The Smiling Assasin's Smirk

Mohan Kuruvilla: Sales Guru

2007-01-30T19:35:00.000+05:30

Mr. Mohan Kuruvilla is the man who taught me B2B and Sales. One word to describe him "MIND-BLOWING" ....He can make the Sales Mgt class alive and make everybody glued n intrigued for hours without anyone losing attention! He has a very good experience and good hold of the subject. So armed with such knowledge, experience and tremendous wit he simply makes the class go crazy...His funny bihari accent and one story-one concept way of teaching is awesome. You need to attend one of his class to really believe what i am saying. I am really fortunate that he taught me.These are some of his patented catch-phrases:How to attack a competitor .One of the way was "Joote Bhiga Ke Mariye""Jabardast...." Kya Jabardast case study he!!"Marketing is an Intoxicating subject""Ek baar maan lag jayega to itna aanand aata he, puchiye mat sir..Jabardast aanand aata he"The guy who is asked to present case fatcs in his class. He keeps saying to him while he talks to class; "Aap kuch padh lijiye sir, aapko sochne ka mauka de rahe he!!""And then 3 question will come to his mind... which are these 3 questions?" 1. usne kahan se mba kiya hai?2. Did he have a subject called Sales management?3. Who taught him that?...."Aur tab mat bolna ki maine aapko sales padhaya hai...""Anand aa gaya Sir..." " CEO phone ghumaya usko aur khoob gali diya" he came back to his room n do yiu know wat did he do? " sabse pehle ek black cofee piya, aur boss ko khoob gaali diya......"Ek coffee bhi kick deti he""Ab sab kuch hum hi thodi na bolenge, kuch to aap log bhi bol dijiye na sir.......kuch bhi bol dijiye, aap jo bolenge sab sahi hoga ""sir humko bhi sun lijiye na sir""Kelloggs / Frito-Lays bolke ek company thi.... abhi bhi hai!!!"

Last Word from IBA

2007-01-27T16:50:00.000+05:30

Last word: Life@IBA

So finally, in few days I would be out of this place. This place was my home for about two years now. June 2005 I joined IBA with hope and aspiration. I joined with lot of baggage. Friends of my grad days had lot of hope. Family had a lot of expectation. I myself had a point to prove. I don’t know how much I have lived up to. But one thing for sure, I am leaving this place behind with lot to think over and my hands full. I have learnt quite a bit of lesson and how to survive in life. And that I think is the most important learning.
MBA is not for the faint hearted. You need guts to survive relentless stress and competition. MBA is also not for someone who thinks it is the option left after graduation. It’s the next logical step. But it’s not. MBA is not because your parents can afford it. MBA is not because big money is waiting you after passing out. MBA is not because MBAs fetch a big dowry in marriage circuit. I guess there is more to it. A lot of thinking and planning must go into before deciding to do an MBA. MBA degree arms with a power to take your career to a higher level. Just a cautionary word to winnable MBAs: Think and think and think. Why MBA? How will it benefit you in your career? What career is best for you? Where is your interest? What inspires you? Which industry you want to get it? Which area are you looking at? If you have answer to all these questions, then I am sure you will do better justice in MBA. Merely coming without any planning, because someone forced you to do MBA is utter waste.
Two years of MBA is a process of self-discovery and self-realization. MBA will teach you, which area you are good at and which area you are bad at. You will realize your strength and weakness. You will decide your goal and path to take. You will make your future and be prepared for it. That is why; MBA is not limited to textbook study. Group work, assignments, presentations and case studies etc. all these teach you various facets of life and how to go about it. Peer evaluation, continuous evaluation keeps you always on your toes. CGPA takes the sleep out of your life for two years. All this with a purpose, that is, in real life everyday is a test. So better face a test everyday.
So now I go out of this campus armed with a new learning. I walked into this campus casual and going out now with a focus and plan.
Last few days have been quite unforgettable for me. The last trimester got over quickly than expected because of the Workshop format. Last few days we had lot of parties, get together. Basically last few days were used for bonding. Bonding that evolved over two years was taken to a different level in last few days of our stay. Almost, most of my batch mates are out of this campus. Many of them have started working. Some are likely to start soon. So officially all the seniors would be out of this campus by Jan 31st.
I have given account of all the companies that came in for placements over 3-4 months. The profile they offered and tentative dates they come in for campus. This would help juniors to get a feel of the whole process and prepare accordingly.
Wannable MBAs, who want some inside account of Life@IBA, just go through this whole thread. You will get a true picture of this place.
I am joining my Company on Feb 4th.Co is Redington India. Location of posting will be known later. My posts in this thread will be less from now on. I will only answer to some specific queries from now on. Hopefully, juniors will take on the responsibility and keep alive this thread.
My personal blog and website will be my sole interest from now on.
Do well…Good Luck…

End of the day....

2007-01-16T02:44:00.000+05:30

Now i am standing in the twilight zone... Few days more and i will bid adieu to this place...this food..this hostel..this life. Looking back...i feel good...upset...positive... I began my hostel life in the year 1993 from 6th standard and till date i have been living in hostel all my life...

Past two months has been a bit let down for me...no real value addition. My MBA finished way too fast..way too soon...All this in hurry and haste...

I hope to come back to my writing ways...because when i am under stress i perform better. And thats the exact reason, when i had so much free time, i didnt even write a single piece! But so many things to happen in my life as part of first job, i am keeping my fingers crossed. And i plan to capture all my experience soon.

Leaving for home in 110 minutes....Got a train to catch from a place 45kms away. So whats better way than to blog and stay awake over night!!!

Catch you soon...

Branding Pics N Harish Bijoor

2007-01-02T15:29:00.000+05:30

My Team Mates: Team Karunanidhi
My Team with Mr. Harish Bijoor

Me presenting the Branding PPT

Stalwarts of IBA's Faculty

2007-01-01T21:40:00.000+05:30

I have been silent for many days now.. Life has been pretty hectic for some days now. Classes, quizzes, presentations and workshops. 6th trimester consisted of workshops. So no classroom lectures. I think it is the same class lecture but the difference is its duration. workshop means long lectures without any breaks! A typical workshop runs for atleast 12 hours! We had a Six Sigma workshop for 16 hours nonstop! SO having done with workshop, we are in a way done away with our MBA! Only some formalities are left. Dec 3oth was the last lecture for our MBA.

Fortunately, we zipped off our MBA classes with a person, i think is the best prof in India. Yeah. The class was B2B, which satrted at 2 and was over at 6.45. Earlier in the day, we had IT exam at 6AM. Branding Exam at 7 AM. Retaling workshop from 9AM to 1.30PM!!!Phew!!! But never did we feel tired or bored! Such is ability to generate enthu. He comes with lot of experience in B2B market. He is one such guy, who not only has a hands on experience on the field but also has an excellent theoretical knowledge. Jokes, analogy and anectodes told with a rustic and vernacular touch is a hallmark of his unimitable style. He explains a complex theory in such a lucid manner that i bet one would never forgets in his lifetime. He typically follow case study method of lectures. He is Mohan Kuruvilla. Guys if you dont get him as your lecture, then curse your luck.

One more Hasti, whom we had this trimester for branding. What ia like in him is excellent hold of theory. He simplify everything for you. He has excellent analogy to support his arguments. he can speak on any topic under the sun. Extremely advanced in his thinking. He keeps the class on its toes always. He is Harish Bijoor. i am fortunate that i learnt branding form him. We share lot of ideas btw!!!

One guy who holds a very senior level position in Wipro, is a serial gold medallist in IIT n IIM and still is so grounded. Ekdum levelheaded! Commeonsense and logic is his forte. He supports every statements that he make by a simple logic and commonsense. He is so learned. You name a comapny and he can speak on that company for hours together. He is an excellent case analyzer. What generates lot of excitement in his lectures is the indirect sarcastic comments and taunts that he makes. Dont you dare give a qualitative statement in his class. DO your home work and analyze data and interpret and go to his class. Awesome prof!

Last but not the least, he is the man who is most dreded in IBA. MBA in IBA is incomplete wothout him taking a session! I seriously doubt his subject knowledge(Though he has IIT IIM and lot of experience!), but i bet you learn so much from him just listening. How to think like MBA, how to speak like MBA and how to carry oneself like MBA. He will teach you everything. Logic and commonsense is what he tries to teach. He will make sure that one realises how much one ignorant is. And thats one imporant lesson as an MBA. There is so much to learn and not feel complacent.

