Its been a long time...

It has been really long since I have posted anything here. Going by some of the comments, I have been missed by some. Thanks for that.

There has been a lot that has happened in my life over the last four months but although it is important for me, (the new job, moving to Mumbai, earning again) there is not much masala there. I work with a Dotcom firm now that is known for the interesting comments on its message boards. I have seen some of them on my blog too, and that is something that I am not happy about.

It is a free world, we all have opinions. What is important is how we express them. I was a 20-21 year old not so long ago in my life, and have seen some of them on MTV Roadies. I always believed that the Roadies culture was a one off thing. I have never seen such obscenities mouthed in real life and I certainly do not endorse them.

One must understand that certain things is this world are contextual. An American will not understand Gajodhar Bhaiya jokes. Someone who has lived in condos all his life would not be able to see the challenges people living in a house made of thatched roofs face during the monsoon. There is a wide spectrum of experiences that people have, and nobody can feel all of them.

We all must learn to respect when we do not agree or understand.

A comment by a gentleman/lady by the name of Readoholic and its reply by anonymous is what I am talking about.

To Readoholic: You do not have the judgment of what to read and what not, then it is not my fault. I am sure you would not dare to say such things when you meet people face to face, else you might have your face rearranged. But Internet gives people like you a place to hide. Good for you, bad for us!
To Anonymous: Thanks for defending me. One's dignity must always be maintained! My father taught me not to bite a dog when he bites you, and I think you can use the same advice.

May be, we all need to learn a bit of netiquettes.

Help needed!

Hi,
I am doing a project on "Ethics in International Business" and I can use your help.
Irrespective of the country you are reading this in, please spare 2 minutes of your time to take this survey.
http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=c17b5f08-31cc-460d-9cc6-c3cd7be9a71f
Please spread it among your friends as I can use as many responses as I get. The more geographies I cover, the better.
Thanks in advance.

Desperation and Inspiration

I have completed a year in a B-School. But the learning has just begun.
In case you want to join a top B-School in the country and are reading this for all the good things that happen to you in a B-School, sorry, I will disappoint you.
The first year went by and I felt that I have not learnt much. I came with an idea that I will come across open minds, people sharing their experiences and willing to learn as they argue. I have now realized that when your own mind is preoccupied, you cannot learn new things. I know I am restating the age old wisdom, but you only realize that it is wisdom and not a fancy quote when it happens to you.
We all joined with high hopes and dreams of making millions. Then the sub prime happened. And now the markets are bleeding. Just today a friend of mine was not offered a job because he did his internship on Credit desk and nobody wants to utter that word in the market today, leave aside dealing in it. The future is not as rosy as we thought it would be. The India growth story seems history. From the dreams of the best job we are slowly preparing ourselves to the reality of any job, as long as it is some job! Add to that the expectations people have when they know where you are studying. The media doesn't help it either! I never thought that the news could be so far away from truth before I came here.
The times are turbulent. I have this opportunity to start something of my own. But I lack the courage and the conviction to do it. All these years of schooling has indeed done one thing, killed my risk appetite. In case you want to read what B-Schools should be doing and what they do, this is an excellent article. THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR
Just as I was getting into one of those spirals of disillusionment and disappointment, I came across this gentleman's lecture. I have heard inspirational talks before, but this is just not any other talk. In case you have the time, please watch this 76 minute long video on youtube. I am sure you will find something worthwhile, just I like I have found inspiration.
Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture
Now that the fear of future has subdued, the reality is here and it is not very pleasant one to look at. I have my exams from Monday and just like the last year, I know NOTHING!! Got to study Indian Legal System for the exam! Who wants to read that subject, I mean, if I am the manager, I would hire a lawyer if I need one! Somebody should teach Specialization of Labour to my Institute's directors!
But a man must do what he has to do before he can do what he wants to do!
I am off to study, but I want to thank Mr Pausch again! Thank you sir. Thanks a ton.

The best morning in quite some time!

Today was one of the few days when I am glad I studying in this college!
I was busy chatting last night and by the time I realized that I need to sleep to attend the morning 8 o'clock class, it was already 4.30 a.m! I chose to watch a movie, "Khuda Ke Liye" which is a pretty decent flick!
Had the breakfast, served hot. Puris and Aaloo! These are the times I like the mess food!
Then I went to attend the lecture for Management, Culture and Creativity! That is the name of the course that I have taken. There was a performance by Dr Rajeeb. The gentleman is not only a famous Sarod player but also holds a PhD with his thesis on "Use of Computing to teach North Indian Classical Music"!
It was such a pleasure listening to him in the pin drop silence, sitting in the MCHV center! Then to hear his views on creativity and risks in making a career in music industry was equally amazing!
Then I came back and slept for 8 hours! :-)
Before I end, my heartfelt thanks to the Anonymous who gave me a lead for my project! Thank you very much!
I am doing my project on "Child labour in the Apparel Industry- Case Study: Nike".
Thanks!

Project blues!

I never thought that deciding on the topic of the project would be the most difficult thing in my Post Graduation! It is not just any project, it has to be a report on some issue that should have something to do with Business, International and yes, ETHICS!
I have thought long and hard, and the ideas that I have, well, I will surely get an 'F" if I do something on them.
Nopes, you just cannot research on the Web and put something together. You have to interview the person concerned with that line of Business. So if I have to do something with auctioning of players in the Indian Premier League, I would have to interview Mr Mallya or Mr Sharukh Khan! Wonderful!
Somebody please tell my Prof that if I had the access to either of them, I would be making more money than what I would make when I pass out of this place!
I wanted to do a study of sustainability of ethical business in beverages industry. I thought that I can use Starbucks as a case and build on that. I was told that I would have to interview the CEO of Starbucks! Thank you sir, for making my job simple!
Now I am stuck! I have ideas coming to me thick and fast but at the mere thought of getting in touch of some international business head to interview him/her, they disappear faster than a drop of water in a microwave oven!
This is my SOS call to all of you! If you know someone who is somebody in some international firm, be it related to marketing, advertising, accounting, sales and distribution, please let me know! All I would do is a 15 minutes interview on some contemporary issue regarding ethics in that domain.

The retail model of MBA placements!

I have a theory!

Seriously, for a change I have a theory and not an opinion! And I might want to get it published in some International Journal with a fancy name, one which no one reads but always recommends!

How do the 'Sale' in retails work? You have this over production or under demand of a particular good. Or, you have some oddments, you see, the red may be a shade darker or lighter, the size may be a bit off. Whatever may be the reason, you have product which is either not in vogue or not in demand.

What do you then? Simple, discount! Slash the prices, club some useless offers, gloss things up and some one who wants labels and cannot afford them normally, will buy that! The poor shirt went for 50% off for no fault of it at all! It just happened to be different! And different is not in fashion any more! The 70's are over my dear!

Now think of the B-Schools! You have people classified based on their graduate education, CG, summers etc. And then you are compartmentalized. You are slot 0 box material, you will be sold at a premium. Then slot 1 will be at 30% discount, slot 2 at 50% discount! The big players come, bid and 'buy'. There are firms who cannot pay top of the bracket salaries and are slotted in the slot 2 category, pick the left overs and take pride in the fact that they recruit from the top B Schools! Aren't the ones slotted in the slot 2 oddments?

And then just as in the case of the shirt, there are so many parameters out of your control! The place you were born at, which school you went to, whether your family could afford a IIT coaching or not.

But then, no body has the time to read between the lines! So, the easiest way is to look in the boxes and pick your favorites.

The Big MBA sale is on. Hurry, offer only till stock lasts!