A mba june2014

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Advanc’edge MBA October 2012 3

Editor-in-ChiEf Kamlesh Sajnani

Editor

Aditya Prakash Iengar

Correspondent: Puja Shah

dEsign

Uma Shirke, Satish Yadav

AdvErtising Shahid Malek / Rajashree MurthyTel: 022-6668 0005 / 3301 7777

hEAd - PubliCAtions

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Ramesh More

AddrEss for CorrEsPondEnCE

Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications,

A Division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor,

NCL Bandra Premises,Bandra-Kurla Complex,

Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.

Contributors

Dr Suresh Srinivasan

WritE to thE Editor At:[email protected]

Websites: www.advancedge.com, www.imsindia.com

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.

www.advancedge.comeditor

Aditya Prakash IengarEditor

from the

“Start with the end in mind.”

This is what Stephen Covey, the educator, author, businessman and keynote speaker, said back in 1990. In today’s world of advancements in management, technology, businesses, this is probably the best advice anyone can give, especially to you who are preparing to enter this world.

At this point, you’re most likely expending all your energies in your studies, preparing for the slew of entrance tests you will be writing. You’re brushing up on your concepts, reading newspapers and magazines to stay abreast of the news. Good. You’re on the right track.

Starting now, the simulated tests – or mock tests – will begin. This is the most important aspect of your preparation. These tests do much more than simply get you ready – put you in exam mode, if you will. They prepare you mentally for the test, stripping from your mind the fear of writing an exam of this magnitude. So start writing the mock tests, evaluate yourself thoroughly at the end of each, identify the areas on which you need to work, and repeat the process again. However much you study, nothing is more critical.

Another thing you must remember is that the MBA isn’t just any other degree. Here, being a consistently good scholar isn’t all you have to be, there’s much more. For the business schools, it’s all about finding the right profile of candidates that will suit their exams. What have you done apart from studying? Do you have an interesting hobby that you’re passionate about? Have you participated in various events, in school, college, at work and outside? Are you really interested in what’s going on in the world, or is it just general knowledge you’re cramming into your head for admission? Have you taken any leadership initiative outside of work or college?

You see, it’s all about building your profile, and improving it. It’s about understanding that studying all your life and getting exemplary grades only makes you a two dimensional individual, and that the B-schools are looking for more.

You’ve made your start towards the world of management. Now is the time to figure out where you want to end up.

”It doesn’t matter when you did your

MBA. What matters is where you did it from.

Vinayak KudvaHead - Products, IMS

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6 Cover Story The mock tests beckon!

10 MBA Buzz News in brief

11 Student Silhouette Suneet Kumbhat CAT 2013’s Rank 2 - IMS

13 Countdown 10 Success Stories

16 Must Reads Blink The Big Bing Freakonomics

Disclaimer : The views expressed in the articles by contributors and others are not necessarily those of the Publishers, unless specifically stated therein. While no effort is spared in ensuring the accuracy of the information published herein, readers are advised to reconfirm the current facts before acting upon any such information. The Publishers regret their inability to accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors of commission or omission in this issue. Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The publishers do not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of any products or services. The Publisher, Printers or Editor shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior permission from the publisher.

Payment to be made by crossed Demand Draft/Cheque drawn in favor of “IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.” For subscriptions and related enquiries write to: Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications, A division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.For more queries e-mail: [email protected]

New Subscription RatesPeriod Issues New Rate1 Year 12 Rs. 480/-2 Years 24 Rs. 840/-3 Years 36 Rs. 1080/-

www.advancedge.comJune 2014contents

17 Success Street Emotional Intelligence – do you have it?

22 Corporate World Modi’s NDA: The road ahead

25 Public sector banks face governance issues

28 Emerging management specialisations and careers

30 Tipping Point Hone your communication skills

31 Study Hour Test Q&As

34 Word Dose: Men and Money

36 Globescan

38 SuDoKu

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The mock tests beckon!

Advanc’edge Team

he countdown has begun for the few months from October to December that

will decide the future careers of lakhs of students. The tension is palpable, with some students delving deeper into their books and others finding that their enthusiasm has suddenly frozen into fear of the test and their performance at it. This is the time that you actually take the concepts that you’ve been studying these last few months, and apply them to tests. In other words, the phase of taking mock test series begins now.

Although some of you may know exactly what the CAT and other competitive exams like it, such as the CMAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, among others, entails, you will never get the feel of it until you actually sit down and stare at the questions on the screen, just waiting to be answered. So for all those who may or may not be fully aware, here are a few details about the tests that you will be taking.

What’s all the fuss about?Many might ask: Why all the hullabaloo about these tests? You only have to know basic concepts. Well, that’s exactly the point.

Knowledge of basic facts is important, but mere knowledge of these facts learnt in a conventional “orderly” pattern can sometimes act as a hindrance while taking a test such as the CAT, CMAT or XAT. This is because the multiple choice questions attempt to probe that knowledge from an unusual angle. Take, for example, a simple mathematical problem:Q. 5 is 25 percent of _____ (a) 1/20 (b) 5/4 (c) 20 (d) 125

Now this is not a very complex problem (certainly not the sort you’ll find in the actual test!), but what keeps it from being absolutely simple for anyone who has finished his

primary school is its unusual nature. We are not used to thinking about percentage problems in this way.

If it were presented in an honest, straightforward “What is 25 percent of 20?” form, most of us would have no difficulty with it. Hence, a good objective type question is likely to have this unusual twist.Let us take another example:Q. Which of the following could

be considered the opposite in conception to secular state?

(a) theocratic (b) communistic (c) fascist (d) non-religious

Now, you know that the opposite of ‘secular’ in this regard is ‘theocratic’ and that is the right choice.

However, if you are even slightly unsure of your answer, the two alternatives (b) and (c) can easily distract you. It is common knowledge that communist (b) states have no religion. Likewise, alternative (d) would suggest nearly the same idea as “secular”, except that the latter has the backing of usage in politics.

Thus, each of the alternatives, except (a), has an element of distraction built into it. In order to sail through one needs more than mere knowledge of facts.

Duration of the testsNote how most of the tests have a similar test taking duration. Most range from 120 minutes (2 hours) to 180 minutes (3 hours). The

Now is the time when you will start taking simulated test series, moving from “concept building” to “test-taking”. Your studying pattern will alter slightly, and you must know how to draw the most from simulated tests, how to deal with stress, etc. Here a few things you need to know.

T

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important aspect from this analysis is that you should possess the ability to concentrate continuously for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours. Although most students can solve questions easily when there are no time limits, they find it quite difficult to correctly solve the same questions when they have to concentrate on multiple areas and sections under time constraints. Your score can definitely improve just by getting used to taking tests under a time frame and for a continuous concentration of 2 to 3 hours. You have to be disciplined and have the ability to concentrate for long durations.

Negative marksAlmost all multiple choice question tests (MCQs) penalise the students for incorrect answers. This characteristic is unique to MCQs only to help avoid outright guessing. In this case, the test is fair to those test takers who really know the answers versus those who will guess the answers and may get them right. Negative marks ensure that the student more often than not knows the real answers to the questions. This way, the test setter can check if the student is really answering the question or is gambling.

AccuracyBy creating the negative marks concept, the test is clearly harping on accuracy. Therefore, it is important that the student knows how to answer the question as a priority. Most Indian students are used to studying only those portions of the subject where they are good at. However, these tests are very clear on the fact that the student needs to be competent rather than casual.

SpeedSpeed is a factor of the number of questions to be answered in the given time. If the number of questions in the test is more and the duration

is short, it suggests that the test setter is seeking fundamental understanding. If the number of questions is less compared to the duration of the test, he is seeking to test not only the fundamentals but has gone a step further by checking applications of the fundamentals. The CAT of the 21st century as compared to the CAT of the nineties has changed from just checking fundamentals to querying the students on applications. In CAT 2012, the test takers had a total of 140 minutes to answer 60 questions, which means the test gave them 140 seconds (2 minutes 20 seconds) to solve each question. Earlier, the CAT used to have anything between 150 and 180 questions, and the duration was just 120 minutes, meaning that the candidate had just 40 seconds to answer a question. So now, although the time given per question is more, the test taking skills are more tilted in favour of applying your knowledge.

No fixed structureAlthough you may know the test structures of all the important tests in the Indian MBA calendar, the tests do bring in factors to throw students off balance, such as changing the structure/pattern of the test subtly. This is done especially since the areas and the subjects tested are same and cannot change. So the test setter alters other parameters, like the duration of the test, quantum of negative marks, breaking up areas into different sections or suddenly combining them into one, altering the weightage of subjects or areas or topics, and changing the level of difficulty of the questions themselves. Very often, the CAT comes up with ingenious ways to unsettle students who have pre-set notions and fixed expectations about the structure of the test. Therefore, the two prime requirements to crack the entrance

tests are: l Knowledge of the fundamentals

of each subject.l A consciously cultivated ability to

think on ones feet.Both are absolute requirements to

become a successful manager.

Some points that will helpWhen dealing with a competitive exam like the CAT, it helps to be connected with your peers, especially those who are serious about cracking it. Some peers in your immediate circle may be nervous and don’t do the required amount of work. In fact, friends who are not better prepared will reinforce each other’s negative feelings about how difficult it will be to crack the test. So it’s better to spend time with someone who can enhance your preparedness, rather than with someone who creates tension and continuously complains about the lack of effort you and he or she is putting in.

The CAT does not demand sacrifices, but a balanced lifestyle that keeps your stress under control instead. It has been seen that students spend the last few weeks packing in studies into the whole day’s schedule. Since the test is a timed test, there is already a pressure exerted on you. You shouldn’t have to handle anymore. So keep your mind relaxed and uncluttered by spending time in activities that make you happy. This could be anything as simple as listening to music.

Nervousness and panic set in only because of what you feed into your mind. If you keep brooding over the prospect of failing at the test, you will definitely hamper your performance. This test is so competitive that a lot of your preparation can be done in the mind, by dealing in the right manner with your thoughts. It is also important to have back-up plans. Make sure you discuss your options with the concerned experts – if CAT then what, if not the CAT, then what?

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You are led to distraction and procrastination only when you don’t have a specific goal in place. If your goal is set in your mind, you automatically find that you don’t waver from it. Again, it becomes important to set aside time for all your activities. For example, you

may be spending time with friends, all the while thinking that you haven’t studied for the CAT that day. Therefore, you will end up worrying even more.

