The $10 Trillion Prize - Panel Discussion at IIMB

 IIM Bangalore along with Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) hosted a panel discussion titled “The $10 Trillion Prize: Captivating the Newly Affluent in China and India” today evening.   

Panel Members included:

1.       Ms Vinita Bali, Chief Executive Officer, Britannia Industries Ltd

2.       Mr Srivatsa Krishna, IAS

3.       Professor J Ramachandran, IIM Bangalore

4.       Mr Michael J. Silverstein, Senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group

5.       Mr David Wan,  Chief Executive Officer, Harvard Business Publishing

 The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Abheek Singhi, Partner and Director at The Boston Consulting Group.

The auditorium was full. The participants were welcomed on stage with thunderous applause.

Abheek presented a brief about the purpose of the book The $10 Trillion Prize on which the panel discussion was based on and some interesting tidbits about how unprecedented growth opportunities in India  and China have changed the life expectancy, disposable income and hope, aspiration, dreams and energy of its people.

After that presentation, the panel discussion was opened with 3 questions. 1) Are there any reasons to be bullish/bearish in these markets and what are the risks involved 2) What does it take to win in China and India. 3) If you look at the government and societies in these countries, what either of them have to do in order to improve the hurdles?

Ms. Bali first spoke about the market and that given the high level of consumption due to population, there is no question that the opportunities are huge and that for huge markets like India and China, at every price point there is a large base of consumers. Be it a Re 3/5 packet of biscuits or BMW/Audi/Mercedes, there is a large consumer base. Hence the absolute numbers add up and make the businesses worthwhile.

Mr. Srivatsa started with a humourous anecdote and went on to talk about entrepreneurship in India and about the opportunities in both countries.

Mr. Silverstein talked about the 'paisa vasool' and the exuberant experience of a consumer when they get a product at a great price point.

Prof. J Ram talked about education and the part it plays in shaping up a nation. Also that the level of importance given by parents in investing their money in education with the hope that the children will have better future. But the challenge is tht there are millions to reach out to. Elitist education is not enough.

Mr David Wan said that the demand is so high that few institutions can not fulfill the requirements of high quality education. And that the HBR blogs and forums get 30% traffic from India where the commentaries are of the highest quality.

After opening comments by each participant, the discussion focused about 2-3 specific topics:

1) Education: What is the way forward for India? Prof. J Ram pointed out that we have a policy issue and that we are focused towards elitist education. IITs, IIMs are not enough. We need faculty coupled with knowledge, hence our PhD programs should be strengthened. Our primary schooling system is broken and it has to be rectified. Only then as a nation, we can be ready for the future.

Mr Silverstein said that India is seriously disadvantaged in terms of education. India is under funded. He specifically said "YOU TOLERATE. You tolerate that 70% of your schools are sub-standard."

China on the other hand directs graduates to study what it wants them to study and it is a global competitor as a category killer.

2) Entrepreneurship: What prevents India from being entrepreneurial? Both Vinita and Srivatsa had the opinion that India doesn't have the ecosystem for the entrepreneurs to flourish and is not conducive. For being entrepreneurial, one needs some beliefs and attitude which is missing. Here even those who are entrepreneurs are  only to meet daily requirements. And one doesn't drive at excellence here and we encounter "CORRUPTION" every step of the way which is a huge deterrent to growth.

Prof J Ram mentioned that an ambition of different order is required to scale entrepreneurial heights and one thinks about the cost of NOT doing while starting a venture here.

 Also significant points were that we should strive for excellence. We Indians tolerate nonsense. And that kind of permeates into accepting less than the best. We must showcase more and unleash the energy (like Olympic athletes strive for excellence). Our education system should be invested in and we should be unwilling to accept less.

Mr Silverstein concluded that the next decade is for India and China. Both must put in the resources and provide access to capital for the nation to grow and the most critical resource for the next decade would be 'water' and that we should strive to improve water access, power, and other natural resources. Corruption costs India and China 2GDP points per year and hence the governance should be put in order and corruption must be reigned in.

Key takeaways:

1) No questions that the opportunity is huge in India and China

2) In India, policy issues must be tackled. Primary and PhD education system must be strengthened.

