Management in IITs - Brand Building or Brand Dilution

Management in IITs – Brand Building, than Brand Dilution

“Old order changeth, yielding place to new…”
- Lord Alfred Tennyson

The world has very successfully redefined itself of late. This face of the earth was so far hidden from the realm of humanity. Competition finds itself at the zenith. Buying and selling have left the markets and become the part and parcel of life. A doctor sells himself to retain his patients and attract more. A sportsman sells himself by performing in the National Level to reach the International Hall of Fame. A student sells himself in the interview to get the seat in one of the best known institutions of the world. They call it The Corporate World… where factors like price and quality hold but mere importance vis-à-vis the big name – BRAND.

In this scenario, expansion of horizons becomes the name of the game. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are not left far behind. The IITs, renowned for producing techies of worldwide fame, have ventured into the domain of management. Technology and Management together – sounds awkward, eh? Not at all! For right from the inception of management, technology has been its counterpart and raison d'être – its very reason for existence. When Frederick Taylor, one of the forbearers of management, laid down the Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, he believed management to be a pure science. Later, the human factor continued to pour in. However, the role of Science and Technology in Management is undoubtedly, inseparable. This is the very reason why courses like Economics and Organizational Behavior, which are not considered as core engineering subjects, are taken as mandatory courses in almost all engineering colleges throughout the world. So if we can go for a couple of managerial subjects, why not go for the entire course?

Today, it is not uncommon to observe massive diversification in all spheres. ITC Wills, after the huge success of its brand of cigarettes Navy Cut and Silk Cut, used the same name for its range of sports apparel and formals as Wills Lifestyle. Kingfisher, known to be one of the best brands worldwide for beer, did well in the Mineral Water and Club Soda industry as well. The list of such examples is endless. The only reason for success of all of these firms is that they had already won the hearts of the masses by one product. Similar is the world of education, where the IITs have proven themselves worldwide by producing masterminds. Organizations throughout the globe have immense faith in IITians. Today, it would not be unusual for a good organization with a global presence to be ignorant about institutes like MDI, FMS or XLRI. Yes, it’s a true fact that globally, IITs are a much bigger brand name than any IIM because of their rich ancestry. IITs are recognized by anybody and everybody. Why not use this brand image to impinge upon the new domain of management? Managers from IIT will be internationally recognized than any other institute because of the same faith that corporations have in IIT. This is brand building!

Finally, it’s a common fallacy that the IITs are the predecessors of Management in Technological institutes that they may or may not succeed. The truth, however, is quite different. One of the pioneers in this field is none other than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the undoubted worldwide leader in its field. MIT entered the realm of management with the inception of the Sloan School of Management, which today produces one of the best managers in the world. Universities at Purdue and Mississippi have also followed suite. A noted example will be of the Harvard University, a premier name in the B-School world that has opted to go into technical courses. Should the IITs be left behind in the field of management which has a tremendous potential in the corporate world as well as education and research? Never! This is a loss not just to The Institute, but to the Nation in totality.

Only by competing with the world in the rat race that is marked by the survival of the fittest, we can stand as a brand apart like we always have since the birth of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Stagnancy in what we are, on the other hand, will lead only to brand dilution. In fact, a very good upcoming school of thought is that the IITs should venture into the field of law too, which is in fact already taking shape. Foraying into new educational grounds will leave a broader global footprint for the IITs. This, in my view, is the only key for us to lead India into the heaven of freedom that Tagore dreamt of,
“Where the mind is without fear,
And the head is held high…”

A Tryst with a Fever

A Tryst with a Fever… and further revelations!!!

Long long time ago, there used to be a doctor, one of the greatest ones of his kind. A doctor who could sense the disease his patient was suffering from just by entering the patient’s room. No diagnosis, no Pathology reports, no X-Rays and Bingo! He always cracked it. His name was Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. But that is history… Today the name B. C. Roy is remembered for one of the highest awards of honor that the Indian government presents to noted Doctors.

