CAT prep online

SIMCATS v/s CAT

2009-05-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a graph that will tell you about my SIMCAT performance. SIMCATs are the simulated CAT exams conducted by the IMS classes all over India. There were 16 in total and I had taken 15 of them. Take a close look. Some points to be noticed:

1) I never got even once a percentile of above 99 in SIMCATs.

2) My average percentile in SIMCATs is 90.24%ile

3) I have got below 90%ile in one third of my attempts and even a figure of 75 once.

4) My performance is as irregular as it could be. There is very less consistency.

5) However, I got 99.81 percentile in CAT

How to take mock CATs?

1) What I want to say is, do not dwell much over test performances. Take them as learning exercises and learn as much as you can from your mistakes.

2) Attempt as many tests as you can. Try to maintain an average of above 90 percentile.

3) Have a habit of concentrating equally on all sections in each mock CAT. Believe me, no good B school will take in students with below 80%ile in a section.

4) Remember that 99.99%ile in all mock CATs will not guarantee you the same in CAT and vice versa.

5) Solve papers at home also in addition to taking all India mock CATs. They will help you more.

Tell me about yourself

2009-05-01T08:47:00.001-07:00

Let's discuss the most important question in an MBA interview!
" Tell me about yourself! "

Why is it important?
1. It is the first question which implies its answer creates the first impression. Believe me, a good answer could get you half way in a matter of seconds.

2. It is an opportunity to highlight your unique points and guide the interview towards them. For example, I met a guy who had won an international computer gaming contest and the whole of his 15 minutes interview was about that one contest. Believe me, its much easier answering questions about your strong points - Its like batting on a home pitch.

3. The basic aim of a personal interview is that the panelist wants to know you. In this context, this question is of paramount importance. The answer to this question decides each of the following questions.

What should be the answer?

Well, to be honest, I cannot tell you that. Each one of you has to frame your own answer. However here are some guidelines:

1. The answer should not be too long or too short. The ideal length would be around 1 to 1.5 minutes. (If you are not cut in between :) )

2. Maintain a sense of time. Go in a chronological order.

3. Mention the names of your school and college with pride and confidence.

4. Don't give too long a description about your family. Concentrate on yourself.

5. Decide what is your strong point. It could be academics or extracurricular activities or a special skill or a national/ international level achievement. While mentioning any of these, emphasize on what you learnt and what you intend to display by mentioning this achievement.

eg: I was the Vice chairman of a tech society in my college.
Say this as, "I have been involved in organization and publicity of numerous events as the Vice chairman of the tech society during graduation."

6. If they stop you in between, stop. Do not try to complete.

7. If you have finished your answer and they do not move on, wait for a second, smile and politely ask, "anything specific you wish to know about me?"

8. Maintain a track of what you have filled in your application form. It must be in sync with what you speak.

9. I would advise not to mention specifically, your long term ambitions while answering this question unless you are absolutely sure you will be able to answer any related questions. Remember you are there to prove your candidature as a student, not as a businessman.

10. Lastly, if they do not ask you this question, be sure that you try your best to divert the interview towards your strengths.

I suggest, you just sit down quietly and think about yourself and write it down in a notebook. Remember, it is you and only you who can frame this answer in the best possible way.

Basic Algebra formulae for CAT

2009-05-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that a comprehensive list of all formulae required for CAT is often hard to come by on the net. I will be providing topic wise lists here after.

To start with, here is a one page list of basic algebra formulae you will need as a beginning for CAT. You have learnt these at school. But I advise you to revise them and have them ready at the tip of your toungue.
Click the below link for downloading the pdf.

Basic algebra formulae for CAT

Will be posting next set of formulae soon!

How to start preparing for CAT?

2009-04-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

Many candidates have a problem regarding where to start with the preparation for CAT. Here are a few guidelines that could help!

Some of these may sound childish but believe me, these are things that got me into IIM C.

1) Assess yourself. Know where you stand at the beginning by taking mock test online or solving previous years CAT papers.

http://catpreponline.blogspot.com/2009/04/links-for-online-cat-mock-tests.html

http://catpreponline.blogspot.com/search/label/downloads

2) A systematic approach is very necessary which implies that right study material is necessary. I personally used IMS class notes (BRM) which I would surely recommend. Have at least one complete set of notes covering all topics with you. Maintain one separate notebook for all formulae and one separate notebook for vocabulary building.

3) Do not start straight away with problem solving. Got through the basic concepts and learn formulae for each topic. Be thorough with multiplication tables, the squares and cubes till 20. Only then attempt exercises. Do not be tempted to leave any topic. Topics like probability and functions are not as tough as they seem.

4) Get into the habit of reading. Devote at least 15 minutes in the day to reading the newspapers. Follow all kinds of news. Build on your vocabulary.

http://catpreponline.blogspot.com/2009/04/vocabulary-tough-part.html

5) Enroll for any of the good mock CAT series as June arrives (SIMCATs from IMS or AIMCATs from TIME). Regular paper solving is essential.

6) Remember, nothing can substitute hard work. Attending coaching classes will not help if you do not sit at home and study and solve papers. Rigorous study is not essential but regular study is what is needed. Get into the habit of solving few problems and a passage daily. Keep repeating formulae daily until you get bored of them.

Besides, work on building your resume from the beginning. Go for finance related or management related certifications. (eg: I had completed ITIL v3 certification in IT service management. It certainly helped during interviews)

CAT is not that tough as people have made it out to be. It is just about regular study and practice. Keep going!

TOP 10 CEOs of India

2009-04-30T00:32:00.000-07:00

As candidates for an MBA course, it is always good to know about famous businessmen, at least from India. In my interview at IIM Lucknow, I could not give information about the CEO of my own company, and I stood rejected. Click on the below link for short essays on the TOP 10 CEOs of India.

Is attrition always bad for an organization?

