AJITH THOMAS

My quick response code - What is a QR code?

2012-01-21T15:03:00.004+05:30

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/index-e.html
Click here to generate your own personal QR code

Center for tourism and sustainability at Saintgits Institute of Management

2012-01-20T13:14:00.004+05:30

This center is established in 2011 with an idea to give faculty, associates and post graduate
business administration students exposure to academic research, collaborative projects, consultancy, conferences, publications, case study development, case analysis, professional development, training and exposure to the hospitality sector. The center is committed to enabling Sustainable Development in the area of tourism. We aim to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities of tourism and sustainability through our industry linkages, partnerships and publications. The following programmes and activities were conducted by the Centre:

Case study development:

A case is being developed by Ms. Mahima Sosa Mathew on high attrition at Holiday Inn Cochin.

Organizational study:
An MBA student Ms Mahima Sosa Mathew has undergone a training study at Holiday Inn Cochin under the guideship of Prof. Ajith Thomas and Indusry guide Mr. Eason Varghese, GM HRD, holiday Inn Cochin for a month in November 2011.

Trainings:
Half day discussions were organized by the Centre in collaboration with Dr. Sunil Mani, CDS, Trivandrum on 12th Jan 2012, on the implication of Highly skilled migration for select MBA students.

Centre – community interaction:
The center has supported St Joseph’s higher secondary school teacher-student team in developing a project report for submission to Changanacherry municipality to remove the menace of water hyacinth following a sustainable model.

In-situ investigations:
The Centre has arranged a guided boat trip of 14 students in July 2011 to Kumarakom and
Muhama. The main aim was to acclimatize the students to Kumarakom area, people,
cultivation, Water hyacinth menace, fishing and stakeholders of tourism. A visit was organized to the Agricultural University Centre, Kumarakom, houseboat owner’s association office, Homestay owner’s association office and the panchayat office.

Case analysis:
The story of CGH – A case analysis on sustainability has been done after visiting the Coconut Lagoon Kumarakom by a team of 5 MBA students.

Publication:
A manuscript of 90 pages has been published with the title “An introduction to Tourism at Vembanad wetlands in God’s own country – Kerala”.

Mentoring:
Three post graduate MBA students who are interested in the hospitality and tourism sector are mentored by the center with a view to guide them in placements with international tourism and
hospitality companies.

Consultancy:
· A study on antiskid tapes for use in hotel stairways
· A study on steam generators for use in Ayurveda facility
· A comparative study of business generated by star hotels for the period from 2006 to 2010 based on luxury tax remitted.

Centre Industry interaction:

· Atree Aleppey
· Trident Cochin
· Holiday Inn Cochin
· CGH Coconut Lagoon
· Zuri Kumarakom
· The Grand Khajaraho
· Philipose architects, New Delhi

2012-01-20T13:08:00.001+05:30

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE INDIAN MNCs: Agenda for action.

Ajith Thomas*, Merrin Mathew**, Shintu Jimmy***
*Associate Professor, Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam
Kerala, India.
**1st MBA, Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam Kerala, India.
***1st MBA, Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam Kerala, India.

The country that we live in is touted to be the Asian age, belonging to India and China. India’s global presence has been visible since economic liberalization of 1990’s. There has been a steady growth of 6-7% per annum and India slowly became visible and has been the acknowledged leader of the south, endorsed both by European Union and the US. This has been attributed to the political dividend it has garnered as world’s largest democracy and its growing economic status.

The emerging economic situation in the country brings new opportunities and challenges for business. We have seen many companies pushing and overflowing its operation outside the country to explore markets. We have also seen many organizations building strong domestic operation through innovation and leveraging their core competencies. The question that may come to our mind is “Can they manage and leverage these capabilities to achieve competitiveness globally too?” Setting business outside their home country boarders for such organizations involves more than getting offices, operations, getting access to international capital markets and
acquiring foreign companies. Various dimensions of business need to be revisited like managing a global workforce, leveraging global supply chains, managing heterogeneous customers across various countries and use of information technology .This is the context in which we need to see how we can build a sustainable multinational.

