As Term I is almost ending here for me in IIM Calcutta, I just looked back and thought about the learnings and experiences I had in the past 8-10 weeks. But I concluded that such a post demands a lot of time and energy and effort, so I postponed it for mid-September after my exams.
Well, there were really some funny incidents in the class and some classic statements made by students and Professors. Below listed are my personal top 3 favourite statements given out in the class.
3. Our Statistics Professor - "I agree that statisticians are crazy people, but there are exceptions, and one of them is standing in front of you."
2. Accounts Professor - "Its better to be roughly corect than to be precisely wrong."
1. Let me give a little background for this. We have a non-credit course on Managerial Communication and we were discussing how to respond in a particular situation to a person. The class started discussing with eveyone pitching in their view points, but some of us (me included) were pressing on the point that the response depends on the interaction with that person, time spent with him/her and many other variables. Now this is the way one guy had put it - "Since the space-time continuum is elastic, my response to someone depends on which part of the elasticity curve I am operating on at that time."
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Should CAT go online?
The recent spurt in the number of CAT applicants had led to a situation where a paper-pencil CAT exam has become unmanageable. This has led to the thought that CAT should be made online. Though a good thought, it has its own set of problems.
Firstly, making comparisons with GMAT is little misplaced as GMAT is a qualifying exam and CAT being an elimination exam, have different goals. Since CAT is an elimination exam, then it makes more sense have it at the same time throughout the country.
Secondly, If IIMs plan to have it on different days, then it needs to take care that difficulty level is maintained across and percentiles received are uniform.
Thirdly, the obvious concern would be of security and high setup costs, but one time investment is really needed for future test takers.
Moreover, this might facilitate CAT being held outside India as sometimes applicants have to come down to India to take the exam.
It is agreed that online CAT will be definitely a better idea but implementing with fool-proof ways will be the challenge. The best part would be that score would be applicable for more than one year, which will reduce hassles to a great extent, of taking the exam in that very year only.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Strange is the human mind!
There is this game which brings about the best and the worst in people. It seems to be a simple game of group decision making. A group of people is divided into 4 groups. These 4 groups are to seen as four different department of the same organisation.
Moving on, as a group, people have to decision. Here lies the interesting part. The group has to decide choose between an “X” and “Y” and needs to tell its decision secretly to the moderated. If all four groups choose “X”, each of them receives 1 Bn $ from the organisation; if 3 groups choose “X” and one chooses “Y”, then groups who have chosen “X” lose out 1 Bn $ each and “Y” group gets 3 Bn $; if 2 groups choose “X” and two groups choose “Y”, then groups who have chosen “X” lose out 2 Bn $ each and “Y” groups gets 2 Bn $ each; if a group chooses “X” and three groups choose “Y”, then group who has chosen “X” loses out 3 Bn $ and “Y” groups gets 1 Bn $ each; if all four groups choose “Y”, each of them gives 1 Bn $ from the organisation.
On the face of it, the first instinct is to choose a “Y”.
But here lies the difference between cooperation and competition. Everyone thinks to take a “Y” and end up losing but the best strategy is when all take “X”.
When I played this game for the first time, we were a group of 8 people and somehow instantly 3 of us realised that “X needs to be taken; though we also went through the choosing “Y” instantly syndrome. Nevertheless, the group saw the logic and we went ahead to put an “X”. As expected, we were the only one to put it and rest of the groups put a “Y”.
This game is played in several rounds and same was the scenario in the second and the third rounds too. At this time, each person from a group was given an option to negotiate with other group representatives. When all of us met outside, it was decided that everyone will put a “X” as this was the win-win situation. But alas, world is not utopian; some one team betrays. In the next round, another team breaks the promise and next 2 rounds see all 3 teams putting “Y”. We were consistently putting a “X”.
Here, the second chance to negotiate was given and now no one was willing to tell who put the first “Y”. Well, it was again decided that “X” will be put by all but its’ easy to break a promise and we went into the same loop :)
This was the first time I played this game when I was going through my induction in HCL Technologies way back in 2004.
Second time I got a chance to witness this game in FMS in our Organisational Behaviour class (I opted of the game as we were asked that people who have played can work as moderators). Here also, everyone knew that putting “X” is the best strategy but no one did it!
The third chance came my way 2 days back here in IIM Calcutta, again in the OB class; difference we just started the game and option to opt out was not given. Same story was repeated.
It just amazes me that how come a set of rational human beings knows what is best thing to do but still acts selfishly :D How come no one is able to see the larger interest and if is able to see, then why is not able to decision to take the same!
Some things are best left....unanswered !!!
Moving on, as a group, people have to decision. Here lies the interesting part. The group has to decide choose between an “X” and “Y” and needs to tell its decision secretly to the moderated. If all four groups choose “X”, each of them receives 1 Bn $ from the organisation; if 3 groups choose “X” and one chooses “Y”, then groups who have chosen “X” lose out 1 Bn $ each and “Y” group gets 3 Bn $; if 2 groups choose “X” and two groups choose “Y”, then groups who have chosen “X” lose out 2 Bn $ each and “Y” groups gets 2 Bn $ each; if a group chooses “X” and three groups choose “Y”, then group who has chosen “X” loses out 3 Bn $ and “Y” groups gets 1 Bn $ each; if all four groups choose “Y”, each of them gives 1 Bn $ from the organisation.
On the face of it, the first instinct is to choose a “Y”.
But here lies the difference between cooperation and competition. Everyone thinks to take a “Y” and end up losing but the best strategy is when all take “X”.
When I played this game for the first time, we were a group of 8 people and somehow instantly 3 of us realised that “X needs to be taken; though we also went through the choosing “Y” instantly syndrome. Nevertheless, the group saw the logic and we went ahead to put an “X”. As expected, we were the only one to put it and rest of the groups put a “Y”.
