THE UBIQUITOUS INDIAN PHENOMENON

ISB is a kind of mini-world where the total population includes all those associated with the institution. This mini-world has its own spirits, ethos, aspirations and desperations. One thing that helps in defining all the emotions of this mini-world is “grades”. “How important are grades?” This always will remain a complicated question to answer and different people will have different diplomatic ways of answering.

But the concept of grades is nothing new. Starting from primary school to MBA curriculum….in any Indian educational system, we can find the concept of grades occupying the prime slot. But at the end of the day, do your grades really matter?

Recently, I came across a very old school-time friend. This person used to be in the bottom 10% of the class. Presently, he is an officer in the Indian navy. This is just one of the many examples where people who don’t have the official grades, but they are in no way less successful than those who have great grades.
The same story holds well in IIT also. My branch constituted 23 students and thus 23 ranks and 23 different grades ranging from the best to the worst. If we go by the universal definition of success, I don’t think I can single out one person who is more successful than other till date. The toppers are doing great in research….the middle graders are doing great in stable and handsomely paid jobs…..and the lowest graders are doing great in exploring new avenues and have been fairly successful in whatever they have tried. The basic point which I want to drive home is the fact that grades are not that important as the Indian education system has made it look like. When you are in a school or any educational institution, you can feel the ubiquitous concern for grades. But once you are out, you seldom find the time to look at your grades again.

The story in ISB is no different. But one thing that has been frustrating me lately is that the undue importance given to grades sometimes kills the real purpose of an MBA education. There are people who just cannot speak any topic other than grades and I just cannot describe in words how irritating it can turn out to be in the company of such people. Especially after being in a profession, where practicality is more valued than the text book stuff….where the people are much more emotionally matured than a fellow who is almost in tears because he missed A grade for 0.5 points, I find dealing with certain people beyond my capabilities.

Where else in the world can we find this mad rush for grades? As they say…”It happens only in India”.

A CASE WITH A DIFFERENCE

I have not given a count on the number of cases which we have prepared so far, during the first three terms of the ISB schedule. Some of the cases are inspiring…some others are average and a few of them are even boring to some extent with their high quantitative content. But, the last case of “Entrepreneurship”…Harvard Business School case on “The Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In service for Sight”, has made me think really hard.

Normally, the entrepreneurship cases are filled with a high emphasis on Venture Capitalists, angel investors, politics and government, high technology stuff and last but not the least the passion to make profits. But here is this case where the entrepreneur mixes passion with spirituality, success with the desire to serve humanity and an appeal with a mission.
Dr. V as he is addressed in the case, is none other than Dr. Venkataswamy, who started the Aravind eye hospital after retiring from the Government services. He revolutionized the way cataract is treated in the country, and got back light into the lives of many.

Here is something, directly from the words of Dr. V (as presented in the case)

“What I learnt from Mahatma and Swami Aurobindo was that all of us through dedication in our professional lives can serve humanity and God. Achieving a sense of spirituality or higher consciousness is a slow and gradual process. It is wrong to think that unless you are a mendicant or a martyr you cannot be a spiritual person. When I go to the meditation room at the hospital every morning, I ask God that I be a better tool, a receptacle for the divine force. We can all serve humanity in our normal professional lives by being more generous and less selfish in what we do. You don’t have to be a “religious” person to serve God. You serve God by serving humanity”

What makes me really admire Dr. V, is his ability to transform his motto of life into success with such immaculate perfection. Such cases does question the real objective of life..the real objective beyond the passion to make profits...beyond the desire to grasp power....beyond the board rooms...and beyond the tangible measures of success.

THE GAME OF ACCOUNTING

Accounting is not amongst my favorite MBA topics, however lately I have developed a kind of fascination for the topic. Not because the degree of my liking for the topic has changed but because I come across numerous occasions where I can see the “magic” of accounting. Be it Financial Accounting or Managerial Accounting, the fun always exists. You want to change the cost of your product…change the theory of accounting…. and voila….your product suddenly looks so cheaper without any change in production technology. You were running into losses with your product… apply Activity Based Costing in your accounting book and see the change which will bring back your good old days. You can play with depreciation and save taxes only to realize that the net income has fallen while taking care of the depreciation. These are just a few examples of this enigmatic subject.
Modern day Accounting is much more than just maintaining the accounts. It is much more of a decision making tool which can change the complete look of the financial situation of an organization. And the interesting fact is that sometimes the games of accounting cross the borderlines of ethical business… and this is when the biggest frauds of corporate world are scripted.

REALITY AND PERCEPTION

Sometimes, perception is so different from reality. You think something, perceive it as you want and it gets imprinted in your mind as your self-designed conceptual entity. This is very much applicable to the concepts of corporate finance. Before joining ISB, I always had my set of notions about concepts like “borrowing” and “lending”. I had my understanding of stuff like “bankruptcy” and “cost of capital”. But, now I realize how different my perceptions of these concepts were, from the reality.
“Corporate finance” has been deeply insightful. It brings forth the real intricacies of the corporate decision making process. Concepts which were always a half-understood phenomenon to me are now slowly evolving into their true selves. Bonds, shares, dividends, equities, debts and their roles in dictating the policies and the strategies of the corporate world is becoming more and more evident. The varieties of betas, expected returns, cost of capitals, discount rates is not very clear at the moment but things are moving in the right direction. NPV, WACC, APV calculations can be so effective in decision making.
Further interesting is the fact that, I can see a link getting developed between these concepts and the way these concepts can be applied to a ship sailing in the high seas (of course in my own imagination). A sailing ship is very much similar to a company by itself. By all possibilities, all these theories should be applicable in developing the strategies for the ship. Shipping companies buy ships, they sell ships, and when the ships sail, they depreciate. Ships are chartered…sometimes "time chartered" and at other times "spot chartered". I have a notion that NPV calculations and risk analysis must be the tools that specialists in this domain must be playing with regularly. Stocks, dividends, bonds, shareholders are so commonly used terminologies is ship finance. Finance really helps to see things from a completely different angle. Hopefully, some day I will be using these tools to decide the future of a ship.
Again, this is my perception of the industry. Reality might be different.

WHAT AN EVENING!

It was such a lovely evening yesterday. As I lied down on my bed and looked out of the quad, I could see lot of people around. Little kids with bright colorful attires were playing in the SV-1 garden, realizing very well that their parents will not forget their long-due promises that they made a week ago. I could also see happy spouses (normally wives), most probably discussing how to spend their evening with their husbands. It was also the busiest time for the usual cupid-hit couples walking on the path, which is slightly away from the best public vision. Autos and cabs are busy within the campus and it was time to take a break from the typical schedule. Term-3 mid term is over.

The garden looked beautiful….The colorful setting sky with broken clouds added to the charm. And the frequent flights which take off from the Hyderabad airport always lend a marvelous touch to the charm when they cruised through the clouds. With the monsoon, the lush green campus looked like a velvet carpet with the exquisite botanical samples lending an ornamental touch.

But not all people were so lucky to lie down and appreciate the beauty of nature. One of the biggest seminars on “Corporate Governance” was hosted by Center of Analytical Finance. The professors and the students of the finance club had a really busy day. Both the mid term and the seminar were scheduled on the same day. Many top finance leaders and CEOs of blue chip firms were in the ISB campus and it was golden opportunity for the students of the finance club to learn from the big guys. More details about this can be discovered in

http://www.isb.edu/campussbuzz1/CAFConferenceon_CorporateGovernance.html

So that was it….half of term-3 officially over….

IN A DIFFERENT WORLD

I tried really hard to concentrate on all those finance terms which have given me absolute nightmares…..but somehow was unsuccessful….Nothing abnormal…This was bound to happen if you see a movie like RDB on a Sunday evening. This was the first time I saw this movie. Can I say that I was little depressed after watching the movie?

At times, when the mind is ready to appreciate things worth higher than the traditional concepts of an MBA syllabus, let me borrow some lines (from the “Wings of Fire”) which Dr. Kalam has so magnificently used in his book. Really helps to get back into spirits and move into the real world.

"This earth is His, to Him belong those vast and boundless skies;
Both seas within Him rest, and yet in that small pool He lies" (Atharva Veda)

"All beings are born to delusion...overcome by the dualities which arise from wish and hate...But those men of virtuous deeds in whom sin has come to an end, freed from the delusion of the dualities, worship Me steadfast in their vows" (Bhagawad Gita)

"Beyond the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the shadow" (T.S. Eliot's Hollow Men)

"Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is earnest and brave and true
Moment by moment
The long day through" (From Kalam's diary)

"If you want to leave your footprints
On the sands od time
Do not drag your feet." (From Kalam's diary)

"We create and destroy "
And again recreate
In forms of which no one knows" (AL-WAQUIAH)

STRATEGY - THE UNIVERSAL APPEAL

It is both an exciting and inspiring experience when we read a book on the strategies of world war or watch a movie giving a glimpse of corporate board room strategies or hear an entrepreneur elucidating the strategies he followed to get his company to the present status. If we consider the ambience of each of the situations, we can safely conclude that they are vastly different from one another. A corporate board room shares very few similarities with a dreaded battlefield. An entrepreneur is no general in a literal sense. However, there exists an uncanny similarity in the underlying game of strategy, which can be so uniformly applied to any of the above situations. Here are some such quotes.

