This rating system would help an individual manager in a particular function and industry to benchmark himself and understand where he stands on certain parameters in comparison to his peers in other organisations within that industry, worldwide.

This executive profile will not just help individuals to make career decisions and moves but also help the human resource departments in organisations plan and build career paths, understand compensation and training needs in a wider perspective and eventually retain talent.

Says Kalpana Sinha, Director, Cosmode: ``We are actively tracking the steel industry at present, especially where domestic steel companies are wanting to benchmark globally and the international players who are looking at sourcing managers from all over the world''. After two years of research worldwide, the COSMODEteam has looked at specific industries apart from steel, like information, power, mining and metallurgy and has developed parameters for international comparison. For a credible degree of standardisation, the level of the manager with respect to the hierarchy in the organisation. His area of expertise or specialisation and most importantly the roles and responsibilities at that level of job, were taken to help comparison across an industry.

The parameters of comparison used by Cosmode are education, age, on the job education skills, a competency map and compensation and developmental needs identified for the next level.

With intentions of making this rating system into a commercial product, Cosmode would be able to put on stream an executive profile and management rating of some of the industries mentioned by the end of this year. Adds Sinha: ``The commercial viability of the venture would depend upon how much the companies in other industries (apart from steel) would want to collaborate to achieveexcellence.''

Another initiative taken by the company in recent times has been the evolvement of `The Corporate University'. A corporate university enables an organisation to systematise its human resource development education effort and shape itself into a learning organisation. It provides learning opportunities through programs and courses which update, re-educate and inculcate a spirit of innovation among the employees. Although some of the courses may be benchmarked with the best in academia, a corporate university does not award a degree or diploma. Its purpose is to enhance and enrich employee competency and not just to give a decorative insignia. It is based on the assumption that post-experience education is the responsibility of the corporation and it is the best means of providing theoretical inputs with practical experience , thus making education relevant to the needs of the organisation.

Says Sinha: ``We have evolved this kind of an university for Crompton Greaves and plan to cover theentire Thapar Group in the near future.'' Of course a corporate university is not another name of the old training department. Its objective is not simply to produce a `catalogue' of training courses which are needed by the company and wanted by the employees.

The acid test is whether these courses will contribute to corporate excellence, evolve strategic directions inculcate innovativeness and develop an ability to excel competition.

In designing the corporate university, one must assess the business strategy of the company and determine the ability of the employees to support these goals on the one hand and review the developmental needs of the employees organisation wide on the other. This forms the basis for developing a custom-designed curriculum and pedagogy. As Sinha highlights: ``The objective is to provide a holistic view of how the business process works and provide linkages throughout the organisation.''