Being a Master or a Misfit depends on your choice! Selecting your dream B-School

Few of the most commonly considered factors before selecting a B-School are Placements, Peer Learning, Faculty, Infrastructure, Accessibility, Specialties, Gender Ratio, Student Exchange Programme, Flagship Events and Alumni network, not necessarily in that particular order. It is mostly subjective and one needs to get one’s priorities correct before homing into a school.

I’d like to reiterate the stated point as it is most important that one understands what one wants from a B-School, because more often than not, given sufficient effort, one ends up getting it. So, get your priorities correct!!!Else you’ll be just another drifter wondering what to do while time flies by and you’ll be doing some job in some company.

Considering the time of posting this, you all have already prepared well and gave your best in your respective exams. So, that’s out of the window.

There are two types of B-Schools, those which offer a Post Graduate Programme with a Generic orientation (IIMs etc.) and those which offer a more Niche orientation (MICA, IRMA etc.), and there are two types of programmes, aone year executive MBA programme and a two year regular programme, the former is aimed towards working executives who wish to seek a better position in their existing vertical and the latter allows more leverage who wish to change their verticals. This is a bird’s eye view and this must be sufficient to give you a generic idea as to the “where” and “what”. There are B-Schools which offer a three year MBA, but three years is too much of a time for an MBA.

Once you have that figured out, concentrate on the factors which are mentioned in the beginning and find out from the internet and your friends who are already studying as to what is the emphasis in the B-School. You will get a fair idea about what the institute wants to do in their vision and mission statements, some might concentrate on Research, some might concentrate on foreign businesses, others might concentrate on building leaders, few others boast of socially responsible professionals and so on and so forth.

Placements shouldn’t be a concern so long as you are in the top thirty. When you go beyond that, you will need to look at the Age of the B-school, Programmes, Events, Corporate Relations, Publications, Faculty, Proximity to a Business Hub and finally the Placement Reports. However, placement reports are fudged by many and they shouldn’t be looked in isolation. There are B-Schools which boast of an average annual pay-out of 15 lakhs and higher, but in reality, it might be somewhere near 6 lakhs per annum. You will need to calculate the Return on Investment for spending a substantial amount of time and money, on the B-School and come to a consensus regarding the viability of you joining it.

Events are a great way of gauging a B-School’s activity as they represent the general level of students in the college. More events with better reach will imply that a B-School is working hard to make a mark (or) is already identified as a viable partner by the local businesses as most of the funding is provided by them. A B-School which is identified by local businesses will, in no time, network with the biggies and good placements are assured. Similarly, the proximity to a Business Hub can also be seen as an equally important factor in the same lines.

Age of the institution is also a measure of gauging the performance of a B-School as it signifies the maturity of general environment within the B-School, although, as a word of caution, this shouldn’t be taken in isolation. In-fact, none of the factors must be taken in isolation and a consensus must be drawn after considering at least four of the factors which have been mentioned.

Before making the final call, look at the B-School ratings from multiple sources, not from magazines or generic websites (some of them receive kickbacks from B-Schools), but from specialist-institutional bodies like TIME, CL, IMS etc. Compare them, talk to various sources like your mentors in your training institute, friends, PagalGuy fraternity etc. Again, talk to multiple sources and don’t go by one opinion.

Finally, the decision to join an institute must be purely yours and must not be influenced by any other factors.

P.S 1: This pertains exclusively to students who wish to pursue a Post Graduate Programme in India.

P.S 2: I’ve attempted to write this article in as simplistic terms as possible without diluting the gravity of the situation and as such is targeted towards those who haven’t the first clue or are on the verge of making a decision!!

The article is written by Ravikanth V,he is a student of pgp 2014-16 batch of IIM Raipur.

