EPGP first reunion! 18th Sep 2010

One of the primary disadvantages of doing a one year MBA is that there are no seniors (or juniors) that you can learn from and interact with. So the first ever EPGP reunion was a chance to reconnect and strengthen the ties with our seniors. A lot of hard work had gone into the preparation of the event with extensive efforts to spread the message among the dispersed senior batch. Nitin, Rajesh and a few other students of the organizing committee had put in considerable efforts in coordinating the entire event. A facebook page was created, the professors were invited, the venue was booked and the entire logistics for the event was planned and executed despite the stress of the beginning of our placement season. It was indeed a tribute to their efforts that it turned out to be a well organized show.

The event started out with Dr Pankaj Chandra speaking about the genesis of the programme and his thoughts on how it has evolved. This was followed up with L Prasad, the EPGP chairperson, giving his views on the programme and requesting that the batches help mould the programme when the first three year programme review comes up. The faculty present also gave us their views and as usual Professor Krishnanurthy had the audience in splits with his witty remarks. This was followed by the senior batch members sharing their thoughts on how the one year that they spent at this programme had shaped their outlook. The frank and disarming manner in which the seniors spoke helped break the formality of the atmosphere. Our batch consists of folks with top notch intellectual skills, and it takes considerable effort and dedication to be among the best in the class The top 5 of our batch academically (Vikas, Vishnu, Anirban, Nitin, Ankur) were recognized by the chairperson and it was great to see Nitin go up to receive his prize accompanied by his wife and son.

The rest of the evening flew by in a fun filled blur. During the break the senior and junior batches mingled discussing the one topic that all MBA students talk about most of the time – Jobs and salaries. It was a great time to renew and form new connects. The venue of MDC woods formed a scenic backdrop and soon it was time for the one and only ‘Bopps’ to start the fun voting event that he had come up with. ‘Bops’ is a very cool and no nonsense chap (though for the un- initiated, he can be very intimidating- he must be the only person in IIMB to have his entire name displayed in capital letters!) He set up a multiple round voting contest in which the audience voted for a few selected nominees in various categories. The categories varied from the best ‘Dostana couple’ to the ‘coolest’ person in the batch. The loud cheer as each nominee’s photo came up on screen was as much fun to hear as was the sight of slightly embarrassed nominees’ reacting to the cheers.

The evening drew to a close with a relaxing dinner. The short time left to us before we graduate, brought a subtle poignancy to the atmosphere. Most of us would soon be dispersed across the world and few of us could say with certainty as to where the turbulent currents of life would take us. However the tradition that we started that day would sure be the nucleus that would help us keep alive the connect and the bonds with the institute and with each other.

Term VI - Paradigm Shift

The electives and placements posed a significant trade-off in Term-VI, and priorities shifted quite visibly towards the latter. The placement committee, the placement policy document, associated processes, career counselling sessions, email invitations, cold calls etc were the terms bandied about within the class. It helped that some of the professors offering electives were open to formulating the evaluation criteria based on the class’ opinion – and it so happened that few of our batchmates had only one end-term examination, while majority of the people had multiple project submissions. So that gave us some breathing space in terms of getting things going on the placement front.

Preparations are also on for the inaugural EPGP reunion in mid-December, which is primarily being driven by the IIM-B alumni association (IIMBAA). The alumni office also arranged for a photo session (which for once, didn’t require a pinstripe suiting up) for the annual yearbook that would feature all the graduates of 2011 from IIM-B.

The much awaited director’s merit list (top 5 students from the first three core terms) was also announced, which carries a scholarship amount of Rs.5 Lakhs. Kudos to the deserving winners, who showed tremendous focus and enterprise in coming up trumps. The class is counting on a few parties from these hotshots over the next couple of months.

The academics committee, in response to fervent calls to get more electives offered, went into an overdrive. Now, the number of electives on offer for Term-VII has been quite mind-boggling and one has to make a conscious choice of balancing the final project (Comprehensive project-CP), the placements, exams and project submissions. There is a heavy overdose of finance courses on offer in Term-VII, and this sure would send some shivers down the spine of “finaphobics”.

The placement brochure was finally out and is being sent out to various firms, over email and regular post. The early signs of placement have been very encouraging, thanks to the students as well as faculty pulling their weight in making a collective effort to improve upon last year’s placements. Meanwhile, the official word on last year’s placements are out and could be found at http://epgp.in/EPGP%202009-10%20Placements%20Snapshot.pdf

Term-V - The Beginning

With an option to choose between 4-6 electives (credit courses) from a list of 13 for Term-V, one was spoilt for choice to say the least. Students could also take up non-credit courses which will also require the mandatory attendance, exams, assignments etc and even grades; the difference being that the non-credit grades will appear in the final grade sheet but wont be factored for arriving at the CGPA. The non-credit option helps students to take as many electives as they want, given the constraint on maximum of 18 credit electives one can take.

Another notable feature is the option of auditing courses (except for visiting faculty in most cases) offered by various professors, who offer a course only when there are minimum of 10 takers. Unfortunately there were few courses where we couldnt muster the required number and hopefully these would be offered again in one of the remaining terms.

There was a mad-cap rush to identify our faculty guide for the Comprehensive Project (CP) and submit a signed project proposal to EPGP office before the fixed deadline. Inspite of a divided house, we saw the inception of "Preferred" group formation this term, given the fact that the entire 65 weren't going to take the same set of courses.

The Shade of their Affection and Light of their Wisdom

Education indeed is the cornerstone of IIMB, as it should be. Time and again, sitting in the class has given me the experience of being transported to a different space where I felt the professor was leading me by hand into the real world of business, consumers, national politics and global markets. The classroom lecture would turn into a theater where the real business drama was enacted with its several players and we would be the partakers and the spectators of the drama alike.

