MBA is management by analysis, atleast initially

During the 2yrs in IIM, many courses were analytics based like those on statistics, managerial computing, system flowcharting etc. The 'softer' HR subjects were scoffed upon by me and many batchmates as 'globe', atleast in the academics and assessment. While many profs/seniors used to stress the importance of HR courses, I felt that those skills would be learnt on the job unlike hard skills in which prior knowledge may help in serendipity and saving sleepless nights. Also, given the cooperative/common goals in MBA versus that in the workplace(often dog-eat-dog), it is doubtful

When you are new to the organization, taking process walkthoughs/interviews/mystery audits will only help till a point, and will probably tell you how things are supposed to work-process walkthoughs will show the inside view of the process, while Hawthorne effect ensures that getting a realistic view is difficult. Data is never biased(atleast should not be), so as long as you can conduct exploratory data analysis using pivots, filters, lookups etc to get a broad picture. And it is analysis which is necessary to show that you are just not spouting MBA jargon as the new whizkid on the block, but have actually understood the process and all.

Often, there will be things which you feel is 'broken','flawed','wrong' etc. But to counter the 'why fix it if its not broke', you need data to back you up. When data is not available, then seniority in the room wins but otherwise only data can counter data. Of course, do not get into the trap of analysis paralysis-conclude your analysis at a cutoff point, then followup persistently to implement your findings.

Why management can never be a profession-no PHOSITA or public duty

Under patent law, PHOSITA(person having ordinary skill and training in the art) is a fictional person, considered to have the normal skills and knowledge in a particular technical field, without being a genius. For a patent to be considered non obvious, having an inventive step and application having full disclosure, the standard is applied whether it was obvious to and comprehendible by a PHOSITA. By defining this mythical concept/construct of John Doe(the exact details are only filled in on case-case basis), courts make it easier to award of reject patents.

Professions like accountancy, law, medicine all have CBOK(Common body of knowledge), Code of Conduct, professional standards and continuing professional education(CPE).In contrast, management has the following gaps in this idea of profession

1. Absence of requisite skill-for example not being aware of relevant amendments, statutory laws, latest research in management field etc. I agree that not even CPE is enough for ensuring updation, but atleast it is something. Management does not even have that. 
2. No ethical standards:-Though I personally feel that professional ethics standards are more of locking the stable after the horse has bolted, or limiting competition, atleast it does make the public aware of what minimum to expect from their professionals, and gives them liberty to sue for malpractice/breach of trust if not met. Again, this need to adhere to a code of ethics is not imposed by the organization but is usually employer specific. 
3. No prescribed training:-Though some may debate the relative merits of apprenticeship versus on the full tome job training(say ICAEW vs CIMA models), some structured guild like training is helpful to learn a profession. Validity of this is not yet proven for management, so while it may be superior to any profession, it cannot be classed as one.
4. No explicit fiduciary relationship:-Code of ethics etc exists in part due to the fiduiciary relationship between professional and client, which is nebulous when it comes to the relationship between a manager, business entity and its owners! 

So the next time people liken management to a professional, excuse me for differing! 

Is MBA still needed to break into India Inc?

I guess I could have used a less loaded statement to convey my opinions on this topic! and yet, I do present a balanced view(to the extent possible). Recently, Citigroup India announced a graduates entry program(unusual for Indian companies though prevalent globally), thereby following in the hallowed footsteps of Unilever India, BHEL, Schlumberger and others which rely on graduates too rather than picking MBAs/other post graduates. Some other examples are the Bharti Airtel's Young Leader's Program(YLP) which also recruits  chartered accountants with upto 2yrs work experience, Kraft India's program for finance leadership and so on. So why is this trend picking up, and what does it portray for the aspiring MBAs?

1. CAT seen as a selection tool:-Companies like CRISIL mandate CAT for their selection process, and carry out a process simillar to that of top Bschools(GD, PI, CV scrutiny). So they get the benefit of CAT score(signalling academic ability) without paying for the candidate's 2yrs in Bschool. 
2. Less competition:-Campus selections(as done in MBA recruitment) necessarily has the company compromising on its recruitment standards in terms of time per candidate, number of rounds, spot offer vs exploding offer rules etc to avoid losing out their desired candidate to other firms. But when companies carry their own process like how BCG, CRISIL etc do, they can take their own time deciding on the candidate and subject him/her to as many rounds as possible. So from the HR perspective, that is a good thing. 
3. Possibly less attrition:-One reason people leave their jobs to pursue MBA is the feeling that they need a MBA to progress in their company. But if they have entered the same program that MBAs do, even if at a somewhat junior level like in consulting firms, that feeling is less likely and in fact they may surpass MBAs and leapfrog the ladder. That would lead to less attritition for the company. 
4. Larger batch size and lowered teaching standards:-thanks to the faculty wars with ISB, foreign bschools and others, many bschools have seen lowered teaching standards after the retirement/exit of star faculty. And owing to the 49.5% reservation quota which led to expansion of bschool, many people are in bschools who would otherwise not be there(this holds in full measure even for the management quota admitees). Hence, filtering the wheat from the chaff is becoming tougher even in the case of campus placements. 
5. High expectations from MBAs:-Owing to the high fees(in millions of rupees except maybe in FMS) and society expectations, a fast track career is now the expectation of every MBA(in Abhijit Bahaduri's words 'Mediocre but Arrogant'), and when companies in this economic condition cannot or do not wish to meet their expectations, those MBAs leave when things look up(as PSU banks realized at their expense after having hired MBAs in 2010 from IIMs). So companies prefer hiring graduates to hiring from lesser ranked bschools.

the above 5 reasons can explain why more companies are gravitating towards giving graduates(albeit the creme-de-la) an equal shot at the positions previously reserved for MBAs! That does not mean that they are right or wrong in doing this(that is the company's decision), but it does mean that the job pool for fresh MBAs on campus, will only shrink in the years to come. So pull up your sleeves and go to work, instead of whiling away those 2years on campus!

