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AMITY UNIVERSITY MUMBAIAMITY UNIVERSITY MUMBAIAMITY UNIVERSITY MUMBAI
AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOLAMITY BUSINESS SCHOOLAMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
BUSINESS QUOTIENTBUSINESS QUOTIENTBUSINESS QUOTIENTEQUIP THE QUIVEREQUIP THE QUIVER
e-Newslettere-Newslettere-Newsletter September 2021September 2021
FOREWORDFOREWORDFOREWORD
Greetings to everyone reading the Business Quotient
I am very happy to be writing to you about the most
successful launch of e-newsletter by our Amity
Business School, Amity University Maharashtra.
We strive to produce collection of articles which
would be focusing on contemporary challenges
because of pandemic. I am pleased to state that we
have successfully compiled over 33 articles from
industry practitioner, faculties and students. We
honestly believe in the dictum, “dream realized-on
time generates twice the happiness”. We try to
ensure that experience of having a deep dive into the
newsletter is truly unparallel.
*The views expressed by the authors in their article
are at their personal capacity.*
To learn novel approaches and interpret
research driven aspect of diversified business
domains.
To explore facts and figures pertaining to
contemporary business practices amid
pandemic.
Enabling learners and practitioners to hone
their cognitive competencies.
To enhance capabilities to produce good quality
newsletters.
A capacity building program to disseminate
research driven original information.
AIMTo Conceptualize, Implement, Enrich Knowledge
Baskets with sectoral business analysis in form of
newsletter, amid pandemic among each
management practitioner at ABS.
PURPOSE
BUSINESS QUOTIENT - Equip The Quiver
There is massive amount of information flow across
cosmos and thus newsletters would help to keep an
update in diversified management discipline.
Newsletters are often the life force in information
dissemination. A knowledge driven commotion on
research-based teaching & learning for both
academic fraternity and students. An unique concept
of Business Quotient - Equip the Quiver is to explore
the ways of businesses does look forward to sustain
amid pandemic epoch. This would help to impart
diversified view points and opinion generation on
future perspectives of different business areas in
these turbulent times. Publishing newsletters
remarking on important issues in industry or
reviewing recent industry research indicates that one
has a good understanding of the challenges and
opportunities faced by businesses.
To develop research capabilities &
practice-based learning ecosystem at ABS.
To develop capacity for conceptualizing
contemporary business scenarios in this
VUCA world.
To develop a platform for scientific debate
and raise queries relevant to their work.
To evaluate current trends amid pandemic
in diversified business environments.
To design scripts imbibing challenges and
strategic solutions on varied business
domain.
Object ive:
MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER PRESIDENTMESSAGE FROM FOUNDER PRESIDENTMESSAGE FROM FOUNDER PRESIDENTDr Ashok K ChauhanFounder President
"I strongly believe that in today’s competitive world thebest theoretical knowledge alone is not sufficientwithout practical knowledge and pragmatic approachwhich students learn while studying at AmityUniversity, Mumbai (AUM).I am delighted to see that the students at AUM aregetting all the motivation, guidance and help from thededicated faculty in developing their overallpersonality. These efforts are greatly helping studentsnot only in achieving academic excellence, but alsoenabling them to possess great human values andtraits to become a perfect professional and a successfulentrepreneur.Our students are well equipped to meet industrydemands, goals and expectations and can become agreat asset for an organisation by showcasing skillsthrough challenging assignments entrusted to them.Our focus is to groom young future leaders havingstrong value system and competent professionals, withdeep passion for humanity, to lead the world."
Dr. Aseem ChauhanChancellor, Amity University
I welcome bright minds to Amity University, Mumbai,with immense pleasure and a sense of pride! A corepart of Amity Education Group, this campus is one ofthe leading educational institutions in the country.The university believes in nurturing talent throughregular co-curricular activities alogwith excellence inacademics. The academic ecosystem strives to blendmodernity with tradition in each of its students with themission to train future leaders of the corporate world.The well-designed curriculum ensures holisticdevelopment of students and equips Amitians withemotional intelligence, team spirit, leadership qualitiesand discipline. Besides core academic programs, themandatory components of curriculum, includingbehavioural science, foreign languages,communication skill and military training, instill lifeskills and leadership traits in students.
GOOD WISHES FROM PRESIDENT SIRGOOD WISHES FROM PRESIDENT SIRGOOD WISHES FROM PRESIDENT SIR
Lt Gen (retd) VK SharmaOff. Vice ChancellorAmity University Mumbai
I invite the young eager minds to Amity University,Madhya Pradesh, and equip themselves withknowledge and skills required to explore the changinglandscape of economy and world. The university offers an amalgamation of traditionaland modern world practices and knowledgeaccumulation.While specialization in new and ever evolvingtechnologies in diverse fields is imminent, the highereducation synchronised with interdisciplinary learningmake academics relevant. Higher education cannot berestricted to watertight compartments of pureacademics. It encompasses leadership skills such ashuman behavior, communication, language,presentation, environment sustenance, inclusivity andtime management.
BLESSINGS FROMBLESSINGS FROMBLESSINGS FROM HON. VICE CHANCELLOR SIRHON. VICE CHANCELLOR SIRHON. VICE CHANCELLOR SIR
Dr. Bhawna Sharma, Off. Director & HOI
"The current time is truly exciting one as new paradigmis being developed, old practices and policies are gettingreplaced with gainful disruptions at work place as wellas in society, setting new benchmark that requiresrigorous adherence with perspective of maximization ofresources in real time".
Amity Business School is a powerhouse of Globaleducation, International Programs & eminent facultieswith a well-balanced Research Ecosystem. Our studentsare imbibing human values like Behavioral Sciences,Business Communication & Business Foreign Languageswhich are the part of our curriculum across all courseswith strong academic and interactive learningwitnessing transformation of our graduate students intosocially sensitive leaders of corporate. At ABS we striveto bring in more Industry oriented learning coupled withskill mapping & entrepreneurial spirit.We reaffirm ourcommitment to student’s success & leading the AmityBusiness School to Pinnacles of academic excellence.
DIRECTOR'S DESKDIRECTOR'S DESKDIRECTOR'S DESK
THEME DISCUSSIONTHEME DISCUSSIONTHEME DISCUSSION
The following initiation as an e-newsletter have been possible to
demonstrate contemporary business practices amid pandemic
COVID-19. Pandemic have brought lot many challenges and
turbulence time for naive and existing businesses. Thus, we have
tried to assimilate some of the areas as in the form of articles in
newsletter. Some of the topics are mentioned below,
a. How business can thrive in a challenging pandemic situation.
b. Some key leadership styles can be discussed in this as the key
for crafting success during pandemic.
c. Navigating uncertainty through flexible & agile operations.
d. Staying cash positive in a COVID-19 recessionary world.
e. Successful Strategies for recovery & growth.
f. Workplace Practice HR for remote working.
g. Building purpose and sustainability into competitive
advantage
h. Digital strategies for rebooting & reigniting business.
i. Work from home culture in Indian scenario.
j. Buying behaviors of consumers amid pandemic.
k. Economic challenges and revamp strategies amid pandemic.
l. Innovation in pharma practices amid pandemic
m. Transformations in Indian education sector
n. Digitization a life saviour amid pandemic
PUBLICATION COMMITEEPUBLICATION COMMITEEPUBLICATION COMMITEE
Chairperson Dr. Bhawna Sharma,
Off. Director & HOI
MemberDr. Payal Sanan,
Assistant Professor
Co-Chair and ChiefCoordinator
Dr. Pushpendu Rakshit,Assistant Professor
MemberDr. Vineet Joshi
Assistant Professor
Creative DesignerMr. Tanishq Sonalkar
Student, ABS
Creative DesignerMr. Aditya Mantri
Student, ABS
CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNameNameName ArticleArticleArticle Pg. No.Pg. No.Pg. No.
Company-Doctor Relationship
Indian Education System
Challenges Faced During Covid19 by Consturction
Industries
Engaging Customer during Covid 19
Teaching & Learning During Covid-19
Embracing Uncertaininty Through Spirituality
Learning with Virtual Internship
How Business Can Thrive In Pandemic
Online Teaching in Uncertain Times
Sri Lanka's Cocktail of Economic Mishandling
Indian Pharamceutical Sector Amid Pandemic
Smart Learning with MOOC's Amid Pandemic
Successful Strategies for Recovery & Growth
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
Workplace Practice HR for Remote Working
Teaching & Learning Experience During Pandemic
Covid-19 Changing The Course of Indian Education
System
Teaching & Learning Experience During Pandemic
Digital Strategies for Rebooting and Reigniting
Business
Digitization - A Life Savior Amid Pandemic
How Business Can Thrive In Challenging Pandemic
Situation
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
Percivering Through The Pandemic
Transformations in Indian Eduction Sector
Mr. Sangeeth G.
Dr. Rajesh G.
Mr. Sunil P.
Dr. Bhawna S.
Dr. Sameer K
Dr. Seema U.
Dr. Reshma N.
Dr. Bhavika T.
Dr. Payal S.
Dr. Siddhaarth D.
Dr. Pushpendu R.
Dr. Md Afzal
Mr. Aaquib G.
Ms. Aanchal M.
Mr. Ankit S.
Ms. Gati U.
Ms. Jayasri G.
Ms. Dishita B.
Mr. Vinit S.
Mr. Darshan J.
Ms. Vidhi K.
Ms. Muskaan S.
Ms. Sakshi M.
Mr. Salil A.
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CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS
NameNameName ArticleArticleArticle Pg. No.Pg. No.Pg. No.Mr. Divyansh J.
Ms. Pooja S.
Ms. Shloka K.
Ms. Vatsala T.
Mr. Ritik K.
Mr. Janak S.
Mr. Chaitanya G.
Mr. Tanishq S.
Mr. Rohan G.
Ms. Vertika C
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
WFH Culture in Indian Scenario
Buying Behaviors of Consumers Amid
Pandemic
Transformation in Indian Education Sector
Digitization - A Life Savior Amid Pandemic
Staying Cash Postive in a Covid-19 World
How Businesses can Thrive in a Pandemic
How Business Can Thrive In Challenging
Pandemic Situation
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COMPANY - DOCTOR RELATIONSHIP HAS IT WITHSTOOD THE PANDEMIC STORM ?
Mr. Sangeeth G KiniVice PresidentHemogenomicsBengaluru
Since March 2020, the healthcare landscape has been on arollercoaster ride due to the ever-evolving nature of thepandemic as well as the changing governmental guidelines.Lockdowns, Containment Zones, Travel restrictions, EssentialServices Passes to commute, etc have become the new normalbetween the two waves that we have witnessed. The healthcaredelivery segment: be it Hospitals, Laboratories, Imaging centres,Pharmacy Shops; as well as allied healthcare facilities –had tomake drastic changes in their operations.
The professionals associated with these institutions – HospitalAdministrators, Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics too had to adapt tothis new normal balancing their personal safety with theinterests of the patients. While a lot had already been writtenabout the newer ways of healthcare delivery system, the focus ofmy article is how the medical products industry such as Pharmacompanies, Diagnostics companies and other segments evolvedto continue to engage with the doctors, hospital administratorand other stake holders during and after the lockdown period,as well as to analyse the criticality of Sales personnel for themedical companies.
CORPORATE DIARYCORPORATE DIARYCORPORATE DIARY
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Background
The lockdown declared on 24th March was abrupt. Manycompanies were caught unprepared. Work from Home became acompulsion than a choice for many professionals. The immediatequestions in the minds of corporate leaders were how long would ittake to get back to normalcy and what can we do to engage withthe Healthcare Providers (HCPs) during this lockdown period.Traditionally, medical & healthcare companies are highly salesteam centric. The sales people would meet the doctors and otherstake holders in hospitals and clinics and promote their products.Over time, the sales people develop good professional relationshipwith the Healthcare Providers (HCP) and the HCPs too findcomfortable to deal with such sales professionals. Negotiations thattook place across the table and deals were closed over fruitful face-to-face discussions. It was easier for both sides to understand eachother better over a cup of Coffee. All these had come to an abruptstop on 24th March 2020.
Relationship dynamics in the new normal
Most companies were caught unawares, not sure how to stayconnected with their core customer base. It was clear that we wereheading towards a new normal where digital channels would gainprominence over traditional practices. The companies that werealready active in the digital space had the advantage while othersfollowed. What we saw was a barrage of Webinars! Everycompany conducted webinars and most companies managed to getgood number of doctors attending these seminars. For example:An international webinar conducted by Bio-Rad Laboratories onDiabetes Testing and Glycated Haemoglobins was attended byabout 700 Indian Doctors that included the Diabetologists andPathologists.
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Over the last one year, all companies put together, thousands ofwebinars were conducted. This has actually led to Digital fatigue.The attendance slowly started dropping down. Companies likeSiemens Healthineers now organises small group meetings wheredoctors of a specific territory or specialty are invited for webinars.The number of webinars conducted actually went up but theattendance per webinar dropped down in 2021. Hemogenomicstoo augmented the digital outreach activities through social mediaplatforms. More than product marketing, Hemogenomics took upvarious important causes such as Plasma donation and Cervicalcancer screening to create awareness amongst the public.