3) Corruption eats up 2 GDP points every year. Must be handled.

4) An ecosystem conducive to entrepreneurship must be encouraged

5) India must invest in agriculture; in seeds, technology, machinery. It will free up 100 million hands to do some other productive work.

6) We must strive for excellence. "Chalta hai" attitude won't do. We must not accept anything less than the best.

7) Key question: Will India fix its governance first or China fix its politics first?

Samskritam aham cha (Sanskrit & I)

IIMB is the best thing that has happened to me so far. It has made one more of my dreams come true.

Samskrita Bharati in association with IIMB has organised a 10-day Samskrita Sambhashana Shibira at IIMB. I am eagerly attending the class everyday. It is amazing how much Samskrit I can speak and understand in just 5 days.

That reminded me that my paternal granduncle (Neerpaje Bheema Bhat) had won Kendra Sahitya Academy award for translating Kalhana's Rajatarangini to Kannada way back in 1998. So I googled and found the announcement in The Tribune. Here it is:

Links: Learn Samskrita through Correspondence

IIMB Presents Vista 2011

Another edition of IIM Bangalore's premiere Business Festival is back this year. Visit http://www.iimb-vista.com/ to know more about competitions, talks, workshops and conclaves organized as part of Vista 2011!

This year also,  there are exclusive corporate events with interesting competitions that enable you to come out of the daily job chores and participate and network with like-minded intellectuals!

Corporate Czars

Whether it is a frail or robust economy, corporate strategies have evolved into newer and newer dimensions. Gone are the days when the mergers, acquisitions and partnerships were based on the prevailing regulatory frameworks or ideology of open standards. Strategies for controlling technology and market access have taken interesting routes with IPR battles and IP trading arising as the front-runner in acquisition strategies.

Is it the ego that is playing the daemon? Are market players moving in the direction of mutually assured destruction?
or is it still the strategically thought decisions that win the bet?
Are you ready to play the role of a protagonist to devise strategies for the next big move for one of the leading market player?

Click here to participate!

Deadline for initial submission - September 16

The Next Big Wave

Innovative solutions crafted with a keen market understanding will be the only straw that will keep the companies afloat in this dynamically changing market. The Next Big Wave challenges you to identify innovative solutions for the live and imminent business problems faced by the emerging industry sectors. Can you ride this next big wave ?

Click here to participate!


Deadline for initial submission - September 16

Corporate Quiz

Vista presents Corporate Quiz an exclusive quizzing extravaganza for corporate participants. Hosted by acclaimed quiz masters, with the top corporate teams fighting it out, the winners would have to dig really deep and bring out their best game to the table. So, come and join us for an entertaining and joyful afternoon which is sure to prick your brain at the same time. Let the sparks fly!

I'm a Star!

 I have been voted as the Star of the Quarter for Q2 for PGSEM @ IIMB.

Yay!

Insanely insane.....

This week is insane. I am neck deep in high water. Too much work at office and submissions pending in college and one last test & project presentation coming on the same day. I don't know how I will manage. A hundred thanks to friends who are managing it without me... One more weekend to go and that will be the end of 6th term i.e. 1.5 years milestone crossed.

All personal tasks are pending since I have to be in office all week and in college on weekends. Didn't know that 4 subjects would be so highly demanding. Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, Social Entrepreneurship, B2B Marketing and International Business Negotiation Skills. All in all, quite satisfied with the courses taken this term.

Meanwhile, got 4 subjects allotted for the next term. Like always, I haven't got that ONE finance course I seriously wanted to take. Well, for the next term then.

So long...

SVYM and Dr Balu, a unique Social Entrepreneur

There are several moments in a person’s life that some stark truths stare him/her right in the face. What the person decides to do about it determines what he/she will accomplish in life. The fact that Dr. Balu did decide to take some action, dedicated his life to it and made a huge social impact is truly remarkable. It also struck me that one always starts in a small way and then builds on the foundations of his work and extends it to include a larger section of the society. That is how social changes and improvements come about.