HR, Law and Operations-the next hot things in MBA?

Even thought MBA was originally conceived as a general management diploma, there is no denying that at any given time, some disciplines have always had better prominence/pay/recognition than others. As I see it globally, the way various function disciplines evolved can be understood by the industrial mode/consulting focus etc. What is interesting is also that functions earlier perceived as core became support/being outsourced(like manufacturing) and vice versa(like HR now seen as a strategic advantage).

1. Operations Till 1930:-Taylor was among the earliest management consultants, and focused on operational improvements. That spread to help companies refine their mass production.
2. Marketing and Strategy 1930s till 1960:-Undoubtedly the age of marketing and strategy. As industries become deregulated, mass media exploded thus allowing marketers to reach wide audiences, as the Henry Ford model of mass production become popular
3. Operations and Strategy 1960s till 1980s:-Prodded by the competition from Japan, companies again went on a operational improvement spree, prompting some strategy consultants to diversify into the field rather than pontificate from ivory towers. 
4. Finance and Strategy from 1980s till 2010:-The golden age of junk bonds, LBOs, hostile acquisitions, demergers, mergers and what not. Corporates went on a finance binge, supported by diligently prepared strategic plans. MBAs began to enter those two fields with a vengence! 
5. HR and Operations from 2010 till date(atleast in India):-In India, management consulting is still a nascent discipline,and so the consulting firms are still hiring en-mass. But Indian entrepreneurs are quite savvy with little patience for only ideas-they also wish a fair dose of implementation also.Hence, the Indian arms of even the global strategy consulting firms are laying a strong implementation focus as well. Also, there is a shortage of good HR professionals, and the pay is slowly but steadily reflecting that.Even in the top echelons of finance where rationality prevailed, the fields of psychology and behavioral finance are taking root, be it via designing better products/trading strategies/controls/remuneration structures. And these fields directly impact HR.
6. Law too important to be left to lawyers last decade:-Winning legal wars in this age of trial by media, often entails taking the high moral ground and careful planning. Microsoft in its infancy was rescued in an arbitration case early in its career. With intellectual property enforcement increasing even in India, and the case of Indian business houses facing significant legal wars/lobbying concerns etc, law has become too important to be left to experts, and aspiring managers would need to improve their legal acumen. 

The reason I'm focussing on these 3 areas is that I feel outsiders can add substantial value in other areas, be it marketing, finance or IT. But in these 3 areas-HR, Legal and Operations, the top consultants are often niche and not too well known. Also, in my view, those areas represent the last bastion of value creation, as even private equity firms have realized when they need to turnaround firms in 5-7 years instead of flipping them(that is why they appoint operational consultants). I do not say that finance and strategy have lost their mojo, just that the large growth areas and value creation seems in the other 3 areas. 

Ideas are cheap, its the small picture(execution) that mattters

Operations, Cost cutting/rationalization and management accounting are not the most romantic of subjects. Very few case competitions around then, low key buzz and few students interested in that as a career path in IIM-A/B/C. That is why though we go through the motions of learning those subjects in MBA, few really appreciate their importance or seriously consider it as a career path. The reasons for this are ultimately recruiter driven, and are the lack of awareness

1. For every high spending foreign bank, there is only one HDFC which dares to trim costs to the bone and operate with discipline(more recently ICICI 4Cs strategy has Cost as a vital part) 
2. For every Kingfisher/Jet, there is only one Indigo which manages to operate profitably and slash costs at the right places w/o affecting safety

In pre recession times, it is the marketing jargon that gets the headlines/management span, but at the whiff of trouble, jargon shifts to cost jaws, headcount rationalization etc. Be it SKS,Kingfisher Airlines, ICICI or others, all have realized the importance of unromantic cost cuts, and focusing on the minor details. Large picture strategic thinking only takes you so far.

During a business plan competition which my team won, a key feedback from the judges was that we won because of how we addressed the ground level issues and key operational areas. While this is not relevant in all situations obviously, it does highlight the way VCs think(2 were VCs/PEs), and reflects the way smart money thinks. So in the midst of those hi-fi MBA case studies, don't ever forget the 'trivial' execution details about organization structure, budget, costs etc. Despite the seductive appeal of strategy, the best strategy poorly executed will not achieve its results.

