Dear all,
This question about PGSEM giving a boost to your career has been raised time and again. Let me again try to answer this question, at the risk of repeating myself, and request the current students to put this answer up on the faq section.
Just to state some facts up front, we recently prepared a list of PGSEM students who have made a mark in the industry, and to the surprise of many we have more 50 PGSEM students in VP and above roles, let me also tell you that we may have missed quite a few names. Hence nearly 15% of the students have in the past made it big, now let me also mention that there are numerous others who are in roles of Program Mgr, Sr Program Mgr, etc.
Some of these obviously could have made it by natural progression as well without doing the course, but how effective would they have been will always be a question which may just point to another generic question of performance of an MBA vs a non MBA. The debate continues.
This is how I see it. Any course technical or managerial teaches you some tools and techniques, the rest is up to you, it is an open market, and it depends on how well you improve on your skills, how well you use them, how well you market them, and how you create opportunities and how you make the most of it.
From my viewpoint, PGSEM opens doors for you, you not only become part of the prestigious IIMB alumni, but also become part of the elite IIM alumni, networking is what most B schools offer, which is the most powerful tool, again how you use it is up to you.
After PGSEM, I have seen some of my batch mates, and my seniors do different things, some have started they own companies, some have ventured into consultancy, some have moved from technical to managerial roles, lateral and vertical movements have happened, some have moved to do their PHD from IIMB, or from other universities abroad. Some have even moved out of the IT industry. Some of my seniors have become guest faculties at IIMB, and other prestigious B schools. I also came across a senior who is coming out with his first book, with a prestigious publisher.
Again let me tell you this number may be only a few people in each batch. Finally everything boils down to the person, which is why we have fewer people at the top. I have also seen during pgsem, some people get clarity on what they want to do in life, and realise their life purpose, which again most professionals are not clear, even after working for many years.
2 PGSEM students are in London Business School right now doing their student exchange program, the exposure is immense, it will definitely open a few more doors to them. But again what they make of it is up to them.
Regular MBA programs, do give summer internships, and placements, but again after one passes out, it’s the free market concept again at work. Obviously they do have an edge, but again it also depends on what risks you take and whether you make the most of it.
Many PGSEM students remain in their technical roles, but again this is a choice that is personal, dependent on whether they want to move out of their comfort zone. Similarly after a full time MBA many people choose to remain in the same industry they were working before their MBA, again a choice they make.
Instant gratification is not available even in todays world, one needs to work through time. But if your objective is to make your salary double and change your career, you could do it through pgsem or emep or could do it through a full time mba.
Again, when I joined PGSEM I was very clear, I did not want to leave my job, and wanted to learn with my job. I also wanted more time with the program to absorb what I was being taught, since I had already done a 1 yr emep from IIM-K (via satellite).
Personally I would vouch for PGSEM, it has worked for me. After having worked in the IT industry for 7.5 yrs I am trying something different outside the IT Industry.
P.S: Do email me if you have any queries/concerns.
Regards,
Sandeep Kochhar
PGSEM Batch 2004-2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
PGSEM-2007 :Students Speak
Here are the links for the videos of PGSEM-2007 students ;what they feel,what they think and what they goal for!!!
Part1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbD8kpbFqI
Part2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLBxYJyv8ho
Part3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tuahzGS30
PGSEM at IIM-B
Part1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbD8kpbFqI
Part2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLBxYJyv8ho
Part3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tuahzGS30
PGSEM at IIM-B
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Importance of Networking
Inspite of wanting to just chill out this Sunday after having had a brutal week at work and the previous weekend being (well?) spent on project reports and mid term exams, I like quite a few batchmates at PGSEM made it to the PGSEM Career Workshop.
It was a well timed event to bring the different stakeholders of PGSEM program (About 40 Current students , about 10 Alumni, the insightful Workshop Moderators Prof. Vasanthi and Prof. Manohar Reddy and PGSEM Chairperson Prof. Shankar Venkatgiri) on the same page about quite a few crucial issues. Well the crucial issues are better left for another detailed blog, let me pick up one of the key issue discussed - the lack of networking in the pgsem community.
Quite often many paradoxes in life spring up on you unexpectedly. Some less unbelievable some more expected. Call these "violation of Bounded Rationality" or Blind spots of the otherwise intelligent.
If we look at all the participants of PGSEM (past and present) who are indeed the same folks who are trying to provide innovative products, services dayin dayout and strive to deliver superior value to customers world over in their jobs at the various leading IT companies, sometimes overlook some simple solutions that can enhance the overall benefits of an MBA program.
An MBA program apart from other things, gives you the opportunity to network with some of the varied and diversified bunch of people who are your batchmates as well as the alumni of the institution. For folks at PGSEM at IIMB, they would not only have the possibility of networking with the entire IIM Bangalore alumni, but also they can more effectively network with the alumni of PGSEM. Though the IIM Bangalore Alumni is reasonably well connected, responsive and organized, the same cannot be said about the PGSEM alumni. Though the program has been in existence for close to a decade now, there has been no single platform or mechanism to reach all the alumni effectively.
