Random Snippets-III

Life has never been so fast... really, most of us have already lost the sence and count of time, when you need the sunday paper to realise that its a holiday time sure is running faster.

Marketing course in this term involves a simulation game called Markstrat wherein each team has been assigned a competing company to manage, each company has a set of products in the market and within a given budget each team has to manage the marketing, distribution and R&D for the company. The software is fantastic and I must admit it seems only reality can come closer to reality. Competition is the best motivation and we can see groups spending long hrs and even whole nights discussiong the strategy for their company ... the game has just begun with only two of the eight rounds completed so far... expect lot more action here.

I have always loved economics and so far I just reveared one person in the field , that was Mrs. Ansari our Eco teacher at school, the one who introduced us to economics. However I have found the second addition to the list in Prof. Krishna Kumar who is teaching us the Macroeconomics in this term. He has really helped us in developing a perspective on relevant current issues like globalisation, trade policy, market economics, outsourcing et all... For a lot of us he has added a new dimension to economics beyond the mathematical equations and graphs.

Continuing with economics there is a competition called Class Economist thats on these days and people are fiercly debating the Role of Govt in modern economies on the forum... more on this sooon.

Term 2 begins...

Term-2 begins… lots of changes for people like me. The schedules are so planned that we do not get used to a particular timing of classes, thus while we had a morning schedule in term 1, this time its afternoon and we shall be back to a morning schedule next term. At first glance the courses for the term look pretty quant heavy, the general perception is that IIT guys would find it pretty easy while the rest would have to work a bit harder.

The seating arrangement also changed, I was in the last row earlier (well there are just four rows in the class, but still last is last J) this term I am in the second row, in close vicinity of the prof. which means I cannot sleep during the lactures …

I mentioned earlier about the accounting research projects for CAs , although less then half the CAs in our batch opted for it , still it was a fabulous learning experience for all of us. There were in all six groups and presentations ranged from corporate governance to carbon trading, HR accounting et all… My group studied the accounting issues around Intangible Assets with special reference to the pharma industry. We studied major research oriented companies around the world and also developed a case study around an Indian Biotech startup. The professors appeared pretty pleased with the effort of all the groups. The module was a resounding success for all of us and I would strongly recommend it to the CAs in the coming batches since being in the regular course can be a safe strategy but it comes with a heavy cost of no incremental learning.

Most of Term-1 was spent getting used to the new surroundings, new schedules and trying to stay awake for the full length of the classes… The accounting project actually took more time then the regular course would have, in all this my personal reading took a backseat . Utilized the term break to catch up on this front, have just finished reading “One Up on wall Street” by Peter Lynch, a nice book on applying common sense to investing. Peter Lynch has summerises his experiences, successes and failures beautifully to evolve lessons on investing for the uninitiated.

Just picked up “Who says elephants cant dance?” By Louis Garstner, this book is around the turnaround of IBM just over ten years back. From the little that I have read so far the book is captivating to say the least… expect more on this soon.

Our section celebrated the first day of the new term as the RED & BLUE Day … a photograph taken that day …..

Term-1 .......

Term -1 is officially over and I am now 12.5% an MBA …... the last two days after the exams have been the most relaxed period for me so far, went to watch Fanaa on Wednesday (and walia couldnt stop applying the newly acquired concepts in marketing through out the movie, product placement, sublimal advertising et all.. ), spent a few hrs on the squash court each day and played at the inter section cricket tournament …. And the biggest luxury of them all got to sleep for more then 10 hrs sleep each day.

However some learning’s from term-1 :

1. Time is the most precious commodity at ISB… there is so much to do and so many avenues and forums that one has to carefully choose what all he wants to be involved into. Perhaps everyone of the 418 students have has a creditable past but what might differentiate us at the end of the year would be the way we managed to 24 hrs in each day.

2. Procrastination is a crime ….. simply because there is no room for procrastination , when each day has so much lined up one has no other option but complete the days work then and there.


3. Welcome to the world of continuous learning ….. Each term at ISB is just six weeks with exams almost every two and a half weeks (mid terms and then the final term exam)… gone are the old days when one could afford to sleep in the class and catch up later, or when one could get down to serious work a few months before exams and still manage decent scores… at ISB there is just no time for all that, with the last class taking place three days before the exam and the last assignment due just a day before the exams begin there is no option to let your study plan derail.

All in all its all about maintaining discipline and focus…