Living in denial - As time passes by...

Here I am, writing again. The world around me falls and good that it falls. It seems that the tag of being a management graduate, what it brings to me? I feel cheated and robbed of my career. Everywhere, I see, I see nothing but failures. I want a job, and the place where I want a job is full of morons on the top, who have run the business as it had come. This has been proved, now that the economy's flip flop has actually opened their inabilities of contingency planning. Perhaps contingency planning was only secondary to them. It was merely a jargon thrown around. A jargon which has been used mercilessly over the years, without actually working practically on it. I am not a commentator on this subject. But it is merely a view.
Am I so unable to get a job? So how was I working for 3 years with my abilities? It simply defies logic. I now can evaluate, what happened? I can tell you the exact reason. The reason is very clear: The MBA which I did is a complete crap and disaster. MBA has rendered me useless and without any abilities. I have turned into a person full of marketing jargons and nothing else. A person full of no content. Here in campus, I can tell that the firms which have arrived, the candidates they look for, the way they conduct interviews. I can tell that they are uselessly wasting their own time and wasting time of candidates. They do not know what they are hiring for. When I used to hire, I used to tell the candidate about my work first. What I am working on was on top priority. The candidate then had to tell about his/her own abilities in the field. Here in MBA it is all that we say - "GAS" and nothing else. They hire for the sake of hiring. Then these people are fired on the sake of firing. Literally I am so pissed off now that I cannot tell.
MBA - The big myth...
1. No value additions, just big jargon based morons created year after year
2. Jobs suck because the MBA guys suck. They are not sure what to work on, they do not know about what they want. Their overgloated ambitions hurt them more on the job.
3. Firms don't know why they hire MBAs. (Big crap)
4. Sales and Marketing can be done in-house, why do you need people who do not know your business to come in and that too from so-called top management institutes which have no content but simply huge amount of "GAS".

Why do I feel cheated?

I have been re-evaluating my position in past 2 months and more I do it, the more I realize that how much I have been cheated by fate and people around me. I start chronologically from November 14th 2008 and end to this day January 18th 2009.

November 14th 2008 - I got the information of me getting a pre-placement offer from Aricent came in as a pleasant gift. I was with my love when this news was broken to me. I had known about the offer however. That actually changed the way I approached the job situation. With a good job of Business Development in Aricent, I knew that life would have been much easier. I owe a lot due to the loans that I have taken for my education. The effective EMI return would be something around a total of Rs. 14,000. Thus, I needed to earn at least 4 times this amount to sustain a proper living. Aricent actually gave an opportunity.

I was laid back. The only contingency I had was my CV, which fortunately I always keep ready. I was laid back and I relaxed and kept the books aside for that moment, to concentrate more on how to get engaged and married. Everything was so much in line.

December 11th 2008 - In comes the heartbreak. Aricent withdrew their offer. The one thing that flashed in my mind was - Why the hell did they offer in first instance? Did everything change in 20 odd days. If things were going wrong, they could have not given the offers altogether. They could have withdrawn the offers much before. But why after Day 0 and 1 of our placements.

Why wasn't I given a chance? I was totally unprepared for the placements as we were not allowed to apply into firms, for we had accepted the PPO. Ha, now I laugh, even my sarcasm cannot justifiably interpret this. Losing two days seemed losing out on almost 2 years of my own career. And now in fact I feel that I have been cheated so much that doing MBA for two years was nothing but a big waste of time. It has robbed me of my technical abilities and has endowed me with totally useless abilities which I know are never going to be in demand.

My manager in Aricent used to say - "Why shall I hire MBAs? They are a cost to my company, they do not bring profits, they are technically not sound and they have ambitions beyond the sky limit. Why shall I hire MBAs?" I totally agree to him. We are a waste of company's resources, as we acquire no special skills to actually benefit a company. The usual counter-question put forth to me is - "Then why do so many people do MBA?". I say it is herd mentality. Unfortunately I fell into the same herd mentality. MBA is a disaster course. You can learn far better by working on technologies and field work, rather than doing a course that simply augments you with a tag of good institute. I feel IIMs are far worse in this category. They cannot compare themselves with IITs because if you see the number of enterpreneurs from IITs and IIMs, you will find that IIMs come no where in picture. This is simply because IITians have special skills on tools, technologies and prowess over making new things. Management comes in as a second trait and they learn it while they work.

