Appeared in in-house journal THINK in 2005

Right in the heart of the busy suburb, Chennai's famous Parry's corner (Dare House Complex), the Murugappa Group has created its own 'Shantiniketan'. The Management Development Centrer (MDC), a haven for book lovers and learners, is a self-development centre of the Group, established to develop leadership within and encourage growth. The initiatives at MDC are targeted across band 1 and 2 employees to enhance develop leadership skills.

The MDC conducts number of leadership programmes like the Business Leadership Programme, which tops the list, theme based programmes, and power talks by eminent personalities from the corporate world. It has recently launched an e-learning initiative through www.murugappavirtualcampus.com. MDC is a school of excellence established to identify and conduct programmes that are specifically structured to enrich the minds of the present and future leaders of the Murugappa Group.

Till date, over 15 power talks have been organized. The topics vary from tips on business etiquettes to more serious discussions on the Indian economy. Some of the best known talks have been on 'Creating value'; 'The rule of three' and 'Connecting with customers' by Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Professor Bala V Balachandran's talk on 'Strategic Profitablity Management'; the lecture on the 'Importance of Customer Preference' given by Professor Seenu V Sreenivasan among others. Incase you have missed some of these power talks, MDC boasts of a library of films through which you can select and have a private viewing session organized.

Nestled in the 4th floor of Parry House, the MDC is a great place to be, especially when you need to stimulate your think tank or do some serious brainstorming sessions - just ensure that your voice decibels are low. You can also just walk in, browse through its vast selection of journals, magazines and books on varied topics and walk back stimulated. The internet browsing stations and the vast reading areas, are the right places for you to gather your thoughts and knowledge. The colorful and vibrant pictures, streaming bright sunlight beckon you to unleash the creative genius within you. Learning has never been a more wonderful experience.

MDC is appropriately equipped with a state of the art facility with exclusive 128kbps broadband Internet browsing stations, and an audio video room for multi-party video / tele conferencing. The facilities at the audio - video room can be utilized to either conduct online interviews with candidates from various cities in India, or maybe to make a sales pitch to your customer, or hold a sales review meeting simultaneously across multiple locations.

For those of you that have enrolled with the recently launched Murugappa Virtual Campus, you can spend that half an hour of your day at MDC to access your curriculum without the disturbance of phone calls at your desk.

Instead of your regular coffee breaks huddled at the vending machines in your floor, take some time off. Walk over to the MDC, have a cuppa coffee / tea, browse through the racks of books, journals, and films to stimulate your mind. It is definitely a refreshing change.

For more information about MDC and their various programmes contact
Tel: (044) 25306862.
Email: jayalakshmim@corp.murugappa.com