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Sunday, September 05, 2004
Of wars and tired warriors
Contrary to popular belief (which, as is another matter, has taken a hit, given the recent B-school rankings, the less said about which the better), Sundays at IIMs are not all that hectic. In fact, if anybody has the patience and the drive to go through OCS, IIMK's internal mail system, he/she will realise just how much time all of us seem to have on our hands. And no, it is not limited to people who have taken OCS to be their battle ground and are sending in one mail after the other (with each mail saying that I did not want to mail/spam but I have been forced to do so by what others have done/written...sic!).
All this activity (resulting from a lack of activity) extends a broader reach. If you look carefully and try to pry into the conversations that are taking place in the IIMK mess hall this weekend, you will realise that almost everyone knows what has been happening. I believe that more than the patience of those who write the mails, we should admire the patience of those who actually go through the mails and use it as a time pass/conversation topic....
Much has been said about Kiran in the OCS wars and yet, I will say some more...for the uninitiated, Kiran is my batchmate here at IIMK. For all those who need more information, I quote from hearsay...he has 2+ years of experience in MNC(s)...he does not believe in participating in GDs since he thinks he is too good for others.
Anurag says that Kiran does not believe in the concept of 'batch'. I knew it would happen but didn't know that it will happen so soon...one day I say that Anurag did a good job explaining the difference between things that could have been done and things that should have done...and the very next thing you know is that he has outdone himself and written some crap about the batch concept and why his being younger to others gives him the opportunity to exhibit an external locus of control...ok, I overdid myself here but what can I do, it is in the air.
Aditya says that no body will want to give a VB CD to Kiran because he has antagonized the batch...Ashwarya says that Aditya is wrong...Amarpreet says that he is a bit crazy and so he can say that everyone is wrong (all that is fine but I didn't get the bit about the 'bit'...)
And what does Kiran say to all this? He says that he checks his mail every evening from 5 to 5:30 and that he finds all these mails a good pass time. Whenever he finds a good opportunity, he tries to stoke the fire further so that he will have another interesting session with his mails the next evening. And you know what, I tend to believe him...I have seen such people before...to be honest about it, I have been like this myself, at some other part of my life. The bad word to describe these people (there's always the bad word that can be used to mis-represent the facts in any situation) is 'megalomaniac'.
Personally, I don't believe this to be exactly true. More than being megalomaniacs, these people really know what they are doing and what effect is that going to elicit. If all my informed batchmates who have been flooding OCS with what they think about Kiran, actually look at him when he is doing all these things that everyone is so much against, they will get a different picture. The smile on his face...the twinkle in his eyes...the satisfaction on his countenance...all these will definitely tell the true story. He knows that what he is doing is going to get a negative reaction and he does it only because of that. It is not that he does not have experience in interacting with people...it seems to be the other way round actually...that he is more experienced than many others in understanding what can excite somebody and what can get the creative juices of the entire batch going in order to give Kiran his due...his daily evening show.
And due is what he and people like him always get...they are sure of themselves...perhaps too sure, I admit...they know that what others say or do is not going to affect them...not seriously enough anyways...they enjoy the limelight and more than anything else, they laugh at the futility at it all...at how they are the perpetrators of all that others think is actually their own creation.
Well, enough said about Kiran and the OCS wars...I am sure that the people of the other section will agree to that...and this too because they do not figure in the wars and are not able to get their Sunday really well spent...I have absolutely no misgivings about those people from my section who pretend that they are tired of the controversy and yet, shoot off yet another mail as soon as they get the chance. It is not human behavior, believe me...to be tired of controversies...oh come on, give me anything else any other day and I will take that but not this...