Getting the best out of your MBA peer study group

One thing about an MBA is that while it is quite individualistic in most aspects(one competes fiercely during academics, placements, scholarships etc), the concept of a study group forces you to develop a working relationship with atleast 5 members a year(more if the composition changes for different subjects/terms as it happens for the second year). One should carefully note that the 'study group' is neither a system(where people are interrelated , working towards a common goal) nor a team(with defined roles and hierarchy). A group does transform into a team over time with the informal group processes setting up norms, Dos and Don'ts and implicit power structure. While free riders are not directly penalized(everyone gets the same grade), some professors ask the team members to rate each other's contribution to group activity, and this rating carries some weight on the coursework. And where the groups are reformed periodically OR voluntarily formed for subjects later, then it no longer stays a single shot single period game(in game theory jargon) but translates into a multi period multi shot game. But this assumes people are rationale. If someone has joined Bschool only for self maximization/chilling out, then that sense of responsibility towards group work does erode. I've lost times of the occasions where my group(or even others) experienced issues with this. 

As a dear friend half jokingly mentioned on his Facebook status, "I love free riders because they sharpen my skills'. But remember, this comes at a cost to you-whether you realize it or not. So be wary of bailing out the other group members always. Some things I and others found useful are

1. Coopt whom you know/someone vouched for-track records is a good indicator of the tendency to free ride in the future!
2. Smaller group size-for evident reasons, smaller groups easier to manage
3. Split task into modules, allot to each person/sub group-that ensures accountability
4. Meet atleast once-it is then easier to coordinate online/over phone
5. Keep same group across subjects/events if possible-that makes an equitable division more probably if you play multiple shot games with the same team rather than single shot games, and also allows for unexpected adjustments later! Also, one learns more about the group with later stages, and can accordingly predict better about task times.
6. Have a coordinator-implicit or explicit-while most groups tend to form one, not having that is a recipe for disaster. so someone HAS to take the initiative, atleast for each task and the buck must stop there, else recipe for disaster.
7. Informal meetings to celebrate good grades/meetings over coffee etc all help build the required rapport, needed when you need to appeal to a member to sacrifice his night's sleep to help finish the group task(for example). 

the above kind of illustrate the issues with managing peers. 

How MBA has changed my way of thinking

After 19 months at IIMA(ok 17 months excluding the summer internship!), there have been a few changes in the way I think-though some close friends may deny that. From the 100% number crunching perspective, I have atleast learnt to recognize the 'softer' non quantifiable perspective as well. To give some specific examples:

1. Finesse or the MBA version of jugaad/creativity-call it what you may-has been the punchline of most cases around. Rarely would you find that the best analytical solution wins the way. Rather, it is the most creative/realistic solution that carries the day
2. Humane approach especially while dealing with labour/workers, is another aspect. One should not abuse one's dominance to strike unfair deals, which can come back to haunt you
3. People/Plants/Relationships are not just cells on a spreadsheet, but are to be considered as important entities to be dealt with with respect.  
4. Respect for other functions:-Coming from Finance perspective,  I thought others were lesser mortals. But I realized that other functions are even more technically complex, and that we realize the importance of most things only after something goes wrong!
5. Networking:-I belonged to the school that 'Some work others network'. But network is inevitable and very important art in its own right. Like politics, we all are involved whether we are aware of it or not, so we might as well become competent in it. 
6. the power of teams:-As venture capitalists repeatedly say, they back teams and not just the business plan! Winners of competitions would endorse this thing wholeheartedly, as well performing teams complement the skills of their members and ensure synergy. 
7. Respect for BS/'globe':-The art of talking/writing pure nonsense/small talk is a fine art, and very important to lubricate the wheels of commerce. As I often state, the person who calls a spade a spade is only meant to use one! 

 A surprising thing above is that most of this is the softer 'people side'. Maybe our HR/OB profs were right when they claimed their courses to be the most useful!

The complexity premium_the paradox of Consulting v/s Academicia

ERP, BPR, SCM..the list of acronyms coined by consulting firms is ever increasing. And one can tell a consulting presenting by the sheer number of slides and the variety of graphics, frameworks and general complexity. In essence, brevity is not rewarded. But in academicia, the case is opposite. While papers tend to be verbose, they are compulsorily prefixed by executive summaries/abstracts as well as keywords, which forces the authors to get to the point and use English which mere mortals can understand, atleast for those areas. But I've lost count of the consulting frameworks/terms which can be summarized without loss of understanding, in just a sentence.

Why is this so? I guess it boils down to incentives, like anything else. To justify their fees, consultants cannot make the end solution look too easy-especially strategy consulting! But academics present research to their peer audience, who are seasoned veterans of BS without much patience for reading through trash. So the main incentives vary. And though consulting reports DO have an executive summary, the same is not true of presentations in all cases, and in any case, the underlying reports themselves are verbose and complex.

But why to mention it in this blog? At top management schools like IIM Ahmedabad, students are trained to be concise and brief(except in some Organizational Behavioural courses but I leave that for another day!). And then suddenly, they encounter this strange animal 'Consulting' where brevity is appreciated for outlining concepts/slide planning BUT not while making the final slides/reports-in which it seems consultants compete for who can make the most outlandish acronyms/frameworks/theories.

Why are MBA grads seen as arrogant?

