NEW BEGINNING ?

It has literally been months, and more than a year, since I posted anything in my Blog. In fact, I found it tough today even to sign in on my own blog. I started this blog nearly three years ago with a view to making it my diary; but I have been too lazy to keep it up. I came across Amitabh Bachhhan' blog (http://bigb.bigadda.com/)%20aa little while ago, and found he has been meticulous in recording his life's event regularly. If I am not mistaken, it was his 299th posting yesterday, that realyy woke me up, and pushed me to start blogging again.

Last posting I made in my blog was in November, 2007. Since then lots have changed. At the end of April, 2008 I found myself at the end of my contract with IMI. I decided that in the absence of any signal from the Directoe, I would not try to continue there. Sudhansu Chakraborty, CMD of Consulting Engineering Services Pvt Limited, a BE College dada of 1957 vintage, had been asking me for years (ever since I retired from FITT) to come on board in his Company. I would like to boast that it was on my prodding Sudhansuda decided to get CES try enter the Steel Consultancy Business, with a view to filling in the enonormous vacuum in that line, only MECON and Dasturc being the two other consultants in an era of enormous potential jump in new steel plants. I decided to take up his offer, and joined CES on 12 May, 2008 as a senior consultant, to get involved in Steel Consultancy area of business as well as helping the Company in tackling the HR problems, especially with respect to the attrition of skilled executives, and training of manpower.

Well, nearly nine months have passed since I got myself into CES. They gave me a good office. And I started first to understand the HR scenario in the Comany; sent out a questionnaire (which I created mainly out of commonsense and my previous exposure to such issues in FITT and SAIL) which was responded by 68 executives (more than 5% of the total number) from various grades in the Company. I wrote out a report on the state of HR in CES, which I felt. and most CES colleagues whom I showed thought, flagged all the main issues. But CES being a somewhat elephantine organisation, where only the top knows what is best simply let the report remain in the cupboard. Perhaps some day, when CES really gets pressurisede, they will lookk into this report and do something about it.

Later I helped Induction Training modules for new executive recruits, and tried them out with general satisfaction on those who joined last year. I am now trying to develop a Training Need Assessment study (skill gap analysis?) for all the employees.

Meanwhile, I also continued to teach at IMI albeit as visiting professor two courses, namely Entrepreneurship Development and Knowledge Management during the last trimester (ie September to December, 2008). Just before my end of tenure at IMI, in February, 2008, I had developed a proposal to start an MBA Course on Entrepreneurship, which was sent by IMI to AICTE for clearance. I was told by Dr Venkata Ratnam, Director of IMI, last week, that AICTE may accord its approval soon, and he felt I should go back to IMI in that event. It may be a good idea, because I am convinced that for an "old" person like me academics is the most rewarding profession.