These people have challenged my thoughts and and given me lot of gyan. Guys dont miss out them...

My Institute : Photographs

2006-12-15T18:58:00.000+05:30

I have been busy creating my website, which i had planned long back. Due to paucity of time and motivation i was not able to get started. But i have started and i plan to add more features and keep it updated. There is lot of silly mistakes both in terms of design and grammer, which i will sort out. My objective is to create a website which acts as a ready reckoner for any MBA. It should act as a reference point. Link is:

http://mbacapsule.googlepages.com/

Visit it and give me your valuable suggestion.

Although i had thought of writing on a lot of topic which i came across, i will do it at a later stage. This time i will attach some pics of my Institute. Indian Business Academy, Bangalore.

Class room block. First two buildings on either side are two Auditoriums. Officially called T1 and T2. To left is the Garwa Ground. All parties, welcomes and farewells happen in Garwa ground.
The library which sports a deserted look at any given point of time!!!
First is the Boys hostel, next to it is Mess and canteen and last building is the Ladies Hostel. All in a single row.
A bird's view of campus from Boy's hostel.
The infamous Gowda's shop near Admin building.
View of the campus from near Gowda's shop. This path leads to Class room block from Admin building.

Things I learnt at a B-School and things i didnt...

2006-12-08T12:01:00.000+05:30

Things I learnt at a B-School and things i didnt...

Right now i am 5/6th of an MBA. One more trimester, boey i am an MBA!!! At the final juncture of my travel through an MBA School, i am bit sceptical, bit nostalgic and bit pensive. Having secured a offer i am relaxed. Nomore i care about CGPA! or attendance! Did i really care??? No. I never cared. I was always happy and content. I felt i always performed better than what i expected. Without much effort, i happily sailed through. That too top 30! Bluntly i will put it this way. If you want a decent CGPA here, you dont need to do anything. It will be a cake walk. Am i sounding bit too cocky??? But i felt this way myself. The quality and competition by my colleagues wasn't that tough. I wish i had tough colleagues! I hardly had a run for all the money i put in MBA. This is my point of view. There are others who feel, this two years were hardest part of their lives. Full of stress and pressure and competition. But i was never born that way. I take life easy.

My take-homes from this Bschool is developing a perspective. Ability to respect others for their views. It honed my way of thinking. i was amazed to see so many ways to look at a single thing.It taught me to have different persectives and have a groomed personality.

Second take-home would be, people wouldnt do anything, unless there is some interest. So one needs to identify that interest and set it as a goal and communicate that to them. people would be more than happy to work towards it.

Thirdly, putting a argument has to be bound with data. Without data, any argument look fake. Data supports your point or argument.

Fourthly, Logic. Yes, whatever one does has to have a logic. Before doing anything we need to ask WHY five times. When we are clear in our thinking as to why we are doing this, we have better understanding as to where we are going and we can better communicate.

Prioritizing things. At any point of time, inundated with assignments and projects to be submitted, the trick is to identify and prioritize things to do. One can do everything bery well but something very well.

Lastly, taking responsibility. We are responsible for what we do. We cant blame anyone. Its all ours.

There are other learnings, which i when reminded would jot down here.

What are the things that i didnt learn??

Brevity. Someone said "Brevity is the soul of wit". Real world has no time. When one presents anything to a client or a customer, these guys dont have time. There we need to sell ourselves within seconds. Dynamic environment today demands that one is precise and succint. But through out the course we kept giving more than 20 pages write-ups and more than 50 slides PPTs! Exams always were lenghty and testing the memorizing aspects not the ability to execute any learning from the book.

People skills. People here are at the same wavelength like us. More or less. Dealing with this crowd is easier. How about real life situation, when your customers are uneducated? Some how we dont know how to communicate and respect their point of view.

Ability to execute. We learnt all the concepts and theories but how to implement and execute. No matter how much one plan or clear about concepts, the ability to execute something is vastly different. It needs nothing but experience and can never be practised in a Bschool.

Moreover, B-school teaches you one bad thing. And that is EGO. An MBA i dont why, feels he knows everything, He feels he can deal with anyone. It this cockiness and complacency that sometimes becomes his own adversary. I will try my label best to remain grounded!!!

NB: Although many ideas are my own, I got inspired a lot by reading a write-up by,The senior vice president, sales and marketing, Prudential ICICI AMC Ltd. He also graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Corporate AIDS rally: Publicity Stunt or Honest CSR?

2006-12-02T19:25:00.000+05:30

Come Nov 1st, every year there is a rally organised by a corporate, preferably in a upmarket, central area of the city. Nov 1 comes and goes. What does this rallies do? Wha do they signify? What does it mean for the masses? What does it mean for the people who participate in this rallies?What is the take-homes?

A backgrounder on AIDS in India:

HIV/AIDS in India

1,080,264,388: Population of India (July 2005 est.).5.7 million: Estimated number of people living with HIV by the end of 2005.

0.9%: Estimated percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2003.

1.6 million: Estimated number of women (ages 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005

270,000-680,000: Estimated number of deaths due to AIDS during 2005

Source: http://www.globalhealthreporting.org/countries/india.asp?collID=13&id=31&malID=93&tbID=58&hivIC=96&malIC=95&tbIC=94&map=106&con=India&p=1

It is increasingly becoming clear that the corporates have a big role to play in our fight against AIDS. Companies like Cipla and Ranbaxy can take the lead by coming ou with cheaper drugs for AIDS. Proactively, they can come out Vaccines for AIDS.
IT/ITES industries where there is a major danger of AIDS becoming a major crisis can take proactive measures like placing Condom vending machine inside the office!
Wealthy corporates can fund initiatives where there is sincerity to do something.
Todays environment requires corporates to engage themselves in CSR. All the stakeholders today prefer a Company which has a CSR side to it than a Company who is not.

It is in this earnest that lot of Corporates use AIDS initiatives, so as to showcase their care for the cause. An AIDS rally gives ample PR and CSR points to a corporte. My college organised a AIDS rally this year near MG road. The heart of Bangalore. Catched lot of eye-balls! and media coverage.

We were part of the rally. Honestly, Nobody was earnest and sincere. Eeryone has to go, otherwise a Rs.500 fine was eminent! And who wants to be in the bad books of CRDT? After all CRDT helps one to get placed. And they clearly said,"If you want good corporates for placements, then better go there and catch their attention!".
So most were present physically and had planned how to spend the whole afternoon that day. Many were very actively distributing pamphlets, when any Admin guy was around...Almost everyone was eager that this drama could end quickly and they could spend a cosy afternoon in Forum or Inox with their partners!! And they did. When was the last time similar situation happened? Ultimate chance to spend full afternoon with one's partner in close comforts of Forum!
Official PR of our insti was more than happy. Because almost all big names of media had come and covered the events. He has achieved his targets. He had earned his goal of PR through AIDS rally. To shoot a target by keeping the gun on somebody else's shoulder!!!

Moreover, MG Road crowd is more of executive class or working population. At office peak hours of 9-11 AM, major people who witnessed the rally were executives. Do you think they are morons? Where is the actual people who are at risk? Probably some obscure part of Bangalore!

Pamphlets printed in English, which people are we catering to? Are we supposing that all english speaking people are at risk?

I sincerely believe, AIDS rally was total wash-out! It didnt serve any purpose.

But, yes, PR drive was hugely successful. It attracted lot of eye-balls. But not corporates for placements but prospectives students aspiring for MBA.
Corporates would still prefer B-school with a quality than a CSR led B-school without quality. How about our school attracting corporates by doing something scholar, not AIDS rally or Jagjit singh night? They hardly matter to corporates. They know these are show-offs!
How about our Insti publishing a research paper on any booming sector, like Retailing or KPO. How about faculties publishing a research report or taking up a consulting project for a corporate. I believe these endeavours earn more brownie points and more credible PR. That can bring in more corporates for placements...

But pray god, amidst this mad PR rush, may AIDS doesnt suffer!!!

