Game Decoded

8/12/2019 Game Decoded

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Copyright © 2013 Careers360 http://www.bschool.careers360.com/

Table of Contents

WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT.................................................................................... 3

GROUP DISCUSSION ............................................................................................... 4

GD MYTHS .............................................................................................................. 6

HANDY POINTS ....................................................................................................... 8



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WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT

Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI) are standard selection tools for admission into

good business schools in India. While your academic record, work experience (if any) and scores in

the entrance test qualify you for an interview call, your final selection depends largely on your

performance in the ‘last Smile.’

The reason why institutes put you through a Group discussion and an interview, after testing your

technical and conceptual skills in an exam, is to get to know you as a person and gauge how well you

will fit in their institute. The Group discussion tests how you function as a part of a team. As a

manager, you will always be working in teams, as a member or as a leader. Therefore how youinteract in a team becomes an important criterion for your selection. Managers have to work in a

team and get best results out of teamwork. That is the reason why management institutes include

GD as a component of the selection procedure.

This book is a collection of GD pointers given by experts which is not only confined to the aspirants

who are planning to take a go at MBA admission and would like to know where the process of

cracking a tough entrance exam eventually leads to but would also be interesting read to the current

students who can use these pointers for placement purpose also.



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GROUP DISCUSSION

Group discussion is an important dimension of the selection process. Any institute requires students

to work with others for effective functioning. Therefore, people skills are an important aspect of any

MBA program.

In today's context, the educational institutes and organizations are interested in team players rather

than individual contributors. During the Group Discussion, the panel essentially evaluates the

candidate's potential to be a leader and also his/her ability to work in teams. Remember that

institutes are typically on the lookout for candidates who will inspire to lead and succeed and for

that you need to be a good team player.

Most business schools divide the candidates into groups of 5 to 15 members and conduct a group

discussion among them, followed by a personal interview with each candidate separately. In atypical group discussion, a situation or issue - it could be business-related or a more general topic - is

provided to the group as a short write-up, and each candidate is given five or ten minutes to read

the situation and formulate his/her thoughts or views. Then, the group is asked to discuss the issue

for a period ranging from15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the group, and preferably come

to some conclusions. In the case of IIM-C, each of the candidates is provided, at the end, an exclusive

and uninterrupted time of about a minute to sum up and present his/her views and conclusions.

According to Raveendra Chittoor, Assistant Professor of Strategy, ISB, Hyderabad, most group

discussions end up resembling a busy fish market, which has prompted some business schools to

group discussion as an evaluation component altogether. To a large extent, the cacophony and



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chaos in the group discussion is a result of some of the myths propagated by coaching institutes in

the form of their so-called 'tips'. The first of the myths is that the person who initiates the discussion

is demonstrating leadership qualities. If only leadership was this simple! In many groups, this results

in a mad rush by many candidates to initiate the discussion all at once. The leadership qualities

actually come to fore during a group discussion, if at all, not by starting first, but by the way acandidate with leadership potential is able to rally the group together, often to his/her views and

inspire the group's confidence in him or her.

The second myth is that the person who speaks most during a group discussion is the one who

would score the highest. It is precisely this belief that drives many candidates to compete vigorously

and grab as much air-time as possible, rendering the group discussion into a hopeless fish market. In

the worst scenarios, two or three candidates end up speaking simultaneously without listening to

each other.

Communication or discussion is necessarily a two-way process that involves both speaking andlistening, in fact more of the latter. Speaking without paying attention to the views of others often

shows up the candidate in a very bad light and adversely affects his/her chances. The third myth is

that group discussion primarily evaluates the oratory skills of candidates. Due to this belief, some

candidates even launch into mini speeches during the group discussion with a view to impress the

panel members. While evaluators certainly expect good articulation from aspirants, they are not

necessarily looking for oratorical skills. To understand how to do well in a group discussion, it helps

to keep in mind the basic purpose of the group discussion in the evaluation process. Through a

group discussion, panellists assess if a candidate can really think on his/her feet, formulate views on

an issue in a short time, express himself/ herself precisely and clearly, and argue his/ her points

persuasively in a group. The evaluators will also try and observe how each of the candidates behavesin a group - whether the person is willing to listen and take into account others' view points, his/her

body language, and whether the candidate is reasonably considerate and tolerant of others.

Articulation and cogency can be developed by aspiring candidates with preparation and practice.

With regard to behavioural aspects, all that one can do is to behave naturally and be oneself. Put-on

behaviour usually doesn't work and a genuine change of attitude towards others is necessary for it

to manifest in a positive and sociable behaviour says the professor.

The skills on which you will be judged are:

Communication with others. Your behaviour and interaction with group.

Open mindedness.

Your listening skill.

How you put forward your views.

Your leadership and decision making skills.

Your analysis skill and subject knowledge.

Problem solving and critical thinking skill.

Your attitude and confidence.



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GD MYTHS

Myth 1: Candidates who try to ‘dominate’ the group and ensure everyone gets a chance to speak etc

are considered as good leader material.

Reality – Candidates, who work with the group, accommodate diverse viewpoints and assert

themselves without aggression score high. In short, the GD panel is testing whether you understand

the topic well, are able to present your point of view in a logical manner, are interested in

understanding what others feel about the same subject and are able to conduct yourself with grace

in a group situation.

Myth 2: Smooth talkers perform better

Reality: You can perform better if you do sensible talk and there is sufficient meat in what you say.

Excellent communication skills are the critical attribute of the modern day manager. He/she should

have listening and articulation skills. This is exactly what the panel is looking for. Train yourself to be

Train your mind to thinkanalytically Your GD arguments should have‘meat’ Respect other people’s views Listening is important. Practisepatience Writing essays can improve

thought structure



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a good listener. Inculcate the habit of structuring your thoughts and presenting them logically.

Writing essays on a variety of topics can help in developing thought structure.

Myth 3: Academic brilliance equals analytical skills

Reality: Candidates with lower academic scores can also demonstrate better analytical skills

B-schools look for candidates who have analytical skills, team skills, communication skills, decision-

making skills and ability to handle stress. Students should learn to apply their analytical skills to solve

problems and make logical arguments. Start thinking of getting to the how and why of issues.

Myth 4: Good communication skills is about using extensive vocabulary and speaking too much

Reality: Good communication is about speaking in easy to understand English and putting your

points across in a simple yet effective manner.

The GD panel is testing how well you can understand a topic and if you are able to present your view

point logically to get the group to agree upon something. Quality of content that you deliver

matters and not how much you speak. Be assertive and make sure you are confident. Your objective

is to be heard. Also remember to conduct yourself with grace in GD.

Myth 5: Candidates who dominate a discussion and reduce others to submission do well in GD.

Reality: Candidates who work with the group and accommodate diverse viewpoints and assert

themselves score high.

Remember, B-schools are preparing you to be a part of a team and also manage it if needed. GD is

probably the ideal situation to judge your team skills and how well you work with the team. Do you

listen to others? If you are a good team player, the other members of the team will be able to

connect with you. This will be evident to a moderator even amidst the chaos that marks a typical GD.

Generally in a GD, the students participating demonstrate their characters as Scientist, Salesmen or

tailor . Scientist is the one who has new ideas and tries to say it but is not able to present it properly

across table. Salesmen are the one who take the ideas of scientist and present it as their own. Their

presentation of content is good but knowledge is not that good. Tailors are the one who have no

clue about the topic but they speak about it by combining 2-3 people’s ideas.

Game Decoded

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