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ServeArthan 2007: Services for economic development
NMIMS organised a seminar on the services industry and
their economic growth
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) organised a seminar -
ServeArthan 2007 at Taj Lands End, Bandra. Organised by the students of the
institute the focus of the seminar was 'Destination 2020: Going the H-way'.
'H' stands for hospitality and healthcare.
The seminar was inaugurated by NMIMS vice-chancellor Dr N
M Kondap, and Anil Kamath, MD of Wockhardt Hospital, the chief guest of the
seminar. Distinguished personnel from the healthcare, hospitality, travel-tourism
and insurance industry participated in the seminar, all from different parts
of the country. These included Prabhat Pani, CEO, Roots Corporation; Satyen
Jain, chief executive officer of Pride Hotel; Olivio Tavares, CFO Radhakrishna
Hospitality Services; D Prasanth Nair, President and head - HR, Thomas Cook
(India); Dr Keith D'souza, managing Director, Human Touch.
| NMIM has started a new initiative - MBA Services
Management. The key aim to educate aspiring managers about the fundamental
aspects of the healthcare and hospitality sector by enabling a specialisation
in either of the two areas, along with a simultaneous functional specialisation
in either of the verticals: Marketing, HR, Finance or Operations. Thus,
graduates of this programme seek to contribute their business expertise
to the emerging services environment, thereby fulfilling industry needs.
MBA Services Management students were also the organisers of the event.
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The seminar sessions were divided into three, namely current scenario, opportunities
and challenges and lessons in service excellence. A total of twelve speakers
from across the service industry enlightened the students about their experiences
and strategies that their company employed. Tavares said, "Healthcare is
now turning into hotels a concept which one can term 'Hospitels' (Hospital and
Hotel)." While Homi Aibara, partner, Mahajan & Aibara, claimed that
the real growth driver for both the hospitality and healthcare sector is real
estate. Also, as the hospitality industry is cyclic in nature, he feels that
this sector may go through two to three cycles. Dr D Prasanth Nair, president
and head (human resources), Thomas Cook, India, brought focus to the potentials
of internalising customer focus within the organisation. Nawal Ahuja, cofounder
& director, exchange4media.com, also reiterated the same by mentioning that
service is nothing but an experience felt by customers. Himanshu Singh, MD,
Travelocity, spoke about taking service excellence in travel to the next level.
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