In the times of business fests, there are just so many competitions floating that it is impossible to keep track of all the events. But one event which I caught my eye was the ICON - the flagship event of Fiesta, FMS Delhi's annual management fest. It entailed several rounds of different events to test a person on all the different dimensions possible and hence choose just one winner, who would take it all.
Only 7 B-Schools of the country were sent an invite - IIMs A B C L, FMS, XLRI and ISB. Each institute had to conduct its own selection procedure to send its 2 representatives. In IIM Calcutta, a faculty was appointed to undertake the same and all the interested students were required to send in their CVs and an EOI (Expression of Interest) followed by an interaction with the faculty. In the end, another PGP I (1st year student) and yours truly ;) were selected to represent IIM Calcutta.
FMS now required us to send in a CV, a SOP (Statement of Purpose) and 2 references from past professional/academic life. I was thrilled by the thought of going to Delhi and especially FMS. It was homecoming for me - meeting all my old classmates.
Well, the event instructions came to us requiring us to carry formal clothes and informal clothes and sport shoes. Also, it was told that some amount of physical strain would also be involved. Nevertheless, we took the challenge and headed for Delhi.
But alas! Weather God had other plans for us. Bad fog delayed our Rajdhani by over 3 hours. It was frustrating to move like a bullock cart sitting inside Rajdhani but had no choice. Finally, we made to the New Delhi station and thankfully Delhi Metro came to your rescue. Connectivity between New Delhi Station and Delhi University has become just awesome because of the Metro. Working on JIT (Just-in-Time) syndrome, we finally reached FMS campus at dot 1400 hrs.
It was a feeling of nostalgia for me and finally met my old classmates after a gap of around 9 months. But the meeting was shortlived as all the ICON participants had a secluded accomodation :D and we were required to report back in 2 hours. All the pick up and drop were arranged for us.
We reached our home for the next 3 days and I must say FMS guys did a fantabolus job in hospitality :) :) We got ready for the first round of the event...
Continued in the next post!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Day Zero
Ya, its about placements!
But this was an event organised by MDI, Gurgaon in their annual fest 'Imperium'. It was an operations game and this is how it went.
There was an online elimination round like any other B School event. We were given a set of 10 puzzles to be solved in an excel sheet and a time window of 2 hours. The game started at 12 midnight and submission deadline was 2 am. We were a team of 2 and did 8 questions in 90 minutes and submitted it. Rest 2 questions were not really worth trying, so we gave up.
Next day, a notice was put up (they had created a blog) that two of the questions have been canclled as there were some mistakes in them. We had not attempted one of them but the other one's mistake was minor and most of the participants had apparetly rectified on their own. There were lots of comments on this and I am still not sure what final decision was taken. They were quite firm in taking only 8 questions into consideration.
The results were finally out and we had made it! Next round was to be played in MDI campus, which meant a Delhi trip for me :) :) Going back to Delhi after almost 6 months was something I was really looking forward to.
Well, well...we reached Delhi after a delayed 4 hour train journey :D The on-campus round also had 3 rounds, so to say. The objective of the game was to "place" maximum number of students in a simulation game of 2 hours but before that lots of gorund work had to be done, which were the submissions in the previous rounds.
Firstly, we were given a profile of 50 students and details of 20 companies. We had 1000 points and had to bid as well as rank a company. There were 6 teams in the finals and all had to do the same. The restriction was that a company will visit maximum 3 campuses (i.e. teams) based on points bid by the team. If the bid clashed, then the team which has given a higher rank to that company will get it. We were given 2 hours to go through profiles of all the students, write-up of all the companies et al. Finally, we had to come up with the bid points for all the companies and their rankings too. Also, each team will get 10 companies in their kitty.
After doing this, the next round began in which we were told which 10 companies we have got. We got 9 out of our top 10 choices :) Well begun, we thought! Next task was to "slot" the companies. There were 5 slots and each slot could have just 2 companies. This is where we made 2 blunders. We gave wrong slots to 2 companies (which we obviosuly realised very late :D) and hence it hit us hard, really hard, in the end.
