Bye Bye 2005

Another year goes whizzing by.I look back at the year and the same thought comes to me again and again,of how time just flies by.

2005 was a little different from the rest of the years, I could very well term it special. For starters, I got into a b-school of my choice.The entire gamut involving CAT finally ended.No more mock-CAT's, leaving work early, filling up of forms,reading about b-schools in awe and most of all, shedding the 'aspiring b-schooler' tag.

2005 has been special,it's been a year that has kept me on my toes. The 1st 2 months were all about reading up on topics all and sundry in a bid to ace the GD/PI's of the various institutes. Getting a call from MDI early in March meant I spend my last 3 months at work on yahoo messenger. And 23rd June onwards its been a helluva different experience. No unsolicited gyaan about b-school life here, but just the experience of living away from home and having to fend for yourself.

There are people,lots of em, who've made my stay there special. No need to name any, if they happen to read this they will understand :)

More than b-school and stuff, I guess I have come closer to certain people here home in Mumbai. And yep, all this after being miles apart. People who I knew would always be there for me and a few others who have kinda popped out of nowhere...too bad I didn't make use of the time we guys spent in physical proximity.

As 2006 approaches, I am tempted to make resolutions by the gallons, but guess will just stick to the same one-try and be a better friend,a better brother and a better son. And yup, a better student too if time permits :)

ronnie

Me Back!

It's been a long time since my last post-15 days to be precise. Could come up with loadsa reasons-exams,projects,presentations etc etc...but the bottomline is its plain laziness!

So what's been up with moi life in the past 15 days...nothin much really. Finished off with my exams, which have almost become like second nature now. Had it not been for a certain Mr. Dahiya, me and my gang would well nigh been partying the day before the exams.

Done with Term 2 and the macroeconomic fart, twas time to head home on friday. But fog had other plans. A cancelled Spicejet flight and an Indian Airlines ticket that has left me poorer by a coupla grand ensured I reach Mumbai, albeit a day late. It's been almost 3 days here and everything seems so different.

The city seems to have changed,people seem to belong to a different culture altogether. I've been meeting people by the dozen and all they wanna know is MDI and the works. And I don't really know what to say. To me, MDI has been an indispensable part of my life for the past 6 mths...how da heck am I supposed to give em dope on it??? Plus with talks veering towards the budding MBA's of today and how smart we managers-in-the-making are gives me an almost surreal feeling.Just appears as that wherever I go, people are expecting pearls of wisdom...and dunno how to react to that.

but heck, guess I am gonna enjoy it while it lasts..which aint much considering I fly back on Monday after piling on a coupla kilos and drowning a dozen drinks this New Year's !

ronnie

Projects, Presentations et all

With a week left for my end-term exams, I should be studying. This is the time when my Macroeconomic fundas should be up to date with all the currency appreciations,depreciations, IS-LM curves firmly in place. This is when the budding marketeer in me should be thinking on an intense level about the advertising objectives of Calvin Klein when they used semi-nude models way back in the 1980's.

But as every b-school student will know, this is when all projects are hurled at you. You complete PPT's at breakneck speed with just one thought-why the heck am I doing all this?

And this is exactly what I am thinking right now. 14 subjects till date GOD alone knows how many PPT's. Have I gained anything? I would tend to say at 1st shot that naa, not really. But when I sit back and reflect I realise that all the gains have been intangible.

The 1st project I picked up needed me to go and talk to the local chemists. It was difficult to overcome the initial apprehension, but heck, once I did that, was smooth sailing. In the process I learned to fake the local dialect to an extent :)

Over the past few weeks we have been working madly on our MSM project. And nopes, its not cos I am crazy abt the subject, but only cos this is something that is kinda gonna give me sadistic pleasure- an unbiased rank of b-schools with NIL emphasis on brand equity. It's been an uphill task getting the data and confidentiality clauses mean I will have the data but not the name of the b-school :) But an amazing opportunity to see how modification of various parameters can alter rankings.

A minor argument on PG had someone levelling allegations about my institute fudging the rankings. This has aroused my curiousity even more. Depending on the methodology you adopt, you get various ranks. So I guess it all depends on that.

I remember people were enraged when MDI was ranked 24th or something. Sure it is absurd and sure it's cos the parameters that were majorly adopted were kinda absurd...but heck, would be gr8 if the magazines/authorities concerned divulge the importance they have attached to the various parameters. Will save students all the time that they spend criticising things left,right and centre post the rankings :)

Challenges

Life and b-school throw up new challenges everyday. For starters, reaching for the lectures @ 8:30 in the morning espescially in delhi winters is a challenge in itself.

But more than this are the challenges thrown by individuals and taken on by individuals themselves. Not always is it wise to pick up every challenge thrown at you, but once you do, stick to it is the motto! As Jason Steltham says in Transporter 2- " Never make a promise which you can't keep"

In some ways, all this is remniscent of Steve Waugh-a character I really really admire simply for the fact that whenever a challenge was thrown at him, he picked the gauntlet. An excellent example for all of us on how to work within your limitations and challenge the limits. And this is precisely what as an individual each one of us should aim for- supreme confidence and belief in your abilities coupled with the tenacity to take on all odds.

Can't help but remember Steven Waugh again: his quote in the World Cup semi-finals against South Africa when Gibbs spilled a sitter. " You just dropped the cup son" And this when Australia was miles away from victory.

Arrogance you might say- I call it confidence. Confidence to accept the challenges inspite of all odds stacked against you and then having the guts to complete it.

ronnie

RG

Relative Grading for the uninitiated. A term that every normal b-schooler dreads.

It simply means that the grade you get in a course is relative to the performance of the people who have scored more than you (rather than getting a grade in absolute terms). 20 out of 30 is 67% ( or say a B grade) for most of the peeps, but in RG when the highest is say a 20.5, a 20 fetches you an A+.

Having been part of the "percentage" system all my life, RG was a relatively new concept for me 5 months back. I never really denounce something without trying it and was kinda excited about this. Always felt that Mumbai University doesn't do justice to the lads. A 65% in MU is pretty fundoo espescially in Engineering, but contrast it to the south where every tom and harry get 75.

5 months down the line I am pretty clear on what my stand regarding RG is. In one word, it SUCKS. For starters, it takes away the joy from the exams. Come to think of it, I actually enjoyed all those moments waiting for my result, espescially when there were subjects wherein I barely knew 25 marks in the paper while we needed 40 to pass. Here, even if the paper is Hell Revisited, an inner voice keeps on reminding me that dude, it's all RG!

RG brings with it RG champs. People who would go to any lengths to ensure that you get less marks so that they gain a comparitive advantage. Asking stupid questions in a presentation, hiding information, licking ass etc etc etc....you name it and it's there.

An MBA is all about team-work and that's exactly what RG discourages. True, it's a dog-eat-dog mentality out there in the corporate world, but heck, shouldn't the aim of a b-school be to groom Managers who have some semblance of ethics and values? I am not questioning the concept of RG, but just feel that its implementation and the repercussions have left a lot to be desired.

Another thing I have always wanted to ask the RG champs, but have never been able to overcome the disgust to do so: in the larger context of your life, what difference will that extra mark make? Will a grade less sabotage your career? Or make you change your goals?

Could go on and on with this...but its 6 pm and I think I need to study a bit. After all, these 8 minutes have ensured that I get RG'ed by 0.125 marks :)

ronnie