The management club of St. Xavier’s College, Xavier’s Management Society (XMS), organised a two-day convention recently with seminars on marketing, HR, public relations and corporate social responsibility, talks by industry experts and competitions like ‘Best Manager’ and ‘White Collar Crime’. t2 brings you moments and tips from the convention whose theme this year was ‘Chrysalis’. 

PS: So now you know why we have a picture of an unborn butterfly on the page! 

BEST MANAGER

Tanay Modi, a second-year BBA student of St. Xavier’s College, was adjudged Best Manager at XMC 2016. A chat with the former student of DPS Ranchi.

What do you think helped you win?

Out-of-the-box thinking, perseverance and control over my performance. This competition was a learning experience for me. It was a great surprise when my learning experience turned into a winning experience! 

What is your formula for a great personal interview?

I told myself if I overthink it, I might mess up the interview. I decided to answer whatever I could, and knew that some questions wouldn’t have a direct answer. 

 

Things I learnt at the HR seminar:

1. In any organisation, the single-most valuable asset is its people. Efficient management of people is the sharpest arrow you can have in your quiver.

2. However badly you mess up initially, hard work and intelligent management can help you redeem your mistakes.
— Vishnu Khanna, first year, department of management, J.D. Birla Institute

 

Neel Ghose, vice-president (international operations) of Zomato, was a speaker at XMC. The Bengali boy is also a co-founder of Robin Hood Army, an organisation that takes excess food from restaurants and delivers it to the needy. Things we learnt from Neel: 

Exams and job opportunities are the stepping stones in life. What matters the most is how much of your work affects others.

It’s not about which job is better, it’s more about what agrees with you. 

You’ll have to sacrifice your own time, your family time. The sacrifice is worth it if your team is family and you have one another’s back.

Being a rebel in a high-pressure situation does not help. 

Speak with people who have failed. Learn from their mistakes.

More than coordination and specialisation, one needs passion to execute a job.

 

Things we learnt at the Marketing seminar:

1. Marketing is all about being confident about your product or service. Else you can never convince your target customer.
2. Final presentation is crucial. 
3. You have to persevere, you cannot give up hope. 
4. Perceptions are different and you have to cater to the varying needs of customers.
5. Know all about your product. Always be well-equipped with information. You have to be ready for all kinds of questions.

— Kirti Jain & Shriya Singh (second year, BBA, St. Xavier’s College) 

Things we learnt from the public relations seminar: 

1. Adapt to a situation and make changes in your strategy as per the current scenario.
2. Always be courteous to organisers. They will go the extra mile to help you in case of a problem.
3. Respect matters the most, be it an organisation or an individual. 
4. Tact, wit, humour, eloquence and charm are important qualities for a PR manager.

— Deepshekhar Bajoria (second year, BCom) and Aditya Agarwal (third year, BCom, 
St. Xavier’s College)

 

PANT-MAN

Writer, funnyman and many more things rolled into one pant, Sorabh Pant was one of the guest speakers at the Xavier’s Management Convention (XMC 2016). 

“I am excited because I came here wearing a round collar and nobody can do anything about it,” he said, taking a dig at the strict campus dress code, immediately endearing himself to the students. 

“My book (The Wednesday Soul) is a bestseller. I am trying my best to sell it,” he added, to much laughter, only to leave everyone ROFL-ing with, “Someone told me that BCom morning is when 2,500 boys come in the morning. That doesn’t really sound right.”

And he had the perfect line for student motivation: “Don’t be cynical. By the time you are 27, you will find enough reasons to become cynical.”

t2’s fave line? “I am so bald that soap is my shampoo. Shampoo is Anil Kapoor’s soap.”

Before he took the stage, t2 threw some fun questions at Sorabh Pant.

The funniest Pant joke you have cracked... 

My Mexican friend will be called Panty Jose (pronounced ‘hose’). 

The funniest Pant joke you’ve heard... 

People aren’t too witty with the ones they tell me. They keep sending me pictures of pants and pictures of Kishore Biyani and telling me that I started Pantaloons.

The emoji that captures you the best...

Probably just a bracket ()  because people who use emojis should be locked in one!

God of humour or good in bed?

Some of us have both. Some of us have neither. Every woman wants to have a man to make her laugh. Especially in bed. My wife is a very unlucky woman.

Most embarrassing email ID you had as a kid...

When I was a kid, someone told me a man’s private parts are called a ‘funtroo’ — which actually means nothing — so my email ID was donttouchmyfuntroo@gmail.com. I had to delete it.

Describe each of these in one word... 

Snapchat: Uninstalled.
Instagram: The reason why my wife had a baby, so that she could put up pictures.
Twitter: Needless rage. Psychiatry for people who can’t afford it.

An actor you love to diss?

Sooraj Pancholi. He is amazing. I think if he was an actor in Hollywood he would easily have won four Oscars by now.

An actress you can’t bring yourself to diss?

Kangana Ranaut. For her stance against Fair & Lovely. Also, she is from my mother’s hometown, so I am very biased.

Shirin Dutta had a fangirl moment when she met Sorabh  Pant. “It was my dream to see him in person. I follow all his shows on YouTube,” said the second-year BCom student of St. Xavier’s College who shouted, “I love you” and “You are my best friend” at the end of the event.

 

MARCH ON — A BRITISH GIRL’S WOMEN’S DAY DIARY

SHE

I must confess that this was actually the first year that March 8 held special prominence in my calendar. This was not because I was unaware of International Women’s Day, or that I thought it was not worthy of celebration, but because except for a brief mention on the radio, it quickly became like any other day back in England. 
Witnessing a 5km march organised by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and attended by thousands of her supporters therefore represented a departure from the norm. 

This was my second day of internship at The Telegraph. The first observation I made was logistical: the march was scheduled to begin at 3pm, yet Banerjee set off at 2pm, sending policemen into a frenzy about her security. 

In order to see her finish, we cheated somewhat and took the Metro. It was this diversion that prompted my second observation of International Women’s day in Calcutta. Riding on the Metro for the first time, where women stand separately to men in order to feel more secure, clearly illustrated the persistence of chauvinistic divisions in society. It is no coincidence that the greater publicity given to this day in Bengal is linked to the greater need to elevate women’s status. Yet there was also much to take note of that was positive. Thousands of women had taken to the streets in jubilant fashion, asserting their hopes for women’s rights in the up and coming future. One woman told us of the interest Banerjee had attached to this day, alleging it had previously received little attention by her predecessors in government (the Left Front before 2011). 

Flags, signs and theatrical displays decorated the streets; the women appeared exhilarated. Perhaps even more encouraging than the myriad of women who turned out in their beautiful saris was a significant male presence. Whilst I recognised that this day doubled as a platform for Banerjee and her party’s political campaign in the wake of next month’s elections, it was nonetheless a spectacle to behold as a woman. 
When this day comes round again for me next year, I can only hope that Britain follows Calcutta’s lead and instils vibrancy to this meaningful day. 

Clare Pleydell-Bouverie
(The writer is a history graduate from the University of Oxford)