2009-04-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

source: expressindiaonline.com
Sudipta Dev finds out the difference between desirable and undesirable employee turnover.
sudipta.dev@expressindia.com

While organizations lament the challenges that they have to constantly encounter as a consequence of employee turnover, the truth is that all attrition is actually not detrimental for an organization. It is in fact a myth that every time an employee walks out of the door, the organization suffers. Some attrition is desirable and necessary for organizational growth and development. The point is how to differentiate between what is commonly known as “good attrition” from “bad attrition”. It is a thin line, which is not always easy to understand.
It benefits an organization when certain employees leave, whose continuation of service would have negatively impacted productivity and profitability of the company. There are also some people who have a negative and demoralizing influence on the work culture and team spirit. This, in the long-term, is detrimental to organizational health. On the contrary, when the departure of certain employees creates a setback (most often temporary) in terms of work continuity and progress, is commonly considered bad attrition. The time and investment lost in hiring and developing these people along with the cost of finding a replacement and bringing him up to the productivity level, all come at a high price.
The term “healthy attrition” is used to signify the importance of less productive employees voluntarily leaving the organization. Vikram Bhardwaj, Managing Director, Redileon executive search believes that the criteria is performance. “In the performance analysis of the ones who have left, if the proportion of high performers leaving is higher, the attrition is not good or healthy. Plain numbers and attrition figures do not signify anything without a deeper analysis of the above,” said Bhardwaj.

Benefits of healthy attrition
Desirable attrition also includes termination of employees with whom the organization does not want to continue a relationship. It can be through resignation or by employer. The significant question is: how does healthy attrition benefit an organization? Dr J K Nair, COO and Executive VP, California Software Company, lists a few advantages:
1) Removes bottleneck in the progress of the company
2) Creates space for the entry of new talents, external as well as internal
3) Helps planting “ambassadors” in the ecosystem who can have a positive impact on the growth of the organization
4) Assists in evolving high performance teams
5) It also sends a necessary message to the other employees that there is no place for incompetence.

“Typically when you walk out people, you are setting an example. Certain things are non-compromising. Deadwoods in any organization have a debilating impact on people,” stated Arun Rao, VP-HR, AppLabs. These are the people who are not able to scale their performance as per expectations, lack potential for future or need disciplinary action. Furthermore, as the rewards are limited, business pressures do not allow the management to over-reward the performers, but when undesirable employees leave the company, the good employees can be given the share that they deserve.
There is also a flip side to the situation—the fact that good attrition is a pointer to the failure of the existing system and processes in the organization in hiring the right employee, grooming and training him to be a productive worker. NR Ganti, Chairman and Managing Director, SQL Star International, asserted that any attrition in any form is bad for an organization. “It means that a wrong choice was made at the beginning,” he pointed out. The only plus point is that the realization has initiated action that will lead to cutting loss.

Impact of attrition
Direct impact: A high attrition indicates the failure on the company’s ability to set effective HR priorities. Clients and business get affected and the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses get highlighted. New hires need to be constantly added, further costs in training them, getting them aligned to the company culture, etc.,—all a challenge.

Indirect impact: Difficulty in the company retaining remaining employees and to what extent? Problem for the company in attracting potential employees. Typically, high attrition also leads to a chronic or systemic cycle—attrition brings decreased productivity, people leave causing others to work harder and this contributes to more attrition. All this has a significant impact on the company’s strength in managing their business in a competitive environment.
Source: Redileon executive search

Analyzing the impact
Productivity and profitability are both impacted, either negatively and positively, according to the type of attrition. Even good attrition is indicative of loss as recruitment is a time consuming and costly affair. “It is tantamount to investment that has gone astray. Having said that, good attrition minimizes the adverse impact on business while bad attrition accentuates the loss,” stated Nair. The cost of hiring is sometimes not less than two to three times the salary of the employee.
The impact on work progress is tremendous, particularly if a project is underway and one of the key people leaves. “It leads to dip in entire organizational efficiency, and a lot depends on how it is able to cover the setback,” pointed out Rao.
Organizations should execute top of the line retention policies in the right earnest and consistency. They should be more employee-centered and look for further ways to “bond” employees to their companies. “Company performance is optimally aligned to the skills its employees possess. High attrition implies that certain necessary skills are vulnerable or are not present due to employees being lost. This results in lower than optimal levels of business performance. If the skills are constantly not available, the situation gets compounded into a crisis with key projects, revenues, etc., getting affected. Business is then reduced to just managing crisis,” added Bhardwaj. For example, a 2 percent attrition difference can make a significant difference in the ultimate business impact.

Managing the problem
There is no sure-fire solution to control attrition. The only way out is to manage it well. This can be done by having cautious hiring with proper systems and processes in place to ensure that only the right talent is inducted into the company. Those found lacking in particular skills or competence should be informed of the expectations from them and put through a training process. Continuous skills upgradation opportunities should also be provided to good employees for their growth and development. “Career management, ESOPs, increments, rewards, and ambience are significant retention measures,” said Ganti, reminding that both kinds of attrition are unhealthy for business. When productive people leave it is understandably bad, but even when desirable attrition happens (after crossing six to seven months), it definitely impacts the business. It is loss of opportunity and investment gone badly.
Consequently organizations like Calsoft have tried their best to ensure that attrition is kept below the industry average. “Today an employee is clear on his needs and what he wants out of the job. This makes the function of employee life cycle management more critical and one that requires more attention and focus. By carefully tuning and aligning employee aspirations with the company’s overall objectives, to a large extent, attrition can be substantially reduced,” stated Nair.
Constant analyses of the causes that lead to employee turnover will go a long way in curbing the problem from the root stage. The top management should continuously focus on the issue and implement effective recruitment and retention measures

Busting myths about group discusions

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

1) If I speak more, I will be noticed and hence remembered by the panelists.

Panelists do not remember people. They remember points. If you make one good point that impresses, you are in.

2) I have to start, lead and summarize the GD.

You can easily have a good GD without starting or summarizing it. In fact, being asked to summarize can be an indication that you have not participated enough in the GD.