However, before I say adieu, must say that
I don't like people not throwing waste and storing it under the desks as treasures...courtesy Surabhi
What is said above has been said well...courtesy Pavithra
Hi to all and what has been said above has been said very well...courtesy Ankit
Hi to all and specifically to those who have said the above and said it very very well, in deed...courtesy Akshat
Who told people to go ahead with changing the sylllabus when I had so many points to give against the move...courtesy Tarun
The right channel should be followed while going to the teacher...courtesy Atul
The channel should be rightly understood to be the right channel by the teacher...courtesy Shounak
What I have written is my personal opinion...do not mind that little part about I and some of my friends...courtesy Kiran
How can we not mind that part...liar liar...courtesy Mayank
We will not only mind that part but will also not give you any VB Cds in the future, so watch out...courtesy Aditya
What is the meaning of a batch, or who is a batchmate (aka STI)...courtesy Anurag
I will do what I want to...STI (read who is a batchmate) get lost...courtesy Kiran
I will tell you meaning of the batch...eir bir phatte...come to my room for the full song...courtesy Deepak
Dare to think beyond the CBLs?? (current burnout levels)...courtesy Amarpreet
Posted at 03:04 pm by Nitai
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Saturday, September 04, 2004
Getting out of the dumps...
Konica, are you still sileeping???
K naat, can you do this problem???
Aubheejeeet, haaaain, please tell the solution to the class, why are you shy???
All of us love him, all of us hate him. He is simple and cunning, absent-minded and a genius, stubborn and flexible, short-sighted and penetrative...he is Prof Gopal Chowdhry, easily one of the best brains in the institute, and easily one of the most hilarious teachers on campus.
After an entire half of the term, it was finally my turn today to be subjected to the oh-so-critical examination by Prof Gopal Chowdhry in the well of the class. Our group was the first and I was the first in the group (the second chosen one being Pavithra), on whom the lightning fell. And lightning it was, what with me not having read up anything at all about the case that was going to be discussed.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the first question he asked was put to me. The question was simple for a lot of people, he just wanted to know what the case was all about...but before you pass your judgement, try to be in the well answering questions when your answers are different from those Prof Chowdhry has in his own, well-hidden :-) answer sheet...or better still, try telling the facts about a five sentence case, even the first of which you have not read. People of my group who worked for the case, if you are reading this, I want to say to you that I am extremely sorry for being such a fool...honestly, I had thought the class to be at 2:30 and had left everything for the last moment, as I always do...I know that some of you might feel that I let their hard work down but believe me, this will not happen again...do I see some eyebrows going up??? Yeah, Ok, but the least I can do is try :-)
Hmm...while on the topic of the first question, as a part of my answer, I started reading from the slide that others in the group had prepared. All was going hunky-dory till I reached the point where I used one jargon (how could I resist that, the damn words were staring me right in the face!!!) and said that the sampling used was convenience sampling...haa haa, that did raise our beloved Prof's eyebrows and we had a full blown debate over the damn thing for about ten minutes which gave me enough time to go over not just the case, but our observations about the case, too. In the end, we actually managed to get a decent 4 out of 5 for the case...ok...ok, I know it's one mark less than the marks that two other groups got...please don't kill me for that, I have already promised...ah well, said...that I will do better the next time (not that he will call me again, but still, just in case...)
This entire episode actually turned out to be pretty good for my mood...somehow, I have been in the dumps for the past few days. I even missed the party on campus (first party I missed for a long long time...and that too, despite being one of the hosts) and spent the whole time sleeping in my room (a case of cough and cold alongwith a history of 3-4 nights with nominal sleep hours, did not help either). More than anything else, somehow, there has been a thought creeping in to my mind slowly but surely...too surely for my liking.
Why have I started feeling that I am becoming a major turn off for so many people? Out of such a large number of people that I have met in nearly two months here, I know very few people who would suffer me for a good amount of time. For most of the others, my company might be a necessary evil that they may endure for some time, but given a choice, they will definitely prefer to turn away from me and all that is mine.
I am not sure if what I am thinking is right and hence can not really analyse the reasons for that. However, still thinking...can't help it actually...is it the way I talk, do I appear to be a snob...is it, what I consider self-confidence, coming across as arrogance...is it, what I consider not being ridiculous, being seen as being excessively reserved...is my not raising my eyes and slapping the backs of everyone else, being understood to be my lack of willingness to mingle, my being distant???
How does it matter, some will say...yeah right, it does not matter...but is that the reason you write pages on the topic, speak hours on how you are different? If it is not important, what is the need to give the excuse...what is the need to justify your being different...isn't there something lacking that you seek to fill up through your silly statements like 'I am not like the others...I don't follow the herd mentality...I don't need a group to survive'?
