A Teacher Can Inspire

 Before reading further, please visit the link!

http://www.ndtv.com/news/offbeat/kalams_driver_now_a_lecturer.php

The postmodern career landscape and the intentions of academic entrepreneurs has probably created enough doubts regarding the statement. More than anything the doubts are whether we should even bother about such seemingly grandiose statements when you have “real” issues in life to bother about.

It is not about a driver getting a PhD and becoming a lecturer that is important. Being able to do this or constantly trying to something like this, is, in my humble opinion a moral responsibility of anyone earning her meal as a “teacher”.

I am sure most of the “realists” and “mature” teachers might consider this an idealistic rant and I take it as a compliment! 

How do you decide upon a research topic for your summer training?

Summer Training & Research

The answer would really depend on few of the following considerations:

·         Is it a summer training “program”, summer training “project” or simply. . . . . “Summer Training”? If it is a program then there will be components other than the one project you may be allotted by your organization and it depends on the current research orientation of your B school weather a research project will be a component or not. Some B schools have a focus on research either as a matter of policy or by default as they may have a concentration of research oriented faculty.

If it is a summer training project, the project may be a research based, task based or a hybrid. It is a popular misconception that projects awarded by the industry are usually task based and the ones decided by the faculty are research based. While the latter may hold some merit but it has been observed that even the industry does allocate extensive research projects too.

If you are unlucky enough to be a student at one of those “me too business schools” which seem to be mushrooming all over the place, then you may end up as “free labour for the local businesses” in the name of summer training. In this case no one will really bother about what you may learn, the focus will be on how much volume you and the other “trainees” drive in the 6-8 weeks time.

 

Social research tools can be used to generate results that are actually “actionable’ by the industry and allows the student to bridge the gap between “theory” she has studied (hopefully!!) in the sterile environs of the class and its manifestation on the ground in the industry.

 

If You are Supposed to Then How Do You Decide on a Research Project?

 

The Idea!

So doing a research project as a part of your summer training is compulsory!! And the faculty in charge has asked to decide upon few “Topics” or “Titles”. How do we proceed????

Assuming that you are actually doing your training, you will have to ask yourself the following questions:

1.    Is there something the company is trying to do but don’t have too much of an idea of it?

2.    Is there any problem cropping up regularly?

3.    Are the customers of this product seeking something else?

4.    Are the customers satisfied with the services provided by this company?

5.    What are the competitors of this company doing?

6.    Do they need any information about anything in the market?

7.    Can I see the marketing HR or Finanace I have studied in action?

This list can go on and on. . . . . . but I am sure by now you will have an idea of what kind of questions I am trying to tell you to ask yourself. . . . . .

 

In my language, as a summer trainee at an organization, you should map the value chain and look for managerial issues that might need resolution or can de with more clarification. As a student you should be able to see concepts that were till today merely part of the syllabus come alive in front of you. The moment you are able to visualize the whole “process”, ideas for research will start popping up in your head!

 

But is it Feasible?

I use the following criteria as a very rough tool to asses the feasibility of the research idea.

1.    How much time do we have? Can this project be done in time?

2.    How much and what kind of data will we need? Will we be able to get the data easily and in time?

3.    What kind of technical know how is needed to pull this off? Does the students and the faculty concerned have such knowledge or not?

 

It is quite simple: “Don’t Bite off More than You Can Chew”. Studying “strategy” may not be feasible for a very simple reason that the information needed will need access to the top management of organizations who unfortunately are very busy people and we may not be able to meet them. It is difficult to study the “effect or impact of advertisements” as students and faculty may not have exposure to tools needed to measure impact of an ad! A longitudinal study can be done on any subject but not within the 6-8 week limit imposed on summer trainings!

 

OK It’s Feasible! Now how do you Make a “Title” out of it?

