Perspectives | InsideIIM

Lessons in Management From my Favourite Books

These days I have been struggling to find topics to write on, but this great itch in my hand urges me to write, still. So, to scratch the itch, i.e. look for a topic to write on, I asked my friends about what is this one thing that they believe I should be writing on. Pat came the reply that I should be writing on books; since I sit with my nose buried in one or the other for most of my free time, why not regale my readers with my quirky and therefore personal observations about a few books that I have read. I liked the idea and therefore decided that I will give you a point-wise description of a few of my favorite books and what do I like about them and why you MUST read them (Well, B-school teaches you to write in a point-wise manner very well J ). I have also tried to bring out their relevance in a management context.

Anonymous Writer06 Jun 2014

The Education system is killing creativity in tomorrow's Citizen

Education plays a pivotal role in the development of the country and it has become integral part of one’s life just like the basic necessities. Every individual irrespective of their income group wants his son or daughter to get a high quality education that would accrue his knowledge and helps him to succeed in his life. Even the government of India has introduced several packages in its five year plans right from the independence to improve the literacy rates and the educational standards in the country. Several missionary schools were started all over the country for this noble cause.

Saketh Guggilla05 Jun 2014

The Future is Beautiful. The Future is Bleak

This past weekend I was in Poona to enjoy a quiet couple of days, catch up with old friends and just spend some time lazing around. But the responsible people of the city had other ideas. Saturday night a rumour spread of some guy posting some objectionable content on some social media platform and s*** hit the fan. Members of the offended political party correctly exercised their right to free speech and all its addendums of destruction of property, vandalism, potential threat to human life etc. The event didn’t get a lot of media coverage and so I only came to know of it later on Sunday afternoon. By that time buses plying out of the city and many private vehicles had been pelted with stones, many were abandoned on the road, trucks were stopped on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and a near-curfew like situation had descended over many parts of Poona and New Bombay. View images here. The impact could be gauged by the fact that on the Sunday night - the night of an IPL final mind you- Phoenix Market City mall in Poona was closed. There was an air of tension and fear in the city with many other shops closed or operating cautiously with half their shutters down. I don’t know exactly what the objectionable content was and its seriousness because the page had been taken down by the police with instructions that anybody ‘Liking’ that page would be arrested. Read the news report here.

Nadeem Raj05 Jun 2014

Renminbi - The next world currency?

The rapid growth of the Chinese economy over the past decade has been led by the reforms at a structural level that have made the economy move towards being more market-oriented. Moving ever-so-slightly towards a market determined exchange rate, the country is trying to internationalise its currency (Renminbi) by increasing its role in global trade. Will Renminbi become the world's next reserve currency?

Jasmine Makkar02 Jun 2014

How much is your MBA worth?

Before the MBA world

Muzaffar Waris02 Jun 2014

Cycling? Five tips to become a Great Marketer

As I cycled to work, I thought about all the attributes that make a cyclist unique. While these thoughts trailed, I sat at my desk and started listing down the qualities that are crucial to make one a successful marketing manager. The similarities between the two were uncanny, and that's when I came about my theory - Cyclists make excellent Marketing managers!

Anusha M27 May 2014

Dos and Donts for MBA-turned-writers

Many of us want to be writers… internationally published… bestselling authors. Some of us write well or believe we do so. Some of us have our manuscripts ready or strongly feel so. Some of us do not know how to proceed, approach publishers, impress editors, etc. But many of us get hold of the wrong end of the stick. Blame it on or acknowledge Chetan Bhagat. The Five Point Someone author kick-started a mini-revolution with his extremely popular novels, thereby inspiring a generation of engineers/MBA me-toos to go ahead and write their own novels.

Debalina Haldar27 May 2014

10 Things MBA Students Want From Modi

Aspirations are flying high in this nation of 1 billion. The country has voted for change and Mr. Narendra Modi has come to power with an emphatic win. Like everyone else even the b-schoolers would love to believe that “Ache din aane wale hain”. There are a few things fundamentally wrong with Indian education system and this is my list of demands from Mr. Modi on behalf of the b-school students’ fraternity. (Also in the end is a petition to bring a small change)

Ishan Arora26 May 2014