Vacationing in Montreal

Well Avi had it right on! I am also contemplating electives and whether I should have gotten involved in so many case competitions myself! :) But I too, am loving every minute of the program.

First of all, being on break has been kind of strange. I feel like for the past 4 months my life has revolved around HEC, the MBA, and the people in it. And now I feel in limbo. I have lots of work to do over the break and ideally, would like to do it before next week so I can actually have a vacation but my mind seems to want to do the opposite. It seems it has already gone on vacation.

I have spent the last 7 days watching ridiculous amounts of tv, surfing the internet for everything non-school related, hanging out with friends both in and out of the program, seeing my family and of course catching up on the good times as well as some much-needed bickering with the siblings and parents. I found some time in there to read a case and article or two - just to make me feel better about my abandonment of the whole school scene. But I know this is not a good idea because next week, my cousin comes to visit, my friends from out of town come home, my family will have time off, we will find out if we made it into the next round of the NUS competition, and I know I will be bombarded with things I will have to do for others. So tomorrow my mission is to get back to finishing up key things that need to get done - namely Globalization and Finance.

So other than that, I actually had an improvement in my grades for Period 2 which was pleasant and unexpected. I suppose everyone's experience is different but I am more concerned about Period 3 classes and how those will turn out. As for electives, I havn't even taken a good look at everything yet but I have some ideas. What Avi said was interesting - I too have an interest in economics and I did really badly the first period but much better the second. So again, the question becomes - do I take the class out of interest and risk a potential bad mark or avoid it completely? Well, two things will assist me personally in this decision:

1) It first depends on the other classes I have and how much priority I place on them. But Economics is something I didn't feel I knew much about before and because my interest and knowledge has already increased, it has gone up on my list.
2) This is most likely my last chance at being in school (unless I decided to pursue further education but for now let's assume I don't) so basically, this is the best time to learn. Plus I certainly hope that I will be judged for my whole package, not just by my GPA at the end of this program which means that learning should take precedence over grades for me. At the same time, it's not fun getting bad grades or watching your GPA plummet (I learnt that from Microeconomics the hard way period 1). And aren't your grades a reflection of your learning experience essentially? (Or are they!?!?) It is debatable.

I guess what this means is that if I have a chance to take economics then I will - good or bad.

So enough about school. While Avi is hanging out in sunny Bangalore, I am freezing in Montreal!! Actually, my optimism helps significantly - I don't look out the window and think -10 degrees celcius, white, wet, snow in piles over my car, slipping on ice, my hair getting messed up by the crazy wind, and suffocating in my winter jacket with scarfs and gloves and hats and everything. Instead I think, "how beautiful and serene and peaceful it looks - I should stay inside and avoid the shopping malls which are full of angry frantic...I mean happy, excited people, waiting to spend the holiday season slaving over family dinners and agonizing over whether they gave the wrong gift...I mean cooking and creating special memories with family" haha I could go on...

Well the truth is, Montreal is very beautiful this time of year and it really feels like the season is here! Downtown is full of lights and is busy with people and there are moments of serenity and peace as you drive through the clean snow-filled neighborhoods and twinkling lights. I had a chance this last week to do some of the things I always find myself doing this time of year - namely sitting in a bookstore with a latte, reading, watching people, and buying something useless to take home with me. And watching a movie - remember going to the movies?! And staying up late wasting time, not writing papers! Good times!

Regardless, I think this holiday marks some much needed rest and relaxation. So hopefully Avi enjoys his time back home - as will I - be it in Bangalore or Montreal!

Vacationing in Bangalore.

Period 2 ended with particularly dull colours.  Probably because I laxed after a decent performace in period 1 or because alcohol and mba are not the best things when taken together.  Whatever the reason, period 2 is over and behind me.  

Period 3 is the most interesting and the most exacting.  On top of it, Dave, Bill, Nicolas, Jocelyn and I are part of the case competition and Aravind, Paul and I worked on the business plan submitted to NUS.  By the third week I was literally cursing my enthusiasm to do all of those competitions!  Have to see how things take shape.  Currently, I am enjoying my holidays in Bangalore... the much needed vacation after 5 months of books, cases, presentations, booze and exams.  