Ability to communicate effectively is a crucial element of Networking. Often, very important PGSEM related information, "if fortunate enough" flows through a bunch of yahoo groups, personal mailing lists of few well connected people, through friends of current participants, varied other sources and "MAY" reach an alumni who "MAY BE INTERESTED" to receive this communication [[ and must add with loads of luck :) ]].
There is an imminent need for a single mechanism to communicate better with the PGSEM Alumni. After a detailed discussion with quite a few participants deliberated to consolidate the entire PGSEM Alumni. The primary ways in which it can be used could be:
Read more on Bounded Rationality at http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/cogarch0/common/theory/boundrat.html
It was a well timed event to bring the different stakeholders of PGSEM program (About 40 Current students , about 10 Alumni, the insightful Workshop Moderators Prof. Vasanthi and Prof. Manohar Reddy and PGSEM Chairperson Prof. Shankar Venkatgiri) on the same page about quite a few crucial issues. Well the crucial issues are better left for another detailed blog, let me pick up one of the key issue discussed - the lack of networking in the pgsem community.
Quite often many paradoxes in life spring up on you unexpectedly. Some less unbelievable some more expected. Call these "violation of Bounded Rationality" or Blind spots of the otherwise intelligent.
If we look at all the participants of PGSEM (past and present) who are indeed the same folks who are trying to provide innovative products, services dayin dayout and strive to deliver superior value to customers world over in their jobs at the various leading IT companies, sometimes overlook some simple solutions that can enhance the overall benefits of an MBA program.
An MBA program apart from other things, gives you the opportunity to network with some of the varied and diversified bunch of people who are your batchmates as well as the alumni of the institution. For folks at PGSEM at IIMB, they would not only have the possibility of networking with the entire IIM Bangalore alumni, but also they can more effectively network with the alumni of PGSEM. Though the IIM Bangalore Alumni is reasonably well connected, responsive and organized, the same cannot be said about the PGSEM alumni. Though the program has been in existence for close to a decade now, there has been no single platform or mechanism to reach all the alumni effectively.
Ability to communicate effectively is a crucial element of Networking. Often, very important PGSEM related information, "if fortunate enough" flows through a bunch of yahoo groups, personal mailing lists of few well connected people, through friends of current participants, varied other sources and "MAY" reach an alumni who "MAY BE INTERESTED" to receive this communication [[ and must add with loads of luck :) ]].
There is an imminent need for a single mechanism to communicate better with the PGSEM Alumni. After a detailed discussion with quite a few participants deliberated to consolidate the entire PGSEM Alumni. The primary ways in which it can be used could be:
- Sustain and Improve existing relationships and make new ones. Please note as with any contact list, quality is more important than the quantity :)
- Connect during cultural and other social events.
- To help in discover more meaningful and potentially marketable project opportunities
- Post jobs and opportunities which would be more suitable for the aspirations of this community
- Channel for interactive information flow
- Forum to collaborate on new ventures and initiatives with folks whose commitment and capabilities are better known as you would have the ability to quickly find required information about one another.
Following online networking options were discussed:
- Single linked in group - There exists one IIMB PGSEM
- Try and enumerate all the existing yearly and other splintered yahoo groups and consolidate into a single group.
- Enhance the official alumni site at Iimb Alumni Association for better interaction
- Explore the implementation of the Alumni portal on Moodle, which we have already been using for managing course contents etc.
- Try to see if platforms cum networking sites such as Facebook can be utilised to build meaningful applications.
We over the next few weeks should close in on one primary channel for reaching out and use couple of other supplementary channels, heres requesting all of you to either send in your thoughts back to me sridhar.iimb@gmail.com or post as comments on this blog.
We will be more than glad if you would like to join us in the evaluation process too.
Request the other participants of todays workshop to add in case i missed any other points we articulated in this regard.
Before i end this post, I would like to thank the alumni who made it to the meet at such a short notice, shared their experiences and helped us get more of todays interactions.
Read more on Bounded Rationality at http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/cogarch0/common/theory/boundrat.html
PGSEM VS Others
The well-known MBAs in the country for people with work experience are those offered by IIM Ahmedabad (one-year PGPX), ISB Hyderabad (one-year executive MBA), IIM Bangalore (three-year part time executive MBA) and XLRI Jamshedpur. There are a host of others, some launched, some in the process of being launched, including ones by IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and many more.
They all cater to people with work experience. These contrast sharply with the regular MBA programs of most management schools in the country (variously known as the 2-year PGP Program or MBA), where the participants typically have little or no work experience (although there are some notable exceptions among participants of these programs as well).