Right! Now you have an idea and it can be done in time! Great! The first step in writing a title would be to remember that it should be focused enough to clearly spell out what is the study about and at the same time it should be as short and crisp as possible. . . . . . . . . I know, I know, you already know that. My approach is to write a title to the best of my efforts and then rewrite it again and again till I have hit upon one which “seems perfect”. For example:

I am really curious about why many of my students opted for an MBA. . . . . . . . Then naturally I am curious how they decided where to their MBA from. . . . . . .  Now, if I were to make a research title out of this curiosity, My first step would be:

1.    Look for studies on the same or related topics. I would suggest use of Google Scholar for the purpose.

Once I have studied a few articles from magazines, sites and journals, I will have an idea as to what kind of titles to they have and what are the various issues studied. . . . . My next step would be:

2.    Talk to a couple of students and have a talk with them as to how they decided on an MBA and the college. This can be called a very rough “pilot study”

Now I will have a great deal of idea as to the issues involved, the research that has been done on the subject and the way students seem to decide in India.

 

Now you write the title:

·         A study of why students do MBA and how they choose the college to do it from.

OK. . . . . . something seems off, doesn’t it???? Let’s write it down once again, but this time we will try to add more technical terms and less “layman” language!!

·         A Study of Consumer Decision Making While Selecting MBA and the School to do it from.

Oooohh!! Too heavy but the end is still “layman” and for some reason it is not clicking. Calling the student a consumer does not seem like a very good idea and decision making is too broad and vague a variable to be studied . . . . . . lets try once again!

·         The Choice of MBA and the School to do it From: A study of student decision making.

You know hat, the problem seems to be that we are trying to “study’ too many variables in one go. What if we study only “How students decide upon a college” after they have already chosen MBA.

·         School Choice Behaviour of Prospective MBA Students: A Study of Factors Considered and the Moderating Influences.

Wow!! I think this is it!! We have our title!! The title very clearly indicates that the research is about how prospective students decide upon where they do their MBA from, the factors they considered and the factors that “moderate” the end decision of the student!!

 

Why Did The Fiscal Deficit Rise?

A scan of reactions to the budget on the net reveals a picture of what can be best described as a “cautiously optimistic yet defensive” budget. With the global markets experiencing such turmoil, maybe the  Finance minister would have been forced to defend his turf first and ensure that we maintain a GDP growth rate of at least 7% and inch closer to the targeted 9%. The increased government spending and increased stress due to sops like loan waivers the fiscal deficit figure has inflated to 6.8%.

There are enough articles on the net that would tell you that this figure of 6.8% is probably the highest in the world and is almost dangerous and we will cut ratings etc.

Then one might question that why did the government need to increase spending and how is government spending related to GDP and GDP growth rate?

A very brief session with the Boss yesterday gave me an idea that as I was unclear so might many of you be. So here is the explanation.

 

GDP can be explained in the following three ways. All three essentially amount to the same meaning in the end!!

1.       GDP is equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country in a stipulated period of time, usually one calendar or financial year.

2.       GDP is equal to the sum of the value added at every stage of production by all the industries within a country, plus taxes less subsidies on products, in a year.

3.       GDP is equal to the sum of the income generated by production in the country in the period—that is, compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, and gross operating surplus (or profits).

If you consider any of the three or all of them, you will appreciate the GDP figure for a country would indicate the economic health and vibrancy of the economy of that country. That would also mean that the GDP growth rate is an equally wonderful indicator of a countries “progress” on the economy front. The GDP growth rate would thus indicate the rate at which “wealth generation” is increasing in a country.

Let us consider the formula for GDP

GDP = C + I + G + (X – M)

Where                    C = Consumption (that would indirectly mean demand, will it not?)

                                I = Gross investment

                                G = Government spending

                                X = Exports

                                M = Imports

In this equation it is amply clear that the variables I, G, X and M are dependent on the overall demand in the market. In an increasingly free economy and in a world where economies are interlinked, depression of demand in one part of the world will definitely lead to a slowdown elsewhere. Have we not seen this happen recently?

So in the equation the only variable we can control is “G” or government spending. As the GDP growth rate of India is decreasing on account of the global meltdown, your government was left with no choice but to increase the “G” hoping that the GDP growth rate fall would be slowed, then arrested and ultimately return to a growth scenario.

