The three day IIM Indore NASMEI 2019 Summer Marketing & Information Systems Conference concluded on Sunday. The conference witnessed three pre-conference workshops, more than 300 paper presentations on 13 tracks and a panel discussion.
The third day of the conference had Ashutosh Dixit, Monte Ahuja College of Business, Cleveland; Satish Nargundkar, J Mack Robinson College of Business Georgia State University and Sanjaya Gaur, Sunway University Business School, Malaysia as the guests.
The event began with an address by Professor Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore. He congratulated the organizing committee for magnificently conducting the conference. He said that researchers are curious, how to differentiate between the right and the wrong way of research- for the easier way might be the incorrect one, but is always alluring. Sharing learning from Ishopnishad, he noted that conscience helps a person recognise the difference between right and wrong. ‘I believe that if you do anything and you feel ashamed, are scared or have confusion about it, never do it—for it is wrong to do anything if you’re having ‘lajja, bhay, or shanka’, he said. He also said that FIRE (fortitude, identity, reflection and equanimity) leads the path to right direction. ‘Have courage, remain mindful, reflect your inner self and principles and remember that nothing is yours forever. You can achieve this FIRE by practising over and over again’, he said. He concluded his talk saying that in the times to come, only those leaders would thrive who not just do the right thing, but who do the right thing in the right way.
This was followed by an address by Professor Satish Nargundkar, who spoke on the topic—‘Presenting Analytics Results to Executives’. He said that analytics professionals usually fail to explain what they mean to say in simpler language. The same stands true for the researchers. He shared three tips to give a simple and easy presentation. These tips are- stick to the point, keep the bottom line first and use simple language in charts. He said that we need to understand the gap between what we’re presenting or talking about and what our audience is interested in listening to.
The third talk was by Professor Sanjaya Singh Gaur, who spoke on Smart Marketing in the Digital Age with a focus on technology and disruptive marketing. He screened various videos explaining how technology is enhancing marketing and business. The six categories of technology discussed were artificial intelligence, 3D printing, augmented reality, block chain, Internet of Things and robotics.