Before going further, there are many semantic terminologies that prevail, that need to be clarified. Wrongly, MBA specifically tailored for people with work experience is referred to is ‘executive MBA.’ In fact, this is a grave misnomer.
Executive MBA originated in the western world and is meant for people who are working, usually in considerably senior positions, who desire to get an MBA. The basic entry criteria are work experience; desire to do an MBA and ability to pay the requisite fees. In contrast, MBA for people with work experience in IIMA (PGPX), IIMB (PGSEM), etc. are considerably different in that they have stringent entry criteria (CAT/GMAT, elaborate application process, interviews,
etc.) In the following I would like to restrict my comments to contrasting PGSEM with other MBA programs for experienced persons, taking IIMA’s PGPX as a specific case in point.
My own personal view is that the content of an MBA program being largely oriented towards management practice, the best learning can be had in the program only if one has spent several years in the industry, and seen at close quarters the functioning of organizations. In fact that is one reason why top schools in the world typically admit only participants with some years of
experience into their regular MBA programs.
My own once again personal experience as a teacher at both IIM Bangalore and at IIM Ahmedabad, where I teach in various long-term programs (PGP, PGSEM, PGPX, PGPP) has been that it is much more fulfilling to teach a class wherein all the participants have several years of experience. Thus my most rewarding classes as a teacher are those in PGSEM and PGPX. Participants in these programs have made a very conscious choice to join the program, often having to make many adjustments to juggle their many commitments. This makes them much more motivated learners. They also have a great deal of ability at multi-tasking acquired
through many years of industry experience, often juggling obligations at work, home, and their MBA education. Willy-nilly, they are excellent time managers. As a case teacher that I am, I find the classroom discussions in these programs much more stimulating, and many issues that I may not have thought of earlier, routinely surface during the classroom discussions. These are the truly ‘WOW!’ moments of fulfillment for a teacher, because there is a great deal of element of surprise in the process. The typical class attendance in these programs in my experience is
100%, and the preparation for class is also generally very high.
Since in some sense, I have had the unique opportunity of teaching extensively in both PGSEM (at IIM Bangalore) and PGPX (at IIM Ahmedabad) for the last two years, I cannot but admire the tenacity of the participants in both these programs.
While the PGSEM is a part time program, the pressures are enormous on the participants, many of who are 3 to 7 years into their careers in the intensely competitive software industry, with its uncompromising deadlines, etc. Often many participants straddle different continents, time zones, etc., all as part of a week’s work. The PGSEM folks in both Bangalore and now Chennai (through the distance education classes) have to additionally reckon with long hours on the road just to attend classes. The fact that the program is spread out over ten terms of ten
weeks each (spanning about 3 years) may perhaps allow good assimilation of the various subjects. In contrast, the PGPX participants have let go of their jobs, and often shift with families for a one year ‘boot camp’ at IIM Ahmedabad, where the whole program is packed into about 11 months, including a few weeks of foreign immersion. The PGPX grind is severe, and participants in this program without doubt, are perpetually sleep-starved for the entire duration of the program. I would imagine that the same situation prevails for folks at ISB and elsewhere, in oneyear MBA programs targeted for people with significant work experience. For them however the silver lining is the placement process that awaits them at the end of the grueling year, a great incentive and icing that does not exist for PGSEM. I only hope that the placement factor of PGPX does not over the years eat into the spirit of learning which is what at least till date distinguish the MBA programs for people with work experience from the regular two-year MBA programs.
Since the participants in both these programs (PGPX and PGSEM) have a lot of work experience, my experience has been that the uptake of ideas and concepts is much faster and more permanent vis-à-vis participants of regular MBA 2-year programs. I must qualify this observation with the disclaimer that this may be subject-specific. Another intriguing aspect is that a multiplicity of dimensions come into the classroom discussions, and in this sense, each case gets discussed from an inter-disciplinary perspective. For a case teacher the challenge of
conducting a case discussion for this forum can be daunting, since among participants, it is not uncommon to find a country marketing manager of a large FMCG company, or bank, etc. Participants of both programs are always red-eyed, although the reasons are different. For PGSEM, it is juggling work and study. For PGPX, it is due to almost inhuman compression of learning. The compression is further exacerbated with up to ten courses in a term, and scheduling complexities, that result in considerable skewing of work loads across each term. The average work experience in PGPX is considerably more (10 years) vis-à-vis about five for
PGSEM. However the two worlds converge very closely. I often have a PGPX student in Ahmedabad wanting to know if I came across his former colleague in XYZ Company, where the two worked very closely till last year!
The value addition to participants of both PGSEM and PGPX (or the ISB version) should be more or less similar from my perspective. Given the spread of 10 terms, thus facilitating better assimilation in the case of PGSEM, my suspicion is that on this count, PGSEM folks are somewhat better placed (For participants of the one year executive MBA programs, it is a hurricane of courses and one class after another, sometimes as many as eight sessions a day!)
