xlri gmp - glimpse - dec 2011
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XLRI GMP Magazine.TRANSCRIPT
Inside this Issue
From The Committee‖s Desk
We are indeed very happy to present before you the second edition of GliMPse. At
the outset, we thank the readers for their warm reception and generous apprecia-
tion of the previous edition of GliMPse. The recurring theme of the feedback com-
ments from our seniors at XLRI was that it reminded of them of their XL days.
A lot has happened since we last brought out GliMPse. Dev Anand, Jagjit Singh,
MAK Pataudi, Socrates, and Steve Jobs among others left for the heavenly abode.
Kolaveri Di has made a mockery of paid advertising campaigns. And what was
then a whisper of a financial slowdown has become an audible murmur and the
Rupee is struggling. However, very little of it you‖ll find in this edition. As in the
previous edition, we have tried to capture the essence of life at XLRI GMP and
have made all efforts to retain the simplicity of the previous edition. What does
find a mention however is our experience of the three-week long International Im-
mersion Program to various universities across four continents.
As in the previous edition, we carry interviews with two XLRI GMP alumni: Sunil
Kumar Nandamudi (batch of 2007) and Dr Kailash Jialdasani (batch of 2010). Be-
sides the interviews, you'll also find: an interesting account of what was it like to
do research for your reports before Google came along; why at least one person
feels there is too much social networking; the story of a husband-wife couple stud-
ying at XLRI; an attempt to explain why bribes may not be so bad after all (yes,
you read it right); and a look at the past six months at XLRI. Before we forget, this
edition also carries an interview with Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta!
We hope you enjoy this edition of GliMPse! And do drop in a line or two at [email protected] to let us know what you think!
B a c k t o s c h o o l
X L R I L e a d e r s h i p S e r i e s
S t u d s , P s e u d o S t u d s a n d O t h e r s
A l u m n u s I n t e r v i e w
R a c i n g @ X L R I
L i f e i n 1 9 7 0 s B . G
B e y o n d t h e c l a s s r o o m
C o l l a g e
B e t t e r h a l f o f G M P
R e c e s s i o n p r o o f
R a n t a b o u t S o c i a l M e -d i a
D o y o u k n o w y o u r b a t c h m a t e s ?
H a l f t h e b a t t l e w o n
B r i b e s a n d i n c e n t i v e s
A l u m n u s I n t e r v i e w
A b h a y ‖ s P o e m
W h a t ‖ s u p a t G M P
A n s w e r s t o Q u i z
S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T
International Immersion Better half of GMP Prof. Sengupta Event Snippets
The GliMPse Committee—Aditya Jha, Ankana M, Deepak Khandelwal, Hrishikesh C, Ipshita Ghosh, Rajeev Shahi, Shreya Kohojkar, Venkatesh Iyer, Vinay Mudgil, Vipul Patki
Ipshita Ghosh
I sat at the coffee table sipping my favorite “beaten”
coffee while the last rays of the setting sun glistened
on the snow-covered porch visible from the window
in the room. I was paying a visit to my friend Aruni-
ma at her small but cozy apartment in downtown
Minneapolis. My husband, Samarjit and I had been
living in Minneapolis for almost three years where
we worked for the same client for IBM. By now the
city was synonymous to “home” for both of us.
I looked up at my friend as she settled on the chair
in front of me, glad that we were able to finally find
some time from our busy schedules to catch up on
what was going on in our
personal lives. Our friend-
ship dates back to our child-
hood – we had been close
friends at school and would
always find time to chat
about the latest gossip, dis-
cuss about our crushes and
share all the excitement in
school which was such a natural part of growing up
together. We went our own different ways after col-
lege and the regular conversations made way for
infrequent catch-ups and messages over Facebook.
We were extremely excited when we both landed in
Minneapolis by virtue of our work and hoped to see
more of each other. However, our individual careers
gradually took a toll on our personal time. Besides,
Arunima had a one year old daughter who kept her
busy even when the work load from office did not.
As such, it was not often that we got to meet each
other although we stayed within half an hour‖s driv-
ing distance from each other.
“I have some good news to share with you” I start-
ed. But before I could go on to explain, she let out a
shriek of delight! “Well, I had guessed from your
voice that you have something special to tell me!!
Wow! I am really happy for you! Congratula-
tions!” While I sat flustered, wondering how on
earth she had guessed what I was about to tell her,
she went on promptly to her next question “So
which month is it now?” “Hold on”, I said. “I really
don‖t think you have made the right guess. I have
got through GMAT with a de-
cent score and would be going
back to India soon to pursue
my MBA”. There was, if you
will permit the expression, a
pregnant pause. I guess she
was trying to digest what I had
just told her. “Are you sure
you want to leave a settled life
and a decent job of eight long years to go back to
being a student?” she said, after finally finding
words to express her emotions. “What if there is a
recession? And moreover, I strongly feel that you
should never leave husbands alone. You never
know what they are up to“. She winked, but I could
sense the genuine concern in her voice as she read
her thoughts aloud. “Well, I have told you only half
the story”, I said. “Actually, both of us would be
leaving our jobs to pursue an MBA next year”.