Companies may not only be leaders of business, but they should also be leaders of the society. We are a part of the society and not apart from it. The changes are very dynamic and sustainable
development is the key for the nation’s success. We must fuel and sustain this extreme pace of life and businesses in India. Indian MNCs are operating in the midst of a multifaceted and fast paced environment. The threads of culture are intertwined with the economic environment in India, than any other country. We should also take care so that we sustain our business in the interest of our future.

A sustainable enterprise is one that, through its work, solves social and environmental problems. The idea behind sustainable enterprise revolves round the theme - Is it possible for businesses of 21st century to jointly optimize results for all of its stakeholders?. Increasingly, businesses will be focusing on solving social and environmental problems. A sustainable corporation, which works at the bottom of the pyramid, must reach everyone including those at the base of the income yramid. They should not only have affordable products, but should have partners and employees at the base to become livelihood generators lifting economic conditions.

Making cheap and affordable products is not enough anymore but, we need to figure out how to entwine new businesses with the community. A second problem is the risk of environmental
collapse we have. We need to merge these two concepts to leapfrog into a new sustainable era. Will Indian businesses, be interested in such a model? Smart corporates will look out 10 years ahead and support that big growth to come from the base of the pyramid with the support of clean technology.

Leadership Videos

2010-04-19T12:43:00.011+05:30

THE FEASIBILITY OF AN AUTOMATIC POWER LAUNDRY & DRY-CLEANING FACILITY.

2010-03-30T22:58:00.007+05:30

ABSTRACT

Cochin is fast growing to a metropolitan city with upscale market service providers, opening shops. Kentuky Fried Chicken, Chennai silks, Carnation, Dominos pizza, Outlets of lifestyle fashion brands of clothes and watches, upscale car showrooms of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen are only, a few examples. Life in Cochin is becoming very fast and double income families with both the spouses working have grown to 27%. Laundry service providers unanimously agree upon the fact that more and more customers are accepting their services, if the laundered clothes are returned in time devoid of dirt and spots, very well packed and delivered by their courteous staff members.

This research is designed to find what the customer’s needs and wants are, and whether the service providers currently operating can fill the gaps and customer demands. Separate sets of surveys are embarked upon and responses are analyzed. Observations are made and customers and service providers were engaged in personal interviews. VIP customers of some premium laundries were also chosen for, in-depth interviews.

The results of this feasibility study can be shared if it is of interest to you. Please contact ajithkthomas@hotmail.com

Prof. K. A. Thomas Memorial All Kerala Inter-collegiate Quiz competition on Life Sciences

2009-11-20T13:16:00.008+05:30

Prof. K. A. Thomas memorial, All Kerala Inter collegiate Quiz competition on Life Sciences 2009, was held at the Seminar hall, Department of Zoology on 10th Nov 2009. Dr. Stephen Mathews, the Principal of the college inaugurated the programme. 24 colleges across Kerala participated in the competition. The winners were awarded Prof. K A Thomas Memorial ever rolling trophy, Cash prizes of Rs 1500 and Rs. 1000 (first and second respectively) and Certificates. Dr. Jose D. Kaippallil, the convener and Dr. Thomas T. Valamparambil delivered felicitations. Dr. Jose P. Jacob remembered Prof. K .A. Thomas as a mentor and colleague. Family members of Prof. Thomas were also present in the function.

Born on 23rd Jan 1944, in Champakulam in the Valiara Koolipurackal family, Prof K. A. Thomas was better known in the academic circle as “Valiaveedan Sir” after his family business a textile shop, named Valiaveedans, the largest in the Chanagancherry town then. After completing his schooling from St. Mary’s High School Champaklam, he joined St. Berchman’s college for his higher studies. After proving himself as a distinguished student and an under officer in NCC Army wing, he joined his alma matter as a Lecturer in the year 1968. After an illustrious service for more than 30 years he passed away on 31st March 1999, on the very same day of his retirement from service. (He was too possessive about his place of work).