3) Case studies are tougher than normal GDs.

Though case studies are real life examples, you are only expected to provide logical and reasonable solutions to the problem at hand. A good approach would be to define the problem, list all available paths of action and then recommend the best one. It can be mastered by practice. Case studies are better than factual GDs as all participants are at the same knowledge level with respect to the problem.( GK does not matter much.)

4)I need to take a stand with respect to the topic given.

The aim of a group discussion is to reach a consensus as opposed to that of a debate which is about proving your point. In some cases, the time given is not enough to reach a consensus. Then, it is perfectly alright to conclude saying that a final stand cannot be taken on this topic given the limitation of time.

5) A bad GD performance is the end of the road.

Most institutes have a minimal weightage for the GD (about 10-15%) ad major weightage for the (interview about 40-50%). A good GD does give a better first impression but it is something that one can be in without.

Nandigram dispute: A case study

2009-04-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

references: wikipedia.org, pagalguy.com

Introduction
• Nandigram is a rural area in Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of Haldia. The area falls under Haldia Development Authority.
• The West Bengal government recently decided that the Salim Group would set up a chemical hub at Nandigram under the SEZ policy.
• In 2007 this lead to resistance by villagers, clashes with police that left 14 villagers dead, and accusations of police brutality

What is a SEZ ?
• A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws.
• The category 'SEZ' covers a broad range of more specific zone types, including Free Trade Zones (FTZ), Export Processing Zones (EPZ), Free Zones (FZ), Industrial Estates (IE), Free Ports, Urban Enterprise Zones and others.
• Usually the goal of an SEZ structure is to increase foreign investment. One of the earliest and the most famous Special Economic Zones were founded by the government of the People's Republic of China under Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s.
• The most successful Special Economic Zone in China, Shenzhen, has developed from a small village into a city with a population over 10 million within 20 years.
• A single SEZ can contain multiple 'specific' zones within its boundaries. The two most prominent examples of this layered approach are Subic Bay in the Philippines ,the Aqaba Special Economic Zone in Jordan.and The Navi Mumbai SEZ in India .

Why Nandigram was chosen as a SEZ ?
• Nandigram was chosen because it is next to Haldia, a major port.
• SEZ's are tax free zones, where no law of the land applies - no environmental law, no labour law, no Panchayati Raj law for local governance
• SEZ's were created in 2006 through the SEZ Act of 2005, which allowed the government to appropriate farmers land and hand it over to corporations.

Nandigram dispute
• The Nandigram SEZ controversy, which caused the Nandigram massacre, started when the West Bengal government decided that the Salim Group of Indonesia would set up a chemical hub under the SEZ policy at Nandigram, a rural area in the district of Purba Medinipur
• The villagers took over the administration of the area and all the roads to the villages were cut off.
• The administration was directed to break the Bhumi Ucched Protirodh Commitee's (BUPC resistance at Nandigram and a massive operation with at least 3,000 policemen was launched on March 14, 2007
• However, prior information of the impending action had leaked out to the BUPC who amassed a crowd of roughly 2,000 villagers at the entry points into Nandigram with women and children forming the front ranks. In the resulting mayhem, at least 14 people were killed.

Why the villagers opposed?
• The chemical hub would require the acquisition of over 14,000 acres (57 km²) of land. The special economic zone would be spread over 29 mouzas (villages) of which 27 are in Nandigram
• Probodh Panda, a CPI MP from the district has said that most of the land to be acquired is multi crop and would affect over 40,000 people.[
• Expectedly, the prospect of losing land and thereby livelihood raised the heckles of the predominantly agricultural populace
• The villagers, who had been predominantly supporters of the party in power, CPI(M), turned against it and organized a resistance movement under the banner of the newly formed Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee or BUPC (literally, Committee for the Resistance to Eviction from Land).
• defence of the project, the state government states that it was won by competing with 9 other Indian states. Being in the vicinity of Haldia Petrochemicals & IOC refinery, which, the CPI(M) claimed, had earlier led to 100,000 jobs being created through downstream projects, the party argued that this is the best place to build a hub from the point of view of supply-chain integration
• The local farmers, who repeatedly informed that the land there, is fertile enough for multi-crop farming, got furious and raised their voice against the project
• The opposition from the farmers forced the Chief Minister to inform, that the government would withdraw from the project
• Despite the Chief Minister's statement, the local, district and State administration kept stating that the Chemical Hub would take place at Nandigram itself. There were written documents signed by the concerned authorities, which confirmed this.

The events of March 14 2007
• The administration was directed to break the BUPC's resistance at Nandigram and a massive operation with at least 3,000 policemen was launched on March 14, 2007
• A group of armed and trained CPI(M) cadres wore police uniforms and joined the forces
• However, prior information of the impending action had leaked out to the BUPC who amassed a crowd of roughly 2,000 villagers at the entry points into Nandigram with women and children forming the front ranks
• In the resulting mayhem, at least 14 people were killed.
• Immediately following the March 14 carnage voluntary teams of doctors visited the Nandigram health centre, the district hospital at Tamluk and later, the SSKM hospital and compiled a comprehensive report
• Fresh violence erupted in Nandigram on 29 April caused the West Bengal Human Rights Commission to step in
• The deaths in Nandigram have led to a great deal of controversy on the left in India
• The federal police say they have recovered many bullets of a type not used by police but in widespread use in the underworld

Location shift
After the bloodshed at Nandigram, and the stiff resistance from opposition parties and Left Front partners over land acquisition, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on 3 September expressed the government's preference for the sparsely populated island of Nayachar, 30 kilometres from Haldia, to set up the much talked-about chemical hub.

