My summer project is at JK Industries. I work for Group HRD, and the project therefore spans across the eight businesses of the JK Group - JK Tyre, JK Paper, Fenner India Ltd., JK Agri-Genetics, JK Dairy & Foods, JK Sugar, JK Insurance and CliniRx.

The JK Organisation, founded over 100 years ago, ranks within the elite private groups in India in terms of both assets and sales. The Group's operations can best be characterised as multi-business, multi-product and multi-location, with their head office situated in New Delhi. The Group has a distinguished record of being pioneers in introducing several new products and processes into India for the first time.

It comprises of a number of industrial and commercial companies, exceeding 70 in number, most of them public limited, in which JK Organisation has controlling interest ranging from 35 to 70%. In the major public limited companies, there are a large number of public shareholders aggregating over 8,00,000.

Member units of JK Organisation have total assets of over US$ 2.4bn and these are expected to touch US$ 3bn within the next 2 years.

My project essentially deals with creating a development manual for the 12 competencies JK has identified for its seniority positions - namely, General Managers, Vice Presidents, and Presidents. If this has not made the nature of my project clear, let me tell you something about competencies first.

A competency can be defined as the underlying sets of skills, knowledge, personal characteristics and abilities needed for superior performance of a role in the organisation and help the business to meet its strategic objectives. The combination of these factors lead to defining superior performance and excellence. By using competencies as a basis for selection, development and performance management, an organisation can more effectively align people's attitudes and behaviours with what is needed to be competitive and successful as an organization. Thus, job success is best understood when broken down into its component competencies and behaviors that lead to performance.

JK has identified 12 major competencies essential for its employees holding the three senior positions I mentioned earlier - those of a GM, a VP, and a President. Across the eight businesses of the JK Group, these staff members have undergone a variety of assignments and tests to help identify their areas of strength and weakness as per these competencies. These tests and assignments are conducted at specially designed assessment centers, under the supervision of experts.

So much said and done, my job is to study the results of these assessment centers along with the competency profiles of these assessees. I have to develop a development manual - a handbook or a guide that would help these people overcome their weak areas and attain total competency at work and otherwise.

This essentially means that I have to suggest measures and steps they can follow so as to be able to perform in a superior manner at work and even in their personal lives. hough a daunting task, the project is just too good and I am highly indebted towards JK Industries for making me a part of such a challenging job - one that brings with it an enormous amount of learning and a complete experience, helping me develop my own persona with the development manual.

Well, so long for now. I am certain I shall do my project beyond my own expectations and those of my project guide - Mr. Sudhansu Pathak, Sr. Mgr., Corp. HRD, JK Industries - who I have come to regard with high esteem and immense respect.

JK, I'm absolutely ready, revved up, and striving to make it to the apex of success.