The most unique quality of Prof. Thomas was the sparkling sense of humor he possessed. A person who remained youthful in intellect all throughout his life, found pleasure in spending time with the young generation, supporting, loving and caring them. A student throughout his life, he was keenly interested in modern branches of Zoology. He was an inspiring teacher, an able organizer, a strict disciplinarian, and a sincere friend, full of warm feelings.

His students, colleagues and successors feel that their “Valiaveedan sir” remains alive in the S.B. College campus. They venerate him as his memories remain etched in their memories. To perpetuate the memory of Prof K. A. Thomas this programme is conducted annually.

Winners of Previous years

1999 S. H. college , Thevara
2000 S. B. College, Changanacherry
2001 NSS Hindu College, Changanacherry
2002 St. Theresa's College, Ernakulam
2003 Alphonsa College, Palai
2004 School of Environment Science, M.G. University, Kottayam.
2005 S. B. College, Changanacherry
2006 Assumption College, Changanacherry.
2007 Assumption College, Changanacherry.
2008 Alphonsa College, Palai
2009 S. B. College, Changanacherry

Scope of Management Education in India

2009-07-31T16:38:00.007+05:30

“Quiet simply, I was blown away by what I saw on my first trip to India” reported Mr. Stephen Roach, MD and Global chief Economist of Morgan Stanly, after his maiden visit to India in April 2004. There are seven trends that facilitated the fundamental transformation of India. They are

1. Rising consumer spending.
2. Growth of services sector.
3. Indian manufacturing establishing itself on the global stage.
4. Pervasive communication – the satellite and the cable TV, basic and mobile telephony, fibre optics and broadband.
5. Infrastructure growth: Airports, Ports & Highways
6. Growth in higher education and literacy.
7. Mature political economy with development as its core agenda.

As the worlds’ fastest growing free market democratic country grows in its economy and waits for the next giant leap, can we as young and resurgent youth be a part of this positive change is the biggest question. Can we be left behind?

India is likely to be emerged as one of the largest consumer markets in the world. India is a preferred manufacturing and service supplier to the world – Tata consultancy services, Moser Baer, Bharath Forge, Tat Motors, Lupin Labs, Cipla, Wipro and Infosys are a few among them who supply to the whole world. “India’s model should prove more sustainable than the typical east asian strategy adopted by China. India is developing more efficient corporates, healthier banks, more robust service industries and bigger consumption base.” reported Dan Fineman in an April 2004 article in the Far Eastern Economic Review titled ‘Growth Model’.

Regardless of the industry, you ask any seasoned employee and they will explain to you that the most important skill any professional could posses is the ability to effectively manage others. Skilled managers are high in demand in such a growing economy like India, where the GDP growth for 2006-07 is pegged at 9.2%. Consequently the Managers are the highest paid class in the world.

Companies have some form of general management, at their head to direct the company’s operations and policy decisions; the CEO, COO, President, Vice President, General Manager Etcetera. Having a highly trained management team is a great benefit when propositioning investment groups who may demand this as a proof that the company can operate profitability. The large majorities of company executives in business has MBA degrees or are surrounded by advisors with such qualifications. Surely I agree that there are many factors other than holding an MBA degree to adorn a covetable position in a company, but MBA is certainly a critical tool in one’s own toolkit to manage himself or herself in such positions and create profitability for the company, he or she manages.

When India moves towards a more corporate and service oriented economy, management education and earning a degree in management will not only ensure your employment, but also your success and marketability in an ever evolving job market. Some people ask “Is it worth the extra years of schooling that are required to pursue an MBA, when you could have utilized the same time working?” The salaries of the people with MBA compared to executives without MBA clearly answers this question as ‘Yes, you should pursue management education’. The return on investment for an MBA certainly appears worthwhile.