A few other differences: Scope for team work / group projects (which is so essential in management education) is very limited in PGSEM as the participants split soon after class into their own worlds and only meet again the following week for their classes. In contrast, PGPX participants are intensely immersed into their management education for the period of study, cutting off all other distractions during the period of ‘sadhana.’ This creates an atmosphere wherein participants can be very focused on learning. The campus atmosphere and pedagogy deployed provide excellent opportunity for team work and for building life-long relationships with their fellow participants. Perhaps this ‘immersion’ and focus, more than compensates for the heavy-intensity bombardment of cases, concepts and courses that they have to reckon with.
In fact, my guess is that networking is a very essential take-away in any MBA program. That may be very limited in the case of PGSEM since the relationships are essentially ‘transactional.’ The structure of the program does not leave scope, bandwidth or energy for group work, relationship-building, etc., as participants are essentially fighting many simultaneous fires on many fronts. This may also explain why student solidarity and alumni movement in PGSEM is very weak or non-existent, something I will address in more detail towards the end of this writeup.
The participants of the MBA program for people with work experience have a clear advantage in that they have access to placements through their institutes.
Their institutes leave no stone unturned for brand-building these programs. This enables their investment in the program (time, money and effort) to be a booster rocket for higher trajectory careers. However, PGSEM by its very structure does not facilitate this, as there are inter-organizational relationship issues to be reckoned with.
While a PGPXer with prior software industry work experience has the opportunity of migrating out of the software industry into any other industry if s/he so chooses, PGSEMites may not have such flexibility. Awareness about PGSEM in the society at large, Indian industry in general, the software industry and perhaps within the employing organizations is still abysmally low. I have heard some of my PGSEM student alumni complain: “When I tell some senior managers in my company that I have completed PGSEM, they ask whether it is one of those
‘Reliance Web World type programs’.” When I meet a lot of my ex-students from PGSEM, they complain that their organization has not given value to their MBA qualification, and that they are essentially doing the same thing as what their other non-MBA colleagues are doing. Alas! The stratospheric salaries that make rounds in the context of discussions relating to PGP and PGPX graduates are no where in sight. With the growing numbers of one-year MBA programs that are tailored for people with work experience in the country, sooner or later, this issue of disparity will begin to bother the PGSEM graduates (I see that already happening now), and
a creative solution would be needed. This would need the meeting of minds and hearts of the institute, the participants and the organizations they work in. Brandbuilding of the PGSEM program is an urgent need of the hour.
I also suspect that the PGSEM program being non-residential and part time, the degree of competition for grades once into the program, is considerably less than the PGPX program where every one knows where they stack up against the rest of the class, as they run into each other all the time. This might have an important implication on learning. When competition is minimal, the efficacy of learning is purely dependent of voluntary exertions of the individual participants. However when competitive forces are unleashed, one is pushed to ‘catch up with the Joneses’ just to stay afloat, which may nudge even the more easy-going folks to
exert themselves. However, from a philosophic perspective, whether or not
competition aids or hinders learning is a moot issue.
A final important aspect that must be addressed is that the networking among PGSEM participants, alumni, etc. is much weaker compared to what one finds with the other one-year MBA programs for people with work experience. Developing a stronger alumni network and student representation body of PGSEMites may be the first step to address some of the ironies discussed above that are only likely to get further accentuated in the years to come. Given the
already stretched lives that PGSEMites (both present participants and alumni) lead, this enhanced level of alumni and student body activity may be a tall order, but nevertheless needed. Who will bell the cat?
By:Prof. Sheshadri
First published in the Oct'2007 PGSEM newsletter!!
They all cater to people with work experience. These contrast sharply with the regular MBA programs of most management schools in the country (variously known as the 2-year PGP Program or MBA), where the participants typically have little or no work experience (although there are some notable exceptions among participants of these programs as well).
Before going further, there are many semantic terminologies that prevail, that need to be clarified. Wrongly, MBA specifically tailored for people with work experience is referred to is ‘executive MBA.’ In fact, this is a grave misnomer.
Executive MBA originated in the western world and is meant for people who are working, usually in considerably senior positions, who desire to get an MBA. The basic entry criteria are work experience; desire to do an MBA and ability to pay the requisite fees. In contrast, MBA for people with work experience in IIMA (PGPX), IIMB (PGSEM), etc. are considerably different in that they have stringent entry criteria (CAT/GMAT, elaborate application process, interviews,
etc.) In the following I would like to restrict my comments to contrasting PGSEM with other MBA programs for experienced persons, taking IIMA’s PGPX as a specific case in point.
My own personal view is that the content of an MBA program being largely oriented towards management practice, the best learning can be had in the program only if one has spent several years in the industry, and seen at close quarters the functioning of organizations. In fact that is one reason why top schools in the world typically admit only participants with some years of
experience into their regular MBA programs.