My friend was not the only one to be completely
startled by our decision. My discussion with my
Back To School!
3
parents over the phone a few days prior to this meet-
ing had been along similar lines. “At your age, your
friends have kids going to school!” my mom had
exclaimed. “Make sure you properly assess the
―return on investment‖ and don‖t forget to consider
the ―opportunity costs‖ ” advised my dad, the Char-
tered Accountant in him taking over. Come to think
of it, these words make much more sense to me
now, given that I am already halfway through the
MBA course.
But what remained to be done was breaking the
news to my manager, who I guessed, would have no
clue that I would soon be leaving my job to pursue
my personal aspirations. Af-
ter a lot of deliberation on
how exactly I would ap-
proach the topic with him and
convey my future plans, I
went up to his room on a Fri-
day, when I thought I could catch him in his best
mood, while a well-rehearsed speech was fresh in
my mind. But I had only just begun when he sur-
prised me by saying “Yes of course I know that both
of you had appeared for GMAT and intend to go
back to India soon. I was just waiting to hear it from
you.” I bet you can always trust the grapevine to get
all your carefully guarded “secrets” to the exact
quarters where you want the information to reach
last. Initially, I was furious about whoever it was
who had leaked the information to my manager. In
reality though, it made my job easier. My manager
was extremely supportive of my decision, but even
he did not forget to add before I left the room - “It is
not easy to go back to being a student after eight
years of seeing your bank balance grow every
month. Moreover in your case, both your husband
and you would be leaving your jobs for furthering
your education. It is a courageous decision, I must
say.”
In the days that followed, I witnessed a plethora of
emotions being played out before me as more of my
friends and colleagues came to know about my de-
cision. Some of them stared back with stunned ex-
pressions of disbelief, as if I had declared something
quite rebellious. Some others could only manage a
dry “good luck for your future”. There was, howev-
er, yet another group of people who applauded me
for taking a step towards what they had always
wanted to do but had not been able to. They were so
inextricably tied to the regular pattern of routine life
that they found it extremely difficult to break away
from the grind.
For me, it was unquestionably a difficult decision.
On one side of the balance was a stable job which
promised a reasonable level of
security for the future. I could
have easily resigned myself to
the unpresumptuous call of a
secure family-life. However, on
the other side was my desire to
reach beyond the horizons, to not get lost in the
crowd of people who were just one among many
and to carve a niche for myself in the elitist world of
corporate executives. Needless to say, I gave in to
the promise of an exciting future, which, I believed,
held the key to a number of possibilities that would
otherwise remain completely unexplored.
So here I was, ready to make the transition from the
“knowledgeable” consultant to an eager student,
keen to know more about the concepts that had
seemed so elusive and obscure during all my years
in the industry – about strategies, balance sheets,
sustainability, competitive advantage and the like.
When I first walked through the hallowed portals of
the institute which I had always looked up to, I felt
as excited as I had been as a school-girl. And even
today, the excitement lives on - as I expectantly
look to the future with the hope that it would unveil
an enthralling world of new opportunities and chal-
lenges that would ultimately pave the way for a new
beginning.
4
“So here I was, ready to
make the transition from
the ―knowledgeable‖ con-
sultant to an eager stu-
dent”
The words “finance” and “accounting” instill fear in
the hearts of many students who have always been
intimidated by the concepts of debit and credit, bal-
ance sheets, profit and loss accounts etc. There are
many who believe that studying management ac-
counting can never be fun. But not if you have at-
tended the classes of Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta!
His unique style of teaching, witty jokes delivered
with an unassuming air, the structured approach
which makes the toughest concepts of finance seem
simple - have won
the hearts of one and
all. And how can we
ever forget the
names of the compa-
nies in his test pa-
pers for which we
invariably failed to
prepare fund flow/
cash flow statements
or correct the incom-
plete records - “M/s Pain Begins”, “M/s Pain Esca-
lates”, “M/s Still Paining Pvt Ltd” and ”M/s Ex-
treme Pain”!!!
Prof. Sengupta joined XLRI in the year 1998 with
around a decade of industry experience and is cur-
rently the Area Chairperson – Finance and Student
affairs and Grievance (Academics). The GliMPse
team had a candid chat with him to catch up on his
personal side and to know more about his interests
beyond numbers and finance.
Was Finance always your first love?
