Inside this Issue

From The Committee‖s Desk

We are indeed very happy to present before you the second edition of GliMPse. At

the outset, we thank the readers for their warm reception and generous apprecia-

tion of the previous edition of GliMPse. The recurring theme of the feedback com-

ments from our seniors at XLRI was that it reminded of them of their XL days.

A lot has happened since we last brought out GliMPse. Dev Anand, Jagjit Singh,

MAK Pataudi, Socrates, and Steve Jobs among others left for the heavenly abode.

Kolaveri Di has made a mockery of paid advertising campaigns. And what was

then a whisper of a financial slowdown has become an audible murmur and the

Rupee is struggling. However, very little of it you‖ll find in this edition. As in the

previous edition, we have tried to capture the essence of life at XLRI GMP and

have made all efforts to retain the simplicity of the previous edition. What does

find a mention however is our experience of the three-week long International Im-

mersion Program to various universities across four continents.

As in the previous edition, we carry interviews with two XLRI GMP alumni: Sunil

Kumar Nandamudi (batch of 2007) and Dr Kailash Jialdasani (batch of 2010). Be-

sides the interviews, you'll also find: an interesting account of what was it like to

do research for your reports before Google came along; why at least one person

feels there is too much social networking; the story of a husband-wife couple stud-

ying at XLRI; an attempt to explain why bribes may not be so bad after all (yes,

you read it right); and a look at the past six months at XLRI. Before we forget, this

edition also carries an interview with Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta!

We hope you enjoy this edition of GliMPse! And do drop in a line or two at glimpse@xlri.ac.in to let us know what you think!

B a c k t o s c h o o l

X L R I L e a d e r s h i p S e r i e s

S t u d s , P s e u d o S t u d s a n d O t h e r s

A l u m n u s I n t e r v i e w

R a c i n g @ X L R I

L i f e i n 1 9 7 0 s B . G

B e y o n d t h e c l a s s r o o m

C o l l a g e

B e t t e r h a l f o f G M P

R e c e s s i o n p r o o f

R a n t a b o u t S o c i a l M e -d i a

D o y o u k n o w y o u r b a t c h m a t e s ?

H a l f t h e b a t t l e w o n

B r i b e s a n d i n c e n t i v e s

A l u m n u s I n t e r v i e w

A b h a y ‖ s P o e m

W h a t ‖ s u p a t G M P

A n s w e r s t o Q u i z

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T

International Immersion Better half of GMP Prof. Sengupta Event Snippets

The GliMPse Committee—Aditya Jha, Ankana M, Deepak Khandelwal, Hrishikesh C, Ipshita Ghosh, Rajeev Shahi, Shreya Kohojkar, Venkatesh Iyer, Vinay Mudgil, Vipul Patki

Ipshita Ghosh

I sat at the coffee table sipping my favorite “beaten”

coffee while the last rays of the setting sun glistened

on the snow-covered porch visible from the window

in the room. I was paying a visit to my friend Aruni-

ma at her small but cozy apartment in downtown

Minneapolis. My husband, Samarjit and I had been

living in Minneapolis for almost three years where

we worked for the same client for IBM. By now the

city was synonymous to “home” for both of us.

I looked up at my friend as she settled on the chair

in front of me, glad that we were able to finally find

some time from our busy schedules to catch up on

what was going on in our

personal lives. Our friend-

ship dates back to our child-

hood – we had been close

friends at school and would

always find time to chat

about the latest gossip, dis-

cuss about our crushes and

share all the excitement in

school which was such a natural part of growing up

together. We went our own different ways after col-

lege and the regular conversations made way for

infrequent catch-ups and messages over Facebook.

We were extremely excited when we both landed in

Minneapolis by virtue of our work and hoped to see

more of each other. However, our individual careers

gradually took a toll on our personal time. Besides,

Arunima had a one year old daughter who kept her

busy even when the work load from office did not.

As such, it was not often that we got to meet each

other although we stayed within half an hour‖s driv-

ing distance from each other.

“I have some good news to share with you” I start-

ed. But before I could go on to explain, she let out a

shriek of delight! “Well, I had guessed from your

voice that you have something special to tell me!!

Wow! I am really happy for you! Congratula-

tions!” While I sat flustered, wondering how on

earth she had guessed what I was about to tell her,

she went on promptly to her next question “So

which month is it now?” “Hold on”, I said. “I really

don‖t think you have made the right guess. I have

got through GMAT with a de-

cent score and would be going

back to India soon to pursue

my MBA”. There was, if you

will permit the expression, a

pregnant pause. I guess she

was trying to digest what I had

just told her. “Are you sure

you want to leave a settled life

and a decent job of eight long years to go back to

being a student?” she said, after finally finding

words to express her emotions. “What if there is a

recession? And moreover, I strongly feel that you

should never leave husbands alone. You never

know what they are up to“. She winked, but I could

sense the genuine concern in her voice as she read

her thoughts aloud. “Well, I have told you only half

the story”, I said. “Actually, both of us would be

leaving our jobs to pursue an MBA next year”.

