Industry profile

Introduction
India is well known for its large pool of technical manpower, a fair proportion of which finds employment in developed countries, especially in the West. As a happy sequel to the story, India has recently witnessed a big boom in the BPO/KPO sector. In order to sustain this trend, and to ensure that India does not throw away this key advantage, it is imperative that we continue to produce a critical mass of highly skilled manpower at an accelerated pace. An enabling academic and economic setting is a key factor determining the fate of our nation in the wake of the knowledge sector boom. This study reviews the prevailing policy environment in this context to evaluate its efficacy in ensuring that India remains ahead of the curve in the knowledge sector.

HIGHER EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

1. The New Economic Order and the Role of Higher Education

Two parallel developments in the world economy are worth noting, especially for their influence on provisioning of higher education: the growth of the Internet and consequently, e-education and second, the expanding role of World Trade

Organization (WTO) in determining the trends in world economics.

2. Internet in Education

Never before was information so readily available at the press of a button, the Internet has changed the way the world behaves, does business, and thinks. Even school children search the web for study material to support their homework. Today, academicians do not need to spend much time on library research poring over bulky tomes and taking copious notes. They have the facility of faster and surer access
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to a much wider range of information through the Internet, not just to read but to print or save or forward to others as might suit their purpose. . Internet research has come to be recognized as an essential study tool in all higher education courses in developed countries.

The Internet has also played a major role in streamlining administrative procedures and processes of universities worldwide. Any modern university, management school or institute today has its own website on which courses offered are listed. Students apply for admission on-line which reduces paperwork and increases administrative efficiency. They receive e-notifications regarding admission, course schedules, and billing procedures, which they can pay on-line, as well as their results. Teachers prefer to receive tutorials on-line, which not only lends itself to faster transmission, but also avoids the difficulty in reading a manuscript. Similarly, some teachers not only put up their course material on the web-site, but also their lectures, which can be heard on-line such that students who were unable to attend can also benefit from them. The faculty and students remain connected through email on which students receive instructions, send essays/assignments, fix appointments, etc. All students are expected to have their own laptop or notebook computer. While a traditional Western university still has faceto-face lectures, it also offers on-line courses especially during the summer break. While such courses have the obvious disadvantage of the absence of personal

interaction, they allow for discussion through setting up of chat rooms. Such on-line courses and discussions have often proved to be more rewarding than regular classroom interactions as they allow for students and teachers from different parts of the world to converge.

On-line Universities, which do not require physical infrastructure, have facilitated greater accessibility to education than ever before.. While popular perception values a degree from a regular college over one from an On-line college, the greatest advantage of an on-line university or college, that a student need not commute or live on campus tilts much of the debate in its favour.. This is especially true for certain kinds of courses designed to cater to the needs of students who do not have
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financial backup or family support. As acquiring specialized degrees is directly related to to better jobs, re-engineering e-education at tertiary level has a great advantage. As jobs become more and more insecure and mid-life career changes more frequent, the need for on-line education is increasing overtime.

3. Globalisation and Higher Education

According to the results of a special survey 'Higher Education: Free degrees to fly' (see Economist, February26th-March 4th, 2005, pp63-65), higher education is already a global business. The days when higher education was a matter of national policy and government regulation are rapidly fading. Higher Education provisioning is now

globalised and in many ways, a commercialized affair and the 5 way that the State had in the goings on is vastly diminished. According to Andreas Schleicher of OECD, a Paris based Think Tank the numbers studying abroad were statistically negligible two decades ago. (Cited in the same survey in the Economist). According to the

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the growth is now soaring: 2 million university students-approaching 2% of the world's total of around 100 million studying outside their home country in 2003 (cited in Higher Education in the same article in Economist). Since the late 1990s the higher education market is growing by 7 per cent a year. The Economist Survey on higher education further indicates that annual fee income alone is estimated at $ 30 billion. While private profit seeking companies have entered the education business, even government-controlled universities are seeking

independence from governmental authority. However, many countries including India, continue to control the fee structure of their universities causing financial stress to foreign students, who are generally made to pay much higher fees than local students. This has resulted in many universities openly soliciting entry of foreign students. To facilitate this process they have even tailored their courses to international requirements besides appointing agents abroad and publicizing the offers widely in the media.

Hence a University is no longer a place where students apply to study. Universities are now actively pursuing students, especially foreign ones using a wide variety of
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strategies to market their courses. The student is now the customer or client. With globalization, Universities are spreading their reach beyond geographical and political borders. The British, Australian and American Universities are setting up campuses in Singapore, China and the Gulf. Universities realise that they can examine many more students than they can teach. Hence many of them are collaborating with other institutions or franchisees to teach their courses under their brand name without getting involved in the direct business of imparting the education.

The example of Professional Training Colleges best illustrates this point. The growth of such colleges world wide shows rising desire for professional 6 qualifications, a new need for mid career education and finally, the increasing acceptance of professionally qualified candidature in the job market. In this connection, the example of the US CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) is prominent. This professional degree awarded by the American Association of Financial Professionals has now become so popular that most students prepare for the qualifying examination with the help of private tuition companies. Very often the costs incurred in preparing for the examination outstrip the stipulated entrance fee of $ 1455 for the examination itself. Now about 40 universities in the US are teaching the course as a part of their post graduation curriculum.

4. World Trade Organization (WTO) and Higher Education

Fundamental to understanding the future role of WTO in education is the question: is higher education a marketable commodity like an fmcg product or is it a service like water or electric supply? Is higher education a commercial service or a public good?

While universities and the academic community in general would like higher education to be viewed as a public good, the prevailing argument in the WTO Secretariat is that higher education is akin to private consumption directly benefiting the consumer by way of higher income. In April 2002, Universities from Latin American countries, Portugal and Spain adopted a Declaration at the III Summit of Iberian and Latin American Universities in Porto Alegre, Brazil in which they declared education as a
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public good and requested their governments not to make any commitment on this issue within the framework of WTO. However, overtime the perception of higher education as a commercial service is gaining acceptance. The WTO Secretariat in September 1998 has mentioned that with the rapid changes in higher education education also exists as a private consumption item with a price determined freely by the providing institutions. As a result, they have stated that more and more paying students are attracted to these institutions including foreign students.

In 1994, over 140 countries approved the GATS (Global Agreement in Trade & Tariffs), the predecessor to the WTO, which was created later in 1995 to expand trade liberalization internationally. Under Article 3 of WTO the definition of Service is laid down. It is felt that these rules apply to any service except those supplied in exercise of governmental authority. Some people feel that this article excludes public universities. However, the rule further defines that it excludes only those services, which are supplied neither on commercial basis nor in competition with one or more suppliers. Amongst the 12 sectors defined by the WTO as service education services also falls as one.

WTO has also adopted the Principle of Most Favoured Nation.This WTO rule, which is binding on all members, will have its implications for educational services. The Principle of the Most Favoured Nation implies that each party shall accord immediate and unconditionally to services and service providers of any other party, treatment no less favourable than it accords to the service and service providers of any other country. This means that, if a country allows a foreign institution of a country to provide distance education services, all other countries can request to have the same treatment. Similarly, if subsidy is given to one, others can request the same advantage.

Another important issue of GATS and WTO, which is fundamental to its principles, is the notion of National Treatment. This implies an obligation to treat both foreign and domestic service suppliers in the same manner. It has been contended that this would imply, if implemented rigidly, that a foreign educational institution of, say, distance
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education, can demand subsidies similar to those received by public universities in an individual country.

Box 1: Principal goals in educational services: Ensure right of US companies to establish operations in foreign markets including the right to wholly own these investments. Ensure that U.S companies get national treatment by getting foreigners same rights as domestic investors. Promote pro-competitive regulatory reform focussed on an adequacy of appropriate and consistent rules. Remove barriers to generate cross border trade. Remove obstacles to free movement of people and business information.

In a meeting held in 1992 organized by the US Government along with World Bank and OECD in Washington, the issue of globalization of education was discussed. It was felt that globalization should take place with a human face. The efficiency and needs for market should be balanced by a greater concern for peace, equity, and sustainability.

World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Vision and Action held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from October 5 to 9, 1998 was attended by nearly 5000 participants representing 180 countries. It adopted an Action Plan for reforms in the field of higher education. Its main theme was that higher education must serve the interest of sustainable development and help build a better society. The main features of the World Declaration on Higher Education adopted in the conference are: 9

Box 2: Academic Community Perception Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit keeping in mind Article 26.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Higher Education should uphold educations role of service to society.

 Quality of education is a multi-dimensional concept, which should embrace all functions and activities, that is, teaching, academic programmes, research and scholarship, staffing, students, infrastructure, and academic environment. Higher education institutions should be committed to transparent internal and external evaluation conducted openly by independent specialists. The potential of Information Communication Technology (ICT) should be fully utilized. Equitable access to these should be assured through international cooperation and support to countries that lack capabilities to acquire such tools. Higher education should be considered a public service. While diverse sources of funding are necessary, public support for higher education and research remains essential to ensure balanced achievement of its educational and social missions. Partnership should be forged between higher educational institutions and responsible state authorities. The international dimension of higher education is an inherent part of quality. Networking which has emerged as a major means of action should be based on sharing, solidarity, and equality among partners.

Education is a trillion Dollar industry worldwide.

Education industry groups are,

therefore, attracted by the prospects of liberalization and globalization of this industry. They seek more international deregulation and generally support WTO efforts. As demands for higher education grow the world over, the governments are also finding it difficult to provide adequate budgetary allocation. GATS covers educational services of all types for all countries whose educational systems are not exclusively provided by public sector or those systems that have a commercial purpose. Hardly any country has education exclusively in the public sector domain and therefore, almost all the worlds educational systems come within the purview of GATS.

The GATS covers four types of services. These are: Cross border supply of services from territory of one member to another member. Distance education falls in this category.
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 Consumption of a service abroad by the citizens of a member country on the territory of another member country. The most common example is undertaking studies abroad. Commercial presence of service supplier of a member country on the territory of another member country, enabling the supplier to provide a service in that territory. This includes activities carried out by foreign universities or other institutions in another country. Presence of natural persons enabling a form of trade resulting from mobility of people from one member country who supply a given service in another country. In education this would imply courses offered by foreign teachers.

These are the four categories of services defined under GATS/WTO. Any barrier in its free flow is considered to be non-tariff barrier. The goal of free trade is to remove these barriers in order to gain from further liberalization. In the sector of education these generally refer to government regulations, exchange controls, nationality requirements of students and teachers, non-recognition of equivalent qualifications, and rules regarding use of resources and subsidies.

So far only 40 countries have agreed to the full provisions of GATS. Many have chosen to limit its scope. Higher education services, however, now figure in Indias offer on liberalisation in trade in services that the Commerce Ministry has submitted to WTO in August 2005.

5. e-Education

Not only are commercial business concerns interested in entering the education industry aggressively but existing universities and colleges as well. Private companies like Kaplan, BPP and Apollo Group already run successful edu business 11 ventures. Kalpan is a big education company owned by the same company that runs the Washington Post newspaper. BPP, its British rival, has entered into deals with British Universities so that students enrolled into their professional courses can earn degrees from the Boston Post Graduate University. University of
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Phoenix, the first University to offer a full time on-line degree is owned by the Apollo Group. Sixteen of the worlds better ranking universities have got together and set up a $ 50 million joint venture called Universitas 21 Global, an online MBA business school. These universities include McGill, British Colombia, Virginia, Edinburgh, Sweden and Melbourne of Australia. This $ 50 million project has been established in collaboration with a private company called Thomson Learning, an educational and training service division of the Thomson Corporation. Universitas 21 Global aims to tap markets of potential students from UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Korea and China. It has already enrolled 1000 professionals from 45 countries for its graduate programme. It has also offered an M.Sc. in Tourism and Travel Management recently. The online degree of Universities 21 has been well received in the world market and the degree certificate awarded by it bears the crest of all the 16 top ranked participating universities.

Insofar as India is concerned, on-line education, which is very crucial for the Indian population, is heavily dependent on reliable high-speed Internet coverage. As a pre-requisite to expansion of on-line education services, it is essential that various parts of the country be connected with high speed Internet. As more and more cities in India are coming within the ambit of high speed cyber-network, the concept of e-education, especially at higher levels should be viewed seriously. Most Indian Universities make little use of the Internet in improving administrative efficiency. Broadband subscribers currently total to just 0.61 million as compared to the target of 3 million set for December 2005

United States is now the leader in e-education. Phoenix University, the leading online University, has the largest number of on-line students enrolled. In the early 12 1990s it became the first university to offer degrees online, and the internet is now an integral to all its teaching. (see Survey: Higher Education in Economist September 10th-16th, 2005, after page 50). A number of existing universities have offered on-line courses, but many have preferred not to use their own names
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directly as they feel it may reduce their public standing.

E-learning, however, as additional support to existing courses, is already highly successful in the West. In Beaconsfield, a shopping mall in the UK, Explore Learning Centres have been set up. While their mothers shop, children in the 5-14 years group can visit the centres within the supermarket area for a new e-learning experience. There are tuition websites in the UK where over 280 tutors are offering their services at 15 to 25 per hour. Internet base e-tutoring or on-line tutoring is catching up in India as well. Tutor-Vista, a company set up in Bangalore provides Indian teachers in English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology for 3rd to 12th grade students in UK and the US charging less than half the local rates. The session is interactive with use of head phones and micro phone. E-learning has clearly percolated even to the school level. Indias education policy has largely missed out on taking advantage of this technological revolution in education. E-learning is not only inexpensive, but also convenient. It also does not force the student to relocate or forgo earnings from full time or part time employment that the student may be engaged in.

Good quality, market based e-learning courses and Internet caf/schools with programme structures that are relevant to the Indian context need to be set up urgently. Libraries must be equipped with computers that support high speed internet connectivity . To bridge the digital divide we need all night net libraries or late night accessibility at least, at a monthly charge, of course.. Such internet cafes could be provided under private or co-operative licences in residential areas including slums. Personnel trained in computers and e-learning tools could man these edu-cafes and help students make better use of the facilities. The cost of e-13 learning, while market driven, could perhaps be subsidized through need based scholarships schemes.

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High speed internet connection is an essential pre-requisite to wide spread elearning. US scientists have revealed details of a US$100 wind-up laptop which they expect to produce globally and extend computer and internet access to hundred of millions of worlds poorest pupils. (Times Educational Supplement, 7 October 2005). In India, a cheap handheld computer designed by Indian scientists was launched in 2004 after a delay of three years (see BBC News, Monday March 29, 2004, 'Simputer for Poor goes on sale'-bbc.co.uk). The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man. A wind-up computer machine and with a wifi wireless internet connection, may well be within the reach of the Indian student community even in remote locations with poor electric supply

6. Academic Community on Globalisation:

While the academic community has not reacted positively to globalization, many developed governments see it as an opportunity to expand its educational services. In a report prepared on Globalization & Education, for the House of Lords, it has been stated that the UK Government is not just concerned with smoothing the way for the businessification of education to the extent the profit making for edu business becomes possible but also is concerned to build up an indigenous edubusiness and to develop export potential for that.

According to this report a more powerful version of GATS will be a place which will ensure that educational services will be progressively commercialized, privatized, and capitalized. The report further says that globalization is already taking place involving standardization of culture summed up with the concept of McDonaldization. International brands in consumer products are being embraced on a global scale with trans-national institutions taking account of local legal codes, currencies, local tastes, habits, customs and adjusting to a new international order. 14 Communication through Internet and e-commerce has further changed the method of transacting business. The rise of global authorities like WTO & GATS and their
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Dispute Resolution Mechanism has far reaching consequences for globalization. Further, WTOs enforceable global commercial code has made a real impact. As a result, major corporations have now lobbyists settled permanently at WTO headquarters in Geneva and Representatives of Corporations sit on some of the many Committees and Working Groups of WTO. WTO has thus facilitated incremental freedom for trans-national capital to do what it wants, where and when it wants.

For a public service such as education GATS at Doha was a stepping stone so that there is no discrimination against foreign corporations entering the service market. Further, after the fizzling of the dot.com bubble, corporations are looking forward to other service sectors for investments, education being one of them.

The report informs the House of Lords that in the above scenario, the British Government may look to public services in general as an export earner. It highlights that this is already happening in the U.K. in education business. North Anglia is already exporting services to Russia, Ukraine as well as running schools and local educational authority services in the U.K. itself. Wigan & Leigh has 15,000 students to 26 countries including 10 campuses in India (Hindustan Times 20 November 2005, New Delhi). Many British Universities have franchised operations and deals with other colleges and universities outside the U.K. University Schools of Education generate income through consultancies that have advised countries like Chile, Poland, and Romania on how to restructure the school system. Britain exported 67 million worth of such services. The report does recommend in the end that the Select Committee of the House of Lords should consider limits to business take-over of education. It further stated that exempting education institutions from GATS altogether is ultimately good for education and democracy.

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY: THE INDIAN CONTEXT

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New Trends in Knowledge Economy Indias higher education policy of the 1950s , which envisaged schools of excellence, especially in technology and sciences, has finally paid off rich dividends. The creation of IITs, IIMs, Schools of Science, Schools of Law, a large number of advanced training and research institutions have now been well and widely accepted.