Time has come that I chose my electives.  I feel that I had more clarity about the subjects I wanted to take when I joined HEC than I have now.  After all the courses taken in the first 3 periods, I am struggling to fit in 5 course for period 5 and 5 in period 6.  It just seems that I want to do most of it, and some times none of it.  Some subjects will not help me shape my career but are interesting enough to spend 1.5 credits on.  Case in point is Economics.  My performance in Economics in period 2 was unimpressive to say the least.  Now I think, should I take Macro-2 because I like the subject or reject it because it did not fetch me marks.  Hmm...Manager's dilemma (hehe...).  Then there are a host of other subjects and a limit of 5 to take!! Whatever! 

Starting January, we will have a host of events lined up.  Campus abroad (to Vietnam or Japan/Korea) in March (I think) and then there is an Supervised Training Project (Lets see if I get selected for MBA without borders)... And before I know, I would be dancing on the streets of Montreal for 2 reasons - 1.  The summer would have arrived. 2. I would have completed my MBA.  Let's see how things take shape.  

Life is uncertain.  But that is the best part.

Remembering Mr. B N Prabhakaran

BNP Sir was the best English teacher Cadambi school had.  I will always remember him as the teacher who got us interested in Julius Caesar.  He trained us in a few skits and it used to be awesome to see him teach us to act and get the expressions.  He absolutely loved his students.  It is unfortunate that we do not have him amongst us.  He passed away a few years back, but lives in the hearts of the Cadambi school students whom he taught.    Love you sir.

India at the Olympics.

Deviating from the HEC experience, this blog is dedicated to the sports scenario in India.

India won 1 gold and 2 bronze at the Olympics in 2008.  Since the first time in 1900, when India for the first time participated in Olympics, India has won a total of 20 medals, most of it in Hockey.  It is easy to go on pages about how pathetic this performance has been, but let us look if there an inherent problem here.  A population of greater than 1 billion cannot be talent scarce.  It does not make sense.  Nonetheless, India has the least medals per capita.  

Following, as I see, are the problems : 

1.  The schools promote sports, but do we get top level sports people because of the coaching in school.  May be not.  Most medallists get trained outside the school.  Schools need to be more aware of this and have to spend on quality sporting in school.  It is not a bad idea to include sports as an elective in school.  Or providing incentives to a student who performs in sports, waive fees for super performers etc. There are a zillion ways to incentivize sports.  You just have to be concerned. 

 2.  The government needs to improve the sporting infrastructure.  Imran Khan once said - to get the best cricketing talent, you only need to have the good grounds at every street corner.  Build more grounds, spend more on coaching, encourage the sports people.   If the government cannot, then decentralize sports, let the corporate take control and be managed by the centre.  If this model works in education sector, it should work for sports.  

3.  India's performance at the commonwealth games / Asian games is not as dismal as in Olympics.  Just that we are not able to convert the medals in commonwealth / Asian games into medals in Olympics.  Government should look at the reasons.  As an analogy, 700 is an achievable target in GMAT.  But every 10 marks from then on requires concentrated strategic approach.  This is what is needed.  Government should strategically tackle issues.  

4.  For China, it is very important to win medals as they associate it to pride.  They spent 586 million on athletes.  It is also said that there was no misappropriation of funds during this expenditure.  This is what India should be drawing inspiration from.  Every time India wins a medal, we read about a lot of corporate who are willing to sponsor certain sports.  I do not see results.  I am not sure if that does not eventually happen or does it go into satisfying the unending greed for money of certain politicians.  However, I am upbeat about Mittal Champions Trust, and other corporate funding. 

5.  Finally, there is a lot of individual support needed.  Sports should be taken as a career, and promoted as one.  It is a shift in mentality and requires the government intervention and promotion.  

I wish all the best for the India's sporting future.

End of Period 1.

