Archive for the 'MBA' Category
IIT
Comments(2)found this lil outburst of mine while looking thru my old drafts …. had penned these thoughts down when the famous new hostel shifting took place.. but somehow didnt get arnd to publishing it.
i think this deserves to be put up.. so here goes!
For everyone who thought IITs are the epitome of technological advancement in India, I have two words — ” Ha Ha”. Well, sure the output of IITs is world-class and sure the facilities (technologically) are the most cutting edge — comparable, maybe even surpassing, the ones available at the top universities in the West. But the administration, atleast here at kharagpur, lags behind the world by more than a decade ….
where else would you find a new hostel being constructed with the exact same (building) plans that had been designed in the late 50s, or an administrative cadre that thinks an internet connection, geysers and curtain rods are not “essentials” when girls are asked (rather forced) to relocate to a new hostel.
What do you say, when, on bringing the lack of these amenities to the notice of the people in charge, you’re told that the reason why the management wants you to move to the hostel is that all such discrepancies can be identified and rectified….. moreover, when, after shifting in, you, again, bring these to the management’s notice, you’re told to bear with them for a few days… you can’t expect a palace now, can you?
errr… we never expected a palace, respected ma’ams and sirs, but we would like to ask you…. when u;re commissioning new hostels / buildings in the campus, is it absolutely essential you stick to the age-old building plans that the first hostels were made by…. is it not right for a student who joins an IIT with the expectations of world-class facilities, to expect a half-decent hostel — atleast one that has been constructed in 2007?? and.. is it that necessary that an available hostel is filled with residents (during the middle of the term) while it still lacks basic amenities & still has workers milling around all day?
Ironically, the only answer the authorities have to our complaints / suggestions / grievances —- take this opportunity to learn to manage with whatever is available. Pray how do you manage without hot water in a place like kharagpur where morning temperatures drop to abt 13 degrees?? Maybe we can turn this into a learning opportunity by luggin buckets over to our warden’s home half-way across campus to use hot water….. hmmmm good idea.. wat say?
Kharagpur Open
Ok .. first of all.. yesss.. my blog has been dead .. (stop sniggering shaunak! ) .. will try to revive it..
Tennis craze has suddenly gripped my entire batch here at VGSOM. There are hordes.. n i literally mean it.. hordes of ppl seen strolling around in shorts, sports shoes (and a tee…. idiot!) with a tennis racket casually slung over their shoulders. They are always either on the way to the tennis grounds (which by the way are awesome here!!! ) or just getting back from there.
Now.. with such a widespread interest in a particular game, is it really possible that I dont look into the reason behind the fire?
So today, after fixing up a “coaching” appointment (coz i;ve never played tennis in my life before!) with Shaunak, a couple of us landed up at the tennis courts .. (our first trip here by the way!). After the inital warm-ups and 101s of tennis, we started practicing the game. Though i;ve never been an ardent fan of tennis, just a few minutes into the practice time, i was hooked….!!
wat an experience!! (though my arms dont necessarily subscribe to that sentiment).. the sheer energy required to play the game brought about a new found respect for tennis players — especially women! 
n though muscles i didnt know existed in my arm hurt ….must say im looking fwd to the next training session.
P.S. — while teaching us tennis, our coach, the honourable Mr. Shaunak made a comment which just has to be documented here —- said the learned one “Tennis is like marketing strategy… the basic elements of mktg strategy are STP - Segmentation, Targetting n Positioning …. similarly.. in tennis, (leave segmentation aside), its important for u to position yourself (wrt the ball) n target the opposite side of the net” …!!!!!!
LOL!
Godliness….! my god!
its strange … the more ppl study, the more important they think themselves to have become … maybe even learned… and the more degrees they have, their egos inflate by a proportionately increasing variable…
and god forbid if the degree they are in line to get to off late is an MBA!!
if my interaction with fellow classmates and other MBA students/ passouts has taught me one thing, it is that an MBA thinks he is God incarnate. he’s raised himself on a pedestal, from where he looks down on the remaining mortals… wats more, he even expects ppl around him to treat him like he’s God.
and this thought does not necessarily stem from a person who already has an MBA to his name, no sir! the attitude starts much earlier… right from the moment he steps into the portals of the very institution that is going to confer on him the degree.