(1) Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less concerned about the latter than the former. Space we can recover lost time never. - Napoleon Bonaparte
(No one will agree to this more than a present day successful entrepreneur)

(2) I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action. - Fidel Castro

(3) In Critical and baffling situations, it is always best to return to first principle and simple action. - Sir Winston S. Churchill

(4) God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.- Voltaire

(5) Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. -John F. Kennedy

(6) Intuition is often crucial in combat, and survivors learn not to ignore it.- Anon

(7) When a general complains of the morale of his troops, the time has come to look at his own. -Marshall

MANUFACTURING - NEW RULES OF THE GAME

Can India replicate the magic which China performed in the manufacturing industry?
Gone are those days when “Manufacturing” was limited to a factory or shop floor where machines were manufactured. Modern day manufacturing is now more linked with international trade and national ecosystem. Retailing, shipping, food processing and packaging industry and several service sectors are now looking towards the theories of manufacturing and operations for efficient performance and value addition.
Thus, if India has to catch up with China in the manufacturing, it has to undergo a complete transformation in the bureaucratic structure of organizations. Getting used to the complexity of the global competitiveness and maintaining sustained competitive advantage are important. Getting habituated to concepts like “IT-enabled modernization of customs and port operations”, and “optimal supply chain solutions for infrastructure development”, calls for a complete transformation of work culture in the Indian context especially in the public sector. Better concepts of resource management have to be applied in the industrial context. Innovation can no longer be neglected. Concepts like lean manufacturing which are limited to international auto subsidiaries should be extended to other sectors also. The magic of effective supply chain management should be appreciated and applied in the real context. Though all these don’t look so easy at the moment, yet experts are quite upbeat on the prospects of India picking up in manufacturing.
A high level international summit on manufacturing (Summit on Indian Manufacturing Competitiveness) is currently underway in ISB, with global manufacturing heavyweights and industry leaders delivering their experience. The presentations of the host of CXOs and the top professors provided a unique opportunity to get an idea of the strategies adopted by the top manufacturing organizations. It is a great experience to learn the strategies which companies like Crompton Greaves, Deloitte, Jindal Steels, Saint Gobain Glasses and Sundaram Clayton followed which provided them with the competitive advantage. The following link provides further details of the seminar.
http://www.isb.edu/campussbuzz1/SummitonIndianManufacturing_Competitiveness.html

INFOSYS

Sounds slightly out of topic. What does somebody from the shipping got to do with Infosys?

Well, the more I read articles about this company, its history, its mission, and its vision, I do develop a kind of admiration on the principles on which this company is built. One of the latest articles which I read on Infosys is available on the following link. One reason why I liked it slightly more is perhaps attributed to the fact that it is written by one of my favorite professors.

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/01mguest.htm

All companies stress on making profits, but not all companies can create that emotional bonding with its members (read employees). Only when a organization is successful in creating this bond and passion in its employees it reaches a league of its own. When the bosses turn out to be mentors and sources of inspiration, when simple middle class values rule the ideology of the organisation, where simplicity is honored and mutual respect is valued, things have got to work well. All the best Infy for your 25th Birthday.

BEGINNING OF TERM-3

It is one week down Term-3 and yet it finds no mention in this blog. Well, let’s begin the journey of this term with a brief description of the quant heavy courses that defines this term. Operation Management…..Corporate Finance…. Managerial Accounting… Can any combination of courses beat these courses in terms of quant content? Apart from these three, we have Entrepreneurship… a very different kind of topic with extremely subjective contents. Once again all the courses depend heavily on case studies. Needless to say that professors are as good as ever.
One thing that differentiates term-3 from the previous terms is that a myriad of other activities are to be taken care of along with the course lectures. Exchange study…ELP team formations….PAEV ideas…..bidding for electives….and last but not the least the beginning of placement related activities. And this is just the beginning. The results of the exchange studies are already declared. So some people have to start another parallel series of activities like applying for the visa, researching about the school, contacting alums who went to these schools....blah blah.

With two terms down and just two terms left for the core term to end, people have started searching for partners for the courses to be done during the core terms. I also realise that my association with F-6 will remain for only two more terms and then each of us should align with our individual goals. It is such a sweet group and I really do feel a pre-nostalgic feeling about it.

WANT TO BE DIFFERENT....

I came across this picture in one the mails. Liked it so much that I decided to upload it in this post.

"If you want something you never had, do something you have never done."

Don't go the way life takes you.
Take the life the way you go .
And remember you are born to live and not living because you are born.


(Not aware of the source of this picture.)

1ST DAY OF TERM-3

A.M.
9:00 - Finally managed to wake up.... (the termbreak hangover effect was still ruling)
9:45 - Brunch
10:00 - "Hi - Hello" time with all the lost souls who are back into the campus after the term break
10:45 - Info session on bidding electives
P.M.
1:15 - Info sessions on IT, Operations and Technology electives
1:45 - First lecture of Term-3
4:15 - Second lecture of Term-3
6:45 - Info sessions on Strategic Marketing electives
7:30 - Dinner
7:45 - Talk delivered by IBM Vice President
9:00 - Suffering from severe headache, almost dead...
12:00 - Abhi's birthday dunking + amazing samosa and roll treat
12:30 - Back to quad to realise 150 pages of pre read for Corporate Finance and a case for Operation Management.....
12:45 - Realised how hopeless the situation is.... better go to bed.

TERM-2 REFLECTIONS CONCLUDED

Now….. the closing mail from the moments of Term -2 reflections.

One of the sweetest moments from Term-2 was undoubtedly the birthday dinner hosted by A, yes the “A of F-6”. You meet so many people in life. But some of them are so different from others and become a part of your life…. become friends for life. A is one of these people. Something happened after the party which really made me think so hard. The bill of the party crossed the 5 figure mark and when the bill crosses this mark for just 10 odd people this means something. And A was there smiling all the while. He said that he always had the money but never had the friends to give a birthday treat after he joined his job. A worked for an offshore company with a job profile similar to mine.
For a moment, his words took me back to my job life, when life was moving from one place to another and your travel kit was your best friend. Not that I disliked my professional life, but somehow, certain things were completely out of my life. Celebrating birthdays… celebrating Indian festivals…..celebrating the success of old friends..... were not a part of life. The ties with relatives were gradually weakening and people back home were not missing me as much as they used to.
Somehow, the whole episode reminded me to hold on to my decision to stay in India after MBA. I know traveling is something which I love a lot, but a balance needs to be maintained.

Now let’s take a look at the classroom moments.....let me restrict to two amazing individuals of section F....PT and AS.

PT was always there with his highly innovative CPs. For instance, when the case study of a fast food company was in progress and the rest of the class was busy debating the expansion strategy of the company , PT jumped to the arena with his idea –“ In the fast food industry, it is the food which should move fast, not the industry. So we should not believe in expansion.”

AS has this unique ability to link any topic in the world with the oil and gas industry. He worked in the oil and gas industry before joining ISB. Such was the reaction of fellow students when he used to speak, that he finally promised not to mention his industry while taking part in class participation. During one of the lectures, after AS delivered his CP (without a mention of his industry), the professor wanted to know if he worked in the oil and gas industry. It turned out that the professor also worked in the same industry before joining academics and hence could appreciate the beauty of the CP. Poor AS…today he is nicknamed as Mr. Oil and Gas. But, let me admit that AS does possess indepth knowledge of his industry. No wonder, he is also the president of the Energy, Manufacturing and Operations Club.

The list of CPs will never end. Someday I will try to collate them and make a complete post out of it.

But before I end….. a special mention of Professor Zaheer. He is an excellent orator and the fillers he used in his lectures are now a part of Sec. F vocabulary. And I am sure that these fillers will always remain with us and remind of those amazing (whenever I use this word "amazing", a reflexive smile reminds me of H and her CPs....will write about it later) strategy lectures for years to come.
Let me close this post here. All good things in life come to an end and so does the term break. Term-3 will start in a day and ISB will be back into action.

HOPE, FAITH, LOVE AND TRUST

I have been trying hard to chose one word….the word which holds the maximum power, the word which defines the very existence of all the moments…..the word which defines ones thoughts when one goes through those rare moments which define more than the daily schedule of life.

Is it “hope”? When the time is tough….when the road is not smooth….when the sea is rough…… there is one truth in our eyes…. HOPE…..
Or is it “faith”? FAITH in somebody…..faith in some hidden power…..faith in some supernatural truth….faith in God…..
Can it be “love”? LOVE is perhaps the most beautiful world in the lexicon of human mind, but is it the most powerful one too….They say love inspires….love can help one feel the beauty of God’s creation…..very true.
Another word which can be a strong contender is TRUST. It’s never easy to trust someone so much that you forget your complete self and trust the abilities of another person blindly.
How about words like SUCCESS….I guess it is too mundane and relative to possess the power of the earlier words.