Doctors trained in India have been the backbone of the British Medical Service for many decades. Indian scientists have found positions of importance in research laboratories of the US and other developed countries. But it was the IIT engineers who have finally struck gold during the dot.com boom of the 1990s and brought the final recognition and testimony for Indian competence. Of about 140,000 graduates of IIT so far, roughly 40,000 have gone to the US. They have been given the credit of creating 150,000 jobs and $80 billion in market capitalization. It is said that when a new IT company is launched, investors inquire if there is an Indian in it. In the second meeting of IIT Alumni in the US, prominent persons like Jack Welch of GE, Larry Summers, President of Harvard University, and Tom Friedman, the globalization columnist of New York Times were present. The states of Virginia and Maryland declared the month of May 2005 as IIT Indian American Heritage Month. Further, 55 US Members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored Resolution 227 honouring the economic innovation attributable to graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology.

With so much of admiration and brand equity for Indian technology and knowledge

We need to look at the United States and its economy. The US has been the undisputed economic leader since the Second World War. One of its great strengths has been its educational system especially institutes of higher learning, as well as its research laboratories. For example, Colombia University is credited with 47 Nobel Prizes. Companies like Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard (where Silicon
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Valley really began), Yahoo and Google were each started by University students. Venture Capital as a financial engine for encouraging pioneering innovation started in the US. The Patent registration system of the US remains one of the best.

Mainstreaming India

India today is definitely at par with the knowledge sectors of the top economies of the world. Extensive fundamental and applied research is being undertaken here. The worlds biggest multinational companies are not only opening their backroom offices, but also their R&D centres in India. This trend is apparent not just in software development but in other sectors as well such as financial sector, medical sector, biotech and others. By mid 1990s, almost 180 of Fortune 500 companies were outsourcing to India. World famous names like Citicorp, Honeywell, Motorola, Sprint, Oracle, Digital Equipment, Verizon, Huges, Duet Technologies, Cisco Systems, Texas Instruments, Computer Associates, Pentafour, Eco Soft, British Telecom, SAP, Philips, Siemens, Yahoo, Google, Accenture, Sun Microsystems, Ericsson, IBM, 12 Technologies, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Nortel, etc., have all set up R&D facilities in India or have tied up with Indian companies or academic or research institutions. The cost advantage for higher research is huge. An Indian chip design engineer costs Rs. 13.5 lakh a year compared to Rs 67 90 lakh in the U.S. 20

Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, eminent International Trade Economist of Colombia University, speaking at the India Today Conclave 2005, stated that with the high level of skilled diaspora, which grew up at the expense of Indian exchequer, we should now think of the return of the Brain Drain. He stated that today the Brain Drain template has been discarded and we no longer think of skilled migration as a threat. However, it is certainly an opportunity. He further stated that skilled Indian Diaspora is huge and growing. Between 1990 and 2000, Indian born residents in the US doubled to over just one million. But they were rich in human capital
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earning a total income that exceeded $40 billion in 2000, roughly 10 per cent of Indias gross domestic product or national income. Indians are next only to the Jews in affluence as the richest ethnic minority in the US. He then introduced the concept of Trojan Horse. We are taking on America from within. You can get inside and work from within. We, therefore, profit from globalization and we also need global markets.

What are the advantages to India following the Trojan Horse Principle? The main advantage is that with people of Indian origin will hold offices in critical decision making capacities in the US and other developed countries increasing the market acceptability for outsourcing to India.. Further, this is done by both ethnic Indians and other nationalities, who see Indians doing well in their countries. It is, therefore, to Indias advantage to supply skilled manpower to the west as well as develop our own knowledge-based economy.

Our main concern now should be whether we are capable of continuing support to such a large influx of R&D, backroom office functions from the worlds service sector. If India is to be host to the R&D and backroom facilities of the worlds best and largest companies, we need to gear up our higher education institutions to meet the growing demand for qualified persons.

India has been lucky, more by accident than by design, that it was able to offer to the world a pool of skilled, scientific, English speaking manpower immediately after the communication boom through development of internet and satellite communications. At a time when Indias higher education policy was under attack from the traditional advocates of the concept that over-education leads to educated unemployment, this came as a happy and welcome development. Converting this liability to our advantage through development of new communication technology has been a triumph to reckon with.

Unfortunately, there is no cogent plan in the Government policy scheme on how we

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could continue to meet the challenge of providing the skilled manpower that is required by various sectors of the economy. As India grows into a knowledge providing superpower, a host of facilities will need to be provided in terms of ensuring a steady supply of quality knowledge worker with the requisite qualifications. Some of the features of the Indian Education system and its Higher Education System are described in this context in the following paragraphs.

Structure of Higher Education in India:

Over the last 50 years, the Government of India has provided full policy support and substantial public funds to create one of the worlds largest systems of higher education. These institutions, with the exception of some notable ones, have however, not been able to maintain the high standards of education or keep pace with developments in the fields especially in knowledge and technology. Over time, financial constraints with exploding enrolments, and a very high demand from primary and secondary education has led to the deterioration in the financial support provided by the government. On top of this, an overall structure of myriad controls with a rigid bureaucracy has stifled its development. In terms of higher education, however, on the science and technology side, India has however built up the largest stock of scientists, engineers and technicians.

The growth of higher education in India has been phenomenal. Starting with 195051, there were only 263,000 students in all disciplines in 750 colleges affiliated to 30 universities. This has grown by 2005 to 11 million students in 17,000 Degree colleges affiliated to 230 universities and non-affiliated university-level institutions. In addition, there are about 10 million students in over 6500 in vocational institutions. The enrolment is growing at the rate of 5.1 per cent per year. However, of the Degree students only 5 per cent are enrolled into engineering courses, while an overall 20 per cent in sciences. The demand for professional courses is growing rapidly.
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In India both public and private institutions operate simultaneously. In 2000-01, of the 13,072 higher education institutions, 42 per cent were privately owned and run catering to 37 per cent of students enrolled into Higher education, that is, approximately 3.1 million out of total 8.4 million. It is also likely that most of the growth in the rapidly expanding higher education sector took place in private unaided college or in self-financing institutions. Since grant-in-aid to private colleges is becoming difficult, many governments/universities have granted recognition/affiliation to unaided colleges and many universities have authorized new self-financing courses even in government and aided colleges. It is felt that as of now more than 50 per cent of the higher education in India is imparted through private institutions, mostly unaided.

Main players in Indian Higher Education University Grants Commission (UGC) set up under UGC Act 1956 is responsible for coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards and release of grants to universities and research organizations. Professional councils that are responsible for recognition of courses, promotion of professional institutions and provision of grants to undergraduate programmes. As of today software development does not have a statutory council. NASSCOM is generally accepted as equivalent of a council. Research Councils: A number of them have been setup under the Central (federal) government. 23

Government has created 221 Universities of which (6 are central Universities while 156 are state Universities). There is also a concept of Deemed University. This
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status is given by UGC to colleges of exceptional excellence. There are 39 Deemed Universities plus seven open universities. There are 9703 colleges in India that provide mostly bachelors or sometime Masters level of education. Of these, only are engineering and technical colleges, 655 medical and 600 management institutions.

Insofar as Universities are concerned, only the central or State Government can open a new university and that too by legislation in the Parliament or State. Universities are empowered to award their own degrees and take affiliate colleges. But UGC is empowered under its Act to grant institutes of excellence Deemed University status which they have done in 39 cases. There are, however, no private Universities so far. A Private Universities Bill has been proposed in the Parliament, but has not been approved so far. All self-financing colleges, therefore, have to also seek affiliation with a University. All of Indias higher education is thus managed by the UGC and the various Councils. The UGC, established by a statute 1952, has been empowered to promote and coordinate university education in India and also approve grants to them. 24

Vocational Education: One of the streams of higher education is vocational education. For this a network of public and private polytechnics and vocational institutions exists, controlled and supervised by the Councils specializing in each discipline. There are nearly 10 million students in 6500 such institutions.

Integration of University and vocational education has been attempted in India as it was earlier attempted in Australia. In a recent innovation, vocational curriculum has been introduced at the bachelors degree level by permitting one of three subjects to be a vocational one. A number of subjects have been introduced including agriculture-related activities. Nearly 1500 colleges have been given facilities for vocational education.

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Research and Development: while R&D centres have been established in many disciplines, the concept of centres of excellence in different subjects has led to the Accreditation: In order to evaluate performance of an institution and bring about a measure of accountability a mechanism of accreditation has been developed by UGC. This is an autonomous council under UGC called National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) with a purpose to carry out periodic assessment of universities and colleges. NAAC has evolved a methodology of assessment which involves self-appraisal by each university/college and an assessment of the performance by an expert committee. Similarly, for technical education AICTE has established its own accreditation mechanism for its institutions through the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). NBA has also undertaken a detailed exercise for bench Marking the performance of reference for evaluation if performance can be initiated. Both NAAC and NBA are in the right direction and need to be encouraged and strengthened. However, so far only 47 universities, 75 affiliate college and 20 autonomous colleges have volunteered to be accredited by NAAC. Some more universities and 25 more colleges are in advanced stage of finalizing self-study reports. There is a need to link up grants and loans to NAAC and NBC reports. This can be done when NAAC and NBC is made applicable to all Higher Education Institutions. UGC has already indicated that development support will be related to outcome of NAACs report. 25 establishment of Centres of Advance Studies (CAS), Department of Special Assistance (DSA) and Inter-University Research Centres of internationally comparable standards. The objective of these centres is to provide quality inputs in higher education and research areas. Further, to cut costs of undertaking good research, especially in sciences, Inter University Centres in nuclear science, crystal growth, astronomy and astrophysics, social sciences and humanities have been formed.

With India emerging as a global hub for commercial R&D (India Today
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International, 3 Oct 2005), R&D within the scope of Higher Education has gained greater importance. It has been stated that 150 international firms have set up R&D centres in India and in 2004 US patents office granted over 1000 patents to Indian units of US companies. Indian companies have also started to increase their R&D budgets. The demand for high quality researchers will require expansion of postgraduate research and PhDs in Indian institutions of higher learning. According to Saikat Chaudhory, a Management Professor at Wharton, India needs to improve its research atmosphere in its universities. This is perhaps, already happening. If we look at that the CSIR, the number of US patents granted to it has jumped to 196 in 2005 from just 6 in 1990-1. Indian Research Councils should now have the potential to raise research funds through industry and perhaps, capital markets. A mention must be made of SPREAD Sponsored Research and Development of the ICICI Technology Financing Group which is helping finance commercial R&D. Similarly, Nirma Labs provides up to Rs 20 lakhs as grant. We need to expand such support to R&D activities.

Open University System: India has also developed an open university system to encourage distance learning. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was the pioneer and now there are seven open universities in India offering over 500 courses. IGNOU has about 11,87,100 students on its rolls. Modern communication technology can be harnessed to effectively provide education 26 through this medium. A distance education Council has been set up and a common pool of programmes is available for sharing.

Open Universities can be highly cost effective as the cost of teaching through distance education comes down to a third compared to the traditional system. They also maintain a close relationship with the industry and is specially helpful to those who cannot afford a regular university degree due to high cost or lack of time as they are already employed.

Distance education with new information and communication technology promises

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to expand the frontiers of Higher Education as never before. This is because it costs 66 per cent less and the students need not leave their homes or profession. The internet and satellite technology are being put to use to further the cause of distance education. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is launching a dedicated satellite for educational purposes.

Public Spending on Higher Education:

Public Expenditure on Higher Education in India: India has developed one of the largest system of Higher Education in the world with over 230 universities and 6500 vocational colleges catering to about 10 million students . Most of these are publicly funded although some may be privately run. The financing of higher education, however, is often reprioritised due to competing demands for budgetary funds from primary and secondary education sectors. As a proportion of GNP Higher Education was only about 0.19 per cent in 1950-51. By 1980-81 it went up five fold to 1 per cent but by mid-1990s it dropped to 0.4 per cent. In the government plan outlay the share of higher education doubled for 9 per cent in the first five year plan to 18 per cent in the second. It increased to 25 per cent in the fourth but has now come down to 15 per cent in the seventh five year plan. In the eight five year plan it was around 8 per cent. It may be stated that the non-plan expenditure in education is huge compared to plan expenditure. 27

On the source of funding, the share of government expenditure (both state and central) increased from 49 per cent in 1950-51 to 76per cent in 1986-87. The share of non-government sector, which in India is largely student fees, declined from 33per cent in 1960s to less then half of what it was in 1950s. The share of other sources that is, voluntary donation, endowments etc also declined. The issue of raising fees in government aided colleges and vocational institutions remained enmeshed in politics. As a result, this source which could potentially provide approximately 20per cent of the funds is currently funding barely 3per cent of the cost of education.
21

Resource crunch in higher education is being felt in a serious way. Other sources of financing besides the government have to be developed so that the massive expenditure required to expand, improve and bring it to world standards could be carried out. With an expanding middle class and globalization this is possible provided innovative policies are formulated and implemented.

Regulation in Higher Education

According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, the debate over regulation of higher education is highly charged with images of private operators charging exorbitant fees, poor quality, financial barriers to the entry of deserving students, etc. (See Regulating Higher Education published in three parts in the Indian Express, New Delhi Edition on July 14th, 15th and 16th, 2005- also posted online in www.indianexpres.com). According to him, the executive in India has abdicated its responsibility of providing sensible policies for education and judiciary has stepped into the vacuum without fully understanding the overall objective. On the demand side, we need to have clear objectives. These are as follows: The gross enrolment rate of higher education in India is roughly 6per cent. This will need to be doubled in the next decade. This involves thousands of crores of Rupees of investment. Since the Government will not be able to meet the requirement, all other sources of funds need to be tapped as well. There is a serious mismatch of demand and supply. The size of demand and its projected growth, clearly indicate the need for new institutions imparting quality education in subject areas of contemporary relevance and job opportunities. Quality can be ensured only if there is sufficient competition among institutes to attract talented students and provide choices and innovative subject combinations. Unfortunately, the Indian
22

regulatory regime tends to stunt supply rather than increase it. 32 There is no doubt that an ideal education system should be without any financial discrimination. However, fee caps tend not only to bring down quality but also reduce overall supply of education. Under these circumstances, there is a great need to go in for major financial innovations in education planning both at student financing level and also at the level of educational institutions.

There is an effort on the part of the Government to block the entry of foreign universities into India. While Singapore, Dubai, Bahrain and China are encouraging foreign universities to set up operations in their countries so that students can have easy access to degrees from those well recognized universities, there is a tendency to block such entry into India. There is a statutory requirement of partnership with Indian institutions, which curbs their autonomy and their standing or brand equity in the market. Restriction on foreign investment in higher education is biased against economically weaker students, who cannot afford to go abroad and acquire foreign degrees.

Entry of foreign universities into India, like foreign investment, should be allowed freely, placing restrictions only on universities and institutions based on religious affiliations. BWe should welcome foreign universities to set up campuses, with or without their own investment, in India. This would also make our universities and colleges more conscious of the current global best practices and more competitive from the demand point of view. 33

Box 4: Regulatory Framework in India Universities in India are set up either through state legislation or through the acquisition of a Deemed University status through UGC. While a number of universities have Deemed University status, institutions offering traditional undergraduate degrees do not have this option open to them. In a Supreme Court judgement in the Chattisgarh case, the Court had decreed that each University set up
23

should not only conform to the UGC norms but also be created through a legislation. This makes setting up of universities not only a long and tedious process but also a costly one. In a similar way, AICTE used to collect a deposit per course of up to Rs 50 lakh, which was held in a joint account for 10 years. Such measures increase the cost of setting up institutions. There have been some court decisions in India which could be considered regressive. In a recent decision in the State of Andhra Pradesh vs JB Education Society(date? No? reference?) the Supreme Court held that consent of State Government is necessary before starting an Engineering College and AICTE cannot give such a consent on its own. In fact, the judgement has gone out of the way to give quasi-monopoly power when it states the State Authorities can alone decide about educational facilities and the needs of the locality. If there are more colleges in a particular area the State would not be justified in granting permission to one more college in that locality. With this, the Supreme Court has done away with the concept of educational centres. Many areas like Boston in the USA have grown as educational centres and provide many common facilities and an academic environment conducive to higher education. Agglomeration of education institutions has been well accepted world wide and the State of Haryana has declared setting up of a Education City in its State. All this will go against the spirit of the Supreme Court judgement. Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil Nadu in India are examples in this context where many private colleges have found a base in a region and are doing well. Regulation, therefore, needs to be well structured and thoroughly researched to take full account of relevance, requirements, practical constraints and market realities. The objective of encouraging growth of educational institutions rather than restricting them should not be lost sight of. The Honourable Supreme Court has once again been restrictive in its judgement in Tamil Nadu vs Adhiyaman Educational & Research Institute in which it has further defused the powers of the UGC. With this judgement,
24

it has gone in for harmonization of education to remove disparities of standards and also for future occurrence of such disparities. With this judgement, the concept of distinct quality of each institution gets a blow and should not be accepted. Education is no longer a uniform harmonized affair. Higher education offers a wide variety of subjects and with continuing education it needs to be demand driven. In this context, while we need to reduce regulation at entry point, we do not need to bring in the concept of accreditation.