Yes definitely. But it was after 12th standard that my
liking crystallized and I decided to go for Chartered
Accountancy.
What made you take up teaching after working for
over a decade in the corporate world?
I had around 11-12 years of
corporate experience before
joining XLRI. When I was in a
corporate house, XLRI invited
me for a course as a visiting
faculty. There, a senior faculty
member in XLRI actually
asked me if I would be inter-
ested in joining XLRI. And
that‖s how I joined XLRI in the year 1998.
In the 13 years that you have been teaching in
XLRI, can you cite any instances which are very
close to your heart?
I feel really happy when I find that the students are
applying the knowledge that they have learnt from
me in different spheres of their work as well as in
everyday life. It gives me special pleasure when
students are able to apply the concepts taught in
class during job interviews and are able to impress
the recruiters with their understanding. Students
keep writing mails to me sharing how they continue
to apply the concepts taught by me in their individu-
Faculty Interview Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta
By Ipshita Ghosh and Shreya Kohojkar
5
al domains of work. For me, satisfaction comes
from all such instances and it would be difficult to
pin-point only a single instance which stands out.
What do you like most about XLRI?
What I appreciate most is freedom and the culture
of very open interaction – specially in terms of a
very informal student-faculty relationship.
What would you like to change about XLRI?
XLRI should concentrate more on brand building
and PR issues. Students, administration and faculty
- everyone should be involved. The push should
come from all levels.
Do you see any difference in student-faculty inter-
action now as com-
pared to 10 years
back?
XLRI is growing big-
ger by the day. Previ-
ously there were
around 30 faculty
members and maxi-
mum of 150 students.
Now student size has
increased. Faculty
count is around 75-80. Hence interactions between
students and faculties have reduced. But this can‖t
be avoided. Previously I used to remember the
names of all the students even if I was not taking up
a course for them. Now I remember names of only
around 60% of the students.
How do you cope with the trauma of evaluating our
accounting papers?
Well, it is actually very difficult to cope up with.
Sometimes I get very novel answers (Smiles).
Frankly, accounting is a very difficult subject to
pick up in 2-3 months. And for GMP, the coverage
is huge. It is like swimming or cycling, when you
are learning, you find it difficult.
But once you know, you find it very easy and don‖t
understand why others are finding it difficult.
While evaluating answer sheets, I acknowledge
that very fact. And so based on the approach, I give
marks.
My consideration is whether the student‖s thought
process is in the correct direction. But the situation
changes when I evaluate elective courses or other
core courses in finance where the basic foundation
has been laid already.
What is most innovative answer that you ever
came across while evaluating Accounting papers?
A journal entry which said Profit
and Loss account debit, Balance
sheet account credit.
Normally Bengalis are famous for
their sweet tooth and love for fish.
What do you prefer?
The same - sweet & fish, there is no
doubt about it.
Which team do you support in the
football world-cup?
Argentina. I am die-hard Maradona fan. I don‖t be-
lieve in God but I do believe in Maradona.
What interests you other than Finance & Football?
Any form of fine art - theatre, music, drama and
movies. As for contemporary movies, I feel that of
late the quality of Hollywood movies is declining
very fast. Some of my favourites are Ben-Hur, 10
Commandments, Titanic, Lawrence of Arabia and
Gandhi. The last two good Hollywood movies that
I really liked were Titanic and Gandhi.
I am not much into vocal classical. But I like to lis-
ten to western & eastern classical/instrumental mu-
6
sic. I also like Bengali folk songs. I like listening to
“bangla band” Bhoomi because of its connection to
Bengali folk music.
Choose any one from the following
As a finance professional, whom do you find more
challenging to deal with - HR or Marketing?
Convincing a marketing professional would be
more challenging. By contrast, convincing an HR
person would be relatively easy.
Placement coordinator or Chairperson of Students
Affairs & grievance
It is certainly more challenging to be a placement
coordinator. But I wouldn‖t take up either of these
roles by choice (Smiles).
Playing with Toofan(Prof. Sengupta‖s dog) or
watching a football match
Playing with Toofan is a pleasure anytime, but then
it depends on the football match. If it‖s Argentina
vs. Brazil or Manchester vs. Barcelona, then I will
prefer watching the football match.
Blue waters of Mauritius or the Alps of Switzerland
I prefer sea over mountains – so it would be Mauri-
tius. What annoys you the most – class at 7 AM or
class at 9 PM?
Definitely class at 7 AM. I am a ―night person‖.
How would you tally the balance sheet of work & life?
That is perhaps one balance sheet that never matches.
How does the reality of finance cope with the vani-
ty of marketing?