Let’s say, you board a flight and a couple of hours after the flight takes off, the captain, expecting turbulence, announces to tie your seat belts. You are used to such situations and lazily tie your seat belt. Suddenly, the flight faces unusual turbulence…..people get nervous…the nervousness…the fear…so evident in their faces….the turbulence increases and the whole flight sways. Even the seasoned flight attendants look confused. The bulkheads vibrate with frightening noises. Oxygen masks drop from the top….anything can happen…..the captain announces that there is nothing to worry….but you know the truth…..you know the captain is just trying to console you. You bring your hands close…..you close your eyes….what do you see….how do you feel….what are the pictures that come to your mind….Is it faith in God……is it a hope that you will survive…..or is it the consoling faces of all your near and dear ones….or is it your trust in the pilot’s abilities that helps you to close your eyes, forget what is happening and try to recollect one of those Elvis Presley’s immortal love songs. You can experience all the feelings together….hope, faith, love and trust. These four words are so different, yet they come so close at times of crisis. Which one of the four words will you give the maximum points to help you define your emotion under such a situation.

TERM-2 ACADEMIC REFLECTIONS

Academic reflections for Term-2 can be summed up as follows-

(1) “Competitive strategy” is a collection of ten very famous case studies backed with pages of literature for each of the cases. Each case was different from the other and stressed on a particular strategy.
Cola Wars: Pepsi Cola Rivalry – What are the strategies players follow when there is a duopoly, with the market leader and the follower way ahead of the rest of the players?
Nucor – What strategies are to be followed to survive and come out with flying colors in a dull industry?
Intel – What to do to be the leader in a highly competitive industry and how to successfully redeploy core competency?
Jollibee – How and when to enter foreign markets and what could be its impact on home business?
Eli Lilly – Why and how to maintain a successful Joint Venture successfully?
Cisco –What made Cisco so successful in making acquisitions and alliances a part of organization and converting this culture to a core competency?
Dell – What it requires to make completely new and innovative strategies work wonders?
Walmart – What made the retail giant achieve the “numero uno” position in Fortune-500 list?
Mckinsey – How effective “knowledge management” can turn out to be?
Johnson and Johnson – How successful diversification can work wonders when backed with a deeply engraved company culture?

The greatest advantage of having been through these cases is that I can appreciate most of the common jargons that comes up repeatedly in the business world and can even frame sentences like this-
“To maintain a sustained competitive advantage over competitors, Toyota followed a strategy which we call causal ambiguity.”

(2)"Global economics" was the most enlightening of all the subjects. It was macro economics at its best. Now, I can understand the history of economic failures and successes. Answers to the following and many more similar questions no longer remain a mystery.

What were the reasons for the economic collapse in Southeast Asian countries during the last decade on the last millennium?

Why hyperinflation ruled in Latin American countries?

What makes China to undervalue the Yuan with respect to US dollar?

How are inflation, interest rates, GDP, currency rates and all such economic variables keep affecting each other?

Why cannot India print money and distribute amongst the poor and remove poverty?

(3) "Marketing Decision Making" proved to be highly conceptual and strategic. I hope I get one more chance to play the Markstrat game. It turned out to be such a big disaster for our team. And as we went through the course we realized how unforgiveable our mistakes were. Anyway, I do hope the learning from our mistakes is strong enough. I understand that next time we get a chance to play such games will be in real world and if we are not able to reflect from these mistakes, then the best thing we should do is to carry our baggage and look for another job.

(4) "Decision Models and Optimization" is a practical course for people like me – who come from the shipping industry or belong to airlines industry where the stress is on getting the maximum out of the available resources in a technical manner. Linear programming, integer programming, non-linear programming and a host of such concepts were introduced along with the software like crystal ball and solver.

In general, learning wise Term-2 was great, but somehow I realize I couldn’t do sufficient justice to all the topics due to severe time constraints. But someday, once I get out of ISB, I do wish to take out these lecture notes and try to understand them better.

TERM-2 DECISIONS

Let me limit this post to stress on the options I faced in Term-2 and the decisions I took. The most important confusion was which of the two option should I chose…the options being ELP and PAEV…….. and time constraints imply that choosing only one of them is a good idea. ELP is Experential Learning Program while PAEV stands for Planning an Entrepreneurial Venture. While ELP requires you to take up a real life industry project and contribute to the firm you have chosen, PAEV is an entrepreneurial course undertaken within ISB. Both the programs extend more than three terms and a serious work can consume quite some time. PAEV is also helpful for people who want to go for start-ups, or even plan to create new division in the existing company. Considering the fact that I have always wanted to create knowledge based start-up in the maritime sector (although I need to work in the industry for years to come to develop that knowledge), I decided to go for the PAEV. An excellent job done in ELP has the potential to get a pre placement offer and an excellent job done in PAEV can get you a chance to go for a real start-up. Whatever be the case, the experience will remain to help when the real thing starts in life later.
The second confusion is on what topic I should go ahead with the PAEV. It has to be based on a consensus with my PAEV group mates, but this should not be a big problem.
The third confusion was whether to apply for exchange studies abroad. But somehow I feel that it will make life too tight and confusing at the end and I decided to remain away from the exchange study idea. But I must admit that it is an excellent opportunity which exposes you to the top business schools all around the world. The list of the schools is huge and the option is tempting. But for some reason, I want to stay this full year in India and enjoy the full flavor of the ISB life.
Apart from this Term-2 did not provide us with any options….it just ruled in whatever way it liked.

TERM-2 SETS BEHIND THE SCENE

Never did I feel so relaxed in life…..Never in my life did I wait so desperately for something to end. Finally, we are done with Term-2. And that makes us 25% MBAs.
Term-2 was packed with incidents which will be difficult to erase from memory. Assignments, projects, reports…and more than all these, the density of the study material was amongst the highest that I have handled ever in my life. Markstrat and compstrat…..sonites and vodites……real and nominal……decisions and optimization and many more such phrases virtually ruled our lives. In spite of this, the fun part was always there…..F-6 was as great as ever…..SV-1 more glamorous than ever.To arrange the snapshots of the Term-2, I will divide the posts reserved for next few days to deal with my decisions, perceptions and reflections of Term-2.

CLOSING CHAPTERS OF TERM-2

Finally.....the end is close.....it came and it went at a pace which left every soul in the campus completely transformed. I am sure, no one in the campus will ever say - "its too late in the night". With just a couple of days for the end term, I dont feel like writing the same monotonous story that I have been used to write before every term exam begins. However,I must admit that the stress factor has vastly reduced, atleast for me. Perhaps, thats one of the earliest practical and perceptible lessons from ISB. Handling an overdose of stress is a part of life.....feeling the trauma is an everyday story....and living to both, the stress and the trauma is no longer a sorry state of affair.
Finally, I decided to go for PAEV, and not ELP, taking into account my career ambitions. I will come back with the details of ELP and PAEV as the term exams end on Tuesday.

BEING TAGGED.

“Tagging” has been the buzz word in the bloggers world. I was tagged by KayKay. My thoughts…..

I said – so that you can hear.
I want – nothing extra.
I wish – I could sleep 12 hrs a day during this year in ISB.
I miss – my past.
I hear – what you tried to say.
I wonder – what makes me think the way I think.
I regret – nothing till date.
I am – just another guy.
I sing – when I watch others dance.
I dance – tried hard….but no success.
I am not – what I don’t aspire to be.
I write – to relive the experience again.
I hate – when people hate each other.
I confuse – what seems so trivial for others.
I should – learn to be modest and authoritative at the same time.

Now, that its my turn, let me tag – Krishnan, Disha

CHANGE

“Change” defines the very principle of the universe. Everything that has a presence in this universe keeps changing. Nonliving things change and so do living beings. All the people around you and me keep changing. Even our very own interests and passions keeps changing with time. Sometimes the change is real fast….may be a kind of revolution and under such a situation, the change is easily noticeable over the period of time in which it takes place. But most of the times, the change is slow….a kind of evolution that keeps the rate of change so small that it is hardly perceivable over a short period of time.
When life becomes monotonous, the rate of change becomes slow. We see the same people around us, live the same kind of life everyday and think the same set of things in the same periodical manner. Every day is a replica of the previous day.
In contrast, things can really change fast, sometimes because we want it to be that way and sometimes because it has got to be that way. We soon learn to adapt to the fast pace. Each day carries with it a different set of experience and a unique learning experience. Each day introduces us to new people. In other words life becomes really dynamic.

Now, which of the above concepts do you prefer? Think hard before you answer. Often we tend to prefer the second path. I personally will prefer the second path. In fact, life has always been like that for me. But at the end of the day, I keep on wondering….. I know so many people around me, yet how many of them know me as the real person I am. Every day is a learning experience, yet it is this learning experience which slowly and steadily strengthens the façade that I wear over my real self. Am I the same person, I used to be a couple of years back and will I remain the same person after a couple of years from now. Have I lost my original identity in the process of evolution of this constantly changing identity. Is this change for the good? How would life have been, if it had been the other way?

POST NO. 100

I came across this snap while browsing through my collection....a snow covered leafless shrub. Reminds me of one of those chilly winter mornings which I had been used to, not so long ago.
It is one of these mornings, which informed me that I had been selected for the ISB class of 2007 and I decided to start this blog with the objective of capturing my moments in ISB.
As I was about to upload todays post, I realised that this is post no. 100 for "keys to imaginations".Time really flies.... With more interesting times to come, I will try my best to capture this roller coaster ride in its full speed. The ride is extremely rough and fast, yet I feel great to be a part of this. Will be back with further details soon.