My friend was not the only one to be completely

startled by our decision. My discussion with my

Back To School!

3

parents over the phone a few days prior to this meet-

ing had been along similar lines. “At your age, your

friends have kids going to school!” my mom had

exclaimed. “Make sure you properly assess the

―return on investment‖ and don‖t forget to consider

the ―opportunity costs‖ ” advised my dad, the Char-

tered Accountant in him taking over. Come to think

of it, these words make much more sense to me

now, given that I am already halfway through the

MBA course.

But what remained to be done was breaking the

news to my manager, who I guessed, would have no

clue that I would soon be leaving my job to pursue

my personal aspirations. Af-

ter a lot of deliberation on

how exactly I would ap-

proach the topic with him and

convey my future plans, I

went up to his room on a Fri-

day, when I thought I could catch him in his best

mood, while a well-rehearsed speech was fresh in

my mind. But I had only just begun when he sur-

prised me by saying “Yes of course I know that both

of you had appeared for GMAT and intend to go

back to India soon. I was just waiting to hear it from

you.” I bet you can always trust the grapevine to get

all your carefully guarded “secrets” to the exact

quarters where you want the information to reach

last. Initially, I was furious about whoever it was

who had leaked the information to my manager. In

reality though, it made my job easier. My manager

was extremely supportive of my decision, but even

he did not forget to add before I left the room - “It is

not easy to go back to being a student after eight

years of seeing your bank balance grow every

month. Moreover in your case, both your husband

and you would be leaving your jobs for furthering

your education. It is a courageous decision, I must

say.”

In the days that followed, I witnessed a plethora of

emotions being played out before me as more of my

friends and colleagues came to know about my de-

cision. Some of them stared back with stunned ex-

pressions of disbelief, as if I had declared something

quite rebellious. Some others could only manage a

dry “good luck for your future”. There was, howev-

er, yet another group of people who applauded me

for taking a step towards what they had always

wanted to do but had not been able to. They were so

inextricably tied to the regular pattern of routine life

that they found it extremely difficult to break away

from the grind.

For me, it was unquestionably a difficult decision.

On one side of the balance was a stable job which

promised a reasonable level of

security for the future. I could

have easily resigned myself to

the unpresumptuous call of a

secure family-life. However, on

the other side was my desire to

reach beyond the horizons, to not get lost in the

crowd of people who were just one among many

and to carve a niche for myself in the elitist world of

corporate executives. Needless to say, I gave in to

the promise of an exciting future, which, I believed,

held the key to a number of possibilities that would

otherwise remain completely unexplored.

So here I was, ready to make the transition from the

“knowledgeable” consultant to an eager student,

keen to know more about the concepts that had

seemed so elusive and obscure during all my years

in the industry – about strategies, balance sheets,

sustainability, competitive advantage and the like.

When I first walked through the hallowed portals of

the institute which I had always looked up to, I felt

as excited as I had been as a school-girl. And even

today, the excitement lives on - as I expectantly

look to the future with the hope that it would unveil

an enthralling world of new opportunities and chal-

lenges that would ultimately pave the way for a new

beginning.

4

“So here I was, ready to

make the transition from

the ―knowledgeable‖ con-

sultant to an eager stu-

dent”

The words “finance” and “accounting” instill fear in

the hearts of many students who have always been

intimidated by the concepts of debit and credit, bal-

ance sheets, profit and loss accounts etc. There are

many who believe that studying management ac-

counting can never be fun. But not if you have at-

tended the classes of Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta!

His unique style of teaching, witty jokes delivered

with an unassuming air, the structured approach

which makes the toughest concepts of finance seem

simple - have won

the hearts of one and

all. And how can we

ever forget the

names of the compa-

nies in his test pa-

pers for which we

invariably failed to

prepare fund flow/

cash flow statements

or correct the incom-

plete records - “M/s Pain Begins”, “M/s Pain Esca-

lates”, “M/s Still Paining Pvt Ltd” and ”M/s Ex-

treme Pain”!!!

Prof. Sengupta joined XLRI in the year 1998 with

around a decade of industry experience and is cur-

rently the Area Chairperson – Finance and Student

affairs and Grievance (Academics). The GliMPse

team had a candid chat with him to catch up on his

personal side and to know more about his interests

beyond numbers and finance.

Was Finance always your first love?

Yes definitely. But it was after 12th standard that my

liking crystallized and I decided to go for Chartered

Accountancy.