Performance based pay for Indian cricketers

2006-11-25T23:09:00.000+05:30

Cricket is a religion in India. Cricketers are worshiped in India. For a good performance some cricketers earn lot of monetary as well as non-monetary prizes. At the same time for a bad performance the same cricketers recieve lot of brickbats. If one point of time they are cheered and revered, one bad performance and they are ripped apart . Then most players are accused of performing more on Screen than Pitch. Many players recieve lot of money for endrossing brands.

India is also accused by experts of playing too much cricket that takes a heavy toll on performance of players.I differ to disagree with these experts on amount of cricket being played. Firstly, cricket is a professional sports. And cricketers are professionals. Like a corporate job, cricket too is a fulltime job. If these players have signed contract with BCCI, then they are liable to perform their job to the fullest. Why would playing 50 ODIs and 25 Tests take a toll? If they are not playing international cricket then at any point of time a cricketer plays domestic cricket or club cricket. I assume that a professional cricketer plays minimum 6 hours of cricket daily. So if not international cricket then some domestic cricket. Then why would his cricket would take a toll? If the argument is effort to be put is more in international cricket than domestic cricket then ethically something is wrong. As a professional no matter where one is playing one has to put in 100%. So he cant put in 50% in domestic cricket under the pretext of preserving his body.As a executive in a Co, can anyone say that he/she will perform only during month of Feb and march and rest of the year he will take rest? Day in day out he has to put in the same level of passion and efforts in his work. So why not cricketers??

There is some argument in allowing these players to appear in ads etc. Because they have a short life as active cricketers. After that they depend on these incomes to survive. But if they are treated purely as professional something similar to MBAs then that would take care of these issues. They could also earn gratuity and pension benefits.

Now whether these cricketers should be paid based on their performance or not? Yes.Simply because they are professionals. And a professional has to own his performance and be answerable. He should be awarded for achieveing his targets. And for every nn-performance his pay should be cut. I guess BCCI should pay these players based on:

Merit
Group incentives
Performance incentives

BCCI has already implemented this concept. But i guess they need to take it to the next level. For example, if the team loses let the earnings from the BCCI sponsors etc be withheld(Team sponsors). Only the appearance fees be paid to them. let these players be judged not only from individual performance but contribution towards team's win. If a player scores century and team loses then thats not performance.Some formula could be arrived at to take this into account.
Its time we see cricket as a professional sport and take cricketers as mere professionals. Something similar to WWE stars. I think WWE is the most prfessional sports authority in the world. They have contracts with the players and these players never whine that they are playing too much. I guess BCCI should take some learnings from Vince McMohan!!

Annual salaries:

Grade A (Rs 50 lakh retainers): Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, V V S Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan.
Grade B (Rs 35 lakh): Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Grade C (Rs 20 lakh): Murali Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Suresh Raina and S Sreesanth.

Match fees(Contracted Players):
Tests: Rs 2.50 lakh (Playing 11)
ODIs: Rs 1.60 lakh.
The reserves would get 50 per cent of the fees.
Match fees(Non-Contracted Players):
Tests: Rs 3.20 lakh (for playing 11)Reserves: Rs 1.60 lakh
ODIs: Rs 2.20 lakh (for playing 11)Reserves: Rs 1.10 lakh.

Source: Rediff

http://www.indiatodaygroup.com/itoday/20000807/cricket2.html

The cricketers continue to get match fees and product endorsements apart from their annual salaries.These amounts are not small considering the fact that India plays over 30 ODIs and over 10 Test matches in a year.
In India, cricketers are earning money which was unheard of even a decade ago. Top Test players make more money off the ground by endorsements and other business than they do by playing for the country. Even Ranji Trophy players are better off financially than their counterparts in other sports. Cricket is no more a gentleman’s game; now it is business.Top Indian players are sitting on a goldmine. Leading the pack is little master Sachin Tendulkar, who stands to pick up, according to reports, up to Rs 5 crore annually for every deal he signs. Sourav Ganguly, who is reportedly paid Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 core for each endorsement. Rahul Dravid gets a little less. Even Parthiv Patel, the baby of the team who is yet to establish his place (he was dropped from the team for the tri-nation tournament in Holland, the NatWest Challenge and the ICC Champions Trophy) commands an endorsement fee of about Rs 20 lakh.

Popularity of a cricketer in India depends on how he plays in a match individually,not how many matches he has won for the country. Case in point is Anil Kumble, compared with Sachin Tendulkar. Cricket fans in India are very sentimental or i would say emotional.They expect Sachin to score century in every match. They want sehwag to hit every ball out of the ground.But i dont think public ever laud any match-winning player as much as the exciting plyers. So i guess it is wrong to associate performance based pay with popularity. There could be a faint connection here.For Sachins, Dravids of India it could be a parameter but not for new players. So a standard performance based pay applicable to all the players errespective of their popularity is desirable.

P.S.: This article was first published in Pagalguy.com by me.

Links for the attachment

2006-11-18T20:36:00.000+05:30

Missed the attachment files so giving you the Links to download :

http://www.sendspace.com/file/npx5q5

http://www.MegaShare.com/77013

http://files.filefront.com//;6205324;;/

http://www.filefactory.com/file/5de043/

Real sales situation reaction test pics

2006-11-18T20:28:00.000+05:30

This amounts to punishable unlawful act...but while giving my Psychometric test at Redington India, i was so bored that i thought of doing something just to break the boredom or simply get a kick!!!I took this screen shots of the test and bought it by attaching it in my mail!!!The test was for 3 hours covering 213 questions on Personality..so no wonder one will definitely get bored!!! I finished the test in 1 hour and 35 minutes. While writing my exam i also opened my Yahoo mail to check mails!!! Its visible on the Status bar of the screen shots of the images attached!!! Still i dont know how could i make it!!!

P.S. : Please dont try this at home or office

Psychometric Blues

2006-11-18T20:10:00.000+05:30

The Poster says it all outside our room:

"We Are missPLACED!"

Finally the results came. well out of 9 guys only 4 cleared the Psychometric round. Many of us were complacent with Pyschometric test but the result has caught many of us off-guard!!

Here is a Link to Free Psychometric Test :

http://www.bradleycvs.co.uk/psychometric.htm

Free Personality test:

http://www.hrchally.com/ODA/SPC.asp?ValKey=SELPOW8&VL=eng&Locked=0

Some Interview questions at:

http://www.coolinterview.com/

Tips for making CV & Interview Questions at:

http://www.essayedge.com/business/essayadvice/course/ltwo_accomplishments.shtml

Cool Interview questions & answers at:

http://hrinterviews.blogspot.com/

Although in my opinion one can change personality over night but if you go through this tests, one would definitely get a fair idea of his personality. Most Psychometric tests judge people with thier consistency so you can pick areas of one's personality and work on it during actual test. After having the SSB Interview (For entry into Defence force), i feel one needs to be very honest and consistent while giving these types of tests. SSB interview is a learning process in itself.

We also had a Sales Situation reaction test, which judges one's response in a sale situation. Here i guess one needs to be street smart in answering. Attached file is a actual SSRT that we gave. Guys, lot of questions are direct rip off from B2B class discussion of Mohan kuruvilla!!!

Meanwhile 2 guys were placed in Ness Technologies in HR.
2 guys were placed with CW Sloutions.

Guys also appeared in Bajaj Allianz and E&Y BPO. Results are awaited.

Something about Moral & Love????

2006-11-13T11:38:00.000+05:30

Something about Moral & Love????

Recent developments around me have forced me to rethink what moral is all about? What can be considered amoral and what moral? Who decide what is moral or not? What is the limit of morality? Who define this limit? Morality in a relationship is the center of my discussion.
Similarly, I was always amazed by the words ‘Love’ & ‘Friend’. Both of these words are so loosely used. Sometimes to replace each other! Where is the thin line that divides these two important entities? How can one differentiate these two entities? Do these two entities dependent on each other? Do they go simultaneously?

May be at the end of this write-up I will find my answers to this question.

