The Hindu Business Line : `No solution? Then you're a part of the problem'

Mr P.B. Sampath, Senior Vice-President (Finance and Corporate Affairs), TAFE, Chennai, addressing a BL Club gathering at Panimalar Engineering College.

Chennai , Dec. 6

"ONE should get angry when they see wrong things around them. If the Mahatma did not get angry when he was thrown out of the train by white men, he may not have taken the oath and the pains to liberate us," said Mr P.B. Sampath, Senior Vice-President (Finance and Corporate Affairs), TAFE, Chennai, to nearly 200 students of the postgraduate departments of Management and Computer Applications at Panimalar Engineering College, Poonamalle, while inaugurating the Business Line Club.

Elaborating on the theme of his lecture `Graduating to Growth', he listed five commandments. They are: Belong; think; conform; continuously improve and learn; change.

"Belonging is vital for one's personal growth," he said. Further, "belonging brings about identity and a sense of companionship."

"The educated must think," he advised. Think and judge. The number of Japanese companies winning total quality management awards is coming down whereas Indian companies' winning the award is on the rise, he observed.

Mr Sampath cited the CIMP (continuous improvement monitoring programme) of TAFE as an example of Indian companies adopting quality improvement programmes.

"If you are not willing to change, then you cannot grow," he pointed out. The ability to change helps organisations survive. On the other hand, he advised the audience to "change only if it would really make you better"

Calling people, particularly youngsters, to offer innovative solutions to society's many problems, he said "If you are not a solution, you are a part of the problem."

Classrooms are not merely places of learning but also places to unlearn and experiment.

"Thinking solutions come from the classroom," Mr Sampath said, encouraging the student community to think beyond the books.

Growth brings problem as well as pain. So does change. But one needs to change to grow. Therefore, one cannot avoid problems and pains, but find solutions to minimise them, he said.

To industry's persistent demand that students need to change to adapt to industry requirements, he said that sometimes it is the industry that needs to accommodate the ideas of the fresh and bright, young, graduates. "Today's students are flexible," he remarked.

The Correspondent of the college and Secretary of the Jeppiar Group of Institutions, Mr P. Chinnadurai, objected to the present trend of students demanding high salaries immediately after graduation. Instead, students should take up the job of interest to them and good performance will be definitely considered for higher positions and benefits.

Dr S. Rajapandian, Principal of the college, presided over the meeting. Others present were Dr V. Mahalakshmi, Head of the MBA department and other faculty members.

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