AIKYA FAMILY

ISB is known to introduce quite a number of concepts to the Indian business education. One such concept is the idea of “Aikya” Family in ISB. Through this concept every ISBian finds a second home to ISB during his/her stay in Hyderabad. Today morning was scheduled for the Aikya meet for the class of 2007. Normally every study group is assigned one family. F-6 (that’s my study group) was allocated one such family.
The time of the meet was fixed at 9:45 and today being a Sunday morning, the members of my study group were slightly lazy in making it to the atrium on time. By the time we reached, someone informed us that the person who is allocated for F-6 is already in the atrium. That means he arrived before us, or rather he arrived at 9:45 and we arrived few minutes after that time. As we walked close towards him, we noticed a very modest looking person with a pleasant and comforting demeanor.
I was the first person to shake hands with him. After that, he took his name card and handed it over to me. As my eyes discovered that designation on his card, suddenly I decided to stop talking and allowed K (one of my batch mates) to do the talking. I slightly took a couple of steps backwards and allowed K to have the pleasure of accepting the name card of the gentleman. I looked into the card again to discover the rest of the contents. This person is none other that Spl. Chief Secretary to the Government, in other words, one of the senior most IAS officers and topmost bureaucrats of the country.
All my teammates except H (who was out of the town to celebrate her brothers wedding and hence couldn’t make to the meeting) were there by then, and the discussions had turned out to be quite informal. It was quite a nice experience to talk about reservations, emerging markets, business and government with the top official. I also learned that his daughter is an ISB alumnus and is doing great in London.
The most interesting aspect of the discussion was the extra-ordinary modesty with which the big man carried himself. How true it is……Higher a person goes, more modest he becomes.
I have added a snap of F-6 with the Chief Secretary.

CBOX MAKES "KEYS TO IMAGINATIONS" MORE INTERACTIVE

While browsing one of the blogs, I discovered this really cool stuff called Cbox, which can make the blog much more interactive. You can find this interactive box sitting right below the clock on the right hand side of the page. One of the main objective of a blog is to get to know more and more people .This blog has been extremely useful in helping me make new friends and I hope Cbox will add more to the long list.
A very interesting event is scheduled for the Sunday morning. I will get back with all the details soon.

LATEST STORIES

I realize that I have slightly moved away from the ISB life since the last few mails. So let me reserve this post to provide an idea how things are shaping up in ISB. The best thing is that we are done with the mid term examinations. This is implicative of the fact that, it is changeover time for the professors too. Professor Raju is back again for “Marketing Decision Making”. His lectures are as brilliant and insightful as ever. “Competitive Strategy” introduced us to another Professor who is also set to leave a mark in our minds. This is Professor Akbar Zaheer….I wonder if anyone can forget that lecture he delivered on Mergers and Acquisitions based on the Cisco case. Professor Ravi and Professor Milind who are assigned “Global Economics” and “Decision Models and Optimization” are quite impressive too.

Coming back to the professional clubs, I must say that these clubs are pretty active now. As for me, I find myself in the core group of EMO group (Energy, Manufacturing and Operations Club). That demands lot of hard work and enthusiasm, especially when these clubs are very much responsible for placement related activities as well as hosting guest lectures. I am just a silent spectator in the Consulting club and Real estate club.

Another thing of importance is the formation of the admissions task force for the class of 2008. Seems just like yesterday…when we were busy with the apping process. But now it is time for the class of 2008 to apply. Those of you speculating to apply to ISB for the class of 2008, should visit http://isb.edu/pgp/visit/admissions_important_schedule.asp to gather further information on the deadlines and align your schedules accordingly.

Now that studies, clubs and admissions are done with, let me inform about a mega event…the “Editors’ Round Table” that is scheduled tomorrow afternoon. Further details are available on this link http://www.isb.edu/RoundTable2006/.

Football fever is running high amongst the ISBians now, especially when mid terms are just concluded and the Germany-Argentina thriller is in progress. Let me find out how the situation is now.

THE 1ST CORNER OF "TRUTH"

Prof. Krishna Kumar, in his adieu mail reminded us of a quote attributed to Confucius:
“Every truth has four corners: as a teacher I give you one corner,and it is for you to find the other three.”
One day before the mid terms, I am in a frame of mind where I find it difficult to manage the 1st corner of the "truth", in our case "Global Economics". I was under the impression that Global Economics was relatively easy, until I tried to think deeply into the graphs and curves that describe the nature of macroeconomics.
Jargons are confusing too. For every real X, there exists a nominal X. And to add to the conceptual depth, there will be complicated relationship linking the two. X has a very wide range and can be used to assume seemingly simply stuff like "interest rate" (mind you, seemingly is a very powerful word) to perceptibly complicated jargons like "capital rental rate". Another word which economists have always loved and liked to play with is "marginal". Phrases like "Marginal Product of Capital" and "Marginal Product of Labor" have proved to be very powerful in explaining various global concepts related to capital and labor.
Certain concepts like "Convergence Effect in the Solow Framework", Cobb-Douglas Production function, Ricardian Model of Trade" have made economics look like more of Mathematics to me.
But one thing, that is so striking about Economics is the depth of the topic and its power to explain every minute phenomenon that is visible in global environment.
Really interesting subject..... I am sure my search for the other "three corners" will continue even after I leave ISB.

THE BIGGEST DISADVANTAGE OF A ONE YEAR MBA

KPMG big bosses, the famous Mumbai Dabbawalas, the marketing chief of Yashraj films....were amongst the dignitaries who visited ISB this weekend to share their experience with the ISB students. Sometimes there are clashes in the schedules of these seminars/talks and one can attend only one at a time. And the concept of trade-off again rules.
Here is the biggest disadvantage of one year MBA. There is so much to do and time is such a rare commodity. You want to do everything and finally land up doing only a selected few....

WORLDS NOBLEST GIFT

Deep into the night, when the silence speaks, I feel so happy……One of the rare days when I decided to give a few moments of my life for someone else….whom I don’t know….who don’t know me.....Yet I feel so happy.
Attached below is the letter which the “Net impact club” of ISB sent, thanking to all the blood donors. But, I feel I should thank them for the kind of efforts they gather to convert such efforts into success.

“Today you were a child’s angel…
Today you saved someone’s life…
Today a stranger said a silent prayer for you…
Today you were a role model for someone...
Today you have touched a heart…
Today you have healed a soul…
Today you have changed a life…!!

We have 175 cases of selfless contribution…
We have 175 reasons to thank you...
We have 175 reasons to celebrate the gift of giving.... "

THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNIVERSE

Sometimes it is a good idea to revisit some of those things which once inspired you and helped you to take decisions in life. This is something which I did today… in spite of scores of pages of pre-read. But, I know that it is worth taking a visit to those poetic lines of Paulo Coelho in “The Alchemist”.
Here is a list of my favorite collection from “The Alchemist”.

(1) "Everyone has his or her own way of learning things. His way isn’t the same as mine, nor mine as his. But we are both in search of our destinies, and I respect him for that".
(2) "The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present , you can improve upon it. And if improve on the present, what comes better will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity".
(3) "Camels are traitorous; they walk thousands of miles and never seem to tire. Then suddenly, they kneel and die. But horses tire bit by bit. You always know how much you can ask of them, and when it is that they are about to die".
(4) "You must understand that love never keeps a man away from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, its because it wasn’t true love….the love that speaks the Language of the world".
(5) "One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving".
(6) "The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That’s what I mean by action".
(7) "Tell your heart that fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity".
(8) "Every search begins with the beginners luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested".
(9) "When you possess great treasures within you and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed".
(10) "Your eyes shows the strength of your soul".
(11) "No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesnot know it".
(12) "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it".
(13) "Learn to recognize omens, and follow them".

SMOOTH CRUISING - A DISTANT DREAM!!!!!

Today, I want to sit down for a while and try to forget that I am running this long marathon with 420 smart people. I need to look back for a while to realize what kind of week was that- the first week of Term-2.
I had promised myself that just before sleeping every night, I should devote myself fifteen good minutes to type down my thoughts for imaginations. But the very definition of “night” is distorted. Definitely morning 5 a.m. cannot be classified under the definition of night.
“But every dark cloud has a silver lining” (Now, I am an optimist…. So don’t come back saying to me that “this is this silver lining that kills”.
The “Commanding Height” series (forms a part of the Global Economics) was screened a couple of days back and I wanted so much to write about it. I wanted to write about how John Maynard Keynes decided to walk with time and win all the laurels during his era. I also wanted to talk about how Friedrich von Hayek who was just lucky to live long enough to witness the effectiveness of his theories, which were not given due respect when they were written. But, this thing called “MARKSTRAT” won’t allow me to write about these legends in this post.
I also wanted to talk about Margaret Thatcher and all the “Thatcherism” that is associated with the latest British revival. The more I read about Thatcher, the more I feel that characters of the likes of Dagny Taggarts do not exist only in the complicated world of Ayn Rand. But again I cannot sit down at the moment and write down lines from the inspirational speeches of Margaret at this critical moment of my ISB life. But I do promise to come back with both these topics in my subsequent posts.
Have to log back to Term-2 schedule now….Sometimes I do really wonder the real intention of making life so complicated when it was cruising along so smoothly. But next moment, I feel that if we don’t face rough waves, we cannot appreciate the pleasure of sailing in calm seas. That’s the consolation at the moment with long and complicated assignments lined up for the rest of the day and also the night.