On my part, I think that I can not make this mistake. I am pretty sure that on reflection, I will find...rather, I have found...that I do get into the dumps whenever these kind of things start getting in to my head...but then again, thank you, God that you made it possible for me to come out of those blues without much effort, and more than that, thank you God for making a Prof Gopal Chowdhry for actually putting that effort on my behalf and making me smile...
Posted at 04:58 pm by Nitai
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Thursday, September 02, 2004
Who sets the rules of the game?
Aditya thinks that I have mellowed down and uses the metric of the number of people named to measure the duress that my pen's sting has been facing. He wonders why I have not mentioned the rift between Rohit and Nilanjan during the seminar!!!
Yash tells me that the posts have become too much of the 'one size fits all' type and there is no ripping off of the people who won't be happy unless they are ripped off (sic!)
Mayank's comments (both by his own name as well as by the name of Gumnaam...oh yes, I have means of knowing all about it) seem to suggest that my blog is fast becoming a fighting forum for the batch.
Pavithra (through her unintentional-cum-intentional pseudonym, Name) has to say that my infamous blog is busy mis-conveying my intention by plotting me as the champion of the cause...the same as her mails on loos and meal-skipping contributions to OCS wars do to her intention.
Pavan got the impression from reading my earlier blog entries that I am a little too distant. He feels that this was contrary to the requirement in the election setting at the time.
Neeta says that she is not comfortable with others reading her blog (it is beside the point, though and yet, half of the regular readers of student blogs in IIMK know about her blog) as it contains her feelings and if she knows that there are others reading the blog, she may be forced to play to the audience. Incidentally, she says she has not read the famous IIMK blogger (read yours truly) even once.
All these people seem to have a lot of time on their hands, is the first observation that I can make. Reading and in cases, writing blogs requires a lot of time and patience, which I am sure that these people do not have a scarcity of. Another thing that they have in abundance is a way of looking at things that is certainly not on the same lines as mine.
Aditya is of the opinion that in order to be really honest to my feelings (which can be nothing else but blasting others off), I need to write another private journal. I can not be writing blogs that are anything more than slander aimed at people around me.
Yes, I admit that humans are prone to baser feelings but there is a certain limit to that. As soon as a person starts being subjective towards his feelings, he is biased, judgemental, and prejudiced either against or in favor of a particular situation or person. Regardless of the names that I have taken in this blog in past, I have always tried to be as objective with my recording as possible.
There is absolutely no question of playing to the audience being an absolute essential of a publicly read blog. It is for the author to decide who the blog is meant for. The very fact that the author has decided to maintain a journal on the net and not in the confines of his/her room means that he/she is prepared for others reading and commenting on the blog. It is a little odd to imagine the possibility of someone who is so naive as to think that there can be things written about private lives without people diving head long into it with quite a good amount of salt (to go with it).
There are two options for the (in)famous blogger...that he/she decides to play along and make the blog an overtly and at times unwarrantedly, sensational account of fictitious happenings...and thus, kills the blog and the entire purpose with which he/she started out in the first place. The other option is to be true to no one but his/her own self and write what comes to the mind...irrespective of the reaction to it, to the highs or lows of reader interest. After all, the blog is meant to be an outlet for the writer, and not an entertainment channel for the reader. The reader is just an incidental convenience...incidental because that is what the blogger should limit the reader's role to...convenience because the comments on the blog can tell the blogger how far he/she is from the general perception.
I and my Mode C belong to perhaps a third category...the one where the readers are not just incidental but at the same time, do not guide the process on account of their convenience. The very fabric of this blog is to understand the other perspective and align that with the Calvin way to take on life. The rules of the game have been clear to me from the very first day...I will write things that I believe are important to me...whether it sustains the interests of the readers or appears to them as the ravings of a lunatic is something with which I will not bother myself. I have written about my deepest fears, my greatest sorrows, and my biggest achievements in this blog and if I had actually been looking for an audience, all these would have found no part to play.
All the same, I don't care a damn if others read all that I write and make it a point of judgement when it comes to me...if they are so immature, I am better off without them and their patronage. If they achieve thrills from reading my reviews or my comments on events and people, good for them...if they think that my blog is a forum for ripping off people...championing the cause...poisonous journalism...discussion forum...a publicity mechanism...too bad.
