The B School Odyssey

Government, Society and Business(GSB)

2006-09-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of the courses many people won't like but i found it very interesting. The course brings in a whole new perspective about the society and government (business .. we have already had enough of it :) .. well, to say the least, its a whole new world out there which i wouldn't have thought of in the normal course of life.
Its about UNDP .. Indian Government... policies ... state of society and the radical thinkers ...
We had a session today where we were shown a talk by Amartya Sen ... he gave some of the most thought provoking ideas .. one of them was like this ... people want to live and live long .. some of them want to get more of life and enjoy ... some of them have a definite purpose to achieve .... but at the end they all want to live longer .. now if you increase the life expectancy in the economy essentially you are increasing their freedom ... their freedom to achieve what they want ...
Its essential to understand the concept of freedom .. freedom to do what you want. Though the idea is certainly linked to economical progress .. but it has a number of indicators .. freedom to do any thing relates to the holistic development of society ... and that is what everyone should aim at.

Don't boil the ocean

2006-08-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day ... I had classes and then two sessions, first one by Sanjiv B, founder of naukri.com and second one was conducted by the Boston Consulting Group.
Sanjiv's talk on Entrepreneurship cleared some of the myths surrounding entrepreneurial life. I really liked his practical approach and no frills lecture. Despite making it big now, he presented the real tough life of the entrepreneurship - aspects like peer pressure, financial struggle and yet the urge to do something meaningful in life were put in a very truthful and believable manner. It was inspiring as well. Being an IIMA alum, he could have taken a high paying job and could have comfortably enjoyed life, but he chose a path full of struggle. With more and more sessions on entrepreneurship, my old dream of being an entrepreneur is reviving itself.

BCG session was one of those gyan session I have got used to now. It was beneficial to ppl who had doubts about consulting life. I have already had my share of these gyan sessions with alumni and hence, had good idea about this gyan. Nevertheless, it gave some good information about BCG, kind of projects they take, culture at BCG etc. Rohit, an ISB alum was a part of BCG team and I got some time to talk with him about life, consulting and ISB. He gave some good insights about his analysis of studies at ISB.
The phrase that sums his approach is "Don't boil the Ocean". It is similar to work smart philosophy.When you know what you want to achieve, estimate how to achieve it and plan methodically the steps you need to take. Instead of trying to work hard and boil the ocean, try to just identify the little steps you need to succeed. This was thought provoking and I really felt that I could have done much better at ISB with this approach. I always think that I am a smart worker but here at ISB I missed that approach a couple of times. Hmmmm .. The notion of working smart is an old one, yet so difficult to understand and implement.

A Set of Tools

2006-08-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

Our Managerial Accounting Professor keeps reminding us that the course is just a set of tools and we have to use to them to solve different problems. I think exactly the same way about MBA. Education can just provide a set of tools, paradigms and concepts that can be used to handle business decisions/problems, but ultimately the individual matters the most. Given a situation, the decision/solution is very subjective depending on one's perspective and preferences. Different ppl using the same tools and same process of analysis can come up with very different decisions.

That's the beauty of world of management, its all about our thought processes, our baises and our intuition. MBA education can provide a structured way to think about problems, best practices and different metrics to measure success, yet the crucial aspects of decision making can be developed only through application. I am not underplaying the role of education, what I want to reflect is that education can take us to a certain level, beyond that its individual's ability which matters.
MBA becomes essential because it equips us with some skills in a real short time and helps us take our thinking to a next level.

Bottomline, MBA is essential but not the only way to succeed in life.Doing an MBA can't guarantee success(though it can increase the probability) because ultimately its all about individual's application skills.

Registration open for TIE-ISB

2006-07-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is for all the present and future Entrepreneurs. Registrations are open for TIE-ISB, one of most prestigious events at ISB. Here's a brief overview of the event:

