Innovative Teaching Pedagogy

By Dr. Mahesh Luthia

Associate Professor and Area Chair HR

Thought Paper: Training and Development

Introduction

To encourage students to explore their own thoughts, perspectives, and insights on the topics covered through the course, students were encouraged to write a thought paper.

Thought papers are concise, accessible summaries based on research and interpretation of analysis of the results by students. (Charles Darwin University, Australia)

Requirements

The thought paper was based on their understanding of the concepts through the teaching sessions and research including the interpretation of analysis.

Students were encouraged to demonstrate:

The thought papers were based on the course material and additional reading of peer review articles to encourage use of Journal and existing industry white papers.

Detailed guideline and structure of the paper were provided to students. Contemporary research areas and themes were provided to encourage students to develop the thought paper.

The contemporary themes provided to students to develop thought paper were:

Selected thought papers were be then published in the Journal of the Institute.

Structured feedback was collected from students on their experience of writing the thought paper which was very encouraging.

The Transition Session for the PGDM Batch 2020-22 commences with an opening address by the CEO and I/C Director Dr. Madhumita Patil. We welcomed all students and spoke about the objective of the transition that would help students to navigate to their specialised courses. Some important advices and showered the students with tons of encouragement and energy to step up in this new chapter of their lives.

The introductory session was followed by a focussed session for HR students in a separate Link. The Area Chair Dr. Mahesh Luthia welcomed the faculty members of the Area and Students. His opening session touched upon subjects such a student’s journey from campus to corporate and stated the importance and relevance of the field of HR in today’s days and age. Students were explained trends in the field of HR and how they must also focus on developing cross-disciplinary knowledge as HR professionals are truly playing the role of a strategic partner. Students were informed how they curriculum has been upgraded to keep pace with the changing requirements of the industry and digital transformation.

Students were introduced to all the courses they would be pursuing in semester three and the focus of these courses. Students were explained new areas of knowledge related to HR that they will be learning in the upcoming years. Current trends in the field of HR were highlighted by the members of the faculty during the session.

Mr. Bhushan Lawande (Founder MD E4 Development Coaching Ltd.) conducted a series of intensive workshops on Sales Capability Building. HR students were also trained on how to Instructional design tools for designing training program and facilitation skills. The sessions were participatory and were a perfect mix of theoretical and practical learning. The students were engaged through lecture, daily assignments and role plays to understand and live through the ‘selling and sales experience’. A final assignment in the form of a test was conducted and the winners were awarded with certificates.

Dr. Rashmi Jain (Associate Professor, Marketing) conducted training program on Data Visualization using Tableau. The aim to program was equip the students with the skills to understand data, draw insights from data and communicate data in a way that is comprehensible and memorable. The workshop also enabled the students to analyze and interpret large volumes of data, create insights and use those insights for creating marketing strategies. Students also developed skills to create interactive dashboards which were highly informative and aesthetically beautiful. The workshop ended with a capstone project.

The session was initiated with discussion on skills that are essential to be a HR professional in the current scenario. The discussion was supported by a case study which highlighted the importance of various qualities required to be an HR professional. Role and Responsibilities of HR Generalist and its evolution as HR business partner was also discussed in the session. Key activities involved in the process of Talent acquisition such as recruitment, selection, on boarding etc. explained by the speaker.

Students were explained the most sought-after competencies for HR professionals such as problem solving, leadership, technical proficiency, multi-tasking ability and negotiation skills were discussed in detail by the speaker. Current trends in the field of HR were highlighted by the speaker during the session. Concepts such as ethical leadership, skill mapping and hybrid work culture were also explained by the speaker.

The speaker also expressed her views on technological advancements such as Detachment identifier, digital tracker etc. for HR professionals. Emphasis on developing a Creative Thinking approach for HR professionals was recommended by the speaker.

Thus the overall session focused on the key competencies essential for an HR and ways to develop them.

With HR playing an important role in organisational communication, a session focussed on the role of HR professionals, process and tools that could be used for Communication during Crisis was conducted as part of the Transition program. Dr. Luthia focussed on the importance of effective communication skills as an professionals and is one of the most sought after competency.

The session was initiated with the poll. The question mentioned intended to check if the students had prior experience of managing communication in a crisis or not. Discussion on how a business crisis can impact the image or reputation of the company. Business crisis was defined as an unexpected event having a negative impact on the business of a company.

Role of HR in a crisis was highlighted by giving situational examples. How HR plays a role of observer, defender , advocate, counsellor, engineer, and keeper of culture etc in an organization when it comes to crisis management. The Importance and the approach of designing a communication channel inventory to deal with business crises was explained by giving an example of a company going under merger or acquisition. Role of a HR in informing concerned parties such as employees, stakeholders, colleagues etc. about business crises is also a crucial aspect of communication crisis management.