Relationship between a Boy and a Girl takes different form. It starts with a “getting-to-know-each-other-phase”. This symbolizes that they are simply acquaintance. You say hello & hi to each other. They smile at each other. They like each other. Then comes a phase called “getting-to-know-deeply-each-other-phase”. This simply means because they like each other, they want explore more about themselves. They want to learn more about other’s likes, dislikes, wants, aims, dreams etc. Then they align their likes, dislikes, and aims, dreams to that of other’s likes, dislikes, aims and dreams. They find commonalities that they can cheer about and share between them. This involves sharing of trust. It could be seen by some or little physical intimacy. Then come the “intimate-phase”. Both are now very close. They are physically close, as mentally and emotionally they are close already. Kissing, pecking or love-making is what they experience in order to show their love for each other. Then comes the phase of “honeymoon-is-over”. The idiosyncrasies that they found in each other so cute become a pain in the neck! They get bored with each other. They hardly find time with each other. ‘Whether they have chosen the right person?’ this question comes to their mind. But, this phase also comes to an end. And next phase is the ‘building-of-trust-phase’. This phase symbolizes that one move ahead in their relationship, wisely passing those low phases. And this cycle is a vicious cycle. It repeats itself.

Many a time I have come across a discussion like, how can they go together in just two days? How can they get so close in just four days? This is with a reference to a Couple-in-love. Yes, they can. For some people to get close may take about three years but for some it might take only 24 hours! It’s all about what wavelength of mind and what type of personality they are. And blame the hormones! So nobody has the right to accuse them of ‘Time-pass’ affair. They are also like one among you. The only difference is that, what you could have taken 3 years to achieve in a relationship, they achieved in just three days.

So, if you analyze the vicious cycle of relationship, you will notice that, with passage of time, the relationship evolves to the next level. First are the Emotional level, then mental level, then the Physical level and lastly the Spiritual level (E-M-P-S). First phase of any relationship is pure emotional. There is no logic or reason to it. That’s why it is called ‘falling in love’. There is something that attracts two persons. Its pure hormone-play. Mental phase means after knowing each other, one evaluates the personality, wavelengths, culture etc and accepts the other person. Physical level symbolizes the sharing of trust, so physical love. Spiritual level is the next level, which keeps two lovers bound together, after storms after storms. But not all people take the same path or cycle. For each and every individual the level is different. Which level comes after what is purely dependent on that individual? It is his personality, thinking that rules as to what level he is looking at. So for a person it could be Physical level first then Emotional then Mental then Spiritual level. This is exactly called ‘Lust at first sight’. One might come across a Sexy girl and find her physically attractive. Then that lust could turn to love, once both of them know each other and start discovering each other. It is pure natural to follow this pattern, and nothing is wrong. But wrong is accusing someone who doesn’t follow the E-M-P-S route. Because there in is lies the moral ambiguity. For those who feel, Physical intimacy is the top level of morality; ‘P’ comes at the end of the cycle. So they are very late to reach there in a relationship. I call them ‘Prudes’. For a person who is experimental and adventurous in life, ‘E’ comes at the end of the cycle. For them P is not important, but E is very important. Ever noticed a very vivacious and talkative girl, she will be hugging you, and mixing with you like anything. This shows that she hardly cares about physical intimacy. But for her Emotional intimacy is very dear. Her heart beats for someone she loves only. Take another example, ever noticed a bit reserved Girl; she will never get physical with you. She will maintain a distance whenever she talks. This shows that she is too fussy about Physical intimacy and that is reserved for someone whom she loves. But she can be emotionally close so many of her friends. For her emotional closeness is at the bottom of the cycle.
So morality is determined by the type of person that he is and what the level of his relationship is. Prudes are very fussy about physical intimacy and but very casual about emotional intimacy. Similarly, outgoing persons are very fussy about emotional intimacy but very casual about physical intimacy. So it depends on the priorities of life. Isn’t it a mistake to call those who value emotional intimacy higher, ‘amoral’? It is also mistake to call those who value Physical intimacy higher ‘moral’? Because, by their own standards, they are Amoral, as they can be emotionally close to so many people!!!!

I have a friend who believes in true love. He happens to be a prude. He is against any physical intimacy in a relationship. He thinks this is amoral and bad. But by god in 18 months of stay here, he has had four intimate relationships!!! And 3/4 crushes to his credit also. For him physical intimacy is a big no. But his various relationships here are an example of above argument. And that is, morality is not restricted to Physical aspects alone. One can be amoral emotionally or mentally also. For example, your wife may not have physical relationship other man but she could always think of her Ex-lover. She could be very obedient and sincere to you but she could dream and think of her Ex-lover. And is it not an Amoral Woman??? I guess yes. If you are emotionally attached to someone else while being in a relationship then you are amoral. If you are mentally attached to someone else while being in a relationship then you are amoral.
So if you think your buddy’s GF has a good ass then I am afraid you are amoral. Because being in a relationship you should never think of other girl’s ass!!! So what if it’s only a thought. But the thought is amoral!!! The bottom line is Physical intimacy with someone else while being in a relationship is not a Sole factor of immorality.

“Virginity is not a dignity but lack of opportunity”

Now how do we differentiate Friendship and Love? The first question that is asked to a person, who is most likely to have a Love affair, is “Are in love with that XYZ person?” The immediate answer from is “NO, How could you imagine that”. This is very common. Its human psychology to be on defensive, when asked about something called love. Love has no reasons. Love numbs your decision making process. So next time when you ask this question to a person, just observe his reactions. If his/her cheeks turn pink or red!!! Whether he reverts back with a defensive answer. You know what the real answer is.
Some analogy to decide whether it is friendship or love---

You are woke up by her miscall not alarm clock.
You send a Good morning sms to her first after getting up.
You dress up good so as to leave a good impression on him. (Only for Gals)
You run to Mess so as to reserve a Plate for her and wait till she comes.
You run to class to reserve a sit for her.
You run to Audi to reserve a class for her.
You shift to corner sit so that she can sit in front of the fan.
You keep smsing when she is sitting 2 yards from you.
You start your Google talk to see whether she is online.
You start your Orkut Scrap or Yahoo mail to see whether she has sent you a mail.
You take a credit from your roomie to recharge your mobile balance so that she can give miscall anytime and you can call her immediately!!
You ask her for a spare pen on phone when your roomie has 3 extra pens right next.
When you look into your Lappy and chat with her, while you are talking with others in room.
You buy expensive gifts for her.
You run to Gowda to call her, after she gave you a miss call.
You march out of the room towards the bathroom floor to chat her on fone.
You chat with her 9AM to 1 PM, 2 PM-5 PM, 6 PM- 9 PM, 10 PM- 4 AM.
You go to IT Lab to be with her (Only the second time in your stay at IBA after KM group work!!).
You spend time with her around Gowda shop, Admin Block, Pond, Dining hall etc at unearthly hour of the night!!!
You do your Dashman case study (Mancom) more sincerely so that she gets full mark!!(If only you could put the same effort in 2nd trim in Mancom!!!!)
You Format her word file and take a print out on her behalf.
You giver her Gyan, as to how to go in a train journey, how to travel. (Was she traveling for the first time???)
You wake up at 5 in the morning (By MBA standard 5 AM is unearthly!!) to wish her Happy Journey...
You are the first to ring her whether she reached her home safely.
You mislead your friends and stealthily go to Pizza Hut and bring Pizza for her.
You mislead your friends and go to Jayanagar with a dating trip.
You mislead your friends and take her to a shopping trip.
…
…
…
The list goes on…

This is love and please don’t hide your feelings ever. It is so much visible. Be a stud and accept your love for someone. Don’t hide it under the carpet. And start giving excuses. What I learn is a boy and a Girl can never be friends. If they are it is very unlikely. Somewhere, it will evolve or fade out. And more likely the boy would start doing something like the above points and then I bet this is not friendship. Its love.

But a prude will be defensive. He will never accept his love. He will give lame excuses. But he knows deep inside and we all know this is love. Because if you are just friend you will never do this as cited above. Only when you have some feelings you will do this.

A Time-pass affair called Exam....

2006-11-09T19:43:00.000+05:30

End term started day before yesterday. Nothing new about this exam. Another exam. Just another exam. Hand-outs were searched and could be got only after the room was thoroughly cleaned and garbage was cleared off. No books this time as i stopped purchasing new book after my eventful first year in MBA. When realised after reading and mugging up books is not really improving my scores. So i decided to invest the time and energy in some more productive work!!

Exam was due in the afternoon. And i took a bet. I didnt read anything. Because every other day a company is coming for Placements. So as one day passed without a company, i was pretty sure a co can be expected tomorrow. So why read and wase time when exam is in all probability would be postponed!! So instead i did a bit of research on the company that was expected. I worked on my CV so as to tune in to the lines of the Co. And did nothing jus relaxed and listened to music.

