April 13 - 20 - Enlightenment started happening

I start seeing a pattern just after first week. Second week gave new perspectives, new insight and enlightenment. In past when someone used to tell me that my perspective changed during case discussions, I couldn't fathom on what they mean. Now after having experienced it myself, I can repeat same story to inquisitive minds asking me same question. Good becomes bad and bad becomes good after revelations by professor. They make us walk the journey beautifully and at pace determined by them.

The study load is heavy but each lecture is engaging. We are learning to market dreams and do number crunching at the same time. Overlaps between subjects have become evident in second week itself. Fellow students are setting bars of presentation high and its a motivation to me to step up my effort further and match them. Its not a competition with others but with self to show that I can do same.

I had my first quiz for micro-economics. At last minute it was announced to be open book and we all knew that it will be heavy on subject application. The questions asked were really challenging. It left me pondering if I should develop understanding or gather facts or balance them. Trade off between two has to be made as time is limited commodity.

I also heard that what cannot be measured cannot be improved. It is so true that I cannot improve on something I cannot measure. But can happiness be measured? Can number be put to hug kids give when I used to reach home and be with them? But then again, can I say I want to be more happy or more loved? Some things are what makes us humans, a system. I was also introduced to elephants and cheetahs. I was aware of them but couldn't think of it while reading the case and didn't see it coming in class before professor announced it.

On personal level, I am still getting settled and absorbing the fact that I can see my near and dear ones on video chat alone. I haven't forgotten on extra things I want to do while being in college. I will keep reminding myself of that and work towards it.

Update on March-28-2015 - Life flew by and I couldn't keep up with blogging :)

April-7-14-2014 - PGPX journey begins

Its been only 10 days since I started from US to IIMA. But for multiple reasons it feels like months. Away from family, managing all alone when I got used to having company of Garima, new friends, new environment, plans not getting executed as thought of, weird wireless setups that don't allow facetime or skype on phone and coming to terms with it, assignments and studies all the time. List goes on. But the feeling is of living each moment to fullest and not of despair. Sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner with round table discussions with friends make 1 hour on table seem less. Engrossing lectures by professors make you wonder why the session was only for 1.5 hours and why can't the professor just continue. Adhoc works like getting mobile connection or closing my US mobile connection are taking time and making me anxious.

But its true that more you talk or discuss, less anxious you feel. When I discuss with others about the challenges I faced and see that they are facing same challenges, make me feel that "together we can do it".

We will, We will!! do it

Till last week, I can say that I had apprehensions on going back to school. But this one week was stimulating. Learning doesn't pause and I lie peacefully in bed at night thinking that the day was well spent. This feeling was not normal during many office days. In this period I could see that each professor has different style of engaging the class. The presence of mind of professors is too good to give wonderful one liners that can cause waves of laughter. The way they shatter the myths of business in our mind, is wonderful. The world isn't black and white and paths of life isn't always paved. The talks with fellow students have begun and I love talking with students from diverse background. People have spent time in sales and marketing, FMCG, brand building, NGOs, researchers, legal practice, teaching and so much.

Time is essential commodity and the one which is most scarce. Its supply is limited and demand is inelastic. Only solution to buy time is to take away time from some low priority item.

Knowing that numbers alone can be deceiving when the context is incorrect was interesting. Discussion on  court cases solved on probability and number theory and lawyers making money in the original case and counter case fighting over the interpretation of numbers make you wonder - oh yes the world is like this. Imagine someone accusing of a crime by saying that since finding a match like you on description by eye witness is 1 in 10 million so you are guilty.

I happen to visit CIIE yesterday and it was interesting to meet with people who have entrepreneurial zeal and ready to work day and night to make their dreams come true. The discussions with guest speaker on how to take some of the ideas forward made me feel like I am standing in "Shark tank" discussing if licensing is the right future or working ground up is the recommended path.

Who says that "city that never sleeps" is vegas? Its IIMA that never sleeps :)...come and see our batch!!

Caste based Reservations - affirmative action

I firmly believe in equality and offering help to underserved communities to improve. I can relate to simple example in setting of school. My friend was not able to understand geometry concept in class VIII. He was finding it tough to visualize on how to start solving a problem. He didn’t have access to guides or books other than text book. He needed extra guidance and someone to explain him concepts at his pace. He didn’t ask for extra marks or grace since he cannot buy extra books. He was poor but not begging for marks or grades. I helped him by explaining the approaches to start solving the problem. Note that I am saying approach and not solve questions for him. He turned out to do good and become an engineer later in life. He being poor didn’t demand quota to pass class VIII. He needed support.

Reading article today in economists (link) about affirmative action made me realize that caste based, color based quota is prevalent in many countries. Every country is seeing failure of the system but in not ready to make amends. South Africa, Malaysia, US, India are referred in the article. In US the new information for me was that reservations are ethnicity based and depend on university to university. In name of diversity companies are forced to appoint someone in C-suite roles who may not be fit based on capability. Imagine if I put a person to run operations of a company just because he is from particular ethnicity. If he not capable of managing the team or running the company, he will fail along with the company. Failed companies, failed economies and failed country – this is where the non-skill, caste based reservation will lead us to.

Caste based reservations which in euphemism way can be called affirmative action, in my mind, doesn’t solve the problem. If I start offering lunch and dinner to a beggar, will it improve his condition? Yes in short term he will get two meals a day. He will not try to earn his living and will continue to live on charity. He will have stomach full and nothing to do and so will be idle mind waiting to be wasted. He may end up getting pulled into unsocial activities and become menace to society. If on other hand he is asked to do some work and then earn the food, he will make contribution to economy and try to make his life better.

 

In competitive world, competition should always be fair. The under privileged may be offered help to prepare for competition. The offerings should begin from childhood. In school give the under privileged text books and may be after school coaching at community expense (through government funding but that’s really community money). For graduate courses if the selection is based on entrance, then let under-privileged get extra coaching again at community expense for preparing for entrance. Does anyone think every person can have same brain power or muscle power? If I am average in studies and made to join a class of over-achievers, I will develop insecurity and that will be a seed to ruin the life. If I show that I am in same category as over-achievers than I can survive in the class, no matter what my caste, religion or economic status is.

 

Are government offices efficient? No one not even government can claim that they run efficiently. Imagine a person who nearly failed in accounts, cannot understand assets and liabilities and is made to join government accounting department. I am pretty sure he will not be happy with the work and will spoil the office image. He may be happy to get perks for doing nothing but then in economic terms, its wastage of resource. It will be like feeding an elephant that is of no use to us.

 

If you give food to a man, you feed him once, if you teach him to earn food, you feed him for lifetime. Why can’t politicians whom we elect understand this? Are we electing the right people?