MBA is often caricatured as management by analysis/spreadsheets etc, and those without MBAs are often quick to label newly minted MBAs as arrogant ivory tower residents, who expect things to be done by the book. While the two years of solving business school cases would have taught MBAs about incomplete information/complexity etc, the extra curricular activities would have shown value of organizational dynamics, interpersonal relations etc. So what would make others perceive MBAs as arrogant? That is a question which has often puzzled me. From my interactions with alumni, those with work experience and others, the points I would think of are below

1. Expecting best practices:-MBAs are trained to look for the best way possible, and not the most practical way. Hence when they see old(but tried and tested) practices on the field, the initial tendency would be to critique those fuddy duddies, who naturally resent the new person critiquing without showing proof of concept/pilot of his new idea
2. Overconfidence:-Getting high grades in classroom/being best at case solving does not speak anything about ability to execute. But people who forget that aspect, are soon brought down to earth when their textbook solution fails at getting win-win, from people who resent it. 
3. Too much respect for paper qualifications:-On an average, the MBA with a graduation degree, would be more qualified(and from better known colleges) than the persons he interacts with. Hence, the feeling of superiority may remain till he realizes that the high school pass grizzled sales veteran knows more than what Kotler textbook would ever teach! 

I guess these are the 3 main things. Would welcome comments for any others! 

So who qualify as IIM Ahmedabad alumni anyway?

Till I came to IIMA, the only people I used to associate with the IIMA brand were those from the flagship two year residential program. I was not even aware of the existence of other programs. But once I was here, I learnt about the existence of a much broader program list(with all participants being eligible for that tag of alumni except maybe the students here on exchange)

• General 2yr program in management(PGP)-which racks all the headlines
• PGP for Executives(PGPX)-one year fulltime program for those with 8yrs+ experience. 
  
• Agribusiness management(PGP-ABM)-they share the first year with PGP and have a good curriculum but due to the lower admission criteria are viewed as poor second cousins
• Management Development Programs(MDPs)
  
• Faculty Development Programs(FDPs) for faculty of bschools.

I have listed the programs in order of the estimated benefit to participants, and the corresponding presumed bonding with the institute. While one may argue that all those who have resided on campus for any duration should be deemed alumni(even MDP/FDP), others may argue for only the 1yr/2yr program participants to be deemed alumni.


Any club(and alumni association IS a club) would like to keep its membership selective yet target the people most likely to succeed. By that yardship, extending the IIM Ahmedabad alumni association benefit to MDP participants who pay hefty fees, can be justified due to the halo effect they bring on the others. And for FDPs, while their participants have less headline potential, they would probably be more grateful to the institute for trying to rub off its effect on them. So per se, I don't see anything wrong with that. 


Notwithstanding the above, alumni are often defined by their batch. And this is where FDP/MDP program participants are left out/relatively isolated. Can the relationship with them be stoked and maintained through any better ways? If yes, that would benefit both IIMA and them.

Why the faculty are equally to blame for institutional decline?

A business leader blames the poor student quality for producing ineffective graduates, while a minister attributes it to the faculty not being world-class. Whatever the reasons may be, I noticed that  at times, faculty are equally to blame for the decline of teaching standards and of institutions. Lest anyone consider this a rant based on personal experience at IIM-A, let me hasten to add that this represents a collage of experiences from different IIMs, as shared by various friends during the past 2 years

1. Overuse of TAs:-While increasing class sizes lead to difficulties in evaluating of test scripts, surely these can be solved by designing objective tests which test what they are supposed to, and to have electronic tests as far as possible, or even simulation games. Instead, professors increasingly outsource answer scrip correction to the teaching associates, whose quality is the student's luck of the draw. While many TAs are good, the bad ones are enough to disillusion students and have them game the system with irrelevant CP etc.
2. Inflexible grading-standardization focus:-As TAs(as opposed to professors) correct the answer scrips, they naturally tend to respect the answer key. While students can appeal the marks, that takes time and the process is not always transparent, thus it may create a tendency to study as per the suggested class notes/guidelines only
3. Poor organization and delays of speaker sessions:-If events start very late often, then students may not like to attend administration efforts like speaker sessions etc.
4. Disrespect of student efforts:-Even when students toil to organize events/faculty-industry meets etc, and faculty turn a cold ear to that, that does not send out a good signal to those involved.
5. Not supporting student activities adequately:-Support does not need to be just monetary. It could be helping to open doors, suggest themes, act as judges etc, and is not at all easy.
6. Staying cossetted in irrelevant research to the expense of 
1. Guiding Student research:-While I agree that many students express interest in research merely for CV pts, there is many genuinely interested, but not able to attract the interest/attention of the respective faculty, who then crib about student disinterest.
2. Keeping office hours:-This is rarely followed by faculty unlike in the West.
3. Industry Interface:-If the faculty do not take interest in industry outreach via MDPs, meeting with visiting professionals etc, then industry funding and interface falls. 

  In passing, let me add that while it takes two hands to clap, one should have the courage to blame the hand permanently fixed at the place, than to blame transient hands like students who  don't really influence the place. And lest this sound as a rant against IIM-A, it is not meant as that, but to provoke thought and discussion.

So what makes IIM-A different?