After the slotting business was over, the simulation game started. At the outset, I must say, the MDI guys had done an excellent job in making that simulation game. The programming, interface, logic, ease of use and just everything was too good about it. Here, they had introduced some uncertainty too. For example, if I slotted a company at 8 am, it could come earlier or later also (it was quite close to real placement process). Moroever, they gave us details of 5 rooms where interviews could take place. The condition of all rooms were different and there was a waiting room too. There were two more concepts - motivation level of companies and motivation level of students. Both were at a level of 100 to start with and varied according to many parameters. For the comapny it was dependent on room given, quality of candidate sent, waiting time between 2 candidates, number of candidates they selected, if rooms were full then the time spent in the waiting room (there no interviews could take place) etc. For the student, it decreased according to waiting time, interviews attended in terms of time and numbers and number of rejects. It was clear that once a person got selected in one company, he/she is out.
The simulation game was for 2 hours and the time frame in the game was from 7 am to 11 pm. Those 2 hours were intense as companies kept coming, space had to be allocated, students who had applied only to be sent, keep a track of students being selected and kind of students which need to be sent for a company etc. Finally, we were able to place only 26 students and we lost. But, in the end it was enjoyable experience :)
An excellent effort from MDI.
But this was an event organised by MDI, Gurgaon in their annual fest 'Imperium'. It was an operations game and this is how it went.
There was an online elimination round like any other B School event. We were given a set of 10 puzzles to be solved in an excel sheet and a time window of 2 hours. The game started at 12 midnight and submission deadline was 2 am. We were a team of 2 and did 8 questions in 90 minutes and submitted it. Rest 2 questions were not really worth trying, so we gave up.
Next day, a notice was put up (they had created a blog) that two of the questions have been canclled as there were some mistakes in them. We had not attempted one of them but the other one's mistake was minor and most of the participants had apparetly rectified on their own. There were lots of comments on this and I am still not sure what final decision was taken. They were quite firm in taking only 8 questions into consideration.
The results were finally out and we had made it! Next round was to be played in MDI campus, which meant a Delhi trip for me :) :) Going back to Delhi after almost 6 months was something I was really looking forward to.
Well, well...we reached Delhi after a delayed 4 hour train journey :D The on-campus round also had 3 rounds, so to say. The objective of the game was to "place" maximum number of students in a simulation game of 2 hours but before that lots of gorund work had to be done, which were the submissions in the previous rounds.
Firstly, we were given a profile of 50 students and details of 20 companies. We had 1000 points and had to bid as well as rank a company. There were 6 teams in the finals and all had to do the same. The restriction was that a company will visit maximum 3 campuses (i.e. teams) based on points bid by the team. If the bid clashed, then the team which has given a higher rank to that company will get it. We were given 2 hours to go through profiles of all the students, write-up of all the companies et al. Finally, we had to come up with the bid points for all the companies and their rankings too. Also, each team will get 10 companies in their kitty.
After doing this, the next round began in which we were told which 10 companies we have got. We got 9 out of our top 10 choices :) Well begun, we thought! Next task was to "slot" the companies. There were 5 slots and each slot could have just 2 companies. This is where we made 2 blunders. We gave wrong slots to 2 companies (which we obviosuly realised very late :D) and hence it hit us hard, really hard, in the end.
After the slotting business was over, the simulation game started. At the outset, I must say, the MDI guys had done an excellent job in making that simulation game. The programming, interface, logic, ease of use and just everything was too good about it. Here, they had introduced some uncertainty too. For example, if I slotted a company at 8 am, it could come earlier or later also (it was quite close to real placement process). Moroever, they gave us details of 5 rooms where interviews could take place. The condition of all rooms were different and there was a waiting room too. There were two more concepts - motivation level of companies and motivation level of students. Both were at a level of 100 to start with and varied according to many parameters. For the comapny it was dependent on room given, quality of candidate sent, waiting time between 2 candidates, number of candidates they selected, if rooms were full then the time spent in the waiting room (there no interviews could take place) etc. For the student, it decreased according to waiting time, interviews attended in terms of time and numbers and number of rejects. It was clear that once a person got selected in one company, he/she is out.
The simulation game was for 2 hours and the time frame in the game was from 7 am to 11 pm. Those 2 hours were intense as companies kept coming, space had to be allocated, students who had applied only to be sent, keep a track of students being selected and kind of students which need to be sent for a company etc. Finally, we were able to place only 26 students and we lost. But, in the end it was enjoyable experience :)
An excellent effort from MDI.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The MBA effect
When one has completed 1/3 of MBA, some of the concepts learned are bound to have an effect in decision-making and analysis.
