going to shut down due to clashes between the 2 key stakeholders - the respective heads from Raffles and Educomp. This was confirmed by the management and the faculties but they were unsure of when this is going to happen. People were flabbergasted by this information.
I was a proactive student. Being a member of the Literary Society of the college, the Corporate Relations Committee, and being one of the key coordinators during the major events of the college like Annual Fest, Farewell, Freshers' Party, etc, I saw this news in the light that along with the academics, this is going to adversely affect these activities. These activities are very significant in the overall development of the students. People learn real management, face real problems, and solve real-life challenges. My speculation was true and for all the events there used to be a straight up no for these events after that. No funds issued from the management. No interests in organizing any events even from the students.
I took up the initiative to restart it all again. I tried my best to explain the people the importance of these events and how significantly they are going to help us. I even got successful up to a certain extent. So, I took up the initiatives to start organizing the 2 major events of the college: the Freshers' Party and the Annual Fest. I made a team of dedicated people who were highly motivated and interested in these things. We managed to gather some sponsorship for the events. We managed to convince the management. We managed to indulge the students in these activities. We did it!
I proudly say that I made the best out of my graduate school. I learned things which I thought I am not capable of. I explored certain abilities of mine. Thanks to the not-so-favorable circumstances that it contributed to making me into the man I am.
I am really looking forward to getting the best out of my 2-year management course at IMI and I'm sure that it will be a life-changing experience!