Yes, finally I am in it. It's been almost two months in this busy financial capital of the country and I have already started feeling that my life is getting on pace with the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. There is lightning speed and hyper-professionalism everywhere 24*7 and when I say this please do not consider it as an exaggeration but a sense of awe which a small town guy like me may experience. Now, allow me to take you on a foray into one of the most coveted colleges if you are planning to have an overall experiential learning amidst sassy minds in Mumbai.
Sitting in my office, I used to think 'How would life be at an IIM?'. 'Will it show me the most exciting times of my life or will it be a roller coaster ride?' With all these questions and curiosity I prepared for my CAT exam. Finally, my hard work paid well and I entered into an IIM, the institute that makes one proud and an achiever when get selected into it. So was I. But will this proud feeling get worn out or I would rather say will this feeling will be lost due to the curriculum, well that was yet to be discovered.
MBA enables us to develop business skill in a specialized domain. But what if the domain itself become uncertain about it functionality? Will I be able to sustain my passion to learn technology in this new environment? My journey with IIM Kashipur starts with this question.
For most MBA students, the b-school journey often starts on a very stereotypical note. It happens in an instant… stressful competitive exams, interviews in starchy formals and then suddenly you’re in! Almost overnight, your bags are packed to leave home. That’s when the gravity of it all hits you. This is it.
In days when we read that industry bigwigs like Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo say that lack of focus on technology is degrading the quality of management graduates from the country; or the whole and sole of Tesla – Elon Musk saying that he wouldn’t recommend an MBA, rather he would prefer not hiring MBAs, how relevant and advisable is it to still pursue an MBA in today’s world is indeed a question to ponder upon! However, contrary to the notion above, with every year that is passing, we can see a gradual increase in the B-Schools in India as well as an increase in the batch sizes of existing B-Schools! This has been an interesting trend to observe indeed. While there is no question that majority of the individuals pursuing MBA do so in lieu of better career prospects or to be even more specific – bagging big paychecks! But is that all an MBA is about? Definitely not. Those portraying so are insulting the years of legacy that the Indian Institutes of Management have put in front of us. The kind of rigour they instil in the MBA graduates is something which imbibes holistic development of the aspirant along with academics. And yes, this is what an MBA is about. It is about “learning by doing” as one of the IIMs set up in 2011 – IIM Kashipur stresses upon. IT is about putting theory into practice. It is about peer learning. Moreover, it is about turning yourselves into a better person, a better manager! An MBA is probably the most efficient teacher of the importance of time and professionalism. Strict deadlines, cutthroat competitions with implementations of a bell curve, burning the midnight oil to be prepared for the lectures, presenting and studying of numerous case studies – name a thing needed to be done to be a better manager and you get to learn it in a B-School! Revisiting the point mentioned in the first line of this piece – while Ms. Indra Nooyi complained about the quality of MBA graduates degrading, she never discouraged pursuing MBAs. In fact, she has motivated a generation of female MBA aspirants to join top MBA colleges in India and emerge as world-class business leaders. Similarly, while some perceive the MBA graduates a misfit for the organization, it is probably because of coming across the graduates who did an MBA for the higher paychecks and not for the sake of being a better manager. Concluding, there is no doubt that the B-Schools are here to stay and so are the MBA aspirants. Similarly, the demand for these MBA aspirants is what the single largest factor is making undergraduates think of doing an MBA. Who are we, then, to question the relevance of an MBA in today’s world? References: https://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/heres-what-pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyi-thinks-is-wrong-with-current-mba-programmes-1478503600-1
My journey at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar began on the 18th of June, 2018, with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation. This kept increasing by leaps and bounds each day as I started walking along these hallowed halls. The pressure here was palpable from the onset as we had to complete two case studies along with presentations, group discussions, visume preparation and many more tasks in just one week simultaneously with over eight hours of orientation each day. Among these tasks came an opportunity-to attend the MarkQuiz’18, the annual marketing quiz organised by MAXIM, the marketing association of XIMB.
It was the 7th of May when I got the news that I was selected for PGP in IIM Indore. I was in a meeting with my manager and just as we were winding things up, this message about my selection into IIM Indore popped up on my phone screen. The rest of the days went by in a blur with me packing my bags, leaving my precious books behind and bidding a goodbye to Deloitte, my office for about two years.