My term 2 ended on 12th Dec and term 3 was scheduled to begin on the 15th itself. I was supposed to go to Delhi for 13-14th weekend for a competition in MDI, Gurgaon and next weekend (19-21) again in FMS, Delhi, again for a competition. I planned to leave on the 12th evening, come back on the 15th morning and then leave again on the 18th evening; thus minimising my number of classes being missed.
When I told this to one of my classmates, he advised me to stay in Delhi for a week, which was not such a bad idea given 4 days in Delhi would be a fun-filled stay. Well, I told him that I would miss one-week classes and its a matter of 5,000 bucks for a trip. Now, this is where cost management concept creep in :D
I told him that our term fees is 60k for a 10 week course and hence 1 week classes cost me approx 6k, so missing them does not really make sense. But he said, our fees is a sunk cost, so it should not really be considered for decision making. Then we discussed at length about how can we find if spending extra 5k is worth or not. We concluded that if somehow are able to 'quantify' the value added and it turns out be more than 5k, then missing classes wont matter!
We laughed in the end that this is what MBA does - complexifying (if that word exists) such a simple thing :) Well, in the end I did went to Delhi twice in a gap of 5 days and not because of 'value added' but because of attendance issues!
My Delhi trip, experiences in competitions in MDI and FMS will be posted soon.
My term 2 ended on 12th Dec and term 3 was scheduled to begin on the 15th itself. I was supposed to go to Delhi for 13-14th weekend for a competition in MDI, Gurgaon and next weekend (19-21) again in FMS, Delhi, again for a competition. I planned to leave on the 12th evening, come back on the 15th morning and then leave again on the 18th evening; thus minimising my number of classes being missed.
When I told this to one of my classmates, he advised me to stay in Delhi for a week, which was not such a bad idea given 4 days in Delhi would be a fun-filled stay. Well, I told him that I would miss one-week classes and its a matter of 5,000 bucks for a trip. Now, this is where cost management concept creep in :D
I told him that our term fees is 60k for a 10 week course and hence 1 week classes cost me approx 6k, so missing them does not really make sense. But he said, our fees is a sunk cost, so it should not really be considered for decision making. Then we discussed at length about how can we find if spending extra 5k is worth or not. We concluded that if somehow are able to 'quantify' the value added and it turns out be more than 5k, then missing classes wont matter!
We laughed in the end that this is what MBA does - complexifying (if that word exists) such a simple thing :) Well, in the end I did went to Delhi twice in a gap of 5 days and not because of 'value added' but because of attendance issues!
My Delhi trip, experiences in competitions in MDI and FMS will be posted soon.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Summered
Summer placements – they seem to be a national talk whenever IIMs are going for them. Yes, they are an important part of our curriculum but somehow media is more interested in it than we guys are!
It all starts with CV making which I never thought will be such a long drawn and time consuming process. Writing each line very meticulously, in the most precise manner, adjusting margins and fonts and layout, hoping to getting the right message conveyed, showing to seniors and batch mates, getting feedback and making changes – it is really an exercise. One thing is for sure, one will not take too much time from now on to make a CV once he/she has gone through this process here.
The time crunch is felt when we have companies making their presentations on campus, and regular classes being held with quizzes, assignments and pre-readings. Once the CV is done, we go into the prep mode and this is where our seniors are again at rescue. And I think this is the best part of IIM C culture, seniors helping out a lot. This was what they got from their seniors and now we will pass it on to our incoming batch.
Next in line is the application process to companies one wants to apply. Some are relatively easy and on the other end, there are quite a few which consume a lot of time in filling up. The questions asked are quite comprehensive and require much iteration to come up with the final version of the answers.
Prep has no meaning if there is no one to test you on it and yet again we turned to the senior batch to do the needful. Mock interviews are conducted by them and the best part is that they never refuse any junior. They are also doing all this when they are bound by their classes and other academic requirements.
Amongst all this madness and rush, we had our mid term exams and diwali celebrations too :) And I believe this is what really “management” is all about!
Well, moving forward, we had company interactions lined up and as the D-Day approached, the campus was gearing up for the upcoming placement season.
Finally, the day dawned and everyone dressed in their tuxedos was all charged up for the upcoming interviews. For me, the day started at around 9 in the morning and was done by 2 in the afternoon. Taking back to back interviews is not an easy task but I think it is test of knowledge combined with resilience, pressure handling and keeping a high energy level during the day! Some of my closest got offers in their dream companies and it were great to be a part of their joy and happiness. But the day was not that lucky for me but I knew that next day will be my day and it turned out to be that only!