November 2007 violence
• A fresh round of violence came up in November 2007. Villagers are alleging that CPM goons are raping women daily in Nandigram
• On November 12, 2007, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the West Bengal Government directing it to submit a factual report on the conditions prevailing in Nandigram
• CPI(Maoist) also joined struggle against ruling CPM in Nandigram
• Recently, police found weapons belonging to Maoists, including explosives near Nandigram. They also noted that Andhra Maoists also infiltrated Nandigram to counter CPM goons.
• Maoists called a 48-hour Bihar and Jharkhand bandh from Monday, November 19 as an attempt for motivating people and building up a resistance" against attacks by "armed CPM" cadres in Nandigram
• Trinamool Congress, Socialist Unity Centre of India and other opposition groups also continue to struggle against Nandigram repression.

2008 violence
In May 2008, fresh violence broke out in Nandigram between supporters of the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, and the CPM activists. Both sides exchanged fire and hurled bombs at each other.
On 5th May, CPI(M) mob striped three woman activists of Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee when they refused to join a rally organized by CPI(M). Owing to wide political and civil protests on the incident the Government of West Bengal ordered a CID probe into the incident. CPM leaders denied the allegations, claiming that it was part of a malicious campaign.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and a section of intellectuals including Aparna Sen from Kolkata, in separate press statements, demanded that panchayat polls, due on 11th May, in the areas falling within the jurisdiction of the Nandigram thana be deferred, for, elections might not be “peaceful and democratic”

2008 Elections
Panchayath
The electorate of Nandigram reacted strongly against the Left Front government's policy of industrialisation through farmland acquisition and its continuous terror tactics. In a major setback for the ruling CPI-M for the first time in the history of Left regime in the West Bengal the opposition wrested control of the East Midnapore Zilla Parishad by bagging 35 seats out of 53 Zilla Parishad seats in the elections that were held on 11 May 2008. In the previous panchayat polls in 2003, the Trinamul Congress had only two seats out of 51 Zilla Parishad seats. The results of the election are Trinamul Congress-35, SUCI-1, CPI(M)-14, CPI-2 and DSP-1. In all four seats of Nandigram - I and II blocks, which saw violence after protests against the government's bid for land acquisition for a chemical hub, the Trinamul candidates have won the polls by defeating the CPI-M candidates including a heavyweight leader. Sheikh Sufian, a Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee leader backed by the Trinamul, defeated his rival CPI-M candidate Mr Ashok Jana by a margin of over 13,000 votes whilst Mr Pijush Bhunia, another Trinamul leader defeated Mr Ashok Bera, a CPI-M zonal committee secretary by over 21,00 votes
Assembly
Mrs Firoza Bibi (whose son was killed in shooting by police and CPI(M) cadres on March 14, 2008) of Trinamool Congress won the Nandigram assembly by-election with a margin of 40,000 votes defeating the ruling front's candidate Paramananda Bharati

My IIM Calcutta interview

2009-04-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

tell us about yourself (told about job and extra curriculars)

tell us about your job profile (i am a software tester...in detail)

what is fish bone testing? (not aware)

what is white box testing ?(told and compared with black box testing)

what is performance testing? (told and compared with functional testing)

tell us about your future plans
(told about my interest in people management)

what is entrepreneurship, u mentioned about it in the gd?
(starting on ones own and taking it to such a level that it can help others and contribute)

so why entrepreneurship? u cud do people management in the HR of any company
(of course my company has most competent HR managers, seeing my track record in the company i will have that opportunity but am from an entrepreneur family, father runs his own hospital, brothers own graphic design studio, I have always nurtured a creative streak throughout, if I imagine myself in 2025 i see myself owning a company)

so why MBA? look at Steve Jobs..he has not completed tenth!
(of course there are multiple ways of reaching ones destination, i am following what I find correct at this time. MBA will give me knowledge in a compact form, in just two years, I will interact with people with similar goals, mentioned about IIM kolkata's entrepreneurship cell)

so what all calls have you got?
(CLIK)

nothing much after that
(congratulated them for excellent GD PI arrangements, thanked and left)

verdict: selected :)

Links for online CAT mock tests

2009-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

IMS, one of the premier CAT coaching institutes in India has come up with an online CAT based test. Follow the link below to register for the same!
http://www.imsindia.com/catonline/

Career forum has also come up with one such PreCAT.
http://www.careerforum.in/cat09online/cat09online.htm

Also here is the link for online test from TIME.
http://www.time4education.com/catonlinetestlogin.asp

These would be good to assess yourself before you start preparation for CAT 2009. So get going!!

S.P. Jain admission process

2009-04-29T04:20:00.000-07:00

source: www.pagalguy.com

Mumbai's SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) Joint Director Prof Sunil Rai in a PaGaLGuY.com exclusive interview.

SP Jain is known to send GD-PI calls to candidates even before the CAT is held. Why and how is it done?

We do respect the CAT, which is an entry-level examination for the MBA education. However, how can you have the full idea about somebody’s potential using a two hour test? So we have frameworks using which we can spend more time in evaluating a candidate. How we do it is we use various criteria like good continuous education, versatility and good value system, work experience and more. We look at the candidates’ application forms and categorize them then on S, A, B and C grades. S is Super, A is Good, B is Satisfactory and so on.So in the good continuous education criterion, all three of your class X, XII and graduation degree should have had good scores and from reputed institutions. If two school education boards and one university have seen you as a consistent performer, for instance if you have 90 in tenth and twelfth and a distinction in your college and that too from reputed schools and college, then we give you an S. Or if you have done well but not from a reputed college then we give you an A.Second is what is called versatility and a good value system. If you have been put through some adversities in life, it makes you a better suited person. So a single parent child for example, who has seen a single mother or father struggle in life and has himself or herself struggled to complete education, has proved himself or herself in a challenging situation. Then there is the family background parameter where things like honesty are valued, for instance somebody’s father is an academician or the mother is a government servant or the grandfather was a freedom fighter, then you know the person has definitely picked up a good value system. So again, we rate this criterion on S, A, B or C. Same for quality of work experience.Now that we have so many criteria, we prioritize. To get an interview call you have to be an S at least in one criterion. So if you are a person who plays hockey for the Indian team or have an NCC certificate you have an S. So even you have an academic A, because of this S you will get an interview call. Or if you are an academic S but you are a B in the versatility criterion you’ll get the call. But in any case, you should not be below B in anything and you should be an S in at least one thing. I think it is a very good set (of candidates) we get out of such combinations.So once we have this shortlist, we interview them. After the CAT results are out, we use their CAT performance to sort this list. Now all the people who are eligible for SP Jain will be sorted in the descending order of their CAT performance. So the CAT is taken as a criterion but not as the primary criterion. You have proved yourself in academics, you have proved yourself in life, you are a good person and you also do well in a test. That is what we are looking at. I think it is the right way of looking at admissions. So you can be an ace in CAT but if you are not a good human being then we don’t need you.