Well, as you said, finance is reality, marketing is
vanity and reality always scores higher than vani-
ty!(smiles) Finance is all about numbers and sym-
bols, about bottom line and cash line of organiza-
tions. Ability of a finance person to convince a
marketing person stems from this strength of num-
bers. Sometimes aggressive stands that a marketing
person may take might have adverse effect on the
bottom line or cash flows. In such cases, marketing
professionals need to be convinced with numbers
as ultimately even they aim for the bottom line.
What do you feel about having ―Fan club‖ on Face-
book?
I have never checked it but I have heard about it. To be honest, I believe I don‖t deserve to have a fan club.
Special message for GMP students?
Hard work and focus will invariably pay. If you are
good, few years down the line you will invariably
be doing well. Hence always stay optimistic.
Tell us the first word that comes to your mind when
we mention the following
First Words Venugopal Sir – Very sweet person.
Munish Sir - Stylish
Kakani Sir – Hard task master
Jomon Sir – Passionate
Father Jesurajan – Communication
7
Studs, Pseudo-studs & Others
The Stud - He gets the highest grades in all subjects, though hardly anybody can claim to have seen him
study. The pre-eminent beer guzzler of your batch, he's still the one to lead others safely to their rooms af-
ter the late night binges. He chairs all the glamorous committees and apparently, those committees would
limp without him. He plays the Guitar and has reportedly performed at the Razzberry Rhinoceros. You be-
lieve it as you've yourself heard the Sweet Child of Mine being played at three in the morning in his room.
He does all of this and more, maintaining a perfectly flat tummy even as the waistlines of his batch-mates
are rapidly swelling like the sails of a racing yacht. You are at this point thinking of taking refuge in theol-
ogy and mythology, trying to dwell on the impermanent nature of the world, when he rounds off your mis-
ery by winning the Mythology and Cultural Quiz at the local cultural club organized on the occasion of
Krishna Janmashtami.
The pseudo-stud - The presence of a Stud almost invariably spawns off a pseudo-stud or two. He too
comes in with an impressive background. For example, he is here shedding luster to your humble premises
having sacrificed his seat in IIT or LBS. He chairs the first meeting of your group project only to ask the
progress report of the other team members a day before the final submission. The minor blip in recent
grades, he explains, was a result of studying not for exams but for knowledge and concepts. You have no
choice but to nod your head, as he says that with such panache that Dale Carnegie would have nodded his
head in appreciation.
Vipul Patki
The easy pigeonholing of college students into a very
few types has always been a source of constant won-
der for me. Show me a batch of more than hundred, I
often say, and I‖ll show you the easiest categorization
there is after the male-female type. This article is a
summary of my observations over the years, though,
needless to add, I have taken advantages here and
there of the elastic nature of truth. And as you read
through the article, if you for any moment feel that I
don‖t seem to reflect modern attitudes toward gender
equity, I would plead not guilty for my alleged non-
gender-inclusive language. The pronoun triad of he-
his-him here is meant to be gender-neutral. The ladies fit equally well in most instances and in some cases
are better embodiments of some of our characters here.
8
The Insouciant - I confess I am intensely jealous of this type. Nothing ever seems to perturb him. While
others are doing a popular imitation of mustard seeds on the fry as the deadline for Prof. Kakani‖s assignment
approaches, he is seen smoking a calm cigarette. He makes the submissions in the nick of time and is surpris-
ingly cool about it, almost blasé. For the timid like me, he is as inspiring as a Marco Polo, Magellan, Colum-
bus or Sindbad, for he dares to venture into unchartered waters: flirting with submission dates, and returning
unscathed.
The Timepiece- He is the Subodh – no, no, not the affable CA Subodh Suman of your batch – if you like,
though a stern variant is known to have traits of Ram Gopal Bajaj (of Andaz Apna Apna). But while that ordi-
narily may be a good thing, sending a deadline alert to his group a good six days ahead of the submission date
is definitely not a good idea, three days being the norm when the deadline is first spotted on the horizon. Al-
most inevitably, a showdown between himself and The Insouciant occurs. I may add that the confrontation
may present several points of interest for those wishing to make a career in HR; those not wishing to are
simply advised to order a coke and popcorn in advance so that they enjoy the live soap even better.
The Scholar - Bless His Soul! The perfect student. The one whose sight reassures his professors that God
does produce Arjuns and Eklavyas these days after all. He usually reaches the lecture hall fifteen minutes be-
fore time and duly notes down each word of the professor. His notes are in big demand during the exam
times, especially for those lectures where the other students have little better to do than to have a look at their
watches every minute on the minute. The dinner you had with him when he linked the string theory, the quan-
tum physics and the Upanishads was the last time you enjoyed noodles without looking at them as actors in
the Cosmic Interplay. But you also felt sorry for him when he almost broke down for not being able to com-
plete the assignment by himself and copying it.