The lectures on Macroeconomics by Prof Shyamal Roy, Marketing by Prof DVR Seshadri, Operation Research by Prof Dinesh Kumar, Corporate Strategy by Prof R Srinivasan, Sustainability by Prof PD Jose, Social Entrepreneurship by Prof Trilochan Sastry, Creativity by Prof Shekar to name a few, have made us all marvel at the wit and wisdom of these professors, the depth to which they understand their subjects, and the ease with which they convey their insights.

But there is more to education at IIMB. It's stupendous culture. The affection that we receive from professors, their friendliness, their going out of their way to help us and teach us, their sympathy, and their sensitivity, makes the place more like a community, imbuing us with a comforting feeling of being at home. It is so easy to walk to any professor's office, and hold a discourse with him or take guidance about one's career: irrespective of the fact whether the professor has taught us or not. They are infact happy that someone has approached them for help and offer more help than we actually ask for.

When for the first time I approached Prof S Raghunath to request him to be my project guide, not only did he willing agree, he also stopped me from committing myself to a wrong project which could undo me in my placement and career. Come to think of it, Prof Raghunath, had never taught us and had never seen my face before. But in the very first meeting, he not only asked me to changed the theme of my project, but also volunteered to connect me to the directors of some companies who would help me execute the

project. And he did!

Ofcourse we had Prof Roy taking classes after the term was over just to fulfill our request of learning more about Macroeconomics. Who can forget Prof J Ram taking 3 hour lecture on a Sunday to fulfill his commitment to the class, and then hosting a dinner in MDC at his own expense for the 70 of us. Prof Mahadevan arranging a trip for us to Toyota's plant in Bangalore, Prof Seshadri's willingness to battle with the management for not giving students grades lesser than "high B", Prof Krishnamurthy's gifting away of books and sweets to students (he offers cigarettes too, to those who smoke!), Prof Vaidya's affectionate and witty demeanor, Prof's Jose's passion for protection of environment and common people's interests, Prof Sastry's devotion to upliftment of the poor, the ever smiling Prof Vasanthi and her spontaneity in indulging in little conversation by the corridor with students....these are glimpses of a consciously cultivated culture at IIMB. Admittedly, I'd not expected this when I joined IIMB. I was only expecting a great faculty, a lovely campus, and modern infrastructure to aid students in education.

But the culture of the institute has instilled and reinforced the virtues of goodness, humaneness, sensitivity, sacrifice, affection, selflessness and compassion in me. I shall not forget the last class taken by Prof Vaidyanathan (Corporate Finance), when he said that "always strive in life to share a portion of what you have with those who don't have anything to live by. I donate a one third of my income with the have-nots of the society." Prof Jha (Marketing) told us in his last class that "make yourself indispensable like a cardiologist. Make your life and profession to be of such priceless value." Prof Mahadevan takes lectures on Gita painstakingly when he has no obligation from the institute to do so.

It is not just the education, but these human values of affection and compassion, humility and endeavour, that I shall carry more importantly than the lessons in Business Administration from this noble institute of ours.

Yogesh Kumar Singh

Student, IIMB EPGP 2010-11

Student Profile 2 - "Shruti Sharma"

I have always believed in my deep seated conviction – ‘You create & live your own reality’.

Well, it has been one long exciting journey ever since I graduated as an electrical engineer from my alma mater – Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology with one unequivocal aim of setting up my own enterprise. The belief was exceptionally strong, the route fairly ambiguous. During my final semester at Thapar, I successfully interviewed with Nestle India Pvt Ltd (one of the very few MNCs of yester years). But the very thought sticking to 9 to 6 time slot was not in the least enticing. I wanted to live my dream of setting up my very own enterprise quite contrary to my service background upbringing.

Life took a very interesting turn when I got betrothed to Vivek, an Army Officer, a man with bounding energy and an ever ready spirit of adventure. Soon we got married and we were blessed with two lovely daughters. During this period, while we shuttled between Pune, Mumbai (then Bombay) and Bangalore, I took an immense liking towards architectural art glass. The seed having been sown, I set my first backyard workshop in Chandigarh in the year 2000. Since then life has been much like a roller coaster ride with more highs and few lows. Three years later, I had setup my own manufacturing unit in Industrial Area, Mohali and registered under the banner ‘Marc’n Architectural Art Glass’. Four years thence, I also got a unique opportunity to play a lead role as a Director, Army Wives Welfare Organisation, an NGO, while my husband was in command of an engineer regiment. This provided me a unique opportunity to launch a very successful program christened ‘second income generation program’ to provide entrepreneurial vocational skills to the wives of soldiers.

It was around this time, I decided to embark on this prestigious ‘Executive Management Programme’ as a stepping stone to satiate my entrepreneurial spirit. Past six months have been rejuvenating and enlightening. The faculty at IIM, Bangalore, is one of the best that our country can offer. The peer group is engaging and revitalising. The curriculum is enticing and provides adequate flexibility to carve out your very own niche. I am presently working on my next enterprise and would want to immensely thank the think tank group here for guiding, goading and cajoling me on to newer and, I believe, a brighter tomorrow.

As always,

Shruti Sharma
Entrepreneur & Social Mentor
BE (Electrical), Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology
Presently at IIM, Bangalore ( EPGP 2010 - 2011 )

Highlight of the Korea visit -Trip to the DMZ

Our tour guide to the Demilitarized Zone told us a very interesting story of the contest between South and North Korea on who would have the bigger flagpole. Apparently in response to the 50m high flagpole setup by South Korea on its border, North Korea responded by setting up a 80m tall flagpole. South Korea then decided that this would not do and increased the height of its flagpole to 100m. North Korea had the last laugh though by setting up (possibly) the largest flagpole in the world at 160m. At this point, the guide said, S Korea decided it would not continue with this contest. I found this story highly amusing especially the spin that the guide put in the end on the S Korea decision, by claiming that it was a magnanimous and broad minded gesture on their part. It did serve as a memorable example of the sometimes ridiculous nature of competitive national rivalries and reminded me of similar sentiments expressed by my friend who had visited the Wagah border.