My own once again personal experience as a teacher at both IIM Bangalore and at IIM Ahmedabad, where I teach in various long-term programs (PGP, PGSEM, PGPX, PGPP) has been that it is much more fulfilling to teach a class wherein all the participants have several years of experience. Thus my most rewarding classes as a teacher are those in PGSEM and PGPX. Participants in these programs have made a very conscious choice to join the program, often having to make many adjustments to juggle their many commitments. This makes them much more motivated learners. They also have a great deal of ability at multi-tasking acquired
through many years of industry experience, often juggling obligations at work, home, and their MBA education. Willy-nilly, they are excellent time managers. As a case teacher that I am, I find the classroom discussions in these programs much more stimulating, and many issues that I may not have thought of earlier, routinely surface during the classroom discussions. These are the truly ‘WOW!’ moments of fulfillment for a teacher, because there is a great deal of element of surprise in the process. The typical class attendance in these programs in my experience is
100%, and the preparation for class is also generally very high.
Since in some sense, I have had the unique opportunity of teaching extensively in both PGSEM (at IIM Bangalore) and PGPX (at IIM Ahmedabad) for the last two years, I cannot but admire the tenacity of the participants in both these programs.
While the PGSEM is a part time program, the pressures are enormous on the participants, many of who are 3 to 7 years into their careers in the intensely competitive software industry, with its uncompromising deadlines, etc. Often many participants straddle different continents, time zones, etc., all as part of a week’s work. The PGSEM folks in both Bangalore and now Chennai (through the distance education classes) have to additionally reckon with long hours on the road just to attend classes. The fact that the program is spread out over ten terms of ten
weeks each (spanning about 3 years) may perhaps allow good assimilation of the various subjects. In contrast, the PGPX participants have let go of their jobs, and often shift with families for a one year ‘boot camp’ at IIM Ahmedabad, where the whole program is packed into about 11 months, including a few weeks of foreign immersion. The PGPX grind is severe, and participants in this program without doubt, are perpetually sleep-starved for the entire duration of the program. I would imagine that the same situation prevails for folks at ISB and elsewhere, in oneyear MBA programs targeted for people with significant work experience. For them however the silver lining is the placement process that awaits them at the end of the grueling year, a great incentive and icing that does not exist for PGSEM. I only hope that the placement factor of PGPX does not over the years eat into the spirit of learning which is what at least till date distinguish the MBA programs for people with work experience from the regular two-year MBA programs.
Since the participants in both these programs (PGPX and PGSEM) have a lot of work experience, my experience has been that the uptake of ideas and concepts is much faster and more permanent vis-à-vis participants of regular MBA 2-year programs. I must qualify this observation with the disclaimer that this may be subject-specific. Another intriguing aspect is that a multiplicity of dimensions come into the classroom discussions, and in this sense, each case gets discussed from an inter-disciplinary perspective. For a case teacher the challenge of
conducting a case discussion for this forum can be daunting, since among participants, it is not uncommon to find a country marketing manager of a large FMCG company, or bank, etc. Participants of both programs are always red-eyed, although the reasons are different. For PGSEM, it is juggling work and study. For PGPX, it is due to almost inhuman compression of learning. The compression is further exacerbated with up to ten courses in a term, and scheduling complexities, that result in considerable skewing of work loads across each term. The average work experience in PGPX is considerably more (10 years) vis-à-vis about five for
PGSEM. However the two worlds converge very closely. I often have a PGPX student in Ahmedabad wanting to know if I came across his former colleague in XYZ Company, where the two worked very closely till last year!
The value addition to participants of both PGSEM and PGPX (or the ISB version) should be more or less similar from my perspective. Given the spread of 10 terms, thus facilitating better assimilation in the case of PGSEM, my suspicion is that on this count, PGSEM folks are somewhat better placed (For participants of the one year executive MBA programs, it is a hurricane of courses and one class after another, sometimes as many as eight sessions a day!)
A few other differences: Scope for team work / group projects (which is so essential in management education) is very limited in PGSEM as the participants split soon after class into their own worlds and only meet again the following week for their classes. In contrast, PGPX participants are intensely immersed into their management education for the period of study, cutting off all other distractions during the period of ‘sadhana.’ This creates an atmosphere wherein participants can be very focused on learning. The campus atmosphere and pedagogy deployed provide excellent opportunity for team work and for building life-long relationships with their fellow participants. Perhaps this ‘immersion’ and focus, more than compensates for the heavy-intensity bombardment of cases, concepts and courses that they have to reckon with.
In fact, my guess is that networking is a very essential take-away in any MBA program. That may be very limited in the case of PGSEM since the relationships are essentially ‘transactional.’ The structure of the program does not leave scope, bandwidth or energy for group work, relationship-building, etc., as participants are essentially fighting many simultaneous fires on many fronts. This may also explain why student solidarity and alumni movement in PGSEM is very weak or non-existent, something I will address in more detail towards the end of this writeup.