FORMAL INTRODUCTION TO TERM-2

What I mentioned in my last post was a "low-pixel" (let me coin this word for the purpose of this post) snapshot of the real picture of Term-2. Let me post a clearer image of what subjects are supposed to be covered in Term-2.

1) Competitive Strategy: Strategy is a mix of all the management principles applied at one go. Competitive strategy is most likely targeted to introduce the basics of strategy.Course content includes a huge collection of case studies, strategical methodologies and selected chapters from various journals and books. Prof. Gurneeta Vasudeva will be associated with 1st half of the term.

2) Decision Models and optimisation: This course includes a whole lot of mathematical concepts to solve management problems. Linear programming, statistics, network flow, transportational problems, decision analysis, price financial options trade offs under uncertainty are amongst the numerous technical terms that I find in the course content. Prof. Sandeep Juneja has already completed two out of the five classes of his quota.

3) Marketing Decision Making: The Markstrat game form the heart of this course. Case studies and plenty of theoretical concepts are lined up apart from the high-profile "Markstrat". Prof Pradeep Bharadwaj is midway through the Markstrat manual already!

4) Global Economics: This course should help us a great deal in appreciating all those interesting things happening in global business and how important a role macro-economics plays in the global arena. Prof. Krishna Kumar has been doing an amazing job in helping us develop that "initial liking" for the subject.

I will write more about these courses as the term progresses with all its ruthlessness.

TERM-2 PREVAILS

Markstrat, Decision Modeling, Crystal Ball, Optimization, Simulation, Competitive strategy, Macro-economics….these are the catch words of term-2. Term-2 looks extremely number-oriented where we have to get to know stuff through software and simulations.
Professors are interesting but we do miss the likes of Bob, Mark and Rakesh. TAs have a great role to play this term in helping us learn all these simulation games and software usage. The number and frequency of assignments is not likely to spare the weekdays, forget the weekends. If the ISB schedule is taken as reference, then I can safely move on to say that life was like a long holiday before I joined ISB.
Well…. Term-2…Lectures of the last two days have made sure that you are all set to rule our lives….with unchallenged supremacy.

TERM-1 REFLECTIONS - CONCLUSION

Term-2 is all set to rule our lives. So let me bring an end to the "term-1 reflection" series with this post. What I feel after the class lectures is that all the topics (Statistics, Economics, Marketing and Accounting) are closely related. Without going through the complexities of technicality, let me provide the layman’s description of how all these topics are related. For instance, let’s say a great visionary comes up with an idea of creating a new company. Various stages define the process from the inception of the idea to a profit making entity. Things are much more complex than what I decide to type down, nevertheless, just to give a very minute picture of the real life story…
1) According to me, the inception stage is the most critical one. Starting from complex regression analysis of dependence of market success on the affecting factors, to the segmentation of market which helps decide whom to target, this stage demands great business acumen. Starting from issuance of bonds to creation of infrastructures, this period is closely attached with numerous economic costs, sunk costs and fixed costs, without appreciable profit. Numerous accounts maintaining the details of assets, shareholder’s equity and liabilities are also to be maintained.

2) Now suppose, the entrant enters into the market where market players already exist (this is normally the reality), then the situation turns out to be really interesting. This very topic is one of the most interesting aspects of economics and marketing.

3) Now let’s assume that the entrant is successful in entering the market and capturing a market share. Situation turns out to be no simpler and the entrant now has to worry about how to position its product, how to price the product, how to make the product reach the customers, how to get customer feedback and all this from a profit making viewpoint. The whole concept of channel management comes into picture. Now that the entrant has now successfully entered the market, it also has to guard itself against the competition. Books have been written on this and as I move ahead in my MBA curriculum I get to learn more of this.

4) Debts, shares, debentures, revenues, turnover….. a lexicon of such terms can never be ignored in a functioning entity. Accountants are always ready to maintain and manipulate the history of the minutest transactions that occur during the course of business.

5) Once all the above stuff is taken care of, the entity now plans to be more competitive and strives to be the market leader. It tries to develop better products, spend more on advertising, and get better accountants who can get the best out of the balance sheets and net income statements. Quality gets a premium with limits set on the quality of the goods produced. And all this has to be done with relatively lower variable cost. The company (let the word "company" define the entity now) now has to benchmark itself successfully against the competitors to maintain its lead.

6) The company has also to deal with shareholders. If it makes profits, people decide to buy the shares of the company. Suddenly the “alpha” and “beta” comes into picture which helps us to predict how the market affects the stocks of the company…. and how the market fluctuation is likely to affect the company.

This cycle defines the competitive business environment with each player trying to outdo each other. The real game is too complex and I feel intuition and experience has got a great role to play in deciding how to play the game. It will take years to learn the rules of the game and I aspire to be good player of this complicated game, which is commonly known as “business”.

TERM-1 REFLECTIONS - SEC F

With the increasing student strength in ISB, the number of sections is also on a rise. Section F is one of the new sections that came into effect this year to accommodate the increasing number of students. No less versatile than any other sections, Section F is marked by all sorts of interesting in-section activities. Professionally, it is as diversified as the ISB student body, if not more. In one row in the lecture theatre, you can trace CAs, a Major from the Indian army, a doctor from the Indian Navy, IT project managers and leaders, a merchant navy officer, a real estate entrepreneur, marketers from diversified sectors like media and PSUs, a master chef from India’s top hotel management institute, economists, mathematics graduates, non IT engineers…… and not to forget the naval architect. Quite a diversified group…I must say.
One thing that differentiates section F from other section is the immeasurable level of enthusiasm and individualistic traits that each individual is blessed with. For instance, there is one gentleman named SK, whose high frequency and super fast speed of delivering CPs can even baffle the native professors of the Whartons and Kelloggs. Then you can find SY, who often comes with highly indigenous solutions to the class assignments with an irresistible desire to prove his point to the whole class. In one of the marketing assignments, when the whole section was inclined towards one methodology, there was SY on the other end of the roundtable, trying hard to convince the professor the effectiveness of his methodology….I must agree that he succeeded to some extent. AK, another gentleman, normally prefers to maintain his silence before he decides to break the rythm of the class to ask the "deepest" questions of the terms. Last time, he asked a question was in the stats class, and a professor of the stature of Prof. Waterman decided to stop for a while to say "wow, this is one of the deepest questions that have ever been asked to me".
There is my very own F-6 core study group member, H, whose passion for diamonds is remarkably evident and perceptible in her CPs. Then there are some people who have successfully developed the postures that can help them to take those intermittent classroom naps until they are cold called by the professor. The best posture which I have noted so far is that of AA. With her elbow on the desk, she has developed a fool proof method of covering her specs with her thumb and first finger, such that her thumb, 1st finger and her face profile form a kind of a right angled triangle, which makes it almost impossible to figure out the status of her eyes. In contrast, there is PT, who believes in complete freedom of an individual in a democracy and doesn’t mind taking a comfortable nap with his head on the desk behind him (only exception being Prof. Raju’s class). But one thing, I find surprising about PT, is the way, he bounces back with his questions to the professor. May be, his posture in the class is just his method of concentrating, that helps him keeping in pace with the lectures Occassionally, we have seen SY taking a nap with his head on the shoulder of the TA (Teaching Assistant), who sits beside him.
NG, the operation guy from one of the Indian public sector undertakings always brings fresh dimensions to the class discussions from his real life experience. It is really interesting to hear from him, how the management principles of the “public” sector undertaking are exactly opposite to what we learn in the class (i.e. the real principles of successful management which the private sector has successfully employed.).
Well… the list is never ending….let me stop here… will be back soon to post the last post of the “TERM-1 REFLECTION” series.

TERM-1 REFLECTIONS - F6 REVISITED

From R to L: H, V, myself, A, K, S. No attire can match the charm of Indian traditional dresses. Sec. F is not only genious, but also indigenous. This snap takes back to the colorful day when all the section students decided to be perfectly Indian. The experience of this day, is undoubtedly one of the most memorable in ISB so far.







From R to L : K, A, H, V, S, myself. This snap brings back memories of the "formal photo session" that was taken during the tenure of Term-1. Just to give a professional approach to this post let me briefly introduce these professionals. K, V and S are linked with IT, while A with oil rigs. H worked for television channels. While K carries more than 7 years of professional experience, others in the group carry around 4 years each.

TERM-1 REFLECTIONS - QUADMATES

CA by profession..a singer by passion....NA, the seniormost member of the quad is also the highest GMAT scorer in the quad. NA is traditionally a Guju and worked in both family leather industry and American Express before he joined ISB. His passion for singing is only matched by his hunger for grades. If anyone from the quad holds a chance to come somewhere close to the deans list, then this has to be NA.


