General Manager of VivaCell-MTS, Ralph Yirikian meets with Haigazian Students

Beirut, 15/03/2011 – On Friday March 11th 2011, the general manager of Vivacell-MTS, Mr. Ralph Yirikian, delivered a lecture entitled “Management Culture: Secrets of Productivity and Business Efficiency” at Haigazian University.
President Paul Haidostian greeted the full audience in the auditorium, which included the Armenian Ambassador, Mr. Ashod Kotcharian and other dignitaries, as well as faculty and students. Haidostian reminded everyone of the memorandum of understanding that Haigazian University and VivaCell-MTS had signed the previous year, which resulted in 5 students spending a one month internship at VivaCell-MTS in Yerevan, fully covered by the company.
After publicly thanking Mr. Yirikian for this fruitful relationship, Haidostian presented the general manager with three books, all Haigazian publications.
As one of the five students who did the internship at VivaCell-MTS last summer, Talar Mandoyan shared some of her experiences, mentioning the helpfulness and support of the VivaCell staff during her stay. She thanked Mr. Yirikian on behalf of the five students and then presented him with a bouquet.
Yirikian began his presentation with a short video to introduce his company, which had risen from small beginnings in 2005 to now being Armenia’s leading mobile operator and the number one taxpayer in the country.
Yirikian shared some of the important decisions the management made that contributed to its growth, such as choosing to hire primarily young Armenian graduates rather than hiring professionals from abroad. He also trained his employees in customer service, a practice he was happy other companies were beginning emulate.
Watching his company grow to 1200 employees, Yirikian maintained that equality was key and that all people should be treated with respect. He offered equal opportunities to men and women as well as to those with physical disabilities.
His final point was on corporate responsibility, a relatively new concept that he believed was vital for any business and which his company had pioneered in Armenia. In a second video, Yirikian showed how VivaCell-MTS sponsored programs in art, sports, healthcare and education, their most recent project being to provide apartments for 20 homeless families.
“A company should always serve the nation,” Yirikian concluded.
The event ended with a question and answer session and the hope for a continually productive relationship with VivaCell-MTS, this year with 8 more Haigazian students planning to do their internships in Armenia this summer.