Ladies and Gentle Men, give me a breather. Comment on my posts' content as much as you want, but not on the intent because that is something you are not going to affect by even one teeny little bit.
Incidentally, this is what the result of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Assessment Test has to say about my personality type:
ENTPs are usually verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue--both for its own sake, and to show off their often-impressive skills. They tend to have a perverse sense of humor as well, and enjoy playing devil's advocate. They sometimes confuse, even inadvertently hurt, those who don't understand or accept the concept of argument as a sport.
Posted at 05:55 pm by Nitai
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Dahi vadai...garam samosa...masala dosai
I had promised...to serve masala in this post...and so be it. At the risk of sounding some people off and even making my reputation of being the official gossip even stronger (if at all that is possible), I am back with another story...nay, not a story but as true a representation of thoughts as possible. Well, it has hardly been a point of contention...my facts, that is. What has been worrying people is either my take on the facts and their portrayal as I do it, or the effect of that portrayal on things that are held sacred (the institute name, for example...however, I do not really think that IIMK is such a weak brand after all).
What's with the introduction and all, the reader would say and may be even shout at the bland screen in front of him/her to get on with it. Representing the poor sod that the screen is in such cases, I will make an appeal on its behalf and in the short of the long...let's begin from the beginning. The past weekend at IIMK is as apt a place to start as any because that was what gave all the fuel to the fire that I am planning to stoke.
The IT Seminar was the topic of discussion in the meeting called by the Student Council some days back and the question being discussed was whether attendance to the seminar should be made compulsory. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the SCon members rode on a wave and got things round to their view. But there were some people who were not satisfied...no sir, not satisfied at all. Some like Shailendra made their displeasure felt then and there and there were others, too who are what I call the cribbers. Now, this is an interesting class of people and I hope I will be able to devote more time to them some day. As of today, let it suffice to mention that these people have the habit of reserving their comments for the time when they have stopped to matter. There are very few occassions where these people actually take a cue from Kotler's marketing fundas and be proactive.
There is another class of people worth mentioning...and these are the do-gooders who do not want themselves being questioned for what they do. These people are generally too full of themselves and the value of what they have been doing and they forget the fact that they have been doing things because it is of their own volition. They have the feeling that since they are doing something that others are not, they can get away with more than the others can.
What the do-gooders have been thinking of the cribbers
The reaction from the cribbers did come, but as expected, it came when it did not matter. It became a matter of general knowledge on campus (almost like... ye PSPO nahi jaanta) as to what Vinay felt about the way people have to be thanked or what Shailendra had to say about people talking on their mobile phones as they move (rename the mobiles, somebody :-))...or...this one takes the cake...what Kiran felt about rock shows. As was pointed out by the people who worked for the various committees, these people were those who had not bothered to put a foot forward when it mattered and were conspicuous by their absence when the others were running from pillar to post getting things done...cleaning guest rooms, for God's sake. Did they have as much (or even anything, for that matter) to say about the inefficiency of those whose responsibility it is to keep the guest house clean and ready? Did they, for even the remotest moment, think about giving a suggestion as to what can be done to improve things (Anurag, in my opinion, gave a wonderful perspective to it...the difference between it 'should' have been better and it 'could' have been better)
The most absurd part of it was the fact that some people have really taken things for granted and if they feel that by exercising their right to comment on something, they can do away with their responsibilities...they are mistaken. To comment on what happened is one thing, to pass an observation is one...but to actually pass judgement and say things are not acceptable!!!...acceptable by whom? Who set the rules? Have you always done what is acceptable to others? For those who have been missing their meals and spending nights to make the event a success...what is acceptable for them? Is sitting in the room and when forced to attend the seminar, saying that their contribution was not less...acceptable?
What the cribbers think of the do-gooders
Yes, I know that the post has started sounding like a vendetta program and I have actually started doing something that I had been hitting at just a few lines earlier. However, I have tried not to be judgemental and just give the facts as they have appeared in the past few days. In trying to write the opinion of one class about the other, I have only mentioned what I, myself, could gather from the various mails that were exchanged in one of the notorious OCS wars of IIMK.
Let's get on then, if the cribbers are done cribbing about what I have written about them.