Government Control over Private Education Initiative: Some evidence There are two types of private higher education colleges/institutes aided and nonaided. The aided colleges/institutes are supposed to get up to 95per cent of the teachers salary bill reimbursed. The unaided ones have no access to government funds and they run their colleges on higher tuition fees as well as grants/donations.

There has been a continuous attempt by the Government to interfere in the working and admissions policy of even the unaided institution notwithstanding Article 30 of the Constitution, which provides for fundamental right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. This has led to a number of landmark cases in the Supreme Court. Chronologically, they are as follows: 1. Unni Krishnan case 1993: Supreme Court and its review in 2002 by Full bench of Supreme Court. 2. TA Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka and others Supreme Court 2002 3. Islamic Academy Case 2003: Supreme Court 4. PA Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra: Supreme Court (7 judge bench) Appeal

Private Initiative in Higher Education in India

25

Private sector initiatives in the business of providing education in critical disciplines of contemporary relevance have started making their presence felt. Business Week of August 22-29, 2005 carries a special feature on the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) in Karnataka, India which is a leading name among the second tier engineering institutions of India consisting of some 2,240 engineering schools. 55 per cent of them are public institutions and others privately run but not nearly as exclusive as the IITs. While IITs produce 3000 engineers annually from its 7 campuses, these second tier institutes produced 207,000 graduates in 2005 fulfilling an important need. With overwhelming demand for engineering seats and dismal record of government expansion, the private sector now accounts for 84per cent of the seats. Similar increase is taking place in medicine as well. 39

Box 5: The Manipal Academy Manipal Institute of Technology founded in 1953, is a private effort, which has built for itself, a tremendous market reputation. It consists of 53 professional colleges under the umbrella of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). It now has a 30,000 strong student body, studying all subjects from hotel management to software development. PSG College of Engineering in Tamil Nadu and Pune Institute of Advanced Technologies are in a similar role. Companies like Motorola Inc., and EMC Corporation often recruit students from Manipal Institute. Infosys, Tata Consultancy, Wipro and Satyam Computers together employed more than 40,000 engineers in 2004. There are collaborative efforts with the industry, which provides course material, case studies as well as training to lecturers on new areas like chip design, radio frequency identification. This collaboration pays off in reducing training time from 76 days to 52 days. The Manipal Academy by virtue of being a privately run Institution charges a

26

higher fee. While the students at the IITs pay pittance, the Government pays $18,500 per student for 5 years. On the other hand MIT students pay $ 9000 tuition fees for 4 years which is ultimately a much cheaper option for the economy as a whole. There are above 100,000 Indians in countrys 975 private engineering colleges. Academy has been able to build a $7.6 million innovation and research centre to attract likes of Hewlett-Packard, Philips, EMC and Infosys. The Manipal Academy will invest $23 million in the next three years in new facilities. However, the faculty remains underpaid and therefore, the academy is unable to attract talented teachers. Meanwhile, Lancaster University has entered into a collaborative degree arrangement with the Manipal Academy. This will enable students of MAHE to earn a foreign degree sitting in Manipal. MAHE has also acquired an ISO 9001:2000 Certificate for all its systems and practices, benchmarking it with the best in the world. This Deemed University has undertaken a comprehensive audit and implemented industry specific accreditations and scalability on quality management systems enhancing its brand value. 18.2 Pune in India, near Mumbai, is another attractive educational centre for students. Nearly 200,000 students from across India study in its educational institutes that are over a hundred in number and its nine Universities. It is rapidly developing into the educational capital of India. However, on the flip side, all this hectic activity has drawn the interest of Maharashtras most powerful politicians to the profitable arena of edu-business. There are instances of a single politician running over 140 educational institutes. All these institutes generate huge amounts of money. There are rampant cases of malpractice in the form of illegal charges to allocate seats from the management quota. These institutes have been subject to income tax raids which have revealed that seats are indeed sold for cash and a seat in the medical institute can fetch a handsome Rs 25 lakh from the candidate. The quantum of black money involved runs into thousand of millions of 40 Rupees. Clearly, middle class India is willing to pay for educating its
27

But Manipal

children and the private institutes can fill this gap provided proper standards are maintained. (For a good debate , see Global IIT 2005 special supplement, ' The Global Indian Education 'India Today International', May 23, 2005).

While private efforts in India are underway, some State Governments have also got into fray of edu-business. So far the Southern States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have been encouraging educational institutions in the private sector to come into their State. Lately, the Government of Haryana, adjoining Delhi, which is a major educational centre for North India, has announced setting up of an Educational City. Although details of the proposed Educational city have not been divulged, Canada has already offered to assist. The Canadian High Commissioner to India has announced that Canada and the State of Haryana would have mutual cooperation in areas like milk industry and environment technology. She has also suggested distance learning and exchange of faculties between the two countries. ( see Web India 123.com dt. June 26, 2005). It has also been reported that the State Government of Haryana is proposing a Private Universities Bill for the State.

Company Profile
Department Poornima Group of Colleges Vision of Management Studies

28

To equip students with management skills and knowledge to successfully meet the challenges posed by globalization Mission

To provide comprehensive management education and necessary technical skills by developing a professional outlook in every walk of life Society PGC is promoted by Shanti Education Society, a registered society, which came into existence in 1999 with the aim of promoting technical & professional education in the state of Rajasthan with state of the art infrastructure and strong academic philosophy. Shanti Education Society is headed by its founder Chairman Mr. Manohar Lal Singhi, a noted academician & social worker. Other members of the management board are: Sh Shashikant Singhi, Secretary; Sh Vimal Kumar Singhvi; Sh Hari Singh Shekhawat; Sh. B.K. Roy & Mrs. Renu Singhi. Shanti Education Society has 70,000 sqm. of land at RIICO Institutional Area & Bio-Technology Park at Sitapura in the form of three campuses: The South-PCE & PSBM (Poornima college of Engineering & Poornima School of Business Management), The Central-PIET & PSOM (Poornima Institute of Engineering & Technology & Poornima School of Management) & The North - PGI(Poornima Group of Institutions). At present PGC has at its disposal a bulit-up area of one million sqft. Including instructional, administrative, recreational and residential area. PGC Hostels can accommodate 1300 students in 9 hostels. With such a huge infrastucture and a strong team of 600+ faculty & staff members SES is marching ahead in realizing & achieving its mission & vision.

The entry level performance & university results of PGC students have been extra ordinary. The following features of academic excellence of PGC have made its students capable of handling global competition:

Longest college duration (42 hours/week) Motivating & hardworking faculty members
29

Transparent policies towards monitoring of attendance & internal assessment Output oriented assignment schedule Best equipped labs & smaller student groups Stress on practical learning & projects Incentive schemes for performers Stress on workshops & hands on training Self Help groups program Online exam system Non syllabus projects and seminars

Infrastructure The Poornima School of Management has a well-equipped campus, with stateof-the-art facilities & amenities to facilitate quality in management education. Labs

Language lab to improve communication skills and personality development. State-of-the art laboratories equipped with latest and sophisticated equipment. Licence softwares are being available for Analysis and simulation. Skill transfer with the help of scientifically designed systems and practices with most innovative teaching aids.

Additional time for lab practices after the designed periods also. Internet Lab - audited course. Communication Lab - audited course. Seperate Project Labs in each department. Separate Internet Labs. Internet Available in All Labs. Internet Accessibility - 8 MBPS dedicated for 24 Hrs.
30

Fully Air Conditioned Labs. Online UPS in All Labs for Backup.

Library

Well furnished Library section and Audio-visual room. Reference and reading sections are separate. Fully Automated and Bar Coded Library. Multimedia Library and Book bank facility. Library open for 12 hours. 24 hours Nucleus Library for hostellers through mentor system. Additional 21 Library Books to mentors. More than 28,000 Books with 5300 Titles in Poornima College of Engineering. 247 Journals and Magazines. Around 11,000 Books with 2400 Titles in Poornima Insitute of Engineering & Technology.

106 Journals and Magazines. Around 3000 Books with 750 Titles in Poornima School of Management. 76 Journals and Magazines. Around 6900 Books with 950 Titles in Shanti Education Societys Group of Institutions.

87 Journals and Magazines. Around 2600 Books with 950 Titles in Poornima School of Business Management.

73 Journals and Magazines.

Hostel

31

Over the years residential facilities at POORNIMA Campus have grown to create an atmosphere of co-operation, understanding and community living. The living pattern and learning processes are based on scientifically designed parameters. The residents are exposed to realities of life through various activities, which are helpful in overall growth.

GAYATRI GIRLS HOSTEL I & GAYATRI GIRLS HOSTEL II with double/triple seated furnished rooms with option for air cooled accommodation in college campus.

GURUSHIKHAR BOYS HOSTEL I & GURUSHIKHAR BOYS HOSTEL II with double/Triple seated rooms with option for air cooled accommodation in college campus.

Origin of one new concept known as MENTORSHIP which produces a variety of team leaders, team players and improve the skills of students apart from the academics.

Students from all parts of Rajasthan, More than 300 students from neighbouring states of U.P., M.P., Bihar, Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana & Gujarat.

Computer lab, tutorial rooms, gym, lecture halls, provisional store, STD/PCO, canteen and library facility in the hostels.

Cross ventilated, fully furnished rooms. Reading rooms with Magazines and Newspapers. Pure vegetarian, wholesome and homely food. Strict discipline, personnel attention and 24 hours security. Six books issued for one session/semester from book bank. Guest rooms for parents. Weekly visit by expert Doctor. Vehicles available for 24 hours for emergency purpose. Summer camp and annual picnic. Games and audio visual facilities and regular personality development programs. At least one faculty member of each subject and sports officer reside in Campus. Personal care of study in hostels through mentor systems.
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21 Library Books to mentors under nucleus library systems. Different celebrations like Hostel day, sports week, Lohri, New year etc.

Internet

Eight MBPS Dedicated Leased Line. Dedicated INTERNET LAB with 68 systems. Structured program as part of syllabus. 24 hours Internet available at all corners of all campuses through Wi-Fi Networks.

Transport

Biggest fleet of Twenty Five new swaraj Mazada buses operating from all corners of Jaipur owned by Shanti Education Society.

Well coordinated punctual and regular service available throughout the year. Separate buses for staff and students. Bus facility for Industrial visit. Bus facility to take students to examination centers. Full provision of back up service in place to avoid any breakdown. Free Transport facility to employees.

At POORNIMA, the academic atmosphere is a rare blend of modern day technical & soft skills and the traditional systems of learning processes, which is displayed in the following knowledge wheel :

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Management development program The Department of Management Studies, Poornima Group of Colleges, besides conducting regular MBA courses, organizes short-term management

development/training programs/workshops to meet specific needs of the sponsoring organizations. Such programs, being tailor-made, are useful for executives in enhancing their skills in different disciplines.

DMS has organized, during the last about three financial years 26 training programs/workshops on subjects related to lending/credit operations, exports, technology up-gradation fund scheme and retail management.

34

The continuance of MDPs is favored from the point of view of development of professional/managerial skills of the faculty involved in the collection/preparation of reference/reading materials as also in the actual conduct of the programs; exposure of students to managerial functions in different industrial disciplines by way of their actual participation in the programs (some students to be permitted to attend each program, granting them leave of absence from the classes, depending on the situation), on the one hand, and taking advantage of special lectures of senior guest faculty invited for MDPs, wherever possible, on the other; image building and recognition of the Poornima institutions as growing management development centers, in Govt./industry circles, which may also help in the placement of students; increased utilization of the faculty and infrastructure; and above all serving the cause of management education in the State to meet specific needs of the sponsoring organizations.

such programs have been organized during the period February 2007 to November 2010 as under ::S.No. Date 1 15-Nov-10 Place Jaipur Subject Management Development/training of RFC officers Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for Textile Industry Management Development/training of RFC officers Management Development/training of RFC officers
35

22-Jan-10

Jaipur

July 8-9, 2009

Jaipur

May 28-29, 2009

Jaipur

22-23 2008

October,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jaipur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

16-17 2008

October,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jodhpur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

07-08 2008

August,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Chittorgarh and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Jaipur Management Development/training of RFC officers Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures

24-25 July, 2008

18-19 July, 2008

Jalore

and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures

10

20-21 June, 2008 Sardarshahar

and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

11

14-15 2008

March,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Makrana and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jaipur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Abu Road and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Alwar and Documentation for executives of export oriented units
36

12

29 February 01 March, 2008

13

15-16 2008

February,

14

19-20 December, 2007

15

14-15 December, 2007

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Kota and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

16

26-27 2007

October,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Bhilwara and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

17

17-18 2007

October,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Bhiwadi and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jodhpur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Bikaner and Documentation for executives of export oriented units Retail Management program for managers

18

26-27 September, 2007

19

05-06 September, 2007

20

11 - 12 July, 2007 Jaipur

and

sales

supervisors

of

state-owned

emporiums and khadi outlets 21 09-10 May, 2007 Jaipur Workshop on Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme for textile units/RFC officers Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jaipur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units March, Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Udaipur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units March, Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Ajmer and Documentation for executives of export oriented units
37

22

21-22 2007

March,

23

14-15 2007

24

07-08 2007

25

26-27 2007 10-11 2007

February,

Workshop on Export Promotion, Procedures Jaipur and Documentation for executives of export oriented units

26

February,

Jaipur

Management Development/training of RFC officers

JECRC Foundation
Education is the foundation upon which a progressive nation stands and its citizens, made responsible by that education, are the building blocks of that foundation. JECRC Foundation, since its inception, has taken the mission of nurturing students into sensitive human beings.

JECRC Foundation is ascribed as one of the 'most preferred' educational institutions in North India. The Foundation is a leading education group, with institutes for engineering, management, pharmacy and pure & applied sciences.

JECRC Foundation is NBA accredited institute whose highly qualified & experienced faculty, advanced infrastructural set-up and full-fledged hostels offers a comprehensive learning environment for its students.

The Foundation encourages all-round personality development through extra-curricular activities and competitive events. Students have also benefited from the Foundation's strong industry linkages and secured training & career opportunities with leading organisations.

38

JECRC School Of Business

With a vision to infuse the spirit of organisation leaders, the JECRC Foundation offers Master of Business Administration. Through thoroughly-prepared course content & preparation which meets industryrequirements, the JECRC School of Management aims to develop people and groom them to become to able business managers.

Master in Business Administration | MBA

The 2-year MBA Programme by JECRC School of Management is approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi and affiliated to the Rajasthan Technical University, Kota.

The programme is designed to:

Develop among students knowledge of social, economic, political, technological & ecological environment of modern society, and their characteristic values

Help students become effective leaders, who can achieve results beyond expectations & transform organisations

Facilitate lateral thinking to enable a student to come out with innovative ideas, create alternative solutions and develop entrepreneurial skills

Inculcate values of integrity, justice & fairness, so that students promote and maintain high ethical standards in management

Nurture a global mindset so that the future managers meet the challenges of international competition

Promote an all round personal development among the students with an integration of Indian values

The prescribed courses for the programme include:

16 Foundation Courses in management and allied areas in the first year

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A 2-month summer training during June-July in the first year in selected industries and enterprises

6 core courses and 9 elective courses chosen from Marketing, Finance and Human Resources in the second year

Preparation and presentation of Summer Training during the second year

Admission to the MBA Programme The Admission to the programme is coordinated through Rajasthan Management Aptitude Test (RMAT) Coordinating Office, based in Government Mahila Engineering College at Ajmer, Rajasthan. The minimum qualification for MBA programme is 50% marks in graduation.

Infrastructure The JECRC School of Management has a well-equipped campus, with state-of-the-art facilities & amenities to facilitate quality in management education. Library The Institute has an excellent library with 4500 latest books and CDs on various academic and applied aspects of the study of management and computer applications, which include foreign and Indian journals and periodicals, covering all functional areas in the course. The library proposes to link up with the extensive Delnet library network. This will give access to an extensive range of reference and research material available online.

Hostel To provide accommodation to outstation students, the institute has separate wellfurnished hostel for boys and girls. It strives to ensure that the food and living conditions are wholesome.

40

Supporting Infrastructure The institute is well-equipped with a host of facilities that enable and encourage organising of extra curricular activities & events.

Conference & Seminar Halls to convene meetings and knowledge discussions Indoor & Outdoor Sports & Games to facilitate all-round student development

Faculty

The core full-time faculty presents a rich blend of relevant academic specialisation and diverse teaching experience in various areas. By combining experts from industry and faculty from other reputed management institutes, JECRC School of Management facilitates an all-round exposure to students.