Damon and Pythias - Heisenberg if present would have admitted that his uncertainty principle doesn't
apply to such people; one can always point the location of the Damon with precision if Pythias is spotted. If
you have gathered that these two people are fast friends, I am satisfied, for that's the idea I wanted to put
across. You see them together at the T.T table, the library and at the Lawn Tennis court. In the same lecture
hall as well, as they take the same electives.
Err...I forgot to add that they are happy with their respective fiancés. Some people have a technical name for
it: clique, but you can only chafe at such a base name given to a beautiful and timeless friendship.
Unfortunately, my haggling with the magazine editor for a few more words wasn't successful and I‖ll have to
stop here. Such is life. I know there are a few pigeonholes left and I invite you to send us your thoughts on
plugging those.
9
Hello Sunil! Firstly I thank you on behalf of the
entire batch. Could you please share your person-
al and professional experiences prior to joining
GMP?
Thank you Aditya! I take this opportunity as a
privilege and as a platform to connect with all of
you. Before joining XLRI, I had 20 years of work-
ing experience with NABARD in various capaci-
ties and at the time of joining
GMP in June 2006 I worked
as Assistant General Manag-
er.
With such a long career be-
fore joining the course can it
be said that you had com-
pleted nearly half of your
professional life before mak-
ing this switch?
I would ask you to look that in a different way.
With economic liberalization and the phenomenal
growth of information technology in the last few
decades, opportunities for economic and produc-
tive engagements have opened up in India. Be-
sides, as one of the outcomes of economic pros-
perity, higher life expectancy has pushed the ac-
tive professional life longer for many of us. Indian
economy presents a lot more opportunities to en-
gage in activities of nation/society building and
therefore a longer experience comes as an ad-
vantage.
How did GMP happen to you?
With 20 years in NABARD where I did have an
opportunity to work, deal and negotiate with pro-
fessionals from a variety of sectors, I often felt
that the rather closed and protected confines of a
mandated organization restricted
my ability to reach out to emerging
areas even within the domain – the
CDM markets that the Kyoto Pro-
tocol offered is one example. I
looked at a return to classroom
comprising peers from diverse
business/management backgrounds
as an answer to my quest for
knowledge and awareness of the wider business/
management world. Hence, my choice of GMP.
As per the media reports, your joining as a CEO
of ABN Amro Foundation in 2007 was held as the
first placement of any student of any B-school in
India as a CEO,. What you have to say about that?
I would say that it just made a good media story.
In my opinion employability is more as a by-
product of any B-school education. What matters
most is that the school functions as a Center of
Excellence and nurtures talent to shape future
business leaders.
Alumnus Interview Mr Sunil Kumar Nandamudi (XLRI GMP, 2006-2007)
CEO, RBS Foundation India
Aditya Jha
10
Amidst this hype about high GDP growth for past
few years, we are observing a skewed income and
wealth distribution and a widening gap between
rich and poor in the country. Where we might be
going wrong?
A free market has clearly demonstrated its ability
to support enterprise and thereby economic pros-
perity easily widen
the gap between
rich and poor very
vast and therein lie
the seeds of dis-
content and social
strife. Inclusive
growth is a win-
win case for the
entire society for, a
section of the com-
munity that is left
out of the main-
stream economy is
a market segment that is left out and it is a com-
munity that has potential for social strife. For a
rapid and inclusive growth for the country I think
we need to set our focus on two aspects. One is to
leverage technological capabilities in businesses
and society as a whole, to bring more transparen-
cy in the system and to improve governance and
regulation. Second would be a higher participa-
tion from industries and government in invest-
ments on infrastructure.
Though with a changing trend, still for a fresh
MBA graduate, the development sectors or Com-
munity Services have not proved to be that lucra-
tive. What changes you would suggest to be
brought in the system to bring more young and
educated people in this sector?
Money is one of the dominant rewards that deter-
mine allocation of talent in a society and we can‖t
deny the influence money has in initial decision
making of a fresh graduate. Yet, it is not correct
to say that engagements that offer relatively less
financial rewards do not attract talent. I have
seen good talent in Community Services which
offers rewarding experience for professionals
from a wide domain.
Is there anything you regret
of not during in your GMP
days but would advise the
current and forthcoming
batches of GMPians to fo-
cus on?
Only thing I regret is that
the most memorable days of
my life are gone. After
working in a PSU for so
long, GMP was like a fresh
air to me. Rising to the occa-
sion, working in crisis situa-
tions, and matching up to
classmates much younger to me, working alone
and working in different teams; every bit of it
was very special. This experience infused a new
energy in me.
To the new batches, I would say that the GMP
crowd is truly representative of India‖s industry
and the XL campus really reverberates with en-
ergy and learning. Enjoy your life at XL and give
it your 100%. The experience gained here is go-
ing to hold you in good stead for a very long
time.