This game is played in several rounds and same was the scenario in the second and the third rounds too. At this time, each person from a group was given an option to negotiate with other group representatives. When all of us met outside, it was decided that everyone will put a “X” as this was the win-win situation. But alas, world is not utopian; some one team betrays. In the next round, another team breaks the promise and next 2 rounds see all 3 teams putting “Y”. We were consistently putting a “X”.
Here, the second chance to negotiate was given and now no one was willing to tell who put the first “Y”. Well, it was again decided that “X” will be put by all but its’ easy to break a promise and we went into the same loop :)
This was the first time I played this game when I was going through my induction in HCL Technologies way back in 2004.
Second time I got a chance to witness this game in FMS in our Organisational Behaviour class (I opted of the game as we were asked that people who have played can work as moderators). Here also, everyone knew that putting “X” is the best strategy but no one did it!
The third chance came my way 2 days back here in IIM Calcutta, again in the OB class; difference we just started the game and option to opt out was not given. Same story was repeated.
It just amazes me that how come a set of rational human beings knows what is best thing to do but still acts selfishly :D How come no one is able to see the larger interest and if is able to see, then why is not able to decision to take the same!
Some things are best left....unanswered !!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Unusual
Something unusual is happening this year for me.
Its August time and I am not doing something which I have done for past so many years. Its giving me a feeling of being incomplete :D The difference is not filling the CAT form this year ;) ;)
After doing it so many times, it became a part of my life. It was like an annual ritual like let's say Diwali or Holi! But this year :) :)
Well, November would still keep me busy, not because of CAT though! Keep watching this space to know what's in store.
Its August time and I am not doing something which I have done for past so many years. Its giving me a feeling of being incomplete :D The difference is not filling the CAT form this year ;) ;)
After doing it so many times, it became a part of my life. It was like an annual ritual like let's say Diwali or Holi! But this year :) :)
Well, November would still keep me busy, not because of CAT though! Keep watching this space to know what's in store.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Management Game
IIM Calcutta has done a lot of changes in its curriculum this year. A number of new courses have been added; some courses have been done away with; some courses have a new syllabus and one of the major changes is in the introduction of Management Game in the first year.
The concept – Management game involves running a company by a group of individuals in changing scenarios and conditions. This game was always played in the 6th term till now but with the new curriculum in place, it will be played in both 1st and the 6th term. The underlying logic being to check if 2 years of MBA has added value :D
The Game – We 300 of us were divided into 5 sections of 60 students each. Each section had to compete within them. Now these 60 students were divided into 8 teams of 7-8 people. Every section had 4 regions and in each region only 2 firms operated initially.
Every team had to appoint a CEO first. In my team, owing to my age ;) ;) I was offered this position but I quietly declined the same and took up the COO role instead. Other posts were CTO, CFO et al.
Initially, the game rules were simple. We were operating in one region and it was a controlled regime, i.e., a lot of Government control existed. We were given the balance sheet of the company and all the relevant details. Oh, forgot to mention, it was an oil firm which everyone was working on.
We were operating in quarter 1 and had to strategise to increase bottom line, market share, build capacity for future use, control inventory etc. Since all of us were quite raw, we applied very basic instincts and worked on a very limited knowledge.
Moving ahead in every quarter, the ground rules kept changing. The control regime was removed, we could enter other regions, other firms could enter our region, we could raise equity, build new plants or warehouses etc etc.
We were supposed to strategise for every quarter and rules kept changing in the next quarter. So, basically we had to plan knowing the known and anticipating the unknown.
In the end, we finished third in our section of eight. Pretty decent performance, we thought :)
It was really good to work with people whom I had not got a chance to interact as we were put in a group by the college and was not a self selected group. Putting in opinions, defending them, changing strategies mid-way, arguing out one’s thought really gave a feel of the management working!
Really looking forward to play a similar game after like one-and-a-half-years when everyone will have the concepts in the place; it will be a war to watch out for :)
The concept – Management game involves running a company by a group of individuals in changing scenarios and conditions. This game was always played in the 6th term till now but with the new curriculum in place, it will be played in both 1st and the 6th term. The underlying logic being to check if 2 years of MBA has added value :D
The Game – We 300 of us were divided into 5 sections of 60 students each. Each section had to compete within them. Now these 60 students were divided into 8 teams of 7-8 people. Every section had 4 regions and in each region only 2 firms operated initially.
Every team had to appoint a CEO first. In my team, owing to my age ;) ;) I was offered this position but I quietly declined the same and took up the COO role instead. Other posts were CTO, CFO et al.
Initially, the game rules were simple. We were operating in one region and it was a controlled regime, i.e., a lot of Government control existed. We were given the balance sheet of the company and all the relevant details. Oh, forgot to mention, it was an oil firm which everyone was working on.
We were operating in quarter 1 and had to strategise to increase bottom line, market share, build capacity for future use, control inventory etc. Since all of us were quite raw, we applied very basic instincts and worked on a very limited knowledge.
Moving ahead in every quarter, the ground rules kept changing. The control regime was removed, we could enter other regions, other firms could enter our region, we could raise equity, build new plants or warehouses etc etc.
We were supposed to strategise for every quarter and rules kept changing in the next quarter. So, basically we had to plan knowing the known and anticipating the unknown.
In the end, we finished third in our section of eight. Pretty decent performance, we thought :)
It was really good to work with people whom I had not got a chance to interact as we were put in a group by the college and was not a self selected group. Putting in opinions, defending them, changing strategies mid-way, arguing out one’s thought really gave a feel of the management working!
Really looking forward to play a similar game after like one-and-a-half-years when everyone will have the concepts in the place; it will be a war to watch out for :)
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