Monday, February 23, 2009

An unusual case of dementia and its after math

Written on 31st March 09,

Last month my MBA exams were up. They are usually online exams, but you'd have to book your seats well in advance if you choose to appear. I only opted for 3 (out of 5 total) subjects that time. The other two were pure management papers; so I thought I might need more time with it - Accounting & Principles of Management.

So I did my seat booking for those 3 subjects. I had lavishly placed a weeks time between papers. A week before the 1st exam I started preparing. That week I was involved with a lot of things (settings "standards" & stuff); but I still managed to learn a few chapters too. The exam was on a Sunday. So for a Saturday, I had to walk in first shift, get some sleep, and then attend the exam. And I did all that.

But there were a few more chapters to go. The thing is if you just read the book 1 time, you could easily sail through the exams. And my attitude towards exams in general is, if you leave something, the probability of screwing up is more. So on that Sunday, (probably towards the end of Feb), I woke up early and rummaged the books. In between, I felt so hungry, I had to go out to eat. I didn't notice how time flew, but it soon became 11.30 AM, and I was still lagging. Exam was at 2.30 PM. I need to lunch before I start, and I am still a few chapters behind. And to top it all I wasn't sure where my centre was located!

Ah heck, it seemed like those old college days again. And I sang a song I usually do for such occasions. Those who have probably studied with me in Bhavans would immediately recognize it. [Hint: it starts with the word "screw...", and it is a parody of a popular Michael Jackson song]. Yup, you've probably guessed it right!

Then I had to get ready, and stuff. When the time came to leave, I had to collect my hall ticket and stuff. So there I was checking to see if I took the correct hall ticket, all dressed up, and ready to go. I was still basically prepared for 'something worse' which was because of the thought of a few more chapters 'still lagging'... I got out of the room; locked my door; took the hall ticket to cross check, and then my jaw dropped, and I still couldn't help smiling at my own egregiousness. The exam was scheduled for the next day. *embarrassed with severe damages*

The funny thing is I booked the seats conveniently on a Monday, and for a purpos: usually Mondays are more like Sundays for me! But I still don't know what happened that week to make me think "it was on a Sunday".

How the software industry runs...

This is just one view. My manager educated me about this a few weeks ago.

My manager tells me that here is where the MBA graduates and IITians (who work in the software industry) all come to play. They will go the requirements and say "Well from understanding your requirements as stated in the tender, this is your product (Product A). But if we give you Product B, (which basically covers all Product-A), you get these [attractive] features, plus you don't need any support for the next three years. Else you can take Product-C, which is blah blah blah; it has more [attractive] blah blah blah". This is not intended to pun the software industry. In fact I don't know if firms actually function this way; I've never verified it.

I still can't figure where the MBA graduate plays in all this. How does his/her expertise actually help? I am only dying to know because I am currently undergoing a correspondence course on MBA - Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology. There are IT related subjects as well as management subjects. Its the latter causing all the fuzz. I am not able to relate to them. The question is still open, and I am all ears.