Welcome to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and just like the rest of India, the name B. C. Roy is famous here as well. The only hospital available in IIT Kgp for the best brains of India is called the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. Technology Hospital???
Never mind the name, for everything in IIT has the word Technology attached to it.

From here begins my story, not as queer as the Comedy of Errors, but regarding the fact the fact that we are comparing a work of fiction to a real-life incident, one could rate it quite close to the plot that has been the evergreen magnate of comedies.

10th of January, 2006 – I mange to catch up a mild fever. Against all my wishes, my friends force me to visit BCRoy (Hereafter, BCRoy shall refer to the hospital only and not to the great physician). So I make my first visit to BCRoy as a patient. The doctor seemed to be a genius. I gave him the list of symptoms.
Shock 1: The doctor, in no time, sensed it to be typhoid. Oops, all those who have suffered from the disease before must know that detecting typhoid within 24 hours must be the dare of a maestro.
My reaction: I was not conviced at all. I went to the nearest pathology and got myself checked. Gosh… no malaria, no typhoid, thankfully. I consulted another physician (another maestro from BCRoy). A dosage of a few antibiotics couple with ad-hoc paracetamols worked and I was Ok in the due course of time.

27th of January, 2006 – The fever relapses, this time more rampant than before with a sense of vengeance as it had been mercilessly pushed out of my body two weeks back. This time it came with a lot of shivers and shot up to 104.3 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. For the second time, against all my wishes, on being forced by friends (Since friends in need as friends indeed), I was taken to BCRoy and this time, was admitted there.
Shock 2: The next day was a Sunday and the BCRoy pathology centre was on a weekly off. So no tests on Sundays…
My Reaction: Doctor, can I consult another pathologist?

Shock 3: Yes, you can; but we would not accept it. You will anyhow have to go for another test tomorrow… (Please remember this shock, for it is a prelude to another one to come)
My Reaction: My blood is not free, man. Better delay the test by one day…

Next day…
Shock 4: Doctor says that the report shows that I am perfectly fine and that I will be fine in a couple of days.
My Reaction: Do I have a choice? Maybe, the thermometer is a liar… Stupid thermometer!!!

When lunch is served, I ask the nurse if I can get chapattis instead of rice since I am feeling nauseate.
Shock 5: You may, but not now. Lunch has been served today and you will have to eat it. The change in your lunch schedule will be made from tomorrow.
My Reaction: Firstly, what do I eat for today? Secondly, what if I don’t feel nauseate tomorrow? God knows… let the time come.

Two days go by, and I continue getting rice. I use my right to speech and ask why am I not getting chapattis?
Shock 6: The nurse complains – “You might have told to other nurses. You will have to report it to the nurse who is on duty for the day.”
My Reaction: Shame to Oracle, Microsoft and creators of the database management systems. Long live the traditional file systems where the old data is lost as soon as the system restarts (I mean, change of duty).

Finally, I get Bread instead of rice… I dare to ask again, “But I asked for chapattis…”
Shock 7: This is what we know as chapattis here!!!
My Reaction: Grrrr!!!

Meanwhile, fever is still as rampant as ever… still crossing the 104 mark on the Fahrenheit scale…
Shock 8: (An extension of Shock 3) Son, we are not able to detect anything here; you better get yourself checked by another pathologist…
My Reaction: As you say doc. Maybe my blood IS free after all…

Next day,
Shock 9 (The Biggest One): Doc himself comes to me and says that nothing has been detected as yet. All reports say that I am fine… We all here believe that your fever is due to an unknown disease!!!
My Reaction: I call up home, and the next thing I knew that I was leaving on the jet plane (Jet Airways, to be precise) and was homeward bound…

Back in Agra (my hometown), my family doc asked me to go for another blood test (Poor me…) After going through them, gave me a couple of antibiotic doses and believe me, I was alive and kicking in a couple of days!!! Am now returning back to heaven, a place that gives me an identity in all spheres of life, a place so perfect in placements, infrastructure, faculty and everything one could think of, but void of any medical facilities – IIT Kharagpur.