Wishing you all a great year 2012 ahead…
“What matters most is that
the school functions as a Cen-
ter of Excellence and nur-
11
Krishna, a fiercely inquisitive boy, lay on his
bed, his eyes half open, wondering where
George Akerlof was from. The question had oc-
curred to him a few times in past weeks, but he
did not bother to find out the answer. Ofcourse!
Proof-reading his dissertation work was more
important. But now since his dissertation was
complete, the question stood in front of him –
naked, staring at him, eyebrows raised, waiting
for an answer. It would be foolish to not know
where Akerlof was from because most of his
dissertation consisted of
Akerlof‖s work. He
woke up with a sudden
yearning to know and
bridge the insufficiency
the question had created
in his very being. He
went around asking his
“floor-mates” but no one
would know where
Akerlof was from. He
asked everyone he met
on his way to library and all he heard was – “I
don‖t know man!”, ”Oh yeah Akerlof…
ummm.. aah… no man ... not sure!”, “dude! Re-
lax its ok if you don‖t know.. I don‖t know ei-
ther”, “Sorry George … who?” He began to feel
increasingly foolish until that one faithful mo-
ment arrived. Inside the library a young lady in
a beautiful white salwar answered – London. A
wave of intense pleasure and purpose and
meaning and brilliance in elephantine propor-
tions washed over him. He finally KNEW IT!
Dr Krishna still remembers that day fondly –
not because he finally knew where Akerlof was
from, but because that was the day when he first
met his wife!
Wondering whether why he didn‖t ―Google‖ for
the answer? He didn‖t. He couldn‖t because it
was 14th July, 1970 and
Google simply didn‖t exist at
that time. Had it existed, he
probably would have been
married to someone else. My
casual chat with him in one of
our recent alumni meets,
forced me to ask myself –
“How has life changed as we
stepped into the information
age”?
Most of us entered college with the entire infor-
mation super highway in our pockets. We never
had to ask “actual people” for information that
could be easily found on the internet. I some-
times imagine myself in Dr. Krishna‖s time,
waking up with a yearning to know something
really badly. But then my story finishes in less
than 1 minute. I pick up my smart phone (eyes
half closed), and search for George Akerlof and
Google shouts back like a drunk-know-it-all –
London! No joyous feeling of knowing, no
Life in the1970s B.G.
Venkatesh S. Iyer
12
pleasure, no sudden heightened sense of fulfill-
ment. But wait! I still get up and go to the li-
brary in the hope of finding a girl in white-
salwar only to realize that at 07:00 AM the prob-
ability of spotting a living thing in library is as
low as finding a non-praying mantis.
Ask my fellow GMP‖ians and they will tell you
I am a total tech-geek (some say freak). I can
think of a gazillion typical examples on how the
information explosion has benefited the human
kind. But when I sit back to think what our gen-
eration has lost in its transition to the infor-
mation age, I think of a few subtle joys of life
that deserve an article.
With Google in our pockets the joy of knowing
seems to be non-existent. One moment you
don‖t know something and two seconds later
you seem to know it all. There is hardly any
time for mysteries and curiosity. The time dif-
ference between knowing and not-knowing is
so brief that knowing feels exactly like not-
knowing. Despite, knowing so many things we
aren‖t a tiny bit smarter than students during Dr
Krishna‖s era.
Students in today‖s age are deprived of the thrill
and sheer exhilaration of getting a little ―help‖
during the examinations. They quietly take out
their mobile phones and ―google‖. Finding help
in those good ol‖ days was so much more excit-
ing. The students passed notes. Passing notes
needed an incredible combination of a writing
tool (read pen), a piece of paper and an intricate
knowledge of Japanese paper folding. Writing
and folding were the easy parts, but the difficult
and the most exciting part was delivering the
note to the destination through a complex net-
work of students. It required practical experi-
ence and a good grasp on concepts of critical
shortest paths in operations research. Add to
this the risk of ―note interception‖ – a.k.a
“being caught”. Just imagine that one over-
joyous moment when you receive a piece of
paper with the much awaited answer. Google
has stolen that one triumphant ecstatic moment
from millions of students.
The Sunday mornings aren‖t half as refreshing
and beautiful as they used to be in the Nagpur
of my boyhood. I distinctively remember the
tranquil “Sunday smile” on my father‖s face as
he sat on his cane-chair in the backyard, sipped
hot tea and Sheru (my dog) ran towards him
with the newspaper in his mouth. I remember
accompanying him to a nearby garden on Sun-
days where he sat beneath a tree with his
friends and discussed the latest news, while I
played cricket with my friends. I compare
those happy Sundays with the ones in recent
past, when I woke up at 10:00 AM in the morn-
ing only because watched random videos on
YouTube till 3:00 AM the previous night.
