The worth of an MBA - or the lack of it

MBA is a strong Brand in itself. Thanks to the all time high packages IIMs and some other B Schools attract and also to the inflated claims of the rest, MBA has acquired a reputation of being a sure shot way to luxury. It is a known fact that in our country there are some very good institutions and the rest are average. While the former group has really been instrumental in building the brand, it is the latter which has tried to piggyback on the former's efforts. And so the number of institutes from all fields have risen exponentially. The bad has moved to the average and the average to good. But this movement is only in terms of reputation and that too only for the general public. I am not sure whether the corporates think in the same way. Why I am dwelling on this issue is because, i am fed up of listening to the oft repeated statements from my family,friends and acquaintances that a great job awaits me. I am not sure whether all of them genuinely believe in their statements but still its like someone giving you an electric shock. Just to clarify, I personally do not have problems with my current state since i didn't have a better option. I am optimistic about a good return.
During the last 6 months or so, I have watched and experienced a lot of "MBA culture", seen & heard about more than 20 "one of the top 10 B schools in the country". The picture is really bad. People work hard to clear CAT, leave there jobs of 2-3 yrs, spend in excess of 10 lacs, a loan - all with the hope of a big fat paycheck. They start with a dream which starts to fade very soon with the summers and then with the final placements of the previous batch. Whatever remains is wiped out the next year with his/her placements. Its not that all end up in bad places. Very few get a great return, most will get decent returns. But this decent thing is no way near the good or great thing they expected. So,for people who had chosen this particular institute over other will repent not choosing otherwise. The same happens for the other person as they say "The grass is always greener on the other side".
What I mean is that one should clearly evaluate the options. Things change and so has the value attached to a degree. Mostly I have seen people to go for education to escape from a bad job. But they end up in a better paying bad job. With the ever high fees being demanded by institutes and the government in no mood to put checks on this, it is really unfortunate to suggest calculating ROI for investing in education. But its a harsh reality. And so my advise to anyone who wants to pursue higher education is to think hard for the reasons. But do remember that these words come from a highly indecisive, confused person :)

If only....

Its been a year since I appeared for CAT 2008. I vividly remember, how I had gone into the examination hall free from any pressure or nervousness. It had nothing to do with my preparation level or confidence. It was just that at that time I had some other plans and they seemed to be very much on track to frution. Later though, as many people know, CAT was the one that worked for me. Many people like me who somehow could make it through had joined some B-School or the other in pursuit of a better career ahead. I am not going to evaluate the decision but my purpose here is to deal with another question. What would have life been like, if things would have taken a different turn that day and for the following days.
I am pretty sure that everyone( or maybe most) goes through the mental process of visualising how different things would have been, had they not taken a particular decision or acted in a different manner. Its really strange when we get a lot more ideas about the situation at that time, than what we thought of then. I guess, that is the main difference in Real Time decision making and introspection. "If Only" - that is the thought which has crossed my minds numerous times. If only had I behaved differently, had I said "Hi" or had I said "sorry", had I taken this decision or had taken the inititaive, had I been more sincere or worked harder, had I said this instead, had I been there or had i done this or that...and what not. The list goes on. But finally I have developed a belief that this particular dilemma is what characterises life. If we would have acted differently, we would have still thought about still another option. Even if we had an ideal, fully predictable life, then how dull would it be. I mean, this uncertainity is what makes life so exciting. I guess this is why we are how we are.
It does not mean that we do not look back and try to analyse things. Because by doing that, can we discover our mistakes and then try and improve. That is what experience is!!!! It is really tough to just forget the past and don't feel sorry for your mistakes or misfortunes. And maybe that is not possible. But, we must take a call on whether to keep looking back or move forward. As for me, I have realized that you can never predict life. So utilize all the options you have today. Atleast that is what I have been through...Who knows what works tomorrow!!!!!

Finally!!!!!!!!

Finally its here!!!! My laptop was delivered to me today, just over 3 weeks after I ordered it. That also makes the time between the crash of my last system and the arrival of new one a full month. I had to complete projects and presentations in the last 2 weeks or so and that was the time i needed the laptop the most. Just before that, did my laptop of 4 years desert me. Usually a Dell laptop takes 7-10 days for delivery, but in my case it took much more than that. I could easily see Murphy's law coming into play. The wait was really painful. It seemed to me that the system was coming from their head office and hence the delay. It was strange though since Dell is a case study often referred to in B-Schools for their effective supply chain. Had my friends not shown mercy on me and allowed me to use their systems, I would have suffered from depression. Thanks my friends.
Other than that, we are having our end term exams. I don't know whether technically 2.5 months qualify for being called a term though. But one thing has changed in me. Now I enjoy exams. Like the new Surf Excel advertisement which says

Daag achche hote hain

, I say

Exams achche hote hain

. Its not that suddenly I have become very studious. Its just that the course load is not much. And since its exams, we don't have classes or those extracullicular crap. SO one can enjoy full(more than that, actually :)) sleep, both in the day as well as night. Add to it the luxury of Open Book Exams :):) .
Have my last exam tomorrow, so I'll just slip of to studies now...Bye n tc