What are the criteria for the interview calls that you send after the CAT results are out?

CAT is also a criterion. If you are an S in CAT then you receive a call. However there is weightage given to the rest of the parameters too, so even if you are a CAT S but you are not at least an A in academics, you will not make it to SP Jain.

How much time do you spend on each candidate’s CV before you take a call on whether he or she is an S or A or B in a parameter?

We have parameterized some things in the online application stage. We already have a list of reputed colleges on our server so when your percentage and college name is selected by you the computer program can pick it up and grade you accordingly.

So the computer already has a database of the good colleges?

Yes, which we keep on updating using the UGC list, the state department, student feedback and from our own experience. So for most of the parameters it is a computer-generated thing. But of course for the value system criterion, we have to manually search the forms.

How many people are roughly short listed for interview in the stage before CAT?

We receive about 15,000 applications each year. We generally shortlist about 60 pc of our total shortlist for the interview stage before the CAT takes place.

And how many of this 60 pc usually get a final call?

A proportionate number.

Can you tell us the dynamics of the two-stage group interview process that SP Jain follows?

There are two panels, which test you in a group interview. It’s about how you perform in a team. If you combine me and him with her and if you are targeting a business and the three of us don’t make a good team then the thing doesn’t happen. Therefore you should know how to perform in a team. That’s why we have a group interview concept.There are two interview panels that see you. So out of panel A and panel B if both rate you as an S then you are through. But if Panel A says you are an S and Panel B says you are a C then there is a problem. The two panels then discuss about it and you are graded later. Sometimes there is a re-interview in which the same panels sit together or we offer it to a third panel because it is basically a judgmental decision.

How does SP Jain treat work experience before CAT?

We have four streams and of them for the marketing and finance there is no work experience criterion. Even with low work experience or no work experience, if you are excellent in studies and CAT you will still get a call for marketing and finance. Do well in the interview you will get final admission for marketing and finance. But for information management and operations experience is a must. We do not like to take anybody with less than one and a half or two years work experience. The students have to finalize their specialization at the time of applying. We believe that one needs to be focused about what he wants to do later.How good is the judgment of students in selecting their specialization given that many of them have never worked fulltime before?As far as marketing and finance is concerned I give it to them, their judgment is fairly good because the youth today is able to make out where they would fit in. Generally outgoing people with good communication skills, who like traveling and meeting people, are the ones who usually choose marketing. People with affinity to numbers take up finance. If people wish to change their specialization after a year they can definitely do that but they have to debate it out with us. The change should be a decision arrived out of logic and not out of frustration of not doing well. The decision should be informed and intelligently taken and not an impulsive decision. It shouldn’t be that your pal is taking finance so you also plan to change your specialization to finance.SP Jain also asks for SOPs...This is to check the value system of the people as well as know certain individual traits. For example a person may perform better in teams, he maybe a team player. So I ask him to write three or four of his experiences. However smart the person maybe and whatever coaching classes he must have been through, we are capable to find out the truth and make out the differences.

The SP Jain website mentions about two one-year courses… one is the EMBA and the other is PGDM. How are the two different?

The EMBA or Executive MBA is actually a one and a half year course. The difference between the two courses is that the executive MBA is for working professionals who have not left their jobs. They only come to campus for nine days in three months. In those nine days you are totally with us but the rest of the three months you remain in touch with us online on a weekly and fortnightly basis. Submit your assignments checked by your mentor in your work place to the in-house guide. That way you remain in touch six times in one and a half years. The one year PGDM on the other hand is for working professionals with high experience who have left their jobs to pursue this course.

How does your PGDM compare to ISB’s one year programme?

They are two different products. ISB’s programme is a general MBA whereas ours is a focused MBA. We are firstly focusing on information management in the operational domain and secondly the student focuses on the role he would like to take up. We customize the training according to the role each student wants to do

You have an Entrepreneurship Cell in your campus. Can you tell us how it works?

Every manager has to perform three different functions: that of a leader, a manager and an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship makes a manager risk-taking, innovative and experimental and that is what is required in fast pace business of today. No risk, no gains. Time will tell how many will actually become entrepreneurs. We just started with the Cell last year. We have also started a program and the first batch is on. Sixteen of them will become entrepreneurs already in some time. I am expecting more and more students to take it up because more ideas are coming up.

Does S P Jain help these students in getting funds for their entrepreneurial ventures?

We have faculty who have experience in the industry, who have worked in their field and now come to SP Jain. We follow the practioners method, like how a doctor is taught by another doctor. Have you seen a surgeon teaching another surgeon who has never performed a single operation? Same is the case here. How can a professor teach students marketing if he hasn’t sold a single soap? Our entire marketing faculty has once been a part of industry for at least five to ten years. Therefore we have practioners on the faculty board including our own Dean. Therefore our students get excellent in-house consulting for auditing of ideas. Were making SP Jain a very good place for incubation of ideas.Prof Sunil Rai has fifteen years of IT experience in corporate organizations, Infrastructure Management, Execution of Information Security and networking projects. He has twenty-two years of experience in managing Ships and technical establishments of Indian Navy in various capacities.