In short, as the sales team were refrained from meeting the HCPsdue to lockdown restrictions, the marketing team had to pull uptheir socks and conduct more marketing programs. Of course, thesales teams did a lot of co-ordination with the HCPs over telephone,email & WhatsApp. Presently, companies such as Abbott andSiemens conduct quite a few digital media activities, such as massemails, social media posts, e-brochures, micro-videos, virtual demoof products, even live demo of medical equipment for a specificpotential buyer. Physical Conferences paved way to virtualconferences and company sponsored stalls evolved into virtualstalls/booths. While the marketing teams of companies steered all these newactivities, the sales team too had to acquire newer skills. For ex:influencing a potential customer over a phone call to buy a productneeded much more impactful communication skills than a face-to-face meeting. Persuading a doctor over phone or WhatsApp toattend a webinar organised by their company was a test of thepersuasive skills of the sales team. Talking about WhatsApp, thismedium became a primary medium to inform the doctors about allvarious activities of the company. Doctors too got used to receivingtechnical updates through WhatsApp from company personnel.During the lockdown time, the Sales people of many companiesmade a “Must Call” list of their customers whom they had to callover phone every day and report back to the company.
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Post the second wave
The physical meetings slowly made a return; but many hospitalshave put strict restrictions on Sales personnel and Medical Repvisits to their premises. The meetings are allowed with priorappointment only in most hospitals. By now, the HCP communitytoo have got used to online interaction with company personnel.Most pre-sales activities such as sharing product details,presentations, technical updates etc take place through digitalroute. At times, even the negotiation meetings too happen over aVC. In certain cases, the local sales person visits the doctor and he takeshis senior colleagues on a video conference on his laptop for thediscussion with the doctor or hospital authorities. So, for the HCP, itacts like a hybrid meeting: both face-to-face with the company’slocal representative and online with other company personnel. Infact, companies find it more convenient that while the local salesperson reaches the client’s office for a physical meeting, other teammembers be available for an online discussion. In the pre-covidtime, multiple company personnel had to travel to far off city for animportant client meeting, which has greatly become an old way ofdoing things.
Even the service engineers these days provide telephonic guidanceto clients for an equipment that needs repair. Earlier it wasmandatory for a service engineer or a technical person to visit aclient site to attend to a trouble shooting call. Now, the firstattempt to trouble shoot is through remote assistance. Only if thatfails to yield desired results, the engineer would travel to the clientlocation. Till recently, many hospitals demanded a Covid Negativetest report (Antigen/RT PCR) to allow company personnel to enterthe hospital. There was reluctance from company employee tosubject himself/herself to frequent testing as a pre-requisite to visita hospital.
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Well, not all HCPs were equally savvy with or keen to go online todiscuss with company representatives. While doctors andadministrators working at corporate hospitals and Referral labswere fine to connect over an online meeting with company people,HCPs from Tier 2 or 3 towns were not very keen on that. They wereopen to meet the sales persons and discuss about their productsthan get online.
Pharma & surgical sales
For Pharma companies, the field force is their greatest strength. Infact, during the difficult times, these Medical Reps stood by thedoctors to co-ordinate and arrange various medicines, O2 cylinder,hospital beds etc. A few pharma companies saw it as anopportunity to build relation with the HCPs by providing them PPEkits, sanitisers and other personal safety products.
Surgical market was badly hit by covid, as the elective surgerieswere postponed. The number of surgeries performed during thelockdown period and during the peak of covid infections were onlyabout 10-15 percent of the normal. Many surgeons were evenengaged in covid care as it was the need of the hour. Today thenumber of surgeries conducted is at almost 75% of the earlierlevels. The sales people are welcomed back by the HCPs, as theyplay a vital role in the surgical and invasive care by closely workingalong with the surgeons by providing demos, clinical inputs, queryhandling etc.
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How the doctors perceived.
I was curious to know how the doctors perceived the change in thisapproach by the companies from an Offline to Online mode ofengagement. I reached out to a few eminent doctors and hospitaladministrators to hear from them. All of them had one thing incommon, that they value the comfort associated with a face-to-facemeeting with the company professionals. Most newer technologyupgradation or adoption of a new product in their practicerequired a two-way free flowing communication between thedoctor and the company person. A webinar, an email or a socialmedia post from the company could never offer the comfort of afree-wheeling discussion between the doctor and the companyperson and the trust and relationships that would develop as aresult of such interactions. While the number of emails sent byvarious companies have exponentially increased, the attentionspan to read an email has diminished to only those products whichare technologically advanced, or new, or something to do withCovid care.
The doctors felt that they continued to prescribe the drugs andbrands that were well registered in their minds, while not tryingout a new drug or brand due perceived gaps in the informationflow. While doctors found quite a few webinars organised by thecompanies very informative, they had to attend a few otherwebinars only to oblige to the requests of the company salespersonnel. During the peak of the pandemic, most upgradationsand introduction of newer products and technologies (for non-covidpurpose) had been put on hold due to the shift in focus towardsCovid Care. The focus is now back to other patient categories andtherefore a direct and closer interaction with company personnel tounderstand their product offerings has resumed.
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I thankfully acknowledge the inputs from:
Dr. Debasish Gupta, HoD Transfusion Medicine, Shree ChitraInstitute of Medical Sciences, ThiruvananthapuramDr. Gayatri Deshpande, Sr Consultant, Obsetrics & Gyn, NanavatiSuper Speciality Hospital, MumbaiDr. Prashant Deshmukh, COO, CIMS Hospital, AhmedabadMr Abhinav Thakur, Managing Director, Accurex BiomedicalsMr Bimal B K, Divisional Manager, Bio-rad IndiaMr Bijesh K.V, Head – Marketing, Abbott Diagnostics IndiaMr Joy Lawrence, Head – Marketing, Siemens Healthineers IndiaMr O.T Rajesh, Zonal Manager – South, Maxer EndoscopyMr Debajyothi Debnath, Regional Manager – North East, LupinPharma
Conclusion: Online medium of communication could reach moreHCPs faster, easier, cheaper and of course, safer ! Some of the non-core business activities could move from Off-line to On-line mediumtoo. However, the importance of a good sales team and the valueaddition that they would bring to the healthcare delivery ecosystemwas strongly felt during lockdown. As they say, the value of an eyeis felt when one loses it !
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INDIAN EDUCTAION SYSTEM: ON THE PATH TOINDIAN EDUCTAION SYSTEM: ON THE PATH TOINDIAN EDUCTAION SYSTEM: ON THE PATH TOTRANSFORMATIONTRANSFORMATIONTRANSFORMATION
Dr. Rajesh GuptaDr. Rajesh GuptaDr. Rajesh GuptaDeputy General ManagerDeputy General ManagerDeputy General ManagerBanking and Financial ProfessionalBanking and Financial ProfessionalBanking and Financial Professional The emergence of Coronavirus (Covid-19) has caused widespreadThe emergence of Coronavirus (Covid-19) has caused widespreadThe emergence of Coronavirus (Covid-19) has caused widespreaddisruption in the continuity of education and educationaldisruption in the continuity of education and educationaldisruption in the continuity of education and educationalinstitutions in India and across the globe. The colleges andinstitutions in India and across the globe. The colleges andinstitutions in India and across the globe. The colleges anduniversities were forced to close the gates and discontinue theuniversities were forced to close the gates and discontinue theuniversities were forced to close the gates and discontinue thesessions. Educational institutions resorted to online classes to keepsessions. Educational institutions resorted to online classes to keepsessions. Educational institutions resorted to online classes to keeptheir students engaged and complete the course.their students engaged and complete the course.their students engaged and complete the course. The teachers andThe teachers andThe teachers andfaculties which were until now never imagined beyond the offlinefaculties which were until now never imagined beyond the offlinefaculties which were until now never imagined beyond the offlineclasses were trained to digital mode education. Simultaneouslyclasses were trained to digital mode education. Simultaneouslyclasses were trained to digital mode education. Simultaneouslystudents have also learned to cope with new challenges.students have also learned to cope with new challenges.students have also learned to cope with new challenges. GoingGoingGoingforward, it is expected that the hybrid model of education that isforward, it is expected that the hybrid model of education that isforward, it is expected that the hybrid model of education that isvirtual classes along with physical classes will continue to providevirtual classes along with physical classes will continue to providevirtual classes along with physical classes will continue to provideflexibility in education.flexibility in education.flexibility in education.
How educational institutions manage the digital transformationwill shape the future of higher education for India in the comingyears. Adhering, the digital requirements of the students from ruralpopulations is a mammoth task and challenge that needs to beaddressed Indian higher education system faces pressure toaddress digital inequality and there is a great divide between theurban population and rural folks, however, the technology itself isa great leveller, once technology creeps into our lives it becomes anirrevocable process. India’s shift to digital teaching in the past yearsince covid-19 has seen phenomenal growth and there is no choicebut to invest in digital education and technology.
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Thus, we can see that digital learning has become a part ofeducation, especially with the coronavirus pandemic. Educationalinstitutions have started to become digitized and online learningbecomes a necessity. The various policy initiation in the field ofdigital education taken by the government of India and aptlyresponded by the educational intuitions going to play a muchbigger and larger role in the transformation of the educationsystem in India.
The government of India’s new education policy (2021) hasasserted the need for digital transformation in the education sector,the importance of digital learning has been understood morevividly and now it is imperative that the technology continue thelearning needs of the students and ensure that no students shouldbe left behind for want of affordability and accessibility of qualityeducation.
The government of India’s new education policy (2021) hasasserted the need for digital transformation in the education sector,the importance of digital learning has been understood morevividly and now it is imperative that the technology continue thelearning needs of the students and ensure that no students shouldbe left behind for want of affordability and accessibility of qualityeducation.
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CHALLENGES FACED DURING COVID 19 BYCONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES
Mr. Sunil PatilAsst. Vice PresidentJamnagar Manufacturing DivisionReliance Industries Limited
The construction sector, one of the largest employing sectors in thecountry after agriculture, had been significantly impacted due tothe pandemic situation. The outbreak affected everyone who wasdirectly or indirectly linked to this sector for e.g., the customers andthe investors.The outburst of novel coronavirus deeply impacted the completespectrum of the real estate industry, including residential,commercial, retail, and construction segments. The constructionindustry faced major setbacks due to lack of available contractlabourers and migrating workers, limited supply of raw materials,and general scare revolving around the spread of COVID-19. At thesame time, even the halt in construction activities had broughtseveral challenges before the customers/investors who hadinvested their savings and were expecting timely delivery ofprojects.Before the COVID-19 situation, the construction industry wasrecovering from a few minor problems related to policy changes(RERA), changes in taxation (GST), and demonetisation. On thecontrary, the industry also exhibited good signs of recovery postthe announcement of multiple schemes by the Government of India,such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), one-time settlementof taxes like service tax and etc.
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The world has been in lockdown for more than 1.5 years now andthings have been uncertain since. Due to the pandemic and thelockdown, the labour migrated to their native place resulting in anacute shortage of skilled labours.
With available labour, retaining the same was very muchchallenging and keeping them in a compulsory quarantine tomaintain safety and take needed precautions was mandatory.
Few pointers that had to be kept in mind were;- Regular testing of labour force & isolating them from infectedones.- Proper treatments to be given post regular tests.To overcome the shortage of labours we arranged direct transportfrom their native place to site by bearing extra costs. Becauseretaining these labours at the site, arranging food,accommodation, medical facilities etc. had to be kept as a priority.
Vaccination of these labours was another challenge as they beingless educated and the presence of a fear factor made things morecomplicated.
Due to a shortage of labour force, we faced delays in the scheduleof the projects. Which was backed by the shortage of constructionmaterial due to which prices skyrocketed increasing the overall costof the projects.
On the contrary, there was huge unemployment as the entirebusiness cycle had collapsed. Overall, there was a huge impact onthe progress of the projects & the delay which indirectly affectedthe economy of the country.
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Engaging Customer during Covid 19Was it a Blessing in Disguise for Indian Medical Device
companies?
Dr. Bhawna Sharma Off. Director & HoI Amity Business School
Abstract : If strategy is a sustained pattern of resource allocation,then Medical Device Company’ Marketing team has adoptedtechnology enabled strategy during Covid19 time. In this report akey insights were discussed that has made possible to enrichknowledge and expertise concerning Customers, Employees andthe Channel Partners who link company personnel with the endcustomer. This work intends to share the key highlights of IndianMedical Device market players on how they have managed themarketing initiatives during Covid times.
Introduction : Medical device companies face their own challengesin adapting to the world of COVID-19. The strain on hospitalbudgets and resources is resulting in stalled product evaluationsand capital expenditures, Restrictions on flights, supply chainissues, hospital entry have limited access for medical devicerepresentatives, who provide training, in-servicing and clinicalassistance. We should be prudent about the fact that COVID-19could alter the physician engagement model permanently. Whiletheir employees & channel partners are experiencing difficulties inmanaging physical presence as a consequence of pandemic,Company personnel specially Marketing team have tried tominimize the gap in reaching out to stake holders & delivering theappropriate customer engagement programs.
Key highlights of Marketing initiatives adopted · International Live Webinars using Technology led them going.· Engagement Programme involving Key opinion leaders asSpeakers & moderators. · Online Proctorships were the main focus to build customerrelations connecting surgeons across the globe· Digitally enabled Distributor training for channel partners· Ownership Sessions for team connections· Live Webinars showcasing surgeries & product launches
When it is the time of distress, they connected and communicatedmore!!!
During this challenging time the value of customer connections ishigher than ever. It was very crucial to stay present and continuecommunicating with their customers – Surgeons, Paramedics,Hospital administration who need the support and clinical skills oftheir medical device partners to navigate this critical period. Toinitiate this process company devised a Bi-congruent hybridmarketing strategy to achieve our key deliverables during adverseconditions.
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Market Condition Assessment: Pandemic leading to relative marketturbulence and high degree of market complexity made them toaccess the prevalent market situation and do the rationaleplanning.