I realized i have exam tomorrow at 10 in the night as the whole day i was busy in giving Inteviews for Redington. I guess how i landed in Redington has to be told in more detail.
The desicion whether i am going in the right direction bogged me. And i had to fight it out in my mind.So tme flew and i took a much needed rest. That is i listened to music and slept.

Morning i got up early to download few of wwe videos from net. As during this time the net speed is fast!!! Exam was at 8 AM. I dared to give a Extempore exam!!! Boey the exam turned out to be an Creative writing. Thanks to the prof. Nothing came directly from the book. Most of the questions were concept based and tested the ability to implement those concepts. Ha ha, So finished the creative writing in record time. It also helpe that nobody was prepared either!!! Those who are placed by now are audacious enough not to read for exams, and those who are not placed yet are not in a mood to give exams!!!

Another exam at 6 PM. I finished it in a record time of 16 minutes a total of 50 questions although Multiple choice!!! It carried max 50 marks. This exam is becoming more of ritual here. It is more of testing these Profs who are sitting idley for major part of thier time!!Work for them of correcting papers and ability to set question papers!!!

The reward of scoring the CGPA is fast dying here. I have a short cut to scoring more than 6 CGPA. Get minimum 3.5 CGPA...in first year. Then sit for an GDPI of any Bank or any Co that has a minimum criteria of 6 CGPA! If you get through with GDPI then your CGPA is taken care of!!!!

Sound-maniac tale

2006-11-02T19:13:00.000+05:30

Heights of Sound-madness! Another Speaker system added to my repertoire of Sound systems...

Edifier R 232 : 12Watts * 5 Satellite speakers, 1 Woofer, Total 2800 watts output.
Creative Aspire : 11 Watts * 4 Sub woofers, 1 Woofer 6 Watts, Total 2400 watts output.

Essentiall, 9.2 system means its virtually Disc now!!! My room walls are shaking when music is played...Neighbours i know are having a tough time...The security guard sitting 50 mts away can still make out whether i am there in my room or not!!! The day is not far off when i will turn deaf...

SOund is a Viagra for me...its make me high...

Mera Number Aagaya

2006-10-30T19:35:00.000+05:30

Apparel llc from Dubai came down for recruitment, A retailer of aspirational brands of footwear and apparels. Profile was Floor manager, operations, Buying etc. Package was negotiable. 30 guys opted to sit through the selection process. PI was conducted.

As profile was for Dubai, lot of apprehension cropped up... Bondage labour, Passport being taken away, Bond being signed for 2/3 years, Culture shock of a Muslim country, Cost of living, right salary to quote etc...
Profile was Ok, general that you can expect from a retailer. We quoted in the bracket of 3 to 4 in Indian standards. Although most of the expenses is being taken care of by the employer, like accomodation, pick up and drop facility, International labour laws being applied etc. It is to be seen, how many guys will be selected when the results come.

My fate also will be determined once the results come...

WWE: My Super Brand, 28/10/206, 2 PM

2006-10-28T14:24:00.000+05:30

WWE: My Super Brand

Super brand is not a mere brand it’s a passion. It’s a phenomenon. And you become crazy for it. You should be able to give your left hand for it. As Rajnikant in some parts of south India. So is Harley Davidson in US.

There are times I have fought with my sisters just to watch WWE. There are times I have skipped my meals just to watch WWE. I have had numerous fights with friends, who say WWE is bogus and staged! I have lost a longtime friend just for WWE!!! And I have never been able to know why this craziness is for WWE??? May be this write up will give me some clarity.

WWE is not merely a wrestling or sports or TV show, its wrestling entertainment. Over the ears so much Branding has been done on it that it has become a Cult show for most of people.

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) is a publicly traded, privately controlled integrated media (focusing in television, internet, and live events), sports, and entertainment company dealing primarily in the professional wrestling industry, with major revenue sources also coming from movies, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. Vince McMahon is the majority owner and Chairman of the company and his wife Linda McMahon holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon and Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of all voting power in the company. The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut, with international offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc. before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE's business focus is on professional wrestling. It is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, and holds an extensive library of videos representing a significant portion of the visual history of professional wrestling. The promotion previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which promoted under the banner of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). WWE promotes under three brands; RAW, Smack Down! And ECW. WWE is also home to three of the eight internationally recognized world heavyweight titles.

WWE's revenue in fiscal 2006 (from May 2005 to April 2006) was approximately $400 million (US), with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of August 2006, the company's market capitalization is over $1 billion (US). Its stock is traded on the NYSE as WWE.

Current programming:
Main programming
RAW Friday Night SmackDown! Extreme Championship Wrestling
Web shows
HEAT Velocity (defunct)
Miscellaneous
A.M. RAW Saturday Night's Main Event
After burn Bottom Line The WWE Experience
Developmental territories
Ohio Valley Wrestling Deep South Wrestling, LLC
Subsidiaries
The World World Bodybuilding Federation WWE Films WWE Records XFL
Miscellaneous
24/7 Alumni Diva Search Draft Lottery Hall of Fame Pay-per-view
Ratings Roster Tough Enough Video Library

One of the Key point of WWE is that they sell Entertainment to be precise. Wrestling just happens to be one part of it. Just incidental. So wrestling fights bundled with entertainment in a real situation, kind of Live becomes extremely exciting for customers. Fights become repetitive over period of time. So reason for that fights changes over period of time. People involved fights change. Situation changes, Context changes and stipulations change. This brings in excitement and element f newness in every fight. So background to every fight is clinically done so as to garner lot of enthuse.

Every word that a wrestler speaks, every moves that he makes is copy righted. So even if a wrestler leaves WWE, he can’t use it else where. For example, John Cena’s “you can’t see me” catch phrase is copy righted. Similarly, his finishing move “FU” is also copy righted. IPR Lessons t is learnt here.

Insertions or placing ads in rings, sideways, TV frames is another major way of advertising. Merchandising Star’s caps, tees, belts, albums etc also generate lot of revenues for them. If you follow the full shows, you will notice so many subtle but powerful way they communicate their brands. During PPV events, they organize Rock shows, concerts etc just like the famous basket ball matches. For every PPV they have a Theme and a song. Their target audience is young crowd. So they get in Divas to show off and titillate audience, which is another major way of pulling young crowds.

Each rivalry and fight that follows has a Hero and a Villain. Even the commentator’ take a stand for each hero and villain which brings in excitement to the commentary. At WWE you expect the unexpected as far as match outcome is concerned that actually fuels the excitement. Event organized by WWE is so spic and span and so organized. The sitting arrangement is perfect. I have never ever heard of power failure or technical failure. But once it so happened that power went off abruptly, but wily organizers turned this in to drama and viewers believed that it was intentional.

Viewers are the real king for WWE. So many a times WWE organizes press conferences before events where in people go and get their autographs etc from stars in person. This is a good way to keep the viewers engaged and make them feel part of WWE family.

Each and every thing WWE does have lot of thinking behind it and with an aim to popularize WWE. I can go on and on citing such instances. Truly WWE branding and Marketing is awesome. It’s no different reason that I am so attached to these shows.

Important lessons from WWE for marketing students is, “Customer never knows what he wants, It’s the duty of marketers to identify his needs and offer him a value proposition that he cant refuse.”

What they dont teach at IIMs

2006-10-20T06:59:00.000+05:30

What is that they teach in IIM that no other Insti don't???What is so special or different in IIM Guy from that of other Insti Product???Books are same ( Kotler! ) , Infrastucture is same ( EBSCO, CMIE, Google ) , Pedagogy is same ( Case studies ) , Student are same ( No one was born to be in IIM... No arguments on this plz )...... So lets find out...I am in 4th Trim at IBA Bangalore. I hav had chances to hav very good Faculty ( May be this is the focus of my writing ). People from IIM background and from other background hav taught us. Some are real experts and hav hands on experience. But the striking difference is visible.