What made you take up teaching after working for

over a decade in the corporate world?

I had around 11-12 years of

corporate experience before

joining XLRI. When I was in a

corporate house, XLRI invited

me for a course as a visiting

faculty. There, a senior faculty

member in XLRI actually

asked me if I would be inter-

ested in joining XLRI. And

that‖s how I joined XLRI in the year 1998.

In the 13 years that you have been teaching in

XLRI, can you cite any instances which are very

close to your heart?

I feel really happy when I find that the students are

applying the knowledge that they have learnt from

me in different spheres of their work as well as in

everyday life. It gives me special pleasure when

students are able to apply the concepts taught in

class during job interviews and are able to impress

the recruiters with their understanding. Students

keep writing mails to me sharing how they continue

to apply the concepts taught by me in their individu-

Faculty Interview Prof. Sabyasachi Sengupta

By Ipshita Ghosh and Shreya Kohojkar

5

al domains of work. For me, satisfaction comes

from all such instances and it would be difficult to

pin-point only a single instance which stands out.

What do you like most about XLRI?

What I appreciate most is freedom and the culture

of very open interaction – specially in terms of a

very informal student-faculty relationship.

What would you like to change about XLRI?

XLRI should concentrate more on brand building

and PR issues. Students, administration and faculty

- everyone should be involved. The push should

come from all levels.

Do you see any difference in student-faculty inter-

action now as com-

pared to 10 years

back?

XLRI is growing big-

ger by the day. Previ-

ously there were

around 30 faculty

members and maxi-

mum of 150 students.

Now student size has

increased. Faculty

count is around 75-80. Hence interactions between

students and faculties have reduced. But this can‖t

be avoided. Previously I used to remember the

names of all the students even if I was not taking up

a course for them. Now I remember names of only

around 60% of the students.

How do you cope with the trauma of evaluating our

accounting papers?

Well, it is actually very difficult to cope up with.

Sometimes I get very novel answers (Smiles).

Frankly, accounting is a very difficult subject to

pick up in 2-3 months. And for GMP, the coverage

is huge. It is like swimming or cycling, when you

are learning, you find it difficult.

But once you know, you find it very easy and don‖t

understand why others are finding it difficult.

While evaluating answer sheets, I acknowledge

that very fact. And so based on the approach, I give

marks.

My consideration is whether the student‖s thought

process is in the correct direction. But the situation

changes when I evaluate elective courses or other

core courses in finance where the basic foundation

has been laid already.

What is most innovative answer that you ever

came across while evaluating Accounting papers?

A journal entry which said Profit

and Loss account debit, Balance

sheet account credit.

Normally Bengalis are famous for

their sweet tooth and love for fish.

What do you prefer?

The same - sweet & fish, there is no

doubt about it.

Which team do you support in the

football world-cup?

Argentina. I am die-hard Maradona fan. I don‖t be-

lieve in God but I do believe in Maradona.

What interests you other than Finance & Football?

Any form of fine art - theatre, music, drama and

movies. As for contemporary movies, I feel that of

late the quality of Hollywood movies is declining

very fast. Some of my favourites are Ben-Hur, 10

Commandments, Titanic, Lawrence of Arabia and

Gandhi. The last two good Hollywood movies that

I really liked were Titanic and Gandhi.

I am not much into vocal classical. But I like to lis-

ten to western & eastern classical/instrumental mu-

6

sic. I also like Bengali folk songs. I like listening to

“bangla band” Bhoomi because of its connection to

Bengali folk music.

Choose any one from the following

As a finance professional, whom do you find more

challenging to deal with - HR or Marketing?

Convincing a marketing professional would be

more challenging. By contrast, convincing an HR

person would be relatively easy.

Placement coordinator or Chairperson of Students

Affairs & grievance

It is certainly more challenging to be a placement

coordinator. But I wouldn‖t take up either of these

roles by choice (Smiles).

Playing with Toofan(Prof. Sengupta‖s dog) or

watching a football match

Playing with Toofan is a pleasure anytime, but then

it depends on the football match. If it‖s Argentina

vs. Brazil or Manchester vs. Barcelona, then I will

prefer watching the football match.

Blue waters of Mauritius or the Alps of Switzerland

I prefer sea over mountains – so it would be Mauri-

tius. What annoys you the most – class at 7 AM or

class at 9 PM?

Definitely class at 7 AM. I am a ―night person‖.

How would you tally the balance sheet of work & life?

That is perhaps one balance sheet that never matches.

How does the reality of finance cope with the vani-

ty of marketing?