Hybrid Marketing Strategy: The incongruent hybrid marketingstrategy enables efficiency by minimizing internal divergencebetween areas of activity and optimizing synergy. They remained focused on consistency with organization’s objective with theacceptability of risk level, feasibility within the organisation’sresources and devising an executable plan within the resourcesavailable.
Adaption of Artifact: they adopted language & time-zone orientedapproach wherein they achieved macro congruence (with themarket condition, as they had speakers from different geographies,cultures, languages & time zones) and microcongruence (within theorganization).
Implementation & Making the Process Happen: This they did in twostages 1. In this stage we commence new activities (Digitallyenabled distributor training, Live webinars, etc) 2. Continuation ofcurrent activities (NRTP continued, Ownership Session, etc).Even as Covid19 surpasses nine million mark infections worldwide,the situation in medical fraternity can vary widely both bygeography and healthcare specialty and settings. In such asituation it was important to show the connect and concern to their internal & external customers. Medical device companies adoptedfive ways for maintaining connection and fostering effectiveengagement with our customers during Covid 19.
Even as Covid19 surpasses nine million mark infections worldwide,the situation in medical fraternity can vary widely both bygeography and healthcare specialty and settings. In such asituation it was important to show the connect and concern to their internal & external customers. Medical device companies adoptedfive ways for maintaining connection and fostering effectiveengagement with our customers during Covid 19.
1. Customised Content: The content delivered in each webinar was developed as per therequirement of audience and the available faculties specialized inColoproctology, Ventral Hernia, Colorectal & Gastric Cancer. Thetopics discussed were : Ventra hernia- Decision making matrix onmethod & mesh, Colonic Obstruction- Which Surgery is Optimal?,Management of Hemorrhoids, Has Robotic Gastric Surgery anyadvantage over Lap Gastric Surgery and many more.
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2. Adapt Team Talent & Bring Synergy:Marketing personnel conducted more than 1000 trainingprograms wherein an absolute synergy between medical deviceMarketing & Sales team was the key outcome. It was aexemplary team work facilitating successful training and sharingknowledge & skills. It was a wave to honor the new recruits toshare their ideas and freshly adopted training insights. In thisauthenticity and sincerity were noticed with the bigger impact asthe team identified creative ways to support and revisit medicalconcepts.
3. Trusted Partner in Testing Time: Specially during this time Marketing professional shown sinceregratitude to their Key Opinion Leaders/ Speakers who in thistough time have supported them as a trusted partner and hadprovided flexibility to deliver sessions in odd timings as well. Thisacademic assistance and clinical guidance which were providedby them as a true cohort motivated them to evolve and buildequity for the future.
4. Equip Functional Subsidiary for localized experimentation:Conducted digitally enabled detailed training session on“Handling of Medico-mechanical Devices” for their channelpartners based globally The focus was to enhance their skill todemonstrate devices to the surgeons in OR. The tips were givento help them introduce existing & new products the customers.
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5. Prepare for Future:Due to Covid 19 there is a significant and rapid change in themarket structure and customer decision making processes, so it isthe time to develop advance techniques such as motivationalsegmentation to make the customers feel how important they are& how we support them. They adopted customer portfolioanalysis to develop better insights and conclusions to identify thetarget market for introducing and extending the product line.
Sincere gratitude: Inputs from Business Leaders/ Marketingheads/ Sales Executives of Indian & Multinational companiesoperating overseas in Medical Device segment.
MY TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCESDURING COVID 19
Dr. Sameer KulkarniAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
Closure of the physical setup and switching into the digital modewas even though not a very planned act but the way it wasaccepted proved its acquaintance with both the direct stake holdersi.e., the teachers and the students. Probable only because it was thebest option among the available. Under the fearsome andunprecedented scenario, the switching was bound to be in ahaphazard manner, but it was well withing the tolerable limits. Forme it was a perfect real time situation of experimentation fortesting the most studied theory of the Technology Adoption Model(TAM).
The online learning mode had ensured the safety parameters, but Iam more inclined to test the deferred resultants of this unexploredmode e.g., the primary goals for the students be it skillenhancements through development of lateral thinking byknowledge application in various directions. The orientation mustbe studied very carefully by applying measurable parameters byapplying to its effectiveness. I strongly believe that the majorcontribution is only possible through the effective interaction andcommunication between the instructor and the student and equallybetween student and the students these one-to-many interactionsensure the overall enhancement of the learning outcomes (Sher,2009; Swan, 2001).
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The online learning mode had ensured the safety parameters,but I am more inclined to test the deferred resultants of thisunexplored mode e.g., the primary goals for the students be itskill enhancements through development of lateral thinking byknowledge application in various directions. The orientationmust be studied very carefully by applying measurableparameters by applying to its effectiveness. I strongly believethat the major contribution is only possible through the effectiveinteraction and communication between the instructor and thestudent and equally between student and the students these one-to-many interactions ensure the overall enhancement of thelearning outcomes (Sher, 2009; Swan, 2001).
For me, the equation can become very simple, if the scope of theassessment the effectiveness of the online mode of teaching andlearning by accommodating the major stake holder i.e., theindustry to it. We need to understand the essentiality at least inManagerial education which is highly skill and knowledgeoriented and it way different than pure sciences like mathematicsor physics where the knowledge is tightly condensed and frozen.Management is highly fluid and expected to deliver under thedynamic ecosystem. To make the assessment more meaningfulwe need to adopt a comprehensive approach by adding industryto it, rather than taking a student centric level of comfort asstudy dimension and keeping it a transaction between teacherand student.
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References:Sher, A., 2009, Assessing the relationship of student-instructor andstudent -student interaction to student learning and satisfaction inweb-based online learning environment, Journal of interactiveonline learning, 8(2), 102-120.Swank K., 2001, Virtual interaction: Decision factors affectingstudents’ satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronousonline course, Distance Education, 22(2), 306-331.Walter, J. B., 1996, Computer mediated communication: Impersonalinterpersonal and hyper personal interaction, CommunicationResearch, 23(1), 3-43.Kulkarni Sameer, Kohli Sangeeta, Bhattacharya Ritu, 2015,Experiential Teaching- A Need for Professional Education,International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas inEducation, 1(5), 839-848.
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EMBRACING UNCERTAINITY THROUGH SPIRITUALITY
Dr.Seema UnnnikrishnanAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
We are all witnessing unprecedented uncertainty during this roughtimes due to Covid Pandemic. But we also have started embracingthe uncertainty as each individual has emerged themselves from thecrisis period. Law of nature is teaching us to treasure the values thustranslating into possessing intrinsic values that govern ourreasoning and behavior. We have forgotten to listen what nature isspeaking to us. We need to recognize the universal moral standardsthat are inherent in humankind throughout all time. Let’s take acharge and make this as basis to apply and create a society for goodliving. Human beings are not taught about natural law but yes, theydiscover themselves and make choices for good instead opting forevil. Natural law covers the realm of ethics and philosophy.
In order to merge with nature, it’s time for us to go inward-lookingreflection thus identifying ways to quieten the mind. There are manycontemplative practices like meditation, yoga, prayers, Journalingwhich enhances compassion, empathy, and attention. There aremany examples where spiritual people bounce back after meetingthe challenges and keep on moving in life and some have failed to doso leading to mental health issues. Spiritual practices help inbringing balanced and healthier life because we start treatingourselves gentler and with kindness thus cautiously avoidingunhealthy behaviour.
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We as humans have a bent towards negativity but it’s time to letgo of blaming and negative feelings after a hurtful incident. Youwill find that this is a practice that is reflected in Christianity,Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.
Research has proved that forgiveness drastically improves healthconditions with better immune function, longer lifespan, loweredblood pressure, improved cardiovascular health. It’s time to leada better and quality life and not to waste time on unproductivethought process where our mind is taking charge and controllingus leading us in to nowhere. There is a rigorous practice and stayfocussed so that our body, mind, soul stay aligned throughoutour life journey.
Thus, spirituality is helping us to live a life with purpose andmeaning and eventually comes to know the reason of being bornon earth. Thus, learns to take the life as it is with no complaintsor blaming anybody that happens in one’s life. When we havetaken the charge with no complaints leading to peace andharmony thus overcoming poverty and corruption from thesociety. Individuals who are in the path of spirituality shows youthe path of knowledge and wisdom. You will find this knowledgeinfusing from within and from it the wisdom starts flowingmaking every individual pleasant and divine.Individual who discovers this secret will be constantly strivingtowards the path of spirituality and can be seen in their action.
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THE LEARNING WITH VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP
Ms. Reshma NairAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
The nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has compelled schools,colleges and universities to halt their academic advancement andsend their students home which, in turn, has impacted studentpopulation across the globe. The lockdown has led to verydifficult challenges on governments, institutions, teachers, andparents everywhere. Many countries are handling this disruptionby adopting different modes of learning through a variety oftechnologies. The teachers have started delivering virtual livelessons and online classes across the word to combat the COVIDimposed restrictions.
Similarly, conventional in-person internship is not an attainablechoice for most students, since the lockdown has been imposed.Thus, virtual/digital internships are gaining its importance as anincredible option since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Avirtual internship is a work experience which enable students todo it from home. During the internship, students communicatewith their employer through different virtual meeting mediumslike Zoom meetings, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google meets,email, webinars, and Slack. Virtual internships have beenoffered by different sectors like manufacturing, greentechnology, software engineering, Ecommerce, fashion andsports management.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated thattelecommuting/work from home is workable for majority of theroles and positions. An enormous extent of conventional areas hasbegun telecommuting as well, and they are discovering theusefulness has not diminished, henceforth numerous organizationsfrom different sectors are venturing forward to explore the choiceof virtual internship.
One of the best things about virtual internships is that they areflexible, and allows a student to work from any location of theirchoice. In contrast to conventional internships, students can relaxon time lost on long commute to workplace, and can work fromanyplace, which means saving money on accommodation, travel,and can likewise be closer to their families. Working from homehelps them to work on their time management and self-disciplinewhile gaining work experience. If students are working for aninternational firm or an MNC they will network with people allaround the world. Social bonding with colleagues can be achievedthrough online coffee breaks and weekly drop-in sessions.
Along with magnificent benefits, digital internships also bring alonga lot of drawbacks. In the event, if supervisors don't set cleartargets, and regular feedbacks are not given, interns may feel unfitto address an inquiry then, the desired internship will not be asdirect, and can prompt certain job uncertainty. If a studentstruggles to stay motivated on their own, they might struggle witha virtual internship, where self-discipline and self-motivation areessential. Virtual internship deprives the in-person experience onecan have from the office premises. Human interaction leads tobetter understanding of work, culture, team management, andcustomers through various organizational programs.
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The digital mode of operations at workplace are here to stay forsome more time in the near future. The organisations therefore,must constantly work towards creating a more profoundexperience for their stakeholders and maintain ever growingprofitability as well. One of the major stake holders aremanagement students, who regularly engage with corporate forlive projects and internships. This mutually beneficiary relationshipscan only be taken forward if the institutions train their students towork efficiently in the digital mode and organisations provideopportunities of advancement for them.
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HOW BUSINESSES CAN THIRVE IN A CHALLENGINGPANDEMIC SITUATION
Dr Bhavika ThakkarAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
The Covid-19 pandemic may be a global health crisis; however, it'shad immense economic and social repercussions. The impact ofCovid-19 pandemic has been largely disruptive in terms of economicactivity also as a loss of human lives. Almost all the sectors havebeen adversely affected as domestic demand and exports sharplyplummeted with some exceptions where high growth wasobserved.
The major sectors that were affected were the manufacturing andthe services sector—hospitality, tours and travels, healthcare,retail, banks, hotels, real estate, education, health, IT, recreation,media, and others. While lockdown and social distancing haveresulted in productivity loss on the one hand, they have caused asharp decline in demand for goods and services by the consumers inthe market on the other, thus leading to a collapse in economicactivities. But now the question arises as to how these businessescan thrive in such challenging pandemic situation. This can bedescribed through 5 R’s that will be critical for business leaders tofind their way to the next normal, i.e., Resolve, Resilience, Return,Reimagination and Reform. There is main four strategic dimensionthat may be focused on: rebuilding operations, recovering revenue,rethinking the organization, and accelerating the adoption ofdigital solutions.
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These areas have been further explained below:
1. Recovering Revenue: what's important here is to spot the first sourcesof revenue and, thereon basis, make the” now or never” moves thatrequire to happen before the recovery fully starts. This includeslaunching targeted campaigns to get back loyal customers; developingcustomer experiences focused on increased health and safety; adjustingpricing and promotions supported new data; reallocating spending toproven growth sources; reskilling the sales department to supportremote selling; creating flexible payment terms; digitizing sales channels;and automating processes to release sales representatives to sell more.Once one can identified, these measures its need to be carefullyprioritized to reflect their impact on earnings and the company’s abilityto execute quickly.
2. Rebuilding Operations: to stay up during COVID-19, companieshave moved fast. Sales and operation planning used to be doneweekly or even monthly before, but now a daily cadence iscommon. To build long term strategic advantage and, speedily willcontinue to be the essence Companies must recognize this, whichare willing to line new standards for long-term.
3. Rethinking the Organization: Coming out of the crisis,organizations must answer important questions about growth andscalability. Three factors will matter the most: the ability to embeddata and analytics in decision making; the creation of learningplatforms that support both individual and institutionalexperimentation and learning at scale; and the cultivation of anorganizational culture that will foster value creation with otherpartners. Those organizations that are making the shift from closedsystems and one-to-one transactional relationships to digitalplatforms and networks of mutually beneficial partnerships haveproved more resilient during the crisis.