Earlier, I touched upon this point in a post on IIM-A's criteria for sending students on exchange(http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.com/2011/07/iim-ahmedabads-2010-exchange-criteria.html), and thought I'll update it after reading Prof TT Rammohan's book 'Brick by Brick', which was about Ravi Mathai, and his legacy on IIM-A. Though a few rankings may disparage IIM-A to get that elusive media byte, the fact remains that both the student community(perception poll, aspirations) and recruiters(quality and offers) still view IIM-A as India's No1 Bschool. But beyond that, the mystique still remains. And while one may attribute it to the unique architecture, alumni network, academic autonomy etc, those factors would not be enough in themselves. So, the student governance is a critical aspect of it, and the factors below

• Integrity in everything:-Be it placements, academics or other activities, it is NOT ok to cheat/pad CV/engage in plagiarism etc. That rubs off on the person in general even during internship, where IIM-A students do not badmouth others despite being victims of it themselves.
• Transparent and fair event organizing:- Anecdotal evidence shows that IIM-A students win very few inter-college events at their own college. Contrast this to other colleges, where there is an undisputed host advantage. But here, IIM-A organizers go to the extent of atleast 50% external judges, random team names, limiting entries to 1/college for some events etc
• Fair selection process in clubs:-There is very little nepotism in club selections, with multiple interactions and a fair process. The clique culture of regionalism/college/community is not prevalent here,in general
• Wide latitude to clubs and associations:-The student body and clubs have a wide discretion to carry out their activities, with minimal faculty supervision.
• Cooperative administration:-Whether it comes to booking classrooms, Audio-Visual staff remaining late to ensure events go off flawlessly etc, the administration is usually quite cooperative for student run events.

There could be many other such factors, but these were the ones that caught my attention. 

Why a moneyball/inclusive approach to MBA recruiting is impractical in India

Recently, I read an article which propounded professionally run placement services teams on Indian MBA campuses(http://insideiim.com/5-reasons-why-student-run-placements-should-give-way-to-cdc-at-iim/). For the uninitiated, most top Indian Bschools placement processes are run by students and not by 'professionals'. While that debate is still open, some of the comments below caught my attention because they expoused the commonly held view that MBA job openings are still the property of a small clique. While that may be true(why else would alumni network be so heavily valued?),  one must also examine the logic behind the same before tarring that with the brush of nepotism. In an ideal world, all candidates should be given the same level of consideration irrespective of their background. But that is not practical for the following reasons.

• Lies, more Lies and resumes:-As any experienced head hunter would know, CVs are filled with quite a few lies. And that is more true at the student level, where 'padding' is not that easy to detect. While campuses like IIM-A have a rigorous CV checking process where each line on the CV is scrutinized for evidence and wording, that is not true for many other campuses. So instead of trying to sort the chaff from the wheat, recruiters would prefer a campus where the integrity of the process is beyond dispute. And by being the first campus to release an audited detailed placement report, IIM-A again showed why it is considered as the numero-uno. This is true for some other good colleges as well, which do not permit padding
• Quality of class interaction/group work:-What distinguishes a fulltime MBA from a distance education one is the quality of classroom participation, group work, industry interface and faculty-student interaction. On all these, the higher ranked institutes do perform better, and that shows in the quality of students. 
• Information overload:-The younger generation simply do not know how to use the internet effectively, let alone net etiquette. The unfortunate recruiter who posts a job opening on a site with a CLEAR instruction to email the resume, is inundated with plenty of comments below the post in barely passable English, asking to be considered for the same! And like how there are many applicants for CAT who do not do their homework, the same is true for many job applicants as well. While sites like naukri.com now offer automated screening and resume matching, the understaffed HR would prefer prequalified applicants and relevant ones.
• Difficult metrics:-Whatever metric one can think of beyond the CAT score, chances are that it can be gamed. Whether it be B-school competition wins(inconsistent quality of participation and judging), intra campus academic achievement(again does not reflect the person's ability to work well) etc, few metrics are fair, reliable and relevant. Some companies like PurpleLeap are designing post MBA tests, but even those are doubtful. At the end of the day, the decision is largely non measurable.
• Assessment centre culture also like a lottery:-Abroad, especially in Europe, companies invite their top ranked candidates to a day long assessment centre and administer them tests, give them group tasks and have them make individual presentations. While that is a form of work samping and testing their potential work skills, that approach may fail in India because it would fall prey to coaching, and give the extroverts an undue advantage. Indeed, that is why some IIMs scrapped the Group Discussion stage, because that is not just how things happen in real life. And then, as the NDA/SSB assessment centre testing experience shows, this will lead to mushrooming of academies, and the potential scope to game the system.

So where would this work? ICICI-NIIT MBA program is a 2yr partime MBA for professionals with 3yrs+ workexp, which assures them a 15lakh+ CTC at the end of that program. of course, the selection process is rigourous and the program is selective with the goal to build a middle management cadre to fill the expansion driven need. Unless companies do an Infosys with large scale quality testing and validation, they would probably fail in the effort to expand the applicant pool. But a key difference between a technical role(Infosys, TCS.>) and a managerial role is that the latter skills are not readily testable. And that leaves room for subjectivity. 