Going to the DMZ dramatically brought home the point of the extremely short distance between Seoul and the border with North Korea. The guide casually mentioned that in case of a missile launch, the South Koreans would have only about 8 seconds of reaction time!

The Korean War formed the backdrop to any conversation that we had in the trip about Korea and its history. More than anything else, it has shaped and modulated opinion and policy making long after the end of hostilities. Almost all the speakers who spoke to us repeatedly emphasized the almost total devastation that Korea in general and Seoul in specific faced at the end of the Korean War. The widely pervasive negative perception that Korea have of Japan sometimes creates distortions in their historical narrative. Almost all speakers claimed that Japan at the end of the Second World War had far lesser devastation compared with Korea. As a person interested in history, I knew that this statement was simply not true. Having recently read "American Prometheus" the biography of Robert Oppenheimer (and also from other readings), I was aware of the terrible devastation brought about by the firebombing of the various Japanese cities. The almost universal ignorance of these facts by more than one presenter was for me a pointer of how the national narratives can sometimes distort the actual reality.

The 4 Km DMZ had a couple of farms within it and was said to have some extremely rare species of flora and fauna (I did see a few birds but unfortunately was not able to appreciate this aspect of the DMZ with my limited knowledge). I found it ironical that a zone dividing two nations can engender such a beautiful habitat. North Koreans had built a number of tunnels under the DMZ to use in case of a military invasion. Four such tunnels have been found and the South Koreans had created the infrastructure to enable visitors to see these tunnels. I went down tunnel number 3 and after a long time when I thought I had reached the tunnel, I was told that this was only the end of the access tunnel and that the actual tunnel starts from that point. There was a mineral water fountain at that point, and drinking and fortifying myself, I went on to explore the actual tunnel.

The tunnel was not very tall even taking into account the shorter height of the Korean people. It was even more difficult for me to traverse the tunnel stooping down. It was only the hard hat helmets, mandated to be worn by anyone entering the tunnel, which saved my head from cracking under the low roofed tunnel. The height and my lack of fitness combined to make it a very arduous trip to the end of the tunnel. There was no proverbial light at the end of the tunnel but rather a locked door! The trip back up the tunnel was extremely tough but I was glad that I had seen this rather exotic place that is in many ways a constant reminder of the dangerous neighbourhood.

The Study Tour to Korea

As part of the international immersion programme, the students of EPGP at IIM Bangalore toured to South Korea to study and witness in person the marvellous devices of growth that the country has made. The international immersion programme was designed by Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Seoul, and the university's Business school hosted the students during the tour.

Korea has made rapid strides in the world economy and has risen from the war period of 1950s afflicted by an abject per capita income to a state of affluence today. The technology encompasses every walk of life and the country is ever looking for new markets, new industries and newer capabilities to propel itself forward in the league of nations.

The intent of the study tour organised by IIMB and designed as part of the EPGP curriculum is to acquaint students with the developing economy and acquaint them with its culture, work ethos, education, industries, economic and business policies, which are instrumental in accelerated growth of the nation. Since the Korean companies like Samsung, LG, Hyundai make a prominent presence in India holding a large market share in their respective markets in India, it was all the more relevant to study the strategies of the companies and the economic policies of the Korean government which has jointly brought about this redoubtable ascendance. The students in the class learn how are companies grown and a tour like this is tailored to also impart to them the big picture of how an entire economy or nation is developed, grown and sustained.

The students derived valuable learning by the visits to the plants and sites of GM Daewoo, LG, Daewoo Shipping and Doosan Heavy Industries. They were also addressed by speakers from companies like LG, McKinsey & Company, Bain Consulting, Doosan Heavy Industries, and Korea Exchange Bank who offered keen insights into their respective sectors. The students admittedly found the pragmatic insights offered by speakers very useful which not only sharpened their learning gathered so far in the classes but also to be of use in future career roles. The lecture sessions were well augmented by lectures by professors of KAIST who variously spoke on sociology, economic policy, and culture to make the students understand Korean nation as a whole. This is particularly important because if technology and business policies pull a nation's economy from the front, the social and cultural forces, and the individuals' personal disposition moulded by these forces, push the nation from behind.

Summarily the students were offered a comprehensive view of the Korean economy and culture which has reinforced their classroom learning offered at IIMB. The Koreans were an excellent host, and the warmth, care, affection, wit and spontaneity they exhibited in making the students' stay a memorable experience was immensely laudable. The students of IIMB and KAIST became friends by the end of the tour and new frontiers opened for students on either sides with this meeting and exchange of ideas.

IIMB strives to impart its students not only the pedagogical experience in the classroom but also wants to lead them into the world of reality where really the drivers of economy are fast at work, and where long-lasting strategic decisions are made amidst conflicting challenges and objectives.




Yogesh Kumar Singh
Student EPGP 2010-11, IIMB

Run from what's comfortable.
Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
I have tried prudent planning long enough.
From now on I'll be mad!
~ Rumi ~

Student Profile 1 - "Bops/Bopi"

“Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and ability to satisfy them.”

I was with the Indian Navy for the last 21 years as a commissioned officer. The time I spent in the Navy was extremely fulfilling; having got an opportunity to work in many diverse kinds of roles. The Indian Navy is a true microcosm of India having people from all over the country and distinctions based on state, colour, creed , caste etc. never are significant.

The kind of roles that I played in the Navy ranged from training cadets to managing an unionized work force to designing warships. However the true essence of being in the Navy is to be at sea. The days spent at sea are what make the Naval experience so memorable. Sailing in the Malacca Straits (almost like an expressway in terms of traffic) , climbing up on the mast on a dark night to rectify a defect with the ship rolling and pitching, spending a day on US Naval tanker, trying to get the boat started and repeatedly failing are events which will always stay fresh in my mind.