I particularly feel that MBA grads are nothing but a wholesale bunch of losers who do nothing but meetings in an organization. These are the same people who led the banking sector, all over the world to a disaster by their greed and the ambition to be more greedy. I am a particularly technical person who throws jargonism out of the window and uses plain english to define a product. I can also work on things because I have a knack of doing so. But this MBA has robbed me of two years of my precious tech. career. Maybe I will be able to go back, but will that be possible. I have to do a catch up act, which I believe is very difficult at this point of time.

I shall also do the expose` of standards in teaching around these institutes. In fact, most run by names and have very less to offer when it comes to actual knowledge enhancement. The students coming out of these colleges learn only big words and jargons. I feel pity as our careers are so empty without content.

January 18th 2009 - I come to the part of being cheated by people. I was giving an interview to a small start-up a few days back. In the interview itself, I was asked about the PPO from Aricent. I was totally taken aback. I had not written anything on my CV as such. I wonder who told them. I had very less to defend, as they asked me that if my PPO was re-instated then I would not join their organization. I lost the chance, there itself. I came out and took a look around for who could have done this. By looking into eyes of people I came to know who. Well I have forgiven that person.

Today was even more hilarious. I was hearing about a small software firm from the mouth of a placement committee member here. I reminded him to put the opening. And guess what, he forgot. Here people are without jobs and forgetfulness and Counter Strike keep more meaning to people. Well I can believe so, as he himself has a job. He is laid back. At least the opening is now on the list. Thanks for that.

I don't know what I got from this MBA here, but one thing I certainly got - I shall go back to my roots and start afresh, and make sure that I throw this degree out, as it is nothing but a liability. Maybe I will keep it for the namesake. Maybe it will help me with its name only, but I don't expect any other gains from it.

A Big Surprise for India's External Affairs Policy

With Sheikh Hasina coming to power with a thumping majority, caught everyone by surprise. She is the most pro-India leader in Bangladesh and India would be more than happy having her at the helm in Bangladesh. What is more intriguing is the time at which she has come to power in the country right next door to us. With Pakistan cornered, in Saarc, Pakistan would have been much happier with Jamaat and BNP in power in Bangladesh. This would have eased the pressure on them through the Saarc channel. But with Sheikh Hasina at top, known for her anti-Pakistan tendencies, it is now clear that India has gained another ally in quick succession. I wonder if Hasina's win had anything to do with the MEA policy of India. It is a far fetched idea, but not an impossible one. India had always wanted Jamaat to be kicked out of political domain for its support to HuJI, the islamic militant group operating inside Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi people's suffering had increased over the past years because of this rule. It was evident from their economic collapse last and this year. Sheikh Hasina's return promises Bangladesh a brighter future as the ties with India will definitely improve. It would further enhance India's position as an ally of Bangladesh, provided that India's MEA takes proper steps to keep this good relationship going on.