Clarity of thought
Ability to communicate and Convince
Reasoning
Common sense

I will explain this by a simple situation that any average MBA has faced or faces in his life, both while being in Insti or Corporate. And that is Presentation.Regular Faculty's ( RF ) are more impressed by quantity of slides whereas Faculty with IIM Background ( IF) are impressed by quality of slides. IF teaches from slides that have maximum bullet points and RF tries to put whole of India instead. While taking presentation from students IF wants maximum 10 where as RF want minimum 10. IF hate animation but RF loves animation. IF want data and source whereas RF dont care data or its source. IF want its implication wheras RF are clueless.Before any presentation IF makes sure Objective i.e why the presentation is being done is understood by all. (Why??? is knowledge) They always hav a sequence to follow and at the start they makes all understand the Logical flow of preentation. But RF dont start with objective rather start with Definition.IF never limit the scope of discussion on any topic to one particular view, they discuss the pros and cons of every view. But RF hav a particular view and want students to understand that only.The presentations of IF forms a Logical steps but RF just pulls one from here and other from here and leaves all searching in despair.Most of IF are not fancy speakers but simple speakers. ( Remember Karan Johar's candyfloss drama to Vishal Bhardwaj's simple story telling ). They hardly use jargons but RF use plenty of Jargons. Everything IF say has a 'Why' attached to it. If u ever speak in front of IF they expect u to tell simple things not jargons and expect u to understand the concepts. If u ever do tell jargons they say it is Good English!!!Every point that IF say has a Reasoning behind it. But RF say it on the fly. And RF beat around the bush rather than cutting to the chase. RF never tell u the reason behind what they say but expect u to buy the argument bcoz they say it. They simply forget what Don carolene did say in The God father, "I will make an offer which he cant deny"...The arguments IF makes doesnt involve any rocket science to understand. Be in any subject they prove the argument by simple commomsense but RF put their argument in so complicated way that it loses its objective midway. Mind you 'Common sense is the most uncommon thing in this world'...Most RF concentrates on anything that is all too visible but IF concentrates on what is not meeting the eye. Any point that IF makes is loaded with data and sources of those data and their implications.In a nutshell it can be told IFs are logical, they hav clarity of thought, common sense but RFs are complicated and clarity is missing in them. All this gives me an impression that the culture in IIM has an indeliable impact on them having that mentality. And its no wonder that they are always sure what they want and are so good in communicating and convincing others. As they say communication is not speaking good english but making a point in simple language and supporting with logic.IF never waste a single minute in class, everything that they do must add value because they understand the value of time but RF are pretty easy with time. They are Ok with how u come to class but u better come prepared. Rf want u to come like executives but no matter even if u come blank to class.Thats my observations of Faculty with IIM background over Regular Faculty, and we can extend the same observations to Guys with IIM background and compare with Non-IIM guys.Friends if u hav any observations on this topic please chip in with ur own view.

Thats it for now,

Life is never the same after you enter the MBA rigmarole!!!

2006-10-19T21:48:00.000+05:30

MBA is not like any other PG Degree, this is precisely the point I want to put forward. Its more than just 2 years of class room studies, assignments, presentations and case studies. It gives you perspective and that too different perspective. You become focused, be it your career, your job, your Girlfriend you simply become more focused.

The pedagogy followed has its benefits and I won’t dwell much in to it. My objective now is to explain how much as a person you change, change for better; being a MBA student, being in a MBA school. The person who enters after XAT or CAT in to a MBA school is not the same after he passes out. He transforms himself completely. His outlook on life and his perspectives on various issues and life as a whole changes. He becomes more focused.

Now the point is, why his perspectives changes? MBA School comprises students from diverse backgrounds and diverse contours of the country. They bring in with them different perspective and different experience. So classroom discussion becomes so stimulating and a learning experience in itself. You get to know so many sides of the same coin. Moreover, management as a subject has no fixed solution and no one theory is sufficient. Based on context and time the problem demands different solutions. So there is no great idea that can solve all problems. So the subject demands you to think and think differently.
Secondly, if you analyze any Non-MBA guy, you will notice that compared to a MBA they are bit clueless about their career, their future course of action. An average MBA is surer of what he wants to do, where he wants to go and so on. Business today is so dynamic. One who pre-empts and takes the initiative is rewarded. So business students have no option but to get their act together and be more focused. Consider a Bus driver, who is blind, don’t where he is driving to, what would be his fate???

My stay here has taught me so many lessons. I happened to meet a person named Aki (Fictious name because he doesn’t want to be named), who joined IBA 1 year after me. My first impression of him was ‘a spoiled brat’!!! He gave me ample scope to have that image of him. He carried a 10+K Mobile; his walk had a swagger, cockiness in his voice, a strange air of arrogance. Although later on I realized all this was not intentional because he was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. Whatever he wanted was fulfilled without a question being asked. His wishes were granted and he never heard no in his life. Life for him was eating, eating king size, dressing well, dressing king size, moving around with his gang in car. Studying to get a job was never his priority. He had ample wealth to sleep and eat for next 2 generation. Their auto-business was booming. The only sensible thing he could think was once in a while to visit the office and hang around their for brief time. Till now he never felt the pressure to perform in his studies. Because he knew studies for him was another degree which he could earn by paying some bucks. But he was no dumb. He had that business acumen in his blood, and commonsense. He although never put any significant effort, was able to pull off all exams with average scores!
All these years he was with his family and studying in his locality. He had never stepped out of his family neither his home town for long. But his father had other plans. He wanted his son to study further and do what he never was able to do in his life. He wanted his son to be focused and pick up values. He wanted his son to charge of his own life and in the bargain be ready to take charge of his business.
So after a family friend suggested him the option of MBA, he pushed his son to appear for XAT. Without many efforts Aki got a average score and made it to IBA. He still feels the Prof who interviewed him for PI has made a huge mistake. But I guess his decision has made and will go on making a significant change in Aki’s life.
Aki still felt MBA life would be full of time pass, to his surprise all his dreams were shattered after he landed up in IBA. First thing he found very difficult to adjust was Schedule. Timetable is so tough. Everyday get up early in the morning to get ready. You get late you don’t get warm water. That makes the task easier because you don’t take bath for that day with cold water in chilled B’lore climate! Classes start on dot time. You get late by 1 minute, you are screwed. So one thing he learnt was value of time. At home he had all the time in the world. No one was there to raise a finger. Here you adjust with time or else face trouble. He learnt to accommodate everything with time he got.

CGPA system made him slog everyday. Because his effort was not going to make any difference if somebody else is going to put in more efforts than him. Relative scoring system pushes you to give in all your 100%. Although, he understood this lessons slightly differently. Within days of his stay in IBA, he developed a crush on his batch mate. Her dimple was making him mad and he desperately wanted to make the move. But the problem was she was never showing any move from her side. The problem was compounded by the fact that he didn’t have his gang of friends with him, he didn’t have car to offer lifts, he didn’t have money buy girls’ gifts, and he didn’t have that situation. The only way he could do is his own ability and be his own self. But he never knew what he could achieve, because he never needed to ponder over such things. He realized the important lesson of life, without money he is nothing, without power he is nothing, and without his father’s name and fame he is nothing. So he wanted to know what he is. Where he is good at. He wanted to prove himself somewhere and what better than in CGPA.

Continuous interactions with his friends taught him some more lessons. He learnt that not everybody is so fortunate like him. There is something to life than just money and power. Striving everyday to excel, he saw first-hand within his friends and that inspired him. He realized that he too has some latent potential. Now his priorities changed. He took charge of his life. He understood the value of home-cooked food when he missed his breakfast because he had an assignment to finish the previous night. He realized the importance of time and learnt to manage it. He got a new purpose and his reason for being admitted into a MBA school, and that is nothing realizing own potential.
Sometimes he feels overwhelmed by pressure of assignments and lectures. But he realizes that’s life, full of struggles and tests. If you can pass this test you can face any test anywhere. He don’t find anytime to ‘pass time’, but he knows how to find some time out of the schedule to engage in that ‘time pass’. So the trick of time-management is now understood by him. He knows on any day there are so many things to do and each work is as important as other. But ability to prioritize and do one at a time is the trick. He knows he has to give 100% and he gives. May be some work remain incomplete but the feeling of giving 100% is what gives a kick. So all this realization isn’t what he could have learnt elsewhere. He learnt all this from his friends, from his seniors and from the system itself!
Now he has different approach to life at least a different perspective. He is now more focused at least in his life as a student and there after.