Oh! so sorry for not writing about the Interview with the manager for such a long time.  Now I lost interest.  But just so you know, it was one of the best things I did so far in the course. :)

Period 1 over.  Surely not with flying colours.  But Period 1 over.:).  The day it was over (Sunday October 4, 2008) I felt so aimless and directionless.  I had expended all my energy in the last week and had nothing left in me.  I was walking around like a zombie.  So I walked - like a zombie- to the nearest bar and  had a couple of beers with Bill, Harvey and Christian, came back home, cooked mixed vegetable, ate and slept.  Man!  What a good night’s sleep I had!

Next day, next period.  Back to books and reading articles.  This period is interesting.  Macro Economics is one of the subjects.  Finally I start to understand a bit about what is going on this economy - the AIG bail out, the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, Fannie Mae nationalizing etc.  It all makes a some sense now.  I am really upbeat about it.  I am glad this recession is happening now (is there something wrong with me?! ) and I get to learn the subject with an example of current affairs.  How cool is that?!  

The other subject is the Ethics and Governance.  The WorldCom and Enron debacle and new rules makes some sense now.  I had not an iota of idea what was happening in 2005.  I was totally insulated.  We have to do a presentation on Ethical (or unethical) behaviour by a corporation (or a government.)  I am all set to pin the Indian government for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. 

I am so annoyed with myself for missing the deadline for the first case competition.  The deadline for the application was 9am and I read it as 9pm.  Stupid. Stupid!

Period 1 results will be out this week.  I am freaking out.  28 years old and I still cant get over the feeling of nervousness before the results! 

And BW rankings are going to come out next week.  Considering last year's achievements, I hope HEC ranks higher than last year.  Bill tells me that HEC is ranked in tier 1 of Google's colleges to recruit from.  That is so amazing!  However, that is not confirmed news because I could not find relavent information on the internet.  So, I believe the news but you have your reasons to be suspicious.

If anyone out there reading this blog and planning to apply to HEC, do feel free to write to me. My mail id: avinash.s.rao@gmail.com 

Glad to see Incredible India! advertisements on the lcd screens in Montreal mall. :) 

More about the interview with a manager in the next post.  

End of Week 4

Hi everyone!

New writer here. Just to give you a little background - 26-year old female, Gujarati but born in Africa and lived most of my life in North America. It's nice Avi asked me to contribute to this blog - a little bit of a different viewpoint! We are both on the same team and learning a lot both from the program and from each other (at least I am from him! haha)!

So we are at the end of Week 4 at this point and basically have the next 2 weeks where everything is due, all our exams take place, and there is a general feeling of being overwhelmed! I am actually sick as well but I've been popping cold/cough medicine and trying to keep studying. My throat feels like it's on fire. But you gotta do what you gotta do. It's Saturday morning 7:30 am and I thought I'd take some time to contribute to this blog before I get to work.

So our team divided the major team projects and I think that was a very smart thing to do because it makes sure we are all moving ahead since everything is due the final week it seems. On the down side, I feel like I am behind on some subjects - but I think it's mostly because I wasted some crucial weekends here and there enjoying too much.

It's hard adjusting from a life of working to going back to school. I also live at home so there's always your family wanting to spend time with you and responsibilities around the house like cleaning, cooking, picking up your siblings from places, etc. Not to mention that I spend a lot of time daily in public transportation or when I take the car - in traffic! In any case, this is the first period so I know I will learn and manage timing better next semester. And I am an optimistic person so I believe I can do the best with the two weeks I have and still do well for this period. A good attitude never hurt anybody.

So I devised a plan of action this morning and now it's just a matter of making it happen over this weekend. Lists always help me - I think it's the fun of crossing things off a list to be honest! :)

I have to admit that the workload is pretty heavy and I am sure it will get worse! But it's all for a reason and in my experience, sometimes the most difficult experiences are the ones that teach you the most.

Here's my reasoning so far on why it's so intense (I like to understand things to deal with them better):
1) The program is 57 credits which they have to fit into 1 year so logically they have to cram it with work - it is "intensive" after all

2) Having a ton of work to do and a team makes working together crucial to your success. You simply cannot do it all - it's physically impossible (unless you did nothing else and just lived and breathed homework). And working in a team forces you to learn a lot of skills (most of which you will talk about excessively in all your classes the first week when you get asked a number of ways what you believe "management", "good management" and "being a good manager" is all about - right Avi!? ;) You may as well start taking notes and then just re-use them in classes.