Making a difference through social media communication: A case of Rice Bucket Challenge

   

        When Manjulatha Kalanidhi woke up on that bright Sunday morning of Aug 24, little did she know that she had become an overnight internet celebrity. Clutching a cup of coffee in her hand, she was on her way out to fetch the morning newspaper when the telephone started to ring. On the other end was her sister excitedly chattering something about a story that was published in ‘The Hindu’ about the ‘Rice Bucket Challenge’, an initiative that Manju had launched as a response to the extremely popular Ice Bucket challenge that was doing rounds on the internet.  Calls started pouring in from friends who wanted to congratulate her on the success of her idea. She logged into her Facebook account and found her page flooded with #RBC posts. The original picture, had received over 500 likes and 200 shares. Someone had already opened a Facebook page for the Rice Bucket Challenge, and followers were growing at a rapid pace.

Learning from the best: My experience from the HR Summit IIM Raipur

IIM Raipur organized its 1^st HR Summit on 19^th and 20^th of September, 2014 which proved to be a huge success as industry professionals and academicians from all over India shared their experiences and insights on the various topics related to the central theme of “Aligning HR with Business Strategy”. The two day event saw participation of over 50 HR Directors, Presidents and Vice Presidents from the industry voicing their opinions during the six panel discussions.

For students like me who are looking for a career in HR, the Summit gave an opportunity to get an industry perspective.

The Chief Guest, Mr. Narendra Kothari, CMD, NMDC, in his inaugural address stated that better HR policies are the best way of motivating employees and there is a need for performance differentiation during appraisal. In his words, “While hiring a new employee one must try to align the job requirements with the personal requirements.”

Mr. Ramkumar, Executive Director, ICICI bank, built his speech around leadership. He ascertained that techniques can be learned but passion cannot be and as business professionals we should stop identifying ourselves with our specializations. His opinion that we should refer ourselves as leaders and not as HR or marketing professionals was intriguing and made me realize how we limit ourselves as we inch a step closer to the doors of the corporate world.

On the first panel discussion, titled ‘Managing Intangibles – Connecting with Internal Customers’, the panel members talked about the best HR practices across the industry and how they manage, motivate and reward their employees.

I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the third panel, which was on ‘HR as a strategic business partner’. As an HR enthusiast I do feel that HR should move from the administrative role and be a part of the decision making process of any organization. The discussion revolved around the changing roles of HR. Key speakers in this panel shared their opinions about the practices that could be implemented to achieve this.

The second day of the summit was as enriching as the first day and started with the discussion on how organizations can develop a high performing culture. At this time I remembered the article, ‘Characteristics of High Performance Organizations’ by André de Waal which talks about various dimensions an organization should assess itself on to be high performing. The discussion revolved around the same dimensions and the members of the panel shared their firm’s culture and expressed views on the dimensions which their organization focused on to become high performing.

The last panel discussion on ‘Leadership in volatile times’ was very interactive and the panelists stressed that all times are volatile times and a leader should be prepared to face any challenge that comes along their way.

All in all, the 2014 HR summit organized by IIM Raipur was an exciting experience and as a student I found it to be a very enriching journey.

This article is written by Prasha Mishra, of PGP 2013-15. She can be reached at pgp13101.prasha@iimraipur.ac.in

IIM Raipur qualifies for the national finals of ‘The Maverick'

IIM Raipur, one of the premier management institutes of the country, qualified for the national finals of ‘The Maverick', a business acumen challenge organized by Deloitte. The challenge was thrown open, for the first time, to the top 54 B-schools of the country and saw huge participation with around three thousand entries.  ‘The Maverick’ is One-of-its-kind platform to help uncover the young generation’s capacity for Unconventional Thinking, Innovation, Leadership, and thinking sustainable solutions for current day business problems.

Our team, Brainsters, consisted of me, Ashish Mehta, and my team mates, Hemant Nagalkar & Gurjot Singh. We are proud to declare that we made it to the East Zone regional finals and are going ahead to compete in the nationals. The challenge saw teams battling it out in a case-study competition, which required formulation of comprehensive strategies. The competition sought to expose the participants to the real, global corporate work environment, and learn how to work in teams, respect and leverage diverse perspectives, engage in client conversations and presentation scenarios, while also interacting with experienced business leaders.