But increased “G” means increased fiscal deficit as revenue are not increasing proportionally. So we can conclude that even though the jump from a figure of less than 3% to a figure of 6.8% is worrisome but was inevitable as the government has to spend more to weather the current storm.

 

Food for Thought: In case you get time, do visit the following link and you will see that we are 17^th on a list of GDP growth rate of countries. Leave China, look at the other 15 with GDP growth rate better than India and try to find why countries like them have a GDP growth rate even up to 15% where we are struggling to meet 7%!! 

How I Used to Prepare for GDs

A million years ago when I was where you guys are, I too was faced with the challenge of preparing myself for GDs and interviews. Getting “placed” through the campus placement was doubly important due to the prestige attached to being “campus placed” and an absolute dearth of opportunities available in the market at that time. Imagine only five companies visited us for recruitment the year we passed out.

Preparing for GDs

As GDs demanded an insight into most current social and business issues, my habit of reading newspapers and magazines regularly helped a lot. Many of my friends and classmates tell me that I used to find GDs simple to crack due to my ability to speak (By the way, I have won the largest number of individual awards in debate in the history of my university J Boasting!!! Heh! Heh! Heh!!). I however have another opinion. Many of my classmates were great speakers even if they were not debaters. I attribute my success at GDs (and believe me, I used to succeed) to “having a lot to speak on any subject” and my “ability to listen” (I consider listening an ability).

So my suggestion to you guys would be to make a list of the important international, national, regional and business issues and read up on them. Make it a point to maintain a small file on “issues’ for quick reference before a GD or Interview.

My Biggest Make

Somewhere someone had planted a stupid idea in our head that a GD is supposed be a fish market and whoever can yell and rant for longer will be selected. Believe me, if you think so too, you could not be more wrong. A GD is a group discussion, not a group argument!! In my very brief corporate experience, I have had the opportunity to attend a fair number of meetings at all levels and believe me; it is always very civilized and decent. Quite removed from what we used to think is an ideal GD.

If the GD happens to be a case, it will demand you having a firm grasp on fundamentals in your subjects as well. I will not write about that as I feel that if you are appearing for a placement process, you will be nearing completion of MBA and you will have your fundas clear. If not, then believe me, you will not survive out there even if you do get selected anywhere by mistake.

My Advice

Read, Read, Read and then Read more. ET, Financial Express, Mint, Businessworld, Business India, Visit the the site for “The Economist”, the site for “McKinsey Quarterly”, Frontline, India Today, HBR, if you aim big!!

 

In my next piece I will share my story on mow we handled interviews. Till then, READ.

Sensex, Rains and a Little Boy

The Sensex has begun showing signs of recovery but a news item warns of a relapse due to “weakening of the monsoon”. A discussion in one of the sections revealed a fairly decent insight into how the summer monsoon affects both the farming community as well as the business community in India. Yet few issues needing further clarification did rise.

 

Q1. Is the Agriculture Sector Still That Important?

The question was based on the fact that the last time a failed monsoon brought the economy to its knees was in the early 50s. At that time the contribution of agriculture to the GDP was about 60% which fell to 30% in mid 90s and is hovering around the 20% mark. Yet the success of agriculture in India remains important as 70% of the population is still directly and indirectly dependent on it.

Consider this; In 2002 the rains failed and the agricultural output fell by around 8% and the GDP growth rate dropped from 5.8% to 4%. It is very simple; failed rains = failed crops = lower than expected income for 70% population = reduction in disposable income and therefore reduction in demand for almost all kinds of products and services. Of course some products are hit more than the others. For example, two wheelers and to an extent the four wheeler market will be hit hard.

It is only common sense that if demand drops at the grassroots level, the domino effect will cause slowdown across the board.

 

Q2. But How Does Rain or a Lack of it Affect the Sensex?