Business Makeover: a case study

2009-04-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

source: http://advancedge.com/

Mr. Sundarmoorthy was a traditional industrialist involved in the manufacture of coconut oil. He had a very successful business practice in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, a harbour town with many huge industrial establishments, a host of leading C&F and logistics companies and a well developed SIPCOT complex. This had given rise to a large mobile population of technocrats comprising engineers, top management people, technicians, workers, etc. There was also a sizeable population dependent on the sea for their livelihood. Mr. Sundaramoorthy had only one son, Ramesh, who was employed in Chennai. Whenever his son’s family came to their native town, he felt restricted by the lack of choice in toys that he would like to buy for his grandchildren. He had also heard similar complaints from many of his friends. It was, thus, that he decided to start a new business alongside his extremely profitable oil venture and opened a toy shop – the first of its kind in the town – naming it after his grandson: Mukund Toy Paradise. It was a well-stocked shop with traditional domestic and imported toys for children.
However, a year down the line, Mr. Sundarmoorthy discovered that this new enterprise of his was hardly profitable; rather, a drain on his time and resources. It would be best to close it down. Around this time, Ramesh returned to town to take care of the family business, having gained valuable exposure and money from his experience. He was gravely disappointed by his father’s decision to shelve the toy business. He still felt that the market had huge potential and expressed his desire to take over the shop and try to revive its fortunes. What steps could Ramesh take at this point that would transform the shop into a profitable venture?

Increasing visibility: Mr. Ramesh has to think of introducing changes along different lines. The first thing would be to check for visibility and customer awareness. If required, he should relocate the shop from its present location to the main shopping area or areas frequented by families with children such as the beach. The interiors must be tastefully and intelligently decorated, carpeted, made dust-free with lightings made to suit the environment and capture the imagination of children. Mild background music appealing to children of different age groups could be played in turn. In other words, the interiors should look inviting to the target consumer section without being overly opulent. It would also, perhaps, be a good idea to have a weekly holiday and keep the shop open on Sundays, since that’s the day most people go out with their families.

Making it easier for the customer: The next step would be to look into the aspect of, and create, customer comfort. More often than not, in such outlets, salesmen are the people primarily responsible for selling the product to the customer. The key, therefore, lies in appointing salespersons who would be able to relate well with the typical buyer. For example, Mr. Ramesh could appoint girls, with an education in kindergarten training, as saleswomen. They would be able to speak the language of the children and also better explain the benefits of the toys to the parents or final buyers. It is also important for them to be extremely customer-friendly. There are also other ways to create customer comfort. For example, different shelves should be assigned to different classes of toys. This helps the customer to identify what exactly he’s looking for and streamline his choices. A rack involving baby-care products, Kids’ CDs, could be opened to make it a one-stop shopping place for children. New toys should always be positioned at eye-level to attract maximum attraction.

Building relationships: Another very important thing is to build and retain customer loyalty. Small steps such as printing the name of each child, free of cost, on the first toy that he purchases, or dropping them birthday cards, go a long way in building and nurturing continued relations with the customer. Small inexpensive comic / cartoon booklets could occasionally be given as free gifts.

The times are a’ changing: Mr. Ramesh could also contemplate introducing what many leading chains have successfully done in the greeting card market. He could introduce a toy to commemorate every special day, for example, a toy for Valentine’s Day. This will draw a large number of college students to his shop. Such visits often result in parallel sales, whereby overall sales pick up. Free mehendi to visitors may be introduced on special days. Then there could be special dolls/decorations, displayed in exclusive racks, for Navaratri, Diwali, Christmas etc.

Capitalising on opportunities: Local industries of the kind present in the town usually have residential complexes, each with its own organizational culture. Often, there will be an annual carnival at those quarters at a particular day of the year. Mukund Toy Paradise could put up a stall on carnival day so that all the residents are exposed to a wide range of the wares that the shop has.
These communities also have active ladies’ clubs. Ramesh could get in touch with them and set up a day when he can address all those present. The focus would be on Emotional Benefits – bringing your children toys or games and teaching them the way to operate or play with those toys also indirectly means spending more time with your children. A game of carrom goes a long way towards fostering family ties, not to mention the appreciation that you receive as a parent for buying him a new toy!
Then again, factory personnel often make their monthly purchase at select supermarkets, e.g. a particular industrial community may have its own supermarket either in factory or residential premises. In-shop sales of toys could be carried out in those supermarkets on the first three days of each month consequently for six months. This helps to showcase the products and trends to the same set of customers consistently even without them having to visit the toyshop.

Innovations and business strategies: In time, Mr. Ramesh may think of creating a special play area with a safe, hygienic pre-purchase ambience. To exemplify, there could be a demo race track made of plywood where children could themselves operate a car. Often a child on seeing another with a toy in the demo room would instantly fall for the same one. This also reduces the floating time customers spend in a shop.It would also be nice to have a coupon system whereby people can buy gift coupons of varying value that can later be exchanged for a toy.
Given the evolving preferences of industrial society, it would help immensely if the store has a website with pictures, related information and prices of all the toys. People can access the site and pay through their credit cards. The toy could be dispatched to the said destination within a 10-km radius from the shop with all the paraphernalia of a gift, if it’s meant to be one. Sometimes it also makes sense to explore the cost-benefits of entering into agreements with subsidiary industries. Often battery-run toys, in spite of being cheaper themselves, are unpopular because of the recurring cost of batteries. If Mr. Ramesh is able to arrange for a deal with the battery suppliers, say, a trade load offer on a bulk purchase, he may sell an AA battery for a price of Rs. 4.50 compared to its market price of Rs. 7.00. In time, he would start receiving shoppers who come to Mukund for their battery purchase alone.

To sum up…Often, all it takes is to recognise the hidden potential of an enterprise and the channels through which that may be realised. The needs of the target customer can be fulfilled only upon thorough exploration of the governing realities of their situation. Here we have discussed a few ways by which Mr. Ramesh can switch from the conventional technique of management of the business to a modern and effective one, more befitting of the times, without substantially raising investment. All these steps are likely to boost sales and revive the dying fortunes of Mr. Sundarmoorthy’s one-time dream.