Keep these few things in mind, keep the concepts you have learnt in your head, and remember, it’s

just about applying those concepts. So start taking the mock tests, and more importantly, analyse your score and performance so that you can improve them in the next. So finally, when you get to the actual exam, it’ll become just another test! A

‘Target a score,and work towards it’

In this article, Yudhir Agrawal, Product Manager - CAT, IMS, gives some advice for you at this stage

of your preparation for CAT 2014, which is just a few more month away.

Q. In the run up to CAT 2014, what should be the strategy for the aspirants in these few remaining months?For aspirants, success in the CAT can be defined as the achievement of the percentile required to get into their desired list of B-schools. The first step, therefore, would be to find out the cut-off percentiles of various institutes that you are interested in applying to. Based on past data, we have observed that while a 95+ overall percentile (with equal competence across sections) can get you into the IIMs, you would need at least a 75+ overall percentile to get into some of the top 100 B-schools in the country. It is therefore imperative that you define your success benchmark by first shortlisting the B-schools that you aspire to join.

Once you have defined your success benchmark, you should follow an effective and efficient study plan from here on to ensure that you meet your target CAT percentile. Based on the data collected from past CATs and IMS SimCATs, we have an analysis of

the number of questions students must attempt and get correct to achieve certain percentiles:

The objective is to reach your target percentiles in a stepwise manner by achieving the benchmark attempts and number of correct answers at each stage as per the above table.

Q. Please share a section-wise strategy for CAT.The CAT has two sections: l Section 1: Quantitative Ability & Data

Interpretation, and

%ile

Sectional benchmarks

No of questions

No of attempts

No of correct

attempts

Minutes per

question

Stage 1 75%ile 30 12 10 5.4

Stage 2 85%ile 30 15 13 4.3

Stage 3 95%ile 30 18 15 3.6

Stage 4 99%ile 30 24 20 2.7

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l Section 2: Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. For Section 1, first target questions that lie in

your areas of strength. Give priority to solving the standalone questions and do not devote more than 2.5 minutes for a question, even if you do not get the solution. Do not have a mind block on a particular topic, as there might be some very easy questions from that topic. Read all questions and identify these questions to ensure high scores. One must ensure that all the questions are read by the end of the section.

For Section 2, attempt the vocabulary and usage questions first. They are the least time consuming, as either you know the answer or you do not. Then devote time to your strength areas from among Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Ensure all questions are read by the end of the section in the stipulated time. Read all RC questions, as there might be an easy question alongside an apparently difficult RC passage.

Q. CAT candidates generally belong to one of two categories — working professionals and students. Should there be a separate preparation strategy for them?Ideally, you shouldn’t spend more than four hours a day on studying for the CAT. The manner in which those four hours are utilised depends on the individual student’s strengths and weaknesses. Some may prefer to spend more time on the verbal portion, while others might prefer the DI portion. Ultimately, you must ensure that your progress in each section is equal. This holds greater relevance if you are aiming only for the IIMs, because at these institutes, sectional cut-offs matter. Organise your day in such a way that the hours spent studying are those when your brain is most alert. Working professionals, for example, shouldn’t study at night after a hard day’s work. Preparing for this test is not like preparing for school and college, where you need to spend long hours memorising.

Q. Candidates who take CAT generally also take other different management entrance exams like XAT, SNAP, CMAT, etc. How should the preparation strategies differ between these exams?Actually, one of the most repeated queries B-school aspirants is “What is the additional preparation that I need to do to crack tests like the IIFT, XAT, SNAP, etc?”

It is interesting to note that most of the tests such as those mentioned above assess more or less the same concepts that are tested on the CAT. Hence, you

will find that there is really not much of a difference when it comes to concept building for any of these tests. However, the various tests differ in terms of the test structure, question types and overall difficulty level of the test. Therefore, we only need to understand the test structure, get acclimatised to the different question types and develop specific strategies to crack these tests. More often than not, if you have prepared well enough for the CAT, then there is a high chance that you will perform well in the other tests.

The XAT, for example, additionally assesses Decision Making and General Awareness types of questions. The preparation for the XAT will, therefore, require the student to get oriented to these question types. Additionally, one should take four to five mock tests for the XAT and analyse the same, similar to what is done for the CAT, to thoroughly get acquainted to the test structure and the types of questions.

Q. Since exams like the CAT are time-bound tests, what is the best way to manage the time given?Time bound sections check the student’s section-wise strengths. If one has prepared the basics for all concepts and is confident of his application skills, time management should not be a difficult issue. One must follow the basics and strictly follow the section-wise strategies to ensure optimum usage of time and ensuring completion of the section in the allotted time. Do not spend more than 2.5 minutes on a question, solve set-based questions in the middle and always keep an eye on the timer. Do not resort to guessing or answering questions in a hurry, as it may cost heavily due to the negative marking scheme of the test.

Q. Please state the importance of mock tests. To achieve your target percentile, you should take one mock test per week (or a maximum of two tests per week), especially if you are a working professional. For every test you take, as per the above table, you will attempt only the specified number of questions to ascertain your performance. Now, in the post-test analysis and the process of improvement, work on the questions that you got wrong. This is very important since you had more time per question and still got them wrong. It either means either an error of comprehension or a conceptual issue. Next, pick the questions you did not attempt and solve these questions without a time limit. Once again, this exercise will point out your areas of improvement. Doing this process for each test will definitely improve your performance in the next. A

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Newsin brief

Here are some

interesting

titbits from

over the last

month

70% rise in Indian students writing GRE in 2012-13The number of Indian students writing the GRE in 2012-13 went up by 70 per cent, stated a report by the Education Testing Service (ETS), which conducts the GRE. In 2011-12, 33,504 students wrote the GRE, while that number shot up to 56,782 in 2012-13.

The total number of candidates who wrote the GRE in 2013-14 has gone up by as much as 38 per cent globally. The number of Indian students the test in the current year is yet to be released. However, the trend clearly indicates that many students are now opting to take the GRE for studying abroad.

MDI, LBSIM open new campusesGugaon’s Management Development Institute and New Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management have opened new campuses in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

Both campuses will start offering courses from the 2014 session.

While MDI’s campus is in Murshidabad, around 250 km from Kolkata, LBSIM has launched its campus in Indore. Both postgraduate programmes in management at these campuses are approved by the AICTE. Admission to MDI’s PGPM at the Murshidabad campus will be based on CAT, XAT, MAT and CMAT scores, and the declared tuition fee is `8.73 lakh. For the PGDM at LBSIM’s Indore campus, only CAT scores will be accepted, and the declared fee is `4.4 lakh. Both are 2-year full time courses

Mgmt courses open to non-MHCET candidates: DTEThe Maharashtra Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has said in a notification that institutes in the state will accept scores from other tests apart from the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) 2014. Candidates who wrote CAT, GMAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT and ATMA can apply online for

admissions. There are 45297 seats of MBA/MMS programmes in 411 B schools across Maharashtra.

IIM Indore to conduct CAT 2014 againIIM Indore will be conducting the CAT 2014 again, making it

the first time in history that an IIM is conducting the CAT two years in a row. CAT 2013 convenor Rohit Kapoor will continue to remain the convenor.

Tata Consultancy Services will be the new testing agency for the CAT, taking over from Prometric, which had been the testing agency since the CAT went online from 2009. TCS bagged the ̀ 29-crore five-year contract from among six different agencies, which means that it will be the testing partner with the IIMs till CAT 2018.

There have been several glitches and score tampering allegations in the previous CATs, including technical issues with the online test, incorrect questions, tampering with marksheets, etc. According to an IIM spokesperson, TCS is expected to iron out these issues and provide a glitch-free and tamper-proof experience for CAT takers.

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‘The CAT, I find,is much more scoring’

Briefly tell us about yourself. My schooling was completed in Mumbai, where I was born and brought up. I got my engineering degree from IIT - Delhi, after which I worked for a company in Chennai as a business analyst for a year. For the last couple of years, I have been working on an entrepreneurial venture along with a business partner.

Why did you decide to pursue an MBA? I had been trying my hand at the CAT since I graduated graduation. This was my fourth attempt at the test; the previous tries hadn’t been satisfactory for me since I was finding it quite difficult to give my best while working full-time. Finally, I decided to give it my best shot, as I wanted to gain a better insight into the corporate world. I also wanted to get some industry experience, since that would be beneficial in the long-term for my business.

The other reason was the tag of having an MBA degree. I wanted to do it in India specifically, since I have my own venture here. Obviously studying in an international school in another country has its pluses, but since I wanted to be in India for the foreseeable future I thought staying here and studying the business environment here made most sense.

How did you prepare for the test?I was familiar with the test, and there were certain sections with which I wouldn’t face too many hiccups. On my first attempt, I found that I could handle the quantitative ability, data interpretation and logical reasoning pretty well. I had always been inclined towards quantitative and analytical subjects, and I had an engineering background, which is why I have always scored well in these areas. However, the Verbal analysis portion was difficult for me, and I could never score consistently well in that section. So I kept answering similar questions till I got the accuracy and score I wanted.

CAT 2013’s Rank 2,

SUNEET KUMBHAT, says

that he found the CAT easier

to solve than the CMAT. In an

interview with Puja Shah,

he talks about why he feels

so, his preparation for the

test, his biggest hurdles

which he overcame to top the

CAT and his future plans.

I WANTED TO DO MBA IN INDIA SPECIFICALLY, SINCE I HAVE

MY OWN VENTURE HERE.

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I have been practising this since my second attempt and solving the mock tests really helped me.

What was the biggest hurdle in your test preparation and how did you overcome it?My biggest hurdle was time. I was involved with my business and did not have much time to spare for studies, but I did what I could. Around 10 days before the CAT, I stopped both working and studying. I decided to devote only a couple of hours a day for solving mock tests. I did this every day for those 10 days. My business partner was also very helpful, and took over all my responsibilities during these days.

What’s next after topping the CAT?I have managed to get an admit from IIM-Calcutta — I’ve accepted it and will be going there in a month’s time. My entrepreneurial venture will be functioning while I am studying; my partner will be handling most of the operations while I’ll be involved remotely at the strategic level and not at the operations level. After completing my course, I plan to come back to my business and take it to new heights.