According to Outlook business schools survey - 2007, the management institute rankings are given below.

TOP 10 GOVT / PSU B-SCHOOLS

1. IIM, Ahmedabad
2. IIM, Bangalore
3. IIM, Calcutta
4. IIM, Lucknow
5. MDI, Gurgaon
6. NITIE, Mumbai
7. IIM, Indore
8. IIM, Kozhikode
9. IIFT, New Delhi
10. JMSOM, Mumbai

TOP 10 PRIVATE B-SCHOOLS

1. XLRI, Jamshedpur
2. SP Jain, Mumbai
3. Narsee, Mumbai
4. IMT, Ghaziabad
5. ICFAI, Hyderabad
6. XIM, Bhubaneshwar
7. IMI, New Delhi
8. TA Pai, Manipal
9. Symbiosis, Pune
10. IFMR, Chennai

TOP 10 UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS

1. FMS, Delhi University
2. JBIMS, Mumbai
3. UBS, Chandigarh
4. FMS, MS University, Baroda
5. DMS, Pune University
6. FMS, Varanasi
7. DBM, Osmania University
8. DMS, Madras University
9. Sydenham, Mumbai
10. The Business School, University of Jammu

Having understood the different statuses of colleges there comes the question – How to get there? The Common Admission Test (CAT) is conducted by the Indian Institute of Managements (IIM’s) and is the first step in seeking admission to the IIMs. CAT is considered as most important national standard for entrance to Management institutes. Apart from IIMs there are 50 other management institutes which use the CAT score for their admissions. Management aptitude test (MAT) is conducted by All India Management Association (AIMA ) 4 times an year. The MAT score is accepted by hundreds of institutes and university departments. The details of this test are available at www.aima-ind.org.

From the time you have started reading this article, there has been at least a 100 new jobs listed in various job portals seeking fresh MBAs. See for yourself by searching entry level jobs for MBAs in the portal www.timesjobs.com. My search generated 1803 job openings. How many did your search generate?

World News as it unfolds!

2009-07-03T20:40:00.004+05:30

Some readings !

2009-07-03T19:27:00.017+05:30

Here are some website links which might be of interest to you. I have found them interesting.

1. Ethics

2. Create your own e brochures

3. How stuff works

4. Harvard business review blog

5. India budget

6. Indian television advertisements

7. Indian brands

8. Online MS Word training

9. Online MS Powerpoint training

10. Online MS Excel training

11. Replace hoardings

If you would like to share some websites like these, please put a comment.

Business NEWS that you can USE !

2009-06-26T10:44:00.008+05:30

Factors influencing the selection of mobile service providers: A study among post-graduate students in Kerala state.

2009-06-22T14:15:00.006+05:30

Following are some findings of the study conducted among a radom sample of 50 post graduate management students, in central Kerala.

The first factor that determines the selection criterion is Network coverage.
Period of time that they remain with a service provider - at least 2 years.
Connections popular among students – Prepaid connections.
GSM connections are preferred over CDMA connections.
All respondents are happy with the kind of customer care that they get from all the service providers.
They speak maximum during the time between 8 pm – 10 pm daily.
Students have a tendency to talk for more than 10 minutes on incoming calls.
The monthly average spending for recharge per student is between Rs. 300 and Rs. 400.
Value added services are highly appreciated, but the cost are considered too high.
Most of the users responded that the advertisements are a disturbance to them.
Most preferred service provider in Kerala was found to be Airtel, in the opinion of most respondents.
Many people who had been using IDEA and BSNL have switched to Vodafone in the recent past.
Most of the students are using Vodafone service currenly.
Most of the users are satisfied with their current service provider.
Most of the users recommend the service they are using for others.
Other criteria that the students look for from a mobile service provider are Goodcustomer service, Better caller rates, some free SMS, more talk time per recharge, Internet access on their phones, news alerts and sports updates.
What the respondents like more about their service provider is Customer service, Reliability, Quality of calls, Advertisements on TV, Brand image.
What users hate the most are High call rates, Network jams, Unsolicited SMS, Call drops.