If the cribbers in our batch have shown their potential by trying to find out all that was wrong and point it out clearly and explicitly, the so called do-gooders did not do badly either. These were the poeple who were born with the gold spoon in their mouth. They take their responsibilities too seriously and have the tendency to rush in numbers to the places where even a single person would do. They also talk saintly and do the sins themselves. They do not care enough to do things that they preach and yet, when some one comments on it, they start listing down all that they have ever done for the common good.
It is thus that Pavithra lets us know about the daily routine of the volunteers...and Anirudh, after putting his foot squarely in his mouth during the vote of thanks, asks Vinay if he had volunteered for anything. What do these people think, for God's sake? Admitted that they did a wonderful job in organising the seminar but does that give them the right to silence others? They were the ones who asked for it by volunteering for the jobs...if the job is successful, they take the credit...why are they backing out in taking the blame if things go wrong?
What I think about the whole thing
I don't think that my opinion matters at all...at least not to the cribbers or the do-gooders I have been writing about...they will continue with their lives as they were (I will be surprised if they will not). However, I have promised to my blog that I won't pass any judgements on any body and whenever I start doing that, I will pull down my entire blog. It is only my perceptions that I am going to record here and if they do change at a later point of time, I hope that I will be faithfully able to record that, too.
So, what I actually do perceive out of the entire affair is that the issue is not about doing good or cribbing. More than that, it is the basic ego in all of us that is to be looked upon. For people who have not done the most of what needs to be done, something going wrong is perhaps a vindication of their deciding not to do anything in the first place. It is like an opportunity for them to raise the issue which makes their own stand amply clear...that it is not that they could not have done it...in fact, had they done it, it would have been better, and what went wrong would have been just right...perhaps the alpha male playing out his part, though in a slightly different way.
There are those who think from the other side, too. I have done this and I have seen that and I have worked on this and that...who is the one challenging my superiority...I am sure that what I did was the best anyone could have done...they can not really be serious when they say that there could have been anything done better than this!!!
And to top it all, there was some talk of inter-year rivalry too. With the goof-up by Anirudh (which was not a goof up from his standards since he knew the pulse of the people being addressed) and not many in the senior batch turning up for the seminar, there was another set of cribbers (mostly from the first year) who spared no time to start the blame game (which they call exercising their rights)...the case of I won't do it myself but if you do it and do it wrong, I sure as hell will get your neck.
The game continued with the first yearites being blamed for talking too much before they actually do anything...another case of I have done it, prove that you can do it better before you criticize me.
What is the point in all this...the lesson...the moral? The idealist would want the egos to be suppressed, and more people coming up from both the gangs and joining the community of those who do things and do not speak about it (oh how I wish I could be one of them but kya karein...control nahi hota). However, the things do not happen that way. Egos will always play a big role in a place like this where achieving is everything...where failure has very high costs and success very high rewards...look at the Gods...Rama...Krishna...has anyone ever been immune to it???
Posted at 01:54 am by Nitai
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Sunday, August 29, 2004
Marketing brand India through a rock show???
The title of this post might give a wrong impression to the readers about what exactly this is all about. Honestly speaking, it is nothing but the result of a sleepy mind that could not find a better way to relate the events of the day. The second day of AIMS '04, Annual IT Management Seminar at IIM Kozhikode kicked off today with a bang. With yesterday's speakers having made their mark with some very informative and illuminating speeches, the enthusiasm amongst the student community was quite high and it was fitting that the efforts put in to organize an event of such a scale were vindicated.
Agenda for the day was even more interesting than yesterday, as it involved some of the top shots (one a CEO, another a Chairman) discussing ways and means to develop Brand India with special emphasis on the BPO sector. Mr Arun Seth, Chairman, BT India and Chairman, ITeS-BPO forum, NASSCOM, Mr. Neeraj Bhargava, Group CEO, WNS Global Services, and Mr. Sam Iyengar, Senior Advisor, ITSMA were the panelists for the discussion. Mr. Sam Iyengar, who moderated the discussion started off on a funny note as he suggested that the audience do not take his role as a moderator too seriously and the tigers in the audience who were active yesterday, continue to pose questions and participate in the discussion.
And so it was for the bigger part of the session as the baton continued to be passed between the speakers on the stage as well as the people off it in the audience, who raised some very pertinent questions and in effect, gave direction to the discussion.