However the most significant and life changing event in the Navy was meeting my would be wife in the salubrious climate of Lonavala. While I was posted there, Vijaya joined the unit (with a bit of an attitude) being from the first batch of women officers inducted into the Indian Armed Forces. But then a place like Lonavala does strange things to people, and today she is here with me as I embark on my second voyage.

Although the quality of life, the camaraderie, the security and the sense of belongingness were overpowering, I still decided to step out and try my hand at something different. I was partly pushed into this decision by my wife who having been in corporate world since the last four years thinks that one must experience both the worlds. Once the decision was taken, I thought it would be a good idea to get a better perspective of a business setup before making the shift. I believe a formal understanding of functions such as economics, finance etc will equip me to hit the ground running when I join an organization in the Civvy Street. What better way to do it than join a premier management institute like the Indian Institute of Management.

The five months so far in EPGP have been worth the time and the monetary investment. The two most amazing aspects of this phase have been the faculty and the diversity in the class. Such an enriching experience – one needs to experience it to believe it.

Regards,
NC Bopanna
Indian Navy ( Retd as Commander)
21 years work experience
BE (Electronics & Communication)
Presently at IIM B ( EPGP 2010 - 2011 )

Term III Updates

With just few more days to go for the end-term exams, we are busy winding up our term projects and doing the required paperwork for International Immersion (Term-IV). The two biggies for the III - term are Corporate Strategy (CS) and Strategic Marketing (SM) that required daily reading up of cases, associated reading material and the mandatory case presentations by select groups. "Cofin" (corporate finance - CF) laid the platform for us to dig our own graves in the way of the mid-term exam, wherein every wrong answer had a generous slashing of full one mark, unlike the usual norm of 1/4 or 1/2. The class did creditably, except for few of us who were truly dead and buried, thanks to the few deceptive MCQs.

The highlight of this term has been the numerous cases, most of them from the Harvard Case Repository, which brought forth hitherto unknown facts about firms such as Pepsi, Coke, Monster, Blockbuster, Aravind Eye Care, Honda, Microsoft et al. It gave us an insight into not just their marketing and business strategies, but also provided an overview of the industries they operated in, the competition that they had to ward off their origins etc. Corporate Governance and Ethics (CGE) featured some of the most interesting and original cases (written by Prof.Bala himself), a movie titled "Other People's Money", and couple of videos on ecological disasters. The discussions facilitated by the faculty post these presentations threw up ethical and corporate governance challenges and how the parties involved played their part....mostly in exacerbating the situation. Two of the contemporary (news airtime wise) corporate disasters - Satyam and Union Carbide – were widely discussed, along with a presentation on ethical dilemma faced by one of our classmates from Army who was a whistleblower on the corruption in Army's procurement practices. Now we don't take the board of governors for granted and are cognizant of few of the reasons for existence of laws such as the Companies Act.

Marketing and Strategy case presentations involved two groups presenting the same case, followed by a faculty driven discussion. It was quite interesting in situations where in the two groups contradicted each other on their final findings about the case. The Marketing term projects feature topics such as Yahoo's mobile apps, Kerala-God's own country, Brand repositioning of Maggi noodles, EPGP branding, Microfinance Industry etc. The class has been working on recommending strategies for firms spread across diverse industries and some of the firms we are working include Yahoo, Bharat Forge, Havells, and McMillan Publishing.

Over the last few weeks, the EPGP acads committee has been on an overdrive and has been meeting the various chairs and trying to get the best of the electives for our batch. Towards this end, professors offering electives have given 15-minute presentations about their course content, outline, pedagogy and evaluation mechanisms. Students have an option of sitting in on maximum of two sessions of any elective at the beginning of the term to decide to continue or to opt out.

On the extra-curricular front, none of our ambitious plans of contributing to the institute's fraternity has materialized in this term. However, few of our classmates have been very regular to the weekly, purely voluntary, and pure non-credit course of Prof.Mahadevan's take on "Bhagavad Gita" in a management context. One of our class mates, who has been a regular at these sessions, would be providing us his views on these sessions in the coming days.

The international immersion term in South Korea promises to be an exciting experience and the first official engagement towards the international immersion falls right in the middle of III term exams – the introductory session on "Industrial Context in South Korea" by Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan. The South Korea sojourn seems to be packed with a good amount of interaction with the Korean industry based on the itenary drawn up by our hosts – KAIST Business School.

The elections for various committees is around the corner and the nominations have been finalized for the same. The class representative would be lining up the nominees for online voting for various positions. Secondly, the Bangalore rains are adding to the charm of the verdant campus, and that should provide some succour to frayed nerves (on account of exam blues)

- Rajesh Kumar Gunasekaran

End of Term-II - Reflections

The detox process was activated just as we stepped out of the last of the exams for Term-II. The wellness committee, not the one to compromise on the well being of the tired souls, proposed a toast at Woodrose. Some of the junta couldn't hold their horses (notwithstanding the sore knuckles from writing for 6 hours), so one group headed to GP impromptu and a few of us begged the Extreme Sports Bar to extend their happy hour by just few minutes to accommodate the desperate lot. It was sheer coincidence that Brazil was slated to play Chile in the pre-quarters later in the night, but for now we settled for Orange (Dutch) magic against the Mohawk-Slovaks. Later in the unearthly hours, we witnessed the Samba (Brazil) magic casting a spell over the Chileans that was made all the more better by bread omelettes and chai at the all night canteen in the campus. The Dress Circle of IIM-B is screening the knockout matches and it was a master stroke to catch the game with the PGP junta, on the big screen right outside the mess.

II-term really whizzed by, with most of the time being spent preparing for the individual/group term papers, group presentations and individual submissions. The well spaced out (5 exams in 3 days) end-term exams provided just a bit of leeway, compared to what hit us last term. We were told that our perspectives of worldly considerations would also change quite significantly around 5^th term (for good reason), but going by the jargonization and conceptualization of discussions both inside and outside the classes, the change seems to be quite obvious already. There were lots of self-reflections on our part- some voluntary and few forced (were to be graded) on different subjects and life in general.

