The Inter Business Group Competition 1999, was as enjoyable as always, only even more exciting than last year, with two new events introduced. The extent of participation and the versatility of the Sanmar employees were a revelation. The quality of debate and presentation was a credit to the organisation. The quiz competition afforded an opportunity not only for the teams but also the audience to exhibit a high level of general knowledge and ability to think on their feet. It was well and truly an explosive cocktail of games.
N Ramesh reports.
With significant changes in the market place in the form of increased competition and changes in the profiles of the workforce, the HR challenges faced by the Sanmar group have also become manifold. To hone management skills and to create a sense of belonging to the Sanmar group, for the second consecutive year, the inter business group competition—branded SANMARTINI, a cocktail of explosive games—was held amongst management employees in August this year. There were six events – Debate, Treasure Hunt, Presentation, Quiz and two new additions this year – Cricket Medley and All Roads Lead to Rome.
Sanmartini brought together over 1000 management employees, for different events. It spanned across different business groups within Sanmar, spread over different locations and divided into five teams. The competition started off with naming the contest where the groups identified themselves. SANSAR (refers to the universe and captures the global nature of today’s business), A SPIDER’S WEB (Augmenting Sanmar’s Pride in Delivering Excellent Results Steadily Within Engineering Businesses) and G-8 (the Go-getters of 8, Cathedral Road), emerged as the top three names amongst the five groups and New Boom and Sansvir being the other names.
Five teams debated on the topic – “A Benevolent Dictator is a more effective CEO than a Democratic Leader.”
The Treasure Hunt was held on 7th August at the SEC Karapakkam premises. Twenty five teams competed for the prizes. There were 11 clues in the hunt and each clue contained two parts. One had a numeric answer which led to a corresponding ‘spot’ within the complex. The other part which related to management and business had to be solved to obtain the next clue. The clues were dispersed among various locations within the complex. The teams raced against the clock to solve the clues and cover all the spots in the shortest possible time. At the end of the event, the teams were physically exhausted but the collective spirit and enthusiasm soared high. Spectators cheered and encouraged their respective groups. The team G-8 secured the first and the third positions in the Treasure Hunt and Sansar took the second position.
Cricket Medley, a medley of games, played in the typical one day international style was held on August 9, 1999. The event was designed in the form of an ODI match. Each group had 11 players comprising a captain, vice captain, wicket keeper, batsmen, bowlers and an all rounder. Each game was named in line with cricket terminology. The type of games played included identifying acronyms, brand names, Pictionary and role-play. These games were culled out from practical management situations. The team scoring the most runs weredeclared winners. The G-8 team won, followed by Spiders and New Boom.
All Roads Lead to Rome, a variety entertainment programme had to be enacted by each group on the topic “Communication”, relating to concepts, issues and thoughts which are relevant in an organisational context. The performance of the teams was judged on the basis of content and relevance to the organisational context, creativity, communication and presentation. The variety event included kathakalakshepam, skits on jargon, poetry, kural recital, and non-verbal communication.
The presentation addressed three topics, Gilbert’s Principles, Total Cost Management, and Profile of the Manager in the New Millennium. The presentation went through a preliminary written round where all the teams had to present a written document on the topic, and then a oral presentation
The quiz went through two preliminary rounds, to select the finalists. Prelim I was conducted simultaneously at different locations (Berigai, Cuddalore, Viralimalai, Mettur, Karapakkam, Chettipunyam and HO) and comprised a written quiz, with multiple choice answers. The questions covered topics on general knowledge, current affairs, business and management, finance and HR.
The top five teams from every group qualified for the next round. Prelim II was conducted on 10th September, with Sarada Jagan from Corporate HR acting as the quiz master. Twenty five teams vied with one another for the top five slots, for the final. Oral and audio visual rounds were part of the quiz.
The teams that qualified for the quiz final were: two teams from G-8, New Boom, Spiders, and Sansar. The professionally conducted final was held on the same day after the Prelim II round. The quiz master was Dr Naveen Jayakumar, a veteran quiz master who has been conducting the popular Landmark Quiz in Chennai.
The quizzing round included oral, audio-visual and rapid-fire questions as well as Dumb Charades and Pictionary. The well turned out Sanmar audience was enthralled by the high standard of quizzing. Members of the audience could also give answers and win prizes. The final was won by G-8 and Spiders were the runners up. The G-8 team stood first in the overall competition, with Spiders a close second.
The prize distribution ceremony was the grand finale and the winners were given trophies. The objectives of inspiring extra-mural performance, tapping new ideas and suggestions, addressing contemporary issues within the group and identifying the potential talent within the group were all achieved this year.
N Sankar gave away the prizes to the first and second placed groups. The respective group leaders Deepak Dave and K Thyagarajan received the trophies. He also gave away the prizes to the individual winners of specific events. In his address, he commended the HR team’s initiative and enthusiasm in conceptualising and executing the events successfully.