The TiE-ISB Connect is a joint initiative of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Hyderabad Chapter and the Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. It is a forum that brings together early stage venture capitalists, start up and growth stage entrepreneurs and academicians, on a common platform to interact and help build successful enterprises. The first TiE-ISB Connect held in July last year was a resounding success with over 300 delegates attending the full-day event. Over 100 business ideas were presented of which about 15 are in different stages of development/ discussion with investors.
The TiE – ISB Connect 06 is scheduled at the ISB during September 20-22, 2006. This year we have significantly up-scaled the scope and magnitude of the event, with discussion tracks on diverse sectors including Internet & IT Services, Bio-Pharma, Media and entertainment, Infrastructure/ Real Estate, Telecom/ Wireless, Semiconductor, and Retail. Each track will have a keynote address by a successful entrepreneur, a review of global trends in the sector by an analyst, and a panel discussion by venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs on sector opportunities. Entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in these sectors may attend the event as delegates.
The entrepreneur community can also benefit from three specific opportunities: Investor Pitch (Presenting plans to potential investors); Venture Showcase (Exhibiting product/ service) ; Jumpstart your venture (Workshop preparing the aspiring entrepreneur for an exciting journey)

So if you feel you have a great idea or if you have already started with a venture, Tie-ISB can provide you a platform to develop necessary contacts to take it forward. For details, please visit:www.tie-isbconnect.com

Talk by KMPG Global head of technology

2006-06-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Of all the speaker sessions i have attended at ISB, the talk by Mr. Edge Zarella
(KPMG's global head for technology) was really thought provoking.
Actually, this talk was interesting mainly because of the perspective it brought in. A little context here - These guys are involved in the risk management consulting with various corporates investing heavily in the south asian region. Surprisingly, Mr. Zarella didn't talk much about technology and other aspects of work at KPMG (as opposed to the various other speakers who glorify the organizations they work for) and I think it was a clincher. His theme was strategic positioning of India and various other aspects of it. He mentioned about growth of South Asia , the asian miracle and the road forward. One of the interesting concepts in the talk was of country portfolio management by the corporates. Despite India being the most favoured location, corporates don't want to put all the eggs in the same basket and divide the investment in 2 to 3 countries. This risk management exercise is benefiting a lot of asian nations. Think of malaysia, vietnam and you can relate to this.
More than the real content, i was wondering the way big corporate think.. its amazing .. globalisation is on full swing. Businesses are spreading their wings and in this profit maximization drive, world is real the playground.

refocussing myself

2006-06-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the day for introspection. One and half terms are over and apart from learnings from courses, i believe that i have not been able to give time to a lot of activities i had planned before joining ISB.
In the last 2 months, i feel i have lost some of my focus. Did i join the MBA school just for the sake of studies??? No, i had a lot of other things in mind 1. Developing my skills (non-academic ones) 2. Knowing more about the world in general. 3. Learning from peers and networking.

I think i am not doing justice to these non academic things. Given 24 hrs in the day, there are a lot of tradeoffs to make at ISB and we need to be really disciplined to do what we really want to do. The bottom line is that you cannot do everything. Till now, i was thinking that i can manage it all, but at this point, i think I need to let some things go. I need to choose the courses i have to focus on, choose the skills i need to develop, and focus only on a few things which i have always been yearning to do :)

Football Fever

2006-06-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

The football fever has gripped ISB campus as well ..... not that it is matching kolkata .. we still don't have people putting flags on their faces or wearing their favorite team's T shirt...
The SLC has put up a big screen outside the rec centre for the soccer fans .. nature has also been kind enough to present a great weather today ...
the now now is to have dinner and then proceed to rec center to catch the action on the big screen :)

Indian GMAT takers prefer ISB

2006-06-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

Business world article on ISB:
http://www.businessworldindia.com/issue/news13.asp

Its all about time ..

2006-05-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

At times, ISB schedule freaks me out .. that's what happenned last saturday(27th may) when i came to know about LDP(Leadership Development Programme) session scheduled on the next day.
A programme of 8 hours !!!... just when things were going fine and i was anticipating a managable schedule, i came to know about this programme and the thought of losing 8 hrs was nerve-racking..........given no other option, i had to attend the session.. it was a good session but it should have been scheduled some time in term break. Nyways, the positive side was that those 8 hours were like oasis in the desert.
... now that i am short on time, I plan to take out time from Accounting assignment, Accounting Quiz, Eco group assignment (all due by weekend) to do well in the end term scheduled next monday :)

Elections at ISB

2006-05-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last few days have been full of activities - mid term exams, elections and of course, the regular assignments. I plan to drop assignments from the list of activities as they are already a part of daily life .. :)

Mid term Exams are history now .. in ISB world, a week is a pretty long time! Another reason for not writing about mid term is that i truly don't wanna remember it ..

