My research paper

My research paper that I conducted on the diversification strategy of the companies as part of my MBA was due long ago to be published, but paucity of time and other resources did not permit. I am now putting the document online on this blog. It is a long paper and some sections are omitted but still it is long. The document titled - "The case of Diversification: Case Study analysis of the nature of competition in emerging markets" is linked here. This is my main research paper and I will be publishing a concise version of the same soon.

The abstract of the document is available in this blog post

Document Abstract

"This paper explores the nature of competition in emerging markets, specifically in the context of India, in a regulated environment. The paper identifies various contextual strategic factors for diversification and proposes a diversification framework to achieve customer lock-in, in a regulated environment. Through an ethnographic case study, the characteristic of the private Indian Radio industry are examined and various factors that influence competition in such an industry are identified. The main characteristics of the industry are that it is an oligopoly, faces regulatory barriers to entry and witnesses fierce competition.

The heavy competition forces firms to constantly innovate to develop competitive advantage which is temporary – a hypercompetitive characteristic. Various theoretical frameworks besides hypercompetition, including oligopoly and Porter’s competitive advantage framework, are studied to identify the explanation behind the nature of competition.

The literature, despite making rich contributions, does not collectively explain the competition observed in the radio industry raising a new question to answer. If business groups are aware about the competition in the industry then why do they get into it in the first place? Is diversification a defensive strategy by spreading the risk or an offensive strategy to lock-in the customer so as to earn superior rents by monetising every touch point?

The findings suggest that competition observed in radio industry is a function of the process of diversification. The regulatory barriers do act as hurdle when the players are outside the industry, once they get the license the barriers act as insurance against future competition. The players need to be able to sustain operations for long terms before the benefits can be enjoyed. This requires players with large resources who look at diversification as long term hedging strategy to earn superior rents. The business groups, which are resource-rich, do not get into an industry to compete but to lock-in the customer enabling them to mitigate their risks. A locked-in customer presents an opportunity to monetise various touch points of the customer with the business group, representing a long term competitive advantage.

Even though certain other industries may exhibit characteristics similar to radio industry, the diversification by business groups is not a simple phenomenon. Future research can try to identify other factors that prompt business groups to diversify and test the applicability of the framework proposed."

You are welcome to critique the document and also email me if you feel to discuss the same.his blog.

What next..MBA is done?

MBA is now over. In the first week of September I finished my dissertation, couriered it off to Lancaster and then moved on. Last month has been very relaxed in terms of work pressure and there has hardly been any pressure from any quarter. Relaxed and worry-free, I have spent last few weeks meeting and spending time with kids, family, attending functions and spending lot of nights in the train travelling across four cities in India.

So far, it has been really easy and I haven't found time yet for myself. My colleagues from Lancaster, of whom I learn are sailing in the same boat, have been spending time relaxing and unwinding from a gruelling long year. While the change in the lifestyle has been more than welcome, the uncertainity ahead is worrisome. The job market seems to be non-responsive. Though there are talks about recovery and new jobs being created, the situation still requires planning.

When I think back about the month that has gone by, I think I have procrastinated long enough to give a serious thought about what and where I want to move. My procrastination was the reason was no post on this blog for quite some time as I could not think and hence could not reflect but now as I sit and try to reflect, I feel that I need a bit more time to plan and then move. Someone, on my previous post over this blog commented anonymously, if I have screwed my carrer? Knowing myself, I am certain that I haven't. It is not in the defense of my MBA I say so, but because I am certain that I will get whatI aspire to, what is missing is the execution plan. Next few days should help me plan for the same.

Changes to this blog

I have been mulling changing the theme of this blog to a bit more sedate and a serious tone where I can share my thoughts on not just MBA but about the business world, in the way I see it. I have been observing in the recent past that much of the traffic on this blog is from my colleagues at Lancaster and from few other quarters as well that include my family, friends and thier family. While, I see no reason that people who have followed me over the year will stop following me but these changes to the blog, I believe will enable me to put things in a different perspective.