The previous answer would have made it amply clear that how monsoons behave has a definite effect on the demand patterns in India. It is only a fair assumption that a lower demand all over the country would eventually lead to an overall economic slowdown and since the sensex is barometer of the national economic activity it should reflect the downturn.

More than anything, the market is predominantly “sentiment” based. An overall slowdown means an overall slump in sentiment and this slump will be reflected on the bourses. So less rain = less demand = lower performance = lower expectations from the market = overall slowdown.

Remember the indices are bound to react to announcements especially the quarterly figures. So consider what can be the effect on few companies whose stocks are a part of the sensex:

·         ACC: lower rain, failed crops, lesser income, and postponement of new projects there fore a dip in demand for cement. Similarly Reliance Infra, TATA Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Jaiprakash Associates and Hindalco will be negatively affected.

·         TATA Motors: Similar to the ACC example, lesser disposable income means lesser demand for the consumer products like Indica and Indigo. Lowered economic activity and tighter purses mean lesser demand for commercial vehicles too. Similarly Mahindra and Mahindra and Maruti Udyog Ltd will be affected negatively.

 

In these two cases we have covered about one third of the sensex. So is it not obvious that if the majority of the companies in the sensex experience a downfall, the sensex may go down?

 

Q3. Ok Agriculture is Important. But Why are Rains Still Important?

Israel has been able to grow fruits in the Negev desert and farmers in India still depend on rains for watering their fields. Welcome to the concept of “Rainfed Agriculture”.

Lets go back in history. At the time of independence, the newly formed government was faced with running a country where a very large part of the humanity lived on the edge of sustainability. It was only natural that the government was concerned about what we might call growth at the grassroots level. One of the ways in which this growth was driven was through massive public investments in irrigation, agricultural research and extension, rural infrastructure, farm credit and rural development programs.

And even though we have miles to go, we have transformed from the “food insecurity” of the 60s to surpluses of today.

It is however very important to understand that almost all of the growth, research and development in agriculture has been in “irrigated agriculture”. Irrigated agriculture is agriculture carried out using man made irrigation facilities like canals and tube wells whereas rainfed agriculture depends solely on the seasonal rain for irrigation needs.

According to government statistics, rainfed agriculture accounts for about two-thirds of total cropped area nearly half of the total value of agricultural output. Nearly half of all food grains are grown under rainfed conditions, and hundreds of millions of poor rural people depend on rainfed agriculture as the primary source of their livelihoods.

Again it is a simple deduction that if 2/3^rd of the agriculture sector in India millions of the rural folk depends on timely well distributed rains during monsoon, any abnormality or weakening of the monsoon will adversely impact the whole nation.

 

Q4. Ok. So Rains are Important, But is it Only the Amount of rain that Matters?

No. Amount of rain is one of the variables, the other critical variable is the distribution of rainfall.  In simple words it is not only how much it rains that matters, even when and for how long matters. For example let us say that the normal rainfall for the month of July for a particular place is 200 mm. If it rains on and off but the final figure indicates only 100 mm in July, it is obviously a problem. But in another situation, let us say there is very heavy rainfall and 200 mm comes down in just a couple of days, it actually means that even though the monthly targets have been met, it is still a problem. Ideally 200 mm rain in July at this place should be well distributed throughout July.

It is also important to point out that abnormal monsoon can be because of deficient as well as excessive rainfall. Even more rain than normal can cause problems. In countries like India and our south Asian neighbors, the primary crop during the monsoon season is Paddy (Rice and Paddy are different, find out how..) which needs a lot of standing water at all times. So excessive rainfall does not have that detrimental an effect, especially if the excessive rains were not accompanied by strong winds (winds can damage crop by logging).

 

Q5. They Say That the Monsoons are Failing This Year Because of the El Nino Affect. What is it?

El Nino stands for “The Little Boy” in Spanish. El Nino is what we call a weather phenomenon. Technically, it is called ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation). It is a very complicated cycle of temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America that causes changes in the normal weather patterns. Warm ocean currents heat up the ocean and all sorts of changes to the wind patterns take place. Places that normally remain dry, gets plenty of rain like Peru and places where it is supposed to rain may see a reduction as is the case in India.  

