B-schools are meant to give life-changing experiences. They are believed to impart theoretical as well as practical aspects of business practices to expand our horizons multi-dimensionally. IIM Indore preaches the same with its logo of the circle in the form of knowledge keeping a quarter open showing that knowledge is not confined and the external environment makes an impact on your knowledge expanse. A very interesting classroom experience happened in my first year of MBA that made me ponder that yes external environment does affect the way one thinks.
We were in our Organizational Behaviour class doing a case study as usual. The case was about choosing between an ethical vs profitability decision. A group was doing a role-play as the organisation’s top-management. The concern was about hundreds of families who lost their children due to some discrepancy in the medicines that the company produces. Most of the members on the panel were inclined towards choosing an option that doesn’t mar the company’s bottom line. The scene went on for around 20-25 minutes with no conclusion from the board. Suddenly there was chaos outside our class. A bunch of layman people stormed inside the doors of the class and were shouting. The entire class was taken aback for a moment not knowing what was happening. After a minute or two, we could hear them protesting for the lives of children that lost their lives due to the medicines. We then knew that the professor wanted to create a real-life situation. The board members could not make sense and were cornered for a long time after which they started pacifying the crowd. This went on for other 20 minutes with no substantial steps from the top management.
When the crowd left, there was a pin drop silence in a class and everyone was trying to make sense of what happened. The professor said nothing and the class ended. There was no need for him to say anything. Everyone realised what it takes to be a top-management. The issues discussed in a case or in a book nowhere compares to the real-life situations. It was indeed a great takeaway for us.
I hope such situations are put before us in the future in the course of our curriculum.
Which ABG company would you want to work for and why?
Hands down to ABFRL. No girl can live without fashion and same is the case for me. I want to contribute to the industry and be a part of something that I truly like. It would be a perfect balance of professional and personal (or I can say, emotional) life for me.