Kerala Management Association News (Nov 2008) & KMA annual report (June 2009)

2009-06-15T14:26:00.006+05:30

Click on the picture to enlarge +++

THE ROLE OF INFORMAL IN-HOUSE TRAVEL ARRANGERS, ON SALES OF STAR HOTELS

2009-06-11T09:27:00.008+05:30

In 2007, Travel & Tourism Industry of India was valued at US$35.73 billion, contributing 3.56% to India’s GDP. The foreign tourist arrivals to India reached 5.08 million in 2007, showing a growth of 14.16% from the previous year. Hotel industry is a significant stakeholder in the Indian tourism sector. There are 1,437 hotels approved and classified by the Ministry of Tourism, with a total capacity of 84,327 hotel rooms (MOT, GOI as on Dec 31, 2007). Indian hotel industry is currently adding about 42,022 five and four star category rooms in the major cities (Knight frank research, 2008). Though hotel demand has grown much faster than supply, the need to market the hotels optimally remains. Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi & International Cricket cup in 2011 in Mumbai will be the key drivers for Hotel growth in these cities in India. Hilton, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott, Intercontinental, Taj, Oberoi, Leela are in the expansion mode and most investments are in the 5 star deluxe, 5 star category and the budget category (Munich, ACTE global education conference 2007), the categories frequented by business travelers.

More corporate are firming plans to enter India. Corporate sector is a major source for business to star hotels especially those hotels located in commercial cities. The business from this segment comprises of transient visits of executive, organization of conferences, training programmes, long stays related to projects and banquet functions including product launches & incentive programmes. For many major business houses these activities are centralized under one department or section like Administration, Human resources (HR), Public Relations (PR), Procurements and Facilities. The persons who handle the travel arrangements from these departments are not professionals like travel agents and in some cases may even be secretaries. Many of them handle such activities as an additional responsibility to their existing core task like administration, HR, PR, Procurement etc. The result of an ACTE survey on the business travelers conducted in 2007, is shown in Fig.1, graphically and emphatically suggests this.

These travel arrangers are a major source of business to star hotels and can be channelized to acquire business from respective corporate houses. They are not intermediaries like travel agents but they do all functions similar to the functions of a travel agent. They negotiate for special rates with hotels according to the entitlements or eligibilities of each traveling executives from his/her organization; they prepare a list of empanelled hotels in different cities to accommodate their executives and guests; and further more they handle the reservations on behalf of the organization. They also go on to the extent of processing the bills, in case the company enjoys credit facility with the hotels.

There is no accepted nomenclature defined for these people. In hotel parlance they are often called ‘bookers’, a term which they detest. Their function is arranging travel; it is an informal task given to an individual who may be a secretary or an employee from HR or Administration department. They do not earn any commission from hotels like travel agents do. Researcher proposes to call them informal in-house travel arrangers (IIHTA).

Many hotels cultivate them and pamper them by offering incentives in the form of loyalty programmes and booker programmes. Unlike in the western world the profile of bookers in India are more than secretaries and personal assistants. Star hotels are very careful in rolling out these exclusive privileges and benefits specially designed to recognize and reward regular supporters, thereby enabling them to earn reward points. Those points can be redeemed for a host of benefits, including gifts, celebration dining and hotel stays. Lisa Scannell (2006), in her research in Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention Practices, found in the hotel user survey, that 51% of business respondents rely heavily on their assistant or secretary, to arrange hotel stays.

How to the IIHTAs differ from other channels is a question here. Channel of any business gets a direct reward. They are either in the direct pay roll of the company (as is the case of a sales executive) or explicitly facilitates the distribution of the product or services (one of the Ps of marketing) for a commission (as is the case of chemist selling telephone services or a dealer selling electric fans or a travel agent selling rooms along with airline tickets and taxi services etc). In all these cases the connection is direct, the channel is on direct pay roll (or incentive) of the company and identifies completely with the company, in economic and legal terms. IIHTAs on the other hand, do not identify themselves with the hotel (and do not want to), have no direct compensation (whether pay or commission) and have no legal connect at all. Yet, if they account for substantial portion of the sales, as found by Lisa Scannel (2006), there has to be a successful underlying marketing relationship that exists.