The Difference - Indian Muslim vs Paki Muslim

Raging fires of "Communal Violence", spurted and inflated by few Pakistanis (I'll use Pakistanis because earlier this version was from Islam, which I believe is not Islam, but Pakistan), I think is slowly fading away. The common Muslim of India today is unable to shrug off the belief that he/she is now tainted by a few bunch of Pakistanis. I have several Muslim friends and I can tell you how much they hate Pakistanis. I am really happy that my country, India, was not made devoid of Muslims. Without our Multi-Cultural identity, we would have fallen into the category of Israel, which I believe is a classic example of ethnic cleansing.
Now my Govt. of India is shaking hands with Israelis, it really makes me think, why? Anyhow, in India we have far superior tolerance. We have taken shocks and absorbed mighty blows and still stood strong and united. Be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, first and foremost, we are Indians and India is our motherland. She cares and provides us, thus, it is the duty of every Indian to protect her.
A slap on the face of Pakistanis - I went through a news report in which Imams of Mumbai, refused burials for the terrorists who attacked Mumbai. If I could just touch the feet of these people I would be grateful. They have understood, how much harm it is doing to Islam in India which is far more liberal and forward looking. We do not have Shia, Sunni, Ahmedi clashes because Indian Islam is a vibrant and tolerant society. Muslims get to the highest degrees of education in Inida because their inclination is towards making their generation more progressive. I heard a poop called "Zaid Hamid" on Pakistani Television. In his words, "Muslims girls in India are forced to marry Hindus! They are being oppressed...". Man what a short-sighted fool from Brass-Tacks. No wonder Pakistanis are living under their inferiority complex.
To answer this muslim girls marrying Hindus... Mr. Zaid Hamid, quote me - "In India, all citizens are allowed to marry, regardless of Religion". Muslim boys can marry Hindu girls and vice versa. This goes true for Sikhs and Christians also. Ours is a multi-cultural society and we don't give a shit to what an idiot like "Zaid Hamid" speaks. The befitting answer to the over-gloated fool "Zaid" was given out by an Indian Muslim. You should see the reply and how it was provided.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is nearing its end. Its economy is in total collapse, the people are fighting each other and the fighting is spilling over to India. I believe, the Indian Army, comprising of people from all races and religions, will soon crush out this inborn infidels inside Islam - Pakistan.
Pakistanis are bigger infidels because they have dirtied the Islam and also showed the Islamic world that they are big liers. What they did in Bangladesh in 1971 is evidence to it. They murdered, raped and looted Muslims. Bangladesh became a free state in 1971 owing to this great tragedy.
Pakistan fall is not good news for India as there will be more violence as these Pakistanis have nothing to live on. A mere dollar and a bread thrown at these dogs will enable them to gnaw and bite. They will take up arms because of hunger and total despair in economic collapse. But a weaker divided Pakistan will be easier for India to smash and burn. A greater vigil at borders will ensure that these Pakistani bastards remain at bay and kill each other.
Pakistanis are a shame on Islam. They have dirtied the word Muslim. They are corrupt and total fools driven by their feudal lords. In India, muslims are progressive and now are showing how they can disband the fools who try to attack India. Islam in India is the true Islam. They live peacefully and in co-operation, which is now shown in their vibrant colors. Pakistan despair in creating trouble in India has led them to their own collapse and destruction.
Soon US, UK and Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Cultural India will attack and destroy Pakistan into pieces, on which they can fight amongst themselves and kill each other.

How to survive in Long Term?

I am a management student of Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. Current economic crisis had made me think almost a thousand times. All theories moving around in the market also makes me more confused of why we students are affected so badly. With jobs in the market drying out has crippled the scenario even more. Even I was left not immune to this crisis even after having fantastic Work and Academic record. With I losing my job it came as a shock to me.

So sub-prime crisis has really become a buzz-word nowadays. We don't see it much in India, as banks here, are far more regulated than in United States. So why India and Indian jobs are feeling the pinch? The reason is the decline in demand in United States for products and services shipped out of India. India has an exports of nearly 24.1% of its GDP towards United States. This is quite a huge percentage. But still India is holding out and keeping things a little more calm. The problems here are not unprecedented, but the control of liquidity regime has ensured that nothing goes wrong at such drastic times.

Thus, I should comment more on liquidity. Liquidity in raw terms is the amount of money available in the market for transactions. It becomes important when people borrow money. People and organizations borrow money to pay off the transactions like, paying for mortgages/loans or paying for services. Thus, banks play an important part. They are both lenders and borrowers. If they borrow more than they can pay off, liquidity is out of the market. The recession begins here. Somehow, the onus also lies in the hands of people apart from these investment bankers having almost out of the world ideas.

Bad news is for the small/medium enterprises. These firms are facing the wrath as they borrow money out of the lenders to pay off for production, services and pays. If the lenders have no liquidity, then where do these people go? The answer is difficult but not impossible. What I propose here is a long term view rather than having a myopic, small term view to the problem.

What should these firms do? I provide the following peoposition which can be followed over a period of 5 years, just as the 5 year plans of Govt. of India.