The participants of the MBA program for people with work experience have a clear advantage in that they have access to placements through their institutes.
Their institutes leave no stone unturned for brand-building these programs. This enables their investment in the program (time, money and effort) to be a booster rocket for higher trajectory careers. However, PGSEM by its very structure does not facilitate this, as there are inter-organizational relationship issues to be reckoned with.
While a PGPXer with prior software industry work experience has the opportunity of migrating out of the software industry into any other industry if s/he so chooses, PGSEMites may not have such flexibility. Awareness about PGSEM in the society at large, Indian industry in general, the software industry and perhaps within the employing organizations is still abysmally low. I have heard some of my PGSEM student alumni complain: “When I tell some senior managers in my company that I have completed PGSEM, they ask whether it is one of those
‘Reliance Web World type programs’.” When I meet a lot of my ex-students from PGSEM, they complain that their organization has not given value to their MBA qualification, and that they are essentially doing the same thing as what their other non-MBA colleagues are doing. Alas! The stratospheric salaries that make rounds in the context of discussions relating to PGP and PGPX graduates are no where in sight. With the growing numbers of one-year MBA programs that are tailored for people with work experience in the country, sooner or later, this issue of disparity will begin to bother the PGSEM graduates (I see that already happening now), and
a creative solution would be needed. This would need the meeting of minds and hearts of the institute, the participants and the organizations they work in. Brandbuilding of the PGSEM program is an urgent need of the hour.
I also suspect that the PGSEM program being non-residential and part time, the degree of competition for grades once into the program, is considerably less than the PGPX program where every one knows where they stack up against the rest of the class, as they run into each other all the time. This might have an important implication on learning. When competition is minimal, the efficacy of learning is purely dependent of voluntary exertions of the individual participants. However when competitive forces are unleashed, one is pushed to ‘catch up with the Joneses’ just to stay afloat, which may nudge even the more easy-going folks to
exert themselves. However, from a philosophic perspective, whether or not
competition aids or hinders learning is a moot issue.
A final important aspect that must be addressed is that the networking among PGSEM participants, alumni, etc. is much weaker compared to what one finds with the other one-year MBA programs for people with work experience. Developing a stronger alumni network and student representation body of PGSEMites may be the first step to address some of the ironies discussed above that are only likely to get further accentuated in the years to come. Given the
already stretched lives that PGSEMites (both present participants and alumni) lead, this enhanced level of alumni and student body activity may be a tall order, but nevertheless needed. Who will bell the cat?
By:Prof. Sheshadri
First published in the Oct'2007 PGSEM newsletter!!
The Wrestling in Management
There is this scene from the Malayalam movie Kizhakkunarum Pakshi where Innocent asks Mala if he can teach him how to wrestle as he wanted to take part in a competition the next week. Mala in turn sarastically asks him to come back just the previous night of the event and he would teach him everything.
I had coined this term wrestling for the so called demos on short notice which the management keeps commiting to the clients. Later the news would be announced to us and will be asked to get all the functionalities, which they have promised to demo, working in a very short time. Then happens a big day & night battle by the development team to get the demo system up and running and also most importantly good looking.
When I started my career, we used to take all the Wrestling Competitions as new challenges at work. Shankar used to constantly motivate me with his pep talks to make me work with him throughout the nights to get the things working. Working late nights and ulcers were not new things for all of us back then.
When I joined Wockix, I carried on the legacy of the term there and was succesfully made synonymous among Arun, Anoop and others. But I avoided staying overnights coz I had almost got fed up of this exercise which never beared any fruit till then. I had started giving more importance to good food and sleep.
Now as I started working in a bigger company where more people work, had better management strategies and planning, I had least expected a Wrestling to happen. But I was wrong. It happened here too. And the battle - desparate meetings, running aroud, all night work, frustrated shoutings, work on weekends, late mornings etc. kept on giving me a sense of deja vu.
Now as I have ventured into a business of my own, I think I would totally cut down the Wrestling and would encourage a clean and nice weekend and night's sleep for the employees.Can I commit it???
Is Wresting there to stay??Will I be successful!!!!
From Swapnils07
PGSEM at IIM Bangalore
I had coined this term wrestling for the so called demos on short notice which the management keeps commiting to the clients. Later the news would be announced to us and will be asked to get all the functionalities, which they have promised to demo, working in a very short time. Then happens a big day & night battle by the development team to get the demo system up and running and also most importantly good looking.
When I started my career, we used to take all the Wrestling Competitions as new challenges at work. Shankar used to constantly motivate me with his pep talks to make me work with him throughout the nights to get the things working. Working late nights and ulcers were not new things for all of us back then.