My MBA is coming to an end. As soon as my electives term got over, I came over to Delhi to start with my internship. The experience of working in a new industry and in a different role has proved to be a blessing so far. It has enabled me to broaden my thinking, come out of silos of older experience, think new and think critically . Moreover, the MBA has done two things - confused me and also given me the clarity as to what I want to do at the same time.

The changes to the blog will refer to the duality. I intend to portray my mind about the vision I have and secondly, the foggyness over my vision will be cleared as this blog will allow me to crytallise my thinking.

Lancaster MBA is about to be over and I still have to chronicle my internship experience. Career 2.0 is about to begin. Wish me luck.

Being an Intern - Part I

In my previous post I updated that I am joining radio industry in India as an intern. Now that I have spent some time in the company, I think that it would be the right opportunity to share what I think of being an intern.

Being an intern is first of all an interesting thing. I remain an outsider yet an insider at the same time. I observe things differently. There is always a dichotomy, a struggle to be a part of the team and yet be an outsider. It is a full time job. I know I am intern and I have the liberty to select my role and also the kind of work that I want to perform. The only requirement is whatever role and work I select within the company it should fit in the overall design of the company. At the end of the day it is beneficial if both, I and the company gain something from the experience.

While, presently I am not sure of the end so far, I am quite happy with the way things have worked out. I am finalizing the kind of work/research I want to do for my final dissertation, the company gave me four options to select from the work they want me to do. Needless to say, I have selected the option that suited best for my research and now that it has been decided, I am in the process of laying out plans for both, the work and the research. I think at the end of this internship period, I will have extensive knowledge of how the radio industry function, which I think will be a great plus for my future.

It is also interesting to say that as an intern I can freely talk about my career options to people and tell them that I will be looking for opportunities elsewhere. It is difficult to talk about job search when you are a full time employee. Isn't it?

Apart from the work, one funny question that has been posed by various employees here is that am I doing my MBA from distance education. The concept of a student coming from UK or anywhere else to India to do internship seems to be alien. When I dig deep in the question, the fact remains that Indians still do NOT consider India to be a happening place where opportunities are plenty. People consider foreign degree to be a passport to a better overseas career. While overseas career definitely offers few good opportunities, the fact that India is a happening place and if I have come back for good, I consider India to be a land of opportunities has to sink in.

So far, the period has been exceedingly well. I am also appreciative of two individuals - the top boss and the immediate boss, both have been supportive and suggestive. They are helpful and also leaders, whose first impression on me has been excellent. Needless to say, I am thankful to both of them for all the help.

Updates - Back to India

Recently there have been many updates that I wanted to share earlier but paucity of time and priority did not permit.

Update 1: I have moved to India recently (as recent as last Saturday) to start upon my internship. My internship is with a media house - Dainik Bhaskar (for those who don't know - it is the second largest read Hindi newspaper in India and one of the diverse media houses with interest ranging from Hindi newspaper publication, regional langauge newspaper publication, web based information portals and radio). There is a case study from Knowledge@Wharton on the Bhaskar group. The same can be found here.

I have joined the company in their radio network, which they operate on the frequency 94.3 FM from 17 different stations in 7 different Indian states.

Now answer to the question, why media and especially why Radio, given that my background is in Software industry and I have literally no experience in any other industry.

The answer is simple. I want to experience different industries before I move back to the technology industry. Radio industry in India is still in infancy and has huge potential to grow. The competition in the industry is intense, it is fragmented and there is no clearcut differentiation among the products that the players offer. Given such a scenario, I began thinking wouldn't it be nice and wonderful if I became part of an industry that is poised to grow, which will arm me with a different perspective towards business and also help me to diversify my skill set.