TRENDS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION: A KERALA PERSPECTIVE

2009-05-10T15:38:00.011+05:30

Dr. (Col.) P.S. James*, and Ajith Thomas**
*Professor and Dean, Saintgits Institute of Management, Pathamuttom, Kottayam.
**Assistant Professor, SJCET School of Management, Bharananganam, Kottayam.

A B S T R A C T

Not too long ago, when Cochin University of Science and Technology was planning to start and MBA programme, there was a strong feeling that Management cannot be taught. National Research Professor of Management, Dr. M V Pylee vividly captures this sentiment in many of his lectures. This feeling is identical to the one United States had perhaps a few decades ago, but then they were experimenting without a precedence. When the doyens of business in Kerala expressed their reservations, it was just plain ignorance of business education and what was happening in the world was full of precedence and success cases. The pivotal role of management education is seldom disputed today, but what the content and delivery is, usually a subject of continuous disagreement and deliberations. Unlike other subjects of study, there has been little concurrence on the content. This implies that continuous learning and updating is si-ne qua non to Management education.

Research Design: The research explores the recent trends in ten significant aspect of business education i.e. (1) Curriculum and content, (2) Pedagogy, (3) Industry Alignment or Fitting to the User needs, (4) Networking, (5) Interdisciplinary approach, (6) Stake holders and trends in fulfilling the requirements of stake holders, (7) Executive education trends, (8) Technology driven teaching learning trends, (9) Accreditation trends and (10) Grading trends.

Research Methodology: This paper studies the trends in business education in the world over, in India and in the state of Kerala and is attempted as a comparative study. For the purpose of identifying the world trends the authors depend heavily on the work of Faisal Manzoor Arain and Syed Awais Ahmad Ti and the data is secondary in nature. Trends in Business Education in India is arrived at by studying the curriculum and content of the six Indian Institutes of Management (Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Kolkatta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, and Indore) and select non-IIM institutes (Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Management Development Institute, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Nirma Institute of Management, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship. For the purpose of Management education in Kerala, the MBA programmes of Mahatma Gandhi University is considered not only because it is the university that has the largest number of affiliated management institutes, but also because the researchers who are faculty in the affiliated institutes of the university, has firsthand experience of the management education.

Findings: The study attempts to (1) Analyze the trends in Management Education (term interchangeably used with Business Education) globally, (2) Evaluate whether the Indian Management Education is aligned to global trends and if so, how much and

(3) Identify whether the Management Education in Kerala is aligned to the National and Global trends.

For full paper contact ajithkthomas@hotmail.com

FACEBOOK SITE TO SHARE IDEAS IN CO CREATION

2009-03-30T17:37:00.007+05:30

A new community site has been developed by the name "Hospitality Researchers", for sharing the ideas of hotelliers and guests. This group is moderated by Mr Ajith Thomas and one can join this group by searching for the PROFILE "Hospitality Researchers" in www.facebook.com. Once the hotellier joins the group, they can reccomend their guests to join. A series of discussions will be moderated and data mined from the community discussions, will be send back to the community. This will enhance the services for the guests, at the same time providing better revenues for the hotel. We recommend you to ask your friend who is working in the hotel, to participate in this process, by joining the group. The discussions will start from the 06th of April 2009.

The New Indan Express (23.03.2009)

2009-03-30T14:23:00.004+05:30

You may click on the picture to enlarge the news item

Co-creating value.

2009-03-24T09:41:00.005+05:30

Ajith Thomas*, Dr. (Col.) P.S. James**

* SJCET School of Management, Bharananganam ** Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam.

