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Friday, January 26, 2007
MBAs catch the commodities fever
NEW DELHI: Management graduates are set to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. And, it is the commodity fever that is causing this phenomenon. Organised retail, FMCG companies, broking houses and old agri-businesses are all hiring management graduates with a modicum of commodity background to hedge their bets.
On the other hand, MBAs from international B-schools looking for an emerging market exposure prefer to go rural, says S Siva Kumar, ITC’s e-choupal head. Aware of the talent crunch, most IIMs and reputed B-schools have started courses on commodities and agri-businesses.
Simultaneously, MCX and NCDEX have tied up with B-schools to create courses around commodities. MCX took commodity training to another level by launching VISTAS. Over 450 teams from various B-schools participated in this virtual war. “The new entrants have become institutionalised. Hence, they are looking at a new dimension of professional corporate services to enrich their investments, which are essentially agri assets,” says Joseph Massey, deputy MD, MCX.
NCDEX has been conducting 30-hour commodity modules for several management institutes such as Narsee Monjee, Symbiosis, IIM-B and MDI. If business geeks say that they get their intellectual kick from new markets, then commodities is the fad in Indian B-schools. That has sent commodity exchanges on an overdrive to leverage that casual interest among management students across B-schools. A recent informal survey among IIM-A students threw up startling results. Strikingly, more than 300 students in the random sample of 800 students were keen to board the commodity bandwagon.
The faculty was not too far behind. “With the integration of Indian commodity markets with the world and a range of instruments available such as futures and options, the sector has come to offer great scope for professional managerial talent,” says Jayanth Varma, dean & professor of finance, IIM-A.
With increasing private sector involvement in the commodities sector, there is a much larger role for corporates to play. The changing consumption profile from pure cereal to milk and poultry has made commodities more challenging. The sector is increasingly becoming globally-integrated and organised. “Rural has become glamorous with a larger number of management graduates getting attracted towards it,” says Mr Kumar. Incidentally, when the ITC goes to IIMs for hiring, the e-choupal initiative attracts maximum candidates.
Sample this: 39% of Food Bazaar’s sales are from groceries. The better the just-in-time procurement and tight supply chain management, the better the bottomline looks. Essentially, commodity expertise helps with the complex laws and taxation structure of a mandi by managing the supply chain in a retail format.
In brokerages and FMCG companies, they assist in hedging and trading activities. “Commodity is an extremely volatile sector and with the lack of talent, there are very few research-based calls made, which result in increased volatility. But, with good money and potential, this sector has become extremely attractive for us,” says Shardul Sharma, who joined Sharekhan as a commodity analyst after his MBA. With global exchanges showing interest in their Indian counterparts, the sky is the limit.
Source: Economictimes 30-12-2006
On the other hand, MBAs from international B-schools looking for an emerging market exposure prefer to go rural, says S Siva Kumar, ITC’s e-choupal head. Aware of the talent crunch, most IIMs and reputed B-schools have started courses on commodities and agri-businesses.
Simultaneously, MCX and NCDEX have tied up with B-schools to create courses around commodities. MCX took commodity training to another level by launching VISTAS. Over 450 teams from various B-schools participated in this virtual war. “The new entrants have become institutionalised. Hence, they are looking at a new dimension of professional corporate services to enrich their investments, which are essentially agri assets,” says Joseph Massey, deputy MD, MCX.
NCDEX has been conducting 30-hour commodity modules for several management institutes such as Narsee Monjee, Symbiosis, IIM-B and MDI. If business geeks say that they get their intellectual kick from new markets, then commodities is the fad in Indian B-schools. That has sent commodity exchanges on an overdrive to leverage that casual interest among management students across B-schools. A recent informal survey among IIM-A students threw up startling results. Strikingly, more than 300 students in the random sample of 800 students were keen to board the commodity bandwagon.
The faculty was not too far behind. “With the integration of Indian commodity markets with the world and a range of instruments available such as futures and options, the sector has come to offer great scope for professional managerial talent,” says Jayanth Varma, dean & professor of finance, IIM-A.
With increasing private sector involvement in the commodities sector, there is a much larger role for corporates to play. The changing consumption profile from pure cereal to milk and poultry has made commodities more challenging. The sector is increasingly becoming globally-integrated and organised. “Rural has become glamorous with a larger number of management graduates getting attracted towards it,” says Mr Kumar. Incidentally, when the ITC goes to IIMs for hiring, the e-choupal initiative attracts maximum candidates.
Sample this: 39% of Food Bazaar’s sales are from groceries. The better the just-in-time procurement and tight supply chain management, the better the bottomline looks. Essentially, commodity expertise helps with the complex laws and taxation structure of a mandi by managing the supply chain in a retail format.
In brokerages and FMCG companies, they assist in hedging and trading activities. “Commodity is an extremely volatile sector and with the lack of talent, there are very few research-based calls made, which result in increased volatility. But, with good money and potential, this sector has become extremely attractive for us,” says Shardul Sharma, who joined Sharekhan as a commodity analyst after his MBA. With global exchanges showing interest in their Indian counterparts, the sky is the limit.
Source: Economictimes 30-12-2006
