Adapt to technological change, Gokarn exhorts students

The world is changing fast and if you don't adapt to the changes – that are often caused by advancements in technology – you will become obsolete yourselves, Dr Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, told a gathering of students here.

Dr Gokarn, who inaugurated the Business Line Club for the academic year 2011-12 at the SRM University here, exhorted the students to “keep learning continuously”.

Plan for your careers, he told the gathering of (mostly management) students, impressing upon them that a career ought not to be a series of accidental events. Have long-term aspirations, set yourselves goals, he said.

Dr Gokarn also cautioned the students that the workplace would be very different from the college where one could choose the company they wish to keep. In the workplace, however, there will be all kinds of people and one needs to be able to set aside personal likes and dislikes.

He also wanted the students to be ethical in their conduct and set themselves boundaries beyond which they would never go.

Speaking on the theme ‘The Future of Organisations – Environmental Drivers and Strategic Responses', Dr Gokarn gave the gathering a sense of how things were up to 20 years ago (when the economy was closed) and noted how ‘four forces' – market, globalisation, technology and regulations – have changed organisations.

He noted that when the nature of markets changed from sellers' to buyers', consumers began having a choice. At the same time globalisation brought in global organisations into India and made Indian organisations global. Companies are at the same time both competitors and collaborators. Add to this the rapid changes in technology, and the intensity of regulation, which implies high cost of non-compliance, the situation becomes extremely complex.

The strategic responses to this have been in terms of changes in the structure and approach of organisations. Organisations have become very flat, consequent to ‘dehierarchisation'. This is important for students, because they could rise to the top very fast. Aspects such as understanding the culture of a particular geography have become more important. Organisations are today ‘global' as opposed to ‘multinational'. While a ‘multinational' typically retains the character and flavour of the country of its origin, a global organisation is ‘local' in each place it operates.

Earlier, in his keynote address, Mr N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu and Business Line, praised the Reserve Bank of India, observing that the central bank kept the Indian banking system in sound health amidst the turmoil across the world.

Mr Ram stressed the importance of developing capabilities at educational institutions, something that goes beyond “programming students for exams and preparing them for jobs.”

He pointed to the trend of parents pushing their children to go mainly to fields such as technology and engineering, neglecting basic science and humanities, and said he hoped things would improve.

Calling for a “relentless pursuit of excellence” at academic institutions, Mr Ram observed that while nobody could claim to have done enough, the SRM University, with ten campuses, 35,000 students and 1,500 faculty, was a “very promising work in progress”.

He also thanked the Central Bank of India for sponsoring BL Club activities, recalling the long association of the bank with The Hindu group of publications.

Mr Rajiv Kishore Dubey, Executive Director, Central Bank of India, said it was the bank's conviction that no deserving student of the country should be deprived of education for want of funds. He observed that the power to change India lay in the hands of the younger generation.

Earlier, Dr M. Ponnavaikko, Vice-Chancellor, SRM University, delivering the Presidential Address described the institution's activities. Dr P. Thangaraju, Pro Vice Chancellor, also spoke at the function.

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