A B S T R A C T The objective of this study is to develop a model for co-creating value, resulting in continuous customer focused innovation, value creation and consequent enhanced revenues in the Indian hospitality industry. We define co-creation as the process of developing a customer-company duet that defines, develops and delivers value for mutual benefits.

For the last many years there have been attempts to take feedback from guests to improve upon the hotel’s offerings and thereby increase profitability and revenues. Marketing research techniques are usually used; however, these are not proactive enough and do not embed the customer sufficiently in the process. Co-creating value using the customer-company duet is far superior to the existing system and though fraught with difficulties, is not insurmountable if one leverages technology and creates appropriate models, processes and steps. Using observations and experience of the researchers in hospitality industry, this paper discusses the conceptual framework of value creation, identifies the steps involved and elaborates the process as applicable to hospitality industry.

It explores the evolution in marketing thinking culminating in the contemporary philosophy of value creation and justifies why co-creation of value is superior to current method of creating value, by anecdotal citation. Five fundamental steps in co-creation are defined and elaborated with particular emphasis on how to share the value. This being the complex, but essential step to successful co-creation, a model is created and elaborated in the hospitality context leveraging the experience of the researchers in the sector. The paper recommends a viable model that could be used for co-creation.

Creating future with e books

2009-01-30T11:34:00.001+05:30

The first E-book on Service Marketing has been launched by the UK based organisation, Inet-Marketing.org, who are involved in creating corporate electronic brochures. Titled “An introduction to service marketing with special reference to hospitality industry”, the e-book is beautifully packaged into a compact disk. The author, Mr.Ajith Thomas is an Assistant Professor at SJCET School of Management, Palai, and has a decade of experience in sales and marketing in various hotel chains including Le Meridien and Park Inns. He says the e book does not replace any book in the MBA course but acts as a bridge between the study of Marketing Management and Service Marketing.
In case you wish to have a copy to this e book, you may contact the author at sales@inet-marketing.org as he is willing to share this e book, which contains various video case studies. He strongly believe that one should pay forward his or her learning and experiences to the younger generation.

Forward paying with e books

2009-01-24T11:03:00.000+05:30

Inet–marketing.org a UK based organization, who are involved with creation of electronic brochures, has launched the first e book on the topic “Services Marketing”. The title of this e book is “An introduction to Services Marketing with special reference to Hospitality industry”. This e book which is beautifully packaged into a compact disk, does not replace any book in the MBA course but acts as a bridge between the study of Marketing Management and Service Marketing, according to the author Mr. Ajith Thomas, Assistant Professor at SJCET School of Management. Palai. The author has a decade of experience in sales and marketing in various hotel chains including the Park Inns and the le Meridien. In case you wish to have a copy to this e book, you may contact the author at sales@inet-marketing.org as he is willing to share this e book which contains various video case studies, as he believes that one should pay forward the experiences and learning, to the younger generation.

A Profile of AJITH THOMAS

2009-01-24T10:43:00.018+05:30

ajithTHOMAS B.H.M, M.B.A.
Associate Professor - Marketing, Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam.
Accredited Management Teacher – Services Marketing (AIMA, Newdelhi).
Research Scholar - Management (Hospitality), ANNA University Coimbatore.

A Profile:
An alumnus of Berchmans’ Institute of Management Studies, Mr. Ajith Thomas holds M.B.A in Marketing. His first professional degree is a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management from Christ College, Bangalore and has been with the hospitality service sector for more than 10 years, in the area of Corporate Sales & Marketing. Having worked with Multinationals like Pepsico, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (Le Meridien brand), Carlson Hotels
Worldwide (Park Inn brand) and companies of national stature like the K. Raheja Group of Hotels, the assignment held by him before joining academics, was as Account Director - Sales & Marketing, at Le Meridien Resort and
Convention Centre, Cochin. At Le Meridien, Cochin he was responsible for the corporate business which grew 10 times during his tenure. He was among the top performers of Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific, during year 2006-2007 on sales achievement and was selected for the Starwood’s platinum incentive programme. He was also a certified departmental trainer at the hotel.

