The Hindu Business Line : Getting defence officers corporate ready

IIM, Bangalore, offers a six-month programme designed to help military talent from the tri-services slip seamlessly into managerial roles in different corporate sectors

DEFENCE PERSONNEL going through a Business Management course at IIM Bangalore. — GRN Somashekar

The `fouji force' is getting equipped at its new training ground: the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Three months from now, 79 officers of the three armed forces will be talking strategic planning, supply chain management, logistics and team building, albeit in different surroundings.

Of course, they are no strangers to these concepts: Strategic planning is the key to win any battle, supply-chain and logistics are essential to sustenance, and when it comes to team building and morale boosting, they are doing it all the time.

So, what is that warriors need to make a smooth transition into the corporate world? Wg Cdr Vibhas Gupta, is one of the 79 officers from the armed forces who is being trained by the IIM, Bangalore, to make his next career move, "We are already familiar with many subjects such as strategic planning, HR, logistics. Only the way we used our skills was different," says the officer.

The Post-Graduate Certificate in Business Management for the Armed Forces at the IIMB is a six-month programme designed to help military talent from the tri-services slip seamlessly into managerial roles in different corporate sectors. The first batch of military officers is mid-way through the programme and talent is expected to be corporate-ready by June this year.

The Directorate General - Resettlements selected 79 officers out of 400 officers that expressed interest in the programme. The batch is a mix of officers from the short service commission (age group 28-35) and retired personnel (age group 40-55).

According to Major Ranjeet Goswami, one of the participants at the programme, India Inc cannot have it better than this. "Not only do we have age on our side and come with a rich experience and discipline training, but we are also attuned to the way the corporates work now."

The current batch of officers training at the Institute have lawyers, engineers, commerce and finance graduates amidst them. Subjects being covered in the programme include financial accounting, macro economics, MIS, organisation structure and design, operations management, organisational behaviour, marketing and corporate strategy. "We have informally studied most of these subjects and used some of the theories in warfare. There's a subject on communication, for instance, which the professors felt was totally wasted. There cannot be better communicators than us," says Major Goswami. And when it comes to team building, team work and pursuing the goal of the organisation, there cannot be better training ground than the armed forces, feels Wg Cdr Gupta.

What is interesting is that India Inc seems to have suddenly woken up to the fact that there is a talent treasure hidden in the armed forces. Perhaps that explains why several top management institutes have or are in the process of conducting similar programmes.

At MDI, Gurgaon, for instance, the first batch of 120 officers will soon be graduating and 80 have been picked by ICICI Bank, Pepsi, Citibank, ABN Amro, Infosys, Du Pont, Reliance, Satyam Computers and Adlabs. Salaries offered ranged between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 lakh per annum. At the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, 60 officers have been placed at a salary of Rs 15-20 lakh.

Says Prof M.S. Narasimhan, Chairman, Executive Education Programmes, IIMB, "The objective is to leverage their existing skills, which they have been using in a different situation and perhaps build further on that." Commenting on the job offers that could come their way, he says that other institutes that have conducted similar programmes have shown encouraging results. "I see the present group getting into HR, marketing, IT and perhaps the aviation sector."

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Getting defence officers corporate ready