3) You get better at practicing certain skills and develop your self-awareness - like time management, discussing, asking for help, and realizing that you are not and don't have to be perfect or the best at everything - after all, "good managers" know their team's strengths and weaknesses and know how to "delegate" and "empower". At the end of the day, talking about a concept and actually doing it makes a huge difference in your effectiveness in life. After all, no one was ever remembered for what they SAID they would do right?!

Anyway, so I will leave you now - hope to write again sometime soon!

We had our first individual presentation in class.  The most important Management Skill is is...   Ya ya! I hate that topic and all such topics that make not too much sense nor add value commensurate to the effort.  But...What an experience.  I have done this before when I was at Infosys and NDS (my previous work places) but that was always in front of a crowd of 5 people with camera right in your face.  And that was done, mostly because you were on bench or felt bored to work.  But this was so intense!  It accounted for 25 marks and we were being evaluated by 2 people in the class, the professor and the camerawoman - who was was capturing us on her camera.  It was just a 2 min presentation (and by 2 mins.. I mean 2 mins.) .  The class starts applauding at the end of 2 mins.  Not completing in time is the worst thing that could happen (well not really, choking on the floor would be worse)...

The funny part is, this presentation had no prior sessions of preparing for a presentation, ettiquettes of a presenter etc.  Actually those classes are going to follow.  We are marked on things that are going to be taught.  Strange.. but I find it interesting.

Our team is a good one.  Working in a team where every one wantes to help everyone else is such a wonderful thing!  We all practiced together and presented our presentations to rest of us, and used the feed back to change, adjust or redo our presentations.  It really helped.  Thanks team!

I did pretty okay, but the more important thing is that it is over!

At last it is over.  I have wasted one full day doing nothing but thinking abut the presentation (not to mention, one day before that was spent preparing the speach and practicing it.) and about all the what if's and imagine that questions that made me so nervous.  After having successfully wasted a day, I have a lot to catch up on.  Blog later.

Stepped into the second week of the first semester.  The course is gaining momentum and things are heating up.  Better be on the top of things else we will be run over is what we keep reminding ourselves.

The elections for the President and VPs is happening this week.  The nominations were submitted last week.  I did not nominate myself, for a couple of reasons - One, I wanted to contest for VP Social Affairs and that involved a lot of work.  Was a bit hesitant, considering that I want to take part in the case comps etc, and second, the other nominees for the post are montrealers and have done enough preparation for the post.  So I conveniently backed out.  Sumedh is fighting for the VP Academics post.  Wishing him luck.

There were a few surprises in the nominations.  You can never predict the competition for any post.  We predicted that VP Acads would have no competition and Social affairs have a lot of them.. We were surprised.  Sumedh has to literally fight for his spot and Social Aff is the contest between 2 ppl only.   

At home, refrigerator is stacked with beer.  Drinking in a controlled fashion...The cheapest pint of beer a is dollar. Expensive.

The MBA grads can give me some pointers to read up on how to prepare for a case competition.  John Molson is round the corner.

For people who like to enjoy their summers by going for a long run or by cycling a few kilometres, Montreal is made to order. Mount Royal (MR) in the middle of the city has running trails that give you an experience like never before. It is totally worthwhile to explore the part of the city around your house by running. It is amazing to see all the small shops and all kinds of restaurants and very few StarBucks, Wendys etc! You will also see taps along the roads to quench your thirst.

I would recommend you to buy a cycle if you are really interested in cycling. And I suggest you do it immediately after you come here. Every passing day brings you closer to winter and by the time you have made a decision to buy a $100 cycle, you have only 3 weeks before winter is covering the roads with snow. It is 3 weeks since I am here and I have not bought a cycle. I consider that I have too little time to cycle now. And I suck!!