1. Competitive market is good but not always in favor. Why I say this is that is keeps pushing the necessary evil down - Costs. A few years back, costs were a phenomenon in themselves. Everyone wanted to cut down costs. They reduce production costs and let the final output to the customers. In simple maths. If I am selling an apple for Rs.5 and earning Rs.1 as profit, can I reduce costs to Rs.2 and make sure I sell at Rs.2.5 and make a profit of Rs.0.50. This way I could sell more because immediately the demand will go up and people will buy at lower costs. But at the same time I earn a lower profit of Rs.0.50. I further percolate this into numbers. If I sold 10 apples I was earning Rs.10 in profits earlier. And after the cost reduction if I sell at Rs.2.50, some 30 apples, I get Rs.15 in profits. This is a gamble that most manufacturers play. Market research comes in handy when you have to deal with the demand in the market. But that too is not fool proof.
2. Demand is driven by many factors which are complex and not easily understood. Simplest of the explanation is that, how much buying power do the people have and how much they want to buy? If they want to buy only 10 apples and not 30, the situation becomes even worse for the manufacturer. He now sells out say 15 apples at profit of Rs.7.50, Rs.2.50 less from previous. This induces job losses and problems of lesser profits. In a horde of reducing costs all that happens is a spiralling profit problem. The same is true for services.
3. So what should the manufacturer do? I believe cost-cutting is not a bad idea, but the price cutting certainly is. Due to competitive pressures manufacturers and service providers fall for this trap. Firms doing this are certainly myopic. They are driven by short term goals.

Why hue and cry in making more profits? It is evil and destroys the society fabric. Utterly wrong and misinterprated. Perhaps, firms making more profits should sustain their production. And carefully increasing production and jobs simultaneously. So where do these profit go now. Everyone knows that inflation blows away enough earned. Firms resort to investment into financial tools to earn enough to keep cash at same or a level more. This way accummulated money can sustain the firm.

I shall write more about how these enterprises can sustain even more.

Respecting Women - Why is it important for societies?

I write this article on a simple note. Societies which do not respect their women, will never develop or move forward in any form. In the following analysis, I shall clearly bring out historical and current scenario showing some societies which have developed far faster than others. Today we live in a world which is stricken by violence and violence primarily is targeted against women. This is global phenomenon which is localizing into societies which are slowly indulging into self destruction.

Hindu Societies – Rise, fall and rise…

Hindus were historically very renowned for some of the most influential women and women who spearheaded the society’s main core. Politically, scientifically and socially, women proved themselves in all arenas. Slowly Hindu society fell into a grip of unwanted conservativeness. Right up to late 20th century and even sometimes now, it is still showing up. But surely now, this is dying. Women like Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla and many more have inspired India time and again. Hindu societies are reviving again and women are given back their place in society. The primary reason for free fall of Hindu societies was the dowry system. It has eaten away the basic fabric of Hindu society. Women are seen as objects and not humans. It is highly unlikely in Hindus to think that, because we have several goddesses. Right from the historical times, Hindus have worshipped goddesses and even call this earth as our mother. But women in Hindu societies are still better off when it comes to education and access to facilities. Reason is simple, Hindus are a liberal society. Poverty may drive a family not sending off their girls to schools but it is true for their boys also. So now the phenomenon is seen not as only for girls, which was a problem earlier. Rapid urbanization has led Indian girls into cities and working alongside men. This has its own problems, but it exists in all societies, and Indians are managing it. So the very fabric is being re-established, and the Hindu society is bringing its respect for their women folk back.

Christian – Fall and Rise

I have always appreciated the Christians. They are a progressive society. But it was not always so. At dawn of Christianity, things were not good. Women were persecuted as witches and the society remained backwards for a long period of time. But renaissance changed it all. Protestant thinking helped Christian societies towards prosperity and women were an equal part in it. Now countries like UK, France Germany, USA, Russia and others are considered the most advanced nations. The women have equal rights and have voice in the governance.

Islamic Societies – Divided

One part of Islamic world is progressive and other remains in absolute disarray. Countries like Iraq, Iran and the Turkey have shown how they are liberal. Women have right to vote. Iraq, especially under Saddam was the most advanced. They had girls into schools and every girl was given equal treatment. After the US war on Iraq, probably it will take a little more time for Iraqis to re-gather themselves. Iran is equally liberal, no matter how much west sees it as, but still women have equal rights. Turkey is the most advanced Islamic nation. Economically prosperous and women have respect. But what worries in Islamic world is the hatred against women. Primarily, it has nothing to do with religion. It is a fundamental societal problem. Men have very less respect for women. Counter to it, even in Hindu and Christian societies, women are oppressed. But the democratic views of these societies make sure that oppression comes out in open and the culprits are punished. However, the problem lies in the societies which are unlikely made out of the Wahabis and similar faiths. They are particularly oppressive towards women and publicly endorse such activities.