NM...One more CA...again from Delhi. This person is a kid at heart and we just cannot help our laughter when he comes to NA and asks him...."hey...me too plan to learn how to smoke a cigarette". Often you can find him busy with the phone or a mobile for hours together...for obvious reasons. Often dunked in the pool, due to his arbit CPs in the class....and he loves it. NM worked for KPMG before he joined ISB.


SC...This cool dude from Mumbai is the youngest of the quad. With an undergraduate degree in management, he worked for PWC before he got affected by the MBA bug. Widely popular amongst the fairer sex in ISB, SC has mastered this precious art of balancing time and prioritization of activities.

TERM-1 REFLECTIONS - INTRODUCTION

Now that Term-1 has ended, let me fix the agenda for the next few posts. I will add to the earlier introductions of some people, with whom I am closely related in ISB….to begin with I will start from my quadmates, followed by my study group and my section.
The more the time we spent with a person, the better we know that person. I never believe in the theory that one introduction is good enough to know a person well enough. “Introduction” is a complicated word and should be taken with sufficient caution. The first introduction (i.e. the first time you meet a person) might not give the best description of the individual. It is a just formal beginning and let me have the liberty to define this introduction as “Level-1” introduction. The second level of introduction gradually evolves as you spend more time with the person when the façade of “formality” gradually evaporates to bring the real self of the person. This, I will define as the “informal” introduction or “Level-2” introduction. This introduction at times can be surprisingly different from the Level-1 formal introduction. The third and the final level of introduction, according to me is how the individual describes himself in the time of crisis. Both the earlier varieties of introduction fade away tamely before the power of Level-3 introduction. But often we don’t get the chance to be introduced to an individual to this level. My level of introduction of the people in the above mentioned context is limited to earlier levels (level-1 and level-2) of introduction.

I also feel it is a good idea to write about some of my academic “take-aways” from Term-1 in a layman’s language i.e. the basic theme of the courses which were taught to us. I will try not to bring in any serious technicality and restrict myself to certain day-to-day examples.

Feeling terribly sleepy now….Eyes do need a break....Average sleeping hours/24 hrs last week has not been more than 4 hrs with very thin standard errors…. Will be back soon.

GOOD-BYE TERM-1

Dear “Term one”,

One and a half month ago, I was introduced to you by numerous people around as the toughest of all the terms, not because of the rigor content, but because of the “transition effect” that people face. I am not in a position to judge the validity of the statement as I am yet to face any other term.
Well, tough it was ….but life is much more than the last week night outs. You introduced me to things and concepts, which I will appreciate throughout my life. You introduced me to people, who are so close to me now. You made me enjoy certain subjects which I used to hate so much. You made me realize the value of all those moments which were strictly my own. You helped me take further decisions in aligning my career aspirations.

Now, it is time to say you good-bye. And I do feel great satisfaction in doing that. After all, I am 12.5% MBA (under the assumption that I clear the exams), and you are responsible for that. No exams…no assignments…no surprise quizzes. Life will be a real treat for the next few days. No wonder, it is party time in ISB. The number of parties scheduled will compensate the drought that ruled the last couple of weeks. After all, we need to recharge ourselves to face Term 2.

Thanks Term1…. For all the great memories you have given me…..You will always be missed.

Cheers

THE NIGHT BEFORE END TERM

Just a few hours left for the end terms..... and what I am doing? Perhaps not the best time blog....But definitely it is not a good idea not to mention this moment. The night before the first end terms cannot be missed.
Just a couple of days.... thats the time frame I had to study for the end terms. The long list of assignments were submitted by Friday night, and Saturday and Sunday were completely devoted to the end term preparation.
It is past midnight and I still I feel it is early in the evening. Thats the biggest change ISB life has brought in my life. Since the last two days, I had no option but to study.....and study in a manner which I had never done before. Never before did I study till 3 am in the morning. Yet not confident enough to face the exams. Nor can I continue to study in the present frame of mind.
The books and notes are already packed and it is time to listen to some great music.....to watch the cricket match......to write blogs....to drop a couple of mails.... and finally get to bed....

PRICING

How to fix price to a commodity? This question exposed its most complicated form as we are busy solving one of the economics assignments.
The very mechanism of this concept is based on not more than a few straightforward concepts of supply and demand. But once all these simple concepts combine together they form a very complex picture of this subject which we call “Pricing”.
How does an entrant into the market make his pricing decisions in the presence of an incumbent….how does this incumbent reacts to the strategies of the entrant… Will the incumbent decide to join hands with the entrant or will this process turn into a bitter price war…If this turns into a price war, then who is the likely winner and why…..How long is the winner likely to sustain his presence….Is there any referee to monitor this game of “price war”…..and numerous other questions immediately enters into play when the topic of pricing is under discussion.
Interestingly, pricing is not under the independent domain of any single MBA topic. It holds as much importance to economists as it holds to marketing managers. And that is what we are doing now…learning the concept of “pricing” in the context of economics and again learning this concept in the context of marketing….. But this doesnot make life easier.

NEXT WEEK.....THIS TIME

Next week....this time....guess what? The end terms will have got over. But one long week stands in between, to torment. Two more days, and the lectures of term one will be over. That means, it is time to say good bye to Prof. Waterman, Prof. Raju, Prof. Finn and Prof. Vohra. Amazing professors...... great teachers......and I am sure the students of ISB are going to miss each one of the seven professors who took the lectures of term one.

One thing that is striking in ISB, is the rise in the number of guest lectures in ISB. Two very eminent personalities visited ISB in a single day today......Dr. Roulac (CEO, Roulac Real Estate) and Mr. Barjatiya (belongs to the same clan of the famous Rajshree productions). Time constraints didnot allow me to attend both... and I restricted myself to Dr. Roulac's insightful talk. People who attended Barjatiya's talk were also impressed a lot. Real estate and media are steadily emerging as hot topics of interest amongst ISBians.

As about the ISB campus, it is as beautiful as ever. To witness and admire the beauty of the campus we have so many new guests.....yesterday I met one of them on my way back....a long, colorful snake, happily relaxing in front of SV1. The peacocks have got to be smart now and the frogs got to be careful.



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MARKETING AND PSYCHOLOGY

If somebody asks me on what my favorite topic is then it has got to be “Psychology”. I understand wholeheartedly that the most interesting concepts in psychology are the concepts pertaining to the women. However, if you reside in this place called ISB, and that too a week before the end terms, it is not a great idea to limit the scope of the interest. Consumers in business are no less important (no harm in talking like a marketer). Here are some “two-word phrases” which are of great significance in Marketing. Earlier, I used to perceive that these marketing jargons are meant to confuse people. Now I admire the elegance with which these phrases are associated with. More I link these concepts to the real world, the more I appreciate their utility and value. Here are a few of these phrases. Only problem is that, I donot have sufficient time available to understand these concepts to my satisfaction.
Brand equity
Price premium
Price sensitivity
Economic value
Contribution margin
Optimal design
Consumer preference
Product attributes
Market share
Assessor model
Market segmentation/targeting/positioning
Customer acquisition/expansion/retention
Product differentiation,
Unilateral incentive

MID WAY BETWEEN THE MID TERMS AND THE END TERMS

There is always more than one possible way to define the same stuff. For instance, I can either define this period in ISB schedule as either “one week post mid terms” or “one week prior to end terms”. Well, that’s summarizes the ISB exam patterns….an exam every 15 days and around eight assignments to separate one exam from the other.
Mid term results are more or less out. Some people have done really great while others have scored more than their expectations. I don’t feel like writing about the people who still crib that they could have got more.
As time progresses, the excitement of exams is likely to go down. When the same thing happens again and again everyday, however tough and traumatic it may be, it becomes a part of life. And at the end of the day it is this “trauma” that explores the nascent capabilities and strengths that lies hidden within every individual. I can remember the statement which all the esteemed people of ISB used during the orientation week....."trauma transforms". Now I can feel the strength of this phrase.
It is raining outside at the moment and this, along with the week end, has got the mercury level down. It is such a nice view outside, as I look out of my quad. The exotic main building of ISB sits outside as majestically as ever. Not many activities happening around tonight….. and with no parties, it is not a typical ISB weekend. The campus is too silent tonight….perhaps bracing for an eventful tomorrow. However, the silence around has the effect of the typical enigmatic mysticism, which I have always loved and enjoyed.

ADAM AND EVE

One fine day, God decided to create Adam (Man). Few days later, he decided to create Eve (Woman). After that he decided to relax and passed on all the rights to Adam to decide the future of world. Adam was so much impressed yet confused about Eve, that he decided to play the role of God and go ahead to create something as interesting and confusing as Eve. With this in mind, Adam decided to work hard towards his goal. Unfortunately he couldn’t replicate anything like “Eve”, yet came very close towards success in his endeavors. There were two things that Adam had invented by this time. Guess what…. One is a “ship” and the other is a “computer”.
Now the ship is as exquisite as Eve with all the aesthetic curves and charms. Adam kept on admiring his abilities and skills every time he came close to the ship. When Eve was not around, only thing that could fill Adams heart with almost the same fulfillment of admiration is this invention of his.
Now coming to the computer….Adam did a great job in inventing the computer. Just like Eve, it made life so easy for him. Any tough work in life….just pass it on to the computer and it will do it for you… just like Eve does. But sometimes it is so difficult to predict anything about the computer. Almost as confusing as Eve… though not more. Adam has experienced this so many times in life. Sometimes, he comes with the sweetest of the red roses to meet Eve only to receive the nastiest of thrashings. At other times, he is in a real hurry, while Eve is determined to make things worse for Adam. And when, she is in a good mood….whoop….Adam need not really describe what she can be up to.
Whatever be the situation, but one thing can not be debated…..Adam without Eve is like a poet without emotions. Eve is always there to help out the ever confused Adam in whatever he does. Eve is always more sensible in her feelings and emotions which Adam often overlooks, yet she is always there whenever Adam needs her the most. But still....Adam finds very little difference between the psychology of Eve and that of a computer........Why is that so?