The trail on MR is about 15 minutes of uphill from my house. I am not used to running more than 1.5 km of continuous uphill. Listening to Rocky B tracks, I feel like Rocky himself, throwing my hands up in the air when I reach the top.. and all that :) By the time I reach MR, I am totally tired and waiting to come back. This is when I wish that I had a car / cycle so that I can commute up to the foot hill and run on the trail. The way back is all down slope. So it is okay. 40 minutes of a very satisfying run during the weekend prepares you for the week ahead.

GlobStrat Simulation

This was officially the first week at the HEC Montreal and we are playing games. The class was split into 8 groups of 5 each. Each team had to sell HiTech Televisions in the Asian European and the American markets. We all start with a share price of 100 and the same product to sell. We have to innovate and differentiate ourselves in a certain way to increase our market share. The business is virtually run for 6 years. The team with the highest share price at the end of the game wins. Easy?

The members in the team had to take up the responsibilities of CEO, CFO, HR Director, Director of RnD and Operations and Marketing Director. We were given resources and had to manage it in a way to invest a right amount in the right places (advertising, buying machinery, buying technology, increasing the ISO standards, employee satisfaction and providing services) at the right time. The interesting part is that there is a lot of interdependency amongst the parameters and that is interesting to understand. We initially started with our territory but could expand into any part of the world. There is competition from everywhere and strategy is the most important thing to succeed. The company has to successfully run for 6 years and we had to make 6 decisions..one at the beginning of every year. Performance prediction, Sales prediction, Finance availability and arrangement, Technology acquiring, marketing and pricing are the key. To balance all these seems more difficult than you think! Strategy is easier thought than implemented!

It is one of the best experiences at HEC. This is the second year that the game is being played and the seniors say that this is the best part of the whole course. I guess I can comment on that at the end of the course. But 5 days of hardly any sleep, working on making a decision, trying to build consensus, convincing your team mates of how and why one idea is better than the other is very interesting and never-before experience. We were absolutely dead tired at the end of the simulation. Getting into the shoes of the top management and to take decisions that effect the performance of the company, satisfaction of the employees etc gives you a feel of real life. Amazing learning too.

Is this game played in other schools?

This reminded me of the games we play at Chili’s place.

Campus du Fort St-Jean

Aug 16, 2008
The batch of 2008 were taken out on a trip to Campus du Fort St-Jean. This was a Drink-play-party-and-know-each-other party before we begin the course.

The event started at 11 in the morning with 130 split into 4 groups getting into the bus to start our journey to the military base where we, as a group, had to spend the night knowing our batch mates. I was excited about this event, but the event exceeded what ever I thought it would be!

Campus du Fort St-Jean is about an hour drive from school. This place is now used for certain military education facilities and for University de Montreal's local programmes. It is an awesome place! Look it up.

Lunch was arranged. Being a vegetarian, I did not enjoy the food as much as the others did. Nonetheless, it was good. Since I was late for lunch, I had to stand with the cadets. Spoke to them about their course, their commitments and the physical training. Always inspiring to know that the people in the army are so committed (I know it is too much of generalizing.I wanted to get into the Indian Army, but never got a call!).

After lunch, we had a whole lot of games arranged, volleyball, kinball (it a stupid game where you have a huge ball and you should not let it fall on the ground), ice hockey (the Canadians were really pissed off about this. They called this broom ball) and a brain teasing quiz (I got all the questions related to India and subcontinent, but realized that I know nothing about Africa, Latin America and Europe. We lost and were ashamed of ourselves. But, it was fun.). It was super fun.

The fun part of all this is to know so many people from so many countries, and everyone is keen to know and learn about each other. There was no one standing in a corner, feeling out of place and wondering where he has landed up. Got to know a lot about the Latin American food (And, God! The girls are hot. ), the Chinese and the French cultures.

Booze began at 7, went on till 3. My friend shot a video with his handy cam with no CD inserted. He was totally drunk passed out some time in the night. He got up at 9:30 am and told me he did not remember what happened after 2 :) He is now famous in school. :)

I shall post the pictures once I get them. I did not take them, but I am sure some one did and will send it to the whole class.

And, I won an IPod nano 8 GB in a luck draw. Was really lucky!!

Ready to begin the simulation tomorrow. Have a lot to study tonight.