A late night mail pops-up around 11pm saying I have been shortlisted for GMC Summer Intern Program at Mahindra & Mahindra. After various processes, I was tagged as GMC Summer Intern along with 65 others selected from various b-schools across the country; a tag which I will be carrying all along.
Life is a big journey of many questions without answers. My life was also not different. From the time I started my under graduation, I was amazed by way organizations work. The co-ordination and execution in an organization and to make all the people to work towards a single goal was a kind of wonder to me.
HR analytics seems to be the latest buzz word within HR these days with its potential to transform HR practices, and the way HR is perceived in organizations. HR policies and processes have always played a huge role in business strategy, but quantifying their impact has always been a problem for human resources (HR) executives. Gut feeling and historical practices determine the answers to questions such as “Which method of performance appraisal will yield the best results?” or “What is the impact of training programs on the business' bottom-line?”
As a teenager growing up in the sub-urban areas of Jamshedpur, I was always fascinated with fantasy adventures, such as those of Frodo and Sam in which the protagonist used to save the day with his unyielding spirit and iron will.
“The long run puts the tiger in the cat” - Bill Squires After making a stupendous run through a rigorous selection process, June mein hum Joka aye. As is always the case, this wasn’t the end. After a week, life at IIMC had gone into full swing. As has been aptly said, IIMC fondly called Joka, is not just a place – it’s an experience. There was a scurry by Jokars to have a piece of this ‘pie’. People were running all over the campus, buoyant with the ‘Joka spirit’. Amidst all this, Armageddon – The Adventure Club of IIM Calcutta conducted its Induction Run. It is conducted every year for the first year students as a preliminary round of its selection process. And run here we did. After a day of hectic 'activities', Fachaas turned up in drones to participate in this refreshing, albeit challenging event. We chose to run the day, after the day had run on us. Even though the rain god had tried to play spoilsport, Armageddon team had come fully ready. The event started without any glitches. Team Armageddon constantly kept the runners motivated and also energized by providing glucose water at different points throughout the track. Tim Noakes has aptly said “Body argues that there is no reason to continue. The only recourse is to call on the spirit, which fortunately functions independent of spirit”. This was pretty evident during the run. Participants pushed their limit, displaying tenacity in strength and fortitude in spirit. After everyone had done the requisite rounds, there was a flurry of chatter among participants. Few participants had stuck together as a band and made the rounds, each being there in others time of distress. This was felicitous of the Joka tribe and its culture. After resting the aching muscles, it was time for the ceremonial group pic. Everyone cluttered together, with beaming faces; forgetting the recent adversity. While a few held the Induction run banner, quite a few others held out their fingers signaling victory, thumbs up. It was time to disperse and indulge in other experiences. A gem of an experience had been added to the jar of life.
It was the day of Sept 17th, 2015 and term 2 had just started for us. Some of us being too lazy to wake up for the breakfast and directly got into the class at 10 a.m. The next class was Competition and Strategy at 12 noon. As soon as first the class finished at 11.30 a.m., most of us headed towards ‘Amrith Kalash (Paid canteen in IIMB)’ for breakfast and tea. With the pleasant breeze of monsoon, most of us were enjoying a cup of tea at Amrith Kalash.
“You can have any car you want, as long as it is black” – Henry Ford
