Congress again !

Is a stable government all that we want? Is it going to reignite the India growth story - Increase IIP and Retail numbers. papa and me discussed a year back that congress will pull inflation down to the zero mark right before the polls - BANG ON! And see what happened .. no one expected such a massive win. +76 seats over the last time and last one was a full 5 year term!
There is not much change at the centre then I guess - What is it with Rahul though.. how rich are those folks??
Stock markets should jump by about 650 - 800 points in initial trading. There isn't much reason for the market to swing. Except that this is the most obvious positive trading session - obvious enough for the operators to drag it down to negative?? We'll see..

ISB is a crazy place btw - till date one phrase defines it, PEER PRESSURE. I must study coz everyone else is. I must party because everyone else is. I played squash - at 2 in the morning. It was fun. Had injured my ankle so couldn;t play for a whole 9 days. Guess wat .. I had my mid-terms on the 8th ad 9th day of the injury. So am sure the injury added 5-10% to my total marks. Funny how things work. But it seems like I have a knack for squash. Aur kya - aaj Ohri's gaye section D ke 10 log. Was good fun for us but the birdday uncle may not be too happy. But hey we sang Happy Birdday for him.

Jassi Ashu and Co wanted to go to Necklace Road - and will someone please explain to people that exams are 2 weeks away!! Start studying !
Rohm and Haas due in 2 days, A/C assignment in 12..grrrrrr!

stocks of 400 cos rise 100 percent

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Indicators/Stocks-of-400-companies-rise-100-per-cent/articleshow/4497717.cms

What crap!

Suzlon energy went down from an average of around 250 rupees to 35 and then is trading at around 75 -- Is that what you call "giving a return of 100 percent" ?

Sesa Goa fell from an average of 300 to 60 ! Now it has risen to around 120 .. Is that what you call "giving a return of 100 percent" ?

Reliance Industries fell from an average of 2500 to 930 ! Now it has risen to around 1900 .. Is that what you call "giving a return of 100 percent" ?


Dish TV fell from an average of 100 to 16 ! Now it has risen to around 35.. Is that what you call "giving a return of 100 percent" ?

Are these folks assuming that an investor was waiting for Sep08 to happen and then pick up stocks ? And that he had no holding in these companies before Sep 08?

The truth is that the last 2 months have given a return of 35% - but that is after a wealth erosion of nearly 60% between Jan and Sep 08. So if someone had a net worth of 1 crore in Jan 08 - they were worth 40 lacs in Sep08 and are now worth around 54 lacs.. That is a net loss of 46% since Jan 08.

Of course Jan 08 is when the valuations were crazy in the other extreme - way too high i.e.

Twitter Blog - Haldiram bags v/s Go-Green

So we have a no-plastic-bag policy on campus right? How do you explain the haldiram [yeah!] plastic bags given for carrying the folders ?

And how do you explain the 72 rupees individual meal plan v/s 75 rupees one time meal price ?

And how do you explain the no-shaded-areas-from-AC-to-SVs?

This is how you explain it - Relax. Things will improve

ISB ranked 15 on the FT times

I was at the ISB over the weekend - little did I know the recognition awaiting ISB.

I am not going to judge or comment on the ranking - rather just put the facts and hear the opinion of the readers

Indian School of Business India -

Salary today (US$)
Weighted salary (US$)
Salary percentage increase
Value for money rank
Career progress rank
Aims achieved rank
Placement success rank
Employed at three months
(%)
Alumni recommend rank

145,727 salary today
148,339 weighted salary
160 increment
27 value for money
18 career progress
65 aims achieved
28 placement success
100 ( 93) students% placed (data available for students)
77 alumni reco


The one comment I have is - ISB's placements this year SEEM TO ME to be way way way better than that of other schools in the ranking - so am expecting a top 10 rank in the FT a year from now :)

Is an MBA more than a "placement"

Let us be truthful here - many of us have been blindly pursuing the MBA dream without stopping to think - WHY MBA?
I am not really talking about middle level managers or team leads - the target junta for this post is 0 - 3 years of work ex wallas. Every day for the past 5 years we have heard about some friend's friend "Yaar usne IIM-ahmedabad nikaal liya" or some report in the media "ISB[/IIM] graduate gets 1 crore salary".
Then papa starts telling you "Beta, tum bhi CAT GMAT kyun nahi likhte - Raju uncle ka beta dekho IIM jaa raha hai". class 11-12 mein IIT ke taane sune, ab IIM aa gaya.