What other exams did you give?I just gave the CMAT, in September 2013. After the CAT results I didn’t give any further tests.

What made you accept the IIM-C offer?Well, I got calls only from IIM-C and IIM Lucknow, so that made my decision easy. If I’d received calls from Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta , then yes, I would have had a lot to think about and it would have been a tough decision to make. Obviously IIM A, B and C are said to be at par with each other, followed by the rest.

I must say that I hadn’t thought about my decision beforehand, when I was waiting for the results to be declared. If I had, I would’ve spent a lot of time analysing and speaking to a number of people, but things worked out for the best. This way, I didn’t have to make a tough decision or do any analysis.

Was your preparation strategy for the CAT different from other tests like CMAT?

Yes, it was. The basic difference was the fact that CMAT has a general awareness section while the CAT does not. The other three sections are fine, since they have similarities, and I feel preparing for one is like preparing for all. For the general awareness section I had to do extra reading. Other than that, there was not much difference in preparation.

How did you find the CAT different from the other entrance tests?I think my case is slightly different from other students, because I have written the CAT four times now and the CMAT only once. So I actually found the CAT easier, and it might have been because I was better prepared for it. But in general, if you ask me about the quality of questions, then the questions in the CAT are much trickier than the ones in the CMAT, especially for the quant, data interpretation and verbal sections.

In terms of scoring too, the CAT, I find, is much more scoring than the CMAT, but this is only because of the general awareness section, where it is difficult to know everything since it is such a broad subject.

Tell us about your experiences in the GD and PI.

From what I understood during my GD and PI, the panel wanted to find out what I had done in the past. They asked me about the last four years of my life and how passionate I was about the subjects I studied. Secondly, they tried to gauge whether I am hardworking or not. I think they would like candidates that have two or three things or subjects or interests in their lives that they know about very well and can easily talk about.

Any advice for other candidates?I think my best advice would be keep on practising. You will come up against a lot of questions that are tough but do not give up. For my part, I took 20 or 30 questions and sat down for a couple of hours to solve them. I never gave up until I found the solution and then checked the answer. I also went back to check if the method I had used was correct and what the quickest way to solve it was. This is the best way to overcome the difficult sections in the CAT. A

THE PI PANEL WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT I HAD DONE IN THE PAST. THEY ASKED ME ABOUT THE LAST FOUR

YEARS OF MY LIFE.

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10 Success StoriesWhat they were doing in their 20s

The world that every management aspirant is aiming to enter is filled with amazing

stories of success and failure, and of individuals who rose from those failures to

make an indelible mark on the world. Some of them knew exactly what they wanted,

and worked hard towards it, focused and driven, without getting sidetracked.

Others reinvented themselves, and changed and became the personalities whom

we know so well today. Here are 10 such highly successful individuals, and what

they were doing in their 20s that led them to their present day success.

MA

RTH

A

STE

WA

RT Who is she?

Businesswoman, TV personality

What she was doing?Used to be a stockbroker and model. Also ran a catering business. Quit her job to become a stay-at-home mother.

AR

IAN

NA

H

UFFIN

GTO

N

Who is she?Journalist. Best known for The Huffington Post

What she was doing?Wrote a book attacking women's liberation movement.

Travelled around the world attending music festivals, which her boyfriend was covering for the BBC.

LL

OY

D

BL

AN

KF

EIN Who is he?

CEO & Chairman of Goldman Sachs

What he was doing?Started out as an associate at a law firm, and was on the way to become partner, but still decided switched to investment banking. The rest is history.

RA

LPH

LA

UR

EN

Who is he?Fashion designer, entrepreneur

What he was doing?Served in the army till age 24, then worked at apparel chain Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant. Designed

a European-style tie at 26, which got him attention.

MA

RIS

SA

M

AY

ER

Who is she?President & CEO of Yahoo!

What she was doing?thJoined Google at age 24, becoming the 20 employee

and its first female engineer. She worked as an engineer, designer, product manager and executive.

WA

RR

EN

BU

FFET

Who is he?Business magnate, investor, CEO - Berkshire Hathaway

What he was doing?Worked as an investment salesman at a company in Omaha. Moved to New York at age 26 to become a

securities analyst.

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10 Success StoriesWhat they were doing in their 20s

The world that every management aspirant is aiming to enter is filled with amazing

stories of success and failure, and of individuals who rose from those failures to

make an indelible mark on the world. Some of them knew exactly what they wanted,

and worked hard towards it, focused and driven, without getting sidetracked.

Others reinvented themselves, and changed and became the personalities whom

we know so well today. Here are 10 such highly successful individuals, and what

they were doing in their 20s that led them to their present day success.

MA

RTH

A

STE

WA

RT Who is she?

Businesswoman, TV personality

What she was doing?Used to be a stockbroker and model. Also ran a catering business. Quit her job to become a stay-at-home mother.

AR

IAN

NA

H

UFFIN

GTO

N

Who is she?Journalist. Best known for The Huffington Post

What she was doing?Wrote a book attacking women's liberation movement.

Travelled around the world attending music festivals, which her boyfriend was covering for the BBC.

LL

OY

D

BL

AN

KF

EIN Who is he?

CEO & Chairman of Goldman Sachs

What he was doing?Started out as an associate at a law firm, and was on the way to become partner, but still decided switched to investment banking. The rest is history.

RA

LPH

LA

UR

ENWho is he?

Fashion designer, entrepreneur

What he was doing?Served in the army till age 24, then worked at apparel chain Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant. Designed

a European-style tie at 26, which got him attention.

MA

RIS

SA

M

AY

ER

Who is she?President & CEO of Yahoo!

What she was doing?thJoined Google at age 24, becoming the 20 employee

and its first female engineer. She worked as an engineer, designer, product manager and executive.

WA

RR

EN

BU

FFET

Who is he?Business magnate, investor, CEO - Berkshire Hathaway

What he was doing?Worked as an investment salesman at a company in Omaha. Moved to New York at age 26 to become a

securities analyst.

UR

SU

LA

BU

RN

S

Who is she?CEO & Chairman of Xerox

What she was doing?Joined Xerox as an intern at age 22, realised she wanted to stay at the company. Worked her way up through various product development roles thereon.

TINA

FEY

Who is she?Actress, comedian, producer

What she was doing?Moved to Chicago, hung around acting

workshops. Worked as a child care registrar to support herself.

HO

WA

RD

S

CH

ULT

Z Who is he?CEO and Chairman of Starbucks

What he was doing?Worked as a salesman at Xerox. His success there got him a job at a company that made coffemakers. Encountered Starbucks for the first time at 29.

RIC

HA

RD

B

RA

NS

ON

Who is he?Business magnate, investor, founder of Virgin Group

What he was doing?Knew exactly what he wanted to do, started a

record shop, then a studio at age 22. Launched the Virgin Records label at 23.

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10 Success StoriesWhat they were doing in their 20s

The world that every management aspirant is aiming to enter is filled with amazing

stories of success and failure, and of individuals who rose from those failures to

make an indelible mark on the world. Some of them knew exactly what they wanted,

and worked hard towards it, focused and driven, without getting sidetracked.

Others reinvented themselves, and changed and became the personalities whom

we know so well today. Here are 10 such highly successful individuals, and what

they were doing in their 20s that led them to their present day success.

MA

RTH

A

STE

WA

RT Who is she?

Businesswoman, TV personality

What she was doing?Used to be a stockbroker and model. Also ran a catering business. Quit her job to become a stay-at-home mother.

AR

IAN

NA

H

UFFIN

GTO

N

Who is she?Journalist. Best known for The Huffington Post

What she was doing?Wrote a book attacking women's liberation movement.

Travelled around the world attending music festivals, which her boyfriend was covering for the BBC.

LL

OY

D

BL

AN

KF

EIN Who is he?

CEO & Chairman of Goldman Sachs

What he was doing?Started out as an associate at a law firm, and was on the way to become partner, but still decided switched to investment banking. The rest is history.

RA

LPH

LA

UR

EN

Who is he?Fashion designer, entrepreneur

What he was doing?Served in the army till age 24, then worked at apparel chain Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant. Designed

a European-style tie at 26, which got him attention.

MA

RIS

SA

M

AY

ER

Who is she?President & CEO of Yahoo!

What she was doing?thJoined Google at age 24, becoming the 20 employee

and its first female engineer. She worked as an engineer, designer, product manager and executive.

WA

RR

EN

BU

FFET

Who is he?Business magnate, investor, CEO - Berkshire Hathaway

What he was doing?Worked as an investment salesman at a company in Omaha. Moved to New York at age 26 to become a

securities analyst.

UR

SU

LA

BU

RN

S

Who is she?CEO & Chairman of Xerox

What she was doing?Joined Xerox as an intern at age 22, realised she wanted to stay at the company. Worked her way up through various product development roles thereon.

TINA

FEYWho is she?

Actress, comedian, producer

What she was doing?Moved to Chicago, hung around acting

workshops. Worked as a child care registrar to support herself.

HO

WA

RD

S

CH

ULT

Z Who is he?CEO and Chairman of Starbucks

What he was doing?Worked as a salesman at Xerox. His success there got him a job at a company that made coffemakers. Encountered Starbucks for the first time at 29.

RIC

HA

RD

B

RA

NS

ON

Who is he?Business magnate, investor, founder of Virgin Group

What he was doing?Knew exactly what he wanted to do, started a

record shop, then a studio at age 22. Launched the Virgin Records label at 23.

15

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must reads

16

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their

moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalisation of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?

These are just some of the questions that University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J Dubner try to answer in the enormously successful

Freakonomics, a book that melds pop culture with economics. Levitt is both economist and social scientist using the tools of Microeconomics applied to other fields that happen to catch his interest (often having something to do with cheating, corruption, crime, etc.) Even though this may sound

dull, it is quite the opposite, as the authors use straightforward analysis to turn conventional wisdom on its head.

Title: The Big Bing

Author: Stanley Bing

Publisher: HarperCollins

Price: `298Genre: Non-fiction/Business/

Humour

Title: Freakonomics

Author: Steven Levitt and

Stephen J Dubner

Publisher: Penguin

Price: `173Genre: Non-fiction

Since you’re planning on doing your MBA, you need to be well

read, and not just on current affairs. In this section, we offer

you some choices of books that will broaden your perspective,

and you will find that you will never be at a loss in a discussion!

