Contd.

from page 3

The second day's visit was to the GT World Mall construction

site. There the students experienced the working
environment of an ongoing construction work and gained
first-hand information on how the project management is
carried out in a major infrastructural project work.

Kolkata alumni chapter meeting

A meeting of the SCMS alumni chapter in Kolkata was held at

the Trinity Hall, The Spring Club, on February 14. Around 16
alumni belonging to PGDM batch 4 to 19 participated in the
get together along with their family members and shared their
stories, feelings and camaraderie. Dr.Indu Nair, Group
Director, Dr.V.Raman Nair, Group Director, Dr.Filomina
P.George, Director-SCMS Cochin School of Business, and
Mr.Nobin K.Philip, Assistant Professor, were present from the
headquarters as invitees.

Annual games
The much-awaited annual games of SCMS were conducted
partly at the Prathap Nagar campus and partly at FACT
Ground and Udyogamandal Club indoor stadium during the
period from February 16 to 21. Competitions were held in
basketball, volleyball, throw ball, football, cricket, shuttle
badminton, table tennis, caroms and chess. Six teams formed
from PGDM, MBA, MCA and BCom students competed for
the championship. Dr.Indu Nair, Group Director and
Prof.K.J.Paulose, Dean-Management Studies distributed
trophies to the winners.

The jubilant winners are seen with the championship trophy.

SSET

Vol : 10
No : 12
March 2015

Paper publication

Ms. Mini Tom, Associate ProfessorMathematics, published a paper titled

'Sum Distance in Fuzzy Graphs' in the
online journal Annals of Pure and Applied Mathematics,
Volume 7, No. 2, 2014 on September 24.

Digest

A Monthly Newsletter of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Cochin

Paper presentations
Ms. Deepa K., Assistant Professor - MCA, presented a paper
titled 'Instruction Sequence Analysis for Detecting Potentially
Unwanted Applications' in the International Symposium on
Research Innovation for Quality Improvement in Higher
Education at Bharathiar University, Coimbatore during
October 10 and 11.
Ms. Deepa K., presented another paper titled Investigation of
Feature Selection Methods for Suspicious Mobile
Applications in the International Elsivier Conference on
Information and Communication Technologies organised by
CUSAT from December 3 to 4.
Ms. Neethu Vinod, Assistant Professor - CE, presented a paper
titled 'Study of Role of Critical Safety Management Practices in
Construction Safety' in the International Conference on
Energy, Environment, Materials and Safety held at School of
Engineering, CUSAT from December 10 to 12.

Seminars and workshops

Ms. Neethu Vinod, Assistant Professor - CE, attended the
International Conference on Energy, Environment, Materials
and Safety, held at School of Engineering, CUSAT from
December 10 to 12.
Ms. Susmi Jacob, Assistant Professor - CSE, participated in the
short term training programme on 'Digital Image Processing'
organised by the Department of Computer Science and
Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam
and sponsored by Directorate of Technical Education, from
January 5 to 10.
Dr. Vinod P., Associate Professor - CSE, was the resource
person for the STTP on 'Machine Learning Algorithms
and Tools,' sponsored by the Directorate of Technical
Education and organised by the Department of Computer
Science & Engineering, College of Engineering, Trivandrum
on January 6.
Ms. Deepa K., Assistant Professorn - MCA, attended UGCsponsored workshop on Machine learning techniques for
data mining organised by MES College, Marampally, on
January 12 and 13.
Ms. Beena Puthillath, Assistant Professor - EEE, participated in
the one-day workshop on Statistical Methods For Analysis of
Business Data organised by Department of Statistics, CUSAT
in Association with Old Students Forum on February 7.

SCMS School of Architecture

Co-ordinating Editor - Mr. Sanal Potty

Editorial Advisory Council: Dr. D. Radhakrishnan Nair, Prof. R. Sahadevan

Edited and published by Prof. B. Unnikrishnan for and on behalf of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Prathap Nagar,
Muttom, Cochin - 683 106 and printed at Maptho Printings, Cochin - 683 104.
www.scmsgroup.org Email: scms@scmsgroup.org