An Accredited Management Teacher (AMT) in Services Marketing, Mr. Ajith Thomas is also an adjunct faculty &
trainer at some business schools. His assignment as Assistant Professor at SJCET School of Management, Palai was for more than 2 years and was his first full time assignment in academics. He is currently an Associate Professor at
Saintgits Institute of Management (SIM), Kottayam where he coordinates on various foreign university progammes. He also handles Leadership courses for a mentor group in the Master’s level, apart from the regular teaching assignments in Management and Marketing areas.

He is a member of All India Management Association and has at various occasions been an evaluator and judge to both national and international events. He is also the founder of www.inet-marketing.org, a consultancy, corporate training and e-brochure production organization. Some of the organisations he has partnered with include Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Cochin, DC School of Management, Vagamon, The Grand Khajaraho, Mindsweeper Aleppey, Vikas Infotech Texas, USA, Samagravikas (nonprofit organisation), Aleppey, Elite India Trichur, T.I.M.E., and Eros Agencies - Bajaj Auto Dealer network, Kottayam. His specialization areas are marketing of services,
Hotel Marketing Channels and Technology in marketing. He has authored the first ever electronic book on ‘Services Marketing’. His area of research is ‘The role of informal in-house travel arrangers, on the sales of star hotels’. He maintains excellent public relations among the top officials of the corporate world. He manages the blog www.ajiththomas.blogspot.com and he can be reached the email ajithkthomas@hotmail.com.

{This profile is created by Dr. V.P. Vipin Kumar, Senior Scientist (SS), Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, referee of Mr. Ajith K. Thomas} vipincmfri@gmail.com

Papers published (number): 2

1. Presented and published a Paper on "Co-creating value with guests: a hospitality industry perspective" at the National Seminar on Creating and Delivering Value for Customers on March 27-28, 2009 at SMS, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin.

2. Presented and published a paper on “Trends in Management Education: A Kerala perspective” at the International Conference on Recent Trends in Business Education on May 18 and 19, 2009 at St. Joseph's College, Irinjalakuda, Trissur.

Books written (number): 1
Published an e book titled "An introduction to Services Marketing with special reference to Hospitality Industry" on
22.03.2009.

Summer schools / short term courses attended:
1.“Workshop on research methodologies and Application of SPSS for data analysis”, Alberterian institute of Management, Kochi

2. FDP on Publication in International Journals - Prof. (Dr.) Om Prakash Gupta, Prairie View A & M University, USA

3. Short term training programme on Linux Networking & System Administration – SJCET, IPSR solutions, CSI & CSEA

4. Participated in AICTE sponsored ADVANCED LEVEL intensive Training programme in IT and Management (11.02.09 - 25.02.09), Organized Jointly by the Department of Computer Applications and Management Studies, MACFAST, Thiruvalla.

Seminars / conferences attended:

1. Incredible India Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism
in Destinations – 21^st to 24^th March 2008 , Cochin - Organized by Kerala Tourism and ICRT (India) with India Tourism as partner

2. Responsible Tourism – The industry perspective – 23^rd Sep 2008, Cochin – Organised by Ministry of tourism, Govt. of India and UNDP

3. International Seminar on Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises: The Local and the Unique - 12^th and 13^th May 2008 Organized by The University of Southern Mississippi, MS, USA & Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala

4. National Seminar on Creating and Delivering Value for Customers on March 27-28, 2009 at SMS, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin.

5. International Conference on Recent Trends in Business Education on May 18-19, 2009 at St. Joseph's College, Irinjalakuda, Trissur.

R & D Projects undertaken:

Various marketing projects for Elite group of companies and Le Meridien Hotels during the tenure in the organizations.

Awards / prizes received:

Accredited Management Teacher in Services Marketing - Awarded by All India Management Association, New Delhi.