Oh!! By the way there is another weather phenomenon which causes the exact opposite to what El Nino does. It is called “La Nina” or the little girl in Spanish!!

 

So we can see that the performance of the indices and monsoons are inextricably linked. But does it mean that every time El Nino strikes, we will have a drought and the sensex will crash? No!!! Weather systems and phenomenon like the El Nino are very unpredictable and so is their impact on India. But general indications are that El Nino means less rain and it is already happening is it not?

As far as the sensex goes, the logical link between El Nino and the sensex is undeniable but so many other forces are at play this year that the sensex is probably more unpredictable than the weather!!

How Fit Are You?

Another long one I am afraid!!

An ad for a B School claimed that their mission was to “produce managers fit for the society”. This statement demands an examination of what we consider is “fitness” for the society. 

I am sure most of you will agree that "fitness for the industry" would be an easier construct to define. Considering all what would be expected from an MBA, an ability to deliver results on what your organization considers are your key result areas will be the primary determinant of “fitness” in the industry. The ability to deliver numerical results are however only one part of the equation. The long term success of an MBA in the industry will be determined to a very great extent by what can at best be described as a mosaic of abilities. I am sure that the list of abilities to feature in that mosaic would be highly subjective and every one will have one based on their learning, perceptions, experiences, beliefs and value systems. I too have such a list:

·         Emotional intelligence

·         Internal locus of control

·         Ability to network

·         Self Effacing

·         An ability to keep the long term and the immediate separate.

Among noticeable omissions in the above give list are the commonly touted “communication skills”, “interpersonal skills”, “leadership” etc. As the list is based on my experiences howsoever insignificant they might be, I have come across enough successful managers and entrepreneurs who were not great orators, with enough interpersonal problems and conflicts. I did not include leadership as it is a very dynamic variable and tends to assume changing values in different situations. Even though it is undeniable that the ability to lead is perhaps a single most cherished trait, I have not yet come across a satisfactory answer to the very simple question, “What is Leadership?” Maybe one of you can enlighten me on that.

Coming back to the point, the concept of fitness for the industry is easy to describe even though the contents of the description still remains subject to debate. The concept of “fitness for the society” will be a harder nut to crack. The difficulty in doing so arises from the conflicts between what can be considered to determine fitness of an individual. Is the ability to generate wealth not good enough? Or would you be the more spiritually inclined who would consider abstract terms like honesty and spirituality? Or may be you are the “practical” being who would probably smirk at this question and say “What the hell!!”

Following is what I consider the components of fitness for the society. I will not impose lengthy explanations of each one.

1.       Physical Fitness

2.       Mental Fitness

3.       Emotional Fitness

4.       Spiritual Fitness

Physical Fitness

We are physical beings and being physically fit in my opinion is a primary concern. A healthy body as a prerequisite for a healthy mind is not new and I totally subscribe to the concept. Till yesterday evening this was an opinion based on my gut feeling and advice by many learned individuals. A program on obesity among people who have been athletes was an eye opener. Of course we all know the hypertension, cholesterol, heart ailments etc. but what shocked me was that the moment you start to gain wait and become unfit in any way, the hormonal balances in your body goes for a six and of all things the first to deteriorate is your mental make up!! They had a horde of evidence and explanations. But the bottom line was, “If you are unfit physically, you are unfit mentally too”!! Even if we leave that, how difficult is it to understand that your physical fitness is one of the few things you can control to a very great extent and if you are not doing so, serious doubts about your ability to control anything can be raised.