Permanent Faculty Prof. M. Sivathanu Pillai

M.Com, PGDHRM (Formerly Chief Technical Advisor, International Labour Organization, Geneva; Management Development Branch, Consultant to UNDTCD, USIAD): Business Policy and Strategy, Strategic Human Resource Management, Organization Development

Dr. C.M.Choudhary

M.Com, M. Phil, Ph.D. : Managerial Economics, Economics Environment of Business

Asstt. Prof. Rishi Sharma M.B.A, Ph. D. (Pursuing): Financial Management, Investment Management and Security Analysis, Portfolio Management, Finance for Strategic Decisions

Mr. Sundeep S. Dhillon

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BE, MBA, LLB: Marketing, Product and Brand Management, Sales and Distribution Management, International Business Management, Financial Derivatives and International Financial Management

Ms.Rashmi Sharma

M.B.A.: Managerial Accounting, Organizational Dynamics, Marketing of Financial Services,Organizational Change and Intervention Strategies

Mr. Raj Kumar Kumawat M.B.A.: Operations and Production Management, Research Methods in Management, Project Management, Quantitative Techniques

Dr. Jitendra Silngh Bidawat M.Com., Ph.D. MBA (Pursuing from IGNOU): ABST

Ms. Saguna Chaturvedi M.A., M. Phil.: Economics

Ms. Veenu Bhargava B.Sc., M.B.A.: HR & Marketing

Ms. Reena B.A., M.B.A.: Marketing & HR

Mr. Parikshit Bhargava M.Sc., M.B.A.: Marketing & Finance

Dr. M. Kuruvilla B.Pt., M.B.A.: HR & Strategic Management

42

Ms. Swadesh Tanwar B.Sc., M.B.A.: HR

Ms. Alka Saxena B.Sc., M.B.A.: Finance

Ms. Neha Mathur B.A., M.B.A.: Marketing & Finance

Visiting Faculty Padma Bhushan Prof.N.S.Ramaswamy Founder Director, IIMB: Chairman, CARTMAN, Indian Heritage Academy, Bangalore

Mr. S.R. Pandey General Manager (P &A), Lakshmi Cement Division, JK Corp Limited

Prof. P K Jain M.Com., PhD: Director - Faculty of management studies M L Sukhadia University, Udaipur

Mr. Shekhar Gattani MBA: Former Manager - International Business - Arvind Mills; currently managing own enterprise in Jaipur

Mr. Prateek Tiwari MBA: CEO, PARAS Precision Organic Farming Pvt Ltd, Jaipur

Prof. Kishore Kumar Morya BE. MBA: Consultant, Jaipur

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Mr. Sushil Kumar Mishra M.Com, FCA, MCA: Computer Application in Management, Quantitative Technique Career Guidance and Placement Services JECRC has centralized HR Division that maintains an all-India roster of reputed companies where our students receive summer training and are later placed after their graduation. The Division also interacts continuously with the industry managers to gauge industry expectations and inputs to design need-based academic curriculum.

Training with our industry partners during the summer is an important source of student's learning at JECRC School of Management. We maintain a continuous interaction with the industry managers during the training period and provide meaningful and practical experience to the students. Students upon completion of training prepare and present a Project Report in the class.

The Career Guidance and Counseling Cell of the JECRC School of Management provides the following services:

A Tutor-Guardian Counseling programme to monitor the performance of students and advise them on appropriate action plans.

Professional Assistance to students in identification of career aptitude and development.

Training workshops on Interview skills and Group Discussion. Students' initiated placement search cells. Regular industry observation is an essential part of our "Classroom without Walls Learning" strategy. Student groups are encouraged to enrich their practical learning by undertaking industry visit and one-to-one interaction with industry managers.

Partners in Empowerment:

44

Leading corporates in industry and service sectors have been overwhelmingly supporting our initiatives in providing quality management education. They have provided valuable inputs in the design of our courses; their managers interact with our students on real practices on management, provide meaningful training to our students during summer and visit our campus for recruitment. Sriram Fertilizers and

Aviva Life Insurance Bajaj Capital Birla Cements Dainik Bhaskar Data Infosys Ltd. HDFC Bank ICICI Prudential Kamdhenu Steels LG Electronics Fortis Securities Ltd Net Cradle India Ltd Everest Industries Ltd Godrej Boyce Ltd India Mart Beacon Insurance Pvt. Ltd. Asian Paints Pfizer

Chemicals Ltd. JK Cements JK Corp. Sona Kayo Streering Ltd Basant Wires Industries Pvt. Ltd. Sunil Health Care Ltd. Reliance Industries Ltd.-

Textile Division Raj Udyog and Tools Ltd India Bulls Securities Reliance Infocomm Sahara India Parivar Standard Chartered Bank Videocon Wipro Union Bank of India Cipla Ltd. Religare Ltd. General Insurance

STFC (Sriram Transport & Finance Shriram Co.) HDFC Standard Life Insurance Outsourcing Partners-International Ltd.

Reliance Insurance Parle (Bisleri)

45

Pantaloon (Life Style) Capital IQ Shree Cements Ltd. Shri Vishwakarma, Emery Stones, Industries Pvt. Ltd Genus Overseas Ltd

India Bulls Kotak Securities Ltd. Max New York Life Insurance Reliance Money

Tie Ups Industry Support

Students of the JECRC Foundation take up several research projects during their course. They have been privileged to receive valuable and unconditional support of industry leaders in completing their research work.

Global Information Visualization Program: Motorola Foundation Remote Temperature Monitoring & Controlling Using Embedded System: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan

Spiral Structure Formation - A Fluid Dynamic Study: Submitted for funding to AICTE, Delhi

Study of Geometric Quantum Mechanics and Gravitation: Submitted for funding to UGC

Robotic Arm with Ultrasonic Vision: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan

Pollution Control: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan

E-Governance: IBME, DoIT

46

Design & Development of Low Cost Solar Water Lifter using the Principle of Vapour Pressure: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan

Peer to Peer Wireless Communication Between PCs: Department of Science & Technology, Government of India

Leibniz University Hannover, Germany

JECRC Foundation is associated with the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), Germany, through an academic corporation programme. This provides opportunities for the mutual exchange of students and faculty between the LUH, Germany and the JECRC Foundation. Some of our students have successfully completed summer schools and training at LUH. This year also three students will be going Germany to attend a DAAD summer school on Teaching and Research for Sustainability organized by Centre of Applied Biotechnology, LUH, Hannover.

Global Relationship Building (GRB)

GRB, launched in 2010, aims at providing a virtual opportunity to our student community to connect to the key stakeholders (sister institutions, research institutes, alumni, professional associations, etc.) of technical education. In particular, GRB enables the students for intensive global Internet research for connecting with industry, higher learning institutions, research institutes and connecting with academic communities of experts worldwide for knowledge sharing. It also aims at nurturing alumni relations and exploring academic collaboration with industry for alliances in education.

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Industry collaborations The Foundation is in collaboration with top IT firms, for training of its students on latest equipment & process methodologies. These firms have also chosen students of JECRC Foundation for recruitment and placement in their organisations. Infosys Campus Connect Program Program for Offers courseware, value methodology addition educational Infosys experiences

and

Tata Consultancy Services

JECRC stands accredited by Tata Consultancy Services for recruitment purposes Hewlett Packard

JECRC joined hands with HP which provides training on latest technologies to our students.

IBM JECRC provides a platform for students to extract benefits from various workshops & seminars on new technologies by World leaders. In one of the recent trainings, under the IBM Academic Initiative Program, IBM professionals trained the students in IBM DB2 v9 and RAD v6 free of cost exclusively for the students of JECRC Foundation.

EMC2 Academic Alliance Program

The EMC2 Academic Alliance program, a collaboration with colleges and universities worldwide, was created to address the skills gap resulting from the

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growing volume and complexity of data. EMC2 offered a unique 'open' Information Storage and Management (ISM) course to JECRC. It conducts EMC Proven Professional Exam on "Information Storage & Management" which is the leading Storage Technology. The Great Mind Challenge (TGMC) The Great Mind Challenge (TGMC) by IBM India is the biggest national level software development competition asdeclared by Limca Book of World Record. TGMC gives B.E./B.Tech./MCA a platform to make projects using IBM latest technologies and tools. In TGMC'09, Jaipur Engineering College & Research Centre, Jaipur was selected as one of the top 30 colleges from which number of registration was more than 1000. IBM conducted a felicitation ceremony on May 12th, 2010 at Bengaluru and JECRC was also invited to attend the ceremony and to collect the memento of appreciation and certificate.

International Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD)

Cooperation

The Foundation holds a privileged association with the DAAD, a joint organisation of German institutions of higher education and student bodies, with the aim of promoting global academic co-operation. The JECRC Foundation is one of the few selected institutes from India to participate in this prestigious international project.

Leibniz University Hannover, Germany JECRC Foundation is associated with the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), Germany, through an academic corporation programme. This provides opportunities for the mutual exchange of students and faculty between the LUH, Germany and the JECRC Foundation. Some of our students have successfully completed summer schools and training at LUH. This year also three students

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will be going Germany to attend a DAAD summer school on Teaching and Research for Sustainability organized by Centre of Applied Biotechnology, LUH, Hannover.

Young Professionals Platform for Agriculture Research for Development (YPARD) The Foundation is actively in touch with YPARD. YPARD fosters exchange of information and knowledge among young professionals across disciplines to broaden opportunities. YPARD also facilitates and catalyzes links between young researchers and scientists located worldwide. The YPARD Review Meeting was organized at JECRC in July 2009 to discuss the next five year plan for YPARD India and to strengthen the YPARD network in order to facilitate more resources to young researchers.

Introduction
Employee Branding
Employee branding is nothing but how employees adopt the organizational culture and how the culture influence employees in achieving the band image which is the prime goal of an organization. It is a process of training the employees and makes them understand their responsibilities and their duties in specific with proper motivational
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factors to reach and build good brand image of the organization with customers.

In the competitive world of today, every company seeks to have the best talent around. This is the reason that it has become extremely difficult for the employees to get into any company. But as far as the best talents from the high-profile universities are concerned, companies have to come up with exciting packages so as to ensure that the highly-talented lot can become a part of their functioning. So, as far as the current research is concerned, an employee brand is what attracts the employees towards a company. It is actually an image that the company makes of itself in the minds of many that it is the best place to get employed at. An employee brands ensures a sense of belongingness in the people and this makes the employees play an integral role in the achievement of success. Hence, one can say that an employee brand is the value of a company that exists in the corporate. Hence, one can say that in the present scenario, one of the goals of a company is related to employee branding. This goal is to achieve customer satisfaction where the customers are nobody but the employees themselves. One can also introduce employee branding as one of the core values of an organization. Those companies that this research has seen to have a good image in the market place are the ones which also have a good extent of employee brand attached to its name. The most important question that needs to be answered with respect to brand employer building is that the company has to know as to what they are and what their vision is. Along with this, they also have to meet the expectations of the stakeholders in the meanwhile. (Mangold, 2004)

Internal View of Employee branding One must be able to define the meaning of employee branding to the company. It must be remembered that employee branding is actually the image of an organization for the people working in the organization. It is this reputation that the companies make of themselves inside their premises that are also carried outside to the passive candidates, the customers, the clients and also the others who are affected by the proceedings of the company. Hence, one can say that within the company, employee branding is done to attract the employees, and also for their subsequent retention in times to come so as
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to improve the company's image of employee branding. The management of every country has to understand a very simple fact that it can't lay a narrow focus on the employee branding. If this is done, it would only be a departmental project and would not have been entitled to be a part of the overall business strategy of the company. One must keep another fact clear that if employee branding is only considered to be a part of the recruitment process and then given the back seat, there will be too many cases of absenteeism resulting in subsequent resignations at frequent intervals. (Turning staff into brand ambassadors, 2009)

Importance of defining Employee Brand Objectives Every activity that is regular in a company requires a definition for its subsequent planning. The reason for the same is that once the objectives are defined, the company would certainly save a lot of money and time in the process that are carried in the latter stages. We are all aware of the fact that every company has a different lifecycle stages and objectives at different times. So, defining the employee brand objectives would be of help at all these life stages that the company has For example, one of them can be to establish an employee referral program. These objectives with respect to employee branding can be to integrate the culture of two companies in process of doing a merger, or to decrease the turnover rates of the employees, to increase the hire volume for a particular period of time, training to improve the quality of the employees, and also to update the career section in the websites to ensure that the company can convey the idea of employee branding and the importance that it holds in the organization. These are all the cases that need to be defined with respect to employee branding for better implementation and subsequent success of the company. (Pickard, 2009) Relationship between Employee branding and Marketing and Communications A company must define the ownership of a brand strategy so as to make a reach to the consensus and also so that the employees of the country remain united in their ways. The management of a company must always take the forefront in driving employee

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branding with the help of education in the organizational premises and also by awareness building. There are certain employees who stand as unconditional and do not require a general need for motivation. But for most of the organizations it is a longterm and also strategic attempt of talent management. These strategies are designed in order to attract, keep busy, prevent absenteeism etc and these strategies can only be fulfilled by a collaboration of the employee branding department with the marketing and communications department. As for example, the marketing and communications department s can be of extreme help in the case of analysis through websites, or also in the segmentation of the target market. Research says that wherever this collaboration stays weak, there is certainly a large struggle, or delay in the projects or even the creativity can be minimized to a large extent. Modes of Discovering Employee brand One can develop an employee branding strategy by making a comprehension of the culture followed in the organization, the work experiences of candidates, the drivers of talent, external perspectives of the organization, vision of the organization, the leadership issues and also the management practices. If a company focuses on these areas for discovering its employee branding, it would be able to make a construction of its message platform which would have the characteristics of being the most authenticated, of a compelling nature and also distinguished. This systematic procedure would also be embraced perfectly in the internal organization. Other than this, the external reach of the organization would also better as a result. There are also various ways of carrying the development program of employee branding. These are both quantitative and qualitative research. This can be in the form of focussing on groups, conducting interviews of leaders and also meetings and seminars. One can also gather competitive intelligence in the process. If the company wants to develop itself externally as well, it can check the online reputation of the firm so as to find out the views of the organization about what is said about them on the web through the blogs, or some social networking sites like Facebook and Orkut.

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Role of the CEO and the Higher Authorities in Employee branding It is extremely important for a company to have its top management converse about the employee brands in the earlier stages of the development of the same. There is an institute called the Employee brand Institute which suggests that it is highly positive for a company's future prospects to get involved with the key stakeholders on this issue. These issues can include the following: * The support of employee branding in development of the business strategy * * * The The The culture of the of of organization the and its consistency both across and the globe

perception channels

organization for

internally

externally versa

communication

bottom-up

and

vice

* The most critical positions of success and the extent to which the company has gone in achieving the same

* All the above defined can be with respect to the attraction of the employees towards the organization, the engagement in achieving the organization's goals and finally the removal of policies of absenteeism from the organization and achieve maximum retention of employees (HR faces the challenges of 2002, 2002) Significance of Employee brand Many researchers have argued that in spite of following all the characteristics of employee branding, companies have generally considered it as a shortcut for getting the best talent available in the surroundings. Many companies also tie up with ad agencies so as to market their employee branding even if they do not practice them in reality. These are some of the activities which fall totally against the much valued significance that employee branding has. It is often said that if one takes good care of his guests, there is all the probability that the guest will become your own and will continue to be loyal with you. This is followed by organizations like Google and Marriott. Every organization must understand this fact very clearly that the organization's core values are defined by the extent of being productive and responsive towards the customers. In others words it is a common belief that if a company takes care of the

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people it affects, these people would certainly take care of the company. The competitive world of today teaches a very simple concept which is that every gain is mutual. Along with the services, it is the employee brand of a company that it would have to deliver to make the best possible returns.

Employee Branding Guidelines

1. Organizational messages are supposed to be cautiously planned and designed in much the similar method mission and vision statements are planned and designed. 2. The organizational messages are supposed to be a sign of the organization's mission as well as standards. 3. Messages aimed at outer public are required to be in line with the messages directed towards the workforce. 4. Messages intended for outer public must be sent within the organization too. 5. The plan of staffing and selection systems is supposed to include messages that constantly and cyclically reveal the brand name and organizational image. 6. The reimbursement system is supposed to include messages that constantly and cyclically reveal the brand and organizational image. Such as, executives in organizations that give importance to training ought to be held responsible when they do not succeed to train and develop their workforce. 7. Training and development systems must facilitate executives and workforce to internalize their organization's mission and values as well as assist them in knowing how the mission and values are relevant to their responsibilities in the organization. This should allow them to more successfully draft messages that regularly reflect the brand name and organizational image. 8. Marketing and public relations systems are supposed to write messages that repeatedly and without fail reflect the brand name and organizational image.
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9. Executives must be taught the significance of sending messages that are steady with their organization's mission, vision, guiding principles, and practices. 10. Performance supervision systems must concentrate on variations between practices and strategies to reduce infringements of employees' psychological agreements. 11. Precise as well as unambiguous job samples must be provided to new workers so that rational hopes are included into their psychological agreements. 12. Corporate traditions - such as objects, different activities and behaviors, administration standards, standards and viewpoint - should strengthen the messages workforce get. 13. Individual productivity must be considered and evaluated to find out if there are 'message associated' issues on the departmental, divisional, or organizational levels. 14. Individual messages must be repeatedly scrutinized for uniformity with other messages. 15. Message channels are supposed to be checked to guarantee reliability of message delivery. 16. During the occasion that messages have to be altered or psychological agreements changed, organizations are required to take cautious steps in redrafting the messages. 17. Measures should be applied to evaluate results such as clientele maintenance, service value, revenue, as well as employee satisfaction and performance.

