Question

Chair man speech in college

Answer 1

Good afternoon, and a very warm welcome to all of you to the Third Annual Convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak.

We are greatly honoured,

I am very pleased to see nearly 122 students graduating this year.  I convey my heartiest congratulations to each one of them.  I am sure that the two years of precious time that you have spent here would go a long way in creating a solid foundation for a brilliant career in whichever area you choose to embrace.  You would have learnt a lot of theory and practice in various facets of management; but, above all, you would have learnt how to work together while keeping your own identity.  You will be going out of the portals of an institution where you have played a part in shaping its direction and characteristics.  I do hope that you will remain connected to this institution and contribute to its further progress and development which will benefit   future generations of students.

I would like to particularly thank the parents and relatives of graduands who have supported the choice of students to come . I do hope that you stand fully vindicated for that support today. . I would like to cite a few indicators to support this statement.  First is the Institute’s progress towards achieving greater diversity The Institute is conscious of the fact that we need to have diversity amongst students so as to create leaders with different skills and competencies.  With this in view, we began to change the norms for intake. I am pleased to say that from an intake of about 10% in the first three batches, we have reached a gender diversity of nearly 50% in the 4 This is a great step towards empowering bright future
And, finally, I am pleased to announce that we have adopted the Road Ahead document laying out objectives and plans for the Institute, and we are progressing well as per the plan.

My dear students, we are living in very difficult times when the economic growth rate has slipped from over 8% to less than 5% and inflation, high interest rates and a lack of liquidity are almost choking economic activity.  The demand for goods and services has shrunk considerably. How long will this last, is anybody’s guess.  However, the only silver lining is that economic cycles have an upturn too, which should crank up growth, hopefully sooner than later.

We are living in a world with increasingly greater uncertainty and unpredictability and higher complexity, and we are witnessing greater speed of change.  The uncertainty and unpredictability sometimes come from natural events like tsunamis, earthquakes, etc; but, many are manmade. They are a result of conspicuous consumption, greed or throwing financial prudence and control out of the window. Excessive consumption of natural resources is creating after-effects, causing a lot of harm not only to our generation, but, in a compounded way, to the later generations as well. The demographic and social profiles are undergoing massive changes in different parts of the world. We have a very ageing population in Japan and a very young population in India. This coupled with multifarious regulatory requirements is creating complexity by a geometrical progression, especially for organizations which have or want to have an international presence. The speed of change is so immense that new segments get created overnight due to massive technology changes.  Who would believe that just 20 years ago we didn’t have cell phones and that today we cannot do without one. Ten years ago we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter etc and, today, our life revolves around them.

Therefore, it raises the question as to what kind of leaders do we need to have. We need leaders who can understand and be aware of the challenges, but not be threatened by them – leaders who want to break out of the mould and create opportunities for growth and not wait for it to happen; leaders who are bold, entrepreneurial and temperate and who reduce risks through the application of new techniques and processes like scenario planning, analytics etc. Also, please keep in mind that display of leadership is not an attribute required only at the top echelons of any organization, but at all levels. In fact, it is the early stage promise that propels you to top positions.

I would like to state four characteristics for you to embrace and practice. First is that greater skill will be required in people orientation.  It’s only through team effort that success can be achieved, and an ability to work with fellow human beings and going in a well-coordinated, focused manner will be a great asset.  I do hope you will keep this in mind when you

On behalf of the Board of Governors and the Society, I give my very best wishes to each one of you to become a great and distinguished leader.

Thank you.