NORMAL STUFF

As fifty percent of term one is over, it is changeover time for the professors in ISB….. time to say goodbye to Prof. Robert Stine, Prof.Asim Ansari and Prof.Amit Bubna. While Prof. Richard Waterman will continue from exactly where Prof. Stine left and will delve deep into the concepts of regression, Prof. Jag Mohan Raju will be our new marketing professor. Prof. Rakesh Vohra has already started with his lectures on pricing and oligopoly (I hope I have spelt the term correctly).

The rate at which assignments are to be submitted is ever increasing with a huge positive slope. It has been just a day after the mid term, yet not a single soul has any great plan except continuing with the whole bunch of these assignments. But, I must agree to the fact that doing these assignments is one of the best ways to learn and keep the tempo with the fast pace lecture hours.

In spite of the hyper hectic academic schedule, the intersection football tournament is under progress. Section F is already in the semis, thanks to the really spirited performance of the players. The finals are scheduled in the evening.

The GSB president is already elected. Now it is time to elect the directors of the committee. I sincerely wish all these people a great tenure during their stay in their respective offices and do a great job for ISB class of 2007.

It is time to search for ELP project team members. It is not possible to undertake a project without deciding a team. So I have to find at least three more people who will be interested to undertake the project with me.

One important piece of information from ISB admission committee…. ISB will no more accept GRE scores from next year onwards (Class of 2008). The ISB will join the board of GMAC. So all the aspirants, who are banking on GRE should start their GMAT preparation.

TEMPORARY RESPITE AFTER THE DISASTER

The mid-terms are over. The result turned out to be a complete disaster, especially the economics paper. The only reason why I don’t feel the effect is because I was used to single digit scores during my undergraduate career. But, one thing I have noted....while in IIT days I used to be so sad and dejected after a disastrous exam, I feel no despair in ISB. Thats... I feel is the impact of age and the realisation of long term futility of grades. A long line of assignments are pending for the weekend. No way am I going to touch them today. Tonight belongs to the party hosted by the Spouses Association of ISB. And I have reasonable evidence that the spouses are great cooks. So a great evening is in the cards.
As I look back, I realize that I am more than one month old in ISB. Close to ten percent of the ISB life comes to an end. Life has witnessed such a big change in this month. Meeting so many people...….transitioning back to lecture theatres….learning from the great dons….writing exams…..realizing the value of time.
At the same time…missing those great friends who were such an integral part of my life, just a few months back….missing the exotic views of the lovely ships….missing all the travel which I was so much used to……..missing the free time I used to enjoy during my job.
No regrets however…Nothing in a free lunch and to get something, one has to sacrifice something else. What is important is to make the best use of the stay in ISB. One of my priorities in ISB is to develop the ability to apply the theoretical concepts to the real life scenario. How can the concepts that looked so elegant to listen in the classroom going to help me when I come back to work life again? One good way, I feel, is to ask oneself “Could have I applied this theory which I learnt today to solve the case which I faced a year back while I was in the workplace. How differently would I have dealt with the situation, had I known this theory then?”
I am trying hard with this formula, and I hope that time will help me to learn better. Now that I have mentioned the word “time”, I realize that it is time to appreciate and admire the talent of the spouses who have tried so hard to arrange this party for all of us.

THE COLORFUL AMBIENCE

One fine day, a great brain of the section decides that it will be great idea if the whole section turns into a beautiful collection of Indian ethnic wear. And the result was so evident in the very next day. Section F is blessed with lovely ladies and do I have the abilities to describe in words how they looked in the traditional Indian dress? The guys too did not lag behind. In fact, the range of colors and the variety of designs of the kurtas could have given any designer a run for his money.
Well, now coming back to the real happenings in ISB, it is the approach of the mid terms that is ruling the mindset of all the people. And why should it not? The first mid terms of the first term... While most of the people are drenched in this examination fear, there exists another bunch of students, who are interested to hold the “big posts” of ISB. Yes, the election time is closing in… so it is the time to choose all the presidents and the secretaries who will represent the class of 2007.
That’s it for now…..Will write in more details as the mid terms ends.

SILLY ME!

The day went perfectly as per schedule.... The progress of assignments has been satisfactory considering the fact that we still have more than 24 hours to submit. This tempted me to plan a highly ambitious agenda for my night session (basically the period from 10 pm to the time I sleep).....The highlight of the session was to attend the Bday party of J, as Sunday begins......and before that I had planned to complete atleast 2 of the ever increasing stats chapter.

But at 2 am in night, I feel like kicking myself? Neither did I complete a single page of stats, nor could I attend the bday dunking of J. And nor did I do anything substantial that could give a reasonable justification of why I couldnot stick to my earlier plans. I came back to my quad after dinner and decided to take a short and sweet nap before I resume all my activities. But sweet naps can seldom be short. And in the process of enjoying the ever-green sweetness of the nap, I missed all the great things happening at J's place. And , now that I am awake, I can see mails carrying the celebration snaps floating in my mailbox. Atleast, let me enjoy the snaps.....

MID TERMS APPROACH

Before we complete just 15 days in ISB, we realise that the mid term examinations are just around the corner. Students are well aware that Economics and Statistics grades are heavily dependent on these mid terms.... and not to forget those regular assignments, which consume the charms of the weekends.
It is really interesting to see mid-career professionals spending time so diligently with these business concepts. The "doc" who was used to anatomy, endoscopy and similar terms is busy understanding the concepts of marginal analysis and supply-demand curve.... while the "Major" is busy analysing the latest concepts that will successfully launch a new product into the market. The "Master of the ship" is no more worried about the safety of the ship, as he has to worry about how he should master the confusing names of numerous accounts that Prof. Finn has been teaching. The IT guys seems to understand Statistics better.... while sitting diagonally opposite the CAs seem to be enjoying the accountancy which they have done so many times, before coming to ISB.
Come next Friday, and we get to know how these varied individuals will fare against each other. But one thing for sure.... competition is getting tougher with each passing day.

IN FORMALS

F section photo sessions were scheduled today. It was a real treat to watch Section F in complete formals. I never used to like formal dresses when I was doing my graduation. But, like many other things in life, this perception of mine has also seen a change. I do value the significance of being formal (and a formal attire is very much a part of it) in real life business world.
Coming back to the ISB photo sessions, these photos will be featured in a book which is named "Recruiters guide". This book will provide the basic details of the class of 2007 to the potential recruiters.
After the official photo session, we decided to capture some informal moments of this formal occassion. And the models that consitute section F were busy posing in front of the camera. The output was a vast collection of snaps that captured one of the most memorable occasions of this year.

THE CLASS EFFECT

How does an ISBian feel in the statistics class while he is attending the lecture of Professor Stine?
ISBian (declares with expressive eloquence): Statistics is an absolute beauty (In fact, nowadays I find it more beautiful that the beauty of my dreams). I never thought that I can appreciate so many things now. Give me a chance, and I can be an excellent portfolio manager. If you want to test my quality management skills, you can consult me to prepare the control chart for the latest microchip in the market. In case you want me to do some marketing for you, I can take the complete responsibility to provide you with all the details from sampling to breakeven. Just give me data, and I can create magic out of it. I can even predict how the stocks are going to behave tomorrow.

How does the same ISBian feel when he decides to use his latest skills to solve last year’s mid term paper?
ISBian (completely confused): I was wondering which “mean” to consider for this case. Should I consider the “sample mean” or the “process mean”? Why I am thinking about mean, may be “standard error” is the right catch. But I can see “standard deviation” given. What is “standard error” then? Is it a “typo”. No way. Professor Stine and “typo”. Are you crazy?...What is "sample variation", and how is it different from "simple variation". What is meant by "spreading of risk"....completely blank. May be I have to start all the topics from the beginning to get to know what “statistics” is.

This is the situation with most of us in ISB. I am really amazed by the way Prof Stine handles this topic. When you are in the class, you feel as if you have understood the minutest details. That’s the magic of this class. Just like you watch Sachin Tendulkar batting and feel that batting is too easy. And when you handle a bat (as you play against the local team that plays in your backyard), you realize what the real thing is.