Well, as you said, finance is reality, marketing is

vanity and reality always scores higher than vani-

ty!(smiles) Finance is all about numbers and sym-

bols, about bottom line and cash line of organiza-

tions. Ability of a finance person to convince a

marketing person stems from this strength of num-

bers. Sometimes aggressive stands that a marketing

person may take might have adverse effect on the

bottom line or cash flows. In such cases, marketing

professionals need to be convinced with numbers

as ultimately even they aim for the bottom line.

What do you feel about having ―Fan club‖ on Face-

book?

I have never checked it but I have heard about it. To be honest, I believe I don‖t deserve to have a fan club.

Special message for GMP students?

Hard work and focus will invariably pay. If you are

good, few years down the line you will invariably

be doing well. Hence always stay optimistic.

Tell us the first word that comes to your mind when

we mention the following

First Words Venugopal Sir – Very sweet person.

Munish Sir - Stylish

Kakani Sir – Hard task master

Jomon Sir – Passionate

Father Jesurajan – Communication

7

Studs, Pseudo-studs & Others

The Stud - He gets the highest grades in all subjects, though hardly anybody can claim to have seen him

study. The pre-eminent beer guzzler of your batch, he's still the one to lead others safely to their rooms af-

ter the late night binges. He chairs all the glamorous committees and apparently, those committees would

limp without him. He plays the Guitar and has reportedly performed at the Razzberry Rhinoceros. You be-

lieve it as you've yourself heard the Sweet Child of Mine being played at three in the morning in his room.

He does all of this and more, maintaining a perfectly flat tummy even as the waistlines of his batch-mates

are rapidly swelling like the sails of a racing yacht. You are at this point thinking of taking refuge in theol-

ogy and mythology, trying to dwell on the impermanent nature of the world, when he rounds off your mis-

ery by winning the Mythology and Cultural Quiz at the local cultural club organized on the occasion of

Krishna Janmashtami.

The pseudo-stud - The presence of a Stud almost invariably spawns off a pseudo-stud or two. He too

comes in with an impressive background. For example, he is here shedding luster to your humble premises

having sacrificed his seat in IIT or LBS. He chairs the first meeting of your group project only to ask the

progress report of the other team members a day before the final submission. The minor blip in recent

grades, he explains, was a result of studying not for exams but for knowledge and concepts. You have no

choice but to nod your head, as he says that with such panache that Dale Carnegie would have nodded his

head in appreciation.

Vipul Patki

The easy pigeonholing of college students into a very

few types has always been a source of constant won-

der for me. Show me a batch of more than hundred, I

often say, and I‖ll show you the easiest categorization

there is after the male-female type. This article is a

summary of my observations over the years, though,

needless to add, I have taken advantages here and

there of the elastic nature of truth. And as you read

through the article, if you for any moment feel that I

don‖t seem to reflect modern attitudes toward gender

equity, I would plead not guilty for my alleged non-

gender-inclusive language. The pronoun triad of he-

his-him here is meant to be gender-neutral. The ladies fit equally well in most instances and in some cases

are better embodiments of some of our characters here.

8

The Insouciant - I confess I am intensely jealous of this type. Nothing ever seems to perturb him. While

others are doing a popular imitation of mustard seeds on the fry as the deadline for Prof. Kakani‖s assignment

approaches, he is seen smoking a calm cigarette. He makes the submissions in the nick of time and is surpris-

ingly cool about it, almost blasé. For the timid like me, he is as inspiring as a Marco Polo, Magellan, Colum-

bus or Sindbad, for he dares to venture into unchartered waters: flirting with submission dates, and returning

unscathed.

The Timepiece- He is the Subodh – no, no, not the affable CA Subodh Suman of your batch – if you like,

though a stern variant is known to have traits of Ram Gopal Bajaj (of Andaz Apna Apna). But while that ordi-

narily may be a good thing, sending a deadline alert to his group a good six days ahead of the submission date

is definitely not a good idea, three days being the norm when the deadline is first spotted on the horizon. Al-

most inevitably, a showdown between himself and The Insouciant occurs. I may add that the confrontation

may present several points of interest for those wishing to make a career in HR; those not wishing to are

simply advised to order a coke and popcorn in advance so that they enjoy the live soap even better.

The Scholar - Bless His Soul! The perfect student. The one whose sight reassures his professors that God

does produce Arjuns and Eklavyas these days after all. He usually reaches the lecture hall fifteen minutes be-

fore time and duly notes down each word of the professor. His notes are in big demand during the exam

times, especially for those lectures where the other students have little better to do than to have a look at their

watches every minute on the minute. The dinner you had with him when he linked the string theory, the quan-

tum physics and the Upanishads was the last time you enjoyed noodles without looking at them as actors in

the Cosmic Interplay. But you also felt sorry for him when he almost broke down for not being able to com-

plete the assignment by himself and copying it.