Why so much talk about women empowerment?

The answer is simple. A woman gives birth to a child. She is the first teacher for the child. She is his/her first mentor. Thus, it is highly important that the woman is empowered, educated and also seen highly in a society. Enabling girls in society ensures that the unwanted elements of societies will not get their recruits from the youth, who will be very much nurtured and brought up by their mothers. If the women are rendered powerless, it pushes the society into chaos. The unwanted elements in society like gangs of criminals, terrorists and rogue politicians find it easy to brainwash these youth. Altogether, they benefit because they get easy recruits. Women are at the center of the family. Actually, in Hindu societies women are considered the family and a family is considered incomplete without a mother. Constant harassment of women in today’s world has ensured that terrorism will never end. I speak rather differently, but I believe if the root cause of this problem is handled now, probably in coming years, terrorism will slowly be routed out.

A simple belief is that if more and more women in backward societies are provided with education, like it is being done in India, the lesser there will be chance of violence in the society. India is looking at golden age now. With 20 years from now, our society will be a shining jewel of secular thinking and democratic way of life through women empowerment.

I shall write more…

The Love and Hate Relationship

My love and hate relationship with Aricent grows even more. Aricent came up as a savior in these troubled times. They provided me with a pre-placement offer, which is in rarity nowadays. This is year 2008, the great economic crunch causing troubled waters even in the most withstanding organizations. All firms have gone into no hiring or firing mode. It spells doom, it certainly does for us management students, who once were so much sought after. Slowly but surely spark has gone out. The flame burning is slowly dimming out, but I know it will not vanish. Markets are going to come back. It is a temporary phase. But this temporary phase is causing ripples which seem like cyclonic tides. But something has happened with me which is surely amazing. I lived to fight another day. The life was handed out to me by Aricent.

May 12th 2008 – This is the day on which I joined Aricent. First impression about the firm by the looks of its infrastructure was a feeling of awe. They have some of the best buildings in Gurgaon. As I entered the building on Plot-17, Electronic city, I was convinced of a great 6 month long internship with this firm. We were asked to wait in the reception and later we met our mentors. Later in the day I was the first one to be allocated a project with Mr. Manohar. It was a dream come true. Day 1 and I get a project, well that is something. As the first week went by I was convinced of the level of professionalism in the firm. But as the second, third and fourth week unfolded I was shrouded with failures in my project. One after another, they kept on coming. It was not a pretty sight for me. In these times, however, I used to give out long sighs and continue with my work. It was imminent from my attitude that I was in crunch. Daily jobs made me sick. But luckily I have a innate ability to hang on. That is what I am good at and I applied it to my success. Slowly people in the organization started appreciating my work. This was the beginning of the love and hate.

The surviving friends – Apart from my colleagues from VGSOM, I met some very interesting people inside Aricent. The most important of these people were, Ram, Rohit, Deepak and Vidit. Ram is going to be my colleague and Rohit, Deepak and Vidit are from the engineering teams. I met them by coincidence and they became my best buddies. Later point of my work had me interact with some of the most optimistic people I have ever seen, Shiba, Manandeep, Malathi (in Chennai) and Subbu (also from Chennai). I also met some of the most interesting people like Akash from the Administration who handles the Bus services in Aricent. All these people made a big extended family for me. They are excellent people in their work and they correlate their work with keeping good relationships with others. I learnt a lot from them. However, the people from whom I learnt most were Sudhir (my boss), Rakesh (my boss, with whom I met only once) and Prakash (my senior from college). All of them provided me different dimensions of what people and relationships mean. I am so overflowed with joy that I might not have named all you guys.

The farewell and the continuance – We were given a grand farewell by our mentors and seniors. It was so heart touching and it meant a lot to me. I left with a heavy heart. But this was soon about to change. We left on November 7th 2008. I was uncertain whether I will ever get an opportunity to be back with these excellent people again. Alas! It happened. As I was reaching back, I got the news. The news was like millions of roses showered on me. I was with my fiancée at the time when this news came to me. I have very few words to describe, how we both felt. It was the most pleasant surprise.

Looking towards joining you guys again...

Ashish