The Mumbai semi-final of the Boardroom Challenge, presented by Indian Terrain, was held on the premises of SPJIMR, and is the last of the semi-finals held across seven cities.
The jury consisted of Sreelakshmi Hariharan, Deputy GM, Tata Sons; Vineeta Dwivedi, professor of business communications, SPJIMR; and Vishwadeep Kuila of Brand Vectors, who also wrote the case for the semi-finals. The teams had to present various strategies and ideas on how a new entrant into the toilet soap segment can make inroads into the market and achieve a certain profit level by the end of the third year.
The ISB team had a strong grip on the figures of the business case and their projections on revenues and profitability were spot on, which enabled them to come out on top.
“Focus on case facts”
Vishwadeep Kuila, speaking on the case presentations, told the students that in solving a case, they should cut out the frills and focus on the case facts. Every case is written with a clear purpose and students need to read it carefully to identify the crux of the case. “This is a preparation for the real world of business. People will put in money into your project only if they are convinced about the numbers and that you have a clear business plan. And, don’t force fit concepts to suit your case; it may not be relevant to the situation,” said Kuila.
Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, who addressed SPJIMR students and the participants, spoke on the longevity of brands, especially in the context of the Tata group’s 150th year, said the group has survived for so many years because of the trust it evokes. “But trust has to be earned, and cannot be demanded,” he added. The group has flourished so many years because of two fundamental reasons, he said: because the Tata group always places community at the core of its brand values and also because of its pioneering spirit. “Jamshetji Tata, the founder, was a visionary ahead of his time who wanted the community to be at the centre of what a corporation does,” said Bhat.
Grand Finale
The grand finale of the Boardroom Challenge will be held on September 5, in Chennai. Seven teams, from seven different cities, will fight it out for the top honours: GRG School of Management, Coimbatore; two ISB teams, from the Hyderabad and Mohali campuses; IIT Madras’ Dept of Management Studies; IIM Indore; SIBM Pune and IMT Ghaziabad.