Secondly the position is based out of Delhi. I am quite keen on starting my innings after MBA in north of India and Delhi and surrounding regions seem to be the best place. So, this internship gives me the opportunity to look for opportunities that interest me at the location I think is best suited to me for personal reasons.

Update 2: My farewell from Lancaster and the journey from Lancaster to India was wonderful. I flew AirIndia for the first time and apart from the airhostesses the flight was good. The seats and the decor of the flight including inflight entertainment was nice. The memories are the things that remain and I believe I will cherish the same for a very long time. Wonderful friends, long parties, longer assignments, mid-night walks to Pizzetta (the cafeteria) will definitely be remembered for a very long time. I am sure, I will miss most of the things for a long long time. I get nostalgic but that's what memories are for, esp. good memories.

Now that I have got internet connection at home in Noida and I hope to get time to manage my time, I will have lots to share and write about how I am progressing over my internship.

I want this post also to thank my mentor on my dissertation and one of my close friend whose discussions over phone/email/in-person have proved useful to me in evaluating my research interest, which has helped me in identifying my dissertation topic. Thank you guys.

Best wishes to the South African contingent

I wish all my colleagues who are visiting South Africa on a study tour. 

Learn well, visit well and in the end enjoy the safari. And please, don't forget to bring the photographs to share with rest of us.

Good luck to you all.

Recent diary

Last few days have been interesting and disappointing at the same time.

First of all I would like to thank to a special reader/visitor to blog. She is the mother of my colleague in the class and I recently learnt that she has been a regular visitor. Many thanks to her for visiting me and reading into my thoughts. It has been quite an inspirational learning and I wish that my writing invites more such visitors. My friends have off-late complemented me by saying that my thoughts enable them to reflect on their own thoughts. Many thanks to you guys. You all have been a valuable pillar of strength and I am sure I will miss these cherishable moments once the MBA comes to an end.

'MBA comes to an end'. This thought has been exciting and dreadful at the same time. Exciting because it will allow me to head back home, reunite with the family and join the workforce again. India is a happening place and I am certain that there are many opportunities that will materialise in the near future. The thought is dreadful because of uncertainities that surround the economy. Uncertainities are clouding my vision and it appears hazy. I have been trying hard to get an internship in India but the opportunity seems to be slipping away with every new day passing by. I have to submit my partner name (I haven't selected one yet), earn a project (if I don't get anything back home) and then select a title for dissertation and the days are moving by very fast. I just hope that I hear something positive sooner rather than later. An internship in India will enable my transition in the industry easily (that's what I hope).

In the meanwhile, I have created a group on www.linkedin.com for 2009 MBA graduates to top b-schools from UK, US and India looking for opportunities in India and elsewhere to network and identify opportunities to help themselves. I think it will gather steam and become self-sustaining in days to come.

The last piece of information is that Lancaster MBAs have won a gold medal at MBAT, the MBA olympics organised at HEC Paris. It is a tremendous achievement given the fact that we lost other tournaments/matches by a very close margin. It was the first outing of Lancaster at MBAT and though we did not storm the tournament with our superlative performances, we did well enough to come at the 13th position in the overall medals tally. Well done Lancaster MBA.

A state of uncertainity

Ask any MBA student - where do you see yourself in next six months?. The answers most likely will not vary among majority of students. The most common response will be - 'I don't know'. 

This answer stems from the uncertainity that has plagued the job market. What seemed earlier to be a good investment in oneself (it still is), in the short term appears to be one of the not-so-wise decisions. Worldwide collapse of the markets, the recession (Umar Haque calls it a state of compression) and the loss of confidence have taken its own toll on the prospects of finding a job. Students are now dwindling between finding nothing to finding anything so as to pay back the huge loan they have taken. Internships have dried up and the summer projects are not so easy to find. Overall the state of the MBA economy looks not so pleasant. Afterall no one left their cushy jobs to land themselves in this state of uncertainity.