F-6 IN CONSTRUCTIVE BEST

It’s high time I should introduce F-6. Not that I have not introduced them earlier, but I feel the real intro of F-6 demands much more than what I have written earlier about the 5 Gods (including me) and one Goddess. Such is the aura of the Goddess, that her mere presence derogates the Gods to the level of mere mortals.
Today these esteemed people decided to meet (to do something constructive). And what can be more constructive than completing the marketing assignment, the submission of which is due in a day. So A, S, H, V, and myself decided to meet in the cool quad of K. It’s a really cool quad, thanks to the visibility it provides to all the interesting things happening in the nearby quads.
The discussion started with some calculations, some perceptions and some imaginations to re-discover the marketing caliber of the collective team. But imaginations ruled over perceptions, and perceptions ruled over calculations, and soon F-6 realized collectively…..What the hell are we doing here?....Should such a beautiful evening be sacrificed brooding over marketing stuff for some company whose existence is under intense debate.
“A” decided to saturate himself with a couple of bottles of Kingfisher and started narrating the exciting moments which he used to enjoy in oil rigs including his experience of being on an oil rig near AP coast when the tsunami struck hard. K and myself felt really obliged to the Almighty for the kindness he bestowed on us by making sure A was absolutely unscathed by the tsunami and thus making his presence felt in F-6.
While A, K, and myself were busy discussing our past experience and moments, V and S were busy in persuading H to host a small party for us. Now, about H, she is an amazing cook…. makes really good “aloo-parathas” and other stuff in her quad. But for some unknown reason, she shares the output of her culinary skills with the whole world minus F-6.
In the meantime my phone rang, and by the time I joined back the team, they were on their way to the dinner table of Sarovar Plaza and guess what….the last traces of marketing discussion has completely given way to antakshari. I realized that all the F-6 people are damn good at antakshari and this time they were determined to bring this fact to the notice of the whole ISB. The antakshari continued…. and classic self compositions from K added to the already jubilant mood of F-6. It continued in the mess, it continued on our way back, it continued for yet another hour on the lawns near the ISB main building….. and in a volume that made sure that nobody within a radius of a hundred meters would miss it. And for the rest of ISB… they had no choice, but to listen and admire our skills.
Finally we returned back to our quads…… who says we did not do anything constructive…. I am sure 80% of the ISB knows us now… Voila.....Nous sommes F-6.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

At 2’O clock in the afternoon, I forced myself to get out of my dreams and walked my way to the lecture theatre, where this “Leadership Development Program” (LDP Program) was supposed to take place, for my study group. Earlier groups had mixed reactions about this program and by all probabilities, I had prepared myself for one of the most boring sessions of ISB.
At 7’O clock, as I am writing this post, I realize that it is one of the sessions which I can never forget, thanks to Mr.Aroon Joshi (our counselor) and my group mates. After every 360 degree survey (of a group member), Aroon insisted that the group mates should also comment on the strengths and weaknesses of a person. I was under the impression that 3 weeks is not well enough to know a person to successfully judge him or her. But here there are six people who seem to know each other for years.
Some are extroverts… others introverts. Some have great networking skills…..others prefer the silence of their own self…..Some are emotional ….. emotional enough to express their emotions… others can so deceptively convince to the exterior world so well that they don’t possess those “emotional stuff” within them…..Some are assertive…others ever ready to listen…Some so well-organized in life…..while others enjoy “shoes lying on the bed” concept.
And all these traits are distributed amongst only six different people. And here we are, discussing what it takes to make a great leader. Some people need to slightly change their approach to life, some others need to build on their strengths and add extra feathers to their caps. After all, all of us are leaders in making.
But somewhere within the individual, there is a restless desire to remain happy and satisfied in life. Now “the path to be a leader” or “to remain happy in life”…. are these two things mutually exclusive or is it like, when we force our self to change (to develop leadership traits), do we sacrifice some of our natural individuality….
I know “there is always the scope for betterment” theory which everyone so avidly applies. But “betterment” (I always believe that betterment is only the means and not the end) is again a relative term and often we find that ideas of great leaders normally clashes. Hitler was a leader and so was Churchill. And no one can dispute our very own “Father of our nation” as a great leader, yet none can forget the aura of Subash Bose. And still these leaders were so different from one other. That clearly suggests that leadership is a very independent characteristic that is innate to the individual. And there cannot be a B-school definition for a "leader". So what is it, that takes to inculcate the real spirit of leadership within? Is it more effective to work on the strengths which one individual possess and can develop easily, or is it more prudent to pick up those skills which can be picked up without any serious change in innate nature (assuming that human nature is changeable). Or should we walk on the third path…. working on our “drawbacks” and trying to develop them with time and experience, which might put a lot of mental and social stress, in this process.

Normally I don’t think about concepts like “leadership”. I am much more happy living my life in the way I have wanted, without any restraints. What is more important for me? “Being a leader” or “remaining happy”. Well, if both these concepts come together, then nothing like that. But if asked to choose only one, I feel I will go for the second option. After all, life offers only one chance.

THE CEO OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

Not long ago, the best and the brightest of the India's business thinkers had written off Indian railways as the Government's biggest "liabilities" (Now that I know, what "liability" means in Accountancy, I must use this word with further caution).There were suggestions that railways be privatised and corporatised. But then came a man to lead the railways and the rest is History. Yup, I am talking about Laloo Prasad Yadav. A few days back this name was synonymous with Bihar and its plight.Today, it is synonymous with Indian Railways.

The transformation journey of Indian Railways has turned out to be amongst the most striking business revolutions in the country. How did Laloo manage to handle this revolution? What did he do that transformed the Railways?.... and that too without any hikes in fares (in fact, there has been a reduction of fares). These are amongst the few questions which the b-school dons are trying to understand. And not surprisingly, IIMA is likely to introduce the "transformation" of Indian Railways as a "case study".
And the "CEO of Indian railways" is there to help out the B-school dons. In his simple language, "capacity utilisation" has done the magic. I am sure, the policies of Laloo will be the central idea behind numerous business research and journals.

Not only Indian universities, but also top universities abroad are amazed by the aura of this man, whose rustic charisma is beyond the grasp of many. The Harvard university school of social science and London School of Economics are amongst the universities, for whom this man is a topic of intense research.

FINALLY...

So finally....Four days of the week come to an end. And the informal weekend starts for the ISBians. I call it "informal weekend" as it doesnot exactly reflect the fun-filled weekends which most of us were used to, before joing ISB. There are enough assignments to make the next three days busy.... not to forget sessions like "Leadership Development Program" which are scheduled for Sunday. However all this doesnot stop the students from taking a break from the kind of life it has been since the last four days. Movies.....Parties.... Paradise biriyani are all lined up to bring that much needed respite. It depends on the individual how much fun he can derive from the host of activities that are all lined up for the next three days.
ISB is known for the professional diversity of students......However the psychological diversity too demands a mention. Some people have turned out to be more serious than what I estimated them to be. Some others prefer to bring out a more lively image of their personalities. There are others who normally prefer to maintain a low profile and I am sure we will get to know more about this category of people during the placement season. There are also an extremely determined bunch of people, who are determined to find their life partners from ISB and have started their focussed approach from day one. Again there is this "cribbo" bunch who cannot stop cribbing about the minutest happenings of life. Then, there are this selected few, who are the "professors in making".
Enjoying this psychological diversity is another aspect of my stay in ISB.

LIFE MOVES ON......

In my last post, I was talking about "decision making" with respect to a manager. But, then is decision making the prerogative of a manager.... well, may be.... when we talk about statistics or economics or accounting or marketing.
But as we take a silent plunge into our very own personal lives, we can realise how many decisions we take..... and how important a role they play in our personal lives. Sometimes life is kind enough to provide sufficient time and data, so that we can weigh all the pros and cons of the situation and come up with a prudent solution. At other times, things happen so quickly, that we barely realise that life has already taken a decision for us. Whatever the case may be, life moves on and we follow the rythm.
Now, that I have mentioned the word "rythm", let me come out of my philosophy to venture outside back into the lecture theatres of ISB. As the number of lectures keeps adding on, the students are getting tuned to the statistical eloquence of Professor Stine, the structured marketing approach of Professor Ansari, the accounting skills of Professor Finn, and the economics jargons of Professor Bubna. These professors may be very different from one another in their teaching skills, yet they are able to instill a sense of "beauty" to the respective subjects. And at the same time they make sure that we appreciate this "beauty" well enough......and how do they do that? Through assignments after assignments after assignments.....just endless. And now let me get back to one of those assignments.....

ITS "DECISION MAKING"

Its not "Marketing"..... It is "Marketing Management".
Its not "Statistics".....It is "Statistical Method for Management Decisions".
Its not "Economics".... It is "Managerial Economics".
Its not "Financial Accounting"... It is "Financial Accounting in Decision Making"

Yes, these are the names of the courses which we are supposed to clear in Term1. I was wondering what the logic could be in complicating the names of these courses.....It could have been short and sweet.
But as I attended the lectures, I realize how important a role "decision making" plays in the career of a manager. Now, to get a management degree, it is not enough to learn the formula and theories.....It is just not supposed to work if we restrict ourself only to learning without developing the skills to use the learning for taking real life decisions (not my statement, it was unanimously agreed by all the esteemed professors of this term)

I realize that I have never read statistics as it is taught here. The real value lies in applying the concept and not solving a mathematical problem. And this is what makes life so tough in ISB..... and perhaps easier when we step out to face the real world..... And who is responsible for all this...... are yaar... Its "Decision Making".