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“Every business is now a digital and technology business, and whatmatters most is a identify and understanding the need of thecustomer, which is assisted by technology”.
3. Accelerating the adoption of digital solutions: To adapt,companies will need to quickly rethink customer journeys andaccelerate the development of digital solutions. The emphasis willbe different for each sector. For many retailers, this includescreating a seamless e-commerce experience, enabling customers tocomplete everything they need to do online, from initial researchand purchase to service and returns. For auto companies, this couldmean establishing new digital distribution models to handle trade-ins, financing, servicing, and home delivery of cars. For industriessuch as education, airlines, ensuring health and safety will beessential, for example, by understanding the passenger experiencewith “contactless” check-in, boarding, and in-flight experiences., insame direction companies need to incorporate new data and createnew models to build real-time decision making. In the same waythat many risk and financial models had to be rebuilt after the2008 financial crisis, the use of data and analytics will need to berecalibrated to reflect the post-COVID-19 reality. This will involverapidly validating models, creating new data sets, and enhancingmodelling techniques. Getting this right will enable companies tosuccessfully navigate demand forecasting, asset management, andcoping with massive new volumes. Companies will also analysis tofind their improve area in IT productivity to lower their cost andfund rapid, flexible digital-solution development.
So, what’s next challenges?The world is staggering from Covid-19 with certain economiesvigilantly opening up but the past few months have forced scrutinyof our existing business operations and its inefficiencies.
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While it is difficult to know what will happen next, it is possible todraw on the lessons of the past few months and to see them asopportunities for improvement. Businesses need to work onresponding to the current crisis while simultaneously building tothrive in a new reality that focuses on agility, digitization, andmultistakeholder collaboration. The three components areinterrelated and need focused strategies to ensure success. Thisencompasses a wide array of elements, including the localization ofproduction, reskilling of the workforce for a digitized economy, andconsidering non-traditional collaborations across differentcommunities.
References:https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/from-surviving-to-thriving-reimagining-the-postcovid-19-return
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ONLINE TEACHING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Dr.Payal SananAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unexpectedchallenges in the global education sector. The sudden outbreak ofthe pandemic-Covid 19 in almost across the world has put the entireteaching fraternity along with the students in altogether newworld-the world full of digital learning tools. A world that neverwas thought of or was much explored by most of us. A worldwhere students and teachers cannot sit and learn together in aphysical classroom setting. During the times when the nations camenearly to a standstill, one of the things that kept on moving wasuninterrupted education.
The shift from formal classroom teaching to remote teachinghappened in a sudden-in a flash we teachers moved from real tovirtual world. It had its own set of challenges for teachers andstudents alike at the initial stage. From exploring various learningplatforms - Google Classroom, MS teams, Google meet, creation ofonline content, online assignments, online exams to understandingabout the functionality of each of the digital communication tools,the learnings were overwhelming. The teachers had to reorienttheir teaching methods and pedagogy style in a very short time-period. Most of the educators had to change their approaches tomost aspects of their work overnight: teaching, assessment,supervision, research, service, and engagement. But the educatorswere swift enough to adapt to the latest that was coming-just toensure that the students’ classes were not interrupted, and theireducation do not suffer.
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The parents as well as the teaching community were equallyconcerned about whether students will be able to adjust to this newvirtual teaching environment and would be able to learneffectively. The biggest relief was that the students- digital nativesof today not only responded brilliantly to the new teaching learningmodel, but these NexGen students are completely inclined to self-directed, self-paced and collaborative home-based learning. Theteachers undoubtedly put a lot of efforts to hold the interest of thestudents during online classes- from videos and PPTs to augmentedreality and flashcards — these are the norm nowadays. Conductinga quiz, sharing interactive videos, or discussing a live case- all thiscreates interest among students, and they pay attention. Since thisdigital transformation of education was totally new for all teachersand students alike, students were also regularly asked to providefeedback on what might improve the learning outcomes in futureonline lectures and courses.
There is no denying of the fact that experience of teaching-learningin a traditional classroom format where the physical presence andinteraction is of the highest level, but the way education sector hasadapted to this latest trend is incredible. The credit goes to theefforts of the teachers, patience of the students and of course thebiggest facilitator which made all of us sail through theseunexpected times- ‘the technology. The support and the faith of theparents in the system of education served like a rock.
Though campuses have been opened for administration andfaculties, but the school and college campuses do not look lively andbright without its heart which are our students. Each of us arewaiting to be back in physical classroom again but we need to waitfor the storm of pandemic to subside. This, we will do for the largergood and till then online classes, we may look for.
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SRI LANKA'S COCKTAIL OF MISHANDLING ECONOMY
Dr. Siddhaarth DhongdeAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
Foreign exchange reserves, such as gold, dollars and other dollar-like assets, appear to be the source of Sri Lanka's problems. Inaddition, while this diagnosis may appear to be true at first glance,it's really only the symptom of a far deeper disease. What aboutstarting at the top?A "Frontier Economy" is an economy that is neither undevelopednor large enough to be called an emerging economy. Sri Lanka is afrontier economy. It's in the middle. And countries like this rely on afew specialized industries. Because that's where they make themajority of their money. When it comes to tourism and tea in SriLanka, they appear to be heavily dependent on them. More than 10percent of the country's GDP comes from tourism. A lot of problemswere certain to arise for a country that had been hit by thepandemic. Tourist numbers plummeted and the GDP shrank by3.6% in 2020, as a result. Tourists stopped coming to the islandnation's beaches, and the country lost a lot of valuable foreignmoney.
In the days before the epidemic, Sri Lanka generated $455 million amonth, according to Trading Economics. But in July, it was reducedto only $3 million. Definitely not as well-resourced as big countriessuch as the United States or India, frontier economies like Sri Lankawere impacted severely by the epidemic. the Sri Lankangovernment announced a ban on pesticides a few days ago. Amidstan economic downturn, the government determined to go "100%organic." So, they prohibited fertilizers in order to achieve thisgoal.
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Just like chemical fertilizers in general. In addition to that The SriLankan central bank's decision to prohibit forward contracts andspot trading of rupees at more than 200 rupees to the US dollarmay have an impact on vital supplies. A rice merchant, forexample, who wishes to spend more than 200 rupees for anAmerican dollar in order to import rice may no longer be able to doso. In reality, since the central bank's directive, currency trading inthe spot market has ceased. Furthermore, without forwardcontracts, which allow merchants to transfer currency volatility riskto professional speculators, many traders may be hesitant topurchase critical supplies.
Due to the steep drop in dollar profits, tea exports experienced ahuge impact on foreign exchange reserves. The tea estates wereparticularly badly hit. An Al-Jazeera article states that Sri Lanka'ssingle largest export is tea, which brings in more than $1.25 billiona year and accounts for close to a tenth of the country's total exportrevenue. And the poorly crusade cost tea plantations and farmersterribly, as well as allied industries and financial sectors that reliedon tea exports for their livelihoods. This led to the collapse of thetea industry, along with many other plantations. At that point, theharm had been done and the country had missed out on much-needed foreign money before any restrictions were eased. At thispoint the country faces an economic emergency. As a result, thecountry's foreign exchange reserves are rapidly diminishing. As ofthe end of July, their reserves have dropped to $2.8 billion from$7.5 billion in November of 2019. But their earnings are unlikely toincrease any time soon either. As a matter of fact, many expertsfeel that we've reached a tipping point. What makes foreignexchange reserves so valuable?
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Foreign exchange — often dollars — is how nations pay forproducts when they purchase items from foreign markets; this isreferred to as purchasing power parity in the international market.So, if Sri Lanka wishes to buy gasoline or meat, they'll have to usereserves they've amassed. Unfortunately, they have been spendinga lot of foreign cash while earning very little. So, if they need toacquire anything from overseas markets anytime soon, they'll be ina problem.
Now, some readers may be tempted to come up with their ownideas, such as going to the printer the money. it means print thatSri Lanka's should large amount of local currency and exchangingit for dollar denominated assets. Unfortunately, this strategy is alsoincorrect since the local money will ultimately drain away into thesystem and cause turmoil. Inflationary or hyperinflationarysituations will occur if there's a lot of money circulating around withno real value, and paper currency will become almost worthless.further Unfortunately, Sri Lanka's problems do not end there. Tofinance growth and infrastructure projects, the government hashistorically relied significantly on foreign loans. A large number ofthese loans will be due in the near future as well, so be prepared.Sri Lanka payed $1 billion (Source: IMF) in debt in July alone,severely depleting its reserves. There were only sufficient resourcesleft to fund imports for two months. It'll take a miracle for thenation to avoid defaulting on another $1.5 billion in foreign bondpayments due in January and July of next year.
As a result, Sri Lanka has to cope with a deadly cocktail ofeconomic mishandling, pandemic concerns, and severe financialcommitments all at once. No one really knows how the country willdeal with all of this without some outside assistance like rescuefrom the International Monetary Fund.
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INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR AMID PANDEMIC
Dr. Pushpendu RakshitAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
Indian pharmaceutical sector has been projected best during thecorona crisis across world. It’s a larger supplier of medical facilitiesamid pandemic era and as per Bill Gates India is a self-reliantnation to even discover vaccines for corona virus. India underwritesthe second major portion of medicinal and biotech labour force inthe world. Thus, pharma companies must look forward tostrategies the products promotion well, following the best brandingpractices such as targeting the audience, creating brand image,trust building, spread the world about brand and usage of industry4.0. Pharmaceutical branding is a vital way to generate awarenessamong potential aids of drugs and benefits.
Branding can represent a new competitive advantage for pharmacompanies imbibing industry 4.0. This is conceptual explorativeresearch demonstrates future of pharma 4.0 in a verge to becomeself-reliant nation. The use of artificial intelligence, big dataanalytics and adoption of the data driven enhancement cyclemethod – DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control)results in designing better future of Indian pharma industry.Pharma 4.0 would see the business link paraphernalia acrossdevelopment and dispersal by using better, more reliable largervolumes of data to revolutionise engineering.
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India marching as a new nation amid pandemic and emerges tosurvive as a prominent player in times to come. Indianpharmaceutical sector has projected best during the corona crisisacross world. It provisions over 50% of the worldwide demand,closely 200 countries for several medicines and inoculations, 40%of the generic medical needs for US and 25% of all medicinalrequirements for UK in usual epochs.
India backs the second foremost stake of medicinal andbiotechnology labour force in the globe. India’s inhouse pharmamarketplace revenue touched Rs 1.4 lakh crore (US$ 20.03 billion)in 2019, up 9.8 % year to year from Rs 1.29 lakh crore (US$ 18.12billion) in 2018. In May 2020, pharmaceutical sales grew 9% to Rs10,342 crore (US$ 1.47 billion) all through COVID-19 pandemic.During outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, on stirring yearlysum of basis, manufacturing progress was at 9.8%, value progresswas at 5.3%, new merchandise progress was at 2.7%, and volumeprogress was at 2% by a year. This places out an opening forpharma establishments to espouse the software-as-a-service(SaaS) built prototypes for areas such as engineering, sales,publicizing, finance, human resource, production etc. Artificialintelligence, robotics and analytics have great potential toeliminate upfront investments in this sector. Thus, innovativeemployer practices would help our nation to lead ahead in pharma4.0 at times of new normal contributing to Self-Reliant IndiaCampaign. Readers would get a glimpse of future pharma industrywith technological disruptions and diverse branding practices.
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SMART LEARNING WITH MOOCs AMID PANDEMIC
Dr. Mohd AfzalAmity Business SchoolAmity University Maharashtra
Indian education system is at the midst of paradigm shift fromtraditional classroom practices to modern digital platforms. Theinnovation in education system in Indian scenario bringsopportunities for many digital entrepreneurs. Some of them evenrecommend pre-courses if required before commencing with theMassive Open Online Courses. Although India as a developingcountry leads involvement in MOOCs in Asia. Some factors thatcould challenge the feasibility of MOOCs in India could include: thetraditional mindset of examination, habit of attending classes forrecords, network, access to hardware due to economic constraints,diversity of languages, the habit of memory-based learning.
But implementation of artificial intelligence could be a solution forsuch concern. Artificial Intelligence is being employed forpersonalizing learning for each student. With the employment ofthe hyper-personalization concept which is enabled throughmachine learning, the AI technology is incorporated to design acustomized learning profile for each individual student and totailor-make their training materials, taking into consideration themode of learning preferred by the student, the student's ability andexperience on an individual basis.
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Various AI-powered apps and systems help the students inaccessing instant and customized responses as well as ingetting their doubts cleared from their teachers. AI is alsoplaying a role in augmenting tutoring and designing personalconversational, education assistants who can offer them aid ineducation or assignment tasks. These AI systems can alsoarrange personal interactions with guardians and parents,facilitate feedback relating to routine issues as well as resourceaccess thus offering more time to teachers to invest in students.The AI-powered systems add to the efficiency of educationalinstitutes, reducing their operating costs and offer, andfacilities management.
Using intelligent AI-powered systems and smart content cangreatly improve the efficiency of many educational institutions,lower their operating costs, give them greater visibility intoincome and expenses, and improve the overall responsivenessof the educational institutions. This study would be on basis ofprimary data collection via random sampling method fromrespondents [students and faculties]. The literature reviewshelp to understand that there have been studies in past but notmuch on the current crisis of pandemic. Thus, such a studywould help to examine the student engagement, satisfactionand retention on these diversifies MOOC platforms. This studyis explorative in nature, which outcomes demonstratingchallenges and probable solutions to the student engagementon innovation MOOC platforms in universities withimplementation of artificial intelligence.