As of today, the hot plans being chalked out include regular gym workouts, EOD football endurance tests, cricket mind games on Saturday, Ping Pong battles to increase concentration powers, and Tennis for the uber cool ones. Just when the adrenaline was getting too much to handle, we got the due emails telling us to do what we "try" to do best – pre-read for III term courses beginning tomorrow (Strategic Marketing, Corp Finance, Corp Governance and Ethics, Corporate Strategy – Did I count right...those are just four courses and not five. Yupiee !!). But we have been forewarned that this term is going to be another sledgehammer.

- Rajesh Kumar Gunasekaran

RuralShores:The BPO New Wave - Seminar Series

Date : 04/06/2010

Venue :L-21, IIM-Bangalore

Easily one of the best seminars we have had so far: judging by the number of queries and mixed emotions (the eternal conflict between social good and personal gain) on display during the seminar session with Mr.Murali, CEO of RuralShores (http://ruralshores.com/).

Ruralshores, a BPO outsourcing company, is unique for its value proposition of low cost outsourcing for its clients and employment opportunities to rural youth Founded by a group of passionate professionals and funded to a certain extent by HDFC Bank and Lokcapital LLC UK, Ruralshores now aspires to expand to 500 centres in 7 years.

A lot of thought has been put into undertaking a venture, which traditionally has been associated with English speaking skills. However, Ruralshores caters to the domestic market where knowledge of regional and national language would suffice to meet the demands of the transactional work from its clients. Post recruitment, the rural youth benefit from the extensive training that they receive from selected city/townships for about 6-8 weeks. The organization signs 2-3 year contracts with its clients Ruralshores provides the rural youth not only a living, but also a chance to acquire knowledge and experience which could pave the way for them to realize their aspirations. Ruralshores taps into experienced professionals and MBA grads by way of providing a chance to manage whole centres by themselves, which is in contrast to the normal experience of leading teams. Ruralshores infrastructure and security arrangements meet the standards required of such BPO centres, including the ISO 27001 Information security standards. While there are obvious challenges in retaining the local culture and scaling minimal resistance from the village leaders, Ruralshores has managed to tap into the goodwill of the local community to revolutionize the BPO industry. It comes at a right time, when there is an overwhelming perception of China stealing the BPO thunder from us.

Inspire of the eager hands going up seeking answers, the seminar committee had to intervene to provide a welcome break to our guests. But the queries continued outside the classroom over cups of steaming beverages and snacks, with few groups even identifying Ruralshores as the subject of their potential leadership term paper. It was good to be exposed to the world of social entrepreneurship in successive weeks as part of the seminar series and definitely would provide more impetus to our batch to explore the realm of social entrepreneurship: first as part of the electives and subsequently making a career out of it.

If one wants a taste of the efficiency of professionalism of Ruralshores, do drop an email to the customer contact email of iMINT reward program. (The email support services are provided by Ruralshores).

An article on "Ruralshores" : (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/world/asia/13india.html)

- Rajesh Kumar Gunasekaran

Leadership Club - First Cut !!

Date : 05/06/2010

Venue : MDC/L-11, IIM-Bangalore

Under the stewardship of Prof.NM Agrawal, the first event of the "Leadership Club" began with 3 industry stalwarts spending some quality time with EPGP students and sharing their thoughts, over breakfast. The intent of this initiative is to connect with industry practitioners who have held numerous leadership positions and who could provide insights into what constitutes their thought process vis-a-vis running a business. Today's event focussed mainly around "Leadership Challenges of Managing Growth", especially in the Indian context. The entire EPGP junta made it on time, (in spite of an early start of 8AM on a Saturday) and initiated discussions with the guests in splinter groups and were keen to know their viewpoints on general business matters.

Mr. R. Vidyasagar (Senior Director Human Resources, EMC India COE) kicked off the formal proceedings by mentioning that he came from an organization in which he was Black"buried" all the time, which was otherwise more commonly referred to as "EMC". He noted that his organization faced three distinct challenges on the path to continuous growth: execution of plans and generating accountability; Taking "Make" or "Buy" decisions; and ensuring high performance from the workforce without causing burnout of any kind. He insisted on the value of providing a human touch even in adverse circumstances faced by an organization, such as when letting go people. While he all for promoting innovation, he remarked that "Applied" innovation is the need of the hour, since unrealistic innovations were a huge burden on any organization. He was of the opinion that employees in an organization could be saved from burnouts when they are allowed to choose their future path/role in an organization without involving their immediate supervisors. He closed his presentation by urging us to be "fair, but firm" in whatever leadership positions we hold in our professional careers.

Mr. Kamal Kumar (Managing Director at DASSAULT SYSTEMES-DELMIA – provider of digital manufacturing and simulation solutions and specializing in product lifecycle management) talked about his experiences in BARC, HCL, HP etc prior to joining Dassault. He talked about the challenges he faced in relatively small operations but that required highly skilled workforce. He extended an open invitation to our batch if we wanted a half day visit to their centre and showcased a short video on how 3D virtualization over the internet interface is used in their organization to expedite design and review steps in automobile manufacturing.

The final presentation came from Mr. Mali Mahalingam (EVP AND CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER, Symphony Services) who briefed us on Wadhwani Foundation, Symphony Services and their chairman Mr.Romesh Wadhwani. Symphony services, while still young in relative terms, has achieved spectacular growth in a very short span of time, thanks to their unique focus on Product Engineering Outsourcing" - what he referred to as the "Third Wave". Their strength also lay in having deep differentiating factors to complement their 7 different business models. The group believes in finding the right talent for the right job and places special emphasis on this aspect to sustain their impressive pace of growth.

The leadership series not only opens new avenues to interact with diverse industry leaders, but also enables us to co-relate our theoretical understanding of leadership with practical aspects as shared by our eminent guests.