Damon and Pythias - Heisenberg if present would have admitted that his uncertainty principle doesn't

apply to such people; one can always point the location of the Damon with precision if Pythias is spotted. If

you have gathered that these two people are fast friends, I am satisfied, for that's the idea I wanted to put

across. You see them together at the T.T table, the library and at the Lawn Tennis court. In the same lecture

hall as well, as they take the same electives.

Err...I forgot to add that they are happy with their respective fiancés. Some people have a technical name for

it: clique, but you can only chafe at such a base name given to a beautiful and timeless friendship.

Unfortunately, my haggling with the magazine editor for a few more words wasn't successful and I‖ll have to

stop here. Such is life. I know there are a few pigeonholes left and I invite you to send us your thoughts on

plugging those.

9

Hello Sunil! Firstly I thank you on behalf of the

entire batch. Could you please share your person-

al and professional experiences prior to joining

GMP?

Thank you Aditya! I take this opportunity as a

privilege and as a platform to connect with all of

you. Before joining XLRI, I had 20 years of work-

ing experience with NABARD in various capaci-

ties and at the time of joining

GMP in June 2006 I worked

as Assistant General Manag-

er.

With such a long career be-

fore joining the course can it

be said that you had com-

pleted nearly half of your

professional life before mak-

ing this switch?

I would ask you to look that in a different way.

With economic liberalization and the phenomenal

growth of information technology in the last few

decades, opportunities for economic and produc-

tive engagements have opened up in India. Be-

sides, as one of the outcomes of economic pros-

perity, higher life expectancy has pushed the ac-

tive professional life longer for many of us. Indian

economy presents a lot more opportunities to en-

gage in activities of nation/society building and

therefore a longer experience comes as an ad-

vantage.

How did GMP happen to you?

With 20 years in NABARD where I did have an

opportunity to work, deal and negotiate with pro-

fessionals from a variety of sectors, I often felt

that the rather closed and protected confines of a

mandated organization restricted

my ability to reach out to emerging

areas even within the domain – the

CDM markets that the Kyoto Pro-

tocol offered is one example. I

looked at a return to classroom

comprising peers from diverse

business/management backgrounds

as an answer to my quest for

knowledge and awareness of the wider business/

management world. Hence, my choice of GMP.

As per the media reports, your joining as a CEO

of ABN Amro Foundation in 2007 was held as the

first placement of any student of any B-school in

India as a CEO,. What you have to say about that?

I would say that it just made a good media story.

In my opinion employability is more as a by-

product of any B-school education. What matters

most is that the school functions as a Center of

Excellence and nurtures talent to shape future

business leaders.

Alumnus Interview Mr Sunil Kumar Nandamudi (XLRI GMP, 2006-2007)

CEO, RBS Foundation India

Aditya Jha

10

Amidst this hype about high GDP growth for past

few years, we are observing a skewed income and

wealth distribution and a widening gap between

rich and poor in the country. Where we might be

going wrong?

A free market has clearly demonstrated its ability

to support enterprise and thereby economic pros-

perity easily widen

the gap between

rich and poor very

vast and therein lie

the seeds of dis-

content and social

strife. Inclusive

growth is a win-

win case for the

entire society for, a

section of the com-

munity that is left

out of the main-

stream economy is

a market segment that is left out and it is a com-

munity that has potential for social strife. For a

rapid and inclusive growth for the country I think

we need to set our focus on two aspects. One is to

leverage technological capabilities in businesses

and society as a whole, to bring more transparen-

cy in the system and to improve governance and

regulation. Second would be a higher participa-

tion from industries and government in invest-

ments on infrastructure.

Though with a changing trend, still for a fresh

MBA graduate, the development sectors or Com-

munity Services have not proved to be that lucra-

tive. What changes you would suggest to be

brought in the system to bring more young and

educated people in this sector?

Money is one of the dominant rewards that deter-

mine allocation of talent in a society and we can‖t

deny the influence money has in initial decision

making of a fresh graduate. Yet, it is not correct

to say that engagements that offer relatively less

financial rewards do not attract talent. I have

seen good talent in Community Services which

offers rewarding experience for professionals

from a wide domain.

Is there anything you regret

of not during in your GMP

days but would advise the

current and forthcoming

batches of GMPians to fo-

cus on?

Only thing I regret is that

the most memorable days of

my life are gone. After

working in a PSU for so

long, GMP was like a fresh

air to me. Rising to the occa-

sion, working in crisis situa-

tions, and matching up to

classmates much younger to me, working alone

and working in different teams; every bit of it

was very special. This experience infused a new

energy in me.

To the new batches, I would say that the GMP

crowd is truly representative of India‖s industry

and the XL campus really reverberates with en-

ergy and learning. Enjoy your life at XL and give

it your 100%. The experience gained here is go-

ing to hold you in good stead for a very long

time.