While many will resonate with my claim, I do not claim to represent the entire MBA student fraternity, I for certain falls in the category of uncertain people. Even though all is not lost and there are opportunities to look for, this experience, has certainly allowed me to think out-of-the-box. I do not simply think about the regular profile that I would have got for myself after MBA, nor do I fancy my chances in UK, which I surely considered before joining the course. Now I am thinking more than ever about opportunities in India. Now I am no more looking for a stereotype role in the IT industry (though I may still end up there) but I am considering all types of industries. This will enable me to 

• experience different industry, and
• enhance my profile

I am not so sure if I will be successful in what I am thinking but slowly and surely I am looking forward to apply wherever opportunities arise. If you think you might have something in store for me drop me an email. 

Who said recession was bad, MBA in a recession has definitely made me resilient.  

A brief reflection :)

I have been wondering of late about the frequency of my post on this place. Not that I am too busy, the thought of communicating through this channel has been overbearing. The sense of guilt and the thought that I should be communicating more often has often kept me away from writing here. Today, I take a pledge to write on a regular basis. I hope to honor that commitment.

The past few weeks have been a good experience. I visited home during the Easter vacation and there I was trying to network among older contacts for opportunities. After coming back to Lancaster, the case exam and the assignment submission of the last term consumed entire energy.

Spring has gradually settled in here and as spring sets in I have moved into the electives term. The year so far has moved so quickly that it is unfathomable that MBA started in Sept/Oct last year. It has been an intense journey so far and has thrown open many new options for me. I have decided to concentrate on Strategy and International Business to major in. I never thought strategy would be an option for me before MBA but now I am very confident that strategy is the 'the' thing for me. I am quite hopeful to get an opportunity in that area.  As of now I am looking for projects/internship for the last term, which is due in another 2 months.

As of now, wish me luck.

a quick reflection

I was looking to find some free time today and realised that I have not written any post in a long time. So realised that there is no better way to spend the bits of free time than posting here.

Last few weeks have been really heavy. Loads of coursework, loads of presentation, early morning presentations (these, by the way, are my regular workouts), multiple revisions of same report until I memorise them and then the real world consultancy for which I didn't get paid.

This whole term has been been really hectic (don't know if that is the appropriate word) but equally enjoyable. Good marks (highest) in the case study exam (a three and a half hour exam I wrote in hand after nearly 8 years) and the best presentation award (in Strategy) were the highlight in terms of the academic execellence.

Disappointments were few. Arguments were many. Learnt to say, 'I do not AGREE', with a reason, a logic. Persuasiveness, the art of convincing others is gradually improving so is the listening ability. Ability to reflect has also improved. Overall, I am quite satisfied with this term and happy the way it has turned out to be. I am enjoying this MBA experience (sans the work load).

I have begun sending in emails into my network for a possible internship/job opportunity. If you come across some opportunity do let me know and I will thank you with a hand written email.

Charity

There is lot to write about but right now there is a different need to write this post.

My class is having its MBA charity day on Wednesday (Feb 18, 08) and as part of our contributions to the local charity organisation (YMCA), the Scafell (my) group is organising a day long (12 hrs) squash marathon at the Lancaster University Sports Center.

As the adage goes ‘Charity begins at Home’, you are invited to come and take part in the sport and alongside contribute to the charitable cause. You can also get sponsorship from anyone and play or your sponsors can sponsor themselves to come and play.

The attached brochure describes the event. 

The forms can also be collected from Kanchan or from the MBA office. If you are not playing do consider contributing on the website – www.justgiving.com/mbasquashmarathon

 Your whole hearted participation will make the event a success. Please participate in the charitable cause and make the event a success.

Do contribute.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The big Question is How?

Solution is 'Go Green'.

This is the mantra being preached presently in the class. I agree completely with the fundamental principle behind it. Sustainability has become such a big issue that it requires constant unfettered attention. Globally corporates are paying attention and so are MBA schools, where they view their students as tomorrow's global leaders.

