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Thursday, December 4, 2008

MBA: How effective is it anyways?

I often get into a discussion on Business Education System in our country with a cousin of mine who herself is an MBA.

We discuss lots of things about the management education, the career prospects for an MBA, career paths, importance of a strong curriculum during the coarse of education, how important is the brand (college) and things....

And surprisingly, most of the times the discussion boils down to a point that the BRAND of the college is the most important factor that helps students find a high place for themselves in industry.

My argument always has been that the college's brand equity can only help students to break into the corporate world but how they fair in the challenging environment and grow is just based on the skills they have acquired and how well they apply them at work!

The biggest drawback of an MBA is that it is pan-industry in its outlook. A business education course does not factor in the different challenges presented by different industries.

Most MBA courses are too broad-based to effectively prepare their students for the intense competition in today's business environment - each industry requires a different skill set, but the typical MBA programme does not equip you adequately to meet industry or sector-specific demands.

Of course, you now hear of several companies that are designing their own management education programmes. As an effort to make the white-collar workforce more relevant to the needs of a sector, it is commendable. But perhaps still more can be done to help bridge the gap between what is taught and what is required.

The other issue most B-schools overlook is working in a team. To be fair, all management institutes emphasise the importance of being a team player. But what they teach and how that learning actually manifests itself in corporate corridors are two different things. In the "real world", the roles of a leader and a team are not always cut and dried. Some times, the leader is at the forefront of the action; on other occasions, he may decide to set the tone and then sit back, while the team takes the lead.

B-schools instruct you in neither the existence of such scenarios nor how to deal with them. Other important issues of dealing with and working with teams - how to interact with and within a team, how to motivate your team members - are also inadequately addressed.

Also, management students are taught extensively about the importance of strategy. What they are not taught, however, is how to implement a strategy and make sure an idea goes the planned way.

That's important: after all, implementation accounts for about 80 per cent of job delivery. But, somewhere along the line, it gets short shrift.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

LIFE: Wish I could find some definition to it..

Many a times, I hold a pen in my hand, take out a note pad and feel like writing... I don’t know what, but I want to write something.. Its not so that I am not good at speaking or am an introvert.. no.. not at all.. I am infact very good with expressions and verbals.. but its just that I feel comforted when I am talking to the pen and paper..

May be its because my pen doesn’t ask me questions… The paper doesn’t complain.. the ink doesn’t criticize… but all of them just be with me throughout.. stand by what I say to them.. accept that readily and gracefully and make me feel so comfortable that I feel like writing on and on…

This is the hard fact of life… We are living creatures… PEOPLE.. we dwell among them.. but are we really dwelling?? It’s a tough question for anyone to answer.. because it takes a lot of introspection, a lot of critical analysis, a lot of understanding of oneself and one’s surroundings.. a lot of study of the society and its elements…

Let’s talk about hundreds and thousand of Ants who live and DWELL together.. If you observe them carefully, you will notice an amazing characteristic of these creatures that despite of walking swiftly they never collide!!! Its because they know their job.. they know their responsibilities and work to fulfill it with complete devotion.. they never cross the way of others since they do not loose their own track…

This very characteristic is very rare in the most intelligent creature of all… HUMAN BEING… We do everything better than these tiny ants can do.. but where they supersede us is in the clarity of the vision and goal in life and the dedication to achieve it..

It may be hard to understand where am I actually coming from when I say all these things.. I am pondering upon my past experiences with people and the journey of life so far… Today, I am what time has made out of me.. I am, probably what people wanted me to be… I am liked by most, not so liked by some.. but is it what I wanted to be?? May be yes.. may be not..

In the management school, we learnt about Role Conflicts, Goal Conflicts and other kinds of Inter and Intra personal conflicts… we always applied them on the people, situations, organizations and what not… but never ever thought about it that it can be applied on ourselves the most..

And that is what I am learning with every passing by day.. the hard way… I am feeling strangled in these conceptual realities.. I want to do something because I like it, but am doing something else because others don’t like it… am following the stupid principle which says, “ If you can’t do what you like, start liking what you do”... Its not easy for me to decide that what should I actually believe in.. what I think about myself or what others believe me to be???

And the worst part of it is that more I think about this, more confusing it becomes… May be that’s why its called LIFE.. can one define it???

Saturday, November 29, 2008

INDIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: How intelligent are they actually to let MUMBAI happen??

The hot question of the time is not 'WHY' did the MUMBAI massacre happened but 'HOW' it happened? We all are in know of the fact that we do not share very good terms with our neighbours and hence asking a question that WHY such a thing happened does not stand an answer....


But the question which is continuously nipping me is that how intelligent our INTELLIGENCE Forces are??? In the post operation analysis, the revelations are shocking and unbelievable!!!!

Terrorists staying in hotel rooms, working in Taj in the crew, setting up of a control room inside the hotel, Marine wing of LeT training them, carrying heavy ammunition inside the hotel.. all these things do not look realistic if we trust our INTELLIGENCE services... But the sad part of the story is.. IT'S ALL TRUE!!!!!!