SVYM is not-for-profit, non-religious, non-political, voluntary organization. It was started by a group of young medical students led by Dr. R. Balasubramaniam at the Mysore Medical College in 1984, who were starting to feel that the career in medicine they dreamt of pursuing was very different from the practice of medicine around them. They believed they had in them to make a difference and make a positive impact on the lives of the poor & the marginalized. And so, they started the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM). Dr. Balu shared with us how he was deeply influenced by the writings of Swami Vivekananda at the tender age of 17 and the touching incident about the death of hypertensive patient which prompted him to start community service.  

The breadth and depth of activities SVYM have been able to cover in these 25 years is astounding and is a testament to their dedication and commitment towards making a difference in the lives of the poor.  SVYM undertakes community based Health and Education projects and several Community Development Initiatives, catering to a populace of about 300,000 comprising both tribals and non-tribals. SVYM is working on hundreds of projects in Health, Education, Community Development and trains the rural youth to be self sufficient, self confident and guides them to lead a dignified way of life.

“If you measure success by the number of children who have become doctors, engineers and MBAs, perhaps I can be considered as a failure”, announced the nonchalant speaker. He also gave us instances where young tribal boys aged 5-6 knew precisely how to hunt, to identify leaves of 160 types, even mention that the honey released by a tree is toxic and can make one go mad. It again reminded me that what we need in India is an education system that helps us take “Indian way” of life forward. It must help us revive the art, crafts, cultures and native wisdom that have been present for generations together. It must encourage experimentation, practical experiences rather than the rote system we have become so accustomed to. Like Dr. Balu mentioned, one shouldn’t force the tribals to conform to the standards of civilized society; they live in harmony with the nature and protect the ecosystem. Reckless modernization destroys the environment and their way of life. Deforestation, indiscriminate mining have made them abandon usage of traditional wisdom, natural instincts, but they don’t fit in today’s world anymore. Exactly this reason has made youth in one third of the country to take up weapons and fight against the state. The work carried out by Dr. Balu and his team in rehabilitating the tribals is truly commendable.

    Dr Balu speaks on educational innovations of SVYM, at Harvard (Photo: http://blog.svym.net/)

One thing that intrigued me was that Dr. Balu referred to turning to Swami Vivekananda, Shankaracharya for inspiration. He also mentioned that great scholars have mentioned so many great things centuries before the western world came up with the theory. Our Vedas, Upanishads, Gita have propagated the ancient and righteous way of life thousands of years ago. Our mainstream education doesn’t try to propagate this wisdom in any way. This ancient knowledge is available only for those who go in search of it.  So it is good that he has continuously incorporated these Indian values in his work.

Attending Dr. Balu’s energetic lecture on 16^th Oct was a truly eye opening experience for me. It got me thinking on what I could do to serve my community. I have taken so much from the society, now I should be able to give back in a meaningful way that could make a great impact on the society. I have got a free education from Class VI till Class XII in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (set up under Ministry of HRD to provide quality education to the rural children). It has given me an all-round development, has made me what I am today. An idealistic middle class upbringing has inculcated just values that have made me take up volunteering activities in my spare time. Listening to and interacting with social entrepreneurs has been an enriching experience so far, it has made my resolve of trying to bring change stronger.  

Change will be more universal if we are to successfully amend the existing rules and regulations that hinder our society’s progress. NGOs are actively fighting for citizen’s rights and play a major role in influencing the policy changes. It is heartening to see more and more educated people getting into this sector and working towards positive change in the society.

Humara Paisa Humara Hisaab - The Power of Right to Information

Social Entrepreneurship in the 6th term has become one of the most interesting, thought provoking subjects I have taken at IIMB. OB classes made me take a look at myself, but SE on the other hand, is making me think how I should look at the world around me and how I can make a difference. In the journey called Social Entrepreneurship, we have come face to face with so many people who have selflessly dedicated their lives to making others lives less of a struggle.

One such person is Nikhil Dey. Founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan, a non-party peoples' organization, held a guest lecture at IIMB yesterday. MKSS famously used the right to information as tool to draw attention to the underpayment of daily wage earners and farmers on government projects, and more generally, to expose corruption in government expenditure. Initially, MKSS lobbied government to obtain information such as muster rolls (employment and payment records) and bills and vouchers relating to purchase and transportation of materials. This information was then crosschecked at Jan Sunwais (public hearings) against actual testimonies of workers. The public hearings were incredibly successful in drawing attention to corruption and exposing leakages in the system. They were particularly significant because of their use of hard documentary evidence to support the claims of villagers. 