Mr. Iyengar kicked off the discussion by asking Mr Bhargava about his views on Brand India and how he perceives it to have grown over the past few years.
Mr. Neeraj Bhargava
Mr. Bhargava said that the negative publicity that Indian IT sector has gained on account of the offshoring backlash has actually been helpful in many ways. It has gone a long way in making people aware of what India is and where it is heading. More than that, it has been the work of the new age Indian IT companies that has built the image of India. Indians as a community, Mr. Bhargava pointed out, have also been quite popular in other countries like US through their increasing prosperity.
Mr. Bhargava emphasized on the challenges faced by the brand India ambassadors today. He said that it is not only important to continue leveraging our advantages, but also to be more sensitive to people who have to leave their jobs because of us. We have to clearly articulate what Indian companies stand for and how they can help make the other countries more productive. Another challenge in Mr. Bhargava's opinion was to show to the world that India is a secure solutions provider and that Indian companies have the right infrastructure and the right work conditions to enable long term relationships with the clients.
In response to a question later, Mr. Bhargava said that we need to follow the model and example of the Japanese who also started off with a low cost advantage and have gradually moved on to a high quality situation where they top the markets even in competitive countries like US. He said that it is only now that Indian companies have started thinking of things like the market share and with the economic surplus that they have produced, it is time to go ahead and invest in their brand formation.
Mr. Bhargava also highlighted the need of focusing on upcoming industries like automotive components, health care and bio technology. He said that the time is right to take ownership of brand India now and work towards its development. He said that the low cost proposition that India has can not be used endlessly for brand development as it can only attract customers but the real situation does not end there. Most of the hard work, he said, has already been done and a platform built for the future managers to exploit.
Mr. Bhargava made it clear that the role of the government in building Brand India is going to be minimal and mostly made irrelevant. It is the companies that are going to show the world as to what India can deliver. The high standards of working at the Indian MNCs will go a long way in establishing a culture of high work ethics in Indian companies across strata. Mr. Bhargava also highlighted the need of being empathetic to the client country's society. For the Indian scenario, he said that it is advisable to let the market forces prevail and not worry too much about the MNCs coming in and eating up our companies' share.
Mr. Arun Seth
On being called upon by the moderator to share his views on brand India, specifically in relation to UK and Europe and discuss whether brand India is differently understood in different parts of the world, Mr. Seth agreed to the supposition. He said that the Indians started moving to US in the 60s and most of them who went there were professionals who have now created a name for themselves and are all in important and respectable professions. However, in case of Europe and the UK, the people who went there were from the lower strata and actually joined jobs like being in the post office or the airports. Mr. Seth also said that for the Indian companies, Europe can actually be a better destination compared to the US as the work can be easily moved there with no strict hire and fire policies like the US.
Mr. Seth said that ten years ago, India was not a favorite destination for investment but with the domestic IT companies becoming multi national, the investor confidence has been growing by leaps and bounds. At the same time. Mr Seth said that it is important not to let this get to our head and be insensitive to the various factors like the job loss in US so that we are not hit by something in the future.
More than looking at the IT sector alone as the builders of brand India, Mr. Seth said that we should be looking at the services industry as a whole and that is what NASSCOM has been doing for quite some time now. He also said that due to the service industry taking center stage and other factors, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to manufacturing industry. Mr. Seth also pointed out the possibility of reaching a stage where Indian IT companies will own the brand, own the customers through mass customisation and other actions, and thus be able to outsource its production to countries like China.
We, as Indians, Mr. Seth mentioned, do not demand the quality from our providers that we ourselves are only too happy to provide to our customers. This mentality has to change and we have to come out of the shortage economy mentality to let our market get in sync with the demand and supply model. This move, he said, will also help us counter ethical issues like corruption and black marketing.
When asked about the competition that Indian companies face in their own backyard from the MNCs setting up shop in India, Mr. Seth said that it should actually be welcomed and we should start thinking in terms of scale. The low scale companies who can not perform should actually be weeded out of the market. We, as Indian companies, should also go out and do stuff like event sponsorships, etc to develop our brand and also through peer to peer system, give out our message clearly.