- Rajesh Kumar Gunasekaran

"Term-II Updates"

Stock check time – results for first term have already started pouring in. As expected, few happy and a little more disappointed souls in the class. The professionalism from the faculty in the providing the key, solutions, marks and feedback has been quite astonishing; something which I have not been exposed to before.

Second term commenced with a revised schedule that resulted in over exposure to Leadership/Macroeconomics/OB in the first 10 days, since the faculty had other engagements in the coming week. Prof N M Agrawal (http://www.iimb.ernet.in/user/85/n-m-agrawal), who heads the PGSEM course, wanted us to submit a 2000 word essay on our leadership experiences that was to be graded. Prof Vasanthi Srinivasan's (http://www.iimb.ernet.in/user/108/vasanthi-srinivasan ) first interaction with us was on the second day of EPGP course, and she picked up from where she left in talking about Organizational Behaviour which has been reworded as "Managing People and Performance in Organizations". Prof Shymal Roy (http://www.iimb.ernet.in/user/105/shyamal-roy ) has an easy and calm demeanour even when he utters absolute cracker-jacks with the straightest of faces, even as he expounds theories on Macroeconomics. The book he has authored is our recommended reading for Macro and is a compact power packed bundle of concepts on GDP, Aggregate Demand and the likes. Prof. B.Mahadevan (http://www.iimb.ernet.in/user/58/b-mahadevanc) , likewise has authored a book of his own and he took the extra pains of ensuring that the latest edition reached us on time. It is also interesting to note that he is a Sanskrit scholar and offers discourses on Bhagavad Gita tailored for modern management weekly once for the students. Prof.Jayanthi Iyer appeared to make our lives easier by categorically stating that last year batch students felt that cost accounting (CA) was one of the easiest courses to sail through. She has however added in a unique concept of preparing for the case handouts from two perspectives that would be evaluated – presentation and commenting/critiquing. No let-up in the intensity overall.

The branding committee initiated few rounds of discussions with the Chairperson, IIM-B website content supervisor to hash out the possible activities as part of the branding activity. International immersion destination now will happen in the land of Samsung/Hyundai/LG – South Korea. The details are being worked out, we have been told that we would be spending considerable time on industry visits in Seoul and Busan based on an itinerary drawn up by KAIST business school (http://www.business.kaist.ac.kr/index.asp?klang=ENG). The added attraction to this visit is an optional extended layover in Hongkong/Macau while returning; obviously at the expense of the students:-) The first draft of the committee formation processes and guidelines has been drawn up and the recommendations /suggestions from the class are being factored in.

Seminar committee went into an over-drive and arranged two seminars from diverse fields within the same week - Derick Jose (http://in.linkedin.com/in/derickjose) from Mindtree talked about significant engagements in the evolution of Mindtree; Siddhartha Chowdri (http://in.linkedin.com/in/hsiddhartha) from Accion spoke about Micro-finance and the current state of MFIs in Indian context. The seminar series itself commenced a few weeks back with a presentation by Krishnan Madhabushi (Subbu from "Second Degree" by Prashant John) from the entrepreneurial venture Kwench. (http://www.kwench.in/)

This term seems to be all about cases and extended typing hours on the laptop, going by the essays and term papers expected of us. So expect few keys on the laptop keyboards to be abused and if you find any alphabet omissions in the days to come, blame it on these assignments !!

- Rajesh Kumar Gunasekaran

The Little Magazine

Opening a mountain of a book by Amartya Sen in the morning and to read some ten lines of any of his work, makes for an excellent exercise for my intellect in the mornings! At once I would be humbled by his intellectual might. This humility would help me all through the day. Once I see how small I really am, I tend to be silent and receptive.

As a bonus, an immensely satisfying one, this exercise today led me to something called 'The Little Magazine' (http://www.littlemag.com/). Am amazed at the intellectual quality of this magazine. Guess it has started around a decade ago and there has been only a handful of issues posted on the website - and articles from these issues have been given access selectively online. Very very tempting. The quality of the authors is formidable. Am happy that something like this exists. I hope it survives these tough times and lives forever. The first thing that struck me from this magazine today morning is this poem by Jerry Pinto:

Lord of the linear narrative,

Show me the point at which I should begin.

Stop me when I have said as much as I should.

Regulate my voice, I boom too much

and my whispers are shrill.

Feed me words on those long, slow afternoons.

Allow me the grace of serendipity —

To find lost continents on my tongue.

Give me the gift of silence,

and then set me adrift.

The last two lines moved me. How nicely is the thirst of any creative artist for silent wanderings captured!

If not for anything else, The Little Magazine would have my patronage because Amartya Sen regulars there.

Amartya Sen's The Argumentative Indian enhanced my knowledge about India and Hinduism. Am deeply indebted to this work of his to have made these views of mine much more broader and deeper and to have enabled me to appreciate the wealth of intellect present in India. To take a small example: learning about Javali in Ramayana who features as an atheist and who calls Rama 'foolish, especially for an intelligent and wise man', made me realize that Hinduism has these strains and all of these various lines are in the fold of Hinduism. This small knowledge which has told me that arguments are the essense of our culture, and which advised me to keep my eyes and mind open, led me to the treasure trove of the Upanishads which exemplify this tradition. It was also very heartening and satisfying to note that there is a massive body of works in Vedantic Hinduism which glorify this argumentative tradition by following it very rigorously and to realize that argumentation has been the principal tool in propounding ideas. Till then I was not aware of any parallel for argumentation in India as by Socrates and Plato.