At Lancaster (which got its new ranking of 27 in the world according to Financial Times yesterday), CSR is a major emphasis. There are many lectures talking about sustainability, corporate sustainability reporting, legal aspects, individual and corporate resposibility and many other issues. The basic theme behind these ideas is that tomorrow's leaders need to be aware and informed about the various issues that plague managers.

As I write about CSR, I chanced upon Harvard Business Review Oct 2008 edition that suggests Hippocratic Oath for Managers. It is reproduced below (click on the image to read)

I understand that the oath or the pledges are too simplistic, but they are worth a look. For the risk that managers take and the power they enjoy it is reasonable to assume that the risk generate the rewards and the power is used responsibly. 

The larger question in the context of CSR is how far is this sustainable and to what extent a corporation can go for it. My answer is simple. Companies need to implement CSR and make sure they implement not only in word but also in spirit. For example if customers need to be accounted for and asked for feedback about impact of company's action on them, then it is better to ask atleast 50% of your customers to get some representative data. It does not makes sense if the data is collected from just few customers to be compliant about the guidelines.

There are many such issues which can be highlighted and needs attention, but the most important one is to be ethical and believe one's conscience when working on. Money can be made and will be made, the cycle might be a bit longer.

Term Vacations - Looking back and forward

I have been really late in posting and updating here. 

I ended my term a little earlier from the official ending. I visited London for a career fair that was a farce if not anything else and then headed home to India. London's visit was a pleasant one as that was my first visit and hence I had a lot to visit as a tourist.

15 days in India were quite memorable ones as getting reunited with the family during the year was never on the cards when I started on this course. It was really a busy schedule with kids, relatives, visits to different places etc., all taking place at the same time. The only pain point was travel back and forth with AirFrance being an airliner to blame for most of it (I will write my travel experience after this post).

Back home, my kids have really grown well, esp. the younger one. He is now 3.5 month old and looks really smart and handsome. As you may believe, most of my time was spent in changing his diapers and helping my wife. I had couple of assignments to lookover but there was hardly anytime and also the undersea Internet cable cut kept me away from my laptop for a very long time. Towards the end, the decision was to open the books only at Lancaster.

I reached here on 2nd of Jan and since then it has been a little relief before the storm. The storm is going to hit on Jan 9 when I have my integrated case study exam covering the entire Term 1. I was given a case book to write notes, but unfortunately that lies in my home in India.

MBA and War on Mumbai

The world changed over the past few days. 

The Mumbai attacks have had a great impact on me and I am forced to think why it happened. While the answers may be straight forward, I am in no position to offer my views on it presently. My current workload requires me to concentrate fully on the task at hand, but following the attacks took lot of time. Presently I have my Organizational Behavior presentation scheduled for in the morning, I had my Operations Management exam on Monday.

I have observed that since the blasts, my energies are devoted in search of the above answers looking/searching for a solution. For all my course cases and exams, I have no energies to concentrate. Globally, terrorism has risen as a multi-headed hydra and I am looking for ways to counter the same in my personal capacity. It is a quest that I wish to take. The answers/success reasons may be apparent to some, but I strongly believe that terrorism can be quelled. 

I want to make my country very strong, economically, and that to certain extent will help in achieving strength. It is a very long ardous route, but history is a testimony that we received freedom from the colonial rule after more than 200 years. So, to put it subtly, winning the war should be like a one day cricket match, but if it is supposed to be a test match, then come on Mr. Terrorist, we will defeat you in that version of the game also.

On a second note, I am looking forward to my first London visit next weekend. If you are there in London over the next weekend and would like to meet me for a cup of coffee or so, send me an email. From London I am looking forward to my trip back home where I tend to spend a great time with family (I have lot of assignments to take care of then also)  before embarking on another journey of completing my MBA.