Bloomberg Aptitude Test(BAT)-another 'network good' available to IIM students

For those not in the know, BAT is a test which Bloomberg is trying to popularize as THE test to measure a student's finance concepts, skills and aptitude, in relation to his peers. Designed as an undergrad test, it has however been offered to post grad students as well(a different version I guess). They are field testing the BAT, so they offered it free to all qualified test takers. At IIM-A, nearly 200+ applicants gave the test. A 165 question test of 3hrs, most students elsewhere completed the test within 2.5hrs. While the practical/conceptual part of the test was quite good, the 'aptitude' portion(verbal/quant/logic) was probably based on the easy(easy to Indians) GMAT level.  Unlike a conventional test, this one did try to measure situational judgement and ethics as well. Also, the questions did give a good idea of the types of tasks a person would do on the job during internship and beyond. Tweaking valuation models, describing a graph within a slide, understanding fund manager pitches, calculating portfolio risk metrics-all these were tested.

So who would 'ace the test'? Well, people would perform differently based on prior experience, internships and education. But a person with some prior finance exposure and oodles of interest in the subject, would have performed quite well. The level was around that of CFA L1, except that very few numerical problems were asked. We students were used as guinea pigs but did not mind it, because we shall get to know our relative standing, and also (more importantly) sub area wise performance.

Why would BAT give the test free only to certain campuses, and not any online test taker? Well, having the test proctored on campus ensures invigilation and test integrity. And like higher education, tests are a network good and a club good, meaning that the results are more robust and visible with more and better quality test takers BUT those test takers would only be willing with a catchet of exclusivity. Hence this exclusivity.

Right from telephone plans to newspaper/magazine subscriptions, competitions and freebies, IIM(and other top college) students have a huge choice. It is for them to make good use of it.

IIM Ahmedabad's 2010 Exchange criteria-was it justified after all?

Ask people about the importance of extra curriculars in IIM-Ahmedabad, and you get mixed reviews. Some cynics claim that IIM-A(cads) does not value other stuff, while yet others(including a recent media article) claim that extra curricular activities get the pride of place here. The truth lies between these two extremes, as people try balancing both these things. Extra curriculars can mean

1. Organizing intra IIMA activities/events/contests etc as part of various clubs/bodies
2. Participating in outside activities/competitions. This is mostly individual driven

In the exchange program selection criteria for exchange for the PGP 2010-12 batch, academics hardly made a significant difference compared to weightage for membership of clubs/SIGs/events. People who were part of multiple clubs/had taken part in outside contests hit the jackpot nudging out the academic toppers for the coveted exchange program seats/scholarships. As for any other change, the losers protested and the winners were happy. At that time, I broadly agreed with the concept but opposed the timing(not informed in advance during induction) and non discrimination(awarding both free loaders and hard workers).

After the summer internship and some events on campus, it occured to me that the criteria was probably justified, in the interest of the campus culture. IIM-A's festivals like Chaos/Confluence/Insight, and its Clubs(Beta/Consult/Niche etc) have carved their own place in the sun. To take that tradition forward, encourage new events and reach greater heights for brand building, IIMA does need students to actively participate in events to build the brand. Thanks to the recruiter/role mix during Summer placements and Final placements, extra curricular activities do not get rewarded, in proportion to the time invested on them. Perhaps realizing this, the institute took a conscious decision to rework its exchange program criteria, to reward those who contributed to clubs/events.

But this noble initiative is in danger of being gamed by

1. Few students hogging memberships(80:20 rule):- There is an informal limit in place of 3 club/event/SIG memberships. But still, people desirous of working will not get a role
2. Non transparent selection:-This is inevitable because disclosing the criteria etc will open a Pandora's box and encourage gaming of system in later years. But Exchange program being an academic activity, it is surprising that a student activity of club selection is allowed to affect that. There is a TINA(There is no alternative) thing here because faculty cannot(will not?) get involved in the club selection, and the problem is larger than it looks because by far club selections are fair. But those who network less/find out less information are at a disadvantage. This problem will persist though for the near future.
3. Free loaders benefiting:- If all activities get the same weight-age, then the differentiation ceases to exist. Perhaps, the outgoing club coordinators can award differentiated CV points to their club members, to penalize those who free loaded during the year, so that they do not benefit.

In conclusion, I would think that the criteria will probably do its job, if it is ensured that people get into atleast one activity, and that they do not free ride. 

If sportspersons(cricketers etc) earn millions, why not top MBAs?

During any debate on the causes/effects yadda-yadda of the subprime crisis, especially in online forums, it has become fashionable to trash the high pay of those in the banking/consulting domain. These are seen as low hanging fruit to be easily chopped off, pending the difficult questions of real reform. And even politicans play to the gallery by taxing bonuses, tweaking regulations to mandate lower payouts etc. But sportsmen who earn similar sums(especially in India) are rarely harassed. No one even mentions asking them to pay more than the statutory tax, and often they can get away importing luxury cars etc without paying the appropriate taxes.

At first blush, this comparison may seem absurd. How can you compare a Sachin/Dhoni who earn 'with the sweat of their brow' to the laptop warriors/trading moneys, who can earn and lose millions for themselves/their clients in a fraction? The answer has little to do with underlying skill involved, and more to do with the 'leverage'. The money in cricket comes from broadcasting/advertising revenues, and when the match can reach more people via TV, then the value goes up. Even sponsors are willing to pay millions to both the star and the teams, because they can magnify that exposure. Similarly, consultants/investment bankers working in large global corporations, can leverage those vast global networks and synergies, to create reusable content/ideas/projects etc, and finally to boost the bottom line by outsized amounts.