What organizations have to do to make their employees brands

Employee Recruitment

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Companies attend many types of functions to recruit potential employees such as job fairs and campus visits. It's imperative to sell these recruits on your business. The top recruits will be interviewing you as much as you're interviewing them. What impression an organization want to give them? How will they remember your business? The giveaway you choose to give these recruits will tell them a lot about your business. Your first impression may be your only impression. Hiring and Interviewing During the interview process consider giving every interviewee a promotional gift decorated with your logo. It's a great way to break the ice and introduce the candidate to your brand. Most companies will interview multiple applicants before filling a position. These people can become positive advocates of your business even when they don't get the job if properly introduced to your company's brand and culture. These people will move on to work for other businesses - businesses that could be potential customers of your business. You want them to remember you, and remember you fondly. The right promotional giveaway is an excellent way to leave them with a positive impression of your company. Training Most applicants will require training once they've been hired. Make sure you spend time teaching them about your company's mission and objectives. Whether it's a coffee mug with the company's mission statement printed on it, or a training manual with the company's logo debossed on the cover, every employee must be included and integrated into the company culture. An employee who doesn't understand the company's mission is an opportunity lost. Awards, Recognition and Incentive Programs One of the most common frustrations among employees is that they feel unrecognized and under-appreciated. Creating programs for recognizing achievement and service at work is a great way to help develop a positive workplace environment. An employee who truly feels appreciated at work is much more likely to be productive and loyal. One
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of my favorite programs involves allowing staff to nominate other employees for employee of the month, and then vote on the winner. Nothing makes somebody feel more appreciated than recognition by their peers. Beyond recognizing your employees, incentives are often a great way to motivate your staff. Have clear objectives and rules of achievement, and reward your top performers with promotional gifts. Wellness Programs, Safety Programs and Team Building Events

Wellness programs have become a popular strategy for many progressive companies. Rewarding employees for improving their health is good for them, and good for you. Safety programs are another way to recognize desired behavior, and reward those who engage in safe conduct. Team building may sound cliche, but it's vitally important. Employees must feel engaged by the company as well as their peers to become true advocates for your business. Participating in community events is one way to help solidify your team while building brand awareness. Volunteering time to help non-profit organizations not only helps the community, but instills employee pride in your business. Promotional Apparel Many businesses utilize corporate apparel and staff uniforms for employees. But what about businesses that do not require employees to wear company apparel? If your staff likes your company, they're probably willing to wear corporate apparel whether you require it or not. One strategy is to pick a handful of items such as polos, hoodies and windbreakers, and offer them to your staff at reduced prices. Items like these that can be embroidered can typically be ordered in small quantities, and decorators typically don't care if you mix and match different types of items if the embroidery is the same. You can limit options and colors that support your company branding, but allow your staff to pick sizes and products that best fit them personally. If they won't wear it, it doesn't do you any good.

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Employees have a vested interest in the success of your business. But if you don't actively engage them with your business, and recognize them for their achievements, you'll never convert them into true advocates. Commander goes on to explain, "Employees who actively live the brand create significant benefits for both the customer and the organization. Customers of organizations with employee brand advocates enjoy better customer service, greater anticipation of and ability to have their needs met, and more attentiveness to their voice and feedback. The organization also enjoys the benefits of word-of-mouth marketing, greater profitability and financial results, and a more differentiated brand."

Best Practices for Developing an Employment Brand

Every organization has an employment brand. It is made up of how people feel about working there, how potential job candidates view the company and even how the company is perceived by the market it serves. A distinctive employment brand is essential to lure and retain the best talent, which is the key competitive advantage for those organizations winning in today's marketplace. Leading-edge companies openly articulate their employment brand and market it to talent as aggressively as they do their product or service brands to consumers or business customers. Not surprisingly, HR is a logical steward in defining and communicating a compelling brand with senior leadership's validation.

The Five Pillars of a Strong Employment Brand "Employment branding is the hottest strategy in employment," said Dr. John Sullivan, human resource management professor at the College of Business at San Francisco State University. "It is one of the few long-term solutions to the 'shortage of talent' problem. Whereas most employment strategies are short-term and 'reactive' to job openings, building an employment brand is a longer-term solution designed to provide a steady flow of applicants."
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A solid employment brand is a clear and compelling articulation of why an individual would want to work for an organization and give it his or her best. It's not just about making employees "feel good" or letting them have fun, but about fortifying the organization's culture with a set of pillars as a foundation for tangible financial and competitive benefits. These five pillars are: a clear value proposition, synergy with consumer brands, authenticity/consistency, loyalty and cultural consistency in practice. A Clear Value Proposition What is it about an organization that turns people on? What tangible and intangible benefits do they derive from working there? Many people are drawn to the clear value propositions of nonprofits or other organizations in which compensation might not be highly competitive. These work environments attract people who want to make a difference. Others prefer a value proposition that offers more-tangible rewards. Additional value propositions people find appealing relate to creativity or innovation, such as the opportunity to keep learning or the excitement that comes from designing new products. The value proposition should be closely aligned with corporate values. A company that wants to define itself positively in the eyes of current and future employees has to be explicit about how it motivates and rewards its people, what kind of culture it wants to foster and the values it espouses and by which it lives. Perhaps the most famous demonstration of corporate values in the United States was how Johnson & Johnson handled the 1980s Tylenol-tampering incident. Although the company was not responsible for the tampering, which occurred after the product reached store shelves, it took responsibility and did what countless consumers would call "the right thing" the company immediately recalled the product from the entire country, at a loss of more than $100 million, and created tamper-resistant seals. The message was clear: "We value the lives of our consumers above all else, and we certainly care more about them than we care about our profits." "Doing the right thing"
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not only saved the Tylenol brand, but it also did wonders for how people viewed the company consumers rightly perceive Johnson & Johnson as a company that always acts with integrity. Not surprisingly, Johnson & Johnson also is perceived as an employer of choice. The company's career Web site expresses the relationship between corporate values and the employment value proposition: "We share deeply rooted values that come from our credo. These values provide a unified vision for ethical behavior among our companies and their employees around the world. Explore what it means to be part of our credobased culture and see how your values align with those shared by our employees." On the opposite end of the scale, just about everyone has a view of the Enron employment brand, even without having worked there. The reported excesses and ethical lapses of Enron executives created a set of associations that defined the company's employment brand. Of course, no company sets out to achieve a negative employment brand, but attracting and retaining talent is a much more difficult proposition when the employment brand is seen as weak or tarnished.

Synergy with Consumer Brands The employment brand needs to be consistent with the organization's consumer brand. Such a synergy produces motivated, engaged employees who are more likely to demonstrate strong productivity and provide excellent customer service. This, in turn, generates consumer loyalty, which positively influences corporate performance. Nike is a good example of the convergence between consumer and employment brands. Its Oregon campus is set up like a miniature sports facility that feels more like a camp for athletes than a workplace. It conveys a deep authenticity and connection between its workforce and product consumers from the aspiring athlete to many of the world's finest sports competitors. According to the company's Web site, "Nike does more than outfit the world's athletes. We are a place to explore potential, obliterate boundaries and push out the edges of
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what can be. We aren't looking for workers. We're looking for people who can contribute, grow, think, dream and create. We thrive in a culture that embraces diversity and rewards imagination. We seek out achievers, leaders, visionaries. We love winners. At Nike, it's about bringing what you have to a challenging and constantly evolving game." It's not necessary to go that far, however. Procter & Gamble, for example, is well-known for its popular consumer brands without defining its employees' bonds solely in those terms. Rather, the strength of Procter & Gamble consumer brands is reflected in an equally robust employment brand of a great place to work. The company cares about its employees and their careers as much as it cares about consumers. People are treated well and have excellent opportunities to learn and advance. Thus, they and the business world in general view Procter & Gamble the employer similarly to how consumers view the company's brands: as a leader with an excellent value proposition.

Authenticity and Consistency A strong employment brand has to be real, not just sizzle without the steak the company has to deliver what it promises. If a recruiter presents a company as appreciative of diversity and flexible in accommodating people with alternative needs (e.g., single parents), then new employees had better not report for work the first day only to be told they must be at their desks from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a half-hour lunch from 12:30 to 1 p.m. every day. The cognitive dissonance would be massive, and in all likelihood, the new employee would begin to regard the company as untrustworthy. A corollary of authenticity and honesty is consistency of message across the enterprise. If Department A promises huge starting salaries, and Department B tells candidates they won't make a lot of money at first but will be promoted quickly, and Department C
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says it's all about flexibility, then these phenomena don't add up to a consistent employment brand. On the other hand, if a company does have very distinct employment sub-brands (for example, one division is a new venture that requires entrepreneurially minded people, and the remainder of the company works in established business units according to long-held traditions), it is necessary to clarify and communicate those differences, as well as make sure candidates are hired and placed accordingly. Engender Loyalty Many factors can engender tremendous loyalty and devotion among employees, often (but by no means always) involving some extraordinary action beyond the call of duty. For example, a manufacturing company in the Midwest implemented a no-layoff policy as part of its employment brand. When it fell on hard times, employees stayed on, even when they had to take pay cuts and work odd shifts, helping the company weather a downturn that otherwise might have destroyed it. Another example comes from a financial services company with a significant number of employees made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. It arranged for those employees to temporarily stay at the homes of other employees who were not affected. These types of actions clearly have an extraordinary impact on people's lives, as well as the company's employment brand and reputation in general. It's where an employer ceases to be just a workplace and becomes a part of the family. Nonetheless, loyalty is a two-way street, and human beings still exhibit a real connection and affiliation with organizations that demonstrate commitment to them. The organization's acts don't have to be grandiose to be effective, however. Companies that promise to behave in certain ways and then demonstrate that (especially when the circumstances might make that difficult) engender considerable trust in their workforce. Organizational theorist Chris Argyris describes this as the congruence between a company's "espoused theory" of behaving and its "theory in practice." Simply put, it's the level of harmony of people or groups actually doing what they said they'd do.
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Certainly, employee loyalty ties into consumer loyalty. Usually, companies that value the employee experience also value the customer experience and the relationships its workforce has with shareholders, vendors and the community. Starbucks is one example of being a good corporate citizen it respects employees (called "partners"), provides a fun environment for its people and even offers full benefits to part-timers who work 240 hours a quarter. In March 2007, the Starbucks Foundation awarded $2 million to help bring clean water to communities around the world. These funds support Starbucks' goals of contributing at least $10 million by 2010 to nonprofits that are helping to alleviate the world water crisis. Employees who want to know their employer cares about larger issues and takes action on them are impressed by such corporate behaviors.

Corporate Cultural Consistency For the first time this year, Google made Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, and it captured first place. In its effort to attract and retain the best and brightest, the company has created a unique culture intended to treat employees so well, they won't want to leave (the company provides free gourmet meals, laundry facilities and many other perks). The "Google 15" refers to the 15 pounds people gain when they first come to Google until they start taking advantage of the company's gyms, pools and workout facilities. All this leads many HR experts to wonder, "Is such a culture sustainable? Or does it inevitably create a culture of entitlement that eventually becomes financially unfeasible?" A couple of decades ago, a new company in the financial services business thrived on a culture similar to Google's. But today, the free food and video games are gone, victims to cost-cutting efforts that seem to come to any maturing business. The employees look

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and act much more like traditional bankers. Perhaps today's "Googlers" will be wearing suits and ties in 10 years, as well. Only time will tell. A less flashy example is the egalitarian culture nurtured at Intel by co-founder Andy Grove, who served as president and later chairman. It's an employment brand that states, "We're all in this together; we're all smart; we all work hard, and everyone is treated equally well." Intel's 2005 Proxy Statement states, "Intel's officers are not entitled to operate under different standards than other employees. Intel does not provide its officers with reserved parking spaces or separate dining or other facilities, nor does Intel have programs for providing personal-benefit perquisites to officers such as permanent lodging or defraying the cost of personal entertainment or family travel. Intel's officebuilding layouts are cubicle-based for all employees, including officers." When the president and CEO work in a cubicle just like everyone else, the company's declared values are really on display in a powerful way.

More Value All Around In a time of talent scarcity, companies can't afford not to compete for the best people. A clearly articulated and communicated employment brand makes it easier to attract and keep the best talent. Provided the organization's values and practices are in line with the brand it purports to have, the benefits are as tangible as those of a strong consumer brand. Just as a consumer brand generates customer loyalty, an employment brand fosters retention. And it always costs much less to retain a customer or employee than to acquire one. Further, loyal, engaged employees also give more discretionary effort, which translates into increased productivity, and retaining them safeguards the company's knowledge base, which promotes competitive advantage. It all adds up to greater value HR can provide for the business.

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The Branding of Higher Education

Campbell Soup, Volvo, Xerox, Coca-Cola What could higher education possibly have in common with these commercial products and their companies? As objectionable as it may be to some within the walls of the academy, there are undeniable parallels. We serve diverse constituencies; the educational experience we provide to students has a price associated with it; institutional vitality is highly dependent upon the revenue generated from student enrollments; we have competitors; we compete on price, quality, service, and reputation; our image is largely determined by the constituents we serve; and their image of our institutions is influenced by their interactions with us. However, the concept of branding, as applied to higher education, is somewhat different from branding in the commercial sector. Most notably, branding in higher education is about who we are, and is not limited to what a particular product offers the marketplace. An educational brand is often equated to an institution's academic reputation. But, that explanation is far too limiting. Think of a college or university brand as being synonymous with the institution's personality congruent with its mission, defined by its values. Perhaps the most significant benefit of branding in higher education is the focus it brings to an institution. For example, a student-centered college or university will respond to changing student needs and expectations, but, in an attempt to be all things to all people, often it becomes vulnerable to mission drift or a gradual dilution of effectiveness as the institution becomes increasingly thin, first on the margins and then in the core enterpriseteaching and learning. The values-centric approach inherent in branding provides an institution with an anchor to guide responses to constituent needs and expectations. The brand is defined by where the institution's values and the constituents' expectations intersect. In this paradigm, the brand becomes the filter through which everything is vetted (e.g., strategic directions, resource allocations, hiring

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decisions, and curriculum development). It serves as a lens to strategically focus the institution in the midst of fluid internal and external pressures as well as opportunities. A values-based focus does not mean, however, that we can afford to ignore what our constituents expect from us. We will not thrive in a vacuum. Ultimately, the value of our brand is determined by those we serve. It is worth only what students and parents are willing to pay for it, donors are willing to give to support it, and faculty and staff are willing to contribute to make it real. The brand must have relevance to others. Within the higher education branding construct, there are two major components: (1) promotion of the brand and (2) delivering on the promise of the brand. Both are addressed in this article.

Promotion of the Brand

Before the brand can be effectively promoted, the desired brand identity (how you want others to perceive the institution) must be defined. A brand rationale, brand attributes, and brand benefits should be clearly articulated and consistently reflect the institution's values while aligning with constituent expectations. As previously suggested, the brand lives in the hearts and minds of those we serve. Consequently, the logical place to begin defining the brand identity is with an assessment of the existing brand image for various constituent groups valued by the institution. Though the assessment can take many forms, the desired outcome is to gain insight into the current reality. The current reality is then compared against the institution's vision for its brand identity to determine where gaps between the two exist. Recognized gaps enable marketers to target a brand strategyincreasing the probability of achieving related institutional objectives. A targeted brand strategy fosters effective positioning of a school's brand among competitors along with the management of brand assets such as institutional image, brand equity, the brand message, and the promise inherent in the brand message. Too often, the brand strategy is devoid of any assessment data and thus, positioning and messaging are not grounded in the current reality or a gap analysis

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linked to institutional aspirations. The end result is typically a failed promotional campaign defined by empty or unfulfilled promises. Brand tactics emanating from a sound brand strategy yield successful promotional campaigns infinitely more often than the fragmented "flavor of the month" or the panicdriven "let's try anything" approaches common at many colleges and universities. For example, market segmentation inspired by a brand strategy focuses efforts on target populations who, if compelled to enroll, persist, advocate for, or financially support the institution, will impact strategic goals of the college more so than other potential segments. Likewise, a brand message spawn from a brand strategy is likely to have a laser focus that reflects the essence of the institution rather than the whims of a marketer or preferences of current students or administrators. Assuming that brand tactics are aligned with the brand strategy and that brand strategy is aligned with the institution's mission and values, there are five universal tactics that should be employed. 1. Seek to understand constituent needs. Surveys, focus groups, observations, a review of historical data, and the like are used to collect information for pattern matching of constituent behaviors and understandings that reflect their needs of the institution. 2. Identify market segments that are highly valued by the institution. Define the characteristics of each segment, including motivators and barriers to supporting the institution's objectives. 3. Determine which brand attributes will remove or lessen identified barriers and exploit motivators. To illustrate, consider the market segment of out-ofstate prospective students. Potential barriers may be distance from home or the perception that the school is a "suitcase campus." Motivators might include the reputation of a high profile academic program, tuition reciprocity, or the desire to experience new places. 4. Use relevant brand attributes to effectively position the institution against would-be competitors. What are your institutional strengths and competitor
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weaknesses associated with the needs of a particular market segment? How can you capture this niche and defend it against all who seek to encroach upon your market space? 5. Differentiate the institution from competitors through relevant

communications. While remaining true to the corporate brand message, spin the marketing message in a way that differentiates your institution from competitors and is relevant to the targeted segment. Describe how their unique needs will be met by your institution (often referred to as a value proposition). Convey to them how your value proposition is different from direct competitors. Beyond the tactics themselves, practical matters of implementation must be addressed as well. What communication channels will be most effective in delivering the message? Who will have the most influence over the targeted population and hence, should deliver the message? When will the message most likely influence decision-making? What resources and infrastructure are needed to ensure successful implementation? How will the quality of execution be monitored? How will effectiveness of the brand promotional efforts be measured? The degree to which due diligence is performed prior to launching the branding campaign determines the success of the campaign. Even with careful planning and near-perfect execution, brand promotion is a hollow endeavor if a constituent's experience with the college or university is incongruent with the brand message. Delivering on the promise of the brand is the single most important aspect of branding a higher education institution.