We live in our sheltered world, have all the right answers to our problems, and think that our managers are our biggest problems in life. We think about how much more package can we get if we jump to another company. We want a bigger car, a bigger house. But what about the 60% of our population, which doesn't even get a Rs. 100 per day? What about them who have no money, no power, no education to guide them through? Take a look at this video and you will know what MKSS is accomplishing in Rajasthan. 

We are all political. Right from the way we treat womenfolks at house, the way we treat our domestic help, the way we see what is going on around us. We are deeply political. But when it comes to doing something about it, we raise our hands and say "what can I do?" or "Our country has gone to the dogs. Only God can save it". We have abstained from the political process all together and have left it to the gundas who are our so called 'leaders', who are only interested in making money for themselves and people who elect them are jokers to them. Have we tried to find out what our elected representatives have done for us? Have we tried to get information about what development works are going on in our area? Can we find out who laid our roads that develop potholes every 3 months, and who was the engineer who okayed it and passed the payments? Do we try to get information on why all the greenery of Bangalore is being sacrificed in the name of development? 

But can we really make a difference? 

YES, WE CAN. 

The right to information act is truly powerful. The government has never been accountable to the people so far. The government is ours, the MPs and MLAs are our servants. We chose them to do our work for us. RTI is that tool with which we can ask them what the hell are they doing, how they are spending our money. The money that we earn by travelling to the other end of the city - day in & day out, the money that we earn by slogging every weekday of the month.

Today, I invite all of you to give it a thought and to participate in our democracy. Try to get involved. If every informed citizen like you and me takes the responsibility to get involved in our democracy, we can make our society better. Especially at the time when our MLAs are ready to be sold for obscene amount of money due to their greed for power, position and wealth. Especially when the legislature is a place for goondas who have made a mockery of democracy. Especially when the elected MLAs have brought shame to the state.

Links: Longer version of the video is available here.
A video that every Indian should watch: Aruna Roy at IISC, Bangalore

End of 1st Year

It has been a while since I have posted about what is going on with my MBA. I had too much fun sitting in class listening to Operations Management, Corporate Finance and Organisational Behaviour and then preparing for the next week's classes in the first half of 4th term. Second half of the 4th term, however,got too hot to handle, with me struggling to be up-to-date with readings and then presentations looming large on the horizon and 3 assignments due dates closing in so fast that my head was spinning.

All that is history now. First year MBA is over and I am enjoying my well deserved break. Now that there are no classes for a month, with the constant pressure out of the way, days seem empty. Today is a saturday and I am wondering how am I going to spend my free time at home till Sunday evening. Never thought I will think this way...

So many things to write about, so little patience. Let me see how much I end up writing in another fortnight.

Till then..

30% and counting...

When I came back from my vacation in Dec, I thought I would have to write so many posts to share my experience of England, even though it was a very short stay. It was my first foreign vacation, after all. But as days passed, I got so involved in my work and study that I lost count of time. When you are studying at a place like IIMB, that too along with your work, a week's lag will take you down if you are not careful.

Finished my 3rd term and realised that I hadn't posted anything for 3 whole months! By the time I could relax some, 4th term had already begun...(Yeah, that's why the title, I am a 30% MBA! ;-) ). I am 2 weeks into my 4th term now and am already buried under books.. Operations Management, Corporate Finance and Organisational Behaviour are the 3 subjects this time. All seem very interesting and have big fat books to be studied. As mentioned in the post here, delving into human psychology, studying human behaviour has started giving me a deep insight into personality types, attittudes, perceptions etc and has started making me more tolerant. If I used to be irritated with people earlier, today I have become more analytic. Prof. C M Reddy is a good prof and keeps the entire class engaged and has lively discussion contrary to my expectations that the classes would be boring.

Operations Management under the famous Prof. L S Murty is making me look for all aspects of operations in management, utilisation of resources, efficiency. I have started reading 'The Goal' by Eliyahu M Goldratt& Jeff Cox. Would recommend this book to everyone involved with operations or any aspect of management.