Wishing you all a great year 2012 ahead…

“What matters most is that

the school functions as a Cen-

ter of Excellence and nur-

11

Krishna, a fiercely inquisitive boy, lay on his

bed, his eyes half open, wondering where

George Akerlof was from. The question had oc-

curred to him a few times in past weeks, but he

did not bother to find out the answer. Ofcourse!

Proof-reading his dissertation work was more

important. But now since his dissertation was

complete, the question stood in front of him –

naked, staring at him, eyebrows raised, waiting

for an answer. It would be foolish to not know

where Akerlof was from because most of his

dissertation consisted of

Akerlof‖s work. He

woke up with a sudden

yearning to know and

bridge the insufficiency

the question had created

in his very being. He

went around asking his

“floor-mates” but no one

would know where

Akerlof was from. He

asked everyone he met

on his way to library and all he heard was – “I

don‖t know man!”, ”Oh yeah Akerlof…

ummm.. aah… no man ... not sure!”, “dude! Re-

lax its ok if you don‖t know.. I don‖t know ei-

ther”, “Sorry George … who?” He began to feel

increasingly foolish until that one faithful mo-

ment arrived. Inside the library a young lady in

a beautiful white salwar answered – London. A

wave of intense pleasure and purpose and

meaning and brilliance in elephantine propor-

tions washed over him. He finally KNEW IT!

Dr Krishna still remembers that day fondly –

not because he finally knew where Akerlof was

from, but because that was the day when he first

met his wife!

Wondering whether why he didn‖t ―Google‖ for

the answer? He didn‖t. He couldn‖t because it

was 14th July, 1970 and

Google simply didn‖t exist at

that time. Had it existed, he

probably would have been

married to someone else. My

casual chat with him in one of

our recent alumni meets,

forced me to ask myself –

“How has life changed as we

stepped into the information

age”?

Most of us entered college with the entire infor-

mation super highway in our pockets. We never

had to ask “actual people” for information that

could be easily found on the internet. I some-

times imagine myself in Dr. Krishna‖s time,

waking up with a yearning to know something

really badly. But then my story finishes in less

than 1 minute. I pick up my smart phone (eyes

half closed), and search for George Akerlof and

Google shouts back like a drunk-know-it-all –

London! No joyous feeling of knowing, no

Life in the1970s B.G.

Venkatesh S. Iyer

12

pleasure, no sudden heightened sense of fulfill-

ment. But wait! I still get up and go to the li-

brary in the hope of finding a girl in white-

salwar only to realize that at 07:00 AM the prob-

ability of spotting a living thing in library is as

low as finding a non-praying mantis.

Ask my fellow GMP‖ians and they will tell you

I am a total tech-geek (some say freak). I can

think of a gazillion typical examples on how the

information explosion has benefited the human

kind. But when I sit back to think what our gen-

eration has lost in its transition to the infor-

mation age, I think of a few subtle joys of life

that deserve an article.

With Google in our pockets the joy of knowing

seems to be non-existent. One moment you

don‖t know something and two seconds later

you seem to know it all. There is hardly any

time for mysteries and curiosity. The time dif-

ference between knowing and not-knowing is

so brief that knowing feels exactly like not-

knowing. Despite, knowing so many things we

aren‖t a tiny bit smarter than students during Dr

Krishna‖s era.

Students in today‖s age are deprived of the thrill

and sheer exhilaration of getting a little ―help‖

during the examinations. They quietly take out

their mobile phones and ―google‖. Finding help

in those good ol‖ days was so much more excit-

ing. The students passed notes. Passing notes

needed an incredible combination of a writing

tool (read pen), a piece of paper and an intricate

knowledge of Japanese paper folding. Writing

and folding were the easy parts, but the difficult

and the most exciting part was delivering the

note to the destination through a complex net-

work of students. It required practical experi-

ence and a good grasp on concepts of critical

shortest paths in operations research. Add to

this the risk of ―note interception‖ – a.k.a

“being caught”. Just imagine that one over-

joyous moment when you receive a piece of

paper with the much awaited answer. Google

has stolen that one triumphant ecstatic moment

from millions of students.

The Sunday mornings aren‖t half as refreshing

and beautiful as they used to be in the Nagpur

of my boyhood. I distinctively remember the

tranquil “Sunday smile” on my father‖s face as

he sat on his cane-chair in the backyard, sipped

hot tea and Sheru (my dog) ran towards him

with the newspaper in his mouth. I remember

accompanying him to a nearby garden on Sun-

days where he sat beneath a tree with his

friends and discussed the latest news, while I

played cricket with my friends. I compare

those happy Sundays with the ones in recent

past, when I woke up at 10:00 AM in the morn-

ing only because watched random videos on

YouTube till 3:00 AM the previous night.