Like in sports, not all make it. Only the seemingly best are picked, and then ruthlessly discarded by the wayside when they begin to under-perform.  And after tasting the elixir of working with the top brains under the most free conditions, then they may often not be employable elsewhere. No wonder then, that even cold economic logic would justify bumper pay to those lucky few from entry itself, so that others are motivated to compete(akin to lottery), and that this will hedge those few in their times of need(though how much savings remains is an open question).

Another argument dished out is that a top MBA grad may have been elsewhere, if not for that fraction of the cutoff/score. Well, ,life is unfair, more so at the margin. The rewards for being a slight notch better than the other person, results in outsized additional rewards. This is true everywhere. An IIM-A student may draw more than an XLRI student, who may in turn out earn an NMIMS student; even if they had the same work/educational/extra currics profiles at entry. Surely, the difference in their educations is unlikely to have made all the difference, it is merely the brand that carries the day. So if you accept that small differences matter, and that people pay for a reason, then most of the trash arguments about pay will bite the dust.

Why do some people create false 'IIM" profiles on Facebook?

Come May/June(the new batch into the IIMs) and seniors are deluged by friend requests from the junior batch, most not even accompanied by a basic introductory message. If it is someone like me, they will write back politely explaining that they do not add strangers. But most people just take a cursory look, confirm from the profile that it is an IIM-A student, and then add it(even faster if it is a girl :)), as a friend.
I blogged earlier(http://andy161.blogspot.com/2011/07/is-facebook-becoming-new-orkut.html)  on the trend of Facebook becoming a community of strangers(not friends), and that is quite applicable here.

Some enterprising people(only girls so far) have been using that time window, to add IIMA people as their friends. For example, Ankita Mittal(http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002546811577). She is not an IIMA student/alumnus(I confirmed this from our IIMA records), but has already added 50+ IIMA students on the basis of the fake profiles. These profiles may be created by males, but they must have noticed the faster response rate when a good looking female pic is created!


Now, this will only work online-when it comes to a job search/attending alum meets etc they will be caught red handed. But they may be able to fish for relationships(and hope it is condoned when it goes far!). Or they may be Media persons in disguise, waiting to extract nuggets from the status messages/other things posted by students.
Takeaway:- Whatever their motivation, this is pretty disgusting, and I encourage you to report these fake profiles as abuse whenever noticed. From an IIM branding perspective, people faking their identities on social networks are free riding, and this is unacceptable.

Play to your Strengths-what it REALLY means

While reflecting on my first year here, and also while interacting with other summer interns, I came across this common theme of multiple skills requirement. I'm aware that the views expressed here may seem unconventional at first, but I request people to read the full post before jumping to conclusions. 

        In my view, the advice 'play to your strengths', when used to rationalize failure, is merely self help drivel used to comfort people who feel inadequate/incompetent in their present jobs. While our era of specialization demands that you  need to do atleast one thing extremely well, better than others, it does not mean that other experts will do the remaining things for you. In an ideal world, companies relieve their knowledge workers of the mundane tasks. But this is not an ideal world-very few companies do this, also when time constraints apply like in banking, one would need to roll up their sleeves and do the grunt work. So, in other things also, you need to reach the required standard from your work. The engineer must prepare financial projections, the lawyer may need to do his own VBA coding, the risk manager might have to make his own presentations. At entry level, you are just given a task and expected to do it. If you are lucky, others in your team will help you out but do not count on it.

       If you are the boss, you can afford(till a point) to indulge in ultra specialization and let your juniors do the grunt work/special skills part. But at entry level, remember your value proposition. The boss does not need your brains(ok they are useful but his technical knowledge/experience/intuition exceeds yours). What he could use is some more free time/new ideas. By doing his grunt work(formatting, reports, presentations) and offering+implementing new ideas, you leave him with more time to focus on his urgent/important jobs. 

      So if you feel incompetent in any skill, DO NOT console yourself with the fact that you are anyway playing to your strengths. Remember that you need to play to your weakness as well, without feeling despair that others are far better than you in that aspect. They may, but as long as you know enough to get your work done, that is fine. 

Moral:- The reason MBAs succeed is their ‘ability to integrate’ instead of only playing to their strengths like how functional specialists do.

Fulltime MBA-an expensive Linkedlin group-or not even that?

After receiving torrents of Linkedlin requests from people who I barely know on campus(mostly our senior batch who are now building their social network enmasse), one thing occurred to me that perhaps the only 'core' value of MBA is in the networking-all the other aspects can be profitably replicated.

1. 'Perspective' of all subjects:- Any decent management rotation program does this, as also cross functional training/fast track programs. But these are available only to few, so maybe for others MBA is the only chance to learn these
2. 'There is no alternative to learn' argument states that for some people who cannot juggle a part time MBA with their job, full time MBA is must. I cannot counter that argument
3. Signalling to employers that you are the elite. Again, stellar job performance should achieve this in relevant industries but those seeking to shift industries/get on the fast track may do this. But with the dilution of MBA quality, this signalling may diminish 
4. Networking:-In a good college, most of your peers will be in equivalent roles across functions/industries. MBA allows you to build bonds with future colleagues, friends, investors, employees and(for those lucky few) life partners!