How to create remarkable opportunities

You are on your early morning walk schedule.
thought picture based on your assessment of the
situation provoked your action to walk faster.
As you walk alone along the fairly dark and
However, with the addition of a little more
deserted street in the city, you listen to some
information - seeing the face of a friend - the
footsteps from behind. You hasten your steps
entire picture shifted. Only a small part of this
without venturing to turn around and see. The
drama happened on the street. Most of the drama
footsteps behind you also become brisk. You are
Dr.G.P.C.Nayar
took place within your mind.
reminded, at the moment, of a recent report in the
Founder & Chairman
newspaper about a street robbery at knife-point in
What
can we learn from this small incident? What
SCMS Group of
the early morning hours in the city. You are
you see is what you think. Your world is what
Educational Institutions
wearing a gold chain and a precious watch in
you perceive. To change your world, first you
addition to an expensive mobile held in your hand.
have to change your own thinking.
Your heart beat increases. Adrenaline gushes through your A good majority of people's problems are rooted in their way
blood stream. You further accelerate your pace. The footsteps of thinking. A negative mind produces negative mental
too pick up the pace and reach closer to you.
situations leading to negative actions and negative lives. As
As you approach a junction with street light the footsteps you change your thinking, your actions will change and so
catch up to you. Promptly you turn around and look at the will your life. The ability to see the world differently can
person. And you recognise a familiar face of an old friend just create remarkable opportunities to you.
behind you. He says hello to you and with a sigh of relief you Charles Schwab, one of the largest financial services
also say hello. Then, both of you proceed forward together.
providers in the U.S., a Fortune 500 company, proclaims that
The moment you recognised the face of your friend the their success over the last four decades has to be attributed to
picture in your mind changed abruptly. The image of a their differing perception in the industry. While the industry
pushing mugger was modified into that of a friendly guy. It too often gets in the way of investor success, Schwab's
could be noted that there was little change in the physical strategy is to look at it as a business opportunity and to see the
situation. How so little a change in the circumstance could world differently through clients' eyes. This differing
bring about such a drastic change in your perception on it? perception influences the way the company serves their
The terrifying picture in your mind was triggered by the clients. It keeps them so focused on fulfilling their purpose,
simple sound of footsteps in darkness, actually a little living their values, earning clients' trust and thereby bringing
information. Your memories of reported crimes together with business success.
your personal fears and other experiences fueled your
Dr.G.P.C.Nayar
imagination to see a potential attacker approaching you. This

Talent engagement Need of the hour

Calibre of a company is undoutedly the calibre of the people
behind it. If employees truly are the best asset of a company,
the management should make taking care of them a priority.
If employees are engaged at work they will be inspired to
work with passion, be willing to go the extra mile and feel
profound commitment to their company. They will be the
people who will drive innovation and move the business
forward. But, how far the available talent is truly being put to
use at present is the million dollar question.
The most challenging job
Unfortunately, the fact remains that engaged employees are
rare. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace
report, only 13 percent of employees worldwide are engaged
at work. That means a huge majority of the workforce
worldwide is yet to get engaged at work. Converting this large
number of workforce into engaged workers is, one of today's
most challenging jobs an emerging leadership priority.
Contd. on page 2

Mr.Roshan K.Menon, Executive Vice President, Binani Zinc inaugurating the

conference. Others from L-R: Prof.P.C.Pillai, Senior Group Director,
Mr.A.S.Girish, HR Head, Apollo Tyres, Mr.Rajesh Nair, Director-Markets, Ernst &
Young, and Dr.V.Raman Nair, Group Director.

Contd. from page 1

A recent news report quoting Richard

Bandell, CEO, Grass Roots Group, the
leading global performance
improvement agency, says: India has
employee engagement challenges
which are directly impacting the
Mr.N.Ahmedali
Mr.Deepak Pillai
Mr.Umesh Kamath
Ms.M.S.Sheeja
Mr.Abhishek Shukla
productivity of its workforce.
In this backdrop, a National Conference on 'Talent
Cornucopia, discussed the diverse engagement practices
engagement Need of the hour' was organised by
followed by various organisations. He said how you do is
Humane, the HR Forum at SCMS, on February 20. Eminent
more important than what you do. He quoted the story of Tata
HR professionals deliberated on the topic.
Tea estates which are run by the employees in the name
'Kannan Devan' where the ownership by employees had led
Shift in aspirations
to engagement and in turn to progress of business. Mr.Deepak
Inaugurating the conference, Mr.Roshan K. Menon,
Pillai, Business Partner-HR, Google, examined the factors that
Executive Vice President, Binani Zinc, gave an insight into
enhance the sense of belonging among the employees of
the shift in expectations and aspirations of the employees
Google. Prof.K.J.Paulose, Dean-Management Studies
over the years. He remarked that, today, technology and
moderated the session.
other such resources are not in a position to provide the
Patented practice
competitive edge on the long run. Mr.Rajesh Nair, DirectorIn the post lunch session, Mr.Umesh Kamath, Director-HR,
Markets, Ernst & Young and chief patron of the HR forum,
APAC, UST Global, introduced the concept of talent
drew attention to the diversity of the people and how each
engagement 360 to the audience and discussed the UST
one of us has again different personalities within us.
concept of 'colors' engagement activity that is patented by
Mr.A.S.Girish, HR head, Apollo Tyres, the guest of honour,
the company. Ms.M.S.Sheeja, Head-HR and Administration,
shared his own experiences in his organisation especially on
Harrisons Malayalam talked on the need for passion and
the 'silent performers' whom as a practice Apollo Tyres used
enjoyment to become happy and productive in an
to acknowledge and honour.
organisation. Mr.Abhishek Shukla, MD, CRETA HR Solutions
Prof.P.C.Pillai, Senior Group Director and Dr.V.Raman Nair,
spoke on creating brands in organisations through talent
Group Director, also addressed the gathering.
engagement. Dr.I. Jayasri, Associate Professor, moderated the
How you do is important
session. The conference ended with vote of thanks by
In the first panel discussion, Mr.N.Ahmedali, CEO,
Ms.Shalini Nandwani, Associate Professor.

