What do large corporates do when they require the freshest of ideas and well-rounded perspectives as they take up a new venture or prepare for a new product launch? Brainstorming internally is not the only answer. Several companies, including FMCG major Britannia, oil giant Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and the diversified RPG Group are approaching top B-schools to engage the budding executives for lateral perspectives through case studies, and in some cases, even identifying a prospective employee in the process. In August this year, BPCL, which is planning to take its non-fuel retailing model a step forward by focusing on commercial viability, presented case studies to students in the country’s premier management institutes. The challenge was to come up with innovative ideas that would help the company provide more customer-centric services at its existing as well as planned outlets. BPCL offered a prize money of Rs 1 lakh to the winning team that came up with the best idea, and its ‘petro card’ to all the participating teams, apart from gift vouchers. Similarly, RPG’s retail venture Spencer’s Retail Ltd, which is planning to take their retail outlets to tier two cities, gave case studies these institutes.
?We decided to give case studies to management schools since we feel that the students might come up with some new ideas which will help us to go forward with our plans in a better way,? says Samar S Sheikhawat, VP – marketing, Spencer’s Retail.
The final selection of the winning team was held at National Institute of Industrial Engineering’s (NITIE) annual business meet, Prerna. Spencer’s Retail Limited offered a prize money of Rs 45,000 as well as pre-placement interviews.
?These interviews help us avoid the whole process of selecting candidates from a large number. Also, we have a better chance of getting candidates who are good and deserving. Students also gain from this,? said Sheikhawat. In 2006, Britannia gave a case study to the country’s top 25 B-schools before entering the market for sugarless biscuits in the hope of getting some fresh ideas from the budding managers. The winning team was offered a prize money of Rs 85,000 and also included for pre-placement interviews.