In this landmark bestseller, journalist, author and speaker Malcolm Gladwell revolutionises the way we understand the world within ourselves. Blink is

about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant – in the blink of an eye – that actually aren’t as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while

others consistently inept? Why do some follow their instincts and win, while others keep stumbling into error? How do our brains really work – in the office, classroom, kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? In Blink, we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities expert who recognises a fake at a glance. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren’t

those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but who have perfected the art of “thin-slicing” – filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

Title: Blink

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Publisher: Penguin

Price: `265

Genre: Non-fiction, popular

psychology

Amandatory addition to the library of everyone who works for a living (or would like to). The Big Bing provides a corporate mole’s-eye view of the society in which we all

live and toil, creating one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain funny bodies of work.

Rules and tools for the business road, sold amusingly but on a depressing foundation of inanity, this collection of

pieces grazes wittily upon the workplace’s human dimensions, with all their annoying, grand, and bizarre displays. There is enough fresh, unvarnished, cruel wisdom in these pages to set business students agog and trembling. By the end, readers may feel they are suffocating in lint, but the author would advise them to never let their lips—or their smile—drop below the ever-roiling

surface. One of the best examples of the corporate world, but written in a unique way, unlike any other book of the same sort. A must read for those who need to look at the lighter side of life.

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Emotional Intelligence – do you have it?

e are all emotional beings, and therefore, it is not possible for us to

make all the decisions we make at the workplace rationally and save the emotions strictly for personal decisions. So, it is essential that there should be synchronisation between well developed emotional intelligence and workplace performance.

Experts are of the view that around 67 per cent of all the competencies required for professional success are dependent on emotional intelligence. Moreover, businesses today are structured in a way that almost everyone has to exercise some level of their decision making ability. Whether the decisions are big or small, they have a direct impact on how successful, efficient and effective individuals are on the

job. Till now, it was assumed that successful people basically tend to be very smart and hardworking. Studies have also found that there is some correlation between IQ and success. But on the other hand, it is also true that some people with high IQ have failed in a job, while some with average intelligence have performed exceptionally well.

New studies and research suggest that emotional intelligence, measured by the Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), is a better predictor of success than the traditional Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Emotional intelligence is the foundation of sound decision making, which is at the core of consistently high performance. It is not about being soft, emotional and nice; in fact, it is the ability to sense, understand and effectively apply the power and acumen of

emotions to facilitate high levels of collaboration and productivity. An individual with emotional intelligence is not only aware of his own emotions, but also has a sense and understanding of emotions of others around him. He is aware of how to react to different situations and tactfully handle crisis situations.

Skills and expertise might be successful in landing you a well-paid job, but your emotional intelligence predicts your sustainability in that organisation. Companies are now paying a lot more stress on keeping the work environment as lively as possible. Working in a stressed environment can lead to poor results or none at all.

Employers treat emotional quotient seriously these days, and this is why there is a lot of focus

Advanc’edge MBA

W

As you may know, experts have now begun to understand the importance of the Emotional Intelligence Quotient, or the EQ. It has been revealed to be a far better predictor of an individual’s performance – both at work and in their personal lives. Here’s a look at how what it is.

success street

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on workplace happiness and congeniality. In the business environment, the Emotional Quotient is important because it helps you leverage your awareness of emotions for effectiveness in the workplace.

People think that being emotional at work can be hazardous. Emitting emotions consistently act negatively in their work and promotions. Display of emotions is often look upon as unprofessional; nobody will tolerate an outpouring of tears at every difficult situation in the office. Also, anger and agitation make the situation difficult at the workplace. So, the control of emotions is a must, so that those emotions can be balanced to maintain a healthy work lifestyle.

Learn to be emotionally connected with work without getting too sensitive.

Self-analysisTo be emotionally intelligent, you have to analyse yourself and identify your weak and strong areas. The ability to handle others according to the situation at hand comes only when you know how to mould your own self to adapt to the present situation. Some people get touchy with certain matters or people at work. Avoid doing this, as this can impact your performance at work in the long run. Accept every task professionally and work at it in the way it should be done. Do not modify it by being emotional for others. If you understand your weaknesses well, you will always be successful in rectifying issues at work. Self-reflection and self-regulation are the foundations of being emotionally intelligent. If an individual knows how to react neutrally to a situation, he will be able to handle the most critical

situations with ease, while also deftly handling his surroundings with his sense of intuition and understanding.

Realistic ApproachThe best way to accomplish a task at hand successfully is to keep your plans grounded and not go overboard with it. Being over-emotional for certain tasks sometimes leads to an unrealistic plan to accomplish it. Don’t get too excited in accomplishing any task.

It is always essential to be a realistic planner. As soon as you get the task, be calm and then plan for it. Things such as over-excitement and aggression are always harmful, whether you are at your workplace

or otherwise. Always aim to grow with every assignment with which you are associated, and never get too ambitious with a particular goal, as it might lead to slight de-motivation. Set your goals

high, but remember, they should be within your reach and capabilities, which will ultimately help you grow with every achievement. Take on challenges at the workplace in the right spirit to help you grow intellectually and professionally, but do not let it rule your life. Passion towards work should not turn into aggression, as it will lead to professionally fatal consequences.

Be aware of your limitations Nobody is born perfect in this world, and we learn from our mistakes in our everyday lives. An emotionally intelligent individual is well aware of his limitations and this attribute only helps him to excel at work

THE BEST WAY TO FINISH A TASK SUCCESSFULLY IS TO

KEEP YOUR PLANS GROUNDED, NOT GO OVERBOARD WITH IT.

The Four Branches of Emotional IntelligencePeter Salovey and John D. Mayer, the leading researchers on emotional intelligence, proposed a model that identified four different factors of emotional intelligence: the perception of emotion, the ability reason using emotions, the ability to understand emotion and the ability to manage emotions.Perceiving emotions: The most important step towards understanding emotions is to first know how to perceive them accurately. This implies that apart from the verbal communication, non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, etc also need to be understood.Reasoning with emotions: Once emotions can be understood, they then need to be used to help promote cognitive activity. It is known that emotions play a large role in what we pay attention to, and how we react to them, and now, we must reason with our emotions.Understanding emotions: Emotions cannot be measured quantitatively, obviously. But they do convey different meanings, and that is what we need to comprehend. If someone is angry, we must try and understand why he is angry, what caused it, and what the emotion, i.e., the anger, means. Often, the reason behind the anger might be completely unrelated. For instance, your friend might be angry with you for arriving late to a movie, but it might actually have started in the morning when he fought with his wife, or some such incident.Managing emotions: The most important aspect of emotional intelligence is to manage emotions effectively, which is the final step. One must learn to regulate one’s emotions and those of others, and respond to them appropriately.

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and in life. To work with one’s limitations is one of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence. Everyone cannot be an expert in all areas, and every employer understands this. So do not try to take up a task that you might find impossible to accomplish. It is always better to leave out the things which you cannot do, rather than taking them on, failing, and consequently displaying your imperfection. One should not be afraid of failures and shortcomings, since, as the age-old axiom goes, failures are merely successes in disguise. This understanding leads to better achievements and glories. A person who is comfortable in his own skin looks at achieving goals as a temporary task and thus moves to accomplish them in a strategic manner. Knowing your limitations makes you a stronger individual, because then, you tend to tread cautiously when it comes to the tasks you should or should not undertake.

High Emotional Intelligence helps you to manage your own

impulses, adapt to changes immediately, manage others effectively, use humour to pacify a tense situation and, most importantly, help to maintain a harmonious environment. Emotions are involved in every human interaction and are a powerful factor in the equation when individuals, teams, managers and organisations work together as a whole. Employees’ EQ has everything to do with the quality of decisions they make and on the results a business achieves. With knowledge, training and experiential learning, people can learn to manage their emotions, instead of being run by them.

Bringing a balance to your emotions will be a long process. Do not expect any miracles

immediately. If a person is able to maintain his optimism even in the face of adversity and think clearly in a chaotic situation, he is sure to be recognised as a top performer at work. But these attributes cannot be imbibed overnight; they require

immense calmness and composure, both of which

are difficult to maintain in critical situations. So do not get impatient and quit midway. Make yourself feel as secure as possible to begin with.

Predictor of successIt is believed by experts that emotional intelligence of an individual can be a better predictor of success, as compared to their intelligent quotient. As mentioned in all the points above, emotional intelligence is a way of effectively managing one’s own emotions, and also of having a knack of precisely understanding the emotions and feelings of others. To summarise, while a high IQ can lead you to an appropriate job with a far paycheck, how long you sustain in an organisation with your performance depends primarily on your level of EQ. An individual with a high degree of emotional intelligence is able to cope with difficult situations with ease and comfort due to his intuitive instincts, and thus fares better than his professional counterparts. Just remember that it is never too late to master the emotional intelligence required for your kind of job. A

The author is the Vice President, Global Talent Management, at Bristlecone, a Mahindra Group Company.

Emotional Intelligence: How is it measured?

There are various tests that help measure the emotional quotient of an individual. Listed here are some of them.Reuven Bar-On’s EQ-i: This is a self-report test designed to measure competencies, including awareness, stress tolerance, problem solving, and happiness. According to Bar-On, “Emotional intelligence is an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures.”Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS): This is an ability-based test, in which test-takers perform tasks designed to assess their ability to perceive, identify, understand, and utilise emotions.Seligman Attributional Style Questionnaire (SASQ): Originally designed as a screening test for the life insurance company, Metropolitan Life, the SASQ measures optimism and pessimism.Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI): Based on an older instrument known as the Self-Assessment Questionnaire, the ECI involves having people who know the individual offer ratings of that person’s abilities on a number of different emotional competencies.

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COUNTDOWN

www.advancedge.com32 Advanc’edge MBA October 2013

Success Street

31Advanc’edge MBA June 2013www.advancedge.com30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

B-school VibeCAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

CAREER WATCH

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B-school VibeCAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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31Advanc’edge MBA June 2013www.advancedge.com30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

CAREER WATCH

Advanc’edge MBA July 2012www.advancedge.com 31 31Advanc’edge MBA April 2013www.advancedge.com

B-school VibeCAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

CAREER WATCH

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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B-school VibeCAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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Advanc’edge MBA July 2012www.advancedge.com 3130 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA June 2013

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30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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31Advanc’edge MBA June 2013www.advancedge.com30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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Advanc’edge MBA July 2012www.advancedge.com 31 31Advanc’edge MBA April 2013www.advancedge.com

B-school VibeCAREER WATCH

30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

CAREER WATCH

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30 www.advancedge.comAdvanc’edge MBA April 2013

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30 Advanc’edge MBA July 2012 www.advancedge.com

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corporate world

Modi’s NDA:The road ahead

Dr Suresh Srinivasan

There are several economic issues that Narendra Modi’s NDA government will have to face. From the sick manufacturing sector and controlling inflation to boosting investor confidence, Modi will

have to prioritise what needs to be done in the next year.

