Interview by Vidur Pandit[/i]
[/i]
1. Tell us something about yourself?
Well, I am 30 yrs old, and have lived my life all over India. I have lived the longest (11 years) in Bangalore so I can call myself a Bangalorean. After working for 7.5 years I decided to do my MBA from IMT Ghaziabad and am planning to major in HR and Marketing. I love innovation and have formed a group at college which works on innovative ideas. My ideal company to work for is Dell and I would love to go back there someday. I love watching TED and RSA videos and my favorite pastime is researching on Google and that’s why some of my friends call me Google Baba!!
[/i]
2. What is management according to you? [/i]
Management for me is the art of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and using them to get people to work towards a common goal. It is both a combination of technical and interpersonal skills, the latter being the driving force towards a successful management career[/i]
3. [/b]What is your philosophy towards work? [/i][/b]
My funda is to be true to your work. I believe in a combination of hard as well as smart work. I believe that if you develop your competencies and build on your strengths, nothing would stop you from being successful. Change is inevitable and the sooner we prepare ourselves for it at work the more successful we will be[/i]
4. Describe the change in the management situation you have experienced till date?
I recollect studying in my Organization Behavior class about theory X and theory Y. Theory X believes in supervising employees with strict control and Theory Y believes that employees are self motivated and exercise self control. From when I started working in 2002, I can see a gradual shift in how managers handle their teams. Employees seem to be given more independence now with the assumption that they are responsible towards their work. Managers are more people focused now as compared to just being task focused some time ago. There is more emphasis now on developing people’s skills than it was earlier. That is why probably there is an increased focus on Strategic HR in today’s world
[/i]
5. [/i][/b]What motivates you to do your best on the job? [/i]
I am intrinsically motivated to do the best I can at whatever I do. At work I do what I love and I want to be the best at it. My ultimate motivation is a job well done. I don’t need any appreciation from others as for me I am my own critic and until I am satisfied with my work I don’t move forward
[/i][/i]
6. [/b]Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job? [/i][/b]
This was during my last job where I was working as an Assistant Manager. We were away on our offsite to Goa and our VP had given us two books to read, one of which was “Our Iceberg is Melting.” I was so impressed with this book and its message that I decided to make it a theme for our R&R ceremony at work. So we made penguin cutouts from thermocol, small ones and big ones. The stage was designed like an iceberg with little penguins walking everywhere, all over the stage and the hall. We made small little penguins, put access cards around their necks and hung them to the roof. The PowerPoint was also made out of a penguin theme I prepared based on the book. The whole process was full of energy and we got to have a lot of fun making the cut outs. The guys at work loved the decoration and it helped us drive the message of the book that “Change is everywhere and we need to accept it with open minds”[/i][/b]
7. “Earning in 6 digits” is the motive behind doing MBA? Is it justifiable?
All though I personally don’t agree with this statement, unfortunately, in the current age it is justifiable. The underlying expectations created by the institutions and the industry are that pursuing an MBA is the gateway to a 6 digit salary. We hear about IIM grads getting a crore plus during their placements. Which institution talks about anything else except salary packages and 100% placements? Look at how many engineers leave their field and do and MBA. An MBA has unfortunately been portrayed as a shortcut to instant success and fat paychecks
[/i]
8. Do you think the MBA course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
First of all, I am not sure what the industry expects of an MBA grad. As far as the curriculum is concerned, I am of firm belief that our curriculum is not designed to make us good managers but make us adept at answering interview questions. As mentioned in my article, I feel that using books as part of our curriculum limits our knowledge of the field. In this dynamic environment, things change at an ever growing speed. Books are static pieces of information and don’t have the dynamics of the World Wide Web. I think the internet is a great source of learning and should be utilized more than we use our outdated books. I probably learnt more about the human psychology while watching TED videos than I would have reading books on psychology. Our programs need to be more focused on practical applications and not just theory. What we need is a student population which is not just educated to do what the books say but to do develop their own intellectual capacities. We desperately need people who can generate original ideas and innovate, something that we as a nation seriously lack, and that’s only going to happen if we encourage our students to think beyond the box[/i]
9. [/i]What suggestions would you like to give to enhance MBA today? [/i]
Here are my suggestions:
Mix of academicians as well as industry experts as faculty members
Increased usage of the internet to facilitate learning, using open source learning tools
Relook at the evaluation procedure to make it more practical
Encourage people to make mistakes
Do not make attendance mandatory, [/i]instead stimulate a student’s interest to make him attend classes
Dont tell students what they need to do, ask them what they should be doing
[/i][/i]
10. [/i]Is the Name of the Institute from where a student does his/her MBA important while entering into the corporate world? [/i]
It seems to be very important nowadays. I think the whole race for a higher CAT percentile is an indication towards the same. Everybody wants to be part of the top 10 B school band wagon as they would carry that brand for the rest of their lives. I don’t think that our MBA colleges are that different in terms of the kind of course structure or books or learning methodology provided. What separates them is how they fare in the rankings. Somehow the rankings seem to project how good a B school is and ultimately how good an output it produces
[/i][/i]
11. What message would you like to give to the students aspiring to work at management level?
It is very important to get the basics right. Management, especially people management is not as easy as we think it is. One should decide to enter this line after a lot of thought. People are very challenging to handle and no amount of education can help us become masters at it. It is only through experience that one leans these things. Management education is not the shortcut to a successful career and great pay packages. Please work hard and concentrate on developing your competencies during your stay at a B-School. Your competencies will be your most valuable asset going forward
[/i]
12. [/b]What are your views on the Entrance Exams for Professionals courses? [/b]
Too many of them forcing students and parents to waste valuable time and money. There needs to be a common entrance exam to management schools the same way it works for all engineering colleges. I think there is too much pressure on our students to prepare and appear for multiple entrance exams[/i]
13. What do Corporate’s expect from MBA professionals?
As mentioned before, I really don’t know an answer to this question. Probably during a placement interview, they look for the right answers. If our industry really knew what it wanted from our MBA’s, our MBA program would have been designed better[/i]
14. What piece of advice would you give to a student aspiring for an MBA?
I know getting into a good B-School is necessary nowadays. But as students who want an enriching learning experience and equip ourselves to become future managers, we need to balance brand with good academics. Get into those colleges that foster creativity, encourage ideas and develop talent. Don’t just go by placement records. A placement is a onetime affair but the skills you acquire in a B-School are for life. And it is these skills that you will use to grow up the ladder, not just the brand or your 6 figure placement package. Remember, there is no substitute for knowledge. Look for a school that doesn’t just make you an educated person but a knowledgeable one too.
[/i]
15. [/b]"Managementparadise.com has been helping management students from the past 6 years. So according to you, how is MP and what you like in MP? Any suggestions for us? [/b]
I think MP is doing a great job at spreading awareness about management education in India along with other interesting topics. It is a great site to get a holistic view on what’s happening in and around us and increase our overall knowledge about current affairs. It is also a great platform for people to share their views, connect with each other and receive honest opinion on various topics. Social media has revolutionized our communication process overall the last decade or so and I think MP will contribute a lot towards this change. MP is one of my favorites and my only suggestion to them is that they need to spread the word about their services so that more and more people can learn from and contribute towards the MP society[/i]
[/b]
Thank you so much for giving us your valuable time.