Very late in posting.. Apologies

Apologies to all who visited me over the past few days and did not find anything new. I have hardly had time in past few days and I think few of you might relate to me. I am quite of sync with the body and the course demands. I think some of the demands are simply outrageous. Body demands rest and course demands attention, I am thinking of various means to put an end to this misery of mine. Someone said the solution is simple - Sleep. The question is - When?

Well, I think my absence from the blog world helped me a bit. I have finished my accounting assignment and various other things seem to be on track. That as of now is current update.

Now, some history. 

Barcamp went really well. I had never planned for the structure that eventually took shape, but that is the beauty of barcamps. They have no structure and they are all very fluid. No one, outside the course attended but whoever came in appreciated the concepts and some were demanding it to be a weekly or a fortnightly affiar. Sorry folks, next one will be there but it will be some time in the summer time. Need support and logistics for that. MBA foyer will not do as a venue.

Thanks to all who made that happen. Participants, Jeet in particular, MBA office staff for the supplies and venue and all others who helped in whatever way. Thank you once again.

The other important news of this week is the visit of the class to Airbus (Wings) factory here at Chester and to United Biscuits factory at Charlisle. I went to Airbus factory and saw something which was amazing. Entire world has seen the Airbus A380 on TV or pictures, I saw the real wings, wings getting manufactured, shipped over sea and air to Toulouse in France. The factory was a massive place and it is definitely an experience that I will cherish for a long time.

Right now, I have Operations Management to read, submit Accounting assignment, read for Finance exam next week and also think about other assignments which I have not so far.

3 more weeks before I head back home for a short break. Don't know if that will be a break with various assignments submissions looming large as soon as school reopens, but will try to have some good fun and homely food.

Birthday surprise

What an epiphany in just 5 hours after posting the last post. There were bunch of blokes (17+1) banging on my door in the middle of night (12.25). While some were expected, my expectations were surely "outnumbered". Altogether, it was a pleasant experience. It is not daily that I see people in such a large strength on my door to wish me on my b'day and splatter my face with chocolate cake after it had been ceremoniously cut.


It was fun. It was surely a great feeling. After a long time, I got some birthday bumps. It is originally a UK tradition and the guys followed it in spirit.


Just wanted to thank who all wished me on my day and made it a memorable day. It surely is a day worth remembering away from family with new friends. Will cherish for a very long time.

Lessons from Jeff Immelt, CEO GE

Just finished watching a great video, courtsey a colleague in the MBA class, Imad.

The video was about Jeff Immelt's visit to NYU Stern School of Business, participated live by 6 other business schools from around the world. Here is the link to the video -

The session was mindblowing. What was impressive were the lessons for an MBA student. He was asked various question but the common theme centered around

1. Learn to "LEARN".
2. Learn to "MEET PEOPLE"
3. Be "COOL".

Other important things I could draw from the lecture were about the sectors that would be important and the areas where an MBA student should and could focus on

1. Infrastructure
2. Technology
3. Energy
4. Education

Last thing to draw from the lecture was - "Believe in a cause and live for the cause like your life is dependent on it. Do NOT delegate. "

I am impressed. Now it is the practice time, let me see how far can I go with these learnings. It is 'Miles to go Before I sleep'.

MBA is not everyone's cup of tea.

Please raise your hands who agree with me.

Surely it requires a lot of Commitment. The commitment with a big 'C' and not small 'c'.

Networking, thinking and giving shapes to new ideas, selling those ideas to people and then trying to start something new takes lot of energy. I believe there are many superstars in the class and everyone is as good as it gets. With too many things happening around, I really admire the small size of the class otherwise a large number would surely be a big distraction.

Recently there was IBM HR director who came and spoke with the class. It was quite an interesting session, but I think I would have derived much value out of it if he would have given more information about the trends in the industry and how to approach IBM and how IBM would help the students from this school. I am slightly selfish, but I think once companies start visiting my school with recruitment, like they do for LBS where they have to sift through 400+ resumes, the small size would be a great advantage to them.