W ith the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government

having come into power with an extraordinary mandate, the expectations are very high. Vast sections of the society are expecting its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to achieve economic turnaround swiftly. Is it realistic to expect Modi to satisfy the varying needs of a cross section of people, and that too within a few days after he takes charge? Definitely not! In this article we shall look at potential issues that are high on impact where Modi needs to allocate more time and resources, and how he can priorities these issues as immediate, short to medium term (within three to nine months) and longer term (within a year).

The backdropTo start with, Modi is lucky in more ways than one — the global economy, especially the United States (US) and the European economies, had already flattened out after four years of recession and are now looking up. Secondly, the massive mandate which the people of the country have given him makes him independent, without the constraint of coalition

politics. These advantages hugely strengthen his position to push through his growth agenda in a more effective manner.

On the flip side, Modi carries a lot of baggage left over by the previous UPA government, and which he has to unwind. Investor confidence is quite low, retrospective taxation slapped on multinationals like Vodafone, Nokia, Shell, etc have seriously dampened the spirits of foreign investors, the fiscal and current account deficits are high. Inflation continues to damage the economy due to supply side constraints, which have steeply increased interest rates and killed many businesses and corporate across the country. Public sector banks are in an unhealthy condition with high non-performing assets (NPA), reforms and infrastructure development have almost come to a standstill and corruption has crossed imaginable proportions.

So what should be Modi’s priorities? At a very high level, his topmost priorities should be lower inflation, higher growth, increased employment and lower trade and fiscal deficits. However, the irony is that some of these issues conflict with each other; measures taken to lower inflation through higher

i n t e r e s t rates will r e d u c e growth, t he reby increasing

unemployment and increasing d e f i c i t s . H e n c e , a very c a u t i o u s balance has to be struck to move forward on all the key economic indicators of prosperity.

Containing inflationConsumer price based inflation is currently hovering at around 8.6 per cent. Although the priority is to bring this down to around 6 per cent steadily over the next 12 to 15 months, we need to see immediate and steady progress and quick wins, over the next three months, in terms of inflation coming under control.

Undoubtedly, the immediate task is to control inflation so that prices of food grains come down, reducing the common man’s burden. The monetary policy stance alone (i.e., increasing interest

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www.advancedge.comcorporate world

Flipkart acquires MyntraFlipkart is India’s largest e-commerce retailer

and Myntra sells fashion products on the internet. Flipkart has agreed to buy out Myntra for around `1,800 crore. This

acquisition is in response to the increasing competitive rivalry in the Indian e-commerce space, especially with Amazon entering India in a big way. In such situations, the process of consolidation is common, i.e. smaller companies merge to create larger entities such that their unit cost of operation decreases (spreading fixed costs over larger volume of output). Thereby they become competitive when big players like Amazon attack the market.

‘People have the right to be forgotten’A ruling from Europe’s highest court that people have the “right to be

forgotten” was issued against Google. What this means is that Google will be asked to remove some sensitive information from Internet search

results about specific entities. The logic behind this is that if negative information about a person gets embedded in the Internet domain, it remains there forever, and shows up every time a search is made on

that person. The court has now ordered that such negative searches be censored. This is considered to be a form of censorship and can have far

reaching repercussions on access to publicly available data.

Opportunities for Indian IT companiesTata Consultancy Services believes the incoming NDA government will facilitate growth, technology adoption and corporate spending.

This will increase opportunities for the Indian IT companies.

Foreign institutional investors bullishForeign institutional investors (FII) have moved in more than`1 lakh crore of funds into the Indian stock and financial markets since the BJP’s selection of Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in September last year. It is widely believed that structural reforms of the new government will help India accelerate its economic growth. Morgan Stanley has raised India’s 2015-16 GDP growth forecast to 6.8 per cent, while Goldman Sachs has a slightly more conservative estimate at 6.5 per cent. Investors feel that a strong revival of growth is inevitable, and this will improve business sentiment and private investments.

rates) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not enough to achieve this objective. In fact, the RBI is doing, and has already done, whatever it needs to do in the most effective manner to control prices. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan himself has said that the government needs to ease the supply side constraints through robust policy measures, and should not expect the inflation to come under control merely by the RBI increasing interest rates. So what are these supply side measures?

The measures include making the “farm to store” supply chain more efficient by clearing up bottlenecks in terms of warehousing and public distribution systems, enhancing agricultural micro-financing, reducing the dependence of farmers on middlemen and making grain procurement policy more transparent. These issues could help contain inflation in food items, in the short term.

In the longer term, supply side initiatives should include upgrading the skills of the labour force (India has the highest number of working population in the world, but most of it is unskilled) so that more skill sets enter various industries. Increasing training and development will also go a long way towards increasing productivity and easing supply side constraints. Modi needs to focus and allocate resources and time on all these issues.

Growth and developmentEasing inflation without increasing interest rates further and, more importantly, reducing interest rates over the next few months, will kickstart the sick manufacturing sector and improve business sentiments across the country. A large section of industries and companies are debt ridden and have approached their banks for a debt restructure programme.

INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Apple-Google stand-offThis most high-profile legal battle between Apple and Google’s Motorola has been going on since

2010. Motorola primarily charged Apple of infringing several patents (Motorola has one of the largest number of inventions and patents registered in its name) including the one that helps mobile phones operate in a 3G environment. Apple had charged Motorola with violation of its patents relating to certain smartphone features. Both of them agreed to call off the litigations that will save billions of dollars for both the companies.

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This has seriously impacted the financial position of the banks, where non-performing assets have increased to unprecedented levels of `6,00,000 crore, which is close to 10 per cent of the total assets. Analysts predict that this could increase to as much as 14 per cent by 2015, if not properly managed. A bulk of these relates to infrastructure companies. Currently, the NDA’s conclusive mandate and Modi’s leadership has brought in a wave of optimism for the entire business community with the expectations that there will be a sharp turnaround.

A strong revival in the manufacturing sector will be the immediate and top priority. Sentiments have already improved and the profile of the cabinet, once it is announced, will further boost the sentiments and facilitate more capital flow into the sector. It is important to note that sentiments play an important role in the revival of the economy. However, hard reforms will be required to sustain the flow of investments, which has to happen in the short term. This will include bringing clarity into the retail sector’s Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and reducing the FDI caps in other controlled sectors including defence. Dependence on imports needs to reduce. The growth of the manufacturing sector will increase exports, reduce imports and trade deficits; today India has a negative deficit of around $30 billion with China. This needs to be swiftly addressed.

Investment measures As an immediate priority, the NDA need to go all the way to open up and release investments that are held up due to policy paralysis

especially in the areas of power, road and rail projects and urban infrastructure, in order to boost growth and GDP. Strong measures are expected with institutions like Coal India, which has been ridden with low productivity and corruption, in order to ease feed stock to power plants to reinstate the power position of the country. With his Gujarat experience in this space, Modi may be able to achieve positive results.

The proposed first Union budget of the current NDA government for the year 2014-15 will be an acid test, and will challenge the government’s ability to enhance revenues and receipts, control costs and deficits. Economic growth projections in the range of 5 to 6 per cent are

expected; anything higher may be optimistic for the first year.

Over the long term, pending reforms like goods and services tax (GST) need to be rekindled with vigour, especially augmented by a lot of cooperation and convincing to work together with the state governments. It is expected that Modi well be well positioned to take on this task.

EconomicsThe biggest challenge would be to control deficits, especially the fiscal deficit, on the back of welfare schemes announced by the previous UPA government. The Food Security Bill, for instance, is expected to exert a lot of strain on the country’s financials. Other subsidies like diesel and cooking gas cylinders also need to be

cautiously managed, as these play around with the sentiments of the common man and are highly sensitive issues. But Modi has no other option to deal with subsidies if he has to reduce deficits. The question is how he will do it!

Other key issuesAs an immediate priority, enhancing internal security and at the same time involving the neighbours in peace talks and treaties will be a key in ensuring a conducive environment for investments and economic development. Foreign policy, especially with the United States, China and Pakistan, will set the base for stability and growth in the country.

Indian stock market reaction to NDA sweepIndian stock markets have climbed to scale new highs of over 25,000 points over the last few months, especially during the announcements of the

election results. It is genuinely believed that this is due to investor confidence that the economy is slated for good times with the NDA coming in with a massive majority. Such positive perceptions are built into the levels of the stock markets. Largely, foul play is not expected and the levels of the stock market seem to genuinely reflect the inherent values.

However, given such a sharp increase, foul play in the form of manipulation cannot be ruled out. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been tracking and investigating various players showing suspicious trading records during the run up to the election results on May 16, 2014, to ensure external regulatory interventions. A

THE PROPOSED FIRST UNION BUDGET OF THE INCOMING

NDA GOVERNMENT FOR THE YEAR 2014-15 WILL BE AN ACID TEST

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Public sector banks face governance issues

Dr Suresh Srinivasan

ndia’s banking industry has been going through testing times over the last few years.

Public sector banks (such as the State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, etc), which form the majority of operating banks in the country, have been facing a number of issues, including staff union pressures, higher levels of non-performing assets (loans that have been issued, and which the banks will be unable to collect), deteriorating financial performance and market shares that are shrinking. Especially in comparison to private sector banks (like ICICI, HDFC, Axis, etc) and foreign banks (Citibank, Standard Chartered, etc), the public sector banks seem to have lost competitiveness.

Public sector banks (PSBs) are those in which the Government of India holds a majority shareholding. These banks are not only owned by the government but are also controlled by the Government of India through the Finance Ministry, largely catering to the interests of the government.