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SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR RECOVERY AND
GROWTH
AAQIB ASHRAF GURUAmity Business SchoolMBA-IB- semester 1
As the phases of the COVID-19 pandemic progress, invest yourlessons learned back into the enterprise to reset strategy and buildresilience. We’ve all changed the way we operate during theCOVID-19 crisis. Some changes were forced on us; others representthe height of innovation in a crisis. There’s been a reset of theworkforce and work itself, a reset of the employer/employeerelationship and a reset of the business ecosystem. For most, thebusiness impact of the pandemic has been negative; for some,positive. From here, each enterprise will take its own path.Different parts of the same enterprise may veer off from oneanother. Some could reduce or retire specific activities. Others couldrescale or reinvent themselves. Yet more could essentially return totheir pre-pandemic baselines.
“EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING”
Respond, recover, renewGartner sees the pandemic response in three phases. The durationof each phase will vary by country, industry and enterprise — andeven by business unit, product or service. The phases are definedprimarily by what’s happening at each stage:
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RespondImmediate actions focused on keeping people safe and essentialbusiness functions operating. This relatively short period is markedby high effort and potentially chaotic activity. Key activities:Temporary fixes to stop the bleeding.
RecoverMore organised /coordinated effort to stabilise operations. Mediumduration. Key activities:Create a plan to restore a scalable state.Identify capabilities you need to strengthen, refactor, reopen,rehire, rebudget, resupply, innovate.
RenewExtended period marked by strategic, durable execution across theorganisation. Key activities:Learn to conduct operations processes and workflows in new,repeatable, scalable ways.Use lessons learned and emergent patterns from prior phases tomove around a new foundation and way forward. What will yourfuture be? This crisis has created an opportunity to reset some ofyour goals and ambitions; it’s time to ask: “As we recover from thiscrisis, do we want to be different — and if so, how?” Yours may beone of the businesses that resettles toward the pre-pandemicbaseline, but it won’t have been a straight path. Producers of non-perishable consumer goods are a good example. They initiallyexperienced surging demand, but could easily see demand sink asthe crisis-driven overstocking corrected. But that phase passed too.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTUTRE IN INDIAN SCENARIO
Aanchal MishraAmity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
" People are more productiveWorking at home than people wouldhave expected. Some people thought that everything was justgoing to fall apart, and it hasn't" ---- Mark Zuckerberg
Your work environment can greatly influence how you feel aboutyour job. Because of this, it's important to find an employer thatfosters a positive atmosphere and encourage you consistently.When you have a positive work environment, it can improve yourhappiness, increase your productivity and motivate those aroundyou. With the world discovering alternative ways to work withouthuman contact, the work from home force is getting a facelift.Work from home has become business as usual. Not even a yearago, working remotely was an opportunity for just a smallpercentage of the workforce. Then along came the Covid-19pandemic, and that made an instantaneous change. Companies intraditional office spaces were forced to send their employees hometo work remotely and many of these employees will continue towork from home, long after the pandemic is over. Working fromhome is attractive to professionals, as they save time and money onthe daily commute, eat home- cooked meals and stay close to theirloved ones, but it has not really taken off in a big way in India.
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The pandemic has compelled business across industries to think ofinnovative work solutions. While Covid-19 has been a crisis ofunimaginable proportions and rightly made us question currentwork practices, the onus will now be to look at the future withoptimism and with the belief that country's economy can bounceback. We are looking at a modernized workplace to make sure thatthe transition of employees to a hybrid workstation is smooth andeasy. Alternative work schedules are now being adopted andproactive companies will gobble this up as new normal, which willgive them an advantage over the industry. Slowly but surely,companies will step up to embrace this messy situation and turn itinto a new opportunity.
While India is currently in the 'unlock' stage and the workplacesand become accessible again, most employers in India, specificallyin the service sector, are trending cautiously and to the extentpossible, encouraging their employees to continue working fromhome. “Persevering through the Pandemic- Fostering Business LeadershipAmongst Students"
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WORKPLACE PRATICE HR FOR REMOTE WORKING
Name: Ankit SatpathiAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 3
The Coronavirus global pandemic has changed the waycorporations go about with their operations, as work from homebecomes a new normal it's essential to bring in new HR practices tomake sure that employees are healthy and satisfied with the newway of working. Further, as employees drift apart from the officeculture, it’s very essential to make sure that their efficiency is incheck at all times. There are several ways corporates are bringingin new practices to facilitate remote work at its peak efficiency. Thecompanies changed their benefits schemes to suit the needs ofremote work to make sure that their employees do not feel thatthey are not receiving benefits like they previously used to. Severalorganizations gave a work from home subsidy that the employeesused to get things like good internet connections, chairs, and extramonitors to make their home environment similar to the office.Organizations also went ahead and opted for cloud meeting servicesubscriptions to facilitate work. These subscriptions are known tobe very expensive and it would be a huge burden for the employeeif they had to pay it on their own.
Coming to the current day scenario, where several vaccines havecome to the market and several organizations are calling some oftheir workers back to physical offices. This means that thepreviously served benefits have to be brought back, this implies thefact that the companies now have to incur the expenses for bothonline and offline employee benefits. Some organizations mayprovide enhanced commute benefits to encourage employees tocome for physical work too.
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However, to cut costs a little, the organizations may shut downsome benefits like game rooms as it may conflict with the COVID-19 social distancing regulations.
Regardless of employees returning to offices, work from home ishere to stay and HR teams have to come up with creative wayslike mental health support, office supply funds to facilitatesmooth work from home experience for several employees.When working from home, tasks like appraisals, mental health,and work pressure management are not fulfilled efficiently. Thisis where AI comes in! Several companies are now using A.I.Chatbots to conduct several HR-related tasks. Starting withRecruitment, AI is expected to cut down issues like monotony,fatigue, time lag, bias, and prejudice. These are some of thecommon factors that slow down or even disrupt the fairrecruitment procedure in many organizations.
AI can also help in monitoring employee performance andnotifying them about their work patterns and suggest potentialimprovements while at it. One of the major hurdles faced byorganizations during performance appraisals can be biased, AIcan help eliminate that and measure an employee solely on theirstatistical performance. AI also helps employees in boosting theirconfidence as they feel free to ask questions that they might feeluncomfortable asking their bosses. The AI integration saves timemoney and makes sure that resources are used most efficiently.The combination of AI and HR will benefit the organization inseveral aspects and hence achieving the set aims and objectiveswith convenience.
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TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERINCE DURING
PANDEMIC
Gati Uppal Amity Business SchoolBBA- semester 3
I can say that I have learned a lot during my journey at amity. I wascurious to know how they would teach us during the pandemic. Asa surprise, they were highly prepared and disciplined whilecovering all the topics necessary. As a student, I have learned thatbuilding a rapport amongst teachers and fellow students is not thateasy when everything is carried out online. All the teachers madeshow that we did not feel hesitant while asking them questions orclearing our doubts. Professionally, they deal with problemsstudents face while joining a university and not knowing how tocomplete the online administration process. During classes, theymake sure that we understand the topics. We are free to ask themto stop and repeat the concept anytime we feel the need. Theteachers understand the difficulty students face whileunderstanding new topics just through a screen. They try to help usaccordingly.
Learning has been difficult, but I think that everyone is trying toadjust to the new norm. As we cannot see our teachers in person, ifwe have a doubt, we make sure to call them after the class is over.Though it might be a hassle to few, the teachers happily take thequestions and answer them meticulously.
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During the pandemic making sure that we like the teachingmethodologies used by the faculties, feedback is taken from all of usat the end of the semester. This helps all the teachers understandwhat went wrong and what steps will minimize the effect. AmityUniversity holds meetings in between semesters to make sure thatwe aren't facing any technical issue and if we are then they take anote of it and solve it as soon as possible. learning has becomeeasy when you know that you have great teachers by your side. Ican say with pride that amity knows how to take care of studentsand how to keep them motivated as well as disciplined.
During the pandemic making sure that we like the teachingmethodologies used by the faculties, feedback is taken from all of usat the end of the semester. This helps all the teachers understandwhat went wrong and what steps will minimize the effect. AmityUniversity holds meetings in between semesters to make sure thatwe aren't facing any technical issue and if we are then they take anote of it and solve it as soon as possible. learning has become easywhen you know that you have great teachers by your side. I cansay with pride that amity knows how to take care of students andhow to keep them motivated as well as disciplined.
With leadership elections done, events organized, and being able toprove ourselves, we get the opportunity to polish our leadershipskills. We now know how to manage multiple groups withassignments in hand. Time management is a skill that amity helpsus inculcate early in our college life and it has come in handy whenwe face time-bound situations. Academically as well as socially, allstudents have been given the opportunity to grow. We are giventhe right resources at the right time and make sure to give back toour teachers as much as we can.
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COVID 19 CHANGING THE COURSE OF INDIANEDUCATION
Jayasri GantlaAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
The sudden change in mode of education lead to confusion in thelives of students as well as teachers. Online education though notthat new as a concept was not quite explored in India before thepandemic. A lot of platforms saw a surge in their usage, some ofthe video call platforms include Zoom, Google meet, Skype, etc.Many of the state governments worked with media and tried tobroadcast virtual classes through TV but they aren’t asinteractive as an online class could be.
The main objective of broadcasting and partnering with variousstate media was to make online education as inclusive aspossible. Approaches like these help schools to experiment andcome up with new and better solutions in the future for oureducation system. The usage of these technologies was achallenge for many teachers as there was not much professionaltraining for them to be prepared. But eventually many schoolsand colleges held special trainings for teachers to be properlyequipped for online teaching and this led to building a strongerrelationship with technology for teachers as well as students.
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Though the students try their best to concentrate and pay attentionto the class as much as possible the distractions related to thedevices which are used for online classes are irresistible. The classesnot being offline and online education becoming the “new normal”has taken a toll on the mental health of the students.
The pandemic has in fact even affected the mental health of thestudents in many ways. Students being curious and alwayswanting to socialize and learn more about how their environmentworks, suddenly were confined in their homes leaving noopportunities for them to enjoy as well as focus on their classes’way better in real time or offline mode. Besides hardships like thesestudents and teachers as well as the school/college managementshave tried their best to make the best of the situation andresources. We as Indians couldn’t have imagined adapting theconcept of online education if it weren’t for the pandemic. Whoknows Covid-19 maybe be the fuel for the change which was longawaited in the Indian education system?
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TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERINCE DURINGPANDEMIC
Dishita BhatamAmity Business SchoolBBA – Sem 3
It’s been over a year since the world has gone digital including ouruniversity & I must say the journey has been quite the roller-coaster. Attending classes online been really stressful & has taken ahuge toll on not only my mental & physical state but also all theother students & teachers. Waking up every day to switch on thelaptop & sit in front of the screen all day is really stressful it hastruly had a negative impact on people’s overall health. But that’snot all there is to online classes. Being on a digital platform haspersonally helped me open up more & interact with various people.I am an introvert & it gets really hard for me to approach people &to keep a conversation going for longer than 3 mins. So being on anonline platform has really helped me to talk to more people &become more social, since I don’t have to physically be present.
This has also given me the opportunity to participate & organizevarious events, functions & activities within as well as outside ofAmity University. I decided to become a member of Ami-Psychwhich is a club at Amity Mumbai & I was presented with theopportunity to become the PR Head of Ami-Psych which was a role Iwould have never imagined taking up before. Going online hastruly opened up a lot of opportunities not only for me but hundredsof students across the globe. What I have learned through these online sessions is that it is reallyimportant to have self-discipline & to be organized.
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Since we aren’t going to classes physically every day of the weekrather, we are attending classes at the comfort of our home it isvery much possible that we can slack off on work & procrastinate. Iknow I have. Therefore, being self-disciplined & organized is goingto be very crucial at this point of time. We will need to remindourselves to study on time, work on time & finish our assignments &projects before the deadline. It is completely upon us how we planon managing this & overcome the challenges. This will also help usbecome a more well-versed individual & will give us the skills tomanage through busy schedules & hard-hitting tasks in the nearfuture.
Online classes can also be very convenient at times. I was able totake up additional courses & fit them in my schedule whileattending regular classes, this wouldn’t have been possible if wehad to attend physical lectures. This helped me gain so muchknowledge & experience within one year which I don’t think wouldhave been possible otherwise. Travelling had also become veryconvenient since I was able to travel & attend my lecture at thesame time.
But the biggest challenge which comes with online classes is the netconnectivity & the viruses within our devices. You don’t know whenyour laptop or phone may hang or just randomly shut down, thiswas a huge issue for not only me but also rest of my batch matestoo. I had to send my laptop for repair n-numbers of times when Ifinally decided to get new laptop. But then transferring data, re-programming was again a task. The net can also be veryunpredictable at times.
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DIGITAL STRATEGIES FOR REBOOTING AND REIGNITINGINDIAN BUSINESSES
Vinit Yashwant SinghAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
Pandemic has caused a massive dislocation among business. It hasaffected everyone socially, mentally, as well as economically.Businesses has observed a major loss in their economy. But this isthe time to turn new challenges into a meaningful and effectivechange. One of the ways to reboot and reignite businesses again isby digitalisation. Digitalization is the process of moving to a digitalbusiness by using digital technologies to change a business modeland provide new strategies and value-producing opportunities. It isthe new future of our world. It is one of the low-cost ways to attractan audience, acquire new leads, and open doors of communicationwith new customers. Digital or Internet Marketing will helpbusinesses to display themselves on different social mediaplatforms. People have started shifting from offline modes to onlinemodes. Opening a social media page for your business is very muchsimilar to looking for a space on road. The infrastructure of theshop will be your website designing and the products will be yourcontent.