For the record, I will be joining the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) for summers starting in April 2009.
It all starts with CV making which I never thought will be such a long drawn and time consuming process. Writing each line very meticulously, in the most precise manner, adjusting margins and fonts and layout, hoping to getting the right message conveyed, showing to seniors and batch mates, getting feedback and making changes – it is really an exercise. One thing is for sure, one will not take too much time from now on to make a CV once he/she has gone through this process here.
The time crunch is felt when we have companies making their presentations on campus, and regular classes being held with quizzes, assignments and pre-readings. Once the CV is done, we go into the prep mode and this is where our seniors are again at rescue. And I think this is the best part of IIM C culture, seniors helping out a lot. This was what they got from their seniors and now we will pass it on to our incoming batch.
Next in line is the application process to companies one wants to apply. Some are relatively easy and on the other end, there are quite a few which consume a lot of time in filling up. The questions asked are quite comprehensive and require much iteration to come up with the final version of the answers.
Prep has no meaning if there is no one to test you on it and yet again we turned to the senior batch to do the needful. Mock interviews are conducted by them and the best part is that they never refuse any junior. They are also doing all this when they are bound by their classes and other academic requirements.
Amongst all this madness and rush, we had our mid term exams and diwali celebrations too :) And I believe this is what really “management” is all about!
Well, moving forward, we had company interactions lined up and as the D-Day approached, the campus was gearing up for the upcoming placement season.
Finally, the day dawned and everyone dressed in their tuxedos was all charged up for the upcoming interviews. For me, the day started at around 9 in the morning and was done by 2 in the afternoon. Taking back to back interviews is not an easy task but I think it is test of knowledge combined with resilience, pressure handling and keeping a high energy level during the day! Some of my closest got offers in their dream companies and it were great to be a part of their joy and happiness. But the day was not that lucky for me but I knew that next day will be my day and it turned out to be that only!
For the record, I will be joining the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) for summers starting in April 2009.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mandi 2008@ IIM Calcutta
Have you ever jumped into a pool without asking about the depth? Have you ever driven a car without knowing the complete controls? Have you ever taken part in a competition without knowing all the rules? If the answer is no, then read on. If yes, you would empathise with me and still read on!!!
The prelim was an online quiz of 45 minutes in which “Googling” was allowed. One team member was not there to help us and no Wi-Fi was effectively just 2 laptops in use. Yeah, I told my wingies to help me for the quiz which they did. After the stipulated time and sending the entries, we realised that we had missed a sitter and forgot to answer one question, which was also not that tough. Cursing our luck, we forgot about it.
The prelim result came out and we were pleasantly surprised to see our team making it to next round. Around 60 teams had participated and being one of the 8 teams to qualify, really felt good! Then there was a meeting called for all the finalists to explain about the next round and this is where we got the biggest shock of our lives.
It was an elaborate process which all the marketing concepts and game theory and business ‘strategy’ had to be used. We had to sell a product, price it appropriately and promote it like anything inside the campus. For everything, we had a capital of Rs. 2,000 only. The final evaluation was on basis on promotion, feedback of students, and our product as such and finally the profits of course.
The first task at hand was to select the product we wanted to sell. We had a brainstorming session and finally came up with the idea of keeping card games, luck 7 of dice and the most popular breaking the glass pyramid with the tennis ball. To incentivise, we offered double money if the person was successful in any of the events.
Second task was to bid for the promotion place. For this, every team had 1000 points to bid for all the spots. Some bids were secret, some were open and some were online. Net net, we got a decent deal as we got the best place for our banner, a decent place for a poster and fundoo place where our stall was to be put up. Designing poster and banner was the next task at hand and we worked for like 12 hours non stop to achieve the same. Forgot to mention, the bidding process and previous brainstorming sessions had already made up sleep-deprived. On top of that, classes and assignments and submissions and pre-class readings were already in place. To make matters worse, we had our CV submission deadline for the upcoming summer placement. But all of us were just so geared up that everything was happening with just 1-2 hours of sleep.
Then, we invited people just to people the game of breaking the pyramid and we were surprised to see that people were playing it without getting anything in return.
In the end, it was an effort which ended on a good note. We were really happy after this event and gave a sense of achievement.
Result for us – could not finish in top 3 but got to pocket Rs. 800 which were our profit and Rs. 1,000 were given to our team as a 'special appreciation for the incredible spirit we showed.' This was due to the fact that we were the only team which met ALL the deadlines for the event.
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