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Friday, February 02, 2007
Innovative ideas fuel Dabur's B-school case study contest
FOR A change, the boardroom meets the classroom. The Rs 1,899.57 crore Dabur India's efforts to enter B-School classrooms in search of innovative ideas and business strategies to double its turnover and profit by 2009-10 have already thrown up around 100 potential acquisition targets for the homegrown FMCG giant.
Dabur, in an attempt to infuse some fresh thinking and forge closer ties with campuses, is conducting a national case study contest called 'Navigator' . Several innovative ideas and business models were suggested by the Bschool students. "Through these case studies, we are looking at suggestions in terms of growing our business, both organic and inorganic ," Mr A Sudhakar, executive vice president , HR, Dabur India said. One of them could directly shape the future of Dabur India.
Under this, B-school students were invited to propose a business plan for Dabur towards achievement of Vision 2010. The twopronged intent behind this case contest was to tap the brightest young minds to give fresh perspectives and innovative ideas for growing the company and to dispel the traditional image and be viewed as a contemporary employer . The company had received entries from over 120 teams and after initial shortlisting by internal senior managers, 46 teams were invited for the regional round.
The contest was thrown open to students, either individually or in groups of three from each B-school , with no restrictions to the number of entries from each B-school . This short listing was done on structured parameters such as originality of proposal/recommendations , quality of research and analysis, feasibility of implementing the recommendations , among others. Ten teams - including IIM-Ahmedabad , ISB Hyderabad, FMS, NMIMS Mumbai and IIM-Kozhikode - have made it to the national round, which will be held on February 3, 2007 at Hotel Taj Mahal, New Delhi. "Ideas have been generated across the themes of innovation, acquisition and expansion by B-school students. While the B-school students have identified 100-odd acquisition targets for the company, all of these may not necessarily translate into actual acquisitions. This reflects how future professionals view Dabur as a company and a brand," Sudhakar adds .
And these suggested acquisition targets spread across the length and breadth of the globe which cover a wide array of sectors from personal care to healthcare and foods. That's not all, introduction of new brands/subbrands and diversification into newer areas like health spas and the services sector also figured among the business ideas shortlisted for the final selection round, scheduled for February 3, 2007.
Apart from the obvious benefit of generating business ideas for the organisation's growth, this is also being seen as a way of building the Dabur brand among students who could be prospective employees in a year's time. Every year, Dabur India recruits 15-18 students from premier B-schools in the country as management trainees, apart from 50-60 lateral hires. Many different models were also suggested for entering the services sector using a common thread of leveraging on Ayurveda/Herbal equity. Some very innovative rural initiatives and procurement strategies were also suggested.
IT PAYS TO IDEATE
The contest was organised in search of ideas and strategies to double its turnover and profit by 2009-10 The two-pronged intent was to tap the brightest young minds and to dispel the traditional image and be viewed as a contemporary employer The company received entries from over 120 teams of which 46 teams were invited for the regional round after shortlisting The winning strategy in the final selection round, scheduled for February 3, 2007, will walk away with a cash prize of Rs 1.25 lakh. Ten teams have entered the final national round
Dabur, in an attempt to infuse some fresh thinking and forge closer ties with campuses, is conducting a national case study contest called 'Navigator' . Several innovative ideas and business models were suggested by the Bschool students. "Through these case studies, we are looking at suggestions in terms of growing our business, both organic and inorganic ," Mr A Sudhakar, executive vice president , HR, Dabur India said. One of them could directly shape the future of Dabur India.
Under this, B-school students were invited to propose a business plan for Dabur towards achievement of Vision 2010. The twopronged intent behind this case contest was to tap the brightest young minds to give fresh perspectives and innovative ideas for growing the company and to dispel the traditional image and be viewed as a contemporary employer . The company had received entries from over 120 teams and after initial shortlisting by internal senior managers, 46 teams were invited for the regional round.
The contest was thrown open to students, either individually or in groups of three from each B-school , with no restrictions to the number of entries from each B-school . This short listing was done on structured parameters such as originality of proposal/recommendations , quality of research and analysis, feasibility of implementing the recommendations , among others. Ten teams - including IIM-Ahmedabad , ISB Hyderabad, FMS, NMIMS Mumbai and IIM-Kozhikode - have made it to the national round, which will be held on February 3, 2007 at Hotel Taj Mahal, New Delhi. "Ideas have been generated across the themes of innovation, acquisition and expansion by B-school students. While the B-school students have identified 100-odd acquisition targets for the company, all of these may not necessarily translate into actual acquisitions. This reflects how future professionals view Dabur as a company and a brand," Sudhakar adds .
And these suggested acquisition targets spread across the length and breadth of the globe which cover a wide array of sectors from personal care to healthcare and foods. That's not all, introduction of new brands/subbrands and diversification into newer areas like health spas and the services sector also figured among the business ideas shortlisted for the final selection round, scheduled for February 3, 2007.
Apart from the obvious benefit of generating business ideas for the organisation's growth, this is also being seen as a way of building the Dabur brand among students who could be prospective employees in a year's time. Every year, Dabur India recruits 15-18 students from premier B-schools in the country as management trainees, apart from 50-60 lateral hires. Many different models were also suggested for entering the services sector using a common thread of leveraging on Ayurveda/Herbal equity. Some very innovative rural initiatives and procurement strategies were also suggested.
IT PAYS TO IDEATE
The contest was organised in search of ideas and strategies to double its turnover and profit by 2009-10 The two-pronged intent was to tap the brightest young minds and to dispel the traditional image and be viewed as a contemporary employer The company received entries from over 120 teams of which 46 teams were invited for the regional round after shortlisting The winning strategy in the final selection round, scheduled for February 3, 2007, will walk away with a cash prize of Rs 1.25 lakh. Ten teams have entered the final national round