Poor performance of PSBs is not good news; for a healthy growth of an economy, a robust banking sector is of utmost importance. The objective of the PSBs is basically to create a conducive financial environment for the economy to cherish and grow on an inclusive basis, i.e., without sharp differences in growth between the urban and rural, rich and poor, north and south or east and west. Since the PSBs are major players in

the Indian banking scenario, their underperformance is of serious concern to the Indian government.

The P.J. Nayak Committee looked into detailed functioning of the PSBs, especially on its governance, i.e., how the board of directors steer the bank in terms of major decisions, and benchmarked them with other private sector competitors as well as the best international practices in order to highlight the shortcomings of the PSBs. The results were recently presented as a report during

May 2014. This article highlights the major issues that have come up in this report.

Government interferenceBeing the sole owner of public sector banks, the Government of India interferes with the day to day operations; in some form or the other, it is also involved in selecting the board of directors of these banks. The board is, therefore, more focused towards ensuring that the agenda of the Finance Ministry is accomplished and less focused on competition, building capabilities and how to increase market share and become profitable. The report clearly says that the PSBs’ selection process of the board of directors is flawed, and so the governance is weak. In order to remedy the situation, the P.J. Nayak committee recommended that the board selection and functioning be freed from government interference.

Public sector banks are not doing well in the country in recent times, as a report by the P.J. Nayak Committee has pointed out. The report also points out the problems facing

the banks, and what steps should be taken to make them profitable.

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PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

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Governance mechanismThe report goes into the details of the issues which are debated and discussed in the PSB board meetings. Most of the issues are “tactical” (which means they are related to the day-to-day functioning of the bank) in nature and very less time is devoted to debate “strategic” issues that have a substantial bearing on the long term competitiveness of these banks. Ideally, it is considered that when companies delegate the routine day-to-day functioning issues to lower levels within the organisation, the senior managers are freed up to take long term decisions that have strategic implications on the company.

For example, the board should ideally discuss issues like the following: How is the banking industry emerging? What are the expectations of the customers, and how we can satisfy them? What are the competitors doing? What are the technologies that are emerging, and which of them should be adopted? How can we improve the market share in comparison to the competition? These are the type of issues that help the board of directors to debate on the sort of capabilities that the bank should build in the short to medium term as well as in the long term. How can they manage their costs within the revenue streams such that the bank is able to provide suitable returns to its shareholders?

Risk frameworkAgain, another fundamental issue with respect to the banking industry is the “risk” framework, i.e., which part of the banking operations are more risky, and what are the elements of risk? How can such risks be mitigated and what kind of risk mitigating mechanisms needs to be put in place? Who is responsible? These are larger issues that have a substantial bearing on the PSBs’ competitiveness, their market share

Pipeline of share offers increasingAs a result of a stable government at the Centre, and positive investor sentiments, the corporates are planning to revive their position by going back to the market to raise share capital. New issues from HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd are expected to hit the market soon.

SpiceJet reports lossSpiceJet reported a loss of over `1,000 crore for

the year 2013-14. The auditors of the company have indicated that the total liabilities exceeded the assets by more

than `1,000 crore and have even questioned the “going concern” of the company. The company has indicated that it is in advanced talks with third parties to infuse capital into the company to tide over the

ongoing difficult financial phase. Owned and controlled by Maran of the Sun Group, SpiceJet is seen to be a good target for foreign airlines. It would be a win-win situation for both; SpiceJet will get

funding from partners with deep pockets, while foreign airlines will get equity stake in a well established Indian airline operating in one of

the world’s most attractive and growing markets.

Tough conditions prevail in PC industryHP intends to cut more than 16,000 more jobs in an attempt to turn around the company that is struggling with low profit margins. The PC industry has become a cutthroat one, with severe competitive rivalry from Dell, Lenovo, Asus, the Tiwanese hardware manufacturer. Although Meg Whitman, the company’s CEO, is confident that the company will get back to reasonable profit margins, experts believe that the hardware industry is at its advanced stages of maturity. They feel prices of products will keep dwindling, leaving very little margins for the players; the only option would be to increase in size so that costs reduce (economies of scale).

AT AGLANCE

Adani’s slapped with showcause noticeDuring the last few days of the UPA government,

the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, a Government of India organisation has slapped a `5,500-crore

showcause notice on companies owned by Gautam Adani. It is well known that the Adanis are alleged to be close to Modi, and the timing of the showcause notice seems to be more than a mere coincidence.

The concern is that the UPA government’s decision to slap retrospective taxes on multi-national companies like Vodafone, Nokia and Shell have

had negative repercussions in terms of foreign investor sentiments.

Tata Group exiting South African telecomTata Communications has announced that it will sell its stake in the South African unit Neotel to Vodacom, a company owned by Vodafone, for around `4,000 crore.

The reason stated is that the South African markets have become extremely competitive and the Tatas don’t believe that the market is attractive to remain and sustain anymore.

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and profitability, both in the short as well as long term. Unfortunately, the report identifies that, of most of the issues that are discussed, there are very few strategic issues. Other issues like how to protect the interests of the customers, how to attract the best skills in the industry in order to become competitive and how to penetrate banking into rural areas and support the farming community, found very little time and priority for being discussed at the board level.

On the contrary, smaller issues that should have been delegated down to lower levels, being tactical in nature, were discussed the most. The report quotes some of the issues that were discussed by the board of directors. There were discussions and debate on opening a new branch in a particular city, taxi fare reimbursement policy, and other issues that relate to keeping records in compliance for audits. These are routine matters that need not come up for discussions at the board of directors’ level. As a result of picking up such trivial issues for discussion at the board level, strategic issues get missed out, resulting in the PSBs losing their long term focus and competitiveness in the industry. Ideally, the board should allocate more time in discussing issues related to building superior competencies as compared to the competition, which is what will enhance shareholder value. Especially when competing

with private sector and foreign banks, which are more “switched on” with respect to these strategic issues, the PSBs stand to lose.

Equity holding structureThe report has recommended that the shareholding structure be altered. Instead of the Government of India directly holding shares in these PSBs, the government shareholding should be routed through a Bank Investment Company (BIC), where other selected private parties would also hold shares. The BIC would be responsible for taking care of the shareholders’ interests, working closely with the bank’s board of directors. The BIC would also be responsible for appointing the board of directors and their supervision. The government’s powers in

relation to the governance of banks would then slowly diminish.

Banks in other countriesThe report quotes a number of global examples as to how various governments control their respective government-owned banks. The idea is that the government would be the shareholders, but the control mechanism is passed on to an intermediary, just like the recommended BIC. The Singapore government controls DBS Bank (one of the largest banks in Singapore) through professionally managed intermediary Temasek, which ensures that the government interests are taken care of without the direct intervention of the government. Similarly, the United Kingdom government controls the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank through the intermediary Financial Investments Limited. A similar structure is working in case of Axis Bank, originally owned by UTI, but its entire shareholding was later transferred to an intermediary company that controls Axis Bank.

In summary, it is important that PSBs are better governed, become more competitive and be responsible to create a robust financial environment for the economy to thrive. It is hoped that under the leadership of the new prime minister, the Finance Ministry will immediately implement these recommendations. A

PRIVATE AND FOREIGN BANKS

AT AGLANCE

India interest ratesIt is expected that the inflationary pressures will

continue to remain elevated during 2014-15 and will only taper off in 2015-16, as per Goldman Sachs’s forecast. Primarily, the monsoons are expected to

have a below par showing due to the El-Nino effect, which will constrain the supply side of food grains

and raise the consumer price inflation to around 8 per cent by mid-2015. Goldman Sachs has also forecast

that the Reserve Bank of India will raise interest rates by around 0.5 per cent in the second half of 2014.

Hindustan Motors suspends work in WBThe CK Birla group company and Hindustan Motors, one of the oldest

players in the Indian passenger car industry, declared a suspension of work in its Uttarpara plant in West Bengal. The company is seriously ridden with debt and is unable to carry on its operations in its present form. The company has lost competitiveness with the emergence of global players setting up shop in the Indian market. The company had earlier sold its Chennai plant during early 2014.

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Dr Suresh Srinivasan

In tune with the changing nature of skill set needs, B-schools have started offering specialisations in

non-traditional areas of management. In this follow up article of the May issue of Advanc’edge, we look at some of the biggest fields in India.

ndia is a rapidly expanding country. Over the next 10 years, various facets of

its economy, like retail, banking, healthcare, Internet-driven businesses, hospitality and tourism, all of which are showing signs of growth today, would have become fully grown, matured businesses. With India’s exponentially growing middle class population, demand for such services will anyway emerge, but the biggest challenge will be the availability of skill sets, i.e., qualified “industry ready” professionals. More specifically, focused management professionals required to support these industries, are in short supply.

Although a general MBA degree is certainly not a handicap, specialised MBA programmes do provide an edge when the management graduate comes out industry ready. Over the last two years, a number of business schools around the world, as well as in India, have started offering specialised programmes catering to the specific needs of these industries. Global trends show that enrolment in such specialised programmes is growing sharply. Let us go over some of the industries that are emerging where specialised management

programmes are being offered by a number of Indian business schools.

Big Data Analytics and Business IntelligenceLeading retail stores like Wal-Mart handles more than one million customer transactions every hour. Close to 50 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month. Today, there are more than seven billion mobile phone connections in the world, all of generating information every second. Big data and analytics is an emerging field that is used by companies to support decision making and enhance their business strategies; big data analyses the huge amount of information generated around us to discover and interpret meaningful patterns in such data, using operations research and other statistical tools. With the rise of social media, it is important for companies to understand customer insights better and thereby position their products and services in a customer focused manner. Today, the size of this industry in India is around `3,000 crore, but is expected to touch `15,000 crore by 2018.

Aegis School of Business offers a full year post graduate programme

in Business Analytics and Big Data, as does Praxis Business School in Kolkata. Shiv Nadar University offers a similar course. There are a number of other business schools at the various IIMs, Indian School of Business, Great Lakes Institute of Management (Chennai and Delhi) and National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) offering executive and part time courses in this subject.