Indian Economy: A snapshot

2009-04-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Currency
1 Indian Rupee (INR) (₨) = 100 Paise

Fiscal year
April 1–March 31

Trade organisations
WTO, SAFTA

Statistics
GDP
$3.319 trillion (PPP) (2008 est.)
GDP growth
7.3% (2008)
GDP per capita
$2,900 (PPP)
GDP by sector
agriculture: 17.2%, industry: 29.1%, services: 53.7% (2008 est.)

Inflation (CPI)
7.8% (CPI) (2008)

Populationbelow poverty line
27.5% (2008 est.)[1]

Labour force
523.5 million (2008 est.)
Labour forceby occupation
agriculture: 60%, industry: 12%, services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment
6.8% (2008 est.)

Main industries
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software

Exports
$175.7 billion f.o.b (2008 est.)
Export goods
petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Main export partners
US 15%, the People's Republic of China 8.7%, UAE 8.7%, UK 4.4% (2007)

Imports
$287.5 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Import goods
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Main import partners
People's Republic of China 10.6%, US 7.8%, Germany 4.4%, Singapore 4.4%

Public finances
Public Debt
$163.8 billion (2008)
Revenues
$153.5 billion (2008 est.)
Expenses
$205.3 billion (2008 est.)

Main data source: CIA World Fact BookAll values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

Downloads!!!

2009-04-29T02:50:00.000-07:00

The most comprehensive MBA related download page available on the net!
To Download, Right click on each link and click 'Save Target as'

CAT papers:

CAT 2008

CAT 2006

CAT 2005

CAT 2004

NMAT papers:

NMAT 2006 analysis

NMAT 2005

Mock NMAT

JMET papers:

JMET 2007

JMET 2006

JMET 2005

SNAP papers:

Mock SNAP 1

Mock SNAP 2

More to come!!!

Two typical HCF and LCM problems

2009-04-29T00:39:00.000-07:00

1) To find HCF and LCM of the form-

2222....30 times.

3333....70 times.

to solve such questions...

for HCF..

take hcf of no. thats being repeated...i.e. hcf of 2 & 3. i.e. 1

take hcf of no. of time these nos. are being repeated...i.e. hcf of 30 n 70...thats 10.

so the hcf is 111...written 10 times.

For LCM...

take lcm of no. thats being repeated...i.e. lcm of 2 & 3. i.e. 6

take lcm of no. of time these nos. are being repeated...i.e. lcm of 30 n 70...thats 210.

so the hcf is 666...written 210 times.

2) To find hcf and lcm of following form -

2^300 - 1, 8^250 - 1.

the idea is..a^n - b^n is always divisible by a-b. so we need to find highest a-b that will divide a^n - b^n (HCF) and smallest term that'll be divisible by a^n - b^n (LCM)

express them in a common base.

2^300 - 1 and 2^750 -1.

to find hcf...

take hcf of powers i.e. hcf of 300 and 750...i.e. 150

so the hcf is 2^150 - 1.

to find lcm....

take lcm of powers i.e. lcm of 300 and 750...i.e. 1500

so the hcf is 2^1500 - 1.

source: pagalguy.com

Memorize these values!!!

2009-04-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Data interpretation problems are all about fast calculations and approximations. Most of then have answers to be found out in percentage terms.
Memorize these values. They will help you immensely.
1/1 - 100%
1/2 - 50%

1/3 - 33.33%

1/4 - 25%

1/5 - 20%

1/6 - 16.67%

1/7 - 14.29%

1/8 - 12.5%

1/9 - 11.11%

1/10 - 10%

I will post how to use these values woth examples shortly. For now, have them at the tip of your toungue. Keep revising!!!

Vocabulary : the tough part!

2009-04-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Many students find the vocab part to be on the tougher side. Although CAT does not have direct questions on syonyms and antonyms, good vocabulary does help in understanding comprehension passages faster and answer the occasional single word question un a second.Also, other exams like SNAP and JMET have almost five marks each for vocabulary based questions. Some tips while studying words,

1) Do not go for learning directly from a word list. If you have time, read through good newspapers like the Hindu or good novels that interest you.

2) If time is short and learning from a word list is the only way, do not go for each and every word according to the list. Start by solving exercises which involve substituting words in sentences. These can be found in any good study material like the verbal ability notes of IMS classes.

3) Maintain a notebook and write closely related words together. Also write words with similar spellings or sounds but different meaning together.

4) Learn a maximum of 15 new words in a day.

5) Do not mug up the meaning of words. Try to get a feel of their usage and meaning. Try to remember them in sentences.

6) There are some audio tools available to learn words. My friend who scored 1540 in GRE used this one: http://www.mindpowerindia.com/mind-machine-lab/

I will be posting important words (especially adjectives) regularly.

Keep reading!!!

My IIM Indore interview

2009-04-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Two professors P1 and P2 interviewed me.

P1- u r involved in acting and humour (saw my extra curricular) , tell me how humour can be used in conveying a message
Me - told about humour being a good starting point for a serious message-people identify with the speaker- gave an example of one of my own acts in which i start with jokes about marriage and end on a serious note about the same. told humour could be used to avoid problems and convey awkward things politely- told the famous joke of George Bernard Shaw and Greta Garbo
P1- compare humor in two countries and what could be learnt from each other.
Me - told that I was a fan of FRIENDS, an American sitcom. it used subtle humour. Indian humour is more louder making more efforts to make people laugh. But the humour depends on the audience. Friends was tried to be remade in Hindi but didn't work. Also pointed out that sense of humour is related to IQ and exposure. Told that I had performed in front of small children in an ashram and in front of a college audience, different jokes worked.

