“RG -/ar-jee/ - noun - Short for ‘One who tries to improve his grades, taking unjust advantage of ‘Relative Grading'' -
IIT Bombay Freshmen Forum
Among the innumerable terms that IIM-A has been adopting from the IITian culture is the simultaneously obscure and omnipresent “RG-giri”. The practice of pushing oneself to the top, by weighing down on others.
Never having had Relative Grading during under graduation, I approached innocent tuchchas at the mess and at CT to figure out the terminology. The first reaction to the word was invariably a resounding silence. It was as if the very uttering of the word was the greatest possible sin.
I heard inane examples of RG, ranging from not waking someone up before a quiz to knowingly misrepresenting deadlines in public. Turns out RG, in reality, is very subtle (hence the ‘obscure’). In fact, the art of perfecting RG-giri is directly proportional to the level of subtlety one can ensure with one’s lies. The definitions of RG-giri, just as with any other definition in the social sciences dominion, are extremely subjective, and herein lies the predicament.
While some count RG-giri even within the classroom, some only consider it to be noteworthy when it happens during placements. Of course, in an institute that has adopted the ‘CP’ culture from Harvard, putting CP is of extreme importance. But what is an IIM-A class without the occasional ‘healthy’ debate of putting others' points down? It forces one to come up with innovative ways to put in CP, like starting with the phrase “I absolutely agree, BUT…”. If RGs can come up with taunts for CPiers, so must the counterparts think up solutions. Management is after all a lifelong battle of problem solving.
There are some who consider the iconic ‘slow clap’ at IIM-A to be a form of RG-giri. As a manner of putting down those who speak up, this argument holds ground. Here it is pertinent to note that as future managers, one must be able to put in one’s ideas in the most succinct and most pleasant-sounding manner. CPiers! Art thou ready for this challenge? Just as slow clap is an art, CP is a profound subject to gain mastery in. And RGs swear to help you achieve this amazing skill to voice your thoughts, despite opposition.
It must be noted that there exists a very thin line between RG-giri and constructive, individual-driven hard work. It might seem to you that you had indulged in RG-giri when you put in a sleek title page to your submission, and didn’t tell others about it. No sir, that ain’t no RG. That was an example of a perfectly innocent self-driven (note that I don’t say selfish) extra effort that you have put in. RG-giri, as opposed to this, is the act of hiding and lying about your efforts while simultaneously probing and/or preventing others efforts.
RG-giri is perfectly justified when it comes to sharing of assignments. Here, at IIM-A, where plagiarism is considered to be a transgression of unimaginable degree, you would be doing a favour to both yourself as well as your friend when you refuse to share your WAC assignment.
Now we come to the real debate - RG-giri during Placements.
“Hey man! Have you been able to fill up your HRQ?” “Nahi yaar, can’t think of anything to write!” and then the person in question emerges as the omniscient encyclopaedia of placement details: which company, when are they coming, what they want, how to position oneself to be the best fit and all the other ‘W’ questions one can think of about placements season. Share knowledge? You wish!
While it may seem like a callous concept, many believe that the perpetrators are doing a favour for the victims. The world after PGP is full of RG-giri, they say. Survival of the fittest, remember? Craig Lounsbrough would be right on track when he said
“Maybe it’s a whole lot less about focusing on the fact that we’re all victims and a whole lot more about the changing the fact that we’re all careless, as that is what victimized all of us in the first place.”
If you are here to study, you will study, RG or no RG. If you feel that you need to devote time to a submission, you will. If you feel that it will not be possible for you to do an HRQ yourself, seek tuchchas for review. As an IIM-A professor very rightly told me as I prepared to enter this institute -
“No one will come and ask you specially if you need anything or if you are doing fine, it is up to you to figure stuff out, if you find out you need help, seek and thou shalt find.”
Among the many things that people become post their MBA at IIM-A, they become successful persons. Success being a relative term, I would not venture to quantify success but by and large, those who emerge as PGP survivors from this glorious institute are happy in their lives. The secret behind this happiness? The dedicated RG-giri inflicted upon them by their fellow batchmates. Fighting it out becomes a matter of habit.
While this does not imply an extension of this argument to defend selfishness, it does guard the sanctity of working in self-interest. After all, Adam Smith’s free market ideology is based on societal perfection attained by individual persons acting in their self-interest. And the markets don’t get any freer than competition here at IIM Ahmedabad.