Corporate Finance is another subject I am following very keenly. Looks at time value of money, stock and bond evaluation, risk and returns, financial markets, cost of capital, capital structure and so on and so forth. Prof. Sabarinathan G. is an IIMB alumni and a former director of a private equity firm. It is truly a privilege to be in such great company.

Plate Change or Cognitive Dissonance?

We all have experienced irritation when someone has commented that our way of doing certain things are wrong and that what they do is right; suddenly when the same people have to do things our way they come up lame excuses to justify that they are right (without acknowledging the fact that what we were originally doing was not wrong either?). We call it "plate change" ("usne plate change kar diya!" rings a bell?). Well, my Organisational Behaviour textbook tells me that it is called cognitive dissonance.

Example 1: A friend has consistently argued that the quality of Indian cars isn't up to that of imports and that he'd never own anything but a Japanese or German car. B his dad gives him an Indica and suddenly Indian cars are not that bad anymore.

Example 2: A relative who always argued that flat can not be considered a house, has to buy a flat in Bangalore for investment(houses in Bangalore are a dream now, of course) and now says that house or flat, what is the difference, everything is crowded here anyways!

When people experience conflict between attitude and behaviour, they try to find a middle ground to reduce the discomfort caused by dissonance. Next time you do a plate change, I will tell you that your congnitive dissonance can't fool me! ;-)

Couldn't help writing about it. OB as a subject seems fascinating. It approaches human behaviour in a scientific way to analyse why we do/feel/act the way we do in different situations. It also explains methodically at one point why(we all know why!)/how an employee feels disgruntled when he doesn't get promotion that he feels he deserves, especially when it went to a coworker who deserves it less and starts looking for a change in job. If managers started responding to employees, rewarding those who do good work rather than turning a blind eye, so much attrition wouldn't happen. Mangers often "don't get it" and they assume that all is going well is what the writers of the book say. Is any manager listening?

Life is like that

Oh, it is good to be back! With Swine flu scaring the hell out of everybody, and exam fever running high in my own class, everything has been a commotion this past month. With one assignment submission done and two more to go this week, 'hectic' has taken a new meaning in my life.

Also, I am entrusted with work in Branding and Communication Cell and Career Management Cell, of which I am a member.

With quarter 1 out of the way, I am looking forward to quarter 2. And I have resolved not to repeat the mistakes I did in qtr 1 and manage my time better and get the best out of the course. In the meantime, I am enjoying peace and tranquility till Sept 10.

The time table for qtr 2 has already been put up and I will be studying Macroeconomics, Managing Organisations and Quantitative Methods - 1.

All said and done, life is interesting and I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

My MBA - one month and counting

It has been exactly a month since I started my MBA and my world has turned upside down. I have been studying Microeconomics, Financial Accounting and Strategic Management. As I write this, I am done with the midterm exams for the first two and gearing up to take SM midterm this weekend.

The chilly breeze and slight drizzle on my face while riding to IIMB every week is the one thing I cherish the most. The ambiance and the stone structures of IIM are awe inspiring; I remember the day I went for interview and sat in the auditorium for Convergenz and wishfully thought it would be a dream come true to study at this wonderful place. The professors are great and very knowledgeable. Phrases like 'competitive advantage', 'leveraging strengths','economies of scope' have started making sense(finally!!) and have become a part of my lingo. To think of it, when people used to effortlessly drop these phrases, I used to wonder how smart they were and what those words possibly meant :-D

Wonderful it surely is, but I must also mention the other side of the story, which relates to life being 'upside down'. Since we don't stay in hostel, has contributed to hilarious incidents. The first week itself, my group members-me included, thinking that we need to make presentation in strategy class, struggled to find time to prepare the case study, met on yahoo messenger and gtalk to discuss the case and then connected to each other through conference calls, only to find out on Thursday night that we should have analysed the case from Porter's five forces angle and then stayed awake till late into the night and got to the class next day half awake. To top it all, we found out on Friday morning that we were not required to do any presentation, but we had to prepare accounting cases, not strategy!! If this was the case with strategy, midterms were all googlies and bouncers. And now, I am sitting on 3 assignments to be submitted in a month's time. Reminds me of my JNV days!!