Sometimes on one of those lazy Sundays I

wake up and the first thing I do is to stare at

Google not really knowing what I want to

know.

While all of us would agree that internet and

information accessibility has changed our lives

completely for better, very few of us realize

that what it has taken away. While there is no

point in arguing whether the advent of infor-

mation era is good or bad, each one of you can

certainly close your eyes and think of those

golden moments in your lives and try to relive

them. For those of you who are still wondering

what the hell does B.G mean – it means

“Before Google”.

13

What happens when seasoned professionals and

managers from leading automotive and aero-

nautics companies gather at a small Dhaba in

Jamshedpur on a Sunday night? They are heard

having animated discussions on engines - which

ones are the best for Indian roads, which one

would take the market away from the Indian play-

ers and recent F1 events.

If you are wondering if the location is the famous

Tenth Milestone Dhaba on NH33 near Jamshed-

pur, well, then you are wrong. This Dhabha is lo-

cated inside XLRI

and the argumen-

tative folks are the

students of the

General Manage-

ment program.

XLRI Jamshedpur

has been the

breeding ground

for managers

from various in-

dustries. In this

edition of GliMPse, we would be taking a closer

look at the Automobile and Aeronautics studs of

the institute and what prompted them to leave

their established identities in the corporate world

and take an academic drive into business and gen-

eral management.

There has been a strong and continued influx of

global automobile companies into India. Toyota

and Nissan Motors from Japan, Hyundai from

South Korea, Renault from France, Ford from

USA are some of the names who have set-up their

bases in India through Joint Venture or otherwise.

General Motors, Skoda and Mercedes-Benz are

other companies in beeline for an entry into India.

The major reasons for this influx can be attributed

to the growth and relative stability of the BRIC

economies. Indian economy has, more or less,

been able to withstand the tremors of the global

financial meltdown of 2008-09. Even though its

rate of growth has

slowed down con-

siderably, the hopes

of an economic re-

vival are better in

India and the BRIC

countries than any-

where else. The

work force of the

auto industry in In-

dia is relatively

well trained. All

these factors show bright future prospects for the

Indian auto industry and have enticed global play-

ers to cross the Indian Ocean and the Himalayas.

Returning to the gang of students at XLRI, they

are former employees of leading auto manufac-

tures like Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Mahindra and

Tata Motors, while the aerospace industry is rep-

resented by ex-professionals from the prestigious

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Their energy,

zeal and mission for excellence at XLRI matches

Racing @ XLRI

Rajeev K Shahi

14

with the world class engines and machines they

had designed while working on shop-floors (they

are fond of this term, apparently!)

Manohar Sethpalani, the senior-most of them all,

opines that the Auto sector boom in India is na-

ture‖s way of balancing the economic gloom.

Manohar has rich experience of 13 years, out of

which 9 years were spent with Mahindra &

Mahindra. Consistently a top-performer in his or-

ganization and having shaped the careers of many

rookies, Manohar felt a management education

would not only let him put his automotive sector

experiences into perspective but also equip with

him with the necessary horsepower to drive up the

corporate ladder.

Bishwajeet Pratap Singh, on the other hand opines

that the auto-sector growth is an opportunity to

bring out more innovations from India. Bish-

wajeet, a mechanical engineer from NIT, Su-

rathkal, after his stint at Tata Motors for more

than 4 years joined Daimler India. He was a part

of the core group involved in design and develop-

ment of new generation World Truck for Tata

Motors and Bharat-Benz for Daimler India.

Ravi Kumar Singh, a production engineer from

BIT, Mesra, believes that it is high time now for

Indian Auto Companies to take the global market

more seriously. Tata‖s JLR acquisition and Nano

are good starting steps towards establishing India

Auto Inc. globally. Ravi was responsible for Pro-

gram Management of the Tata Nano Supply-

Chain including critical processes like Procure-

to Pay, Plan-to-Produce and Order-to-Cash cy-

cles.

Ramesh Babu Vanagundi from Hindustan Aero-

nautics Limited had been associated with the one

of most prestigious projects of Indian Aviation,

Tejas – India‖s first indigenous supersonic com-

bat aircraft also called as the LCA fighter jet.

Recognized as the most productive officer of that

division, Ramesh felt a b-school education

would enable him to contribute his analytical and

management acumen to other related sectors in

the national as well as international arena.

Asim Kumar from Tata Motors, Laxman Prasad

Dubey from Quality Control, HAL, Purushotham

Kamath from Ford India and Neeraj Mohan from

Scooters India are other names in this band, who

felt XLRI Jamshedpur would be their perfect

launch-pad for a high-performance career and

allow them to contribute to the nation‖s growth.