The Argumentative Indian also made me aware of the 'Arthashastra' by Kautilya. I was always wondering if there is a parallel in India to 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu. Arthashastra seems to be a fitting answer. To quote Boesche:

"Is there any other book that talks so openly about when using violence is justified? When assassinating an enemy is useful? When killing domestic opponents is wise? How one uses secret agents? When one needs to sacrifice one's own secret agent? How the king can use women and children as spies and even assassins? When a nation should violate a treaty and invade its neighbor? Kautilya — and to my knowledge only Kautilya — addresses all those questions. In what cases must a king spy on his own people? How should a king test his ministers, even his own family members, to see if they are worthy of trust? When must a king kill a prince, his own son, who is heir to the throne? How does one protect a king from poison? What precautions must a king take against assassination by one's own wife? When is it appropriate to arrest a troublemaker on suspicion alone? When is torture justified? At some point, every reader wonders: Is there not one question that Kautilya found immoral, too terrible to ask in a book? No, not one. And this is what brings a frightful chill. But this is also why Kautilya was the first great, unrelenting political realist."

What a little magazine!

Do drop by at: http://www.littlemag.com/about/about.html

References:

1. The Argumentative Indian – Amartya Sen

2. The Little Magazine (http://www.littlemag.com/)

3. http://nandakumarchandran.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/11/lokaayata-ancient-indian-atheism.htm

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthashastra

N.

EPGP Orientation 7th April - 9th April 2010

The 2nd batch of EPGP began with a 3 day orientation programme on 7th Apr – the day being a very light affair with registration, photo-op in suits, more introductions (with a success rate of remembering names at an abysmal low) and subscribing to the Airtel CUG plans. However, on 8th April as we strode into the Auditorium there was an air of expectation what with the dean for academic (Prof. Trilochan Sastry), IIMB-Director (Prof. Pankaj Chandra) and EPGP chairperson (Prof. Malay Bhattacharya) slated to address the gathering and extending the official welcome to us. Having worked for 8.5 years, it didn’t take long to rediscover the respect and anxiousness one would associate with any kind of closed classroom education (not to be confused with claustrophobia). Prof Malay was the first one to speak and he touched upon the history of the inception of this programme, the uniqueness and the considerable thought put into differentiating it from the rest of the one-year programmes. It came as a surprise to me that two professors went and observed the similar one year programmes offered by MIT, Kellogg, INSEAD, and another institute, to design EPGP structure. Prof. Shastry,based on his experience with the first batch, delved into things which needed improvement and also on the value of education per se. Finally Prof.Chandra invoked the need to align our goals and contribute to the development of India, and emphasized on the need to make the Seminar series a more successful one. During the Q&A session it emerged that the Seminar series definitely needed to be taken more seriously and the need to drawn speakers from non-management sector. It was gladdening to note that the faculty were overly impressed with the class participation from the first batch and highlighted the reasons for the same.

Prof Jose, the Chairperson for the Career Development Services, did some serious plain talking and got the audience participating actively with his occasional lighter comments. It emerged that the overall placement of the first batch was very good and exceeded his expectations, but it had its share of troughs and crests vis-a-vis the number of recruiters visiting the campus. He implored our batch to have realistic expectations and not to be swayed by the mood set by the media and hype existing in the society around the placements in IIMs. The biggest re-iteration came from him on the fact that IIM wasn’t a placement agency and it was up to the Student Place-com to drive the show, and his office would step in only on a need basis.

Post a crowded and quick, but grand, lunch we convened for the ICE BREAKING SESSION conducted by KWEC ( kwec.net - an agency specializing in behavioural sciences ) and anchored by its founder – Rahul Kapoor. Like any such training, the idea was to get the relatively over aged corporate denizens and army honchos to shed their inhibitions (within permissible limits), that would help expedite the mutual learning processes. To a large extent, the programmed seemed to have served its objective, going by the enthusiastic response right through leading up to the final two moments of quiet reflection on our parents. Rahul was all energy and it was quite amazing to notice that he lasted the course with the same vigour. As Rahul pointed out, there could be many takeaways from the entire exercise, however, he urged us to inculcate at least one to make the most of our time spent in the next one year. He signed off to take up the mike at Chinnaswamy stadium for RCB’s home game against DC. Komala, part of the CAO office, got a deserving applause from our batch and KWEC team for facilitating the entire event.

There was a “SAY CHEESE” moment with the official IIM-B photographer on the lawns of the institution, which I presume would be for next year’s brochure. That just about rounded up the second last day of the relaxed pre-cursor term before the real grind.

The final day of orientation had two sessions, the first one being on "Individual Learning Styles" by Prof.Vasanthi Srinivasan. The very first 1.5 hr classroom of the one year rigour didn’t seem to bring any of the usual phobia one would associate after a hiatus as long as 8.5 years from formal education. On the contrary, the participation from the whole of the class was very spontaneous and engaging, which I believe was due to the very engaging and humour-laden discourse from the faculty. Prof.Vasanthi expounded on the 4 types of learning styles, the associated learning patterns and what we should aim for over the next one year. The next session on "Political Entrepreneurship" by Prof.Rajeev Gowda started off on a humorous note when the Prof did a "Ungowning" himself : aka Jairam Ramesh. For the next 40 minutes or so the Prof walked us through his political aspirations which gained ground from his childhood days. Going by the session title, one would have expected the class to be about exploring Entrepreneurship in the political arena and the associated pros and cons. While that didn’t seem to be the case, at the end of around 40 minutes the Prof presented a slide seeking answers from his audience as to what he has been doing wrong which has resulted in him not getting a Lok Sabha ticket. The session wasn't didactic in nature and it seemed to be more of context setting for a problem and what could be the plausible solutions. While we wondered the relevance of this session, I personally liked the class and it seemed after all not that a big deal to sit in on a non-curricular session :-), but was equally cognizant of the fact that it wouldn't be the case with the academic courses. Later in the evening we had a welcome dinner arranged by IIM-B and were glad to spend time knowing each other, while also interacting with Komala and Prof.Sourav.

The real grind unwinds on Monday and we already have quizzes slated in 3 days time !!

P.S : Amidst all the information, inspiration and indulgence, text books too were distributed.

thoughts

Some thoughts at the end of 1/24th of the course (yes, 1/3 rd of the 1st term has already zoomed past us!!):

We started the course with Debiting the excellent Faculty and peer interactions and Crediting the loan amounts and amount of sleep etc and the retained earnings at the end of the year is going to be a huge learning and some wonderful friends.