Cloud computing professionalsThe format of computing and the computer industry is changing fast. Data and services are most likely to reside in remote giant servers operated by specialised companies rather than in personal computers and small servers located onsite. This trend is fast emerging as companies are scrambling to reduce their information technology costs, and the cloud can save that cost by around 30 to 40 per cent. IT companies like IBM, HP and Dell are now allocating substantial resources to realign their current IT capabilities to become more cloud focused, which means the demand for cloud specialised personnel will grow exponentially over the next few years. The global cloud business is pegged at around

I

Emerging MBA specialisations and careers

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Google’s acquisition targetsGoogle Inc is believed to be in talks with Skybox Imaging Inc, a provider of high-definition imagery, that could enhance the Google’s map offering. Technology companies like Google are always looking for acquisition of companies that have built capabilities, and Google’s interest will be to see how such capabilities can be integrated with its own areas of expertise so that it can enhance its competitive position. For example, Google is working on a number of areas like driverless cars, robotics and flying drones and robots. It is also embarking into enhancing Internet connectivity through floating balloons. Google will therefore be constantly keeping an eye out for companies that have capabilities in its core areas as well as potential areas where it is proposing to venture into.

FII inflows and its impact on interest ratesExperts believe that the NDA’s coming to power will substantially boost foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows into the country, which will force the Reserv Bank of India to buy US dollars in order to stop the Rupee strengthening further, as this will adversely affect India’s exports. This will entail releasing more Indian rupees into the system, which means it will exert additional inflationary pressures and go against the RBI’s efforts to control inflation.

AT AGLANCE

Hero, Honda joint venture backlogHero-Honda was one of the most successful

joint ventures in the history of the Indian automobile industry. The joint venture was suspended in 2010, after which Japan’s Honda started

its own motorcycle business in India directly in competition with Hero Motocorp. As per its joint venture separation agreement with Honda, Hero was paying royalties for the last four years on all the models for

which technology was supplied by Honda. This amounted to around `700 crore per year. As per the agreement, Hero will now not pay this amount

to Honda anymore, making all of it profit from the current year.

$100 billion, while the size of the Indian cloud computing industry is close to `30,000 crore.

Institutes like the various IITs have started offering programmes in cloud computing.

Construction ManagementThe Indian construction industry is currently growing at more than 25 per cent per annum, and is pegged to attract an investment of around `120 lakh crore over the next five years. So the industry requires management professionals focused towards the construction industry with specialised knowledge in areas like project management, real estate and infrastructure management, construction methodology, etc. Today, there is a serious shortage of construction management professionals. With the country’s GDP growth largely dependent on the mammoth infrastructure creation, this gains significant importance.

National Institute for Construction Management and Research, NICMAR, is a specialised body offering construction management courses. Other business schools like SCMHRD also offer courses on infrastructure management.

Aviation ManagementThis is an industry poised for exponential growth over the next few years, and will be closely tagged with India’s GDP growth. Less than 2.5 per cent of Indians currently use air travel. On an average, each Indian travels 0.05 air trips per annum, while his counterpart in China does 0.3 trips; the number goes up to 2.1 trips in the US. This means the Indian aviation industry is one sixth in size as compared to China and forty times smaller than the US. Airlines in India are expected to order more than a thousand aircrafts over the next 20 years. With only one fourth of India’s airports being actually functional and 95 per cent of the traffic being concentrated in just 25

airports, there is a tremendous scope for exponential growth in this industry. This will also fuel growth in aircraft maintenance and engineering, flight training schools and airline security businesses.

Institutes such as IIM-A, NIMS University, etc offer part time and executive courses in aviation management. Full time courses are also offered by UPES and the Indian Aviation Academy.

Retail ManagementIndia’s retail market is likely to be its economic backbone in the coming years. Today the size of this industry is pegged at `30 lakh

crore and is expected to reach `80 lakh crore by 2020, almost tripling in size. The absence of skill sets is a major impediment for growth in this segment. Management professionals are expected to contribute significantly in a number of areas like marketing, customer service, logistics, retail focused technology, supply chain management, backward vertical integration, etc.

A number of business schools like WeSchool, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management and Research, IISWBM, Birla Institute of Management Technology, SCMS Cochin, etc offer specialised postgraduate programmes in retail management. A

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1Breathe

Laughing is a tremendous stress reliever. It loosens the physical tension of stress and unites people in a delightful shared experience. Various studies have demonstrated that laughter is good for health, energy and relieving stress and worry. There are

many ways to increase the laughter in your life - play with a small child or get together with friends. But if you only have two minutes, view your favorite funny

YouTube or movie clip.

Laugh

45 Your body needs water and energy. Drink enough liquids; herbal teas, water or

any beverage that keeps you hydrated are good choices. Try to keep caffeine consumption low if you are stressed out. Your brain is already pumping out neurochemicals to get you aroused, so you don't need more from caffeinated drinks.

Refuel

Just as a racer at the starting line tightens muscles to spring into action, stress causes your body to tighten up. Your brain is telling your body that it needs to respond! And all your muscles tighten to take action. But stress does not know that you are sitting at a

desk! So, every hour or two, stretch your arms over your head, bend and touch your toes. Stretch your legs in front of you and pull your toes up and then

point them down. For a few minutes, let every muscle get a stretch to counteract the tightening that is inevitable if you are under stress.

3 Think about an experience you have had in which you felt your five senses were thoroughly engaged: a wonderful meal, a beautiful place or a time in which you felt exceptionally delighted. Now, close your eyes, breathe deeply and evenly, and for two minutes re-experience that. Let your mind dwell on what you saw, smelled, felt, heard and tasted. Take one very deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth as you return to your work.

Go on vacation

I know we all think this is too simple, but it works! Take very even, slow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth with a longer exhale than the inhale. You might even count to be sure the exhale is longer or just say these words in your mind, “Now I breathe in all that is of peace. Now I breathe out all that is not of peace,” and let your breathing follow along. This stimulates your whole body to calm down.

Strech

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CommunicationSkills

Hone your

In today's digital age, the most important factor in our day to day professional lives is communication, even more so for managers. How you communicate

with the people around you will be one of the biggest factors in your success.

Think before you speakBefore you start speaking, think of what you're going to say. Just as you

would compose your thoughts before you begin to draft any written

communication, get a clear idea of what you will speak. This will not only

help you avoid any confusion in communicating, but also prevent you

from saying something you wouldn't.

Be honest, be yourselfOne of the most important things in effective communication

is to be honest, and not put an act. It will help you gain

rapport with people, since they will trust you when you

communicate with them.

Listen activelyOne of the most important parts of multi-sided communication is to be

an active listener when someone else is talking. Listening, but actually

thinking what you'll say when the speaker has stopped talking, is detrimental,

as there is a high chance of missing the point the speaker is trying to make.

Open your mind and ears and pay full attention, and you will be able to

contribute to the communication meaningfully.

Don't judge, and try to see others' point of viewAny communication channel will immediately break down if

you're being judgmental. Try not to judge the speaker. Instead,

try to listen to what is being said and think from their point of

view. Not only will you better understand what is being

communicated, the others will recognise you as open minded.

Engage your audienceIn any verbal communication, body language is much more important

than the words. Be open, make regular eye contact as you speak,

and always engage your listeners, either by asking them for feedback or

questions, or even by helping them give inputs to illustrate your point.

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Quant

DIRECTIONS for questions 1: Choose the correct alternative.

1. At a construction site, if the workers are 6 less than the usual number, the hours required to complete a task

are 2 more than the usual but 7 less than what would be required if one-third of the workers were absent.

How many hours will be required if there are 20 more workers than the usual?

1] 4 ½ 2] 12 3] 13½ 4] Cannot be determined

Let ‘x’ workers take ‘h’ hours.

So, if one-third are absent, the rest will take 3h/2 hours

So, x – 6 workers take h + 2 hours which is equal to 3h/2 – 7.

So, h/2 = 9. So, h = 18

So, x – 6 workers take 20 hours instead of 18.

So, x / (x – 6) = 20 / 18 x = 60.

So, if 20 more workers are appointed, they will take 18 x 60 / 80 = 27/2 = 13½ hours.

Hence, [3].

2. Find log 2 + log 3 + log 4 + log 5 … (n terms)

1] 1.5 log (n!) 2] n log {(n+1]!}3

3] log {(3n/2]!} 4] log {(n+1]!}3

log 2 + log 3 + log 4 + log 5 … (n terms)

= log {23/2 x 33/2 x 43/2 x 53/2 x .......(n + 1)}

= log { (n + 1)! 3/2} = log {(n + 1)!}3 . Hence, [4].

Are you a Brainiac? In this section, we shall explore several different types of questions from

the various areas of entrance exams like the CAT, CET, GMAT, etc, and

how to best solve them.

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Verbal

3.

Two circles are drawn inside a third circle, such that they touch each other externally and the large circle internally, such that the points of contact with the outer circle are diametrically opposite. The area of the larger circle is thus divided into 4 parts with areas p, q, r and s as shown in the figure. Then which of the following is true?

1] p + q = r + s 2] pr = qs 3] p + r = q + s 4] p/q = r/s

Let the radii of the two smaller circles be a and b. Hence the radius of the larger circle will be

a + b. p = a2, r = b2 and the total area of the larger circle will be (a + b)2.

The remaining area q + s = (a + b)2 – a2 – b2 = 2 ab. Now, from the symmetry of the figure, q = s = ab. We can see that pr = qs = 2a2b2.

Hence, [2].

DIRECTIONS: This question has four sentences pertaining to a subject, which may or may not be in sequence. One of the sentences is contextually/logically incorrect. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence that is incorrect or inappropriate.

1] The Zhou centuries were a seminal time for China’s civilization, yet they get short shrift in some history books.

2] The third and the last of the pre-imperial ‘Three Dynasties’ (Xia, Shang, Zhou), the Zhou, supplanted the Shang as the supreme power in the lower Yellow River basin in c. 1045 BC, and would still be there nearly 800 years later.

3] None of China’s subsequent ruling lineages would last more than half as long; in fact the Zhou probably hold the world record for dynastic longevity.

4] In the course of this dynastic marathon, some thirty-nine kings followed one another, mostly in orderly father-to-son succession.

Explanation: Sentences [2], [3] and [4] – which can be arranged in the order [2]-[4]-[3] – all speak about the longevity of the Zhou dynasty, while [1] speaks of the importance of the time period, and its neglect in history books. Therefore, [1] does not fit into the context. Hence, [1].

s

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DIRECTIONS: This question has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the option that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

The idea that our mental terrain decides what information survives in our heads and what gets killed off finds a parallel with a venerable biological theory: Darwin’s theory of natural selection. When we see lions and polar bears, we marvel at how well these animals have adapted themselves to the savannah and the polar ice caps. But no committee of lions sat down and decided that the African savannah would be home. No electoral bear-college voted for a leader who called for polar bears to move to the Arctic.