Outbound Training in Munnar

PGDM batch 23 students had undergone an outbound
training programme in Munnar during the period from
January 19 to 23.
The high-impact training based on experiential active
learning methodology included a whole lot of activities,
group as well as individual, that helped the participants to
break free and unleash the hidden potential in them. The
professionally designed exercises helped to enhance the
self-belief and self-esteem of the participants and to develop,
sharpen and fine-tune their behavioral skills and qualities.
They learned how to set and achieve goals, develop team
strategies for getting results, motivate each other during
work, manage conflicts, manage crisis situations, and build
common vision, values and team spirit.

SCMS

In loving memory of
Dr.Pradeep P. Thevannoor,
from Berlin

Prof. Ulrich Frank in discussion with the management team. From left to right:
Dr.Radha Thevannoor, Group Director, Dr.V.Raman Nair, Group Director,
Dr.Indu Nair, Group Director, Prof. (Dr.) Ulrich Frank, and Prof.Pramod
P.Thevannoor, Vice Chairman.

Reception to Walk of Hope

The team of Walk of Hope led by Sri M, spiritual leader and
social reformist, was given a rousing reception at SCMS Pratap
Nagar campus on February 10, under the leadership of
Prof.Pramod P.Thevannoor, Vice Chairman, SCMS Group. The
walk which started from Kanyakumari a month ago passed
through Kalamassery on its way to Kashmir. The purpose of
the walk is to spread among the people the message of
religious harmony, living close to nature, social health,
equality among all, women empowerment, education and
youth welfare.

Talks

Mr.K. Sukumaran, Dean,

National Institute of
Securities Markets, Mumbai
addressed the students explaining the specialties
of the securities markets in India on February 6.

Spectrum

Mr.I.N.Suresh Kumar, Assistant General Manager,

State Bank of India spoke to the students
explaining the banking aspects of securities
investment on February 6.
Mr. Joseph Chowalur, corporate
trainer and Executive Director,
Inside Edge Consulting, the U.S., interacted with
the students on 'the basics of executive
excellence,' on February 11.

Prof.Ulrich Frank's visit

Prof.Pramod P.Thevannoor, Vice Chairman, SCMS Group garlanding Sri M.

The best performing team

PGDM batch 23 students made an impressive show at the
Cultural, Management, and IT Fest held at Don Bosco College,
Mannuthy, Thrissur, on February 3 and 4 and proved the best
performing team of the fest.
The team had won the following prizes:
Best Manager: won by Faizal Abraham, Best Marketing Team:
won by Danish, Karthika, Yemeema and Anubhav, HR Game

Prof. (Dr.) Ulrich Frank, Chair, Research Group Information

Systems and Enterprise Modelling, University of DuisburgEssen, Germany, visited SCMS campus on February 17. He
held discussions with the management headed by
Prof.Pramod P.Thevannoor, Vice Chairman. He met the
faculty and discussed with them the modern trends in
teaching like different styles of teaching, new pedagogy, and
so on. He also interacted with the students covering areas like
the education system in Germany and the scope of summer
schools.
Rafting

The best performing team

The minutes of the last Annual

General Body meeting of German
Water Partnership (GWP) held at
Berlin, Germany reads: A minute of
silence was observed to pay
homage to the soul of (the late) Dr.Pradeep P.
Thevannoor (Vice Chairman, SCMS Group) in the AGM.
The meeting also mentioned that the last GWP day in
India was not only good but perfect. (The GWP day and
Indian-German Water Summit in Cochin were
organised under the leadership of the late Dr.Pradeep
Ed.) It was decided to hold the next GWP day again in
Cochin in order to strengthen the bonds with SCMS.
team: won by Meera, Akhil, Deepa and Shivil, Strategy Game
team: 2nd position by Geethu, Nimmi, Nirmal and
Vishnunath.

Bangalore days
A group of 35 students from Systems & Operations, and HR
streams of PGDM accompanied by three faculty members
Prof. K. J. Paulose, Dean-Management Studies, Prof. V.
Rajagopal and Dr. I. Jayasri, Associate Professor organised
an industrial visit to Bengaluru during January 16 and 17.
They visited prestigious organisations like Wipro, Volvo
India, and the project site of GT World Mall under
construction. The objective of the visit was to give a hands-on
exposure on various tools and techniques in the areas of
operations, systems and HR to the students and to make them
understand the relationship between class room learning and
its application in real situations.
During the plant visit to Volvo India the latest production
procedures and techniques being practised in Volvo's
production system were explained to them. The five guiding
principles of the Volvo production system such as process
stability, teamwork, built-in quality, just-in-time and
continuous improvement were interpreted to them by the
senior officials of Volvo. In the second part of the plant visit
they covered the Excavator Fabrication Shop of Volvo. The
two visits enabled them to learn TQM concepts of Volvo
production system and see the integration of an assembly line
and discuss the HR practices. The students of HR
specialisation had a visit to Wipro in the afternoon.

The group is seen at Volvo India. Prof.K.J.Paulose and Dr.I.Jayasri, Asst.

Professor are also in the picture.
Contd. on page 4