Everyone needs a lift to rise up and in the same way in order toestablish your business online even you will need a LIFT i.e., youneed to promote your business on LinkedIn Instagram Facebookand Twitter
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Moment Marketing: It is the ability to take advantage of anyevent and creating your blogs and posts related to it. Some ofthe leading companies who are best in moment marketing areAmul, Zomato, Fevicol etc. Seasonal Marketing: This can be used occasionally; you need toadjust your campaign according to the ongoing season. For e.g.,if you have a clothing business your business will automaticallygrow if you sell beach wear during summer season or jackets inwinter season. Event Marking: Promoting Events and announcing competitionsalso help in uplifting business. Email blasts: Sending mails to all of your customers helps indelivering your message at a low cost and drive revenue.
On social media like Instagram, you have many options available topromote your product, you can create a post, reels, igtv andcollaborate with other business partners. You will have to createcontent which should be relatable for most of the audiences. It alsogives you a feature to engage with your audience and get theirfeedbacks which will help in improving and bring about a newchange. Your social media page describes a lot about you and yourbusiness so make sure that you are not pretending to be someoneelse and be more real.
Making customised contents for your business helps people toconnect through your product. You need to highlight your product’svalue and why it is unique from any other brands. Targetingcustomers will help you to generate more revenue. Engaging andinteracting with the customers will turn them into a loyal customerand eventually they will also promote your business. Some of the other strategies to increase your brand value digitallyare:
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DIGITIZATION A LIFE SAVIOUR AMID PANDEMICS
Darshan Sanjay Jain Amity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
Local and regional governments are the first responders to theCOVID-19 crisis and play an essential role in guaranteeing rightsprotection via local public service provision, including to the mostvulnerable populations living in informal settlements or slumswithin and around cities as well as older persons, women, children,persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees. It is proved thattechnology is very useful and necessary tool for the local andregional government on the frontline to provide public servicesduring this pandemic situation (COVID-19). As this virus isincreasing day by day and very rapidly governments are alsoputting restrictions on public movement. Government is alsoputting restrictions on functioning of various services and rules onsocial and physical distancing. Within this context, technology hadput a major effect on citizen’s daily lives and ensure them access tohealth services. Technology also ensures them to access toinformation& communication.
Overall, technology will play the vital role in protecting communityin the aftermath of the crises and digital tools. Technology mustensure that citizen’s right is being protected as well. Moreover,local and regional government has to take responsibility thatdigital revolution does not leave anyone on anyplace.
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Many local and regional governments on frontline of COVID-19crises have shifted to artificial intelligence (Digital Technology) tomonitor, anticipate and influence the spread of corona virus.Technology also helps to provide educations who can’t accessschool as well as foster social cohesion while we all respect socialdistancing. But when using digital technology, it the responsibilityof government to protect human rights.
All the work that are done physically are shifted to digitaltechnology for example, work that are done in office are at thetime of this crises are done in our home digitally using variousgadgets like laptop, mobile, etc.
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HOW BUSINESSES CAN THRIVE IN A CHALLENGINGPANDEMIC SITUATION
Name- Vidhi Kaushik AdhiaAmity Business SchoolBBA BF- semester 1
The whole world witnessed a massive shift with the changedlandscape due to the recent pandemic. While for individuals it tooklittle longer to get adjusted with the new normal, the Businesseshad to be cognizant enough of the aftermath and adjust theircompass accordingly. Besides being a great learning ‘GURU’, thepandemic by its own way inscribed a great lesson – “To be future-ready, and get all trained to adapt the agnostic”.
At organization level, few of the ways can be adopted in order tosustain and excel in the challenging pandemic situation:
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Be future ready
Technology prevails
Automation is the key
Moving away from One-fits-all approach
Today’s business solution is just a sustenance measure. To be therein the race, the business has to be outward facing and futureready. As today’s product / service may not be relevant to theconsumer tomorrow because of several reasons such as costing,durability etc, equivalent solution has to be on the blueprintmeeting all functions of the consumer irrespective of the market.
The rate of Technology change has rapidly exceeded in pastdecade. The business can’t do away with adoption of newtechnologies such as Blockchain, IOT, AI/ML etc. This is the enablerof ‘SPEED’ of the business solution. The Technology will be ananswer in the difficult scenarios such as pandemic – it will be atouch-free, travel-free, cash-less solution enabler.
A machine replaces 1000 manual hands’ work with zero-error.This has to be plugged-in into the system so as to free the thinking-minds. The business model can be kept hybrid, where the manualintervention is only limited towards high-sensitive deliverables.This will ensure the business continuity even in the absence ofmanual operators in situations like Work-From-Home.
While diversification open the business avenues, the deepermarket reach can only be assured with a customized solution.Acknowledging that ‘each individual has a different need’ is earlysign of the growth. Even in the calamity that the world iswitnessing, Customer will still remain a king. To make thedifference, a business solution has to have a range and variations.
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Creating a succession pipeline
Train people to work like entrepreneurs
The critical roles in the organization need to have their successors inplace. While the technology will be an enabler, the thinking mindand the Leader will always be irreplaceable. A strong successionpipeline will ensure that, for each critical position there are ‘n’numbers of successors available and the business continuity isensured.
‘People / Employees’ will remain at core of the business, as they arethe customer face and set the execution in roll. One’s skillset getsobsolete in few months’ time. Higher the focus is shifted on training& developing people they will start taking the ownership and berelevant for tomorrow’s challenging world.
While this six-pronged approach ensures the sustenance in longerrun for businesses, employee health and well-being are the hygienethat the organizations will have to abide to.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to liveforever”; continuous learning at individual and organization level issomething that one can never skip.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTURE IN INDIAN SCENARIO
Muskaan SrivastavaAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 3
WELCOME TO THE NEW TIMES WHERE WORK FROM HOME IS THENEW NORMAL IN INDIA
2020 has been a year where the homes turned offices and pyjamasbecame the new dress code. Webcam became the companion andthe screens became the new conference room. This new pattern ofworking has brought changes to various lifestyle and trends inIndia. A statistics report suggested that almost 80% of peopleworked remotely during the year 2020. It was difficult for the Gen-X and bit difficult for the Millennial also to adapt to this pattern ofWork from Home in India but eventually everyone had to adapt tothis pattern for their livelihood. The 2020 has been a year ofdifference for us all due to the Covid-19 pandemic the work fromhome pattern got introduced in all the sectors of work which wasearlier confined to only the IT- Sector and few more. It hasdrastically changed the life for many in good and bad ways. It’snow being adapted by all age groups and by all sectors mostly thatrun their business on screen. Many companies started to lose theirincome so they totally started and introduced Work for Homepattern to keep itself going through the pandemic.
As the effect of pandemic reduced later many went back to theoffices on either rotating pattern or working at the 25% capacitybut yet most companies asked their employees to stick at the Workfrom Home pattern to avoid spread of the disease.
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Companies that had a proper online structure however managedto go through the pandemic, though profits earned were low itmanaged to survive due to its work online structure. Many Indiancompanies lacked in having a proper online platform that offeredonline or work from home like patterns to its employees. Manycompanies newly introduced Work from Home patterns to itsemployees hence creating an environment of fear among itsemployees to adjust to this new way of working. Introduction of 9-5 work pattern at home created a disturbance in familyenvironment too, many people even enjoyed this work from homepattern and utilised these times to bring about changes in their livesand they got more time to spend with their family.
Work from home plans were made by many Tech-companies andother companies for all their employees. Many small-scalecompanies too started working online for its business too. But agreat fall in productivity was seen in both larger as well as smallscale companies in India. Today most of the people in India haveadapted to the work from home culture and are really lookingforward to work in the same pattern till the pandemic ends. Todayis the time when most of the people are looking forward to still stickto work from home but still as the pandemic effect is reduce, peopleare getting vaccinated companies are calling the employees back towork at the offices. A study showed that 83% of Indian employeeswere still worried to resume back to the work without vaccination.Work from home pattern has affected many personal livesnegatively and positively both. People found it more challenging towork from home as there was more disturbance through variousmeans. After Work from home pattern there was moreemphasising digital communication which were earlier confined tohierarchy level. Many Indians are satisfied with Work from Homepattern and happily accepted it also because it has kept them safeduring the pandemic.
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PRESERVERING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC - FOSTERINGBUSINESS LEADERSHIP AMONGST STUDENTS
Sakshi MounAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
Every business works keeping in mind the unseen contingencies butno business was ready to face the biggest challenge of the centurythat was the COVID-19. In such a pandemic it was the mind ofbusiness leaders which helped many companies to survive, someflourished very well and many great business ideas came to life.Talking about Indian companies and startup then one sector thatsaw huge growth was educational. According to a KPMG studythere are 3500 EdTech startups in India.
Some of the most popular EdTech includes BJYU’S which witnessed45 million new users. Another EdTech VEDANTU saw a growth of80% in revenue in April-May 2020. TOPPR which was acquired byBYJU’S in July 2021 also saw a 600% growth rate in userengagement. Bill Gates added $20 million to his wealth all due toMicrosoft’s share increase which was majorly due to Microsoftteams huge demand of usage as many educational institutions andwork places opt to use it for work from home. In a single day inApril, 75 million people used Microsoft teams as compared to 20million in late 2019.
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In the pandemic many strategies were used by companies one ofwhich was collaborations and opening new window for growth.For example, SWIGGY before the pandemic only provided fooddelivery from restaurants to the customers but after the pandemic,they expanded their business by offering SWIGGY GENIE in theirservice which could pick up and drop any item to any place whichwas a great idea as there were a lot of restrictions due to lockdownbut the delivery partners were given relaxations which helpedmany people. Making difficult time full of challenges into anopportunity is what a business leader capable of. With dynamicenvironment it is very necessary to be updated with the changesand what is the requirement and respond quickly which will help tobe ahead of others in the competition and also help in providingservices.
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TRANSFORMATION IN INDIAN EDUCATION SECTOR
Salil Vivek AmbekarAmity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
In global pandemic situation has taken a massive hit on all thesectors of the economy While it has been slightly easier for MNCSand professionals to adopt work from home as the new normal andcontinue business as usual the times have been challenging for theeducation system around the world. The adoption of technology ineducation has led to an unprecedented transformation fromteacher centric education towards student centric education. Virtualclassrooms and Various Online tools are helping to continue andenhance. UGC has permitted institutions to offer certificate ofDiploma Degree.
They said to take exams because in pandemic situation the stategovernment has cancelled the examination of final year. After thatthe Supreme Court has taken decision the final year exams arecompulsory. The state government has decided to take final yearexamination through online mode in MCQ pattern. Then theMumbai University has provided online platform to all to allcolleges to conduct online examinations through their software.Even all colleges have taken online mock test of students to knowhow to write online exams.
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Digital disruptions have caused impact on every aspect &element of Education.New Businesses and New Business Model.Current focus on selects the streams and courses under multipleinfluence both positive and negative.
AccessibilityArtificial Intelligence Machine Learning & Big DataContent Distribution NetworksQuality EducationAffordability
Need for TransformationIn one sentence in last two decades especially Education System hascalled for change so significantly in terms of requirements,expectations, and delivery that it requires surgical strike andrebuild. It is time to rebuild holistically acknowledge and actstrategically with BIG picture in mind. RevolutionaryTransformation in Evolutionary manner over 5 to 10 years ispossibly only the way forward, over next one decade Among thekey reasons:
The Five steps of E-Learning Transformations in Indian EducationSector.
1.Accessibility
·Student can easily access the lectures through Mobile, Laptops etc.·The WIFI/Mobile Internet speed should be normal so they caneasily attend the online lectures.
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It is the latest technological advancement incorporated in the e-learning industry.Video re buffering stops 2/3 recording of the viewers stopwatching videos.
In such case online learning has become more effective inproviding quality education.E-Learning is also making the entire learning experience funfilled by including Quizzes challenges, practical – oriented andmore encouraging.The Quality of Education is very interesting student can takeadvantage of that.
2. Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning & Big Data
• The E-Learning with help of Artificial intelligence is one of theverges of a paradigm shift.• The machine learning handicrafts the effective approach ofeducation as well as course progression of a student.
3. Content Distribution Networks
4. Quality Education
5.Affordable
·The biggest issue that students face in India is the lack ofopportunities and resources.·Even those students are leaving in rural or urban area they areaffordable to attend the online lecture.
The online lectures are given very good platform to can attend thelecture anytime the various modes are having zoom, Google Meetetc. There doubt can solve easily.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTURE IN INDIAN SCENARIO
Divyansh JainAmity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
Evidently, pandemic presented an unparalleled issue in therelationship of employee and employer. From last 2 years, most ofthe industries throughout the world, and there is a transition inworkplaces, which might consider initially as workplaces, then tothe virtual workplaces, but now employees are permitted to workfrom their home. Separately, right from the decrement ofoperational cost, it is seen that, it grows the realization that theemployee’s productivity needs not be compromised at the time ofdoing work from home respectively. Employment legislations aswell as Indian labor presently need not to equipped in order toregulate and to resolve the problems which may arises from thework from home, and it did not provide any particular guidelineswhich regulate the relationship of employee and employer.