My GMAT Experience

2006-05-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

People have been asking me about GMAT in general and my experience in particular. This link has it all :)

http://jinxed1980.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-gmat-experience.html

Cheers!

The famous ice breaker

2006-05-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

One of the famous icebreakers used in B schools .. . i have heard different versions of this one atleast 3 times in the last one month :)

A CEO was interviewing candidates for his firm and decided to ask the same question "What is 2+2" to all of them
The engineer pulled out his slide rule and shuffled it back and forth, and finally announced, "It lies between 3.98 and 4.02".
The physicist declared, "It's in the magnitude of 1x10 power 1."
The social worker said, "I don't know the answer, but I am glad that we discussed this important question.
The accountant looked at the business owner, then got out of his chair, went to see if anyone was listening at the door and pulled the drapes. Then he returned to the business owner, leaned across the desk and said in a low voice, "What would you like it to be?" :D

A day for relaxation

2006-05-20T05:36:00.000-07:00

After 5 weeks of hectic life, i got some time to loosen up. Got up at 10:30 in the morning and decided not to indulge in acads related stuff. I already have 3 assignments lined up for the next week, yet i am in no mood to start working today.
I am loving each moment of this day .....watched a movie, indulged in several discussions with peers... made coffee for myself and am listening to songs of fanaa now... what a pleasure this all is... specially when it comes in phases.
You already know i have 3 assignments for next week, then final exam are just a fortnight away .. in between there are few more quizzes and assignments... not to forget the pre read for lectures :) Its time for some co-curricular activities as well .. I have to start working on ELP ...
.. i will think and plan about these tomorrow .. till then agenda is to laze around :)

No more GRE scores at ISB

2006-05-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

News for ISB aspirants - GRE scores are being taken out the application process and hence, 2008 applicants cannot apply to ISB with GRE scores. The provisional admissions on CAT score will continue.

Statistics

2006-05-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah .. its the simplest course we read in Xth standard. Only formulaes and calculations and it is the most scoring part of the maths question paper.
Now consider this ... have you ever been attacked by your favourite pet? or have you ever been bitten by that cute little pomeranian, which hanged around you all the time ?
Though i haven't experienced the above, yet i can sense the feeling when one is being attacked by his fav. The sharp teeth hungry to bite you and growls adding to the terror... and all of this coming from something so dear to you ....
Why i am able to sense it because that's the feeling i have about the statistics course in this term. Without boasting about myself, i would like to claim that i have been very good in maths et al and in general have always managed to be amongst the toppers . Yet this course in stats(one of my favs in undergrad) is terrifying me this time. The mid term is scheduled this weekend and i am just keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Perceptions do matter

2006-05-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Do you know what others think of you ???? Is there some gap between what you are and what people perceive of you???
I know its difficult to answer such questions and we might be able to give a few details of trivial incidents where we sensed such feelings. Another radical belief says "It does not matter what others think of me, i know who i am and i am not going to change for anyone, so why should we bother about other's opinion".
Well.. not as long as you want to live in isolation and work without teams. The moment you have to work in team, you will have to understand people, build the rapport and generate the feeling of trust. In this process, you might have to change certain characterstics of your behaviour. If there is a mismatch between what you are and what people perceive of you, many of your actions would be interpreted with a different perspective.
So, its good to know how others perceive you. Also important is to take the feedback from right guys.("Everyone gives advice, it matters whom you take it from"). Genuine friends sometimes give open feedback and hence lay out the path for our continuous improvement but there are a lot of untold observations which keep lurking in the minds of people close to us and we better know what those observations are.
Bottomline - Feedback is an important part of self-improvement process and can surely help us improve on our weaknesses.
You might wonder, why all this gyan ? .. well , keep wondering ..
For ISBians - i just finished my LDP form. :)

Kinds of Men

2006-05-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

Remember Shakespeare's quote "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon themselves"
I guess i have met all three kinds at ISB (provided i understood Shakespeare right :D)