The contest culminated in a four-minute presentation before a panel comprising of the top echelon of Deloitte's management. The teams were subjected to rigorous questioning to gauge their spontaneity and understanding of the case study.

We, as a team, contribute our success to the team coordination and dedication shown by each of our team members. The biggest learning for us was to learn how to design, propose and defend solutions for challenges that have significance to economy, current day business and corporate world. The event also emphasised on how we need to contribute back to the society.

The event also celebrated the spirit of inclusion and Diversity through ‘Be the One’ and gave exposure to the culture and value system of Deloitte which makes it the best company to work for. The interaction with the Partners & Directors of Deloitte was once in a lifetime experience and insights given by them will help in shaping our careers in future.

The article is written by Team Brainsters,IIM Raipur 

“Venus at par with, or even better than Mars” – Women Leadership Confluence 2014 @ IIM Raipur reaffirms the corollary

History has witnessed the Green Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and the likes, but there is a new surge, a surge of Women’s Revolution. The Feminine gender is taking over many incumbent positions. The status quo is witnessing a wave of Indian women entering the corporate world as leaders. Their voice, which was heard only to them and faded away within them, is today being heard and acknowledged by the mass. The stench of bias and the strongholds of male chauvinism are fading away and will hopefully be soon smothered to nullity.

With the nation going gung-ho on Women Empowerment, IIM Raipur took this opportunity to give a pat on the back of this new surge by exhibiting a platform where two corporate-women supremos- Mrs. Smita Nair Jain, COO, Barclays Technology Centre and Mrs. Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, shared their views on the tangible presence of women in the corporate world and their experiences and insights on how they climbed the ladder of success defying all odds and understatements.

Although there were only two women present in the confluence, they represented all those other women who are out there in the corporate world, striving hard, leaving no stone unturned to be at par with their male counterparts or even better. Women are now no longer just confined to the kitchen, but their ambits have extended till where their dreams can take them. They have evolved, blossomed, paved a way through and found their niche in the corporate world. They not only beautify themselves but also have a flair of beautifying the management and leadership roles in the corporate. Women’s thoughts or values may seem to be idealistic in nature, but their approach towards problems is nonetheless pragmatic. 

Mrs. Smita Nair, who is gender agnostic, spoke about the “Power of Yin” and how a woman can be of great potency and as good as her male counterpart. She also stated that, “Women are treated the way they want to be treated. Men will respect you if you respect yourself.” Having said that, she also mentioned that she had come across many women who misuse their power in the corporate world. “If a woman expects a man to pull a chair for her, then she should not consider the notion of equality”, said Mrs. Smita. This statement might be a turnoff for a guy who wants to impress his lady with the gentle gesture on a well-planned romantic date or for that matter a turn-off for the lady as well who might be anticipating the gentle gesture that arouses a feeling of being pampered, but Mrs. Smita stated the statement with an intention to strengthen the women gender and to eliminate the feeling of being inferior or dependent. She encouraged the men to not give a preferential treatment to the women in the workplace and give them a space for competition. She encouraged women to be proud of what they are and reminded them of their extraordinary ability to wear many hats.

Indeed, a woman can juggle between an apron in the kitchen and a business suit at her office, stirring the curry in the kitchen and formulating business plans in her cabin, nurse her child who is sick and handle the grievances of the employees when they are discontent- a few facets exhibiting how gracefully nature has equipped the feminine gender. When asked whether she agrees to the glass ceiling effect, she stated that she acknowledges its existence but disagrees to the fact that it is confined only to the feminine gender.