Isn’t it Surreal? A topic worth noting. Life as a MBA and how it effects some changes. Aki’s world has been changed for ever and for good. There are so many instances of more such Aki’s. May be I am one of them and so are you…

18-10-2006, 10:40 PM , Package Vs Profile

2006-10-18T22:47:00.000+05:30

Two more Companies Visited for Campus:

Lifestyle, part of landmark group of Dubai for Asst. Concept Manager equivalent to Floor Manager for a package of 2.24 CTC!!!
Package and Profile debate raged on...and many of us had to opt out. But because we had to sit as directed by CRDT, bcoz we are interested in Retail! In the bargain the company took a impression that guys are dumb bcoz those who sat for it were not giving 100%!!! Why is it so necessar to push people when they are not interested..Just to get done this campus process as fast as possible no matter what package and what profile???

ANyways out of 46 guys only 6 passed the GD and 3 finally made after PI. Congrats!!!

Next in line was ICICI Prudential. It came late by 2.30 hrs!!! Late arrivals for placements by Companies are becoming order of the day now.. Are we so taken for granted that any co can come late and we still accept them with both hands!!What corporate standards...
Profile was sales and hardcore sales. Although not required to go to field and do , which you would be doing through your team, but Insurance sales profile. One was field job, package of 4.9 CTC perks included, other was on bancassurance with package of around 3.6 CTC.
Many couldnt resist the lure of package and took the plunge!!!Wish them to stick on to the job and want to meet them after the first month!!!!
16 were interested and after GD and Aptitude 14 were selected. Rest 2 went through an PI and were selected too!!!

Now Holidays awaiting for next 4 days. I really dont know how to make best utilisation of it..Lets c........

Technopak : The Inside Story

2006-10-16T10:49:00.000+05:30

This post is spin-off of my earlier post on Corporate Double standards. At the outset i must acknowledge that there are good people in this organization, there are some good things to cheer in this organisation. The way i interpret might not be the way someone else interpret.

During the third week of Sep, Insti got some need from Technopak regarding a project. They wanted to take some Interns to work on that project. They were looking for "Retail" in candidates. As i am most likely to join retail, i gave my name so are other 8 of us. We were called for an Interview at their office on 23 sep. We all were excited to be part of a Live Retail project, considering the fact that Technopak is a Retail Consultancy. We started off from our campus at 8 AM, forgoing two important classes due for that day. Distnace is about 27 kms., but commuting is tedious and time consuming on Blore roads. We reached there by 9.50 AM. And we waited for the concerned authority to come.
Satish: the irrepressible man in Technopak. Man who smiles always, takes care of you in office no matter how bad he is going through. He offered us tea and told us to wait as being a saturday, employee may choose to come or not. So in Technopak "Time " is not an issue. Employee can walk in anytime they like, go anytime they want! Flexibility! As long as one does his duty.

At 12.30 came the lady who was supposed to take our Interview. Reason for coming late was She was sleeping as it was saturday! This i overheard talking to her colleague. Boss can come late?? Isn't it? I guess one should go and see Corporate practices in West and then comment.During Interview Analytical ability was stress upon as a key skill required in the project. Data analysis in Excel etc. Also it was decided that we can come to office atmost 2 days a week to show the progress of the work and can work from campus.

Around 3PM we went for lunch as they told they would get back to us soon. That was end of day 1 at Technopak.
My seond visit was after 3 days. We 3 of us were selected for the project. And we were called for a Briefing. As usual we reached at 9.30 AM. and waited for the lady to come. She came to office at 11 AM and asked us to wait for some time and she logged in to Orkut!!! yes first thing employee when walks into Technopak does is do Orkutting. Orkut acts as a Corporate WAN! Orkut is open all the time. And i guess its a cheap alternative to costly company Intranet!!
Add to it is the Google Talk, Kudos to technology!! Instant messenger in Web page, guys in Technopak stay connected!!
The real briefing was given after lunch around 4 by "Rahul" for about 5 minutes flat!!! We had thought the briefing to be a lecture!! He works in technopak as Associate Consultant. He has done his engg and plans t give CAT 2006 this year! actually speaking there was no briefing, because he himself didnt know the project! He gave us some data to collect and put it in Excel. More of Data Mining!

We did the work by next day and emailed him, which he had asked to do so. He didnt reply back, next day he asked to come to office. We went again missing another 2 of our lectures. This time he gave us more work and submit by 2 days. The work is like we need to collect data from UN sites which give them free, put it in Excel sheets in order , then generate tables, some analysis. Mining from the net was very tedious and boring job!
Anyways, we completed the work and submitted him. Every other day he used to call us to office and give us similar work. we kept doing it hoping that some analytical work will follow once we finish this work. we didnt materilaize.
On 5th suddenly, he mailed us saying that the work is done completed and charged us of slacking. We went to office next day. By this time we had gone to office almost 6 times. We were supposed to go to office twice a week. We were supposed to get work at once for 3/4 days and complete it, submit it then get some more work. But he never gave us work at once, rather he insisted us to ome to office daily, and gave work in bits and pieces.
He then said you are wrong in ur work. He had actually given us task to collect data on products which were not needed. A list of products had actually come to him from his senior on 25th Sep, but he ignored that mail till he opened that mail on 5 th Oct and found that what blunder he is committing. (I guess his senior should have sent that mail in Orkut!!) And he charged us his mistakes. Now he assigned us the herulean task of completing the actual products again from scratch .All work in vain!! And Time constraints! But we choose to do, because we had committed to work for Technopak.

And we came back and started the work and by god we finished it after working at a stretch for 18 hours that day. 3 of us so 18*3=54 Hours!!!

We submitted the work on time, next day more work followed as he didnt give us complete list. We kept doing it without raising any eyebrow! Because we had taken up that challenge.This continued for next 5 days. Everyday, he kept adding to that list and we kept doing it. Practically it was not possible to miss our classes daily and come to office when we could do he same work at a remote place.

Still he never was satisfied with us. Whenever we went him to seek any help, he would ask us to wait as he used to chat on gtalk or Orkut!! Never did he clarified any point as he was himself not clear.
I now understand, the business model of Technopak as a Consultants!! Get Freely available data from net. Compile it and beautify it then sell the report to clients for crores of rupees! That too all the work to be done by Interns while employees cool their heels in Chatting and Orkutting!!

While he project is so important, the employees are least bothered about the project. They slack off and get things done by Interns! They themselves are unaware as to what needs to be done in the project so they confuse Interns and make them slog unnecessarily.

So at last when no value addition was forthcoming interms of what was promised from the project at the outset we thought of seeking an explanation. We wanted analytics not data-mining from net. We wanted to analyze data not beautify it. We wanted to work from remote location not come to office everyday as we had committed to them. We wanted to know the link between "Retail" and the project, which was not related. And then we were held responsible for slacking and not giving output. So we chose to part ways. And Finally we left the project.

We never deserted the project midway as one might think as we completed our work well in time. But there was a mismatch between what they promise and what they actually gave to work on. More of, Culture of the organization was a misfit. When person doesnt know his reponsibility and work to be done, and blame juniors for it, this is pathetic. Mere sitting in office and copy pasting from net and preparing reports is again pathetic.

Major learning from Technopak was something different. I understood, Consultancy sucks! Secondly, I should know how to handle hostile senior. When a senior makes you work, and take credit if the work is good and puts a blame when work is bad, you should know how to handle him. You should know how to Clarify and when to say No. You should not say yes to every yes of your boss, then he starts taking you for granted. Clarify what needs to be done, how to be done before starting the work, Keep evidence to support it at later satges. ( Exactly this thing happened to me, bcoz at the end he accused us that we never did what he wanted us to do, if only we had a evidence).
And finally, In consultancy you dont really work , you should always show that we are working and rather get it done by your juniors!!!

Post Dandiya Night: 08.04 PM, 14/10/2006

2006-10-14T20:10:00.000+05:30

Hey Congrats Guys for making some noise in PG!!!

"NAVRANG" The Dandiya Celebration was simply fantabulous . Kudos to Gujjus here for making it happen. They even arranged special Dance sessions; a Crash course for 3 days to train guys pick up Dandiya steps. All in all it was a well managed event. Finances were pulled in by Gujjus for this special event.

Best Ethnic wear for female was well fought out event of the evening. It involved some tough fight among the fairer sex!!! Even guys also put in efforts to dress up in true gujju style dress, i really dont know what it is called but it resembles like Gopala's of Lord Krishna.. Then there was Best Dance award for both male and female dept.