Is the entire pursuit of an MBA just about one word - PLACEMENT ?

I'll be honest - I was sh*t scared of the B-School placements this time around. [For those who don't know "maine ISB nikaal liya hai"]. I don't even want to think how sad it is going to be if I can't get a good job post-MBA. During my engineering days, I appeared for the MINDTREE interview process and couldn't make get in. And I therefore know how it feels to think that you might be a failure in life.

But is a CAMPUS-JOB the game,set and match of a prestigious MBA? Is that how we measur the success of an MBA? Atleast as a to-be-MBA I should be able to look at it from the long term perspective - be patient and believe in my skills and abilities. But here's the bottomline - When it comes to ME, it is going to be impossible to rise above the situation and be okay with it.

Over the past 5-6 years we have always heard of all of India's top B-Schools "placing" all their students. And this year the tradition has already been broken. But for those who have not found their "dream" jobs - or any job - we need to look at what happened in 2001 with the engineering graduates. Many of these guys - even the very good ones - had no jobs. But today, a lot of them are project managers, delivery managers, etc with the leading MNCs of the world.
At times we just have to believe in ourselves and tide over the bad times with nothing else but patience.

And wishing all the 2009 graduates all the best :)

BTW numbers from ISB day 1 placements don't look too bad - Consulting firms and other top firms have hired albeit in lesser numbers

ISB

Wow .. I have read almost every famous - and some not so famous - blogs about getting into the ISB, life @ ISB, placements @ ISB, partying at ISB and what not. I finally get to write about my ADMIT to the school of my dreams - But why ISB? WHY .. ISB? Why is it the school of dreams for so many of us? If you have read quite a few blogs about the journey to the ISB you will realise the passion with which an admit to the ISB is pursued. Years are spent introspecting and finding the right answer for "Why MBA" , "What after MBA" and so on. Some people have their AHA! moment during the interview and yet get rejected - who gets into the ISB ? Why does a person gets accepted ? I believe the answer to this is simple - How badly do you want to get into the ISB .
Think about it - do not create that negative to this theory saying "If this is what gets someone an admit then I would have got it last year". I am sure if you look at how much effort you put in regarding reading about ISB, improving your "profile" etc - you will realise that you wanted ISB and you worked towards it. And that is why you know this blog exists.
My journey -I was just sitting at the Browsing Center in RVCE and looking for arbit MBA crap. I first came across the ISB when I read Nitin Pulyani's blog :). I was like - "yeh kaun si college hai" ? Then I went on to their website and started exploring the school - they had those navigable images and I explored what I now know is the LRC. I read about the campus , saw the pictures - and fell in love. I went on to read about the admission requirements and fees. Two heartbreaks - 1 - 13 lac as fees. 2 - minimum 2 years of work ex preferred. (I graduated in 2006) Hmmm.. :( So I lay low for the first year at work - realising that 2 years of work ex is essential for any good B-school. I worked hard and got the Best New College Grad award. When I told Dad about this award this is what I said " Aaj Applied Materials ne mujhe ISB mein admission de diya". I had no college achievements - a meagre 71%. So this was my big ticket to ISB - and that is why this award meant so much. I have lost the trophy - but I have the certificate :).
Then I took the GMAT - 3rd October - 670 with a week's preparation. Nah not good enough and I knew it. 2nd attempt - 6th November--- 740!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I am so going to the ISB!
But it was not to be - I grossly underestimated the quality of applications at ISB. Interview bhi nahi kiya :(
Then came June 1st 2008 - midnight. I opened the website in the middle of a bachelor party at my house and saw the application for 2009-10 was up. Well that was the end of all the drinking for that night :) By morning I had written the Zumba essay!! Life went on and I could only submit my APP on 14th September - waited and waited and waited.

I was sitting with my boss - yeah - and decided to F5 my Inbox on GPRS.
"ISB Admission Offer" -> BLURRRRR -> 7 long seconds to open the mail -- 3 reads of the admission offer -- -- a couple of calls trying to control my emotions -- and moving around for an hour like I had a hangar in my mouth later --- it started to sink in. I am going to the ISB. The place of dreams.


Oh yes about the shortcut to ISB!
Well once you get to the interview stage..
What do Menon and Hema and the alums look for? Is it destiny - nah. I believe that once a person is shortlisted they look for a) Achievements at work b) Opinions about world events and stuff in general c) Family background d) Ability to take heat
Obviously this is true for younger applicants.