Sometimes on one of those lazy Sundays I
wake up and the first thing I do is to stare at
Google not really knowing what I want to
know.
While all of us would agree that internet and
information accessibility has changed our lives
completely for better, very few of us realize
that what it has taken away. While there is no
point in arguing whether the advent of infor-
mation era is good or bad, each one of you can
certainly close your eyes and think of those
golden moments in your lives and try to relive
them. For those of you who are still wondering
what the hell does B.G mean – it means
“Before Google”.
13
What happens when seasoned professionals and
managers from leading automotive and aero-
nautics companies gather at a small Dhaba in
Jamshedpur on a Sunday night? They are heard
having animated discussions on engines - which
ones are the best for Indian roads, which one
would take the market away from the Indian play-
ers and recent F1 events.
If you are wondering if the location is the famous
Tenth Milestone Dhaba on NH33 near Jamshed-
pur, well, then you are wrong. This Dhabha is lo-
cated inside XLRI
and the argumen-
tative folks are the
students of the
General Manage-
ment program.
XLRI Jamshedpur
has been the
breeding ground
for managers
from various in-
dustries. In this
edition of GliMPse, we would be taking a closer
look at the Automobile and Aeronautics studs of
the institute and what prompted them to leave
their established identities in the corporate world
and take an academic drive into business and gen-
eral management.
There has been a strong and continued influx of
global automobile companies into India. Toyota
and Nissan Motors from Japan, Hyundai from
South Korea, Renault from France, Ford from
USA are some of the names who have set-up their
bases in India through Joint Venture or otherwise.
General Motors, Skoda and Mercedes-Benz are
other companies in beeline for an entry into India.
The major reasons for this influx can be attributed
to the growth and relative stability of the BRIC
economies. Indian economy has, more or less,
been able to withstand the tremors of the global
financial meltdown of 2008-09. Even though its
rate of growth has
slowed down con-
siderably, the hopes
of an economic re-
vival are better in
India and the BRIC
countries than any-
where else. The
work force of the
auto industry in In-
dia is relatively
well trained. All
these factors show bright future prospects for the
Indian auto industry and have enticed global play-
ers to cross the Indian Ocean and the Himalayas.
Returning to the gang of students at XLRI, they
are former employees of leading auto manufac-
tures like Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Mahindra and
Tata Motors, while the aerospace industry is rep-
resented by ex-professionals from the prestigious
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Their energy,
zeal and mission for excellence at XLRI matches
Racing @ XLRI
Rajeev K Shahi
14
with the world class engines and machines they
had designed while working on shop-floors (they
are fond of this term, apparently!)
Manohar Sethpalani, the senior-most of them all,
opines that the Auto sector boom in India is na-
ture‖s way of balancing the economic gloom.
Manohar has rich experience of 13 years, out of
which 9 years were spent with Mahindra &
Mahindra. Consistently a top-performer in his or-
ganization and having shaped the careers of many
rookies, Manohar felt a management education
would not only let him put his automotive sector
experiences into perspective but also equip with
him with the necessary horsepower to drive up the
corporate ladder.
Bishwajeet Pratap Singh, on the other hand opines
that the auto-sector growth is an opportunity to
bring out more innovations from India. Bish-
wajeet, a mechanical engineer from NIT, Su-
rathkal, after his stint at Tata Motors for more
than 4 years joined Daimler India. He was a part
of the core group involved in design and develop-
ment of new generation World Truck for Tata
Motors and Bharat-Benz for Daimler India.
Ravi Kumar Singh, a production engineer from
BIT, Mesra, believes that it is high time now for
Indian Auto Companies to take the global market
more seriously. Tata‖s JLR acquisition and Nano
are good starting steps towards establishing India
Auto Inc. globally. Ravi was responsible for Pro-
gram Management of the Tata Nano Supply-
Chain including critical processes like Procure-
to Pay, Plan-to-Produce and Order-to-Cash cy-
cles.
Ramesh Babu Vanagundi from Hindustan Aero-
nautics Limited had been associated with the one
of most prestigious projects of Indian Aviation,
Tejas – India‖s first indigenous supersonic com-
bat aircraft also called as the LCA fighter jet.
Recognized as the most productive officer of that
division, Ramesh felt a b-school education
would enable him to contribute his analytical and
management acumen to other related sectors in
the national as well as international arena.
Asim Kumar from Tata Motors, Laxman Prasad
Dubey from Quality Control, HAL, Purushotham
Kamath from Ford India and Neeraj Mohan from
Scooters India are other names in this band, who
felt XLRI Jamshedpur would be their perfect
launch-pad for a high-performance career and
allow them to contribute to the nation‖s growth.
“Economic and operational
risk to the global auto com-
panies is indeed, an oppor-
tunity for India in times of
economic danger.”
