Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

On-campus events kicked off at the tenth edition of Confluence, the annual business summit of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The unifying theme for all the events, lecture sessions and panel discussions was christened, "Wheel of Fortune", and it revolved around the concept of wealth and various features thereof.

Workshops

The morning session started with an interesting workshop titled "Business & Law" conducted by Prof. Anurag K. Agarwal, an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Law School, and currently a faculty member in the business policy area at IIM Ahmedabad. Prof. Agarwal emphasised on the significance of the legal environment for every business entity. He asked the participants to look beyond the theoretical aspects of the law and urged them to consider its practical implications as well. He cited a number of relevant examples from recent times to drive home his point. Prof. Agarwal also fielded a number of questions from the enthusiastic audience largely consisting of students from various B-schools across the country who have enrolled for the Management Students Program (MSP) at this year’s Confluence.

Another workshop on "Understanding Business Transformation" was conducted by Prof. Sunil Maheshwari as a part of the Young Managers Program (YMP) at Confluence 2008. The interactive workshop helped the young managers from more than 10 companies understand the challenges faced during business transformation. "All of us have to go through the process of business change and transformation, whether we like it or not. So it is imperative that we understand the pattern behind the chaos that accompanies the transformation process," said Prof. Maheshwari.

The discussion shed light on the various changes that can be effected along with their triggers and the available instruments for handling them. Talking about the issues during the transformation process, Prof. Maheshwari said, "The companies must understand the need for change and also have clarity on what the proposed change aims to achieve." The participants, who were working across various sectors recounted their experiences and made many insightful contributions. "I have observed that people who are marginalized by the change are the most resistant to it. The change must be humane and properly communicated to all the stake-holders. [Infact] The top managers are the ones who can prove to be a stumbling block," said Prof. Maheshwari while concluding the workshop.

The last of the workshops for the day, "Leadership Skills in Today’s Managers", was conducted by Prof. Manikutty of IIM Ahmedabad. The participants were a mix of professionals and B-school students from across the country. The workshop answered the questions pertaining to the essence of leadership and the leadership at organizations. Commenting upon the importance of leadership, Prof. Manikutty said, "Leadership is about leveraging the analytical, technological and conceptual abilities of the organization. Without leadership people may do the right thing in the wrong direction."

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* Contributed by -
Pratik Ved,
Secretary - Media Cell,
IIMA Confluence 2008,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

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