1] These animals adapt to their environment by instinct, unlike humans, who do so with intelligence.

2] The savannahs and polar regions of our mind exist unknown to us, directing the way we adapt.

3] Our mental terrain has a topography that is as varied as the geography of the Earth, constantly directing us to adapt.

4] These animals did not adapt to their environment; their environment adapted them to it.

Explanation: The paragraph is about the idea that it is the terrain of our mind that decides what survives inside our head and not we. To support this the author cites the examples of bears and lions and their respective habitats. The author says that the animals did not consciously decide or deliberate over their habitats. Since the main idea is about how our mental terrain or our mental environment decides what information survives, the concluding statement has to be about the animals’ environment and not they themselves deciding or choosing their habitat. Only option (4) does this. Option (1) is incorrect as the author is saying that we might in reality be using our intelligence. Options (2) and (3) make generalizations about human beings adapting and do not capture the specificity of the paragraph, which is the information surviving in our minds. Hence, [4].

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014

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Men and Money

M AT C H T H E W O R D S W I T H T H E I R M E A N I N G S

WOR

D DOS

E

a. – Someone who steals money or valuables, thief

b. – The open end of the barrel of a firearm

c. – Something intended to entice someone to do something

d. – Used ironically to indicate that someone has been deprived of something

e. – Criticises strongly

f. – A rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different

ways to different people or groups

g. – In Medieval Europe, lepers were required to carry a bell to identify their presence. The phrase therefore signifies the onset of an approaching danger

h. – A fact or idea that serves to reveal something or solve a problem

i. – People who travel by getting free lifts in passing vehicles

j. – A large number of people or things

k. – An action or system by which a result is achieved; a method

l. – Behaviour showing high moral standards

m. – Bringing shame or disgrace on someone or something, without honour

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Let me give you a tip on a clue to men’s characters: the man who damns money has obtained it

dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it.

Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an

approaching looter. So long as men live together on earth and need means to deal with one another – their

only substitute, if they abandon money, is the muzzle of a gun.

But money demands of you the highest virtues, if you wish to make it or to keep it. Men who have no

courage, pride or self-esteem, men who have no moral sense of their right to their money and are not willing

to defend it as they defend their life, men who apologize for being rich – will not remain rich for long. They are

the natural bait for the swarms of looters that stay under rocks for centuries, but come crawling out at the

first smell of a man who begs to be forgiven for the guilt of owning wealth. They will hasten to relieve him of

the guilt – and of his life, as he deserves.

Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard – the men who live by force, yet count on those

who live by trade to create the value of their looted money – the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue.

An excerpt from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

1. Clue – (kloo) (n)

2. Damns – (dams) (v)

3. Dishonorably – (dis-on-er-uh-blee) (adv)

4. Leper’s bell

5. Looter – (loot-er) (n)

6. Means – (meens) (n)

7. Muzzle – (muhz-uh l) (n)

8. Virtues – (vur-chooz) (n)

9. Bait – (beyt) (n)

10. Swarms – (swawrms) (n)

11. Relieve – (ri-leev) (v)

12. Double standard

13. Hitchhikers – (hich-hahyk-urz) (n)

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A quiz to boost your General Knowledge

1. New information from the Hubble Space Telescope shows that Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is shrinking quite fast. How fast do astronomers estimate the shrinking?

a. 580 km per year b. 680 km per year c. 350 km per year d. 900 km per year

2. Which of the following countries is the biggest oil producer in Africa?

a. Nigeria b. Algeria c. Kenya d. Uganda

3. Which of the following European Union countries invests the most in India?

a. United Kingdom b. Germany c. France d. Italy

4. Which of the following diseases has been named by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international concern?

a. Malaria b. AIDS c. Polio d. Tuberculosis

5. Indian sportsperson Ankita Raina is involved with which of the following sports?

a. Badminton b. Archery c. Snooker d. Tennis

6. Recently, Francesco’s was in the news for delivering an item via an unmanned drone in Mumbai. What was the item delivered?

a. Pizza b. Mobile phone c. Book d. T-shirt

7. Which of the following is the poorest European nation in terms of GDP per capita?

a. Ukraine b. Moldova c. Armenia d. Georgia 8. Which famous variety of

Indian mango was recently banned from being imported into Britain, citing that fruit flies, which can threaten crops, was found in a shipment?

a. Himsagar b. Langda c. Alphonso d. Chaunsa

9. Name the world’s first electric aircraft that successfully completed its maiden voyage recently.

a. iPlane b. E-Fan c. E-Plane d. Stingray

10. The monetary policy of India is controlled by which of the following?

a. Reserve Bank of India b. Finance Ministry c. Prime Minister d. Union Government

11. The Reserve Bank of India is planning to introduce plastic notes for currency from next year, to counter the menace of counterfeiting. Which of the following countries was the first in the world to introduce plastic notes?

a. Malaysia b. Germany c. USA d. Australia

12. An important pilgrimage centre of Buddhism is the Benuban Vihar Monastery. Where is it located?

a. Tibet b. Tripura c. Bangkok d. Assam

13. Which of the following countries recently banned imports of chilli powder from India, citing the presence of pesticide residues in the powder?

a. South Africa b. China c. Spain d. Saudi Arabia

14. Which of the following actors was present at the Cannes screening of his production venture Grace of Monaco, along with Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth and others?

a. Aamir Khan b. Irrfan Khan c. Uday Chopra d. Abhishek Bachchan

15. Which of the following recently launched its own locally developed email service?

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a. BSNL b. Vodafone c. MTNL d. Reliance

16. An entire election team sets up a polling booth every election – and this time as well – for a single voter named Mahant Bharatdas Darshandas. Where is this located?

a. Maharashtra b. Gujarat c. Tamil Nadu d. Arunachal Pradesh

17. Which of the following India cities was declared by the World Health Organization to be the most polluted city in the world?

a. Indore b. Delhi c. Mumbai d. Bangalore

18. The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust recently signed an agreement with which of the following banks to alleviate poverty and improve rural development?

a. State Bank of India b. ICICI Bank c. Bank of India d. Union Bank of India

19. India houses how many of the world’s biggest companies, as recorded by a Forbes Global 200 list of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies?

a. 65 b. 23 c. 34 d. 54

20. World Press Freedom Day is observed globally on which date?

a. June 3 b. May 3 c. April 3 d. August 15

21. Scientists part of the European Union-funded “Solar Jet” project recently developed a fuel by using ________

a. Water and oxygen b. Oxygen and hydrogen c. Water and carbon dioxide d. Hydrogen and carbon

dioxide

22. How many assembly and parliamentary seats does the newly formed Telangana state have?

a. 17 b. 18 c. 19 d. 20

23. Which of Jupiter’s moons do astronomers believe can support the development and sustenance of life?

a. Europa b. Callisto c. Io d. Ganymede

24. Athlete Michael Sam was recently in the news after kissing his boyfriend on air after being drafted. With which sport is he associated?

a. Ice hockey b. Figure skating c. American football d. Baseball

25. “Unbroken” is an upcoming war drama film written by the Coen brothers, et al. Name the director.

a. Martin Scorsese b. Angelina Jolie c. Steven Spielberg d. Clint Eastwood

26. According to the latest data from the National Sample Survey, which of the following states ranks first in the manufacturing sector in creating new jobs?

a. West Bengal b. Gujarat c. Maharashtra d. Tamil Nadu

27. “Operation Clandestine Fox” is the code name for which of the following?

a. Russian infiltration of Ukraine

b. Hacking Microsoft’s Internet Explorer

c. Search for the missing Malaysian aircraft MH370

d. Killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces

28. The Russian company Yandex is the fourth largest company in the world in its industry. What is it?

a. Cable network b. Specialised sportswear c. Search engine d. Sanitaryware

29. The primary use of solid carbon dioxide is __________.

a. Artificial snow b. Baking additive c. Jet fuel d. Cooling agent

30. At the 86th Academy Awards (Oscars), which of the following films won the Best Director award?

a. 12 Years A Slave b. American Hustle c. The Wolf of Wall Street d. Gravity

31. Which of the following is the world’s largest producer of pomegranate?

a. South Africa b. India c. US d. Ireland

32. How many maximum candidates can a constituency

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How to PlayFill in the grid so that every horizontal row, every vertical column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating the numbers in the same row, column or box. You can’t change the digits already given in the grid. Every puzzle has one solution.Hint: Don’t fill in numbers at random. While filling a particular square, write numbers 1-9 on a pad and start eliminating those numbers that already appear in the same row, column or 3x3 box.

SuDoKu

Solution, tips and computer programme at www.sudoku.com

ANSWERSGLOBESCAN

1.D 2.A 3.A 4.C 5.D 6.A

7.B 8.C 9.B 10.A 11.D 12.B

13.D 14.C 15.A 16.B 17.B 18.A

19.D 20.B 21.C 22.A 23.D 24.C

25.B 26.A 27.B 28.C 29.D 30.D

31.B 32.D 33.A 34.C 35.A 36.B

37.D 38.C

WORD DOSE

have, if the elections are to be conducted using electronic voting machines in India?

a. 12 b. 16 c. 24 d. 64

33. Historical data suggests that ____________ is the most flood-prone state of India.

a. Bihar b. West Bengal c. Bangalore d. Tamil Nadu

34. Katana is a combat marine system designed by which of the following countries?

a. Iran b. US c. Israel d. Japan

35. According to the latest study by the Reserve Bank of India, which of the following states ranks as the best performing in most key fiscal parameters?

a. Chhatisgarh b. Gujarat c. Maharashtra d. Tamil Nadu

36. Lupus is a medical condition arising from the deficiency (or lack thereof) of which of the following in the human body?

a. Protein b. Immunity c. Red blood cells d. Calcium

37. The “Arakan Mountain” is an extension of the Himalayan mountain range. In which country is it located?

a. China b. Nepal c. Bhutan d. Myanmar

38. In which of the following states was the remains of an ancient university recently discovered?

a. Odisha b. West Bengal c. Bihar d. Tamil Nadu

1. h 2. e 3. m 4. g 5. a

6. k 7. b 8. l 9. c 10. j

11. d 12. f 13. i

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