its not rare to see or hear fellow would-be MBA’s crib that the job (referring to the internship) they do is “not an MBA’s job” — err.. wat are the company ppl asking them to do?? bring cups of coffee?? no.no.. they have to research, maybe analyse an industry, or study a new product, or develop some charts that would be used later by the company … as an intern, do u really expect the company to give u ground-breaking research-work as an assignment?? or maybe since u;re god incarnate yourself maybe the CEO shud hv vacated his cabin for ur hghness??!
my take::: every job, however mundane it seems (with the probable exception of getting coffee) essentially teaches you something… its upto you whether u want to learn what the job wants to teach.. or hanker after the more “glamorous” jobs and in the process over-look the insights ur present assignment is giving you. like they say… even huge well paying jobs start off with reallly horrible internships..!
Ho hum!
i miss work… not the fun and frolic time at office.. not the endless coffee / tea sessions…. nor the gossip sessions with friends (who would have been just “team-mates” in a more officious environ) … but the “real” work… the challenges, the thrill of solving a huge problem (also called “finding the bug”), the sense of wonderment at writing a script (however small), the incessant wondering of “when is this thing ever going to get over” not to mention the words of praise from the boss (yes… can u believe it.. i actually got those a coupla times too!!! lucky me! 
) —
some may find it really hard to believe… i mean i left a perfectly good job as a project engineer to pursue an MBA… which would undoubtedly open up a whole new world of opportunities (and maybe some moolah) in this big bad world… and here i am.. halfway through my MBA mumbling and grumbling while i reminisce about a “better time” …….
but truly… somewhere below the mumbo jumbo and the blah blah that usually comprises an MBA…. the engineer in me just wants a teensy weensy challenge… an urge to prove to myself above others… that i can do it!!
hmmmm… now where do i go looking for that???
Of old friends and new
This weekend was one of a kind…
One day I caught up with friends of the days gone by… spent a day reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”…. cracking up at the silliest jokes.. gossiping, bitching.. (yes.. does happen esp when u’ve graduated from an all girls college… ) … did i mention laughing… and generally acting very very stupid…
while the other day was spent “bringing in” the new comers… Met my juniors at MBA school.. well, actually my to-be juniors (they hvnt registered yet… could my comments hv driven some of them to take up other options… i wonder… hmmmmm 
) … talking about how much fun school is.. what the campus is like, how the day is, which professors should they be wary of, how the hostel is, what the food (yes. its still officially called food.. though i would like to very much differ on that opinion) is like… blah and some more blah….
The “me” on both days —- Quite a stark contrast!!!!
About MBA internships…
MBA internships are really funny things … something I’m experiencing firsthand currently…. (yes yes.. i’m an MBA intern….yeeech! )
Every MBA starts the internship with a “I’m gonna change the world with my revolutionary ideas”..the world in question being the company that has agreed to house him for the little time that passes of as “on-hand training” period aka.. internship….
the first few days go in getting him a place to sit … (or not in many cases.. ) and if he’s lucky maybe even the title of the project … which ensures that he’s kept “busy” for the next few days… in just deciphering the meaning of..!
i think that project titles are generated by some random phrase generating machine… u know the kinds where u feed in a huge database of important sounding words… and it keeps spewing out wild combinations of 10 or more such words…. i mean, u reallly expect me to believe that a sane human being actually comes up with those alien titles.. all by himself!!!!
so now that the project title has been alloted and (presumably) a seat has been arranged … (though i know of quite a few interns who’s high point of the day is to run to office early so that they can grab a seat… well.. any seat..!!)
one would think our lad (he still has his revolutionary ideas will turn the company around attitude u see) would start with the project right away… correct..? Wrong!! for now its time for another chase… the chase of the often-elusive, often-not-on-campus, and mostly-busy.. the project guide!!
they are obviously too busy with their own projects to look into what some half-baked MBA is talking about… and seriously.. one cannot blame them for it too.. but shudn’t there be some system by which the intern feels like his work is being read.. at the very least!!
ad so it goes on… our boy reads a lot, understands some, puts together a document… neatly describing the project, what he feels can be done with it, how he intends to go about it… and sends it across to his “guide”
one week down the line… no reply still from the guide… wat happens next??? thats for me to see… coz my boat is stuck at this port rite now…