A mechanical Life

I hope everyone has at some point seen a machine running. It just keeps on repeating the process, the flow is maintained throughout. It just keeps the pace until there is some bottleneck. Don't get me wrong..My intention is not to explain any technical term. Why i mention it is bcoz these days I find my life a lot like that..It has all become so mechanical..Get up in the morning, run to College,attend lectures, return back, read newspapers,articles,books and stuff, projects and all extra curricular crap..then go to bed...And after all this, do not get to sleep well. My sleep has always been a very important thing in my life. I have come this far in my life without compromising on my sleep. But now, it just can't happen. The situation is so grave that I couldn't sleep during the last weekend also :(...Sometimes, I pity myself - and regret the moment I decided for an MBA... There are so many things we ignore in our lives...But someone told me that we find time for things we really want to do...
So, enough is enough. TOday, I have decided to stop all work and sit with friends, chat with them and just have a break... No work today...Just like the good old days...ANd then I am gonna sleep ...without any alarm clock to bug me in the morning....It just reminds me of the rains..It has been raining here for the last few days(Thank God..)...There used to be days where I would just step out in the rains and enjoy it..But it hasn't happened this time. I just watch the rains from my window and miss them...But things are gonna change from this day..It has started raining and I need to go back to life...Wish you happy rains and ENJOYY!!!

Of bad and unexpected events

Its confirmed now.... My laptop has reached a stage where it cannot be repaired :(...
As far as I know it had a bypass surgery but then its kidneys gave up...The doctor tried to keep it on life support but eventually they gave up....Thus, what my friends used to call a vintage piece does not exist now!!! A few of my friends had been regularly inquiring about its health and so I thought i would put that here... Its literally the end of an era.. It was really very old and such that its spares are not available now...And technically the main force behind me liking it was its OS --WinXP.. We are living in the times of Vista---a totally cumbersome,irritating and useless OS....But now I am left with no other option but to go for it...Though I hope to move to Windows 7 which is due in next 2 months.....
Moving to other things the past one week have been very dramatic. A lot of unexpected things happened to and around me...Add to it the constant demands of college life....I don't know whether we are being taught anything or being trained to be busy....Just today one of the faculty has asked us to submit the project on Thursday...That is 2 days from now...That too when it is quiz season here and couple of extracurricular events which I intend to participate into...
I think a lot of incoherent thoughts have been written...So I won't waste any more of your time (if you haven't closed this page till now) and turn to my project!!!!

System crash!!!!

Last Thursday my laptop just refused to start. I had shut it down while going to college and when i returned it just lay there...without any signs of life....I have always had an affinity to the computer starting with my PC in school to college to the laptop. It has been like a friend for me and i have rather spent a lot of time on it....exploring it.....infact bugging it in the process. I am in a different world when i am with it.... For years i had been an unauthorised service agent for my friends systems....It has been a wonderful association....
So the relationship is deep. And so it pains me that such a thing has happened. I tried to diagnose the problem but to no avail..I also went to the so called specialists but still they have not been able to decode it....And this has caused sleepless nights for me....Suddenly, something is missing from my life....Today they kind of got a breakthrough when they could find the root cause of the problem...But the treatment has still not been administered....Maybe tomorrow they'll operate on it and i can get back my lappy -- all hale and hearty-- in a couple of days....Just can't wait to get in back....
As I sit here in the computer lab of my institute and share the pain and distress, I just hope to get it back....Some have advised to move to a newer version....But i believe that my system still has life left in it.. and so the transition is not possible... My friends will vouch for the fact that how caring and concerned i am about this machine...Its been a tough weekend and is still going on....Please pray that in the end it gets through...Because they say "Alls well that ends well"!!!!

The art of Negotiation

The other day I saw the movie "Thank You For Smoking". My friends had showered considerable praise on the movie and i had been trying to sneak some time for it. And indeed it was a great movie. The protagonist in this case happened to be a lobbyist whose job was to defend/promote the firm he was representing. Whats the big deal in this.....This is pretty challenging when you represent the tobacco industry. To defend cigarettes when its ill effects are widely known. And guess what!! he succeeds and in a very convincing way. The idea portrayed is that you should have reason for what you do, you should analyse each argument rationally and then decide what to do...Its like thinking in all directions.
The key was his confidence and reasoning skills, the negotiation and convincing power. The sheer panache he displayed in not only promoting his firm but also thrashing the opposition was awesome. And that makes one wonder how to reach such levels? I would very well want to be learn the art. It really is an art...It is more important for a person like me, the so called "Budding Managers". You can literally sell any point if you have that skill. It would help you in managing conflicting segments of your job. I would not try to delve into the moral implications of this since it really is manipulation but yes if you look at it objectively,then it is a great asset to have in the dynamic business environment we work in. What I need now is to look for a teacher who can teach me this art. And yes I would recommend that you go and see the movie, especially all the managerial aspirants.....