When I joined Wockix, I carried on the legacy of the term there and was succesfully made synonymous among Arun, Anoop and others. But I avoided staying overnights coz I had almost got fed up of this exercise which never beared any fruit till then. I had started giving more importance to good food and sleep.
Now as I started working in a bigger company where more people work, had better management strategies and planning, I had least expected a Wrestling to happen. But I was wrong. It happened here too. And the battle - desparate meetings, running aroud, all night work, frustrated shoutings, work on weekends, late mornings etc. kept on giving me a sense of deja vu.
Now as I have ventured into a business of my own, I think I would totally cut down the Wrestling and would encourage a clean and nice weekend and night's sleep for the employees.Can I commit it???
Is Wresting there to stay??Will I be successful!!!!
From Swapnils07
PGSEM at IIM Bangalore
Eshwar's First day @PGSEM
Here is my recount of the inauguration day.
The day started at Bangalore City Railway Junction after the bangalore mail chugged in to the station at 5:30 a.m. Chidambaran, Prasad and I set our feet in the IIM B hostel block and collected our keys for hostel rooms. The rooms were well maintained and some had some interesting quotes too.:-) We had a quick morning shower, did a last minute revision of the case study. It was 7: 30 by then. We wanted to have a quick breakfast and thought we were going to the hostel mess but instead went to the canteen intended for employees. I guess our memory were little stunted by the early morning drowsiness ;-). With each of us having a different route in mind, layout of the institute proved to be a puzzle little tough to crack. Having gone in to every other place in the institute, we thought we no longer need the campus walk scheduled in the afternoon, ;-) We ultimately arrived at the registration desk at 7:50 and with separate lines for chennai and bangalore batch students, we could quickly finish the registration. We were given receipt of the earlier fees paid, code of conduct and students brochure. We were then photographed, may be to help us notice the halo behind our head after completion of the course ;-). After two and half years, whether the glow will be behind our head or on the scalp of our head is another matter altogether ;-)We then went back to the hostel and had our breakfast and came back to attend the inaugural function. It started with lighting of the kuthuvilaku by the Director Dr Prakash G Apte, Chairperson Dr. Rajendra K Bandi, a 2006 batch student, a 2007 batch student and Mr K.M. Bharathi.Then Director awarded medals to the top ten meritorious students of 2006 batch. It was followed by a speech of the director and chairperson. We were profusely congratulated by the director, chairperson and alumni students. Later they also expressed their deepest sympathies for our family members and for us, as we will spend lesser and lesser time with our families and with our hobbies. Director also urged the female students for a proportionate representation of them among the meritorious list. At 9:30, the discussion on "Learning approaches in Mgmt Education: The Case approach" started. Professor L.S. Murthy defined case study to be "a true to life description of real-life business situation needing analysis and unstructured decision making". Then he explained the structure of a case-study. This was followed by the discussion on the example case study. The problem was defined and an analysis of the operational issues faced by the company was listed after an interactive discussion. The session however, ended with an open question as to whether this should be considered as a problem, as these are inherent to a R&D organisation. :-) After a 15 minute coffee break, Mr Bharathi introduced to us, various IIMB facilities and administrative office members. He said that an email id with iimb domain name would be provided and it would serve as the means for continuous communication between the students and the institution,as the mail id will continue to exist beyond the course duration. Also an user id will also be provided which can be used for taking "reasonable" quantity of print outs in the computer center. He forewarned us on the strictness in following class- timings. Prof Bandhi also mentioned that an attractive scheme to buy a PC, is available for PGP students and hence if any of us are interested, the scheme details would be made available. Rajiv gave a presentation on the various SAC activities and karthick on his experience with the course. The alumni meet, cultural meet and PGSEM brand-enhancing rendezvous were some of the get-togethers conducted by SAC. Karthik quoted from stevepavlina's website and had interesting analysis on the types of people he encountered in the program, the types of quizes he got through(announced, surprise, announced-surprise and surprise-surprise). Peter represented the chennai center and explained the facilities available/not-available in the center. He reminded us of two proverbs namely- "If the going gets tough only the tough gets going.." and " If you're going through hell, keep going". Various questions on exchange program, transfer of credits, cultural events were asked. Means to achieve the least possible time to complete the course( 2 years and 3 months) and most possible time (6 years, you know how to achieve it ;-)) were explained. It was made clear that the course is not for faint-hearted and a hectic, grueling two and half years would be welcoming us. After a sumptuous lunch, and books collection, we had a campus walking tour. It finally ended in the classrooms and informal questions were asked. - whether there are any blind-spots around, ROI for the course, how to get the desired electives, whether our knowledge is equivalent to PGP. The seniors extolled us to participate in brand enhancing activities and SAC activities, so that we can carry forward and enhance brand PGSEM. At the end of the day, after this tryst, I am sure that we carried back home, not only the onus of books but also, the obligation and responsibility as a PGSEM student. :-)So it was clear that for the next 2.5 years, weekends would be busier than the weekdays,would preach that education should not be viewed in a narrow angle of placements, would drop jargons in conversations just to flaunt what I study,would argue that part time programs are more strenuous than regular programs,would have a lighter annual pay packet,and would be traveling about 200kms in 2 days.(for a chennai student)
Regards, Eashwar N.