My life has changed drastically and I guess it will be the norm for the next 2.5 years. I decline all invites for shopping(!!), have been deferring going to all my friends' places, my family considers me absent for all important chores. I do all transactions only online and my nap time while traveling to office has turned into my study time(which I regret the most)...

In the mean time, class of 2009 arranged Pehel on 12th July 2009 and had a blast arranging and participating in it. The journey so far has been amazing. So much of knowledge packed sessions every week, interacting with classmates twice a week and so many seminars on various topics, involving the industry experts and IIMB faculties, make all the efforts worthwhile. I now vouch for the fact - 'No pain, no gain'!

The five competitive forces that shape strategy

The five competitive forces that shape strategy by Michael Porter forms the basis of Strategic Management, one of the subjects I am studying for 1st quarter in MBA. The following video illustrates what these forces are and how they interact with each other and shape the strategy of a company and an industry all together.

What I like about this is, coupled with the case studies that we do in class, it makes perfect sense!



Alternatively, this video can be viewed here

Orientation 2009 at IIMB - the full story

It was a very very very hectic weekend at Orientation at IIMB(seniors say - "Get used to it!"), but also fun filled. Orientation, along with L-CUBE activities, not only showed us how physically unfit we are(from all the running around in campus for all the activities) but also got the grey matters working with the case studies...

L-CUBE event kicked in with a debate from the industry experts, PGSEM alumnus and Prof DVR of IIMB on 'Executive MBA - A faster way to the top?' and gave way for interesting view points. After dinner we were asked to participate in cultural events(regarding which I wont divulge anything) which went on till 11:30PM. This was followed by a shocking news that we need to submit a case study before 8AM next day and we got the PGSEM motto - "SomeHow, In Time!" :) Wow! Did life seem really interesting at that moment...

After catching a wink, the formal IIMB PGSEM orientation began and we were addressed by Prof Venkatagiri and Prof Aggarwal. As a part of icebreaker session, we participated in a mystery murder game. Then began the case study by Prof L S Murthy. We all had spent a sleepless night, analysing the case and were very confident that we were prepared and all set for our first case study of our MBA. As Prof Murthy took us through the case, prodding us for points, facts, data and then flipped the case study in such a way that our whole analysis and the sleepless night we had spent analysing, discussing, rearranging the points of the case seemed just ridiculous. Our minds opened up to a new insight of our own 'unconscious incompetence' and came out the auditorium with a wow! moment of my life :)

This followed with more surprise activities had us all running in the campus at night competing with other teams for points and getting stuck in the rain. Boy, is IIMB campus huge or what!

The final day of the orientation had a student profiling activity and also a talk by Sanjay Anandaram on entrepreneurship, the conclusion of orientation program with address by Prof. Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB and ended up in Prof. Venkatagiri handling the PGSEM mantle over to Prof Aggarwal. The entire afternoon was then a plethora of quiz, cultural and sports activities. I went back home, with the satisfaction of a weekend well spent and with an enthusiasm to return to the campus at the earliest for classes.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the activities, even though I was exhausted at the end of it. There were many a wow moments(case study, Prof. Venkatagiri speak), many groans(when we were asked to get ourselves in motion), some jubilation(on winning events), some disappointments(on not winning the House Cup). I am not yet ready to go semi-philosophical(Hope you know what I mean ;)), so let us just leave it at that.

Orientation 2009 at IIMB

I am off to IIMB for orientation this weekend. Loads of interesting stuff planned by SAC and lots of competitions too for the new PGSEMers. This, coupled with L3 and guest lectures, should make the 2.5 days a breeze.

Classes are due to start from June 19th and am pretty excited about it.

ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ನಾವಧೀತಮಸ್ತು..