Does that mean that the people who are responsible to take care of the citizens of this nation are not very serious about this?? Is it that they do not value the lives of the innocent people of the country who are paying heavy cost for the failure of our bureaucratic system???

I believe that our system has always been asking for a wake up call... but why do 183 people had to loose their lives to make these irresponsible people to wake up???? And I am not at all sure that they actually are awake even after all this!!!

India is in such a sorry state today that we are not feeling safe in our houses.. we do not know what is going to happen tomorrow.. where is the next bomb going to explode... where is the next shootout going to happen... and all this is with due thanks to our incompetent Intelligence Services.

These INTELLIGENCE SERVICES have FAILED to perform their duties and common man is paying the cost for that.. sadly, with his life....

Now, common Indian have to come forward.. take charge of his own life and give it back hard to the face of terror.... We cannot just let ANYONE decide our fate...

Thursday, November 27, 2008

INDIA: Crushed, Crippled and sabotaged yet again; is there any end to it??

I do not actually understand as to why do we, INDIANS let any tom, dick and harry to walk into our homes easily, create ruckus, kill our loved ones and then walk away unpunished???

Have we lost the true sense of being a nation with the greatest history of HEROISM in the god damn world?? Or should we start to believe that all those HEROES we always have known and believed to exist at some point in past are all stories, penned in books???

NO..., at least I am not ready to accept that!!!!

We have sacrificed a lot, have tolerated a lot,,, but this time, its not just about that.. These handful of scoundrels shall not be allowed anything on this holy earth to take charge of our lives.. They cannot be let loose to move freely amongst our people and kill anyone, anywhere, any time!!!

The seekers of POWER, sitting up somewhere in the sound proof cells of theirs' should think beyond their selfish chase for money and power and come out in open against such barbaric acts on mankind; precisely on INDIANS...

Its time now that we work towards putting an end to this ever existent tale of terror, which is striking us unnoticed anytime of our lives.. and it doesn't cost these evil sons anything, but yes, if it costs something, it is to us and its our peace, our serenity, our culture, our growth, our future... Are we ready to accept such a bargain??? I say NO.. and its not just my voice but am sure I am sounding the entire nation here.. the entire INDIAN community, which wants to stand up against this engulfing face of terror and wants to get rid of this...

We want our peace and freedom back... It was the martyrs of the freedom fight, who gave their lives to make us breathe in a free INDIA.. then how can we be so coward to give away that freedom in hands of a few Animals????...

All I solicit now, at this point is an open retaliation, let it be an open attack, a WAR against the guardians of these evil forces. The people who are sabotaging us every time we lend a hand to settle things should be brought down on their knees and should be destroyed to their core...

Lets not forget, if America & England can retaliate so strongly to just one attack on their land and people and de-root the very cause of the terror; we INDIANS have seen a lot already and so our response should be much stronger and gritty...

Its time that we rise against this face of terror and let the generations to come open their eyes in a secure, safe and prosperous INDIA...

And I personally believe, without an ounce of doubt that we can... "YES, WE CAN"

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Food for thought: Short Management stories ...

1. The CROW and THE RABBIT:

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?”

The crow answered: ” Sure, why not.”

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Source: Unknown


2. THREE MONKEYS: HOW THE CORPORATE CULTURE IS FORMED!

When I hear about culture issues from executives I always relate a favorite anecdote about how organizational culture is formed.
There are three monkeys standing in line in a cage, and above the third monkey there is a bunch of bananas. The third monkey naturally reaches for the sweet treats, and as he takes one, the other two monkeys are drenched with water. So they immediately start at the third monkey who is busily munching on his favorite food. But he doesn.t realize what.s happening, so he reaches for another banana and the other two are deluged.
By the time the third monkey has eaten the bunch of bananas, the other two are quite annoyed. So in steps the scientist, and replaces the third monkey with a new monkey. He espies the bananas and as he stretches out his arm, he is attacked by the other two monkey.
The new monkey doesn.t quite understand why, but quickly stops going after the bananas. Some time passes and the scientist comes back and takes one of the drenched monkeys and replaces him. This new monkey again goes for the bananas and the other two attack him.
Then the scientist replaces the third of the original monkeys, with a new one. This new monkey is immediately attacked, and has no idea why. Even when the banana/water system is disabled, and another monkey introduced, he is attacked immediately.
And if the scientist keeps repeating the experiment, the two monkeys in the cage attack the new ape being introduced, though nobody can remember why, its just the way it is.

Source: "Five ways to develop your copropate culture" by Naomi Moneypenny / ManyWorlds


3. GREAT VALUE IN DISASTER: (That's my favourite one: INDEED)

In 1914 Thomas Edison’s factory in West Orange, New Jersey, was virtually destroyed by fire. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were insured for only $238,000 because they were made of concrete and were thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison’s life work went up in smoke and flames that December night. At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24-year-old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.

“My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “He was 67 — no longer a young man — and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, “Charles, where’s your mother?” When I told him I didn’t know, he said, ‘Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.’”

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.

Source: "Persistence Goes the Distance" / Jim Clemmer