15
XLRI Leadership Series
Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia is the General Officer Commanding-in-
Chief, Central Command, Indian Army. He is a recipient
of the Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal, Yudh Seva Medal and the
Vishisht Seva medal.
The Lt. General in his address highlighted the current
“Age of Turbulence” (referring to rising unemployment,
poor economic conditions and the like) and the emphasis
on “fighting the fog of war”, a metaphor to the shakiness
of the turbulent times, through six leadership mantras.
Citing numerous examples and anecdotes, the Lt. General
sent a strong signal on the importance of having a long term vision that looked beyond just profits and rev-
enues. The Lt. General concluded his speech by expanding on the six leadership mantras namely Compel-
ling Vision, Character, Competency, Communication Skills, Innovation and being Technology Savvy. His
humility was evident in his final quote “A leader is all because of teams”.
16
Leadership Series is an initiative of the GMP batch of 2012 where industry experts share their insights into
the industry, leadership and challenges. Since inviting Mr Saumen Chakraborty as the inaugural speaker,
XLRI has proudly played host to three eminent personalities and have them talk about various aspects of
leadership. Their profiles couldn‖t have been more different: One is an incumbent MP, the other is a Lieu-
tenant General of Indian Army, and the third, the Country Head of New and ReCon Parts India.
Dr Ajoy Kumar has donned many hats in his illustrious career. He has been a doctor and an
IPS officer, is the current MP from Jam-
shedpur, and is also the CEO at Max Neeman Interna-
tional. Jamshedpur residents though love him most
for singlehandedly changing the law and order situa-
tion in Jamshedpur.
Dr. Ajoy Kumar highlighted the importance of being
socially active, even if not contesting an election, and
encouraged the students to be a part of an active civil
society, which is the key to a successful democracy.
Leadership lessons, in uniform - Lt General
Ahluwalia
Shantanu Roy
Role of MBA in Politics - Dr Ajoy Kumar
Sripathi Chakkravarthi
Cummins Inc., a US based company started on 1919, is a major manufacturer
and distributor of diesel engines. It has presence in more than 190 countries and has grown to be the largest
engine manufacturer in both China and India. Mr Sandeep Sinha, an MBA from the Kelly School of Busi-
ness, is currently the Country Head of New and ReCon Parts India.
Mr Sinha talked about the old days when a company‖s cor-
porate strategy was formulated by CEOs behind closed
doors where strategic decisions were ―cast in stone‖, and
highlighted the risks of making strategic decisions in isola-
tion. He emphasized the need to make decisions such as
investments, innovation, capacity enhancements etc. taking
into view the larger micro and macroeconomic environ-
ments rather than limiting the decision parameters to the
company resources alone. He cited the example of the Tata
Motor‖s “World Truck Project”, a strategic decision influ-
enced by the growth of Indian economy - the development and reforms in road infrastructure, capabilities
of the associated supplier/vendors to grow and the overall stimulus provided by this project to the business
of Cummins India (a partner to deliver engines to Tata Motors).
Mr Sinha spoke about the relevance of different strategic frame works in organizations, but underlined the
importance of not allowing tools to replace sound reasoning (or even tacit knowledge). In an engaging dis-
cussion, Mr Sandeep Sinha provided potent lessons for anyone seeking to excel at strategy management. It
was a compelling talk - whether you're an eager MBA grad raring to apply what you learned or an academi-
cian eager to listen to what MBAs get wrong when they land in the real world!!
17
He talked about how young b-school graduates can get involved in governance, the various means to do
the same and how we can help plug loopholes in policy and decision making. He urged everyone to stay
connected with the social environment and support its gradual transformation for the better, and in cases
be the change itself. He suggested that it might also someday champion your cause of cracking the politi-
cal animal of election, as it was in his case.
Listening to his experiences of election campaign and how he won against all odds (literally) was indeed
fascinating. Giving real-life examples of success stories around him, he reiterated the importance of hold-
ing on to your vision. “Rather be a hedgehog, than a fox” was his concluding advice.
Corporate Strategy & Role of Microeconomics
– Mr Sandeep Sinha
Bishwajeet Pratap Singh
Memoirs— International Immersion 2011
18
Memoirs— International Immersion 2011
19
XLRI GMP is a one year full time MBA program for professionals with a mini-
mum of 5 years of full time experience. The batch strength is 120. Students come
from varied backgrounds and have excelled in their respective fields. Admission is
through GMAT/XAT scores, essays and interviews.
Disclaimer-Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials in GliMPse are those of the specific author and do not
reflect the opinions of XLRI or any employee thereof. We have made reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information throughout
this newsletter and XLRI is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the students.
Send us your suggestions to: [email protected]
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pse@
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