Talk of Dandiya and it was a thing to watch. Enthu of guys was infectious.. Even though one can say that guys here are like Fatty Robots (When was the last time you sweated out??), they were dancing and jumping with enthu.. Dj needs a special mention..choce of songs and order seem so professional...who happens to be one among us...

Dance and masti had a special significance for us because i guess this is second last chance we get to let our hair down and have fun together..bcoz its a matter of time before everyone is placed and go on his/her journney of corporates!!

IBA Rocks but horrible part was next morning we had lectures that too one assignment to submit. So after 12 we had to rush and complete our assignment and hit the sack for brief seconds and get up at 06.59 AM to rush for the morning class!!!

11.54 PM, 12/10/2006, Hit The Sack

2006-10-13T00:00:00.000+05:30

Yeah Shiv i guess u r rite...

Yesterday came Caritor... There was something in the air...everybody was excited...last year package offered was above 3.5..so expectation was in the region of 4. But alas! The company came but soon turned dud..after seeing the Package...paltry 2.3 CTC!!!Most opted out but considering the fact that they hav applied earlier night falling pray to cRDT Rider...appeared in the Selection process albeit just for the sake of appearing..most of them wrote the exam superficially!!
Profiles offered was Business Analyst: Ultimate profile.. i was carried away by the profile for some brief moments!!!
HR, Finance, Business Development were some other profiles. BA profile could be tried by any specialisation but HR & Fin only for those spec.
Selection procedure:

Through out more than 60% in ur career,
No back paper in ur career,
MBA firstyear more than 6 CGPA,
Written Aptitude test , 1 hr test, 20 English, 5 Quants, 15 Reasoning....Revisit CAT Guys!!!,
Although English was pretty was , Quant was cake walk, Reasoning needed some work.

Then GD, Then PI...

So much for selection and criteria and Job profile but so less for package, surely MBA's are not that cheap!!!
If only this job could have come with a little higher package!!!
3 guys are in pipeline out of 40 odd who were at stage one for this Co.

Today Kotak was in campus. Guys dont get carried with big names such as Oracle or Kotak!!!For all you know they could be here to recruit Salesman!! With due apology to Sales Guys!!! Basically the profile offered was Relationship manager,Some Investment advisor stuff , which i have no clue..Package was around 2.6 CTC. Option to work in hometowns!!!Out of 40+ odd people applied about 10 got selected and got offers.Many of them were Hasti's of Finance!!! All placed in one go...Could they hav waited for something better????
Selection was simple with only GD & PI. Interview questions didnt have any Finance questions at all!!!

So now million dollar question is Profile or Package?????
I guess, balancing is important. Profile is important , its stepping stone as to what you want to do 5 years down the line, where you want to go, what value you are adding from the job, what skills you want to develop....but at the same time, you need to pay off that EMI for study loan, You want a new Bike, new mobile, new Lappy, new music systems, House rent advance, and these are cost..isn't it. 5 lakhs that we invested in MBA isnt it a least ask for a decent salary???and i seriously feel 15000 is too small, when Inflation is at 6% , why cant the minimum salary be 6% greater than last year??And i have good amount of doubts over Branding of IBA so as to command a cheap brand of Bschool and not command a premium!!!
So Profile and Package are not two parallel lines but two crisscross lines... But that itself depends on factors like, how IBA is branded in the market, how CRDT goes for pitching not begging(Making sure Co's with bad profiles like Callcenter, or paltry package below 3 are shown the door), who teaches in IBA, Events own by IBA (Making some noise in MBA circuit) and finally developing and showcasing our individual talents....How we make best use of our time and resources here and add some value is what we need to showcase...Thats exactly what Shiv talked about...

In the meantime, 4 more guys got placed in Godrej Hi care...they were in pipeline after initial round of selections...Operations guys!!!

Adios,

My Tryst with Corporate: An eye-opener!!!

2006-10-10T12:18:00.000+05:30

Right now i am two-third of an MBA!! I am in 5th Trim. I didnt have corporate experience myself other than reading up about them in Business Today. Neither anyone in my family had any Corporate Exprience nor i am from a place where Corporate is a part and parcel of life. Back home in Bhubaneswar, its laidback attitude of people and Satisfied with whatever they have got that strikes you. People grow up and aspire to be in Govt services. Thats taken for granted. Its imbibed in our culture. Business is generally done by population drawn from Punjab or The Aggarwals community. Being in Corporate or Private Co is taken with a pinch of salt!!! So deciding to an MBA and actually doing MBA was a road never taken for me..

As i came here i tried to identify myself with this new world: the world of Corporates!!!And i found out may be the package is different but intrinsic values are no different. So if i can align my values, i can make a mark out here. Thats a diff story how far i have been able to leave my impression!!

Meeting people from Corporate, interacting with them was a learning experience. And i just get inspired to be some one like them standing tall.. But i have always felt that an MBA degree adds two things in to your personality.

Attitude: That you know everything.
Show-off: Pompous, Portraying what you are not capable of, that you can do anything.

If only an MBA would be little more grounded, be humble and have humility!!!They dont listen to others because they feel an MBA is a God's gift to mankind. They know everything. These people around us know nothing! And MBA works out of his own mind which often is cut-off from real world. They speak too much. They dont know where to put the breaks. Thinks he can sell anything by his packaged words!In the process the Commonsense which is most uncommon thing in this world takes a backseat. U can fool someone for sometime but not everyone everytime!

So in my 15 odd months here my first chance came when i did a Internship with QAI Blore, Quality Consulatncy Co for IT Co's for 10 days. I was involved in Inside Selling of one of their product. Then I had a chance to work with Pantaloons retail during my Summers for 2 months. Then again i got a chance to work with Technopak: a retail consulting here in Blore, where i am still involved in a project. The Common tragedy with all these Corporates are same. People there have a Attitude problem, big show-off, and very bad at Time-management.

note: Well my analogy is those employees who happen to have done MBA. And BTW not all are same. Some are worth praising...

Firstly they think because they are working in this Co, they have scaled Mt Everest. Thats ok but when the attitude smells out of the each words they speak and each actions they do, it becomes very unbearable. They treat you as a miniscule droplet in front of them, and put you down at each oppurtunity.

Secondly, they are instances when you will know these guys are wrong but you cant help it. Its better to be quite because He likes his subordinates to be submissive and you better be his Chamcha.. and nod your head. You are not allowed to speak your mind. Dont try that stunt or else you will be in serios trouble.

Thirdly, time managemnet is the buzzword here in a Bschool when you have to keep pace with the sytem. Everyone speaking about Corporate valuing Time as the most precious entity. But The same corporate and these people there are least bothered about your time. They think your time is non-entity. Check this, To all the Co i have visited first time for Certificate verification etc, i have wasted my whole day, which i guess takes a 30 minutes of paper work. Nobody cares for you. Nobody wants to know why you are there. To get my first work i had to wait one more day in futile and passing time. If you approach someone, he passes off as unapproachable. You will be frustrated with no-work.

Work is never done on time. yeah thats hard reality. Procasrtinate is order of the day. Deadlines are there but they are made to be skipped. Very similar to MBA Assignments. Good results might come after hardwork but credit is not yours. Thats of your's Boss who is entitled to it. But Guess what if you commit mistake, then you will face the music.

After you get some work, noone will be interested to be helping you. You will realize you are in a No man'sland. But yeah thats Corporate life. My rosey world of corporate is changed now. It is very ruthless. You do your work and get out. Hope nothing happens to you. Thats it.

Time is running out...Experience at Technopak will be posted, bcoz it has to be mentioned specially for the benefit of poor souls who aspire to be in that Co.

Adios,

12.10 AM, 11 Oct 2006

2006-10-10T12:15:00.000+05:30

Next co to visit was CW Solutions. Pretty young company with few employees. Headed by a Firang!! They r into Training and Development. So Basically they hav trainers who go and train their clients. So big oppurtunity for HR!!!

Although the co was on a mission to judge attitude of folks here, the guy had a informal session with interested people. Formal selection procedures will be done at a later date. Package was not clear, but hopefully it will be in the region of 20's.

Co's that are coming now, i guess are coming with a calculated purpose to Reserve Guys. Most Co's that have come are saying to take the process forward, they are not selecting guys right way.

More Co are in pipeline. Some big guns!!