But, that is long term. Right now there are lot of other things that need to be sorted out. Right now I am working on my CV (for a very long time) and looking for opportunities in Business Development / Management Consulting areas but it is a real hard work without a proper network to wade through plethora of companies around the world. It is very easy to get distracted and lose focus but sometimes posting here helps as a reflection. Don't really know, but if you guys know anything that comes up in my "desired" area do let me know. Is that a pitch? May be yes. But the prospects of not doing what I want to do post MBA is terrifying.

I think an entreprenuerial mindset has its own disadvantage. You get excited about the prospects very easily but to really pursue the same is really a hard work. MBA is also an entreprenuerial journey where you invest and take risk. But, I like that. I am also planning to go for the Rice Business Plan competition. Anyone willing to join? There are two more vacancies in the team. Ha ha.. that's funny, the hunted becomes the hunter. I am looking for opportunities and I am offering here one. Do contact me (you know where and how).

Will post soon with the results of job takers. Meanwhile I finished selling Barcamp here at Lancaster and the initial response seems to be quite good. I hope all goes well on Nov. 15. There is lot of work to complete before that happens. Let me go back to the drawing board now. See u soon.

Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali to you.

Tomorrow is the first time when I am away from my family on the Diwali day. Being away from family on such a day brings in all kind of emotions. It is the first big festival for my son and I am unable to spend my time with him. It is really tough to be away and try to celebrate a festival like Diwali. But that's where MBA class kicks in.

For tomorrow the Indians in the class have planned a cultural evening with traditional Indian food, dance, music and masti. I just came back some time back after a 15 hour long day. The entire day was spent discussing and brainstorming variety of cases and after that a dance practice was scheduled. Can you imagine, dance practice at 11 in the evening? Well, I realised that I am not a very good dancer but I am enjoying it and will still participate whole-heartedly.

It is amazing what a student life can do to you. To me, it is kind of transforming where time management is becoming critical and multi-tasking an art. In next two - three weeks I am planning another event on Barcamp lines but not really sure if that should be called a Barcamp. I would really be willing to organise one, time permitting. Right now I have to sell the idea to many in the class so that a good participation is ensured. Selling it in the class will be a test of my marketing skills ;) .

Right now, I want to talk to my family but distances do matter in this part of the world and it won't be before tomorrow. I intend to take part in the 'puja' and join them virtually.

In the meantime will keep you posted with the cultural party events taking place here.

Accounting..Operations..OB..NVC..Cases

If you are unable to understand anything from the title, don't worry, you have my company. The week and the classes fly off so fast that it becomes very difficult to cope. I think I am paying for this and it is my choice. I am happy about it and gradually becoming better at organising myself. I think this the first lesson from MBA. Getting organized is the key to ______ (it starts with S).

For past many days my routine sounds like a movie that is very predictable. From morning till evening (until I sleep) it is same. Quite a few classes are interesting and few not so. Accounting is quite interesting as the teacher introduces elements of wit and humor in his lecture. Organizational Behavior (OB) is thought provoking. It forces me to think. It is more of a mental challenge where you have to challenge your learning. Operations.. well.. it is mixed. I have to really get used to the terms and given my background it is really difficult to get around to the terms. Anyway let me see how I go about it.

A good news. I have allocated a project working in a team of four, a consultancy project to plan and prepare for a new venture (a real venture) locally. Sounds exciting, but will have to pull rabbits out of the hat to make that going. The bad news is the scope of the project is very small, but given the time that can be devoted for the project during the term I think it is reasonable.

Next week is BIG. Finance course starts on Monday and the outline requires to read through the chapters carefully. Now, reading is fine. Reading carefully is a problem. But that again goes in the To-Do List.

One thing is for sure, there is a never a dull moment in the life of a MBA grad. One year is even more rigourous.,