Mr. Sam Iyengar
Mr. Iyengar, moderating the discussion, mostly summarised the points made by the other speakers. He also made some observations, especially regarding the fact that India Inc has had its brand built more by accident than design. Whatever be the case, however, it is true that the current generation of Indian IT companies are able to walk tall and set high expectations of themselves.
Talking about the existing culture difference between the Indian companies and India in general, Mr. Iyengar said that he was confident that the former will do wonders to improve the latter. he also said that it is important for the Indian IT companies to realize that once they build a brand for themselves, it is actually going to be collectively qualified as a brand for the Indian IT industry and later for the Indian nation, on the whole.
According to Mr. Iyengar, it is important for the Indian IT companies to take a more active role in the local issues of the places where they do their business, by paying taxes, being more socially responsible, and so on. It is important, he said, not just to take the jobs away from the US but to also give them something back in return.
In reply to a question about the competition that Indian companies face from other countries like China, Mr. Iyengar said that growth depends on culture in the long term and though China, due to its highly centralised administration can get things executed fast in the short run, it will be India who will finally win in the long run due to its sustainable advantage of being the first mover. He said that to consolidate this advantage, it is important for the Indian companies and some societies like the NASSCOM, FICCI, CII, etc to take stock of the branding scene and develop a brand India that sends a unique, suatainable message that resonates in the market place.
Mr. Iyengar, in giving the slogan of 'Come for cost, stay for quality', put across in a nutshell, the entire focus in building brand India.
Another attraction for the day was the rock show to be organized in campus. I had volunteered for the event and though we did not have much to do (apart from helping set up and probably dismantle the humongous sound infra, do some printing stuff, etc), it was fun for as long as it last. There were two bands slated to perform, courtesy Rahul Gandhi (I must write about him sometime...he is one interesting character and much different from the image I had of him earlier...that is, before meeting him)...both from Kerala.
The bands arrived in the afternoon and had all set at the IIMK Steps, which actually turned out to be a good venue for the show. Giving the feel of a stadium, the show had everything going for it to get it into the groove...well, almost everything but the audience. We had earlier posted some invitations and posters in different parts of the city and after some co-ordination with the security at the main gate, it was possible for the visitors (mostly from NIT Calicut) to enjoy the rock.
The first band to perform was LeoLads who started off well...too well, probably for the first song of the show (ought to have started with a 'lower' number) ...and then, to top it all, moved on to Bryan Adams. From that point onwards, it was down all the way as the vocalist murdered one song after the other (what was that mammary...ia stuff, by the way???) despite the guitarists and the drummers doing quite an efficient job.
It was only post dinner that the actual fun started. Man! Were EverGreen (name of the second band) evergreens!!! They played some superb rock for nearly two hours and believe me, the place rocked and continued to rock much after they had stopped...after acceding to repeated requests of one more...
The band from Cochin presented the songs from the masters (including my favorite...'we don't need no education') and also two of their own compositions. However, with hardly any response after they sang their own compositions, they did not try any more of them...and probably for the better, since there were hardly any of the qualified audience (except may be the likes of Rahul Gandhi, Anudeep and others) to appreciate their original efforts.
However, the end result was amazing and the way these guys got the show rocking must have given a lesson or two to the other band that performed earlier (poor guys...they are only learning...they are new, for God's sake). The biggest asset EverGreen had was their vocalist. This guy over shadowed even the amazing guitarists and played well and fully to the audience, running amok and even dancing with the people in the audience.
To say the least, the rock show rocked and despite the limited turnout from within the campus (as many as about 70 people turned up from outside), I would say that for the rock enthusiasts, the show was a rip-roaring success.
It was thus that IIM Kozhikode comes to the end of AIMS'04, two thought provoking, mentally stimualting days of some high quality stuff, organized with some high quality passion and dedication.
Just reflecting...the last two posts on the blog have only been facts and nothing else. This, however, is not my style. Despite everything, I have my own feelings and emotions associated with the past two days where apart from the front stage activities that I have written about in these posts, there have been a lot of behind the stage plays that I have failed to capture so far. My next post (hopefully tomorrow) will be a truly masala post with the inside stuff on what actually went on over the past two days within the hallowed portals of IIMK.
Posted at 11:56 pm by Nitai
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