P2 – tell me about a book u read recently
Me- I have read only one novel completely, Dan brown’s deception point
P2 – why not others?
Me- I saw the Da Vince code movie. I identify more with movies than books. The visual stimulus is more exciting
P2 – so did you see slumdog millionaire
Me – not fully
P2 – (laughing) so u don’t watch movies fully either (P1 laughing)
Me – It is still downloading sir (smilingly…hope they didn't take it in a negative way)

P1 – (coming to acads)
Design an inverter system. Which all modules would it require?
Me – a battery for power storage . An AC to DC converter when power is available. A DC to AC whenever power required.
P1- any other modules?
Me – (thinking) I suppose these will be the three basic modules
P1 – So how would you design these modules.
Me – AC to DC would be a by a diode that acts as a switch
P1 so that is a rectifier and DC to AC?
Me – (stumped…thought for half a minute) actually what I can think of is that an amplifier with a DC bias voltage amplifies an AC signal but that does not qualify as DC to AC conversion…sorry cant recollect
P1 – OK so what would be the design constraints for these modules
Me – battery capacity would depend on number of devices to be supported and for how long – heat dissipation would be constraint for larger systems, cooling mechanisms need to be in place- The AC voltage that all devices support should be at the output of the rectifier circuit, so amplifiers could be needed according to that value
P1 – OK so u have done filter theory! Wat is a filter and give three applications of a filter
Me – defined- basic applications in transmitter and receivers of communication circuits - other application would be digital filters used for audio effects in music
(though hard for a third one but couldn't get another application)
does a coder qualify as a filter?
P1 – No that’s a different thing
Me – (asked for a minute and thought hard again..couldn't get anything) Actually I have lost with these things since I’ve focused on my job since last two years.

P2- OK so lets talk about your job
tell me a big business story in the last six months
Me – Satyam scandal
P2 – other than that
Me – TCS restructured its organisation- told about it being divided into verticals according to domain- each vertical functioning as a mini company
P2 – ya so that is a strategic business unit SBU..but how is it better?
Me – competition between verticals improve efficiency – resources are trained in a specific vertical and hence better knowledge of responsibilities and better resource movement- each vertical has separate HR function, finance function
P2 – that is redundancy. Don’t u think?
Me – anyways we had separate HR functions and finance functions but project and location wise. Now it is more specific – vertical wise
P2 – tell three things that TCS should do in face of recession
Me – told about Ratan Tata’s message to TCS CEO about plan to face recession- told about performance based job cuts- told about the need for a better learning process for freshers with the initial learning to be carried out at project site to avoid wrong allocations and wastage –MATCs (resource allocation committee) role
Also mergers would be right way to tackle recession
P2 – but TESCO or TELCO are in a mess due to mergers itself…the annexed business units are acting as money sinks.
Me- sorry, not aware of this development. Recession is a temporary phase..
P1 - ya so in this phase what to do?
Me - told about people bringing in fake receipts to avail financial benefits, need for a more robust process
P2 – this happens everywhere..what is your take on infosys in all these aspects as compared to TCS
Me – Infosys has a better knowledge management process and the initial learning process for freshers is better managed and with better infrastructure, based on experiences of my friends
P2- so u r now realizing all these faults because it is recession time..otherwise you would have lived with it
Me – It is not that way but the effect is felt much more in this situation. The biggest and most complex problems start from small problems. If the mortgage bankers had not lent mortgage based securities, the recession itself would not have happened.
I was speaking something..cut me in between
P1- OK thank you!
Me - Thank you sir

Verdict: selected! :)

Basic questions in an MBA interview

2009-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of the most commonly asked questions to get you started. I would advise each one of you to think about the answers and write them down in a notebook. I am not supplying the answers as I believe that that the basic aim of an interview is to know you better. The interviewer can easily make out if the answers are not original. However, I will be posting the answers that I gave later. Some of these questions were asked to me in my IIM C interview.

1) Tell me about yourself.

2) Why MBA?

3) Why finance/marketing/HR/operations/IT?

4) Tell me about the last book you read?

5) Why do you want to leave your job?

6) Why is there a dip in your academic performance?

7) Why should we select you?/ What are your strengths?

8) Tell me about the last organization you have worked with.

9) Why our institute?

10) Why should we not take you? / What are your weaknesses?

These ten questions are the most important ones. These tell the interviewer how much you know about yourself. Struggle with them until you find honest answers. I will be posting my answers later.

Get going!

CAT goes online!!!

2009-04-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Eschewing the paperbased format that has been in place for the last 33 years, the Common Admission Test (CAT) for admissions to the seven Indian Institutes of Managements (IIM) is now going to be a computer-based test from this year onwards.

Instead of a single-day country-wide examination, the test will be conducted in a window of about ten days sometime at the end of the calendar year. The test is used for admissions to IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow, and Shillong The test will be conducted by Prometric, a subsidiary of Educational Testing Service (ETS), which conducts the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Prometric has been chosen by the IIMs from a shortlist which included UKbased Pearson VUE that conducts the GMAT, and Bangalore- based Eduquity Ventures that conducts the entrance test for BITS Pilani.

According to a release from IIM Bangalore, the test will allow candidates some leeway in choosing test dates, use biometric identification for enhanced security, and provide for video monitoring to eliminate any scope for cheating. IIM Bangalore has also maintained that the 'computer-based format would improve communication between candidates and IIMs in terms of programme information, test delivery, receipt of admit cards, and receipt of score reports.' The reason given by IIMs for the move to a paperless format is the staggering rise in the number of candidates who take CAT. From 2003 to 2008, a period of five years, the number of candidates has risen from 95,000 to 2.5 lakh. This huge increase of approximately 160 per cent, has resulted in severe strain on the administrative system of the IIMs to conduct CAT in its existing format.

Sources from one of the IIMs told The New Indian Express that while the contract was signed between IIMs and Prometric earlier this month, the modalities are yet to be worked out. The details of the examination are likely to be announced by late May or early June, he said.

Click for official press release document about CAT going online issued by IIM bangalore.
Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com