After a great boost of words from Mrs. Smita Nair Jain, the IIM fraternity was then privileged to hear the enlightening words from Mrs. Usha Ananthasubramanian, who stated that “Women Empowerment is the key to Women Leadership”. “Men dominate and women orchestrate,” she said, a line that advocates the leadership style of women to engage other people in the team for an efficient output rather than being a one-man army and losing the battle. She noticed a lot of women finding their niche in the financial sector, but a weakness that women have been facing is in the area of networking and negotiating. With regards to her observation, she stated that it was more important for the women to develop “negotiating” skills rather than “financing” skills. She encouraged the women to bear the “can do” attitude and concluded with the story of Wilma Rudolph. Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Game and was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s, despite being prematurely born and suffering from physical disability till the age of 12. Mrs. Usha innervated the listeners by the statement of Wilma Rudolph: “My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.”

Thus, concluded the event with a vista of learning and a vision of what India is going to witness – Women not merely playing the role of Home Managers, but Corporate Managers as well. For those women who feel that their progress is crippled and hopes assaulted, it’s time for you to rise! 

 

This article is written by Prateek Suting, of PGP 2014-16. He can be contacted at pgp14092.prateek@iimraipur.ac.in

My summer internship experience at ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank - Bandra Kurla Complex

As I was en route Pune from Raipur to start my internship at ICICI Bank, I had no idea what to expect from the days which lay ahead. Being a fresher, I feared that my concept of ‘the office life’ would be far from reality. However, it was a necessary pill to be consumed as an MBA course would be incomplete without getting a taste of life at work. On the other hand, my internship at ICICI Bank could end up being an enriching experience which could change my perspective on a lot of things. With these thoughts in mind, I set foot into my office.

The first day began with a meeting with my mentor who discussed what his team in ICICI’s Pune branch looked into, what my project was about and what were his expectations from the project. This was followed by a quick round of introductions with the team I would eventually share my lunch and several rounds of ‘chai’ with in the coming weeks. Thus began my story at ICICI.

The first week simply went in figuring out how my office functions and how I could make any useful contribution with my project to an institution like ICICI. As the days passed, I started developing a better picture of what the project required. My mentor’s ideas and experience helped a great deal in this process as did the insights which came in from different members of the team. It was like trying to fix a complicated jigsaw puzzle, which seems impossible but acts as a trigger to the brain waves.

Each day of my summer internship at ICICI was a learning. Getting to see how the corporate finance division of a bank like ICICI functions was no less than a once in a lifetime opportunity. Concepts which I had come across in the textbooks of Financial Management in my first year at IIM Raipur started coming to life. It helped me appreciate the practicality of those concepts better. However, my most important learning was not concerned with understanding finance. It revolved around understanding people and witnessing how leadership helps drive results. I learnt some of my most important lessons so far on human behaviour through my interactions with ICICI Bank’s customers and by observing my team members. These takeaways would never become a part of my project report or my final presentation but they did become a part of an important chapter of my life.

The internship on the whole required nothing short of hard work and resilience. The period was filled with crests and troughs, where the crests were indicative of those moments where I felt I was closer to the project’s objective while the troughs represented the moments when I felt I was away from them. As the internship neared its end, my project managed to take shape and with a few nights spent burning the midnight oil, it reached a successful completion. As I wrapped it up with a final presentation to my mentor and the evaluating panel of ICICI Bank, I was left with a mixed feeling of happiness and a want for more. I could not help but feel that I could have done more and there were instances where I was surprised I managed to accomplish certain difficult feats. Perhaps, it was a normal phase to go through.

A significant chapter of my MBA life had come to an end. However, it lay the foundation to a number of new beginnings, some which I have already started exploring and some which will be explored when the time comes. But there is one advice which I had received from my mentor which I will carry forever, “Don't be afraid of taking a path less trodden. Sometimes they are the ones that bring you closer to your life’s goals”. 