After 3 assignments, 2 quizzes and 2 class quizzes

2006-05-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the title of the post says the number of exams(just to make it a bit more serious) I have gone through in the last 10 days. According to Alums, "The story has just begun and this is the trailer" .. lots n lots more is yet to come. First assignment was the most time consuming one .. by the time we came to second one, our group had almost mastered this process. Though anxiety isn't my middle name, yet the first assignment brought it for me... yet as the time passed, it has all mellowed down.. the word assignment/quiz/test doesn't fright now .. i believe by the end of this curriculum .. it won't even make any difference. (for better or worse???)
BITS, Pilani(my undergrad school) didn't have the attendance compulsion in our times(not sure if the rules have changed by now) and hence, as any so called "carefree" undergrad would do, i never attended classes. ISB is completely opposite , each and every class is considered important and initially it was a big pain for me, but now like the rest of my class, i have got used to it.
I think it is rightly said "When you perceive a strong need, you take control".. and i also have taken control of things now.. managing classes, courses without missing sports and friends!
Hope i keep this discipline in future as well... :)

Witty quotes

2006-04-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Some of Oscar Wilde's quotes![www.quotationspage.com] .... witticism at its best!

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up. Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones.
I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.
It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.
The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity. Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.
Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.
Most people are other people.
Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. Work is the curse of the drinking classes.
I can resist anything but temptation.
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

Back to School after 5 years

2006-04-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Before joining the school , I had a lot of questions .. Will I be able to study ? How will it be in a full time school with exams and assignments and what not? Now, here I am .. Studying several courses at a time and these questions seem meaningless!
The transition from a professional to a student could not have been smoother.. Having said that, I have to point out that this student life is as well nothing short of professionalism! The MBA programme, specially the one for experienced guys, helps keep the professional in you alive. During several discussions in the past few days, I have been forced to delve into the past to bring out my experiences related to professional life. These reflections help you keep the professional alive. I believe more than any thing else, these reflections are the best mode of learning. You read something, reflect and find new perspectives developed each time. The more you delve into it,the more interesting it becomes. With this I remembered that before I get involved in this interesting topic again, I must complete my assignments .. :)

Orientation Week Begins

2006-04-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hard work is in the offing... has been the important ingredient of the talks so far ..
3 Days in the college and boy , it has really got us moving .. if one thinks MBA is a cakewalk .. better be warned.
The activities planned by the Alums have been amazing to get all of us together and to prepare us for the MBA experience at ISB.
The incoming batch looks quite good and the bar is being raised continuously at ISB.. This year the GMAT Avg score is 706 :)

Joined ISB

2006-04-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

ISB is absolutely fantastic :)
Registration was very well organized and coordinated. The processes were simple and convenient ! Got the bank loan santioned from Andhra Bank .. laptop from precision and go my ID etc .. and yes, a RED coloured T shirt as well!!
Andhra Bank needs a special mention for customer friendliness .. the processing took just 5 mins and unlike SBI, i didn't have to write letter etc .. seems like AB has a good understanding with ISB
Students are amazing .. within a day i feel at home. Met sharath .. and few bitsians ... Feels like heaven :)

Cheers !

Completed Preterm Assessment Tests

2006-04-12T02:45:00.000-07:00

Its done ..... I completed the preterm assessment tests today and have registered for two courses- Accounting and Statistics.

Countdown begins

2006-04-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of days before i join ISB. The last few weeks have been great. I went home and had a great time with parents and old friends .. its was after 7-8 years that i got such an extended stay at home.
I still have a few questionnaires( for the preterm modules) to complete and have to take copies of several documents to ISB on 15th.
Its exciting these days ... am just dying to be in college now. :)