ಭಾರತೀಯ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾ ಪ್ರಬಂಧ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಎಂದ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಏನೋ ರೋಮಾಂಚನ, ಈಗ ನನಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲಿಯುವ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ಒದಗಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ ಎಂದಾಗ ಕನಸೋ, ನಿಜವೋ ಎಂದು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ನಾನೇ ಕೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಎಲ್ಲರೂ 'ತುಂಬಾ ಸಂತೋಷ, ಕೊನೆಗೂ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತಲ್ಲ', 'ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು, ಒಳ್ಳೆದಾಗಲಿ', 'ಒಹೋ ಭಾರಿ ಒಳ್ಳೇ ಸುದ್ಧಿ, ಪಾರ್ಟಿ ಯಾವಾಗ' ಅಂತ ಪಾಟೀ ಸವಾಲು ಹಾಕ್ತ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಕೇಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರಾ, ನನಗೆ ಬಂದ ಈಮೇಲ್ ನಿಜವಾಗ್ಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದನೇ ಬಂದಿದ್ದ, ನನ್ನ ಕೈ ನಾನೇ ಚಿವುಟಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ಹೌದು ನನ್ ಹತ್ರನೇ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕೇಳ್ತಾ ಇರೋದು..

ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ, ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಫೋನ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯಿತು, ಎಸ್ ಎಂ ಎಸ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯಿತು.

ಎರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಫಲ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು. ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ, ಒಂದು ತಪಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಇತಿಶ್ರೀ ಹಾಡುತ್ತ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ತಪಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಅಣಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ..

ಏನು ಬಡಬಡಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಳೆ ಅಂದುಕೊಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೀರ, IIM Bangalore ನಲ್ಲಿ MBAಗೆ ಅಡ್ಮಿಶನ್ ಸಿಕ್ತು ಅಂತ ಇದ್ದೀನಿ...

ಜಯವಾಗಲಿ!

-ಸುಪ್ರೀತ

PGSEM interview @ IIM Bangalore

I attended an Alumni interview and a Faculty interview at IIM Bangalore for PGSEM 2009.

Alumni Interview questions:
1. Where are you located?
2. Why do you want to pursue PGSEM?
3. What are your short term goals?
4. What are your long term goals?
5. What do you mean by growth? What does it mean to you?
6. Your project, what is your contribution, what does the tool you develop do? About the client and the process followed in that sector(Chemicals and Petroleum).
7. Do you know how much time is required to complete this course?
8. What is a normal work day like. How do u spend your day?
9. Do you have family or financial commitments?
10.Why so many change of companies? What kind of organisation do you like better(Indian/MNC)?
11. Have you applied to any other PGP courses? Why only PGSEM, why not some other course(PGP, PGPX) from IIM or regular MBA?
12. Is this the first time you have applied to PGSEM?

The interview lasted around 15-20min. It was informal and the Alumni wanted to know in general whether you wanted to get an MBA just for the heck of it or whether you will be dedicated, and if you had the right attitude.

Faculty Interview questions:
1. You have mentioned about business processes in different industry sectors. What processes were you referring to?
2. You have done social service. Why did you start doing it? What work have you done so far?
3. What is your take on moral policing? Is it right that today's youth drinks and goes pubbing? What are your thoughts on this?
4. You want to do management, what management books or articles have you read? Talk about one topic for two minutes.
5. What are the 2 things that you will bring to this MBA class, that we should consider your candidature?
6. Why do you want to do PGSEM? You have got pretty good score, you could have got into full time MBA in any decent business school in India(of course, other than IIM).
7. You are inclined towards social service, why have you not considered taking up FPM? (FPM is a 4 year residential doctoral program by IIMB).
8. Why have you changed companies so often? Are you a rolling stone? (:))
9. What do you like about your present company? Everybody does the same work, what is special in the work you do?
10. How do you rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10? Why?

The interview lasted 20minutes. The panelists were very friendly, and I wouldn't say they grill you, because once they ask some question, they really listen to what you have to say in the matter and ask further questions based on your answers. I was my normal self and was honest about my goals.

Background:
Post Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management is an MBA for working IT professionals provided by IIMB spanning 2.5 years. It is a general management program and the course fee is 8.5 lakhs.

Some useful links:
IIMB PGSEM Website
IIMB PGSEM Blog
PGSEM in Wikipedia
IIMB Alumni Association
Useful FAQ

I am just lazy to write more than required and so, I would point you to this blog for the PGSEM application process.