Delivering on the Promise of the Brand

Many higher education marketing professionals believe their institution does not have a brand. Nothing could be further from the truth. A more accurate assessment would be that their institutions have failed to manage their brand. At colleges and universities where positive constituent experiences occur by chance or randomly rather than

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through a tightly integrated, promise-driven, and planned approach, a brand exists, but it suffers from benign neglect. To effectively shape how constituents view an institution, you must begin first by understanding the promise inherent in the existing brand or the brand the school aspires to have. Such promises are often subtle and always symbolic. The power of symbolism should not be underestimated. Put simply, there must be congruence between what an institution claims to be and what its constituents actually experience when they interact with any individual or unit affiliated with the campus. Once the brand promise is broadly understood, there are five steps to ensuring consistent delivery of the promise of the brand. 1. Define the brand promise. The definition must be based on the institution's personalitycongruent with what the institution espouses to be and more importantly, consistent with institutional behavior. Most colleges and universities have clearly articulated core values, which should be fundamental elements of the brand promise definition. These values and thus, the brand promise must be relevant both to internal and external constituents. Employees, for example, must passionately believe in and care about the promise for it to be authentically delivered through the educational experience and student services. Relevancy does not equate to standardized adoption, but instead it translates to individualized interpretations and behavior associated with the promise. Hence, the promise must be malleable enough to be accepted and practiced by different subcultures within an institution as well as individuals with their own unique beliefs and values. In the academy, this is the only practical way to strike a balance between the objective of universal adoption and maintaining a modicum of autonomy. Collectively, the college or university community must define desired expectations and behaviors associated with the promise. 2. Live the brand promise. Consider the role of all faculty, staff, and administrators as "institutional trust agents." In reality, every encounter people have with the institution is a "moment of truth." You have thousands of institutional "moments of
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truth" every day. Whether the encounter occurs in the classroom, in an administrative office, through a campus event, online, in person, or on the phone, each experience either fosters or erodes institutional trust. Think for a moment about your own personal and professional relationships. Is there a single valued relationship in your life that is not built on a foundation of mutual trust? Our students, their families, the school's alumni, and others we serve are fundamentally the same. They will desire a relationship with an institution only if they trust you. 3. Operationalize the brand promise. The promise must be personified through our services, business transactions, human interactions, information delivery, and learning experiences. It must be embedded in the culture and become a part of our institutional DNA. It must be viewed as a covenant between the institution and those we servenever to be broken. Finally, it requires an unfaltering focus on identifying and eradicating promise gaps using some combination of people, processes, pedagogy, and technology. 4. Deliver the brand promise consistently. To achieve consistency, institutions must (1) clearly define the desired constituent experience and (2) ensure the employee experience is aligned with the desired constituent experience. For instance, if a staff member feels mistreated by the institution, it will be virtually impossible for that individual to effectively represent the brand promise to the students they serve. So, to improve consistency of promise delivery to our constituents, we must first create an environment for employees that is conducive to feeling passionate about the organization and its promise. The campus environment must be one that values the contributions of individuals and proactively enhances human capacity. 5. Convey the brand promise. Too often, higher education organizations permit their constituents to form impressions of the institution in an information vacuumusually based on anecdotes, media coverage, and the negative experiences of the few. Effectively conveying the promise requires an ongoing internal and external campaign. It requires careful management of constituent

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expectations, the promotion of promise delivery successes, as well as intentional efforts to build institutional loyalty over time.

Training your frontline organization to deliver the brand experience

Most brand managers spend an inordinate amount of their time and budgets on setting brand expectations, while neglecting the more important job of delivering a positive brand experience. Setting brand expectations is easy and sexy. It involves meetings with ad agencies, casting calls, photo shoots, and award banquets. Delivering on the brand expectations, on the other hand, is messy and hard. It involves arduous meetings with operations people, process mapping, training programs, and field visits. But, the payoffs can be huge. Any brand manager who wants to get serious about managing the entire brand experience should start with the low hanging fruit: employee introduction and training. Most customer-facing employees dont receive any training on how to represent the brand. What most companies call training focuses on product features, work procedures and compliance, all delivered to the fanfare of polished PowerPoints, soothing monotone of the training staff, and sterile canned speeches. The situation is so bad that many frontline managers are refusing to take their people off the job to do training. With variability between high- and low-performing sales and service reps still greater than 50% in most organizations, field communication and training is green pasture for improvements Frontline brand training can deliver tremendous bang for the buck if its more engaging, more fun, more interactive and more like the computer games, blogs and Podcasts that people of the Pod generation are interacting with on their spare time. Evidence suggests that adults learn more in courses that incorporate such gaming elements as competitive scoring, increasingly difficult player level, and role playing. Revamping the brand experience starts by identifying the performance expectations of customer-facing employees at each brand contact point. Next step is to develop opportunities for them to practice customer conversations at each step. Working in front
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of the computer, reps can watch video sequences of the customers played by professional actors, ask them questions about their needs, preferences and concerns, and watch video sequences of their responses. Using such online customer interaction simulations, reps get to practice asking the key qualifying questions to diagnose customer problems, prescribing a complete solution to meet these, responding to the most common customer concerns, and making condensed elevator pitches of their value proposition. While simulations are formidable sand boxes for practicing new skills, blogs are emerging as powerful tools to facilitate real-time conversations in far-flung field organizations. The online logs are increasingly complemented with podcasted radio programs. Were at a unique juncture in history where we can use technology to provide our brand ambassadors with information when they need it where they need it, in context and on demand. The stakes and rewards are tremendous for any company that wants to reclaim control over how their field organization delivers the brand experience.

The branding platform should reflect employee participation in the brand

One of the main reasons, from a marketers point of view, is that employees reflect the brand to customers and prospects. And not just salespeople, it includes all employees. That includes those who will never meet a customer unless that customer or prospect happens to be family or a social contact. Many companies actively encourage and incent employees to spread the word about the companies and its offerings. So as ambassadors of the brand, employees must know the brand. There should be training. There should be informational meetings. There should be understanding. And there should be participation.

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There is a new term being used, primarily within human relations departments. Its Employment Branding. It appears that HR people have taken it upon themselves to establish and promote certain branding ideas that will make the company attractive and appealing to employment recruits. These are often, though may not be entirely, independent of the corporate branding program.

Employee brand image

The employee brand image refers to the image employees project to those around them. The employee brand image is likely to be aligned with the desired company brand image when employees know and understand the desired brand image, and are sufficiently motivated to project it to others. An organizational position is created in the minds of customers, fellow employees, and other stakeholders when this alignment is consistently attained. Such positioning is difficult to achieve, and few organizations are successful in doing so. When it is accomplished, however, it becomes a source of sustainable competitive advantage for the organization.

The Role of HR in Employee Branding in the Public Sector

Private Sector organizations have known for years that both company and employee branding are essential to keep a competitive work force and to reduce turnover. The public safety sector has been slow to catch onto this idea, even while police, fire, and other E.M.S. units have relied on the aura surrounding their occupations to recruit. This lack of foresight in investing in a well thought out strategy of organizational branding in recruitment and in operations often has a negative effect on the new employee, and thereafter, an organization's effectiveness. This was especially true after September 11, 2001, when people rushed to become police officers and firefighters or other EMS providers. There is a cost paid for hiring and training a person who is not a good fit in an organization, realized in the form of lower retention rates, increased recruitment, training, and overtime costs, not to mention potential civil liability for actions taken by a
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less committed employee. HR can be a strategic partner with an organization's command staffs, and with leaders at all levels, to develop a culture that accurately depicts the vision and values of the organization. Employee branding begins at the top level of the organization. The aura that surrounds being associated with public safety organizations is not enough to sustain an individual's commitment throughout a career. The command structure has a responsibility to ensure that employees clearly understand the mission and vision of their organization. To ensure this, frequent, open forums should be held, where questions can be asked, rumors laid to rest, and the vision continued to be reinforced in the minds of the employees. At mid-level, leaders also have the responsibility to be clear on the mission and vision of the organization. Through continued emphasis on the mission and reinforcement of the organization's vision, coupled with the implementation of HR strategies to successfully meet goals, the employees become branded into the culture and are focused on exceeding the vision. Examples of organizational differences in the realm of public safety begin with the structures and deployment of personnel in field of law enforcement. Each law enforcement organization has to meet the differing needs of its community, and requirements of its own vision, mission statements and expectations for its officers for interaction within that community. Organization are differentiated in their structure and operations based on the needs of the people they serve, be it at urban level, rural levels, or other settings. Organizations must utilize different strategies to effectively deploy its personnel, while recognizing that these actions directly impact an organization's ability to focus the commitment of the employees to the organization. Other points of differentiation include deployment of personnel into different divisions, development of shift policies, promotional opportunities, potential transfers to more challenging jobs, and the degree of autonomy to make decisions at the first line. The closer organizational opportunities match the desires of the employee, the more likely the individual will show total engagement for the success of the vision, improve overall performance, and increase retention for the organization. An employee who realizes that the organization does not fulfill his or her expectations will likely leave. If the individual is committed to working in public safety, he or she will seek out other
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organizations that meet their expectations and needs. Simply stated, an agency that has spent time and money training an employee only to see them leave loses its investment because the organization did not effectively convey the culture of the organization before hiring. An organization that is able to attract and retain employees, who are engaged and committed to the organization's mission, creates a financial advantage for the community by saving the taxpayer money. In the case of volunteer organizations such as volunteer rescue and fire departments the savings is in donated money; funding that is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. With the large numbers of people attracted to careers in public safety, Effective employee and organizational branding can help recruit the people you want and dissuade those who you do not want. It is in the best interest of both individual and organization to ensure potential candidates clearly understand the culture and expectations of the organization before they apply. In the public sector organizations use various forms of media to announce job vacancies. The announcements include basic job descriptions and qualifications but often fail in representing the organization in the clearest possible light. HR should ensure applicants understand not only the job requirements but also the culture of the organization they intend to join. Through organizational and employee branding, organizations will recruit and retain people who more closely fit the culture of their organizations. Organizations spend thousands of dollars in recruiting campaigns, just to get people to take the tests, then incur the cost of the testing process, pay evaluators to participate in interview on selection panels, background checks, medical and psychological screenings, and finally bear the expense of formal academy and field training. Developing branding strategies that differentiate one organization from another ultimately saves the customer-taxpayermoney. The branding process begins with the culture of the organization and influences the recruiting strategies. The new recruit should already have a basic understanding of the culture arriving at the training center with a set of expectations of the organization. Even in the training phase the new hire begins the process of deciding if the organization meets his or her needs. Once deployed to the field, the new employee continues to develop a cultural awareness of the organization. At this point, he or she will determine
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if the organizational branding lives up to expectations. If not, other organizations in the same field will be investigated to see if there is one that more closely meets professional expectations. Many public safety employees, to their advantage are enrolled in the Virginia State Retirement System, and are not penalized if they go to another organization that participates in that system. However, the organization that is left behind pays the price for hiring an individual that was not a good fit with the culture of the organization. Employees who are enthusiastically branded into the vision of their organization are a great source for recruiting people who will fit the organizational culture, lowering the chances of an employee misfit. Recruiters should not be only concerned with filling today's vacancies but be proactive in cultivating the branding image for future recruiting cycles. Recruiters can begin by visiting high schools, junior colleges, and universities, and explain to people who are still too young to apply what the organizational culture is about. With continual contact individuals who believe that the particular organization meets their interests can further explore the future opportunities within the organization. Recruiters can arrange ride-a-longs, site visits, and possible volunteer opportunities which continue to build upon the branding of the organization and employees. Organizations, that have media relations departments, can also be utilized to strategically market the organization to the public at large. HR can work with the media relations departments to develop strategies that accurately represent the organization to the public. By the nature of their work public safety organizations have a multiplicity of opportunities to get their branding message out. Through the news at critical incidents, monthly public service broadcasts on public television channels, and general media announcements, the media departments can inform the public on the attributes that separate their organization from the others in the region. The more opportunities the public has to receive what separates one organization from another, the more the prospective employee will naturally gravitate to the organization that best fits his or her needs. The implementation of a department's vision and deployment strategies has a direct impact on the organization's culture. Organizations want an individual who fits in well and can make positive contributions within the organization. The proper branding of an
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organization and its employees increases the likelihood of a proper hire. A person who is hired and does not fit the culture can actually hamper recruiting efforts by spreading negative information about an organization. HR can recommend strategies to the command staffs that develop and publicize the organization's culture, which in-turn helps to attract people who will best fit into the organization. HR should be employed to play an integral part in developing the culture and expounding it onto current and potential future employees. HR has the specific expertise to and should be involved in training programs to improve leadership at all levels. Ineffective leaders can drive people out of an organization. HR should survey employees and develop strategies to retain the best workers through fulfilling the satisfiers that keep the employees committed to the organization. Employees who choose to quit should be exit interviewed by HR for the same purposes. HR should stay abreast of the changing external and internal environment and prepare for challenges to the organization's culture and ability to recruit and retain its employees. Utilizing HR, with its knowledge of organizational and strategic employee development, by the command structure will have a significant impact on the organization's abilities to meet its goals for the future and better be prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. Branding in public service organizations requires the total commitment of the employees and the organization to develop the aura that will attract the right candidate and dissuade others. Branding of the organization helps to drive the culture and focus the employees on a vision of themselves and the organization for which they work. Having people who fit the organization culture reduces the number of bad hires, saving cost in recruiting, training, and efforts to retain the best employees who may otherwise leave for other organizations. Branding will successfully further the organization in a fulfilling its mission.

Literature review

Focusing on internal branding it shows why greater staff understanding (intellectual buyin) and commitment (emotional buy-in), these two issues are important drivers of brand success. This paper considers the way that the intellectual-emotional buy-in matrix is
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developed, showing how managers can better use internal communication to enhance employee buy-in and thus achieve better performance. (Thomson, Kevin de Chernatony, Leslie Arganbright, Lorrie Khan, Sajid S.Khan@open.ac.uk

Source:Journal of Marketing Management; Nov99, Vol. 15 Issue 8, p819-835, 17p, 4 Charts)

Employer branding has been advocated as an effective strategy for motivating employees to "live the brand" however, previous research has tended to focus on recruitment. As a result, little is known about what makes an organisation's employer brand attractive to its current employees. The specific attributes considered most attractive by employees were different in each organisation. However the categories of attribute were almost identical; these were employment, organisational successes, construed external image, and product or service characteristics. (Maxwell, Rachael Knox, Simon Source: Journal of Marketing Management; Nov2009, Vol. 25 Issue 9/10, p893-907, 15p, 2 Diagrams, 1 Chart)

Brand-specific transactional leaders influence followers through a process of compliance, leading to an increase in turnover intentions and a decrease in in-role and extra-role brand-building behaviors. In contrast, brand-specific transformational leaders influence followers through a process of internalization, leading to a decrease in turnover intentions and an increase in in-role and extra-role brand-building behaviors. In turn, both processes are mediated by employees' perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with regard to their work roles as brand representatives. (Morhart, Felicitas M Herzog, WalterTomczak, Torsten Source: Journal of

Marketing; Sep2009, Vol. 73 Issue 5, p122-142, 21p, 4 Diagrams, 3 Charts, 1 Graph)

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Focuses on the importance of creating corporate brand identity in the United States. Relevance of workplace brand for employee commitment and retention; Impact of business brands on consumers loyalty; Factors essential in building a workplace brand; Advantages of an ownership culture workplace brand.(Blonchek, Robert M. Source: Executive Excellence; Nov2000, Vol. 17 Issue 11, p7, 2p, 1 Black and White Photograph)

A business actually has two brands, a brand as a place to buy and a brand as a place to work. Brand is all about the choices employees make every day whether they come to work and how they contribute. Any employer brand must bring the customer brand to life. This only happens if the employer brand defines how the organization uses employees to deliver its brand promise to customers.(Schumann, Mark

Source:Communication World; Jul/Aug2006, Vol. 23 Issue 4, p29-31, 3p)

Employment branding is about promising potential employees a certain experience and then actually delivering it. The Audacity Group's Mark Di Somma, see the wisdom of both HR and marketing working in tandem for employment branding. Sara Clarke of Hudson describes the problem with New Zealand companies which tap HR to have control of an employment brand.(Pla, Ruth Le Ruth.LePla@xtra.co.nz
Marketing Magazine; Dec2007, Vol. 26 Issue 11, p16-21, 6p) Source:NZ

For any organization, its employees are its first market, as they are the ones who carry the image of the organization to the outside world. Today, many organizations face the problem of employee dissatisfaction leading to lowered productivity and high attrition rates. This article determines the extent of use of various techniques applicable to employer branding efforts in selected Indian organizations, and whether the use of these techniques is a conscious and planned effort towards formal HR branding(M Vijaya Sunder and Viney K Thakar, HRM Review August, 2009 )

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Minchington (2005) defines an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) as a set of associations and offerings provided by an organisation in return for the skills, capabilities and experiences an employee brings to the organisation. The EVP is an employee-centered approach that is aligned to existing, integrated workforce planning strategies because it has been informed by existing employees and the external target audience. An EVP must be unique, relevant and compelling if it is to act as a key driver of talent attraction, engagement and retention.(Minchington, B (2006) Your Employer Brand attract, engage, retain, Collective Learning Australia.)