ISB vision and beginning

2006-02-17T03:59:00.000-08:00

Here's an article from indiainfoline.. i believe the publication date isn't correctly mentioned.
__________________________________________________________________
In line with its vision to groom future business leaders, the Indian School of Business (ISB) have announced a leading-edge general management curriculum with highly relevant areas of focus in t-commerce (the impact of technology on commerce), entrepreneurship, and managing in fast-evolving, emerging environments. The comprehensive curriculum will be strongly complemented by extensive corporate interaction and wide-ranging international exposure.
Underlining the significance of the novel curriculum, Mr. Rajat Gupta, Chairman, ISB and Managing Director (Worldwide), McKinsey & Co. Inc, said, "One tremendous advantage of being a brand new school is the opportunity to leapfrog existing programs and create a forward-looking curriculum that addresses the needs of future business leaders. The ISB curriculum is a blue - print for molding business leaders who thrive on change."
Mr Gupta also unveiled the logo for ISB on the occasion. Reflecting the founding vision of ISB as an institution that fosters freedom of thought, operates in a global arena and strives to transcend traditional boundaries, the logo depicts the globe transforming into birds. The birds represent unfettered thought and far-reaching vision.
Dean Don Jacobs, Dean of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, who also heads the ISB Office of the Dean, said "The key word in developing the curriculum has been relevance - whether it is in choice of specializations or interaction with the business community or international exposure for ISB students. We have had the best brains in management education and research put together the ISB curriculum."
The curriculum has been developed by ISB’s International Academic Council comprising reputed faculty from the finest business schools in the world like
The Wharton School, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Harvard Business School, Graduate School of Business at Stanford and the University of Chicago. In particular, professors from the ISB’s two affiliates Kellogg and Wharton played a critical role in crafting the path-breaking curriculum.
These professors had the challenging task of integrating all the input that was provided by the ISB’s Board of Directors, comprising about 50 CEOs and Chairman of some of the world’s leading corporations. The ISB CEO, Dr. Pramath Sinha, stressed the fact that the curriculum drew heavily from the many brain-storming sessions with the ISB’s Board members and its NRI sponsors from Silicon Valley on what would constitute a distinctive program in management. Thus, with advances in information technology driving rapid change in business systems the impact of technology on commerce (or t-commerce) will be a focus area for the ISB. The emphasis will be two-fold: the curriculum will highlight teaching and research that enables managers to respond to the challenges and opportunities created by technology and the Internet; and it will explore issues related to the role of technology in enabling companies to redefine their traditional business systems. Mr. B. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Limited and Board member of the ISB, who was present on the occasion, reiterated the need for the focus on t-commerce as well as his support for further research in this area.
The second unique focus area for ISB will be entrepreneurship, a crucial element in grooming managers who can harness change and capitalize on the opportunities of the New Economy, and the life-blood of overall economic growth and employment generation. In addition to a major in entrepreneurship, the ISB will offer an entrepreneurial environment in which students undertake projects on new business development, participate in venture fairs and learn from the successful entrepreneurs who will actively participate in the program. The ISB also plans to set up an entrepreneurship center with incubator facilities, to provide students with all the resources required to become entrepreneurs. Mr. Analjit Singh, Vice Chairman, Max India Ltd and an active member of the ISB Board, spoke about the uniqueness of this focus and its extremely practical orientation.
The founders of ISB recognise the tremendous importance of the emerging economies and accordingly the ISB curriculum will seek to instill in future business leaders the skills to manage in this environment. The theme of managing in emerging markets will be an integral part of the program and will run through in all courses through case studies, projects and fieldwork.
Mr Anil Kumar Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc. and a founder member of the ISB Board, stressed the importance of this subject to researchers and corporations around the world.
ISB will also offer specializations in strategic marketing and analytical finance.
Extensive interaction with corporate managers and industry leaders will be a hallmark of the ISB program. The unprecedented corporate support enjoyed by ISB will enable it to easily undertake activities with high corporate involvement like consulting, corporate mentorship programs, a CEO’s forum and an entrepreneur-in-residence program. Further, with its location in Hyderabad, one of the rapidly growing centers of software development in the world, the ISB is well positioned to forge links with related academic institutions and practitioners in the hi-tech sector.
ISB will offer wide-ranging international exposure to all its students to ensure that ISB graduates can manage successfully in different environments around the world. This will be done through exchange programs with US business schools, joint classes with Kellogg and Wharton through videoconferencing, access to world-class faculty with significant international experience, a diverse student community and interaction with business leaders from all parts of the world.
The ISB will offer two-programmes initially: a one-year post-graduate management program (equivalent to an MBA) for qualified students with two to five years’ work experience and specially designed programs in executive education and development. The one-year program will have 680 contact hours spread over 8 terms. The ISB is now admitting students for its June 2001 post-graduate class and the application form can be downloaded from www.isbindia.org
Based at Hyderabad, the ISB is a unique collaboration between some of the world’s most respected corporations and world’s most prestigious management institutions – the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The ISB campus, spread over 250-acres, will be self-sustaining, with sophisticated educational infrastructure and world-class living and recreational facilities.

Selected at ISB

2006-02-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

There can't be anything better than getting into student life after 4 years of work:)
After ISB offer, i have decided to take a one month break and spend a good amount of time at my home in Lucknow! Its been almost 6 years since i stayed for more than a week with my parents. An excitement of different kind and unlike every other visit, this time i don't have to think about work.
I am so excited to join the school , much more than my first day at job or even the first visit to US, i believe this is something worth experiencing :)