This article is written by Anwesha Dasgupta, of PGP 2013-15. She can be contacted at pgp13067.anwesha@iimraipur.ac.in

Union Budget discussed at IIM Raipur

From L to R:  Prof.Dawra, Prof.K.KRay, Mr.Pradeep Kumar, Mr.Varshney, Mr.Tarun Mishra, Prof.B.S.Sahay, Mr.Anurag Garg, Prof.Pal, Prof. Ashish Garg, Prof.Dash

Union Budget the “Grand Slam” event for Government of India was scheduled to be declared on 10^th July this year. It is not that every year people are not excited about the union budget being declared, but this year it was special. New Government , new hope , new aspirations all was in the air regarding this year’s Union Budget. Seeing this enthusiasm in general public and students, IIM Raipur under the vision of our Director, Dr.B.S Sahay and the Finance department of IIM Raipur , we organized the “Union Budget Week” where numerous activities related to Union Budget were being planned.

Building on the excitement that was already there, first event of the week was Pre-Budget Discussion on 7^th July 2014 where students presented their views on theme “Expectation from Union Budget 2014-15”. This was a student driven activity and the complete event was being organized by Finatix (Finance Club of IIM Raipur) under the guidance of Finance Department of IIM Raipur. Five panels having a mix of students from both first year and second year PGP, discussed about their expectations from the budget in particular sectors assigned to them. The sectors mainly covered were Agriculture and Rural Development, Infrastructure and Industry, Social Sector, Financial Sector and we had a special panel to discuss about the Taxation (including direct, indirect and corporate tax etc.). The first 20 minutes of this session were about the expectation from the budget in that particular sector followed by the question and answer round with the audience. Eminent faculty from department of Finance and Economics of IIM Raipur were also present in the discussion and gave their valuable insight about different sectors. Students of IIM Raipur actively participated in this discussion and had very good learning experience.

Between all the excitement, we also had budget bites being circulated daily to the students regarding different terms used for better understanding of Union budget.

On 10th July 2014, everyone in the country was excited to know what is there in the black briefcase held by the Finance Minister. From a common man to the people of the corporate sitting in their board rooms, everyone was excited about the changes that the new government was going to put on the table. We at IIM Raipur leveraged this excitement in students and had a special screening of Budget to see live in action as to how the dreams of 1.25 billion people are being unfolded by our Finance Minister. By afternoon government unveiled their plans for next 9 months before the next budget in Feb 2015.

Having heard the expectation of the students from the budget and seeing the budget being unfolded live, it was very important to know the impact and outcome of budget from the experts themselves. To have a critical analysis about budget and its impact, we at IIM Raipur organized a post budget discussion on the theme “Putting India on High Growth Trajectory”. To grace this occasion we had many eminent dignitaries from Industry, Government and Academia. It was an enriching experience to know that how each announcement in the budget has an impact on the business environment  and what was the rationale behind taking a particular decision by Union Government. This discussion not only widened the horizon of students learning with experts touching different aspects of the budget, but it also gave the audience insight of how experts see budget as one of the most important event in India’s business calendar. This event got a huge media coverage both in print and electronic media across India.  

After pre and post discussion were over, a brainstorming quiz was organized by Finatix (Finance Club of IIM Raipur).This quiz included  questions from on the budget terminology , latest changes in budget and some interesting facts about history of union budget in India. This gave students a very good opportunity to test the knowledge that they garnered during past one week. We saw huge participating from the students of IIM Raipur.

It was the starting of academic session 2014-15 and being management student , it would not have being a better start by learning about how the budget plays an important role in the life of an management student. Be it Operations, Finance, Marketing, HR , Consulting or IT , students interested in every domain learned that how important it is to know what Government vision for the country. This Budget Week helped us understand how Macroeconomic factors can affect the day to day working of tea stall owner to a big corporate houses.

Being part of the organizing team and conducting full week of activities related to the budget was a very exciting expedition. Learning that we got from these events were innumerable.

See you in Feb 2015 for another exciting week on Union Budget 2015-2016

This article is written by Gurjot Singh, Co-Ordinator of FINATIX (Finance Club of IIM Raipur) of PGP 2013-15. He can be contacted at pgp13081.gurjot@iimraipur.ac.in