According to Burkitt and Zealley, "the challenge for internal marketing is not only to get the right messages across, but to embed them in such a way that they both change and reinforce employee behaviour".(Hugh Burkitt and John Zealley (2006). Marketing Excellence: Winning companies reveal the secrets of their success. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.. p. 295.)

At the organizational level, a successful Human Resources Development program prepares the individual to undertake a higher level of work, "organized learning over a given period of time, to provide the possibility of performance change" (Nadler 1984). In these settings, Human Resources Development is the framework that focuses on the organization's competencies at the first stage, training, and then developing the employee, through education, to satisfy the organization's long-term needs and the individual's career goals and employee value to their present and future employers. (Nadler L Ed., 1984, The Handbook of Human resources Development, John Wiley and Sons, New York.)

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Dr. John Hoover points out, "Tempting as it is, nobody ever enhanced his or her career by making the boss look stupid." Training an employee to get along well with authority and with people who entertain diverse points of view is one of the best guarantees of long-term success. Talent, knowledge, and skill alone won't compensate for a sour relationship with a superior, peer, or customer.(John Hoover, PhD "How to Work for an Idiot: Survive and Thrive Without Killing Your Boss)

The Human Resources Development framework views employees, as an asset to the enterprise whose value will be enhanced by development, Its primary focus is on growth and employee developmentit emphasises developing individual potential and skills.Human Resources Development can be in-room group training, tertiary or vocational courses or mentoring and coaching by senior employees with the aim for a desired outcome that will develop the individuals performance. (Elwood F. Holton II, James W. Trott, Jr., 1996, "Trends Toward a Closer Integration of Vocational Education and Human Resources Development", Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, Vol. 12, No. 2, p7)

Development is the framework that focuses on the organisations competencies at the first stage, training, and then developing the employee, through education, to satisfy the organisations long-term needs and the individuals career goals and employee value to their present and future employers. Human Resources Development can be defined simply as developing the most important section of any business its human resource by, attaining or upgrading the skills and attitudes of employees at all levels in order to maximise the effectiveness of the enterprise.(Kelly D, 2001, Dual Perceptions of HRD: Issues for Policy: SMEs, Other Constituencies, and the Contested Definitions of Human Resource Development)

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The employee brand is the image presented to an organization's customers and other relevant stakeholders through its employees. The employee branding process is predicated on achieving and maintaining message consistency throughout the organization. Messages emanate from various organizational sources such as the systems of organizational staffing, performance management, and

compensation.(Sandra Jeanquart Miles "Growing the employee brand at ASI: a case study". Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. FindArticles.com. 30 Mar, 2011. )

Every organization has an employment brand. It is made up of how people feel about working there, how potential job candidates view the company and even how the company is perceived by the market it serves. A distinctive employment brand is essential to lure and retain the best talent, which is the key competitive advantage for those organizations winning in today's marketplace. (Mark Stein & Matt

Laughlin,article in the October 2007 issue of Talent Magazine)

The creation of a strong brand and the deliverance of perceived service quality are premised by employees' ability to deliver on customer expectations. No consideration has been given, however, to understanding the 'added value' encapsulated in an organisation's brand as a result of the operant resources (skills and knowledge) supplied by the organisation's human capital. (Journal of Brand

Management (2008) 15, 358372. online 7 December 2007)

doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2007.48;

published

Believe that employees must understand the purpose of the business what difference does the business make to its customers. Why you exist and how your business creates a relationship with its customers in order for them to be able to support the customer strategy and, in turn, feel valued and appreciated.(Sartain, L. and Schumann, M.
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(2006) 'Brand from the Inside: Eight Essentials to Emotionally Connect Your Employees to Your Business', John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, CA.)

In order to entice people to do anything that needs some form of persuasion, it is necessary to find out what creates or reinforces the need for them to want to act in a positive and motivated way. That is, employees need more information than just technical competency in order to deliver the brand promise, Exposure to

customer/market information in conjunction with training and exposure to the general work environment enables that depth of brand knowledge necessary to deliver the brand promise.(Thomson, K. (1990) 'The Employee RevolutionCorporate Internal Marketing', Pitman Publishing, London, UK.)

Getting the right people on boardand then all enthusiastically pulling in the right directionhas bedevilled organisations since the time of wooden ships, when the most popular form of motivation left lash marks. Notwithstanding the cruelty of such a motivational technique, the essence of the act, that being to, figuratively speaking, kick someone in the pants (KITA), as coined by Herzberg, is believed not to lead to motivation, but rather to movement.(Reichheld, F. and Rogers, P. (2005) 'Motivating through metrics', Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 9, pp. 20 and 24.)

Human systems or employees require gluea central theme upon which the employee can shape their behaviour so as to be consistent with consumer and organisational expectations. In the absence of such a bonding agent, employees may be directionless, struggling with knowing when, how and to whom to direct their energies.(Webster, C. (1992) 'What kind of marketing culture exists in your service firm? An audit', Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 54.)

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Perceived organizational support generates experience which employees feel comfortable and perceived higher competence. This perceived support from the organization created positive mood leading to greater organizational affective commitment. (Eisenberger, R., & Fasolo, P. 1990. Perceived organizational support and

employeediligence,commitment, and innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(1), 51.)

43.8% of the respondents have identified an employment brand for their organization, while 27.1% are using the brand to recruit new hires and 18.8% are using the brand to retain existing employees. He added that the top benefit of having an employment brand is the quality of recruit. He added that branding as a competitive factor will help recruit and retain employees. (HR Focus; Jul2008, Vol. 85 Issue 7, pS1-S4, 3p, 1 Chart)

The article discusses how to screen employees who will fit in one's corporate culture. It states that linking the culture to competencies can help deflect hiring discrimination lawsuits. According to the article, branding serves as an opportunity to tell potential candidates what a business is about. It talks about the importance of establishing structured interview procedures. It is inferred that tests should help make the hiring process fairer. (HR Magazine; Feb2009, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p46-50, 3p)

The image an employer projects for potential hires must, above all, be honest. Recruitment brand must start with an accurate assessment and highlight the company's strength. A company might as well give a realistic job preview. It is also good to show
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real-life examples of the company's culture.(Brandon, Carolyn, HR Magazine; Nov2005, Vol. 50 Issue 11, p89-96, 5p)

The article presents the author's ideas on how professional services representatives can increase the media visibility of their firms by brand-building and using online marketing programs. He recommends the increased use of social networking sites and publication of bylined articles which she believes are effective in extending influence. He also suggests to create op-ed pieces with the help of a public relations resource in convincing firm members to participate in a media relations program. (O'Brien, Tim, Public Relations Tactics; May2010, Vol. 17 Issue 5, p14-15, 2p)

Despite academics and practitioners alike promoting the positive outcomes of employees being aware of the organization's brand in the context of their work environment, there appears to be no evidence thus far to understand the impact of such brand building efforts from an employee perspective. There is, in fact, a third perspective of brand equity, that being Employee Based Brand Equity (EBBE). In particular, a framework of EBBE dimensions is developed herein, thus representing a significant contribution to the marketing literature and holding strong relevance for service organizations around the globe. (GRACE, DEBRA, Services Marketing Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p122-147, 26p, 2 Diagrams)

Employees are a critically important constituent of the service brand and being ultimately responsible for delivering its promise. As such they need a shared understanding of their service brand's values, along with strong commitment and identification, to encourage brand supporting behaviour. This internal brand building process becomes more challenging as services brands expand internationally, employing staff from different global zones.

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(Vallaster, Christine De Chernatony, Leslie, Journal of Marketing Management; Feb2005, Vol. 21 Issue 1/2, p181-203, 23p, 2 Diagrams)

The article focuses on implementing performance improvement strategy. A properly designed performance improvement strategy requires gap analysis, articulation of objectives, key performance indicators, and analysis of return on investment and on objectives. Allowing people to grow and learn leads to improved self-esteem and satisfaction. It is noted that performance improvement programs impact on permanent behavior while value-based programs allow internal and customer-facing employees to know their roles in delivering the company's brand. (Dittman, Jim, Successful Meetings; Dec2009, Vol. 58 Issue 13, p19-19, 1p, 1 Color Photograph)

The successful promotion of the internal branding doctrine may be as dependent on HR initiatives as on those developed in the marketing department. By involving HR in internal branding projects, firms can better use internal communications to give employees a deeper understanding of the brand and the role that they play in enhancing the brand promise.(Linda, Bishop, Terrence R. Journal of Product & Brand Management; 2005, Vol. 14 Issue 3, p163-169, 7p)

The success of internal brand building depends on the ability to leverage cognitive, affective, and communicative differences amongst culturally-diverse employees. For this, two behavioural competencies are crucial: a) defining a clear brand vision, and b) facilitating verbal and non-verbal social interaction patterns (showing commitment, trusting employees, and living brand values). This helps build passion, commitment and organisational identification amongst employees, ultimately responsible for successful services brands.(Leslie, Journal of Marketing Management; Feb2005, Vol. 21 Issue 1/2, p181-203, 23p, 2 Diagrams)
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The article discusses the importance of recruitment brand in attracting and retaining employees in a company. It mentions that recruitment branding is a decisive aspect for creating an effective recruitment team. It also presents some guidelines on how to have a successful recruitment branding which include, considering the educational attainment of applicants, finding an appropriate location to conduct recruitment, and identifying the diverse talent of an individual. (Carey, Deborah, Diversity Factor; Spring2007, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p20-24, 5p)

Delivering value to the organization are manifested in brand citizenship behaviors, employee satisfaction and intention to stay with the organization, as well as positive employee word of mouth. This article sets the scene for future research within this important, but neglected, research domain. (KING, CERIDWYN, Services Marketing Quarterly; 2009, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p122-147, 26p, 2 Diagrams)

In spite of well-documented internal branding initiatives, there appears to be room for improvement among HR departments in terms of successfully delivering the corporate branding message. However, there does appear to be a strong personal attitude toward the brand among US professionals, and a strong relationship exists between HR involvement in internal branding and the incorporation of the brand into work activities. (Aurand, Timothy W, Gorchels, Linda, Bishop, Terrence R. Journal of Product & Brand Management; 2005, Vol. 14 Issue 3, p163-169, 7p)

Research Methodology

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Title of the study

Factors affecting employee branding in education sector A comparative study of Poornima School of management and JECRC school Of Business.

Duration of the study

It is a semester long project as per the RTU curriculum.

Objectives of the study

To find out the factors affecting employee branding. To find out what the organizations are doing to make their employees as brands. To find out the perception of employees about employee branding. To find out the importance of employee branding in education sector. To find out what challenges the organizations are facing in developing their employees as brands. To analyze the impact of employee branding in education sector.

Research Design and methodology

Preliminary Investigation This phase involved preliminary investigation of the various factors, which could possibly affect the employee branding and in turn its influence in education sector. In comparative study and exploratory research, we found that how both the institutes- JECRC business school and Poornima School of Management are

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working to develop their employees as brands and what the employees feel about such programs.

Collection of Quantitative data Questionnaire Design: This phase involved the design of the questionnaire on the basis of the potential factors identified as influencing the employee branding process. Research problems were listed and then the information needed was identified. The questions were then prepared in order to fulfill the information requirements as identified earlier. Survey: Survey method was used for collection of data through questionnaires separately made for both employees and employers or authority.

Sampling Process Target Population: The target population is the collection of elements or objects that process the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made. The target population consists of the management faculty employed by the organizations and employer/authority too. Sample Size: It denotes the number of elements to be included in the study. In this study, 10 employers/authority and 20 faculty from each organization is surveyed that makes a sample size of 60 in total.

Sampling Technique: Judgmental sampling technique is used in this study. It is a part of non probability Sampling Technique.

Fieldwork
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The survey was conducted keeping in mind that the employees reflects the image of the organization. The survey was conducted in Sitapura Institutional Area and surveyed Poornima School of Management and JECRC school of business.

Methodology/ Plan for Analysis of Data Questionnaire Checking/Editing: The questionnaire is checked for completion and quality. Editing is the review of the questionnaire with the objective of

increasing accuracy and precision. Coding of the data: The data collected from the employees and the

employers/authority is coded in the form of the total responses of a particular question in a particular area. It is coded on the basis of the total frequency of the repetition of the responses. The coding chart was made. Preparation of charts and graphs: After coding of the data all the collected responses are coded into the excel or in other words all the collected data are entered into excel as the work sheet and interpretations were prepared.

Scope of the study

The scope lies in the following areas: Value addition in organizations image as working for growth and development of employees. Retention of employees. Better and quality services. Satisfaction among the employees that they are working in an organization which is providing chances to groom themselves. Training and development of employees to groom them as brands.
91

Limitations of the study

The primary data, collected in form of questionnaires, might have inherent limitations of biasness casual response. Employee branding is relatively a recent phenomenon especially in education sector, is evolving and empirical studies for this might not be available. The small sample size can also be a limitation in the study.

Facts and Finding

92

Every employer considers that the employees represent their organization and reflects its image in the market. Majority of authority of both the organizations thinks that the employee branding is the hottest strategy to build goodwill of the organization and employees plays a great role in building organizations image.

Both the organizations agree that all most all the factors- organization culture, values and healthy interpersonal relations are reflected by the employees being a brand.

In both the organizations mostly faculty development programs are conducted

and in Poornima School of Management further study opportunities are also provided for development of employee. In Poornima the developmental or training programs are arranged once in a year but in JECRC they provide at an interval of 6 months too.

Mostly all the factors time, money and ignorance from employees side serves as
a constraint in the arrangement of such programs of employees development.

Majority if employees from both the institutes think that the employees must be
motivated during such activities like training and development exercises.

Majority of employers/authorities from Poornima college consider that age of

employees affects their level and capacity to learn while JECRC employers say that age has no effect on level of learning of employees. All most both the organizations authority has a view that these type of developmental opportunities plays a great role in controlling attrition rate. According to Poornima meticulous recruiting is very essential for successful results and it serves as the first step towards employee branding process while JECRC employers have a view that participation in decision making should also be included in the process.
93

All the employees of both the organizations have a clear concept of relation between employee and organization and all agree that the employees reflects the image of the organization they work for.

Employees at both the institutes feel that experience affects the brand value of an employee representing an organization.

All the employees of both the organizations have a clear concept of relation
between employee and organization and all agree that the employees reflects the image of the organization they work for.

In poornima mostly the developmental programs for employees are arranged at

the interval of 1 year and also some programs at 6 months interval but in JECRC the programs are arranged once in a year.

The employees at JECRC look forward for career growth and development and
employees at Poornima along with career growth and development they also look for brand name they are representing.

One of the important factors affecting employee branding in education sector is

the advanced teaching aids which also helps to groom the employees and help make them more effective and efficient at work.

Majority of employees of both the organizations considers that the goodwill of

their organization in the market helps them to be recognized as a brand representing the organization and hence enhance their value also.

Both the organizations employees feel satisfied after such programs but some
feel average benefits only. Both the organizations employees consider the infrastructure of organization plays significant role in their development. The JECRC employees give more importance to the good working environment helping and affecting the employee branding process while the employees of
94

Poornima believe that management plays an important role in employee branding.

A mixed response is there, but most of the employees at Poornima think that
participation in decision making is very important to be included in the employee branding process and in JECRC the employees think that stress management programs are very essential to be included in it.

Data analysis and Interpretation based on questionnaire designed for Employer/Authority

1. Do you feel that the employee reflects the image of the organization?

No of Authority Yes PSOM JECRC

No 10 10
95

Can't say 0 0 0 0

100% 100% 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes No Can't say PSOM JECRC 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

Interpretation: It is very clear from the graph that every employer considers that the
employees represent their organization and reflects its image in the market.