Mental Fitness

My cousin sister developed a habit of solving puzzles as a kid and when I was buying guns as toys, she was well into solving mathematical puzzles. Not only did she do fabulously well in her school, she also aced all the entrance exams she chose to appear in. Even after her studies, she is considered to be a valuable “solution” person in a huge financial MNC. And that ladies and gentlemen is getting her a salary which is ten times mine! It is very common knowledge that what is not used for long will rust and our mind is no exception. Try solving jumbled words, Sudoku or whatever you can lay you r hands on for a month regularly and you will see that not only will you get better at that but you will actually start “seeing patterns” in almost any problem you come across and if patterns begin to emerge, you have developed the great ability to “visualize” problems, mathematical or not! No problem is too difficult if you can visualize it.

Emotional Fitness

Emotional fitness of an individual according to me is the ability of an individual to exert control over her emotions and minimize deviations from the mean. In other words emotional intelligence will allow you to control the amplitude of your reactions to external emotional stimuli. How high are you highs and how low are your lows? Emotional highs and lows make good fodder for stories, poems and songs but when it comes to get the job done, calmer and the “in control’ are far more valuable.

Spiritual Fitness

Spirituality is at best confusing to most and surprising embarrassing to many. Many actually make a mistake of consider being spiritual same as being religious. Of course there are people who can be both but I most definitely would like to consider the two different. For me spiritual fitness would amount t two things; having faith in the higher power and the ability to let go. The term “higher power” is very vague. In fact it is this vagueness that motivates the quest many undertake. He quest may or may not clarify the identity of the higher power but it most certainly reveals you to yourself. The result would be a common man living in the real world, pursuing his worldly responsibilities but all the while and in the middle of al the chaos they would remain calm. This higher state of consciousness reveals the ephemeral and temporary nature of all things and makes it very easy to let go of anything. And if you can let go, can anything ever make you sad, or angry or excited or upset or can the fear of loosing something make you scared, or tense?

Of course the spiritual aspect of fitness for society sounds philosophical ramblings of an over imaginative teacher but I am sure deep inside all of you know that this is as true as say and night!!

 

Our actions are influenced by the society and its pressures. It is also however true that our actions determine what that society is and what kind of pressures exist because of it. You see. . . . . it is an open system and all the players are influenced by the environment and the environment affects the players.

 

I sincerely hope that the business school actually aims to do what it claimed and I do believe that as academicians it is the humble duty of people like me and my dear colleagues to consider whether our actions in our workplaces are based on a consideration for the end result or not.

One Being Able to Drive Change

Dear students, most of you will try to drive change in organizations you will work for. You will find that any change, however small or trivial it may be, will be met with the fiercest of resistance. The following is my takeaway from a recent experience I had at change management.

·     To drive change, first be a part of the system. An outsider or a relative newcomer will face a lot of inertia.

·      Be interested “in people” genuinely. Genuinely is the keyword. An organization is people working together. If you don’t care for them, you don’t care for the organization. Appreciate them, compliment them. I am sure you will find enough to compliment in any one if you choose to look for it.

·      Don’t be judgmental. The tendency to be so it seems is natural. Even if you have judged someone, do not be week to let that judgment affect your behavior negatively. Even if someone is incompetent according to you, do your best not to make your judgment obvious. If you do that, you will loose audience of even the ones you consider competent.

·      Try to be less “interesting”. The tendency to “seem” interesting expresses itself in everyone. In some cases the expression is crass, without basis and sticks out like a sore thumb. But in many cases talented people who “despise” attention seekers may do just that in more subtle ways. Simply put, if you want to be a real hero, don’t try to look like one!

·      Don’t be violent. Violence is not only physical. If you are deriding someone in a meeting, you are indulging in what is called “emotional” violence. You know how we react when we see someone trying to physically attack us. We go defensive, don’t we? Now the same thing will happen when someone’s ego and self image is under attack. You need to be more cautious with the more experienced and senior people in your team.

·      Learn to take criticism. Don’t react. Respond. Take special care if you have a tendency to get emotionally involved with work and have a tendency to “overreact”. Till today no one has been able to achieve “behavioral change” by force.

In the end, remember change needs leadership and leadership is always a derivative of “leadership of thoughts”. If you are negative and defensive most of the times, you will never be successful as a leader and if you do not lead, don’t expect to drive change.