Need for entrepreneurship as specialisation
MEERA SRINIVASAN
PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: K.Pandia Rajan (4th left) interacts with the Students at a seminar organised by Loyola Institute of Business Administration recently.
If more B-schools offered Entrepreneurship as a stream of specialisation, it would benefit entrepreneurs and increase job opportunities for many, say part-time students of Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA).
This year's `Amaranthine', the institute's annual study conference, focussed on `Development of entrepreneurial skills through management education'. As part of the event, students made presentations on topics related to entrepreneurship.
The winning team's project was on `Small and Medium entrepreneurs'. Team members Amruta Prabu and Subha Vinothkumar interviewed several small and medium entrepreneurs, compiled, interpreted their perspectives and presented them. She and her teammate Subha Vinothkumar also took a small survey among 44 part-time students of the institution.
"Seventy per cent of the students were interested in becoming entrepreneurs but only less than 20 per cent had a concrete idea of what exactly they wanted to do and how to proceed," said Amruta. If more institutions made Entrepreneurship a stream of specialisation in MBA, such as Marketing, Finance and Systems, it would give aspiring entrepreneurs and particularly first generation businessmen better focus, she added.
The conference also featured talks by C.K. Ranganathan, chairman and managing director, Cavin Kare, K. Pandiarajan, managing director, Ma Foi Management Consultants, and Xavier Britto, chairman, Indev Group of Companies. Mr. Ranganathan spoke on how important it was to keep stakeholders happy in any enterprise. Satisfying employees, suppliers, banking and financial institutions, government and shareholders was vital, he said.
Mr. Pandiarajan, who spoke on entrepreneurship development in India, pointed out that according to statistics published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, India stood second with respect to propensity for entrepreneurship. Interestingly, Thailand topped the list of 60 countries. He highlighted the achievement of Dabbawallahs of Mumbai in building a perfect organisation. He urged students to work with self-help groups using them as a learning tool that would be mutually beneficial.
Mr. Britto spoke on the importance of clear planning, concentration through compartmentalisation of thoughts and setting realistic goals. Direction, dedication, determination, discipline and deadline for setting and achieving goals and intuitive decision-making were key factors, he said. Mr. Britto released a souvenir, a compilation of all the papers presented at the conference.
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