2. Do you think that employee branding is the hottest strategy to build goodwill of the organization?

No of Authority Yes PSOM JECRC

No 8 9

Can't say 2 0 1 0

96

90% 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Yes No Can't say PSOM JECRC 20% 10% 0.00% 0.00% 80%

Interpretation: Majority of authority of both the organizations thinks that the

employee branding is the hottest strategy to build goodwill of the organization and employees plays a great role in building organizations image

3. What do you think is most important to be reflected by the employees as brand?

No of Authority Orgn culture organ values Healthy relationsAll PSOM 2 0 0 JECRC 0 2 1

None 8 7 0 0

97

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 20% 20% 10% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Orgn organ Healthy All culture values relations 0.00% None PSOM JECRC 80% 70%

Interpretation: Both the organizations agree that all most all the factors- organization
culture, values and healthy interpersonal relations are reflected by the employees being a brand

4. What type of development programs do you arrange for your employees the most?

No of Authority FDP's PSOM JECRC

Diatance learning Training Further study 5 0 3 2 6 0 4 0

98

60% 6 50% 5 4 3 2 1 0 FDP's 0.00% 0.00% Diatance learning 0.00% JECRC PSOM Training Further study 30% 20% 40%

Interpretation: In both the organizations mostly faculty development programs are

conducted and in Poornima School of Management further study opportunities are also provided for development of employee.

5. At what time intervals you arrange such programs for your employees?

No of Authority 3 months 6 months Once in a year PSOM 0 6 4 JECRC 0 8 2

99

9 80.00% 8 7 60.00% 6 5 40.00% 4 3 20.00% 2 1 0.00% 0 3 months 6 months PSOM JECRC Once in a year 0.00%

Interpretation: In Poornima the developmental or training programs are arranged

once in a year but in JECRC they provide at an interval of 6 months too.

6. What challenges do you face in arranging such development programs?

No of Authority Time PSOM JECRC

Money 0 2 0 0

Ignorance from employees 2 1

All 8 7

None 0 0

100

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

80% 70% 20% 0.00% 10% 0.00% 20% 0.00%

0.00% 0.00%

JECRC PSOM

PSOM JECRC

Interpretation: Mostly all the factors time, money and ignorance from employees
side serves as a constraint in the arrangement of such development. programs of employees

7. Do you think that the employees should be motivated during such various programs conducted for employees?

No of Authority Yes PSOM JECRC

No 7 8

Can't say 0 3 0 2

101

80% 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Yes No 0.00% 0.00% Can't say JECRC PSOM 30% 20% PSOM JECRC 70%

Interpretation: Majority if employees from both the institutes think that the
employees must be motivated during such activities like training and development exercises.

8. Do you think that the age of employees affects their level of learning?

No of Authority Yes PSOM JECRC

No 6 5

Can't say 4 0 5 0

102

60% 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Yes

50%

50% 40% PSOM JECRC 0.00% 0.00% No Can't say JECRC PSOM

Interpretation: Majority of employers/authorities from Poornima college consider that

age of employees affects their level and capacity to learn while JECRC employers say that age has no effect on level of learning of employees.

9. Does the attrition rate decreases through these initiatives (developmental programs)?

No of Authority Yes PSOM JECRC

No 8 7

Can't say 0 2 2 1

103

8 6 4 2 0

80% 70%

20% 20%10% 0.00% Yes No JECRC PSOM Can't say

PSOM JECRC

Interpretation: All most both the organizations authority has a view that these type
of developmental opportunities plays a great role in controlling attrition rate.

10. According to you what else should be included in the process of developing an employee as a brand?
No of Authority Meticulous recruiting Stress mangt programs Participation in decision None PSOM 4 3 3 JECRC 2 4 4

0 0

104

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 1

40%

40% 30%

40% 30%

20%

PSOM 0.00% 2 3 4 5 JECRC

Interpretation: According to Poornima meticulous recruiting is very essential for

successful results and it serves as the first step towards employee branding process while JECRC employers have a view that participation in decision making should also be included in the process.

Data and Interpretation based on questionnaire designed for Employees

1. Do you feel that the employee reflects the image of the organization?

105

Yes PSOM JECRC 20 20

No 0 0

Can't say 0 0

100% 100% 20 15 10 5 0 Yes 0.00% 0.00% No PSOM JECRC 0.00% 0.00% Can't say JECRC PSOM

Interpretation: All the employees of both the organizations have a clear concept of
relation between employee and organization and all agree that the employees reflects the image of the organization they work for.

2. How many times you have got a chance to attend any workshop or development program from your organization?

PSOM JECRC

Once in a month 3 months 6 months Once in a year 0 0 6 14 0 0 3 17

106

20 15 10 5 0.00% 0 Once in a month 0.00% 0.00% 3 months 0.00% 30% 15%

85% 70%

6 months Once in a year

PSOM

JECRC

Interpretation: In poornima mostly the developmental programs for employees are

arranged at the interval of 1 year and also some programs at 6 months interval but in JECRC the programs are arranged once in a year.

3. Up to what level you have realized change in yourself, after such development programs?

PSOM JECRC

Average Satisfactory Excellent No change 6 10 4 0 7 11 2 0

107

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 30% 35%

55% 50%0

20%10% 0 0 JECRC PSOM

PSOM JECRC

Interpretation: Both the organizations employees feel satisfied after such programs
but some feel average benefits only.

4. Does infrastructure of your organization has played a significant role in your development?

Yes PSOM JECRC 16 14

No

Can't say 4 0 4 2

108

80% 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes

70%

20% 20% 10% JECRC 0.00% PSOM No Can't say

PSOM JECRC

Interpretation: Both the organizations employees consider the infrastructure of

organization plays significant role in their development.

5. To whom you give more importance in order to build employee as a brand?

PSOM JECRC

Mngt of Orgn Education (your) Good working Envt None 12 2 6 16 1 3

0 0

109

80% 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Mngt of Orgn Education (your) Good working Envt 10% 5% 30% 15% 0.00% 0.00% None JECRC PSOM PSOM JECRC 60%

Interpretation: The JECRC employees give more importance to the good working
environment helping and affecting the employee branding process while the employees of Poornima believe that management plays an important role in employee branding.

6. Does the goodwill/reputation of your organization help you to be recognized as a brand representing the organization?

Yes PSOM JECRC 18 16

No

Can't say 2 0 1 3
110

20 90% 18 80% 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 10% 2 0 Yes No Can't say 5% 0.00% 15% PSOM JECRC

Interpretation: Majority of employees of both the organizations considers that the

goodwill of their organization in the market helps them to be recognized as a brand representing the organization and hence enhance their value also.

7. Do you feel that the advanced teaching aids help in the development of employees also?

Yes PSOM JECRC 17 19

No

Can't say 0 3 0 1
111

95% 20 15 10 5 0 Yes 0.00% 0.00% No Can't say 15% 5% JECRC PSOM PSOM JECRC 85%

Interpretation: One of the important factors affecting employee branding in

education sector is the advanced teaching aids with also helps to groom the employees and help make them more effective and efficient at work.

8. What are the factors that attract you the most towards your organization?

112

Salary PSOM JECRC

Brand name career growth n devp.Any other 0 5 12 3 0 3 17 0s

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0.00% 0.00% Salary Brand name

85%

60%

PSOM 25% 15% 15% 0.00% career growth n devp. Any other JECRC

Interpretation: The employees at JECRC look forward for career growth and
development and employees at Poornima along with career growth and development they also look for brand name the are representing.

9. Do you feel that experience affects the brand value of an employee representing an organization?

113

Yes PSOM JECRC 14 12

No

Can't say 3 3 6 2

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes

70%

60%

30%

PSOM JECRC 10% 15% JECRC PSOM

15%

No Can't say

Interpretation: Employees at both the institutes feel that experience affects the
brand value of an employee representing an organization.

10. According to you what else should be included in the process of developing an employee as a brand?

114

Meticulous recruiting Stress mangt programs Participation in decision None PSOM 3 5 8 4 JECRC 5 8 6 1

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 5% 15% 25% 25% 20% 30% PSOM JECRC 40% 40%

Interpretation: A mixed response is there, but most of the employees at Poornima

think that participation in decision making is very important to be included in the employee branding process and in JECRC the employees think that stress management programs are very essential to be included in it.

SWOT ANALYSIS
115

STRENGTHS
Good premier Institutes. Due to the traditional importance placed at higher education we have a strong system for higher education and the premier institutes like the IIT, IIM , NIT and other institutes are producing best talents Large talent pool of educated students Importance given to spoken and written English makes us a better fit in the globalized world. EDUSAT a satellite dedicated for education sector. It has strengthened the distance education system in India. Growth in supporting sectors like the stationeries, educational aids etc

WEAKNESS
Quality of the students passing higher education need to be improved to make them employable Lack of concentration on the primary education Lack of infrastructure to educate the economically backward class Less acceptance of distance education in the industry Lack of teaching faculty More Importance given to Rotting than inquisitive learning Inadequate number of universities. While Japan has 4,000 universities for its 127 million people and the US has 3,650 universities for its 301 million, India has only 348 universities for its 1.2 billion people.

OPPURTUNITIES
Demographic benefit. India is becoming a younger country year after year. Therefore the market size is bound to expand. Globalization Impact. Willingness of the foreign universities to set up in India and Indian universities planning to set up colleges outside India. Tutoring jobs are being outsourced from the western countries to India. Use of latest technological aids for education.
116

THREATS
Excess concentration on English might cause losing out some of our local languages in the long run. Rising costs of the education Brain drain due to the lack of importance for research and development Reluctance of educated people to take up the traditional jobs like the ones in small scale industries.

117

Conclusions

There are two key trends that are bringing the need for employee branding to the forefront. Firstly, in the service economy, the staff is the carriers of the brand. The brand promise to the customers therefore has implications on staff training, KRAs, reward mechanisms etc. Secondly, the employee cynicism is on the rise and for the organization to have a motivated work force, it would have to create a good internal brand experience as well. Employee branding is the hottest strategy to build goodwill of the organization and employees plays a great role in building organizations image.One of the important factors affecting employee branding in education sector is the advanced teaching aids which also helps to groom the employees and help make them more effective and efficient at work. Training and development systems should help managers and employees internalize their organizations mission and values and help them understand how the mission and values pertain to their roles in their organization. This should enable them to more effectively articulate messages that consistently and frequently reflect the brand and organizational image. To create an environment of growth and Encouraging employees to take on new responsibilities within their capabilities and Giving employees opportunity to expand their capabilities through education and training is essential for developing an employee as a brand.

Recommendations and Suggestions

118

Organizational messages should be carefully thought out and planned in much the same way mission and vision statements are thought out and planned.

The organizational messages should reflect the organizations mission and values.

Messages directed toward external constituencies must be in line with the messages sent to employees.

Messages directed toward external constituencies should be sent internally as well.

The design of recruitment and selection systems should incorporate messages that consistently and frequently reflect the brand and organizational image.

The compensation system should incorporate messages that consistently and frequently reflect the brand and organizational image. For instance, managers in organizations that value training must be held accountable when they fail to train and develop their employees.

Training and development systems should help managers and employees internalize their organizations mission and values and help them understand how the mission and values pertain to their roles in their organization. This should enable them to more effectively articulate messages that consistently and frequently reflect the brand and organizational image.

Advertising and public relations systems should communicate messages that consistently and frequently reflect the brand and organizational image.

Managers should be taught the importance of communicating messages that are consistent with their organizations mission,vision, policies, and practices.

Performance management systems should address inconsistencies between practices and policies to minimize violations of employees psychological contracts.

119

Accurate and specific job previews should be given to new employees so that realistic expectations are incorporated into their psychological contracts.

Corporate culture (artifacts, patterns of behavior, management norms, values and beliefs, and assumptions) should reinforce the messages employees receive.

Individual output should be measured and analyzed to determine if there are message-related problems at the departmental, divisional, or organizational levels.

Individual messages should be continually examined for consistency with other messages. Message channels should be examined to ensure consistency of message delivery.

In the event that messages need to be changed or psychological contracts altered, organizations must take careful steps in rewriting the messages.

Measures should be used to assess outcomes such as customer retention, service quality, turnover, and employee satisfaction and performance.

Find out what parts of their jobs people find the most rewarding. Provide them with opportunities to perform these tasks.

Acknowledge work that is done well. We all want to be recognized. Employees and supervisorsneed to know what they are doing is important and appreciated.

Be enthusiastic. Demonstrate purpose, commitment and inspiration to your employees.

Create an upbeat work environment. Use patience and understanding when working with members of your group.

120

Create an environment of growth. Encourage employees to take on new responsibilities within their capabilities. Give employees opportunity to expand their capabilities through education and training.

Lead by example. Its not what you say or believe. It is about what you do. Be available. Encourage your employees to approach you with their work-related concerns and suggestions.

Share your authority. Give employees latitude in solving problems and in performing their tasks.

Share the planning. Include those, responsible for meeting objectives and goals in the process of developing them.

Appendix

121

Name of Institute:. Name of employer/ authority: Age: .. Educational qualification: ..

(Above information will be used for research purpose of my project and I assure you that this will not be misused.)

11. Do you feel that the employee reflects the image of the organization? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

12. Do you think that employee branding is the hottest strategy to build goodwill of the organization? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

13. What do you think is most important to be reflected by the employees as brand? a.Organizational culture c. Healthy relations e. None b. Organizational values d. All

14. What type of development programs do you arrange for your employees the most? a. FDPs c.Training b. Distance learning d. Further study

15. At what time intervals you arrange such programs for your employees? a. 3 months b. 6 months c. once in a year

16. What challenges do you face in arranging such development programs?

122

a. b. c. d. e.

Time Money Ignorance from employees side All None

17. Do you think that the employees should be motivated during such various programs conducted for employees? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

18. Do you think that the age of employees affects their level of learning? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

19. Does the attrition rate decreases through these initiatives (developmental programs)? Yes b. No c. Cant say

20. According to you what else should be included in the process of developing an employee as a brand? a. Meticulous recruiting c.Participation in decision making b. Stress management programs d. None

State the reason for the above answer:. ...

Appendix
Name of Institute:
123

Name of employee: Age: .. Educational qualification: .. Monthly Salary:

Below 10,000 10,000-20,000 20,000-30,000 Above 30,000 (Above information will be used for research purpose of my project and I assure you that this will not be misused.)

11. Do you feel that the employee reflects the image of the organization? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

12. How many times you have got a chance to attend any workshop or development program from your organization? a. Once in a month c. once in 6 months b. once in 3 months d. once in a year

13. Up to what level you have realized change in yourself, after such development programs? a. Average c.Excellent b. Satisfactory d. No change

14. Does infrastructure of your organization has played a significant role in your development? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

15. To whom you give more importance in order to build employee as a brand? a. Management of the Organization b. Education (your) c. Good working environment
124

d. None 16. Does the goodwill/reputation of your organization help you to be recognized as a brand representing the organization? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

17. Do you feel that the advanced teaching aids help in the development of employees also? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

18. What are the factors that attract you the most towards your organization? a. Salary c. Career growth and development b. Brand name d. Any other

19. Do you feel that experience affects the brand value of an employee representing an organization? a. Yes b. No c. Cant say

20. According to you what else should be included in the process of developing an employee as a brand? a. Meticulous recruiting c.Participation in decision making b. Stress management programs d. None

State the reason for the above answer:. ...

Master as per the data collected from JECRC School Business (Employer/authority)
125

S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Q1 a a a a a a a a a a

Q2 a a a b a a a a a a

Q3 d d d c b d d b d d

Q4 a a a c a c a a c c

Q5 b b b c b c b b b b

Q6 d d a d a d d d d c

Q7 a a a a c a a c a a

Q8 b b a a b a b a a b

Q9 a b c a a a a b a a

Q10 a b b b b c a c c c

Master as per the data collected from JECRC School Business (Employee)
S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Q1 a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Q2 b c c c b b d c d c d d d d d d d d d d Q3 a a a b a a b a b a b b b b b b b c c b Q4 a a a a b c c a a a b a a a b b a a a a Q5 a a a a a a c c c a a c a a a a a a a a Q6 b a a a a a a c c a a a a a a a a a a c Q7 a a a a c a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Q8 c c c b b c c c c c b c c c c c c c c c Q9 a a b a c b b b c b a a b a a a a a a a Q10 b b b c a a a b c b d a b b c d c c c d

Master as per the data collected from PSOM (Employer/authority)

126

S.No Q1 1a 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a 7a 8a 9a 10 a

Q2 a a a a b a b a a a

Q3 d a d d d d a d d d

Q4 a a a c d d c a a c

Q5 b b b b c c b c c b

Q6 d d d d d d c c d d

Q7 a a c a c a c a a a

Q8 b a b a a b b a a a

Q9 a a c a c a a a a a

Q10 c b b a a a c c b a

Master as per the data collected from PSOM (Employee)

S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Q1 a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Q2 b b d b b d d d b d b d d d d d d d d d Q3 a a b b b b b a b a a a b b c c c c b b Q4 a a a b a b a a a a a a a b b a a a a a Q5 b b a a a c a a c a a a a a c c a a a a Q6 a a a a a b a a a a a a a b a a a a a a Q7 a a a c c a a a a c a a a a a a a a a a Q8 b b b c b c c b c c c d d c c c c c c d Q9 a a b b a c a a a a a a b a a a c a c a Q10 a b b c c b c b b a a c c d c c d c d d

Bibliography

127

Books
CR Kothari, Research methodology, edition 2nd

Magazines
HR Magazine; Feb2009, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p46-50, 3p

Websites
www.ezinearticles.com www.semworks.net www.authenticorganizations.com www.employerbrandingtoday.com www.360inspire.com www.citehr.com

www.employerbrandinternational.com

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