Yes, finally I am in it. It's been almost two months in this busy financial capital of the country and I have already started feeling that my life is getting on pace with the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. There is lightning speed and hyper-professionalism everywhere 24*7 and when I say this please do not consider it as an exaggeration but a sense of awe which a small town guy like me may experience. Now, allow me to take you on a foray into one of the most coveted colleges if you are planning to have an overall experiential learning amidst sassy minds in Mumbai.
Sitting in my office, I used to think 'How would life be at an IIM?'. 'Will it show me the most exciting times of my life or will it be a roller coaster ride?' With all these questions and curiosity I prepared for my CAT exam. Finally, my hard work paid well and I entered into an IIM, the institute that makes one proud and an achiever when get selected into it. So was I. But will this proud feeling get worn out or I would rather say will this feeling will be lost due to the curriculum, well that was yet to be discovered.
MBA enables us to develop business skill in a specialized domain. But what if the domain itself become uncertain about it functionality? Will I be able to sustain my passion to learn technology in this new environment? My journey with IIM Kashipur starts with this question.
For most MBA students, the b-school journey often starts on a very stereotypical note. It happens in an instant… stressful competitive exams, interviews in starchy formals and then suddenly you’re in! Almost overnight, your bags are packed to leave home. That’s when the gravity of it all hits you. This is it.
In days when we read that industry bigwigs like Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo say that lack of focus on technology is degrading the quality of management graduates from the country; or the whole and sole of Tesla – Elon Musk saying that he wouldn’t recommend an MBA, rather he would prefer not hiring MBAs, how relevant and advisable is it to still pursue an MBA in today’s world is indeed a question to ponder upon! However, contrary to the notion above, with every year that is passing, we can see a gradual increase in the B-Schools in India as well as an increase in the batch sizes of existing B-Schools! This has been an interesting trend to observe indeed. While there is no question that majority of the individuals pursuing MBA do so in lieu of better career prospects or to be even more specific – bagging big paychecks! But is that all an MBA is about? Definitely not. Those portraying so are insulting the years of legacy that the Indian Institutes of Management have put in front of us. The kind of rigour they instil in the MBA graduates is something which imbibes holistic development of the aspirant along with academics. And yes, this is what an MBA is about. It is about “learning by doing” as one of the IIMs set up in 2011 – IIM Kashipur stresses upon. IT is about putting theory into practice. It is about peer learning. Moreover, it is about turning yourselves into a better person, a better manager! An MBA is probably the most efficient teacher of the importance of time and professionalism. Strict deadlines, cutthroat competitions with implementations of a bell curve, burning the midnight oil to be prepared for the lectures, presenting and studying of numerous case studies – name a thing needed to be done to be a better manager and you get to learn it in a B-School! Revisiting the point mentioned in the first line of this piece – while Ms. Indra Nooyi complained about the quality of MBA graduates degrading, she never discouraged pursuing MBAs. In fact, she has motivated a generation of female MBA aspirants to join top MBA colleges in India and emerge as world-class business leaders. Similarly, while some perceive the MBA graduates a misfit for the organization, it is probably because of coming across the graduates who did an MBA for the higher paychecks and not for the sake of being a better manager. Concluding, there is no doubt that the B-Schools are here to stay and so are the MBA aspirants. Similarly, the demand for these MBA aspirants is what the single largest factor is making undergraduates think of doing an MBA. Who are we, then, to question the relevance of an MBA in today’s world? References: https://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/heres-what-pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyi-thinks-is-wrong-with-current-mba-programmes-1478503600-1
My journey at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar began on the 18th of June, 2018, with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation. This kept increasing by leaps and bounds each day as I started walking along these hallowed halls. The pressure here was palpable from the onset as we had to complete two case studies along with presentations, group discussions, visume preparation and many more tasks in just one week simultaneously with over eight hours of orientation each day. Among these tasks came an opportunity-to attend the MarkQuiz’18, the annual marketing quiz organised by MAXIM, the marketing association of XIMB.
It was the 7th of May when I got the news that I was selected for PGP in IIM Indore. I was in a meeting with my manager and just as we were winding things up, this message about my selection into IIM Indore popped up on my phone screen. The rest of the days went by in a blur with me packing my bags, leaving my precious books behind and bidding a goodbye to Deloitte, my office for about two years.