Around 42% of the Indian firms continue to work remotely fromlast 2 years, as there is an outburst of pandemic. According to thereport of Economic Times, 42% of the HR managers said that theircompanies continue to work remotely while owing to thewidespread of COVID—19. Around 40% of the respondents saidthat, they may follow the hybrid working structure that is WFH(Work from Home) and the office on the alternate days. Whereas,remaining 18% of the respondents feel that they completely revokethe policies of WFH.
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Leave entitlements, overtime payments and working hours:Unfortunately, work from home may blurred a differentiationamong the working days / hours and non-working days / hours.Though, there is a statutory provision which is concerned to theleave entitlements, overtime pay and the working hours etc., thiswill apply continuously, as employees or staff are performing theirduties from the company office.
With an aim of dealing with this scenario, higher authority oremployers need to change their weekly hour of working limit inopposition to the limit of daily working hour, and it may devise anappropriate or accurate in order to track time that needs to beextended through an employee which includes the log in and log offat the online portal at the beginning and end of the day, and toinstall the applications as well as software to track the productivityof the employees.
Regulation of the workplace conduct:An imperative challenge for the employers is about to regulate thestaff’s conduct in the virtual as well as remote workplace. For aninstance, female staff faces misbehave or sexual harassment at thework through the online mediums while performing their dutiesfrom their homes (that is now regarded as workplace). Though,employers should frame the policies like anti-harassment especiallyfor the women.
Although, to revising the policies of anti-harassment in order toaccommodate the changes in the circumstances, this maymandatorily for the employers in order to explain the rights,responsibilities and the duties to the employees towards theprevention for any harassment, or any other type of misbehave, itis particularly seen under the case of virtual workplacerespectively.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTURE IN INDIANSCENARIO
Pooja SawantAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
More than a year has passed since the World Health Organizationdeclared Covid-19 a pandemic. People faced an immense number ofproblems from losing jobs to doing work which one never didbefore. The beginning of the pandemic made people live arestricted life which no one was used to. Everything was fine untilthe ‘WORK FROM HOME’ culture made its way into people’s life.People’s mindset at the beginning of this pandemic was that theywill be able to stay safe from the Covid-19 pandemic by staying athome, spending time with their loved ones, and most importantlyworking as per their wish. But that was not the case.
People have to work overtime in the work from home culture,working housewives have to manage the house, kids, and theiroffice work. Eventually, people realized that working from theoffice was way easier than working from home as 9 to 5 jobsensured that there is no overtime unless needed. As the secondwave of Covid-19 eased, people demanded the government to startoffices and after discussion with the health minister and otherauthorities, the government agreed to reopen the service andbusiness sector remotely. More than half of the global workforce isworking remotely and as the pandemic continues to threatenhealth, we are looking at a prolonged period of hybrid working –from home and office in different proportions. The work from homeculture continues to be a safer version to work and sustaineconomic activities in the country to contain the spread of Covid-19.
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Work from home has pros such as a balance of personal andprofessional life, virtual collaboration without geographicalboundaries, avoiding congestion problems in metro cities such asMumbai, and saving time and resources too. But along with thepros, one can’t ignore the cons. Productivity and creativity ofpeople have decreased.
There is also a risk of isolation. People sometimes fail to maintain awork-life balance. Also, not to forget the health aspect, sitting atone place for hours and working on laptops, and attending callshas affected people’s health. They have started facing back and eyeproblems and overall health problems. The dark cloud of the thirdwave still hovers around our head and switching completely towork from office mode is still not advisable. We all know that workwill never be the same, even if we don’t yet know how it will bedifferent. Though some companies have already switched to workfrom home mode, many are still struggling to get used to thisculture. Most organizations in India do not have well-documentedpolicies and guidelines to support extended work-from-homearrangements. Also, most of the managerial staff is not trained andequipped to manage remote teams. Even though Covid-19 came asa question out of the syllabus, it did teach humanity how to live lifewith restrictions not to take anything for granted, and to walkhand in hand with technology. The world economies have becomeincreasingly connected and interdependent. Greater flexibility,adaptability, and resilience will be key to the next-generationworkforce. The implementation of technological advancements inoffice productivity tools, collaboration tools, digital documents,flexible workflows, cheaper broadband connectivity will continueto make work from home easier.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTURE IN INDAIN SCENARIO
Shloka Atul KulkarniAmity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
In March 2020, the world witnessed a massive COVID outbreak. Tocurb the repercussions of this Global Pandemic in our nation, alockdown was imposed by our Hon. Prime Minister and thus beganthe ‘Work from Home’(WFH) journey in India. It became imperativefor Companies to shift their workplaces to ‘virtual workplaces’.While it was a dream come true for a lot of employees, the ideadidn’t quite work for rest of them. The thought of spending timewith their families fascinated a lot of people whereas manygrappled with anxiety and loneliness because of the work stress.Every sector experienced a lack of technical knowledge due to theWFH scenario.
In this article, we would be primarily focusing on the challengesfaced by women in the WFH culture of India. Women,as the historyspeaks, are expected to be “Primarycaregivers” along withcarrying out their responsibilities as an employee. It has beenobserved during a survey by Indian Express, that ‘while womencontinued to juggle personal and professional commitments, manymen preferred to restrict themselves to their work desk’. It wasfound that men prioritized their work and had separate rooms astheir workplaces while women had to make household chores theirpriority and the work became secondary for them. Therewas an ill-defined boundary betweenwork and home for women during thePandemic. It threatened the professional lives of women forcingthem to downsize work or leave their jobs completely.
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According to a recent survey by an India based organization ‘PinkLadder’, which focuses on the career growth of femaleprofessionals and employees recorded, that 4 out of 10 workingwomen in India faced anxiety and stress issues linked to the WFHsituation. It also recorded unsettling observations of women beingvictims of “double burden syndrome” where they are expected todouble up the household chores along with juggling theresponsibilities of an employee. It was seen that over 50% womenare facing motivational challenges in the WFH scenario in India.
The massive shift of workplace from offices to homes, has had aserious impact in each one of us. Sadly, the decline in physicaloffices did not result in the decline of sexual harassment incidents.We have heard plenty of Sexual Harassment cases in a physicalworkplace but, recent caseshave been surfaced highlighting theharassment of women sexually in a virtual workplace. According toa recent survey by ‘Benefits pro’, (an organization dealing withemployees and their redressals) over 29% of respondents said theyhave experienced unwelcome behavior over video calls, textmessages, email or other online platforms since the start of thepandemic.
It is absolutely true that this pandemic has resulted into a numberof challenges in our lives. Many people have felt calm andreconnected with their families in the WFH situation but it is hightime we acknowledge the hardships faced by women strugglingwith this scenario.
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WORK FROM HOME CULTURE IN INDAIN SCENARIO
Vatsala TiwariAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
The COVID-19 had presented many unusual challenges ineveryone’s lives many businesses have shut down everyone has toshift to the digital way of learning all the school have gone digital,Zoom Google meet, Microsoft Teams have taken place as meetingrooms for the officer goers it is considered as the new normal asthis practice will be followed amid pandemic so as to make sure forthe safety measures.
I would like to state some pros and cons of WFH culture in India,
PROS
· Economic- as we know that before the pandemic hit right in themorning 6 am people used to move out from their houses andtravel to their respective office locations whether it be school,college, university, banks or any other place with their respectiveway of transports like public busses, auto rickshaw or even withtheir very own vehiclesso the expense for this travellingreducedwhich helped the people to save that money and use forsome other way.· Mental- after a tiring day at an office people reach home to theirfamily for peace and mental relaxation but when there areworking from home they do not have to think about their family asthey are with them 24 X 7, they can undemandingly manage theirhousehold stuff. The employees who are facingworkplaceharassment causing them tosuffer mentally as wellphysically are now safe from it as do not have to go through it.
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CONS
• Personality- since the people are working from home and havingmeeting and classes digitally, they are not able to havecommunication at a larger scale which in a way is making themintroverts and affecting their personality as an individual and thereis mind set is becoming in a way to not interact with others.
• Digital Dependency- pre pandemic period we all were dependenton the digital world in just entertainment way and very little forother purposes but post pandemic our dependency graph has takena long leap.
• Mental Health- people not able to move out and not able to talk topeople are the biggest reason of they facing depression andanxiety issues people staying at home and working also is a reasonof them generating anger issues as they have to stay at home dothe households and at the same time work also without evengetting a chance to go out and refresh their minds they are stuckinside their houses. Since the employees are working from homethe companies would want them to work more hence increasingtheir burden.
• Environment- the increase in the usage of the number ofelectronic devices also increases the internet consumption for whichthe companies install network towers and leading to increase in theelectromagnetic radiations which can promote tumor growth andcancer, these rays not just affect us but also the birds due to theseradiations their nervous system breaks down and fly in all directionwhich harm their natural navigational abilities.
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BUYING BEHAVIOURS OF CONSUMER AMIDPANDEMICS
Ritik Rakesh Khandelwal Amity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
This pandemic has had a significant impact on the nation'seconomies, indicating a shift in market dynamics. Abe (2020)observed trends such as people raiding grocery store walkways,the cancellation of the world's most important events, andmandates for 'non-essential' businesses to be temporarily closed toprevent the spread of infection in her report titled 'Market Trendsand D2C Opportunities in the COVID-19.' People are spending lessof their income on products that are considered nice-to-have ornon-essential during the pandemic (such as clothing, shoes, make-up, jewellery, games and electronics). Developed countries are alsotransitioning towards steady state purchasing during COVID-19.According to the survey, food products will see a rise in demandwhile non-edible products would have a mild increase in demand,resulting in lower demand for homecare, cosmetics, and personalcare products.
McKinney conducted a poll of Indian consumer opinions during thecorona virus epidemic from May 1 to 4, 2020. According to thefindings, 76% of consumers in the sample strongly agreed to spendtheir money wisely and cut back on their purchases. According tothe Boston Consulting Group research (2020) on market dynamics,in addition to changes in spending patterns, significant drops insales of many industries in India were observed during COVID-19.suggests significant variations in spending in particular.
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Lower-income and younger consumers are more likely to plan tocut back on their spending, whereas older and higher-incomeconsumers are more resilient and expect to retain or grow theirspending. In their analysis titled 'Market Dynamics During COVID-19: Indian Consumer Sentiments Analysis,' research firm Kantaralso noted a noteworthy shift in consumer attitudes, behaviours,and expectations (2020). This poll was conducted with customersaged 18 and up, and it included 11,000 households from 19 citiesand 15 states across India. Consumers expressed strong anxietyabout a pandemic, stating that disruption (45% of respondents) ismore concerning than health concerns (31 %).
The survey also revealed that spending has decreased dramaticallyin both physical and online formats. The survey also revealed thatplanned purchases had been postponed, as well as a newfoundability to live with less. In a paper on the probable impact ofCOVID-19 on the Indian economy, KPMG claimed that similareconomic elastic spending behaviour was also seen during earlierepidemics, with consumers paying more attention to pricing,product origin, and utility-based consumption or reducedconsumption. Consumers exhibited economic elasticity in the formof rapid, steady, or sluggish market recovery during prioroutbreaks such as SARS, MERS, and other natural calamities. Aportion of this behaviour is permanent, resulting in fundamentalchanges in how we live, work, and make purchases. During theCOVID-19 epidemic, according to Accenture consumer research(2020), an increase in consumer anxiety has led to a shift inconsumer priorities that is now focused on most basic needs,driving demand primarily for hygiene, cleaning, and staplesproducts, while non-essential categories sink.Consumers' desire toshop locally is reflected in the products they purchase and themanner in which they purchase them in order to support localestablishments, which they view to be a more sustainablealternative.
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TRANSFORMATION IN INDIAN EDUCATION SECTOR
Janak Soni Amity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
Education is not only not gotten degree, the main aim of educationin about furnishing your life and fight the war on ignorance andpoverty. -JANAK GHAMANDIRAM SONI
Education system is not new for today’s era, this is going on fromTRETA YUGA or even before TRETA YUGA-a period that lastedaround a million years ago. In that era LORD RAMA with his threebrothers had gone to gurukul, VASHISTA MUNI ASHRAM withinAjodhya for study. So, at that time gurukul was their educationinstitute, college, school etc. As many years passed away, theeducation system got updated and got advancement in education.After many years India became modern in 1800 as Englisheducation took place which was also meant as modern education.This modern education was introduced by LORD THOMASBALEINGTON MACAULY in 1830.
In ancient times students were given education to grab values andknowledge but in today’s date children are given education forvalues and knowledge as well as for earning money and getsuccess. Today education is about giving student skills they need tosucceed in this new world and helping them to grow theirconfidence. Before there were black board, chalk and duster, butnow a days as this generation is getting smarter now most of thebig institutes use smart boards with advanced technology.
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Now the school system in India has 4 levels lower primary- [6to 10 years], upper primary- [11 to 12 years], high- [13 to 16years], high secondary- [17 to 18 years]. Day by day subjectsystem got updated and advancement took place in educationsystem. But suddenly covid-19 pandemic entered in life and pulldown the face-to-face learning, physical learning in campus.Then the pandemic taught us that how to get more advanceand we started online education, work from home system andeach and everything went online and education on screen.
Due to online education students were unable to understandanything and all were demotivated which was main drawbackof online education. But SWAMI VIVEKANAND said -:{EDUCATION IS THE MANIFESTATION OF THE PERFCTIONALREADY IN MAN}. So, this was the foremost transformation ineducation system.
I would like to conclude by saying as transformation is fast sowe have to stay together with these types of transformations.