PGSEM at IIM B
The day started at Bangalore City Railway Junction after the bangalore mail chugged in to the station at 5:30 a.m. Chidambaran, Prasad and I set our feet in the IIM B hostel block and collected our keys for hostel rooms. The rooms were well maintained and some had some interesting quotes too.:-) We had a quick morning shower, did a last minute revision of the case study. It was 7: 30 by then. We wanted to have a quick breakfast and thought we were going to the hostel mess but instead went to the canteen intended for employees. I guess our memory were little stunted by the early morning drowsiness ;-). With each of us having a different route in mind, layout of the institute proved to be a puzzle little tough to crack. Having gone in to every other place in the institute, we thought we no longer need the campus walk scheduled in the afternoon, ;-) We ultimately arrived at the registration desk at 7:50 and with separate lines for chennai and bangalore batch students, we could quickly finish the registration. We were given receipt of the earlier fees paid, code of conduct and students brochure. We were then photographed, may be to help us notice the halo behind our head after completion of the course ;-). After two and half years, whether the glow will be behind our head or on the scalp of our head is another matter altogether ;-)We then went back to the hostel and had our breakfast and came back to attend the inaugural function. It started with lighting of the kuthuvilaku by the Director Dr Prakash G Apte, Chairperson Dr. Rajendra K Bandi, a 2006 batch student, a 2007 batch student and Mr K.M. Bharathi.Then Director awarded medals to the top ten meritorious students of 2006 batch. It was followed by a speech of the director and chairperson. We were profusely congratulated by the director, chairperson and alumni students. Later they also expressed their deepest sympathies for our family members and for us, as we will spend lesser and lesser time with our families and with our hobbies. Director also urged the female students for a proportionate representation of them among the meritorious list. At 9:30, the discussion on "Learning approaches in Mgmt Education: The Case approach" started. Professor L.S. Murthy defined case study to be "a true to life description of real-life business situation needing analysis and unstructured decision making". Then he explained the structure of a case-study. This was followed by the discussion on the example case study. The problem was defined and an analysis of the operational issues faced by the company was listed after an interactive discussion. The session however, ended with an open question as to whether this should be considered as a problem, as these are inherent to a R&D organisation. :-) After a 15 minute coffee break, Mr Bharathi introduced to us, various IIMB facilities and administrative office members. He said that an email id with iimb domain name would be provided and it would serve as the means for continuous communication between the students and the institution,as the mail id will continue to exist beyond the course duration. Also an user id will also be provided which can be used for taking "reasonable" quantity of print outs in the computer center. He forewarned us on the strictness in following class- timings. Prof Bandhi also mentioned that an attractive scheme to buy a PC, is available for PGP students and hence if any of us are interested, the scheme details would be made available. Rajiv gave a presentation on the various SAC activities and karthick on his experience with the course. The alumni meet, cultural meet and PGSEM brand-enhancing rendezvous were some of the get-togethers conducted by SAC. Karthik quoted from stevepavlina's website and had interesting analysis on the types of people he encountered in the program, the types of quizes he got through(announced, surprise, announced-surprise and surprise-surprise). Peter represented the chennai center and explained the facilities available/not-available in the center. He reminded us of two proverbs namely- "If the going gets tough only the tough gets going.." and " If you're going through hell, keep going". Various questions on exchange program, transfer of credits, cultural events were asked. Means to achieve the least possible time to complete the course( 2 years and 3 months) and most possible time (6 years, you know how to achieve it ;-)) were explained. It was made clear that the course is not for faint-hearted and a hectic, grueling two and half years would be welcoming us. After a sumptuous lunch, and books collection, we had a campus walking tour. It finally ended in the classrooms and informal questions were asked. - whether there are any blind-spots around, ROI for the course, how to get the desired electives, whether our knowledge is equivalent to PGP. The seniors extolled us to participate in brand enhancing activities and SAC activities, so that we can carry forward and enhance brand PGSEM. At the end of the day, after this tryst, I am sure that we carried back home, not only the onus of books but also, the obligation and responsibility as a PGSEM student. :-)So it was clear that for the next 2.5 years, weekends would be busier than the weekdays,would preach that education should not be viewed in a narrow angle of placements, would drop jargons in conversations just to flaunt what I study,would argue that part time programs are more strenuous than regular programs,would have a lighter annual pay packet,and would be traveling about 200kms in 2 days.(for a chennai student)
Regards, Eashwar N.
PGSEM at IIM B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
