The Hindu Business Line : C. Mahalingam, Executive VP & Chief People Officer, Symphony Services Corporation; Mats Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore

Industry & Economy - Education
States - Karnataka
Columns - BL Club
C. Mahalingam, Executive VP & Chief People Officer, Symphony Services Corporation; Mats Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore

– G.R.N. Somashekar

Mr C. Mahalingam, Executive Vice-President and Chief People Officer, Symphony Services Corporation, speaking on ‘Global Meltdown’ at Mats Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Our Bureau

Bangalore, Dec. 2 Delivering a lecture on global meltdown, organised by the Business Line Club here on Tuesday, Mr C. Mahalingam, Executive Vice-president and Chief Peoples’ Officer of Symphony Services Solutions, told the students of MATS Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship to rediscover middle-class values in these turbulent times.

“Go back to grandma’s school of management that taught us not to live beyond our means to lead a contented life and don’t fall prey to greed,” Mr Mahalingam told the students.

‘No depression’

Allaying fears among students, he said that the world markets are witnessing a slowdown and it is definitely not depression. “India is immune to such external factors because of our strong fundamentals. In this kind of atmosphere, you need to possess a winner’s mindset,” Mr Mahalingam said.

The current situation cannot be compared with the earlier depressions the world has witnessed, he said. To establish his reading of the current situation, he said that the Great Depression of 1929 happened when there was a weak President Henry Hoover at the helm of affairs.

“The last depression lasted for 40 months. But this time the economy will be back to normal in 12 months. During the Great Depression, about 4,000 banks closed down. But in the recent past only nine banks have shut shop. During the Great Depression there was massive job loss. About 25 per cent of the world’s workforce lost jobs then. But, as of November, only 6.1 per cent workforce has lost jobs. By December 2009, it may rise to 7.1 per cent, which is one third of the job losses during the last depression,” Mr Mahalingam explained.

Quoting a NASSCOM report, he said that the IT sector will generate revenue of $60 billion in 2009-10. “IT budgets are not shrinking. Operational excellence has become the key word and innovation will become an absolute differentiator.”

He also told the students to look beyond IT for career fulfilment. “There are exciting opportunities in health and infrastructure sectors,” he said.

Mr Mahalingam said that it was also time for management institutes and students to reinvent themselves. “If management institutes do not seek to be exceptional in whatever they do and be in a position to develop new initiatives, they would not be in a position to face the immediate and future challenges with a focused sense of commitment,” he said.

Dean of MATS Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Mr N.V.H. Krishnan welcomed the gathering.

More Stories on : Education | Karnataka | BL Club

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page