The search, evaluate and enforce aspects are being thought about different options to outsource some or all of the key activities within the group for each of us like getting the right visibility in the market, getting a good job that will make economical sense given the opportunity cost, getting the varied inputs from eminent personalities in society to develop our own personality, getting the right subject areas covered as part of the learning etc. to utilize the division of labor effectively.

Though there is an outlier like me (with no contribution to the class), which is anyway expected in a normal distribution (knowledge gained being a continuous random variable), the amount of peer learning that is happening is amazing. With 100% confidence (though theoretically it is not possible), I can say that there will be a huge enrichment in terms of knowledge and skills at the end of the course for each of us.

The Supply of knowledge from the faculty is enormously high compared to the quantity of assmilation of knowledge that is happening and hence there is an inelastic supply at this point of time. Hoping to reach the point of elasticity soon!!

Bringing in some chemical engineering flavour (btw, I am a chemical engineer by qualification), the tests, case studies and assignments are the anti-corrosive agents that help in retaining the knowledge in spite of the high heat and mass transfers that take place and also act as catalyst in the learning process.

In a philosophical tone, probably the whole universe is conspiring to help me gain some knowledge and contacts by putting me amidst the excellent faculty and an entrepreneurial peer group.

Integrating the differential thoughts, the experience so far indicates that the next 1 year is going to be intriguing and insightful in more than one way.

-Kumar

Applied Gita

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seems puny and trivial." – Henry David Thoreau

Bhagavad-Gita teaches us management, of everything, most importantly, of the self.

The key to build great businesses is, without any doubt, great people. People, who can lead, inspire, innovate and achieve. The creation of or a transformation into a great business starts with its people. Gita can be used to achieve harmony among the employees in an organization and to enable them to connect themselves with the organization. Many organizations suffer from the malady of being disconnected with its employees and many employees find it difficult to tune themselves to a higher goal and to resonate with the organization. Any cure, of any entity, should start with its people. One must strive to correct and fine tune his/her way of life, its purpose, its focus and its goal through an ardent study of the Gita.

Gita on the way of life:

Gita prescribes knowledge as the way of life.

Many of today's modern educational institutions, even though are quite competent in imparting education, leave a lot to be desired when it comes to shaping the students as true champions of knowledge who have mastered themselves. Gita teaches this greatest science of knowing thyself. Men who have mastered themselves are the most fit to serve the society for its upliftment and will prove a great boon to this world's well-being. The essential parts of Gita are those which impart us this knowledge.

Gita prescribes purpose instead of self-profit:

When we have a purpose to which we are passionately dedicated, it helps us to focus our mind with extraordinary sharpness and achieve great results. This cannot normally happen if we keep worrying about the results and satisfaction of our desires. It's the science which deals with the right attitude towards action and how to achieve great results from any of our actions.

In the context of a team, if everyone is motivated towards a purpose and if the leader can light that fire in them, which is good enough to burn their narrow desires and to enable them to see a higher goal, then everyone will work in unison. This results in true teamwork. And when motivated by a single purpose, which is communicated well to have penetrated into their hearts, the achievement will be far greater than the sum of the individual achievements.

From the perspective of businesses, moving from a profit-oriented approach to the purpose-oriented approach will do a world of good. Businesses would then cease to be short-term in their motives and gain a vision. The motivation of the ideas like inclusive capitalism, co-creation, etc should have stemmed from these principles.

Once we know the purpose of our existence, it becomes a lot easier for us to define and streamline our goals. It's much the same as, if there is a known direction to the destination, the travel would be much smoother and quicker.

Gita prescribes focus on the present rather than the future:

Gita urges us to focus on the present and give it whatever we have. This always yields extraordinary results. It's a simple logic that future is nothing but the effect of our present actions. And if we take care of the present, future should take care of itself. And past is a bunch of dead experiences from which we can only learn and move on. It does not help to worry about the past or to plan for the future too much, so much so that it affects our present.

To quote the meaning of the most important and immortal verse, to this effect, from the Gita

"Thy right is only to work;

But never to its fruits;

Let not the fruit of action be thy motive;

Nor let thy attachment be to inaction."

These few lines, when realized in their whole, will prove to be great wisdom, the light of which will guide us all through our life.

All enjoyment that we ever have, all happiness that we can ever have, should come from the present, neither from the future nor from the past. Otherwise the being can be called as deluded. This principle works great to bring out people from dejection and hopelessness into the state of clarity, understanding and vital activity. It helps us to endure the vagaries of life very effectively.

This principle has far-reaching implications in the field of business too. It teaches the executives how to manage things, inasmuch as, to focus on the management of the current situation than doing paranoiac planning on the future or deriving data from the past. It teaches them on how to strategize or envision the future goals without losing touch with the present realities or the present health of the business. It teaches anybody on how to overcome failures to step into effective action as soon as possible and it teaches on how not to waste time basking in the warmth of our previous successes. It's the most efficacious piece of learning one can ever have.

Happiness and peace as the ultimate goal:

What is life if we are not happy? Gita teaches us to identify what are the characteristics that we should develop to attain peace and happiness in life. The same principles in all their vigor and efficacy can be applied to the well-being of an organization.

What is the one measure that can measure the success of a company or a business, the success of a man, the success of a society, the success of a culture, the success of a country? It's nothing but the happiness of the people associated with it. Success of a business should be known from not from its balance sheet, not from the revenues or profits that it's posting, not from its size, not from its reputation, not from anything else other than the happiness of its employees, customers and other stakeholders. After all what are we living for!

There's a lot that could and should be taken from the Gita and be applied to self-management and to business management. It is a knowledge treasure-trove, a panacea of ethical conundrums, an intellectual and moral miracle.

N.

Where The Mind is Without Fear

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore