David Sokol, CEO of Mid American, one of the many firms he has a majority share in, called him the "Einstein of Business". He is the second richest man in the world. One share of his company Berkshire Hathway is worth close to 90,000 dollars. Yet, he drives his own car. Warren Buffet is an epitome of simplicity.
Whether it's deciding on which business to put his money in or which stock to pick, Buffet takes a fancy only to things that are understandable to him (and in his own words understandable to most).
There was a loud roar in the hall, which housed the IITians along with students from Chicago Business School when Buffet said "I asked my friend Bill Gates that if there was one school he wanted to recruit from which one would it be. And the answer was IIT".
IIT is not unfamiliar to Buffet. Ajit Jain, one of his most trusted Managers is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. Vinod Gupta, one of the most distinguished alumni from IIT and because of whom this trip was made possible, is an old acquaintance of Buffet. Buffet said, “I would love to have more like Ajit from IIT”.
It was about a year back that Vinod Gupta floated this idea of bringing a good bunch of students from the IIT B School to Omaha, Nebraska. Apart from meeting Buffet, the idea was not only to expose them to faculty from global schools like University of Omaha (UNO) but also to top honchos from Fortune 100 corporations. VIN, as he is called in the US says” I wanted to change the lives of a whole bunch of people from the IIT business school”. It was an opportunity that many students didn't want to miss.
During the eight daylong stay at the campus, the students attended workshops on international finance, competitive intelligence, strategy, marketing of high tech products etc. These sessions were also attended by faculty from VGSOM, who had the opportunity to interact with some top class global professors. Afternoon sessions were devoted to corporate visits. These sessions were most fulfilling from the students' standpoint.
Jim Young, the CEO of a company like Union Pacific stood in front of students along with his top Management discussing everything about his company viz- its long term strategy, operational tactics, challenges, and limitations of the company. “The openness and clarity with which these companies interacted with the students, speaks a lot about the relationship that University of Omaha shares with these Companies and also the respect that American Corporations have for IIT” said Deepak Khazanchi, a senior Professor from UNO.
Conagra, another top Corporation, did the same by using the presentation that they used for their investors. InfoUSA (Vin Gupta's company), 400 million dollar organisation was another one of the Corporate visits during which Rakesh Gupta, CEO interacted with the students in an equally long and informative session. Gallup and Nebraska Furniture Mart were the other companies that the students had the privilege of meeting.
Evenings were fun that included a visit to the baseball stadium and apart from parties and interaction with UNO students from all over the world. “This was an opportunity for VGSOM to fuel its growth and I am happy that we have come out much stronger” said Mr Probir Gupta, the Dean of VGSOM.
It's amazing how expectations and perceptions can take a 180 degree twist when you probe just a little deeper from the surface. As in all b-schools, the group mail can either be Pandora's Box or the lost treasure of Genghis Khan. I came across an email asking me to participate in the Harvard College Asian Business Forum (HCABF). My first impression – Eh? Harvard in India? I wondered if this was another one of the gimmicks by firangs trying to show to their Press back in the West that they have a presence here in the success story of the East.
I have to confess I hadn't attended an international conference or seminar till that point of time (how many of us actually consider them to be useful?) but 10 days prior to the deadline, in the middle of my exams (funny isn't it, we do all sorts of stuff we wouldn't usually do… during exams days) I decided to fill in the application to HCABF. I have to tell you, the first impression was impressive, and yes it really is a Harvard event. And it has a 15 year legacy! When I read that this is the first time they are coming to India, my eyes widened and my ears pricked up. The list of speakers was just an icing on the cake. They offer six different groups – Entrepreneurship, Brand Building, Talent and Education, FDI, Outsourcing, Pharmaceuticals. Feel free to learn more about this at http://hcabf.org/.
The speaker list is an impressive one – Mr Anand G Mahindra is the Keynote speaker, and the panels have specific speakers who are self-made men, like Mr Avnish Bajaj (bazee.com) takes up Entrepreneurship and Mr Doraiswamy of Tata Consultancy Services takes up Outsourcing.
My expectations from this seminar rose considerably after the amazing experience I had at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Meeting Warren Buffet was scintillating. I learnt about business culture and the networking opportunities were superb. I am already in touch with those who are coming in from around the world, people from Shanghai, Greece and United States of America among others, and the HCABF forum deserves all the applause for facilitating this exchange. HCABF invites 300 students from leading universities who show potential of being visionaries.
Every year the HCABF elects an executive body from their graduate students who take on posts like CFO and work on a $500,000 budget (according to The Harvard Crimson). Over the past 15 years they have been to Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. They have emerged as the biggest student conference in Asia. To add to the big glitz, they will also be having a recruiting event on the final day. With companies like Deloitte, Mitsubishi and DaimlerChrysler sponsoring the event, the recruiting event shows great potential. Personally I'm very excited about it.
In continuation to my HCABF acceptance, I sent in an application to the Korean Advanced Institute of Science & Technology for their International Conference on Culture Technology. Getting accepted there was a dream come true for me. The facilitation of upcoming new technologies and its convergence into society is a very interesting topic. I haven't decided if I'll attend this, but I am on the lookout for financial aid. It is easy to get accepted to a conference, but the struggle starts when one looks for sponsorships.
Amandeep Singh is a 2nd year student of the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur. He was part of the delegation that recently visited the University of Nebraska at Omaha for a seminar on International Marketing and Strategy. He was also part of the group that met the legendary Warren Buffet for a session on business, followed by lunch. He can be reached at: amandeep_webguru at-the-rate yahoo.co.in
One of the great GMAT myths is that the first 8 questions in each section "make or break" your score and that nothing you do after that point has much of an effect on the score you end up with. False! Eight questions are not enough to determine your score. If they were enough, each section would consist of 8 questions.
One of the consequences of the myth is the belief that in order to break 700, you must answer those first 8 questions correctly. Untold numbers of test-takers have labored over the first eight, afraid that any mistake will send their scores plummeting to unthinkable depths. While it is true that you should give each question your best shot, the absolute number of questions answered correctly is not as important as their difficulty level. Better to have a 50/50 success rate at a high level than a 50/50 success rate at a lower one, even though the percentage of right and wrong answers is the same.
The most serious upshot of this myth is that its believers spend far too much time on the first eight questions and then find themselves racing to finish the section. Often, these test-takers run out of time and leave some questions unanswered at the end of a section. Given that unanswered questions are essentially counted as incorrect answers, it makes more sense to move at a steady pace throughout the entire section rather than concentrate on any particular subset of questions. In fact, spending too much time on early questions may actually damage rather than help your final score.
Also, keep in mind that even for a test-taker of very high ability, getting the first eight questions correct in a section is highly unlikely, even if that test-taker spends a lot of extra time on those first eight questions! Remember, due to the adaptive nature of the exam, if you get the first question in a section correct, you will be bumped up to a very difficult second question. If you get that second question right, your third question will also be at an extremely high difficulty level. You will continue to see questions at this very high difficulty level until you get a question wrong, at which point the exam will adjust the difficulty level downward somewhat. Even test-takers of very high ability levels usually cannot sustain accuracy through the first eight questions in a section.
Do not become a victim of the "first 8" myth: give every question your best shot, but do not let any one group of questions drive your entire performance.
Many people come to GMAT preparation in mortal fear of the quantitative section. Probability! Exponents and roots! The entire section seems like a parade of horribles. Unfortunately, many of these people spend the bulk of their study efforts honing their math skills at the expense of their verbal preparation. Certainly a great performance on each section is ideal, but experience has shown that an excellent verbal performance affects one's overall score more dramatically than does an excellent performance in quantitative.
Let's take a look at what happens at the highest levels of the exam: 700+. A recent test-taker received a scaled score of 45 in verbal (98th percentile) and 40 in quant (66th percentile) and an overall score of 700 (93rd percentile). Notice how much closer the overall percentile is to the excellent verbal percentile. If the overall percentile were simply an average of the individual percentiles, this person would have received about 640. But because the combination of an outstanding verbal performance with a fair quant performance is so rare, the overall percentile and score will be much higher than the lower quant percentile. Another person, who scored 49 in verbal (99th percentile) and 37 in quant (56th percentile), received 710 (95th percentile), even though the quant performance here was a full 10 percentile points lower than that in the previous example. Again, an outstanding performance in verbal significantly offset a middling performance in quant.
Does this work in reverse? That is, will an outstanding performance in quant so dramatically offset a middling performance in verbal? No. This combination is much more common, given the increasing number of international test-takers, who often have excellent math skills but relatively weak command of English. Even among native speakers of English, it is more common to see relatively high quant scores coupled with fair to middling verbal scores. Because these combinations are less rare, they are not rewarded as highly. For example, a test-taker recently received a 50 in quant (97th percentile) and a 37 in verbal (82nd percentile), but "only" a 670 overall (89th percentile). So the truly excellent quant performance was not enough to pull the overall score above 700.
While an excellent verbal performance can indeed take up some of the slack from a weaker quant score, keep in mind that most business schools want to see strong skills in both sections. In fact, some of the top 20 schools apply the "80/80 rule", which requires that successful applicants reach at least the 80th percentile in both sections. So do not put all your eggs in one basket: make sure you prepare well for both sections.
Next week, we will discuss breaking the 750 mark.
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This article is Copyright Manhattan GMAT.
Melbourne Business School, Australia and Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management, USA, for example, look for a minimum of two years professional experience. IE - Instituto de Empresa, Spain and Cass Business School, UK, specify three years, while at Ashridge, UK, the minimum specification is five years previous work experience.
One of the main reasons schools now insist on this level of experience, is the expressed preference of recruiters for individuals who can 'hit the ground running', as soon as they graduate from an MBA programme. According to the latest TopMBA.com research from the organisers of the QS World MBA Tour, which surveyed more than 500 employers in more than 30 countries, over 50% of potential employees of MBAs look for candidates with at least a year's prior work experience. Only around 8% of organisations are willing to look at individuals who have clocked up less than a year's experience before embarking on their MBA studies.
However, this pressure from recruiters is only part of the reason behind the drive for experienced students. Sandeep Gupta worked for major companies such as Cadbury Schweppes and Siemens before studying at Cranfield School of Management, UK. He believes prior work experience plays a key part in getting the most out of the MBA experience: “Sitting in the classroom, during a case study discussion, it's easy to identify with the characters involved because, more often than not, you can see a similarity between what you have experienced in the past and what the case study depicts.” He continues, “However, since you are now sitting outside the workplace, you can see the situation with a more neutral perspective and can identify who could have done what to produce a different outcome. There's also an element of glamour and awe associated with words such as 'vision', 'strategy' and the like, which are used liberally on an MBA programme. These words have little meaning unless you can fit them into the bigger picture. And the only way you can do that is through prior practical experience.”
Sandeep Gupta's view is shared by another Indian MBA, Rajesh Kothari, who studied at IESE, Spain after six years working in the financial services sector at home. “I found my work experience was invaluable to me on the programme. Making a real contribution to classes is extremely important – this most certainly isn't the sort of study where you just politely sit and listen. When you want to make a point in class it definitely helps if you can draw upon previous experience and if you don't have it, it really shows. The case study approach offers a very practical form of learning and the ability to draw upon six years in the workplace was a major bonus.”
Source: www.TopMBA.com
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Information Technology is and will remain the heart of all business management processes irrespective of the domain or the industry of application. It is, therefore, rightly named nimitt, the enabler that empowers newer and better business ideas and solutions. By way of the event nimitt, we intend to expose the close connect between these two seemingly divergent units- business and information technology.
Combining in itself the management essence from SPJIMR and the technology flavor from Virginia Tech nimitt promises a never before display of the miracles of IT in business. As a major highlight of this event we invite the future thinkers in the world of information technology management to actively participate in and help shape the future of the global IT industry.
nimitt would make a memorable and rich learning experience for all associated with management as well as information technology in one way or the other providing excellent inputs from the most credible and the most experienced sources.
But what is learning without some fun! The right proportion of enjoyment added to the most unique technology experience would make nimitt a never-before and never-after event on information technology management.
PGDSM MIT, SPJIMR would be glad to have you as a part of the nimitt family. Come, let's drive the Indian IT industry to newer altitudes!
nimitt - Schedule
| NIMITT SCHEDULE | |
| | |
| Time | Event |
| 9:00AM | Inauguration |
| 9:45 AM | Breakfast/Tea/Coffee |
| 10:00AM | Vyavsaya- phase 1 |
| 10:00AM | On spot prize games |
| 10:00AM | Chakravyuha seminar |
| 10:30 AM | e-swayer elimination |
| 10:55 AM | Charkravyuha elimination |
| 11:15 AM | Tea Break |
| 11:30 AM | Charkravyuha Worships |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM | e-swayer finals |
| 2:00 PM | Chakravyuha finals |
| 3:00 PM | Sakshaatkaar |
| 4:30 PM | Tea Break |
| 5:00 PM | Sanghoshthi |
| 6:30 PM | IT Parivaar |
| 8:00 PM | Cultural Event |
| | |
| Time | Event |
| 9:00 AM | Breakfast/Tea/Coffee |
| 9:15 AM | Vyavsaya- phase 2 |
| 9:15 AM | Sarathi- phase 1 |
| 10:15 AM | Lakshya |
| 11:15 AM | Tea Break |
| 11:30 AM | Vyavsaya- phase 3 |
| 11:30 PM | Sarathi- phase 2 |
| 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| 2:00 PM | e-Connect |
| 2:00 PM | Bob the Builder |
| 2:00 PM | Hunt IT |
| 4:00 PM | Tea Break |
| 5:00 PM | Prize Distribution |
| 6:00 PM | Cultural Event |
| 8:30 PM | Dinner |
| Vyavsaya | Some "food for thought" for our young entrepreneurs and marketers! This IT-oriented business event involves tremendous use of your grey cells as well as creative insights to be the outright winner despite tight competition. This event is open to all business school participants as well as final and pre-final year graduation students. To participate, solve a case analysis problem and qualify for the finals! |
| e-Swayer | Time to test who has the best "gift of the gab"!! We invite you to come and speak your heart out on burning issues in the world of management and technology in the presence of eminent thinkers and visionaries. To voice your opinion on everything from stock markets to reservations, from open source to proprietary, this is the ideal platform. Register with us immediately! |
| Chakravyuha | This is the ultimate event for the "Abhimanyus" of the IT world: come, learn, practice and perform is the mantra for this event. This event is a great opportunity for graduates, aspiring as well as current IT security managers and also for those IT geeks who simply want to be the part of all excitement!! If you are one of them, register for Chakravyuha! |
| Saakshaatkaar- a corporate interview | Get as close as you can with the shining stars and your own role models from the IT world. Talk, listen and learn how they made it and implement the same to become the next-gen IT management champion! It'll be an event where most endearing secrets of success and inspiring stories of triumph unfurl themselves. Don't miss it- 'coz if you miss it, you miss IT!! |
| Sanghoshthi- a panel discussion | A panel discussion by the current and future thinkers of the global IT industry to reflect upon the potentials and drawbacks of |
| IT Parivaar | A fun game meant for the families of the IT champions of |
| Saarathi | True to the spirit of information technology, this contest tests your ability to solve critical business issues by leveraging the power of IT as the ultimate enabler!! Write a paper to participate and test your consulting skills! |
| Lakshya | Create something new, make a difference! In keeping with SPJIMR's unique theme of being a “socially responsible corporate”, this business plan contest is aimed at encouraging young minds to come up with social initiatives at the grassroots level which would not only generate a huge bottom-line but also be socially and economically sustaining. Registrations awaited from business school participants in teams of three. |
| e-Connect | How tough it is to communicate in the virtual world!! Test your communication abilities and team skills in this contest where the Internet titans and web geeks clash to pull out the maximum in the minimum time. Can you do it? If yes, register yourself with us immediately. |
| Bob the Builder | Can We Fix it?? Yes WE CAN! |
| Hunt IT | Sharpen your instincts to hunt for your success; survival of the fittest is the guru mantra!! If you are a final year graduation student or a business school participant and are in for the challenge, register in teams of three! |
While the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) started the two-year FMB niche programme a decade ago, other local biggies of Mumbai like the LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research and the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) have launched this course in the past couple of years.
How different is a FMB from a standard MBA
According to Dr Rattan Sharma, Director, Centre for Family Managed Business, SPJIMR, “MBAs are trained to get a job whereas in Family Managed Business students are trained to be leaders. We want them to build an institution not just run a business.”
At all the three institutes, the MBA programme and the FMB have similar first year curriculums. The differentiator comes in during the second year.
“Unlike the MBA, we don't provide marketing, human resources or finance specializations in the FMB programme during the second year. Instead we provide a general viewpoint of all the functional areas to the students,” says Ms Seema Mahajan, Chairperson FMB at NMIMS.
“Welingkar's programme focuses on developing an in-depth knowledge about the issues and challenges in a family business. In the second year of the course, the focus is on the issues surrounding a family business. The classroom sessions also include business owners sharing their experiences with others and confronting situations commonly faced by all family business owners. We are focusing on transferring the students from being employees to employers,” explains Ms Vruddhi Kale, FMB-coordinator at Welingkar.
How it works
An important aspect of FMB programmes is their chronological outlay. At SPJIMR, each month has a one-week classroom session followed by three-week practical application wherein the students return to their businesses to apply what they have learned. At Welingkar, 10 days of classroom contact are followed by 20-day application project on-location at their family business.
“This method combines the power of the 'why' and 'how'. This makes it possible for business owners to make the time and see the changes alongside,” explains Ms Vanita Patel, FMB Head, Welingkar.
SPJIMR and Welingkar foster a mentor system, in which a family member guides and supervises the student's growth during the course.
“We select the mentor according to their time commitment towards the student. The mentor assists the student to apply whatever he has learnt during the course,” says Ms Patel.
Eligibility
Apart from the standard criteria associated with academics and past record, FMB programmes require the applicant's involvement with a family business. Though most of these programmes quote a minimum work-experience of two years with the family business, it is usually relaxed.
“A good academic record definitely adds to a candidate's chances. We usually don't pay much emphasis on the turnover or size of the family business,” reveals SPJIMR's Dr Sharma.
Selection
SPJIMR uses an elaborate system of three entrance tests to assess IQ, analytical reasoning and general skills followed by a personal interview. NMIMS selects using just an interview. Although the Welingkar prospectus states that they use an entrance test followed by a group discussion and interview for admission, the institute's spokesman says that at present they only select using a personal interview.
Tradition vs Professionalism
According to Ms Patel, the FMB course fosters a shift from traditional business practices synonymous with family managed businesses to a professional manner of functioning among students.
“We provide them professional training, guest lectures and industrial visits. We see to it that they are applying what they are learning. The final assessment of students involves how successful they have been in applying their professional skills,” she explains.
Given that FMB programme students have their family businesses to fall back upon, there is a risk of them turning complacent during the course.
Dr Sharma's take on this is that complacency depends on an individual's fire and desire to succeed.
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Your overall score out of 800 results from your performances in quant and verbal, each of which is first scored independently on a scale of 0-60. These subscores are then combined to yield your overall score according to formulae to which only ETS (the organization that administers the GMAT) is privy. Each subscore (verbal and quant) receives a percentile ranking as well. This indicates the percentage of test-takers who scored below your level over the past few years. So, for example, if you receive a verbal subscore of 40, you are in the 90th percentile, which means that 90% of all test-takers did not perform as well as you in verbal.
Some recent scores of 750 broke down as follows: 41V/51Q, 46V/47Q, 44V/49Q, 45V/48Q, 47V/47Q. Notice that both sections are strong. Some recent scores of 760 broke down as follows: 51V/46Q, 42V/50Q, 46V/48Q, 44V/50Q. Again, these test-takers posted excellent subscores. To break 750, you more or less need to reach at least the 84th percentile in quant (subscore 46) and the 90th in verbal (subscore 40). While a significant number of test-takers can reach one or the other of these goals, very few can reach both on the same exam. Hence the reward of 99th percentile status to those who can.
How do you get there? By understanding how the exam changes at its highest levels. At the 750+ level, you will no longer be tested on the basics; by the time you start seeing 750-level questions, you will already have proven to the CAT that you have mastered the fundamentals and are ready for the tough stuff. So the CAT will try to gauge your level by taking the same concepts you would see at the 650 level and "gussying" them up. In quant, it is now more about logic than about calculation. Did you spot the pattern hidden in the numbers? Did you spot the hidden equations? In verbal, you will need to resolve subtle flaws of logic and grammar. The issues no longer announce themselves; you have to seek them out. The 750+ exam is for active test-takers. If you sit back and let the exam wash over you, chances are you will not break 750.
What about 800? Does anyone ever get the "perfect" score? Indeed. But a score of 800 does not necessarily mean you got every question right. It means that you answered so many extremely hard questions correctly that your few errors were statistically insignificant in comparison. What kind of numbers do you need for 800? A recent test-taker who managed an 800-level performance received 51 in verbal and 51 in quant, subscores so rare that the GMAT does not even separate them in percentile (99th) from the theoretical upper limit of 60 on each section.
So to break 750, review the most challenging questions you can find. Pick them apart. See how underneath all the fuss, they still test the same basic concepts. The only difference is the amount of insight needed to see which basic concepts are being tested. That insight will come with practice.
What happens if you take the exam and you do not break 700? A common myth among GMAT hopefuls is that you only get one bite at the apple. In other words, if you do not hit your target score on your first attempt, all your subsequent efforts, even if successful, are somehow diminished in the eyes of b-school admissions committees. This is totally false!
The vast majority of business schools take only your highest GMAT score into account when evaluating your application. Why? First, it is in their best interest to inflate their mean and median GMAT scores to keep their rankings high. Second, business schools do not see the GMAT as a test of innate intelligence but rather as a measure of your preparation for business school. They want to know that at the time of your eventual matriculation, you will have the basic skills (quantitative, reasoning, writing, etc.) necessary for success in their programs. Whether you prove yourself on your first, second, or third attempt is irrelevant as long as you demonstrate your readiness somewhere along the way.
Also, keep in mind that business schools evaluate not only your academic qualifications (e.g., GMAT and GPA), but also your professional promise. They gauge this by your career choices and successes and by your demonstrated determination to succeed. If you present a GMAT score that is clearly below a school's standards, the admissions office will question your drive and consider you unrealistic. Taking the exam again shows determination and an appreciation for what it takes to achieve your goals, all desirable traits in a business school applicant.
How likely is it that your score will improve on a subsequent test? It is more likely than not. Many test-takers succumb to nerves on their first try, letting time slip away as they fumble through the exam. On a second attempt, the exam is no longer a mystery. Having learned from experience, many test-takers are better able to manage the time and to recognize the warning signs when they find themselves dealing with questions beyond their reach. Recent test-takers have gone from 620 to 720, 650 to 710, 580 to 670, 630 to 680, 520 to 690, and these are just a tiny sample of people whose scores improved significantly on a subsequent try. Of course, they continued to study and hone their skills, but an essential component of their eventual success was their prior experience with the exam.
If your first attempt at the exam falls short of your target score (i.e., a score that will make you competitive at the schools to which you plan to apply), you will need to take the exam again. But do not see this as a failure. Rather, it is a second opportunity to show the business schools that you are ready. In fact, we recommend that everyone plan to take the test twice, right from the start. The first try is a "practice run" to shake out your nerves and familiarize yourself with the timing and pressure of the real exam so that on your second attempt you can concentrate on the content and time management.
The 700 barrier has taken on a life of its own among business-school applicants. It seems more and more that applicants are shooting for 700 in order to "seal the deal" at a top-20 business school. But is 700 really necessary for admissions success?
hile the vast majority of business schools still report average GMAT scores below 700, the uppermost echelon increasingly reports averages at or above that mark. You have to be careful, though, when evaluating reported GMAT scores. Is it an average or a median? If a school reports an average GMAT score of 700, for example, you have no way of knowing what proportion of students scored above that mark, or below for that matter. A few very high or very low scores can skew the average up or down. If a school reports a median GMAT score of 700, by contrast, you know that approximately 50% of its students scored above that mark and approximately 50% scored below. Accordingly, median GMAT scores are more indicative of your admissions chances than are averages, though for most schools the two will be quite close.
For example, the average GMAT score in a recent year at The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) was 687, but the median score was 700. The slight discrepancy indicates that even though 50% scored above 700 and 50% below, there were more very low scores (relatively speaking, that is – it is still Chicago, after all) than very high scores. What does this mean? It means that some applicants with comparatively low GMAT scores were admitted to Chicago GSB. Another top school with a similar discrepancy is the Fuqua School of Business of Duke University. In a recent year, it reported an average GMAT score of 701 but a median of 710. MIT and Hass (UC, Berkeley) also reported similar discrepancies between their mean and median GMAT scores in recent years. This shows that while your GMAT score weighs heavily in your application, a score above 700 is not necessary for admission to some of the country's most prestigious business schools, even when they report average scores at or above 700.
In fact, you should not think of average or median GMAT scores as "cutoffs". One very prestigious b-school reports an average score above 700, but its admissions officers have been known to tell applicants that the real minimum in their eyes is 660. Will you have a better chance with a score of 760 than 660? Sure, but your application would not be summarily dismissed if you submitted a score of 660. And remember that more goes into the admissions decisions than just the GMAT score: work experience, GPA, recommendations, essays, etc.
Of course, breaking the 700 barrier can only help your chances. So aim high and study hard!
Large-scale construction work is on inside GIM's idyllic campus. But if you look at the 200-year-old heritage building that was once a hospital, you will hardly notice any signs of revamp. GIM has preferred to retain the vintage exterior look of its structure, making it the only B-school which does not look like a B-school!
“We are acquiring 7 acres of land adjacent to the present campus which we shall use to expand hostel capacity. Then we are modernizing our existing classroom facilities and indoor infrastructure and installing wi-fi on the entire campus,” informs Prof D'Lima.
The school plans to increase its seats for the MBA-equivalent Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM) from the existing 120 to 240 next year. A PR agency has been contracted to enhance GIM's image and the rather dated official website is under reconstruction.
As for faculty, the institute plans to pump up its existing full time strength of 22 professors to 25. “However, we are looking at having 40 fulltime faculty by the time we reach the 240 student intake,” reveals Prof D'Lima.
The B-school has clocked its highest ever average salary this year at Rs 5.66 lakhs.
“A good indicator of our growing acceptance is that this year our entire batch is from the first admission list. Earlier, we used to have 70 pc from the first list and 30 pc from the waiting list,” Prof D'Lima points out.
Some international tie-ups are being forged and some are on the anvil, notably with B-schools in Portugal, Germany and the USA.
More work experience, Goan quota
For its class of 2007, GIM took more students with work-experience than freshers. As many as 61 pc students had worked prior to joining GIM in 2007 as compared to 42 pc for the 2006 batch. However, much of the increase draws from an increase in the number of students with work experience less than 12 months.
After engineers, business management and natural sciences graduates make up the greatest chunk of the class.
“We wouldn't like an entire batch of engineers. But at the same time we've never had to consciously create a certain batch profile, what has come to us is entirely by merit,” says professor of Business Law Sarita D'Souza.
GIM does not have a quota for Catholic applicants, although it relaxes the XAT cutoff for Goan applicants by 10 percentile. Thereafter, the Goan applicants are on a level playing field with the rest of the applicants, informs Prod D'Lima.
In the past two years, women students have formed roughly 27 pc of GIM batches.
XAT cutoffs, two PIs
According to Prof D'Souza, GIM closed the XAT cutoff at 84 percentile this year and has been roving around the same figure in recent years.
“We don't have sectional cutoffs, though we do track the quant percentile. We also require a writeup to test the communication skills of the applicant,” she adds.
An applicant if shortlisted at the XAT stage has to undergo two personal interviews, both in a one-on-one situation.
“Most people get comfortable with a one-on-many situation. We thought it would be useful to know how the applicant copes in a one on one environment. At the same time, we get two independent judgments from two people,” reasons Prof D'Souza.
Do they test different parameters in the two interviews?
“The parameters are mutually agreed upon,” explains Marketing professor and GIM's placement in-charge Prof Chandersen Mirchandani.
“Things like past academics are tested by one while the other looks at profile. But communication skills is something both interviewers look for,” he adds.
Faculty advisor, concept of comprehensive exam
“The good thing about GIM is that the students, faculty and employees here have a choice (to pursue what they want to) and take responsibility. You are allowed to take an initiative. There is a broad philosophy, but you are not bound and governed at GIM. We believe that people grow best in such an environment,” says Prof D'Souza.
“For example, we don't have specializations in marketing or finance. Students are free to choose from a range of 45-50 electives,” Prof Mirchandani points out.
GIM has a 'faculty advisor' system to guide its students on career choices.
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Prof D'Souza explains, “Each faculty has a fixed number students allotted to him or her from each year. They are like guardians who play a facilitator role by counseling the students assigned to them. In the first 3-4 weeks of joining GIM, the students meet their faculty advisor once a week to get to know them. Then gradually we chalk out a plan to see how we can help them achieve their goals.”
As a review mechanism, each GIM student has to take a compulsory 'comprehensive exam' in oral format at the end of the first year.
“In the first year the student is exposed to many core courses in different areas. In order to make an informed choice he needs to be clear what he has learned in the first year. The comprehensive exam gives him that feedback in terms of a 'satisfactory' or 'unsatisfactory' result,” says Prof D'Lima.
General Management Focus, life on campus
GIM's fees are Rs 2.5 lakhs for both years of PGDBM. According to Prof D'Lima, this is possible because the institute's does not allow it to make a profit.
Given its proximity to Goa – India's tourism hotspot, GIM does not offer specialized options in tourism management in its curriculum.
According to Prof D'Lima, the institute is still in its learning phase and must first learn to bite what it can chew. “We are focusing to be very good in general management. Though only because somebody is offering to donate a health chair in GIM are we thinking of a healthcare elective,” he informs.
“We are consciously trying not to be a tourism-centric B-school because tourism as such is not a very stable industry,” says Prof D'Souza.
However, Prof Mirchandani points out that GIM has its share of electives that few other B-schools offer. “Talent management and marketing representation are courses that few institutes have,” he says.
Prof D'Souza stresses on the accessible nature of faculty on GIM campus. “Students can have tea with the faculty. Most faculty members have an open door policy for several hours of the day,” she elaborates.
On the academic rigour at GIM, Prof Mirchandani says, “If there's a three-credit course that requires 30 classroom hours, we see to it that they do an additional 90 hours of work through projects or case analysis.”
Despite the rigour, students manage to make time to experience Goa, Prof D'Souza adds.
IT sector jobs top
GIM achieved its first breakthrough in placements this year, with the 2006 batch scooping an average salary of Rs 5.66 lakhs and a highest salary of Rs 8.5 lakhs.
Prof Mirchandani agrees that there is still work to be done on the placements front.
“We're a good quality B-school but the only thing is that applicants don't think highly of us with respect to the placements. There has been a change in this since last year because our average salary increased,” he muses.
Most GIM graduates are taking up offers in the IT-sector, albeit in various roles.
The highest average salaries have come from consultancy roles (Rs 7.97 lakhs), followed by information function (Rs 6.63 lakhs), operations management (Rs 5.50 lakhs) and human resources (Rs 5.18 lakhs).
Not many GIM graduates go the entrepreneurial way. “That's my biggest grouse. Many students want to be entrepreneurs at a later period but in their minds. I'd say most don't have the guts,” he says.
The institute does not have a course on entrepreneurship although Prof D'Souza insists that entrepreneurial spirit is promoted by the GIM in its culture.
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Almost all of us are now at a juncture in our preparation where we have to decide between studying and taking tests. But where one ends up depends a lot on where one started from. Hence let's look at the possible stages where a student could find himself/herself. We can then look at when one should take comprehensive tests vis-à-vis studying concepts. Current Students could be divided into one of these three categories:
2. Have started three months back or before and have prepared haphazardly
3. Have started three months back or before and prepared with some schedule
Now the possible paths for each of these categories are:
Just started or recently started
The first thing that you should do is read the article Confessions of a serial almost- 100 percentiler. The article will give you an idea on how to start your preparation. You will of course have to re-modify the schedule and study at least 5-6 hours instead of 3 hours. Your aim must now to be to cover relevant theory by the end of August. Comprehensive tests should start by early September or mid September. You can start taking section tests from mid - August after you are familiar with at least 50% of the theory.
Have started three months back or before and have prepared haphazardly
If you have been preparing without any structure then whatever you have achieved could have been increased by 50%. The first thing you must do is to make a list of the concepts that have yet to be covered by you. After the list is complete give each item a date and then follow the date given and keep the end of July as your deadline for studying. In August you can take section tests along with revision of topics every alternate day. You must start taking comprehensive tests by the beginning of September.
Have started three months back or before and prepared with some schedule
Do you really need this article? If you have prepared with a schedule then you must be comfortably moving towards completion of your theory. Keep the 15th August (Independence Day) deadline in mind and try to finish all theory by that time. If you think you may finish earlier then you can start taking section tests. Otherwise as some immortal philosopher must have said “You are doing just fine”.
Now let's get to the important question of when do we start taking comprehensive tests? The 'when' can be read in two distinct ways: 'when' with respect to time and 'when' with respect to the stage in your preparation. Before we analyze these two aspects we should comprehend the purpose of comprehensive tests.
Why do we take comprehensive tests?
Speed: The first and foremost reason should be to increase speed and that happens only with practice. But remember practice is not the only cause behind increase in speed. There are other important factors like knowledge of important concepts, understanding of basics: if you do not understand basics you cannot apply them to tougher problems. Both these attributes are a prerequisite for speed; taking test papers without these attributes is pointless. Also speed can be developed by taking section tests first.
Concentration: Most of us are not used to sitting two hours at a stretch, a high degree of concentration is also not easy for first time test takers. Comprehensive tests make us sit for two hours at a stretch and we increase our attention span. Hence taking tests as soon as you can makes sense. But remember studying two hours at a stretch whenever you study can increase concentration. Of course studying for two hours at a stretch is not as rigorous as taking a test but that is a better way to start your two-hour sessions than comprehensive tests.
Time Management: A very important value provided by the comprehensive test is an idea of our strengths and weakness. If a student takes a section test, he/ she has no idea about time management in a comprehensive test. Remember a comprehensive test is not simply 'n' section tests rolled into one. In a section test you have no option but to give 40/ 30/ x mins to your section but in a comprehensive test when you have 2 hours for the entire paper then you have some more flexibility to maximize your chances of getting calls. This is especially important for students who have strong strengths / weakness. Let me explain-- if a student very weak in Math and strong in English takes a normal 3 section comprehensive test he/ she can easily get a very high score in English but a fairly poor score in Math. In this case the student can realize that there is no point scoring absurdly high marks in English when the quant score is not even competent hence he or she can decide to give 5/10 mins out of English into Math, this may lower the overall score but definitely ensure that the student gets all calls. This is where analyzing and taking enough comprehensive tests is important. Students should use them to work out which type of time break up suits them best. Of course if the actual CAT is a timed section test then you have no choice but if it is not, you should utilize the freedom to maximize your score. For some students who are good at all sections they can give say 5/10 less minutes per section and use the last 15 to 30 minutes across sections to maximize score.
But all this makes sense if you have done all the background work of theory, basics and concepts. If you do not know everything for a particular section then whatever data you get regarding scores will be definitely incorrect.
Other Reasons: Of course, there are a lot of other reasons like selection of questions, analyzing strengths and weakness within a section, work out the time for varieties of questions but all these objectives could be addressed by section tests. In fact these minor issues should be clarified first by taking some section tests in every section and only then moving ahead with comprehensive tests.
When do we take comprehensive tests?
Now based on the above analysis it is fairly obvious that any comprehensive test should be taken after basic theory / concept completion. Also some section tests should have been attempted before taking comprehensive tests.
In terms of time as I have analyzed in one of my earlier articles 30 comprehensive tests should be taken on alternate days with revision of some important topics on alternate days. Including some unforeseen off days this should take around 75 days. Hence beginning of September is a good time to start taking comprehensive tests.
So please focus on concepts first and then start taking section tests, followed by comprehensive tests in September.
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With supermarkets and shopping malls coming up at an ever-increasing pace, retail management is perhaps one of the fastest growing careers in recent times. The Indian retail sector is considered to be one of the largest in the world. Along with retailers such as Shoppers stop, Pantaloon, Westside even big business conglomerates like Reliance are getting onto the battlefield. Besides the Indian players we need to watch out for foreign retailers like Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour who are waiting to take the plunge into the growing Indian market.
The retail boom seems here to stay, the major reasons being huge foreign direct investments (FDI) along with a rising standard of living and increased consumerism. This has resulted in various job prospects in the retail market awaiting Indians, from supply chain to managerial posts. Thus most B-schools in India have taken notice of this opportunity and have introduced new courses in the field of Retail Management.
Various B-schools in India like the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) Kolkata (where the programme commences from this year onwards), Institute for Integrated Learning and Management (IILM) New Delhi, Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad (MICA), K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai and Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai are now offering Retail Management as an attractive career option to students.
What makes retail management different from a standard MBA?
According to Mr Hemant Trivedi, Head of Retail Communication Management at MICA “We did a full fledged research in the retail area on the basis of which we realized the need for such a specialized programme in retail. The standard MBA is a very general management course whereas this is more of a specialization. We teach them all the aspects of retailing and prepare them for the back office jobs like supply chain management, merchandising etc.”
“Retail is booming! It's growing at a very fast pace with many Indian players like Reliance, Pantaloon and international players like Wal-Mart venturing into the Indian markets. Thus the job opportunities have increased for trained labour in the retail market,” reasons Mr Gairik Das, Coordinator, Post Graduate Program in Retail Management (PGPRM), IISWBM.
“A degree in retail management for a person who wants to exclusively specialize in retail is an absolute solution. One gets to learn the concepts of retailing, which would be helpful for future undertakings, at the same one gets practical experience as well. In case of a standard MBA one gets industry exposure only during the summer internships and there is more emphasis on classroom lectures,” states Ms Priyanka, Student, PGPRM, K J Somaiya.
About the Courses
The specialty of the course lies in the concept and the belief of providing extra skills and expertise to students who want to make a career in the retail sector. At MICA, it was a 12-month programme, which has been extended to 15 months from this year onwards. The programme commences with the 'retail yatra', wherein students are taken to various cities in India in order to interact with retailers all over the country.
“From this year onwards the students will be taken for an 'International yatra' as well where they will be provided with an opportunity to visit foreign retailers,” updates Mr Trivedi.
“We have increased the length of our course to 15 months in order to incorporate the international yatra as well as include more important and relevant issues related to the retail segment,” explains MICA's Mr Trivedi.
Mr Amit Chaturvedi, in-charge of PGPRM, IILM states “At IILM the course is encompassed into two years wherein there are 15 months of class room sessions and nine months of on the job training. Beside this during the 15 months each week is divided into four days of classroom sessions and two days of floor training with the outlets.”
“The students receive Rs 5000 per month for the nine months of internship at the outlets. The outlets also reimburse them with Rs 200 per day during the two day on the job training, which is apart of the 15-month schedule,” adds Mr Chaturvedi.
“The Post Graduate Program in Retail Management at Welingkar is a 2-year full-time management program. The first year comprises of 3 trimesters followed by the first project for 3 months. The second year comprises of 2 trimesters followed by 2 projects of 3 months each,” informs Ms Shobha Rajkarne, Professor of PGPRM at Welingkar.
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria are similar to the standard MBA criteria comprising of good academics and over all past performance of students.
“Work experience is optional but it does act as a value addition with respect to the student's probability for admission after the regular selection procedure,” says Mr Chaturvedi.
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Selection
At most B-schools the procedure of selection is quite similar. The differentiating factor between the processes is the difficulty levels and the way of conducting the process.
However at MICA similar things are done differently. As Mr Trivedi elaborates, “We have a written test called MICAT. Subsequent to the test we have a group exercise, wherein we gauge the skills of a student over and above the written test. In the group exercise students are given a situation along with options. According to their judgment they need to prioritize the option individually, it is then followed by an open discussion. The group has to reach a common consensus on basis of the priorities through discussion. After the group exercise we have a personal interview to know more about the students with respect to their attitude and aptitude for the course.”
The selection procedure at Welingkar is elaborate. The system not only includes a written test followed by a group discussion and personal interview; it also involves a psychometric test in order to choose the most appropriate students for the course.
Industry association
Retail chains like Pantaloon Retail India Limited are in search of talent, tailored particularly to their requirements. The increased competition in the retail sector has led to a surge in demand of trained personnel, which has further led to corporate and B-school tie ups.
The institutes IISWBM, IILM, K.J Somaiya and Welingkar have launched a course in Retail Management in association with retail chain Pantaloon.
“It's a joint venture wherein Pantaloon is going to provide our college with faculty for lectures related to retail. Along with that the students will have an internship of three months at Pantaloon in the first year and six months in the second year. A stipend for these nine months will be provided by Pantaloon to the students,” reveals IISWBM's Mr Gairik Das.
“The highlight of the programme is that Pantaloon will be offering all the students a job on successfully completing the course,” he adds.
Welingkar too has partnered with Pantaloon even after having a retail specialization in the standard MBA programme. The specialization in retail is like any other specialization of finance, marketing etc. Ms Rajkarne, explains the reason behind starting the special programme “The course offered in association with Pantaloon is a special course under which the students have to intern with Pantaloon during the course. Once the students successfully complete the course they are assured of a placement at Pantaloon. But if they wish they can turn down the offer and choose to work else where.”
“The students are guaranteed of a job with Pantaloon but they have the freedom to decline the offer at the end of two years. In such a situation the institute is not responsible for their placement. But so far no student has expressed a desire of declining the offer,” says Mr Srinivasan, PGPRM Coordinator at K J Somaiya.
The institutes as well as the students seem content with the idea of getting placed with the numero uno retailer in the country.
According to Mr. Kunal Poanda, PGPRM student at Welingkars “The tie up with Pantaloon provides a great opportunity for students in terms of an industry exposure while interning with Pantaloon along with receiving conceptual knowledge through classroom sessions”
“Doing this course also gives students a job guarantee with Pantaloon, one of the best retailers in the country, at the end of two years. The pay package at the end of the course solely depends on your individual performance, but work experience does play a key role”, supplements Kunal.
A noteworthy aspect is how much value additions are these courses providing to students? Are they really offering anything different from the existing MBAs? Or is it just old wine in a new bottle?
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Dr. Philip Kotler will be in India on an invitation from Great Lakes to address the participants of the seminar titled 'Marketing Mantras', in Chennai on July 17, 2006, in Bangalore on July 18, 2006 and in Mumbai on July 20, 2006.
The event will be attended by the various prominent personalities of the Indian corporate world. Dr. Philip Kotler would share his insights on the future of marketing and the changing economic landscape, which has been fundamentally altered by globalization and technology. He would also be addressing the gathering on; skill requirements for successful marketing managers, how the marketing departments of organizations would look in the future and developing new marketing skills, in the era of globalization and technology advancements; and his thoughts on Sales & Marketing, as outlined in the latest issue on Harvard Business Review, 'Ending the War between Sales & Marketing'. During this visit to India, Dr. Kotler will also meet prominent corporate personalities and renowned corporate leaders.
Speaking on this occasion, Dr Bala Balachandran, Founder and Honorary Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management said, “We, at Great Lakes, are honored to work closely with Dr Philip Kotler. Great Lakes Institute of Management and its students will play a major role in Dr Kotler's research, to focus on Indian industries and the synergy between technology and marketing, specifically in the context of IT Industry. Similarly, through the seminars in Chennai and Bangalore, we hope to extend a lifetime opportunity for corporate entities and students as well, to meet and interact with the marketing guru.”
Dr Kotler has done his PhD in Economics focusing on the agricultural economy of India. He will play an active role in Great Lakes' research activities, to reestablish his association with this country and to reinforce his relationship with Great Lakes, where he is a member of the Academic Advisory Council.
Dr. Philip Kotler is one of the world's foremost experts on the strategic practice of marketing, voted 'The First Leader in Marketing Thought' by the American Marketing Association. He has written over 56 books, including 'Marketing Management', 'The Marketing of Nations' and 'Principles of Marketing' and numerous articles in leading journals, including the Harvard Business Review. Dr. Kotler has been a consultant for different companies such as IBM, General Electric and Motorola in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organization and international marketing. The seminars are on July 17, 2006 at Le Meridien, Chennai, on July 18, 2006 at Le Meridien, Bangalore and on July 20, 2006 at Hilton Towers, Mumbai. Registration fee is applicable.
An IIM Ahmedabad alumni and one who cherishes interacting with fresh minds, he gave the audience an insight into both the FMCG industry and the turn around of certain flagging brands.
With the beauty and health sectors witnessing a considerable growth rate over the past 10 years, the skincare industry has become one of the most lucrative areas of investment. It is fueled by the fact that a near 100 pc penetration could be achieved in both the urban and the rural market. Some of the business challenges that plagued the industry were:
• Low entry barrier – fear of competition looms large
• Multifold increase in advertising expenses by companies
• Need to make far sharper choices
• High cost base – chokes ability to fuel growth
More into specifics, he explained how he and his team had actually turned around the drooping sales of Lux soap and the challenges faced by them. Lux, which had been considered the soap of film stars, had the distinction of being the most trusted cleansing brand for three years and actresses till the 90s used to do free advertisements for it. Post 2003, it saw a sharp decline in market share wherein in one year it lost about one crore out of the total five crore households. The task before the team was three pronged:
• Containing the decline – Highest priority
• Strengthen brand image
• Upgrade discount soap users
With its new launch in 2005 giving it a new shape and global packaging advantage, an aggressive campaign was launched to promote it. Capitalizing on its star value, the campaign concentrated on 75 years of stardom and “come and explore the word of stars” tag line. A nation wide thematic process was adopted and a rapid trial was conducted for the new product. A lucky star contest and star on each pack, things brightened up and market share showed some improvement. A chocolate solution and its aromatic flow made Lux an exotic soap offered at regular prices. It had captured the No.1 brand again followed by Lifebuoy in the soap industry.
The key lessons that were learnt from this exercise according to him were:
• Need for sharper problem identifiers
• A 360 degree approach to solving problems
• Metro marketing
• Powers of PR and how it helps in brand building
• Identification of key triggers for rural growth
• Need to keep in touch with customers all the time
• Big gains come with big risks
His analysis of the Lux case along with his experience was a truly enchanting and enriching experience for each one of the aspiring managers in the auditorium. Reading marketing textbooks will not be the same again, felt NITIE students. This experience would have changed the entire perspective and marketing would be at its interesting best!
Speaking with the students on his new formula for marketing, Dr Kotler varied from his popular theory of 4Ps and emphasised on the customer and not the product. The 4Ps of marketing as earlier propounded by Dr Kotler are product, price, promotion and place. "We have to look beyond the 4Ps. Value addition to the customer is more important than the product itself," he said. Called the CCDV, it stands for creating, communicating and delivering value.
Kotler further said, “Marketing as a tool is under-utilised in its potential in India and worldwide. It has to be seen as a strategic function that looks three years ahead.” He added that he found “the Indian economy highly entrepreneurial”. The 'dabbawaalas' of Mumbai and the innovation of cigarettes being sold singly (due to the lack of affordability of an entire pack), particularly intrigued him.
“In the era of globalisation and technology boom, where customers are very well informed, and their needs are evasive and ever changing, only the players availing aggressive 'New Marketing' techniques stand a chance,” Kotler noted.
The new marketing techniques, according to him, included: Guerilla Marketing – hitting the street literally and capturing the attention of end users; Product Placement – placing products in movies, appearing at a prime time popular talk show to market yourself, and festival marketing; Ideating – out of the box thinking or being off-beat can help score a few brownie points with one's customers; Traditional Techniques – PR, advertising, telemarketing, direct marketing coupled with use of the Internet for e-marketing, etc., factored into work could be an effective success formula.
Prof Bala V Balachandran, J.L Kellogg distinguished professor of accounting and information systems at Kellogg school of management, Northeastern University, Chicago, and Founder & Honarary Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management also spoke at the occasion. Students, alumni participated in huge numbers and Kotler enthusiastically replied for several questions raised by the students.
As an alternative to increasing seats in existing courses, KJ Somaiya is walking the expansion road by starting new courses. Beside short term courses, KJ Somaiya has launched a two-year Retail Management course in partnership with Pantaloon.
MMS vs PGDBA
Among the two flagship courses of KJ Somaiya, the Masters in Management Study (MMS) is a University of Mumbai recognized degree course while the Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (PGDBA) is approved by the AICTE.
“Three to four distinctions between MMS and PGDBA are pretty clear. In the PGDBA course we admit more of engineering graduates and applicants having work experience. On the other hand in the MMS course we receive BCom passouts, entrepreneurs, CAs along with a large amount of freshers. The diversity of students we receive in PGDBA is large as they come from different parts of the country, which encourages more interaction and learning. Whereas in MMS we have a quota for Gujarati students which results in a batch that is largely local to Mumbai,” explains Mr Narasimham.
“The curriculum is different for both the courses but ultimately both of them aim at the same careers and positions. I would believe they are 80 per cent common in nature,” he adds.
No preference for Work Experience
KJ Somaiya has actively decided not to give preference to work experienced applicants for both MMS as well as PGDBA.
“Freshers have the desire and enthusiasm to perform,” says the Director General.
Delayed CET Cutoffs for MMS, Gujarati quota
Even though delayed, the college allotments under the Maharashtra CET were made on July 24. The cutoffs for KJ Somaiya IMSR closed at 158 marks for the Open Category and 181 marks for the Outside Maharashtra Category 181. The highest scorer in the Open Category at 173 marks was allotted Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.
“The expected cut offs for the Mumbai open seats and the OMS seats depends on the CET authorities. The authorities shall decide the B-school cut offs with respect to the overall performance of students along with the number of students opting for KJ Somaiya. The selection process for MMS is not in our hands unlike in the PGDBA course. Thus the process has taken a lot of time due to which the MMS programme has been delayed from July to 15th August. The cut off for Gujarati linguistic minority quota (GLMQ) is 159 and it has already been declared,” informs the Director General.
“As many as 50 pc seats in the MMS course are reserved for linguistic Gujarati applicants. We receive about 600 applications for these 60 seats. Of the other 50 pc, around half is for reserved quotas and what remains is for the general category. The seats for open merit are approximately 28 out of 120,” elaborates Mr Narasimham.
Campus revamp, New courses
Large amount of construction work is on in full swing at K J Somaiya with restructuring taking place in the building and other embellishments being added to the rest of the campus.
“We are also building a new men's hostel. We plan to increase the number of floors to four from the present two. One of these floors will accommodate a library,” says Mr Narasimham.
“We are now looking forward to having more specialized courses. Within management we can have specialized courses such as logistics management, retail management, IT, shipping etc. These specialized courses help train individuals according to the market requirements. We also plan to tie up with companies which would later absorb the students. This will help reduce the uncertainty and fear of employment among students to a great extent,” reasons Mr Narasimham.
KJ Somaiya's joint venture with Pantaloon for the Retail Management course is a step in that direction, adds the Director General General.
“Instead of a having an in-house program, we have tied up with Pantaloon Retail. All students will be employed with Pantaloon after successfully completing the course. The course is approved by Pantaloon which provides us faculty, they also conduct workshops for the students. At the end of the course students are free to give up the placement at Pantaloon. Although I must make it clear that we don't provide them with any other kind of placement,” explains Mr Narasimham.
KJ Somaiya arranges personal doubt solving sessions for students after classroom lectures under the tutorial system.
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Mr Narasimham explains, “Many times students hesitate to ask questions during lectures. In order to help them cope with their difficulties, groups of students are allotted to a professor who carries out tutorials. It is conducted like a workshop where their doubts are solved. It's like a coaching camp. For example,engineers may not understand cost accounting that well as compared to accountants. It is to help the last person in the class to come up to the medium level.”
Placements, attempts to get more PPOs
Both MMS and PGDBA batch besides having a common student body also have a common placement committee.
“The difference between MMS and PGDBA placements lies in the students' mind set. Most MMS students prefer jobs in Mumbai or want to join their family businesses while PGDBA students consider the brand name and don't put much emphasis on the location of the company,” states Mr Narasimham.
“This year our average salary was approximately Rs 5 lakhs. Along with that the company profiles coming to our campus and our ranking is also improving greatly,” claims Mr Narasimham.
“Earlier most of our students preferred marketing jobs. But of late there has been a shift from marketing to other disciplines such as Operations, Systems, and Human Resources,” adds Mr Narasimham.
“There were ten students who received pre-placement offers in the last batch. We are not getting as many PPOs as IIM students do. But we are working on getting more PPOs as well as lateral placements for our students. We are planning to have a separate placement process for lateral positions. But the main concern lies in fulfilling the requirements of the companies visiting our campus,” states Mr Narasimham.
Alumni, Foreign tie-ups
“We don't reveal much about our alumni or use our alumni to market our college. We organize events such as Milap for our alumni,” says Mr Narasimham.
According to Mr Narasimham, “In India we consider it a duty of the government to provide free education. As a result students after graduating don't feel the need to give back to the institute. Whereas internationally, the alumni is more forthcoming and willing to contribute. It will take along time for Indian alumni to get active except in a few well-known B-schools. We have started in this direction but it will take another five to six years to reach that level.”
Although KJ Somaiya has foreign B-school collaborations, by the Director General's own admission it has not been very active in executing them.
Mr Narasimham clarifies, “We have several tie ups with foreign B-schools like Stanford. But in reality much hasn't been done. The reasons being firstly most of our students are middle class and they can't afford to bear the expenditure of going there. The students don't see this programme as immediately transferring into higher salaries or any other incentives. According to them unless they join a multinational company in the US there is no point spending so much. We are looking at other options which include trying to send our faculty.”
Mr Narasimham has a strong industry background, having worked with IDBI and IFCI at senior level posts. He has moved on to become the Director General of K J Somaiya IMSR.
Author of the 1967 classic 'Marketing Management', Dr Philip Kotler shares space with Bill Gates, Peter Drucker and Jack Welch as the world's most influential management thinkers. Currently the SC Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA, Dr Kotler is a consultant on marketing strategy to companies such as Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Ford, Apple, Motorola, AT&T;, and Merrill Lynch.
Dr Bala V Balachandran is the JL Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Information Systems at the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He is also the Founder and Honorary Dean of the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.
Listen to the audio transcript of the interview! Click play button.
The Interview
Allwin: Dr Kotler, what brings you to India?
Dr Kotler: Bala! (laughs) I love coming back to India, Ive been here a lot and I think India is now at a tipping point where it is becoming a major force. It continues to grow in its influence and impact, starting of course with the BPO and outsourcing work. Many other things like medical tourism are going to take off and so on and so forth. I wanted to spend a week here and be in three cities, two of which I hadnt been in before and Bala arranged a lot of programmes for meeting a lot of people who are interested in the Great Lakes Institute of Management and also from different companies. We met the CEOs of two of the biggest companies today, Wipro and Infosys.
Dr Bala: I tried to tell Phil that he should be in India. Phil was here in 1956 for nine months for a PhD in labour economics. That time he was in Mumbai, Delhi but never in Chennai and Bangalore. So I convinced him to come to Bangalore and Chennai this time.
Allwin: Dr Kotler, when you are looking at marketing in the 21st Century, what is it that you foresee in the future?
Dr Kotler: I think this is going to be a contrast between the companies that are trying to use the old marketing techniques and slowly declining as a result and companies that are practising new marketing techniques, spend less time in advertisement to the mass market and spend more time utilizing new technologies like mobile phones, Internet, blogs, podcasts and a whole bunch of other things that are now necessary to reach your message to the target audience. And also companies are going to focus more on choosing the niches and segments they are going to hold onto. Another big chance for companies is moving from transaction thinking to relationship thinking. But even thats not enough, because smarter companies are going beyond relationship thinking to co-creation with the customer. When a company organizes a workshop for the customers to draw from it what they want, it is closely aligned to the idea of customization. Because we want to actually do more than sales, we want to delight customers and astonish them!
Allwin: How do think the Internet affects new age marketing and how will old marketers who dont understand the concept of Internet, blogs, and various other techniques cope in the future?
Dr Kotler: We never thought that the Internet would become an advertising medium and in fact an early statement by the head of P&G; said that CEOs would change and shift half of their money to the Internet if it werent an advertising media. What has happened of course, is it has become an advertising medium and a direct marketing tool and emails are a cheaper way to send messages to a lot of people if you have their names and its easy to get clicks measured. I think that any company that fails to prepare a good website for itself and utilize Google and Yahoo and the others to reach and influence target audience is making a huge mistake.
Allwin: When you talk about companies moving from the transaction model to the relationship model, how many companies do you see doing that or building it into their DNA so that they can sustain it?
Dr Kotler: I think that there is more talk than action and right now its not as much about relationship marketing as it is about becoming a customer centric organization. That is to say that you build from the outside in and build from the choice of the customer whose needs you want to meet to developing the engine for doing three things. Creating value, communicating value and delivering value. Letting the marketing department run the company is another way of putting the same thing. To let marketing department lead and put the CFO of the company under marketing is something that hasnt really yet been done. So every company needing the two functions (needs) two leaders Chief Revenue Officer CRO and Chief Financial Officer CFO and then you have a good bottom line.
Allwin: How do you (and Dr Bala) both get along? The marketing guru and the finance wizard. Its tough for the company to figure out the effect of marketing on the bottomline, and here is a person who says I know my figures.
Dr Bala: We are on the same wavelength. I have a firm belief that no one can achieve greatness by simply shrinking or by just cutting costs. However if you know the costs, the revenue can be more than the costs. Its no point in having a huge market share if you sell more and lose more. I think the CFO has to closely work with the CMO and CRO.
Dr Kotler: We think they should be located near each others offices and work on joint matrixes. It is asked, how marketing can make that headway when marketers can measure the ROI of the component parts of the marketing programme. Well, the fact is that we are making some progress there especially when we move away from mass unfocussed advertising towards direct mail or direct telemarketing and further when we go into predictive analytics where you can actually say based on data what the probability is for each customer making a specific purchase. So we dont waste the money on people that have a zero probability of purchase.
Dr Bala: Because of this closeness, we can also understand what is called as customers lifetime value. Just like ROI, we can also have RMI the Return on Marketing Investment.
Dr Kotler: We are able to, in some ways measure a return on customer. It is sort of activity based, wherein we consider sales calls, phone calls, the customer taking your time, etc.
Dr Bala: There is also the question of opportunity cost. If there is so much of marketing dollars available and not so much sales dollars available, by spending on the wrong customer you are really destroying value rather than creating value. So I will talk about customer profitability where you constantly watch and help your core customers.
Allwin: With the new techniques of marketing, how would huge monolith companies compete with newer companies that are much more accustomed and tuned to the new age marketing techniques?
Dr Kotler: The landscape would change slowly. In every company there will be rebels who will get together to say you know our competitor just beat us and do you know how they beat us? They just got onto the Internet and are doing e-sampling, e-discounting and we dont even know what the e means and so lets start a new company that understands this." I think the pressure from others to succeed using the new tools will work.
Allwin: What do you think are the biggest challenges for these companies to move onto the next level?
Dr Kotler: Budgets have to be kept the same year after year and its a terrible thing. There are politics to budgeting. Everyone who you budget expects at least the same amount they got last year plus 10 pc to cover for rising costs. Suddenly saying that we are reducing our advertising budget by half, you are also saying that you will be firing a lot of people or the advertising agency. If you are a kind company, you go a little slower on the inevitable.
Allwin: I think today an average customer knows a lot more about the product than the salesman does.
Dr Kotler: Right! And this is the main thing that the companies have not assimilated, that there is so much talk going on in the market place. In C2C Customer to Customer you cannot be a bad company anymore without getting your head shot. The word travels that fast. In fact individuals have started talk sites like 'untiedairlies' for United Airlines, where they are inviting in one place all the criticisms to be collected with respect to United Airlines. So then as you said, the other thing the information asymmetry that used to exist between the buyers and the sellers has been now rectified and as you said customers are now even more aware than the sales people. That makes price much more transparent. So not only are people going to chose their brands more carefully, but they are also going to have higher expectations from these brands and those better be met.
Dr Bala: Bad reviews travel extremely fast and you can now today feel the power of the customer with the advent of the Internet.
Allwin: Does the ability to track the advertising dollar, clicks and impact in an advertising campaign on the Internet, coupled with a not so complete understanding of new-age marketing techniques, lead companies to over-track their spending on the Internet without an appropriate understanding of the bigger picture?
Dr Kotler: Myopia is always a problem. There are what I say the two big pressures of marketing. One is that marketing should be more financial and secondly more technological and behind all that, more scientific. By financial, I mean we will see marketing move towards more measurable techniques because the CEO demands what the ROI is. By the way, the ROI is misleading. That is because it may be an indicator of the profit impact, but not necessarily of the profitability impact, which might be too short term sometimes. The technological thing is that each marketing group should have a guy with a proper understanding of IT so that they can talk to the IT guys and receive. We need the ability to model our market and model our marketing mix. You need some people in the marketing department who can think about the future and scan changes for opportunities and pose questions like what will the kitchen look like three years from now? Or what will be the main desire of people who buy cars three years from now? And then start plugging for innovation at this point based on the gambles you are going to take about the future. Now marketing isnt being used that way, much god knows how strategy evolves, if there is any strategy and as Dr Michael Porter said, it isnt a strategy because you are doing things better than the others, its only a strategy because you have done it differently.
Dr Bala: The new marketing is moving from mass marketing to micro marketing to an individual. I can follow one individual for a lifetime and custom provide an offering to his requirement. Even a commodity can be customized due to this kind of marketing and this is an extremely powerful way of using information.
Allwin: Companies like Skype and Amazon have built communities and have leveraged them to grow faster. They have also gone down the path of co-creation with the customer. How can older companies match up with the phenomenal growth rates and new age understanding of clients?
Dr Kotler: I gave a talk in London at the Annual Customer Management Conference on the subject of how do you draw free ideas from your customers. I had six takeaways to do that. The most common ones are Observe them in your homes, stores and youll see things that suggest things you can build. Get a list of their complaints about products and services and to get ideas of new projects.
Companies need to use focus groups and customer panels to use them as starting points and then refine the products or services. For example, kids are invited by Lego to give ideas for building new products and also to comment on the design pages. All this is co-creation.
Allwin: Dr Bala, using the co-creation model, how do you intend to take Great Lakes Institute of Management to the next level?
Dr Bala: Looking at our current model, we have received many offers to start multiple branches of the Great Lakes Management Institute in places like Noida, Gurgaon and Mumbai. I have made it clear (to the offer makers) that I will share the model and the learning, but they need to make sure that their attempt should never be a profit oriented venture.
I may even take PhDs in engineering, computer science and other set of areas and who are amazing researchers in various organizations, be it profit, non profit or government and then create an executive MBA programme specifically for them tailored as to how they can take an research concept they have created in lab to a commercially viable product. So therefore I can have a science group, a tech group and a management group combined together and use the co-creation model to build to greater heights.