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DIGITALIZATION - A LIFE SAVIOR AMID COVID 19PANDEMIC
Chaitanya GuptaAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 1
Life was very usual before the pandemic, The Indian Economy wasaccomplishing milestones but after the Covid-19, it stagnated thegrowth and we were pushed back to the mid- eighty’s economyfrom where the recovery of our real economy was miles away.Nevertheless, Indians know how to fight back be it in Cricket orCovid-19. Digitalization was one of many aspects which help us intackling the pandemic. While Covid-19 was taking a terrible toll onthe economy, it was also helping us in perceiving the need fordigital platforms across India. The virus outbreak has helped instimulating the adaptation of contactless digital payments,telemedicine, remote patient monitoring technologies, clinicaldecision support software, OTT platforms, Toll collection system,Teleconferencing system, Covid-19 contact tracing and syndromicmapping, vaccination registration web portal and so on.
In the pre-pandemic era, Digitalization was grasping its ground inthe Banking sector in the form of digital payments. But after theCovid outbreak, it was accelerating at an unimaginable rate.Suddenly, People started buying their food items, their medicines,their entertainment stuffs online. Many Payment apps weredeveloped to accelerate this growth. The government’s real-timepayment system also saw a sudden growth. These were BHIM(Bharat Interface For Money) and the UPI (Unified PaymentsInterface). Both the apps were developed by NPCI (NationalPayments Corporation of India) in the year 2016 for facilitatinginter-bank, peer-to-peer, and person-to-merchant transactions.Further, these payments apps were linked with the Fast tags whichis an electronic toll collection system, operated by NHAI. 777777
In the early day of Covid-19, The outbreak started restraining ourprofessional life. Industries across India were been shut. Peoplestart finding it difficult to go to their work. Business meetings,plannings came to a standstill. Nevertheless, some business playerssaw these difficulties as a new opportunity to grow and thrive.They come up with the idea of teleconferencing though it wasdeveloped in 2015 but required the changes according to the 'newnormal. Apps like Zoom, Microsoft teams, Google meet and so onanalyzed the new trends and made changes to their existing apps.These apps saw an overnight increase in their usage. They came upwith ideas that not only impacted the business and service sectorsbut also educational sectors which was again one of many affectedby the Covid outbreak.
Just like Zoom and other Teleconferencing platforms, one entirelydifferent platform was also getting the recognition that they hopedfor in the late nineties. It was Netflix. In the early days of the Covidoutbreak, Entertainment Industry lost the fight against the Covid-19and again came to a standstill. Theatres where been shut andupcoming movie dates got rescheduled. This incurred huge losseson producers who invested generously in a variety of movies.Netflix and other OTT platforms came to the rescue of theentertainment industry offering them to release their content in asubscription-based streaming platform. People locked up in theirhomes started subscribing to these OTT platforms for entertainmentpurposes. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar and otherPlatforms saw an unimaginable boom and reached 100 milliondownloads and 10 Million subscriptions within a span of mere 4-7months.Though Covid-19 had affected most of the Industries across India, ithas unknowingly stimulated the growth of digitalization. WhatIndia has hoped for the Digital ecosystem's future in the next 10years has been already accomplished in this pandemic era itself.
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Tanishq SonalkarAmity Business SchoolBBA Semester-3
Having largely ignored Covid-19 as it spread across China, globalfinancial markets reacted strongly last week when the virus spreadto Europe and the Middle East, stoking fears of a global pandemic.Since then, Covid-19 risks have been priced so aggressively acrossvarious asset classes that some fear a recession in the globaleconomy may be a foregone conclusion.In our conversations, business leaders are asking whether themarket drawdown truly signals a recession, how bad a Covid-19recession would be, what the scenarios are for growth andrecovery, and whether there will be any lasting structural impactfrom the unfolding crisis.In truth, projections and indices won’t answer these questions.Hardly reliable in the calmest of times, a GDP forecast is dubiouswhen the virus trajectory is unknowable, as are the effectiveness ofcontainment efforts, and consumers’ and firms’ reactions. There isno single number that credibly captures or foresees Covid-19’seconomic impact.
What Would a Covid-19-Induced Recession Look Like?Though market sentiment can be misleading, recessionary risk isreal. The vulnerability of major economies, including the U.S.economy, has risen as growth has slowed and the expansions ofvarious countries are now less able to absorb shocks. In fact, anexogenous shock hitting the U.S. economy at a time ofvulnerabilityhas been the most plausible recessionary scenario forsome time.
STAYING CASH POSTIVE IN A COVID-19RECESSIONARY WORLD
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What is the Likely Recovery Path?
Whether economies can avoid the recession or not, the path backto growth under Covid-19 will depend on a range of drivers, suchas the degree to which demand will be delayed or foregone,whether the shock is truly a spike or lasts, or whether there isstructural damage, among other factors. It’s reasonable tosketch three broad scenarios, which we described as V-U-L.
V-shaped: This scenario describes the “classic” real economyshock, a displacement of output, but growth eventuallyrebounds. In this scenario, annual growth rates could fullyabsorb the shock. Though it may seem optimistic amid today’sgloom, we think it is plausible.
U-shaped: This scenario is the ugly sibling of V — the shockpersists, and while the initial growth path is resumed, there issome permanent loss of output. Is this plausible for Covid-19?Absolutely, but we’d want to see more evidence of the virus’actual damage to make this the base case.
L-shaped: This scenario is the very ugly and poor relation of Vand U. For this to materialize, you’d have to believe in Covid-19’sability to do significant structural damage, i.e. breakingsomething on the economy’s supply side — the labor market,capital formation, or the productivity function. This is difficult toimagine even with pessimistic assumptions. At some point we willbe on the other side of this epidemic.
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Rohan GargAmity Business SchoolBBA- semester 3
The world was introduced to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)towards the end of the year 2019. This deadly virus, which canspread through the air, has caused a state of a major pandemic inthe world. First discovered in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China,this virus has quickly spread throughout the world in a matter ofweeks. Soon other countries also started experiencing cases of thecoronavirus and the numbers kept rising. Italy was among the topcasualties caused by the virus. “The world health organization hadofficially declared COVID19 as a pandemic.” Due to the nature of thevirus, governments were forced to take drastic measures to stopthe spread of this previously unknown virus. Many businesses andindustries had to be shut down to reduce the spread of the virus.The world was now in a state of flux as many workers were firedby businesses to save operational costs. This mainly impactedminimum wage workers and those working in the service industry. Many corporate employees and those in the senior managementwere able to quickly transition into a “Work-from-home” phraseand thus, did not suffer as many job losses. This was made possibleonly by the technological advancements made in the 21st centuryand thus created a unique scenario for the entire global economy.How can businesses thrive during this challenging time? As of 2021,the pandemic is still on going and cases rise and fall daily. Somebusinesses have received a boost due to the pandemic and somehave fallen or closed.
HOW BUSINESSES CAN THRIVE IN A CHALLENGINGPANDEMIC SITUATION
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For example, the video gaming industry has seen significant boostsas people spend more time indoors. The retailing industry on theother hand, suffered multiple losses due to loss of sales.
As the saying goes, change is the only constant in the businessenvironment. Companies must adapt and evolve themselves tooperate in the new age of the pandemic or shut down. There aresome ways where companies can survive and even thrive duringthese tough times. The power of the Internet: As more and morepeople stay indoors; the internet has seen a massive boom. Thismakes internet-based services such as online shopping, onlinemovie and video streaming and digital advertising much moreviable. Thus, it is the perfect time for companies to expand theirpresence online, as many customers now prefer online goods andservices. By being more accessible online, businesses can still selltheir products and services through a digital platform.
Many retailers have now expanded their presence online, due toclosure/low visits to physical stores. This has a few benefits.Customers find it more convenient to purchase goods from thecomfort of their homes, this leads to better satisfaction andpossibility of regular purchases. Businesses no longer would haveto have a physical store, which would save rent and maintenancecosts. Diversification into new industries and supply chains:Businesses can expand into new markets and industries which havea higher demand due to the pandemic. For example, Pizza deliverygiant Dominoes started delivering essential items after thepandemic started. This allowed some of their employees to retaintheir jobs while also allowing the company to earn some revenue tocut losses. Reusing existing products with low demand for adifferent purpose: The massive reduction in demand for airlineslead to excess supply and low demand for many airlines.
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Company’s Output- whether a mentally stressed employee cangive a better result in work or a employee who is mentallyhealthy undoubtedly we know the answer so work from homehas given great results because they also extend their workinghours as they are working from home early people used towork for 8hrs a day but now they can willingly increase it to10hrs or more, since they are not travelling it helps them thatenergy which was spent their to use it to work hard and dowork up to the mark.Pollution- since people are working from and not moving outhence no vehicle fumes being ejected in the environment which ishelping it to heal acc to a report submitted by a journalist onSept 2020 to the NCBI states that the pandemic situation hassignificantly improved the quality of air in many parts of theworld including India, as well as reduction of GHGs emission,lesser water pollution, lesser noise pollution.
To counter this, airlines started using their commercial planes totransport important goods and services like Vaccines andhealthcare provisions. This allows them to earn income and reducetheir wasted resources. Conclusion Covid-19 has affected all thecountries in the world. Many developed countries are struggling tocontrol the spread of the coronavirus. Businesses will have to adaptand improvise to survive during this pandemic. Many of themmanaged to catapult and grow significantly during this pandemic.Some found ways to retain most of their labour, reducingunemployment. By utilizing the right opportunities based on theirproduct/service, many companies can gain a significantadvantage. Implementation will need to be proper, and the rightdecisions at the right time must be taken in order to come out on thetop.
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CONS
Personality- since the people are working from home and havingmeeting and classes digitally, they are not able to havecommunication at a larger scale which in a way is making themintroverts and affecting their personality as an individual and thereis mind set is becoming in a way to not interact with others.Digital Dependency- pre pandemic period we all were dependenton the digital world in just entertainment way and very little forother purposes but post pandemic our dependency graph has takena long leap.
Environment- the increase in the usage of the number of electronicdevices also increases the internet consumption for which thecompanies install network towers and leading to increase in theelectromagnetic radiations which can promote tumor growth andcancer, these rays not just affect us but also the birds due to theseradiations their nervous system breaks down and fly in all directionwhich harm their natural navigational abilities.
Conclusion
In this difficult time, we all are going through everyone thestudents, employees and everyone who all are reliable on this workfrom home culture has to face challenges though India is on theunlocking stage many companies still recommend their employeesto continue to work from home until some other alternative is beingfound they should make this as a new normal and get equipped todeal with all the pros and cons stated above and they all can try tomake a required environment.
HOW BUSINESS CAN THRIVE IN A CHALLENGINGPANDEMIC SITUATION
Vertika ChaurasiaAmity Business SchoolMBA- semester 1
During this challenging situation the entrepreneurs will have toadapt new set of rules and regulation and be mindful with thefollowing aspect to alleviate risk and to survive the slowdown ofthe business by the impact of covid-19 It was utmost important forbusinesses to conduct a proper assessment of their fixed andvariable expenses as well as the actual revenue. This will give aclear picture of where a company stand financially and help theentrepreneur in planning ahead in the current disconcerted market.
The market is changing every week and for the worse, it isimperative to reconsider the business model and reassess whereyour business stand as per your assumptions concerning therevenue and cost.it was also a very crucial time to track currentfinancial metrics and cash flow. Be mindful of what your runway isbusiness need to evaluate the impact on news sales, collections,credit cycles and debts. Since we don’t know how long thispandemic will go and for how long we have to stay in our homeswe can stay as long as we want but for our survival we have toearn and run our business and for that we have to adapt new lifestyle and work from home is changing lifestyle of people.Businesses are runed from houses or either online, workers have toadapt new working style office space and daily meeting are nowchanged into working from and doing our meeting from ourpersonal computers.
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Many companies have faced many losses and are at a point wheretheir business is going to shut. Due to this pandemic entrepreneurhas reconfigure their business strategy to reduce the variableexpenses. Change in selling strategy like selling online versus inperson, Business has changed their strategies, communicate and actwith compassion and they would require a revision of salesrevenue goods and product timeline itself and along with newoperating plans. In order to keep their work on track the ownerneed to communicate to their workers so that they don’t face anychallenges.
We all are in this together so the ideal way is to keep transparentwith our customers about what our business is going through,Communicate with customer to understand their perception of theproduct offered by the business Your workers relies on you so youkeep them updated about each and every development and aspromoter it the entrepreneur responsibility to keep the teammembers engaged and we have to stay connected with themthrough video conferencing tools such as ZOOM and GOOGLEHANGOUTS it is very important to maintain high spirit with theteam and understand the general mood within your remoteworkforce.
Right form of communication with the shareholders is very mustand most importantly with the customers and the employees of thecompany and having an honest conversating in every situation isvery must because your honesty and honest conversation on thesituation and its impact on your business with your entireleadership team.
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As we received healthy response for our first newsletter
thus, we look forward to invite articles for our next
newsletter to be launched by the month of December.
Theme for same would be based on learning / teaching
experiences on virtual platforms. We welcome news
articles based on the theme virtual learning / online
teaching - earning process.
There is a complete paradigm shift in Indian education
system and thus there exists a need of in-depth
exploration on impact of virtual learning on multiple
platforms. We are evidencing complete paradigm shift of
Indian education system and thus we welcome academic
contribution from industry practitioners, academic
fraternity and students.
THEME FOR NEXT NEWSLETTERTHEME FOR NEXT NEWSLETTERTHEME FOR NEXT NEWSLETTERTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES ANDTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES ANDTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND
ONLINE LEARNINGONLINE LEARNINGONLINE LEARNING