“Economic and operational

risk to the global auto com-

panies is indeed, an oppor-

tunity for India in times of

economic danger.”

15

XLRI Leadership Series

Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia is the General Officer Commanding-in-

Chief, Central Command, Indian Army. He is a recipient

of the Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal, Yudh Seva Medal and the

Vishisht Seva medal.

The Lt. General in his address highlighted the current

“Age of Turbulence” (referring to rising unemployment,

poor economic conditions and the like) and the emphasis

on “fighting the fog of war”, a metaphor to the shakiness

of the turbulent times, through six leadership mantras.

Citing numerous examples and anecdotes, the Lt. General

sent a strong signal on the importance of having a long term vision that looked beyond just profits and rev-

enues. The Lt. General concluded his speech by expanding on the six leadership mantras namely Compel-

ling Vision, Character, Competency, Communication Skills, Innovation and being Technology Savvy. His

humility was evident in his final quote “A leader is all because of teams”.

16

Leadership Series is an initiative of the GMP batch of 2012 where industry experts share their insights into

the industry, leadership and challenges. Since inviting Mr Saumen Chakraborty as the inaugural speaker,

XLRI has proudly played host to three eminent personalities and have them talk about various aspects of

leadership. Their profiles couldn‖t have been more different: One is an incumbent MP, the other is a Lieu-

tenant General of Indian Army, and the third, the Country Head of New and ReCon Parts India.

Dr Ajoy Kumar has donned many hats in his illustrious career. He has been a doctor and an

IPS officer, is the current MP from Jam-

shedpur, and is also the CEO at Max Neeman Interna-

tional. Jamshedpur residents though love him most

for singlehandedly changing the law and order situa-

tion in Jamshedpur.

Dr. Ajoy Kumar highlighted the importance of being

socially active, even if not contesting an election, and

encouraged the students to be a part of an active civil

society, which is the key to a successful democracy.

Leadership lessons, in uniform - Lt General

Ahluwalia

Shantanu Roy

Role of MBA in Politics - Dr Ajoy Kumar

Sripathi Chakkravarthi

Cummins Inc., a US based company started on 1919, is a major manufacturer

and distributor of diesel engines. It has presence in more than 190 countries and has grown to be the largest

engine manufacturer in both China and India. Mr Sandeep Sinha, an MBA from the Kelly School of Busi-

ness, is currently the Country Head of New and ReCon Parts India.

Mr Sinha talked about the old days when a company‖s cor-

porate strategy was formulated by CEOs behind closed

doors where strategic decisions were ―cast in stone‖, and

highlighted the risks of making strategic decisions in isola-

tion. He emphasized the need to make decisions such as

investments, innovation, capacity enhancements etc. taking

into view the larger micro and macroeconomic environ-

ments rather than limiting the decision parameters to the

company resources alone. He cited the example of the Tata

Motor‖s “World Truck Project”, a strategic decision influ-

enced by the growth of Indian economy - the development and reforms in road infrastructure, capabilities

of the associated supplier/vendors to grow and the overall stimulus provided by this project to the business

of Cummins India (a partner to deliver engines to Tata Motors).

Mr Sinha spoke about the relevance of different strategic frame works in organizations, but underlined the

importance of not allowing tools to replace sound reasoning (or even tacit knowledge). In an engaging dis-

cussion, Mr Sandeep Sinha provided potent lessons for anyone seeking to excel at strategy management. It

was a compelling talk - whether you're an eager MBA grad raring to apply what you learned or an academi-

cian eager to listen to what MBAs get wrong when they land in the real world!!

17

He talked about how young b-school graduates can get involved in governance, the various means to do

the same and how we can help plug loopholes in policy and decision making. He urged everyone to stay

connected with the social environment and support its gradual transformation for the better, and in cases

be the change itself. He suggested that it might also someday champion your cause of cracking the politi-

cal animal of election, as it was in his case.

Listening to his experiences of election campaign and how he won against all odds (literally) was indeed

fascinating. Giving real-life examples of success stories around him, he reiterated the importance of hold-

ing on to your vision. “Rather be a hedgehog, than a fox” was his concluding advice.

Corporate Strategy & Role of Microeconomics

– Mr Sandeep Sinha

Bishwajeet Pratap Singh

Memoirs— International Immersion 2011

18

Memoirs— International Immersion 2011

19

XLRI GMP is a one year full time MBA program for professionals with a mini-

mum of 5 years of full time experience. The batch strength is 120. Students come

from varied backgrounds and have excelled in their respective fields. Admission is

through GMAT/XAT scores, essays and interviews.

Disclaimer-Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials in GliMPse are those of the specific author and do not

reflect the opinions of XLRI or any employee thereof. We have made reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information throughout

this newsletter and XLRI is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the students.

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