Dr Kotler: You could define a Great Lakes brand which covers a no of things. For example, you could have a Great Lakes social marketing group which goes on to freely consult difficult poverty problems, or a Great Lakes group of consultants for small businesses. All this while you keep the quality of the consulting intact.
Allwin: Dr Kotler, are you in India because of Dr Bala or Great Lakes?
Dr Kotler: (Laughs) I would say both. I have great faith in the change agent quality of what he is doing. I also think that Uncle Bala (chuckles) and yes, I do call him Uncle Bala, is a force to be reckoned with. He seems to know everyone in India, all the one billion people, all within one phone call! I normally take a trip to India every few years anyway. This is the form I would like to do it in and I would like to do it similarly in the future as well.
Allwin: How different is it teaching students at Kellogg to the students at Great Lakes?
Dr Kotler: I havent been involved as much in the teaching at Great Lakes, but I know that the model is the same. Remember that Dr Bala and I have been influenced by the things that made Kellogg so successful, which consisted of the Dean of the school who created a culture that centered around the students, their development and their needs. The Dean used to be accessible and so friendly that he used to be pouring the tea for students and faculty himself.
Dr Bala: The Dean also used to carve the turkey during Thanksgiving and celebrate it with all the students. That kind of culture has completely gone into us. We mingle freely with students and there is a tremendous amount of exchange amongst the students.
Allwin: If you had to stay back in India and teach, which school would you choose to teach at?
Dr Kotler: (Laughs) Great Lakes! The students are extremely impressive. The enthusiasm and passion they seem to have for the school and for Bala and for the possibilities with their life is amazing.
Dr Bala: Today as I was sitting with Nandan Nilekani, I was informed that out of the 196 MBAs recruited this year, they had an orientation and testing and so forth, two of Great Lakes student graduates topped the whole event and they are going to be sent to the US. So Infosys now knows that if they need some great students, they need to go to Great Lakes.
Kotler: Let me add this to your question of whether and where I would teach, I would not come to India to be teaching. I would be coming to India to work on two problems the poverty problem I am writing a book on helping people escaping poverty. The other thing I am working on is to help each of Indias major cities develop a character unto itself, that is place branding and place marketing. Because every city would need to buy stuff and services from other cities and it needs to create value when it exchanges goods and services. Cities like Chennai and Bangalore need to figure out how to get more tourists, how to gain more businesses, how to attract investment, build headquarters and that is a marketing problem because you have to first define your marketing opportunities. I would be doing a lot more work with the government with respect to place marketing and poverty.
Allwin: How important is building a community of customers by companies?
Kotler: Companies need to learn to build a live, organic and passionate community of users. Apple Computers has succeeded, Harley Davidson has succeeded and so has Starbucks. If you really trust your community, you can build chatrooms so that they can do C2C (Customer to Customer) and help each other. I think clubbing is a great metaphor because clubs have fans and fan is a short form for fanatics and they help constantly build the brand.
Allwin: What drives you Dr Kotler?
Kotler: What drives me is continuous learning. I just always have had interest in understanding things and I chose a field that keeps changing and growing and challenging and keeps me intellectually stimulated. I know exactly what each new edition (of Marketing Management) has to tackle. The 12th edition moved the concept of branding from a mere chapter to become the basis of the whole book. The theme for the next edition will be the whole technological and financial revolution and will talk more about the Internet, mobile phones and new age marketing techniques.
Allwin: If you had to take your first edition and the latest edition of your marketing bible
Kotler: Well I would throw away the first one (chuckles) and burn it in public. The book had a page or two on branding, a page or two on segmentation and so now I even refuse to sign that book (chuckles again). The fact is that it is an evolving discipline and is half art, half science and more than just selling products.
Allwin: Dr Kotler and Dr Bala, thank you for the interview.
Dr Kotler: Youre welcome.
Dr Bala: Youre welcome.
As you probably know by now, the GMAT is a Computer Adaptive Test ("CAT"). This means that the questions that you see on the exam are selected by the computer based on your performance on earlier questions. For example, if you answer a question correctly, your next question will be harder. If you answer a question incorrectly, your next question will be easier. The exam is trying to gauge your ability level by seeing how well you do with questions (known as "items" in testing parlance) of varying degrees of difficulty. Generally speaking, the harder the questions you answer correctly, the better your score will be.
There are other factors besides difficulty level that influence the selection of items on a particular exam (e.g., question type (data sufficiency vs. problem solving, for example), content (e.g., algebra, ratios, assumptions, etc.), and exposure (i.e., how many times has the question been seen by other test takers already that month?)). But difficulty level is arguably the most important.
The CAT does not "bucket" items into "easy", "medium", and "hard" categories. Instead, each item can be considered easy, medium, or hard depending on the person to whom it is given. Each item is tested out for a period as an unscored "experimental" during the actual exams of people taking the GMAT. After a sufficient sampling of test-takers has answered the items, ETS compares the overall scores of the test-takers with their performance on the experimental items.
If, say, fifty percent of all test-takers scoring in the 600-620 range got a particular experimental item right, that item would be considered of medium difficulty for that ability level. If ninety percent of those scoring in the 700-720 range got the item right, it would be considered easy for that ability level. When the item is then presented as a real scored question on subsequent exams, the computer uses the experimental data to determine whether the item is appropriately difficult for someone performing at a given level thus far in the exam. The computer tries to give you questions that you have a 50/50 shot at, based on your performance up to that point. The better you do, the harder your 50/50 items will be.
Each item has an "item characteristic curve" that graphs the likelihood of answering that item correctly, based on the experimental data. The curve looks like this:
In the next article, we will discuss in detail the various aspects of the curve, to give you a better sense of how your GMAT exam adapts to your performance level.
A symbiotic relationship and close interaction with the industry on one hand provides an opportunity to the students to hone their management skills in a real life business environment and on the other provides a forum to the industry to discuss plausible solutions to contemporary/current business challenges. Keeping this aim in mind, the seminar at DMS, IIT Delhi is on a topic that will give an insight into the current & emerging issues.
The details for the program are:
Topic: “New Generation at Work: 'Y' should you care”
Date: August 5, 2006
Registration: 0900 hrs – 1000 hrs
Time: 1015 hrs – 1500 hrs
Venue: The Leela, Mumbai
Patron of the Event: Prof. Vinayshil Gautam, PhD. FRAS (London)
Founder Director, IIM – K
Leader, Consulting Team, IIM Shillong
Guest of Honour: Mr. M. Damodaran, Chairman, SEBI
Speakers at the event:
Dr. Vishwapati Trivedi, Chairman, Indian Airlines
Mr. Rohit Bhasin, Executive Director, PWC
Mr. Rajeeve Dubey, President HR & Corporate Services, Mahindra Group
Mr. Ashok Kr. Rout, COO, Bombay Stock Exchange Limited
Mr. T. C. Venkataraman, Chairman & MD, Exim Bank
For registration and more details visit www.iitdmba.com/rostrum
The convocation address was delivered by Uday Gharpore, CEO ATOSOrigin at the sprawling institute campus in Mumbai. Some of the other guests on the occasion to congratulate the graduating students were Mr Samik Biswas, CEO – McKinsey KC, Mr Aveek Mukherjee, CTO – ANZ, Mr Soumitra Sen, President, Brand Therapist – Mudra Communications, Ms Vidya Sen, Director South Asia – AC Nielsen BASES.
The grand ceremony saw the inaugural batch of a total of 47 corporate ready managers graduating in the disciplines of Operations Management and Information Management with a strong input focus on a combination of "Western Efficiency" with "Eastern Values & Ethos."
Ranjan R Rao, who has 5+ years of experience in Production, Planning and Projects in a German MNC automotive firm, chose to join SP Jain over a hree year onsite stint in Europe says "Its not just sufficient to dream. You need to follow it with lot of perseverance and sacrifice.”
Mohit Mehrotra, another PGDM student with 6 yrs experience spread over ERP implementation, Enterprise Solution Development & Maintenance and IT Infrastructure Management is spreading his wings to European countries for grabbing a big pie for his company.
he graduating class also saw placement offers from blue chip corporate concerns like 3i Infotech, Atos Origin, Kanbay Software, Birla Soft, BristleCone, Infosys Technologies Limited, L & T Infotech, Mindtree Consulting, Mphasis, SatyamComputers, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Industries, Eicher Consulting, Fidelity Business Services, HCL, HR Johnson, IBM Consulting, ICICI Bank, Jewelry Solutions, L & T and Mckinsey KC among others, visiting campus and vying with each other to make offers. All the participants of the course were placed laterally, with sixty percent hike in their offers compared to their previous salaries. The Average Indian salary for the first batch of this program has been Rs 10.5 lacs.
"The convocation of the first batch of the one-year PGDM programme marks a new chapter in the history of SPJIMR's value based pedagogy and management education initiatives," said an institute press release.
"One year MBA is a big hit not only with the candidates but also with the corporate which has lapped up the concept. The corporate world today is facing acute shortage of suitable Managers at middle and higher levels. This course seeks to bridge that gap to a great extent by providing experienced managers trained in modern management practices," the release added.