Formation of the Crisis Response Team and its role in management was also stated by the speaker. Mode of communication plays an active role in crisis management. Thus, how HR through various ways such as team meeting , huddle meeting, internal communication etc. was explained by the speaker. Importance of developing HR crisis plans and Mission Critical Activities (MCA)was highlighted.

Many management students take up the journey of becoming an entrepreneur. Developing Entrepreneurship skills is one of the key focus areas at Chetana’s. With this objective a session was organised to help students understand the concept of HR Entrepreneurship.

Role of an entrepreneur was discussed in detail by the speaker. The speaker highlighted the importance of developing a business canvas model as a part of a successful business plan. Various components of the business canvas model such as key activities, key partners, customer segments, customer relationships etc. were explained in detail by the speaker. Further the speaker also spoke about the concept of HR entrepreneurship.

Dr. Indira Singh HR as an entrepreneur plays a very crucial role in organizational management. To study the practical approach of the business canvas model students were assigned the task to make one for HR E services. HR E service as a business model was defined dealing with automation of HR processes of an organization. A case study was also discussed to support the topic. The session highlighted the importance of HR entrepreneurship and business canvas model as a whole.

Students presented an overview of their business model in the second session based on the HR start-up themes.

Goal setting is a key function that managers need to focus on while driving performance in an organisation. It is important for students to not just understand what goals are set for them, but also the process of Goal setting and its impact on team performance.

Students were asked to perform a fun activity in order to explain the various concepts of HR domain. As the name suggests Kill the lion the students were asked to form a story to kill a lion where lion is symbolized as an employee of organization. Each group of students were asked to choose a company and create a story on that basis. As a part of activity students were asked to create story using specific keywords that highlight the concepts of HR.

The activity helped to understand various approaches used in the field of HR such as system approach, non-motivational approach, psychological approach and biological approach etc. Dr. Mrinali also highlighted the role of an HR in the growth and development of an employee. Students appreciated that they could understand how managers could identify the potential of their team members.

Career Frameworks have undergone various changes in the past years.

The Workshop on Talent Management started with discussion on skills that are essential to be a HR professional in current scenario. The session touched upon subjects like a student’s journey from campus to corporate, the concept on ‘WH’ questions, career path demonstrations, vertical progressions and horizontal movements.

Aspects that affect employee’s career growth including employee competence, role performance etc were also discussed. Role and Responsibilities of HR Generalist and its evolution as HR business partner was also discussed in the session. Key activities involved in the process of Talent acquisition such as recruitment, selection, on boarding etc. explained by the speaker.

As part of the session students were explained the most sought after competencies for HR professional such as problem solving, leadership, technical proficiency, multi-tasking ability and negotiation skills were discussed in detailed by the speaker. Current trends in the field of HR were highlighted by the speaker during the session.

Concepts such as ethical leadership, skill mapping and hybrid work culture were also explained by the speaker. Speaker also expressed his views on how technological advancements such as Detachment identifier, digital tracker etc. for HR professional.

This Campus to Corporate session was put together with an intent to provide a brief overview of Equity & Debt markets, Mutual funds, Investment planning and latest trends in Capital Markets to students from diverse educational backgrounds under one roof. The collaborative effort from the representatives of HDFC to make this session extremely interactive and insightful was the icing on the cake.

The seminar comprised of a group of sessions organized over a span of 7-days beginning from 26th July to 31st July in a phased manner. The first 3 sessions pertaining to Equity, Debt Markets and Mutual funds were conducted by Mr. Sandeep Sanghi wherein students were given an opportunity to understand the nuances addressing the types of markets, types of investors in these markets, a deep dive into risks involved in Debt Markets, SEBI regulations and so on. Mr. Sandeep ensured that the participants were engaged and provided complete clarity on any doubts the students had during the session.

A debriefing on the transition sessions was held to put together in perspective and make students reflect on the objective of the transition session. Dr. Mahesh Luthia, Area Chair HR, explained how theses sessions will help them in their courses that they will be completing as part of the PGDM programs.

Students were asked to share their feedback on their learnings through the sessions and how they could relate it to their professional development. Students had divided the sessions and shared their learnings with the faculty members.

Students were informed about the start of academic sessions from 2nd August 2021 and the time table was provided to them. Guidelines on regular attendance, participation, keeping camera on during the lectures and interacting with the faculty was emphasised.

The session concluded with each faculty member expressing best wishes to students. Students were also conveyed best wishes on behalf of CEO and I/C Director Dr. Madhumita Patil and Dr. Nalini Krishnan Program Chair, PGDM.