Given the fees of full time MBA, it does seem expensive for merely building bonds and branding yourself. But then, calculating ROI on education is always a tricky thing. Introverts may not build a huge 'network' like others on campus, but then their campus 'reputation' may see them through later. So I think the networking argument seems the only valid reason for the existence of  a full time program,

Open letter to those wanting MBA to change careers from IT to Corporate Finance

One of the few disadvantages of being in a Bschool like IIM-A is that random people befriend you on Facebook, you are accosted for advice at family functions etc. While I  generally like to give a 1-1 advice(or direct to the person who can best help), some themes are recurrent. Recently, I sent a longish mail to a friend who had secured admission in a Tier II Bschool known for its good acads/experience but not so stellar placement. He was targeting a position in Corporate Finance, and so I was giving some pointers/views on that. I am sharing that mail(personal details redacted) for readers to benefit. Before hate mail starts pouring in, let me make it crystal clear that this is person specific but I think this will apply to a large chunk of people(hopefully not in Tier I colleges though like IIMs), and that was the only reason for posting this to help people take an informed decision.


Hi.....
As I write this, you must be all charged up about going to.....speaking to alumni etc. I can empathize being in the same shoes a year ago. Since you are heading on the MBA path, these are the things you should keep in mind. You may see me as a role model for pursuing MBA despite good career options but remember this, IIM-A could never have made me worse off..but ....can make you worse off in case you do not fit well in your new career. I was not changing careers, you are

1. Very competitive, even more than the IIMs:- They say it is easy at the best schools(where even poor acads will get a decent job opening) and at the worst(where students attend only for the degree). But remember you are in the type of Bschool where with maybe 2%ile more, your classmate may have been in a top tier Bschool(IIMs/XLRI/FMS/SP Jain etc). You can bet that they would work harder here because they know that if they slacken off, they may not get a second chance
2. Not all people get into finance in roles of their choice:- Search naukri.com/monster.com for finance roles and you will see a large variety of them. Very few roles demand MBAs, and even those roles often do accept CAs/MComs/BComs with experience. For the kind of roles you will be offered, remember that even CAs/MComs will be competing with you, if not at entry, at later points in your career
3. Indian companies v.s the rest:- Finance roles typically demand long working hours with late sitting till evening to polish off that latest analysis for the boss' meeting tomorrow. If you are in a remotely accounting like function, expect to sit late. Due to their SAP/ERP/outsourcing, MNCs do not face the problem to the extent Indian cos do
4. Always second best thoroughout the career:- Playing catch up with a MBA from 2 tier institutes without brand recognition, means that professionally, you will always be thought of 2nd best fir compared to those from the top Bschool. And because corporate  finance is not a sales function with clearly measurable targets/results, recruiters often prefer to play safe by recruitment of those with stellar academic credentials/those who have worked for great companies before(say ITC/GE in finance).
   
5. Always being under high pressure: Finance people are under high stress because the business units expect quick, complete and correct information, and ever improving turnaround times/efficiencies. And last minute requests are common.And if you deal with the auditors, well you had it
6. Corporate finance is NOT a 9-5 job:- In corporate finance in IT cos/elsewhere, you will NOT just make fancy reports sitting in AC office for the field to implement. You will often need to design the report format itself(it is NOT a simple job and needs agreement from end users etc), need to work independently and quickly to gather all the data, and will need amazing Excel/PPT skills to work quickly on the fly. Work will typically come in at 5:29pm just when the office day ends at 5:30
7. You will need to learn & unlearn:- With the new tax, accounting, auditing,IT etc norms changing, the finance function has to adapt FAST or else risk being outsourced partly or fully. Nearly all IT cos have amazing IT based automation solutions for accounting, reporting, financial analysis etc. In the Tata group companies, they have reduced their finance function to very few people(just 4-5 CAs and some IIM/XL MBA for the reporting work). If you do not learn, your job may be outsourced and even then the new IT company may prefer to employ a Bcom over you
8. Presently, You have no competitive advantage in finance:- Much as it pains me to say this, you do not seek for knowledge, have great MS office skills or that 'interest in finance' enough to sustain an intelligent conversation in finance. You think these rough edges will go off in MBA. Trust me, they don't, unless you do self study, which is something you are not used to. Remember that the college needs to support so many students. It does not have time for 1-1 mentoring
9. Your past experience will go waste:- This is not relevant experience for a finance role EXCEPT a bank job involving credit analysis of the industry.. 
10. Unlike me, you do not have a good 2nd option if this fails:- REMEMBER that the Indian economy is pretty shaky still-the stock market fluctuations are testimony to that. I agree that corporate finance jobs are relatively safe(companies still need to deal with banks/do financial analysis), but the laid off people from other finance roles may fight for them, and then the competition will really become tough. Know that you may not have an IT option to return to, considering TCS/Infy/Wipro etc have plenty of fresh grads to choose from
11. Corporate Finance is routine:-90%+ of the work will be mechanical and routine, like your job
12. Growth prospects are dicey unless you do exceptionally well and from what I know of you, you may do well but not well enough to overcome that 2nd rung MBA tag.